17. Taking a Walk

With the shower running and the bathroom door closed firmly behind her, Lena slid slowly down the wall to the floor, her hands shaking and tears stinging the corners of her eyes. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she let her head drop forwards and just focused on breathing until her heart stopped hammering quite so hard, and the roaring in her ears settled to a dull hum.

It wasn’t a panic attack.

Not quite.

And she wasn’t upset. Rather the opposite. Which was why it was so frustrating.

It was just... She had been ready to lose it all. She had accepted it. After all, she’d already lost her real mother, her father, her brother’s love and respect, and any hope that Lillian had ever felt anything more for her than contempt. She’d lost Kara, before she ever had her, and now a child...

 Lena knew how to handle loss. She knew how to take that pain, so sharp it left her bleeding and turn it into strength.

She had no idea what to do with this.

What did that say about her?

Nothing good, probably.

She had taken her phone from the bedside table before she fled. Lena gripped it tightly between her hands, glad she’d put the number into her contacts so that she didn’t have to attempt to actually dial.

Alex picked up on the third ring. “Lena?” she said, voice rough and a little groggy.

“Tell me it’s real,” Lena choked out, trying to whisper because shower or no shower, she was living with a kryptonian. A kryptonian she hoped was polite enough not to eavesdrop, but still. “Tell me Kara was with you last night, and you talked some sense into her, or out of her...”

“What happened?” Alex sounded more awake now. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” Lena lied. “Just tell me, please.”

“Okay. Just a minute...” Lena heard quiet murmuring in the background, and then Alex was back. “She was here, I mean, I’m pretty sure she spent most of the night freezing her ass off in space as some kind of penance, but we saw her after that. Why? Didn’t she come home?” Alex demanded.

“No, no, she’s here.” Lena assured her. “It’s just... is it real? Can we really keep her?”

“Oh,” Alex said, all of her sharp edges softening. “Oh, Lena... Yeah. That’s what we’re hoping. We have a plan. I’ve already talked to Winn and J’onn and they’re on board. Didn’t Kara tell you?”

“She did, I mean, she told me she was going to try but it...”

“Sounded too good to be true?” Alex said, both sympathy and understanding clear and warm in her voice. “I get that. And I know that the thought of being happy, really happy, can be terrifying, but Lena? They’re worth it.”

“I know.” Lena exhaled slowly, breathing in calm and control. “I know. Thank you, Alex. I didn’t know who else to call...”

“No problem. What are sisters for, right?”

Lena laughed softly. “Right.”

“Still,” Alex added. “You can go to Kara with this stuff too. She’s more than just sunshine and muscles.”

 “I know,” Lena admitted. “I just... She believes in me. I don’t want her to think I’m-”

“Broken?”

“Is that awful?”

“No, no that’s human.” Alex sighed. “I’ve done that too; run away and shut her out. And do you know what she did?”

“What?” Lena asked, suspecting she already knew the answer.

“She came after me. When I locked the door she flew in through the window and even though she couldn’t fix it, just knowing she was there, that she would always be there, gave me hope.”

“She loves you,” Lena said, both in awe and a little envious of what they had in each other.

Alex chuckled. “She’s pretty fond of you too. So...since we’re being so sisterly... what else did Kara tell you? Come on, I want details.”

Lena leaned back against the wall, the last of her panic giving way to a sort of nervous thrill. “Well, apparently she’s not entirely straight after all...”

“Hah! I knew it, tell me everything.”

*****

Somehow, Lena made it through most of the morning without losing her mind. She did make a point of torturing Jess, just a little, with pointless errands and unnecessary paperwork, until the Secretary finally stalked into her office and slammed Lena’s latest request (a new stapler,) down on the desk beside her already perfectly functional stapler, and crossed her arms with a huff.

“You know!”

 Lena ignored her pique, calmly finishing the last few lines of her email before sending it and closing her laptop. “I do,” she said, resting her elbows on the desk and steepling her fingers. “The question is, why didn’t I know, you knew?”

Jess sighed, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. “I didn’t,” she admitted. “Not immediately.”

Lena leaned back in her chair and gestured for Jess to sit. “When did you figure it out?”

Jess sat down primly, hands in her lap. “When Ms. Danvers and the child came to see you the first time, I didn’t question it.” She said. “It was only afterwards, when they were gone, that I realized something was wrong. It was like waking up from a dream and not being sure if it had been real or not, only the feeling didn’t go away.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Jess shrugged. “I wanted to, but... I didn’t know what to say at first, and then I wasn’t sure if you knew what was going on. I was aware of Ms. Danvers’ alternate identity, and I was worried that this was something she had done, or caused to be done, because of her association with you. I decided to wait and see until I could be sure of her intentions.”

