“I figured out what I really wanted in life,” James says and the words are like a slap in the face.
She’s happy for him—of course she is—but she can’t help but feel like she’s failed once again. Because she doesn’t know what she really wants in life other than for her friends to be safe, for her family to be happy, for Lena to—
“Hey guys, come on! You’re missing out!”
Kara turns around at her best friend’s voice and—
Oh.
She’s suddenly breathless, rendered immobile by the sight in front of her. Lena is so beautiful—happy, free—hair glowing golden in the setting sun and a smile on her face that could no doubt cure at least half of the world’s ills.
It hits her then.
She wants Lena.
She doesn’t know how she hasn’t realized it before, how she could have possibly been so blind, so stupid. She’s in love with her best friend; has been for a long time, really.
The realization doesn’t scare her. It doesn’t make her nervous or fidgety. Instead, an overwhelming sense of calm washes over her.
She knows what she has to do.
Cat calls again before she can get to it, though. The fact that she knows Kara is Supergirl doesn’t surprise her half as much as it should. And yes, they talk about her coming out as Supergirl, not about revealing her feelings for Lena, but it might as well be. Because, somehow, those two things have become intertwined to the point where one cannot happen without the other. She just needs to find the right moment for it.
That moment comes fifteen minutes later.
“Nia caught the bouquet,” Lena says as she walks up to the table Kara is sitting at by herself. She lets herself fall into the chair opposite the blonde, no doubt already regretting her choice of footwear.
She tilts her head when Kara doesn’t react.
“Hey, did you fly away to rescue some people? No rest, even in your sister’s wedding day?”
Silence.
Kara can pinpoint the exact moment Lena realizes something isn’t right because her whole demeanor shifts instantly as she leans forward, brow crinkling in concern.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
“I’m supposed to be the strongest person on earth but I think I’m actually the weakest.”
Her eyes move up to Lena’s face then, so beautiful, so full of genuine care.
“What are you talking about?”
Kara sighs.
“Miss Grant… glasses.”
Lena reaches for her hand, then. Takes it in her own. Squeezes her fingers.
The contact is enough to make her barrel on.
“I give speeches inspiring people to live their best lives but she’s right! I’m too afraid to live my own.”
Lena shakes her head.
“No, that’s not true, Kara—”
“It is. My entire life I’ve hid behind these glasses. It’s gotten in the way of every job I’ve ever had, everything I’ve ever wanted to do. Every relationship…”
Her eyes roam over Lena’s face, from her eyes to her brows, her nose, her cheeks, her lips.
She can see Lena gulp.
“Kara—”
“I don’t even know what it would feel like for me, connecting with someone as my whole self.”
A flash of something clouds Lena’s features for the fraction of a second. Hurt? Disappointment?
Kara doesn’t understand, not right away, not until Lena lets go of her hand with an expression so heartbroken that the blonde realizes that she’s wrong. That she just hasn’t been paying enough attention.
Because ever since Lena found out she is Supergirl, ever since they made up and moved on from the destruction and hurt that revelation has caused, she has been able to truly be herself in front of Lena. All of it.
They’ve worked together in the tower, a Luthor and a Super trying to save the world. They’ve had brunches and movie nights, just Kara and Lena. They’ve conquered magic and totems and entire dimensions. In every possible scenario, in every single moment, the common denominator has been the connection they share. As teammates. As friends. As—
“I love you, Lena.”
The words come out before Kara can even really think about them, easier than she ever expected them to. They feel so natural, so right, and she can’t believe that she hasn’t said them a long time ago.
“I love you, too,” comes the reply without a single moment of hesitation.
Lena’s face is soft, eyes full of tears, full of raw emotion, and Kara thinks she understands, thinks she gets exactly what Kara means but she needs to make sure that there can be no room for miscommunication.
“I’m in love with you.”
The brunette’s mouth falls open.
“I feel like it finally started dawning on me during the vows. Because what Alex and Kelly have… it’s how I feel about you. And then James said he figured out what he really wants in life and then you appeared and it just—”
She licks her lips, reaches for one of Lena’s hands hanging limply at her side.
“Everybody has been telling me to go after what I want and, for the longest time, I didn’t know what that was but now I know. It’s you. It has always been you.”
Rao, does it feel good to finally get that off her chest.
“I—”
Lena seems shell-shocked by the turn of events and, suddenly, Kara has the terrible, horrible thought that she’s made a mistake. Because it looks like Lena isn’t on the same page at all judging by the look of absolute overwhelm in her eyes.
She starts to panic.
“I’m sorry, Lena. Forget I said anything, I’ll just—” she tries to backpedal, tries to extract her hand from Lena’s but the other woman won’t let her.
“I never thought I’d actually hear you say that.”
She sniffles, giving Kara a self-deprecating half smile.
“I have been pining for you for so long, it just seemed… impossible. And I felt so stupid because here I was, waiting and hoping but never having the courage to actually make a move because I was terrified of losing you.”
This time it’s Kara who’s absolutely blindsided, heart hammering in her chest with such force that she’s afraid it’s going to explode. Is this what having a heart attack feels like?
The moment stretches on, both of them just staring at each other in silence, before Kara gets out of her chair and lunges forward—presses her lips to Lena’s in a kiss that’s long overdue.
The brunette reciprocates immediately, enthusiastically. And it’s messy and frantic and wonderful and Kara never wants to stop kissing Lena ever again.
They fit together perfectly, like they’ve been made for each other, and Kara is so stupidly, blindingly happy that she feels like she’s about to implode. Because Lena loves her and she loves Lena and now they finally get to be happy—Lex and Nyxly are gone, Lena is free of the Luthor shadow that hung over her for so long, and Kara will take the job as editor in chief and tell the whole world who she really is:
Kara Zor-El, a lover of potstickers and Disney movies who would wear sweatpants all day every day if it was socially acceptable, a journalist who can fly and see through walls and shoot lasers out of her eyes, who has a sister called Alex and the cutest little niece in the multiverse. A board game aficionado. A terrible liar. Lena Luthor’s future wife, hopefully.
When they break apart, Kara stays close. The position is slightly awkward where she’s half standing, half bending to be on Lena’s level.
One of the brunette’s hands is on Kara’s cheek now, cradling it like she’s the most precious thing on this earth or any other as she looks up at her with absolute wonder in her eyes.
“You are so much more than I ever thought possible.”
Look, it's simple. If a person has to actively work to make money, they're not "the rich" and they're not the problem. A surgeon making $200k a year still stops making money if they stop showing up to do surgery, because they're still selling their labor. The radical discrepancies in how we value different skills are certainly a problem, but the guy who makes money when he doesn't even get out of bed is the one making money on the value of other people's labor.
it's actually so funny that all you need to do as a female athlete to be immediately disqualified is being good, because everyone knows women suck ass at everything and if a woman is good at something that's unnatural. hashtag feminism hashtag protect women.
If you don't make the time for rest, your body and mind will force you to. And it will probably be on very short notice, if indeed you get any notice at all, and definitely at an inconvenient time.
the concept of miriam princhek changing her name to miranda priestly to escape her humble beginnings and adopt a more ‘sophisticated’ persona for the fashion world. the layers. i see you nerdy girl, who embodies nigel’s quote about runway being a shining beacon of hope for the ones without.
