KMS DRAWS

It's finally here! Grab something cozy, make some tea, and get creative for our beloved Supercorp all throughout October!

Use the #Supercorp2025 tag on all your fics/arts and here's to celebrating Supercorp the way they deserve!

#Supercorptober

(on ao3 here)

"I was expecting your call, and now, here you are."

Lena rolls her eyes and scoffs. "You haven't even heard what I have to say yet."

"I know what you're going to say!" Sam laughs over the phone. "Sam, come be my interim CEO so I can go play media conglomerate empress for a while."

"Well, I wasn't going to phrase it exactly like that." Lena groans. Lena knew when she picked up the phone and dialed Sam's number that Sam was clearly the best candidate to take over L-Corp, but Lena also knew it would come with light teasing from her old friend.

"Why did you buy Catco?" Sam questions. "Your whole thing was to move L-Corp to National City and transform it. Which, you're doing a stellar job of, by the way." Lena swells with pride. Sam isn't stingy with her praise, but it still means a lot to hear that from her. "Are you tired of it already?"

Lena pauses, considering. "There were a few reasons. But I did it mostly as a favor for a friend," she admits softly. She can hear Sam's smile over the phone.

"A friend, huh?" Sam asks innocently. "What's her name?"

Lena's cheeks flush. Was she that obvious, or does Sam just know her too well? Lena isn't sure. "Kara."

"Uh huh," Sam says slowly. "And do you or do you not want to pin her to your desk and make sweet lo—"

"Sam!" Lena hisses, her face turning red.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. It's just so fun to tease you," Sam laughs. Lena's missed her laugh. Truthfully, asking Sam to come run L-Corp for her while she figures out the ropes with Catco is partly selfish. Not only would Sam do an excellent job with L-Corp, maybe even better than Lena herself, Lena just missed her. It would be good to be in the same city as her friend again.

There's a brief pause. "She must be pretty okay, if you were willing to spend millions of dollars on a dying medium as a favor to her."

Lena clears her throat. A vision of Kara's goofy, sweet smile, the way her eyes crinkle a little in the corners, appears in her mind. It makes her heart feel a little fluttery. "Yeah, she's pretty okay. Come to National City and see for yourself."

"I'll have to talk with Ruby about it first, but honestly, we could both use a change of scenery. Also, Ruby would love National City. She's been obsessed with Supergirl lately."

"You know, Kara knows Supergirl," Lena tempts.

"That, Miss Luthor, will win you brownie points in my daughter's book," Sam chuckles. "Hey, I have to run and pick Ruby up now, but I'll call with my answer tomorrow."

"Thanks, Sam." Lena hangs up the phone and turns in her desk chair to look out the window. Lena hadn't known what to make of National City when she first moved. It wasn't really all that different from Metropolis — same tall buildings downtown, same grungy streets. But National City was hers. She chose to come here, chose to move her company here, and formed a life for herself, all on her own, here. She rebuilt her company. She made friends. She formed a partnership with a Super. She beat the odds of what the world expected of her as a Luthor.

On AO3

For Kara, Catco existed as part of her family. Many of the employees there had a suspicion she was Supergirl -- there's only so many times that she breaks her phones or keyboards before people start to wonder, then there was the whole panic incident where she destroyed the elevator.

Yet none of them had ever given away her secret.

That all changed when Lena sold Catco to Andrea Rojas.

Andrea walked into the CEO office as if she owned it. "Ah, Kara Danvers and James Olsen." She nodded to both of them and made a show of examining the office's amenities.

"Who are you?" James demanded.

"Me? Did Lena not tell you?" Andrea smiled, but the smile felt like a predator watching her prey. "She sold Catco to me. I am your new CEO."

"What?" Kara stared, stunned. "But... but she wouldn't do that without telling me..."

"Oh?" Andrea raised an eyebrow similar to how Lena would. "Perhaps you should ask her about it then." She walked to the desk and looked it over. "I plan some major changes. One being all of you will require new contracts. Non-competing contracts."

James scowled. "That would doom any of us that leaves Catco."

"Then why leave?" Andrea settles into the chair with a sign. "Give me a chance, Mr. Olsen. If you do your job well, then there will be a place for you here. And I do love giving people raises if they do the work."

Kara clenched her fists. She turned and stalked from the room, upset and on the verge of tears. Why did Lena sell?

The question haunted her the entire walk/flight to L-Corp, but when she tried to go past security, a guard stopped her.

"ID please."

"I'm Kara Danvers here to speak with Lena Luthor." She tugged out her wallet to show it. "Lena always lets me up."

The guard frowned. He glanced at his tablet. "You're not on her list. Let me contact her assistant."

Another guard grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the security line. Kara tugged her arm free, upset. What was happening?

The first guard returned. "Miss Huang says you may come up, but after this, you must go through her to set up a specific appointment."

Kara blinked, unable to fathom this development. Lena and her shared lunch or dinner here, and she'd never had to go through this prior. She'd just been waved through and gone up without any need for appointments.

Dread curdled in her stomach. Tears pricked her eyes, but she refused to cry. There had to be an explanation. Lena wouldn't just throw her out like this, right?

The doors opened onto Lena's floor, and Kara walked up to Jess's desk. The Assistant glanced at her. "Jess? What -- what is going on? Is Lena okay?"

Jess pursed her lips, her expression not at all the open one she had prior, but one that studied Kara as if she was a problem to be solved. "Miss Luthor is at her desk. You have twenty minutes before her next meeting."

Jess was incredibly loyal to Lena, and despite asking two more times, Jess gave her no information. Only tapped her wristwatch.

Kara pushed open the doors and entered Lena's office. What once had been a lovely place for them to chat and eat, where Kara's paintings had once hung on the walls, the room had been stripped of all color.

White and grey adorned all the furniture, walls, and no paintings hung anywhere.

"Lena?" Kara didn't know what to make of her best friend. Lena wore a crisp navy blue suit, her hair in a tight ponytail, and her desk was cluttered with schematics and other paperwork. "Um, what's going on? I usually can just come up."

"Hmm?" Lena looked up, and her gaze fixed Kara with a piercing stare. "Hello to you too, Kara Danvers." She pushed her chair back and stood. "I am instituting changes here." When she smiled, it did not reach her eyes.

It was fake, and her scent wasn't the usual sweet scent. It held a touch of acidic, which Kara only smelled on those who were angry or close to a panic.

"Lena, please." Kara stepped up to her desk and reached out, but froze when Lena took a step back. "I -- I don't understand. Why did you sell Catco? Why didn't you tell me? Are you okay? What's wrong?" The words tumbled out, and desperation seared through her. "You know I'm always here for you!"

"Are you?" Lena raised an eyebrow. "Or just keeping tabs on me, the Luthor?"

"What?" Kara stared at Lena, stunned. "What does your last name have to do with anything? You're Lena."

