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#lena will never reveal where the jacket is
honeyl3mn · 1 year
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saw kara's new suit by Dan Mora and my first thought was:
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vox-ex · 6 months
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Kara
Supercorptober 2023
The shortest poem is a name.” —Anne Michaels
----
Kara tried not to wince as Esme put another band-aid onto her arm, the brightly colored cartoon dinosaurs all but mocking the rest of the pain they couldn't possibly cover.
"Thanks Bug."
She tousled her hair with her good hand.
"Does it hurt when you don't have your powers, Aunt Kara?" Esme asked her brown eyes round with concern.
Kara managed a smile. "It hurts a little right now, but no, not really. It just feels...kind of funny without my powers."
Esme nodded and looked at her seriously, almost too seriously for being five years old. But she always tries to be honest with Esme about these things.
Kara leans in closer as she reaches up to put another bandaid on, this time on her chin.
"Want to know a secret?"
Esme nodded enthusiastically.
"Sometimes it's nice without my powers. I mean, I don't have to be as careful when I get excited and hug Aunt Lena."
Esme giggled. "Or kiss her!"
"Or kiss her," Kara admitted with a blush. But then her smile faded a bit. "I feel bad worrying your mom, though."
"Aunt Lena worries too," Esme said.
Kara's heart ached at the truth of it. "Yeah. She does."
She held her hand out revealing another angry cut, "So we better get me fixed up before she finds out, huh?."
But then the sudden echo of heels on tile had both of them turning and Kara's stomach dropping.
"Kara Zor-el Danvers!" Lena's voice rang out.
Kara and Esme exchanged wide-eyed looks.
"Do you think she knows?" Kara whispered.
Esme nodded gravely. "Last time Momma used my full name was when I kept that frog in my room without asking."
Lena swept into the Medbay, jacket unbuttoned, hair astray, and panic in her eyes. She looked undone in more ways than one.
"Kara..."
Her voice quiets the second time she says her name.
Maybe she looks worse than she thought. Maybe the band-aids weren't helping as much as she hoped.
Alex turned the corner, face buried in lab reports, nearly running into Lena's back.
"Oh!"
Alex glanced between them and Esme quickly overcoming her surprise. "Did she say her whole name?"
Esme nodded without a bit of sympathy for her Aunt. "Yup!" then did her best to sound like her Godmother. "Kara Zor-el Danvers!"
Kara's cheeks flushed, but her eyes didn't leave Lena's.
Alex looked between them again and stepped forward to scoop Esme off the table. "What do you say we give these two a minute alone, kiddo?"
As they made their way to the door, Esme reached out to get Lena's attention, tugging on the bottom of her coat.
Lena bent down just enough that Esme was able to whisper in her ear, and Kara didn't miss the fleeting smile it caused before she stands up again, smoothing Esme's hair, and thanking her for helping Kara feel better.
And just like that they’re alone.
And she all but expects another round of her whole name hurting towards her.
But Lena stayed put.
Stayed quiet.
And Kara can’t read her expression.
And without her heartbeat to go by, she feels even more lost.
"The full-name treatment huh? When you were mad before, it was always just Supergirl, never even Kara."
Lena sighed, dropping her head a little. "That's not funny...or fair."
So,...so lost.
Kara's heart clenched, and she looked down at her hands in her lap, silly dinosaur bandaids placed against her bloodstained suit.
"I know, I'm sorry."
Kara watched Lena's eyes flit back and forth between her and the room as if unsure of where to focus her attention. Finally, she lets out a long sigh and turned to face Kara fully.
"I was in a meeting. A stupid meeting. I had no idea you were even doing anything that could have gotten you hurt. Jess had to tell me!"
And Kara tries to ease heaviness that settles with Lena’s anger.
"You have a lot of meetings; the odds of me getting hurt during one had to have been pretty high."
But quickly pulled her lip between her teeth wanting to pull the words back too when she looks again at her.
"Right, sorry, not funny."
Lens stepped between her legs, hands resting on her thighs, eye glistening with tears no longer held back.
"I'm sorry...again."
Kara let her head fall gently against her chest as she let out another sigh.
"I just barely got used to worrying about you during the big stuff. You know, world-ending, catastrophe-avoiding days. But this was just a normal day. I didn't think about ever losing you on just a normal day."
And Kara wants to tell her how much she knows what that feels like, wants to tell her how fragile humans are, how much she worries about normal days all the time. But she knows Lena needs to be mad at her now, needs to be able to feel however she is feeling and have that feeling be about her.
Lena's hands tightened on her legs, fingers digging into the fabric of her suit, and it's like she saying. Sometimes it's nice. To feel, to know, to be able to understand through touch alone the depth that Lena is feeling something, needing something.
Kara placed her hands over Lena's.
"I'm okay."
Lena nodded and let Kara pull their bodies together until they were wrapped around each other.
"You're not wrong. It was easier to be mad or worried about Supergirl. But I love Kara Zor el Danvers, all of her."
Lena's hand came up to cup her chin, thumb tracing the edge of the bandaid there.
"Even when she looks a little foolish."
Lena leaned the warm press of her lips, replacing the cool skin of her hand.
Kara grinned sheepishly. "I may or may not have picked them out myself. I thought they might distract you. It was obviously not as successful as I hoped. "
Lena rolls her eyes and helps Kara down from the exam table, steadying her with an arm around her waist as she finds her feet.
"Come on, let's get you home."
Kara leans into her side, brushes her thumb over Lena's knuckles as they walk together.
"So what did Esme say to you?"
Lena lets out a watery laugh and subtle eyebrow raise.
"That I should let you kiss me tonight."
Kara falters for just a step, but she quickly finds her feet again, along with a smile.
"Any chance we could throw in a couple hugs too?"
----
read and follow along on Ao3 too
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byanyan · 11 months
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@chronal-anomaly sent:ㅤ[ mend ] 👀
scar related promptsㅤㅤ✧ * º •ㅤㅤaccepting
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[ MEND ]ㅤfor sender to treat receiver’s wound which leads to them having to remove an article of clothing resulting in revealing scars hidden beneath
ㅤif the injury wasn't so completely out of their reach, this wouldn't be a problem — lena wouldn't have to be involved. sure, they'd have still turned up at her place to raid her first aid kit, but they'd have been able to close the bathroom door for a little privacy while they stitched themself up. as the unfortunate reality of the situation is, however, their hands are tied — they can't even see the wound, but it's the only one from tonight's fight that's still bleeding, so they assume it needs at least a few stitches. which means, regrettably: they need some help.
ㅤㅤ" hang on, "ㅤbyan mutters as they feel lena's hands start to lift the back of their shirt for a better look at the fresh slice along their shoulder blade. rather than either of them having to hold the fabric up and out of the way, it's far easier to simply remove the entire thing from the equation — so that's what they do. grabbing the hem of their top in both hands, byan gingerly lifts it up over their torso, hissing in pain as they go, until they can pull it right off and toss it to join their similarly ruined jacket where it lay discarded on the floor.
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ㅤㅤ" gonna need t' wash it 'fore i can leave anyway. "ㅤthey continue, though whether they're actually speaking to lena or thinking out loud remains unclear. it's not ideal, revealing so much skin — something about someone they've grown so close to suddenly seeing so many of their scars all at once leaves them feeling oddly vulnerable — but it's the easiest way to treat the newest addition to their collection. —and it is a collection. while their back is not so covered in old injuries as their hands or arms are, there are still plenty to take in, all in a variety of sizes and shapes. the majority are long and thin, earned from the knife fights byan has grown so fond of getting themself into, along with a few dots and more jagged lines gained from broken glass. there's a burn, too, on their left shoulder from an old, dumb mistake made when they'd been too young to be playing with fire, but too stubborn to walk away from watching an entire building burn. the most prominent, however, is one of the few that has ever sent them to the hospital — long and varying between one and two fingers in width at different points, running from their lowest few ribs on an angle around their side, ending just above their hip, it had come packaged with two broken ribs after a misstep while freerunning resulted in an unfortunate (and painful) landing.
byan is not and never has been insecure about their scars, but revealing them to lena after she's gotten to know them more than anyone else ever really has... it feels more personal than having a stranger catch sight of them. like they're entrusting her with the knowledge of their existence, even though it's not something they've ever felt the need to hide to begin with. they don't really know what to make of it.
ㅤㅤ" think you can stitch it up? "ㅤthey ask after a moment or two, forcibly redirecting their thoughts back to the bigger, still very much bleeding issue at hand, haphazardly attempting to glance back at lena over their shoulder.ㅤ" rather not have t' go to the er over a fight i won. "
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oreoambitions · 2 years
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Previous Draft // Ch1 // Ao3
“And she agreed to this?”
Kara kicks at the leaves along the trail with a sigh, her hands as deep into her coat pockets as they can go. The morning chill has persisted into early afternoon, and it isn't relevant to Kara out here where no one is around to comment on her seasonally inappropriate t-shirts, but Lena offered her a jacket on her way out of the cabin and it’s not like she was going to say no. The pockets are somehow comforting anyway. She tries not to look at Clark as they walk. Clark, for his part, tries not to look anxious. It isn’t working.
“She agreed to talk it over,” Kara says, “But she’s worried about the legal minutiae. If we’re being honest, so am I.”
Clark shoves his own hands into his jeans. “Okay, so walk me through the scenario we’re envisioning here. Lilian’s lawyer goes to the court and says Supergirl isn’t a real person, so Lena can’t have married her. Therefore, she lied under oath. Then Lilian - or Lilian’s lawyer, I should say - brings perjury charges against her.”
“Right,” Kara says. “Of course, if Lena has a marriage certificate, the case never actually goes to court.”
“But she doesn’t have a marriage certificate, and if she did it would have your legal name on it, so Supergirl’s identity would be revealed whether the case went to court or not.”
“Precisely. So fabricating an Earth marriage is out of the question. But a Krpytonian certificate-”
“You’re sure the court will recognize an alien marriage?”
Kara tries to worry her hands a little further into her pockets. The sound of wild water is winding through the trees from somewhere down the trail, and she focuses in on it as though hearing the river and nothing but the river might drown out the sound of her own racing thoughts. “The court recognizes marriages performed in a foreign country. That’s the closest thing we have to a precedent.”
Clark nods slowly. “So, a solid maybe. At the very least it’s sufficient to suggest that she pled the fifth in good faith. We’ll have to backdate it though — seems like every third fanatic can read Kryptonian these days. Don’t want someone pointing out that you weren’t married when Lena testified.”
“You think that’ll be a problem?”
“The fanatics, or backdating the paperwork?”
Kara makes a face. The fanatics are always a problem. The fanatics are half the reason they’re having conversations like these out here in a place like this instead of back in National City over potstickers and noodles. Sooner or later the Cult of Rao will have to be dealt with. “The paperwork,” she clarifies.
“Not an issue,” Clark replies. “I’ll tell Argo you were married weeks ago but I was too busy doing hero stuff to submit all the relevant forms. We’ll have to do this fast though; I don’t know how far we can stretch that.”
“Fast is good. I don’t know how long it will take to bring charges against Lena, but I can’t imagine Lilian’s legal team will be wasting any time.”
“So in the interest of fast,” Clark says, glancing at Kara and then away again, “You want to tell me why it is we’re having an actual wedding instead of just doing the paperwork and calling it a day?”
Kara’s throat tightens. They walk together in silence for a time, Clark looking up at the trees and Kara looking steadfastly at the trail beneath her feet. This is a beautiful place, all oak and wild grasses, a hundred acres of private property at the end of a long private road, hours away from the city and solidly outside of cell signal. It’s a place, Lena has assured Kara, where they can discuss such things freely and without fear of being overheard.
And yet Kara keeps her head down and her voice low when she answers. “I’m not going to lie about taking a religious oath. I can’t. I’ll lie to the court because she needs me to, but this- This is different.”
To her great relief, Clark doesn’t argue. Even he, Earth-grown as he is, understands the gravity of all things concerning the Book of Rao. He sighs and nods and trudges along looking thoughtful and worried in equal measure. The early afternoon sunlight dapples the grass as they near the boundary between the property and the surrounding public forestland, marked only by the remnants of a wire fence and a faded wooden sign, all but illegible now, hammered into the earth beside the trail.
“So here’s where I’m getting stuck,” Clark says at last. He gestures to the public land boundary as they cross but breaks neither his stride nor his train of thought. “The plan is to get married in order to defeat the perjury charges. That part checks out, even if we have to do some legal trickery with the dates. And then you want to stage a public falling out and call the whole thing off, and from a PR standpoint I think that'll work, but from a religious standpoint, I know you haven’t forgotten that Kryptonians don’t believe in divorce. And I understand why you don’t want to lie about taking the oath, but where does that leave you and Lena when this has all blown over?”
“Technically,” Kara begins.
“I love when you start a sentence with that word,” Clark interjects, “Because I always know this is about to go slightly off the rails.”
“Technically,” Kara says again, shooting him a pointed look, “The vows are only binding in Kryptonian.”
“So?”
“So it’s a good thing Lena doesn’t speak Kryptonian, isn’t it?”
It takes Clark a moment to digest the implications of this. They come to a stop at last on the edge of the river, which is thundering even now in the midst of the drought and still deep enough that Kara might have worried about getting her socks wet on a crossing. The roar of the water is both overwhelming and a relief. What she wouldn’t give to stand here all day and let the sound wash over her until her mind is quiet, but they have things to arrange and little time to arrange them, and she already knows Clark isn’t going to walk away from his concerns just because she’s shrugging her shoulders like it’s not a big deal. It is a big deal. They both know that it is.
“So you say the vows in Kryptonian,” Clark says, drawing Kara’s attention back from the river, “And she says them in English, and on a technicality you release her from the marriage in a couple of months and then you - what? You stay bound, alone? Just out of a sense of religious duty, or is there something else going on here?”
Kara perches on a rock near the water’s edge and returns to the arduous task of avoiding Clark’s gaze. “C’mon,” she says. “I was never going to marry anyway. And the vows? Her needs are my needs? Her blood is my blood? That was already true.”
Clark clambers up next to her, all limbs and awkward scrabbling, and Kara can’t help but smile at him even though the conversation is serious and even though she’s hiding something from him that feels suspiciously like shame.
“You didn’t answer my question. And a vow before Rao is forever, Kara. Like forever forever.”
“I know. But she’s my best friend; it was always going to be forever.”
“Kara.”
Kara looks away. “This will all blow over in a couple of months, and then… And then she can carry on with her life.” She shrugs again. “She told a lie and it messed everything up, but she told it to protect me. Now it’s my turn to protect her. That’s how these things go.”
“But you’ll still be married. Alone. So your plan is to stay faithful to your best friend while she moves on with some guy? Will her needs be your needs, your blood her blood, when she marries him and carries his children?”
Kara tries to ignore the hot, sick feeling in her stomach at the thought. She ignores the way her hands tremble, the way it creeps into her voice as she cracks a joke. “Lena doesn’t seem like the childbearing type.”
Clark chuckles a little, and doesn’t press the point. They sit together for a while, listening to the water tumble along, watching the shadows fall this way and that as the breeze plays among the branches on the far bank. Kara does her best not to fidget, not to give away to Clark how anxious she is that he might turn her away. This will never work without his help, and Kara doesn’t know what she’ll do if this plan falls through. Lilian will almost certainly be working out how to retaliate against Lena even now, and Lena was right when she said that Kara would absolutely break her out of prison. She was right when she said that it would make for an even stickier situation, too.
Clark sighs and leans back on his palms, his eyes eyes closed against the sun. “I don’t suppose this was part of the agreement you made.”
“Hmm?”
“When you asked Lena to fake marry you, I don't suppose you mentioned that you’d be taking a very not-fake sacred eternal vow before our god, binding yourself to her until the end of time. Or did you just conveniently leave that part out because you knew she’d never say yes?”
Kara lobs a pebble into the water in lieu of an immediate answer. There’s the shame she’s been trying to avoid by avoiding Clark’s eyes, burning heavy and ugly now in the pit of her stomach. Lying to the court is one thing, and lying to Rao another. Lying to Lena somehow feels like something else entirely.
But it’s necessary, she tells herself. It’s necessary because in the end they need this marriage if they’re going to keep Lena out of prison, and Kara has to do it without lying to Rao, and she has to do it without binding Lena to anything that wasn’t of her own choosing.
“I haven’t told her,” she says at last. “And you’re not going to tell her either, because she’ll try to take the vows, and she’ll do it because she feels like she has to, and I can’t live with that. You don’t remember, but- You don’t know what it was like. On Krypton. What it was like to grow up under those expectations.”
“You were promised to someone?”
Kara lobs another pebble into the water. “I know what it feels like to know that one day you’re going to wake up in a marriage you didn’t choose, and there’s never going to be a way out. Not in this life and not in the next. I’m not putting that on anyone else, Clark. Certainly not on Lena. Not ever. So you have to promise me. Swear it on Rao: you’re not going to tell her.”
Clark sits up and catches her shoulder before she can slide down off the rock. Kara mumbles something about needing to get back, but she doesn’t pull away. For a moment he looks like he’s going to try to change her mind. Maybe he’ll argue the merits of not taking the vows, in Kryptonian or at all, or maybe he’ll champion the wisdom and worthiness of honesty in all things and especially with Lena. But he can’t hold her gaze and, eyes somewhere in the trees behind her, he says, “I just want you to be happy.”
Kara smiles. “I am happy,” she tells him as she drops to the ground. And if her voice is a little high, if the words catch a little in her throat, well, she’s about to be married, after all. No one can blame her for the nerves.
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c-optimistic · 3 years
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Not sure if you’re still taking prompts, but I just watched Hozier’s from Eden music video and now I can’t stop thinking about Lena and Kara on the run finding and saving a kid from a bad situation...
obviously slightly different from the video and also an unambiguously happy ending
-
Alex handed over the keys to the beat up car, her eyes not straying from Kara’s for even a second.  
“Travel at night as much as you can. The tank is full, but you need to make it last as long as possible.” She blinked, bit her lip, and squeezed Kara’s hand. “No powers. Not for anything. And no contact. I’ll find a way to let you know it’s safe.”
Kara nodded, pulling her sister closer and enveloping her in a tight hug, trying to memorize the way it felt, the warmth that burrowed into her bones and eased her mind. “We’ll be fine, Alex,” she said, injecting as much confidence in those four words as she possibly could. She was glad that Alex couldn’t see the tears she wasn’t quite able to suppress. “I’ll be listening for you.”
Alex pulled away and opened her mouth to argue, probably to point out that Kara’s statement went directly against the no power rule, but then her mouth snapped shut, like she knew better than to argue.
“Don’t put on any music you like on the radio. You know it makes you want to sing, and that sort of thing is bound to attract attention,” Alex said instead, smoothing over Kara’s shoulders and tugging slightly on the collar of her borrowed leather jacket. “Take care of each other,” she added, clearly no longer able to hide her anxiety behind jokes. Her eyes didn’t stray from Kara, but the comment was undoubtedly meant more for Lena than for Kara. “I love you, Kara.”
“Danvers sisters, right?” Kara said thickly, holding back tears. She pulled Alex in for one more tight hug, taking care to listen to her heartbeat, to memorize its unique rhythm. “I love you, too. You call if you need me. Okay? Do you promise?”
“Promise,” Alex said, pulling away and wiping at her cheeks. “All right. Go. Go.”
Kara and Lena didn’t need to be told a third time. They got into the car, and drove off into the night, Kara’s eyes on the rearview mirror long after Alex had disappeared entirely from view.
-
Very quickly, they developed a routine.
Hats, thick sunglasses, hoodies, and overall easily forgettable outfits became their norm, much to Lena’s eternal dismay. Kara would pretend not to see her wince as she pulled on sneakers, and Lena returned the favor by not calling Kara out when she used her superhearing to listen for Alex every single night.
They drove throughout the night for the most part, sticking to unpopulated areas as much as they could, not speaking much to the people they ran into at gas stations and diners. When the posters with their faces began cropping up on public restrooms and outside of convenience stores, Lena suggested they die or cut their hair.
During the day, they slept. Sometimes in the car, no relief from the sweltering heat. Sometimes, if they figured it was safe enough, they’d sleep a few hours at a motel before setting off again.
They definitely didn’t use each other’s names. Not once. In fact, they didn’t speak much at all.
(One thing filled both their minds:
Keep moving, keep moving, keep moving.
As long as they were on the move, Lex couldn’t get to them.)
It wasn’t much of a life, but it wasn’t all bad either.
It meant Lena would surreptitiously take her hand out of anxiety or a desire to provide comfort when driving past other cars. It meant when Lena’s always busy mind became bored, she’d invent new games to play as they drove along.
It meant huddling up together one particularly cold desert night.
It meant becoming very familiar with the song Lena hummed as she showered.
It meant learning to decipher Lena’s mood based on tuts, clicks of her tongue, breathy sighs, and the roughness of her voice when she would break the silence between them.
No, it wasn’t a bad life, being on the run with her best friend, the only person on this planet after Alex who’d ever made Kara feel at home.
It wasn’t a bad life, with money carefully hidden in the car, under the mats and inside the seat cushions, their every need anticipated and planned for, long into the future. Theoretically, they could stay on the run for years, evading Lex’s long reach.
It wouldn’t be a bad life, but to be fair, when your only goal was survival, having a good life (or really living at all) just wasn’t the point.
-
Kara chewed on her lip as she refueled the car, her eyes on the meter, her ears on the men coming out of the gas station.
They were laughing, clearly a bit drunk despite the time of day, one of the men complaining loudly as they walked towards their car.
“Costs me a fortune to feed that boy. Clothe him. Give him a place to sleep. And if she can leave him, why can’t I?”
Kara didn’t react. She finished refueling, paid, then slid into the driver’s seat, watching as the drunk men piled into their car and pulled away. Her grip on the steering wheel was tight, knuckles white. Just a tiny bit more pressure, just a little bit more of a squeeze, and she could shatter it in her hands.
“Is something wrong?” Lena asked, reaching out and brushing her hand over Kara’s shoulder, so careful, so tentative. “You seem upset.”
Kara turned to her, still chewing on her lip.“What do you think about getting a good night’s sleep tonight? I know a place we can go. It’ll be safe.”
