Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

By the time Lena Luthor makes it to her best friend’s door just under a week until Christmas, she’s been through hell and back. Her flight across the Atlantic had been bumpy enough that she’d had to sleep with her seatbelt on in the private jet. Her driver had been late to pick her up, and then they’d been stuck in abominable traffic surrounding a soccer game of some kind. There’d been streams of fans walking past them in a sea of green jerseys, some of them even pounding on the windows and chanting. And it had been raining in a cold grey mist the whole time.

And now she was here, standing on the doorstep of a pretty townhome in a very nice neighborhood, ringing the doorbell.

“You look like shit,” Sam says, looking terribly amused when she answers the door. Lena glares at her. “Oh, come on, stop looking like a drowned rat. Let me grab your suitcase.”

“I think I’m losing my mind,” Lena sighs. Sam takes her suitcase from her hand and pulls it inside the large house Sam has been living at for the past year and a half. When LCorp had acquired an older software giant with the intention of incorporating it and its properties into their family of assets, Lena had gone through dozens of options on who could head the division in London - but Sam had volunteered.

Lena hadn’t really wanted her to go. But there was no one better for the job. She’d particularly regretted letting her go just months later, after -

“Aunt Lena!” comes a voice from around the corner. Ruby comes sprinting around it, sliding on the hardwood. She’s grown at least six inches since the last time Lena saw her in person, she could swear. “Oh my gosh, I’m so excited you’re here.”

“I am too,” Lena says, wrapping the girl into a hug when she nearly tackles Lena. 

“Okay, I mean, if we’re hugging,” Sam says, and then throws her long arms around the both of them. It makes Lena laugh. It makes Lena realize why she’d agreed to this in the first place. Metropolis has been abjectly miserable for the past two years, no one for Lena to turn to with her problems or anxieties. The closest thing she’s had to a friend has been her favorite Chinese place’s delivery drivers. 

Lex had been arrested, Sam had left, and Jack had died all in the course of one really, really shitty year, and the year that’s followed has been exponentially more shitty. Lena’s glad it’s almost over, and that she gets to forcibly eject it from her life like a floppy disk carrying a PC-killing virus with her best friend’s help in a foreign country. Even if it’s a rainy, grey Christmas and New Year's in London.

“God, I missed you two,” Lena says. Sam snorts, withdrawing and pulling Lena’s suitcase further into the hallway. Ruby falls into step beside Lena as they amble after her, her arm sliding through Lena’s. 

“You saw me three months ago,” Sam says. On a weekend-long business trip dealing with an internal crisis. They’d barely had a chance to relax.

“She was obviously talking about me, mom,” Ruby says.

“Obviously,” Lena agrees. She finds herself trudging up a stairwell after Sam. The place is expansive, and surely very expensive based on what Lena knows about real estate in London. Lex had used to have a condo here, one they shared depending on who was in town, but she’d sold it in a fit of rage after his arrest.

“You’re here, this is Ruby, that’s me down the hall and my office is right next door,” Sam says, pointing at door after door. The room she’s been given is spacious and well-decorated. Perfect for a two week vacation in London. “If you have to do work stuff in an emergency only, you can use the office.” 

“No work at all, it’s Christmas,” Ruby says, pouting.

“Look at that face, Lena. No working at all,” Sam says. Lena rolls her eyes. 

“Fine, fine, no working except for emergencies,” Lena agrees. “Now, how about I take you two to lunch?”

Ruby squeals happily, sprinting off down the hallway to her room. Lena and Sam are left to laugh together.

“I’m so happy you’re here, really,” Sam says, coming closer and pulling Lena into a hug. “More than she is. Last year…well.”

Lena can’t help but think of sitting alone in her apartment in Metropolis a year ago, staring down at funeral arrangements and seeing nothing at all.

“Same,” Lena whispers. 

-

“So, we have a packed calendar,” Sam says. She’s flicking through her phone while Ruby guzzles soda through her straw at an alarming rate next to her. “The Superfriends are very serious people.”

“They really call themselves the Superfriends?” Lena asks. She’s indulging in a lunchtime Guinness with her chicken and leek pie. There are no calories at Christmastime. Her trainer had told her so before she left.

“Yes, it’s so aggressive, but they’re fun,” Sam says. “I promise. I know you’re not used to being social with strangers, so you are allowed one skip each week on an event provided it is not the big Christmas dinner or New Year’s Eve party. Seem fair?”

“I suppose,” Lena says. “Who all will be there?”

“Alex and Kelly, James and Winn, Lucy, Eliza, Brainy and Nia, maybe Kara depending, you, me, and Rubes. Am I forgetting someone?”

“J’onn and M’gann and Esme,” Ruby supplies. Sam nods in agreement. That seems like a fuckton of people to Lena. She’s already forgot like half their names and about seventy percent of her job is just remembering names.

“And they all live here?” Lena asks.

“No, apparently they’re like a weird web of college friends who imprinted on each other like gay little birds. Most of them have, like, messed up families or parents or whatever, so they try to celebrate the holidays en masse,” Sam says. “Alex, Kelly and Eliza live here along with Brainy and Nia. And Lucy, technically. And me and Rubes.”

“And Kara,” Ruby says.

“Yes, Kara too, but that’s a given,” Sam says, waving it away.

“And Esme,” Ruby says.

“Yes, and Esme, who is four years old and Alex and Kelly’s kid,” Sam says, rolling her eyes. Ruby leans forward conspiratorially, raising her eyebrows.

“Mom’s really into Lucy,” Ruby says. Sam reaches over and smacks gently at her shoulder, prompting a series of giggles. It’s so normal, so familiar. Lena feels herself relaxing minute by minute just being around them.

“Oh, I’ve heard,” Lena says, raising her eyebrow. Sam can’t quite reach over the table and smack her, but she certainly tries.

---

The next day, Lena heads out for some Christmas shopping while Sam and Ruby go to a school event. London is still rainy, but it’s easy to slip into the grey muck of people wandering around and be anonymous. No one gives a shit that she’s a billionaire when she looks like every other person caught in the rainy Christmas spirit. 

She’s wandering through a small bookshop when she turns a corner to the next aisle and walks straight into someone. The person makes a grunting noise, and a cascade of books fall down in the space between them from both of their shopping piles. It’s the kind of thing that would test her patience if she were back home, running to the store between meetings.

“I’m so sorry,” Lena says, kneeling down to pick up her own books. The person she’s run into has quite the varied collection, from serious literature to romance to nonfiction and one poetry title that Lena’s never heard of. It makes Lena’s own shitty lesbian romance pile - for Sam, at least one third a joke - look awfully one dimensional. 

It takes her a moment to realize the person she’s run into isn’t kneeling down to help her, just shuffling a little backward. That is annoying - if Lena’s going to be engaging in the holiday spirit, then everyone else has to, right? It was an accident. When she looks up though, she finds a beautiful woman in a beanie and glasses standing there, looking sheepish. She’s blonde, with perfect clear blue eyes, and tall and broad-shouldered, wearing a pea coat that sits perfectly over a sweatshirt. 

Then, Lena realizes, the woman is gesturing at her leg, where a bulky, intense brace is affixed from her mid-thigh to the top of her calf on the outside of her jeans. 

“Sorry,” the woman whispers, looking chagrined. “It’s my fault - thank you - ” she says, as Lena hands up a few of her books, “I heard you coming and I would have moved but I’m, uh, not at my full powers of movement.”

“No, it’s my fault,” Lena says, standing up finally with her pile intact. She watches the woman look at her face with interest, stark and unabashed. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No, this bad boy could get hit by a lorry and still hold my knee together,” the woman says, slapping at the brace and then wincing. It makes Lena laugh, loudly. She smiles beautifully, her teeth white and straight. She’s American as can be, which makes it funnier that she’s using words like lorry. “Thanks for regathering for me.”

For a second, they just look at each other, and every passing millisecond of that second seems to make the woman look more interested in Lena, her head slowly tilting to regard her. It makes Lena feel just as curious. 

“No worries,” Lena says, and she smiles and moves past her. She’s surprised to hear the woman fall into step behind her. 

“I saw you had the new Bri Hutton,” she says. Lena turns to look at her, only to find her observing a shelf and plucking a title on home organization out of the lineup.

“And?” Lena asks.

“Are you a fan of footballer romance?” the woman asks. Lena glances down at her pile, shifting them around until she finds the book in question - the bright teal cover depicts two cartoonish figures, one in a full soccer outfit and the other in some sort of generic businesswoman outfit. She’d picked it because the soccer player had looked vaguely like what Lena’s seen of Lucy. 

“God, no,” Lena says. “These are for my friend. She’ll read any romance story if it includes two women.”

“What do you like to read, then?” the woman asks, her head tilting as she slides the home organization book back into place. She leans casually against the shelf, her stack held in one hand. It makes Lena react accordingly, an eyebrow raised and cocking her hip in a way the woman laughs at. 

“Well, I’m certainly not much of a romance person,” Lena says. 

“And football?” she asks.

“Do you mean soccer?” Lena asks. The woman blinks for a second before she laughs, a truly delighted smile taking root.

“Blasphemy! Be quiet, or you’ll get us kicked out,” she says, miming shushing her lips. It makes Lena laugh, the amusement on the girl’s face patently obvious. Her cheeks are slowly melting into a blush pink that pairs adorably with her beanie and blue eyes.

“I like football, I suppose,” Lena says. “But I don’t really get much of a chance to watch it.”

“Sad,” the woman says, looking truly, deliriously happy anyway.

“I’m sure,” Lena says, and then turns to walk away again. She finds herself smiling as she walks around the next corner only to hear her following. “Are you stalking me?”

“Just checking on your choices,” the woman says. When Lena turns to look back at her, she’s leant on a table. It looks casual again, though now Lena suspects it’s less about looking suave and more because her leg is hurting. She’s left all her weight off of it.

“I think I’m done for now, unless you have recommendations for a fifteen year-old girl,” Lena says. The woman laughs, poking through her pile for a moment and handing over a bright purple cover with large text reading Throne of Bones. Lena takes it and flips it over idly. 

“It’s magic, romance, fantasy, blah blah,” she says. “But there’s a talking dog.”

“Oh, well, then,” Lena says, adding it to her own pile. “Perfect. That’s all I needed then.”

“Glad to help,” the woman says, and this time, she falls into step with Lena as they head toward the front. The line is thankfully only medium long. A little girl standing with her father in front of them turns to look when they join the line, and does a double take at the woman next to Lena. Lena watches as she waves and does another shh- ing motion that the little girl responds to with a grin and a smile, reaching up for a high five that the blonde woman gives. It’s adorable, if a little strange.

“Do you know her?” Lena asks. The woman leans to the side a little bit, shifting again off her braced leg and gently bumping into Lena’s shoulder.

“Nope. I just have one of those faces,” she says, shrugging. Lena nods, finding herself amused. Christmas in London, aside from the delirious amounts of misty rain, has already been lovely. Sam, Ruby, a passing flirtation at the bookshop that has so far not been curbed by a panic attack or apathy. After Lena checks out, she idles next to the woman, wanting to say goodbye properly for some unknown reason. The cashier does a similar double take to the little girl, staring at her for a moment before they seem to refocus. Lena is aware the woman is beautiful, but it seems a bit much.

When she steps out onto the sidewalk, the woman following behind her, it’s still raining. Lena’s not certain it will stop, but maybe she likes it. It’s like the inverse of what her life had been last year at this time. This time, the grey clouds are outside and the idyllic Christmas cheer was inside. All the same, it is a bit cold and wet and she starts to shuffle under the awning when an umbrella suddenly blooms above her head.

The blonde woman has it extended out over Lena’s head, leaving herself exposed to the elements. It’s sweet. Lena feels an abrupt surge of endearment at the focused look on her face, mist starting to collect on her glasses.

“What are you up to next?” the woman asks, looking around idly.

“I’m headed back to where I’m staying,” Lena says, shuffling closer just so the woman might get slightly more under the umbrella. “I have a big dinner with a group of people I don’t know later tonight, so I have to mentally prepare.”

“Ah, good luck,” the girl says. “Still sounds better than the doctor’s appointment I have to get to.”

“For the knee?” Lena asks, gesturing at it. The girl sighs, nodding.

“For the knee,” she says. “What’s your name?” 

“Lena,” she says, extending out a hand to shake. The girl takes it, her hand warm and gripping Lena’s tightly. The tingle of electricity that sparks up her arm is not surprising and very surprising at the same time. It’s been a while. “What’s yours?”

The girl cocks her head, glancing around while still holding Lena’s hand.

“Seriously?” the girl asks. 

“Um, yes?” Lena says. The girl frowns in obvious confusion. “What, should I not be asking?”

“No, it’s - no. My name’s Kara. Sorry,” she says. Their hands have sort of melted into an extended handhold, Kara’s larger hand wrapping around Lena’s. It really has been a while - Lena has an intrusive thought of that hand landing elsewhere on Lena’s body and gripping and grabbing. “Lena, is it possible I could see you again?”

Lena pauses, her hand still caught in Kara’s. Her cheeks are red, her head is tilted and she’s smiling, looking adorably handsome. There’s no guile at all in her expression. But Lena still feels herself wanting to decline. A bookstore flirting session was one thing, but it was a whole other to find a way to meet up with a stranger when she was only on vacation in the country for two weeks. Not to mention the now-familiar urge to decline any closeness to anyone. Just because the anxiety hadn’t spawned yet didn’t mean it wouldn’t at some nebulous next time.

“I’m not sure,” Lena says. Kara’s smile is quickly dented by a frown. They’re still holding hands.

“Okay,” she says. “I mean, am I coming on too strong? Sometimes I get a little much, my sister always says that - ”

“No, you’re fine. Just - I’m only here for two weeks,” Lena says.

“Okay,” Kara says. “Well, I’d still like to see you again? Here, I can just send you my number and you can delete it if you want, but if you change your mind, you can text me. How about that?”

Lena laughs, nodding, and Kara finally lets go of her hand to dig into her pocket. It’s an LCorp phone that she pulls out, so Lena pulls out her own and holds it near - the contact pops up. Kara Danvers, London, UK. She watches as Kara reads over her contact info and can’t help but laugh as her eyebrows raise.

“Lena Luthor as in, the Luthors that make this phone?” Kara asks, waving her phone in the air. In Metropolis, this interaction would surely turn to someone mentioning her brother being a white collar criminal or the occasional, rarer, can you get my bills lowered? But Kara is still smiling curiously.

“Yes,” Lena nods. Kara whistles, dropping her phone in her coat pocket. 

“Cool,” she says, grinning. And Lena believes her, which is strange. “Well, text me or call me if you want to meet up. I’m around.”

“I will,” Lena says. Kara turns to go then, hobbling a little with the knee brace before she turns back around abruptly. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just - I have a car to pick me up,” Kara says, gesturing at the umbrella in her hand. “Did you take the tube?”

“Oh, that’s not necessary,” Lena starts, but Kara is pushing the umbrella closer to her again, her beanie recollecting water droplets as she puts herself under the light rain again. At some point Lena is forced to take it from her, laughing a little to herself. “Are you sure?”

“Definitely. Consider it a gift. And if I don’t see you again - happy Christmas, Lena Luthor,” Kara says, smiling. Lena smiles back. 

“Same to you, Kara Danvers. Thanks for the book recommendation, by the way,” Lena says, holding up her bag of books with the hand not occupied by the umbrella.

“You’re welcome,” Kara says. This time, Kara doesn’t look back as she hobbles away and turns the corner to a smaller side street, her head ducked down against the rain. Lena turns the other direction and heads off with a smile, umbrella in hand.

-

Dinner is insane, to put it lightly. Lena is introduced to everyone at the table, even the four year-old Esme, who is truly adorable. They take over a whole private room at a restaurant and are loud. The Superfriends seem to have a great deal of fun all together, their conversation flowing together and over each other easily. They’re all friendly, but it’s hard to fit into and track the conversations as they shift and change. 

“Is your sister coming?” Winn asks Alex, after they’ve got their drinks and put in for appetizers.

“Who knows,” Alex mutters. “She’s been hard to pin down lately. I think I’m going to kidnap her soon at this rate.”

“She’s always hard to pin down,” Lucy groans. Lena watches as Sam not-so-subtly puts her arm on the back of Lucy’s chair and finds herself glancing to Ruby, who looks entirely too pleased by her mother’s attempts at moving in on a woman. They share matching raised eyebrows. Lena’s been cursed to hear about Lucy in detail for months and months now. She hopes Sam is going to go for it soon, or else Lena may die.

“She’s been dealing with a lot,” Eliza reminds. Eliza had been introduced as Alex’s mom and she had hugged Lena so softly that she had abruptly felt like crying. 

“Yeah, but it’s not like she’s doing anything,” Alex says, looking down at her phone and sighing at something she sees. “She says she forgot and she’ll for sure catch us on Wednesday for Esme’s pantomime.”

“Well, that’s good,” Kelly says, patting her partner on the shoulder. Alex drops her phone on the table with a thud. “Lena, wait until you see the Nativity performed by twenty toddlers, you’re gonna love it.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Lena says, prompting a round of laughter.

---

The next day, Lena finds herself in the same shopping area as before when she glances into a pub as she walks by and spies a familiar beanie. 

It’s maybe silly, but she goes in. Kara is sitting at a booth in the far corner of the pub by herself, looking at something on her phone and with her leg stretched out on the seat. When Lena knocks on the table to gather her attention, she looks up with a heavy frown that melts away immediately.

“Lena Luthor,” Kara says. She drops her phone on the table and grins. Lena finds herself smiling back.

“Kara Danvers,” she says. Kara glances around as though someone might overhear them, but she seems satisfied by what she sees. 

“Did I somehow send you my location when we shared contact info?” Kara asks, gesturing at the seat across from her. Lena finds herself dropping into it, setting her bags on the table next to a smaller shopping bag Kara has set out. 

“I was just passing by,” Lena says, looking more closely at the little blue bag. “Jewelry?”

Kara glances over at her bag and laughs, pulling it closer and getting out a small ring box. She pops it open to show Lena, and the ring inside is beautiful, a large central stone surrounded by smaller ones. It’s so shiny it catches light and flashes.

“Seems a bit soon to propose,” Lena says, though she knows her cheeks pinken. Kara laughs again, snapping the ring box shut and slipping the box out of sight.

“It’s for my sister. I mean, for my sister to give to her hopeful future wife,” Kara says. “I’ve been tasked with keeping it safe.”

“Is that wise?” Lena asks. Kara rolls her eyes.

“You don’t know a thing about me or my safekeeping ability,” Kara says. 

“I can just sense it. You’re a sieve,” Lena says. Kara flips her off the European way, the V flashing in Lena’s face and prompting laughter. “How was the doctor yesterday?”

“Absolute shit,” Kara says. “Knee is still sprained, it’s still gonna take weeks to heal. How was your dinner?”

“Good, actually. Not as exhausting as I feared,” Lena says. Kara hums. 

“So why are you in town, Lena Luthor of LCorp and America?” Kara asks. Lena laughs a little, glancing around. She’s not quite a household name, but her name is certainly known. And often not for good reasons, thanks to Lex being an absolute moron. Kara seems to notice Lena’s reticence and blinks sheepishly at her, smiling in a way that seems apologetic.

“Visiting my best friend for the holiday season,” Lena says. “I’ve had…the most absolute shit two years of my entire life. I needed a break.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Kara says, frowning. She looks like she means it, too, her eyes focused and intent on Lena.

“It is what it is, I guess. I’m not looking forward to going back after New Year’s. What about you, do you live here?” Lena asks. Kara nods, her head bobbing.

“Moved here with my family when I was fourteen,” Kara says. Her phone buzzes and she glances at it. Lena can see there’s a train of notifications taking up her phone screen. “Jeez, I’m so sorry, I think I have to go before someone kills me.”

“No problem,” Lena says. But she’s a little sad, and it’s clear Kara is at least aggravated, because she sighs heavily as she cantilevers herself up and to a standing position. But she waits politely for Lena to climb out of the booth, even putting a hand on her back to stabilize her. They start to walk away before Lena laughs, turning back and grabbing the jewelry bag Kara was about to leave on the table. When she hands it over to her, Lena makes sure to give a pointed raised eyebrow.

“Don’t even say it,” Kara says, rolling her eyes. Lena ignores her.

“A sieve,” Lena reminds. Kara laughs, limping as she opens the door for Lena.

“Do you think maybe you’ll text me now that fate has thrown us together again?” Kara asks, standing at the corner of the sidewalk and turning to face Lena. Lena rather thinks she might, but she smiles as enigmatically as she can. Kara is so handsome, in a t-shirt and jacket today, looking strong and sweet. Maybe it’s not crazy to have a Christmas flirtation. Maybe Lena can let herself have that normal, unattached, uncomplicated joy.

But she’s forced to consider then that she’s a fucking mess, slogging through her baggage in therapy and fully unable to devote the emotional resources to dating. Not to mention she’s leaving New Year’s Day. There’s no reason to entertain a flight of fancy with someone as insanely handsome as she finds Kara to be. 

“I think the third time’s the charm,” Lena says. Kara laughs, tilting her head back and looking wounded. Mist collects on her glasses that she has to wipe at when she looks back to Lena. 

“You drive a hard bargain, Lena Luthor,” Kara says, pointing in Lena’s face. “But fine. I’ll play it your way.”

Lena’s about to answer when someone comes jogging up to them with their camera out, looking frantic. 

“Hey, can I get a selfie?” they ask Kara, sidling up to her side without waiting for an answer. Kara reacts to it quickly, putting up a peace sign and smiling briefly. It looks fake as hell to Lena’s eye, and also terribly weird, but the person jogs away again, running up to a group of friends with a whoop. 

“You’re welcome,” Kara mutters, sighing and crossing her arms. Lena frowns. 

“Are you famous or something?” Lena asks. Kara blinks at her. 

“You really don’t know,” she says. When Lena looks blankly back at her, Kara laughs. “Um, let me see.”

She turns around and looks for something, and then seems to spot it quickly enough, pointing at a bus rolling by. The ad plastered to the side of it is for a soccer - football - team by the name of Brunswick Gardens FC. There are two people Lena assumes are players dominating the ad, one of them a man, and the other is - definitely Kara Danvers. She doesn’t have glasses on and her hair is tied back in a ponytail instead of loose as it is now, but it’s her, looking proud and staunch with her arms crossed, jersey loose on her shoulders. 

Lena has heard of Brunswick Gardens FC, has maybe even briefly seen a game or two on television. Which is probably measure enough of how famous Kara is. Lena apparently is silent for too long, the bus rolling away and past them, because Kara talks again, sounding anxious.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything before, it just - things have been so shitty lately and everyone I meet just asks me about my knee and when will I be back for their fantasy teams, and so to meet someone who - ”

“No, I get it,” Lena says, putting up her hand. Kara snaps her mouth shut. “It’s just surprising.”

“Right. Well, um. Yeah. That’s me,” Kara says. “Is the third time still the charm?”

Lena tilts her head, looking up at Kara. She looks strangely vulnerable, like she’s truly hanging on Lena’s next words. A flirtation with a famous footballer in England was a little different than a flirtation with a random stranger. Especially one who seemed to want to see her again. She takes a deep breath and smiles gently.

“I think so,” Lena says, finally. “But I’m not really interested in romance.”