"Indeed." Lena walked over to a white cabinet next to her white sofa. She poured scotch into a glass. "I sold Catco because I needed funds for a new project. One that requires expensive materials. Andrea Rojas gave me an excellent offer." She gave Kara another fake smile and sipped her scotch. "It's just business, Kara. Catco was an investment, now that investment must go elsewhere."

Kara shook her head. "But -- but you bought it to avoid this very situation. Andrea wants to do non-competing clauses in contracts. I wouldn't be able to do journalism ever if I decided to not work for her."

"Hmmm. That's just a business decision. She wants to retain her talent." Lena swirled the scotch in her glass, her eyes on the amber liquid. "And it is no longer my jurisdiction. The sell was finalized yesterday, Kara."

Kara stepped close to Lena and laid a hand on her arm. She felt Lena stiffen under touch, how her heartbeat skyrocketed, and the sharp intake of breath. Her acidic stench wove with another scent -- one that was far sweeter and warm, and one Kara had smelled often when they'd shared cuddles during movie nights.

"Lena," Kara said, gently, "I'm not here to condemn your decision. I wanted to know what happened. And if you need the sale profits to go toward a new venture, then great! Maybe I can help?"

"Help?" Lena repeated. Her brow furrowed, and her lips twitched downward. "What do you know of biophysics, Kara?"

Kara struggled with how to answer the question without giving away her heritage, but the truth was, there was no way she could explain without being honest about her heritage.

Without admitting she was an alien. She'd hid that for so long, tried so hard to keep folks from knowing her full heritage. The secret ate her up inside, filled her with shame and guilt, and more than anything, she wished she could erase that part of her.

To be just Kara with Lena, without any superhero duties, without any powers. Just the two of them existing as best friends, or maybe even more than that.

Lena raised her eyebrow as if challenging her, and Kara realized this was a test.

"I -- I work on science projects as a hobby," Kara said, haltingly. "I never shared this with anyone, Lena. Not even Alex." Earnest desperation filtered into her tone. "I hid it because... because ..." She trailed off unable to voice it. Her throat closed, and she felt like she was strangling herself, the secret the noose around her neck.

"Because what, Kara?" That raised eyebrow, the challenge in her voice, the stiffness to her posture, and her scent -- did she know Kara's secret? Did she find it abhorrent and was that why she shut Kara out like this?

She needed to be honest. To tell Lena the truth, but the words would not form. The fear of loss bound her to silence. So she said nothing.

"Kara, unless you produce a degree related to biophysics, I will not be needing your help on this project." Lena's voice turned stern. "Science hobbies are not job-worthy experience."

"It's more than just a hobby," Kara whispered. "And -- and my degree won't be accepted in most places here."

"That's a shame." Lena threw back the last of the scotch. "So what else do you need, Kara?"

"I was notified yesterday," Kara pushed the words out, even as dread twisted her stomach and left her wanting to puke, "that I won the Pulitzer's for my coverage of your brother and Red Daughter. I'm allowed to bring someone with me, and I -- I wondered if you'd like to come?"

"Hmm." Lena narrowed her eyes. "Give the details to my assistant. She knows my schedule best. If I'm free, I'll come." Again the fake smile curled her lips, her eyes a narrowed glare. "The article was exceptionally written. Congratulations, Kara."

Kara couldn't make sense of Lena's reply. Normally Lena would jump at the opportunity to join Kara at any event, and Lena had often asked Kara to come to many a gala as her 'date.'

"Lena," Kara said, desperately, "Please, what is it? What's wrong?" Fear and worry throttled her. "I know how hard grief is. But don't shut me out like this. I can help."

Anger reddened Lena's cheeks. "I don't need your pity, Kara."

"It's not! I've lost a lot of loved ones, Lena. Support from your family really does help." She lightly touched Lena's arm again. "You're part of my family. You always will be."

Tears shimmered in Lena's eyes. "Right, family." She poured another glass and stared into the amber liquid. "A family of liars, of half-truths. That's the only family I know."

"Lena," Kara dropped her hand to her side. Her secret threatened to crush her.

Kara was a liar. She'd lied again and again about Supergirl, hid her alien identity, and where did that leave her with Lena? Shame percolated through her sinews, and tears pricked her eyes. She desperately wanted to hold Lena close, to reassure her that she was loved, that Kara was here to always protect her.

But how could she if she failed to be honest?

"Tell me what you need," Kara said, unable yet again to voice her truth. "Please, tell me, and I'll do it."

Lena sighed. "Leave me alone for a bit." She sipped her amber liquid and sat down on the sofa. "And don't bother Jess about the Pulitzer's. I'll come. I promise."

This time the smile she gave Kara crinkled the edges of her eyes, but a deep sadness weighed on it. Her scent altered to a sadder profile, and her heartbeat back to a more steady pattern.

Or as steady as Lena's heartbeat could be. Kara could hear the slight murmur. It had been the first thing she'd memorized about Lena.

"Okay. For how long?"

"The award ceremony is a week away, yes?" Lena glanced at Kara and immediately looked toward her balcony. "I need the week to think and recover."

"Okay. Just let me know if you need me. I'm a phone call or text away, okay?"

Lena's sad smile returned to her lips, and she nodded.

Kara left with a heavy heart.

***

Kara spent the week close to a panic. Andrea handed out the new contracts with the warning that all needed to be signed by tomorrow at noon, and if any wished to resign, they'd need to sign a non-compete clause.

Then came the meeting, where Andrea listened to their pitches for thought-provoking, heavy investigative journalism, and dismissed most of them. Instead, she assigned pop pieces with clickbait titles.

"The world is changing," Andrea said in her announcement at the start of the company wide meeting. "We must change with it or fall into obscurity. I bought this company because of the hope to revitalize it for this new world. Starting today, half the investigative journalism team will be reassigned to other departments. People don't want to read long pieces anymore."

Kara listened with a growing dread.

James did not stay silent tough. "This is outrageous! Our investigative journalism defines Catco. We turned this company into a force to be reckoned with, and now you want to undo all that hard work?" He gestured to Kara. "We even have a Pulitzer award winner on staff!"

"Please," Andrea said with a wave of her hand. "She's not even here half the time. Don't think I haven't reviewed all of your files. Kara Danvers spends more time out of the office than she does doing her job. She has the least amount of articles than most of you, and yet she has a private office? I find it strange for her to hold so much privileges, when other employees work harder for less pay and less recognition. No, that too will change. Absenteeism will no longer be tolerated."

Andrea looked directly at Kara when she said last that sentence.

Kara stared, stunned. Each point Andrea made stuck like a dart to her heart. She hadn't realized how much privileges she'd had here, and the absenteeism? She couldn't avoid it sometimes due to her Supergirl duties. She'd always gotten every article she was assigned in on time, or at least she'd ask for an extension and Lena and James had always granted it.

"You don't understand any of us," James sneered. "You're going to destroy Catco, and I won't stand here and let you do it."

