Chapter Text
Kara proposed to her on a random Tuesday, two years after the eradication of Alura and her army of clones, in the middle of a heatwave in July. In a mall, of all places. It was deathly hot in National City—the news anchors said so, urging everyone to plan for hydration wherever they left the confines of their homes. At the very least, Lena had her very own walking AC in the form of tall and broad-shouldered Kara Danvers.
Their fingers were entwined as they walked through the somewhat bustling mall in the middle of the night, Lena’s other hand wrapped around the blonde’s bicep. The more contact she had with the cool skin, the less delirious she felt. There wasn’t much one could do to entertain themselves smack dab in the middle of a heatwave, and physical activity simply felt like asking for prolonged torment before an untimely death. Kara, however, was craving this ice cream they only sold at a small shop, operated by a local couple who made the delicious desserts themselves. Butterscotch, Lena remembered. Kara had a sweet tooth. And though it was an oddity for a vampyr, it was charming all the same.
Even though Kara’s chilled skin helped, and there was the promise of a frozen dessert in their very near future, Lena was still sweating droplets just by existing. She had dressed herself in the least amount of clothing possible, black workout shorts coming to rest halfway up her defined thighs, paired with a well-worn grey shirt, unceremoniously cut off at the sleeves just before they’d left. Sure, Lena had plenty of tank tops, probably, but the heat had gotten to her head. Kara had watched her with a smile as she sipped blood from a coffee mug, leaning back against the kitchen counter. She hadn’t even tried to stop Lena’s descent into madness, she’d simply enjoyed the show.
And, to Lena’s horror, the articles of clothing and accessories that finished her heatwave look? A pair of flip-flops and Kara’s bright, fucking orange fanny pack. Her gym shorts had no pockets, and they needed both their wallets, some water for the aforementioned heat, etc. Lena had a seething look on her face when Kara dangled the item in front of her face, claiming how practical it was.
Once a proud Luthor woman, Lena had been worn down to the point of not caring about her less-than-sightly appearance. The most basic of casual wear was thrown over her body like it was nothing. What had this vampyr done to her pride?
She pushed sweaty strands of hair behind her ear as they’d somehow fallen from her messy and hastily thrown together bun. Kara had been rambling about ice cream for about twenty minutes, but Lena’s internal freakout made it so she only caught some words here and there, to which she replied with noncommittal “sure,” and “oh, that’s nice.”
That is, until Kara stopped, turned to her, and pressed a cold hand to her forehead. “Are you having a heat stroke?” She asked.
“That’s absurd. It’ll take more than a little heatwave to take me down.” Her statement was punctuated by a bead of sweat running from her forehead to her cheek and mingling with the sweat pooling at her collarbone.
She was doing just fine, clearly.
“Okay.” Still, Kara eyed her suspiciously, as she always did. “You’ve barely said a word in the past, like, half hour. I feel like I’m talking to myself here. Are you sure you’re feeling alright?”
“I’m fine,” Lena insisted, tugging on Kara’s hand so they could finally reach the ice cream shop, which, by now, was in full view. Even the owner waved at them, as they were both regulars. But it seemed that Kara had other ideas. She wouldn’t budge from her spot, and Lena felt like she was attempting to move an entire building. It was fruitless.
With a huff, Lena crossed her arms over her chest and raised a single brow as she regarded Kara’s ridiculously stupid grin. “Well? What is it? Do you need to deliberate some more on the flavor of concentrated icy sugar you want?”
“So you were listening.” Then, just like that, Kara took Lena’s hand in hers once more, forcing her to uncross her arms. “Follow me.”
Lena did, of course, with an annoyed sigh and a slight eye roll. She wasn’t mad, not truly. She just felt like being a little petulant seeing as it was so humid that every movement she made felt like she was underwater, struggling to move faster than a sloth.
She dropped a kiss on Kara’s shoulder as they walked, over the material of the Hawaiian shirt Kara had chosen to wear this evening. It was very on-theme, and Lena absolutely despised the orange and yellow setting sun, scorching the palm trees printed on—as if their reality wasn’t separate from the universe in Kara’s lively shirts. She had paired the look with white washed jeans, the ones with frayed holes in them that were done on purpose by the manufacturer.
Lena was not surprised when Kara happily dragged her towards the rows of gumball machines filled with useless knick knacks that no doubt made up half the landfills in America. The blonde slipped a quarter into one of them, cranked it, and retrieved the random toy that tumbled out of it.