Kara hums, adjusting her glasses. The gesture somehow makes Lena want to change her mind, makes her want to sidle closer and kiss her frowny pink lips.

“Is it because - ”

“Because I’m leaving on New Year’s Day for America and not coming back until LCorp London has a crisis. Or if I personally do and need an escape, I suppose,” Lena says. Kara nods slowly, seeming to think it over, and then she smiles. The hot feeling of sexual interest in Lena’s gut gives way to a wave of affection.

“I get it. Fair enough, Lena Luthor,” Kara says, sticking her hand out. Lena grabs it and laughs, shaking it. 

---

“So, Lena, have you ever been to a school pantomime before?” Lucy asks, jostling against Sam while the group of Superfriends queue up to enter the small theatre. Ruby is on her phone, Sam is staring at Lucy like a total loser, and Lena’s having another good, Christmas-y day. She’d had a rather explicit dream about Kara last night that had involved getting laid out on the pub table and woken up in a great mood.

In front of them, James, Winn and J’onn are all chatting about some upcoming football match. It makes Lena think inevitably of Kara, who she had buckled down and googled last night after she got home from shopping. Kara Danvers of Brunswick Gardens FC was one of the best players in the top-flight women’s league in the country, and an American hero to boot. Per some tactically insightful YouTube videos, Lena’s learnt that Kara is competent with both feet and can play all along the attacking front line. 

“I’m sure I went to something of Ruby’s at some point,” Lena answers. Lucy nods, looking - well, somewhat suspicious. Lena can’t think of how to assuage the obvious jealousy Lucy’s wafting her way. It’s at least a positive sign for Sam’s lovelorn crush. 

“Okay, crisis averted,” Alex says, appearing from nowhere with Kelly and her mother in tow. “Reindeer antlers delivered. All is well.”

“Just barely. She was in tears,” Kelly says. She’s hunched over a little gasping for air, having just run through the streets of London with her partner to get their daughter’s paper reindeer antlers. “Oh my God, I need water.”

“Here, honey,” Eliza says, digging into the bag Alex has slung over her shoulder with Esme’s stuff and pulling a cute little water bottle from it. Kelly grasps it like a man in the desert.

“And of course, my idiot sister is running late,” Alex sighs, looking at her phone and then shoving it in her jacket pocket. Eliza makes a noise of censure that Lena finds herself smiling at while looking down at her feet. 

“She’s not an idiot,” Ruby says, of all people. Alex sighs even louder, slinging an arm around Ruby’s shoulders for a moment and pulling her in. Lena has to smile at that - when Sam and Ruby had left for London, Lena had been the only person they really saw socially, aside from Jack. But now they had a whole web of weird friends who apparently appeared in and out of the woodwork all the time. She’d learnt that most of the so-called Superfriends worked in high-level jobs that included a good deal of travel - apparently Lucy worked at the US Embassy in London. James had turned out to be a photojournalist who specialized in sport photography, and Winn was a software developer who could work pretty much anywhere.

“She isn’t, I know,” Alex says.

“We are so sorry we’re late, there was like, I don’t know, a protest or something and our cab got lost trying to get around it,” comes another voice. When Lena turns to look, it’s Nia and Brainy, another extension of the friend group. Lena would normally feel overwhelmed to be around this many people who she didn’t really know, but - Christmas spirit had really sunk into her. “We ended up making him stop and running over.”

“No worries, we haven’t even made it in yet,” Kelly says. The queue has shuffled forward, the boys ahead handing over their tickets to an usher in a very loose-fitting waistcoat. 

“Thank goodness,” Brainy says. “Lena Luthor, I went home and found the book I was telling you about at dinner a few nights ago.”

Lena finds herself falling into step next to Brainy and nodding as he begins explaining a very strange sci-fi novel he had spent twenty minutes trying to convince Lena to read. Occasionally, Nia or Lucy interject, even as they filter into their seats and settle in a large group. They’ve been so welcoming for such a wide range of personalities, even the ones who Lena was certain had heard her last name in a bad context. 

The lights of the theatre flicker and the crowd begins to hush, and Lena settles in for whatever beautiful child acting she was about to enjoy.

-

They’re all idling in the lobby after the performance while waiting for Esme to come out from backstage when it happens. One moment, Lena is talking to James and Eliza about LCorp’s advancements in microphotography, and the next, someone is tapping on her shoulder.

When she turns around, she finds herself looking at Alex first, and then the person next to Alex - a completely out-of-context Kara Danvers. Lena nearly gasps in shock, and Kara looks similarly surprised, her eyes wide as Alex grabs her by the shoulder.

“Lena, this is my sister, Kara,” Alex says, pulling Kara forward. “Kara, this is Lena, Sam’s friend who I told you was visiting for the holidays?”

“Uh, yep,” Kara says. She doesn’t have glasses on this time, so her blue eyes are just out there, watching Lena. She looks nicer overall, wearing the same peacoat Lena’s seen her in twice before but with her hair brushed and pulled into a bun. She’s also wearing a blazer and matching dress pants that are finely tailored to her legs. The brace is nowhere in sight. “Hi, Lena.”

“Nice to meet you, Kara,” Lena says, prompting a laugh from Kara as they shake hands. Lena feels the now sadly familiar urge to let Kara extend their handshake to a weird and intimate handholding situation, but she withdraws and puts her hands in her coat pockets instead.

“Same,” Kara says. She’s grinning widely now. Lena’s saved from having to answer by a shrieking sound coming closer to them. Esme shoves past both her mother and Lena and throws herself at Kara with a happy Aunt Kara! that draws some attention all over the crowded lobby. A few people seem to stop what they’re doing and stare. Lena catches one of them even taking out their phone to take a picture.

Kara grunts as Esme slams into her bad leg, but reaches down to pick up her niece anyway, slinging her up onto her hip. Esme wraps her little arms around her neck in a tight hug.

“Hey there, my little reindeer,” Kara says, looking down at the girl as she digs her face into Kara’s neck. “You were so good! A way better singer than your mom.”

“Thank you,” Esme says. Her voice is muffled as she seems to make an attempt at fusing physically with her aunt.

Alex simultaneously looks affronted and deeply adoring, watching her sister and her daughter. Lena finds herself feeling the same way - clearly Esme loves her, and the way Kara is bouncing and grinning indicates an equal love back. It’s sweet. 

“Honey, are you gonna go say hi to everyone else or are you going to just hang on Aunt Kara like a spider monkey?” Alex asks, digging her fingers into Esme’s side and prompting a round of giggles and an obvious fortification of her hands on Kara’s neck. 

“Are you coming to dinner?” Esme asks, pulling back and looking at Kara. Kara smiles at her in a forced-looking way, bouncing a little. Her weight has already shifted to her good leg from what Lena can tell. It seems Alex can too, because her grip on her daughter grows a little firmer. 

“I am. You can sit on my lap if you want,” Kara says. Esme looks deliriously excited about that, finally relenting to letting her mother lift her up and away. Alex spins away in a fashion that makes Esme giggle again, and Lena watches idly as Winn and Lucy descend on her with happy congratulations. James excuses himself to go join in on the fawning. God, what the hell? How is one found family so idyllic? 

“How’s your knee, sweetheart?” Eliza asks, reaching out to hug Kara. Kara accepts it with a hum, though her eyes focus on Lena over Eliza’s shoulder. 

“Okay,” Kara says, shrugging. “Still attached. I’m sorry I was late, there was like, a protest or something and my driver couldn’t figure out how to get around, so I had to walk.”

“It’s okay,” Eliza says, looking mightily concerned. Kara smiles wider in accordance. “We’re happy to see you out and about.”

“Right,” Kara says. A brief, awkward silence ensues that seems entirely abnormal for the Superfriends et. al. that Lena’s been experiencing so far. Kara seems to recognize that, scuffing at the ground with her shoes. Thankfully, it’s interrupted by Esme demanding her grandmother’s presence across the room. After she dutifully rushes over, Lena and Kara are left alone.

“Of all the primary school theatres in all the world,” Kara says. Her smile is outrageously gorgeous. Lena laughs, shaking her head. “You’re the really hot, really smart, really rich best friend Sam’s always telling me about.”

“Of course she does that. She’s a menace,” Lena says, glaring over at her friend, who she finds is watching them talk with a too-large grin on her face. She even flashes Lena a thumbs up that makes her question what, exactly, is happening. 

“She said I was your type,” Kara says, needling and sounding quite smug. “Repeatedly. More than once.”

“That is a lie, I’m sorry to tell you,” Lena says. “I couldn’t even tell you what my type is these days.”

“So it’s not really a lie,” Kara points out. Lena rolls her eyes, but smiles. 

“It’s not really the truth either, then, is it?” Lena says. Kara laughs and nods.

“You know, this is the third time we’ve run into each other,” Kara says, grinning wildly. Lena concedes that with a nod. It’s almost impossible to contain her own smile.

“I suppose it is,” Lena says. “Wait, does this mean your sister is prop - ”

“No, no no no, I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, ” Kara says, shaking her head and waving her hands in the air between them. “Like, sworn to secrecy on pain of death. Alex is so nervous she’s on the verge of exploding, so can you just - keep it hush hush?”

“I am fully capable of keeping a secret, unlike some other people I know,” Lena says. Kara groans.

They’re drawn from watching each other by Alex yelling a Superfriends, roll out! that everyone seems to respond to immediately. Kara turns towards the doors without a word, along with all the rest of them. They’re all chattering happily, aglow in the Christmas lights. Lena finds herself laughing as Kara gets pulled into J’onn’s arms in a fierce hug, followed by him helping her down the stairs with her injured knee and talking quietly to her. Lena doesn’t realize Sam and Ruby have sandwiched her at the back of the train of Superfriends until Sam speaks.

“She’s hot, right?” Sam says. Lena glares at her. Sam grins. “The first time I met her, I thought, oh, this is Lena’s wheelhouse.”

“Jack Dawson,” Ruby says, nodding sagely. Lena glares down at her, but Ruby seems affected even less.

“Exactly, Rubes, see, I’m glad you got my brains,” Sam says. “Heart of gold. Blonde. So nice. But a little bit tragic, you know? And you know, she’s a professional athlete, so she has great cardiovascular health. I mean, usually. Right now her knee is busted.”

“How impressive,” Lena deadpans. Sam rolls her eyes.

“You’ll see my vision, I know you will,” Sam says. 

“I see the vision,” Lena admits. “But your vision isn’t going to become reality, unfortunately.”

“We’ll see,” Sam says simperingly. Lena sighs, but threads her arm through Sam’s anyway. She really has missed her.

-

“You know, you’re really pretty,” Esme says, after they’ve all settled in at the two tables they’re taking up and Esme has clambered into Kara’s lap. Despite the fact that an actual four year old has complimented her, she blushes. Kara smiles down at her niece’s head where she’s tilted to face Lena.

“Thank you. You’re really pretty too,” Lena says. 

“I have a princess dress that mummy wouldn’t let me wear,” Esme pouts. Lena has always loved a child’s non sequiturs. Kara laughs behind her, adjusting how Esme is sitting. 

“Hey, if I have to dress up nice, bug, so do you,” Kara says. Esme giggles, turning her head the other direction to talk to Eliza where she sits on Kara’s other side. At the other table, James and Winn are beginning to shout quite loudly in each other’s faces. 

“God, she’s so cute,” Sam says. Her arm is again around Lucy’s chair, and Lucy’s looking mighty pleased about it. J’onn at the end of the table politely greets the waiter when they appear to take their drink orders. “Rubes, you used to be that angelic.”

“I still am that angelic,” Ruby says with some defiance. She’d settled herself next to Lena with a bit of a huff. “Kara, we missed you at dinner a few nights ago.”

Lena catches Sam rolling her eyes, pointing at her daughter behind her head and mouthing crush alert that has Lena smiling into her water glass. 

“Sorry I missed it, I had a doctor’s appointment,” Kara says. She says it like she’s been expecting someone to ask about her absence and has practiced her excuse. Lucy leans against Sam’s side even further, despite the fact that they are in two separate chairs. 

“How’s the knee?” Lucy asks. Kara nearly gets hit in the face by her niece and catches her hand before it flails even more violently, laughing self-deprecatingly.

“Okay. Still attached,” Kara says. Lena finds it hard not to notice it’s the exact same thing Kara said to Eliza when she’d asked. Lena sits back in her seat, observing the way Kara has Esme on her lap almost like a shield and the way she keeps reaching down to rub at her unbraced knee. She’s so obviously uncomfortable, unlike how she’s been with Lena the two other times they’ve seen each other. It’s a bit strange considering how all over each other the Superfriends are.

“And what would you like, Miss Danvers?” the waiter asks, looking particularly entreating. Kara doesn’t pay it any attention, just tilts her head up and asks for a vodka soda. Lena orders herself a scotch, and after the waiter has moved on, she finds Kara looking at her with an eyebrow raised.

“What?” Lena asks. Kara smiles.

“Scotch,” Kara repeats. 

“Yes,” Lena says. 

“Fancy,” Kara needles.

“I have been told on occasion that I have fine taste,” Lena says. 

“Scotch,” Kara says, leaning the slightest bit closer, her arm still wrapped around her niece. “Tastes like gasoline.”

“It so does,” Sam agrees from across the table. Lena had forgotten she was even there. 

“I happen to like scotch,” Lucy says, and Sam gasps in abject horror, turning on the woman. With her mother firmly distracted, Ruby leans closer into Lena’s space and gathers Kara’s attention again.

“I finished Opal and Stone, ” Ruby says. Kara gasps, now leaning her own way into Lena’s space until their faces are both in her space and she’s being pressed up against by both of them. She’d protest if it weren’t so amusing.

“And?” Kara asks. Lena tilts back in her seat just to give herself some room between the two of them. 

“I mean, it wasn’t as good as Emerald and Earth, but I really liked Jusun,” Ruby says dreamily.

“Of course you’d really like Jusun, you love a brooding prince fairy guy thing,” Kara says, waving her away. “I am so obsessed with Erwina that I think I could die. Do you know how far I’ve gone to find fanart of her?”

“Oh, classic you, loving a woman who makes bad choices with big boobs,” Ruby says, rolling her eyes. Lena startles a little. It’s strange hearing Ruby be an actual teenager when Lena was pretty sure she was seven pretty recently. “She could have burnt the whole fairy forest down and you would have supported her.”

“Ugh, whatever, see if I get you Throne of Bones for Christmas now,” Kara says. “I’m being hate crimed. Lena, I’m being hate crimed.”

“Oh, obviously,” Lena says, laughing a little and suddenly remembering Kara handing over the purple book for a fifteen year-old girl. Funny to consider that they’d both been shopping for the same fifteen year-old. 

“No, Aunt Lena, don’t agree with her,” Ruby says, looking like she wants to continue the discussion until her mother smacks at her shoulder enough times that she turns back and asks with some aggravation, “What?”

Lena suspects Sam is distracting Ruby from distracting Kara, judging by the quick glance she throws Lena’s way accompanied by a smirk. The effort is transparent enough that Kara sees it, laughing and reaching around Esme to grab her water glass. 

“She’s putting in the work, huh?” Kara asks, smiling over at Lena.

“Unfortunately. She’s been trying to get me to go out with someone for ages,” Lena says. “I didn’t realize things had got so dire that she thought to try an athlete.”

“When was your last date?” Kara asks. Lena tilts her head back and forth for a moment, contemplating whether she should explain herself or not. Shockingly, a large part of her wants to. Kara is that same uncomplicated, purely curious questioner as she had been in the shop and at the pub.

“I’ve been on dates. But I haven’t really tried to take them anywhere in the past couple years. I’m pretty busy.”

“I get that. I’m busy too,” Kara says, shuffling Esme on her lap and looking contemplative. “But I feel like that’s not the whole story.”

“It isn’t,” Lena agrees. Kara nods, humming to herself. “What about you?”

“What about what, my dating life?” Kara asks. When Lena nods, Kara smiles. “Oh, I’m getting mixed signals here, Lena - ”

“Shut up,” Lena says, shoving at her arm. 

“Same as you, I guess. I’m busy. It’s hard to find someone who will put up with the schedule, put up with the attention. Or the other problem, where all they want is the attention,” Kara says, shrugging. Lena knows what that’s like, in some measure, being an heiress to a major multi-industry fortune. There’d been plenty of people throughout her life who’d wanted to be around her just for the money. 

Their drinks appear then, the waiter still eyeing Kara. Esme immediately tries to grab for her juice, and Kara reaches out to hold it for her before she can spill it everywhere.

“She likes you,” Lena says softly. It’s sweet, in a way being with Ruby when she was younger like this had been sweet. Kara looks at her and smiles softly, still holding the juice aloft so Esme can suck at the straw.

“I’m very likeable,” Kara says. Lena doesn’t dignify that with a response.

---

So. Third time’s the charm. What the hell am I supposed to get your future sister-in-law for Secret Santa?

ah, lena luthor hello hello. i knew u’d come calling eventually

u know ur not supposed to reveal who ur secret santa is right

I’m in need of guidance. If this is my only appearance in the Superfriends Christmas Spectacular, I’m going to give a good gift.

fair enuf. tho idk how good ur gift can be with a 25 pound cap

are u free 2nite?

I can be. Sam and Ruby have banned me from helping out to get ready for the party tomorrow.

i’ll come meet u at sam’s and we can walk to the christmas market and get kelly a gift and hang out. ya?

Lena pauses. She shouldn’t, in the sense that she liked Kara a lot, found her fun and funny and even interesting, but she was leaving in a week. But, on the other hand, she was leaving in a week, and she’d already set the boundary of no romance with Kara. And she really did want to make a good impression and give a good, thoughtful gift. 

Sure. What time?

6. we can grab food there?

Sounds good.

-

She lies vigorously to Sam about where she’s going. She feels like her seventeen year old self home for summer break, lying to her mother about going to the Metropolis library downtown and instead going to Andrea Rojas’s hotel room while she was visiting for a weekend from Argentina. Sam doesn’t question her when she says she’s going to go meet up with a work friend who happens to be in town for dinner. She just waves Lena away like she’s a hopeless cause.

Kara is idling at the corner when Lena finally gets to the sidewalk. It’s not raining today, the air chilly enough that there’s a minor threat of snow in the air. In accordance, Kara is bundled up in a much thicker parka than Lena’s seen so far, with jeans, boots, and brace to match. When they’d said goodbye last night, she’d barely been putting weight on her leg at all.

“Hey,” Lena says, and Kara startles from her phone with a smile. She pulls Lena into a hug then, warm and strong. 

“Hey,” Kara says. “Nice beanie.”

“Don’t bring it up, Sam said if I was walking anywhere I had to wear it and then she acted like I was crazy when I asked if she had any other ones,” Lena says. The Brunswick Gardens hat was at least a tasteful forest green color, though it had a large tree design decorating its bottom edge. Lena briefly considers offering to switch with Kara, who has a normal, unbranded beanie on, but she rather doubts people could look past Kara Danvers wearing a Brunswick hat even in the dark.

“She’s a wily one,” Kara says. “Well, come on, let’s get Kelly something cool.”

The walk to Hyde Park is short from Sam’s place, and even from a distance Lena can see the immense celebration taking place in the center of it. For one thing, there are children yelling happily. For another, there are roller coasters planted in the middle of the park, lit up like the Christmas trees literally everywhere. 

“We’re not riding one of those, are we?” Lena asks, gesturing up toward them. Kara laughs, entering a long queue that seems to lead into the section of the park reserved for what is apparently Hyde Park Winter Wonderland. Excited children, families, and couples stream past them exiting the park. It’s busy and dark enough that Lena can imagine Kara had picked this time and place just to blend in.

“God knows what that’d do to this thing,” Kara says, leaning down and patting at the brace. “And the team physio scares me. A lot.”

“The team physio probably wouldn’t be happy seeing you go without your brace just to seem normal to your family either,” Lena says. It comes off sounding prohibitive. Kara looks at her as though Lena’s offended her, but then sighs, rolling her eyes.

“No, probably not,” Kara says. “But they all just look at me like a freak when I have it on. It’s better to deal with it hurting.”

Lena can see how that could happen. She’d gathered the impression that Kara wasn’t as present as the other Superfriends, even amongst her own family. Esme had clung to her as they’d all tried to say goodnight and head their separate ways. It makes sense, based on what Kara’s already said and what Lena might guess at a professional athlete’s schedule.

“I’m sorry,” Lena says. There’s no point in denying Kara’s experience; not only does she not have enough knowledge to say differently, what knowledge she does have seems to support that. They’d all tried to help her and dote on her, asking after her knee when she clearly wasn’t interested in discussing it. Kara hums, leaning to the side and bumping gently into Lena’s side.

“It’s fine.”

The shuffle forward in calm personal silence - it is decidedly not silent around them - for a few moments until Kara speaks again.

“Why are you really not dating?” Kara asks. Lena raises an eyebrow at her; Kara tries to approximate the look back to middling results. “What? I thought we were having serious talks in the queue.”

“Just because I noticed that you don’t want to talk about your knee?” Lena asks, laughing. Kara starts pouting at her, the lights of the park shining off the wet of her lips as she does so. She looks pretty with her glasses back on, in a completely different way than the pretty she looks without them.

“All’s fair and all that,” Kara says. Lena rolls her eyes and thinks on how to respond. There wasn’t really one definable reason, just that -

“Do you remember when I said I’d had a shitty two years?” Lena asks. Kara nods. “My brother got arrested and the company was left to me, Sam moved away, and my - my best friend, Jack, died, all last year. Kind of hard to go on dates when you’re just trying to keep your head above water. Not to mention my therapist wants to see me twice a week.”

Kara seems to think for a moment, looking around before bumping back into Lena’s side. This time, her arm wraps around Lena’s back and she finds herself pulled close in a side hug. Despite the layers between them, it’s warm. Nice. 

“That fucking sucks,” Kara says, after a second. She doesn’t really let Lena go even as they move forward in line. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Lena says, imitating Kara. Kara looks at her like she’s crazy, so she’s forced to amend: “It isn’t. But it is what it is. So yeah. Kind of hard to get just about anything done, let alone spend energy on dating. Maybe that’s silly.”

“I don’t think it’s silly at all. I’ve done the debilitating depression stuff,” Kara says. “My parents died when I was thirteen.”

“Oh. I thought Eliza was - ”

“I’m adopted,” Kara says. She finally lets go of Lena when they get to the ticket scanner, but when they come back through the gate, she offers her arm out and Lena takes it without thought. 

“I’m adopted too,” Lena says. Kara looks down at her for a second with a funnily serious expression before she laughs a little.

“No wonder Sam is trying to set us up,” Kara says. “Just two workaholics with trauma.”

Lena snorts, leaning into Kara’s side as they squeeze through traffic. The place is packed, people waiting in line for things all over the place. Lena thinks for half a second that this doesn’t seem like the best place to get a gift for Kelly, and that, if pressed, she might call this a date, but she doesn’t. Lena doesn’t date; Kara knew better what to get Kelly and from where. If they had fun hanging out together, that was holiday magic and nothing more.

“Are you a workaholic?” Lena asks. Kara laughs a little, heading down a path to a large pack of food and drink tents.

