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Kara stood underneath the mistletoe, glancing repeatedly between it and Lena, standing in front of her.
How did this come to happen?
Well, not this, exactly, she’s pretty sure the giggling coming from Alex, Winn and James is a pretty good indicator as to how she and Lena found themselves in this situation. She didn’t even know her sister was capable of giggling.
She’s blindsided more by the fact that she was standing with Lena underneath this mistletoe and actually wanting to kiss her.
When did this happen? And how?
She’s pulled from her musing back into the present, where she distinctly sees Lena’s eyes drop to her mouth.
Wait. Was Lena actually considering kissing her back?
Three Weeks before Christmas
“Hey Danvers! Your wreath is crooked!”
Muttering several choice Kryptonian phrases under her breath, Kara turns to smile falsely at Lena Luthor, the walking-and-breathing bane of her existence.
“Howdy, neighbor! Thanks for the heads up!” Kara manages to get out around a grimacing smile. “How are your decorations coming along this year?”
“Oh, I think they’ll turn out even better than last year’s! Well, sorry to cut this short, but I’ve got to get on the roof to lay some lights down. See you in a bit!”
Kara waves goodbye as Lena rounds the corner of her house on the opposite side of where Kara is.
“Stupid Lena with her stupid face and her stupid perfect Christmas decorations-”
She’s so focused on furiously straightening the wreath over her window that she doesn’t hear the car door slam, or her sister’s approach.
“Woah there, champ, save some animosity for the Christmas carolers.” Alex says, startling Kara. She chuckles at Kara’s glare before continuing. “I really don’t understand why you and Lena continue this one-upping charade every year. We all know you two have the hots for each other. I think the whole neighborhood is pleading that you two bang it out, at this point. Maybe give them some peace and quiet from all your bickering.”
“I- I-“ Kara splutters, visibly affronted. “I do NOT have feelings for Lena. Don’t be rude. We just have a friendly competition, that’s all. Or, it was a friendly competition, until she sent that gift two years ago. You know the one.” Alex rolls her eyes in acknowledgement. “I’m not being dramatic, Alex, she tried to kill me!”
“Oh my god, Kara, she did not try to kill you. If she had tried to kill you, she would have put kryptonite in the brownies.”
“It was just as bad.”
“Kara! Stop being ridiculous. Putting nuts into brownies is not as bad as putting kryptonite in them.”
“Speak for yourself.” Kara mutters darkly.
Alex drags a hand down her face. “You are impossible like this, I just want you to know.”
Alex steadies the ladder as Kara begins her descent. Lena’s head pops out in between their roofs, frightening Kara into falling the last foot off the ladder.
“Alex, I thought that was you! How are you doing? You hear we’re getting three more inches of snow overnight?”
Alex chuckles, jovial, ignoring Kara’s pout next to her. “I swear you’re more reliable than the weather station, Lena! Thank goodness you’re around to make sure this one preps for snow.”
Kara huffs next to her and Lena beams down at the sisters. “Just trying to make sure she doesn’t catch a cold! I’m sure I’d catch it every time I brought over a new batch of cookies! You think she’d learn to layer on top of those handsome button downs and cardigans, yet here we are.” Lena smiles and winks at Kara.
Alex laughs, dragging Kara along subtly by her elbow towards her front door. “We were just going inside to make some hot cocoa, Lena, would you like any?”
“We were!?” Kara says, suddenly a dozen shades more excited. Alex nudges her slightly. “I mean, uh, yup, we were! Totally! Would you like a mug, Lena?”
“I…” Lena looks around, avoiding eye contact. “If you really don’t mind, Kara. I’ll be down in maybe ten minutes.”
“Of course I don’t mind, Lena, you know you’re welcome any time. That’ll be about how long it takes us to make the drinks, so we’ll see you then!”
Kara abruptly about-faces and pulls her sister towards her front door.
“Oh and Kara?” Kara turns back. “Can I bring cookies? I can bring your favorite?”