“And you didn’t think I needed to know any of that?”

“You already knew she was Supergirl,” Jess pointed out, her tone leaving no room for Lena to deny it. “The rest...” she shook her head. “You were happy Ms. Luthor. If there was a chance any of this was real, and not some trick? How could I take that away from you?”

Lena swallowed past a sudden lump in her throat. Was she ever going to stop being surprised that people actually cared about her? Probably not. “So you talked to Kara?”

“She was messing it up!” Jess said, feelingly. “I don’t know exactly what’s going on here Ms. Luthor, but whatever it is, it’s good for you. So as long as we’re not all about to die horribly as a result, I hope the two of you aren’t planning on doing something stupid like undoing it.”

Lena still couldn’t quite believe that wasn’t the plan anymore, but she was relieved she didn’t have to explain that to her secretary. Having one more person who wouldn’t think they were crazy helped too. “Not that stupid, no,” she said with a smile.

“Good.” Jess smoothed out her skirt and stood up. “If that’s everything, Ms. Luthor?”

Lena raised an eyebrow. “That’s it? You don’t have any other questions?”

Jess hesitated. “Can I expect that watching Miss. Lizzy will be one of my regular duties going forward?” She asked finally, looking and sounding very much like someone inquiring into exactly when and how they’re going to die.

Lena laughed. “No,” she assured her. “We’ve secured a temporary nanny, and if everything works out, we’ll be making other arrangements. I did however, promise Kara that you would help her with the last minute details for the Gala...”

Jess wrinkled her nose. “I suppose that’s fair. Are you expecting Ms. Danvers for lunch today?”

“Yes.” Lena busied herself at her desk to hide the sudden nervous flutter of excitement in her belly. Was she blushing? Surely not.

“Shall I send for something healthy?”

“No,” Lena said, unable to resist the urge to spoil Kara a little, or a lot... “I think we can make an exception this once. Order a Pizza, and Jess?”

“Yes, Ms. Luthor?”

“We’re not to be disturbed unless the building is burning down, understood?”

“Perfectly,” Jess said with just the barest hint of a rather unprofessional smirk. “Ms. Luthor?” she added on her way out.

“Yes?”

“I’m happy for you.”

 Lena’s hands stilled in their aimless shuffling of papers. “Thank you Jess,” she said softly. “For that and for...” She hesitated, not quite sure exactly how to thank someone for not only liking you enough, but also knowing you well enough to be able to see through your wonderfully twisted reality and then lie to you about it for your own good. “Everything,” she decided.

Jess’ smirk softened into a smile. “You’re welcome,” she said, and left the office with a promise to have the Pizza delivered to her desk at one.

Lena opened her laptop up again, but she couldn’t focus on the next email, her fingers drumming restlessly on the edge of the desk, and her gaze sneaking to the clock in the lower right corner every few seconds.

Was it lunchtime yet?

*****

“This is crazy, right?” Kara demanded, stepping neatly out of the way as Winn rolled his chair between monitors, tapping madly at the keypad in his lap. “I mean... I’m a junior reporter, I have this whole gig,” She gestured to her super-suit. “And now I’m a mom? I can’t be a mom Winn... I have no mom-skills. I can’t even get the kid to wear socks!”

“Squad two, you’re in position,” Winn said, hitting a few more keys before flipping his microphone up. “Kara, I don’t know what to tell you, and I’m kind of in the middle of something here...”

“And then there’s Lena!” Kara tangled her fingers in her hair, pacing back and forth, cape snapping as she turned. “She’s the perfect mom, and beautiful, and smart and ugh! What am I doing!”

“Not listening apparently...” Winn muttered under his breath, changing the angle on one of his cameras and sending Squad three their new coordinates. “Isn’t this what you wanted?” He added at a more normal volume.

“I did!” Kara whined. “I do! But what if I’m awful at it?”

 “The mom thing or the wife thing?”

“Both?”

Winn shrugged, spinning his chair around. All the squads were in position, he had a few minutes before he’d need to maneuver them out again. “Then you’re awful at it, but you keep trying, and eventually you won’t suck quite so much.”

Kara snorted, dropping down into the other chair and crossing her arms. “Nice pep talk.”

“Happy to help. What are you even doing here by the way? I thought you were at Catco today.”