“That’s what all the Superfriends say,” Kara says, shrugging. She sounds a little frustrated. “I don’t know. I do my job. It takes a lot of time and energy and sometimes I don’t have a lot left for anyone else. Plus, it’s…sometimes they ask me to just go out and meet them for a pint somewhere and it’s just not that simple. One time I went to dinner for Eliza’s birthday out at some restaurant and a guy started yelling at me about my xG. So they think I’m a weird hermit, too.”

Lena thinks through that, and though she contemplates asking what xG is, she settles for empathy and squeezes Kara’s arm where they’re locked together. 

“Sounds just as enjoyable as CEO life,” Lena says. “Even when I have time to myself, there’s always the possibility of a new fire needing to be put out.”

“Did you always think you’d go into the family business?” Kara asks, craning her neck to look at a menu board hanging over a large booth and then looking at Lena in question. When Lena looks it over, it looks perfectly fine, and she nods. They settle in line behind a couple who are kissing intermittently and also aggressively. 

“I didn’t have much choice,” Lena says. “But I thought I’d go into the tech side of things. Before Lex got arrested, I worked in R&D, and then after…well, someone had to step in. When’d you get into soccer?”

“ Football, Lena, you really have to get with it,” Kara says, laughing and jerking her arm where Lena’s threaded her own through it. “My parents put a ball at my feet before I could walk. Loved it ever since.”

“I do actually like football, you know,” Lena says, nudging at Kara. “I always wanted to play when I was younger, but my mother thought horse riding a better investment.”

“A horse is definitely an investment compared to a ball,” Kara jokes.

Lena finds herself looking up at Kara then, at the play of shadow and light on her face. She’s handsome. Her weight is shifting away from her bad knee as she leans against Lena and contemplates the menu board. She’s interesting, and funny, and nice. After a moment, Kara seems to notice the attention - her face tilts down and she looks back at Lena with a curious, focused expression. She doesn’t say you’re staring in a teasing tone, though there is some measure of that in her eyes. Instead, she just stares back.

It’s so heady a moment that someone behind them has to nudge them forward in line after a large gap forms between them and the people in front. Lena finds herself laughing, totally uncertain of what to do otherwise. Kara joins her. 

---

On Christmas Eve, Lena has been set to work finally when the doorbell rings a whole hour earlier than Sam had said they could anticipate guests. Sam looks up from the table she’s decorating with abject fear in her expression, while Ruby pauses at her napkin rolling station. Lena looks from one to the other before she laughs a little, heading to the door. 

When she opens it, she finds two equally sheepish women standing there: Kara Danvers and Lucy Lane. Both of them look fantastic, their hair loose and with fashionable coats on. Lena was aware by now that Kara had a personal stylist who she met up with once a month to get an “outfit download” as she had called it last night, but apparently ambassador money was good these days, because Lucy was wearing an easily five thousand dollar coat.

“Hello,” Lena says, looking them over and leaning against the door jamb. “You’re early.”

“We didn’t come together,” Lucy says. Lena squints at her. Kara laughs.

“I don’t think she thought that,” Kara says, nudging at Lucy. Lucy shoves at her and then immediately tries to reel her back in by the toggles of her duffle coat when Kara stumbles sideways into the metal railing of the steps up to Sam’s front door. She has her brace on today, even over the nice wool pants she has on.

“Who is it?” she hears Sam yell, sounding nervous. Lena glances over her shoulder to find Ruby with her head poking around the corner, giggling. 

“Say it’s carolers,” Kara jokes. Lena, for once, understands the reference and laughs. Lucy rolls her eyes at her. 

“What, you have poster board shoved up your ass?” Lucy asks. “Can we come in, please, it’s cold and it’s raining and God knows when the vultures will show up.”

“It’s Lucy, mom,” Ruby yells, followed by an extremely loud crashing sound that highly resembles several plates crashing to the ground. Lena laughs out loud and waves them in - Lucy doesn’t wait to kick off her shoes or let Lena take her coat and instead rushes into the next room, where Sam is hopefully not dead or severely injured. Ruby follows after her with a cackle. 

Kara steps up and hovers in Lena’s space as she closes the door behind her, grinning brightly. Last night had done nothing to dispel whatever strange feelings Lena had in Kara’s presence; by the end of it, as she was being escorted home while tipsy and laden with snacks, candy, and Kelly’s Secret Santa gift, Lena had been ready to throw all caution to the wind and sink into Kara. In the colder light of day, the feeling felt warmer, more sweet. 

“She just chewed me out for stealing her thunder, so I’m gonna wait a sec,” Kara says. 

“Are they gonna get their act together soon, do we think?” Lena asks. Kara hums, tilting her head back and forth and smiling. They’re sharing airspace in the small entryway, Kara’s hands shoved in her pockets and Lena’s arms crossed. The skin of her forearms almost brushes the toggles of Kara’s coat. One half of Lena wants to sink in and press up against her and the other part, just as strong, is telling her how stupid an idea it would be. Kara, Lena can tell, is a soft landing spot, the exact sort of person she could grow to really like, and Lena was leaving for another continent that she lived on in a week. There was no point in starting to get invested when there was a set end date.

“God, I hope so,” Kara says. “Lucy’s usually way more assertive. I think she’s been trying to feel out Ruby. You look gorgeous, by the way.”

Lena glances down at her dress, knee length and a deep velvety green. When she’d come downstairs wearing it with her hair still half done, Sam had called her a slinky little temptress for some reason. Watching Kara’s eyes sweep over her did make it seem more true.

“Thank you,” Lena says, more flirty than she intends. Kara hears it with a smile, her head tilting as she looks at Lena.

“Are you going to tell me I look good, or?” Kara asks. Lena laughs, ignoring the heat rushing up her cheeks, and gives Kara a look that she seems to understand perfectly well as stop playing. 

Kara pulls at her coat then, as more sounds of laughter and things getting picked up filter through to them from the next room. She’s wearing a soft-looking long sleeve polo, and then Lena finds that it is soft when Kara pulls her into a hug. Lena returns it, sinking in just a little toward her. 

When they let go and Lena takes Kara’s coat to hang on the rack just next to the door, they turn to find Ruby standing there again, her own arms crossed.

“You creeping for a reason?” Kara asks, apparently unphased by the teen’s squinting, suspicious face that makes Lena feel very guilty for some reason. 

“No,” Ruby stoutly says. 

“You sure?” Kara asks. She’s coming closer, pulling Ruby into a hug that the girl wholeheartedly returns as they drift into the kitchen. “Wait, are those gingerbread cookies I see?”

“They’re for after dinner,” Lena says. Kara pouts at her. 

“Oh, Christ, Kara’s here too?” Sam asks as she comes stomping into the kitchen. 

“Here to help, captain,” Kara says, letting go of Ruby and saluting. Sam rolls her eyes. 

Hours and hours later, the Christmas Eve party has turned somewhat sloppy. Ruby is asleep on the couch next to Alex, who hasn’t put down the enormous Rubik’s Cube given to her by J’onn since she received it. Esme had already disappeared with Eliza. Kelly had loved the silly little Christmas reindeer pen Kara had insisted she would like, and has signed a few autographs with it. Lena’d received an annoyingly perceptive and likely Sam-influenced gift of a Brunswick Gardens FC scarf from Lucy. 

They’ve drank a lot of wine and liquor and beer, and Lena’s had fun. The Superfriends are nice, and friendly, and have melded her into their group without a care in the world. They make her put on paper Christmas hats and participate in a milk chugging contest that she only just loses to Winn. And she doesn’t puke once it’s over like he does, so really - she should get the trophy.

She’s coming out of her bathroom upstairs when it happens. One moment, she’s drying her hands, humming to the rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” the group has apparently decided needed to be sung downstairs, wondering how long they can keep this party going, when Kara appears in her open bedroom doorway.

Traitorously, her body reacts before her brain. Her body sends out signals that seem to mimic an intrigued what have we here? and then Lena has to snap back into the boundaries she herself had set and really did believe in. But Kara was tall and strong looking in the doorway, so…

“Hi,” Kara whispers with a bright grin. “Ooh, nice place.”

Her cheeks are bright red, which has probably not been helped by her knit polo or Lena mixing her cocktails. She’s been known to have a heavy pour, but Kara had taken a sip of the first one, choked, and then grinned up at her like it was perfect, so she hadn’t stopped.

“It’s not mine,” Lena says. Kara laughs, hobbling in without a care in the world and reaching for Lena. Lena has, in fact, been mixing her own cocktails. Her cheeks feel hot as a furnace, along with her whole body when Kara grabs ahold of her. “Why are you up here?”

“Goin’ to the bathroom,” Kara says. 

“The bathroom is further down the hall,” Lena points out, resisting the grip of Kara’s hands. Again, she wants to let Kara do what she will, wants to let herself have it. She does like Kara, but the way she likes Kara is making her entrench further in her position of not giving in. Kara is transient, unfixed, and Lena will be gone in a week. Lena swallows. Kara looks at her with more focused eyes, and then frowns.

“Hey, you’re okay,” Kara says softly, and Lena takes a breath. “Come on, dance with me.”

“Why should I?” Lena asks, but this time, she allows Kara to pull her in. Kara’s arms wrap around her waist, pulling them tight in together. The familiar push-pull of feelings inside her slides confidently toward give in to it. It’s not advisable. It’s a betrayal of the boundaries Lena had set, but -

But Lena’s drunk, and Kara is so cute and nice, and hadn’t blinked when Lena had managed to begin spilling her life story all over the ground last night. She’d looked at Lena and given it right back to her. And she’d sat with her at the stupid igloo bar they’d found and talked her through how she met every one of her friends downstairs; and she’d listened to Lena talk about Sam and Jack. 

“Because you want to,” Kara huffs. Which is fair enough. “Have I told you that you look pretty?”

“At least six times. And Sam heard the last one, by the way,” Lena says. Sam had turned to look at Lena as if she were bearing witness to a historic event. 

“Damn,” Kara mutters. “Gotta lock it up.”

“You really do,” Lena laughs. “We can’t have her thinking her little scheme has a chance.”

“Right, right,” Kara nods, swaying them around and humming the song. She has a nice voice, one Lena’s heard in stereo sitting next to her all night. Despite herself, Lena’s fingers drift just slightly into the damp baby hairs at the nape of Kara’s neck. 

“You look handsome,” Lena says. Kara smiles, tilting her head. Her eyes are lidded but blue still, unrestricted by her glasses. 

“Thanks for finally saying it,” Kara says. Lena watches her face tilt closer and closer then, and she doesn’t think to think about it until their foreheads thunk together gently. Kara’s hands are drawing her in tighter; Lena can feel her fingers like a whole other person’s controlling them grasp Kara’s neck tighter. They’re breathing the same air. 

For a moment, Lena really thinks: fuck it. She likes Kara. Kara likes her. Sam can get fucked; her insecurities and fears can get fucked too. It’s fucking Christmas, and she’s a little bit drunk, and she should be allowed to kiss someone if she wants to. Jack had always told her to get out of her head, and after he died, she hasn’t been able to figure out how to do it without his pushing. The reminder makes her suck in a breath. But Kara hums again.

“Sorry, I - this isn’t what we agreed,” Kara says. Lena blinks her eyes open. When had they closed? Kara’s were opening too, her blue eyes so close to Lena’s that they didn’t seem to be able to focus. “No romance.”

“No romance,” Lena agrees, except she seems to be in one of the more romantic moments of her life. A very attractive woman looks to be milliseconds from kissing the life out of her and somewhere downstairs, two very good voices have started in on a duet of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” Maybe the Superfriends should form a show choir. 

“No romance, either of us,” Kara restates. “You know, though, I just - I do like you a lot.”

It makes Lena want to cry. She hasn’t cried once since she’d made it to the safe stable of Sam’s home in London, which had to be a record for the last years of her life. 

“I like you, too,” Lena says. Her breath hitches, and she feels Kara make a little sound as one of her hands drifts up to palm the back of Lena’s head, and then their little dance has turned into a hug. Lena tucks her head into the hollow of Kara’s shoulder and breathes in the spicy scent of her perfume. And they stand that way through at least three more songs, caught up together against all reason or sensibility.

---

“Aunt Lena?” 

Lena peeks one eye open to find a light drifting into her room from the doorway. When she looks at the alarm clock on her bedside table, it displays a truly haunting six a.m. Her head is pounding. But Ruby is hovering in her doorway, and Lena’d accepted some measure of responsibility for the girl when Sam had decided they were to be best friends years and years ago. 

“Yeah?” she croaks. She hears Ruby laugh a little.

“Happy Christmas,” Ruby whispers. “Wanna come wake mom up with me?”

Lena considers the tragedy of crawling out of bed, but then thinks about how she’d had to practically throw Sam into her bed last night - four hours ago - with some very bad help from James who had been laughing too hysterically to do anything that useful. 

“Yes,” Lena says. “Just let me pee.”

Two minutes later, Ruby throws open Sam’s bedroom door so forcefully that it sounds like a gunshot.

“What the - ”  Sam yelps, seconds before her daughter takes a prodigious leap onto her mattress and goes wiggling up her side.

“Happy Christmas, mom!” Ruby yells, with so much less respect than she’d greeted Lena that she has to smile. It makes it easier to saunter on in and claim the space on Sam’s other side, dropping in and making the mattress bounce. Sam groans.

“Merry Christmas to you, too,” Sam manages to say. Lena watches as she lets Ruby crawl up her side and tuck her head onto her shoulder. “Jesus Christ, I thought you learning Santa wasn’t real would lead to less aggressive wake-up calls.”

“Wait, Santa isn’t real?” Lena asks. Sam glares over at her, but then somehow worms her arm under Lena’s head and tugs at her until she’s forced to sink closer too, mirroring Ruby’s position. It’s nice. After Jack’s funeral, Sam had held her like this every night for days before she’d had to go back to London. And now Lena was in London, and not totally ferociously depressed. Miracles happen.

“Fuck both of you,” Sam whispers. She sounds like she’s already falling back asleep. 

“Rude,” Lena yawns. Sleeping sounds nice.

“No, both of you, no, it’s Christmas!” Ruby yelps, shoving at her mother and also reaching across to get Lena by the hip. “Please, it’s present time!”

“God, Lena, never have children,” Sam mutters. 

“Unless they’re Kara’s,” Ruby adds. Lena’s eyes are closed, but she still rolls them anyway. She feels her cheeks heat up again, thinking of the strange look on Kara’s face as she’d stepped away from Lena and ducked into the car that’d come to pick her up last night. Like she hadn’t wanted to leave. Lena can’t remember the last time someone looked at her like that - besides Sam, she supposes, after Jack’s funeral, and that might have been more out of worry for Lena’s sanity. 

“Unless they’re Kara’s,” Sam agrees. “You’re so right, Ruby. You two seem like you’re getting along, by the way.”

“Stop,” Lena warns, and Sam sighs while Ruby doesn’t say a word. She feels bad for interrupting the peaceful teasing and tries to force herself to relax. 

“Someone said something about presents?” Lena asks. Ruby recenters herself. Sam groans unhappily as the girl sits up and starts bouncing on the bed.

-

Alex and Kelly’s house is lovely. When they get there, finally, after a lot of coffee and laughing over gifts and Ruby exclaiming happily over Throne of Bones, it’s almost two o’clock. Sam throws the door open without knocking, and when they enter, the smells are delicious. There’s noise coming from all parts of the house, but the sitting room just off the entryway is where Kara is sitting on the ground with her back against a couch, Esme crawling on her like a jungle gym while Winn contemplates a pamphlet of paper and a stack of wood that could constitute a small playground. 

“Hey guys,” Kara waves, and then catches her niece just before she drops herself head first from Kara’s shoulders. “You can’t go in the kitchen, but some people are in the garden out back and other people are in the living room and James is running to the shops to get butter.”

“Awesome, classic Superfriends Christmas,” Sam says, patting at Lena’s back and all but shoving her in Kara’s direction. Lena glares at her as she goes sauntering off, Ruby following after her with a wave. 

“Hey Lena,” Winn mutters, after she’s pulled off her coat and comes over to sit next to Kara. Kara’s on the floor with her legs extended, brace on, different dress pants and dress socks and a cute sweater on, but Lena sits on the couch just next to her, her legs brushing against Kara’s side. 

“What are you building?” Lena asks, smiling at Esme when she stands on Kara’s lap and looks at her with squinty eyes.

“This little gal’s Christmas gift, except I think I’m an idiot,” Winn says. “These instructions are written in English, but I feel like I’m seeing gibberish.”

“Winn’s hungover,” Kara adds. Esme giggles when Lena does. 

“Okay, whatever, we don’t all have athlete metabolisms,” Winn says. Lena glances over at the instructions - maybe her hangover isn’t quite as juicy as his is, but it looks achievable.

“Want me to take over?” Lena asks. Winn looks up at her as though she’s just given him a precious gift. He nods so vigorously that his hair bounces around on his head, and then clambers up to reach out and hug her.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Winn says. “I’m going to go drink water.”

“Do that,” Kara snorts. Lena slides down to the ground and crawls over to the paper, picking up the screwdriver and flipping it around in her hand as she looks over the project. It’s a small climbing system that looks sort of like monkey bars. Winn must be really hungover if he couldn’t figure it out.

“You’re gonna build it for me?” Esme asks. Lena glances up to find her settling now in Kara’s lap, her legs wiggling to cross and lean forward to watch Lena’s hands. Kara’s large hands settle on her little knees, and Lena looks away from those before she loses all train of thought. 

“I’m going to try,” Lena says. “Who got you this present?”

“My grandma,” Esme says, looking proud. 

“Her moms were supposed to build it last night,” Kara adds. Lena laughs, reaching for the longest piece that acts as one of the two side rails and then grabbing for the first colored rung to jam into place. It’s simple, simple enough that she sets the instructions off to the side. 

“They didn’t quite get to it?” Lena asks, reaching for the next rung. 

“Alex is not doing her hottest, I’ll say that,” Kara says. “Bug, tell Lena what else you got.”

“Oh, I got a bike! And a basketball hoop, and a lot of books,” Esme says, looking quite serious. Lena nods, reaching for the pack of bolts that had come with the kit and dropping the screwdriver in favor of the ratchet Winn had abandoned. “And, Aunt Kara got to be here, which is the best. She wasn’t here last Christmas.”

Lena looks up in time to catch Kara’s wince, thinking of Kara at the park reviewing what her weekly schedule usually looked like, how clearly upset she was to be treated as different by her family because of her job.

“Why not?” Lena asks. Kara shrugs.

“I was in Liverpool for a Boxing Day match,” Kara says. 

“Which is far, ” Esme says. Lena nods seriously, thinking through how to respond as she shuffles pieces around.

“But - your Aunt Kara was doing her job,” Lena says. “Sometimes people have to work on Christmas. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you or want to be around you.”

She thinks for a half second that she’s said something Esme is either going to entirely reject or not understand on account of it coming from her, a relative stranger, but the little girl seems to think quite seriously for a moment before she turns a little to face Kara and throws her arms around her neck, squeezing hard.

“I love you too, Aunt Kara,” Esme whispers. Lena looks away from the obvious tears piling up in Kara’s eyes as she hugs her niece back for a long moment. She hears rustling around again and catches Esme’s socked foot poking into her field of vision as though she’s reoriented to face Lena, but she doesn’t look up. 

“Miss Lena. Can I tell you a secret?” Esme asks. Lena looks up from where she’s bolting in one of the rungs to find Esme looking down at her. Kara looks curious behind her.

“Yes,” Lena says. Esme leans closer, nearly falling off of Kara’s lap. 

“My Aunt Kara thinks you’re really pretty,” Esme says. Kara gasps, jostling Esme and picking her up to look at her accusingly, prompting rampant giggles from the girl. 

“Who told you to say that?” Kara asks, shaking her a little and clearly digging her fingers in to tickle her. Lena laughs, turning to look back at her work. “Who told you, you little scamp?”

“I’m sworn to secrets,” Esme says, miming zipping her lips.

“What are they giving you? Cookies?” Kara asks. “I can get you so many cookies.”

“How many?” Esme asks, sounding intrigued.

“A thousand,” Kara offers.

“A thousand million.”

“A thousand million? You drive a hard bargain,” Kara says, humming and tilting her head back. “Fine. A thousand million cookies. Who told you to say that?”

“Grandma,” Esme says, and then promptly dissolves into shrieks and giggles as Kara gasps. She wriggles out of Kara’s hands then, toddling around Lena and the pile constituting her Christmas gift and goes careening into the next room to the sounds of joy of whoever is occupying that area. 

“Wow,” Kara says, shaking her head. When Lena looks up, she’s tilted her head back to rest on the couch, her eyes closed, her arms crossed. Lena smiles to herself. “The conspiracy against us deepens.”

“Apparently,” Lena says. Kara shrugs, opening her eyes again and lazily regarding Lena.

“You didn’t have to say that to her,” Kara says, jutting her chin in Esme’s direction. “She knows.”

“It’s good to be reminded sometimes,” Lena says, lifting one shoulder and letting it fall slowly. “After Jack died, it feels like every horrible or great moment he isn’t around for is like…I don’t know. An abandonment. I have to make myself realize that’s not fair.”

Lena hears Kara make a little noise, and when Lena looks up again, the tears are back in Kara’s eyes, a small pout to her lips as she looks into the middle distance. Lena drops the beginnings of the monkey bars in her hands and puts her hand out to rest on Kara’s extended leg, just over a knee.

“Hey, I’m not saying you’re abandoning your family,” Lena says. “That’s my own psychosis. Obviously Jack didn’t get cancer and die on purpose, in the same way you having to go play football isn’t you saying fuck off to them.”

“No, no, it just - you reminded me of something,” Kara says, shrugging and sniffling a little. She moves a little, her body orienting more toward Lena until her leg is settled against Lena’s crossed ones. Lena finds her fingers gripping one of the plastic supports of her brace. “Trauma. You know.”

“I know,” Lena says, watching Kara until she seems to right herself. She wants to reach out and grasp Kara’s pretty face and hold it between her hands and say something more, things that Lena doesn’t even understand why she wants to say, like I know you try hard for them or maybe even more simply I know you. And the reciprocal you know me, I can feel it. 

Her brain has been working hard for to shut off this feeling of connection, but try as she might, she really can’t avoid it. And it’s sad, suddenly, in a way she’s been trying to avoid, that it’s going nowhere.

She flexes her hands in an effort to recenter herself to this moment and finds herself grounded by two things - the plastic of Kara’s knee brace under her hand and Kara’s own warm hand arriving overtop it.

“You okay?” Kara whispers.

“Yeah,” Lena says. She assumes Kara understands that she is lying to save face, but she also assumes that Kara knows she has to just to feel halfway normal. And she’s right, because Kara lets her keep the falsity, her hand dropping away and leaving Lena’s wrapped around her brace, her knuckles brushing Kara’s thigh.

-

“Oh my God, bingo! Bingo!” Nia yells from her perch on the ground. For some unknown reason, the Superfriends participate in a Lifetime movies marathon while playing bingo or other games. “Holding a mug looking cozy! Suck it, Brainy!”

“I do not understand why I have been singled out,” Brainy mutters. Lena laughs, shuffling in her spot on the couch. She’s somehow ended up in the middle of the thing, surrounded on all sides - Kara is on one side, Ruby on the other, and Eliza is on Kara’s other side. Apparently watching Lifetime movies required lots of blankets - she’d had one thrown at her as they settled down in their various perches in the living room.

