#and she takes lena's hand and tells her what they both already know but haven't had the courage to actually say yet

[blackbirdblackbird]

Maybe it’s time for Kara to try this gauntlet instead of Supergirl.

[chaotic-super]

Back To Earth - Chapter 1

This is the sequel to 'Back To Krypton'. If you haven't read that yet, the full fic is available on AO3 here!

-

“Not much longer,” Lena announces, her gaze set firmly on Earth as it grows larger. “Probably another hour or so before we meet up with the fleet.”

Kara hums, sliding off the bed to join Lena. She wraps her arm around her waist and leans into her, their heads resting softly against each other. “I’m glad Brainy decided to take this last stretch slow so we can see it like this. It’s beautiful.”

Lena snorts. “We’re hardly going slow; we’re just going slow enough to not need a seatbelt.”

Bumping her hip into Lena’s, Kara giggles. “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah,” Lena sighs. “I do.”

“It’s not usually his style to be sentimental when practicality works so much better though. I wonder why he planned this.”

Lena grimaces. She's the keeper of Brainy’s secrets and she’s already folding before Kara has even pressed for more information. “Yeah, that is...odd.” Her voice wavers the tiniest amount, but it’s enough to give her away.

Kara squints at her. “You know something. Tell me.”

Holding her hands up, Lena makes a futile attempt at getting Kara to drop it. “It’s Brainy’s business.”

“And yours too, since you’re keeping secrets for him. Spill.”

Lena shakes her head, trying to figure out the best way to lay this out without upsetting Kara. “There are a few reasons he decided to slow us down. The main one is that he’s been away from Nia for a long time and he wants to woo her a little. He also wants to check over our device one last time. We’ve both triple-checked it to make sure it’ll do the job we need it for, but since it’s made from the schematics of multiple devices, he’s nervous.”

Kara’s eyes narrow when she stops talking. “And the third reason?”

“He’s worried about you. We all are. You’ve been through a hell of a lot, so we thought that you might appreciate a slow return to Earth. Some time to wrap your head around things before we’re officially back on home turf.”

“So it wasn’t Brainy’s idea. It was yours.” Kara doesn’t sound mad. If anything, she just sounds defeated. “I’m ok, Lena.”

Lena faces her fully, the light reflecting from Earth shining on them both, the planet they’ve sworn to protect watching over them in this vulnerable moment. “I know, but you don’t have to be.”

“I can’t. Not until we’ve stopped Lex.”

“If our plan goes smoothly, the device will be activated as soon as we’re through Earth’s atmosphere. Lex won’t see it coming and everything will be fine. You can breathe, Kara. We both can. We can live.”

Kara sinks into Lena’s arms, her head turned so she can look out over Earth. “It’s so beautiful.”

“It is, and it isn’t,” Lena says, her voice soft, barely more than a whisper. “There’s so much hatred down there, but from up here, it’s nothing but beauty. This is how I think you look at people. You see the good even when they’re capable of such horrors. I love that about you, and I wish I could do the same. You see the best part of people rather than judging and mistrusting them for something they may never do.”

“Your way is smarter.”

“Your way is kinder.” Lena rebuts. “I like to think we balance each other out pretty well.”

“I know we do.”

There’s a knock at the door a second before it slides open, but neither woman turns to look to see who it is.

“God, seeing you two stare at each other like that is worse than walking in on you doing…things.” Alex’s voice is coated in a thick layer of disgust. “Anyway, we’re going to strap in and take the last part faster so Lex doesn’t notice another ship joining the fleet. We’re going to stop by J’onn’s ship first to let him know the good news before we make the last stretch back home.”

Lena traces her fingertips down the length of Kara’s arm before finally looking at Alex. “Sounds good. We’ll be there in just a minute.”

Alex nods, her eyes now fixed on her sister, who is avoiding eye contact with her. “Are you ok, Kara?”

“Yeah, I will be.” She musters up a smile, looking between Alex and Lena. “I have a lot of emotions going on, but I’ll be just fine.”

“Good.” Alex’s face softens. “You will be. We’ll all be with you while you get there.”

“I know.”

There’s a brief moment of softness between the sisters before Alex ducks out of the room, leaving Kara and Lena in their little bubble of peace.

Lena rests her forehead against Kara’s for a second before brushing her nose against hers. “We’ve got to figure out how to explain to everyone on Earth that we went back in time and fell in love.”

“I’d argue that we were already in love.” Kara grins before pressing her lips firmly against Lena’s.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“I think everyone will be happy for us.”

“Me too.”

They cling to their moment of serenity for a couple more minutes before they regretfully pull away from each other to go and join the others. They’re all waiting for them, strapped into their seats and ready to go when they walk in. They roll their eyes at their team when they cheer at them sarcastically.

“Alright, let’s do this,” Brainy announces. “Hold on, everyone.”

They prepare themselves and close their eyes for the quick blast of speed that sends them shooting through the universe, only slowing as they approach the back of the fleet, manoeuvring through the ships to slide in right beside J’onn’s ship.

“J’onn. Can you hear me?” Brainy speaks aloud, trying to contact J’onn’s ship.

“Loud and clear. How are you all?”

“Tired,” Kara calls out, “and ready to get home.”

“I bet.” J’onn chuckles. “Did you get what you need?”

“We sure did. We’re going to land and activate the device as we pass through the atmosphere. We’ll signal to you when it’s safe for you to bring the fleet down.”

There’s the faint sound of applause from the background of J’onn’s ship. “Good work, team. I’ll see you down there soon enough.”

“We look forward to it,” Brainy says, and Nia leans forward just a touch so she can get a better look at the grin spread across his face. She’s missed him and his dorkiness, and she just can’t get enough of it now that they’re back together again.

Brainy preps the ship for atmospheric entry and then gives everyone a brief warning before he starts their descent, his fingers poised on the switch to their new device so he can flip it on as soon as they’re close enough to the ground to do so.

The moment the device turns on is a little anticlimactic. All it does is light up a little. Nothing else is meant to happen; that’s the point. No exploding ships, just a pretty little blinking light and peace.

“All systems confirm that the device is working and it has deactivated Lex’s weapon,” Lena says, her eyes pinned on the control panel in front of her. “Mission accomplished.”

“Mission accomplished,” Kara whispers to herself with a tiny smile, one that is both genuine and not. She’s thrilled that all of their hard work has paid off. She just wishes that she didn’t lose so much in doing so.

The ship levels off as they come to land in front of the Tower and Kara takes that as enough permission to take off her seatbelt to look at her family. She might have lost one family on Krypton, but she’s gained a whole new one. One that understands her so much more thanks to this mission. That’s something she’ll hold dear for the rest of her life.

“So, I’m thinking pizza.” She announces to the room. “It’s been far too long since we’ve had pizza.”

“And Chinese.” Alex pipes up. “We need potstickers too, and you’re going to share them.” She points an accusing finger at her sister.

“We better order extra then. I want at least a dozen to myself.”

“I’ll get you some, darling.” Lena appears at her side. “I’ll also be getting myself some because listening to you ramble on about them for months has had me craving them like crazy.”

Kara shrugs. “I’m not sorry.”

“That’s not surprising.”

Squinting at Lena playfully, Kara scoffs. “What’s that meant to mean?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Lena plays into it.

“I think I found something to worry about.” Brainy joins in the conversation, his tone clipped.

They all huddle around the control panel where Brainy is working, their eyes peering at his fast-moving fingers before darting to the device as he keeps pressing switches on the side of it.

Lena’s eyebrows furrow as she figures out what’s happening. “Oh, I see.”

“I don’t. Mind filling us in?” Nia questions, her hands resting loosely on Brainy’s shoulders.

Kara figures it out next, quickly followed by Alex.

“Lex is trying to set off the machine now.” Kara starts.

“And every time he does that, the machine is stopping him, but it has to be reset each time it works or else Lex can still make the fleet self-destruct.” Alex finishes. “We need to tell J’onn to keep the fleet where it is until we figure out how to make the device reset itself. If we can’t do that, someone will have to keep resetting it manually each time it goes off until we can stop Lex for good and destroy his device.”

Everyone’s shoulders drop. They might have won the battle, but the war isn’t over. Not while Lex can still try to set off his device.

“Do you think he’ll figure out that we’re stopping him manually, or will he give up?” Kelly asks, her hands twisting in front of her.

Lena struggles to swallow past the growing lump in her throat. “I’d guess that he’ll rage for a while first, and then he’ll look into it to see what’s happening. It’s only a matter of time before he realizes that we have to stop each attempt and tries to use that to his advantage. That or he’ll try to find a way around it.”

“He won’t be able to do that. There’s less than nought point three percent chance that he will find a way.”

Kara’s completely lost her smile. “So we just keep manually stopping him for now?”

Brainy nods solemnly. “Yes. For now, that’s all we can do.”

Kara sighs, her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose tightly. “Rao, it never ends.”

Lena’s hand rests on her forearm, gently urging Kara to take her hand away from her face. “Hey, it will. We just have a couple of extra steps. We’re all good though. We can take shifts with the device, which we should probably name so we don’t have to keep calling it ‘the device’, and once we’ve figured out how to spruce it up and make it so it resets itself, we’ll all be peachy.”

Kara stares deeply into emerald eyes. “Since when do you use the word ‘peachy’?”

“Since I started dating a dork.” Lena deadpans. “Now, how about we get off this ship and into the Tower?”

Kara nods but then falters. “Hold on, we have to call J’onn.”

“He’s not going to be thrilled by the news,” Alex adds.

“No, he’s not.” Kelly bumps Esme up onto her hip more firmly, having just lifted her up. “But he needs to know.”

Lena leans over to call J’onn back and they all wait impatiently for him to respond.

“Have you arrived down there safely?”

Alex clears her throat, opting to be the one to tell him the bad news. “Yes, we have, but there is something you need to know.”

“Nothing good ever followed those words.”

“I’m inclined to agree.” Alex shuffles her feet as she starts explaining. “The device works and stops Lex from causing all the alien ships to self-destruct. However, we have to manually reset it each time he makes an attempt, so it might be best to keep the fleet off Earth until we have managed to make it repeat its defensive actions without there being room for human error.”

They can practically hear J’onn’s teeth grinding as he processes. “I think a lot less people will be willing to stay up here. There are still a lot of aliens that stayed on Earth anyway, but telling the ones that did leave to stay up here for longer than they already have just won’t work. I can ask, but I will not take away their right to make an informed choice. We will monitor the device in pairs to ensure there will be no errors. We can take shifts.”

“J’onn, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Kara asks.

“No, but we can’t keep these people in limbo indefinitely, and we don’t have the resources to stop them from going anywhere.”

“Ok. Do you want us to tell them?”

“No, you’ve done plenty. This is my burden to carry. I’ll meet you down there soon.”

The call ends with a click, and the whole group just deflates. “I guess we better get inside, then.” Kelly ushers them to the door.