Andrea flicked her fingers at James as if to dismiss him. "Then leave. Just know if you resign, you will not be able to go to any other journalism outfit." Her smile didn't reach her eyes, and she lifted an eyebrow as if to challenge James.

He scowled. "So be it. I'm your best photographer. I'll take my talents to some other industry." He pivoted and stormed out of the room, and the door slammed behind him.

Silence descended on everyone seated around the table. Even the online component was silent.

Andrea let the silence drag before she stood and adjusted the camera. "All right, everyone. Expect an email in your inbox with your new assignments. If you have any qualms, feel free to schedule an appointment with my assistant. Meeting adjourned."

Kara sat in her chair long after Andrea and the others left.

Her family teetered on the edge of a precipice, and now Andrea had set her one work home on fire.

"Kara?" Nia gently touched her shoulder. "You okay?"

Kara took a deep breath and pushed away from the conference table. "I'm fine." She walked, woodenly to her desk, opened her laptop, and checked her inbox.

Her assignment was to write a fluff piece about the best cafes in town.

***

Kara dipped her paintbrush into the water cup and leaned back on her stool. The painting contrasted the landscape of Krypton with National City's skyline, and there at the center of the picture, Lena stood on her balcony, her face uplifted to the sky, where Kara hovered in plain clothes.

Maybe she couldn't push the words out, but what if she gave Lena this painting? What if she tried to tell her in other ways?

It's not the first time she'd tried. Over and over, she'd struggled with when to share the secret. With when to burden Lena and likely put her in even more danger.

How many attempted assassinations could Kara thwart before one finally hit Lena for good?

No, Kara couldn't let that happen. She kept the secret to protect Lena from more harm, right?

The sky in the painting looked bleak, empty. She dipped her paintbrush into several warm hues and painted spots of stars and a crescent moon.

But it all felt so flat.

Frustrated, she threw her paintbrush and it embedded itself in the side of her counter, the wood splintered.

Lena was hurting, and Kara was here, painting like a fool. As if any of this could ever fix things. She desperately wanted to fly to Lena's side. To wrap her up and tell her how much she was loved, that Kara would do anything for her.

A knock sounded at her door before the click of a key and the twist of the doorknob. Alex stepped into the entryway. "Kara?" She shut the door behind her. "You okay? I heard about Catco from Nia."

Kara stomped to the sofa and dropped onto it, her face in her hands. "Andrea is ruining it." Pain coated her voice. "Catco's a home to me, Alex, and it's just all wrong. I don't understand what's happening."

"So Lena did sell it." Alex sat on the sofa next to her. "Do you know why?"

"She needed the sale to invest in a new project," Kara said, tonelessly. She dropped her hands into her lap, and flicked a piece of candy off the TV table. It flew and embedded itself in the wall next to the flatscreen.

"Huh. That's weird." Alex frowned and grabbed a napkin. She sweeped up the rest of the candy before Kara could flick another piece. "She bought it for you I thought."

"She said it was a good investment," Kara protested, weakly.

"Right, you two keep saying that, but everyone knows that's not true." Alex rolled up the napkin and dropped it into a used cup. "She had no experience leading a media empire, didn't even like journalism, and yet she bought it after you came to her for help saving it? Then she leads it despite not having any training? And don't even with the glances you two kept giving each other when you thought the other wasn't looking."

Every bit of evidence made Kara sink deeper into the sofa. She wished it'd swallow her up forever.

"No, Lena didn't buy it for anyone but you. So whatever is going on?" Alex tapped her fingers against her leg, and for the first time in a long time, she looked reluctant to speak. Usually she just bluntly said the truth that Kara needed to hear, but that hesitation fueled Kara's growing anxiety.

Alex knew something was wrong with Lena too.

"I don't know what to do," Kara whispered.

Alex sighed. "Don't push things. Whatever happened Lena will tell you when she's ready, okay?"

Kara pressed a hand to her face. "She asked me to leave her be for a week. But she promised to come to the Pulitzer's."

"See? That's a good sign." Alex's comforting felt bizarre to Kara. "She cares, and she did just lose her brother. Us humans work through our grief in different ways. It'll be okay, I'm sure."

Kara wasn't sure who Alex meant to convince. "I need to tell her the truth, but I can't seem to do it. The words won't come." She jumped to her feet and walked over to her canvas. "I thought, maybe, if I gave her this instead?"

Alex turned. "It could help, but you need to tell her directly, Kara, to avoid misunderstandings. Believe me, those can ruin a relationship." She grimaced, likely reminded of her relationship with Maggie and how increasing misunderstandings eventually broke it apart.

Kara didn't know what to say to that. The truth stared at her from the painting.

She was a coward. A selfish coward. She'd wanted Lena as her best friend, her cuddle buddy, and maybe something more without ever allowing herself to fully commit.

She was lying to herself. Lying to Lena. Lying to everyone.

She tore the canvas in half. "Fine," she said. "I got a week to figure out how to tell her. And I'll do it directly. Happy?"

"It's not me you need to say that too, Kara," Alex said, gently. "Do this how you and Lena need it."

"What if she rejects me?" That wretched fear had Kara pacing in a growing panic. "What if she hates me? I've lied to her for years. She hates lying."

"Kara. Stop." Alex caught her arm. "Maybe give her a chance? She might surprise you."

Kara knew Alex was just trying to comfort her, but it brought her no comfort. All she could think of is how closed off Lena had been, how she'd been barred from accessing Lena freely, and how Catco was in the hands of someone hellbent on ripping apart all of her and James' hard work.

***

On Krypton, one's house was integral to one's life. That family bound a person forever, and building up the house was as important as the work within one's guild.

These thoughts wove through Kara as she headed to the Art Museum where the Pulitzer's Award Ceremony would be hosted.

For Kara, on Earth where guilds and houses didn't truly exist, she'd created her own family. One built upon a tenuous foundation, where half-truths and lies cracked and tilted the family she'd built atop it. Her house on Earth hid in the dark, loomed in the shadows, crept forward in disguise.

Kara Zor El Danvers was a fraud, wasn't she?

She thought of Jindah Kol Rozz. "You know nothing of the nature of destruction. You are a child, living in light. But there is darkness in all things. In every soul you know. Who will it take?"

Was she a child living in light?

The secret suffocated her. That was her darkness, her pain, her fear, her loss. Coiled deep within her heart, and she'd done this willingly to herself and her family.

She'd set them on this dark journey of lies.

She thinks of the alien detector device Lena had been so excited to show her. How Lena thought it'd somehow bring more transparency to the world, but instead had ended its production to make imagers instead.

What if Kara had not sabotaged it and just relied on her instincts to trust Lena?

Would Lena have accepted her? They could have been a powerhouse together, a Super and a Luthor working to better the world for all people. She could maybe even work on science projects with Lena, where she didn't hide that part of her.

Because she'd been genetically modified to do science, and yet all she had was her Supergirl suit and journalism.

She'd strayed so far from her role in House of El.