“I was, but Snapper wants me to include something on the recent rise in Alien crime rate in my story and I came to talk to Alex, but she’s still in interrogation.”

“Yeah that guy they brought in yesterday is talking non-stop, but he doesn’t speak any of the languages in our database. J’onn says he can’t touch his mind either, so they’re trying pictures today.” He reached out and dragged her chair closer so that they were knee-to-knee. “Now come on, are you seriously worried about being a good mom? Because that kid adores you. The rest of it you can learn.”

“What if I regret it?” Kara asked. “What if we do this, and we keep Lizzy, and everything is perfect, only I suddenly realize I wasn’t ready? That I don’t want to be a wife and mother at twenty-five?”

“I don’t think anyone is ever really ready to be a parent, Kara.”

“You know what I mean!”

“Yeah...” Winn admitted. “I know, but what’s the alternative? Do you really want to walk away?”

“No!” Kara said immediately, unable to even imagine abandoning Lizzy and Lena. “No, I don’t. It’s just...”

“A lot?” Winn finished for her, chuckling at her answering grimace. “No shit, Kara. It’s one thing to want  something, it’s a whole different thing to actually get it, and then have to figure out what to do with it... have you talked to Lena about this?”

“Um... no?” Kara admitted. “She was so happy, and there’s that whole...not straight thing, and she says she doesn’t mind waiting until I figure things out, but when I’m with her I feel like I have them figured out until she goes away and then I...”

“Panic?”

“Yeah.” She winced. “Is that bad?”

“That’s normal,” Winn assured her. “You’re questioning your whole identity here. There’s going to be a little panic, but you’re happy too? I mean, we’re talking Lena Luthor, here. She is way out of your league,” he teased.

 “I know, right?” Kara couldn’t keep what was undoubtedly a big dopey grin off her face. “She’s kind of amazing.”

“And you should definitely go tell her that,” Winn said, turning back around to his monitors as everything suddenly started flashing read and his headphones erupted with gunfire and yelling. “Only not right now, because our small fluffy alien capture just grew ten feet, and an extra head. A little help?”

“On it,” Kara said, sliding her earpiece in and leaving the chair spinning madly behind her as she took off for the exit. She should have just enough time to save some DEO butt before lunch.

*****

Assuming Kara would show up in a cape, Lena had left the balcony door open. The fresh air was lovely, but the distraction of every errant gust of wind that could have heralded the arrival of a superhero was hell on her productivity. At noon, annoyed with her complete inability to focus, she finally got up and closed it. At twelve-thirty, having decided that it was ridiculous for Lena Luthor to be defeated by something as silly as a breeze, she opened it again and sat back down at her desk, telling herself sternly to focus.

So when there was a knock on the door just before one, she wasn’t expecting to find Kara in a blue sundress and a lacy white cardigan on the other side of it.

“Oh,” she said, brilliantly. “I thought you would be...” she gestured vaguely in the direction of the balcony.

“Uh...did you want me too...? I could-” Kara took a step back and Lena hurried to reassure her.

“No! No, you’re fine. Sorry. It’s been a long morning. Come in, please. You didn’t have to knock.” Lena held the door open, biting her tongue to stave off further babbling.

“Yeah I know, I just...wanted to do this properly, I guess?” Kara stepped into the office and turned, holding out a bouquet of bright white daisies. “These are for you. They’re not anything fancy, but I thought they looked cheerful, and-”  

“They’re lovely.” Lena interrupted smoothly, regaining a little of her aplomb in the face of Kara’s obvious nerves. “Thank you.” She took the flowers, enjoying the faint blush that stained Kara’s cheeks when their fingers brushed. “Would you like a drink?”

“Yes, please.” Kara looked relieved to be on more familiar footing, hanging her purse on the coat rack and sitting down on the couch. “Just water, thank you.”

Lena got a vase for the flowers and set them on her desk, touched by the simple gesture that hinted this was more than a lunch between friends. Not, that she hadn’t sent Kara flowers before of course, but then it had never been just friends for her. Following Kara’s example, she poured herself a glass of water as well and joined her on the couch. “Jess ordered a Pizza,” she said, handing Kara her drink. “It should be here soon.”

“We’re having Pizza?!” Kara’s grin was worth all the extra calories Lena was about to consume.

 “Well, this is something of a celebration, isn’t it?” Lena asked, shifting a little closer.

Kara gulped. “I guess?”