“Nia and I will remain for a little longer to stabilize the device for transit into the Tower.” Briany declares, waving them off, his eyes fixed diligently on the control panel to monitor any need to reset the device once again.

Lena takes Kara’s hand as they walk ahead of Alex, Kelly and Esme. “I’m going to order a boatload of food and have a nice hot shower, then I’m going to put on the softest clothes I own and sleep forever.”

“Rao, that sounds so good.” Kara has to resist moaning at the thought. “I bet we can convince someone else to take the first shift with the device.”

Lena smirks at her devilishly. “I bet we can.”

They pass the H’Rakas, both of them sleeping soundly in the cargo bay. “I can’t wait to see these guys out in the open again. I think they’ve kind of restless being stuck in here.”

“Yeah. We’ll get them out of here as soon as possible.” Lena agrees.

The door opens, and Kara basks in the immediate power surge she gets from being beneath Sol’s rays once again. It’ll take a while for her powers to come back fully, most likely a couple of days, but she already feels stronger.

“Welcome home.” She grips Lena’s hand tighter, taking her first step out of the ship and officially onto Earth.

She crumples.

Lena’s hand is dropped as she falls to her knees, her hands grasping at her head as she cries out in pain.

“Kara?” Lena falls to her side, her hands desperately cupping her face to try and get her attention. “What’s happening? What hurts?”

Kara can’t answer. All she can focus on is the acute pain in her head.

“Kara?” Lena keeps trying to get her to look at her, but with her eyes shut so firmly and her pain drowning out the sound of everything happening around her, Kara is oblivious.

Kelly rushes past them with Esme, the little girl peering over her mom’s shoulder with wide, terrified eyes. She has no idea what’s happening but it’s clear that it’s not good.

Alex and Lena sit on either side of Kara, flipping her onto her back so she’s leaning against Alex, nestled in her sister’s embrace, while they try to figure out what’s happening.

“You’re going to be ok,” Alex whispers to her, her face the epitome of terror because she knows that whatever has caused this, she can’t stop.

Kara’s in a world of her own, her brain on overload as she’s hit by memory after memory that she never lived. Her past is being rewritten, merging with her true memories to create a messy collage of old truths and new truths she can barely differentiate.

It’s all moving so fast that she can’t keep up. All she can do is try not to focus on the stabbing pain in her head and the overload of information hitting her as she’s dragged along for the ride. She can’t stop it; she must simply endure.

It slows eventually, but not before Nia and Brainy come stumbling out of the ship to find them on the floor.

“Oh no, that’s not good,” Brainy says, understanding exactly what is happening. “Her past is changing. I should have accounted for this.”

“What do you mean?” Lena presses for answers. “Why now? We left Krypton days ago.”

“Her return to Earth solidified the timeline. As soon as she stepped foot out of the protection of the time ship, she was exposed to the changes. She’ll be in pain for a while, but it’ll pass.”

Brainy’s relaxed demeanour calms both Alex and Lena, but Alex isn’t completely satisfied. “How long will she be like this?”

He shrugs, careful not to lose track of the device in Nia’s arms as they await a possible need to reset it. “That depends on how much has changed for her. Given her pain threshold and her current reaction, I’d say that some fundamental parts of her life have changed, and that’s something we shall have to thoroughly review when she’s recovered.”

“What do we do in the meantime?” Lena asks, her hands clutching at Kara’s, keeping her from digging her nails into her scalp as she tries to overcome the immense pain she’s in.

“We wait it out.” Brainy is no happier saying it than Alex and Lena are hearing it.

Kara’s eyes fly open. The pain is still strong, but it dipped suddenly enough for her to regain some of her senses.

She focuses on the balcony, but she doesn’t see the present. She’s seeing ghosts of memories walking and standing and drinking and hugging, each one overlapping and merging, each false but true. They weren’t, but now they are.

“Kara? Can you hear me?” Lena tries.

The memories fade away until one remains. A kiss on Earth that never happened, one right before they climb aboard the Legion ship with bags that got carried across Krypton. Then, that fades too, taking the pain with it.

“Holy fuck.”

“Kara?” Lena’s eyes glisten with unshed tears.

“I’m ok.” She stumbles over the words but leans up without assistance, proving her statement to be at least somewhat true.

Both Alex and Lena are quick to wrap their arms around her waist to support her weight as she stands, and then they start directing her inside slowly, conscious of keeping their assistance light but stabilizing.

“Let’s get you to a chair,” Alex says, mostly to herself. “You need to sit down.”

“I really am alright. I promise.”

Lena scoffs. “With all due respect, you were just wiped out by some pretty severe pain brought on by your timeline being rewritten, so pardon us if we don’t take your word for it.”

Kara gives in. She can’t argue with that. “That’s fair.”

The pair lower Kara into the nearest chair, their worry and uneasiness evident to everyone who bothers to look. Kara, for the most part, seems to be ok. She’s managed to steady herself again and is now just trying to piece together the memories she lived compared to the memories she gained just a few seconds ago.

“Are you sure you’re feeling ok?” Lena asks, tenderly tucking a wayward lock of blonde hair back behind her ear.

Kara nods slowly. “Yeah, I’m just trying to make sense of things.”

“Brainy?” Alex waves at him to get his attention, leaving Nia to watch the device, the fate of every alien who owns a ship lying in her hands.

“Alex.” He replies.

“Why aren’t we having the same reaction as Kara? Surely a change in her timeline means that there will also be a change in ours.”

Brainy hums and tucks his arms behind his back, his spine straightening. “While that is true, Kara has had a massive shift in her timeline and the change in events leading up to and following the destruction of Krypton will have a much stronger effect on her than any change in events for you. You are correct though. You will experience a few changes; how many is unknown at this time, so you’re likely to experience the merging of memories in one of two ways.”

“Which are?” Alex tries not to sound nervous.

“Either you will gain them when your mind rests, or you will gain them slowly as the days pass, perhaps partnered with a headache or a migraine, depending on the severity of the changes. Kara’s happened so quickly because of her direct impact on the changes and the confirmation of those changes happening when she stepped off the ship.”

“So we’ll either wake up with them or have a headache and get them?” Alex confirms.

“Precisely.”

“Well, that’s just swell.” Lena drones out. “Hey, Kara?”

“Hmm,” Kara hums, leaning her head into Lena’s side as the brunette perches on the arm of the chair she’s sitting in.

Lena wraps her arm around Kara, her fingernails brushing up and down her arm soothingly. “Are there any changes we need to be aware of?"

Kara shrugs helplessly. “I’m still sort of trying to piece together what’s what. I feel like I’ve just watched fifty movies at once, and I’m trying to figure out whether Cindy Lou Who is meant to be in ‘The Grinch’ or ‘Jaws’.”

“That’s...ok.” Lena doesn’t fully understand what that means, but she figures that it’s best to leave it well enough alone for now.

“We kissed though.”

“I’m well aware, darling.”

Kara shakes her head, looking up at the underside of Lena’s jaw. “No, we kissed before Krypton. I saw it.”

Lena’s eyes widen. “We were in a relationship on Earth?”

“Not really. We kissed right before getting on the ship to go on the mission. Rather, you kissed me.”

“Makes sense; you wouldn’t have the balls.” Lena smiles.

Kara’s mouth drops open. “Rude! I was just informing you of the details of our first kiss and you decide to bully me in return.”

“I wouldn’t call it bullying.”

“Oh?”

“Of course not.” Lena leans down to press a kiss to the top of Kara’s head. “I was just telling the truth.”

All Kara can do is roll her eyes at her. “Sure, sure.”

Lena chuckles into Kara’s hair. “If we kissed before we left for Krypton, does that mean that our actions on Krypton changed and, therefore, the future we changed has been changed again?”

“No.” Brainy answers. What happened on Krypton has become a fixed point in time. It’s hard to explain but because you changed a fixed point in time to begin with, it’s like you mixed the pieces of two jigsaw puzzles together. Even if all the pieces fit and lock together smoothly, the picture may never look perfect.”

“So our past is now a little jumbled but our future should be fine, just a little different than we anticipated?” Kara asks.

“Exactly.” Brainy points at the pair. “This is why I told you to limit interactions with people there. You can cause a real mess, just like this one.”

Kara grimaces as she thinks about all of the people she talked to and the lives she may have changed because of her actions. “Yeah, we did  talk to quite a lot of people.”

“You beat one up.” Lena snorts.

Brainy sinks his head into his hands. “That doesn’t shock me. Kara, we don’t know the full extent of the damage yet, but it’s not looking good.”

“I know.” Kara leans back and closes her eyes, her brain flicking through all of the people’s lives she knows she definitely affected in some way, whether it be in big or small ways, it all matters. She keeps getting stuck on one person though. Someone who she now has new memories of.

Astra.

They were never on the rooftop.

Astra didn’t die on the rooftop.

Astra didn’t die.

“Oh...” Kara breathes. “Oh no.”

“What?” Alex turns to her, dread building up inside of her.

“Um, I might know what one of the changes happens to be.”

That catches everyone’s attention. Everyone except Nia focuses on her, their eyes scanning her face for any hint of a clue as to how bad this is going to be.

Alex squeezes Kara’s hand. “What is it?”

“It’s Astra.”

Alex freezes, the memory of Astra dying in Kara’s arms haunting her as it so often does, not that she often tells anyone that. There’s something different about this recollection though. It’s foggier than usual and a little frayed at the edges.

“She’s alive.” Kara finishes.

Alex’s mouth opens and closes, words sitting on the tip of her tongue but none strong enough to pass her lips. Eventually, she manages to stutter one out. “How?”

Pressing her lips together and rubbing her hands over her thighs, Kara thinks, trying to uncover more pieces to the puzzle. “I’m not totally sure. Something about her not believing in the cause anymore. She disagreed with Non and…” She pauses, hit with a surprising amount of clarity. “She killed Non to protect us. She saved Earth and lived here peacefully with us ever since.”

Kara can’t help it. She knows a massive change in the timeline like this shouldn’t be celebrated. It shouldn’t even be acknowledged really, just something to be dealt with, but this is a good thing. It’s a brilliant thing. Her aunt is alive.

“My aunt is alive.” Kara grins. “She’s alive.”

“Please tell me you’re just randomly celebrating the fact I’ve somehow managed to keep all of us alive as long as I have and not that your aunt Lara is somehow miraculously alive too. She was always a pompous bitch.”

Kara’s head whips around to see Astra leaning up against the doorframe, a startled Kelly at her side and Esme perched on her hip.

“Aunt Astra, you’re really here.” Kara’s voice is filled with wonder. She pushes herself up and walks over to her, stopping just shy of her, too afraid to actually touch her, too scared that this is nothing more than her confused, traumatized mind playing tricks on her.