The door to the museum opened at her approach. Her footsteps echoed against the tiles. She smiled and nodded at the greetings of the hosts, of other attendees. Workers led her through the atrium and into the large auditorium with a stage at its back, heavy red curtains hiding it from view. Tables were scattered across the floor with high stools, and paintings and plants hung from the walls. The ceiling held a massive chandelier, and the soft yellow glow permeated the space with light.

A light Kara darkened with her lies.

Alex, Kelly, Nia, Brainy, and J'onn were already here. Kara walked toward them, her heart in her throat. Her eyes scanned the rest of the guests, and she paused at the sight of Sam. She leaned against a pillar by one of the paintings. Her suit grey and white, and her eyes scanned the party nonchalantly.

What was Sam doing here?

Sam caught her eye, but she didn't smile. Her piercing look seared through Kara, as if Sam demanded Kara do something. Sam broke the eye contact first and looked up at the balcony above the stage.

Following Sam's gaze, Kara froze, her eyes widening. Lena stood there like a goddess, her eyes locked on her tablet. She wore a simple maroon suit, her hair in loose waves around her face. Beautiful and magnificent.

Kara didn't deserve her.

Brainy pulled away from Nia and the group and bounded over to Kara. "I have a wonderful surprise." He pulled out a small silver container, pressed his finger inside it, and held it up. Kara couldn't see anything there. "I have crafted you a new suit based on Lena's designs." He tapped the side of Kara's glasses. "Now when you whip off your glasses, the suit will materialize over your clothes."

"Oh, thanks, Brainy." Her stomach clenched at the mention of Lena's contribution to the new suit. "I'll try it out after the ceremony."

Brainy nodded. "Let me know if there are any complications. Congratulations, Kara. You're doing excellent work."

Kara wasn't so sure. Not anymore.

Not since her daily texts to Lena stopped.

Not since Lena sold Catco.

Not since Lena shut her out and blocked her entrance to L-Corp.

Not since the foundation of her family fractured under the pressure and weight of her secret.

No, she wasn't doing excellent work.

She was a coward. A selfish, coward, and she couldn't let this continue.

Alex, Kelly, and the others tried to talk to Kara, but she couldn't engage them in conversation. She did everything she could to excuse herself, and she hurried for the balcony.

Lena had stepped away from the balcony's railing and through red curtains to a hallway and stairwell for the lower stage.

Kara caught her there.

"Kara!" Lena looked up in surprise. "Lovely seeing you here." Her smile was warm, and her eyes crinkled. Yet her scent held that acidic tone, not at all the sweet one she usually had. No, something was still wrong. "I admit, I hoped to surprise you. I asked to assist the ceremony since, you know, we worked hard together to find my brother, so as your best friend, I offered to to be the one..."

Panic wove through Kara as Lena continued to speak about her plan to present Kara with the award.

"Lena please!" Kara interrupted in desperation. "You can't give it. Not until…" She took off her glasses, breathed in deeply, and blurted the truth. "I'm Supergirl!" Words tumbled from Kara's mouth in an avalanche. "And I'm so, so sorry. I should have told you ages ago, but I loved being just Kara with you. And I was afraid to lose you, and I can't lose you."

Lena froze, her eyes wide, but she said nothing.

Fear swept into terror that this was the end of her friendship, and Kara couldn't bear that. She leaned toward Lena and spread her hands in anguish. "So I thought I could be just Kara with you, and I convinced myself I wouldn't lose you then…. but I've been a fool. And I've been selfish. If I could just be Kara with you, if I could just…" Kara struggled to hold back her tears. "I've been lying to myself too. I thought I was protecting you, but I've been hurting you, haven't I? And I can't bear that. Gosh, Lena, I'm so sorry."

Lena said nothing. Her mouth briefly parted, but no words exited. She only stared at Kara as tears brimmed in her eyes.

"Lena," Kara said, anguished, "Please say something."

And yet, Lena said nothing.

The host announced behind them the ceremony would start soon.

Lena stepped around Kara, silently, and walked away.

***

It takes over an hour to stop Midnight, the newest alien to try to kill Kara and her family. She'd saved Lena from Midnight's black hole blasts. The suit Brainy made -- had pants! -- and worked like a charm, able to deflect far more energy and punches than her prior one.

Armor had been stitched into every layer, likely Lena's contribution. She felt as if Lena was hugging her with the suit.

Once Alex and J'onn secured Midnight and clean-up began, Kara searched the evacuees. She found Sam and Kelly with Lena, but they had ducked into one of Lena's towncars.

Sam turned to look back over the crowd. Her gaze caught Kara's, and she frowned, her eyebrows furrowed. Kara dodged around several paramedics tending to wounded, but as she neared the towncar, Sam shook her head.

Ducking inside, Sam shut the door and the towncar pulled away.

Kara watched it go, confused and worried. She could hear all three of their heartbeats. Kellly and Sam's was a steady, healthy beat.

But Lena's was not. Weaker than normal, the murmur more pronounced.

She thought of Lena's speech. How she'd extolled Kara's honesty, truthfulness, and altruistic virtues.

But that was all wrong. Kara wasn't honest. She hadn't been truthful to Lena or Kelly or Sam.

She'd hid her true self, only allowed it out in brief glimpses during game nights, walks in parks, or jokes over lunch. Only Alex and Lena had seen those true glimpses, but of the two, only Alex knew the full story.

A hand touched her shoulder. "Supergirl?"

She turned to see Nia.

"We need your help moving some debris. Sorry." She glanced toward the street, where the towncar vanished from view the intersection.

"Okay." Kara put aside her worries and got back to work.

No matter what happened after today, Kara would not let Lena go without a fight. Lena was part of her family, and Kara did not give up on family.

She had to have hope that somehow, someway, Lena and her could work through this dark chapter.

And Lena herself had said during the ceremony, "I'll always be your friend."

Kara held that sentiment close and chose to hope.

To hope that everything really will be okay between them.

Because if not, Kara feared she'd fall deeper into darkness, and finally be what Jindah Kol Rozz had predicted. "But there is darkness in all things. In every soul you know."

She hadn't fully understood Jindah, but as she turned to follow Nia, she finally understood.

Kara Zor El Danvers believed herself to be good. To be a child of light, to be a fighter of justice and hope.

But the darkness of her lies casted long shadows, poisoning everything she touched.

"Kara, what happened?" Alex saw her sister sitting on the sofa, sulking miserably and watching cartoons with a bowl of popcorn and an ice cream, as she entered her apartment.

"Nothing" was the sad answer and a pout, aimed her way.

"Honey, if you are watching cartoons with a popcorn AND an ice cream - it's not nothing. The only missing piece are potstickers.. and here they are" her big sister was always so observing.

"So, what happened, Kara-bear? Are you hurt?"

"Stop, Alex, you know I hate this nickname." said Kara, but smiled nonetheless, because it reminded her of the times, when they were kids. "And no, I'm not hurt, everything is ok"

"When what, just tell me, I'm starting to really worry, and I'm serious right now."