Lena had long since stopped attempting to understand why Kara did anything and simply enjoyed the cold chill of her skin. It was only when Kara asked her to turn around that Lena decided to pay attention to her surroundings again. She did as she was told without much thought, hearing the zipper of the fanny pack being opened and the rustling of change at the bottom of it as the vampyr rummaged through it. Why the hell Kara wanted a second useless toy was beyond her, but again, she preferred not to question her girlfriend at this moment in time.
She heard Kara plop another quarter in the machine, crank it, and retrieve yet another useless plastic toy from it. When Lena turned back around, ready to half-yell from sheer annoyance at being hot and sweaty, Kara was down on one knee.
“Can you just hurry it up and get your—what the hell are you doing?”
Kara wordlessly took Lena’s left hand in hers and slipped a ring on her finger. It wasn’t so much a ring as it was Spider-Man’s head glued to a plastic half-circle, and it slid a little too perfectly on her finger.
“I think you’re supposed to propose before putting it on, darling,” Lena laughed. The sound was half-disbelief, half-amusement.
“You’re gonna say yes anyway. It’s just a formality, and tradition,” Kara replied with a grin and an annoyingly overconfident wink.
When Lena made a move to remove the ring simply out of spite, and a little humor, Kara laughed and caught Lena’s hand between both of her larger, colder ones. The soothing chill spread through Lena’s overheated skin, and soon they were both laughing at the ridiculousness of this moment that should be, for all intents and purposes, way more serious.
Lena then grabbed Kara’s face with both hands, urging her to stand up. They were still chuckling, even as they kissed. And that was when Lena realized they had an audience. Hoots and hollers rang out across the mall, some people clapping, one man yelling, “Are we invited to the wedding?”
To which Kara, naturally, replied with a nonchalant, “Yeah, sure!”
How utterly embarrassing. Being proposed to in public, with a plastic ring, and saying yes. Well, she hadn’t exactly said that word, Kara sort of answered for her…was this grounds for annulment? All of their friends, including her mother and Lex, would no doubt find this dastardly story hilarious.
After the clapping in the background faded into white noise, Kara leaned in close, her forehead pressed to Lena’s. Her voice, quieter now, carried a rare and tender sincerity.
"I know this is so stupid," Kara murmured, her fingers brushing over the plastic Spider-Man ring still on Lena’s hand. "I have a ring at home, a real one. It’s just… I couldn’t wait. You were looking at me like you couldn’t decide whether to kick my ass, or kiss me, or both. And I just had to. Oh, and, sorry about the audience,” she lazily gestured to the people around them, those who Lena had almost forgotten were there in the first place. “I know how much you hate that.”
For once, Lena was quiet. Not because of the heat, but because her chest ached in that bittersweet way that came when Kara was unexpectedly earnest. Even if her words sounded half-insane, they made Lena's heart jump into her throat.
"You’re an idiot," Lena whispered sweetly before not-so-sweetly smacking Kara’s shoulder.
Their second kiss wasn’t filled with laughter but something warmer, more serious, the kind of lifetime serious. An overabundant feeling of love wrapped in the absurdity of a plastic ring and the sticky air of a summer heatwave overcame Lena, and she felt tears pricking her eyes.
Eventually, they left the mall with what they came for: ice cream. Lots of it.
They made their way with the frozen goods to Sam and Alex’s new home, purchased under J’onn and Lilian’s names. The three vampires were still very much aggravatingly unbothered by the sweltering heat, while Lena lay sprawled on the couch, a bag of frozen peas balanced on her chest, with her face turned directly into the path of a desk fan working overtime just so she could fucking breathe.
Sam sat cross-legged on the floor beside Lena, absently playing with the Spider-Man ring on her finger. Her gaze flicked up from the cheap plastic to Kara, and the casual amusement on her face twisted into sharp-edged indignation.
“Seriously, blondie?” Sam began, her voice dripping with mock outrage. “You’re gonna marry the best thing that’s ever happened to you, the smartest, most drop-dead gorgeous woman on this planet—”
She caught Alex’s sharp side-eye from the kitchen island, where both Danvers sisters were eating ice cream straight from the carton.
“Fine. Second most gorgeous woman,” Sam amended with a sigh. “Third being me, obviously. Fourth is Lucy. And you, Kara, you're a solid fifth. And this is the ring you went with? Did you get it out of a gumball machine?”