“Sure, Lena!”
By the time they’re inside, Alex is regarding her curiously.
“You know, as much as you claim to hate Lena, you’re certainly very friendly with each other. I would even say that you like each other.”
Kara scoffs, but Alex just levels her gaze. “Then why do you not only accept, but eat every baked good she sends over to you?”
Kara waves her hand in exasperation. “Because her cookies are divine, what do you want me to do, throw them out?!”
“What I want you to do,” Alex said teasingly, pouring milk into a pot on the stove, “Is tell that girl that you like her.” At Kara’s face of disgust, she continues. “You know. Give her some kisses. And I don’t mean the chocolate kind. Isn’t that the plot of, like, every Hallmark Christmas movie ever made? You’re frenemies, and then you kiss, and Christmas magic, and all that bullshit.”
“Hey, don’t come for cheesy Christmas movies like that.”
“Ah,” Alex taps the side of her head smugly, “So you know they’re cheesy.”
Kara grumpily gets the hot chocolate mix from the cabinet.
“And besides, nice attempt at distraction. Don’t think I didn’t notice her flirting with you earlier.”
“She was not flirting with me, Alex. Don’t be ridiculous.”
The doorbell rings, and Kara spills cocoa powder on the counter, missing the mug entirely.
Alex takes the packet from her hand, shaking her head at her sister. “Go answer the door, you useless lesbian.”
Two Weeks Before Christmas
“I wish I were joking, Alex. I’m a literal superhero and she can still hang better lights than me, every darn year. I didn’t think she could beat last year, but this year, her lights are synchronized to music.” Kara flips her blinker on, turning the wheel carefully with one hand, the other holding her phone. “And not just any Christmas music. Of course not, that would be too easy. They’re synchronized to the Carol of the Bells. I’m offended now every time I hear that song on the radio.”
Kara pauses as she pulls up to her house, glaring at Lena’s house next door as she passes it, and throws her car in park, cutting the engine. “Yes, it used to be one of my favorite Christmas songs, Alex, thank you for seeing my point. It used to be my favorite, and then I had to hear it fifty times a night, matched up with flashing lights.” She shudders into the new cold of the car and eyes her neighbor suspiciously from the car.
“Anyway, I’d better go get these groceries into the house. Ugh, and I’ll have to pass her, because she’s putting some blow-up monstrosity on her roof. Yeah, I’ll tell her you say hi, very funny. Love you too.”
Kara sits a moment more after she hangs up with her sister, staring at the phone in her hand. She glances again up to Lena.
Who is now teetering precariously on the edge of her roof, wrestling with an inflated snow globe.
Kara immediately springs from the car and leaps into the air, arms circling around Lena just in time to catch her before she crashes onto the ground.
Lena cuts off her scream with a soft “oh” as soon as she’s in Kara’s arms, blinking up at her rescuer.
“It’s alright, I’ve got you.” Kara reassures as she floats gently down to the ground.
Lena doesn’t seem inclined to move, even though they’ve touched down. She’s staring intently into Kara’s eyes, and the hand that had wrapped around Kara’s shoulders automatically upon being caught is now playing with the hairs at the base of Kara’s neck. “Hey, you’re okay.” Kara reassures. Lena’s hand jumps slightly, tangled in Kara’s hair, causing Kara to shudder, and Lena’s eyes widen.
Lena is suddenly scrambling out of Kara’s arms, regaining her solid footing, even though her facial expression is the most apprehensive Kara’s ever seen it.
“I, um, I. Thanks, Kara.” Lena stumbles, uncharacteristically. She’s averting her eyes and Kara can only furrow her brow.
“Are you… not okay with me being an alien?”
