"Lena! Lena, are you at the hotel? Where are you? What's happening?" Kara becomes very alert, very quickly hearing the plea over the phone. She is rummaging around frantically to throw on a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt. Her mind races, wondering if the men found her and is in an even worse situation than the other night.
"I- I'm... Hotel.. 14...28.. Please, please... hurry.." Lena manages to get out in-between sobs and gasps for air.
"I'm on my way, Lena. Hold on. I'm going to keep you on the phone. I'll be right there, I promise. Just breathe for me," Kara tries to keep her voice calm. If she's in the hotel room, then she should be safe for a little bit. Kara thinks about calling 911 but doesn't even know the situation to report. Kara puts in her wireless headphones, grabs her helmet, and runs down the stairwell to her motorcycle.
"Lena, listen to my voice. What is going on? Do I need to call for help?"
"P-p-panic. A-Attack."
Kara lets out a breath that she was holding while racing between cars to get to the hotel in record time. "What are 5 things you can see, Lena? List them out loud for me. Can you do that, hun?"
Kara slips into using pet names without even realizing it. Listening to the sobs in response, she lays into her clutch to go even faster. "Okay, okay. Just take a deep breath with me? Can you do that for me?" She hears a shaky breath as Kara does an exaggerated one with her.
The blonde sprints her way into the hotel lobby and tosses the keys to the valet as she runs into the lobby. She rips off her helmet as she pushes the elevator button repeatedly for the 14th floor. "I'm in the elevator right now. Can you make sure the door is open for me, honey? I'm almost there. I- I'm almost there."
Kara can hear noises over the phone and can barely make out a click followed by a massive thud. She runs out of the elevator as soon as she can slip through and races down the hallway. As she slams the door open, her eyes dart around until they land on the petite woman huddled into the corner. Her face hidden behind a curtain of dark, inky hair. Kara collapses on her knees in front of the ravenette, and barely holds herself back from touching the woman. Kara takes a deep breath to calm herself as she quickly assesses the rest of the room to make sure no one else is present.
"Lena, baby. I'm here. I'm right here. Take a deep breath in." As she sees the woman try to follow the instructions, she says softly, "Good! Good job, sweetie. Alright, on the next one, I want you to inhale deeply and try to hold it for a couple seconds."
Lena is doing her best to listen to the soft voice in front of her. She can feel the difference from the rapid breathing to the deep breathing. She inhales deeply again and holds it only for a couple seconds before she has to let it out again. She tries it again and can hold it a bit longer. Lena slowly stops sobbing uncontrollably and focuses on the breathing.
"You're doing so good, Lena. So good. Can you try to tell me 5 things you can see?"
Lena holds another breath for a few beats as she barely whispers on the exhale, "my hair."
"Good! That's one! Four more things." Kara holds back a sigh of relief.
Another breath being held before whispering, "carpet." Lena keeps to the pattern of breathing when she lists her legs and her phone. She shakes some of her hair out of her face when she whispers even more quietly, "Kara."
Kara smiles softly at the woman. "Perfect, Lee. You are doing fantastic. Now, list four things you can feel."
"Fan." Lena's hair is tickling her face with each pass of the oscillating fan. "Phone." She relaxes her hand so it's not digging into her skin. "Tears." She moves to wipe the tears that are dripping down her chin to her chest. "Soft hands." Lena reaches out to Kara's outstretched hands on the ground.
Kara squeezes the hand in hers lightly before continuing. "Good, baby. So good. Three things you can hear."
Lena's voice gets stronger and steadier as they continue in their call and response. Her muscles slowly unwind. "Heartbeat, fan, your voice."
"Two things you can smell, Lena."
"Scotch. Vanilla."
"Last thing. One thing you can taste."
"Salt." Lena notices that she is breathing evenly and calms down considerably. Her jaw trembles trying to say something to the woman that literally just woke up in the middle of the night and raced to get to her.
Kara squeezes her hand lightly again and keeps smiling. "Hey there. Can I- Would you- I'd really like to hug you right now. W- would that be okay?"