Lena’s eyes roved over Kara’s face for a moment. “What did you hear?” she asked finally, gesturing with her head in the direction the men had driven off to.
“Just that they’re leaving and won’t be back for a few days.”
Lena eyed her skeptically, clearly knowing there was something else, something Kara wasn’t sharing, but she didn’t comment. “Okay. Okay, if it’s safe. We can both use the rest.”
Kara didn’t respond, but her grip on the steering wheel finally eased. She didn’t speak as she inserted the key in the ignition and started the car, pulling slowly out of the gas station and down the road.
And Lena let out a breathy sigh, the only indication of her displeasure at being kept in the dark, though belied by the slight quirk of her lips.
(And as they drove, windows down and hair billowing in the wind, Kara wondered if Lena felt the way she did:
An aching need to stop running, even for just a moment.)
-
The floorboards of the house creaked under them as they stepped inside, Lena immediately wrinkling her nose at the smell—something harsh, like paint, and underneath it, the sickly sweet smell of rotting flowers.
“No wonder those men were in such a hurry to leave,” Lena muttered, distaste coloring her features as they stepped further in the home. The floor was littered with empty beer cans and filthy clothes, the smell of rotting flowers growing stronger. “This place is disgusting. Who would live here?”
Kara didn’t respond, just kept walking towards one of the rooms in the very back of the house. She wondered, briefly, stupidly, how Lena couldn’t hear what she could: the sound of a little heart, pounding furiously away in an equally small chest, body and bones rattling in fear.
“Where are you going?” Lena asked, still following dutifully. “Kara?”
It was the sound of her name that made her pause, turn around, and smile. “I had to help him,” she explained in a whisper before dropping to her knees and gently pulling a closet door open, revealing the pale, dirty face of a little boy. “Hi,” Kara said softly, heart breaking as he pressed himself against the wall of the closet in an attempt to create distance between them, his legs tangled in rags that made up what must have been his bed. (And in the corner of the closet, flowers, long dead.) “Don’t be scared,” she continued, though she didn’t advance further. She stared at him, listened to the terrified pounding of his little heart, and she came to a decision. Without thinking about it for longer than a second, she reached up and let her hair out of its ponytail, then pulled off her glasses. “Do you recognize me? Do you know who I am?” she asked, ignoring Lena’s warning hand on her shoulder, silently urging her not to do this.
The boy pushed away from the wall, approaching Kara with more than a little hesitancy. But his eyes never left her face. “Supergirl?” he finally whispered in awe, mouth falling open just a little bit. “Are you really her? Are you really here?”
“Yeah,” she answered, holding out a hand. “Yeah, I’m here.”
He paused for a moment more, as if not entirely sure she was telling the truth, but then he rushed forward, allowing Kara to pull him into a hug. “You’re really her. You’re really here.”
-
She broke Alex’s rules and used her powers to speed through cleaning the home. Lena was in the kitchen with the boy, digging through the cabinets and the fridge to make him something to eat, eventually settling on soup that Kara heated with her laser vision, much to the little boy’s glee.
Much later, when the child was wrapped in blankets and letting out soft snores as he slept in the only bed in the house, Lena handed Kara a mug of tea and motioned for her to follow her outside. They sat on a rickety bench on the porch in silence, sipping their tea and taking in the cool night air, the miles of empty desert around them. And then:
“You didn’t tell me because you knew it was a bad idea. You knew we shouldn’t have come here.”
“I wasn’t going to abandon this kid.”
“You don’t know this kid,” Lena admonished, sounding tired. And in her tone, something else. Guilt, maybe. “I know what you’re thinking, Kara. But we can’t help him. Lex is still after us. Being on the run is no place for a kid.”
“But what we found him in is?” Kara asked, turning to look at Lena. She took their mugs and placed them on the ground at their feet, then grabbed Lena’s hand. “You can’t look me in the eye and tell me you don’t want to help him. I know you, Lena.”
“It would throw everything off. All our plans, the sacrifices we’ve made,” Lena said, pulling her hand out of Kara’s grasp.
Kara felt her back stiffen. “I know you’ve planned for a decade or more, but I can’t, Lena. I can’t live like this. I don’t want to look over my shoulder running from Lex forever. I just. Life has to be more. And this kid needs our help. We can’t use Lex as an excuse forever.”
This was very clearly the wrong thing to say.
“I’m sorry to have inconvenienced you. No one asked you to go on the run with me. It was your choice, if you remember.”
(It was.
But here was the thing, the thing that Kara wasn’t sure how to put into words: she would’ve made the same choice again and again. She would’ve given everything up for Lena a hundred times over.)
“Lena, you know that’s not what I meant,” Kara said softly, reaching for her hand again, grateful when Lena grabbed on tightly.
“We can’t stay here. We’ll have to drive through the day and night for a while,” she said after a long pause. “We’ll need to get him clothes. And you need to explain to him he can’t mention Supergirl ever again,” she added, narrowing her eyes at Kara.
Kara nodded quickly and, absolutely unable to help it, leaned over and pressed a kiss to Lena’s temple.
“Have I ever told you you’re my favorite?” she asked as she pulled away.
Lena just rolled her eyes, picking up their mugs and getting to her feet.. “After Alex, maybe,” she said with a grin, holding out a hand for Kara to help her up.
“That’s different. Alex is my sister. You’re…” Kara trailed off, not noticing the tremble in Lena’s hand, “you’re you.”
“Very eloquent, love,” Lena laughed, the endearment making Kara’s heart skip a beat. “To think you’re a journalist.”
They laughed as they put away the mugs and settled for a sleepless night on the lumpy couch in the living room, Lena’s head resting on Kara’s shoulder as she slowly dozed off.
And Kara sat there, breathing in the smell of Lena’s shampoo, half of her focus on the little boy’s gentle breathing in the next room, the other half of her focus on Alex’s heartbeat thousands of miles away, her thoughts on what it meant to be a family.
-
It was after several days of driving that they found a place Lena determined to be safe enough to rest.
The boy, who had yet to tell either Kara or Lena his name, ran ahead of them, heading straight for the small garden littered with colorful flowers.
“We shouldn’t stay here long,” Lena said as she grabbed one of their bags from the car, struggling a bit with its weight. “Have you been listening for him?”
Kara didn’t ask who him was. Either it was Lex or it was the boy’s unfit father, and regardless of who Lena was referring to, the answer was yes. Of course she’d been listening for him. “No news,” she confirmed, taking the bag from Lena, swinging it easily over her shoulder. “I have heard some odd frequencies lately though. Not sure what to make of it.”
Lena, who was smiling gratefully at Kara’s help, suddenly stopped, fear taking over her features. She pulled Kara to a halt by the wrist, eyebrows furrowed. “You don’t think—”
“—no,” Kara assured her, shifting the bag so that she could pull Lena into a loose, one-armed hug. “It’s similar to the frequency on Alex’s watch. I thought it was her way of signalling it’s safe but—”
“—but it seems more like a warning?”
Kara nodded, watching as the boy raced back towards them, a handful of flowers he’d pulled from the garden clutched in his fist. “A day or two,” Kara said in an undertone. “Just to rest. Then we’ll move on to the next place.”
Lena didn’t respond, but her hands twisted into the fabric of Kara’s shirt, and she pressed her face against Kara’s shoulder, and Kara figured that was answer enough.
-
Their routine changed.
It was as if, in their determination to give the child everything they possibly could for as long as they could, the fear and dreariness of being on the run was replaced by laughter and joy.
Lena took them all on a shopping trip, letting the boy pick out bright colored clothes, even rolling her eyes and conceding when Kara got them all baseball caps.
Rather than stay at sketchy motels, Kara would constantly be on the listen for people going on vacation or on weekend getaways, feeling better about ‘borrowing’ the home by making sure the home was immaculate when they left, Lena purposely leaving behind a small stack of bills.
They ate whatever the boy wanted, from sugary snacks to cheesy burgers. There was always music, usually a bubbly pop song Kara liked and they found that the boy preferred, leading to impromptu dances in the kitchen—with one memorable time, which Kara rather thought was seared into the back of her eyelids, Lena making the boy laugh as she grabbed his hands, swinging his arms to and fro, shaking her hips in time with the music.
(And in the dark, long after the child was asleep, Kara and Lena would lay together, heads close, trying to calculate what resources they had left, how much more they could stretch it out, how much longer they could continue this way.
And every night, long after Lena had finally drifted off, her head nestled on Kara’s shoulder, Kara would close her eyes and listen to the ever-closer frequency she didn’t recognize, increasingly worried about what it could mean.)
Then Lena changed their routine again.
Every morning, as Kara would make them coffee, Lena would press a lingering kiss to the corner of her mouth. She had them play the games she’d invent on the spot, winking at Kara when the boy would win every single one. And at night, every night, rather than just fit her head in the juncture between Kara’s head and shoulder, she would tangle their legs, hold Kara’s hand, pressed so tightly against Kara that she could feel Lena’s heartbeat against her skin.
(And Rao, did Kara want to take one of those moments, freeze it in time, commit it to memory, wanting it etched into her heart, where she could carry it forever.
But mostly, mostly, all Kara wanted was to close those few inches between their lips and finally, finally, kiss her.)
One night, weeks after finding the boy, after he’d already been tucked in and reminded that the next morning they would have to move on to the next place, the next town, Lena played with Kara’s fingers as they lay in the dark, the little breathy sighs she let out every few moments warning enough that she had something serious on her mind.
So Kara shifted a little, pulling away so that they were facing each other, hands still intertwined. And she made it a little easier for Lena. “I can practically feel the gears turning in your head. Just tell me what you’re thinking.”
Lena didn’t respond right away. Instead, her eyes were fixed on Kara’s, and after a moment, she used her free hand to smooth over the scar above Kara’s eyebrow. “How do you do it?” she finally questioned, voice so soft that Kara wasn’t sure she’d even be audible without superhearing. “How are you so effortlessly good all the time?”
It wasn’t really what Kara was expecting (and if she was honest with herself, it wasn’t what she was hoping Lena was thinking about either). “What do you mean?”
“You came with me without a second thought. Then, with the boy, you didn’t even pause to help him. You knew he was in trouble, and that was all it took.” She closed her eyes, her brows furrowing, almost as if she was in pain. “But my first thought was how it would make things harder for us.”
“That’s not true,” Kara said easily, and without really thinking about it, she pulled Lena closer, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “You know it isn’t.”
“Do I?” Lena snarked back, but her heart wasn’t in it. She allowed Kara’s closeness, even going as far as burying her head under Kara’s chin.
With her hand that wasn’t still tightly in Lena’s grasp, Kara began to rub comforting circles on Lena’s back. “Your first thought was the danger he’d be in just because of us,” Kara reminded her gently, still rubbing her back. “Besides, I don’t know if you know, but you’re incredible.”
“Kara, be serious.”
“I am,” Kara laughed. “Being good...it’s easy. It’s the default setting. But you, you’re extraordinary. You were told your entire life that the opposite was true. That the only thing you could do was evil. And yet look at you. You did good anyway.” She paused, wanting Lena to soak in her words. “Do you see how amazing that is? Every single time you make a choice, you have to go through years of noise, years of interference, years of lies, and every time, you find your way through all that,” she tugged their joined hands up, pressing it against Lena’s chest, right over her heart, “to this. A good, kind heart.”
Lena pulled away suddenly, leaving Kara wondering if she’d said the wrong thing, but then she noticed the expression on Lena’s face, the blazing look in her eyes. “Do you really believe that?” she asked, voice barely a whisper.
“I mean, yeah, I wouldn’t have said it otherwise, gosh Lena, I—”
But Lena didn’t let her finish. Instead, she swung one leg over Kara, straddling her, and after waiting for Kara’s eager nod, finally, finally, kissed her.
(It was okay, Kara thought as Lena’s hands pinned hers to the bed, that Lena didn’t let her finish her sentence.
There was all the time in the world to tell Lena how much she loved her. For now, showing her would have to be enough.)
-
The frequency only Kara could hear, the one that worried her so, got closer every day, and so they stopped staying anywhere for more than a few hours.
It was hardest on the boy. He and Lena had especially grown close, falling asleep in the back of the car as Kara drove, chancing a look at them in the rearview mirror every now and then, feeling her heart swell with fondness. But Lena’s whispered concerns, about how he was faring, how he was feeling, felt more and more serious as the days dragged on.
Being on the run was no place for a kid.
“We could fight,” Kara suggested one night as they drove through the darkness, the child asleep in the back, clutching a toy Lena had bought him weeks ago. “Just wait for Lex to find us and fight.”
Lena tugged on Kara’s right hand, pulling it out of its vice-like grip on the steering wheel, then brought it to her lips and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “We went on the run because we couldn’t fight. Nothing’s changed.”
“Everything’s changed,” Kara said, turning to look at Lena. “What do you want to do?”
“We have a two day head start on Lex, right?” Lena confirmed. At Kara’s nod, she pressed another kiss to the back of Kara’s hands before releasing it. “We’ll find a place, spend one more night with him.” She motioned towards the child. “Then we’ll take him to the police station. CPS, I don’t know. Once he’s safe, we can wait for Lex.”
“No,” came a small voice from the back of the car. Kara watched the boy slowly sit up, toy clutched to his chest, meeting her gaze through the rearview mirror. “I’m staying with you. I want to be with you and Lena.”
(They tried to argue with him, tried to make him see reason, but Kara knew it was a lost cause. There was no convincing a boy who felt he’d found his family that he’d be better off or safer anywhere else.
Kara would know: she’d felt that way after landing on Earth, after Clark sent her away.)
So they made their last stand.
With Lena’s help, Kara found a fairly sturdy home, one that seemed to have been empty for some time, and they began to prepare.
Kara put her suit on for the first time in almost a year. Lena pulled out what she’d called her ‘emergency technology’ and the boy was secured in the house, letting Lena hug him to her as Kara sat nearby, her focus on everything beyond the walls of the house.
The frequency drew closer, the sound almost maddening in Kara’s ear. But there wasn’t much of Lex’s fanfare. No explosions, no gunfire. No whirring of new Lexosuits. There was nothing except for that sound in Kara’s ear and cars approaching.
“Kara?” Lena questioned, taking her hand and breaking her focus.
“He’s here.”
(She could hear it, cars and trucks coming to a halt, heavy footed people beginning to surround the house, the sound of their weapons in their hands loud in Kara’s ears.
And also, something else, something Kara hadn’t heard from this close in a long time.)
“Kara, I’m scared,” the boy said, looking to her, still gripping tightly to Lena.
“That’s okay,” Kara told him, brushing his hair back and then getting to her feet. “But you’ve got nothing to be scared about.”
“Kara—”
But she waved Lena’s concern off. “Trust me. We’re safe.”
One of the people surrounding the house broke down the door, making the boy hide his face in Lena’s stomach. Footsteps approached. A gun was raised. And then:
“Alex. You found us.”
-
The DEO was loud. Or maybe it was that the city was loud. After being in the middle of nowhere for so long, the sudden influx of noise was a little a little different.
Different, but nice.
“So, you broke all my rules, right?” Alex said as she followed Kara out on the balcony, standing next to her and leaning against the balustrade. “I said to keep a low profile, you kidnapped a kid. I said no powers, I find you in your suit.”
“I didn’t sing,” Kara said with a grin. Lena was still with the boy, holding his hand as he was checked over by doctors, happily sucking on a lollipop that Alex had offered him. “Your watch is broken, the frequency it lets off is wrong, I thought you were Lex for weeks.”
“I had a run in with an Aellon. I knew the watch was acting fritzy afterwards, but Brainy said any changes in the frequency would be ‘nearly imperceiptible.’” She grinned a little, bumping her shoulder against Kara’s. “So, while I was busy working with Brainy, Nia, J’onn, and Kelly to bring Lex down...you and Lena started dating and adopted a kid?”
Kara snorted, turning her head, watching as Lena and the boy (who were clearly done with all the tests) walked over to where she was standing with her sister.
“Pretty much,” she told Alex, marveling at finally having her entire family together again.
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Supercorptober - 1. Happy
i'm the happiest when i'm with you
Lena didn’t think it was possible for her to be this happy.
After all, happiness was once something she could never afford—with her family’s drama and all. But the universe works in mysterious ways and when happiness finally arrives, it’s in the form of a woman with soft blue eyes and golden hair.
Lena knows too well that nothing good ever stays with her. That happiness only comes for a fleeting moment. But Kara Danvers stays in her life, despite how many times Lena has pushed her away. Even when their friendship was nearing the end of the line.
Kara always comes back.
It is not possible for her to be this happy. Even in this moment where she is in Kara’s apartment soaking wet from the rain, her makeup running down her face and the hem of her expensive dress covered in mud.
Lena’s the happiest she has ever been.
“I am so, so sorry. This was supposed to be the perfect date.”
Kara huffs, taking off her jacket to reveal her very white dress shirt that’s sticking to her skin. It’s a sight to behold and well, Lena’s only human.
“Oh, who says it isn’t perfect?” Lena says in a low voice, raising her eyebrow towards Kara’s chiseled abdomen.
Kara, finally noticing where Lena’s eyes are, blushes. Lena laughs, pleased. In return, Kara rolls her eyes, speeding off for a second to return with a clean towel in her hand.
“You’re a menace,” Kara jokes while she dries Lena’s hair.
Lena looks up and the sight of Kara’s eyes focused on her task through her water stained glasses causes her to smile.
“Hey, today was perfect.”
Kara huffs with a forlorn look on her face. To counter her disbelief, Lena takes Kara’s hands from her hair and presses a lingering kiss on her knuckles.
“Really. Best first date ever.”
Kara smiles, her eyes teary as Lena pulls her into a soft kiss.
Lena is the happiest, always, with Kara.
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Satisfaction Brought it Back - TEASER
The one where Lena ghosted Kara rather than going villain, Kara went into reporting on human rights abuses in warzones and Lena started a project to take medical information for aliens and their anatomy to help human hospitals.
And then volunteer Subject 99 walks in for a full exam and Lena wonders if she can pretend she's doing anything other than "playing doctor" while learning about Kara's unique body. But her traitor heart just wants to play house. SEE THE REST HERE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/56078508 ===== Alana helps the gray-scaled Jorviunan gentleperson down from the exam table. Five genders on a three-pole gradient, the species file says. Subject 98 uses he/him according to the survey. But it's not right. She's gotten enough peripheral glances of herself in a ballroom's mirror, gritting her teeth and using the identity of least resistance when one of Lillian's friends slid a hand around her back. Lena's been in both the human medicine and xenobiology games long enough to know when a word tastes bad in someone's mouth. Or fangs. Or pincers. Or feelers. Or bioelectrically charged water-filtering membranes. Subject 73 was a Vyllnat who rolled in the other day who looked like she belonged on a Wikipedia article about the Dykes on Bikes movement with the zinger being that her partner was checking in for the session in the next bay during the same time slot. Mating for them involves snuggling close and sharing body heat until their physiologies sync up enough to allow genetic material to simply seep through softened skin. What Lena thought was a rather plain leather riding jacket was, in fact, skin that just looked like supple black leather. Membranous flaps that adults use to seal each other's bodies in an airtight embrace during one of these sessions. A mutually embarrassing moment involving Lena stumbling and nearly wiping out with a tray of sharps and some accidentally-spit acid revealed the tight jeans were really fifteen feet of muscular tail as thick as Lena's waist trailing behind 73 in a holographic concealment field. Lena even weaseled her into letting her take 3D scans of all five sets of interlocking fangs and slicing teeth and a venom sample.
Late that night, Lena might have put a few minutes of Clash of the Titans on loop while she got herself off. Sue her. The idea of reproduction by snuggling is even gayer than a race of medusa-ish beings who come in three flavors of what could only really be called female in a human framework.
"Next subject?" Lena asks, looking up at Alana who is tapping some commands to the repurposed attack drone of Lex's they use to burn any biohazards off the equipment.
"iPad," Alana replies, her eyes sparkling a bit too much as she directs three streams of particle-dissolving energy. Lena sometimes gets a distinct whiff of Kate McKinnon's character in Ghostbusters, except that not only is Alana weird and unapologetic and intense, she's also a first-generation immigrant. She tears through American pop culture like Kara tears through potstickers, so Lena's never 100% sure if Alana's showing up in an outfit that looks like business-safe cosplay on purpose or not. Some city in Nigeria is missing their resident mad genius, to National City's benefit. ===== "Uh, hi."
Rude, is all Lena can think at first. She had heard through the 'DEO to Alex to Kelly to the group texts of doctors who deal with aliens' pipeline that Supergirl had gone from on-patrol to emergency use only around the time that blogs gushed about one of CatCo's human passing journalists coming out as alien and then leaving the company. She was trying very hard not to stalk Kara's Instagram at the time so she didn't follow up. Something something independent reporter in the field somewhere somewhere bringing attention to the plight of someone someone.
Lena only avoided full-on alcoholism over the last year by screening out all reminders of Kara's existence, which let her pretend. Which didn't make it hurt any less when Jess came into her office a few months ago and said that Kara Danvers had come by to ask if Lena had gotten a new cell phone. Kara's first thought wasn't Lena being a cruel, overdramatic mess of gay thirst and Luthor trauma. She trusted Lena's good nature, so her first thought was clerical error.
Kara seems to have taken being ghosted in stride because she spent the last six months getting somehow even hotter than she already was, which probably violates some United Nations Convention on placing dangerous pressure on the human body or something.
Her hair is the same length, but it's tied in a hasty ponytail that's tied off with a scrunchy made of honest-to-god paracord the same crimson as her cape. She's let the curl come back in--how did she straighten it, anyway?--so it doesn't look like Supergirl's sheets of gold more suited for a damsel in diaphanous silk than the halo of an avenging angel. What it evokes is a stallion's mane, glossy in the harsh light and waving as the beast moves.
The dresses that never suited her are gone, and the button ups are back but now they're a thick flannel or something worn half-unbuttoned over a burgundy tee shirt that clings tight and reveals the corners of the suit's breastplate underneath. She could trace the glyph through it, which means if Lena could only get her out of the damn suit, it would revea--FOCUS, she reminds herself--and rather than CatCo-required chinos Kara is in black denim that hangs loose at rest but molds to her muscles when she walks over to put her coat across the 'patient clothing' rack. Each flex and tense tells Lena way too much about how powerful her thighs are and also not nearly enough about what it would feel to have the--FOCUS, Lena--and Jesus take the wheel Kara's even wearing combat boots covered in a fresh coat of pale dust that could just as easily be from a hiking trail north of town or a warzone in Somalia.
