Alex groans at the loud, obnoxious noise her phone is making. She throws her arm across her bed to answer the call, thinking maybe it's her sister or Lena.
"What is it?" she says with a very rough morning voice.
A teasing voice comes through, "Well, good morning to you too, babygirl."
"Sam? What time is it?"
"Well it's 11am my time, so 7am yours? You really aren't a morning person are you?"
Alex groans. "No, I'm not."
Sam chuckles. "I've been up since 4am."
"And you don't need a nap yet?" Alex grunts incredulously.
"What can I say, babygirl? Wait a decade and maybe you'll get to the same point." Sam's laugh comes through the phone.
Alex can't help but smile lazily. "What were you doing up so early anyways?"
"I get up that early all the time. Anyways, I just called because I wanted to thank you, Al... For not pushing it when Ruby interrupted us the other day. I want to talk to Ruby before I make any promises to you."
This has Alex immediately perking up. "So - you are going to tell Ruby about me?"
"Yeah, I am. We didn't really get to finish our conversation, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm willing to try with you, Al."
Alex kicks her feet into her bed unable to contain her excitement. She does her best to keep her voice even though, "Well, I'll be here whenever you have that conversation with Ruby. And if it doesn't go well, I'd still very much like to be friends."
"Thank you," Sam says softly. "I'll let you get back to sleep, babygirl. I'll talk to you again soon."
"Have a good day, Sam."
Alex is too keyed up to go back to sleep. Not to mention that she needs to get ready for work. She quickly looks at her notifications to see if Kara called in again for the day. Seeing nothing, she decided to text her sister.
BossyAlex
Breakfast this morning before work?
[7:09am]
LilSis
Please. Noonans in 30?
[7:15am]
BossyAlex
I'll see you there
[7:16am]
Alex goes about her morning, equally anxious and happy to see her sister. She wants to share her progress with Sam, but she also wants to know what the hell happened the other night. She will feel a lot better when she can lay eyes on her sister.
*************************
Kara grumbles as she feels Lena slip out from underneath her. The blonde missed the warmth and softness. The bed and pillows just aren't the same. She hears Lena shush her back to sleep before she passes out again. She doesn't sleep nearly as peacefully as before.
Lena needs to get up to start getting ready for her therapy session. It's more difficult to extricate herself from the blonde's grasp than she thought it would be. The CEO finds it adorable that she complains even in her sleep to be separated. She quickly whispers that everything is alright, and Kara visibly relaxes back to sleep. Lena moves into the kitchen to start the coffee and make some breakfast while reviewing what she wants to tell Kelly today.
She starts to feel anxious. Lena knows that this is what she wants. And she is fairly confident that this is what Kara wants, but it doesn't stop her nerves to think about what if Kara says no. Lena practices the tools Kelly gave her. She brings out her journal, and this time, she finds it easier to list good things. Lena writes about her nervousness and the possibility of dating Kara. She gets so engrossed in her writings that she didn't even hear Kara come out of the bedroom. She just feels arms circle her waist and a body pressed up against her back. Lena quickly snaps the journal shut.
"What're you doing?" Kara mumbles into her shoulder.
Lena places her hands on top of Kara's arms and squeezes, "Just doing homework that Kelly gave me."
"Oh, right. I should head out, shouldn't I?"
"You don't have to until she gets here. If you want to stay here instead, I can meet with her in my study and you can stay out here. It's up to you, darling."
"No, I should go see Alex. I'm sure she is worried about what's going on. Can I come over after work?"
"Of course you can. You are welcome here anytime."
Lena spins around in her chair to give the blonde a proper hug. Air rushes out of her lungs at how tightly Kara returns it. Lena can feel her nuzzling into her neck. Goosebumps break out across the area when she feels lips graze her skin. Lena trails a hand into that thick, blonde hair to scratch at her scalp. Kara melts into her arms and hums in contentment. The CEO can feel the vibration.
They stay like that for quite a while until Kara interrupts the silence with a simple question, "Couch?"
When Lena nods her head, she expects them to walk over to the couch. Instead, Kara simply picks Lena up from the chair and carries her over to the living room. Lena feels Kara gently putting her down on the couch, but the blonde stays wedged against her and between her legs. Kara's hands find its way under the CEO's shirt again, resting much higher than ever before. Lena swears that she can feel her fingers brushing against her underboob with every exhale. When she starts to scratch the blonde's scalp again, Kara's hand spreads out to cover even more skin.
Lena shudders. It's another moment of something she was something more and less of. They are just friends right now, and this is less than platonic. But so was when Kara wiped away food from her mouth. And that kiss where Lena flashed her completely. Her mind wanders to what it might feel like to have that hand caressing her more intimately. What it would be like to see all of Kara. Thinking about it, they already practically live together. Lena is brought out of her thoughts by a phone dinging with a new notification.
Kara grumbles into Lena's chest, not wanting to get up. A second chime goes off, and the buzzer to the elevator. Kara whimpers, knowing that it's time for her to go. She reluctantly clambers off of Lena and grabs her phone. She quickly responds to Alex's text about breakfast. It'll give her the chance to tell her what happened with Mike. She looks over at Lena and catches her smirking at her own phone before letting Kelly up into the penthouse.
Lena looks up and catches Kara staring. She walks over before the elevator arrives, and she lifts her hand to hold Kara's cheek. Her eyes run over the healing bruise to make sure nothing has worsened. She goes up on her tiptoes and lightly kisses it. "You know you just need to call or text if you need anything from me, right?"