Alex, mid-spoonful of ice cream, pointed her utensil at Lena and Sam like a lightbulb suddenly went off in her head. “You two used to date, right? Or am I reading this wrong?”
Lena chuckled before answering a firm, “No.”
Sam would instead immediately claim, “Yes.”
Silence followed as both Danvers sisters turned to squint suspiciously at them.
“You know what?” Alex said, shoving another spoonful in her mouth. “I’m not even gonna unpack that right now.”
Kara hummed in agreement with her sister, her gaze then flicking to Sam. “There’s a ring, okay? I just… didn’t have it with me at the time.”
Sam’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Then why do it there? What were the vibes, seriously? Brain damage, maybe? Babe,” she glanced at Alex with a slight pout reminiscent of Kara's own. “Help me out here.”
Alex completely ignored her. Perhaps she was still miffed about the two of them not answering the dating question truthfully.
“It was the right moment! I don’t know, I just had to. Right then.” Kara shrugged as that being so nonchalant about everything was common, normal, and even considered sane.
Sam sent her a thoroughly unimpressed scowl.
Lena, still looking half-dead from the heat, lifted one hand weakly and brushed her fingers against Sam’s cheek to get her attention. “Darling, you and I both know logic has no place in whatever goes on inside my moronic fiancée’s head.”
Kara lit up at the word “fiancée”, her toothy grin was filled with pride, and unabashed happiness.
Alex snorted. “You should probably be offended by that, kiddo.”
“We already have one guest,” Kara said around a too-big spoonful of ice cream, completely ignoring her sister’s eyeroll. “I’m pretty sure Lena gave him a fake number though.”
Sam leaned back, her grin turning borderline wicked. “Wait, wait, wait. This happened in public, right? Is there a video?”
“Most likely,” Kara replied without hesitation.
Lena groaned loudly, throwing an arm over her eyes as if to physically shield herself from the sheer horror of the thought.
Kara’s bowl clinked against the countertop as she set it down, and Lena heard the familiar sound of Kara’s heavy, sure footsteps approaching. Without looking, Lena lifted her legs just in time for Kara to sit down, and then draped them across Kara’s lap like they always belonged there.
“What she failed to mention to you lovely people, is that I didn’t exactly say yes.”
Alex’s spoon froze halfway to her mouth. “Is my baby sister not good enough for you, Luthor?”
Kara snorted, her hands now resting on Lena’s bare legs. A pleasant groan almost left Lena’s lips at the cool sensation tingling her skin under the vampyr’s hands. “She was crying, and she kissed me twice. I didn’t exactly need a verbal answer.”
Lena lifted her arm just enough to glare at Kara. “And has it ever occurred to you that I cried because I was horrified, and I kissed you because it would be your last?”
That simply had no effect whatsoever on the smirk tugging at Kara’s lips. “Whatever you say, my soon-to-be wife, honey buns, chocolate chip muffin, love of my life.”
“You’re lucky I love you.” With what could only be described as maximum effort, Lena pushed herself upright and leaned in for a lazy, half-hearted kiss, one hand resting on Kara’s jaw. The bag of frozen peas fell next to the couch, right into Sam’s lap. Pulling back, she squinted at the blonde. “Or I’d kick your ass right now.”
Kara’s grin turned downright wolfish. “Told you I was kinda into that.”
Alex groaned dramatically from the kitchen island, only for it to be replaced with a slight yelp when Sam jumped into her lap, the stool protesting loudly as it definitely wasn’t made to accommodate two fully grown adults that casually possessed the strength of an army of Hulks.
Kara comically gagged when Sam kissed an unsuspecting Alex, open-mouthed with tongue action that would probably be illegal in at least three states.
Pulling back with a wicked grin, Sam licked her lips obnoxiously. “That’s exactly how Lena used to mount me and tongue my mouth at parties when we were dating.”
The room exploded.
Alex was shouting, her voice an octave higher than usual as she fumbled over half-formed words and indignant sputters. Kara was practically folded in half, one hand braced on Lena’s leg as her chuckling turned into honest-to-God wheezing, her other hand weakly gesturing toward Alex. Lena could clearly see Kara desperately wanted to say something, but her laughter wouldn’t subside enough for her two to form any sort of coherent sentence.