Astra’s eyebrows pinch together before she hands Esme off to Kelly and closes the gap between them to press the back of her hand to Kara’s forehead. “Kara, are you ill?”

Kara shakes her head. “No. I’m just…” She gives up on trying to formulate words. Instead, she leans into her aunt’s touch before dragging her into a tight hug, her hands clutching at the back of Astra’s shirt so tightly it would rip if her powers had returned.

Everyone appears to be frozen in place as they stare at the scene and Astra catches on to the fact that she’s missing some pretty crucial information very quickly. “So, what have I missed?”

“What do you know?” Kelly probes.

Astra pulls out of the hug but lets her hands trail down Kara’s arms until she finds her hands, holding them securely in hers with no plans on dropping them until she has to. “That you’ve just come back from a mission to Krypton, and I now have the world’s biggest migraine, but this hug is definitely doing wonders to help it. I was hoping Alex would check me over though. I don’t usually get migraines due to my biology, as I’m sure you understand.”  

Brainy sighs, getting ready to recount the same information he already gave everyone when he should be helping Nia monitor the device. Lena saves him though. “I got it, Brainy.”

“Thank you, Lena.”

“You got it.”

Astra looks at Lena expectantly. “So?”

“So, you have a migraine because your timeline is changing in a pretty major way. You’ll be able to remember everything soon.”

“Do you know what the changes are?”

Lena hesitates but nods. “I do.”

“You don’t want to tell me.” Astra gathers from the way Lena’s arms are folded tightly over her chest, and one foot is facing out as though she’s ready to run at a moment’s notice. “Is it really that bad?”

Kara blurts out the truth before Lena can find a tactful way of delivering the news. “You were dead.”

“What?”

“You were dead.”

For early access to the lastest chapters of all my fics and Patreon-only content, take a peek over here!

[scarlettjohanssons-mistress]

Heya! I’ve been reading some of your fics and they are so good! My friend and I were talking about this the other day, and I’m not sure if they’ve already requested it, but if you can, can you maybe write a Melina x reader where reader got sent with her to Ohio with the girls and then gets sent to prison instead of Alexei. And when Nat and Lena get her out and they go to Melina’s farm, reader feels mad and betrayed by her. Good ending and maybe some smut if you can. Thank you so much! And I’m sorry for the lengthy ask.

The art of lying

Warnings: Smut and therefore 18+ only, Fix-It, Fix parenting issues, Fluff, Past threat

Word count: 2.1 K

Pairing: Melina Vostokoff x Fem!Reader

Prompt: Natasha and Yelena help Y/N escape from prison, and ask her for help to find the red room, but the only one who can help them is Melina. Everyone heads to Melina's home, even though Y/N doesn't want to see her.

Requests: OPEN

[Main masterlist] [Marvel masterlist]

After getting on the damn plane, the last thing I expected was a slap from Yelena that sent me right into the plane seats.

"Why?" I put my hand on my cheek and caressed it, trying to fix the pain, why was it?

"Don't try to play dumb with us Y/N" Natasha spoke without taking her eyes off the controls.

"I'm not being silly" I saw Yelena sit down again right next to Natasha "literally I haven't seen them for 20 years and now, do they receive me with blows?" 

"You just answered yourself, asshole" Yelena replied 

"Hey, I didn't educate you to say rude things" 

They started whispering, until Natasha got up and sat right in front of me. 

“Tell us where the red room is” 

"The red room? Shit, I don't know." 

"Stop playing Y/N!" Natasha got up ready to hit me again, until I took her hand in mine and made a small movement. 

"Silly girl, do you think that if I knew anything about the room or was in collusion with it, I wouldn't be there and not in the damn prison?" I forced her to sit back down as she pondered my words “for a spy and an avenger, you don't use much logic, dear” I made some of my bones creak to start getting more comfortable “by the way, I don't know if I feel proud of you Nat , an avenger?, but you, my little Yelena , are an incredible assassin, I am very proud of you” 

"Do you want to shut up?" I speak the blonde 

“Do you know of anyone else who has information?” 

"Surely Melina the bitch knows something" 

“Mama Melina?” 

"Wasn't she dead?" 

“I would love to be able to confirm that information, but no. That bitch is like a cockroach, not even a nuclear weapon is going to be able to eliminate her” 

"Wow, it seems that the divorce was not so amicable" joked Yelena , while Natasha returned to her post 

"Are you kidding? The bitch conspired against me, she told Dreykov a lot of shit, the asshole thought she was conspiring against him and that's why I ended up there, in that death bed" 

“Well, where does that 'bitch' live? 

“The last time I heard from her, she lived in a field, outside of St. Petersburg” 

"Okay, here we go," Natasha announced. 

——————————————————————————— 

Apparently they didn't get enough fuel so we had to make an emergency landing and start walking, thank God it wasn't that much of a walk 

"Well... how have you been?" 

"Are you really interested in knowing about our life?" Yelena asked while none of the 2 deigned to see me 

"What makes you think not?" 

"Well, I don't know, maybe that... you never communicated with either of us in 20 years, could that be?" 

“Yelena, I was locked in a fucking prison for 20 years, where I could only send one letter A YEAR. And for what? To try to communicate with a girl whose the only information I know about her is her name, or if she changed her name? Or to try to communicate with a famous avenger who, it shows, is a thousand times better off not knowing about my existence- I complained making them both stop walking and look directly at me "Look at yourselves, how far you've come, and all this without me. Being in jail took a lot out of me, but it also gave me something, and that was self-awareness, and realizing my mistakes, and that's what I'm doing." I tried to take a deep breath when I felt the air leave easily and my eyes were in tears "you guys are my two biggest mistakes, the red room was my mistake, but you…" I started to sob "I turned two adorable girls into killing machines and it breaks me" I tried to hide my face with my hands "excuse me girls"

"Hey, relax" Natasha spoke trying to calm me down.

“Yes, old lady, relax, we all make mistakes” Yelena ran her hand over my back “you know, a big step to know that you are a shitty person, is to realize that you are a shitty person; and you, you already did, just like Natasha”

"Than?"

“Shut up Nat . Y/N, you don't know, but maybe, later, you'll end up saving the world, along with Natasha, the Avengers and me.

“Okay enough, first; neither you nor she can join the avengers, second, pure bullshit about 'I'm a repentant woman' Y/N, if Yelena believes you it's her problem, but, you're not going to fool me so easily and 3, start walking, we don't need to walk much more"

Yelena started walking beside me, while Natasha led the way.

"I didn't remember her so grumpy" whispered the blonde 

"It was always like that" I hugged her from the side "don't tell her, but you were always my favorite" we started laughing 

"Do you want to shut up?" 

We walk a little more and in the distance, you can recognize Melina's little cabin 

"There it is" 

"Great, so I don't have to listen to them" 

——————————————————————————— 

Upon reaching the door of the house, we could see how Melina was already waiting for us, with a gun in her right hand and an electronic tablet in her left. 

"Hello" I greet as I started to walk to the door and open it "come in, please" 

The 3 of us sat down, while the woman moved something in her cupboard 

“No cheating, Melina” 

"I'm just going to put my gun away, Nat " 

The brunette sat down next to the redhead, leaving Yelena and me in front of them. 

"It's nice to see you again, Yelena , as beautiful as always, Nat , I'm so proud that you became an avenger, and Y/N, you look very bad" 

"Damn bitch" Perhaps one of the many things that prison gave me was, the little ability to manage my anger, so, as soon as I saw Melina's neck free, I did not hesitate for 2 seconds to take her delicate neck in my hands. and try to strangle her "you still dare to say that" she didn't even try to walk away, and I just saw how, little by little her eyes lost that shine, until I felt how two pairs of hands pushed me making me let go of melina

"Let her go, you fucking fool"

"Y/N"

Melina started to cough, but she quickly raised her hand and started to speak.

"Leave her, I deserved it"

"Of course you deserved it, you're a heartless bitch…" I started insulting her in the eight languages she knew, until I ran out of insults.

“Are you done throwing your tantrum yet?” when I kept quiet, she took it as a yes " Dreykov had me threatened" 

“Threatened? Threatened with what?” Yelena asked 

"With your life. After the Ohio mission, Dreykov saw you as a weak child, a worthless widow; Of course, Dreykov himself made me love you, I loved you like a daughter; So, I tried to make a deal, your life for something else, and that something else, was your freedom, Y/N” 

"Do you think I'm going to believe that big lie?" I asked as me poured me a large glass of vodka. 

“For the first time, I agree with Y/N. I don't believe anything, neither of them " 

"Y/N, you want me to fully trust you, I think mom Melina also deserves us to trust her" 

I took my glass and stayed silent, trying to analyze Melina's face. 

"Do you know what is the worst?" I poured myself another drink and drank again “that no matter how much resentment I have of you, I could never kill you. As much as I wanted to hate you, I only thought about that beautiful face of yours, that smooth skin, those eyes...” 

"We understand" interrupted both girls 

“Me, I felt bad for years. Ours was real Y/N, I loved you… but I also loved Yelena ” she took the blonde's hand and squeezed it “you too Natasha”

“Shut up. Stop saying that shit, you never loved us, it was all a fucking farce "

"Will you stop saying that?" Yelena asked as her voice cracked “for me, if it was real, Melina and Y/N are my mothers, the closest thing I had to a family. You are also in that package”

"Yes Nat , you're right, it all started as a farce, but what tells you that none of us generated feelings as a result of those circumstances? Haven't you seen 'The Proposal'?"

"What's that?" Yelena and I asked

"A movie" answered Natasha "Yes, I've seen it, but neither Margaret nor Andrew are expert spies in manipulation" 

"Yes, but they are people, humans, and Y/N and I, we are human" 

"I don't believe anything" 

And without further ado, Natasha got up, leaving us alone at the table. 

"I'm going to talk to her" Yelena spoke and they both left the house 

"Wow, that turned out worse than I imagined" Melina spoke 

"And that they haven't even asked you about the red room" I saw how Melina's skin became even paler "But, that's a conversation for another time" 

We both remained silent, while we drank from the bottle of vodka, but, I felt a great sorrow 

"Excuse me" she looked at me, with doubt in her eyes "for what happened a while ago" I pointed to my own neck so that she would understand 

"Don't worry, I'm serious, I deserve it" 

"I mean it too" I took her hand and ran my thumb down the back of it "After all this time, and after all the circumstances, I still think you are the most beautiful woman in the world"

"Enough Y/N" she smiled, as the blush began to rise to her cheeks

"I'm serious, Melina. You are still as beautiful as the last time I saw you ”I took her hand and started kissing her, from her palm, her pulse and her fingers“ How cute. so sexy”

“Y/N. Not here, the girls will come any minute."

"Honey, I've been more than 20 years without your touch, without a single kiss from you, I think I deserve a little attention from you" I tried to make puppy dog eyes, seeing how she only hesitated "come on, then you can cleanse your guilt, for locking me up ”

——————————————————————————— 

With a bit of rudeness I threw Melina on the bed, I tried to take off her shirt quickly, while she took off her shoes and blouse, leaving her in a nice bra.