"It's funny. On the plane, back from Kasnia? I almost told you."
When she couldn't stop fidgeting with her glasses. Her hair was a mess when she escaped from the Eve clones. She had her glasses off and her hair down and she was going to show me... Lena realizes.
She makes a sound she doesn't even recognize and suddenly she's in Kara's arms, her knees sting from hitting the floor before Kara knelt with her. She's slapping ineffectively against the protective firmness around her and watching her own tears fall like it's happening to someone else.
Kara shushes her and rocks her back and forth and doesn't ask before kissing her forehead. Lena doubts she thought about it consciously. Maybe when she is released, she can complain about lack of consent or maybe she'll demand another kiss to make it all better.
=====
"Lena, I really can't do this. Not like this, not with you."
Reality slams down around Lena like the doors in a haunted house closing.
"Of course. I can schedule you with Alana or per-"
Kara molds her hands to Lena's hipbones and pulls her into her arms. She takes her with force, cupping Lena's head and holding her fast. She nips at Lena's lip and uses the moan as a chance to lick into Lena's mouth. Hot and wet and impatient, her tongue seasoned with ginger and orange and grease, cut with the waiting room mints. She kisses like she eats, greedily and curiously and bottomless. Kara hums and holds and presses and licks and nips and sucks. She brings one hand up to Lena's neck and curls around her pulse, rubbing her thumb along Lena's windpipe. She doesn't seem to notice or care that Lena can't do this forever because Kara wants to do this forever and fuck human failings like a need for oxygen. Lena has to bite her tongue to get her to retreat. It would've drawn blood on a human but Kara just moans and pulls back.
"Christ, Kara."
Kara licks her lips lazily. The chilly blue that reminds Lena of ice caps and winter skies is darkened and her pupils are swollen and fucking hell Lena can even see little white crackles in the depths of them, rising towards the surface like caged lightning.
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shelbazoidz · 3 years
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This show will be the death of me. I said, I SAID, so many times last year I wouldn’t get involved with this show again but I really just wanted to write Lena getting back together with everyone for the first time again. So fuck it. 
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
Welcome Back 
Lena does not fidget.
 Well, at least in front of other people. Her fingers picked at the edge of her sweater as she looked down at the text. 
“Want to come over for movie night?” 
Her nerves creep in as she looks at the message. The idea of doing something normal with friends seemed like it was so out of reach months ago. Now here she was debating how to reply to Kara’s texts. She knows Kara wouldn’t have invited her if everyone didn’t want her to come. But she still couldn’t help the nagging feeling that she was going to be intruding. As if she could sense Lena’s hesitance another text popped up. 
“It's me, Nia, Kelly, Alex and Brainy. Nia picked the movie so we're watching Death Becomes Her. Have you seen it? ” Lena’s heart clutches as her eyes scan the text. She quickly types out a response before she can overthink this. 
“I haven’t seen it but I’d love to watch it when you all.” Only a few seconds pass before there’s a reply. 
“Awesome! We’re starting at 7. See ya then!” 
Seven o’clock came so fast, Lena barely had any time to talk herself into not going. The entire ride there her mind was riddled with worse case scenarios. As the thoughts swirled in her head the elevator dinged, the two doors sliding open. Her fingers toyed with the buttons of her jacket as she looked down the brightly lit hallway. It should be easy to just walk in, right? The sounds of hearty laughter float down the hallway and Lena took a steadying breath. 
This was going to be fine.  
Her body eventually moved forward, taking slow steps down the hall until she stopped in front of the familiar door. More happy chatter could be heard as her hand raised for a tentative knock. It died down slightly when the door finally opened, revealing Kara who wore bright smile. 
“Hey you.” Her gentle tone forced away some of the insecurities Lena felt but not completely .  
“Hi.” Her voice was small. Kara’s brows came together as she looked at Lena’s worried expression. She looked back at everyone chatting in the living room before shutting the door behind them. 
“Are you alright?” Kara asked once they were alone. 
“I’m fine. I...just. I don’t know.” Her thoughts were muddled and confusing, she wasn’t sure how to express it. 
“You’re worried.” Kara said while she reached out to take one of Lena’s hands, Lena immediately looked down at the contact. In fear that she had crossed some kind of line, Kara started to let go but Lena held on. 
“I am. I’m scared everyone is going to hate me.” Answering honestly was the right thing to do but the words were difficult to get out. 
“Lena.” Kara’s hands rubbed up her arms, the warmth in her expression made Lena want to burst into tears. “No one hates you. I swear. If there were still problems I wouldn’t have had everyone over today. We’ve apologized so many times to each other. Let’s just have a nice evening with our friends? Alright?”
“Okay. I’d like that.” Lena sniffed, trying to keep it together. 
“And no crying because if you start I will too.” Her hand came up to cup Lena’s cheek, heart fluttering when Lena laughed.  
“I can’t guarantee that but I’ll try.”
“That’s all I ask.” Kara smiled before chewing on her lip as she debated if she was going to ask the next question. She wasn’t sure if they were there yet but she decided to just ask anyways.  “...And maybe if you’re up for it, when everyone's heads out later you can finish telling about that book you were reading? I never got to hear how it ended.”
Lena lit up at the mention of the book she’d been reading a few months ago. Kara was always eager to listen whenever Lena told her about the newest book she was reading. When they had time, Lena used to read a few chapters while Kara listened. She would be enraptured as she absorbed every sentence and the smooth tone of Lena’s voice.  They both desperately missed the little tradition.
“You’re going to be pissed when I tell you how it ends.” Lena grinned. 
“It was that bad?” 
“You’ll have to find out later.” She teased. 
“That’s cruel.” Kara smiled back, feeling Lena’s fingers unconsciously toy with hers as they looked at one another. The door suddenly cracked open, Alex’s head poking out. 
“Hey you two! If you take any longer we’re going to start without you. And Hi, Lena.” She smiled at Lena who gave her a slightly stiff nod in return. 
“Hi, sorry about the wait. We’ll be in in a second.” Lena replied and Alex shook her head before ducking back in the apartment. 
“You ready?” Kara asked, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. 
“Yes, let's do this.” 
All Lena’s thoughts and doubts faded as soon as she entered the apartment. There was no malice or underlying irritation with her presence. Everyone greeted her happily including her in whatever they were chattering about until Nia shushed them all because the movie was starting.
“Let this one be better than the last you picked.” Brainy commented at the opening credits.
“Oh my god! I picked one bad movie and you’ll never let me live it down.” Nia sighed, nudging him with her shoulder. Nia made eye contact with Lena, rolling her eyes in fake annoyance with Brainy. Lena smiled soft back, shaking her head as the movie continued. She sat on the couch next to Kelly with Kara sitting on the floor in front of her. At some point during the movie her hand started playing with one of the long blonde curls. Kara leaned back a little further, enjoying the touch as the movie played. The comments the group made during the film nearly made Lena choke on her wine from laughing on multiple occasions. 
Movie night somehow turned into a partial game night once the film ended. Lena knew they were all competitive when it came to games but it was a little out of control tonight. Somehow a simple game of catch phrase had everyone shouting and screaming at one another. Kelly and Alex were the most terrifying out of the group but it was all good fun.
“I am not being a sore loser.” Brainy grumbled as Kelly grinned at him. 
“I think you are just a little bit.” Kelly teased. Before he could reply Alex stopped them. 
“Okay, before this gets even more out of hand I think we’re going to hit the road.” Alex pulled her slightly tipsy girlfriend off the couch before she and Brainy could keep bickering. 
“Fine fine.” Kelly gave Alex a quick kiss on her cheek before pulling Lena into a hug.
“Are you coming next week too?” She asked, receiving a happy nod from Lena. 
“I wouldn’t miss it.” Lena was surprised at how excited she was at the thought. God she missed this. Both Alex and Nia gave her a tight hug as well before they left, Brainy settling for a slightly awkward handshake. But he was equally happy to have Lena back in their group. The door clicked shut, leaving Kara and Lena alone.   
“So about that book, you gotta tell me now!” Kara gleefully pulled Lena back over to the couch. 
“Okay okay I won’t keep you waiting. In the eighteenth chapter there-” Her sentence was cut off when Kara turned sharply towards the window. “Something wrong?”
“Yeah, there’s an emergency. I can hear it.” Kara sighed. 
“Well go take care of it, it's fine. I can...wait here?” She said unsurely. 
“That’d be great. I shouldn’t be gone long. Just umm-ah..make yourself at home and I’ll be back. You know where everything is and if I’m gone for more than an hour just-” She could feel herself starting to ramble and thankfully Lena stopped her. 
“Go save the city. I’ll be fine. I promise.” She patted Kara’s thigh to get her to calm down. 
“Okay. Well, I’ll be back.” In a flash Kara was in her suit, Lena stared in wonder. It was still amazing how fast she was. With one more wave Kara shot off into the night. 
Lena kept herself busy while Kara was gone, deciding to watch a documentary. She was in the middle of brewing some tea when the windows breezed open again. Kara picked at a few leaves in her hair as she walked over. 
“How’d it go?” Lena asked.
“Fine, just a very upset alien. But we talked it out.” She shrugged casually. Her eyes finally looked to Lena who was staring at her. “What?” 
“Nothing!” Lena replied quickly, feeling her face heat at being caught staring. That damned suit was going to be the death of her. “Tea?” She asked, feeling Kara’s eyes still on her. 
“I’d love some.” In a flash, Kara was back in her comfortable clothes and accepted a mug from Lena’s hands. They made their way back over to the couch, sitting close together as they propped their feet up on the coffee table.
“Now do you want to try this again?” Lena asked as she got comfortable. 
“Yes!” Kara replied eagerly, tossing a blanket over their legs. 
“You’re not going to be happy.” Lena chuckled at the impatient noise Kara made. 
“Stop stalling.” She whined. 
“Alright alright. The eighteenth chapter starts with them finding out their father lied.”
“What!” Kara shouted and Lena laughed harder. 
“I know. I know.” She giggled, meeting Kara’s gaze. 
Kara let out a wistful sight before speaking. “I missed this.” She said softly as she rested her head on Lena’s shoulder. 
“Me too.” She resisted the urge to kiss the top of Kara’s head, although she swore she saw a faint blush on Kara’s cheeks. Ignoring the longing in her soul she continued with the story. “After we find out their father lied, they decide to go deeper into the mansion in investigate.” She held in a laugh as Kara let out another frustrated noise. It was late into the evening by the time Lena finished telling her how the book ended. Kara had turned on one of her comfort shows to make up for the book's terrible ending. The pair stayed cuddled close to one another on the couch as they drifted off, fingers intertwined while they slept. 
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autisticlenaluthor · 3 years
Text
road trip ficlet
Kara hopped out of her car, stretching her arms out behind her head as soon as her feet hit the pavement. Of all the days she could’ve picked to pack up and throw her life into the metaphorical wind, this had to be the worst. Tuesdays were just never good for life changing events, especially when they ended up like this. 
Sun beaded down, forming droplets of sweat that lined Kara’s forehead, and caused her hair to frizz up from the humidity. Normally, she didn’t mind the heat, but Kara was starting to think the weather, and the lost road map, and the fact that her car radio had broken down about ten miles back were all signs that maybe she should’ve stayed home. Maybe she should’ve tried to ride it out at work, to fix things with her boyfriend, and every other fuck up she’d spent months trying to handle. Maybe she just wasn’t the adventure type. Some people were built for boring, day by day lives with partners they don’t love and jobs they secretly hate. 
Perhaps that was the world Kara was made for.
With a sigh, Kara ran her hands through her sweaty hair and pulled it back into a low bun at the base of her neck. Once she could finally feel the air hitting her skin again, she allowed herself to lean back against the side of her Jeep and do a quick scan of the gas station. 
It was pretty empty. There was a pick up truck and a man in his mid forties standing by one of the gas pumps, a mini mart with a lit up sign at the other end of the lot. Half the letters had gone dark and Kara was unable to make out any shoppers through the windows. Instead, all she could see was the cashier.
Finally, her eyes landed on a young brunette woman. She sat on the pavement, leaning back against the store with one of her legs outstretched onto the road, the other crossed over at the knee. A cigarette sat perched between her index and middle finger, emitting a long line of smoke that clouded up around her face. Sunglasses had been pushed back into her hair like a headband and a navy blue jean jacket was tied around her waist. She didn’t seem to mind  the smoke nor the heat. Kara couldn’t help but wonder how long she’d been sitting there, for her to become so unfazed to all of that.
With one last pop of her back, Kara began the walk across the near empty lot, grimacing at the smell of exhaust and gasoline creeping up through her nostrils. She did her best to shake it off, turning her head in the other direction in hopes that it would somehow vanish, but  the effort was quickly deemed useless. Instead, she just looked towards the woman and, in turn, made her observance even more obvious.
But it wasn’t until Kara had already made her way into the mini mart and was hit with a wall of crisp air conditioned air that she allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief. No bad smells, no humidity. Just a cashier and aisles upon aisles of snacks. 
Just what she needed. 
Kara was so caught up in the satisfaction of one thing finally going her way that she didn’t even notice the footsteps behind her, or the cashier grumbling an oddly cheerful hello to whoever had come in after her. It took her all the way until she was standing between the chips and candy aisle that Kara heard somebody clear their throat and tap her shoulder. 
“Hey.” 
Instantly, she whipped her head around, brow furrowing when Kara saw the same woman from outside standing a few feet away from her. She had her hands planted on her hips, chin raised, with the slightest smile on her lips. The cigarette was gone and so were the clouds of smoke, revealing the rest of her face to the world.
She had green eyes, Kara noted. They were narrowed ever so slightly, but Kara could still make out the color, the way the fluorescent lights seemed to bounce off the little pools of honey surrounding her pupils. 
“Hey…” Kara said, slowly setting her bag of chips back down on the shelf. Was she in some sort of trouble? Because it felt like she was about to face the adult version of getting called to the principal's office. 
“I could see you staring at me,” the woman stated. “Outside, I mean.”
“Oh… yeah, sorry about that,” Kara said with a nervous chuckle. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, I’m just-- I quit my job yesterday and I’m kinda in the middle of the biggest mistake of my entire life, and you were just sitting there and I got caught up in my head and I, well, when I get stuck, I stare. It’s a nervous habit, I have this problem where either I don’t make eye contact at all or I just get super aggressive with it and act all robotic. So I stared at you-- but you know that part. But it wasn’t because I wanted to be weird. Or robotic. I just think I’m in the middle of like a quarter-life crisis or something, and you know, when I get nervous--”
“You stare?” The woman finished, raising an eyebrow. 
Kara nodded. She clamped her mouth shut to make sure she wouldn’t get another word out because holy fuck what was she saying. 
“Yeah,” she whispered. “I stare.” 
The brunette smiled, dimples appearing at the edges of her lips. It was a very nice smile, Kara couldn’t help but think to herself. It felt warm like her eyes. 
“So…” the woman began, rocking back and forth on her heels. “I know that you quit your job and now you’re on some sort of self fulfilling journey to go find a new life. You’re kind of in the middle of a breakdown, but you aren’t really sure yet, because you haven’t gotten to the ‘drink yourself into oblivion’ or ‘shave all your hair off stage.’ And now you’re in a gas station because I’m guessing in the midst of your panic, you forgot to pack and now you’re realizing just how big of a mistake everything you’ve done in the past twenty-four hours was. Oh, and how could I forget? You stare when you’re nervous and that’s why we’re here now.” 
Kara just stared again, completely dumbfounded. They’d been talking for all of thirty seconds and this woman was psycho analyzing her as if they’d known each other for years, and for some reason, was getting everything all of it right. The whole thing was so stunning, all she could do was nod and mumble a quiet “yeah, that all sounds right.” 
“Now that we’ve got your life story out of the way, mind telling me your name?” 
“Kara?” 
“Nice to meet you, Kara, I’m Lena.” 
Kara smiled. “Lena, that’s pretty.” 
“Thank you.” 
“So, now that you know every crushingly embarrassing detail about what I’m doing here, what about you? Are you some kind of serial killer who stalks people outside gas stations, comes inside and befriends them Ted Bundy style, only to brutally murder them and stuff the bodies in the trunk of their car once they’re done?” 
Lena paused and raised an eyebrow, unsure of how to respond to that. The change in expression was so painful to watch that Kara was starting to consider crawling into one of the ice cream freezers and hiding under frozen Snickers bars and Drum Sticks for the rest of eternity. 
“Oh-- you weren’t joking,” Lena said after a moment. She chuckled nervously and pursed her lips, slipping her hands into her front pockets.“No, I’m not a murderer. If I were though, I probably wouldn’t tell you.” 
“Yeah… probably,” Kara said quietly. She could feel her cheeks filling with heat, tomato red was nowhere near strong enough to put a label on the mortification she felt. Give it another minute and she was sure steam was gonna start shooting up out of her ears too. 
“But no, I wanted to get away from reality for a bit so I tried to backpack through the country. But all my stuff got stolen about two shady motels ago and the next bus isn’t gonna come by for another day, so I’m waiting it out here,” Lena explained. “I’m not really sure where I’m gonna go, though. It’s kinda hard to figure stuff out when you’ve got no phone.” 
Kara nodded. For a second, she looked back across the store, trying to see her old, beat up car through the front window. 
She did have extra room-- a lot of it considering she hadn’t packed anything at all. And having someone to talk to might’ve been a nice change of pace seeing as now that the radio was blown out she didn’t have any other way of filling the silence. 
No, Kara! You can’t take a stranger on a road trip with you– she could literally be a serial killer! You just had this conversation, what the fuck is wrong with you?
But clearly, Kara’s mouth worked faster than her brain because the next thing she knew, she was asking Lena if she wanted to come with her. 
“You could ride   with me for a bit,” she’d offered. “I mean, I don’t really have any plans so I’m just kinda driving aimlessly, but if you’re okay with that, you could tag along.” 
Lena hesitated. She pulled at the tips of her fingers as she tilted her head to the side, unable to tell if Kara was bluffing or not. 
“Are you serious? I mean, I could be dangerous. Very, very dangerous,” Lena taunted. Her voice was low and husky, the slightest rasp attaching itself to her words. It had to be the cigarettes shredding up her lungs. Kara knew it was a bad thing, it had to be a bad thing, but god, it was so sexy. 
“Yeah… I mean, as long as you don’t get car sick, I-- I could squeeze you in,” she stammered, grimacing at the way she was sounding. 
“Great,” Lena grinned, though, she still looked a bit confused. “You’ll meet me outside?” 
“Sure, right. I’ll meet you outside.” 
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therealjordan23 · 4 years
Note
Maybe some uhhh debbigail fluff? Pretty please 😂
Maybe uhh yes😂😂
ooo
Summer had finally come, and Dewey had taken some time off work to spend some time with his family in Duckburg. Actually, Scrooge himself had ordered it. Ever since they found jobs in different areas, he and his brothers saw each other about once a year, and Dewey assumed Scrooge had enough with the lack of ‘family time’. Dewey had missed everyone, but he found himself missing a certain pink bowed girl a little more than necessary… 
 “Hey tough guy!” Webby shouted. 
 Dewey playfully glared at his best friend. “I’m right in front of you, Webbs, no need to scream.” 
 “I guess it’s a Webby thing, and I’m just so happy to have you back, Dew!” she said gleefully, and Dewey smiled. “Listen! Lena’s having her old amphitheater cleaned out, and she’s lending me her place for the weekend!”
 Dewey raised an eyebrow. “Where are you going with this…?”
 “Spend the weekend there with me! It’ll be one, big slumber party!” Webby exclaimed, making Dewey blush. 
Dewey’s mind raced. A weekend? Alone with Webby? It was the sort of thing he’d daydream about, and think about at night: him and Webby alone, cuddled up on a big comfy bed, fast asleep in each other's arms. His strong arms would be around her smaller figure, and his hands would be running through her soft hair…
 But he was getting ahead of himself. 
 “Yeah, sure. Why not.” Dewey cracked a smile, the smile that had always made Webby’s heart melt.
Webby jumped with glee. “I’LL GO BUY HUNDREDS OF UNHEALTHY FOODS!” she screamed. 
Dewey laughed. That amazing laugh that made her heart melt as well.
The rest of the day found both Dewey and Webby packing their things for their weekend. Dewey looked around his room—he was happy that nothing much had changed. There was still a triple bunk bed, his brothers’ things were strewn around the room, there were dozens of posters of movies and bands they liked… sometimes he missed this place a little too much. 
As Dewey packed his bags, there was a soft knock on his door. 
“Louie!” Dewey exclaimed, rushing to hug his younger brother. “What are you doing here? I thought you were coming tomorrow!” 
“Lena pulled some strings,” Louie smirked. “What's this I hear about you spending a weekend alone with Webby?” 
Dewey snorted. “We’re going as just friends, and nothing more, Lou. don’t get any wild ideas.”
Louie gave him a sly smirk. “Oh, the ideas are already there, Dewford. And remember, this time Mom wants grandkids!” 
Dewey blushed crimson, thinking about the ‘incident’ when he dated Webby back in high school. “S-shut up, dude!” 
His brother just laughed. “Come on, dude. You’re both 24. When are you going to admit that you still have feelings for each other?” 
Dewey sighed. “She doesn’t like me like that, Lou. Not anymore.”
“Oh, really?” Louie snorted, tossing him one of Webby’s various journals. Dewey frowned, and opened it, only to find this scribbled almost everywhere:
Mrs. Dewford Dingus Duck
Mrs. Webbigail Vanderquack-Duck
Mrs. Duck
Dewey blushed, and his eyes widened. “S-she still likes me?”
Louie rolled his eyes. “For a guy who’s a professional adventurer, solves mysteries about long lost artifacts, and literally rewrites history, you’re pretty stupid. Of course she still likes you. Do you still like her…?”
Dewey sighed. “I never stopped.”
Louie set a hand on his shoulder. “Then tell her that.”
ooo
Webby had left for the amphitheater a little earlier, so he entered the stage.