Sam, the fire starter in all of this glorious chaos, threw her head back and laughed maniacally as her arms loosely circled Alex’s shoulders. The kind of cartoon-villain cackle that could have come with lightning flashes and ominous organ music.
Lena flopped back onto the couch with a content sigh. She decided, quite wisely, to abstain from the current conversation and not confirm nor deny her best friend’s claims. Because frankly, Kara was already aware of the truth, and part of her truly enjoyed watching Alex squirm with almost vengeful jealousy.
Perhaps Lena was indeed just as villainous as her best friend.
The wedding ceremony was small. They had rented a beautifully cozy beach house with enough rooms to fit all their friends and family for the weekend getaway. The moonlight filtered softly through sheer curtains, the scent of saltwater lingering in the breeze. Everything was perfect, which was precisely when Lena decided to have a meltdown of epic proportions.
It started innocently enough: a shaky breath as Lex carefully zipped up the back of her dress, his expression unusually gentle as he adjusted the delicate lace shoulders. But then Lena caught her reflection in the full-length mirror, and something in her broke.
“This is a mistake,” she choked out, her voice wavering. “A grand, cosmic joke. Any second now, she’s going to realize she could do so much better. Someone kinder. Someone who doesn’t come with a lifetime subscription to emotional baggage and questionable moral decisions.”
Before Lex could respond, Lena turned and buried her face into his freshly washed and immaculately pressed suit jacket. He stood frozen for a moment, his arms hovering awkwardly at his sides before he settled them on her shoulders, patting her with the same hesitant caution one might use with a particularly fragile piece of glass.
“Lena,” he said softly, “I need you to breathe. Also, this suit was very expensive.”
Somewhere between sobs and self-deprecating mutters, Lena devolved into incomprehensible rambling about Kara finding someone prettier, smarter, and undoubtedly less of a catastrophic mess.
By the time Sam arrived, summoned with a frantic text from Lex that simply read “HELP,” Lena’s makeup was smeared, and Lex looked like he was contemplating a swift escape through the nearest window.
Sam took one look at Lena, let out a low whistle, and clapped her hands together. “Alright, Princess Doom Spiral, sit your ass down before you hyperventilate yourself into another dimension.”
Lena, sniffling and wide-eyed, obeyed.
Sam crouched in front of her, a makeup wipe in one hand and a mascara wand in the other. “Okay, first of all, Kara Danvers is, very disgustingly, the sappiest and most devoted golden retriever of a person I’ve ever met. I mean, she looks at you like you personally invented every single thing she’s ever loved. Second,” Sam pointed the mascara wand directly at Lena’s nose, “do you have trust issues? Absolutely. Do you occasionally go full broody Slayre in a turtleneck? Yes. But are you also brilliant, fiercely loyal, and unfairly hot? Also yes. So pull it together, babe.”
Lena let out a weak laugh, hiccupping midway through.
“Lastly,” Sam continued, leaning in conspiratorially, “if you make me redo this eyeliner one more time, I will personally drag you down that aisle in a headlock and supplex you into the row of folding chairs Alex perfectly placed to your specifications.”
By the time Sam finished reapplying Lena’s makeup, Lena was still trembling, but her smile was more solid, her shoulders straighter. Lex, who had been nursing a glass of whiskey in the corner, gave Sam a nod of silent gratitude.
“Alright, babe,” Sam said, dusting off her hands. “Let’s get you married before you come up with another reason to panic. I’m about ready to get shitfaced and grind up on my girl in the most obscene ways.”
Lena let out a long breath, steadying herself as she stood. Her hands were still shaking slightly, but her eyes were clear now, focused. And with Sam on one side and Lex on the other, Lena stepped forward, ready to meet Kara at the end of the aisle.
Her anxious thoughts had made it all seem way more difficult than it truly was, in the end. When the newlywed couple made their way back to their room, Kara had started a ridiculous strip tease to the first song that came up on the vampyr’s Spotify playlist: Tiffany’s “I Think We’re Alone Now.” Kara would try to claim that it was just a happy little accident, but Lena knew better. This had definitely been planned ahead of time.
Kara kicked off her newly polished and barely broken in oxford shoes with dramatic flair, nearly falling over in the process, before shimmying her way out of her suit jacket with exaggerated slowness. “Are you ready?” Kara said with mock seriousness, pointing two fingers at her own eyes and then at Lena. “Because I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly.”