“Go a little slower, принцесса”

"My love, do not ask me to go slowly, when I am a bear, starving" I began to crawl, without taking my eyes from her "and you, a lonely little salmon" 

I started biting her, making her laugh loudly, until she pulled down her pants and started kissing her crotch, still with her underwear on. 

“Oh y/n” 

"Mm, you're so wet" 

"Y/N, please don't play" 

“No, Моя королева, I will be gentle with you” 

I quickly removed her panties, and sucking on her clit again, she moaned again, a little louder than usual. 

" Shhh , you don't want girls to see their mothers in these conditions, do you?" 

"No, I don't want to" She took a strand of my hair and began to pull it , to make my mouth suck her clitoris again "but please continue" 

I continued with my work, while I saw how the brunette arched her back, while biting her arm, avoiding letting out moans 

"You have no idea how much I missed you" I inserted 2 fingers into her vagina causing her to let out a small squeak "Even on my worst days, I only remembered our nights together, when I made you scream my name, do you remember?" 

“Yes,” she whimper, “I remember. Please, I'm close." 

I knew Melina would get a little aggressive if she didn't get what she wanted, so I stopped talking and went back to sucking on her clit while my fingers quickly moved in and out. 

She reached the top, while biting her own arm, causing the scream to drown in her own mouth. 

A little calmer, I lift my head and kiss her forehead 

“Я оправдал ваши ожидания?” 

“ты всегда this делаешь” 

Just as the brunette took my cheeks in her hands to start another kissing session, we heard the door close. 

"Мама, can we stay the night?" Yelena asked 

"I thought it was implicit that we are going to sleep here" Natasha spoke, while Yelena was silent 

“Мама, can you make us dinner? I miss your food” 

Translation:

принцесса - Princess

Моя королева - My Queen

Я оправдал ваши ожидания? - Did I live up to your expectations?

ты всегда это делаешь - You always do it

Мама - Mom

Note:

I am glad to know that you enjoy the little, or much that I write, that means more than it seems to me. I hope you enjoy this.

I appreciate the reblogs, the likes and the comments

[emmlovesmarvel]

Epilogue

Two years later

Max POV

"Hailee, babe have you seen my cardigan?" I yell down the stairs.

"Which one?" She yells back.

"The blue one!"

"Baby, which blue one you have 3." I hear her laugh.

"The one with the white stars on it!"

"Oh yeah it's in my car, which works out because we're running late!"

Tonight is our one year anniversary. We decided to spend it at our favorite Thai restaurant along with moms, Yelena, and Kate. I know that may seem a bit weird for an anniversary but we are so close and this gives us a reason to celebrate something all together. Something we haven't had a lot of time to do since Hailee and I went off to college.

"I'm coming!"

When we get to the restaurant, everyone else was already there. Of course we were late to our own celebratory dinner.

Everyone gets up to greet us when we get to the table.

"Hi baby. You look so beautiful." Mom whispers as she holds me tight.

"You do too mom. Thanks for being here." I kiss her cheek.

"You're so grown up and so beautiful, my love. I love you so much." Mama says as she hugs me and kisses my cheek.

Hailee hugs them both while I hug Kate and then auntie Lena. We all sit down and discuss the menu before deciding what to order.

We have a comfortable conversation going before Yelena makes a toast.

"You know, if you were to ask me two years ago where we would be, this is exactly how I imagined it. I'm so proud of each of us and everything we've been through. I am so lucky to be in such a strong, loving family who takes care of each other. Nat and I grew up in some not so great circumstances. It was the hardest time of our lives. Then Nat met Wanda and had the best gift of all. I am so proud of you, Maxie. I love you so much and am so glad you found Hailee. You two deserve the best this world has to offer. I love you." I stand up to hug Yelena and we stay hugging for 2 minutes before sitting down.

"Me next!" Mama says making us chuckle.

"Max, you are my biggest love. Life handed you some awful cards and you took them and ended up winning. I am so proud of how you have gotten to the place you are at right this moment. I couldn't be more honored and lucky to be your mom. I am so happy to have Hailee in our family. You two fit so well together. Happy Anniversary! I love you so much, Max. More than you'll ever know." Since I was sitting next to her, I leaned into her as she kissed my head and forehead.

"I love you, mama." I whisper for only her to hear.

"You are such a powerful example of what I strive to be as a human being. In these last years, I have learned so much from you, my heart. I have loved being your mother all these years and wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Having you as my daughter has been the greatest mission of all. I love you so much, Max. I am so happy you have Hailee and that she fits in so well into our little family. Happy Anniversary!" I stand up to hug mom as she slightly lifts me up off the floor, hugging me so tight.

"Thank you all for these sweet words. Glad Hailee made me wear the waterproof mascara tonight." I pause, making everyone laugh.

"I wouldn't be here without each and everyone of you. You have all saved and protected me countless times and I don't know how I can ever repay you. All I can do is tell you how lucky I am to have such excepting and loving parents, protective and fearless aunts, and a wonderfully perfect girlfriend whom I want to spend the rest of my life with. I am so happy we are all here together, thriving and conquering whatever life throws us. I love you so much Hailee. I never imagined at that party that it would be you and I. Happy Anniversary my love." She stands up to kiss me and we hug everyone around the table.

--

I have the best family in the world. They have taught me that I can go through shitty things and still come out kicking and surviving. I am now loving to live instead of just living to survive. I owe everything to my moms. I am forever honored to be their heart.

[s-nebul0sa]

The object to my left is a pillow so like... Not too interesting. But how about Kara and Lena haven't kissed yet. Each time Kara sees Lena she's like 'I've gotta do it this time' but she keeps being too shy to do anything. One day Alex (maybe?) asks Kara if Lena has ever tried to kiss her and Kara just screams 😂

They are sitting on the couch, having just done the dishes from dinner and chatting away when Alex lets herself in. She does not care that her sister's apartment has a functioning doorbell, it seems. Kara glowers at her. She has told Alex time and time again that she cannot just barge in whenever she likes. Kara could be doing something important! Not that she currently is, because she has once again failed to woo Lena into kissing her. (She has not asked or made any attempts, but a girl can dream.)

Alex ignores Kara's looks and makes herself comfortable in one of the chairs.

"What?" she asks when Kara does not stop scowling at her. "You said movie night at 8 and it's 8:15." Alex points at the clock on Kara's microwave that says '8:15' in bright red lines.

"She is right, we must have forgotten time," says Lena, putting a hand on Kara's knee. Kara's cheek immediately burn a hot red. The electricity inside her body sparks louder and more painful as she tries to hold everything in. To act casual. Lena is her friend and she is Lena's friend and friends can casually touch another friend without it being a big deal.

"We must have," Kara agrees with a pinched voice.

"That's quite alright." Alex smiles and Kara doesn't trust her for a moment. Alex's smile is a little to slick, too knowing. She has a plan up her sleeve. But before Kara can prevent it from coming to fruition, Alex has already spoken.

"So, Lena," she asks, addressing Lena who still has her hand casually on Kara's knee, one leg folded under herself and the sleeves of Kara's hoodie she has stolen covering half her palms. "Tell me, has Kara ever tried to kiss you?"

Kara can feel her heart stop beating as Alex sends her a knowing smirk and Lena's hand tenses on her leg for the briefest moment. The earth stops spinning and Kara wants to disappear into the ground, or fly out the window. She would have Mxyzptlk show up unanounced on her couch any day over this moment.

But Lena laughs. Lena laughs her warm, melodical laugh and Kara knows her long enough this is not her joking or making fun of laugh.

"No," she says, "but she should."

She should. Lena said, 'she should'. Kara's brain short-circuits for the briefest moment and then it all comes clicking together. The penny drops (albeit with a tiny parachute) and in an instant, all the colours in the world are brighter, the air is fresher, Kara's heart is beating faster.

She looks at Lena and is met with the prettiest face, green eyes asking an unspoken question, lips still stained red from the lipstick Lena wore to work. Kara decides to answer the question and takes Lena's hand from her leg, entangling their fingers to make sure she has understood it right.

Lena is less patient, practically falling forward so their faces are closer together than they have ever been. And then, Lena's lips touch Kara's. They're soft and warm, friendly, eager.

Kara wraps her free hand around Lena's hips to pull her closer so their bodies are touching too. Lena's hand strokes its way up Kara's arm to rest at the nape of her neck as Lena deepens the kiss.

"Wooooooooo!"

Alex's shout breaks them from the kiss and they both let out an awkward and slightly embarrased laugh. Kara turns around to angrily look at her sister but does not move, not willing to give up her newly aqcuired closeness to Lena.

"Told you so," Alex says pointedly. She gets up as Kara shakes her head in resignation. Alex did tell her. Every single time Kara told her about the failed attempts to kiss Lena, Alex told her to just do it because Lena wanted it too. And every single time, Kara didn't do anything because she was scared Lena did not want it and she was just imagining things.

"With that over, I have a date to get to with my wife." Alex turns around and walks to the door.

"Wait!" Kara shouts at her, "did you just come here for that and have other plans all along?"

"Of course, doofus, it was about time and I could not take it any longer. Now, Kelly and Esme have baked cookies so I have more important matters to attend."

Kara can just catch the proud smile on Alex's face before her sister lets herself out. For once, Kara cannot be angry. Not because she doesn't think Alex was maybe a little rude but because she is floating on the pinkest cloud she has ever been on and Lena is still in her arms. She has (red) lips to kiss and dark hair to trail her fingers through.

"That was... something," Lena notes after a short moment.

"Mhm, Alex is something else." Kara turns back to Lena and lets her hand trail over the woman's back. "Now, how about we go back to what we were doing?"

"I think that is the best idea you have ever had."

Kara leans forward and kisses Lena, then pulls her on her lap so they are even closer than before.

She definitely should have done this before. But better late than never.

[essektheylyss]

loving your annihilation film reactions. APPARENTLY the movie rights were acquired/film production started BEFORE the book was actually properly published? and the director has said that the adaptation was more of his memory of the manuscript. all this to say that i have tried long and hard to accept and love annihilation the film and annihilation the book as their own things born from the same seed but where lies the strangling fruit that came from the hand of the sinner I shall bring forth the

HAHAHAHA oh yes, this is... very much an issue in Hollywood. Sometimes it works (iirc The Martian was done like that and that movie is phenomenal!) but... often it doesn't, particularly if the author is not involved.

(I have separate thoughts I will not detail here about the increasing interchangeability of authors and screenwriters pushed by Hollywood but like... if you can already craft a story, format and structure can be learned if you're willing. That's not the problem.)