“What? Kara, no.” Lena says sharply. “No. I just… I almost died? My heart is still kind of pounding and you’re being really sweet to me and uh, apparently you’re an alien too so there’s that and I’m just a little shocked right now? I can’t believe you saved me and you’re really strong, it’s incredibly hot actually, sorry, am I rambling? I feel like I’m rambling-”
“Lena, I think you might be in shock.” Kara regards her carefully, and when Lena still doesn’t seem to register that Kara is speaking, she lays a hand on Lena’s upper arm until she has the other woman’s attention. “Lena, sweetie, why don’t you come inside. You’re going to catch a cold out here. We can put on a Christmas movie and eat all the cookies you brought over yesterday and sit there until you feel better, okay?”
Lena nods silently, and allows herself to be lead into Kara’s home.
When Alex lets herself into Kara’s house later that night, she finds Kara and Lena curled together on Kara’s couch. Lena frowns in her sleep at the draft the door lets in and burrows further into Kara, who pulls Lena closer to her. Trying not to giggle, Alex takes several pictures on her phone to show Kara later, and sneaks back out of the house.
One Week Before Christmas
Kara has been avoiding Lena for a week.
She hasn’t done it intentionally, necessarily, it’s just… when Lena has tried on three separate occasions to bring over what Kara can only assume are thanks-for-saving-my-life cookies, Kara has… hidden upstairs in her bedroom.
Alright, so, she’s avoiding her.
She’s not sure what else she should be doing in this situation. She can’t exactly answer the door all smiles and say “Hey, sure no problem for the saving-your-life bit, you freaked out when I told you I was an alien but I’m sure you’ll be thrilled to learn that I’m actually a superhero so it was no biggie, and also I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you and how much I want to cuddle with you again, thanks for the cookies, have a good one!”
So far, Kara has only gotten her mail after 10 PM, she’s had Alex bring groceries over twice, and she is currently sneaking her garbage can down to the end of her driveway, quiet as a mouse. At 1 AM.
“Hey, Kara.”
Kara jumps, glaring at her noisy garbage can before she spins to face her neighbor.
“H- hey, Lena, didn’t see you there. Whatcha doin’ out so late? Or, uh, early?”
Lena raises a single eyebrow, holding the careful demeanor until a sly smile breaks across her face.
“Why, Ms. Danvers, were you worried about me? Are we going to be breaking into a duet of ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ now, or can we do it tomorrow?” At Kara’s smile, she steps closer. “I’m coming back from an office Christmas party. It was incredibly dreary, if you must know. Nothing like what I hope mine will be next week.” Kara cocks her head, curious. “That’s what I’ve been trying to invite you to all week, but it seems you’ve been out a lot more, since I’ve missed you every time I stopped by.” Lena’s frowning, and Kara is suddenly overcome with the urge to make her smile again.
“Oh, you know how it is, last minute gift shopping!” Kara chuckles nervously. It wasn’t necessarily untrue, she had been present shopping a lot last week, just… not when Lena would try to see her. “I thought I had something for everyone but then I realized I only had one small thing for Alex and nothing for you, so I had to search high and low for the perfect gift!” She gesticulates wildly. Lena’s eyes sparkle as she finally smiles warmly at Kara. Kara grins back, triumphant.
Lena has somehow gravitated even closer to her without Kara’s knowledge and she reaches to lay a hand on Kara’s shoulder. “You really didn’t have to get me anything.” Her thumb rubs a circle on the ball of Kara’s shoulder.
“Of course I did.” Kara says, brows wrinkling.
Lena smile turns bittersweet. “You’re sweet. I don’t think anyone’s gotten me a Christmas gift since Lex, and that was a long time ago.”
Kara swallows. She knows Lena’s brother is a sore topic of conversation, and if she didn’t, Lena’s suddenly hunched shoulders and dour expression would certainly clue her in.
“So, what do you say? Sunday night at 6 for my Christmas Eve party?” Lena deflects Kara’s concerned gaze. Kara allows for the topic change with a smile.
“Sure, Lena. I’ll see you there.”