"I know, Lee. Thank you."
"I'll see you tonight, yeah?"
"Yeah, I'll text when I'm on my way over."
Lena steps back before Kelly can get off the elevator. "Sounds good, darling."
Kelly and Kara politely chat a little before the blonde leaves for their therapy session. Kara has to take a deep breath in the metal box to prepare herself for the conversation she is about to have with her sister. She's not sure if she is ready to talk about it.
Lena looks rather sad at the elevator closing on Kara. While she knows that she needs her session today, she does feel a bit guilty at not being there for the blonde. Something that Lena notes to talk to Kelly about today, too. As they settle in the living room, Kelly picks up that Lena is preoccupied in her own head.
"So, why don't you tell me where you are at with Kara?"
Lena snaps her attention back to her therapist. "I don't even want to know how you always seem to figure out what I'm thinking about." Lena pauses to collect her thoughts. "Something happened the other day. Someone came back into Kara's life, and we needed to call the police. She's been off ever since. She has been clingy and touchy. She hardly let me out of her sight for the past day. When I asked her what was going on, she told me that she was afraid I would run again." Lena sniffles. Tears start to flow. "I felt so guilty that I caused that reaction. I told her that I would do everything I could to support her and be there for her. Then- then she kissed me. And with a series of other events, I accidentally flashed her. I wanted to run and hide so badly that it hurt. I was mortified. But I knew that she needed me, so I got out of my own head and did what I could. But in all of this, I realized that I want to be with Kara. I want to date her, but I don't want to cause further damage for either of us. So, I need your help. Tell me what to do."
Kelly's eyes are wide by the end of the monologue. She has to take a moment to center herself and focus on Lena. "Well, it sounds like you already made the decision to pursue Kara. So I guess my question is what damage do you think you will be doing?"
"I mean, she's so vulnerable right now. I'm making progress, but I will still make mistakes. I will get trapped in my own head sometimes. I just don't want to hurt her."
"What I'm hearing is you are afraid of doing something wrong once you are in a relationship, yes?"
"I guess so."
"Lena, relationships are never perfect. Emotions will always be a bit messy. Both you and Kara will make mistakes. The important part is working through any problems, apologizing for mistakes that are your own, and forgiving each other when it happens. There will be fantastic days, and there will be hard days."
"But there must be a way to avoid doing real damage. I don't want to run out on Kara again. I don't want her to doubt that I will be there for her."
"You can only repair that by being there for her. And if you don't want to run out on her, you will have to keep that thought in the forefront of your mind anytime you think it would be easier to run. It sounds like you already had that practice. You put away your own feelings to help Kara with hers. You are doing so well, Lena. But I do have to caution you. Don't put your needs to the side just to meet Kara's needs. Boundaries are always healthy as long as they are realistic. It's a fine balance, and sometimes very tricky to navigate. But your needs are important. You two can only have a healthy relationship if you both keep that in mind."
"I don't know what you mean by that."
"So, for example, you needed to have this therapy session to talk about everything. You would have been ignoring your own needs if you had canceled just to help Kara's needs. That wouldn't have been healthy. The big picture is that this session is only a couple of hours. Kara would be fine for a couple of hours on her own. And if she wasn't, then she would need a lot more than just you to work through things. Does that make sense?"
"Yeah, I guess it does. But it just feels so... selfish."
"Being selfish isn't always a bad thing. It gets a bad rap, but sometimes we need to take care of ourselves before we can take care of someone else."
"Okay. I'm sure I'll have more questions about it later, but I need time to think about it."
"That's perfectly acceptable. Now, let's talk about the homework."
Lena breezes through the next hour of her session. Kelly gives her some new tools to try and tells her to trust herself when asking Kara out. They end their session with some meditation to center the CEO before going to work. After Kelly leaves, Lena calls her CFO instead of just texting her back.
"So, you are going to ask out the other Danvers sister. About time, Sammy."
"Seriously, Lena. I don't have time for the 'I told you so' routine. Just help me please! How do I talk to Ruby about this?"
"Sammy, she's 18. I think she will understand. Just sit her down and ask how she would feel about you dating and what her expectations would be."
"Why do you make it sound so easy? What if she says she doesn't want me to?"
"I don't think she will say that, but there is only one way for you to find out."
"You're right, you're right. I'm just so nervous, Lee. Tell me something going on with you. Distract me."
"Well, I, uh, I'm going to ask Kara for her jacket back. I'm going to ask her to be my girlfriend." Lena has to check that the call is still connected after a few moments of silence.
Sam squeals over the phone. "About time for you, too! How are you going to do it?"
"I'm not sure yet. Kara is still very vulnerable from the other night. I just have to wait for the right time."
"Speaking of which, can you tell me what happened yet?"
"I'm not sure. It's not exactly my story to tell, but the cliffnotes is that an ex showed back up, one that she had a restraining order against."
"Oh, Lee... Are you both alright?"
"We are fine. Kara was going into work today. I'm not sure if she will tell Alex or not. But she is coming over after."
"Well, good luck, honey. Call if you need anything."
"Same goes for you, Sammy. Good luck with Ruby. I'm sure she will surprise you."
Lena goes about her morning routine. She gets into L-Corp just a little bit later than she meant to. Just as she settles into going over spreadsheets, her phone starts to blow up. When she checks it, she can feel her heart drop into her stomach. Alex is texting her, insisting to get to National City General Hospital. There was an accident at the lab.