I did set out to watch it for the adaptation choices because I really love the concept and process of adaptation and I thought the book was phenomenal and had very specific opinions on how you could faithfully adapt it, and in this scenario I think every choice that was actually made was wrong.

But also, once I realized that I thought every choice was wrong, I did start looking at it on its own, and... I find that so much of the framing just of the movie on its own is deeply shallow? (Which, I haven't watched Ex Machina since college, but I remember feeling similarly about that one. Ooooh, your robot is a bitter girlboss. We all saw Bladerunner.)

More specific (negative) opinions, and book spoilers, and my thoughts on how to adapt it below the cut, both in case people do really like the movie and cuz it got reeeeal long—

In my opinion, the scientific aspects of it are the absolute most banal possible application of... well, biology, frankly (especially when you're originally dealing with fungus, my absolute beloved, so I was bound to have many opinions here)—the whole like... instant mutation thing? WHAT. It wants to be surrealist without ever selling me on any of the aspects that make it surrealist or even committing to the surrealism, like it doesn't believe or take seriously its own premise so it needs to explain it to make sure you, the audience, do not judge the absurdity of it, and achieves the opposite, where I just feel like the write didn't know how sci-fi or suspense worked as genres. I'm here to suspend some disbelief! I'm not here to have all of the wind cut from the sails because somebody needed to spend $50 million to try to convince people he was clever.

The structure of the film is bizarre and leans way too hard on exposition dumps and just telling both the characters and the viewer exactly what they're looking at, which negates any of the mystery of "The Shimmer" even once you've divorced whatever this is supposed to be from Area X. I really hate the choice to use camera footage rather than journals, especially given they've maintained the radio and satellite interference.

The way the backstories are set up really feels like it chokes out the purpose of the character motivations and then parades the lifeless corpse of that purpose through the streets pretending it's a theme (and, looking at the base level of where the characters are being led, I'm pretty sure an episode of Hannibal did it better). I will say, I do like Josie a lot, and I think she is actually the only one who maintains the concept of the biologist in the original, and her exit should've been the thesis of the film, and the ending with Ventress is genuinely bizarre (and, frankly, gives me end of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull vibes, which is in zero ways a compliment).

It seems like Lena is the last to understand, which makes no sense considering she's the biologist, and this is a biology puzzle (and gives me the impression that this was not someone who understood or appreciated the aspect of the biological intrigue of it). It started with her explaining mitosis, and she should've been the one to understand it best through it all. The scenes with Lena's doppelganger feel... so meaningless, and again, really just negates the ineffability of the whole concept, and the point of the inevitability! Why did the phosphorus burn down the lighthouse this time but not with Kane. Why did the doppelganger let herself be destroyed only for Lena to go back. (And, frankly, they and the treatment of the biological science have an insufferable vibe of edgy film major who just took a philosophy 101 course. And I would absolutely know.)

In terms of my thoughts on adaptation, I think the first mistake was getting rid of the conceit of having stripped them of names. It's the easiest thing to maintain in film, even easier than in prose. You lose some of the effect when they're not calling attention to it all the time, but you don't undercut it at all. (Same with "The Shimmer" instead of Area X.)

As I read the book, I felt the psychologist's hypnosis would be hard to adapt, but actually, I think film editing choices (jarring cuts, jump cuts, lighting effects, etc) could've made it very easy, especially since you then have to simply transition back to a more traditional flow of editing once the biologist stops being effected by it.

I'd have also organized it roughly as it is in the book starting at the tower, and shown the husband's return in flashback, along with the biologist's memories, probably with a lot of jump cuts. Also, just keep the original timeline of Area X! I don't really get the point in changing it, except to add urgency, even though... part of the horror of the original is that the process is slow but it is inevitable.

In general, much of the rest of the aspects of Area X's weirdness and how it affects the biologist are pretty straightforward, even on film. I imagine they were demotivated by the very... intangible aspect of depicting the interaction with the lighthouse keeper at the end, but honestly... A24 could've done it, no sweat. I'm no expert on effects, but I think both The Green Knight and EEAAO had aspects to them that I'd say were comparable to ways to make that scene work.

And really, I do think that this screenplay feels like it was written to make sure the audience knew that the writer understood all of the clever details, and as such so much of the ambiguity that makes the book fascinating and haunting is lost. Even with some of the fucked up horror effects, it feels a lot more like a generic action movie than the suspense thriller it should've been, especially because so much of it is just stated outright.

(Also, oh my god I hate a climactic title drop in a situation in which it did not need to ever be said to have the effect.)

Which is why I return back to, the first mistake was giving them names.

[captains-simp]

Ummmmm........

Can I have Yelena Belova "I'll stay as long as you need me too" or Fluff number 3?

I think i got the right prompt but it's definitely fluff.

If you still are accepting these requests and you haven't already done this one yet.

Chskdjks I didn't think anyone was actually going to request anything, this sparks so much joy (all of the requests are amazing and I'm working on them all). Soft Yelena let's gooooo

"I'll stay as long as you need me to."

Warnings: injury detail and my extreme lack of knowledge regarding medical treatment

2k words

[ masterlist ]

Buy me a coffee ☕

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hearing someone knocking at your door at 11:48 pm was never something you took much comfort in. Especially when there was no previous heads up about it.

You considered not opening door, telling yourself to continue watching your show and not think about the fact that you didn't live in the best neighbourhood.

When the knocking continued you wondered if you should call someone, anyone, but the faint and very much strained sound of your friend's voice had you sprinting across the apartment to open the door.

Yelena was leaning against the door frame, frighteningly pale and looking as tired as someone who had just fought a war on their own. Given her line of work you guessed you weren't that far off.

"Lena you...what happened?" Your eyes fell to her stomach where she was holding her blood stained shirt. You felt faint imagining how bad of an injury she had sustained.

You stumbled backwards and motioned for her to come in before you shut the door behind her and rushed to the bathroom to get your well-stocked first aid kit.

You had meant to go back to the front door to help Yelena into the bathroom but she had already made her way towards you.

"I love that you have such a small appartment." She breathed out. You smiled weakly and supported her weight as you helped her manage the final few steps to your bathroom and sat her on the edge of the tub.

"You should be thankful for the friend that owns it too." You joked as you knelt down infront of her.

"I am." Yelena was quick to say. "I really am." You smiled up at her took her hands away from her shirt before you slowly peeled it away to expose the gun shot wound. You took a sharp intake of breath at the sight of it.

"You need to go to a hospital." You said as you tried to examine it without causing your friend any extra discomfort.

"I can't." You knew better than to push that. It no doubt had something to do with her mission, which meant you weren't allowed to know.

Yelena had never made it a habit of coming to you for medical assistance - especially as you weren't a doctor or nurse. The first time you had done so was when you picked up on her strained walk. You kept bugging her about it until she finally showed you the gash on her calf. It had been easy to clean and healed quickly. After that was a deep cut on her arm, then a burn on her back, then another cut. All of which you noticed. It was only when the injuries were bad that Yelena asked for your help. Too stubborn to ask anyone else and smart enough to know she needed assistance.

You never told Yelena, but you had gone out of your way to learn a little more than the basics on dealing with injuries. Once or twice you had to sneak away from her in your bathroom to double check one of your books to make sure you were doing everything right. Whenever she asked how you knew so much you made up some lie about watching a lot of TV...okay so maybe that wasn't a complete lie.

"Where's the bullet?" You asked, confused by the absence of an exit wound.

"I took it out." Yelena mumbled, she was starting to look worse now.

"Yelena!" You scolded. "No wonder you're bleeding so much." Yelena knew better than to do that but you decided you would investigate that further another day.

You placed a cloth against the wound and held it there with one hand and bit your lip as you glanced up at her.

She's lost a lot of blood...really needs a hospital...are stitches enough?

You didn't want to leave Yelena's side for a second to check one of your books. You weren't sure stitches would cut it, the wound should have been cauterized but you had no experience with that and didn't want to try your luck. Stitches would have to do.

You prepared the needle and thread as Yelena held onto the cloth. Your hand was shaking slightly in anxiety over the situation. You wanted to hear about the mission, about who shot the blonde you cared for so deeply. She wasn't meant to tell you anything, but you needed to hear her voice and it would help her stay conscious so you tried.

"Did you get the jackass who shot you?" You asked as you started to hold the skin in place. Yelena hissed sharply before speaking.

"Of course." Even bleeding out she was smug, what else would you expect from her?

"Mmm, and the mission was a success?"

"It was." You were surprised at the confirmation. "Besides getting shot." She added. You had been trying to keep her attention off of that fact.

Yelena gripped the bathtub tightly and groaned. There had been no time for anaesthetic.

"Almost done." You assured.

You stayed in a concentrated silence as you finished the last stitch. It wasn't perfect, but you had done a good job.

You got up to get a bottle of painkillers from the cabinet and handed them to Yelena with a glass of water. She waved them away at first until she begrudgingly accepted them after a firm look from you.

You carefully cleaned the blood off of her stomach with half a dozen wipes and placed a dressing over the wound as gently as you could manage. It would need constant attention for a while and you could only hope that Yelena would stay with you in that time. You wanted her by your side until she was well. You wanted her by your side when she recovered too. That was a convosation you weren't ready for.

"Thank you, y/n." Yelena said as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

"Let's get you to bed." You said, lifting her arm over your shoulder again to help her up.

"No, you don't have to-"

"Doctor's orders." You insisted, not in the mood to deal with Yelena's stubborness when she could have bled out in your bathroom. There was still a chance that could happen. She could sense your slightly agitated tone - she was superspy and your best friend of years, so of course she could.

"Not a doctor." She muttered as you guided her to your room. You rolled your eyes but didn't manage to stop the small smile creeping onto the corner of your mouth.

"I'll take the couch." She made a move to separate from you but you held onto her waist perhaps a little too desperately to lead her to your room.

"No way."

"It's your house." Yelena said, trying to look at you but you kept your eyes forward, afraid of what she would discover when she read you.

"Then we'll both take the bed." You sighed. Yelena managed a sly smile at your words and you gently nudged her side as you sat her down on your bed. "It's not like we haven't shared a bed before." You said that to yourself more than Yelena, trying not to think about how close you would be during the night and how that would probably keep you awake.

You handed her a spare pair of pajamas and went to leave for the bathroom to change and clean away when you noticed her struggle.

"Let me." You muttered in the least pitiful and condescending tone you could, knowing if she thought she heard some she would reject any further help from you. She nodded so you lifted the stained shirt over her head as carefully as you could, using her breathing patterns as a guide to tell you if she had any discomfort.

"You want that off too?" You motioned to her sports bra and averted your eyes a little too obviously from her toned stomach.

Yelena huffed when she noticed the sports bra, clearly thinking about how much of a literal pain it would be to get off.

"Just get me some scissors." You nodded and grabbed some from your desk and handed them to her, instantly turning on your heals to leave to avoid a sight that would be stuck in you head for the rest of your life.