The use of Destiny’s Child lyrics was absurdly cheesy, though as Lena sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed, one eyebrow arched, she covered her face with her hands and let out a laugh so bright it felt like it lit up the room.
As silly as Kara was being, as much as she wiggled and lip-synced along to the song, there was still something undeniably intimate about it. The way her eyes stayed on Lena, the way her smile softened every time Lena laughed.
A tie was thrown in Lena’s face, which she grabbed and threw over her bare shoulders, holding both ends of it. Her gaze trailed up Kara’s now bare defined stomach, her shirt completely unbuttoned. She bit her lip instinctively as Kara moved herself between Lena’s legs, placing a somewhat possessive hand on the back of her neck and bending down to kiss her.
The kiss started playful, teasing, but quickly grew deeper, more intent. Kara's hand stayed firm at the base of Lena's neck, her thumb stroking softly over her skin as she tilted Lena's head back. Lena melted into it, her grip on the tie tightening as Kara pressed closer.
They moved together slowly, deliberately, shedding clothes with a mix of laughter and breathless whispers. The playful edge faded as Kara guided Lena onto the bed, her movements reverent and patient. Kara's gaze never left Lena's, even her breath hitched and their bodies moved in tandem. It was slow and tender, every touch a silent vow, every kiss a promise. By the time Lena was arching beneath her, her fingers tangled in Kara's hair, her earlier fears seemed so distant they might as well have been someone else's.
They ended up in a satisfied and exhausted tangle of limbs on the floor hours later, surrounded by blankets and pillows as if there wasn’t a perfectly serviceable bed just a few feet away from them.
“Will you divorce me if I go and grab a plate of leftovers?” Lena asked in a sort of timid voice while Kara laughed, low and throaty. Why was she even embarrassed about being hungry? They’d just gone through three hours of uninterrupted, mind-blowing, body-numbing lovemaking.
A girl was hungry.
“Told you to bring a plate up here earlier. But, did my beautiful wife listen to me? Nope. Of course not.”
“Liar,” Lena nuzzled herself closer in the crook of Kara’s cool neck, her voice muffled against her skin. “I don’t recall you ever telling me such a thing.”
“I love you,” Kara whispered against Lena’s temple. The shift was sudden, from playful teasing to raw, earnest devotion, causing Lena to swallow thickly, fearing she might be overcome with emotion once more. Besides, she’d done more than enough of that today.
She pressed a kiss to Kara’s chest, her arms tightening around her wife. It wasn’t the first time Kara had said those words to her, and they wouldn’t be the last. But, for once, she had actually let herself believe them.
Soon after, they found themselves in the downstairs kitchen, Lena wrapped in her silk robe, Kara in a pair of joggers and a worn sleep shirt. Lena’s messy hair was drawn up into a bun, a far cry from the beautiful and intricate braided updo Lilian had woven for the earlier wedding ceremony.
That’s where they spotted not only the object of Lena’s desire, the leftovers from the diner, but also Sam and Alex already digging in, guilty as charged.
“Pigs!” Lena accused, striding into the kitchen with all the indignation of royalty caught in a commoner’s den. She grabbed a plate and began piling a truly unreasonable amount of food onto it.
Sam scoffed, mouth half-full of a crustless sandwich. “We’re just down here because Alex was tired of listening to a certain Luthor screaming her lungs out.”
Alex, pointed a single accusing carrot at Lena. “Honestly, we were debating if we should call an exorcist or a chiropractor.”
Lena froze, mid-scoop of mashed potatoes, her face flushing a deep crimson.
Kara, leaning casually against the counter, smirked in that self-satisfied way that made Lena want to slap the look clean off her face. “Can’t say I didn’t have a… hand in it.”
Punch the look away—that’s what Lena really wanted to do. She briefly considered calling her lawyer, Jess, and having her draft divorce papers this instant.
Instead, Lena wordlessly sat at the kitchen island, crossing one leg over the other, and shot Kara a withering glare. She wasn’t entirely sure it held much weight, considering her mouth was still full of food. She let out a muffled sound of despair as she shoved more food into her mouth.
Kara chuckled softly, pushing off the counter and pressing a fleeting kiss to Lena’s temple before swiping a bite of potato from her plate and sauntering away with all the confidence of someone who knew they’d won this round.
