Sacrifices

Chapter 6 - Time's Curse

Narrator's POV

Time was kind of a bitch. It didn't stop for anyone, why would it stop for them? Some days is has you waiting around, others it flies past you and some it has you up thinking of all that plagues your mind. For Lena Luthor, well, she couldn't sleep. If she'd had cameras installed in her office she could've checked for sure how similar or dissimilar her previous visit from Supergirl had been to the very first. But she hadn't. 

At first when Kara was 'away' the friend group had welcomed Lena, now everyone was so disheartened they didn't even meet up. Something just felt like it was missing. The karaoke machine at the alien bar hadn't been used much lately either, something about that cheerful blonde had managed to drag others up onto the stage. Now it gathered dust, just like all the board games the group had between them. There was no time for games anymore. 

For a week or so Lena had focused her efforts on just trying to let Kara know it was alright. The animals didn't hate her and she could never. After not knowing what she'd been through Lena still wanted to try and help her. She'd been alone and she'd been broken. No one would ever wish that on someone else. Watching Supergirl soaring around and appearing on the news set off this longing in the Luthor's chest. How many times did you have to lose someone to stop loving them? In Kara's case, that number didn't exist. 

Those were the things that sat heavy on Lena's mind as she attempted to go about her day. Who could blame her for feeling a little hopeless? The woman she was in love didn't remember her, that was difficult to get over. Part of her wanted Kara to remember her, maybe she'd come back to her then. Whatever happened, there was no one else she ever wanted to be with. Loving Kara had been enough for her. It couldn't get better once you dated someone like her. She wasn't the only one having trouble. 

In the fortress of solitude Supergirl was continuously having her head flooded with memories of this woman. Lunches and meetings in her office were the most common. 

One rescue mission found Kara in a little town in Ireland, this little shop had seemed particularly appealing afterwards. The owner had spotted her and given her a bag of scones, she didn't really fancy them but knew someone who would, for some hidden reason. Waiting until she left her office was the hardest part but thanks to super speed, she only needed a second. The gift was more than appreciated. 

Interactions between the two were interesting in the time that followed. Every day Lena hoped, more than anything, to simply see a glimpse of her hero. For Kara, it varied day by day, it wasn't just her mind that plagued her. Villains hunted her, there were weapons that could hurt her and through all of it she still tried to be the same person she was, that's what everyone wanted. The people she saw in her memories wouldn't accept who she was now, that was pretty apparent. The Martian had been monitoring her mind attempted to change what was there, a simple psychic attack wasn't difficult to thwart. He had no right being in her head. It was filled with things even he would not want to be stuck watching, Kara had seen the horrors of many a war. 

Lena's POV

Waiting was probably the hardest part, even my mind began to play tricks on me. The knocking on the balcony door wasn't real most of the time. It's only when someone knocked twice that I knew it was real. Every now and then I'll come back to my office to a gift or two as well. The scones were a delicious touch. 

There are more difficult times too, Supergirl wasn't always the top story in the bustling city I called home. On days when there wasn't live footage following her about I was left wondering whether or not she was alive. News stories about her also had their disadvantages. Her face planted across my screen and that worry always on my stomach that maybe she hadn't been so lucky this time. I had faith in her and her abilities but she wasn't as indestructible as she may want to believe. I couldn't bear the idea of seeing her hurt again. Seeing the broken look in her eye whenever I could catch it hurt enough.