Kara signed. "Lena went to Metropolis for a business meeting"

'Ah, I see" the readhead smiled that secret smile, that she had everytime Kara was talking or looking at Lena. "I should have known"

"Alex, it's not funny!' Kara whinined. "She was supposed to land like 10 minutes ago and still hadn't answered my text or calls!"

"Honey, I'm sure she is simply busy and will answer you as soon as possible. Also, why can't you just fly to her?" She tried not to smile at the goofiness of her sister.

"Because she specifically had told to me not to, because it will distracting for both of us and tiring for me in the end!" Kara was showing how unhappy she was with this decision. "It's been like 4 hours 30 minutes 46 seconds and I don’t know how is she! Also, nothing is distracting me: I watched this cartoon like a hundred times, the ice cream is warm, popcorn is burnt already and nothing is right without her, Alex, and I just..." The sound of the message had stopped her rambling.

"Let me guess, judging by your smile and shining eyes its Lena, right?" Alex said, almost laughing now.

"She said that she is sorry for not answering earlier and that she loves me and will talk to me a little bit later in the evening!" Kara's smile was brighter than the sun.

"Well, in that case let me join you here to watch cartoons and eat this delicious ice cream and also to listen how you were totally not pining after your wife"

Using the gift

Oct 18. Ok, I’m back for #Supercorptober2024. The today’s theme is “CatCo”.

I’m not going to fuck Supergirl, she promised herself.

There were two things Lena was very certain of in life: Kara was straight as a board, and Supergirl wanted Lena just as badly as Lena wanted her. The tension with the latter seemed to crackle with every late night conversation in her office, with every last minute save.

But it didn’t matter. One good lay wasn’t worth risking her friendship with Kara Danvers. If things went south with Supergirl, and Kara’s friendship with the kryptonian outranked her friendship with Lena…

Well, Lena wasn’t going to find out.

---

I’m not going to fuck Supergirl.

She didn’t want to, not anymore. Not with the kryptonian’s angry eyes trained on her, the completely unearned distrust. I did nothing wrong by making kryptonite.

Lena glared back, trying to distract herself from the tension between her legs. “This may come as a shock to you,” she snarled back, ignoring the electric charge between, “But I don’t think about you while I’m doing it.”

Okay. So it was a freudian slip.

But she wasn’t going to fuck Supergirl.

---

So she… started to develop feelings for the super.

The feelings still didn’t come close to the flame she held for Kara Danvers. The pointless, fruitless flame. What she wanted with the shy reporter was far more than one night, whereas her interest in Supergirl remained purely physical.

But as Supergirl sorted through Lex’s notebooks in the prison, Lena found that there was sympathy mixed with the tension. She knew what it was like to be falsely accused, to be framed for a crime she didn’t commit - and she felt the guilt of her role too, in helping Lex.

But still, the kryptonian looked at her with familiar and lonely eyes. God, it would be so easy…

If she could just forget Kara, meet her needs without strings attached, have a meaningless night with the reporter’s high-powered friend… But it wouldn’t be right, and it still wasn’t worth the risk. I’m not going to fuck Supergirl.

---

Fuck Supergirl.

Hatred buzzed in her veins after her brother’s death, and all she wanted to do was tell the blonde superpowered reporter to go fuck herself.

It was odd, Lena thought. With Kara so sad and weeping at the Pulitzer, Lena knew she had the kryptonian wrapped around her finger. How far would she go?, Lena mulled. If there was no longer a friendship to protect, what did it matter if Lena had Kara soothe her more primal needs?

In the early days, her fantasies had been about the shy and bashful reporter, or the demanding kryptonian. And after finding out Kara’s true identity, her fantasies became more base - hatefucks and betrayals. Any way to release some of the tension before sleep, to satisfy the burning temptation.

But she suspected it would destroy her. I’m not going to fuck Supergirl.

---

Fuck, Kara…

Lena was panicked as she rushed across the city, realizing the trap she had fallen into with Lex, worrying that something would happen - or had happened - to Kara. This is my fault, my fault, she thought, knocking on Kara’s door.

Her breath caught as the blonde answered. Relief that Kara was alive, shame that Kara and the others were in danger because of her. Anything else was pushed far out of her mind.

Far too quickly, Kara was sent to the phantom zone. Lena barely slept, and fantasized about nothing.

---

Then there were the happy tears. Standing in the Tower, Lena couldn’t believe Kara had returned to her - the world felt surreal as she felt Kara’s arms wrap around her.

It wasn’t long after that Kara pressed her lips against Lena’s, and Lena discovered that the kryptonian had many fantasies of her own. Whereas once she had thought Kara to be shy, and Supergirl to be controlling, Lena was delighted to find her insatiably creative.

I’m not going to fuck Supergirl, she had once promised herself.

Apple pie

Oct 9. here's the next drawing for #Supercorptober2024. The today’s theme is “Apple”.

"And the hero rescued the princess from the dragon den and they lived happily ever after" said the red haired woman.

"Mommy, do the heros exist in real life?" asked the little girl with green eyes a dark curly hair.

"Lena, mo stór, of course they do! Some of them you can see with your own eyes, but some of them you can't, unfortunately. But they are here, among us!"

"Can I meet them, though, can I??!" the little girl can barely contain her eagerness.

"Sure, sweetie, I'll tell you something, but it has to be our secret, alright?" She winks at her daughter. "You will meet your hero, but you'll have to wait a little bit longer, ok?"

"Ok, but how i will be able to recognize them?" a small adorable crinkle appeared between the two dark brows.

"Oh, you'll know immediately, believe me, honey " the woman just chuckled "they will be strong, stronger than every one of us, but kind and gentle with people and you, especially. They will have the hair, kissed by the sun and sky colored eyes. They will also have a big, but fragile heart, that you must be careful with, as well as protect and cherish yours, ok baby?"

"Yes, mommy, I'll try my best" said the little girl, yawning and closing her eyes. "Will you tell me another story?"

"Of course! Once upon a time, there was a girl, who was promised to be a great scientist, but life, unfortunately, not always goes like we plan..."

A life shrouded in lies, half-lies, and distorted truth is a life half-lived. Lena knows this, but she doesn't know how to shake herself free from it.

She thought perhaps Kara Danvers was her escape. The sweet, loving reporter, who believed so strongly in her. Until the Reign crisis, until Lena almost lost her best friend Sam, until Lex's escape, until Supergirl nearly died, until she stood in the bunker where she knew Lex would hide.

A gun weighs so heavy sometimes.

And a body carries so much blood.

And a shattered heart burns with the pain of a thousand daggers. The wall of TVs haunt her, the echoes of past moments, where Kara Danvers used Supergirl-like powers to save Lena's life.

Over and over, she saved Lena's life, and yet lied to her face about who actually saved her. Half-truths, half-lies, half a life.

