Kara’s stomach felt stuffed full – not an easy feat for a Kryptonian and not a threshold she often met even on her best days. The restaurant they’d chosen for Lena’s birthday had been wonderfully accommodating, pumping them with what felt like a truly endless parade of food of various cuisines. Right now, Kara felt like she’d never need to eat again.
That would change by morning, but for now.
The company for dinner had been amazing, too. Esme had been so well-behaved and patient, happily entertained by her from-the-future cousins. It had been joy-filled in the best way, even after the turn it had taken when Lori casually presented a black American Express card for payment. All three of the older adults had a lot of loud questions (that had abruptly turned into song in a way that was concerning) immediately following that. The bill had ultimately been paid for by Kara (which was really still by Lena, given she’d employed herself at her girlfriend’s company). The black card was confiscated, currently still tucked away in her blazer’s inner pocket and hung on a hook within her constant line of sight.
Despite all that, they had wound down at the penthouse together, but the kids had ultimately gone their own ways as nighttime fell. Esme had been tucked into bed with the Squishmallow she had deemed her favorite (currently Delie the Candy Corn) and quickly passed out after all the excitement. That left the living room open for the present-time adults, namely Kara and Alex while Lena had stepped away to take off her make-up.
Kara’s legs were strewn across Alex’s lap, one arm tossed across the back of the couch. She gazed at her sister the same way she always had – overwhelming affection, like she was the best person in the whole world. Of course, that was true, as far as she was concerned; in her eyes, there were very few people anywhere near as incredible as her big sister.
“You’re still here,” she pointed out.
Alex turned to her. “I’m still here,” she agreed. She was a little surprised by that fact. For some reason, she’d thought her time here would be much briefer, but it kept stretching. She knew it wouldn’t last forever, though. Both her visit with an older Catra and the way Lori and Theo had reacted to her presence was proof that she wouldn’t be around two decades from now.
Alex smiled, squeezing Kara’s knees. “It’s been good being here. Seeing the two of you, the kids. I’m glad I didn’t miss it.”
“Me too,” Kara smiled back. She couldn’t have chosen a better time for Alex to be here if she tried. “Now I just want to keep you here forever,” she added, voice soft.
Before a word could leave Alex in response – what word (or words), she wasn’t sure – Kara’s attention shifted toward the stairs. It was cute, almost like a dog perking up at the sound of their owner’s footsteps.
“Hey birthday girl,” Alex called out instead. Both Danvers girls looked up at Lena as she descended the stairs. “What’re we watching?”
“Undecided,” Lena announced, and it was the truth. She had nothing planned. They could watch anything – it would all be background noise in the end, as all she cared for was the company. It had been a good day overall, an excellent evening period. A bit of calamity erupted over dinner but that was absolutely acceptable. She was – perhaps not-so-secretly – proud of Lori for having such moxie.
She had Kara’s looks and the mischief of the devil. It was an interesting combination.
Mermista was already arching her back on an end table in a come hither and pet me way, something Lena was happy to do. Her hair was down, and she wore casual nightwear that was a mix and match from her wardrobe and Kara’s – and the makeup was all gone too, like she originally intended when she left the sisters.
“Alright, where do you guys want me on this couch? You look cozy, I’d hate to horn myself in.”
Alex and Kara exchanged a look – and a moment later, without a single word uttered between them, they separated. Kara’s legs folded under herself and Alex’s stretched so her feet rested on the coffee table. The elder gestured dramatically between them while Kara made grabby hands at her girlfriend and beckoned her with a simple, “Come here, you.”
“We could have made a Kara sandwich instead, you know,” Lena mused, but she didn’t argue beyond that. She gladly claimed that spot between them with a tired oof – the day had been long, full of musical mishaps too, although she didn’t want to get into the horrid sound of her voice over dinner. She was better at hockey than singing.
Kara got the brunt of her weight, though, as Lena leaned into her. “Dinner was great,” she said, and pressed a kiss against Kara’s jaw. “Thank you. Both of you.”
Briefly, Kara looked stricken with the knowledge that she hadn’t had that idea – after all, what more could be better than being squished between her two favorite people in the entire multiverse? – but Alex’s hand landed on her shoulder. They had the whole night ahead of them and time left to make use of. Sandwiching could still happen.
“You’re welcome,” Kara murmured, dropping a kiss against Lena’s forehead. “I’m glad it was great, drama notwithstanding.” She was going to be a tiny bit grumpy about that for a little while. She knew Lori had meant well and claimed to have taken that money from a company that deserved it, but still. “I just can’t bel–”
“Kara,” Alex cut her off, the tone of her voice firm and knowing but not unkind. She moved closer, thigh to thigh with Lena while she flicked through the Netflix queue with the remote. “It was great. Period.”
Appropriately chastised, Kara nodded enthusiastically. “It was great.” She smiled at Lena apologetically. “I’m really happy you had a great birthday, sweetheart. I love having the kids here.”
She meant that, of course! It was a sneak peek into this wonderful future they would have together. Sometimes it felt a little odd, knowing part of that future had once been promised to Alex, but they’d all made their peace with the changes. It was just how things played out. As happy as they’d been with Alex here the last several weeks, it wasn’t meant to last forever, and they’d still get through.
The kids. Plural. What a ludicrous concept that sometimes felt. There used to be a time where Lena would have almost labeled herself as childfree by choice; her family was a wreck, why bring an innocent person into that? Having any child she had would be putting them at risk to be weaponized against her by her mother or Lex. One was dead, and the other was locked away and she hoped that he was also dead - but death hadn’t stopped Lex before. So the paranoia was always going to be there.