“You don’t sound so sure...” Lena tried to say it as a tease, but inwardly she was asking herself how the hell she’d managed to ruin this already.

Kara set her glass on the table and turned to face Lena on the couch, hands tangled together in her lap. “I wasn’t,” she admitted. “I should probably tell you... I might have had a minor freak out this morning.”

Lena twisted the rings on her finger, trying not to assume the worst as she asked “About us?”

Kara nodded. “About us, and Lizzy and being moms...” She adjusted her glasses, looking down at her lap. “I’m scared, I guess, that we might be jumping into something before we were ready.”

“Oh.” Looking at it from Kara’s perspective, Lena couldn’t blame her for reconsidering things. It was a wonder she’d even considered them in the first place. “I suppose we shouldn’t drag it out then-”  She started to stand up, ready to make this as graceful an ending  as possible, but Kara stopped her with a hand around her wrist, expression suddenly stricken.

“What? No, I’m sorry— I shouldn’t have led with that! I wasn’t sure, and I did kind of freak out, but then I imagined what it would be like, not to have you and Lizzy, and that was so much worse than being worried about doing it wrong! So all I wanted to say was, I might not be very good at this, and you’re going to have to be patient with me, but I’m in Lena. I’m in this with you, and with Lizzy. I want this.” She hesitated, and then continued with a stubborn set to her chin. “I want you .You’re wonderful, and brilliant, and beautiful, and I don’t care if it’s hard. You’re worth it.”

That was... Damnit, that was everything Lena had ever wanted to hear, and so much more than she had expected. She gave in to the tugging on her wrist and sat back down, struggling to get her emotions back under control as Kara took her hands. “This is probably where I admit I didn’t exactly handle things very well this morning either,” she said, watching Kara’s thumbs sweep over her knuckles. “I called your sister.”

“You called Alex?” Kara sounded surprised. “Why?”

“Because I don’t know how to be happy,” Lena admitted. “I’m always looking for the catch, always preparing to fall. And the happier I am...” She squeezed Kara’s hands. “I panicked.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Kara asked softly.

“It was silly.”

“Hey,” Kara let go of one of her hands to tip Lena’s chin up, fingers soft and warm against her skin. “Your feelings are never silly, okay? If you’d rather talk to Alex, that’s fine. I’m really glad she was there for you. But I’m always here if you need me. Always.”

Lena smiled. “That’s what Alex said.”

Kara’s answering smile was like the sun coming out from behind the clouds. “Yeah, well she’s usually right, but don’t tell her I said that. She’s bossy enough already.”

 Lena laughed, feeling the anxious tension dissipate as a new and much more interesting tension took its place. Kara’s fingers lingered on the line of her jaw, and she bit her lip, smugly satisfied when Kara’s eyes instantly widened and fixed on her mouth. She wasn’t prepared however, for the pad of Kara’s thumb to brush over her bottom lip, gently easing it free of her teeth.

“That’s not playing fair,” Kara said, voice low and teasing, if a little shaky.  “I can never think when you do that.”

“Do you need to think for this?” Lena asked archly, trying to pretend that her own ability to form a cohesive thought hadn’t just taken a direct hit.

Kara leaned a little closer, sliding her hand back to tangle in the hair at the nape of Lena’s neck. “You might have a point...”

Lena was just about to do something about the last little bit of distance between them when a knock on the door made her drop her forehead to Kara’s shoulder instead. “I am going to murder whoever that is,” She growled.

Kara laughed. “Not if they have my pizza, you’re not!” She freed her hand from Lena’s hair, earning herself another grumble of complaint and left her on the couch to answer the door.

Lena tried not to resent pizza in general and this pizza in particular, but it was difficult.

Kara thanked Jess, all sunshine and cheer, with no sign of murderous rage or thwarted yearning, and Lena hated her a little bit for that. She was still grinning when she brought the pizza over and set it down on the coffee table. Lena glared at her, but Kara just sat back down beside her and opened the box.

“Ooh! Extra cheese!”

“You’re really just going to eat lunch?” Lena demanded, ego a little bruised to say the least.

Kara paused with a slice of pizza halfway to her mouth. “Yes?” She said hesitantly. “Aren’t you hungry?”

“I-” Lena cut herself off with a sigh, all of her frustration melting away at the adorable look of puppy-ish confusion on Kara’s face. “Yes I am,” she said instead, snuggling into Kara’s side and tucking her feet up under her before reaching for a slice of pizza. This was good too, and they had plenty of time to get to the rest of it.