She's half a person, isn't she?

Lex laughs at her, calls her a fool.

She cocks her gun, her mouth in a grim line. Tears sting her face like needles. She loved her brother once.

But he used her. Used her to wreak havoc -- all for what? For a brief moment of adoration from the world? There's nothing left of the kind brother she thought she knew from childhood. Nothing but a hatred of Kryptonians and a narcissism bigger than the planet Earth.

Her rage and grief coils through her arms, sinks into her fingers, and she fires one last time.

The bang explodes against her eardrums, and this time the bullet hits Lex in the head.

He slumps as blood dribbles down his forehead.

She gasps back a sob, and shoots the TVs too, until her bullets run out and she throws the gun to the side. The computer is still on, and she leaps forward to dig through its storage.

Except all that footage of Kara Danvers with superpowers is slowly being uploaded to the damn satellite network Lex loves to use. It's still possible to disturb that, prevent this exposure, end this for once.

Kara lied to her though.

Kara saved her though.

Both truths exist in tandem. Two halves of a circle.

Why save her if only to lie? Is the lie a protection? Is the saving guilt?

Lena's fingers dance across the keys. The upload progresses, and her attempts to stop it are rapidly failing. Lex has thought of most of her usual tricks, but there is one he doesn't yet know. One she has used to hack into the DEO, to better understand what the government contract Haley was offering her.

And there she'd found several footage of Kara Danvers outside the suit in sweatpants punching concrete blocks.

With Supergirl wanted at the time, Lena couldn't let that lie. She could see the similarities far too easily, now that the suit was no longer blinding her. So she ran a virus that deleted or corrupted the stored videos. All of them since focusing on just Kara's would be too suspicious.

That's part of the reason she took the government contract. She could more easily help Kara/Supergirl/whoever-she-is and dig more deeply into the growing hellhole of lies.

Instead, she'd found a rapidly escalating situation: Alex being short and cruel to Supergirl as if she didn't know her, Supergirl being framed by a lookalike and Lena's brother, Haley on the rampage to end the lookalike/possibly-Supergirl threat, and a growing pressure to make super soldiers for the US's military purposes.

She'd done this to herself.

Her own lies and half-truths form their own insidious circle.

She's nothing but half-a-person, living half a life.

She keys the virus, and it sweeps through the computer like wildfire. In a manner of seconds, the upload is corrupted, the local network fried, and the computer bricked.

But she knows her brother. This isn't the only place he had this footage. He likely has a back-up elsewhere, but she's rapidly running low on adrenaline. Her rage shifts to grief, and she turns to her motionless brother.

She can't leave him here, and yet she can't carry him out. She looks around the room, and notes it's all metal and concrete. It'll hold the fire.

It takes a few minutes to rip into the wooden desk, toss its drawers around Lex's body, and dump one on his head. She can't bear to see his glassy eye anymore.

Her vision wavers with tears. She digs through her pockets, but she has only her Swiss army knife. And her pistol lays on the floor still. She carefully picks her tool and proceeds to use a very old trick to start a fire.

It takes three tries before the flames begin to lick across the wood. She feeds the flames until they roar and sizzle, until they eat through part of a drawer, until they creep up Lex's pants, until the smell drives her from the room in a growing revulsion.

She locks the bunker and changes the key to open it.

Mindlessly, she climbs the long ladder to the surface. She steps onto grass but fails to see the breeze parting the fronds, or the tree branches waving to and fro.

She sees only fire, sees only death, sees only lies and half-truths.

Half a person, who walks half a life, who loves half a girl.

Lena slips into auto pilot, her pain and grief burning her from the inside out, and the lifeless eyes of her brother haunts her. The helicopter takes her back to Washington D.C. There she boards the private jet.

Scotch is in her hands. She drinks until her head feels like liquid, and her bones like lead weights.

Her feet stumble into a car. She finds herself in an elevator at one point.

Her door opens with a push of her hand against the side panel. A bleak white and grey aesthetic greets her, and it breaks through her mindless walk. Rage sears her, and she destroys the penthouse. Throws glasses from the cabinets, grabs a knife and tears apart the bland sofa and pillows, cuts apart all the paintings except for the one Kara Danvers gave her.

The kitchen and living room seethe with destruction. Even her precious books are scattered and the bookshelves tipped over.

She heaves and sucks in unsteady breaths. Her phone is ringing.

Her phone is ringing.

Why is her phone ringing?

Terror grips her, and for a second, she's certain it's her brother back from the death to laugh at her again. To taunt her for failing to truly kill him. To show he'd somehow faked it and her bullets never actually hit him, and the fire was easily snuffed out.

It rings again.

She ignores it and steps into her bedroom. Here the colors are shades of red, pink, and lavender. Here she tried to add some life to her dismal half an existence.

She grabs a bag and stuffs it full of practical clothes. A few of her unread books gets tossed in as well, some protection like mace and her back-up pistol, her sword heels, and some tennis shoes. Her current clothes she dumps in a metal box, lights it on fire, and seals it.

Where is she going?

Who can she trust?

Her brother is dead.

She is a murderer.

A half-person who haunts her own life, who loves half a girl, who fights for half a friend, half a life, half of everything.

Her feet lead her outside, and she walks for hours, uncertain of her destination, the backpack heavy on her back. Her clothes is a hoodie Kara had given her, and her jeans riddled with splotches of paint from days she and Kara played with paints.

Her phone rings.

It rings again.

Why is it ringing?

Her hands shake as she lifts it up to stare at its screen.

Alex Danvers calls. Why does she call?

Lena doesn't know why she hits accept. She has no idea what to say. Her mind is only half present.

"Lena, lena, where are you? Are you okay? I've been trying to--"

She lets out a strangle sob. How can she say the words? How can she articulate what she's done?

"Lena? Hey, talk to me. If you're in trouble, we can get you out."

Her breaths come faster and faster. Hyperventilating, panic, notions her brain half acknowledges.

The wall of TVs flutter through her thoughts. The likely back-ups Lex has. What else does he have? What other evidence has he compiled? Who else will soon be targeted?

Her autopilot kicks into gear. Her phone tucks into her pocket with trembling hands. Visits an ATM and pulls out a thousand dollars. She waves down our taxi, shoves a few hundred dollar bills into their hands, orders them to drive to a location that's halfway to the DEO's entrance.

She walks.

And walks.

Her vision wavers like a mirage in a desert. Her feet ache in her shoes. The sky glares down at her in judgement.

The gates to the DEO are locked and manned by guards. They bar her entrance.

"I must talk to Director Alex Danvers," she says, over and over as if this will somehow be the key to unlock their obstinate refusal.

It takes several minutes to dig into her backpack and find her ID. She shoves it in their faces, and the gate is unlocked. She's still on contract.

The building squats like a turtle in the Californian semi-desert. Half a desert. More halves, more places shrouded in lies and half-truths.

More guards stand in her way at the entrance to the building. She shoves her ID in their faces and yells in a growing rage.