Lena just nods slightly and drops her eyes to the floor. Looking in those blue eyes is just too much. She's afraid that she will show Kara too much by letting her look too deep in her own eyes. She's scared that if she stares too long, she will scare the woman that she wants nothing more than to hold onto right now.
She can feel Kara scooching closer and lightly embracing her in a side hug. Lena's body just moves reactively without much conscious thought until she is sitting in Kara's lap while clinging to her sweatshirt. She buries her head into the vanilla scented neck of the woman holding her. Suddenly, she can feel vibrations and registers that Kara is humming a tune softly. Lena feels more tears running down her face, and she opens and shuts her mouth several times to try to say anything.
"Hey, you don't have to say anything. I'm here, and I will stay here. You don't have to tell me anything. Not right now, or not ever if you don't want to," Kara whispers. She even goes as far to lightly kiss the top of her head before resuming her light humming and swaying.
This intimacy triggers more tears for Lena. Never has she felt so safe and secure and cared for. She clings a bit tighter. She squeezes her eyes shut and inhales the comforting scent some more. Lena finally feels the exhaustion catching up with her. Her breathing levels out in a deep, slow rhythm. Her body relaxes into the warm, strong support below her.
"Lena, dear, I'm going to move us to the bed, okay? Is that okay?"
Lena grips tighter, scared of losing contact... scared of losing the one thing that's keeping her grounded.
"You don't have to do anything. I will move us both, okay? You just keep holding on." Kara feels the gentle nod against her chest. She positions herself in order to stand up from thigh strength alone. She doesn't dare take her arms off of Lena for even a second. She carries the woman further into the suite and carefully lowers them onto the bed together. Kara does her best to get them both in a relaxed and comfortable position.
Lena remains attached like a koala and nuzzles into Kara's chest. Kara starts to hum again until she feels Lena's body slacken. She falls asleep in the blonde's arms within the first ten minutes of laying down. Kara stays up much later, lost in thought about what could have triggered this reaction in her new friend. She gently scratches Lena's scalp and feels her relax even more at the gesture.
*******************
When the sun starts to peek through the curtains, Lena wakes up reluctantly. She feels completely exhausted but strangely more comfortable than usual. She snuggles down further into the warmth before it registers that she is sleeping on top of someone. As she slowly looks up, she can't stop a quiet gasp at the beauty of her blonde hero. Her face is completely relaxed with hair splayed out on the pillow beneath her. Her lips are parted for just a tiny "o" as she lightly breathes.
Lena finally remembers the events of the night before. She hides her face in shame. She never meant to call Kara to help her. She doesn't even understand why she freaked out like she did last night. It has been years since her last panic attack. While trapped in her negative thought cycle about the previous night, she feels the woman underneath her shift to stretch.
Kara lets out a deep moan as she stretches her legs and abs by arching her back a bit. She notices a warm weight on top of her as she quickly remembers where she is and who she is with. As she peeks a baby blue eye open, she gruffly says, "Mornin'. How'd'ya sleep?"
"Better than I have in a while," Lena mumbles out, more honestly than she intended.
"Good," Kara smiles softly. "M'too."
Thankfully, Kara's stomach growling breaks the growing silence between the two women. Both can't help but laugh as her stomach just keeps rumbling without end in sight. Lena takes it as her cue to roll off of Kara as she moves to sit up in the bed.
"I suppose I should be treating you out twice now for both rescues. Want to go out for breakfast at Noonan's?"
"Sure! Just let me call my boss."
"Oh! I'm so sorry! I completely forgot that it is Monday. I don't want you getting into any trouble. We can do it some other time."
"No, no. It's okay. I promise. Unless you need to get to work?"
Lena just shakes her head no. "You don't need to call off work though. It's fine, Kara. We can go another time."
"Don't worry about it. Besides, it helps when your boss is your sister," Kara winks while she pulls out her phone and moves to the living room area of the hotel room.
Lena heads into the bathroom to start getting ready. She takes a moment to stare at herself rather critically in the mirror. She can't believe that she just offered to extend the awkwardness and embarrassment with Kara. She could have just lied and said she needed to get to work, too. Although, she would be lying to herself if she wasn't a little bit excited to spend some more time with the woman. Lena pulls on some of her comfort clothes which include stretchy jeans and a loose, white crop top. Tossing her hair a bit to try to give it some life, she gives herself another once over before returning to the room. She mindlessly throws on Kara's leather jacket when she realizes she should give it back. She gives it one more sharp inhale, ingraining the scent of vanilla and leather before holding it out to Kara.