Lena positively lights up, and before Kara can register what’s happening, sweeps Kara into a hug. Kara’s arms come up belatedly around her neighbor, and Lena sighs. “You’re a very good friend, Kara.”
Kara’s mouth nearly drops open. Lena thinks they’re friends? She thinks what she and Lena have been doing for the last four years is friendship? At that moment, Kara makes a vow to show Lena actual friendship. How did she come to dislike Lena, anyway? She was a perfectly lovely woman, most of the time. Cursing under her breath, Kara hugs Lena tighter to her. This poor girl. She was going to friend- woo the hell out of her. Lena will never know what’s coming.
“Well, as much as I am enjoying this,” Lena finally pulls back, “I think it’s time to turn in for the night.” Kara suddenly realizes she has been holding her neighbor on her front lawn, wearing her pajamas, at one o’clock in the morning, for nearly three full minutes. She jolts back, nervous that she’s overstepped. She’d hate to end this new friendship before it’s even begun.
Only, she almost wishes she were still hugging Lena, because now that she can see her face, it feels like someone’s kicked Kara in the chest.
Lena’s hair is catching the light from their combined Christmas decorations, and her cheeks and nose are pink from the cold. It must be below freezing, and yet Lena has willingly stayed outside just to talk with her. Her eyes are still sparkling, and for some odd reason, Kara can feel her heartbeat in her stomach.
“Yeah, you should get inside. It’s pretty chilly out here.”
Lena smiles again, and leans over to Kara on her tip toes to softly place a kiss on her cheek. Kara goes stock-still.
“Goodnight, Kara. See you Christmas Eve.”
Lena is nearly to her front door before she remembers the English language.
“Goodnight, Lena!”
With a final smile and a wave, Lena closes the door behind her.
She can still feel her own smile on her face when Lena peeks out her bedroom window and waves at Kara again. Kara automatically waves back before forcing herself to go back inside her own house, and away from Lena. Weird. She’s never felt like that around a friend before.
Christmas Eve
Lena answers her door with a smile, but it widens when she sees that it’s Kara on her doorstep.
“Happy Christmas Eve!” Kara exclaims, thrusting a tray of cookies into Lena’s open arms, and begins waving her hands in explanation. “When you brought over cookies a month ago, you said you were trying to replicate the ones you had in the year you studied abroad in Germany at the Christmas marketplace. Well, it took some digging, believe me, but I’m pretty sure these were them! And either way, they’re still cookies, so yay!”
Lena blinks silently for a moment. “But, these cookies are still warm?”
Kara chuckles. “I would hope so, I only got back five minutes ago! I would have come straight over, but flying transatlantic gives me awful fly-aways.” She snorts at her own joke.
Lena smiles shyly, still in shock. “I can’t believe you remembered, and that you would go to those lengths to get them for me. Thank you, Kara, truly.” Lena squeezes Kara’s hand before gesturing to their left. “Feel free to put your coat on the bench with the other’s. I believe James and Winn are already here, as well as a few of our other neighbors. I haven’t seen your sister yet.”
“Yeah, I spoke with her on my way over, she said she’ll be here soon.”
Lena seemed to accept this answer, raising the cookies and gesturing with them to the kitchen, no doubt to put them on a plate to serve. Kara watches her leave for a moment until twin arms come around her in a group hug.
“Hey, guys.” Kara greets the couple fondly.
“Hey, Kara.” Winn and James respond simultaneously.
“How was the honeymoon? Maui everything you hoped for?” Kara questions excitedly.
“Oh my gosh, Kara, it was gorgeous, you have to go there as soon as possible.” Winn gushes.
“We didn’t see much of it, but the drives there and back were beautiful, yeah.” James says with a grin. Winn hits his husband teasingly on the arm while Kara fakes a grimace.
“Alright, you two, I just got here, don’t make me want to leave, or barf, or both.” Kara shudders, and they all share a laugh.
“Yeah, how dare you talk about gay shit without me.” A voice calls from the doorway.