Lena’s old room was the same as it had always been, just a little cleaner and more updated: Dark blue and purple walls were littered with pictures of rock bands, and some photos of Violet and Webby. In one corner was her bed. It was a bed for two, and Dewey remembered when Lena and Louie would spend countless nights here with each other back in their college days. 
In another corner was a desk, where a few books about the Shadow Realm were stacked. Beside that was a dark laptop, and in the other corner of the desk, was a blue cup, holding a few pencils and pens. Near the bathroom was a purple dresser that Lena kept her clothes in. On top was a hot pink lava lamp, and a large framed picture of Lena and Louie on their wedding day: it was romantic—Louie was dipping Lena in the middle of a thunderstorm, and several bolts of lightning illuminated the skies behind them. Lena had one leg up, and cupped Louie’s face. Both had intense expressions on their faces, but Dewey knew if you looked close enough, you could see that both were crying from joy. 
Something caught Dewey’s eye, and he walked towards the dresser to find a pack of condoms, and beside that was a note with Lena’s handwriting: be careful Dew-night! ;))
Dewey groaned. 
“Webbs?” he called.
“I’m in the bathroom! I’ll be out in a minute!” she called. 
Webby swung open the door, and Dewey gawked at her: she wore a long white blouse, long enough so it reached her mid thigh. Her hair smelled like jasmine shampoo, and was still damp from the shower. She smiled the smile that had always made Dewey’s heart melt. He really wanted to kiss her. Her adorable face and everything beneath that goddamn blouse… 
“Are you just going to stare at me?” Webby playfully glared. Dewey snapped out of his little daydream and sheepishly smiled, scratching the back of his head.
“Uhm, s-sorry…” Dewey apologized. 
Webby shrugged it off and grabbed the laptop on the desk, heading for the bed. She looked at him expectantly.
“Are you going to join me, dummy?” she giggled. 
“Hmm?” Dewey shook his head like a wet dog, trying to keep his mind off of Webby, who was fresh out of the shower, wearing a hot outfit, and lying on a bed, waiting for him. “Y-yeah! One second!”
He dropped his bag, and Webby frowned. 
“You’re going to come like that?” Webby asked. 
Dewey frowned, and looked down at his jeans, jacket, and shoes. He blushed, and disappeared into the bathroom, returning wearing a pair of grey sweats, and a comfortable black tank top. 
“Much better,” she smirked. 
The two sat in Lena’s room, and watched Darkwing Duck on her laptop. Webby laughed at the parts when Drake was visibly nervous of Morgana. Dewey thought about the mysteries of the last episode. When was he going to reveal that he was Drake Mallard? The two pigged out on pizza, soda, chips, and candy, and stayed up late watching the old show, laughing at the bad mistakes.
“Jeez, it’s 1 in the morning,” Dewey yawned. “We should sleep soon.”
“I didn’t even notice,” Webby frowned. 
Dewey chuckled. “I think Ms. Vanderquack got carried away binging movies again.”
She scowled playfully. “Hey, that only happened once!”
“Okay, okay,” he held his hands up in mock surrender. “So I’ll sleep on the floor and you can—” he started.
“Wait, what? No. I can sleep on the floor.” Webby insisted. 
Dewey smiled. He was flattered that she would sleep on the floor for him. But she was the lady, and his Uncle Donald taught him that he was supposed to be the gentleman.
“No, no. You can have the bed, Webbs, I don’t mind.” 
“Dewey—”
“Webby.” he warned.
“You know what?!” Webby snapped, pushing him onto the bed. “We’ll both sleep on the bed!” she glared at him. “HAPPY?” she shouted.
“Fine!” he snapped back.
Realization of what they had just agreed to hit both of them like a truck, and Dewey found himself scooting further and further away from Webby. 
“Y-you’re okay with this, r-r-right?” he stammered. 
“Y-yeah, only if y-you are.” she stuttered back. 
“D-don’t worry about me!” he squeaked.
An hour passed, and both adults found themselves in the same position, neither daring to move a muscle. 
“Dewey? Are you awake?” Webby’s voice didn’t sound raspy or drowsy, and Dewey knew she hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep yet. And it was the same on his end. 
“I’m awake, Webbs,” he said nervously. 
Both paused, anticipating the next question.
“What are we, Dewey?” she finally addressed the elephant in the room.
He faced her, and sighed. “I… I don’t know. I know we’re best friends, but deep down, I want to be more than that. Ever since that breakup in high school, I tried not to have any feelings for you, but… things didn’t go my way.”
There was a tense silence.
“Y-you still like me?”
“Webby, I never stopped,” Dewey murmured, running his hand through her soft hair. How they went from the edge of the bed to the middle, and had gotten so close remained a mystery. “I still like… I’m still in love with you.”
She stayed silent, and Dewey felt his heart sink. Then she grabbed his face, and kissed him deeply. He wasted no time, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her on top of him. Their lips parted, and both found themselves heavily panting.
“Y-you idiot!” she managed between breaths. “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for you to tell me that?!” 
“Uhm…” Dewey trailed off dumbly. 
“Ugh, just go grab the box on top of Lena’s dresser, I’ll scold you after!” she groaned.
Dewey’s eyes widened at what she had just implied, and he had never rushed off to do anything faster in his life. 
And that night was the best night of his life. 
ooo
Back in the writing business :D
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saiilorstars · 3 years
Text
Falling in Temptation
Previous chapters • Sequel to Stars Dance •  Fairy Tale Memoirs (Companion story)
Ch. 25: The Girl Who Waited 
Fandom: Doctor Who // Pairing: 11th Doctor x OFC
Chapter summary: Amy gets separated from each other and when the Doctor finally finds a way back, they find a much older Amy Pond waiting for them. Now he has to watch as the little cluster of Ponds (including Avalon herself) decide which version of Amy they should bring back home. It makes the Doctor ask himself if his own relationship with Avalon will one day end up as broken as Amy's and Rory's nearly was.
Taglist: @ocfairygodmother @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel​ @stareyedplanet @perfectlystiles
[If you’d like to be added to this specific OC’s stories/edits, send me a message!]
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Can we please meet her? I promise I won't cause trouble?" Avalon was asking, or rather trying to ask calmly. She was trying her best not to look as annoyed as she was. She was currently at the bottom of the console stairs against the rail with the Doctor in front of her, pressing a trail of soft kisses down her neck. She'd succumbed to him quite easily since he'd chosen to keep wearing that dark brown coat she seemed to love so much. He'd figured it out very fast. Now Avalon wasn't complaining one bit about that but she was hoping to use this current moment of pleasure for both to get something she'd been wanting for some time now.
"Jane Austen was and is one of the most renowned writers. And for someone like me, it would be amazing to meet her," Avalon explained with her best soft tone, "I think it's good to get some perspective outside of Zelda. Please, won't you take me?"
The Doctor finally lifted his head to look at her. "That depends..."
"On?"
"We get to make it a date," the Doctor smirked.
"Done and done!" Avalon quickly took the deal, "So we're going, then!?"
"Sure, why not? Haven't seen Janie in a long time."
Suddenly, Avalon's joy faltered and she put a hand on her hip, "No, hold on, you call her...Janie?" she tilted her head, "So you know her then...? And you even gave her a little nickname."
"...so...?" the Doctor did not like where this conversation was headed to.
"So?" Avalon blinked and nearly pouted, "Doctor!"
"This is going bad very fast," the Doctor frowned, mightily confused, "Let's get back to the kissing, I liked the kissing, kissing was fun and peaceful."
"How long have you known this 'Janie'?" Avalon did air quotation marks, "Does she know about me now?"
The Doctor sighed. While it was a bit, or a lot, of fun to see Avalon getting so worked up over a woman he could hardly care less about, he had to stop her before she truly became angry. Last time she stopped talking to him for a week. He pulled Avalon against him and put a finger over her lips, "Ava, I happen to give nearly everyone I know nicknames," he pointed out, "I call Amy 'Pond 1', Rory 'Pond 2', and then I call Lena 'baby sister'. It just so happens that I met Jane Austen and call her 'Janie'. I appreciate Janie, and I love all our friends but it's all friendly I promise."
"But do you know if the writer likes you more than a friend?" Avalon raised an eyebrow, "Cos, she may, you know...and then when we get there...she'll take you away...and then try to kiss you or something."
The Doctor let out a small laughter, "We're friends, that's all!"
"That's never stopped anyone before!"
"Okay, but I have a you now. The only lips I will be kissing are these," he tapped Avalon's lips with a smile, "Now, can we please get over this jealousy scene and return to kissing?"
Avalon playfully rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah...but we're going to see Jane Austen, right?"
"What ever you want, love," the Doctor promised as he leaned over to kiss her again. In no time he had Avalon kiss back and resume their moment alone.
"Can you please stop snogging my best friend in front of my wife and I?" came Rory's plead as he and Amy walked in from the downstairs corridor.
The Doctor lightly sighed as he pulled away from Avalon, "Maybe we should go on that date right now..." he offered to Avalon who chuckled.
"Oh no, you're not," Amy shook her head, making the pair look at them, "You two have been blowing us off for your dates for weeks now. We-" she pointed between her and Rory, "-were promised time and space, not 'chuck us out to the nearest planet while you two have dates'."
"We just wanted to be alone," Avalon tried to excuse.
"And do what? Snog all the time? Those are not dates," Rory wagged a finger at them both.
"Don't know they sound like dates to me," Avalon bit her lip and looked up at the Doctor who snickered.
"C'mon guys, I'm happy that you're both doing well in this relationship, but don't you think it's time you co-live with us?" Rory asked and gestured to himself and Amy, "And you know, move away from stage 1?"
"Stage one? What's stage one?" the Doctor made a face and looked at Avalon.
"It's this silly human idea about relationships," the ginger sighed and draped her arms around his neck, "See, stage one is the one where we can't keep our hands off each other. We kiss and kiss, and you know...sometimes...go beyond that."
Rory cleared his throat and gave them sharp looks, "It doesn't always go beyond that."
Amy chuckled at his over-protection and stepped in to continue the explanation, "And stage two is the part where you finally settle down and start co-existing with other people. So, for example, you two could stop this stage one thing and try to coexist with us."
"Is there a stage three?" the Doctor curiously asked.
"That's marriage and you are not getting there yet," Rory answered mightily fast and with a pointed finger at the Time Lord, "Stage 2, stage 2 is perfectly fine."
"Guys, thanks for your input but we're okay," Avalon cut in and leaned on the Doctor for a reciprocated hug.
"We're not trying to push your or anything," Amy clarified their intentions, "It's just...there's a lot more to relationships than kisses."
"Believe us, we know," the Doctor wrapped his arm around Avalon's waist.
Of course he loved the kissing and all but he and Avalon were both on the same page when it came to the point of their relationship. It wasn't fooling around, they loved each other. He had no doubt in his mind that he would give anything to make her happy. Avalon felt the same. It just seemed like Amy and Rory had to be clued in.
"I've got a compromise," the Doctor spoke up, "How about we go to one place altogether and then afterwards, we go have our date?" He ended up looking at Avalon for the answer.
"That sounds good," she nodded, "Anywhere in mind?"
"Has to be amazing," Amy pointed.
"And fun," Rory added.
"Apalapucia!" The Doctor happily declared when the TARDIS stopped. He was really excited to show the Ponds, including his Pond, the gorgeous planet. It would be a leisure trip for them and hopefully a little fun date with Avalon too.
"Say that again?" Amy tilted her head, confused like the others.
"Apalapucia."
"Apalapu...?" Avalon tried to repeat the word but found it was harder than it seemed. "Are you just making up words now? Because we've talked about this."
"Cia," the Doctor tapped her nose, amused at her effort. "Apalapucia!"
"Apalapucia," Rory tried last and got it on the first try. He grinned proudly.
"Apalapucia. What a beautiful word," Amy considered it with a small shrug.
"Beautiful word, beautiful world," the Doctor assured, "Apalapucia, voted number two planet in the top ten greatest destinations for the discerning intergalactic traveller."
Avalon made a face at that, "So then how come we're not going to number one?"
"It's hideous," the Doctor declared, "Everyone goes to number one. Planet of the coffee shops. Apalapucia! I give you sunsets, spires, soaring silver colonnades!" he grabbed her hand and led her and the Ponds towards the doors, "I give you..." he threw open the doors to show them an empty white space with a double-set, grey doors across.
"Doors," Avalon finished with him, her head tilted and arms crossed as she studied the new environment.
"Doors," the Doctor was disappointed his little moment hadn't turned out how he planned, "Yes...I give you doors..."
"Oh yeah, definitely better than number one," Avalon remarked as they stepped out.
"Well on the other side of those doors I give you sunsets, spires, soaring silver colonnades," the Doctor said as he walked over to the doors with her and Rory.
"Have you seen my phone?" Amy finished putting on her jacket and remained at the doorway of the TARDIS.
The Doctor stopped and turned around, even more so disappointed no one was really seeing the grandness of the planet. "Your phone phone?"
"Yeah."
"Your mobile telephone? I bring you to a paradise planet, two billion light years away, and you want to update Twitter?"
"Sunsets. Spires. Soaring silver colonnades. It's a camera phone," Amy sighed as he failed to realize the reason for her phone. She wanted to capture it all and he didn't see that? Total clueless alien, that's what he was.
"On the counter, by the DVDs," the Doctor gestured.
"Thank you," she waved and headed inside the TARDIS.
"How do we get in?" Rory was in front of the doors that were locked.
"I don't know, push a button," the Doctor shrugged and pointed to the panel beside the doors which had two buttons, one green and another red.
Rory pressed the green button and opened the doors, revealing another white room with a table in the center and a large, magnifying glass on top.
"OK, so, rain check on the soaring silver colonnades," the Doctor gave up.
"No kidding," Avalon chuckled, "Is this like Sherlock Holmes or something?" she walked to the table and looked at the magnifying glass.
"Hey?" they heard Amy from the other side, the doors had closed after they'd walked into the room, "Hey, it's locked."
"Yeah, push the button," Rory called out. They waited a couple seconds but Amy never came inside, "Where is she?" Rory sighed as he headed for the doors and opened them up. He peered out and still saw no Amy, "Where on wherever we are is my wife?"
"What are you doing?" Avalon asked as the Doctor took a seat at the table, beside her.
"Playing Sherlock Holmes," the Doctor shrugged and pressed a button on the magnifying glass. Immediately, they both saw a blurry picture of Amy through the glass.
"Oh..." Avalon blinked, "...Rory, I think we found her..."
"What do you mean you've found her?" Rory returned to the room and stopped beside them to see his wife through the glass, "Whoa! No, but, she's not... she's not here! I can see her, but she's not here."
"Where am I? In fact, where are you?" Amy seemed to be looking around the glass, also confused.
Suddenly, the door at the other end of the room opened up to reveal a white handbot on the other side. Both Avalon and Rory stood straight and looked at the robot that had no face but did have real hands.
"Its hands..." Avalon pointed, already creeped out. That just wasn't right.
"Hands! Hello. Hands. Handbot with hands, Ava," the Doctor seemed less than concerned with their new guest.
"Welcome to the Twostreams Facility. Will you be visiting long?"
"Er, Doctor. Something's happening," Amy tapped the glass and made the Doctor look down to see the image was fading.
"Amy! Stay calm! Stay still!" the Doctor tried to get the image back.
"I don't think she has much of a choice," Avalon remarked to him, "Where is she?"
"Will you be visiting long?" the handbot asked again and reached for the trio.
" Good question, bit sinister," Rory panicked as the handbot started backing only him, "What's the answer to not get us killed?"
"Because that always works?" Avalon called.
"How about some help, then, Ava?"
"I'd love to...but I have no idea how to stop that," Avalon went after the handbot while the Doctor continued working on the glass, "Plus, have you seen those hands?" She stared at the rubbery-looking hands on the robot.
"Will you be visiting long?"
"And where have you been?" Amy's voice drifted over, sounding a bit irritated, "I've been here a week!"
"A week!?" the Doctor was appalled to hear, "A week?! I'm so sorry! Aha! Same room, different times. Two timestreams running parallel but at different speeds. Amy, you're in a faster timestream."
"Doctor, it's going again!" the ginger cried as the image flickered.
"Will you be visiting long?"
Avalon stepped in between Rory and the robot and kicked it back, "We don't know!" she yelled at it, "Now stay back."
"Come on. Gotcha! There. Stabilized, settled, shh!" the Doctor exclaimed once the image started appearing back on the glass.
"Thank you boyfriend for your help," Avalon called and made the Doctor look up to see her and Rory with the handbot.
"I told you I was coming up with a better label!" He said with a frown.
"Well, next time come help us and I'll remember that!"
"Sorry," he quickly stood up and hurried over to them.
"Why has this got hands?" she hoped she would finally get an answer on those hands. The more she looked at them, the creepier they were.
"Organic skin," the Doctor explained, "Ultimate universal interface, grown and grafted, not born. It's actually seeing with its fingers, scanning the room. But why not just give it eyes?"
"Will you be visiting long?"
"I just answered that stupid question," Avalon rolled her eyes.
"As long as it takes," the Doctor answered then returned to the magnifying glass, "Amy, what exactly did you do?"
"I just, I came in, and I pressed the door button."
"Ah... Amy, there are two buttons," Rory called, "Green anchor, red waterfall. Which one did you push?"
"I pushed the red waterfall," Amy quietly responded.
"Great," Rory rolled his eyes and opened the doors to go retrieve his wife.
"All because you wanted to update Twitter," Avalon joked as she joined the Doctor at the table.
"No, I didn't!" Amy frowned.
The doors reopened and in came Rory, looking confused and a bit irritated, "I pressed Red Waterfall, and she wasn't there!"
"So you can't follow her directly. You know, it's never simple!" the Doctor groaned, "Hear that, Handbot? She just pressed the wrong button. We're aliens, we didn't know," he turned for the robot.
"Statement... rejected," the handbot's two blinking lights on its chest stopped at a red light, "Apalapucia is under planet-wide quarantine. This is a kindness facility for those infected with Chen7."
The Doctor quickly covered his mouth and nose with his jacket's collar, "What?" At the action, Avalon and Rory did the same.
"What's Chen7?" Avalon asked, her voice slightly muffled with her cardigan's sleeve.
"The one day plague."
"What, you get it for a day?" Rory raised an eyebrow.
"No, you get it, and you die in a day."
"We should've gone to number one," Avalon mumbled.
"There are 40,000 residents in the Twostreams Facility. Please remain in the sterile areas. Visiting hours are now," the handbot lowered its hands and put them together, transporting away and leaving trio in the room
Slowly, everyone lowered their jackets, the Doctor being the first to heave a heavy sigh, "Sterile area, I'm safe."
Amy smacked the glass from her side and made everyone look back, "What about me!"
"Chen7 only affects two-hearted races like Apalapucians," the Doctor explained and calmed her nerves.
"And Time Lords, apparently," Avalon added.
"Yeah, like me. In that facility, I'm dead in a day," the Doctor didn't want to think about that and instead focused on their friend, "Time moves faster on Amy's side of the glass. Amy, you said you'd been here a week. What did you eat?"
Amy shrugged, "Nothing. I wasn't hungry."
"No, because Red Waterfall time is compressed. That's the point. The Time Glass syncs up the timestreams for visits. You could be here for a day, watch them live out their entire lives."
"And watch them grow old in front of your eyes? That's horrible," Rory made a face and shook his head.
"No, Rory, it's kind. You've got a choice. Sit by their bedside for 24 hours and watch them die, or sit in here for 24 hours and watch them live. Which would you choose?" the Doctor didn't wait for an answer as he picked up the glass.
"Doctor!?" they heard Amy shout in distress, "Doctor, don't leave me!"
"We're here, Amy," the Doctor was holding the glass where they could all see the frantic ginger, "We're right here."
"Where are you?" she looked around, "Am I looking at you?"
"Turn left, just a fraction," he instructed, "Bit more, stop. That's it."
"Eye to eye?"
"Eye to eye to eye."
"Hello," Rory waved once Amy was looking straight at them.
"Amy, I'm taking the Time Glass back to the TARDIS. Like satnav, I'll use it to get a lock, then smash through, using the TARDIS to get you out," the Doctor explained while using the sonic on the glass, "Until then, you're on your own."
"What are you doing?" Avalon asked him.
"Locking onto Amy. Small act of vandalism, no-one'll mind."
"Mm, yes, and how many times has that actually been the truth?" Avalon made the question only a mere second before an alarm went off, "Oh, look at that..."
The Doctor knew there was no time to waste and so explained to Amy what she needed to do, "Amy, I need you to go into the facility just for a bit. Find somewhere safe and leave me a sign. Remember, you're immune to Chen7, but don't let them give you anything. They don't know you're alien. Their kindness will kill you. Now go!"
Amy hurried to the door of her room and pressed the button, looking back at the glass just as they opened for her, "Rory, I love you. Now, save me. Go on."
As soon as Amy was gone, the trio ran back into the TARDIS to go and save her. The Doctor put the time glass into the console, "This is locked onto Amy permanently. Play the signal into the console, the TARDIS'll follow it," he explained to the others while attaching a cable to the glass. Unfortunately, as soon as he did that, smoke spewed from the console. The Doctor ignored it and pulled out a tool chest from underneath, "Now then, I know you're in here. Um... erm.. Haha!" he pulled out black-rimmed glasses and put them on, "How do I look?"
"Ridiculous," Avalon and Rory answered simultaneously.
At that point, the Doctor felt like the remark 'they are so family' would've been good, if only Avalon knew.
"Glasses are cool," he said instead and put the glasses on Rory, "Oh, yes. Hello, handsome man."
"Oh, hello," Rory gave a small wave.
"Uh, Rory..." Avalon pointed to the large monitor behind them where the Doctor was visible, clearly the glasses being the camera filming it.
"Rorycam!" the Doctor cheered.
"Conceited," Avalon spat, "You think you're so handsome..."
"Funny cos about an hour ago you weren't telling me otherwise," the Doctor sent her a smug smile. Avalon straightened up, clearly no words in mind to respond back which only made the Doctor's smug smile widen with triumph, "So, we're breaking into the Twostreams," he turned for Rory, "Now, I can't go in, the Chen7'll kill me on the spot. You will be my eyes and ears."
"Rory-cam," Rory nodded, "Rescue Amy. Got it."
"We'll be in and out, no problem," Avalon added.