God, y/n. Don't be such a perv. You mentally scolded as you cleaned and cleared everything away before quickly getting into your pajamas.

You knocked on your bedroom door and heard Yelena tell you you could come in.

Her discarded and very much ruined beyond saving clothes were in a surprisingly neat pile on the floor, you would deal with that the next day.

Yelena was wearing one of your shirts, which looked much better on her, and hadn't bothered with the pajama bottoms. You gulped as you realised you would be sleeping next to her in that.

"You always have your heating on way too high." Yelena mumbled, you smiled sheepishly and let the complaint go as she was clearly not having the best of days.

"I get-"

"Cold easily. I know." Yelena smiled knowingly at you as she pulled the covers over herself and layed on her side facing your side of the bed. You got in next to her and mirrored her position.

"Please don't go disappearing as soon as I fall asleep." You said with a slight pout. It wasn't like she hadn't done that before.

"I'll stay as long as you need me to." Yelena smiled reassuringly at you. You wanted to believe that, but it seemed much more likely that you would wake up without Yelena next to you the next day.

The blonde must have picked up on your skepticalism, she placed a gentle hand on your hip and the other snaked around your back. Together, they pulled you closer to her slowly until you were pressed against Yelena as she moved onto her back. One of her legs even tangled around yours to keep you close.

You didn't move for a moment, almost not trusting yourself, but eventually you gave in to what you were craving and rested your head in the crook of her neck and wrapped your arms firmly around her.

Her familiar scent engulfed you in a way that was much more reassuring than her words. This was amplified when Yelena kept her hand on your hip while the other combed through the top of your hair in the most comforting gesture you had ever seen from her much less received. You felt yourself sink into her more as you fully relaxed.

You couldn't contain the smile on your lips. Nor could you ignore the butterflies throwing a rave in your stomach. It definetly didn't help you get a handle on your ever-growing feelings for your friend, but there was no way you were going to pull away from the embrace.

In the warmth and security of Yelena's comfort it didn't take long for sleep to overtake you. You knew she was safe, as you kept brushing your fingers lightly across the part of her shirt concealing the dressing, and you knew she was there with you. It put your mind at rest better than anything else ever had.

But just as you slipped into your deep sleep you could have sworn you felt Yelena's soft lips on your forehead.

Maybe there was a chance you could fall asleep in her arms more often and maybe it could be when she was unharmed. You were unsure about a lot of things in life, but that was something you felt confident on.

And rightly so.

[nightshadeshadow123]

Paw prints on the Agent's heart🐾part 8:

Hey guys. I'm back from holiday and are here to gift ya'll with the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoy and again thanks for all the love and support. Ah geez, I'm making this sound like a slight bit of Lena x reader too(probs because of a not so tiny crush on her😂)y'all please forgive me for the smudge of this.

Tag list: @retro-aesthe @blackluthxr @samustar @aznblossom @ibe-anne @lezzzbehonesthere

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"Have you found out anything yet?" Alex asked, masking the desperation in her voice but Winn caught onto it easily.

"Alex No. Stop asking me that every two minutes and leaning over my back like a crow, and staring at the screen won't make her jump out of it magically either." Winn snapped before sending the agent a apologetic look.

"I'm sorry Alex. I know you are worried more than..." Winn paused when Alex gave him a death glare after sitting down on a black chair next to him.

"Oh don't try to fool me. We all know you have a crush on her and you clearly are worried about her safety no matter how much you try to hide it behind your stoic agent facade." Winn went on before hacking away on his computer again as the other agents bustle about in the background.

Alex felt a flush rushing to her cheeks and the tips of her ears turning red at what Winn said. "Shut it Scott and just work on finding her location before I slap the stupid out of you."

Winn smiled to himself. "Oh how you wound me Danvers." Winn said jokingly but continued on the computer.

"Where is Kara?" Winn whispered to Alex suddenly who were absentmindedly playing with the sleeve of her black suit in worry, brown eyes shooting up to look at the back of his head.

Alex pursed her lips together before speaking again, looking down at her combat boots. "She went to tell Lena about (Y/N). I just hope Lena don't freak out on Kara for not telling her last night but we didn't want to worry her. I think even (Y/N) wouldn't like it if Lena worry herself too much and get less rest than she already does." She explained, briefly looking up at Winn and making eye contact before looking down at her hands, fidgeting with her sleeve again.

"She really do care alot about Lena. I'm glad that they know each other." Winn rubbed at the back of his head before turning back to his computer.

"Yeah she does. They both do." Alex whispered and gave a sad smile to mask her jealousy.

Just as Winn went to open his mouth to talk, J'onn walked into the quarters and stopped next to them, grabbing both their attention by clearing his throat.

Alex and Winn immediately looked up at the martian.

"Have you found out anything?" J'onn questioned, eyes briefly scanning over the computer infront of Winn.

"Sadly no but I haven't given up yet. These people have many places and some are hidden away way to good for comfort. They move a lot and split up often to confuse us and I can't pin point who of them got her and where." Winn explained while J'onn let out a sigh, arms folded over his chest, dark eyes watching Alex from the corners as she ran a hand frustratedly through her hair.

"The CADMUS agent still refuse to talk either. All we have gotten out of him so far is rude insults. I guess if he keeps that up I might have to resolve to get the information out of him another way I don't like too much."

Alex suddenly got up and stormed of to where they are keeping the CADMUS agent in a sealed cell while J'onn unfolded his arms.

"I should probably go after her before she beats his behind into oblivion." J'onn left after her with that said.

"And come to me or Alex if you've found anything." J'onn called over his shoulder before disappearing behind two sliding doors down a hallway.

"Righto, let's get started again." Winn rubbed at his neck before turning his full attention back on the task at hand.

"Where can they possibly be keeping you?"

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"Kara?" Lena walked into her office and noticed the blonde sitting on the white couch in her office.

The blonde Kryptonians head snapped up to the female Luthor, giving her a faint hello and a nervous smile.

"What are you doing here?" Lena questioned, eyebrow raised at the blonde as she walked over to sit on the sofa across from Kara.

"Hi Lena. Your secretary let me in and told me to wait for you here." Kara explained, looking down at her folded hands.

Lena straightened her back, leaning back against the comfy sofa, crossing her one leg over the other, focusing her attention on Kara.

"Where is (Y/N)? Is she okay? You haven't called me back last night." Lena questioned, worry in her voice but most of all authority for in case the blonde might lie to her.

"Uh...about that..."Kara began, nervously fidgeting with her glasses, not too sure how the Luthor will react at her next words.

"Go on." Lena urged, head half tilted to the side, watching the nervous blonde with a icey look.

"She got kidnapped." Kara finally finished after Lena's urge, trying not to cringe and seem to nervous under Lena's icey glare. Kara would never admit it openly but Lena did scare her atleast a little bit.

Lena shot forward, green eyes full of concern. "What? But how? By who? And how do you know?" She demanded, not caring to hide the desperation in her smooth voice.

Kara wring her hands nervously together, lips qursed before looking back at Lena.

"Apparently a group called CADMUS broke into her house and caught her off guard and shot her. When I got there, her room was thrased and uh...Supergirl was there and she told me." Kara hoped Lena would bought the few lies in there and not get exterminated by the female Luthor.

Lena tried to process what Kara just told her, brows furrowing in deep worry before her eyes turned icey again as she looked up at the blonde.

"Kara, why would Supergirl tell you, a random stranger what happened to her?" Lena questioned suspiciously, green eyes narrowing at Kara.

"Uh..."Kara nervously cleared her throat, once again awkwardly fiddling with her glasses. "Supergirl is a friend of mine...somewhat after we've met...when I interviewed her for CatCo once." Kara lied through her teeth, feeling that she might faint out of nervousness at any moment.

Lena narrowed her eyes even more. "You never mentioned being friends with her. And the most important question is why in the world didn't you call me last night to tell me she was kidnapped Kara?!" She raised her voice slightly making Kara flinch back but ignoring it.

Kara looked down at her light pink shoes, lips pursed once again. "I didn't want to worry you. And I'm certain that (Y/N) wouldn't be to happy if you are worried and get even less sleep than you already do." The blonde Kryptonian try to defend herself, getting up from the white sofa, her pink purse clutched in one hand in a firm grip out of nervousness.

Lena got up as well, taking a deep breath before letting it out again in a frustrated huff, pinching the bridge of her nose before rubbing at her pale temple.

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm just worried about her and upset you didn't told me last night." Lena walked over to her desk, black heels clanking against the white tiled floor of her office.

"I really must be going. I have to get back to work. Before Mister Snapper snaps my neck for being late." Kara rushed to the door, halfway out the door already before Lena stopped her, already sat on her deck chair behind her desk.

"Kara, let me know if you find out anything please." Lena pleaded, hands folded on her dark wood desk.

"I will do so. And you know...please don't do anything reckless against CADMUS Lena, I know you are worried but just try to stay calm." Kara urged.

Lena simply waved her of with one hand before typing away on her tablet after taking it out of her bag. "Bye Kara."

Kara let out a breath and left through the door, closing it behind her with a faint click.

"Please be okay (Y/N). I swear I'll strangle that woman with my bare hands if she hurts you again and dare show her face in my presence ever again."

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"Wakey wakey stupid girl!" One of the CADMUS agents yelled, yanking your head back by your (y/l) (h/c) hair with a painful grip making you gritt your teeth in annoyance, (e/c) snapping op to glare into his dull grey eyes.

"We didn't give you permission to go to sleep again you stupid girl!" He growled out, grabbing you by the neck, tipping the chair that you are painfully tied to with kryptonite infused chains backwards, restricting your breath more and more by each passing second making you struggle to breath and glaring at him with hatred in your eyes.

"Butch don't kill her yet. Boss won't be happy and will skin us all alive if we kill her and her son's favourite weapon." One of the younger agents rush over with panic, grabbing at the arm that the agent is chocking you with.

The agent called Butch let out a groan and released you making you fall to the floor with the chair, coughing and wheezing for air, face flushed red slightly as the agent laughed lowly as he stood next to the tipped chair, looking down at you with a malicious look in his eyes while the younger agent nervously fumbled around before pulling the chair and you upright again with a struggle, you could clearly tell he must be a new recruit and also quite young like the one you've injured badly when they attacked and kidnapped you.

You looked around the vast dark room that seems to be endless and nothing much in sight save for the few agents and a few tables where they have all kinds of experimenting tools and different liquids in bottles. You aren't sure in what kind of place you are kept in, you only know that it must be huge and there is barely any light in the room, just the weak one hanging on the roof above you.

Groaning internally when thinking back to the moment you were taken by CADMUS and Lillian Luthor's smirking face right before you passed out giving you goosebumps all over again while the agent named Butch and the younger agent was having a tiny argument by now.