In the end, they finished the evening in the living room, sprawled across couches and beanbags, playing board games Alex and Sam had brought over for the weekend. The easy rhythm of their laughter filled the space, loud and unguarded, until it drifted up the stairs, drawing a handful of others to join in.
By the time the last game was packed away and the living room was somewhat quiet again, Lena found herself tucked under Kara’s arm, her head resting against her shoulder. She fell asleep there, on the couch, listening to the sounds of her friends debating something utterly useless.
It was the best sleep she’d ever had.
Five years passed, and so much had changed. Neither Lena nor Kara anticipated how their public joining would reshape vampyr society. Benevolent vampyrs were now accepted within the association’s ranks, with Alex stepping into J'onn’s shoes as the director—an unexpected turn for the man who had once been wary of their kind. Now, he regarded the Danvers sisters as his pride and joy.
Sam led the engineering department, while Winn helmed a newly created branch focused on magically inclined research, largely thanks to the endless bickering between the two. It was only when they worked together on projects that they found equal footing.
Lena had inherited her mother's position at the head of the academy, changing many of the rules and regulations that had previously prohibited humans from enrolling alongside those with Slayre blood.
These were the big changes, the results of years of negotiation and dialogue, sparked by the very public nature of her marriage to Kara—and the viral proposal video that followed. A Luthor, marrying a vampyr? It dominated news outlets and tabloids for months, especially after images of their wedding leaked online.
A leak that, despite every attempt, had never been traced to its source. Lena was certain her best friend had a hand in it. A best friend who, despite still not being engaged or married to Alex, had chosen to adopt a child with her. It was unconventional, sure, but somehow, the two made it work.
The girl, Ruby, had suffered enough in her youth to be distrustful of everyone, a struggle Lena understood all too well. Though her own struggles were now muted, fading to distant memories over the years, they sometimes resurfaced in unpredictable ways. Outbursts that Kara, ever patient, always handled with care.
It was still a mystery how Lena had gotten so lucky.
Her most recent anxiety attack had taken the form of grey hairs sprouting on her thirty-fourth birthday. And not just a few strands here and there, no, the entire front section of her hair had turned a dull grey. It looked ridiculous, and she made herself believe she looked ridiculous, too.
She stood in front of the large mirror in her en-suite bathroom, barefoot on the cold marble floor. Her gloved hand pressed into the sink, green eyes fixed on the grey strands, taunting her. Not to mention the scar still trailing from her eyebrow to her cheek. Jagged, imperfect, ugly. Just like she felt at that moment.
A mixing bowl of hair dye sat nearby, ready to return her hair to its original shade. But still, she didn’t move. Instead, she stared at her reflection.
She then heard Kara’s footsteps, unhurried but firm, ascending the stairs. The sound grew louder, and soon a blonde head appeared in the bathroom doorway. Lena had to twist her head to see Kara, her reflection nowhere to be found in the mirror.
“Hey beautiful, Sam wants to know if we can babysit—what are you doing?” Kara’s voice was soft but questioning, her brows knitting together as she leaned against the bathroom doorway. Her sharp blue eyes flicked from the mixing bowl of hair dye to Lena’s clenched jaw.
She pointed an accusing finger at her wife. “Lena, hands away from the hair dye. Turn around slowly, hands behind your head.”
Lena scoffed, rolling her eyes as she folded her arms across her chest, chin tilting upward defiantly. “What’s the charge against me this time, officer?”
“The charge is: the Rogue look you’ve got going on is fucking hot, so how dare you take it away from me, and every poor sucker who wasn’t lucky enough to marry you?” Kara stepped closer, her lips twitching with a proud grin. “You know it’s important to me that I make everyone jealous that I, with nothing but my wit and charm, managed to land a woman so out of my league. It’s a public service, really.”
Lena sighed, her arms loosening slightly. “Kara, I look like a desperate, aging cougar when we walk in public together.”
“What? Babe, human-vampyr couples are super common these days. I doubt anyone cares.” Kara moved behind her, her hands sliding gently onto Lena’s shoulders. “Seriously, look at you. Badass and hot.”
Lena’s skeptical gaze flickered in the mirror, though the quiet sincerity in Kara’s voice took some of the edge off her self-loathing.
Kara pushed the material of Lena’s silk robe off her shoulder just slightly, then dipped lower to press a gentle kiss against the pale skin below. Her voice dropped even lower, lips brushing against Lena’s collarbone. “And soft.”