“Alex!” Kara exclaims, running to nearly tackle her sister in a hug. She pulls back, looking behind her curiously. “Is Maggie working tonight?”
Alex heaves a dramatic sigh. “Yeah, you know what they say, crime never sleeps. At least she has tomorrow off, though! We’ll be over your place bright and early to do presents.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Kara beams. “Hey, maybe we can invite Lena to join us!”
Alex cocks her head ever so slightly. “Oh yeah? You think we should?”
Kara nods, not noticing her sister’s inquisitive gaze. “Sure. She’d be all by herself otherwise. I’d hate to think of her alone in this house when we were only two dozen feet away, having Christmas pancakes. Why not, right? The more the merrier.”
Alex nods slowly. “Sure, kid. The more the merrier.”
James and Winn seize the lull in conversation to join them, both immediately regaling Alex with tales of Hawaii, much to Alex’s amusement. Kara announces she’s going to check on Lena, who has been in the kitchen a suspiciously long time, and leaves the three to their devices. They watch her go, waiting until she’s out of the room before turning conspiratorially towards each other.
“Okay, you brought it, right?” James questions, while Winn peers cautiously over his shoulder.
“Obviously.” Alex replies, a smarmy grin on her face. She carefully opens her coat to show the bough of mistletoe concealed inside.
“Alright, and we still know the plan, right?” Winn confirms. Alex rolls her eyes.
“Yeah, we get those two idiots together in one room and their ridiculous chemistry will do the rest, god be willing.”
“Kitchen?” James suggests, and both Winn and Alex nod in assertion.
“Kitchen.” Alex confirms, “We’ll have to go in together, to make sure they’re not in there; I think that’s where Kara was heading to look for Lena.”
Alex loops her arms around both men’s and frog-marches them towards the kitchen.
“Don’t be suspicious, don’t be suspicious…” Winn sings under his breath until James shoots him a smirk. “What? It’s stuck in my head!”
By the time they get to the kitchen, it is blessedly empty.
Alex immediately sets off to rummage in Lena’s drawers for tape or string, but Winn glances around, confused.
“Where are they?”
Kara has been following the sound of faint piano music ever since she hadn’t found Lena in the kitchen. She’s been looking for her for ten minutes, and has instead found two bathrooms, a guest bedroom, and more closets than any single person should own. She finally sees a light at the end of a hallway, literally, and heads towards that jar, which is slightly ajar. She pushes it open softly to see Lena’s faint outline, sitting at a baby grand piano. She’s playing something soft and slow, and it doesn’t sound like a Christmas carol. The tune is familiar to Kara, although she can’t quite place it, until Lena opens her mouth to sing.
“Isn’t she lucky,
This Hollywood girl?”
She’s not a half bad singer, but she trails off after that, her hands still floating over the keys. Kara, mesmerized, takes a step forward. Her hip accidentally hits the door, making it creak slightly. Lena jumps nearly a foot off the piano bench, spinning around on its smooth wood surface.
“Oh, golly, I’m so sorry, Lena, I didn’t mean to frighten you!” Kara reassures, holding up her hands placatingly. “It’s just, wow, I’ve never heard a Britney Spears song all acoustic like that, it was beautiful!” She shuts the door as quietly as she can behind her. Lena seems to have calmed exponentially since she realized that it was Kara who found her, and she smiles warmly at the other girl. Lena points to the piano bench and scoots over to make room for Kara, who sits down happily.
“Well, you’re in luck, because it is one of the two songs that I’m really stellar at on the piano.” Lena jokes, hands coming up to find the keys once more as Kara laughs beside her.
“What’s the other one?”
Lena glances at her sideways. “Do you know Sara Bareilles?”
“Is the Pope Catholic?” Kara deadpans. Lena grins, and Kara smiles with her. “Sorry, yeah, I totally love her. ‘Love Song’ was the anthem of my teenage years.”