She and Kara are close. Maybe too close, but there are four people on a couch designed for three, so it doesn’t seem fair to question it. But it’s distracting, her body warm and interested and her brain desperately trying to keep her out of the whirlpool Kara’s creating in her.

Alex has ripped Nia’s bingo card out of her hands for inspection, a heavy frown on her face. Whatever she sees seems to confirm Nia’s win, because she throws the thing into their pile of winning bingo cards and stands up with a grunt. 

“Fine, I’ll go get your wine bottle,” Alex mutters. “Anyone need anything from the kitchen?”

There’s a chorus of no that has her turning away. Lena watches as Kara cranes her neck to look over her shoulder and watch her go - and then Kara turns back around with a grin. When she catches Lena looking at her, she throws her a wink - annoying - and then she raises a hand to make some sort of gesture at James across the room. 

He sits up straighter from where he’s settled on the floor and reaches into his pocket to pull out his phone.

“Kel, by the way, mom wanted me to show you the new addition to her Christmas village,” James says, swiping through something. Kelly is also on the ground, just in front of the armchair Alex had just been in, and sighs heavily.

“You’ve got to stop buying her stuff for that, it’s taking up a whole room in the house,” Kelly says. But she crawls forward to look anyway. “Oh my God, what is that?”

“It’s a zoo, obviously,” James says. Lena idly watches the two siblings chatter and complain about their mother’s apparently abominable Christmas village, while Winn and Nia lean over to look at it too and look deeply confused. Kara reaches over her to tap at Ruby’s thigh. 

“Record this,” Kara whispers. Ruby looks confused, but changes apps on her phone anyway to switch to the camera. Lena has a half-second to piece together this series of events when Alex’s shadow reappears in the large entryway to the living room. She looks as though she is about to pass out or maybe simply die - and then she kneels to the ground, with the ring box Kara had shown Lena days ago extended out. Ruby squeaks and moves her camera higher in the air to catch the whole tableau.

“Hey, babe, I forgot to give you this gift earlier,” Alex says. Kelly turns around from where she’s sitting with her brother with a frown that morphs into perfect surprise. Sam gasps, and Lena hears a whispered oh my God from Nia.

“Is this real?” Kelly asks, prompting a laugh from most of the room. Alex laughs too, shaking her head.

“Really real,” Alex says. “I know we’ve sort of done things out of order, adopting a kid and then U-Hauling. But I love you, and how smart you are, and how kind you are, and how you’re an insufferable morning person. I want to love you forever. Will you marry me?”

“Of course,” Kelly says. “Yes, I will.”

The room bursts into cheers and yells as they sort of crawl ungainly across the floor to each other and Alex slips the ring on Kelly’s finger. It’s as shiny sparkly as it was the first time Lena saw it. Everyone starts standing up to hug, Ruby launching out of her seat to continue her documentation of the moment. Eliza helps the two of them up off the floor with James and hugs Kelly tightly, and they’re swarmed. Lena isn’t sure, for a moment, whether she should be getting up too and joining in - as nice and welcoming as the Superfriends have been, this is a personal moment that could easily be marred by a relative stranger’s presence. Not to mention - Winn is climbing up James’s back while Brainy wraps an arm around Nia’s shoulder and finally, for fuck’s sake, Sam is holding Lucy’s hand as they add to the pile. It’s obvious that she’s the odd man out, except for -

Kara yanks the blanket off her lap and looks at Lena dolefully, a little pout on her face that Lena suddenly wants, above any and all things, to kiss.

“Can you help me up?” she asks, pouting. Lena rolls her eyes but climbs up off the couch and reaches for Kara’s hand, helping give her enough leverage to get up and off the honestly insanely comfy couch. When she is up, she pulls Lena into a half-hug and then into the pile of bodies that’s now starting to jump up and down and sing a song for some unknown reason.

It’s nice. Lena’s not been blessed with massive amounts of interpersonal joy, even when it was fleeting - and though this is fleeting, it’s one of the higher highs of her life. Merry Christmas, everyone, indeed.

-

They end up taking a car together. Well, Sam and Ruby are there too. Apparently Kara’s house is on the other side of Hyde Park from Sam’s, and Kara had already hired a car while Sam was relying on calling for a rideshare of some kind. So they share. Ruby is asleep by the time they pull away from the curb, bags of presents and gifts and leftovers jammed in the trunk. Sam gleefully takes the seat next to her, leaving Kara and Lena to take the other two seats. It’s set up in a VIP arrangement, with the Brunswick Gardens logo stamped on various parts of the leather. 

When they pull away, the lights dim, leaving the roof patterned in little pinpoint starlights that make Lena immediately sleepy. She’s had plenty of wine and laughter and food and way too much cheesecake. They’re all quiet while the driver winds his way through the streets to make it from one end of London to the other. 

“Hey,” Kara whispers, after a few minutes. “I have a present for you, more than the books.”

Lena thinks to the stack of six books piled in one of their bags in the backseat of the car, and then to the small wrapped package in her bag. She’d given everyone candies and chocolate and baked goods, and Kara had exclaimed happily over the enormous bag of cookies Lena had given to her when she unwrapped them, but she had bought something else for her that had felt too…personal. It seems Kara has done the same thing. It makes something like an ache take residency in her chest, taking up room in her lungs. It was too much, all of a sudden.

“Okay, I have two,” Kara amends. “Still better than the books.”

Lena feels the panic recede right back, somehow, her interest and affection drowning out her fear. It’s an unfamiliar wash of emotions after having one rule the other for so long. But - it was Christmas. Wasn’t Lena allowed to have some joy, even if it was a fantasy?

“I have one for you too,” Lena returns. Kara looks entirely delighted at the thought from what Lena can see of her face. 

“Cool. I can - maybe you can open it once you settle in for the night? We could Facetime or something.”

“Yeah, sure,” Lena agrees. 

When they get to Sam’s house, she has to nudge gently at Sam’s shin, who then has to get her teenage daughter awake. Kara climbs out with them, saying something to the driver real quick and then helping with their bags. As they’re climbing the steps up to Sam’s front door, there’s a flash off from down the street that the driver goes stomping over to, while Kara frowns heavily.

“Sorry,” Kara says, looking at Sam. Sam shrugs, popping her door open.

“Not your fault,” Sam says. “I doubt it’s a great photo anyway.”

Lena looks down the street to see the driver is talking to a man with an enormous camera in hand, now looking totally harangued by the driver. It takes a few moments to connect the dots - it must be some tabloid photographer following Kara around. It makes her feel protective, and she grasps Kara by the arm and pushes her up into the entryway after Ruby and Sam file in.

Ruby doesn’t even say goodnight when they get inside, just starts tromping upstairs. Lena’s not even sure she’s awake.

“Thanks for the ride, Kara,” Sam says. Her voice is scratchy and her eyes are barely open. Kara idles in the doorway with her hands jammed in the pockets of her coat, smiling. 

“No problem,” Kara says. She looks over at Lena, eyes soft, before she hands over a bag with what looks like two still-wrapped gifts in it. “Here you go.”

“Here’s yours,” Lena says, ignoring the way Sam’s eyes are glued to her face as she reaches in her purse and hands over her gift for Kara. 

“Cool,” Kara says, grinning wildly and shoving the box in her pocket. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow?”

Tomorrow, for the Brunswick match they’re all apparently attending as a group in a suite. Winn had tried to teach Lena several chants that she’d barely retained any of. 

“You will,” Sam says firmly. 

And Kara gives them both brief hugs before she turns and makes her way down the steps slowly, leaning against the railing heavily as she drags her injured leg with her. It makes Lena want to step outside and help her, maybe grab her umbrella - Kara’s umbrella - and raise it over her head to ward off the rain while she moves. Instead, Kara is met at the bottom of the steps by the driver, who smiles at her and grasps her arm as she makes it to the sidewalk.

And then Lena is being pulled by her best friend into the next room at the same time the door closes.

“What are those?” Sam asks. Lena looks down at her bag and then back to Sam, squinting. 

“Gifts?” Lena asks.

“From who?” Sam says, more insistently, in a way that implies she knows exactly who they’re from and is wanting Lena to admit to it. Lena would never give her the satisfaction, some measure of frustration rising in her at Sam’s - at everyone’s - continual interest in pushing her and Kara closer until their faces mash.

“We didn’t get a chance to exchange our gifts,” Lena says.

“Your gifts? You gave her a gift,” Sam says. “You gave her your cookies.”

“Do you have to say it like that?” Lena asks, rolling her eyes.

“Yes? You’re giving her a secret present,” Sam says. 

“It’s not a secret,” Lena huffs, heading for the stairs and not shocked to hear Sam following after her, the lights in the kitchen turning off as they pass through.

“Well, what was it then?” Sam asks. Lena turns into her bedroom and glares at Sam as she makes it to the doorway.

“I’m not telling you. It’s none of your business,” Lena says. “We’re friends. ”

Sam throws her arms up in the air, looking equally frustrated with Lena as Lena feels with her.

“Are you really going to act like you’re just friends? Literally all of us can see that you get along so well, and Kara looks like she’s actually having a good time, which she usually doesn’t - ”

“Because you all make her feel like an outsider,” Lena snaps, and then immediately regrets - Sam looks at her for a second with wide eyes and then frowns. 

“Is that really - ”

“We are just friends, we’re not - this isn’t a Hallmark movie or whatever, Sam,” Lena redirects. “Aren’t I allowed to make a friend?”

Sam at least lets her get away with the diversion after a moment, her frown twisting on her face as she looks almost sympathetically at Lena. Lena can’t take the look of it, dropping her bag on the bed and heading toward her suitcase to grab her sleep clothes.

“Of course you are, Lena, I just feel like your river of denial is getting really deep over there,” Sam mutters. “I haven’t seen you be friends with someone like this in a long time. Didn’t know you knew how to do it still.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Lena snaps, looking up from her suitcase. Sam startles a little and then sighs sadly. 

“Sorry, I’m just - I really, really think you two could be good together,” Sam says. “Do you not see that?”

“I see that you think that, certainly,” Lena says. Her anger is surely apparent in her voice, but Sam ignores it.

“Come on, don’t be mad at me. You know what I’m saying and you’re being a bitch to avoid hearing it,” Sam says. Lena frowns down at the clothes she throws in her bag. She does understand what Sam is saying, and she doesn’t want to hear it.

“I’m sorry,” Lena says. “I just - I do see what you’re saying, but it’s just not going to happen. I’m going back to Metropolis in less than a week and we’ll probably never see each other again. That’s just how it is.”

Sam sighs again. When Lena looks over, she’s watching Lena with an unhappy expression that Lena feels the need to assuage even though she herself is annoyed.

“It’s okay, Sam. Isn’t having a friend a good thing?”

“Yeah, of course,” Sam says, after a second. “Okay, well - enjoy your presents. The car’s gonna be here for us tomorrow at eleven.”

“Okay,” Lena says. “I love you, Sam.”

“I love you, too, Lena,” Sam says, smiling. Lena tries to ignore the burn of the disappointment on her face.

-

Lena pulls out her laptop and headphones for the first time all trip and texts Kara Ready when you are. 

When Kara calls, she waits a respectable few seconds to accept it, propping her laptop up on a pile of pillows and sitting up straight against her headboard. After the image clears a bit, she’s looking at Kara sitting on a very fluffy looking couch, in a t-shirt and with her hair in a lazy ponytail, clearly ready for bed. The room she’s in looks huge, with enormous floor to ceiling windows behind her. 

“Hey,” Kara says, waving, though she pauses and blinks at the screen for a second. “Is that a Taylor Swift t-shirt?”

“No one is immune, Kara,” Lena reprimands. Kara laughs loudly, the sound picking up richly from the earbuds she has in her ears. She can immediately tell it was smart to do this over Facetime and not in person somehow - for one, her brain feels a lot more comfortable with the enforced distance. For another, Lena’s not sure she could avoid climbing in her lap, brain be damned, if they were sitting together like this.

“Right, right. Well, uh - you should open my smaller gift first, it’s kind of a joke,” Kara says.  Lena reaches sideways and pulls over the smaller rectangle. One of them is a shirt-sized box maybe, thin and rectangular. The other is definitely a book - Kara had given everyone some at the actual Christmas party, and Lena had received a mixed bag of general fiction and nonfiction that seemed tailored to her. When she holds the wrapped present up, Kara nods.

“It’s a book,” Kara says, leaning forward conspiratorially, her face getting closer to the screen as if she can get closer to Lena somehow.

“I can tell,” Lena laughs. She takes off the wrapping paper slowly and finds herself withdrawing a book that looks sort of vaguely familiar. The cover is cartoonish, a hallmark of modern romance, and its title is in an artistic handwriting font: Down the Wing. There’s a footballer doing some sort of complex dribbling while another woman is drawn with crossed arms and a frown.

“Really?” Lena asks, throwing Kara a look. 

“Yes, really, ” Kara says. “Enemies-to-lovers, workplace romance, it’s all the good stuff. One’s an analyst, the other’s a player, oooh, what’s going to happen?” 

“You gave me a footballer romance?” Lena asks, flipping through it and accidentally spotting some choice words about fingers and please that has her slamming it shut. Kara snorts.

“Hey, I wasn’t gonna give it to you any other way,” Kara says. Lena scoffs. “And it’s actually good, I promise. For when you want to read something easy and fun. Take your mind off stuff. They’re kind of kinky though, hope you don’t mind that.”

“I have no comment,” Lena mutters, setting the book to the side and pulling over the larger box at the same time Kara pulls her own wrapped box into view. She looks so excited, gleeful really, as she plucks at the string Lena had used to tie a bow on the box.

“Do you wanna do one at a time or…?” 

“You go first, mine’s bad,” Lena says. Kara barely waits for the first syllable to get out before she’s untying the string and digging in. 

“There’s no way yours could be bad, come off it,” Kara says, tearing the paper off the box like a savage. She pauses at the lettering across the box and smiles, looking up at Lena through the camera. “Bit soon to propose, don’t you think?”

“Shut up or I’m returning it,” Lena says. Kara laughs, popping the lid off and then blinking down at the piece of jewelry therein. When Lena had bought it, it’d been an impulse - something about it had reminded her of Kara, though she wasn’t sure if it would make any sense or if it was something Kara would even wear. She’s pretty sure she definitely couldn’t wear it while playing, but whatever. She had bought it, and Kara was tugging the chain out and dangling the umbrella charm to the air. “This is going to sound stupid, but it reminded me of you.”

“Yeah?” Kara asks softly, curiously. She’s looking at the umbrella like it holds a mystery of the universe. Lena has to clear her throat against the hot feeling she feels building up from her chest.

“Yeah,” Lena says. “I don’t know, it felt - being here this Christmas has been really nice. I hope it’s been nice for you too, even with your knee and everything - ”

“Only because of you,” Kara interrupts. Lena feels the hot feeling manifest in her face, behind her eyes, and she tries very hard to not start crying at two in the morning with a famous footballer talking to her on Facetime like she’s actively in a romance novel. 

“I just wanted you to have something to remember it by,” Lena says. “These past few days have felt like shelter.”

Kara looks at her with her glasses on, blue eyes shiny, and she splays the chain wide across her fingers as the umbrella charm rests in her palm. She looks from Lena to the charm and back, and then laughs wetly. 

“Thank you,” Kara says simply. There’s a thousand things written in her eyes that aren’t that, and Lena knows that she’s probably crossed over her own set of boundaries, but it just - it had felt right. It scared the ever loving shit out of her, but it felt correct.

Lena laughs just as wetly, reaching up to rub at her eye. 

“I really like it, Lena,” Kara says, snapping the lid back on and reaching forward to set it on her coffee table. “Thank you. Um, I don’t know, maybe I don’t have to say it, but it’s felt the same for me too.”

Lena breathes in deep and swipes at her face again.

“My turn?” Lena asks, gesturing down at the gift in her hands. Kara nods, sniffling a little, and Lena starts the process of slipping her fingers under the careful folds of the wrapping paper, popping the tape free and pulling the box out. When she opens it, the first thing she sees is Kara’s name. 

“So - ”

“Oh my God,” Lena says, laughing abruptly as she pulls the jersey free from the box. It’s Brunswick Gardens’ home jersey, a forest green color with more vibrant yellow-green and white accents. It’s a nice jersey, with a rubberized crest sewn just over the heart. And on the back is indeed DANVERS with the number ten printed beneath. “You got me your jersey?”

“I just thought you’d like it,” Kara says, smiling shyly. “Maybe, you know, when you go back to Metropolis you’ll wake up on a Saturday morning and watch. You gotta have the gear.”

“I do like it,” Lena says. She does. “Thank you, Kara.”

“You’re welcome,” Kara says, smiling more widely now. “It’s not weird?”

“No, it’s nice. I feel like we both got each other the same thing, something to remember each other by,” Lena holding the jersey up to the light. “Though, yours is a bit more on the nose.”

“I’m not known for my subtlety,” Kara says, shrugging. “Well, cool. I, uh, I’m glad we got to do that.”

“Me too,” Lena says, and she means it genuinely. Kara smiles at her and Lena wants again to kiss her, to hold her face in her hands and drain the small bits of sadness out of her until there was only joy. 

“Me too. So I guess…I’ll see you tomorrow?” Kara asks. Lena nods, setting her new jersey to the side and focusing more fully on the screen. Kara looks nervous somehow, her hand reaching up to scratch behind her neck.

Lena wants to talk more, but - hasn’t she done enough? She can tell they’ve dug themselves too deep. She needs to reassert the boundaries that she’d intentionally climbed over. 

“Yeah,” Lena says. “Tomorrow."

Kara nods, her hand dropping as her face slips into something less expressive, as though she’s realized Lena’s snapped back into place.

“Tomorrow.”

Chapter Text

When Lena comes downstairs the next morning, she finds Ruby in her pajamas eating Weetabix and reading Throne of Bones. She appears to be halfway through it already, focused as can be while the television plays a morning football commentary show, clips of various teams cutting to pundits and back again. 

“Good morning,” Lena says, pausing in the large archway to the living room. Ruby looks up and smiles sleepily. 

“Morning,” Ruby says. “Mom made coffee for you, she said it was on the counter.”

Thank God for Samantha Arias. Lena wanders into the kitchen to find a coffee press waiting for her, still warm. She pours it out for herself after finding a mug and wanders back into the room, where Ruby has put down her book and looks - nervous, somehow, her fingers plucking at the blanket she’s got thrown over herself.

“Um, mom said I should apologize to you,” Ruby starts. Lena pauses halfway to raising the coffee to her mouth before she glances upstairs where she can hear Sam’s shower on. When she looks back to Ruby, she looks cowed. 

“For what? You haven’t done anything wrong,” Lena says, coming closer and sitting on the couch next to Ruby. 

“For teasing you about Kara,” Ruby says. Lena sighs, leaning forward to put her coffee on the table there and putting her arm up on the back of the couch to watch Ruby more closely. “Well, she said that we were stopping the matchmaking. So I thought maybe I should apologize.”

“You have nothing to apologize for, Ruby,” Lena says. “Really. I mean it.”

She reaches out then to grasp Ruby’s shoulder and is surprised when the girl throws herself at her, snuggling up under her arm and ducking close. She’s known Ruby since she was seven years old, but it’s nice to still be surprised by her. Lena wraps her arms around her shoulders and squeezes tight.

“I just, you know, um, I know how sad you’ve been after Uncle Jack died,” Ruby says, and Lena sucks in a breath at how sad Ruby sounds over that. “And sometimes, I think Kara’s really sad, and I thought - I don’t know what I thought, I guess. When Mom said something about it the first time it just made sense.”

“It does make sense,” Lena says, trying to think her way through this conversation. How does one explain to a teenager that her matchmaking isn’t going to work despite her reasoning being correct? “I’m just not in the right place for a relationship.”

“Physically or emotionally?” Ruby asks, her head still buried somewhere near Lena’s collarbone. Lena laughs a little, drawing back so she can look at Ruby’s face.

“If you’re talking specifically about Kara, then I think the fact that I live on a different continent would have to come up, yes,” Lena says. “But really, it’s just me. You’re right, I’m still struggling with Uncle Jack. With everything that’s happened in my life in the past few years. There’s been a lot of change I still have to work through.”

Ruby frowns, her big brown eyes gleaming with tears that Lena can’t help but reach out to try to wipe away. Ruby had adored Jack, having known him since she was seven as well. She had come for the funeral with Sam, but Lena barely remembered her presence in her apartment. If she had been this sad then, Lena had missed it.

“I miss him too,” Ruby says. “But it makes me feel better to be around my friends. Or the Superfriends, I guess, and Lucy. Or you or mom.”

“Which makes sense and is good, but you’re talking about me dating someone who lives and works in an entirely different country,” Lena reminds, smiling. Ruby rolls her eyes like a proper teenager. Lena lets go of her face to give her some space back and she slumps against the arm of the couch looking terribly pouty. 

“I’m pretty sure you don’t feel better if you don’t try to feel better,” Ruby mutters. This time, Lena raises an eyebrow at her, because now she has a teenager trying to teach her life skills. Ruby sighs and looks appropriately contrite, a hang-dog expression taking over her face. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Lena says carefully. “But I would appreciate it if you two stopped your agenda.”

“Okay,” Ruby says. “I just - I want you to be happy.”

“I am happy,” Lena says. It’s maybe true at this moment, but overall, it’s a lie. But Lena has learned that lying to children about some things is better than not. Ruby doesn’t say anything else, just flops back toward Lena and picks up her book, settling under her arm on the back of the couch and snuggling into her side. Lena lets her after she reaches for her mug of coffee and turns her attention to the low sounds of the television, where the pundits are apparently reviewing today’s Boxing Day matches. Coincidentally, ironically, stupidly, Lena starts paying attention just as they switch to Brunswick Gardens.

“Brunswick women will be up against Southampton today, how are we thinking this match will play out, Sean?” the host asks. Lena watches as a series of highlights starts playing, the now-familiar green of Brunswick Gardens adorning players doing things like scoring goals and running around. The other man, apparently named Sean, looks deadly serious and unsmiling.

“Anything less than a win for the Bruns here is a disaster, to put it simply,” Sean says. Lena laughs a little at the characteristic seriousness, taking a sip of her coffee.

“He’s so mean,” Ruby murmurs. When Lena looks down, she’s looking at her book.

“ - we know they’re having a rough go at it without Kara Danvers, but there’s no excuses when you’re a top five club in this league. The Saints are sitting at the bottom of the table, will be looking to steal a point for Christmas, and Brunswick has to put their foot down on this slide they’re in,” Sean says. 

“Penny, how do you think the extended absence of their talisman is affecting Brunswick?” the host asks. The next highlight package is of Kara running and swerving and dribbling past people at top speed. It cuts to a clip of her looking anguished as she’s helped off the field by two trainers, her head down and face red as she can barely put weight on her leg. A needle of sympathetic pain slips into Lena then, her chest seizing up just a little. It’s so obvious that Kara thinks it’s bad, right there in her expression. Lena knows what that feeling is like, has been on the receiving end of it herself, looking over Jack’s blood numbers and knowing beyond doubt that it was bad. For a half second, Lena imagines if she were to give into everyone’s apparent hopes for her and Kara and to see something like that on the pitch. How horrible it would be.