A little less here.
“They’re good kids,” she laughed. “Very ballsy kids, in Lori’s case – but I don’t know, I kind of like that she’s got the nerve?” And they acted like she was very present in their lives, not consumed by work or projects. That relieved her. “Theo’s sweet, but I know he’s her partner in crime and I like that about him too.”
“It’s cute how close they are,” Alex chimed in. “That sibling dynamic is important.” She and Kara both knew it – both once only children, both now big fans of having a sibling. They had become more independent these days, going through important relationships on their own in a way that accommodated the other sister without feeling overbearing, but the attachment would always be there. For Alex, it would always be a little stronger, a little harder to fathom separation.
“It is,” Kara agreed, smiling. She was glad to see it, too, that Theo and Lori were close despite different origins and a bit of an age gap – nothing extreme but notable. She and Alex were much closer in age, and it could be both a blessing and a curse. “That ballsy one is going to be a trial, though. I just know it.” She met Lena’s eyes, absolute mush under her girlfriend’s gaze. “I can’t wait.”
“You’re going to have to play disciplinarian on that one,” Lena pointed out, grabbing Kara’s chin for a playful shake. “She’s got your face, and if she gives me those eyes while growing up, I’m going to cave.”
Kara was the one with the stronger moral compass between the two. Lena didn’t mind the occasional bending of the rules – but her girlfriend would always insist that there would always be a righteous way to do things.
“You are sooooo weak for the big blue eyes,” Kara teased, just as playful, smile never ceasing. “She could look nothing like me aside from those eyes and you would give in. Maybe spend a fortune buying her a company?”
“Don’t act like you didn’t spend twenty years crafting those big blue eyes into weapons,” Alex snorted, finally picking a movie and leaning forward to snag her bottle of water off the coffee table. “Like mother, like daughter, little sister.”
“Thank you,” Lena expressed to Alex, always appreciating a little help when it came to ganging up on Kara. “She knows what she’s doing with those eyes and so does Lori. And if you’re going to get on our daughter for theft – that’s also something she has in common with you, just a little bit.”
They could poke fun at that a little at this point, couldn’t they?
Well, that piqued Alex’s attention. She leaned back and raised her eyebrows in Kara’s direction. “I’m sorry, you have theft in common with your daughter? Little Miss Righteous?”
“Hey!” Kara protested with a very dramatic jutting out of her bottom lip. “Unnecessary.” She swatted her sister and turned those big blue eyes on the love of her life. “That’s different! I don’t think you get to hold that against me since you were secretly hating me at the time, Ms. Luthor.”
With hindsight, she should have known better than to steal Lex’s journal out of lock-up for Lena. At the time, it could only be for shady reasons, but Kara had been completely rose-colored glasses to the situation. She was so thrilled that Lena had seemed okay after the Supergirl reveal, and she was so determined to keep it that way that she’d have done anything. And she had.
The worst part? Her heart still screamed no regrets. It had set them on a rocky path but one that had ultimately only strengthened their relationship and their feelings for each other.
“There was never any hate,” Lena protested right back, drawing Kara’s face closer to hers by the pull of her chin. “I was upset,” she elaborated, and then added, “and I lost my marbles in the haze of my own righteous delusion.” She could recognize her flaws, thank you – and she couldn’t deny that bringing all of this up stung, but she hoped that the more they referred to it, the more numb she’d get to that kind of pain. “But what I know for a fact is –”
She kissed her, no red lipstick to smear across her mouth and wasn’t that just utterly tragic? Alex was here, though, and while they had established that open affection wasn’t going to be a problem, she didn’t want to get scandalous with her ex’s sister in her ex’s presence. “Kara Danvers would absolutely break the law for me,” she grinned. “And that is very adorable.”
Kara blushed, but the cause was purely being pleased. It was true. There wasn’t much she wouldn’t do for Lena if it was necessary. For all her righteousness, Lena Luthor was her weakness. When she thought she’d lost her forever, it had taken all she had to confront her. She never wanted to have to deal with that again. Thankfully, she didn’t think she would.
“I would break the law for you,” she admitted, pressing another kiss to Lena’s lips. She let it linger, but she was behaving. She had very little modesty in front of Alex, but she wasn’t going to make out with her girlfriend in front of her sister – who was also her girlfriend’s ex. That was high school levels of silly and tricky, and they were too old for that.
“You two are sickeningly cute,” Alex groaned. She pressed her feet into the coffee table and propelled herself toward the other end of the comfortable white couch. “Stay in your corner and I’ll stay in mine,” she teased, bringing her water bottle with her. But she was still close enough to poke Lena’s thigh with her foot. “But your girlfriend’s slacking on her popcorn duties.”
“It’s my birthday, Supergirl can slack if it means she’s not getting up,” Lena countered, bringing up her own foot to poke at Alex with. “I’m not too hard-pressed into watching anything, really. I’m… enjoying the company.”
She tilted her head back into Kara’s shoulder. “Almost feels like a girl’s night back in National City, doesn’t it?”
Kara’s fingers stroked through Lena’s hair and she kissed the top of her head again. “Yeah, it does,” she agreed. It was easy enough to put aside Alex’s relationship with Lena and just feel like they were at home – where that relationship had never cropped up at all. She hoped this was what their life was back there, that maybe someday she’d remember what Alex remembered and know how everything had progressed in National City.
“Happy birthday, Lena,” she murmured, kissing her temple.
“Happy birthday, Lena,” Alex echoed fondly from her spot. She sat up and got to her feet, leaning down to press a quick kiss to Lena’s cheek. “But I still want popcorn. I guess I’ll get it.”