"N-n-n-n-n-no," the Doctor promptly turned to her, "I specifically left your name out. You won't be going either."
She raised an eyebrow, "And why not?"
"Dangerous."
"My name," she pointed at herself with a smile.
"Ah, no your name is Avalon Harm-"
"Don't finish that," Avalon pointed at Rory, "You know I despise that name. Now I'm going and that's that."
"But-" the Doctor went to argue but Rory cut in and pointed for the console. They could figure out what they were going to do after they set into Amy's timestream place.
It was no surprise that the TARDIS would put up some kind of fight as they tried crossing timestreams. But in the end, the box finally allowed them to land in the correct timestream.
Rory stepped out of the TARDIS with the glasses on and the time glass on a belt worn across his body, "Red Waterfall! We made it," he cheered and looked around the gallery room.
Inside the TARDIS, Avalon was trying to get herself out there to help Rory but the Doctor was refusing to let her arm go. No matter how strong she was, she just wasn't stronger than him.
"I can go help," Avalon argued with him, "C'mon!"
"Ava, I would feel much better if you stayed here with me," the Doctor pleaded to her to rethink this, "Stay here, yeah?" he tugged her closer to him and wrapped an arm around her waist.
Avalon heaved a big sigh and looked at him, "Hey, we've spent an awful lot of time together lately. This is serious and my friend's out there, on her own. Let me go help."
"Rory's going to help and we can help from here," the Doctor gestured to the console.
"Okay, look," Avalon decided to try something else, perhaps the one thing that could make him understand, "Last time we went on a trip, all of us, Amy took the bullet for me and saved me from becoming a wooden doll. She's in trouble now and it's my turn to save her. You understand that, right?"
The Doctor of course understood that. Amy had told him about the reason why she'd become a doll in the first place; it would've been Avalon if Amy hadn't intervened and she was not going to let her granddaughter suffer.
"I'll be sure to make up for this later, okay,?" Avalon assured and leaned up, "With lots of kisses here and there," she smirked as she made her promise, even giving him a previous of her kisses to make her point.
"I hate that you have this power over me," the Doctor sighed with resignation. No, actually, he did not hate it. Who would hate to be kissed by her? Not him!
Avalon smiled in triumph, trying not to seem as smug as she really was, "Don't know what you're talking about," she kissed him a second time, "Gotta run," and she planted a third kiss which became a bit deeper than the last two, "Woah," Avalon blinked with a partial daze, "Gotta run...ish..." she shook her head and recollected herself, "Rory!" she called as she ran out.
Rory had been busy looking at the different collections the planet had in the gallery room, "Managed to convince him, huh?"
"Uh, yes," Avalon flashed a smile and closed the TARDIS doors.
"Dare I ask how?"
"Um...I don't think you want to know," Avalon fixed part of her hair and walked up to him.
Rory sighed, "This is just too weird sometimes."
Avalon rolled her eyes, "So then, Doctor, how do we find Amy?" She looked at the glasses.
"Rory, switch the Time Glass on and sonic it," came the Doctor's voice, "I'll send a command to the screwdriver. Amy's here somewhere. If I can just get a lock on her. I wonder what happens if we mix the filters?" Rory pulled out the Doctor's sonic and held the time glass in front of him and Avalon. As soon as the sonic finished on the glass, they all saw dozens of people in a blurred image, all milling about.
"And there they are. 40,000 time streams overlapping. Red Waterfall isn't one time stream. It's thousands," the Doctor informed as the two companions stared in awe.
"Are they happy?" Avalon frowned, wondering if being locked in a facility could be better than dying.
"Oh my Ava," the Doctor sighed, "Trust you to think of that. I think they're happy to be alive. Better than the alternative."
Rory lowered the glass in time for he and Avalon to catch a person running towards them, dressed in armor and with a katana aimed at them. They barely had time to process when the person knocked them both down.
"We come in peace!" Rory found no other words coming to mind, "Peace, peace, peace, peace!"
"Yeah Rory, cos that's gonna work!" Avalon rolled her eyes and sat up, flicking the katana at his throat, "Nice sword..." she had to remark.
"Ava!" Rory scolded. Leave it to her to praise a weapon being used against them. River Song was definitely her mother.
"I waited," the person finally spoke.
"Sorry, what?" Avalon looked up, half irritated with the scold.
"I waited for you," the person repeated and pulled the katana away. "I waited!" she pulled off her helmet to show herself. It left both Rory and Avalon quite stunned.
"Oh my..." Avalon's eyes widened at the sight of a much older Amy.
Rory's mouth had fallen open and while he tried to put his thoughts into a coherent sentence, all that came out were stammers. "A-Amy..wh-what's..."
"Doctor, what the hell is going on?" Avalon found it easier to ask the question.
Unfortunately, all that came out of the Time Lord was, 'Er..." He had no idea how he could've messed this up.
"Amy," Rory stood to his feet and helped Avalon, both still staring at the older ginger.
"I think the time stream lock might be a bit wobbly," the Doctor finally said something coherent.
"You think?" Avalon snapped.
Amy drew her sword to strike and scared the two. "No, please!" Rory pulled Avalon behind him, "Please!"
"Duck," Amy ordered and immediately the two did, allowing her to sink her sword through a handbot's head behind them. She put away her sword and moved over to the handbot, bending down beside it and pulling out a small, black box, "Handbots carry a black box in case they go offline. I've changed the cause of termination from hostile to accidental. Easy to re-program. Using my sonic probe."
"Amy," Rory called again, his voice quiet.
"Rory," Amy didn't spare even a glance as she worked.
"Amy!"
"Rory!"
"Oh for goodness sake, why are you doing that?" Avalon pointed to the box Amy held.
"I've survived this long by making the Handbots think I don't exist. Don't touch the hands. Anaesthetic transfer - if they touch you, you go to sleep."
"But you're still here?" Rory asked.
Amy stood up, staring at them both, "You didn't save me," she bluntly said and strode off.
"But this is us doing the saving," Avalon called as she and Rory hurried after her, "The Doctor just got the timing a bit out!"
"I've been on my own here a long, long time. I've had decades to think nice thoughts about him. Got a bit harder to stay charitable once I entered decade four."
"40 years alone?" Rory asked in horror.
"36 years," Amy made a face, "Thanks..."
Avalon elbowed Rory and gave him a look, making him realize his error, "No. Right, I mean... you look great. Really. Really."
"Eyes front, soldier."
"Still can't win then, eh?" Avalon tried to humor them but it didn't work.
"In fact, I think I can now definitely say I hate him. I hate The Doctor," Amy declared with certainty, "I hate him more than I've ever hated anyone in my life." She leaned closer to Rory, but not for him. She was looking directly into his glasses. "You can hear every word of this through those ridiculous glasses, can't you, Raggedy Man? You told me to wait. And I did. A lifetime."
"Amy..." the Doctor began but he didn't get to finish. Lately, he seemed to be getting everything wrong with the Ponds. He tried his best to keep them out of harm's way and yet something always happened to them. Last time, all three of them had been captured inside a fake dollhouse with killer dolls. Before that, they'd been chased around by the Scream. It was beginning to take a toll on him.
"You've got nothing to say to me!"
"Behind you!"
Amy turned to see two handbots closing in on them. She tossed her staff to Rory, ducked and put the handbots hands together, deactivating them. "Feedback. Knocks them out. Learned that trick on my first day," and once again, she made to leave.
They went out to an outer corridor and tried catching up with Amy who didn't even look back at them, "OK, so we just take the TARDIS back to the right time stream, yeah? We can stop any of this happening," Rory tried to reason, Avalon giving a small nod though she wasn't very sure about anything now.
"We locked on to a time stream, Rory. This is it," the Doctor regretted informing him.
"But this is wrong," Avalon frowned at the situation.
"Incredibly wrong," Rory added.
"I got old, Rory, what did you think was going to happen?" Amy rolled her eyes, assuming the worst from them.
"Hey!" Rory was not about to have that and so grabbed Amy's arm and forced her to stop and look back, "I don't care that you got old! I care that we didn't grow old together. Amy, come on, please."
"Don't touch me. Don't do that," she gave the order but didn't sound so sure of it as she left.
"This isn't you," Avalon made a face and went after her, "This isn't our Amy!"
"36 years, three months, four days of solitary confinement, Avalon," Amy stopped in front of some doors and turned to them, "This facility was built to give people the chance to live. I walked in here and I died. Do you have anything to say? Anything, Doctor?"
"Where did you get a sonic screwdriver?" the Doctor decided to question, only irritating her more.
"I made it. And it's a sonic probe!"
"You made a sonic screwdriver?" Rory blinked.
"Probe!"
"Give it up, Amy, you're not winning that one," Avalon had to advise as they entered the temporal engines room.
They followed Amy through a curtain she clearly made and found a small, isolated room where a Handbot stood at the corner. Rory stopped and forced Avalon as well when he saw the robot, "Oh!"
The handbot turned to them and allowed them to see a makeshift smiley face drawn where its face should be. Amy went across the small room, "Don't worry about him. Sit down, Rory."
Avalon giggled as both Rory and the handbot sat down, "You named the handbot after Rory?" she asked.
"Needed a bit of company."
"So, he's like your..."
"Pet."
"Somehow that's not making it better."
Amy pulled out a tube of lipstick and opened it up, meanwhile the other two studied the handbot, "Is it safe?" Rory asked.
"Yep. I disarmed it."
"How?" Avalon wondered just as they both saw the hands of the handbot chopped off.
"Oh, you...disarmed it," Rory slowly said, feeling a bit off about that.
Amy changed her mind on the lipstick and put it away, "Oh, don't get sentimental, it's just a robot. You'd have done the same."
"I don't know that I would have," the Doctor spoke up again, making Amy spin around and look at the glasses.
"And there he is - the voice of God. Survive. Cos no-one's going to come for you. Number one lesson. You taught me that."
"Is that really all I taught you?"
"Don't you lecture me, blue-box man flying through time and space on whimsy. All I've got - all I've had for 36 years - is cold, hard reality. So, no, I don't have a sonic screwdriver because I'm not off on a romp. I call it what it is - a probe. And I call my life what it is... Hell."
"Amy Pond, I am going to put this right," the Doctor assured, "You said you learned from an Interface. Can I speak with it?"
"Doesn't work in here," Amy informed then checked her watch, "2:23, the garden'll be clear now," she looked at Avalon and Rory, "Stay or go?"
"We're coming with you," Rory stood up and looked at Avalon for her opinion.
"Definitely," the ginger agreed with a nod.
"Then try not to get killed. Or do. Whatever," Amy tried to seem casual as she left, "When I first came here, I had to trick the Interface into giving me the information, but I've reprogrammed it now. It'll tell me anything except how to escape."
"You hacked it?" Rory raised an eyebrow, "That's genius!"
"Sorry to interrupt that beautiful moment," the Doctor cleared his throat, "But temporal engines have a regulator valve, which has to be kept from the main reactor or there's feedback. Interface, where's the regulator?"
"The regulator valve is held within."
"Ah! Oh, very, very "ah!" Interface, I need to run through some technical specifications. Rory, give me to Amy a minute."
"Here you go," Rory pulled off the glasses and moved to put them on Amy but the ginger refused.
"Amy just do it," Avalon sharply looked at her.
With a huff, Amy took the glasses and put them on, "They look ridiculous," she frowned.
"That's what we told him," Rory sighed, "Still, anything beats a fez, eh?" Everyone laughed but once Amy abruptly stopped, so did Avalon and Rory, "What is it?" he asked.
"I think that's the first time I've laughed in 36 years," Amy quietly acknowledged.
Avalon sadly looked between her friends, knowing they must have been thinking about the time they had lost. She sighed and touched Rory, ending their moment, "We should leave them...you know, to let them work?"
"Yeah, yeah," Rory nodded and walked out with her.
They wandered through the garden Amy had led them in through and took a look around, both wondering if this was where Amy had spent some time in...on her own.
"You don't...you don't blame the Doctor for this, do you?" Avalon felt the need to ask Rory as they walked.
Rory felt the concern in Avalon's tone and didn't want her to worry, "No...no," he sighed and put an arm around her shoulders, "He is never on time."
"Hm, 14 years," Avalon smiled lightly.
"Mhm," Rory nodded and they both chuckled.
"I just...don't want to have problems between the people I really care about," Avalon sighed. "And right now, Amy is really mad at the Doctor. I don't know who to defend first."
"Avalon…" Rory suddenly stiffened when he spotted a handbot coming towards them.
"Do not be alarmed, this is a kindness," the handbot said just like the others had.
Rory pulled Avalon behind him and backtracked together.
"Do not be alarmed, this is a kindness," the handbot said just as it touched Rory's face with its hand.
"Rory!" Avalon cried as he fell to the ground. "Oh great!" She looked up to see the handbot that would surely be going after her now.
Amy arrived in time to stop the handbot. She cut its head off with her sword and looked between the two, "Rory?" she knelt beside him.
"Glasses," Rory pointed.
Amy stood up and turned away, "You stupid..."
"You saved us," Avalon smiled at her.
"Don't get used to it," Amy muttered.
Rory stood up and studied Amy for a moment, specifically her eyes, "Have you been crying? A little bit?"
"Shut up, Rory," Amy tried to order but her voice was far too weak for that.
"You have, haven't you?"
"Woman with a sword. Don't push it."
"OK, so here's the plan," the Doctor spoke up, "Time is always a bit wibbly-wobbly, but in two streams it's extra wobbly," in the meantime he spoke, Amy handed the glasses back to Rory, "I've worked out how to hijack the temporal engines and then fold two points of Amy's timeline together. We're bringing her out of the then and into the now! Amy, I just need to borrow your brain a minute, it won't hurt, probably - almost probably...and then, Amy Pond, I'm going to save you."
Amy stared into the glasses, her eyes narrowing, confusing Rory and Avalon. One would think she'd be ecstatic that they'd found a way to truly save her. "No," she took out her probe, "Time's up, Handbots coming!" And she hurried out, leaving Avalon and Rory to follow.
~ 0 ~
Amy was striding back towards her secret hiding place in the engine rooms, doing her best to ignore the pleas of everyone who wanted to 'help' her.
"Amy, you've got to help us help you. I need you to think back 36 years ago. Amy? Amy!?" the Doctor was the primary insistent one to talk to her.
Without a word, Amy went inside the engine rooms and left Avalon and Rory outside. Avalon noticed several smudges on the doors and walked up to them, "Funny...if I didn't know any better I would say this is...lipstick," she glanced back at Rory questioningly.
Rory moved over and lifted the time glass to the doors, allowing them to see a message in red lipstick Amy had left for them. Rory sighed, "You told her to leave us a sign. And she did. And she waited. Oh, Amy."
Avalon opened the doors and went inside, marching straight to Amy, "Okay, why won't you help yourself? You wanted us to save you but look at you?"
Amy shook her head, still refusing, "He wants to rescue Past Me from 36 years back, which means I'll cease to exist. Everything I've seen and done dissolves, time is rewritten."
"But that's...that's good, isn't it?" Even Rory was confused about her attitude. Being rescued meant that she wouldn't have to go through the solidarity she'd been forced into.
"I will die," Amy enunciated slowly for them, "Another Amy will take my place, an Amy who never got trapped at Twostreams, who grew old with you, and she, in 36 years, won't be me."
"But you'll die in here," Avalon scratched her head. "Isn't that...isn't that better?"
"Not if you take me with you. You came to rescue me, so rescue me."
"Leave her and take you?"
"We could take this Amy with us, easy, but if we do, our Amy has to wait 36 years to be rescued," the Doctor warned in case they actually decided to go with that.
"So I have to choose - which wife do I want?" Rory took a small breath, already knowing that couldn't and wouldn't end well.
"She is me," Amy pointed to herself, "We're both me."
"You being here is wrong. For a single day, an hour, let alone a lifetime. I swore to protect you...I promised."
Amy didn't say a word and instead went inside her small room, leaving the two to think about it.
"Rory..." the Doctor began.
"This is your fault!" the human spat.
"Rory!" Avalon was disappointed he went back on his word, "You promised..."
"I'm sorry Ava but it is," Rory huffed and spoke to the Doctor, "You should look in a history book once in a while, see if there's an outbreak of plague or not."
"That is not how I travel," the Doctor snapped.
"Then I do not want to travel with you!" Rory pulled off the glasses and threw them to the ground.
Avalon was torn between the two sides but even more so angry with Rory. "You said you wouldn't blame him! How…" She shook her head. "If you haven't noticed, it's a pretty big universe with millions of different problems. It is impossible to know what the current state of a planet is all the time."
"36 years, Avalon, 36!" Rory pointed to the closed curtains. "She spent 36 years on her own!"
"And you think I'm not as upset as you are? I love Amy! But this wasn't anyone's fault! It's like when you blamed yourself for accidentally shooting Amy after the Pandorica opened."
"That's different," Rory sighed, really not in the mood to argue with her as well. He was too confused and angry, a horrible combination that he was aware of.
"Yeah, cos it was you. You didn't mean to do it, you didn't know who you were, it was impossible. What's happened here was also impossible."
"Ava, Rory," the Doctor called again, sounding like he was giving a test, "Is the time glass still on?" he asked them, "If the link's still active, I think I can hear Amy. Our Amy."
Rory slowly lifted the time glass in front of the small room of Amy and saw none other than the young Amy through the glass, sobbing quietly to herself, "Oh, Amy," Rory entered the room still holding the time glass. He went straight to the present Amy and knelt down to where she sat, "Look me in the face and say you won't help her."
Amy did as told and looked him in the eye, "I will not help her."
"Oh yeah?" Avalon couldn't believe that was her friend and was not going to stand for it, "Alright, then," she gently pushed the time glass up in front of Rory's face where the young Amy was sobbing to herself, "Look us in the face and say that again," she challenged Amy.
"Rory? Rory is that you?" the young Amy turned from the wall, "Rory, where are you?"
Rory used the sonic on the time glass and allowed the young Amy to see them through the glass, "Same place as you - and a bit ahead."
The present Amy peered into the glass, "I remember this," she mumbled.
"But who's she?" the past Amy studied herself, "There's no-one else here, but... me."
Rory handed the glass to the present Amy and took Avalon out with him, hoping the two Amy's could get on the same page to allow for some type of plan.
"You realize what's gonna happen in there, right?" Avalon quietly asked him.
"What?" Rory looked at her with concern.
"Two Amy's, in one place, well sort of...there is going to be some shouts and colorful words."
Rory shared a smile with her, "She's not you."
"Hey, River's her daughter and she's got some colorful vocabulary, she had to have gotten it from somewhere," Avalon pointed out, "And let's face it, you don't have that."
"Shush, Ava," Rory mockingly-scolded her.
"Ha, in other words, I win the argument," Avalon said with pride, making him (and managing) chuckle.
Suddenly, Amy stepped out of the room, "I'm going to pull time apart for you," she looked at Rory. Avalon stepped away as the two couples hugged and kissed, "OK, Doctor, Twostreams is back on air. Right, OK, so this is big news, this is temporal earthquake time. I am now officially changing my own future. Hold on to your spectacles. In my past, I saw my future self refuse to help you. I'm now changing that future and agreeing. Every law of time says that shouldn't be possible."
"Yes, except sometimes knowing your own future is what enables you to change it, especially if you're bloody minded, contradictory and completely unpredictable," the Doctor nearly had a chuckle.
"Oh so you meant Amy," Avalon laughed.
"Well actually my mind drifted to you," the Doctor said and ended her laugh right there and then.
Avalon crossed her arms and glared at the glasses, "Terrible danger you're getting yourself into, Fairy Tale Man."
"Anyways, back to crossing time streams?" Amy cleared her throat and ended the ensuing argument. She led them out to the outside corridors, "I'm trusting you to watch my back, Rory."
"Always. You and me, always," Rory nodded with assurance.
"Hey, and me," Avalon waved a hand, making them chuckle.
"Cos here's the deal... you take me too in the TARDIS. Me too," Amy turned to them, ending the amusing moment.
"But that means that there'll be two of you, permanently, forever," Rory realized.
"And that way we both get to live."
"But two Amy's together..." Avalon couldn't quite wrap her mind around that. By all logic, that couldn't very well work.
"Can that work?" Rory asked the Doctor.
"I don't know, it's your marriage."
"Doctor!"
"Perhaps, maybe, if I shunted the reality compensators on the TARDIS, re-calibrated the doomsday bumpers and jettisoned the karaoke bar, yes, maybe, yes. It could do it. The TARDIS could sustain the paradox."
Avalon remained quiet at that, he was lying. He had to be. She may not be some Time Lord or that big of a genius but she wasn't stupid either. Paradoxes could not be sustained unless you had a paradox machine, and she wasn't aware the Doctor had one.
"Right. Amy..." Rory put on the glasses and saw the young Amy, "And Amy. The wife and the wife, right."
"That won't get confusing," Avalon remarked quietly.
"OK, Amy - Past Amy – stand by the door. Future Amy, you too," the Doctor ordered, "Future Amy, can I borrow your sonic scr... probe?"
Amy sighed, "It's a screwdriver," she handed it over to Rory then went to the doors.
Rory used the sonic on both Amy's then returned it to her.
"Rory, sonic it, double our power. Amy Now, you're our link to Amy Then," the Doctor continued on with the instructions, "We need to get a signal through. That signal will be a thought. Amy Now and Amy Then, share a thought. Something so powerful that it can rip through time. Rory, sonic the plinth front. Inside you'll find three levers and a jumble of wiring. That's the regulator valve. After we've rebooted, you have ten minutes to get back to the TARDIS. Pull out the red and green receptors, re-route blue into red and green into blue. Leave red loose and on no account touch anything yellow. Come on, Rory. It's hardly rocket science. It's just quantum physics."
"Does he ever stop for air?" Rory made a face to Avalon.
"Eventually," Avalon mumbled with a smirk.
"Eugh," Rory pretended to shiver and continued with his work. No grandfather should ever have to hear that.
"Now the lever," the Doctor called, "Throw them in order! Amys, start thinking the most important thought you've ever had. Hold it in your head and do not let it go! Lever one."
Rory pulled the lever and immediately the two Amy's started to think of one common thought.
"She's doing the Macerena," Rory blinked.
"Aww..." Avalon smiled, knowing exactly the importance of that dance.
"Our first kiss," Rory whispered.