“Well, they look adrift at sea, don’t they, Antony?” Penny says. “We know the manager wants movement and quick passing, and when she’s healthy, that all runs through Kara. Without her, they’re trying to share that load amongst the midfielders, but it’s difficult without the quality she brings. Hopefully the midfield group can pick up some confidence against a team that’s been earmarked for relegation since they were promoted last season as they wait for her to get back.”

“They might be waiting for a little bit longer,” Antony says, looking grave. “Reports are indicating Danvers should be back mid-February from that sprained knee. Let’s move on to Brunswick men, who are taking on an injury-ravaged Tottenham. Sean, if you’re the Tottenham manager, how are you feeling as you look at your injury list?”

“Well, I can’t very well say what I’d be feeling, or else I’d be censored, wouldn’t I?” Sean says. He doesn’t even smile as he jokes. Lena finds herself entirely amused by him. 

“Oh, hello,” comes Sam’s voice, looking happy to see Lena and Ruby ensconced on the couch together. “This is cute. Stay still, let me take a picture.”

“ Mom, ” Ruby says, sounding fully her age now, but she stays in place while Sam digs her phone out and snaps some allegedly candid photographs before she sandwiches herself in on the couch and shoves herself into Lena’s side.

-

The car that comes to collect them looks just the same as the one that dropped them off last night. It’s another classically gray, rainy day, which Ruby keeps calling football weather, which keeps making Sam roll her eyes. As they head down the steps to the sidewalk, Lena hears her own name shouted and looks up without a thought - and finds herself looking at a photographer way down the street, craning his camera up over the driver trying to talk to him. This time he has at least one eager friend, another lens flashing in their direction. They’re both operating at quite the distance.

“Whoa,” Sam says. “Okay. Ruby, don’t stare, get in the car.”

“Okay, okay,” Ruby mutters. The car door slides open to reveal Kara already there, and Ruby goes crashing into the seat next to her. Lena gets shoved in next - she feels like a bit of a kidnapping victim with the way Sam is manhandling her - and then Sam slides the door shut behind her.

The first thing Lena notices is that Kara looks unbelievably attractive, wearing some sort of collared shirt underneath a forest green commando sweater. Lena can just barely see the peak of a gold chain coming out of her collar that makes her feel hot all over. The second thing Lena notices is the stormcloud making up her expression, one that she immediately wants to soothe. She isn’t sure how to start, but Sam speaks before she can guess.

“Hey, that was fine,” Sam says, kicking out with her heel and catching Kara at the shin. Kara looks at her as though it is not fine. “Come on, turn that frown upside down, Danvers. Lena and I have been to federal court, you would not believe what the cameramen were like there.”

Lena turns a look Sam’s way that clearly carries her message of why the fuck would you bring that up. Sam shrugs in response. Lena sighs. Despite not being anything approaching a celebrity, she’s been photographed plenty in her life, including by so called paparazzi. It’s not really that odd.

“I can talk to the club about upgrading your security,” Kara says. “It’s my fault, I’ve been around here a bunch recently.”

“I assure you my home security is the finest a paranoid freakazoid could come up with,” Sam says. Lena glares at her. She had designed the security system. What the hell. “And it isn’t your fault.”

“Did they say anything to you?” Kara asks, turning to look at Ruby. Ruby shakes her head, already focused on her phone as the car pulls away from the sidewalk, and Kara looks at her, her blue eyes intense in the dim lighting of the car. Lena pauses to think her response through - they had yelled her name, but the significance of that was impossible to guess. Anyone with facial recognition software could have found her face from the photos last night. 

She finds herself shaking her head too, at least to alleviate the obvious anxiety in Kara’s frame. Sam reiterates it with a firm no, and a more jocular, they were probably just hoping to catch you more than anything. 

“Good,” Kara mutters, glancing outside. She rests her elbow up on the window sill and clearly smiles herself into relaxing. “Well, I hope you guys are excited. James sent me a video of Winn singing at top volume at six this morning.”

“Good lord,” Sam says, rolling her eyes. They talk about nothingness, Lena watching Kara’s face for most of the ride. She seems anxious, her leg kicked out and resting in the space between their two seats and brace firmly on. The car pulls to a stop outside a fence before it’s let through, and then they’re headed underground. It takes a bit for them to pull to a stop, but the doors open to reveal the burgeoning cluster of the Superfriends clearly all waiting for them, lanyards wrapped around their necks. 

“Go ahead,” Kara whispers, gesturing for Lena to climb out first on their side. She does, and then turns to offer her hand for Kara to grasp on the way out. She grunts out a thanks as she cantilevers to the ground. Her niece comes running over at the same time someone wearing a suit does, his own lanyard on. 

“Hey Yank,” the guy says, reaching out and pulling Kara into a loose hug that she returns before he pulls back and turns to Lena and smiles politely. “Hello, I’m Mikey Norman, I’m a player liaison with Brunswick Gardens Football Club, and welcome to Holland Park.”

“Oh my God, Mikey, stop with the spiel,” Kara says, reaching down to pick up Esme where she’s clinging to her arm and kissing her hello on the cheek. Lena shakes Mikey’s hand where he’s offered it.

“I’m practicing! You lot aren’t all this informal with the families,” Mikey says, grinning and reaching into a bag in his hands and handing over two lanyards to Lena. One has Kara’s face printed on it, the other simply says PLAYER GUEST in an enormous font, along with what she assumes is seating info and who to contact if lost. “Anyway, miss, what’s your name?”

“Lena,” she says, slipping her own lanyard over her head and hanging onto Kara’s until she doesn’t have Esme all wrapped up in her arms. 

“Lena, pleased to meet you, I’ve already explained this to everyone and - oh, hello there, miss,” Mikey says, turning and finding Ruby hovering at his elbow. “Ruby, isn’t it? I remember you from last year. You’ve grown.”

“Tell her to stop,” Sam mutters as she arrives behind her daughter.

“Well, you’re my last two lanyards, so here you go,” Mikey says, handing the two of them their badges and grinning. “Lena, short version, I’m the one who you come get if you need any help, I’ll be guiding you around as well as getting Kara where she needs to be.”

“Great,” Lena says. Mikey claps his hands together and steps back a few feet then, looking over the group. Lena takes a hug from Lucy then, saying hello to the members of the assembled Superfriends. 

“Alright everyone, let’s stick together, hold hands if we need to, or if we want to,” Mikey says, throwing an obnoxious wink to his captive audience. Kara’s set Esme back on the ground for her to run over to her mothers and is hovering uncertainly toward the back of the group, her arms crossed. “We’re going to head inside, pass the locker room, head down the player tunnel, and then up onto the pitch. All good?”

There are excited murmurs of assent as the group starts trailing after him. They’re so excited, in fact, that they don’t seem to notice that Kara’s slowed to the back of the group. Lena only notices because she herself has done the same without thought.

“Here,” Lena says, handing over the lanyard. Kara takes it and shoves it in her jacket pocket, looking decidedly unhappy as they start trudging a few feet behind the group. “What’s wrong?” 

“I don’t really love being here for a match day when I’m not playing,” Kara says, shrugging and reaching out to catch the glass door before it closes on them. Lena slinks past her. 

“Do you always have everyone out to a match?” Lena asks, gesturing at the group ahead as they turn a corner and enter a hallway with a beautiful painted mural of a forest, small flowers blooming up in the tree litter on the ground. Mikey is saying something about the painting, but she’s not really paying attention, still focused on the frown on Kara’s face.

“Ever since Lucy moved over here three years ago, yeah, I try to set one up for whoever’s here for whenever we’re at home around the holidays. Before that, Alex and Eliza would fly back to the states and they’d do the holidays there,” Kara says. She seems to realize how sad that sounds, because she looks over with a wry smile. “Sometimes Eliza would stay behind with me.”

Lena thinks through the complex web of associations that had led to the formation of the group known as the Superfriends. Kara had explained it in the bar at the park - Alex went to college in the U.S., met Winn, Lucy and J’onn. J’onn was already engaged to M’gann, and then Winn and Lucy both tried to date James at the same time but that’s how Alex met Kelly, and then they moved back here for her grad school, and then Lucy moved here, and I added Nia and Brainy and then Kelly added Sam and Ruby, and now Sam’s added you. 

“My mother hated Christmas,” Lena says. Kara laughs out loud at that. 

“That checks out,” Kara says, sounding mirthful. “She sounds like the worst.”

“Yes, well, she always wanted to go on vacations at Christmastime through New Year’s, and it was a set number of days every time. A few times in college I couldn’t make it on time and she never invited me to come late,” Lena says. “So I get it.”

“Yours sounds way worse,” Kara says. “Like, way way worse. I don’t want to compete in the trauma Olympics, Lena.”

“Shut up,” Lena laughs, shoving at Kara and turning again down a hallway where the group has stalled in front of two sets of enormous wood oak doors emblazoned with the Brunswick Gardens badge, one on either side of the hallway, one labelled women and the other men. Both of them sound quiet from within.

“ - the players are likely beginning to arrive as we dawdle about, so we’ll want to get out of their way shortly. As you all can see, the Brunswick Gardens Football Club badge depicts a tree of life growing out of a specifically Brunswick star. The badge was designed originally in 1927, and has looked more or less the same since. Next we’ll be taking a step out onto the pitch - please be careful not to step past a cordoned area or you will be attacked by a groundskeeper or a policeman,” Mikey says. Lena catches him checking on Kara before he turns to head down around another corner. 

“I’m sorry again about the photographer,” Kara says. Lena had basically already forgotten.

“It was fine. Sam was right, federal court was much worse, as was my brother’s trial. But I’m plenty used to the possibility of being surprised while out and about,” Lena says. Not often by a camera, but more often by someone walking up to her and telling her Lex was trash or some such. Lillian had raised her with the expectation that someone would always be watching her, and so she simply hadn’t found the time to flinch at any of it.

“They’re vultures,” Kara mutters. “Everyone wants to - oh, hey Cori.”

A woman has come jogging past them in full Brunswick team gear, initials printed just below the Nike logo - CA, and she’s carrying a sheet of paper and a huge bag is thrown over her shoulder. She looks so happy to see Kara that she nearly throws himself at her, wrapping her into a tight hug.

“Goodness, it’s so good to see you,” Cori says, pulling back and gripping Kara at her biceps. Her sweater looks undeniably handsome on her, and Lena wonders if that’s something Cori would notice, and then Lena warns herself to stop thinking something like that. That’s when Cori seems to notice Lena’s presence, a more polite smile on her face. “Hi there, I’m Cori.”

“Lena. Nice to meet you,” Lena says.

“Cori’s our kitman,” Kara explains, gesturing at the bag around Cori’s shoulder. Lena’s never really heard the term but she can guess at what it means. 

“Yes, which means I’m the one who gets to sort through all the new boots Kara gets sent and find a way to store them when she wants to use her oldest, dustiest pair,” Cori says. Kara shrugs unrepentantly, smiling more genuinely.

“It’s better when they’re worn in,” Kara says. “Anyway, we’re with the tour, so we should…”

“Oh, yes, of course,” Cori says, stepping out of the way. “See you next week?”

“Yeah,” Kara says, and when they turn the corner after waving goodbye, Lena’s greeted by an all-green tunnel and the barest glimpse of daylight and green grass. It’s a nice view, even if it’s somewhat blocked by the rest of the Superfriends. There’s a short series of steps up and then they’re back with the group as they turn left and start heading along the pitch.

Lena has stalled though. It’s enormous, the field and the stadium built around it. She’s been on the field for random corporate events at the local American football stadium, but this seems totally different. There are sprinklers scattered and running every several yards, the grass is cordoned off, and it looks pristine. The stadium is decorated with all green seats, barring the BGFC that’s been created out of white seats in one stand. 

“What do you think?” Kara asks, after a second of Lena just looking around, cataloguing the details. Something about it, even through the misty gray air, looks truly beautiful. So she says that.

“It’s beautiful,” Lena says. She hears Kara hum in response, and when she looks over, Kara is smiling out over the field.

“It is,” Kara says. And then she turns her head to look at Lena, her smile staying intact. And they just look at each other, caught up in it, and Lena’s insistent anxiety has settled somewhere in the back of her brain. They’re interrupted from their moment by someone - possibly Alex - yelling hey, we’ll leave your asses! 

-

“Come off it, ref!” Alex yells - screams, really - down in the front row of their seats. The suite they’ve been given, or bought - Lena’s not really sure - has three rows of seats that they’d all dutifully filed into for pre-match festivities after lunch. Next to Alex, Kelly covers her daughter’s ears. Eliza, sitting just in front of Lena, leans down to presumably tell Alex to calm down.

“Was that bad?” Lena asks. Kara had sat next to her in the back row without a word. She’s so obviously uncomfortable with the experience she’s found herself in that Lena’s considered asking her if she needs to leave. Kara’s leant back in her seat, her arm stretched out over Lena’s chair, her leg kicked out so that it half-rests in the aisle, but her eyes are and have been intent on the field since Brunswick kicked off. 

“The call?” Kara clarifies. When Lena nods in her periphery, she shakes her head. “Vana definitely kicked her. Stupid foul to give away.”

Lena watches the field as the players reorganize to take a free kick, Brunswick players shouting at each other and forming a line that stretches in front of the box. As she takes a sip of her drink, Lucy on her other side leans across her and tries to gather Kara’s attention with a tap to her thigh. 

“Yeah?” Kara asks, still watching the field. 

“Is Vana gay?” Lucy asks. Lena laughs at the question, glancing over to Sam over Lucy’s head. She’s frantically Googling images of Vana, the midfielder in question. Kara had attempted to explain the intricacies of the team’s formation and system with her hand over her mouth as though there was a camera trained on her face, and she’d indicated Vana usually played behind her in a midfield three. 

“No. Well, she’s Czech, so,” Kara says, shrugging. “I don’t think so.”

“Damn,” Lucy says, turning back to Sam and poking at her side until she giggles audibly. Lena smiles, taking another sip of her drink and watching the other team swing the free kick in across the heads of the players. It gets headed away down the field, the Brunswick goal safe. Kara sighs.

“This sucks,” she mutters, clearly meaning for only Lena to hear. Lena leans in closer, her shoulder brushing Kara’s armpit. 

“I’m sorry,” Lena offers. Kara’s briefly drops to her shoulder and squeezes there, acknowledging her sincerity. “Do you want a drink?”

“Can’t, I have to go to a thing downstairs at half,” Kara says. “Club owner wants me to meet an investor.”

Kara sounds even less enthused by that then sitting here and watching the game. Lena’s attention is drawn back to the field when there’s a roar from the far end of the field where the away supporters seem to be sequestered. There’s a player in blue rolling around on the ground while Brunswick players play around them.

“Who’s the investor?” Lena asks. 

“Some guy. Dutch shipping fortune or something,” Kara says. Lena thinks through what she knows of Dutch shipping companies, which is not a particularly high amount. “You wanna come down with me?”

“I won’t get in the way?” Lena asks. Kara shrugs, sighing again when the ball goes flying out of bounds off a Brunswick player’s boot. 

“They’re just gonna want to take pictures with me and ask me about my knee and then it’s done,” Kara spits out. “I just hate getting trotted around like a show pony only because my knee is sprained and I’m around. I haven’t come to any matches since I got injured because of this stupid stuff, and now - ”

“Okay,” Lena interrupts, reaching and grasping Kara’s thigh to get her to refocus from the spiral she’s clearly on. It suddenly reminds her of Jack after a week long lab bender, ranting at her about robots and differentials. It makes her smile, squeezing at the meat of Kara’s thigh for a second before withdrawing her hand. Kara takes in a breath then, and glances over at her for a millisecond, a shy smile on her face.

“Sorry,” Kara says. Lena laughs, takes a sip of her drink and looks back down to the field. “Can I tell you a secret?”

Lena turns a look her way, only to realize that Kara has finally looked away from the field and is leaning toward her, looking entirely mischievous. Lena can guess just by looking that it’s silly.

“Is it that you think I’m really pretty?” Lena asks. Kara rolls her eyes, sitting back in her seat again and looking put out. Lena laughs, leaning back into her space and nudging at her. “You look very handsome in this outfit.”

Kara’s cheeks turn a little pink then, her eyes glancing over to Lena before they go back to the pitch. 

“Thanks. My stylist picked it for me,” Kara says. 

“She does good work,” Lena intones. Kara’s face is somehow growing pinker by the second. 

“Are you trying to distract me?” Kara asks. Lena smiles, amused at Kara’s fluster. It’s cute.

“Is it working?” Lena asks. Kara’s eyes snap to hers and are intense suddenly, the adorable look of her on the back foot disappearing abruptly. Lena literally feels herself stop breathing. How annoying. Kara smiles, her eyes growing a little dark.

“Yes,” Kara says. Lena looks back at her for a moment and then takes a breath that seems to make Kara laugh. She feels her fingers pat Lena’s shoulder condescendingly. “Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.”

“Don’t quote Taylor Swift at me, you heathen,” Lena mutters, but Kara laughs easily. Lena likes the look of it, her unease almost entirely gone as she refocuses on the pitch, her arm still around Lena’s chair and her posture relaxed. Lena looks her over with no small amount of pride at having helped Kara calm down, and she can’t even find it in herself to be annoyed with how happy it makes her.

---

It all falls apart the next day. She, Ruby, and Sam are at lunch at an Indian restaurant. Ruby is having some teenage phone time that Sam is clearly allowing to happen because she and Lena have been involved in a long, long discussion about how annoying a new board member is being about DEI initiatives and whether it’s possible they could vote him out three months into his tenure. Lena is eating so much naan. Outside, it’s actually almost sunny.

She should have known.

Ruby gasps and nearly drops her phone directly into her rogan josh, prompting Sam to stop in the middle of her rant on the dumbification of white men, and ask, “You okay, honey?”

“Uh,” Ruby says, her eyes wide. She looks from her phone to Lena’s face and back again. It looks so distinctly like her mother panicking over something that Lena almost laughs, but Ruby’s actually panicking over something, and the expression on her face is indicating it has to do with Lena. “Um - here.”

She shoves her phone into Sam’s hand. Sam looks shocked, throwing Lena an amused look, and then she actually looks at the screen and her mouth drops open.

“What is this?” Sam asks. 

“I don’t know! It just showed up on my Instagram feed!” Ruby says. Lena frowns, trying to look over the table and see what Sam is now beginning to swipe through at rapid speed.

“Oh my God, what the - this is our house,” Sam says. “This is - what the hell?”

Ruby looks at the screen too, her eyes wide as dinner plates. Sam finally sees fit to bring Lena in on the discussion, and she hands the phone over without another word. She can feel both of their eyes trained on her as she focuses on an Instagram post. She doesn’t register the name of the account, because the image is her. Well, it’s her and Kara, sitting in the booth at the pub, Kara grinning with Alex’s ring box open and set between them. It is an extraordinarily lucky photo. 

She swipes backward in the carousel of images, and there’s them standing outside the pub still holding hands from their handshake, and there’s Lena looking at a photographer yesterday morning leaving Sam’s place. There’s a photo of them in the suite on Boxing Day, watching football with Kara’s arm around her shoulders. There’s an even more obscure, grainy one from the inside of the ice bar at Winter Wonderland, the two of them huddled together on an ice couch and drinking hot cocktails. 

They’re smiling at each other in all of them. They look equally fascinated with each other, interested. Happy. It’s almost unavoidably convincing. When Lena looks up from the phone, Sam and Ruby are both staring at her in open shock.

“Ruby, if you were to guess, how big is this on the Internet?” Lena asks. Ruby takes the phone back from her, still looking a bit dazed, and looks at the profile for a half second.

“Medium big?” Ruby guesses. Lena has no idea how she’s measured that. Lena’s not even sure how she would conceive of something being medium big on the Internet.

“Okay,” Lena says, largely to herself. “Well, then.” 

“Lena, those pictures are - ” Sam starts, and Lena’s not interested in listening. She can hear what she’s going to say. Something about how real they look, how her vision is coalescing. And Lena doesn’t want to give her the satisfaction.

“I’m going to go call Jess,” Lena says, standing up abruptly and stepping away from their table. It’s rude, but - whatever. 

-

She calls in her skip on Superfriends dinner that night. Sam lets her with a weary expression on her face, but not without a pointed text only ten minutes into the appointed reservation time. 

FYI, she’s here and wants to know where you are. 

Lena does nothing but hit thumbs up on the message. Jess has been working on compiling the Internet’s reaction to the photos and sudden wellspring of rumors. As ever, half of the ones Lena sees on her own are pure lies, but there are a few solid nuggets of people saying things like I saw them at my son’s panto together or I had no idea who they were when I stood behind them in line at the park but they were so cute. It’s all that same ending thought: universally, they seem to have been labelled cute and real. 

And if Lena were to see the images from the outside in, she might think the same. She and Kara looked patently interested in each other, which was true, but it was going nowhere, exactly as Lena had said. And it’s harsh, to be certain, but that’s just life. There was nothing for it.

---

hey. can we please talk?

Lena wakes up to the text and finds herself contemplating it all through her wake-up routine. She showers, she brushes her teeth, she moisturizes, and she thinks about answering. Sam and Ruby had left her to her thoughts last night as she looked over the various articles and Tweet threads and a few TikToks Jess had sent over. 

It’s hard to disregard Jess’s cautious at the very least, Miss Luthor, you look happy. 

She’s not wrong. But Lena can’t shake the horrible feeling that follows her whenever she feels happy, that sneaks up on her and questions how long it will last. It feels like it’s been chasing her for her whole life. And this time, she knows exactly how long it will last. January first, and she’s gone, back to Metropolis.

Where do you want to meet?

Kara sends her an address. 

-

It takes some manner of subterfuge to avoid the photographers that have started hanging around across the street from Sam’s house. She has to go through the back garden, and she’s wearing an uncharacteristically slovenly outfit and carrying Kara’s umbrella. She doesn’t spot them as she walks the few blocks to the park Kara’s suggested. It’s less of a park and more of a small strip of greenway between two narrow roads, but it’s empty of people aside from Lena when she gets there and sits down on a bench. 

She’s early, but Kara is only a minute behind her. Lena gets the chance to see Kara before Kara sees her, and what she sees is disheartening. Kara looks decidedly tense, her knee brace affixed over sweats. She’s wearing a ball cap that does nothing to mask the tightness of her jaw. 

Kara sees her then, and it’s like - she starts to smile, and then it’s arrested. It makes Lena feel awful. 

“Hey,” Kara says, sitting down on the bench on the other side of the metal divider that runs down the center. She kicks her leg out. “Thanks for meeting me.”

“Of course,” Lena says. “I’m sorry about - ”

“Um, can I go first?” Kara interrupts. She won’t look Lena in the eye. In fact, she hasn’t turned to face her. She’s looking out into the distance, at the hedges surrounding the park. Lena’s discomfort ratchets higher.

“Sure,” Lena agrees. Kara sighs, reaching out and rubbing her knee for a moment before she breathes in, then out. 

“Look. I’m…really sorry about all this,” Kara says. “You came here to see your friend for the holidays and instead you’ve been like, chased around by my whole family trying to set us up, stalked by tabloids, and I’ve been so fucking bad about keeping the boundary we set, and now everyone is in your personal life.”

Lena thinks all that over, considering how to respond. But Kara is apparently not done.