They spent the rest of lunch eating pizza and chatting about inconsequential things. Jess kept her promise and didn’t interrupt them again, but while Lena could still feel the potential for more to come simmering between them, she was willing to let Kara set the pace.

At two, Lena reluctantly let her go, amused when Kara hesitated at the door, shifting nervously on her toes before leaning in, faster than thought, to give Lena a quick kiss on the cheek. Blushing furiously, she stammered a goodbye and fled, leaving Lena alone with an empty pizza box and a long and uncomfortable afternoon ahead of her.

*****

At four thirty, Kara texted Lena to say that she would be meeting Eliza and Lizzy in the park to look for the next section of the talisman at five, and invited her to join them. She added a heart emoji and a winky face, which was either Kara just being Kara, or a subtle tease. After a very frustrating afternoon, Lena was inclined to think it was the latter.

Lena texted her back a confirmation, and wrapped up her work for the day. A walk in the park actually sounded lovely, and with any luck, Lizzy would be tired enough for an early bedtime.

Eliza welcomed her warmly when Lena joined them at the hot dog stand just outside the entrance to the park. Lizzy was nearly quivering with anticipation as the vendor prepared their food, and Kara wasn’t much better. Eliza rolled her eyes at them fondly.

“I’m glad you could join us,” she said, pulling Lena into a brief hug. “These two won’t be good for anything until they’ve stuffed themselves, and I for one, enjoy a little conversation with my food.”

“Hey!” Kara protested, eyes still on her hot dog. “I can talk and eat.”

“Please don’t,” Eliza begged her, picking Lizzy up and carrying her, along with her hot dog, over to a nearby picnic table.

Lena laughed at Kara’s wounded expression, stepping closer and taking her hand. “Pizza and Hot dogs?” she asked, weaving their fingers together.

Kara pouted. “Aren’t we still celebrating?”

“I can think of better ways,” Lena whispered in her ear, unable to resist a little revenge.

Kara shivered, but she glanced back towards the food, clearly torn. Lena laughed again and released her with a grin. “Go, and eat then.”

“Do you want one?”

Lena shuddered. “No, thank you. I’m fine.”

Once Kara and Lizzy had eaten, the four of them wandered into the park. Lizzy and Kara running ahead, bounding on and off the path and generally being ridiculous, while Lena and Eliza strolled along behind them at a much more sedate pace. Eliza shared a few stories about teenaged Kara and Alex, promising Lena the recipe for her famous Chocolate Pecan pie, and repeating her offer to stay and help them out with Lizzy as long as they needed her.

“Thank you,” Lena said, sincerely. “I think my secretary may have quit if I’d asked her again.

Eliza chuckled. “She has her moments, I’ll admit. But Kara says you’ve decided to try and keep her?”

Lena nodded, tensing in anticipation of Eliza’s disapproval, but the other woman surprised her again.

“I think that’s wonderful. She’s a lovely little girl, and you both seem to care very much for her. I trust my daughters to weigh the cost of their choices in life, but sometimes they could stand to be a little more selfish. I’m glad they have you and Maggie to remind them that it’s not all about saving the world.” She smiled. “And what about you and Kara? Don’t think I didn’t notice something’s different there...”

Lena shook her head, still not quite used to this family and their well-meaning nosiness. “We’re figuring it out.”

“Good,” Eliza said. “Now tell me all about this company of yours. Kara says your thinking of hiring alien scientists and engineers for your R&D department?”

They talked business all the way to the duck pond, pausing when Lizzy pulled Kara off the path to examine about three hundred different identical leaves on a little bush until she found one that glowed blue when she touched it.

“B’ue!” she said proudly, clearly embracing this special power her mothers got so excited about. She pulled the leaf off the bush and carefully handed it to Kara, who put it away in one of the little bags Winn had given them and gave it to Lena for safekeeping.

With at least another hour of daylight left, they decided to finish their walk, and Eliza had some surprisingly helpful advice for Lena about integrating human and non-human needs and ideas, and offering her services if she needed a consultant on adapting alien medical and biological technology for human use.  “Alex would be invaluable there too,” she added, sitting down on a bench to watch Kara and Lizzy feed the ducks crackers that Eliza had brought with them for just that purpose. “But I think the DEO keeps her fairly busy.”

“I’ll let you know,” Lena said, sitting beside her. “I would love to have you on my team, but I don’t want to keep you from your home.”

