Chapter Text
Kara hadn’t seen Lena in weeks. A steady stream of phone calls and text messages kept her sanity intact but finally seeing her again, hugging her again, made the tension in Kara’s shoulders ease. Kara hugged her harder for a moment before stepping away slightly, hands still on her shoulders, not wanting to lose contact.
“I have missed you so much,” she started, “I almost forgot how much I loved hugging you.”
Lena laughed, blushing as she grabbed Kara’s hand and tugged her down the sidewalk.
“As if you could forget me.”
Knowing the truth of that statement, Kara looked away as a small smile decorated her face. When Lena had texted to invite her to see one of her newest projects, Kara had grinned so wide her face hurt. Alex had only laughed and given her a teasing smile.
“So, mind telling me where we are going?”
Lena hadn’t mentioned the destination and the curiosity was eating Kara alive. Lena visibly brightened as though she had been waiting for Kara to ask.
“Since I’m focusing L-Corp on being a more positive influence, I figured we may as well share some of that influence with the environment, as well as the local community. Since it’s such a big company, I sometimes forget that the little people need some help too.”
The pride on the project was obvious, coloring Lena’s tone as she spoke.
“It’s not being publicly revealed for another few weeks since it isn’t quite done but I’ve designed a sort of garden that will be community oriented and will give anyone access to produce they might not otherwise be able to get.”
The pair stopped in front of large gates, locked with a small padlock and seeming to Kara to be not very secure at all. Lena withdrew her hand from Kara’s to dig through her purse for the key and Kara mourned the sudden loss. Lena missed her slight frown, however, straightening up a moment later to hold the key up victoriously. Kara bit back a chuckle at the way Lena was beaming as she unlocked the gate. After freeing the lock from the bars, Lena swung a side open, leading Kara through and closing it behind them. She wove the lock back through the bars but made no effort to fully secure it.
“Scared I’m going to run out on you?” Kara asked jokingly, smiling at her friend. Lena grinned back.
“Just making sure, dear, can’t ever be too careful.”
Lena slipped her hand back into Kara’s as they walked and Kara’s heart fluttered a little. Looking around, Kara could see the effort Lena had put into the project. While clearly unfinished, judging by the landscaping equipment laying around and the bare spots of dirt, the majority of the garden was completed and Kara was just a little bit in love with it. She looked around in amazement as Lena explained each section.
“Over there will be the greenhouse for the majority of the greens. They’re a bit harder to take care of so the temperature control will help to regulate production. Oh!”
Lena gripped Kara’s hand excitedly, pointing a ways down the path.
“That’s going to be for a variety of non-terrestrial plants. One of my employees had been complaining about how they missed their native foods and I realized that a lot of aliens don’t have access to foods from their home planets. I don’t see why we couldn’t grow some of them here. I realize that not everything will grow, with the atmospheric differences and whatnot, but I’m pretty sure I can figure out some varieties we can make work. I am going to bring in alien farmers who have had experience with growing alien foods on Earth to help out with the mechanics of it all. I’m not sure of the specifics so having employees close to the source will be invaluable.”
With every word, Kara’s grin grew, eyes focused on Lena, who turned to face her with hopeful uncertainty.
“What do you think?”
Any doubts were pushed aside as Kara responded.
“Lena, this is literally so amazing. I would say that I can’t believe you designed this except I totally can. It’s so pretty and there are so many flowers, and it is beyond considerate. The community, especially the alien community, is going to be so grateful. It really is wonderful and—”
Kara continued to gush, hearing Lena’s heart rate pick up in response to the praise and watching the blush deepen on her cheeks. She meant every word of course, but the reaction she got was a bonus to complimenting Lena. If she had been any more distracted, she wouldn’t have heard the slight click the grass made as Lena’s foot touched the ground.
“Stop!”
She all but shouted the command, Lena freezing in place.
“Don’t move! Oh my god, please don’t move.”
The urgency of Kara’s tone proved effective. Lena stayed stock still as she stared wide eyed at Kara, though she was trembling a little. She looked well and truly terrified, unsure of the reason behind Kara’s sudden change in behavior.
“Kara, what’s going on?” She asked.
Her words fell upon deaf ears, Kara staring at the pair’s feet and looking on the edge of tears, hand gripping Lena’s with a sort of desperation Lena couldn’t place. Kara’s eyes didn’t stray from where they were locked as she slowly brought a hand to her ear.
“Alex,” she said into her comm, voice shaking slightly, “I need help.”
She could almost feel Lena’s confusion.