"Lever two, Rory," the Doctor ordered, "Lever three."
Rory pulled the levers and made the time glass shattered. Little by little, the young Amy appeared across them.
"Oh, Amy!" Rory exclaimed.
Amy glanced to her older self and blinked, "Oh, my God."
Rory ran over and hugged Amy, both incredibly happy. Avalon watched and smiled with true joy, though she became a bit sad for the older Amy, and soon it was the same story for the young couple.
"Sorry..." Rory quietly said.
"Hello," the older Amy greeted.
"Hello," the young Amy waved.
"I don't know what to..." they both began but stopped when they realized both of them were talking at the same time.
"Weird," Avalon and Rory whispered.
"OK, this is weird. Right, just stop doing that," the two ginger became defensive, and irritated.
"How about Amy One speaks first?" Rory suggested.
Both gingers turned on him, "Which one's Amy One?"
"Oh, wrong move," Avalon made a face.
"I am," both gingers argued, "No, I am! Rory! Rory, just stop doing that!"
"Both of you shut the hell up!" Avalon yelled and succeeded in quieting them down.
"Ah!" Rory hissed as the glasses started sparking.
"Oh. Rory, Rory, take the glasses off. You're getting temporal feedback," the Doctor called to him as Rory threw the glasses to the floor, "Whoa! Calm down, dear! Ava, Rory, Amy, we've created a massive paradox and the TARDIS hates it. She's self-phasing, trying to get out of here. What's nasty Amy done to you? Just calm down, dear. Hang on in there. Ava, Rory, you've got eight minutes left. I'm sorry, you're on your own now."
"We're not on our own," Avalon tried to look at the positive side, "There's Rory and me and...two Amy's," she made a face, "Yeah, maybe this is bad."
"We're not on our own," Avalon looked around, "There's Rory, and...two Amys," she made a face, "Okay yeah, this can go bad real soon."
"Do not be alarmed," handbots appeared.
"Incoming!" Rory exclaimed as several more robots appeared for them.
'With me," the present Amy handed her younger self the staff.
"I don't get one?" Avalon frowned with disappointment.
"Absolutely not!" Both Amys immediately declared, flinching Avalon.
"Okay, freaky how you both do that," she mumbled as Rory took her to their positions.
"Amy, Kate Hayler, year ten hockey," called present Amy.
Young Amy immediately got the idea, "Go for the shins!" she smashed the handbot's shins and flipped the robot over on its back.
"Rory!" Avalon cried as a Handbot appeared in front of her, "We need weapons!" she kicked the handbot back.
"They're cutting off the Departure Gate. We can't get back to the TARDIS," Rory had glanced back the way they'd come in as he tried battling out his own handbot.
"Side door!" present Amy offered, "We'll go behind them!"
~ 0 ~
As they made their way down the staircase, the two Amys had started a conversation that didn't end so well...
"Think you're coming with us, just like that?" younger Amy was demanding an answer, and fast, from her older self.
"Yeah, just like that."
"Rory, talk to her!" young Amy looked at Rory who was ahead of them, with Avalon.
"Now, ladies..." the man began but Avalon cut through, heavily annoyed with the argument.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Avalon shouted, "You sound like snobbish children!"
"Oi!" both Amys frowned at her, 'Don't talk to me that way, I'm your-"
"Amy," Rory had caught where the sentence was ending and stopped running, giving each of his wives sharp looks.
Avalon noticed the little looks shared between all three, and it surprised her more that the disagreement had vanished and a common agreement had appeared, "What? What is it?"
She received no such answer and was instead pulled away, continuing their route for the TARDIS. Soon again, the disagreements had risen up between the two Amys.
"Where are you going to live?" young Amy was asking her older self.
"Not with you, don't worry. I'll go travelling. Pop back for Christmas, maybe Easter."
"Amy, you always say, cooking Christmas dinner, you wish there were two of you," Rory tried to humor but it seemed not to be working.
They followed the older Amy up to a room with shut doors. She used the sonic on the doors to get it open.
"Why can't we just teleport inside?" Avalon curiously wondered.
"It's not a teleport, it's a time jump."
"They can't shunt within the same timestream," young Amy said.
"Yes," her older self agreed.
"The TARDIS is in the Gallery," Rory reminded as they finally entered the room.
"Gallery closed."
The older Amy ran up to a table in the center and pressed the buttons, "Controls are stuck. They've locked them from outside."
"Well can't you unlock them?" Rory raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, give me a minute and your cutest smile," she winked just as Rory smiled, "That's the one."
"Can you stop flirting with me?" he cleared his throat, "You're old enough to be..."
"I've known you my whole life. How many games of Doctors and Nurses?"
"Eugh," Avalon shivered as she went up to them, "Now I get why you do that with the Doctor and I. Totally, completely, unnecessary."
Suddenly, all the doors of the room opened up to reveal handbots, "Do not be alarmed. This is a kindness."
Older Amy chucked her staff to young Amy while Rory tried using the sonic on the controls, eventually pressing the correct button and opening the doors to the room the TARDIS was in. Older Amy took lead with her sword and staff to use on the handbots they came across with. Everyone else made a run across the room while pushing several more handbots out of their way.
"Go! I've got your back!" Older Amy shouted to them as she took care of more handbots.
Young Amy was touched by a handbot on the face and gave a shout as she fell to the floor. Upon seeing that, Rory ran over to her, with the Mona Lisa portrait, and rammed it on the handbot's head, successfully shutting it down. He then picked up Amy and started running again.
"Is she okay!?" Avalon followed after him as they headed for the TARDIS.
"Hopefully!" Rory kicked the TARDIS doors open and rushed inside. He set her down on the floor just as the Doctor came over to check on her.
"It's just an anaesthetic. She'll be fine," he quickly stood up and ran for the doors, making eye contact with present Amy. She knew what he was going to do and so dropped her weapons and charged across the room for the TARDIS. The Doctor willed himself to shut the doors, "I'm sorry," he breathed as he locked it.
"What are you doing?" Rory stood up angrily.
"I lied to her, Rory," the Doctor confessed, looking at the door where present Amy had arrived and was pounding on it to be let inside, "There can't be two Amys in the TARDIS. The paradox is too massive."
"She'll die!" Rory shouted.
"Technically, she wouldn't," Avalon slowly stood up, quietly rubbing her arm, "I mean, if time is rewritten then technically she'll never have existed."
"But she happened!" Rory couldn't stop shouting, "She's there!" he violently pointed at the door.
"No, she's not real," the Doctor brought himself to say it.
"She is real, let her in!"
"Look, we take this Amy, we leave ours. There can only be one Amy in the TARDIS. Which one do you want?" the Doctor grabbed Rory and put him in front of the doors, his hand over the latch, "It's your choice."
"This isn't fair," Rory spat, "You're turning me into you."
"Your choice, Rory..."
"I, er.." Rory faced the doors, his mind going blank for a second.
The Doctor returned to young Amy and Avalon, checking the unconscious ginger a final time before heading for the console. Avalon tried touching him but he shook her off, not wanting to face her after what he'd done.
"Rory? Please," present Amy put a hand on the window of the door, making Rory do the same, "The look on your face when you carried her. Me. Her. When you carried her away, you used to look at me like that. I'd forgotten how much you loved me. I'd forgotten how much I loved being her. Amy Pond, in the TARDIS. With Rory Williams."
"I'm sorry, I can't do this," Rory declared and moved to turn the latch open.
"If you love me, don't let me in," Present Amy surprised him with the request, "Open that door, I will, I'll come in. I don't want to die. I won't bow out bravely. I'll be kicking and screaming, fighting. To the end."
"Oh, Amy. Amy, I love you," Rory took a long sigh, knowing he would have to listen t her request.
"I love you too. Don't let me in," present Amy pleaded, "Tell Amy, your Amy, I'm giving her the days. The days with you. The days to come. The days I can't have. Take them, please. I'm giving you my days."
Rory let go of the latch and stepped away from the door, "I'm so, so sorry..."
With that, the Doctor de-materialized the TARDIS from the planet. They had moved Amy to one of the chairs by the console and checked to make sure there was nothing wrong with her. She would just be sleeping for a bit more.
"Did you always know it would never work? Saving both Amys?" Rory asked the Doctor, the two sitting on the staircase looking after Amy.
"I promised you I'd save her and there she is. Safe," the Doctor patted the man's shoulder.
"Yeah, there she is," Rory had to agree on it.
As they stood up, Amy began waking up. The Doctor headed for the corridors to give them some time. Avalon was coming out from the corridor with a blanket for Amy.
"Hey," she tried to greet him in an attempt to start a conversation with him since he was seemingly trying to avoid her.
The Doctor mumbled a 'hey' back but moved around her and continued his way to the corridors. She looked down for a moment then walked towards Rory, getting the surprise to see Amy awake...and questioning for her older self.
~ 0 ~
Later in the night, Avalon crawled out of her bed and grabbed a white blanket to drape over her shoulders. She hadn't slept very well, mostly because she didn't really feel tired, but it was more to the day they had. She hoped that perhaps something to drink could do the job. Of course a normal person would go for a tea...Avalon went with a strawberry milkshake. She had a nice pink milkshake in front of her, topped with whip cream but absolutely no cherry on top. Just as she was about to take a sip, the Doctor entered, unaware she was in there.
"Hey," she decided to greet him again and managed to surprise him.
"You're...not supposed to be awake," the Doctor eyed her suspiciously, seeing the blanket still over her yet a brand new milkshake in her hands.
"I wasn't tired," she shrugged, "Insomnia, remember?"
"Right..." the Doctor looked to the side. She would still think it was insomnia and not that tonight was one of those nights she didn't need the rest.
"You want some?" Avalon slid her glass to him, "It's strawberry."
"What? No cherry?" he eyed the glass.
"Eugh, I don't like them," she crinkled her nose at the thought of a cherry on her drink. "It just ruins the milkshake."
He smiled at her, making a mental note for future references. It would go under the same list that involved never giving her anything with fish.
"Fairy Tale Man, are you mad with me?"
"What? Never!"
"Then why are you avoiding me?"
"I'm not-"
"Please don't waste time in denying what is so clearly true," Avalon sighed again and looked down, "I know perfectly well when people are avoiding me and you, sir, are doing it."
The Doctor knew she was thinking of the people in Leadworth who tried their best to avoid her at all costs and on no account did he ever want her to think he was one of them. "Okay, so maybe I didn't want to talk...but it wasn't because you did something," He took a seat next to her. "It was because of what I did."
"What you YOU did?" Avalon raised an eyebrow and straightened up, "And what exactly was that? Cos I think I missed it."
"What happened today...I...it's a bit complicated to forget," the Doctor sighed, "Especially when it's my fault."
"No," Avalon reached for his hand, "It's so not your fault. You didn't mean for any of this to happen."
"Well my little accident caused Amy to live 36 years in solitary, nearly made you and Rory die and-"
"What is the point in thinking of what happened and could've happened when it's all over?" Avalon raised an eyebrow, "We're okay now, don't bother yourself with that stuff."
"That 'stuff' is important to me," the Doctor frowned, "One little error and bam, Amy's dead. Or one little slip and oh look, Rory just got squashed. Lena did good in leaving, honestly."
"And me? What, you think I should've left too, then?" Avalon urged him to answer then groaned when he just looked away from her. "This is not happening," she mumbled to herself as she stood up and promptly moved over to sit on his lap, her arms around his neck. "I thought you never wanted me to leave..." she forced him to look at him with a hand under his chin.
"I don't," the Doctor quickly clarified, "But I can't help worrying what could happen to you." His mind kept flashing him bits and pieces of his profile he had from the Teselecta. Each day brought him closer to his supposed death day and because he still had all the Ponds with him, it meant he would be dragging them to that day as well. He couldn't do that to Avalon. If the Silence and Kovarian did manage to kill him then he would at least make sure she was okay. If he was dead, then they would finally let her and the rest of her family live in peace. That was the only bit of peace he could find in all that mess, but right now he still had Avalon and he didn't want to lose her. So what was he supposed to do? He brushed his hand against her cheek. "Ava, I love you. I would never want to leave you." Want being the operative word. He would never want to leave her, but if it ever came down to her safety and their relationship...he would choose her safety in a heartbeat. It was what he promised Rory, after all.
"Doctor, I know that you feel guilty about what happened but...it wasn't your fault. You can't go around blaming yourself for everything bad that happens. That's unfair."
"I can't help it," the Doctor admitted. "You are my responsibility-"
"No, we're not. We choose to travel with you. We choose to explore and whatever consequences there are. It's about time you start realizing that and I'm gonna make sure that you do."
"Yeah, what are you going to do?" The Doctor looked at her with a small, amused, smile.
"Well, for starters," she reached for her milkshake on the table and took a sip. She then offered him some. "It's therapeutic."
The Doctor laughed. "Right." He moved the straw over to his side and drank from it. "It really needs a cherry though."
Avalon crinkled her nose. "Absolutely not! Unless you want to be single again. Go on, take another drink. I'll make more but you have to stay around so I can keep reminding you that nothing was your fault."
The Doctor wouldn't argue against having that type of night with her. He just knew that it wouldn't matter what she said to him because he would always want to keep her and her grandparents safe.
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omgviolette12 · 3 years
Text
Helena’s Skin
Chapters: 1/1
Words: 4500+
Pairing: Original female character of color/Tom Hiddleston
Warnings: Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Angst, Horror
 I’ve also posted this on AO3
There’s pictures there, in case you want some bonus content.
Story Playlist, for optimal reading experience : Here
Phew..this plot bunny was running around for a HOT minute! I'm not sure what my obsession is with stories that deal with betrayal of some sort...but I think I'm just a slut for some angst. Also, I've been listening to a ton of silent hill soundtracks, which put me in the mood to write something depressing. And goodness is that game good. This story is largely inspired by it, with some of the dialogue, text, and locations from the original game interwoven with my story. I changed things up a lot to follow the flow of my narrative though.
-----
Tom dreamt of her again that night.
Pale, blue-tinted skin. Dark sunken eyes. Her stiff, swaying feet. He could even see the chipped red nail polish on her toes with clarity.
The cruel memory was always, without fail, in perfect detail.
Over the years though, he had slowly come to accept it. The pills never helped to stop the nightmares, and no amount of avoiding sleep was going to help his case anyway.
He liked to think of it as penance.
As always, he jumped up from the bed in cold sweat. And from the cross look on his girlfriend’s face, he must’ve woken her up on accident as well.
“I’m...I’m sorry Jen,” He turned a bit to rub at her naked shoulder, and hoped the action would coax her back to sleep, “ Just another one of those falling dreams..”
“Hmrrph..” She shrugged off his hand, and turned to face away from him. Thankfully, it didn’t take much for her eyes to close once again.
Tom sighed, and rubbed at his face tiredly. Whenever he had that dream...he could never fall back to sleep. It was as if all the emotions of that day were renewed, and it was hard to shake them off until morning.
His therapist suggested he acknowledge what he felt, during this time. The sorrow. The regret. The guilt. The gut-wrenching pain.
And if he were to be completely honest, it worked most days.
Often, he would find himself scribbling away at his personal journal at 3 am, nursing a cup of tea.
He wrote about how much he wished he could reverse time. The words he could have taken back, and the words he could have said instead. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her, and that he regretted ever leaving her.
Helena. Her name was Helena, but he could never bring himself to write it out. Just referred to her vaguely with pronouns.
But tonight...he couldn’t even bring himself to write. The dream was especially vivid this time around, to a disturbing degree. He could even smell the stench.
What’s worse, that smell was just as he remembered it three years ago.
Tom resisted the urge to throw up at the thought of it, and stumbled out of bed to the bathroom. He turned on the sink, and splashed the coldest water he could onto his face.
That probably wasn’t the best thing to do, either. He could still see her, swaying in that dark room against his closed eyelids.
His eyes shot open immediately, and he found himself dry heaving into the sink.
“Fuck…” he cursed silently, as his eyes began to well with tears.
It was going to be another one of those nights, and the only thing he could do was suffer through the dark memories until morning.
Slowly, he made his way to the kitchen. There was little tea could do at this stage, but it was a welcomed distraction.
“You’re really leaving...aren’t you?”
Her voice was soft, softer than it usually was.
All the yelling and screaming must have destroyed every malice she could have mustered in her body.
Her dark brown eyes were downcast, red-rimmed with sorrow.
“Lena. No...Helena. I never wanted for any of this to happen.” Although Tom intended to sound a bit caring, the words left his mouth with harsh coldness.
“I love Jen too much. Too much to stay...I’m sorry. Please understand.”
His wife looked up at him then. Her chapped lips trembled immensely with bridled anger. And even though her long hair was rather unkempt, he could still see the glare she sent his way through her bangs.
“Five...f..five years Tom. You’re r-really going to...to throw it all away for that..for..for her?”
Tears spilled from her eyes as she stuttered in anguish, and she fisted the fabric of her dress painfully as she continued, “ I... I love you so much, Tommy. I never meant anything I said...I was sick and -“
“Stop with that!” Helena was startled, and she stared up at him with wide eyes. Throughout their argument, this was the first time he had yelled so loudly at her.
His eyes were narrowed, shoulders squared. He was the embodiment of hostility.
“Don’t say things that you don’t fucking mean.”
Tom didn’t wait for her to reply. He grabbed his jacket, and left the house with a slam to the door. He’d pick up his belongings later, after he cooled down.
Although Helena infuriated him, he could never forgive himself if he hurt her physically. A part of him still loved her, even if it was small.
They were married for five years after all. He couldn’t necessarily forget it all, no matter how much he wished it was possible.
Their marriage...it was a happy one, at first. He remembered the day when he met her, how stunned he was by her beauty and tenderness.
He loved how her brown eyes looked against the sunlight, and the lone dimple that revealed itself when she smiled. He loved her gentle voice, when she would tell him about her day. Everything. He loved everything about this woman. Down from the hair, right to the toes.
However… things took a sharp turn for the worst when she became ill.
The doctors were clueless about what it was. It attacked her body so quickly and suddenly, no one could do much to help her ailing health.
Slowly but surely, she began to lose her glow.
Her smiling face was replaced with an ugly snarl, her body became skin and bones, and her kind words transformed into insults that aimed to shred at his heart.
She pushed him away with every chance she could, when all he wanted was to be there for the woman he loved.
So, who could blame him for straying?
Jennifer was kind, new, and beautiful. Everything that Helena was, but now wasn’t.
It didn’t matter to him that she was good friends with his wife. Surely, Helena would rather it be Jen than some stranger.
But now, she wanted to take back all those words of hatred, and backtrack like a coward. She begged for him to stay, despite all the times she pushed him away.
Her insults drove away the guilt whenever he went to Jennifer for solace. But if she decided to just take it all back now… where did that leave him?
Tom stewed like that for hours, walking about the neighborhood before he decided to make his way back to the house. It was late morning when he left, but the skies were already starting to darken.
Time flies when you’re upset, it seemed.
He readied and steeled himself to face her again. He was going to pack the rest of his things, and then leave.
For good this time.
But he hated that his heart still ached at the thought of it, despite everything that she put him through.
Tom entered the house cautiously, and searched for any signs of his wife. When he left, she was still sitting on the living room couch. Hours had gone by, so he wasn’t sure why he still expected her to be there.
Worst case scenario, she was in their bedroom. With how erratic she’d been acting lately, it wouldn’t be a surprise if she tried to prevent him from leaving.
Best case scenario, she was asleep in there. Her illness made her extremely weak, which caused her to sleep more often than not.
Tom found himself in front of the door, hand frozen on the knob.
He was tired, tired from all the fighting. If possible, he wanted to ignore her as he quietly gathered his things together.
With these thoughts in mind, he opened the door -
To the sight of Helena’s feet hovering above the floor.
“Tom, Tom? Thomas!”
He jumped from the kitchen table, and knocked his knee on it in surprise.
He grimaced, and looked up at Jennifer who gave him a worried look.
“Why are you out here? You even fell asleep..”
Tom looked around his surroundings, disoriented. He fell asleep?
He remembered coming to the kitchen to make some tea for his nerves. But before he realized it…
“I’m not sure how that happened...I’m sorry Jen.”
“..It’s okay, Tom. Are you feeling okay..?” She placed her hand on his forehead, her voice tinged with concern, “ You can call out sick, you know? Talk to me,”
Tom stiffened. He contemplated many times, talking to Jennifer about his dreams. But...she had been badly affected by Helena’s death as well.
She was friends with her, after all. Jen felt just as much guilt and shame that he did.
But Jennifer refused to talk about it, about her. Her way of coping was to forget Helena ever existed for her own sanity.
They were both monsters, monsters who drove the one they cared about to her death. They truly deserved one another.
Tom only shook his head at her question, and attempted to reassure her with a weak smile, “I’m fine, honest. But I’ll call out today...I’ve been working too much at the office.”
Jennifer didn’t pursue the topic any further, and returned his smile. “ Thank gosh, you’ve been taking way too many hours. Just relax for once,”
He watched as she moved about the kitchen through tired eyes, to fix herself some coffee. “There’s some mail on the table, by the way. I picked them up before I came in here.”
Now that she mentioned it, there was a small pile of envelopes on the table. He looked at them all indifferently, and dismissed the majority of them as junk or bills.
“..I’ll sift through them. Make me a cup as well, would you?”
He dragged the pile in front of him, and wiped his eyes to take away some of the droopiness.
He cracked his neck, and massaged his shoulder with a hand as he began to look through the mail. Like he expected, there were some bills, some junk… and..
A beige, worn out envelope that was sealed with red wax.
But the look of the envelope wasn’t what caught his eyes. It was the name on it that caused Tom’s throat to go dry, and his sweat to grow cold.
From: Helena
There wasn’t a return address, just her name.
Was this some sort of sick joke?
Unless it was possible for a dead woman to send letters, then the likelihood that it was his Helena that sent it was extremely low.
Still though...his hands wouldn’t stop shaking. Why did he feel so terrified?
First the nightmares, now this.
“Hey..everything okay?” Jen placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of him, and sat at the table, “You’ve been staring at that for a good minute now...is the bill that much?”
She took a sip of her own coffee, her voice lightly teasing.
“What? Oh, no, it’s nothing,” Tom quickly snapped out of it, and tossed the envelope aside as casually as he could, “Just some junk.”