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It was well past midnight when Winn came rushing to J'onn, Alex and Kara still trying to get information out of the CADMUS agent to no avail, almost smacking into Kara's back and gaining their attention by the door slamming close behind him.

"Winn? I thought you went home by now." J'onn raised an eyebrow at him.

Winn closed his eyes for a moment, regaining himself before looking at the four looking at him now.

"Uh no. You did say I can go home and get some rest but I've chosen to stay. And I've managed to find something." Winn explained, ignoring the CADMUS agent that was glaring at them from his sealed cell behind them.

J'onn looked a bit more interested now, hoping for the best.

"What is it Scott?" He questioned in his deep voice while Alex and Kara focused on him entirely now too.

"I may or may not have find a possible location or two where they might be keeping (Y/N). There are two groups that seem to have settled down at two locations but the other six groups keep moving about every two hours. I think maybe we can check out those two locations." Winn explained eagerly but not yet wanting to get everyone's hopes up and might end up being wrong.

J'onn contemplated this information over for a few minutes, mauling it over in his head before looking at Kara and Alex that was now next to him.

"What do you two think?" He questioned, already knowing the answer full well but voicing the question anyways.

Alex was the first to speak, a spark of hope and determination in her voice only J'onn and Kara caught onto. "I think we should." Kara eagerly agreed with her sister.

J'onn looked at them for a moment longer before speaking up. "Okay then. But we must send a group to each location at the same time, Alex you'll lead the first group and Ka...Supergirl you'll assist and lead the second group to the other location." J'onn explained, making sure they understand the plan.

Kara went to protest but Alex cut her off. "I'll be fine to lead a group alone. You must assist the other group. I'm capable of protecting myself." Alex left no room for argument for Kara, knowing her sister was only being protective but there wasn't time for that and they were both needed at different locations.

J'onn motioned them to follow him and Winn out of the prison room and led them to the main computers room.

Once they ware there J'onn turned and putted a hand on Kara's armored shoulder. "Kara, your sister will be fine. I'll be going in her group too if it will ease your worry."

Kara nodded her head after a few moments. "I know. And thanks."

J'onn gave her a tiny hint of a smile before turning and walking further into the room, clearing his throat to gain all the agents in the rooms attention as Alex stood to his left with Winn while Kara stood on his right, arms folded over the familiar house of El crest on her superhero suit.

He made a quick explanation of the mission and plan at hand before dividing them in a two groups of six members next to Alex and one group of five next to Kara and getting the locations from Winn.

"The first location is an very old abandoned asylum a few miles out of National City in a wooded area." Winn informed and J'onn nodded.

"Okay, Alex and our group will take a look at that location."

Winn nodded back before looking at Kara and the group of eager agents behind her, feeling happy and prideful that they seem so eager to get you back too.

"The second location is a abandoned rundown subway station that aren't used anymore right in middle of National City. It's seems to be a new favourite place of CADMUS."

Kara unfolded her arms and turned to J'onn and gave him a nod.

J'onn lifted his head slightly in acknowledgement before turning back to the eager agents.

"Suit up, get your weapons ready and get to your assigned location." He ordered with authority making them yell out. "Yes Director Sir!" before taking their leave to get ready.

J'onn thanked Winn before he turned to face Alex and Kara.

"Let's hope she at either one of those locations and that's she is still alive."

Alex quipped up, already fully geared(Just like Kara is already too) since she haven't bothered to change when they started searching for you. "She better be alive. I think she's to stubborn to die or get killed too easily."

J'onn shook his head at that, a hint of a smile at his lips. "You might be right about that." He then turned to Winn.

"Winn, thank you for all the help in finding her." J'onn began and Winn gave him a awkward pat on the shoulder.

"It-it's not a problem Director Sir. Anything to help some friends and people in need." Winn rubbed at his chin.

"Glad to always have your help. Can you please have backup agents ready for both groups incase we might need more help." J'onn ordered and Winn gave a nod.

"Yes Sir." Winn replied before taking his leave as fast as possible, phone already out.

"Let's go rescue (Y/N)." Kara putted an arm around Alex's shoulder and gave her light hug. "And please be careful out there. You never know what that Luthor woman have a her sleeve."

Alex smile at her, patting her arm in assurance. "I'll be okay sis, this won't be my first time without you. And please be careful too." She assured before pulling away from Kara's side hug when J'onn walked up to them with the now fully geared agents behind him.

"Ready to save (Y/N)?"

"Always." Came Alex and Kara's answer at the same time.

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You awoke to loud snickers and jeering of the CADMUS agents when the slammed what you assume a metal door close from somewhere behind you.

"Look at what I've caught." You heard the familiar tuneless voice of Butch as the other agents start to snicker again and pull faces at what or who you guess he must have in his hateful grasp.

"Boss will be so proud I think. Maybe she'd put me in a even higher rank." He boasted and shuffled closer to where you sat, still tied to the chair as you tried to look over your shoulder to see what's the whole commotion but to no avail, only hurting your neck even more.

"Put on the lights!" Butch yelled out in his nasty voice, making you cringe a little.

Suddenly there were more light in the room than what the weak light already offered, making you screw your (e/c) shut and groan out.

When you opened your eyes and finally see the place you were in you could feel your skin crawl all over again with goosebumps.

"No wonder this place feels so ghastly." You said under your breath.

Suddenly you heard heavy footsteps behind you and what sounds like slight struggling and voice that was muffled by a hand or something.

You tried to look again but only managed to strain your neck painfully again, making you look forward again and not to mention the painfull ache those kryptonite bullets have left behind when they've shot you back at the apartment, they've found a great pleasure in digging it out of your (s/t) flesh when they've brought you here, the dried blood smeared all over your skin and ruined superhero suit.

"Oh, she can't wait to see what I've caught. Such an impatient little bitch." Butch sneered and then proceeded to throw a very disgruntled and distraught figure on the floor with a painful thud right infront of you as the CADMUS agents cheer loudly by now at who it is.

The person sat up slowly and made eye contact with you, bloodshot light green eyes meeting with your (e/c) eyes making you tense.

"Lena?" You questioned confusedly, way beyond confused now. How in seven hell's have they caught her and where? Was the questions in your mind.

She certainly have seen better days. There was a blood trail running down her chin from a wound on her bottom lip where she clearly was punched by a fist, her long hair a mess. It made your blood boil to think that they have hurted her, glaring at her blood that is smeared on the brut of agent's right hand.

"(Y/N)." Lena said softly, relief filling her eyes when seeying that you are mostly alive, just the blood and wounds that cover your body that still have her on edge.

Butch motioned to a middle aged agent to bring another chair which he quickly ran to do and grabbed one that the others aren't sitting on, putting it against your back.

Butch grabbed Lena by the hair roughly, a low hiss falling from her bloodied lips as he proceeded to force her onto the chair and tying her up too against you so you are back to back.

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Gosh, so many ideas but I don't know which one's to use in the next chapter. Hope this chapter wasn't a disappointment to any of you but I'm trying my best.

[buddha-in-disguise]

100 episodes of Supergirl. And let me tell you it was a doozy.

Well that was an episode and then some. I haven't had a rewatch yet, so no doubt will pick up on some things once I do, but for now here are more immediate thoughts.

The first thing that struck me - it's now canon that Kara and Lena's destinies are intertwined. Who they become, who they were to who they are, whether or not they survive, hell, even whether or not those around them survive, depends on the other person. No-one else has the same impact in their life. Argue all you want, but that sure as hell is a definition of soulmates to me, platonic or otherwise.

If anyone of you are like me, and old enough to have been Xena fans, let me tell you this is so reminiscent of the “When Fates Collide” episode from season 6, which showed that in any alternate universe, Xena and Gabrielle still find each other. That it always comes back to the two of them. Fast forward some 18 years, and this parallels that message. Fate or destiny, call it what you will, but Lena and Kara's lives are intricately linked. I know a few other SG fans are Xena fans, and we've discussed the similarities between Kara/Lena v Xena/Gabrielle numerous times. This is another for that growing list.

So other than that, here are my immediate takeaways from it all.

Mon-El. Now he is a divisive character, and one I honestly have had a lot of issues with. However, this episode I felt showed the better side of him.

I also watched with widening eyes as Kara went to her ex-boyfriend for no reason other than to ask him about Lena! Seriously telling moment for me. I was also pleased Mon-El made the point that he and Lena both came from abusive childhoods and families. At last, the point of Lena having reacted in part like she has is because of abuse, as mentioned. Only the other day I said I was frustrated how Mon-El was forgiven for his actions because of his upbringing, but Lena wasn't afforded the same. It wasn't much, but it was a start. I will add, abuse or not - Lena still is accountable for her own actions (more on that later), just as Mon-El was.

The other thing. Winn has already said to "Give Lena time." Mon-El mirrored that line. Brainy believes in Lena. All three are from the future. Plus, the whole reason Mon-El can even be there? Because L-Corp develops a cure for the Daxamite lead allergy. Not LexCorp. Not Luthor Corp. L-Corp. Now I know that Supergirl and continuity are really poor at times, but I truly hope this is another nod that LexCorp is defeated, and Lena takes control of L-Corp once again, and she does good things, that lead L-Corp into being the cause for good she has always wanted it to be.

Onto Dark Lena. I'd already said to hubby that I wouldn't be surprised if in one of those timelines they didn't show an evil Lena. After all, we've had Kara gone bad now a few times in various scenarios. We even have had a bad Alex (S1, mind controlled anyone? Hmm. Mind controlled Alex. Oh wonder where we've heard that before? Yep, Alex this season. No idea if that is relevant in future episodes if Alex and Lena actually ever have a damn conversation, but it should be, whereby Alex can tell Lena just how mind controlling anyone, regardless of intent is a huge, bad thing, because of her own experiences with it).

So evil Lena was so good. It was pretty obvious to me, once they said that Lena had been injured, then disappeared and came back 2 years later changed, that Lillian/Cadmus had her. Lo and behold, Lillian had kidnapped her, and Lena version of Metallo was born. Even faced with that, when Kara refused to fight Lena, for that split second you could see the flicker in Lena's facial reaction. That split second moment of doubt. Honestly one of the things that I love so much with Supergirl is that they often have these nuanced moments throughout the seasons. Put those moments in the hands of Melissa and/or Katie and they're elevated to another level.

So only the other day on a different post I wrote this: 'Also, in reference to that S2 episode, (note - also ep 13), as Mxy disappears, he says that all he ever wanted was to have someone to love him, but Kara says that "love can't be forced on anybody; it needs to come on its own."'

Then we get the line in this episode of: “You were right what you said. You can’t force magic. It must be found.” Okayyyy then. Wow. Parallels again.

So talking of nuanced moments, let's talk about that ending. Although, before we delve into that I just want to talk about it a moment before Kara lands on Lena's balcony.

Did Kara actually watch that tape?

I find it strange it was left and I believe it wasn’t left by accident. Why else pick it up, and show that title so clearly? Why have that scene in at all unless it has relevance?