“Kara?” Lena tried again, this time succeeding in diverting Kara’s attention from their feet. Kara saw the fear in Lena’s eyes, a direct reflection of her own.
“Please don’t move.”
It came out barely a whisper, pleading. She cleared her throat, prepared to explain when Alex’s voiced came through.
“Supergirl, report.”
The worry was obvious.
“Alex, thank Rao,” Kara started. Her hands were shaking and she could tell that Lena felt it. Eyebrows furrowed, Lena looked as though she wanted to speak, opening her mouth slightly before closing it again, lips hardening into a thin line. Kara squeezed her hand in hopes of reassuring her.
“Kara, I need your status. Report.”
Alex’s voice was more frantic now and Kara realized she hadn’t answered the question. She could hear the clatter of equipment in the background. She hesitated, glancing back up at Lena. She drew a deep breath before speaking.
“I need you to get the bomb squad to my location.”
At Kara’s statement, Lena’s eyes grew even wider, panic evident in her expression. Her grip on Kara’s hand tightened further and she became more still than Kara had ever seen a person be. Kara mouthed an apology to her, listening to Alex barking orders in between questions. When the onslaught stopped momentarily, Kara responded, voice shaking.
“Lena and I,” she said.
Her thumb twitched against Lena’s.
“We were just walking and she stepped on it and I heard the click. I don’t— I don’t know what to do, Alex.”
“We are on the way, Kara, it’ll be okay, I promise.”
Alex’s reassurances did nothing to quiet the panicked pounding of her heart. Lena looked even more confused at Kara’s statement and Kara prayed, not only for their safety, but also that Lena wouldn’t put together the pieces that would inevitably lead her to the truth.
“I don’t know what kind it is so I don’t know if I would be fast enough.” Kara winced as she realized what a give-away the answer was, avoiding eye contact so she wouldn’t have to see the betrayal Lena was sure to feel as she realized. “I don’t think it’s on a timer because I don’t hear any ticking or anything but I’m not sure how quick the trigger would be if I pulled her off. I didn’t even think they had triggers like that. I thought landmines exploded as soon as there’s pressure.”
The reply was quick.
“It doesn’t matter now. Don’t move, we are a few minutes out. Can you see inside of it?”
Kara stopped breathing. Slowly, she moved her hand the small distance from her comm to her glasses and, after a deep, shaky breath, pushed them up onto the top of her head.
Lena let out a small, choked noise and Kara screwed her eyes shut, tears burning at her eyelids.
“It’s lead lined, I can’t see anything. I’m sorry, Alex.”
Her voice broke and her hand fell to rest by her side.
Her head hung low.
Lena’s voice came out barely a whisper.
“Kara,” she said, “Kara, please look at me.”
Kara shook her head as tears broke free and trailed down her cheeks.
“I’m so sorry,” she started, “I never meant for you to find out this way. I promise I was going to tell you, I just, I couldn’t lose you. You mean so much to me and I just—”
“Kara, you couldn’t never lose me.”
Lena’s voice was impossibly soft. Her thumb ran gently back and forth against Kara’s.
“I could lose you now,” Kara responded so quietly her words were almost lost to the breeze. Her heart was pounding in her ears and anxiety sank its claws deep in her chest. “I could lose you and I don’t know if I could survive that.”
“Kara, look at me.”
Lena’s voice was more commanding now.
Kara opened her eyes and looked up but, instead of making eye contact, she focused on Lena’s shoulder instead.
“Darling, please,” Lena’s voice was once again soft. “Just look at me.”
Kara did as she was asked. She had expected to see a lot of things, with betrayal, disdain, and hatred all coming in at the top of the list. What she hadn’t expected was the gentle look Lena was giving her, nor the worry laced into her expression. Her voice was low as she spoke.
“We are gonna make it out of this, I swear. And when we do you’re still going to be my favorite person because nothing could make me stop loving you.”
Kara’s heart skipped, though the small interruption did nothing to tame the thundering in her chest. The claws withdrew a little. Lena sent her a shaky smile.
“So Supergirl, huh?”
Kara opened her mouth to start a fresh wave of apologies but Lena cut her off before she had a chance to start.
“Hey, it’s okay, I promise,” Lena squeezed her hand and she looked on the edge of tears herself. “We are okay. We are going to be okay. Alex is coming and we will be out of this in no time and then we can unpack all of this but right now I need you to know that we are okay.”
Kara stayed silent but after a few moments nodded her head.
“Okay,” she said. “We’re okay.”