She's exhausted. Her head splinters with a headache. She wants to lie down and just stop existing.

But one thing pushes her forward. That half-a-truth which links her to Kara still. The love that still burns in harmony with her rage and grief.

Alex Danvers meets her at the top of the stairs to the control room. "Lena?" Uncertainty clouds her face.

"I know." She says. "He knew." She can't hold it in anymore. Tears freely flow. Her mask disintegrates, her autopilot evaporates, and she stumbles, her strength waning.

Alex catches her and leads her to the medical bay. Once the door shuts, Lena grabs Alex's shirt.

"I killed him." She gasps back a sob. "I killed my brother. I didn't know what else to do. I killed him."

"Holy shit." Alex wraps her in a hug. "It's okay. I get it."

"No, no you don't!" Lena pulls away and the urge to rip apart the medical room surges through her. She swipes her arm across a desk, and instruments tumble to the floor with bangs that echo the firing of her pistol.

"He knew about Kara." She turns to Alex. "I -- I stopped one upload, but how many backups does he have? He always has back-ups. Always has a plan." She's shaking and on the verge of just screaming until she passes out. "He's dead. I killed my own brother." She slides to the floor, her face in her hands. "What have I done?"

Blood is on her hands. There's no blood on her hands. Half a vision, half a reality, half a person. She's here and not here. She's present but not present.

Alex sits beside her. "You did what you had to do," she says quietly. "I would have done the same."

"To your own sister?" Lena snarls.

"Yes. Max Lord made red kryptonite one day," Alex's tone changes from stoic to grief-filled, "it infected Kara. All her worst thoughts, urges, the darkest parts of us unleashed with no ability to stop it. I had to fight my own sister, use green kryptonite to take her in, and I knew, that day, if I had to kill her, I'd do it. Because the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the one."

Lena looks at Alex, stunned. She has never heard this story.

"Kara blames herself still for that. It's why she loses her head at the mention of any synthesized kryptonite. We all have our demons. We all have darkness, and when pushed to the edge, when there's no other way out, what else can we do but fight for survival?" Alex meets Lena's gaze with a sad smile.

Her words calm the raging turmoil, and the half of Lena that had been in shock rumbles back to life. "We need to find all his back-ups. I need access to your network."

"You'll have it." Alex turns and looks her over carefully. "But I'd like to do a health check on you first."

Lena shakes her head. Determination mingles with her rage and grief. "No time. He could easily program it to upload at any moment. I stopped one. How many more?"

The task grows and grows in her mind, and the shimmering terror and anguish trickles through her.

"I can't lose her." Her voice breaks on the pronoun, and she presses her hands against her face. "I can't live this half-life with her. I can't keep going like this. I need all the truth. All of her."

"She's in the sunroom. I don't recommend entering that unless you have specialized gear." Alex lets out a careful breath. "She's been asking for you nonstop."

Lena takes a shuddering breath.

And makes a decision.

No more half living. No more half truths. No more half lies. No more being half a person.

But to end her half an existence, she has to make a choice. Kara or oblivion.

Kara or oblivion.

She thinks of that moment on the Catco balcony when she confessed to helping Lex deal with cancer, how he'd used her. Kara had held her close and said, "You are not weak. You are a brilliant, kind-hearted, beautiful soul."

Her brother wants her to break. He wants her isolated. Wants her to lose everything.

But there's one thing left Lex can't ever reach. Even in the raging inferno of grief, the love she has burns her heart still. She knows what she must do.

"Take me to her and give me a tablet to the network." Her decision flushes through her muscles, jerks her back to her feet, and her hands grip her backpack straps.

"Lena Luthor?"

A man stood before Lena. He was in his 50s, balding, and wore a pair of thick spectacles. He was staring down at a clipboard.

"Here we go— Lena Luthor, born October 24, 1994," He said.

Lena looked around. She was standing in a featureless white void, nothing in sight except herself and the man in front of her.

"Where am I?"

"Where—" The man looked up at Lena. "Have I not given you the— hold on". He flipped a few pages on his clipboard and began reading in a dull monotone. "Welcome to the afterlife. Yes, you are dead. No, this is not heaven. No, this is not hell. I am a higher dimensional being here to help place you into an appropriate afterlife experience. No, I am not an angel. No, I am not a demon. Please hold all questions until the end." He flipped back to his previous clipboard page.

"If you're a higher dimensional being, why do you have a British accent?" Lena asked.

"Oh, we find this process goes faster if we present as someone you find slightly irritating." He said, "Fewer questions this way."

"Why does it matter how long it takes? Is time even real here?"

The man looked up from his clipboard in irritation.

"Okay fine, sorry. Continue"

"Thank you. Alright, let's see what you got up to." The man began mumbling off events in Lena's life one after another. "Moved to National City… saved the world from your mother… very good, very good… helped save the world that time as well… black Kryptonite, hmm…"

Lena stared incredulously at the being who would decide her fate.

"…then you trapped your soulmate in some sort of castle on the south pole…"

"Hold on, who says she's my soulmate?"

"…even though she was just trying to help you…"

"Do soulmates even exist?"

"Yes, they do." The man said factually, looking up. "Says she's your soulmate right here" He turned his clipboard around to face Lena. The page he had been reading from was completely unintelligible to human eyes, a mass of incomprehensible symbols and characters that swirled and shifted across its surface. The man turned the clipboard back around, apparently satisfied he had proven his point, and returned to mumbling his way through Lena's accomplishments.

"…attempted to reprogram the consciousness of everyone on earth… well, everyone needs a hobby I suppose but that wasn't very…"

"I was trying to help." Lena protested "Trying to fix humanity."

"That was your first mistake." The man said without looking up. "And then you were killed by a…" The man flipped to the next page. "Space laser. In a secret mountain hideout. Well, might as well go out with a bang."

"Is my life just a joke to you?" Lena was starting to raise her voice. "Who are you to judge me anyway?"

"It's my job." He said, still not looking up. He seemed completely unfazed by this outburst.

"It's easy for you, you don't know what it's like down there." Lena was yelling now. "I had nobody. My whole life, I was alone. The only person who ever stood up for me, ever believed in me at all was Kara, and I—"

Lena paused as her anger melted and settled into a pit in her stomach.

"—and I hurt her. The only person who was there for me."

She turned away from the man and stared off into the void.

"My soulmate."

Lena collapsed into a sitting position.

"Kara."

Noticing that Lena had finished talking, the man began to explain something about evaluation criteria. Lena had stopped listening. She considered taking off into the void, looking for some way back, some way to fix things. But she knew it was futile. She was dead. She was—

Lena's train of thought was cut off by the sound of a phone ringing. Lena looked up. An early 20th century wall telephone had materialized in midair next to the spectacled man. He didn't seem particularly surprised, but stopped talking and picked up the earpiece.

"Hello?" He said, still sounding bored. "Yes, she's here."