"Why don't you keep it a bit longer. I rode over here last night, and I will need to stop off at my place to get fresh clothes. If you are comfortable riding along, you can come with? You'll need to wear the jacket though."
"Rode?"
"My motorcycle."
Lena blinks slowly, dumbfounded at the smiling blonde. Her mouth moves before her brain can catch up, "Seriously?! Can you get any hotter?!" Lena's eyes shoot wide at realizing what she just said out loud. "Oh my God. I'm so sorry! I- I didn't mean to say that!" Lena literally facepalms in embarrassment, her cheeks on fire.
Kara just chuckles in response, "It's okay, Lena. I find it flattering, but we can just... chalk it up to a crappy night. No need to be embarrassed, okay? Should I take that as you would like to come with?"
"Yes, please," Lena says softly, but a little too quickly. She slings on the jacket and follows the blonde wordlessly as she struggles to get over the fact that she said that outloud.
As the valet brings the bike around front, Lena insists to put the charges to her room tab, much to Kara's displeasure. Kara passes her helmet to Lena with a stern look that screams 'do not argue.' She silently helps the ravenette fasten the straps and flicks the visor down with a smirk.
Lena can't help but stare at the slight smile the blonde holds the entire time. After Kara swings a strong leg over the bike, she moves up the seat and taps the spot behind her. Lena takes a deep breath and mounts the bike. She is surrounded by vanilla scent inside the helmet and on the jacket she is wearing. She carefully and lightly grabs Kara's waist. It only lasts a second before she is suddenly yanked forward with her arms wrapping solidly around Kara's torso. She can hear the muffled voice, "You are going to want to hold on tight."
As Kara revs the engine and moves into her riding position, it pulls Lena's body up against Kara's strong back. Under her hands, she knows she can feel defined abs. Lena dies a little bit more inside. Of course this gorgeous woman is just this... irresistible. Lena curses the strength that is going to be required to resist this woman and her charms.
Before either woman particularly likes it, Kara is backing her bike into the parking spot to her apartment building. Once the kickstand is in place, she taps Lena's thigh to have her dismount before Kara can get off the bike. She helps Lena with the buckle again before the woman is able to pull off the helmet.
"Hope that didn't scare you too much," Kara says with a smirk.
"Not at all," Lena arches her brow. She takes a calming breath. "I think I could ride like that all day and not get tired of it."
As they enter Kara's apartment, they are laughing and joking like they are old friends. Lena wanders around her home and notes the coziness and the aesthetic that could only match the bubbly blonde. She feels completely at ease, and almost completely forgets about all the embarrassment and shame and blatant desire she was feeling for most of the morning. Lena gets lost in her thoughts again, but mostly about how easy everything is with her new... friend.
Kara reappears after changing, and Lena's brain malfunctions the moment she turns to look. Kara comes out with ripped jeans that show a whole lot of thigh and a muscle tshirt that shows off muscular arms.
"Noonan's is only a 5 minute walk from here. Are you okay with that?"
Lena shakes her head to pull herself out of her stupor, "Yeah, yeah, of course." Get a freaking grip, Luthor... This woman is going to be the death of her.
As the two ladies get settled into a booth, Lena starts to fiddle with the sleeves of the jacket while she tries to build up her confidence to tell Kara what happened. She looks all over the restaurant: the table, the floor, her fingers, anywhere except Kara. Lena hasn't been this nervous in a very, very long time. She hasn't told this story since... since she told Sam.
Kara picks up the anxiety in waves. She instinctively reaches her hand out, palm up, as a peace offering. She smiles as she feels Lena hesitantly slips hers on top. Kara squeezes lightly before carefully and quietly saying, "Lena, I will never pry for information. Never feel like you owe me anything. And at the same time, if you do want to talk to me - about anything - I'm always here for you." Kara lets the silence settle before trying to lighten the atmosphere, "I can get a bit judgy at times, but I promise it will never be about anything that really matters. Like, I will judge you if you don't like pineapple on pizza or if you don't watch Glee."