“So. I’m sorry, and if you don’t want to see me ever again, I really get it,” she says. Lena knows she’s in a bad spot when her first thought is an emphatic, but I do want to see you again, and she sighs, turning to face Kara more on the bench and tapping at the divider with the umbrella. Kara finally looks at her, her glasses misted with rain.

“I’m not sure how to start with that,” Lena says. “Your family has been fine, first of all. They’ve been great, actually - so welcoming, and I really don’t mind them trying to play matchmaker. It just means they care about you. And this tabloid and social media stuff is fine, too. I’m no stranger to people paying attention to me. And this stuff isn’t even mean or bad.”

“Then why did you bail yesterday?” Kara asks, frowning and looking terribly hurt. Lena sighs, looking down at the grass in front of them before turning back to Kara’s aggrieved expression.

“I was surprised. And it was…well, I mean, I assume you saw the photos. The argument they’re making is convincing,” Lena says. Kara’s eyes widen just briefly before she refocuses, her arms crossing. “I’m not going to be upset with you for being bad about the boundary when I’ve been pretty bad too, Kara.”

Kara seems to think that over for a moment before she leans closer, her hand grasping the bench divider. 

“If you don’t have a problem with the pictures or my family or me not respecting your boundary, then what’s the problem?” Kara asks. 

“I didn’t say there was a problem,” Lena says.

“I can tell there is,” Kara says. “I like you, Lena. I think you like me. I really do get that you have baggage, but I can deal with baggage. I have baggage too.”

“I do like you, Kara,” Lena admits. “But you’re…exactly the sort of person I could fall in love with. I believe you when you say you could deal with my baggage. That’s not the problem. I’m leaving in five days and I’m not coming back."

It’s as honest as she can be, and with Kara, that’s almost entirely. Kara clearly hates the explanation, but she doesn’t argue, flopping back against the park bench and tapping at the divider as she seems to think. It’s for the best - their flirtation has gone too far, involved too many people, and now has involved media outlets and Brunswick fans and some of Lena’s weird little tech boy stalkers. This escape from reality was always going to end, and Lena should cut herself off from her favorite part of it before she gets too wrapped in it and hurts herself and Kara. 

“I’m sorry,” Lena says, softly. Kara sighs, sitting up again and reaching over the divider finally to grasp Lena’s wrist gently, squeezing against the fine bones there for a half second.

“It’s okay,” Kara says. “I get it. It wouldn’t be my choice, but I get it.”

It makes Lena laugh, though she’s annoyed to find it a little shaky sounding. 

“I can skip the rest of the Superfriends events,” Lena offers, but Kara shakes her head vigorously, the bill of her cap swinging back and forth.

“No, no, it’s fine,” Kara says. “I mean, unless you don’t want to come. But you’re a part of it now, so…yeah. Do you think you'll come back next year?”

“And join the Superfriends Holiday Extravaganza on a permanent basis?” Lena asks, raising an eyebrow. “Is there an initiation ceremony or something? Do I have to relearn Latin?”

“The rites of entry are secret. And I’ll be playing again, so I’ll be around less,” Kara offers, a grin on her face. Lena frowns, looking it over and feeling…sad. 

“That’s not the selling point you think it is,” Lena says. Kara’s expression drifts back to understanding and unhappiness, and she nods a little, laughing to herself.  “Maybe. Who knows what we’ll all be doing in a year.”

“Yeah, for sure,” Kara agrees readily, and then she stands up. Her head is tilted down, but from Lena’s vantage point still sitting on the bench, she can see the tightness of her jaw again, a redness behind her glasses that makes Lena feel like the worst person on the planet. She wants to reach out and soothe it somehow, but she’s only just assured both of them that it wasn’t her place. So she grips the umbrella in her hands and looks away for a moment while Kara collects herself.

“Do you want your umbrella back?” Lena asks, offering it up. Kara huffs and laughs at the same time, her smile sardonic as she looks down at Lena.

“Keep it. We all need shelter sometimes,” Kara says. Lena says nothing when she hears the crack in her voice, and she says nothing when she feels the reflective crack in her chest. “I’ve gotta go to rehab, but will you be at the pub tomorrow for Kelly’s birthday?”

“Yes,” Lena says, nodding. 

“Okay, cool,” Kara says. “Well, um, see you tomorrow, then.”

“Tomorrow,” Lena agrees, and Kara clearly decides to not linger in the moment like they have every other time they’ve said goodbye. She turns and walks away, limping a little as she exits the same way she came in. Lena can imagine she must have a car to take her to the facility. Lena sits back against the park bench when she disappears from view and turns the handle of the umbrella around in her hands, over and over.

---

To their credit, the Superfriends act no different when Lena arrives to Kelly’s birthday celebration at the pub with Sam. Ruby has stayed in for the night, Esme is at home with Eliza, J’onn and M’gann have stayed back too. It’s noticeably youthful and fun - they’ve taken over the back corner of the pub, pints all around. 

It’s hard, though. Kara hugs her hello and then lets her be, drifting back toward Lucy and her sister, who seem to be organizing a darts competition. No one comments, but it feels as though everyone notices that something has changed and she and Kara are staying away from each other. It’s not…especially fun. Lena finds herself drawn into a conversation with Nia and Winn, but she also can’t help but watch Kara. She’s wearing her knee brace, leaning against a table and smiling at her sister and sister-in-law as they drink and shoot darts.

They cheers to Kelly and start telling stories about her, Alex looking excessively proud of her new fiance. It’s a fun night, on its surface, the same kind of community that she’s found in the Superfriends since she arrived. But it isn’t the same. And Lena can tell that it isn’t the same, and it feels like Kara can too. 

It makes Lena feel awful.

“So.”

Lena finds herself alone with Sam, sitting across from her at the narrow table near the dart board. She looks decidedly unhappy. Lena finds her hackles raising automatically and grips tighter at her pint of Guinness. No one is nearby or paying them attention, which is good, because she can practically feel the fight crackling in the air.

“This can’t wait?” Lena asks. Sam rolls her eyes, looking unimpressed. 

“When am I supposed to wait until?” Sam asks. 

“Maybe at least until we’ve gotten home,” Lena mutters. Sam sighs, looking down into her fruit-laden Pimm’s Cup and then sitting up straighter.

“You’re being an idiot,” Sam declares. Lena stares at her. 

“I am not,” Lena says, ignoring how it sounds like she’s a kindergartener incapable of mounting a legitimate argument. Sam looks at her as though she knows that. 

“I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but this is excruciating,” Sam says, gesturing into the air around them. Lena at least appreciates that she’s not implicating Kara by name, but still - Kara is over at the dart board, yelling in her sister’s ear while she tries to aim at the line. “You like her.”

“We’ve talked about this,” Lena reminds.

“Yes, and you know what, Lena? It’s bullshit,” Sam says, smacking the wood of the table just in front of her for emphasis. “Who cares if she lives in another country? You have a private jet and you’re the owner of your own goddamn company, you can go wherever you want whenever you want.”

“I’m not going to change my entire life just to chase a Christmas fling,” Lena says. 

“Then when are you going to do anything to change your life?” Sam asks, sounding incredibly irritated. Lena gapes at her before she snaps her mouth shut. She can imagine Jack watching this argument play out with a lazy look on his face, waiting for his moment to drop levity or interject.

“I am fairly certain that it’s supposed to take time to recover from the shit I’ve been through,” Lena says.

“Sure, maybe if I thought it was something you were trying to recover from,” Sam says. “But you aren’t. You’re just letting yourself sink in it. When was the last time you went out to dinner with someone not for business? When was the last time you went down into R&D just to fuck around?”

“Sam,” Lena says sternly. But clearly, Sam has moved past the need to respond to warnings.

“No, stop it. I’m your best friend, I’m allowed to tell you when you’re being a fucking moron,” Sam says. 

“I don’t need to hear this from you.”

“Then who will you hear it from?” Sam asks, leaning halfway over the table and jostling it. There is no way on Earth no one in the assembled Superfriends hasn’t noticed they’re arguing at this point, but Lena can feel herself entrenching the same way Sam is. “Listen, if you don’t want to date her or fuck her or whatever, fine, and if you do but you feel like you really are just too fucked up, fine. But I’m not going to just watch you shut yourself off.”

“I’m here, aren’t I? Is that me shutting myself off?” Lena asks.

“I begged you to come here for this vacation, and I was terrified you’d ditch when you realized you’d have to socialize with other human beings,” Sam says. “Ruby thought - ”

“Don’t,” Lena warns, and Sam at least redirects past that guilt trip.

“I’m shocked you’re still here,” Sam says. “I thought you’d be on your plane back to Metropolis already after the pictures got out.”

“I can call my pilot right now and be gone, if that’s what you want,” Lena snaps, grabbing for her phone where it sits on the table. Sam slaps her hand down over hers, making another loud thunking sound. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see someone’s head turn toward them. 

“Lena, just listen to me,” Sam says. “I wanted you here. We wanted you here. I want you here still. And I think you’re unhappy in Metropolis. Don’t you see that there are answers to that problem?”

“It wouldn’t be a problem if you hadn’t moved here,” Lena says. Sam blinks at her, her head plucking upward like a meerkat. Lena realizes abruptly that a deeply buried inside thought has snuck right out of her mouth. 

“I’m here because you needed me here,” Sam says, slowly.

“I never asked you to come here,” Lena says. “You volunteered.”

“ You never said that you didn’t want me to go,” Sam says. “There were other volunteers, Lena! Doesn’t J-Mo have like, family who live in Portugal? He could have done this job easily, why - it isn’t fair for you to be upset with me for taking this job when you never told me you didn’t want me to. Especially when you’re the one who pays me to do it.”

“I’m not upset,” Lena says.

“Yes, you are,” Sam says, pulling her hand away from Lena’s and throwing her hands up in the air. “Of course you are, Jesus Christ, Lena. I would have been happy to stay in Metropolis, especially after everything with Lex, but you never said anything.”

“What would have been the point in asking?” Lena asks, her jaw tight.

“You might have got what you wanted for once in your goddamn life,” Sam says. “But you shot yourself in the foot instead, just like going to Harvard over MIT, just like with your promotion up to CTO, just like this situation.”

“This situation is nothing like any of that,” Lena says. But she can feel that it is somehow, her chest tight and filled to the brim with achiness. 

“How? You want something, you could have it if you just tried, and you won’t because you’re scared. And you’ll use any excuse in the book to avoid even just admitting that,” Sam says. “Can’t you just tell me, Lena? You like her. You’re scared. Just say that, and I’ll leave it alone.”

“No,” Lena snaps. And she stands up abruptly, her fingers gripped around her phone, and heads for the door. She doesn’t hear anyone stand up to follow her or yell for her attention, and the pub is busy and vibrant enough that no one notices her head ducked down and eyes filling with tears. When she spills out onto the sidewalk, it’s raining.

Of course it’s fucking raining. 

The alley the pub is on is narrow, and so she turns and crosses the street and ends up huddled under some construction scaffolding on the opposite corner of the pub, a little out of sight from the windows of the pub. She realizes that she does not have her wallet or jacket, but she just needs a second - one second. She sits on a window sill and puts her face in her hands, hoping no one from inside the building starts pounding on the glass and telling her to get away.

She gets at least a minute until someone finds her. A coat drapes across her shoulders, but she can tell by the smell of it that it isn’t hers, and she can tell who it is just by the smell, too.

Kara doesn’t talk though, just leans against the wall next to Lena. She can feel the relative heat of her through the coat. It’s boundaries, reestablished, Kara’s kindness the only thing keeping her here. Lena hates it.

“You know,” Lena starts, and then stops, her throat thick with tears. “Why is it always raining?”

“The jet stream,” Kara answers softly. Lena sighs, digging the base of her palms into her eyes. 

“Is Sam okay?” Lena asks.

“Yeah, Lucy’s talking to her,” Kara says. Lena can hear the smile on her face. “I have your coat and stuff. Do you want me to call you a car?”

Lena laughs, picking her head up finally to look up at Kara. She does indeed have Lena’s coat and small clutch in her hands, her eyes soft behind her glasses as she looks down at her. Lena reaches up and fingers the collar of the coat that’s draped around her shoulders with a pointed look. Kara rolls her eyes.

“I was a little more focused on making sure you had a coat then figuring out which was yours,” Kara says. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Do you really want to hear about it?” Lena asks. Kara sighs, considering the ground for a moment before she folds up Lena’s coat in her hands and starts lowering herself to the sidewalk. The windowsill is raised maybe a foot above the sidewalk, and it’s a long way for Kara to go with her knee how it is. “Kara - ”

Kara settles on the ground with a sigh, Lena’s coat thrown over her lap as her shoulder brushes against Lena’s leg. She’s in a dark grey tee and some sort of chore coat, looking handsome as ever as she kicks out her legs and looks up at Lena quietly. Something about the look on her face makes tears pool in Lena’s eyes again, and she hears Kara make a noise when she notices, her body shifting closer until they’re pressed more solidly together. 

Lena can’t avoid the feeling inside her, nor how it mixes with the morass of other feelings inside her. She pushes off the windowsill and settles on the sidewalk next to Kara, and ducks toward her. She knows she’ll have a place to land.

Kara doesn’t disappoint, her arms wrapping around her as Lena ducks her head against the scratchy fabric of the chore coat and cries.

-

“Hello, Kara,” the driver says, some thirty minutes later. It’s the same man who drove them home Christmas night as well as to and from the match on Boxing Day. “And Miss Luthor, lovely to see you again.”

“Thanks for coming, Jun-Seo,” Kara says. He smiles back at her - Kara had explained briefly when she was calling for him that the club hired a cavalcade of drivers for the players to use when going out who functioned as semi-bodyguards, and that Jun-Seo was her personal favorite because he always gave her South Korean sweets. “Sorry to drag you out again.”

“No problem at all,” Jun-Seo says, smiling. “Where are we off to?”

“Lena is going back to Sam’s place,” Kara says. She has her arm wrapped around Lena’s waist and hasn’t dropped it since she’d returned from ducking into the pub to inform them that Lena wasn’t feeling well and was headed back. 

“Sounds good,” Jun-Seo says. “Oh, excuse me.”

He hurries off down the small street to approach someone half-hiding behind a hedge with their phone pointed directly at them. Kara sighs unhappily, pulling at Lena until her back is to the person and moving them toward the open car door. Lena can hear Jun-Seo start in on a funny sounding speech on respecting the privacy of private citizens. 

“Sorry,” Kara says, her face tight again. 

“It really is fine,” Lena says. And she means it, because - honestly, if people thought she was both stable and interesting enough to bag a famous footballer, she could survive. It’s better than people taking pictures of her leaving her house because her brother’s committed corporate espionage. 

“Fine for you, maybe. I hate it,” Kara mutters. Lena finds herself laughing, reaching out to grasp the collar of Kara’s coat. 

“Well you don’t like any attention at all,” Lena says. Kara rolls her eyes, pushing a little at Lena’s waist. Lena starts climbing into the car, settling in the far side and feeling suddenly bereft without Kara wrapped around her. She wants to ask, suddenly, if Kara would climb in with her.

“Will you be okay? Sam said she’d come home with you,” Kara says. 

“I’ll be okay,” Lena assures. Kara hums, leaning back out of the car to look down the street and then leaning back in. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow.”

“You know, she - she really cares about you, Lena,” Kara says, her eyes sincere under the starlight effect of the car’s ceiling. Lena swallows. “I know she was trying to set us up, but she talks about you all the time. I don’t know what she said to upset you, but - ”

“We’ll be okay,” Lena assures, reaching over to grasp at Kara’s forearm where it rests on the seat next to Lena. “I’m just a mess. It’s really just me.”

“Okay,” Kara says. “Because I - we, you know, all of us, really like you and it would be a huge bummer if you and Sam had a friend break-up.”

“It would be a really huge bummer,” Lena agrees. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow when I’ve had a chance to think and wash my face.”

“Good. Okay, cool. I’ll…see you on New Year’s Eve?” Kara asks. Lena’s scheduled to fly back late New Year’s Day, but she’s been assured by everyone that the New Year’s Eve party is the biggest blowout of the Superfriends holiday calendar, which is a little frightening considering how large all the other events have been.

“Yes,” Lena assures. Kara’s expression calms from its obvious anxiety, and she leans her head out again to look down the street. Jun-Seo appears rapidly behind her, his door opening up as he slides into the driver’s seat. This time, Kara withdraws entirely, her forearm sliding out from under Lena’s hand. She gives Lena a nod that makes Lena feel like crying all over again and then she hits the close door button on the side of the car. 

“You ready to go, Miss Luthor?” Jun-Seo asks, turning to look back at her. 

“Yes,” Lena says, watching as Kara steps back from the curb and leans against a bollard protecting the alley they’ve just come from, looking contemplative. There’s no way Kara can see her with how dark the windows are, but it feels like she is watching somehow. Lena wants to climb right back out of the car and sink into her. But it feels like she’s being held back by a fraying leash, a tightness in her stomach that leaks anxiety through her spine. She hates it. She hates it, hates it, hates it. Kind of hates herself. “By the way, Jun-Seo, you can call me Lena.”

“Of course, Lena,” Jun-Seo says, smiling in the rearview mirror. “Let me just wait for the bus to pass and we’ll get on our way.”

There is indeed a double decker going past them slowly, and so Lena sits back in her seat and watches Kara watch the car. Her hands are jammed in her pockets, her posture slumped a little. She’s gorgeous, even dressed down a little. Someone comes up behind her and puts a hand on her shoulder, and Lena sees that it’s Kelly, saying something to her that makes Kara tilt her head down. Whatever Kara says back to Kelly has her reaching up to hug Kara from behind, her chin dropping on Kara’s shoulder for a few seconds. 

It’s such a casual display of familial love, the exact kind that all the Superfriends share with each other. Lena can admit that she likes it. She’s terrified to admit that she wants it. Sam was right, as usual. What a bitch.

“Next stop, Paddington,” Jun-Seo says, pulling out into the street slowly as the bus has finally passed. “Mind the gap.”

It makes Lena laugh, and Jun-Seo laughs with her. She gets one last look at Kara turning her slim, strong body to look at her sister-in-law, and she doesn’t miss that Kara reaches up to wipe at her own face. Lena would love to blame it on the rain, but she knows it’d be just another lie to help herself.

---

She waits until a respectable seven in the morning to knock on Sam’s door. She’d heard Sam get in only an hour or so after her, so it should be fine.

“Yeah?” she can hear Sam respond, clearly not very awake. Lena slowly pushes the door open, glancing in to find Sam ensconced in the middle of the bed with her face still buried in her pillow. It makes her laugh a little. 

“It’s me,” Lena says. Sam groans, but picks up her head a little to squint at the light coming in from the hallway.

“What time s’it?” Sam asks. 

“Seven,” Lena says. Sam groans even louder, but rolls onto her back looking terribly aggrieved. “I have coffee?”

“Ugh, fine, come here,” Sam mutters, gesturing at Lena to get inside. She does, closing the door gently and plunging the room back into a cool grey darkness, the morning rain just beginning to color the sky outside the windows of Sam’s room. Lena hands over Sam’s cup and climbs into bed at her side, grasping her cup of coffee for a moment while she thinks through her prepared remarks. 

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” Lena says. Sam puts her hand on Lena’s head in an obvious attempt to silence her, her long fingers brushing over Lena’s face until she mostly covers her mouth. Lena laughs, shoving at her. When she looks over, Sam is taking a long sip of her coffee, blinking blearily. When she’s done with that, she leans over to the far side nightstand and sets her coffee down before sinking back into the bed. 

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” Sam says. “I was going to tell you at a more respectable time.”

“Seven is a perfectly respectable time,” Lena says. Sam pokes at her side until Lena takes the hint, setting her coffee on the nightstand and crawling under the covers next to Sam. She finds herself falling into place, her head on Sam’s shoulder.  

“Seven is a perfectly respectable time when we’re working, not on vacation,” Sam says. “If we ever manage to get to Turks and Caicos and you dare to wake me up at seven in the morning, I’m throwing you in the ocean.”

“Okay, I’m sorry about that too,” Lena says. “I can come back?”

“No, God, shut up,” Sam mutters. Her eyes have already closed. “Stop saying sorry. I’m the one who’s sorry.”

“You were right, last night,” Lena says. “I haven’t been doing anything to help myself and I haven’t for a long time. And I am scared to try to…do things that I want.”

“Well, of course I’m right,” Sam says. “But I shouldn’t have sprung it on you in the middle of a pub within ten feet of your little situationship.”

There’s a brief silence as Lena feels the world shift back into place like a bone setting. 

“Was Kara okay when she came back in?” Lena asks, unable to shake the feeling of driving away and seeing her swipe at her face under Kelly’s watchful eyes. Sam sighs, digging around between them to grab for Lena’s hand and lacing them together. 

“She seemed a little upset, I guess,” Sam says. “But fine. You know, when I was a kid, I was so jealous of people with blue and green eyes, but it’s so obvious when they’ve been crying.”

Lena snorts, squeezing at Sam’s knuckles one by one.

“I miss you and Ruby all the time,” Lena admits, sighing. Sam makes a noise of acknowledgment. “After Lex, and now, with Jack gone…I’m afraid to get attached to someone and only end up missing them too.”

Sam seems to think in silence for a moment, her eyes blinking open to look at the ceiling before she laughs a little to herself.

“Not to be all Taylor Swift about it, but again, you have a private jet and you’re talking about getting attached to a professional athlete who gets paid millions of pounds to kick a ball around and probably has access to private jets aplenty,” Sam says. “Just for the record.”

“Noted for the record,” Lena mutters, flopping off of Sams’s shoulder and onto her back. She has to kick at Sam to get her to make room. 

“I miss you too, Lena,” Sam says, softer. 

“But you have the Superfriends, and Lucy, and Ruby,” Lena says. Sam sighs, rolling over and putting her head on her elbow to look down at Lena.

“ You have the Superfriends now, first of all. Winn and James live in Metropolis, same as you, and J’onn and M’gann are out there too. Ruby keeps talking about how she wants to go to college in America just so she can live in your house,” Sam says. Lena feels tears spring immediately to her eyes as well as a resumption of her headache from last night. 

“You’re annoying,” Lena says, rubbing at her eyes.

“And Lucy is like, my own personal romantic interest, but still, I don’t think you’re bereft of options in that department,” Sam says. “If you just like, put yourself out there, you could land someone you want to fuck no problem. Maybe a blonde athlete someone, who knows. And anyway, none of that matters, because I may have all those things, but you’re my best friend.”

“You’re my best friend, too,” Lena says miserably, the tears now rolling down her face. Her head feels like a cannonball has been placed squarely in the middle of it. Maybe she should have waited for a more respectable time for this. 

“And I know we both miss Jackie,” Sam says. “I know how hard it’s been for you without him. But for the record, you and I both know that he’d tell you to go ride that girl like a pony in the middle of his funeral, let alone right now.”

“Oh my God, ” Lena says, reaching over and shoving at Sam. She flops back onto her pillow with a loud laugh and Lena can’t help but laugh the same. It’s very true, unfortunately. After she and Jack had managed to fully climb out of their prison of heterosexuality, he’d shoved her in the direction of every available sapphic woman he could find. They lie there in giggly silence for a few moments, their hands still caught together, when Sam shakes at her a little bit.