Lena stared up from what was either the floor or the ground, depending on if boundless voids counted as outside.

"What?" Now he was surprised. Irritated, even. "The Lazarus Pit? I thought we agreed to stop giving them ways to do this."

Lena tried not to enjoy his frustration.

"What do you mean grandfathered in?"

He sighed in exasperation at whatever his colleague was saying on the other end.

"Fine. But you're doing all the paperwork for this." He said finally, hanging up the earpiece with slightly more force than necessary.

"Alright." He said, looking back at Lena, "Some soulmate you've got there."

"What?"

"Off you go." Said the man, and clapped once. Everything went dark.

Lena opened her eyes. She was floating in cool water, staring up at iridescent blue light dancing across a dark cave ceiling. A pair of strong arms supported her floating body, holding her head out of the water.

"Lena?" Kara's concerned voice echoed around the cave.

"Kara." Lena tried to straighten up but found herself sitting in Kara's arms, looking up at her soulmate.

"Lena, are you okay?" Kara met Lena's gaze "I thought I lost you. I'm sorry—"

"No, I'm sorry." Said Lena, cutting Kara off. "For everything. Can we start over?"

"Of course we can." Kara said softly. "Just stay with me."

(on ao3 here) (note: this got out of control AND barely fits the prompt. Oops?)

"Oh! I forgot!" Kara says as she spins around from the door to Lena's office and digs through her bag. "I made you a mix CD!" She produces the CD and hands it to Lena. It's in a clear plastic case with a slip of paper in the cover, listing out the tracks in blue pen.

"A mix CD?" Lena asks curiously, turning it over in her hands.

Kara nods vigorously, a slight blush on her face. "Yeah! I used to make them all the time when I first got to Earth. All the kids at school would make them, and it was a way for me to learn Earth culture. You know, through music," Kara's voice breaks a little, like it does when she talks about her early years on Earth. "It kind of became a way to express myself. Alex and I would make each other mix CDs all the time. And, in case you don't have a CD player anymore, ta da!" Kara digs around in her bag and produces a blue portable CD player with what look like 20 year old headphones. "It still works, I tested it yesterday. Though, you might want to use different headphones. Those were the ones I used as a kid, and I blew out the left speaker," Kara rambles as she passes the CD player over.

Kara is always an odd one, but Lena absolutely adores that about her. She can always count on Kara to liven up an afternoon with a funny story, a silly joke, or a random surprise like this one.

"Thanks, Kara. That's really sweet of you," Lena says, smiling. Kara grasps the straps of her bag and shifts her feet.

"It was nothing. Just something that made me think of you. Of—of us." Lena's heart skips a beat. "Let me know what you think of it," Kara says with a wink before opening the door and waving goodbye.

There were no leaves on Krypton. At least, by the time Kara was born. There weren't hardly any trees either, really. Yes, they had the examples in their most advanced labs on Kara's planet, which the scientists (including her father) were trying really hard to plant and grow accordingly, but... it was too late. The damage was already done. Permanently.

That's why Kara was awestruck by the sheer beauty, wilderness and variety of Earth's flora and fauna. The blue of the sky, the deep of the ocean, the smell of the different flowers, the force of the wind and water - all was exiting and inspiring for her. It was the first thing she fell in love with here, on Earth.

The second, though... Well, it was not a thing, really. It was a gratitude and affection she saw, shining in the slightly mismatched green blue eyes, looking at her. It was the way her best friend's eyes crinkled at the corners and her dimples were on display whenever Kara's said a joke. (Yes, it was a good joke, Alex, shush) It was the way rays of early sunshine had hit Lena's hair just right to create a beautiful halo. It was the way Lena's hugs and her heartbeat always always reminded her of her home. Her true home. It were these small things that made Lena - Lena. Kara's Lena. It was in the way Lena had held her hand, kissed her and told her 'ill cherish you forever, my darling', that Kara knew - she'll remember and treasure this moment with her wife for eternity.

The very first time Lena had mentioned it, it was to tell Kara she couldn’t go with her to the farmer’s market the following Saturday.

"I’m sorry darling, I-I have to tend to my garden". Curiosity picked, Kara ignored the hesitation and the pet name and went directly to the questions burning on her tongue. "You have a garden?", "Since when do you have a garden?", "Why haven’t you mentioned it before?", "I feel like as your best friend, I should have know about that".

Lena chuckled at the now pouting blonde.

"I’ve had it for several years and only a handful of people know about it. And you know the old adage, it’s good to keep some kind of mystery. Secret garden and all that." She winked at the double entendre.

"But don’t worry, maybe I’ll show it to you one day, if you play your cards right", Lena added, eyes sparkling with mirth and cheeks slightly rosier than before.

She then left it at that, not offering any more details.

Over the following days, Kara tried to broach the subject again but Lena didn’t seem too willing to share this part of herself and remained evasive. So Kara decided to drop it for now even if, deep inside, she was dying to know more.

The next time the enigmatic garden was brought up again was entirely by accident. Kara had been thinking about it. A lot. But she was being a good friend to Lena and respected her privacy, so she had buttoned her lips.

Until one morning, a bit distracted, she entered Lena’s office and noticed a simple yet elegant flower arrangement on her desk. "Oh, those are beautiful! Are they from your garden?" She asked before realising she mentioned the forbidden topic.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean -"

Lena chuckled lightly. "It’s okay, Kara", she interrupted the blonde before she could launch herself into a ramble. "And no, those are not from my garden. But I do have roses and daisies in parts of it". She said as she gently touched the petal of one of the flower in question.

Time went by and as busy as they all were, the matter slipped out of Kara’s focus. It was still resurfacing every now and then, in passing, but Kara never got any additional information about it and it didn’t bothered all that much anymore.

More time went by and the pair found themselves growing closer to each other, slowly pushing the boundaries of their friendship.

Until finally, after a lot of flirting (from Lena’s side) and a lot of blushing (from Kara’s side), the blonde finally put her big girl pants on and asked her best friend out on a date.

One date turned into two and soon the two women were exploring the new aspects the romance brought to their relationship.

On the morning after their first night together, Kara woke up fully rested, delightfully sated and entirely happy. A blinding smile spreading across her face.

It must have still been early, as the light was just beginning to shine through her windows. Lena was still asleep beside her, resting on her own belly. Kara raised her head slightly to get a better look at the (very naked) sleeping beauty lying next to her.

She noticed some dark marks on the brunette’s back. Propping herself on her elbow, Kara was then greeted with the view of an almost full back tattoo.

How had she not noticed that the night before? was Kara’s first question. She decided to blame it on eagerness and the sweet taste of Lena’s lips.

She brought up a hand to delicately trace the ink, making Lena stir. Only then did she picked up on the drawings themselves: dozens and dozens of flowers, of various shapes and sizes.

It took her a second, but then it finally clicked.

"The secret garden!", Kara gasped loudly.

That fully roused Lena, who turned around, laughing gleefully.