Lena licked her drying lips, the sudden attention from Kara sparking a fire in her belly, even after all these years together. The simplest touch from her wife could ignite her passion in an instant.
“So, you admit it? That I gained weight?” Lena couldn’t help herself, teasing even though she knew that wasn’t what Kara had meant by soft.
Kara pulled back, her grip on Lena’s shoulders easing as her thumbs brushed along the fabric of her wife’s robe. “Lena, you can’t be—oh, I get it. You’re teasing me. You’ve gotten really good at that and honestly? I blame Ruby. She’s teaching you way too much.”
Lena raised her hand and lightly patted Kara’s cheek, the gesture tinged with condescension, though the blonde didn’t seem to care at all.
“Cool, so I’ll make the diner reservations.” Kara’s face lit up with excitement, “Arcade after?”
“Naturally,” Lena shrugged, placing the bowl of hair dye in the sink and letting the water wash away the remnants of her anxiety. “Someone has to teach the youth that DDR isn’t just a game. It’s a rite of passage in the Luthor-Danvers household.”
It's not that Ruby necessarily needed a babysitter at her age, now grown into a teenager, but rather that Lena and Kara wanted to spend time with her, while giving Alex and Sam complete peace of mind that their daughter was in good hands.
“You’re, like, the best wife I’ve ever had.” Kara froze, her eyes going wide as the words hung in the air. “I—I meant only wife,” she stammered, her throat bobbing nervously as she began to edge backward with slow, careful steps. “Lena… Lena, wait, hear me out before you—”
With a sharp inhale, Lena lunged, and the chase began.
Laughter and sharp footsteps echoed through the house as Lena pursued Kara down the hall and into the living room. Kara, true to her word, didn’t use her teleportation abilities, though Lena could tell she was holding back. Finally, with a triumphant yell, Lena tackled Kara onto the plush loveseat.
Straddling Kara’s lap, Lena pinned the woman’s broad shoulders down, her nearly completely raven hair falling over her face as she loomed over her wife. “Confess. Who is she? Is she still alive? What’s her name?”
Kara let out an indignant snort despite her position. “Why? Do you want to—Okay, first it’s a he. I mean, it was the 1900s, Lena,” she said with infuriating casualness. “And second, it was an arranged marriage. Alex and I needed a place to crash, and he had a huge mansion, and tons of money. He died of tuberculosis like a year after.”
“Should I be expecting your bastard children to appear at our door any moment now?”
“No. Hell no. Definitely, no.”
Satisfied with the answer, Lena finally released Kara’s shoulders but stayed perched on her lap, arms crossing over her chest. “You’re lucky it would seem unsightly to the public eye if we were to separate.”
Kara grinned, sitting up just enough to press a quick kiss to Lena’s lips. “Yeah, totally lucky.”
Peace temporarily restored, Lena and Kara settled side by side while the Slayre grabbed her phone, dialing Alex’s number since her best friend was either ignoring her, or had forgotten how to use a phone. “We’ll come pick her up around ten? Your idiotic sibling said she’ll make the reservations at that Thai restaurant Ruby likes. That is, if she hasn’t lied about that too.”
“Oh, come on! You forget to mention one shotgun wedding to your current wife, and all of a sudden, you’re labeled a liar? Totally unfair,” Kara huffed with underserved indignation.
Lena gave Kara a sharp side-eye, but the smirk playing at the corners of her lips betrayed her amusement.
In the end, they had a fantastic evening. It began with Lena sliding a beer across the table to Ruby with a sly smirk while they sat in a cozy booth at the aforementioned Thai restaurant. The teenager’s wide eyes flicked nervously between her aunt and the unimpressed vampyr sitting across from them.
“Kara, she’s sixteen. It’s a single sip,” Lena defended.
“My wife, corrupting the youth,” Kara shook her head, as if Lena had done some reprehensible and dastardly act.
Ruby, emboldened by Lena’s casual confidence and Kara’s resigned sigh, took a small sip. Her face contorted immediately, and she coughed. “That’s disgusting. How do you guys drink this?”
Lena laughed, loudly, as Ruby's speech was mix of everything both endearing and annoying about both Sam and Alex.
The rest of the dinner passed with laughter, Ruby poking fun at Lena’s particular way of organizing her food while Kara stole rice from both of their plates. Afterwards, they headed to the arcade. A neon-lit wonderland filled with the sounds of beeping machines and the faint scent of stale popcorn.