Tom wasn’t sure what possessed him to take the envelope with him on his run.
Despite everything that told him to leave it closed, to leave it unread, he also felt the urgent need to keep it by his side.
He ran through a secluded park, with the envelope stuffed in his jacket pocket. If he was going to read it, he didn’t want Jennifer to know. Especially if it was actually from... her.
There was a drizzle earlier on, so the park benches were rather wet. However, he didn’t care as he plopped down to sit, and reached into his jacket pocket for the envelope.
A stray droplet of water from the overhanging tree fell on the envelope, as he sat and stared at it in silence.
Tom felt that he was probably overreacting. No, he most definitely was. There was no way on earth it was from his Helena. The same Helena who he still loved, to this very day. The same woman who took her own life that fateful evening.
He was only going to set himself for extreme disappointment if he hoped for that much.
Tom held his breath, and tore open the envelope without any regard for the wax seal.
And as he read its contents, the entire world came to a standstill.
In my restless dreams,
I see that town.
Silent Hill.
You promised me you'd take me
there again someday.
But you never did.
Well, I'm alone there now...
In our 'special place'...
Waiting for you...
Waiting for you to come to see me.
I know I’ve done some terrible things to you.
Something you’ll never forgive me for.
I wish I could change that, but I can’t.
I just...didn’t want you to see me like that anymore.
That ugly, repulsive me.
I was so angry all the time, and I
struck out at everyone I loved most.
Especially you, Tommy.
That's why I understand if you hate me, even now.
But I want you to know this.
I'll always love you.
And I want to see you, no matter how long it takes.
I’ll always be here…waiting.
With love,
Lena
He remembered her handwriting.  Her letters were always scribbled elegantly, but felt rushed at the same time. This was written by her. There was no doubt about it in his soul. He could even hear her gentle voice as he read it.
The emotions Tom currently felt was like a kaleidoscope. Confusion, hope. Sorrow, fear. And above all, excitement.
Excitement, at the small, unlikely chance that she was still alive.
Even if it didn’t make sense, even if it went against all reason. Even if he had been the one to pull her dead body from the ceiling himself.
If he had the chance to see her again...just once more…
He was going to take it.
-----
Tom vaguely remembered that town she spoke of, in the letter.
Silent hill.
They went there once, for their honeymoon. It was a foggy little town, ways out in the middle of nowhere. Although it was scarcely populated, it was beautiful.
Helena had a strange obsession with the town, and she begged him constantly to take her back. But he was the type to enjoy the hustle and bustle of people, and the town was far too quiet for his liking.
Quiet to the point of being unsettling.
So although she begged him practically every year, he would always dredge up some excuse as to why they couldn’t go.
But now here he was, on his way to that very town against all sense.
“This place...isn’t it a bit too creepy for a resort?” Jennifer’s voice broke the silence in the car, and reminded him that he was not alone. Her eyes were trained outside the window, with furrowed brows.
Tom ground his teeth in frustration. He couldn’t come up with a proper excuse, as to why he wanted to leave so suddenly without arousing suspicion.
So...he disguised the trip as a mini-vacation, for the both of them. It would have been extremely preferable if he came alone... but he’d figure something out, eventually.
“It’s supposed to be a quiet, peaceful getaway. We’ve been needing some of that for a while now,” Tom said, in a nonchalant tone. “Besides, it’s only for a day or two.”
“Eh...I guess,” Jennifer still sounded thoroughly unconvinced, as they passed by the dilapidated welcome sign of the town. “I just thought it’d be, I don’t know...well kept?”
“It’s a part of the charm.” Tom wasn’t sure if he wanted to convince her, or himself with that statement.
Jen had a point. It’s been years since he came to this place, but he remembered that there was a decent amount of people that lived here.
Although the area was indeed very quiet...it definitely wasn’t a ghost town like he was seeing.
They were well inside the town now, but they still had yet to see anyone. The oppressive fog didn’t help matters either. He glanced down at the map on his lap, just to make sure they were going in the right direction.
“Hey...do you think we should just turn around? It looks pretty abandoned,”
Jennifer worried at her lip, her expression uncertain.
“...Like I said. A part of the charm. We’ll see some people, eventually.”
He could feel her anxiety from the passenger seat, and it started to affect his own mood.
The only thing that kept him from turning the car around, was Helena. The prospect of possibly seeing her again was too great a temptation.
But the question is...where was she, exactly?
Helena mentioned something about a ‘special’ place in the letter. That she’d be waiting for him there. But there were just so many possibilities… because this whole town was their special place.
Did she mean the park, by the lake? They would spend hours sitting on the bench...just the two of them, staring at the water. In their own little world.
Could Helena truly be alive...waiting for him there? The man who betrayed her so cruelly?
“Tom...Tom!!”
At Jen's sudden screech, Tom hit the brakes immediately, which caused the car to lurch forward violently.
He looked at her, as his heart thrummed against his chest, “What, what is it!”
“There.. right there, there was... there was..!”
She looked absolutely terrified, as she stared outside of the passenger window.
“Jen, calm down! What did you see?”
She didn’t look at him at all, and continued to stare outside the window, “In the fog. I saw a lady..and she.. she looked like… she was just right there..!”
Tom couldn’t make sense of what she wanted to say at all. He pinched the bridge of his nose, and addressed her once again, “I know you’re paranoid, Jen. But please, just calm down. It was probably just a resident.”
He really wished he came here alone all the more.
Jennifer was really shaken up, for whatever reason. And she went silent for the rest of the ride. Though, he certainly wasn’t about to complain about that.
Eventually, they saw a large building in the distance, right alongside the lake they’d been driving by.
Lake View Hotel. The same hotel where he stayed with Helena, on their honeymoon.
“...We’re here.”
Tom parked right by the curb of the sidewalk, a reasonable distance from the building.
But...something wasn’t quite right.
When he first came here with Helena, he clearly remembered that the hotel was on the other side of the lake, and they had to cross it with a rowboat. It was surrounded by a body of water, after all. And it was only accessible by a boardwalk.
However, the building was on this side instead. Completely opposite from what he remembered.
He decided not to think too deeply about it, though. Years had passed, and things might’ve changed.
“Wait, we’re getting out here?!” Jennifer asked in disbelief, her voice raised. The area was run-down, foggy, and quite frankly, disgusting. Tom couldn’t even blame her for her discomfort.
“Yes, Jen. There’s nowhere else to park,” he said, and exited the car first. “Come on, before it starts to get dark.”
Jennifer left the car with extreme hesitancy, and crossed her arms to hug herself. “Tom...this...this is like a freaking ghost town! Are you sure we can’t just...go somewhere else?” She tried to reason with him...but it was like he was another person entirely when he replied.
“If that’s what you want to do, I won’t stop you. Take the car.” He answered curtly, and began to walk ahead of her.
“I...what? Wait, please, Tom!” She ran up to him, and grabbed his arm, “What do you mean take the car?! You know I can’t drive. And I can’t just leave you behind! This...this isn’t like you,” Jennifer attempted to turn him towards her, but he remained stiff.
“...Did you ever really know me, Jen?”
When he finally looked at her, Jennifer took a step back due to his scary expression. “Because I don’t think you do. Not like Lena did anyway.”
“Len...Helena? Why..what does she have to do with this?!”
Jen immediately went on the defensive, and matched his hostile energy.
“She has everything to do with this! You were her friend, and she was my wife. Yet you refuse to even talk about her-”
“She killed herself! She left us behind! Even before that, she treated you like shit! She broke your heart...and I was the one who picked up the fucking pieces!”
The argument had escalated extremely quickly. But Tom didn’t care.
“How..how fucking dar-”
Tom didn’t even get to finish his sentence. He had blinked his eyes for even less than a second.
And then she was gone.
Tom was stunned, and didn’t register what happened.
His mouth was left open as the sentence died on his lips.
“Huh..?”
He looked around disoriented, whiplashed, and confused.
What? How? Where..What?
These were the questions that ran rampant inside his mind, as he looked about frantically for the woman he was just fighting with.
Jennifer was just right there, in front of him. He even remembered her angered expression clearly. But he had barely blinked his eyes before she disappeared into thin air.
She didn’t even scream.
Tom’s bones were weak from fear and confusion. He felt nauseous.
“..Jen? Jennifer? Jennifer!” He began to walk ahead, almost running, and screamed into the fog.
He walked around the area, and yelled her name like that for what felt like hours. But what answered him back were the endless echoes beyond the mist.
“Where...where the hell..?” Tom was out of breath, his body wrought with fear and exhaustion. He brought his hands to his knees and hunched over.
He came here to find Helena. He just wanted to see his wife again, to talk to her one last time. Even if it were some sort of delusion he concocted to stay sane.
But now..even Jennifer was...
He tried not to think about that possibility. Jennifer had to be alright. She had somewhere in this godforsaken town.  
Tom looked up from his knees, and up at the large building ahead. Lakeview hotel.
He was going to start there.
Inside the hotel was a stark contrast to the rest of the town. While the outside was in a state of disrepair...the inside of the hotel remained untouched by time. In fact...it was just as he remembered.
The only difference was...the lights were almost dim to the point of darkness, and he needed to use his phone light for added visibility.
“Jennifer..? Are you in here?” Tom called out, as he walked the halls of the hotel. He passed the receptionist’s desk, and moved towards the elevator in the distance.
Despite the apparent lack of proper electricity, it still seemed to function perfectly.
According to the elevator, there were six floors in total.
And without hesitation, he immediately chose the third floor.
Jennifer could have been on the first two floors, for all he knew. He could have searched every room, every corner.
However..he and Helena stayed in room 312 for their honeymoon.
It was a beautiful room, he remembered. There were large windows, and the view of the lake was extraordinary.
As Tom felt the elevator move, and watched as the numbers slowly rose to three...he recalled a memory.
“Goodness...isn’t it beautiful, Tommy?”
Tom watched as his beloved sat by the window, her hand pressed against the glass.
“I’m so glad we came here...it’s peaceful.”
He laughed, and moved closer to sit next to his wife. He draped his arms around her shoulders, and pulled her closely to his chest.
“I think it’s a bit too peaceful, though. I’m not sure how you convinced me to come, but,”
Tom breathed in the scent of her hair, and closed his eyes. “I agree, it is beautiful. Hazy and mysterious, just like a dream. It reminds me of you.”
Her embarrassed laugh echoed throughout the room, and she nuzzled her head further into his neck. “Hehe...you’re such a charmer.”
She tightened her arms around his body. Her next words were whispered faintly, but he heard her clearly through the quiet of the room.
“But if this is a dream...I don’t ever want to wake up.”
Tom stood inside the room. By the large window, was a figure.
Her hair was a short, dusty blonde, and she wore a white floral dress.
The same dress that Helena wore that day on their honeymoon.
However...his wife was far from blonde.
The only blonde he knew was Jennifer.
“Jen..Jennifer? Is that you..?” She turned to look at him, instead of the window.
As soon as he saw her face, his suspicions were confirmed.
“Oh.. oh thank goodness,” Tom breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that his hunch was correct. He didn’t know why she suddenly appeared in this room, but was pleased that he found her this quickly.
“Jen, you were right. We..we shouldn’t stay here…”
Jennifer only looked at him with a confused expression, and approached him with an air of worry.
“Tommy, did something happen to you? Are you...confusing me with someone else?”
Tom looked at her like she was crazy. “What? Jen, what are you on about..? And why are you wearing that..”
Jennifer had never, not once, referred to him as ‘Tommy’ in the three years they had been together. That was Helena’s endearment, and no one else’s.
She giggled, the sound of it melodic and gentle. “Oh, Tommy...you were always so forgetful. Remember that time, when you got lost trying to find our room at this hotel? I almost had to call a search party!”
She laughed once again, this time unrestrained. He recognized that beautiful laughter.
“Aren’t…” Tom’s throat felt impossibly dry. “Aren’t you Jennifer?”
Jennifer went silent. Her smile deepened, and her eyes darkened from their previous shade of blue.
“It doesn’t matter who I am. I’m here for you, Tom.”
He didn’t move an inch as she approached him.
Slowly, she removed the straps of her dress.
He allowed her to take his hand, and she placed it on top of her naked chest.
Tom didn’t realize it, but his face was drenched with tears. He squeezed the softness of her flesh, and his nails dug to the point it drew blood.
It was warm. He held his blood-stained fingers up to his face.
Before him, stood a woman with dark brown eyes, that would reflect beautifully against the sun.
Before him, stood a woman with the gentlest voice.
Before him, stood a woman with long dark hair, that ended right below her shoulders.
Helena smiled a sickly sweet smile. She took his hand once again, and moved it to cup her face.
“...See? I’m real.”
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wizardofahz · 4 years
Text
Springing the Trap
A/N: Oh good, we’re talking about accountability now. This is set after 5x08 and disregards everything after.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Come to kill me yourself?” Lena says the moment Alex walks into her office, almost daring Alex to prove her right.
“I never wanted to kill you,” Alex replies. She’s made the deliberate decision to come clad in a leather jacket and jeans. She’s still armed of course, but she hopes the lack of DEO uniform will make this conversation a little less fraught.
“Aiming a Claymore satellite at me says otherwise.”
“No, it says I wanted to keep my sister and everyone else on this planet safe.” Also Alex would personally appreciate it if everyone, Lena included, would leave her brain alone.
“Kara,” Lena scoffs.
“Yeah, okay, let’s talk about Kara,” Alex says. That is the reason she’s here after all.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Lena almost snaps despite the fact that she was the one to focus on Kara. It’s not her fault. She doesn’t realize Alex set the trap.
“I disagree. You’re mad because you think Kara didn’t trust you, that she made a fool of you, but, Lena, it’s not that simple.” Alex plants the bait. “Knowing Supergirl’s identity is a tricky thing with so many potential consequences. Kara just wants to protect us. If people know her identity, they could use it as a weapon.” Alex lures her in with a pointed look. “Other people have.”
Lena bites. “I would never--”
“Funny you should say that,” Alex interrupts. “I had an interesting conversation with Andrea Rojas. After a couple run-ins with Acrata, I started putting two and two together.” Given all the masked heroes she works with, Alex has gotten good at seeing beyond the mask. “Don’t worry. She kept the details around your involvement rather vague.”
“At least someone knows how to be a good friend,” Lena says with her own pointed look.
Alex hums skeptically. “Well it’s certainly not you. Andrea made this offhand comment about you promising an exclusive the night Kara won her Pulitzer but suddenly backing out, and I started thinking to myself, what changed that night?”
Alex pauses, inviting Lena to answer. She’s practically monologuing. She knows this. It’s stereotypical villain behavior--and in this scenario, she probably is the villain from Lena’s perspective--but she’s not doing it to hear the sound of her own voice. She’s doing it to lay out the facts as she understands them and watch how Lena reacts to them.
Lena shifts, glancing away briefly before defiantly returning her gaze to Alex. “I imagine a lot did.”
Alex smiles wryly at her deflection. “I’m guessing that the biggest thing that changed in your life was that Kara told you she’s Supergirl, and see, that’s only relevant if you were planning on selling her out. So tell me again that you would never. Because I’m going to need more than a little performative indignation to convince me.”
It’s a little bit of a stretch, but this is the worst case scenario, and Alex has been trained to always account for the worst case scenario.
“I didn’t--”
The trap is sprung. Alex gets her confirmation in Lena’s shift from the all-encompassing “never” to the defensive past tense. “I thought so.”
Alex’s stomach twists at the thought of what a reveal like that could’ve done to Kara, and she has to remind herself that it didn’t actually happen. She’ll still have to tell Kara though.
Lena bristles at Alex’s knowing tone. “You have no right to come in here and accuse me of things I haven’t done.”
Alex sighs and rubs a hand against her forehead. “Lena, believe it or not, me being here like this, this is my way of showing you I care. You hurt my little sister. I’ve done much worse to people who’ve done less.”
“And you say I‘m the bad guy,” Lena quips.
But she misses the point. This isn’t about good guys vs. bad guys. This is about self-awareness, about understanding where on the morality spectrum someone’s choice of action lands.
Arresting Lena might be the kindest thing Alex could do for her--a decisive action to prevent her from really hurting anyone--but she can’t. Humans don’t fall under the DEO’s purview, and all she has to pass along to the appropriate authorities is speculation and hearsay.
Lena is not like Maxwell Lord. Illegally arresting Maxwell Lord did nothing to change his world perspective. He understood the rules of the game. Lena, on the other hand, has a confused, fluctuating schematic of the world of morality. Doing the same with Lena would paint Alex as the villain and probably provide a justification for her actions. She could make Lena worse, but then again, Lena seems capable of making herself worse.
Lena continues, “Seeing as you don’t have any jurisdiction over me and no evidence, I suggest you leave.”
Alex nods her assent, but she stops short at the door. She has one last thing to say.
“All of this,” Alex says with deliberately generic phrasing. She’s sure there’s so much more that she doesn’t even know about. “It’s going to catch up to you. You’re paving your own way to hell with all your good intentions. I know you don’t believe me. You think you’re smarter than me, that you know better, but I hope you figure it out for yourself soon because if you don’t, and especially if you keep hurting Kara to do it, my next visit won’t be a courtesy one.”
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blackteaandbones · 4 years
Text
With Volume 3 of the Supercorp Zine underway, I figured I should finally get around to sharing my story from Volume 2!
“Home is Where the Mini-Marshmallows are”
Kara Danvers / Lena Luthor
Lena comes home from work to find an intruder in her apartment; a small, furry intruder with eight eyes, eight legs and a taste for marshmallows. Luckily, she’s dating the expert in alien pest control.
Lena Luthor was a strong, smart, successful woman, the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company, a scientist, an engineer and a pretty damn good chess player.
She had single-handedly saved the world on multiple occasions.
She took on alien invasions, bio-weapons and super villains  and she won.
She was not the damsel in distress.
Usually.
But when she got up in the middle of the night for a glass of water, and something small and furry (and blue?) streaked across the kitchen floor, over her bare feet and disappeared somewhere among the stacks of unopened boxes in her brand new apartment, she did what any reasonable, sane person would do; retreated to higher ground (aka a chair,) and called her girlfriend.
“Lena?”
“In here!”
Kara had thrown a jacket on over her pajamas, but her hair was still sleep-tousled, her glasses were sitting crookedly on her nose, and she may or may not have broken the lock letting herself in. Lena had never been happier to see her. “Are you okay? You sounded really worried on the-” She paused, blinking up at Lena with that adorable little crinkle of confusion between her eyes. “What are you doing up there?”
Lena gathered what little dignity she could given the situation -stranded on a chair in the middle of her kitchen in nothing but her underthings and a dressing gown designed to show off more than it concealed- wrapping the sheer silk more firmly around herself and lifting her chin. “There's an alien in my apartment.”
“Psht, an alien?” Kara scoffed, straightening her glasses. “There's no alien in your apartment, why would you think there was alien in your apartment?”
Lena raised a single eyebrow.
“Oh, right.” Kara had the grace to look sheepish. “Old habits. What happened?”
Lena gave her a brief description of the encounter, shuddering at the memory of little feet running over her toes. “It's hiding somewhere in there,” she said, waving in the general direction of the rest of the apartment.
Kara frowned. “You're sure it wasn't a mouse?”
“Mice don't usually come in pastel.”
“Good point. So you're...”
“Staying right here.” Lena crossed her arms. “I don't do mice.”
“But you just said it wasn't a mouse...”
“It was small and furry and it had a tail. Don't judge me.”
“Okay.” Kara took off her jacket and and rolled up her sleeves. “I'll take a look.”
(Lena would have been lying if she said the sight of those well muscled forearms and Kara's endearingly serious save the day face, wasn't almost enough to make up for needing to be saved in the first place. Almost.)
Sliding her glasses down her nose Kara scanned the apartment, quickly spotting the tiny intruder hiding under Lena's bed. “There you are...”
Lena's room was dark and quiet. There was another stack of boxes piled up against the wall, but there was some evidence that she had started to unpack since the last time Kara was here; clothes hung up neatly in the closet, a few books on the shelf under the window and a picture of her and Kara on the bedside table. Kara smiled at that before kneeling down beside the bed and twitching the blanket aside to get a better look at their intruder.
Eight glowing eyes blinked back at her from the shadows.
Definitely not a mouse.
“Hey there little guy,” she crooned. “Don't be scared. Lena's super nice, really. You just surprised her that's all. Come on out and we'll try to figure out who you belong to...” While she was talking, she edged as far as she could under the bed and reached out a hand. All eight eyes narrowed, shrinking back against the wall. Kara stretched a little further and there was a flash of light, followed by a pop! and an electric sizzle. Kara yelped and jerked back, smacking her head against the bed frame which cracked and split down the middle, dropping the mattress down on top of her.
“Oomph!”
Kara?” Lena called from the kitchen. “What happened?”
“I owe you a new bed!” Kara yelled back, muffled by the tangle of bedding as she squirmed her way free.
“Well this isn't exactly how I imagined us breaking the first one in,” Lena drawled switching on the light, “but I suppose it's my fault for not going with the metal frame.”
“Ha, ha,” Kara muttered, feeling her face heat up. “You came down off your chair?”
“I was worried.”
“Aw...”
“About my poor furniture. You on the other hand, are indestructible.”
Kara pouted, holding up her burned fingers. “Tell that to Pikachu!”
“It hurt you?” Lena softened instantly, taking Kara's hand and pressing a kiss to the reddened fingertips. Anything else she might have said was lost to the gooey haze that took over Kara's brain every time Lena's lips came anywhere near the vicinity of Kara's very gay self.
“Kara?”
“Hmm...?”
Lena sighed, but she looked pleased. “I asked if you think we should call Alex?”  
“What? No.” Kara shook her head. “It's not dangerous, just scared. Come on, I have an idea. You found it in the kitchen, right?”
“Yes...” Lena followed close behind, hanging onto the hem of Kara's pajama top and keeping a sharp look out for any movement from the rest of the apartment.
“Well maybe it was looking for something to eat.” Kara rummaged through the cupboards and pulled out a bag of mini-marshmallows. After she and Lena had become official, the Super Friends had banded together to move Lena out of the hotel and into her new penthouse apartment. Given who she was dating, that had included stocking up groceries.
With or without her approval.
Lena wrinkled her nose. “I don't remember buying those.”