Lena chuckles at her. “I wish I knew how to play that one. Both songs that I can play are… in a similar vein. Kind of depressing, if we’re being honest.”
Kara gestures to the piano, and so Lena begins to play again, the opening notes to ‘Gravity’ surrounding them.
The first chorus passes without incident, but then Kara closes her eyes and begins to sing along. Lena only stumbles in the music for a half-beat, before she recovers.
They go through the whole song like that, Kara’s voice soaring while Lena accompanies her, barely remembering to press the keys.
Lena is gazing at Kara, slack-jawed, when the other girl finally opens her eyes on the last line of the song. Their eyes meet, and Kara gets that weird floppy feeling in her stomach again.
“Something always brings me back to you,
It never takes too long.”
Lena’s hands move automatically to complete the final two chords, and then come down to rest on her lap. She moves imperceptibly closer to her neighbor.
“I didn’t know you could sing.” Lena tells her.
“I didn’t know you could play.” Kara says, smiling lopsidedly. “You’re beautiful.”
A blush races across Lena’s face before Kara realizes the implications of her words.
“I, I- I meant, you play beautifully! Not that- you- ah, drat. No, I meant it like that, too. You’re beautiful, Lena. I’ve… I’ve always thought so.”
“Kara,” Lena breathes, eyes dropping to Kara’s lips. Kara tilts her head and begins to lean in.
When they’re only a hair away from each other, can feel each other’s breath on their lips, a resounding CRASH is heard downstairs, followed by a voice that distinctly sounds like Alex’s yelling “FUCK!”
“I’d better go check on them.” Lena says, making no move to draw back from Kara’s personal space.
“Yeah.” Kara agrees. She’s shaking all over.
This finally gets Lena to pull back. “Hey, are you okay?”
Kara blinks, dazed. “Yeah, I’m okay. Go check on your guests.”
Lena nods, and although Kara can tell she obviously doesn’t want to, gets up and leaves to check on the party revelers.
Kara sits for a few minutes longer, thoughts still swimming. She’s still in a daze even though she eventually wanders downstairs and finds Lena with Alex, Winn, and James in the kitchen, sopping up a knocked-over bottle of wine. It’s only when Lena hisses and holds up her pointer finger to the light, clearly bleeding, that Kara snaps out of it.
“Here, let me help you.” Kara says, helping Lena stand. She cradles Lena’s hand between her own, drawing her over to the sink and turning the faucet on. When she’s satisfied the water is warm enough, she pulls Lena’s finger gently to rest under the water, waiting until it’s stopped bleeding to shut the water off.
“There we go.” She takes the band-aid Alex passes to her, seemingly procured from thin air (her sister always carries first aid supplies on her person, she’s handy like that) and gently covers Lena’s finger with it. She raises it to her mouth and, as a last healing measure, places a careful kiss on it.
“There we go,” she assures, “All better now.”
Lena is looking at her with an expression that she can’t place, eyes wide and mouth open.
Alex clears her throat gently. Kara glances over to her sister, who points above Kara and Lena’s heads.
They are standing under a sprig of vibrant mistletoe.
Lena glances at her, eyes even wider than before.
Kara stands underneath the mistletoe, glancing repeatedly between it and Lena, standing in front of her.
How did this come to happen?
Well, not this, exactly, she’s pretty sure the giggling coming from Alex, Winn and James is a pretty good indicator as to how she and Lena found themselves in this situation. She didn’t even know her sister was capable of giggling.
She shoots her sister a furious glare, sure now that this was all her meddling. The broken bottle, the mistletoe, it had to be all Alex’s doing. She glares at Winn and James for good measure. Things had been going fine upstairs, and she thinks she would have even kissed Lena without her sister’s interference.
… Would she have really kissed Lena a few minutes ago? She’s not entirely sure where that urge came from, but she was certainly poised to kiss her not even ten minutes before this.