“Do you remember Lex’s plan to divide the company into semi-independent silos and manage the company from Dubai?” Sam asks. Lena has to think for a moment - Lex had come up with plenty of hare-brained schemes to commit tax evasion.

“I still remember the look on my mother’s face, yes,” Lena says, laughing. 

“You could do that,” Sam says. Lena blinks, then turns her head to look at Sam in confusion. “I’m just saying. You and I both know your passion isn’t running a multinational company. You could move yourself to Chairman of the Board, just make oversight decisions.”

“And move to Dubai?” Lena asks. Sam groans.

“No, move here, you idiot,” Sam says. “Why the hell would you move to Dubai?”

“I just - that’s - Sam, that’s crazy, ” Lena says. 

“We’ll come back to it. All I’m saying is that you don’t have to be stuck in Metropolis if you don’t want to be,” Sam says, waving her away. Lena rolls her eyes and shakes her head with a little laugh. “Now, please, will you just tell me that you like Kara? I’m dying. I need to know that I’m right.”

“Of course I like Kara, you motherfucker,” Lena says. “She’s perfect.”

“I knew it,” Sam says, raising her hands up in victory, as well as Lena’s where it’s still wound in hers. “I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. I met her and I thought, damn, that is an ideal Lena Luthor wife. Hot as shit, way nice, worldly, a nerd, an idiot but not in a dumb way. Loves books. Kicks a ball real hard.”

“Yes, you were right,” Lena says with considerable annoyance.

“Did you guys talk after the tabloids came out?” Sam asks. Lena sighs, thinking again of their meeting in the park. 

“Yes, we - ”

“Actually, you know what, back up,” Sam says. “There were photos of you two meeting from like, a week ago. How the fuck did you meet?”

“I ran into her at a bookstore, and then again when she had Kelly’s engagement ring,” Lena says. “And then we saw each other again at Esme’s panto and I realized she was the girl the Superfriends kept talking about.” 

“Adorable. I hate it,” Sam says. “The fates said, ‘yeah, Sam, you were right, we’re gonna throw them together before you even get the chance, that’s how right you were.’ Whoever got the photo of her opening the ring box for you got paid like a million pounds, you know that?”

“Well, I hope they spend it on something worthwhile,” Lena says.

“What did you tell her, when you talked about the photos?” Sam asks.

“I…said that we needed to keep boundaries, because I’m leaving on New Year’s Day,” Lena says. Sam sighs heavily, and Lena finds she can’t help but agree with the sentiment.

“She likes you so much, Lena,” Sam says. 

“I know. I like her too,” Lena says.

“But you’re scared. Of getting attached. And having to miss her too.”

“Yeah,” Lena says. It’s nice to have the whole scope of the mess in her head laid out like this. Sam hums, turning over and looking at Lena’s face closely. 

“That’s really stupid,” Sam declares. Lena laughs, rubbing at her face where tears have mostly stalled. “Lena, I’m not saying you have to marry the girl - ”

“I think you’ve said that more than once,” Lena says. Sam ignores her as ever.

“ - but for God’s sake, it’s Christmas.”

“Christmas was five days ago, Sam.”

“Lena Lutessa Luthor, shut the fuck up and do something fun and for yourself, for once, whether it’s Christmas or New Year’s or just like, Tuesday. A really hot, nice girl wants to have sex with you and then will probably buy you breakfast the next day and rub your shoulders. Do you know how hard that is to find?” 

Unfortunately, Lena did know how hard that was to find. It was really a travesty that having access to a trust fund or a private island didn’t immediately boost your chances at getting such a thing. It made Lena question capitalism, to be honest. What was the point, if it wasn’t helping you get the one thing everyone wanted? 

But Lena knew, too, that so many of the people she encountered in her tax bracket didn’t care about something like finding love. Not the way it had always mattered to her, in her heart of hearts. Jack had told her once that she was too soft for her own life, and he’d promised to always be there with her when it got too hard. And then he’d died. What the fuck.

“Did you have to use the full name?” Lena croaks, feeling tears resume and rolling sideways until she can dig her face into Sam’s shoulder. Sam laughs, and then sighs, wrapping her arms around her and holding tight.

-

Lena knocks on the door of the address Sam had given her at exactly two in the afternoon. The sun has mostly set, and though Lena can tell that there’s an uppity photographer somewhere down the street, Jun-Seo has run off to chase them away. He’d given Lena his number with a small wink when he’d dropped her off at Sam’s two nights ago and said if I am not busy, I will come to you and then given her a bag of Kopiko coffee candy that she’d eaten way too much of . Lena had really understood why Kara liked him so much right then.

Sam had told her that whoever had designed Kara’s security system was a psychopath, so it was best to just call her when she arrived, and so Lena dialed while hovering outside the frankly absurd doorway. She couldn’t quite see inside, but the building Kara apparently lived in was an apartment in the old-timey sense, as in, this was a portion of an old estate. On the drive over, she’d seen an enormous green courtyard park that was gated and attached to this behemoth of a former ducal home. 

“Hello?” Kara answers. Lena takes in a breath.

“Hey, it’s me. I’m outside, would you - let me in, maybe?” Lena says. She’s carrying several supermarket bags and a small bag that Sam had frankly maliciously shoved a pair of Lena’s underwear into along with a book and some essential toiletries and her party clothes. It was presumptuous, but Lena was an adult and it was better to be prepared than not. Not to mention, this was a New Year’s Eve party where all the Superfriends apparently got blasted. A toothbrush would not go amiss.

“What? Shit, yes, okay, hold on, let me uh,” she hears Kara’s voice get further away, and then the lock in front of her buzzes. When she pushes it open, she finds herself in a small entryway, where another set of double doors waits. “You have to close the first set for the second one to unlock.”

So Lena pulls the door shut after waving goodbye to Jun-Seo, who waves back while lecturing a group of photographers. The second set unlocks, and when Lena pushes the door open, she finds herself in a narrow hallway with a crackling fireplace right there. There’s a small pile of shoes just next to the door that has her toeing hers off, idly considering the patterned flooring.

“I’m all the way upstairs if you want to come up,” Kara says. “Faster than me coming down.”

Lena can hear Kara’s voice from the upper reaches of the house, and so she heads upstairs. She passes a sitting and dining room that has bags of stuff all over the place, a pile of streamers spilling out of a bag. It looks beautiful, and then up the large staircase she goes, until she arrives at the top landing and wanders into an even larger sitting room. If it were a more beautiful day outside, Lena imagines it would be soaked in natural light with three enormous floor-to-ceiling windows that open out onto a terrace. 

“Hey,” Kara says, appearing from behind her out of another room Lena had failed to notice. She looks fairly confused, and not at all ready for guests, judging by the fact that she’s in shorts and a loose boxy sweatshirt with the words RUNNING FROM MY TROUBLES and the adidas logo on the chest. “You’re here early.”

“I figured I’d return the favor and help set up,” Lena says, gesturing with the bags in her hands. Kara at least smiles through her confusion. 

“But - I mean, thank you, because I do need help always with these things, but I thought we - weren’t going to do this,” Kara says. “This doesn’t seem very boundary…y.” 

“It isn’t,” Lena agrees, and then stands up straight and takes in a breath. “Look, I understand that I’ve put you through a weird few days, and I am still flying home tomorrow and I really can’t make promises on when or even if I can get back, but I do really like you. And I just, you know, I don’t want to stop me or either of us from experiencing this when my only reason is that I’m too scared to do it.”

“You’re scared?” Kara asks, frowning and reaching for the bags in Lena’s hands. She smiles when she looks in and finds very stupid new year sunglasses and pull-apart crackers decorated in fireworks. 

“Of losing something that makes me happy,” Lena says. Kara looks at her for a moment, and then reaches over the back of the couch behind Lena to set the bags in her hands down. 

“I’ve lost people, too. I get it,” Kara says, voice soft. “But I’m glad you’re here and that you’re…I don’t know. Opening yourself to new experiences?”

“Me too,” Lena laughs.

“Do you want a tour?” 

Lena laughs and nods, wiping away the heat from her eyes. Kara grins at her, flipping the lights on in the big room they’re in and hitting a button on a panel next to the switch - the great armoire on one wall starts to open up to reveal a television. It makes her laugh, the obvious joy on Kara’s face.

“This is the reception room, according to my realtor,” Kara says, gesturing out at it. “Mostly I just watch football or read. Not a lot of receiving done here.”

She waggles her eyebrows as she says it, and Lena smacks at her bicep. Kara catches her hand then and clasps it, tugging gently at her until they pass onto the landing and into the room Kara had come out of - and it’s a palatial bedroom. Probably literally palatial. 

“There’s a bath in your bedroom,” Lena says, pointing at the half-curtained steps up to a great bath that dominates one side of the room, windows beyond it. “Why do you live in a Bridgerton house?”

“It’s not a Bridgerton house,” Kara says, letting go of Lena’s hand and grabbing for something on the bed - a remote, where she flips off the television on the wall opposite and tosses the remote to a small armchair in the corner. “They asked if they could film exteriors here, but my neighbor is an ambassador from Jordan and had security concerns.”

Lena finds herself looking at the gaudy wallpaper patterning over a wall. It’s so amusingly English high-society home that she has to laugh, and it makes her think of her mother constantly tearing down decor at Luthor Manor.

“You know, my family has a house out in the Catskills,” Lena says, turning to look at Kara. She’s watching Lena with her head tilted, a loose smile on her face. “By house, I mean an obnoxious mansion. My mother calls it the Manor, and apparently it’s a near copy of some Scottish country home.”

“Would you be mad at me if you said I’ve always wanted one of those?” Kara says, sitting on the bed and stretching out her leg, her fingers pushing in on the muscles around her knee. With shorts on, it’s obvious how well football has built up her calves and thighs, and Lena wants to - for lack of a better phrase - sit on her lap and ride her like a pony. “But an actual one, not a fake one in the Catskills. My realtor keeps saying it’s a bad investment.”

“I think I could be convinced to like it without the associated family trauma,” Lena says. Kara laughs, leaning back on her hands as Lena steps a little closer to her. Her eyes are trained on Lena like a hawk.

“You know, you showed up three hours earlier than anyone is supposed to get here. Four hours earlier than your invite said,” Kara says. Lena raises an eyebrow and watches as Kara’s eyes grow a shade darker. It’s delicious, what’s happening here. It’s so much better than sitting in her guest room bed at Sam’s place and contemplating if she’ll ever feel happiness again. Some measure of it, whether it turned out to be small or large, was right here at her fingertips. 

“Probably a good thing, considering you have nothing ready,” Lena says. She’s within reaching distance now, and Kara’s not moving quite yet, but Lena can see that she wants to. 

“My family’s coming over to help set up,” Kara says. “I’m injured. I’m not as robust as I usually am.”

“You’re making excuses already?” Lena asks. Kara laughs, leaning up off her hands now and reaching for Lena’s hand. She tugs at her lightly, and when Lena gives up the game and climbs into her lap, her other hand settles on Lena’s hip. 

“So what’s in the bag?” Kara asks, letting go of Lena’s hand to tug at it. It’s a fancy leather schoolboy style backpack, one of Lena’s few indulgences in travel gear, and Kara drops it straight on the ground the minute it’s off Lena’s shoulders. 

“Clothes. What, did you think I was going to wear jeans and a t-shirt to your New Year’s Eve party?” Lena asks. Kara glances down at her outfit, her hands grasping at Lena’s hips and sliding around to her low back and dipping over her ass. 

“You’d look gorgeous in anything,” Kara says, rather earnestly. Lena smiles at that, settling her hands on Kara’s shoulders and slipping one around to palm at the base of her neck. It’s like their moment dancing on Christmas Eve, except the alarm bells that had gone off in Lena’s mind have been determinedly shoved in a box and buried. They’re still there, but she’s not listening. 

“I’m so glad I came here,” Lena says. Whether she means here as in Kara’s house or here as in London was not really an either/or question. Her fingers snag on the chain around Kara’s neck, and she tugs it out from under the sweatshirt to find the umbrella charm hanging there steadily, warm from Kara’s skin. 

“Me too,” Kara murmurs, and she lets go of Lena to reach behind her back and pull her sweatshirt off, tossing it somewhere in the great beyond. Lena has to let go of the chain for just a second, but when she puts her hands back, they’re on Kara’s skin. She’s lean, hard-muscled, probably because she runs around for a living, and she’s so warm. 

Lena’s going to let her do anything she wants to her. 

“I’ve wanted to kiss you since the bookshop,” Lena says, her thumbs pressing into the knobs just under Kara’s throat where her collar bones meet her sternum. Kara’s hands are pressing up under the back of Lena’s t-shirt. 

“Same,” Kara nods. And then, they do.

It’s impossible that it’s so heated so immediately, but it is. It feels like Kara gives everything over to the kiss, her hands drawing tight to pull Lena in close and her tongue slipping along Lena’s lips. Lena can’t help but drop her hips down fully and press into Kara’s lap and her stomach as she sucks on Kara’s tongue. It’s obvious that Kara likes everything about all of that, her hips rolling up into Lena’s as she plants one firm hand on the base of Lena’s spine to keep her in place. It's a wet, hot kiss, practically unconscious. 

“We should have been doing this the whole time,” Lena says, pulling back with a gasp. Kara laughs, her blue eyes gone dark as she looks just slightly up at Lena. Her lips are glistening and pink.

“Well, we couldn’t give everyone the satisfaction, could we?” Kara says. She grips the base of Lena’s t-shirt and pulls it up and off her when Lena raises her arms to help. “God, you’re so pretty.”

She says that mostly to Lena’s tits, but it makes Lena feel hot anyway. 

“You’re not so bad yourself,” Lena says, her hands slipping into Kara’s hair and clenching just slightly. Kara makes a noise in response, reaching up herself and getting at the back clasp of Lena’s bra. When it falls loose, Kara ducks forward to press a warm kiss in the valley between her breasts.

“I didn’t really get a chance to say this when we talked, and I’m sorry if it’s too much right now, but you’re exactly the sort of person I could fall in love with, too,” Kara murmurs, her lips sliding over the skin she’s just kissed. It’s simultaneously the most romantic and erotic thing Lena’s ever experienced. She can feel the overwhelming reaction and heat behind her eyes, and maybe two days ago Lena might have shied away from it. But she’s trying something different now. Allegedly called chasing one’s own happiness.

So she gives herself over to it. 

“What do you like?” Lena asks. Kara sucks at the skin between her tits, her teeth nipping there, and Lena can’t help but whine at that. It’s been a while, for one, and for another, it’s hot as hell.

“Whatever you like,” Kara says, drawing back a little and tipping herself backward, until Lena falls half on top of her. It makes it decidedly easy for Kara to start unbuttoning Lena’s jeans, but that was probably the point. “I’m a people pleaser.”

“An actual people pleaser, or is that a line?” Lena asks, pulling herself in close and kissing at Kara’s jawline. She hums, but still gets her fingers on the zipper of Lena’s pants. 

“Actual,” Kara mutters, and her fingers dive beneath the elastic of her underwear then, cupping her and then her fingers slide right through Lena. She’s wetter than she had even been really aware of, judging by how the pads of Kara’s fingers glide. It’s quick, but Kara gets a glancing blow at her clit that has her shuddering and very glad that she’s horizontal. “Literally anything you want. I have toys, if you want that.”

“God, you’re perfect,” Lena gasps, reaching out to grasp tightly at Kara’s neck and pulling at her until she’s sliding on top of Lena, covering over her. “I like - oh, fuck. ”

Kara’s slid a finger in without direction, a grin on her face that slowly drifts to a focused stare, and Lena can’t help but stare back as she grips at Kara’s neck and her bicep with twin force. 

“You like getting fucked, huh?” Kara asks, ducking forward and kissing Lena hotly. Lena nods even while they’re kissing, even while Kara’s finger is slowly moving inside her, and she can feel in real time as her brain starts to really disintegrate. “Another?”

“Yeah, yes,” Lena gasps, and then moans when Kara slides another finger inside her. “Do you have a strap?”

“Anything you want,” Kara reminds. Lena spreads her legs further, wishing she was in a place to take the moment to get her sweaty jeans and underwear off, but she’s really not - she’d rather throw herself in front of a double decker bus then force Kara’s hand out of her pants right now. “Can you come just like this?”

“Yeah, you’re - it’s good,” Lena nods, reaching up her own hand and plucking at her nipple just to divert the massive amount of blood rushing south as Kara fucks her. Her palm is sliding against Lena’s clit, dragging her under. Kara whines a little, and drops her head to suck at Lena’s other nipple. It sends her higher and higher - and when Kara draws away with a slick pop sound, her hips jerk up hard. “Are you a people pleaser like, no touching, or can I eat you out?”

“You can one hundred percent eat me out,” Kara returns. “But I want you to come for me first, yeah?”

And Lena is pretty sure she should be the one begging, and is right on the verge of it, but somehow, Kara sounds like she’s begging Lena to come. She really is perfect.

“Yeah,” Lena says. “Yeah, another finger?”

“God, yes,” Kara mutters, and she draws out to add another finger at the same time she takes Lena in another kiss, her body draped half-over Lena and pressing down. Kara’s shorts are thin, leaving no illusion to how wet she is where her hips press down into Lena’s spread thigh. And Lena is going to come, for certain, on Kara’s fingers. And she’s going to love it. 

“I’m gonna come,” Lena gets out against Kara’s lips, and Kara fucks her harder, faster in accordance, the friction on her clit unbelievable and she doesn’t even have her pants off yet. Kara doesn’t reply with words; she puts all her effort into making sure Lena feels her for days.

She comes hard enough that her back bows upward, held down only by Kara’s insistent weight and her strong hand. Kara fucks her through the aftershocks, winding her down gently, until she’s basically almost breathing normally and she feels like she can think thoughts. And she finds herself laughing.

It’s more like a giggle, really, but it makes Kara laugh too, breathy, and then she presses forward to kiss her, as soft as a feather. And it’s Christmas and New Year’s and raining outside, and Kara’s inside her, and it feels as perfect as perfect can truly be.

-

“We have to shower,” Lena says, absently. Kara is right where Lena left her, on her back and staring at the ceiling. She makes a noise that would indicate that she’s heard Lena. Despite knowing Kara for only a week and a half though, Lena suspects that is not true. She turns her head where it’s resting on her bicep and looks her over. The distant look in her eyes matches well with the smear of lipstick across her jaw and the bright red flush on her chest. Not to mention the strap-on attached to her hips. It makes her laugh, patting Kara on the thigh. “You alright?”

“Perfect,” Kara says, her bicep moving under Lena’s head until her hand palms Lena’s spine, drawing her slightly closer. “Maybe we should cancel the party.”

“We shouldn’t,” Lena says. When she moves her head forward and settles onto Kara’s shoulder, slinging her leg over her hip, Kara hums and her arm tightens. “I heard it’s the best party of the Superfriends holidays.”

“Because everyone gets shitfaced,” Kara says. “But I don’t know, what if instead we just like, have sixteen more orgasms?”

“Each, or collectively?” Lena asks.

“We could aim for collectively and hope for each,” Kara murmurs, reaching for Lena’s leg and turning over until they’re face to face. She resettles the leg to where it’s tucked over her hip, and the dildo Lena’s really only just vacated is bumping into her. She can’t help but shiver. “M’sorry I can’t really be up on my knees yet.”

“I think we figured it out just fine,” Lena sighs, reaching her hand in between them to grip the cock and press it gently into Kara. Normally she might not enjoy the feeling of getting cum all over her hand, but a shower is somewhere in her future and Kara makes her not want to care. Kara jolts just a little, a laugh leaking out of her. 

“I have an international break in March,” Kara suggests. “Knee should be good by then.”

Lena already feels about as soft as Jell-O, wrapped in Kara’s arms and in Kara’s bed, and it only makes her feel softer to hear that. But her brain is also Jell-O, and she doesn’t want to break anyone’s heart by making promises. She noses forward, catching Kara’s sleepy lips in a kiss that sinks into itself, soft and warm.

“That sounds nice,” Lena says, because it does sound nice. “We’ll see.”

“Okay,” Kara says, voice soft. Lena watches her eyes close, her hand lightening up in its grip on Lena’s back. It somehow makes sense to her that Kara would be a sleepy post-sex snuggler. She’s tactile, but on edge almost all the time when she’s awake and moving. But Lena can also see the watch on Kara’s wrist where her hand has slid to Lena’s hip.

“No time for napping,” Lena says. Kara sighs, blinking one eye open. “You said you had people coming in an hour.”

“We should cancel, I decided,” Kara says. Lena laughs, and less than gently pushes on the toy in her hand again. Kara’s other eye pops open and she glares heavily at Lena.

“Shower,” Lena says. Kara rolls her eyes. “We can sleep later.”

“At one in the morning,” Kara whines, digging her face into the pillow but seeming to resign herself to wakefulness. Lena smiles, reaching out and brushing her fingers through the hair at Kara’s temple. “Can you stay the night?”

“Yeah,” Lena says. “But I’ll have to leave around nine. My flight home is at noon.”

“That’s okay,” Kara says, and then pouts a little. “What if you stayed an extra day?”

Lena sighs, uncertain how to respond. She wants to, is the thing, but she feels so weak to it that she could see one day turning into a week, and then LCorp would probably explode. She feels the edge of fear knife into her, a horrible cutting feeling that this is exactly why she tried to avoid this. Kara is the sort of person she could fall in love with, and rather unfortunately and with a great deal of resentment for the tropey nature of it, she feels like she’s already halfway there. It’s hard to set a hard line when Lena doesn’t want to, but in the case of being a responsible CEO, she actually has to. 

“No, it’s okay,” Kara says, voice soft. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Lena says. 

“Do you wanna take a bath first?” Kara suggests, sounding eager suddenly, her blue eyes looking mischievous and happy. Lena laughs. They really do only have an hour, but that’s a boundary that Lena’s willing to skirt.

-

She and Kara have only just made it downstairs to the dining slash sitting room as Kara had declared her realtor called it to sort through the bags of decor when Kara’s phone starts blaring One Direction at max volume. She looks handsome in tailored suit pants and a loose button down that she’s left mostly unbuttoned to reveal her tank top and necklace. Kara had been similarly interested in Lena’s dress when she slipped it on, but they’d barely had a chance to dry their hair minutes before now.

“Hey, is the app not working?” Kara asks when she answers, and Lena watches curiously as she navigates to a home security app. It looks shoddy, to say the least.

“Honey, the app never works,” Kelly responds with a laugh. Kara pushes a button and Lena can hear the front door unlock, a loud beeping sound going through the house. And then another unlocking sound, and then the sounds of people bustling in, including the sound of a very excited four year old.

“You know, I can make you a better security system,” Lena says, nodding at Kara’s phone. Kara smiles at her.

“Of course you can,” she says, and then she wraps a loose arm around Lena’s waist and draws her in for a quick kiss. It’s interrupted by a screech that has them nearly throwing themselves apart. When they turn to look, Esme is standing in the doorway with her eyes wide. She’s in a very cute sweater with a giraffe on it, her hair down in twin braids. And she looks very, very excited to have just caught her aunt kissing someone.

“Jesus Christ, Esme, why are you screaming?” Lena can hear Alex groaning. Kara laughs, turning away from Lena to hold her arms out. “No, your shoes - ”

But Esme has already come sprinting into the room and into Kara’s arms, giggling as Kara swings her up and settles her on her hip. 