Is that why she decided she needed to take the stance she did?

I personally believe this was why it played out like it has. Kara saw something in that tape to take this route.

So the last scene. Again, watch the nuances of expression on Lena’s face as Kara speaks.

From the shock when Kara says “not this time.” to the way she frowned at the last line. Which isn’t calling Lena a villain by the way. For goodness sake please don't misrepresent exactly what was said. Kara is saying *if* Lena becomes a villain.

But there is far more here for me.

Lena knows Kara's true identity. Kara is trusting her with that knowledge even now, and especially with Lex in the picture. We know from the earlier timelines explored that by Kara openly showing who she is to the World, it causes all those around her to be targeted and killed. That is the trust Kara is showing and Lena almost certainly knows it, even without knowing that timeline alternative, and even if she doesn’t want to admit it yet.

A best friend isn't someone who always agrees with you and tells you that you're right.

A best friend is someone that helps you be the best version you can be, reminding you what your values are and what is important. They hold you accountable when you mess up, and support you when you need help. That is exactly what Kara did. She was telling Lena she would be the for her, but she would also hunt her down if she became a Villain.

We also have to remember numerous times, Lena has stated she is not a Villain. And she isn't. Not yet. She is misguided, making some terrible decisions, but ultimately Lena also stated just ahead of when she jumped off the cliff that 'Supergirl will save me.'

Now Lena knows, Kara will save her. But the boundary lines have been set by Kara (who by the way, I still think could never fight back against Lena. Not fully, because she wouldn't even when Evil Lena was killing her. She saw that flicker in the eyes just as I did).

Kara has firmly placed it all into Lena's court. Lena has to make the decision, to meet Kara half way and that Kara shouldn't have the burden placed entirely on her, and they shoulder it together. To realise her mistakes. We know Lena is craving friendship as much as she denies it. Remember this with Hope in 5.08, The Wrath of Rama Khan, and the nuanced reaction Lena gave there as the reality set in?

L: "You're the only friend I can count on."

H: "But, Ms. Luthor, I'm not your friend. I'm something you created to serve a purpose."

Ouch. That one hurt.

This whole end scene is more powerful and pivotal than perhaps realised.

Overall, I loved the episode. I truly did.

I just wish there wasn't another small break between this and episode 14, which isn't until March 8th. Damn all these breaks so close together! It would be so much nicer to be able to watch them without all these interruptions.

[emmlovesmarvel]

Chapter 12 - New Normal

Lena POV

I didn't realize how much I missed Kara. We've been together non-stop since Lennox came into our lives, but we haven't had anytime to connect with just us. Lennox is the most important thing to me. But so is Kara. I'm glad things have started to calm down slightly so I can have time to show her that I care and love her.

Consummating our relationship wasn't half bad either. While Kara is in the shower, I'm thinking about how easy it was to be with her. I've never truly experienced sex like that with anyone else. I truly felt vulnerable with her and let her see all of me. Seeing all of her was truly mind blowing. I fell in love with each part of her body. I was reminded of why I fell in love with her as soon as I saw her in my office that day. Even not knowing the Supergirl side of her, Kara was all I needed. She makes me feel like I am worth much more than my CEO title, my money, and my family. She doesn't care about any of that. She has brought out who I am. Lena. Just Lena.

Kara comes out of the shower with a towel on her head and around her body.

"Feel better, my love?" I ask smiling.

"Oh, you don't even have to ask. I am so in love with you, Lena. Every part of you makes me feel better!" She replies leaning down to kiss me, sweetly.

She gets dressed and I do a quick rinse of my body. Once we are both ready for game night, we decide to go wake Lennox.

Once we got in her room, Lennox was already up sitting on her bed.

"Hey, you're awake! How was your nap?" Kara asks sitting next to her.

Before she could reply, we see a blood stain on her sheets and tears on her face.

"Oh baby, what happened?" I ask assessing the bloodstain and then her face.

"My side hurts so bad." She winces, holding her left side with her right arm.

"Can we take a look, my love?" Kara says and Lennox nods.

I lift up her shirt and see that her wound is reopened. Again.

"Okay Len, your wound has opened up again. I'm gonna go get some gauze so I can wrap it all the way around your ribs, okay?" I say kissing her head while she continues to hold in her cries.

I dab some disinfectant that the DEO gave us, on the wound, which makes her yelp and grab my hand tightly.

"Sorry, mama! Sorry. I didn't mean to." She looks at me with wide eyes, frightened as if I would hurt her for grabbing my hand.

"Hey, my love. It's okay. You didn't hurt me. I'm sorry this is hurting but I'm almost done, okay? You can squeeze mom's hand as hard as you need okay?" I tell her. Kara offers her hand which Lennox grasps tightly bracing for the pain.

I finish up wrapping her ribs and give her her medicine to stop the pain.

"I was having a nightmare about Joe." She says softly. "He was cutting me on my side and I think I scratched it in my sleep. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stain the sheets." She adds, getting up to strip the bed.

"Lennox, honey. You don't have to apologize. It was an accident, okay? Blood comes out very easy. Baby, we will never hurt you or punish you harshly for any of your mistakes. I know it might take a while to understand and get used to that, but we will remind you until we are blue in the face. I'm sorry you had another nightmare. We can give you another sleep aid tonight so you can get some good sleep." Kara says holding Lennox in her arms.

"Okay. Thank you, mom. And thank you mama, for patching me up for the 100th time." She laughs watery. 

"Of course, my love." I say kissing her forehead.

The time is 5:30 so we have 30 minutes before the super friends arrive. Shit. We're in charge of dessert.

"Uh hey, Kara! Could you run to the bakery and grab some Magnolia cupcakes before they all get here?" I yell from the living room.

"Yes, of course! Be right back!" She kisses my cheek and speeds out the door.

"You excited for game night, honey?" I ask Lennox as she sits down and cuddles into me. I love how affectionate she is. Anytime she can, she will be touching Kara and I. We couldn't be happier.

"Yeah. I'm also excited for Chinese and potstickers." She responds giggling.

"Oh god. You are truly your mother's daughter." I say tickling her good side, making her laugh.

"Well, I am proud to be your daughter. And mom's." She replies seriously, looking at me.

"And I am proud to be your mom." I kiss the top of her head.

We hear the front door open and hear a whoosh.

"Got the cupcakes!" Kara says smiling.

A couple minutes later, Alex, Kelly, Brainy, and Nia show up.

"Hey guys! Long time no see!" Kara says greeting them in.

I help get all the food set up while Lennox helps Kara get out the games. Winn, James, and J'onn show up minutes later with pizza and beer.

We all sit down to eat and discuss which games we should play. I notice Lennox only having half a potsticker and one small slice of pizza. Her eating has been a lot better lately so I wonder why she only eats that much. Kara seems to notice it too because our eyes meet and we share a look. Lennox is talking with Kelly and Nia about getting a dog which makes her eyes light up.

"Okay, y'all. Let's play some Uno!" Alex says and everyone heads to the coffee table.

I explained to rules to Lennox and she seems to be understanding because she is in the lead right now. This is making Kara and Alex faces fuming.

"UNO!" Lennox shouts.

"WHAT?! You little!" Alex replies.

As everyone has their turn and it gets back to Lennox, she dramatically puts her card down which is a wild card. This makes everyone throw their cards in the air. I don't miss the startled and frightened look on Lennox's face when everyone is playfully mad that they lost. She seems to understand after they all start high-fiving her.

"You're sure you've never played this before?" Alex asks in a serious tone.

"I'm sure! Mama taught me right before we sat down. I swear!" She replies with her hands up making us all laugh.

Game night continues on and we play another round of UNO, some Egyptian rat tail, and Exploding Kittens. Lennox stopped playing after the second round of UNO. She got up to sit on the couch and decided to watch. I could tell she was a bit overwhelmed. Just as I was about to get up to sit next to her, Kara put all her cards down and sat next to her. Kara loves game night and always has to win so I'm surprised she got up. She takes Lennox into her lap and starts to explain what we are all playing. That gesture makes my heart swell with love towards her. Neither of us knew that the 'mother' role would be sprung on us, but Kara fits into it so perfectly. She is even more selfless if that's possible.

The night comes to an end and Lennox is asleep on Kara. She wakes up when Kara starts stroking her back.

"Hey my love, let's say goodnight to everyone and then we can go to bed. We have a big day tomorrow!" I hear Kara say as I clean up the glasses and plates.

Alex takes Lennox in a big hug, picking her up off the ground and kissing her head. Lennox says goodbye to everyone else and helps clean up all the games.

"So...your first game night! How was it?" Kara asks Lennox.

"It was fun! I see why you like them so much. Although I don't think I got your or mama's competitive genes." She says laughing tiredly.

"That's okay. We need some calm energy to balance this family out." I say smiling.

We all get ready for bed and Lennox decides to sleep with us.

"Are you feeling okay, baby? You didn't have a lot to eat." I ask as she rolls towards me.

"I think I'll be okay. Tonight was fun and it was good seeing everyone. I guess I was overwhelmed and a bit nervous. Joe used to have his friends over for poker night and they would all get drunk and mean. I always hid in my room, but Joe managed to find me and make me clean up after them. A lot of them would touch me. I know your friends would never do that and once we started playing I started to trust that. When I won, I felt bad because they all seemed mad but I guess they were happy for me? I really did have fun but my mind was trying to tell me that they would hurt me." She admits sadly.

I take her in my arms and she rests her head on my chest. Kara is rubbing her back.

"I'm so sorry, baby. We didn't even consider how this could trigger you and remind you of awful things that happened to you." Kara says.

'No, it's not your fault mom. I really did have fun. I just hate that I can't have a normal night with you guys."

"Lennox, honey. What you grew up with, was unfortunately your normal. It's not fair at all. But it makes sense why you are taking a second to adjust to our new normal. We all are. Mom and I have never been mothers before. We try our best with what we know and we continue to learn. That's all we can do. The same goes for you. I'm proud of you for telling us what triggers you or overwhelms you. It gives us more learning opportunities. You have been so patient with us and we couldn't ask for a better kid, my love. You are making amazing progress, okay?" I say tilting her chin up towards me.

"Okay." She smiles. "You know that you are the best moms, ever right? I know I didn't have any good parental figures before and I know that because of how you guys are. You give me everything I need and more. I love how much you love each other. It's a stark contrast from how Lillian was with Lionel and Joe with his new girlfriend he had every week. I don't want you guys to think you are doing an okay job. You're doing an amazing job. I love you so much." She finishes.

Kara and I are in tears and awe of our daughter. "We love you so much, baby. I love that you are ours." Kara says.

"You truly are amazing, Lennox Luthor-Danvers. I am so glad to call you mine." I kiss her forehead and stroke her arm.

We all fall into a deep sleep that is hopefully nightmare free.