Perhaps it’s because half the party is now in the kitchen, checking up on all the ruckus, perhaps it’s because she’s just finding out now about how deep her feelings for Lena really go, but she leans over to Lena, who is holding her breath in front of her…
… and kisses her on the cheek.
She’s not sure what possesses her to do it. The peanut gallery of their neighbors lets out a cacophony of disappointed noises. Lena isn’t quite meeting her gaze. She excuses herself, and steps out swiftly onto the back porch. Kara watches her leave.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” She asks Alex out of the corner of her mouth. Winn and James have successfully rallied everyone from the kitchen so the sisters could have a moment. When Alex doesn’t answer, she turns to ask the question.
“Why didn’t you tell me I was in love with her?”
Alex’s expression shifts immediately from vaguely disappointed to joyous. She lets out a laugh.
“I thought you knew!”
“Uh, no, I definitely didn’t!” Kara laughs. Alex joins in, and the sisters’ joint laughter quickly becomes hysterical.
“Only you, Kara!” Alex declares a few moments later, wiping tears from her eyes. Kara continues to chortle next to her. “What are you waiting for? Go get the girl!”
Sobering quickly, Kara wipes the traces of tears from her own face, before following Lena out the back door.
She finds her almost immediately, leaning against one of the pillars on her back deck. She walks up next to her, and, going for casual, leans against the support railing facing her.
“I’m sorry if you felt pressured into kissing me.” Lena starts, “I’m not entirely sure where the mistletoe came from, to be honest, I certainly didn’t hang any… anyway. I thought we might have been having a moment upstairs at the piano but I hope you’ll forgive me, and that we can still be friends. We can just ignore my feelings for you, and- Kara, what-?“
Kara is suddenly in Lena’s space, her hands coming up to frame her cheeks. She caresses Lena’s cheekbones carefully, one hand trailing to cup her jaw.
“I’m going to kiss you now.” Kara declares. She gives Lena enough time to decline, but Lena is already nodding and leaning in so rapidly that Kara barely has time to gather her own wits before, finally, their mouths press together.
Kara doesn’t see fireworks, or hear explosions or know in that very moment that she’ll marry Lena within a year and that they’ll have their own, over-the-top house of decorations next Christmas.
She doesn’t feel the stars align, or the universe implode, or anything like it.
She does, however, feel Lena smile into the kiss, which is enough for her. Lena’s mouth is warm, and sweet, and smiling, and Kara’s whole body tingles in joy, which is enough for her. It’s more than enough.
Their lips slide magnetically against each other’s, and Kara can taste Lena’s sweet wine on her tongue, and Kara can easily imagine herself kissing Lena for a long, long time.
Lena starts giggling, then Kara starts giggling, and soon both of them are full on laughing and have to break away from each other’s lips.
“I have loved you,” Lena punctuates her statement with kisses, “For so long.”
Kara grins, pressing her mouth sloppily back to Lena’s. It’s messy, and imperfect, and they each couldn’t be smiling bigger.
“I love you too.” Kara kisses her gleefully. “I mean, I just realized it, like, ten minutes ago, so I’m a little behind the curve on this one…”
Lena laughs and breaks away from Kara momentarily, smiling widely when Kara’s mouth chases hers immediately.
“Kara, darling, look.”
Kara pulls back too, but it still takes her a full thirty seconds to realize what Lena’s talking about, because her gaze is trained solely on Lena’s lips.
“Hmm?” She says before Lena nudges her playfully and points out to her lawn. “Oh!”
It’s begun to snow and Kara squeals in delight. Lena is smiling at her fondly, when Kara picks her up and spins her around.
“Lena! This is so exciting! It’s like a real-life Hallmark movie! I can’t wait to embarrass our kids with the story of our first kiss every Christmas Eve.”
Lena is still laughing when Kara places her back on the ground, arms coming around Kara’s shoulders to pull them close together.
“Merry Christmas, you giant dork.” Lena hums happily, resting her forehead against Kara’s.
“Merry Christmas, my love.”