“One million cookies if you keep that a secret, bug,” Kara offers quietly, tickling at Esme’s stomach and prompting more giggles. “And I’m sure Lena could throw in some cookies too.”

“I’m sure I could,” Lena laughs. Esme looks her over quite seriously before she grins again, clapping so hard she nearly smacks Kara in the jaw. 

“Okay, is my kid still alive, or - oh. Hi,” Alex says, turning the corner into the room. 

“I screamed because Aunt Kara’s Christmas tree is so big,” Esme says, pointing beyond Kara’s shoulder where there is indeed a very large Christmas tree. Kara had told Lena that this was the boring one, which seemed fair because the much smaller one upstairs had homemade ornaments and ones shaped like dicks strung on it. Lena is a little impressed that the girl came up with a lie so quickly, waving hello to Alex and turning back to the bags.

“While Aunt Kara’s Christmas tree is really big, we probably shouldn’t just scream at the top of our lungs, okay?” Alex says, drifting into the room. Her wife and mother are falling into step behind her, Kelly smiling brightly when she sights Lena.

“Hey there,” Kelly says, coming over to give her a hug. “This dress is great.”

“Thanks,” Lena says, smiling. “Yours is beautiful too.”

“How have you done nothing, Kara?” Alex asks, sounding exasperated as she reaches over the back of the couch to grab for some streamers. Kara is now thoroughly distracted with her niece, lifting her up into the air to look at the shiny ornaments on her Christmas tree.

“We were about to move the chairs out into the kitchen and set up the table for the caterers,” Lena says. Which isn’t necessarily true, because she’s only arrived downstairs ten minutes ago. But she has just unearthed some tablecloths, and Kara had mentioned the caterers were coming with food platters. 

“Thank you, Lena. I’m glad a responsible adult is here,” Alex says pointedly, glaring over at her sister. Kara pays her no attention, laughing at something Esme leans over to whisper in her ear. 

“I try,” Lena says. She’s pretty sure the party is contained to just this one large room, so it can’t really be that hard to manage - which makes it seem a little suspicious that Kara had her family coming over to help. “Does she really never have this ready on time?”

“Something like that,” Eliza says with a laugh. “I’ll go get the ladder and painter’s tape to hang up the garlands and bunting.” 

“I’ll help,” Alex mutters, glaring over at her sister one more time before following her mom, already starting in on a heated rant. Kelly watches them go with a laugh, shaking her head and turning back to Lena with a smile on her face.

“Alex still hasn’t figured out that Kara has been tricking her into setting up this party for years,” Kelly says conspiratorially. 

“I have not!” Kara gasps, turning away from the tree and setting her niece on the ground. Esme darts over toward the couch and grabs for a book on the large coffee table that Lena’s only just noticed is for children. “It isn’t my fault she isn’t comfortable with procrastination and takes over the project. Plus, I do lots of stuff. I put in the catering order and the alcohol order and bought the decor and I got dressed really nice, so.”

“And that’s all there is to it, I guess,” Kelly says, smiling. She smiles a little wider when Kara drifts close to Lena’s side, warm and inviting. They’d apparently made a mutual unspoken decision to keep their…whatever it was under wraps for now, but considering how poorly they’d done at that prior to fucking each other’s brains out, Lena suspected it was not an illusion long for this world. 

“You’re mean,” Kara announces. “I do a lot of work. Just so you know.”

She directs this at Lena, which makes her laugh. 

“There’s no time for laughter! Move the chairs!” Alex screeches, and the three of them scramble to get to work.

-

At ten minutes to midnight, Lena’s really only capable of being aware of a few things. One: she and Kara are next to each other on one of the couches, Kara’s arm wrapped around her waist and Lena’s hand gripping the plastic brace on her knee. At this point, the illusion that they are not at the very least two people who have kissed is totally transparent. Part of this is because Kara has kissed her no less than four times in the last hour, just sitting here on this couch. 

Two: the Superfriends New Year’s Eve party really is the best one, because they are all shitfaced. The drinking had begun almost as soon as they all congregated, and there’d been little concern that Ruby and Esme were also there. Esme was really too young to understand, and Ruby was old enough to judge them all and feel superior, so it worked out. By this time of night, the raucousness has cooled to a happy, intoxicated sitting around and chatting type party, all of them half paying attention to the television as they waited for the fireworks. The cars are coming at twelve fifteen to take them all to their various homes. 

Three: Sam has disappeared at coincidentally the same time as Lucy. She hadn’t actually seen them leave the room, but they certainly were not here now. Lena hopes Sam has taken some inspiration from her own life and finally just got after it.

“Oh my God, dude, no, you’re cheating,” Winn says, shoving at Nia’s hands. They’re playing Kerplunk, which Lena can’t imagine is a game you can really cheat at. Behind them, James is chatting with his sister while his niece has fully passed out in his arms. Alex, J’onn and Brainy are all standing around the bar cart while Alex pours drinks. M’gann and Eliza are laughing over a book of photos Eliza’s unearthed of Kara as a teenager working through the Brunswick Academy. It’s branded with the Brunswick badge, and Lena is definitely getting her hands on it tomorrow morning. 

Ruby has sandwiched Lena on the couch, her head tucked on Lena’s shoulder and yawning occasionally, and all in all, Lena’s really, deliriously, drunkenly happy. 

“You’re cheating, you little jerk,” Nia says back, swatting at the pile of sticks in Winn’s hands until they spill everywhere. On Lena’s shoulder, Ruby snorts.

“They’re crazy,” Ruby says. She’s so obviously sleepy, but has declined Kara’s many offers to put her in one of the guest rooms. Lena pats her knee and smiles when Ruby ducks closer, her arm wrapping around Lena’s. “Aunt Lena, I’m so happy you’re here.”

“Me too,” Lena says. When she looks down, Ruby’s eyes are closed. When she looks back up, Kara is watching her with a soft, sweet smile. Lena doesn’t draw away when she leans over to press a kiss to her lips, just lets the warmth drift through her.

“Guys, midnight is still eight minutes away if we could just control ourselves,” Alex says from across the room, prompting a round of laughter and Kara raising a two-finger salute in her direction that Alex returns with immense glee. 

Lena does get a kiss from Kara at midnight, but she gets at least three more in the interim. And despite the harsh cliff of fear in her chest, Lena really does start to feel like it’s going to be a happy new year.

---

“Are you sure you have to leave?” Sam asks. She’s wearing sunglasses and an actual turtleneck while standing in her kitchen at ten in the morning. Lena had trudged up the steps just as had Lucy trudged down them when she arrived earlier this morning, and despite Lena laughing hysterically and Lucy flipping her off, they’d hugged a brief goodbye before Lucy set out for the train. 

“How has Ruby not noticed that you’re practically decorated in hickeys?” Lena asks idly, rolling her suitcase in a circle while she checks her phone for Jun-Seo’s location. 

“Oh, Christ, I forgot what perpetually-laid Lena Luthor was like,” Sam mutters. “Turtlenecks are fashionable, you’re a bitch, and you keep hobbling around like sprained knees are contagious.”

“My hips are not quite as flexible as they once were,” Lena says. “I scheduled with my trainer.”

“Great, good for you,” Sam huffs, crossing her arms and leaning against her counter. “Ugh, really, though, are you sure you have to leave? I’m sure Kara would love to have you another night. Ruby and I would too. Obviously not in the same way.”

“If I delay my flight once I’ll only keep doing it,” Lena says, sighing. Kara had looked practically morose when she’d hugged her goodbye an hour ago, her bright blue eyes shaded with sadness and a little reddened with tears. It was dramatic, but Lena had cried a little bit too in the back of the car. 

“That’s not true,” Sam says. “If you stay tonight, I swear I’ll put you on the plane myself tomorrow. We could have dinner! Ruby’s always looking for an excuse to try to talk to Kara about books or soccer.”

“Football,” Lena corrects absently, seeing Jun-Seo’s text come through that he’s pulled onto their street. 

“That’s so embarrassing for you,” Sam says. “Fine. Ruby, come say goodbye to your Aunt before she returns to the hellscape of America!”

There’s a thunderous amount of movement upstairs and piling down them at a rapid speed. Ruby is still in her pajamas, her hair is a complete disaster from having just pulled herself out of bed, but she flings herself at Lena hard enough that she falls back against the oven. 

“I’ll miss you,” Ruby whispers, and Lena hugs her hard when she hears the note of shakiness therein. It sinks Lena straight to the bottom of the ocean, and she can see Sam’s immediate wince when they connect eyes. 

“I’ll miss you too,” Lena says back, and she does not cry, because crying on a fifteen year-old is a guilt trip and not one that she intends to inflict on any child ever. Thankfully, Sam seems to recognize that she’s on the verge, because she pats her daughter on the shoulder and Ruby draws back. “We’ll see each other soon.”

“Actually?” Ruby pouts, wiping at her face. 

“I hope so,” Lena says, and she means it. Sam manages to get her out on her steps with the door closed before Lena has to sit down and cry. There’s a strong possibility that there’s some paparazzi down the street, but she really does not care. Sam drops down next to her and throws an arm around her shoulder, squeezing at her bicep. 

“Sorry about that. I think I’ve accidentally raised someone who like, experiences their emotions and lets them flow as they happen,” Sam jokes, and Lena laughs, swiping away the tears in her eyes. Jun-Seo is pointedly not looking at them, watching the area around them with hawk eyes. 

“Yeah, what the fuck?” Lena asks. “God.”

“I don’t know where she got it from,” Sam shrugs. “Not me, not you, not her sperm donor runaway father. Maybe Jack?”

“That unfortunately may be true,” Lena says, laughing and sitting up a little. Her back is a little sore, for no reason at all that she’d admit out loud to Sam. “Did I ever tell you, when we were in middle school, he cried when I got a paper cut?”

“That’s embarrassing for him,” Sam says. 

“Yeah,” Lena agrees, drawing in a breath and glancing up at the drizzly gray sky. She has Kara’s umbrella stashed in one of the water bottle pockets on her backpack, completely unable to consider giving it back. When she thinks again of Kara’s tough little smile when she waved goodbye through her entryway, Lena ducks her head again. 

“I shouldn’t, right?” Lena asks, tilting her head up and watching Sam start to smile.

“Oh, you should, for sure,” Sam says. “It’s New Year’s Day, Lena.”

“Kara made us breakfast this morning,” Lena says. Sam laughs at that, shaking her head.

“Would you believe me if I said Lucy makes the best scrambled eggs I’ve ever tasted?” Sam asks, and the softness of her brown eyes makes Lena feel like her heart is going to explode with love. When Sam reaches out and grabs for Lena’s hand, she grips just as tight as Sam does. “Look, we can figure this all out. But what if we just start tomorrow?”

“It’s going to hurt to leave just as much tomorrow,” Lena says.

“Well, that’s life, babe,” Sam says, shrugging. “And if it hurts this bad, maybe it’s worth trying to figure out.”

Lena sighs, contemplating the sky and the grip Sam has on her fingers, and the breadth of the things she wants in her life and how so many of them are either ephemeral, changeable or localized right here. 

“Okay,” Lena finally says, and ignores it when Sam legitimately squeals in her ear. “But you really are going to have to put me on the plane tomorrow.”

“Hey, it means I can get out of the office, so I’ll be there,” Sam says. Lena rolls her eyes. A waste of her money. “You go shack up with your girl, I’ll tell Rubes your flight got cancelled for like…birds.”

“I’ll ask Kara about dinner. If she lets me in the house, I guess,” Lena says, standing up and grabbing for her suitcase. Jun-Seo comes jogging up the steps. “Hey Jun-Seo, thanks for coming.”

“Of course,” Jun-Seo says, taking the suitcase from her hands.

“I’m changing my destination, I hope that’s okay,” Lena says. He salutes as though this is the happiest news of his life. Sam throws her arms around her and Lena laughs, hugging her back just as hard. 

“Kara’s gonna let you in the house so hard,” Sam says. “And if she doesn’t, I’ll break her other knee.”

-

Lena’s nervously flipping Kara’s umbrella around in her palm when she takes a deep breath on the front step to Kara’s apartment and dials Kara’s number. This was impulsive. Far and away from something Lena would normally do. She’d asked Jun-Seo to keep her suitcase in the car until she was certain that Kara was actually still at home - she hadn’t said anything about having to do things, but still, she had a life and a job and activities. Stuff that Lena knew nothing about. Stuff that she maybe wanted to know about, but all the same - she was nervous.

It takes Kara almost a full five rings to answer the phone.

“Hey,” Kara says. She sounds tired. Lena swallows.

“Hey,” Lena returns. She should have planned this better - she’d had ten minutes of traffic to get around Hyde Park from Paddington to Knightsbridge to figure it out, and instead she’d just stared outside and thought about what on Earth she was doing. “Um, I’m outside?”

“What?” Kara asks, sounding confused. “Outside where?”

“Outside your apartment,” Lena says. Kara makes a strange noise that Lena has no hope of understanding over the phone, and then the door in front of her unlocks. She reaches forward to push it open, gesturing for Jun-Seo to bring her suitcase with a smile, and he does, handing it off to her and saluting before heading back to the car. “Thanks, Jun-Seo!”

“I’m upstairs,” Kara says, and the phone call drops just before the second set of doors unlocks. Lena steps into the familiar bounds of Kara’s space, rolls her suitcase toward the wall and toes off her shoes. And then she bounds upstairs, the umbrella still clutched in one hand. When she makes it to the top of the landing and ducks into the reception room, she finds Kara sitting there on the couch with a book in her lap and football on television, looking at her in shock. 

“Hi,” Lena says. Kara’s got the same hoodie from yesterday on, though now she has the hood up. She doesn’t look distraught, necessarily, but she’s obviously unhappy.

“Hi,” Kara says. “What - did your flight get cancelled? Did you forget something? I found a mascara that I think is yours - ” 

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” Lena interrupts. Kara looks at her for a long moment, and then Lena has the pleasure of seeing a smile start to erupt over her face. The same feeling of joy radiates out from her own chest, and she pulls her backpack off and tosses it on the couch opposite Kara’s as she comes closer. “I just wanted one more day.”

She sets Kara’s umbrella more gently next to her bag, and Kara makes a cute little noise of surprise when she sees it. And then Lena is dropping onto the couch next to her, and Kara is snapping her book shut and setting it on the coffee table, and she’s reaching forward to pull her in. 

The kiss is soft, sweet, but deep and intense as well, somehow all things at once. Lena puts her hand on Kara’s jaw and incidentally pushes the hood off her head while Kara settles a comfortable hand on her thigh, and they kiss, and kiss, and kiss.

“Tomorrow, huh?” Kara asks, her voice a little husky as she teases Lena. Her blue eyes are sparkling in the barest hints of sun peeking through the midday clouds. Lena has little defense to all of that, and she doesn’t feel like mounting one. Of course tomorrow, of course Lena had wanted one more day of this before she went back home and began the work of sorting out what her new year would look like, and how she wanted it to end. All she knew now was that she wanted Sam and Ruby in it. She wanted Kara in it, as ridiculous and Hallmark Christmas as that was.

“Tomorrow.”

---

360 DAYS LATER

“Makoto, I am fairly certain that you are supposed to be on vacation,” Lena says, by way of greeting. 

“Hello to you too, Miss Luthor,” Makoto returns, sounding exhausted - which made sense, as it was definitely three in the morning in Japan. “I am indeed on vacation, but I wanted to let you know that we were able to solve the server issues. LCorp Asia is back online.” 

“That’s good to hear,” Lena says. “Now, please, would you go enjoy your holiday? Surely your family would love to see you. Didn’t you mention that you were in Hokkaido?”

“Indeed. My son has been begging us to try snowboarding, but he seems unaware that his father is incapable of staying upright, so I suppose I will shoulder that burden,” Makoto says drily. Lena laughs at that, stepping back against the wall in the hallway as a chaperone leads a small herd of excited children in jerseys past her. One of the parents recognizes her and gives a small wave that she returns, smiling. She’ll have to go check on them at half-time or send Sam. 

“I wish you luck,” Lena says. Makoto gives her characteristically gentle laugh.

“Thank you, Miss Luthor. I will see you next month at the Director’s meeting in Metropolis?” she asks. Lena nods to herself, adjusting the collar of her green dress shirt as she glances at the clock on the wall. She has five minutes. 

“You will. Get some rest, and don’t break anything snowboarding,” Lena says. 

“Let us hope,” Makoto says. “Enjoy your own holiday, ma’am.”

Lena pockets her phone and takes a breath, eyeing the direction the Luthor Foundation group had headed off in. Buying box suites at various clubs around London for the Boxing Day matches had been Ruby’s idea, of all people, but it had been a good one. She’d extended it to some other sporting events in North America and a few across Europe proper just for the fun of it. Jess is at a different match on the north side with her fiance, but per her reporting, the children and families are deliriously excited. 

“Everything alright?” 

Lena turns to find Lucy Lane poking her head out from the entrance to their suite, a lollipop in her mouth. She nods, and Lucy ambles closer, her hands in the pockets of her dress pants. When she leans against the wall next to Lena, she sighs heavily. 

“What do you think about New Year’s Eve?” Lucy suggests. Lena laughs and crosses her arms, turning to look at Lucy.

“You want to propose to my best friend while everyone is completely wasted?” Lena asks. Lucy smacks at her like she has every single time her plan has been brought up, as though just saying it out loud means Sam can hear it. Both luckily and unluckily for Lucy, Sam is too distracted by her own proposal attempt to try to suss out that her girlfriend is planning the same. Sam had at least picked New Year’s Eve and stuck with it, while Lena and Ruby have had to steer Lucy toward it.

“It’s when we first got together, don’t be a dick,” Lucy mutters.

“After a year and a half of yearning,” Lena reminds. Lucy flips her off, right in her face. “Of course that’s a great idea, Luce. What can I do to help?”

“Make sure no one gets wasted?” Lucy tries. Lena hums.

“We already put in the alcohol order, there’s no hope of that,” Lena says. 

“Fine, fine. I’ll let you know, but probably just need you to turn the music down or something,” Lucy says. “You know, someone’s going to have to carry on the Superfriends holiday proposal tradition next year.”

Lena can read the intimation plenty well, but ignores the spark of heat it installs in her chest at the very thought and smiles.

“I’m shocked Brainy hasn’t proposed yet, I agree,” Lena says. Lucy rolls her eyes. “Come on, I want a good seat for kickoff.”

Lucy grumbles as she follows behind her, but she tails Lena inside the suite. No one pays them too much attention, thankfully, so she’s able to grab a cider from the fridge and drift down to the front row seats outside. Ruby and Sam are already there with Alex, who looks as though she’s on the edge of a nervous breakdown. She most likely is, considering Esme was walking out as a mascot with Kara for the first time and she’d cried hysterically when Kara had suggested it.

“Was Makoto all good?” Sam asks when Lena drops into the seat next to her. “I just saw the email that the servers were back online.”

“She was just letting me know that, actually,” Lena says. 

“Did you tell her that in three weeks she’s not going to have to bother you with stuff like that?” Sam asks. “Because, I don’t know if you’ve heard, you’re becoming a layabout.”

“ And I’ve reduced my father’s company to an international laughing stock,” Lena says, quoting Lillian Luthor’s heartwarming words of support for dividing the company into continental silos and Lena stepping back from running day-to-day operations. She’d even said at least Dubai made sense for tax reasons, Lena. London? London, England? 

“I don’t know, those Christmas bonus checks didn’t feel very jokey to me,” Sam muses, reaching over and clinking her glass into Lena’s. “How do you feel, now that it’s all almost over?”

“Good,” Lena says. And she does feel good. Unimaginably good, really. The past year of her life has been spent on jets and arguing with Sam and arguing with her mother and talking to her therapist, and she feels as solid as a rock for the first time in what has to be at least a decade, even before she’d had the year from hell. She’d dug out Lex’s old Dubai tax evasion plan and reviewed it sometime in April, had decided to go through with it in May, and now it was almost done. She hadn’t even had to revise it that much - he’d put a lot of thought into making sure the company would still make him money while he was saving money on taxes. 

“Better question, how do we feel about this match?” Alex asks abruptly, leaning into their space. “Kara hasn’t scored in three matches.”

Kara’s been on limited minutes for the last three matches after someone had kicked her in the thigh and she’d had a purple bruise in the shape of someone’s boot for two weeks, but she’s been scoring plenty in Lena’s estimation. Just this morning, in fact, which Lena’s pretty sure is against the physio’s best practice. But Lena had woken up at nine to find Kara downstairs already and throwing together a breakfast bowl for both of them, and she’d been in shorts and a sports bra, and the sky had been grey out the back window of the kitchen. 

It’d been impossible to avoid kissing her, touching her, letting her in. Just like it always had been, from the moment they met. 

“She’ll be fine,” Lena says. Alex sighs heavily, her hands twisting in the Brunswick scarf she has on her lap.

“This is a good matchup for the team, too,” Ruby adds. “Leicester have been bad against quick counter attacks this season, and their usual starting centerbacks are both injured.”

“There you go,” Lena says, gesturing over at Ruby. Alex doesn’t look entirely satisfied, but sits back in her seat and looks out on the field as the crowd starts to sing their usual introduction song. Lena’s only had the chance to make it to a few matches over the course of the year, and it never fails to give her goosebumps to hear thousands of people singing in unison like this. 

“Hey, I’m glad you’re here,” Sam says, nudging at Lena’s elbow. 

“Me too,” Lena says, smiling back at her. 

Hours later, after Alex has taken a million frantic photos of Esme grinning and holding Kara’s hand as the team walks out onto the field; after Kara scores a hat trick in the first half, after Lena stops by the suite the Foundation bought out and gives out Christmas crackers; and after she hugs everyone goodbye and meets Mikey to lead her downstairs, Kara turns the corner from the locker rooms and finds Lena waiting with a small collection of other significant others and a few children. 

Kara grins obnoxiously, and Lena’s certain she can feel the smile on her own face. One of the social media managers that’s always following Kara around snaps a few quick photos of them when Kara picks her up off the ground and squeezes her into a hug, and Lena’s sure that means Kara’s putting them on her Instagram in four days. 

“Hello, darling,” Lena says, her hand on the back of Kara’s neck and feeling the chain of her necklace. She can’t wear it while she’s playing, sadly, but the feel of the metal under Lena’s fingers spreads warmth through her. “Good game.”

“Thanks. Had to show off for my new roommate,” Kara says. Lena rolls her eyes, but Kara laughs and ducks closer, pulling her into a kiss.

“Your new roommate designed your new security system, so you should perhaps pick a more accurate term to describe her if you want to be able to get in your house,” Lena reminds when Kara draws back. 

“Okay, okay, my new roommate is also my girlfriend,” Kara says. “My shelter in the storm, my favorite partner in crime, my perfect sexual deviant match - ”

“Kara, for God’s sake, there are children,” Lena says, smacking at Kara’s bicep but doing nothing to withdraw from her arms. All the other players still in the hallway are wrapped up in their own families in their own little holiday bubble. Kara smiles and noses closer again, pressing a quick kiss to Lena’s lips and resting her forehead there.

“The love of my life,” she adds, and Lena does well not to swoon. She sighs, pulls Kara forward to kiss her again.

“I love you, too,” Lena says. “Now come on, let’s go home.”