DDR was, of course, the main event. Lena, all confidence and dramatic flair, stepped onto the dance platform with a proud toss of her hair. Ruby smirked and cracked her knuckles.
“I hope you stretched, Aunt Lena.”
“What am I, an amateur? Please.”
Five minutes in, Lena’s movements became slightly off-beat. Ruby, meanwhile, looked like she’d been born on the platform, effortlessly hitting every arrow. Kara, standing to the side with her arms crossed and a soft smile, was caught between cheering for Ruby and offering her wife some emotional support.
When the final screen flashed, Lena collapsed onto the railing, panting.
Ruby struck a victory pose. “Who’s the amateur now?”
Kara, torn between loyalty and amusement, hesitated too long before giving Ruby a high-five. Lena’s head slowly turned toward her wife, eyes narrowed.
Kara froze.
The silent treatment began immediately.
By the time they returned home, Ruby had claimed the couch as her throne, her head resting on Lena’s lap and her feet propped casually on Kara’s thigh. A procedural crime show played on the TV, the dialogue punctuated by Kara occasionally glancing nervously at Lena, who still wasn’t speaking to her.
Eventually, Lena broke the silence.
“Have you ever thought about having children?”
Kara’s head tilted slightly, her brows pulling together in that endearing way that always made Lena’s chest tighten. “With you?”
“No, with your first husband, you tramp!” Lena hissed, swatting Kara’s shoulder hard enough to make them both freeze and glance down at Ruby, to make sure that hadn’t woken the sleeping teenager up.
“Ouch,” Kara whispered dramatically, rubbing her shoulder as if it had actually hurt. “Maybe not right now. I mean, I’d like to. If that’s what you want, one day?”
Lena’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I’m asking you.”
“Okay, well, I’m asking you what you want, Lena.”
God, she was impossible. Lena sighed, her hand absentmindedly brushing through Ruby’s hair. “Yes, if you want children, then I would have them. With you.”
Kara’s face split into that radiant grin that Lena swore could power entire cities. “Glad that’s settled, then. We’re having kids.”
“Plural?” Lena raised an eyebrow, though she can’t say she wasn’t shocked.
Kara shrugged as if they were discussing weekend plans instead of a life-altering decision. “Why not? This house is big, way too big for just the two of us. And General Zod is getting super lonely.”
Lena snorted softly at the mention of their feline companion. “Adoption?”
“Thought that was a given.” Kara’s tone was casual, but her eyes shone with genuine excitement.
Lena leaned back against the couch, her fingers tightening slightly on her glass of scotch as she took a slow sip. The warmth of the liquor settled in her chest, but it was nothing compared to the warmth spreading through her at the thought of raising a child with Kara. She pictured quiet mornings in the kitchen, Kara cooking for the three, or four, or even five of them. Late nights on the couch, a small head asleep in her lap, Kara beside her, both of them equally exhausted and happy. It was terrifying, and she imagined that’s how both Alex and Sam had felt at first, but it also seemed so right.
When Lena turned her head, Kara was already watching her. The softness in her blue eyes still made Lena’s breath catch, even after seven years together and five years of marriage. That expression always unraveled something deep in Lena’s chest, something she rarely let anyone see.
They kissed, slow and purposeful, careful not to jostle Ruby.
Of course, Ruby stirred anyway, groaning as she sat up and pushed herself between them with all the grace of an annoyed cat. “Alex is totally right. You two are so gross. Always kissing, everywhere, all the time.”
Lena smirked,but attempted a stern frown regardless. “Is that really how your mothers raised you to speak to your aunts who love you dearly?”
Ruby grinned sleepily. “Do you really love me if you won’t make an effort to beat me at DDR?”
Lena’s lips curled into a playful snarl. “You take that back.”
Kara clamped a hand over her mouth, her laughter barely contained as Lena slowly set down her glass and started rising to her feet.
Ruby’s eyes went wide, and she bolted off the couch with a squeal. Lena chased after her, mock outrage in her voice as she called out, “I had too much to drink before we played! My coordination was compromised!”
Maybe, Lena thought as she finally cornered Ruby in the kitchen and smothered her in tickles, she wouldn’t be such a bad parent after all. And when her eyes locked with Kara’s, who was casually leaning against the kitchen's archway, Lena understood that her wife had been thinking the exact same thing.