Lena lets the corners of her mouth tug upwards at the last statement. She appreciates the effort to lighten the mood - even if pineapple absolutely does not belong on pizza and she doesn't even know what the hell Glee is. Lena nearly feels completely overwhelmed with the blonde's generosity and authenticity. She squeezes Kara's hand tightly and stares at their intertwined fingers before starting; she's not sure if she can bring herself to watch the reaction.
"I don't know what it is about you, but I feel like I can tell you anything. And to be honest... that scares me. In all honesty, you should just run for the hills, and- and I should be encouraging you to do just that, but..."
Kara opens her mouth to interrupt, surely with comforting words to make sure Lena isn't truly scared of her. Lena stops her effort quickly.
"Kara, darling, I really just need you to listen without saying anything. Otherwise- I'm not sure I will get this all out."
Kara just nods gently in understanding and squeezes Lena's hand to signal her to continue.
"For some reason, which I'm sure that I will overanalyze later, I trust you." Lena takes a centering breath. "That night at the bar, that isn't really anything new. People tend to recognize me from the tabloids. Recognize me through my family. It makes me a target. It's usually easy for me to get them to back off, but that was Morgan Edge, Maxwell Lord, and their friends. They aren't exactly known for understanding the word 'no'. Or even 'fuck off' for that matter." Lena takes a deep breath in and tries to keep the tears welling in her eyes from falling. "I've had run-ins with them before. And by fighting back... it made things... worse the last time." Lena is practically whispering at the end of that statement. "If you hadn't.. if you... well, let's just say that being in that situation again brought back some things. I- I'm not sure why I called you, but I'm happy that I did. Thank you, Kara." Lena finally looks Kara in the eyes as she says her name.
Kara has her own tears welling in her eyes. Her jaw is shut so tight, her teeth must ache from the grinding. Kara is furious that Lena had to go through that before. Kara hates to think of the possibilities if she hadn't decided to step in when she did. She needs to process all of this- but later. Right now, Lena needs her support.
"Thank you, for trusting me and telling me. I know that we don't know each other that well, but seriously, if you need anything... anything, Lena, just let me know. I will do whatever is in my power." Kara brings up her second hand to envelope their intertwined hands on the table.
"God, you must think I am a mess. You sure you don't want to make a break for it?" Lena's tears spill down her face as she tries to swipe them away with her free arm. She feels like a great burden has been lifted off her shoulders.
"Never." Kara smiles at her.
The women fall into a comfortable silence as they eat their meals. Both steal glances at each other with little smiles. Kara has so many questions about what Lena revealed, but she knows to not push it. She wants to maintain this safe space for Lena. As they leave Noonan's, Kara has an idea on how to keep spending time with Lena.
"So, you said you could ride all day; want to try?" Kara says while smiling.
Lena stops in her tracks and looks flustered. Her mouth opens and closes like a fish, stuttering nonsensical noises.
Kara's eyes comically bug out. "Oh Rao! Not like that! I- I meant on my motorcycle! I- I was just using what you said earlier! I swear!"
There's an awkward beat where Kara's in a full on panic and Lena is recalling what she said after her ride this morning. It breaks the moment that Lena starts full belly laughing and nearly doubles over. "I did say that, didn't I? I would love to."
Kara chuckles uncomfortably. "I'm so sorry, Lena. I did not mean-"
Lena is quick to interrupt, "Kara. Kara, darling! Stop apologizing. It's okay. I promise." She wipes a loose tear from her cheek. "I needed a good laugh."
Kara lets out a sign of relief and leads Lena back to her bike. After the women settle, Lena is much more comfortable wrapping her arms around the strong torso of the blonde. She takes them out of the city to ride on the country roads and rolling hills. She can feel Lena relax into her body, and Kara can't help but smile at the close contact. They spend hours out on the road before Kara takes them back to the hotel. Lena dismounts from the bike and takes off the helmet.
"Can- can you... stay?" Lena asks quietly.
Kara takes her helmet off and smiles the biggest smile Lena has seen. "Of course.