“You didn't have any good snacks!” Kara opened the bag and took another quick scan of the apartment. “It's under the couch. I'm going to see if we can lure it out.” She laid a trail of marshmallows from the edge of the couch to the middle of the living room floor and emptied out a box of books. Then she tugged Lena over to the couch. Lena shuddered, but she sat down next to Kara, tucking her feet safely up under her.
“And now... we wait,”
“What if it doesn't like marshmallows?” Lena whispered.
“Everyone likes marshmallows,” Kara assured her, poised on her knees with the open box held at the ready.
“Are you sure that's going to hold it?”
“Shhh...”
They waited.
Lena tried to resist, she really did, but the minutes ticked by and Kara was right there...
“Lena...” Kara hissed.
“What?”
“Stop distracting me!”
“Oh, is that distracting?” Lena purred. Stopping was the last thing on her mind. “What about this?”
“Lena...”
They both froze at a rustle from under the couch. Kara held her breath and a small white ball of fluff slowly crept into view. It's fur was a constantly moving halo around it, oscillating through a pastel rainbow of colour and then back to white again. It had eight little legs ending in two toes each, feather-like feelers, and a long tail that curled up and over it's back. It gobbled up the first marshmallow with tiny little squeaks of excitement and quickly moved on to the second.
Kara untangled herself from Lena and lifted the box, sliding noiselessly off the couch and readying herself to strike. She waited until it had finished the second and third marshmallow before she pounced.
Three things happened very quickly.
Kara slammed the box down.
The alien burned a hole through the cardboard and bolted.
Lena screamed.
Kara spun around. Lena was frozen on the couch with the fluffy little arsonist in her lap, trying to hide itself  in her shirt and peeping the smallest and saddest little peeps either of them had ever heard.
“Oh...” Lena unfroze, tears filling her eyes. “She's so scared, can't you feel it?”
“Careful,” Kara cautioned as Lena let go of her death grip on the couch and brought her hands up to cradle the furry menace. “We don't know what... oh.”
“It's okay,” Lena said softly, stroking the strange white fur; pink and purple swirls radiating out from under her fingers. The alien's cries gradually tapered off as it snuggled in; turning around three times with its strangely clawed toes catching on the silk of Lena's shirt and it's yawn wide enough to reveal several rows of pointed teeth before laying down in a tight little knot and closing all eight of it's eyes, tail curled up over Lena's thumb like a cinnamon roll. It was cute, in that weird way all baby animals were cute, and Lena was clearly smitten.
Kara sat down carefully beside them. One eye opened and a menacing little growl rumbled out from under Lena's hands. “Seriously?” Kara huffed and moved back. The growling stopped. “Of course it only likes you.”
“She has good taste,” Lena teased, but she shuffled them around, tucking the alien into the crook of her elbow and drawing Kara's arm over her shoulder.
Kara wisely kept her fingers out of biting range. “How do you know it's a she?”
Len shrugged. “I have no idea. I just knew.” She looked up at Kara. “Could she be telepathic?”
“I wouldn't know,” Kara admitted. “Kryptonians are immune to psychic powers. I can ask J'onn, though. Maybe he could help us figure out where she came from. We can't give her to the DEO after what they did to the Morai, but we can't exactly keep her either. There's no way that thing is passing for a pekingese.”
“I could attach an image inducer to her collar,” Lena mused.  “We'll say we adopted a kitten. Lesbians like cats, right?”
Kara snorted a laugh. “I'll ask Alex, though she's probably going to say we're missing a few steps. I'm pretty sure it's moving in together, and then pets.”
“Well it's a good thing I already had an extra key made, isn't it?”
“You did?” Kara tried for casual but inside she was doing back flips.
“Of course, why do you think I took the penthouse with a skylight? I'm certainly not going to be the one flying in and out of-”
Kara cut her off with a kiss, and by the time she pulled away they were both grinning like idiots.
They stayed there until the first light of sunrise began filtering in through the wide wall of windows. Curtains were another thing Lena hadn't gotten around to yet, but Kara didn't mind. She didn't care if they ever got curtains. She had love and sunshine, what else could she possibly need? Breakfast probably, her grumbling stomach reminded her. Sighing, she eased out from underneath her girlfriend and headed for the kitchen.
Like the rest of the apartment, it was half-unpacked at best, which is probably why they hadn't noticed the small metal cylinder wedged under the corner of the fridge, and the scattered trail of glass leading back to a hole in the corner of the kitchen window. Kara pulled it free, wondering if this was how their guest had arrived. The pod, if that's what it was, was scratched and dented, with three long tapering ridges spaced equally around the outside and a rounded nose. Kara ran her fingers over a line of strange symbols etched into the side, nearly dropping it when they lit up, revealing a message in unfamiliar script. Before she could even attempt to decipher it, the message changed, switching rapidly through dozens of different languages before settling into  an archaic form of Kryptonian, written in an angular, slanting style that was difficult to read.
“Home, destroyed,” Kara murmured, sounding out the words one at a time, “daughter, only hope, please protect, thank you-” She broke off, covering her mouth with her hands. The pod hit the floor wit a dull clang.
“Lena?!” she called, heart pounding.
“Mmm?” Lena murmured from the living room.
“I think we might have to skip a few more relationship steps.”
“Why?”
“Because I'm pretty sure we just adopted a baby...”
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c-optimistic · 3 years
Note
Great! I asked because if you didnt take prompts I wanted to be respectful of it, also okay if you dont feel like doing it or if you take your time, I admire and appreciate all your work. It's an angsty one😅 after the supergirl reveal, all the events and their drifting apart, Kara and Lena are rekindling their friendship, kara tells lena she's in love with her, lena confesses her feelings too but tells kara that after everything they cant be more than friends, angst here, then a happy ending 😁
“You’re my Lois,” she said softly, almost to herself. 
(It had been on her mind for days and weeks and months now, words she was afraid to fully verbalize, thoughts and feelings she wasn’t sure she quite wanted to string into something coherent. 
But now, in the silence, in their solitude, the words slipped out as easy as breathing, slipped out without her consent, her knowledge, her desire.)
Lena didn’t turn towards her, just wrapped her arms tighter around herself to stave off the chilly bite of the air. “I don’t know what that means,” she finally offered, voice terribly soft, eyes still focused on the city lights below them. 
(National City was beautiful in the fall. Parks turned orange and yellow and red, pumpkins and cartoon turkeys and the strong scent of cinnamon could be found on every street corner. Jackets got dusted off and pulled on, scarves wound their way around people’s necks, the smell of hot chocolate seemed to permeate the air. 
And Lena looked at home in the fall. Her hair was down more often than not, gentle curls framing her face. She was wrapped in soft sweaters and warm colors, looking gentler, calmer, more at ease.
And she was, in every way, Kara’s Lois.) “It’s...I—well.” Explaining was harder than she thought. Giving meaning to what she said was harder than she expected. “You’re the one I’d spin the world the opposite direction for, you know?” “Don’t be ridiculous, Kara,” Lena scoffed, turning away from the city and meeting Kara’s eyes briefly before walking through the sliding glass doors and back into her apartment. Kara followed sullenly behind. “What good would that even do?” “Turns back time,” Kara joked softly, watching Lena pour herself a glass of wine. Once maybe, days and weeks and months ago, she would have offered Kara a glass as well. Now she just set the bottle aside and sipped slowly, as if daring Kara to comment. “Why would you want to turn back time for me? And what does this have to do with Lois?” She seemed genuinely confused, and Kara realized she needed to be more direct. 
(In and of itself, it was a scary thought. She didn’t want to confess her feelings and be rebuffed. She didn’t want to tell the truth and leave herself open to...what, pain? A lack of reciprocation? Laughter at her expense?
And yet, and yet...Lena was her Lois, and she was worth it all the same.)
“What I’m trying to say,” Kara tried again, biting on her lip as she attempted to find the right words, beginning to think there were only three, not quite sure how to gather the courage to say them. “Remember Mon-El?” she said, switching tactics.
“Vaguely,” Lena responded, amused. She walked over to her kitchen, pulled out a kettle, a mug, and a packet of hot chocolate mix (an item she only kept at her place because she knew about Kara’s preference for it over tea). “What about him?” she asked as she put the water to boil, raising her eyebrow and looking at Kara expectantly. 
“When I sent him away, chose to save everyone over keeping him, Clark told me he could never do that,” Kara explained, that moment etched into her memory, inescapable and dare she say profound in the absence of feeling. “He said if it came down to keeping Lois or the world...well, he wouldn’t know what to do.”
Lena looked down, focusing on pouring the boiling water into the mug and adding the hot cocoa mix, stirring it in slowly. “Oh,” she whispered finally, pushing the mug towards Kara, “that’s what you mean about my being your Lois.”
“Lena, I—”
“—to be honest, though,” Lena interrupted, frowning, “I don’t think you have a Lois.” 
(Well, if anything could make those three words Kara wanted to say shrink back into their shell, it was that.
And for it to be said so casually, so abruptly, so utterly convincingly, as though there wasn’t any doubt in Lena’s mind. Well. That more than hurt, that felt vaguely offensive.)
“That’s so—”
“—you’re too,” Lena waved her hands, struggling with finding a word, “honorable,” she finally settled on. “You believe in duty, in sacrifice, in putting everyone before you.” She smiled, looking inexplicably proud, and picked up her wine glass, taking a small sip. “You’re too selfless. If it came down to it, Kara, you’d break your own heart a thousand times over for the world.” 
Kara blinked, wondering how Lena misinterpreted her. “No, Lena, I’m saying—”
“—no, I know,” Lena interrupted, setting her wine aside and walking over to stand in front of Kara, so close that Kara could practically smell the alcohol on Lena’s breath. Rather than meet Lena’s eyes, Kara kept her gaze on the ceiling. “And I love you, too. But we’re not Clark and Lois.” 
(And oh, Lena got it. She got it and she was braver than Kara, laying the words out there, giving the feelings between them a name, finally, finally, calling it what it was.
Love. She loved Lena.)
“I don’t pull off the suit as well as he does, I know,” Kara joked sadly, eyes still on the ceiling, knowing where Lena was going with this. 
(It was too soon. It was too much. It was too hard.)
“Kara,” Lena admonished, forcing Kara to meet her gaze. Kara’s vision was a little blurred, so she wasn’t quite sure if those were tears in Lena’s eyes or if her allergies were just working up again. “We can’t,” Lena told her, voice trembling. 
“Right. No. Of course.”
“Kara, after everything, being friends is hard enough, do you really—”
“—I said I got it,” Kara interrupted, blinking, horrified when her vision cleared and she felt something wet roll down her cheeks. She was crying. Crying. How utterly embarrassing. 
(She looked away again, unwilling to see pity in Lena’s expression, unwilling to confirm for herself that what was welling up in Lena’s eyes was indeed allergies. 
She looked away again, because she was willing to break her heart a thousand times over for the world, but she didn’t know how to cope with her breaking heart now.)
“I’m just.” She stopped, heaved a breath, and nodded curtly. “Just friends sounds good. But I’m going to go now.” She stepped back from Lena, practically power-walked towards the balcony door, stopping only when she felt something tug on her cape.
“Kara,” Lena began, but Kara didn’t turn. Couldn’t turn. Whatever courage Lena had been on when she’d managed to say the words Kara couldn’t seemed to fade, however, and she released her grip on Kara’s cape and pulled back. “You pull the suit off way better than him, don’t sell yourself short.” 
(It wasn’t what Lena wanted to say, Kara didn’t need the uptick of Lena’s heartbeat or the soft, regretful sigh she released a moment after the words escaped her lips. 
It wasn’t what Lena wanted to say, but it was what she did say, and Kara managed nothing more than a strangled laugh in response, taking off into the night and leaving Lena and a mug of hot chocolate untouched behind her.)
xxx
The next time she saw Lena was at game night.
(This was not for a lack of trying on Lena’s part. She’d invited Kara to lunch, to coffee, to a variety of science-related events—even Lena’s TED Talk—but Kara had declined them all, citing work or Supergirl-catastrophes.
Finally, Lena had sent a text reading just hmph, and Kara had spent the rest of the afternoon asking Nia if it was a good or bad hmph.) 
Game night, however, Kara couldn’t avoid. Namely, because it was at her own apartment. She had managed to avoid directly inviting Lena, resorting instead to a group chat message, something that had Nia shaking her head and muttering “children.” 
(And rationally, Kara knew better. She knew that she was supposed to be a better friend, that they were working on repairing their tattered and bruised friendship, that they needed to reestablish all those lines of communication and trust that had been burned to the ground. 
She knew, but she struggled. She struggled with the thought of looking at Lena and not thinking about how much she loved her, not thinking that Lena felt the same way, not thinking that had she been better—a better friend, a more honest friend, a kinder friend—then there would have been nothing in the way of her reaching out to take Lena by the hand, tug her forward, chase her lip, and—
Well. All those were things she was determinedly not trying to think of.) 
She was a bit of a mess by the time Lena arrived, looking as beautiful and breathtaking as ever, a bag of takeout in her hand, an unsure smile on her lips. 
“Are you sure?” Lena whispered, not entering Kara’s apartment. “If this is too much—”
“—I want you here,” Kara cut in, not really embarrassed by how desperate she sounded. Because now that she was looking at Lena, she forgot why she had wanted to maintain distance in the first place. Self-preservation no longer seemed very important to her. “I always want you with me.” 
“As a friend,” Lena added, cheeks flushed, suddenly very interested in her shoes, her heart pounding away, teeth digging into her bottom lip. 
Kara wasn’t sure what it all meant. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know. So instead, she responded with the honesty she should’ve afforded Lena sooner—the honesty her best friend was owed. “In any capacity you’ll have me,” she said.
Lena didn’t respond, but as she walked by to enter Kara’s apartment, the fingers of her free hand ran over the inside of Kara’s hand, barely brushing over Kara’s palm, really, and it was like an electric shock, leaving Kara paralyzed to the spot until Alex took pity on her and unrooted her—physically dragging her over to the food and games.
(And the entire night, as Kara flexed the hand Lena touched repeatedly, she noticed that every time she looked over at Lena, Lena was already looking at her.
And the entire night, as Nia muttered “children” under her breath, Kara began to hope.)
xxx
As the weeks dragged on and Lena showed no signs of wanting anything to evolve between them, much of that hope evaporated. She was only holding onto the last tendrils when she had to show up at L-Corp (again) to stop some madman’s mad henchmen from trying to kill Lena (again). 
When the men were appropriately stopped and detained, Kara found herself on the balcony with Lena (again), staring out at the city (this too, again). Lena wasn’t drinking anything, and she wasn’t dressed in her soft sweaters. Instead, she was wearing a navy suit, hair pulled tightly back, hands in her pockets as she leaned against the balustrade, eyes on Kara. 
“You took awhile to get here,” Lena finally said, and Kara turned to her, a little offended.
“There was a fire, Lena. I had to make sure it was out before—”
“—but I thought I was your Lois?” she interrupted, with more than a little snark. Kara straightened, standing at her full height as she approached Lena.
“First of all, low blow. Secondly, you said it yourself, I don’t have a Lois. Maybe you need to find a less honorable friend,” Kara told her, eyes narrowed. 
Lena didn’t look sorry. If anything, she seemed...content. “I’ve been thinking about it, you know?” She tugged her hands out of her pockets, and Kara thought her heart slammed to a halt when Lena reached out and placed her hands on Kara’s shoulders, drawing her in. “I think the truth is,” she continued, hands sliding across Kara’s shoulders, interlocking behind Kara’s neck, “you’re my Lois. Because there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep you, even give up a chance at something more, something I really want, because I was scared it wouldn’t work and I’d lose you completely.” 
“Something you really want, huh?” Kara said, her heart jumpstarting at the feeling of Lena’s fingers against her neck, at the way Lena’s thumbs rubbed gently against the base of her skull, at the way Lena leaned up, pressing their foreheads together. “Are you still scared?”
“Terrified,” Lena breathed. “But I figure I could be a little more like you, potential heartbreak and all.”
Kara tried to nod, managing nothing more than gently head-butting Lena and making her laugh. “We probably need to figure out a better way to describe how we feel about each other, I think my cousin and Lois may get concerned—”
“—Kara?” Lena interrupted, pulling away just a bit.
“Yeah?”
“We can definitely talk about this if you want. Or you could just kiss me. Whichever you prefer.” 
(In the end, it was an easy choice.
And judging from the way Lena sighed into her mouth, she felt the same way.)
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Supercorptober - 3. Luthor
Lena slams her hands on the table. Attempt #38 which looked most hopeful turns out to be nothing more than a flop. She feels frustration bubbling up to her throat, her head throbbing with annoyance. There’s nothing more tempting than for her to go home and fall into the comforting arms of her girlfriend. But this is important and it’s for Kara.
She has to get this right.
“Lena?” With a woeful sigh, Lena turns her head to meet Brainy who eyes her with concern.
“Forgive me,” Lena says, her voice heavy with weariness. “It's been a long, frustrating day.”
Brainy nods, his face mirroring Lena’s dejection. “I understand. I had hoped that this time it would work too,” he admits which makes Lena feel less like an idiot for having expectations. “Perhaps we should head home. A fresh mind for tomorrow might show us what we’re overlooking.”
God, what would she do without Brainy.
“You’re right,” Lena agrees, disappointing the determined Luthor part of her that wants to continue working. She knows well enough that if they were to stay the result would be the same.
They leave the lab for the night with sore backs and tired eyes. She is half awake when she reaches Kara’s apartment. As she sets her foot into the place she now calls her home, she catches the sight of Kara sleeping on the couch. Her chest clenches painfully as she thinks of this afternoon where she had to cancel lunch again. Their time together that Kara was really looking forward to since they barely see each other these days.
Kneeling in front of the couch, Lena traces Kara’s face, adoring every inch of it as she gently cups her cheek with her palm. Her heart stutters when she sees Kara leaning into her touch, her eyes fluttering open as she greets Lena with a sleepy grin.
“Hi.”
“Hi,” Lena returns, brushing her thumb against Kara’s cheek. “I thought I told you not to wait up for me?”
Kara stays quiet for a minute, her eyes never leaving Lena’s before she shrugs and answers, “I don’t like not having you in bed with me.”
She declares it so easily and Lena finds herself falling, deeper and deeper.
Lena stands, tugging Kara up as she drags them to their bedroom. She wastes no time, changing her clothes and brushing her teeth as quickly as she can. When she gets into bed, Kara pulls her into her arms and Lena easily surrenders to sleep.
Attempt #52 turns out to be it for them.
When it finally happens, Lena pulls Brainy into a hug so tight that he has to tell her he needs to breathe. Lena thanks him endlessly for helping her out and they celebrate with good pizza after Lena manages to pacify Brainy’s worries.
‘You earned it, Brainy.”
“Fine. But add salad as a side, please.”
A few days later, she invites Kara to her lab. When Kara arrives at the Tower, Lena is smiling so wide that it leads Kara to ask, “what’s gotten you in such a good mood?"
Lena finds herself beaming impossibly brighter as she takes Kara’s hand, linking it with hers. “So, you know the thing that I was working on? The one I promised to tell you about?”
“The top secret one?”
“Yes,” Lena nods, brimming with excitement as she informs, “Brainy and I finished it.”
Kara blinks for a second before she bursts out into a sunny grin. She pulls Lena into a brief embrace and when she pulls away, Lena sees her blue eyes gleaming with pride.
“That’s great, Lena.”
Lena smiles. “Thank you. I can finally tell you what it’s about. Well, show you, too to be exact.”
Lena steps out of Kara’s arms, leading them to her lab. Once inside, she grabs her tablet on the table before bringing Kara to the side of the room where there’s a wall in front of them. Lena taps on a button on the screen and the wall turns, revealing the new Supergirl suit.
It’s a full body suit, in a darker blue similar to Kara’s first suit with an overcoat jacket instead of her usual cape. The top of the shoulders and the cuffs of the sleeves are in red. Kara’s house emblem rests on the upper chest section in red and blue with gold outlines. Kara’s golden belt and red boots stay the same, the only difference is the type of fabric they used for her boots and the level of comfort.
“A new suit for you, with improvements in terms of comfort and movement.” It’s a design that she comes up with Brainy that they thinks fits Kara best. While she’s very pleased about it, the next thing she shows is what she is most proud of. “That’s not the best part though,” Lena mentions with a slight smug before tapping another button.
At Supergirl’s emblem, the nano-bots start to expand, linking with each other as it covers every inch of the fabric and forms the enhanced anti-Kryptonite suit.
A minute passes and Kara stays silent next to her. Lena doesn’t dare to look at her yet, overwhelmed by the nervousness coursing through her veins. Instead, she rambles, telling Kara the details and changes.
“The improved kryptonite suit absorbs solar energy so it helps to increase your power levels and withstand heavy attacks, like Lex’s Kryptonite gauntlet," Lena pauses, taking in a deep breath as she hopes this next thing will work. "Can you briefly use your laser vision on it?”
Thankfully, Lena doesn’t need to repeat and Kara does as told.
A tiny part of the suit melts and within seconds, the nano-bots get to work, healing the suit making it as good as new.
Lena lets out a relieved sigh as she continues, “it self regenerates, but we’re not sure how it’d perform under constant maximum impacts and it would probably affect other feat–”
All of her words disappear when warm hands hold her face and soft lips are pressed against hers. Kara kisses her, deliciously eager and hot that it makes Lena dizzy, grasping onto Kara to keep herself upright as she melts into the kiss, whimpering at every press of Kara’s lips.
When Kara finally pulls away, Lena flutters her eyes open to find Kara staring at her like she is everything.
“Lena Luthor, you’re wonderful.”
Lena blooms at Kara’s compliment as she shyly tucks her face into Kara’s neck and lets the Kryptonian wrap her arms around her waist.
“So, you like it then?”
Kara laughs softly in her ear. “Yes. Would it be too fast if I ask you to marry me?”
She should have panicked at Kara’s question. Instead, all she feels is her heart wanting nothing more than to be Kara’s wife. But the rational part of her knows better. “I’d say yes considering we’ve only started dating two months ago,” she says while her fingers play with the hair on the back of Kara’s neck. “Maybe someday?”
Kara kisses the side of her head and Lena hears the smile in her voice when she repeats the word, “Someday.”
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