Eliza shrugged. “There’s not much left in Midvale for me anymore. My girls are here, and not likely to leave any time soon, and now that I have a granddaughter...” she shook her head. “It’s something to think about, once this business with the imp is dealt with.”

“How did they beat him last time?” Lena asked, suddenly realizing that she didn’t actually know all the details. It was easy to forget that there had been a time when Kara and Supergirl were separate people in her life, but Lena hadn’t even known about Mxyzptlk until all of this started.

“Well the only way to be sure of banishing fifth dimensional beings,” Eliza explained. “Is to make them say their names backwards. I know,” she added at Lena’ disbelieving expression. “It sounds ridiculous, but it works. This one has apparently pestered her cousin before, and he’s clever, but Kara managed to trick him into writing his name backwards in Kryptonian script.”

“And that worked?”

“Apparently,” Eliza said. “She’s lucky even his written name had enough power to send him back.”

“Was he really in love with her?”

“Who knows. I don’t suppose it really matters. He cared enough to do whatever she said to stop the self-destruct on her cousin’s ice-fortress. I heard he promised her riches, world peace, an end to hunger... anything to make her happy. Though I doubt he ever would have been able to stick to it. His kind are born to make trouble.”

Lena snorted. “Sounds familiar,” she said, watching Lizzy confuse the hell out of a mother duck by coaxing her brood of ducklings to follow the little girl instead. The tiny yellow balls of fluff seemed thrilled, peeping excitedly and running in circles after Lizzy with their small, useless wings stretched out. Kara was on the ground laughing, while the poor mother duck quacked what was probably a string of avian profanity and chased after them.

The fun ended when Lizzy glanced back once too often and forgot to look where she was going, running straight off the bank and into the pond. The sudden splash and indignant wail alerted Kara to the danger, and she took off over the water to fish Lizzy out, holding the soaking wet and liberally coated with pond-slime toddler out at arm’s length as she landed back on dry ground.

“Oh my...” Eliza looked like she was trying not to laugh. “I think that’s my cue to retire for the evening. Best of luck, girls.”

“’Izzy, wet!” Lizzy cried, more insulted then hurt.

“I should probably get that leaf back to the DEO,” Kara hedged, trying to hand her to Lena.

“Oh, no!” Lena took a giant step back, holding her hands up. “I’m not putting her in my car smelling like that. You can fly her home.”

Kara sighed. “Come on, kid.” She winced as she cradled the soggy, stinking toddler to her chest and took a quick look around to make sure they didn’t have an audience before leaping into the sky.

Lena followed in the car after walking back through the park and bidding Eliza a quick goodbye. By the time she got home, the bathroom was a wreck, and Kara was the one who was drenched, but Lizzy was clean and sweet smelling again, and in her favourite tiger pyjamas, ready for her story.

“Now, you can take the leaf to Winn,” Lena told a dripping Kara. “And remember rule number two...”

“No wet Superheroes in the bed,” Kara recited wearily before taking the bag and flying out again.

Lena felt a little guilty as she read Lizzy “Where the Wild Things Are,” and put her to bed, hanging over the crib to rub her back until she drifted off, but it wasn’t as if she could have flown to the DEO. They were going to need to get Lizzy a real bed soon. She was outgrowing the crib. The thought was both exhilarating and terrifying. Their little girl was going to grow up...

Kara wasn’t back by the time Lena got ready for bed herself, but Lena heard her drop in through the balcony doors as she was picking her book up off the nightstand. She must have showered and changed at the DEO, because she was wearing nondescript black sweatpants and a tank top, and she was mostly dry when she stumbled into the bedroom and collapsed on her side of the bed, muttering nearly inarticulately about Winn and late-night experiments.

Lena sighed and put her book down. “At least get under the covers,” she said, tugging the blankets out from underneath Kara.

Kara refused to cooperate. “Don’t wanna sleep...” she complained, eyes barely open.

“You didn’t get any last night,” Lena reminded her. “Even superheroes need their rest.”

Kara just grumbled.

“Come here...” Lena nagged and pulled on her until Kara was half in her lap, arms wrapped around Lena’s waist. She arranged the blankets over both of them, and Kara snuggled into her stomach, muttering contentedly this time.

Lena ran her fingers through damp blond curls, not entirely displeased with how their night had turned out, even if she’d been hoping for something a little different. She picked her book back up, thumbing through it to where she’d left off, and settled back against the headboard.

She had a peacefully sleeping child just down the hall, a good book to read, and her beautiful, Kryptonian wife in her lap.

Happiness wasn’t so bad after all.