SuperCorp Big Bang!

An event that combines the best of the creative minds in the Supercorp fandom to create a big bang full of fics and artwork! Banner by: 5-5-k Supercorp logo by: misslane

[supercorpbb]

And that's a wrap for the Supercorp Big Bang 2023! 149 total works in the collection, created by a talented group of artists and writers with the help of some wonderful betas and cheerleaders. Thank you to everyone involved

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[supercorpbb]

Hi! I just wanted to know if there was going to be a big bang this year, and when sign-ups would be open if there is one.

Hello! Unfortunately, we do not plan on hosting a big bang this year. It just didn't fit into any of our schedules.

[jennywebbyart-deactivated202503]

A super and A Luthor. Destined to hate each other but fell in love.

(This is a redraw from a drawing I did back in 2020) 

[supercorpbb]

Hello,

I just wanted to say that it’s been a huge joy to be able to participate in the Big Bang this year. I know it was definitely a lot of work and time to organize and manage and I appreciate everyone who worked on it behind the scenes. Thank you so much! :)

Thank you so much! Yes, a lot of work goes into a big bang, but it was worth it. We're so delighted by all the work everyone put into making this such a successful big bang. The mods, writers, artists, betas, and cheerleaders all made sure we had a great event

[supercorpbb]

I can't believe the Big Bang is over!

Thank you so much for running it. As someone who joined the fandom late, it was a complete delight to take part of this event!

I know events like these are a lot of work, including a lot of work that the average participant like me wouldn't see or be aware of. It was such a huge undertaking, from beginning to end, and I mean it from the bottom of my heart that I'm grateful that you put this together.

I hope you all have the time to relax and decompress, you deserve it!

I know! it's hard to believe it too haha.

And thank you so much for the kind words! I'm sure the other mods agree that getting to see everyone's works is a fantastic way to cap off this event :)

It's also important to note that this event literally couldn't have happened without all of you.

And I'm happy to hear you were able to enjoy a sc event!

[guessimreallyhere]

Join with Gold

I'm happy, nervous, excited to share my contribution to this year's Supercorp Big Bang! Unexpectedly, this piece ended up with three amazing writers stepping in to pinch hit. I was so thrilled to read what they created, and loved how each piece gave this sketch another layer of meaning. Thank you! (Links below, go show them some love!)

Thank you to the amazing mods at @supercorpbb for putting this event together!

Now please go read these wonderful accompanying fics:

"It's going now (I need you close)" by superrcorrps

"Friends" by TheLazyBam

"give me your hand" by @vox-ex

[vox-ex]

Give me your hand

SCBB 2023

Kara just wants to protect Lena, but when has it ever been that simple. Over the course of one night, Lena and Kara let fear and ghosts unravel as they learn how to hold onto each other again.

Read it here or on AO3

_____

I had the unexpected chance to write something else for this year's @supercorpbb and I am so excited for you all to see the art that was the reason I was expected to say yes to the opportunity! Please go take a look and send some love to @guessimreallyhere

_____

Lena sighed, rolling onto her back as she listened to the raindrops ping off the windows before they made their way to the pavement below, the monotonous rhythm making the city feel heavy and frantic despite the late hour and stillness of the streets. Her fingers traced the path of the fading bruises and angry red lines of shallow cuts that stood in stark contrast to her pale skin—every mark on her body, a testament to the cruel irony of the unforgiving laws of motion.

It had been an almost tragedy in three acts. 

The burst of heat that came first, the explosion that came after, but like always — never quite the fall. 

Only Kara. 

Her body in front of her. 

Her cape spread around her.

Her weight pressed against her.

One body in motion meeting another not. 

And how many times must Kara have caught her in the same way?

Held her in the same way?

But the universe does not concern itself with those kinds of odds. 

And so the fall did come, after all, just in a different way. 

Lena could still feel the ghost of her arms around her. She winced as she recalled the crunch of her ribs cracking under the impact of them. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the anguished look on Kara's face when she realized what had happened — the frantic look in her eyes, the trembling in her hands, the breathless apologies that slipped out over and over and over through lungs that couldn't hold enough air to keep up. 

She turned and glanced at the clock. 11:50pm. She wondered how it was possible it could be the same day still, time feeling as fragmented as the rest of her. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she felt the ache of her body and the deeper pain of something else. She pulled a coat over the sweater that hung loose from her shoulders, the smell of sun-drenched wool and worn leather mixing with the heady scent of rain and asphalt as she stepped outside. 

----

Kara's knees buckled as she landed heavily on the floor that creaked beneath her, breaths coming in ragged gasps. She presses shaking hands hard enough against her ears she can almost forget the sound of Lena's body hitting hers. 

Too hard. 

Too fast. 

She had been too slow. 

Too uncontrolled.

And she should have stayed. 

But didn't. 

Couldn't. 

So she left. 

Ran. 

She flew so fast the city underneath had blurred, luminous smears streaking across her vision like stars disappearing until it became indistinguishable from every other bit of sky and stars and empty expanse of space she ever found herself in. Maybe she's disappearing again too. Maybe she never came back. Maybe she shouldn't have come back. 

"I'm sorry," she whispered over and over and over. "I'm sorry," matching the hurried but steady rhythm of Lena's heart that promised her at least one more chance. 

How many times had she saved the world, only to fail again and again at protecting one single person in it, the same single person in it? 

The cape on her shoulders felt heavy and cumbersome. The sigil on her chest pressed in against her lungs. 

It felt hard to breathe with them on. Hard to stay standing. 

She tore and pulled at them both until they lay in a pile on the floor. 

What good had they done anyway? 

She sank down beside them. 

What good had she been anyway? 

----

Lena pulled the key to Kara's apartment from the patterned groove it had worn into her pocket; the edges softened a little by its use over the past weeks. 

The quiet was overwhelming, like it had a weight to it. 

Pieces of Kara's suit littered the floor, rain pooling under the heavy fabric. 

"Kara?" Lena whispered as she moved into the room. 

"Don't!" Kara's choked sob broke the imprint of stillness. 

Lena could barely see her pressed against the shadows. 

"Don't," Kara said again, almost a plea, quieter, softer, but no less desperate. 

Kara's shoulders trembled, the hands knotted in her hair and around her knees, trying to hold herself together. She looked as if she had been put away in pieces, too. 

Slowly, Kara lifted her head, her eyes meeting Lena's for the briefest of moments before she looked away, tears glistening on her cheeks. "I can't," her voice raw with pain. "I hurt you — I always hurt you."

Lena bent down, kneeling next to Kara. 

"I think we've both done our share of hurting each other." she replied. 

"I just want to protect you, but instead, every time, every single time, I just..."

"You did protect me," Lena cut her off gently. The words you 'you always have' left for another time, another conversation. 

"These hands," Lena said, reaching towards her slowly. 

Kara murmured, her breath hitching in her chest as she fought to keep the panic at bay. 

"They're not going to hurt me," Lena assured her.

"Trust me," Lena replied, her fingers brushing against Kara's arm, the contact fleeting but grounded with intention, "trust that I know what I can bear."

Kara's gaze flitted between Lena's eyes and her hands. 

"You shouldn't have to bear it." 

"Kara," Lena reached for her hand,"...can I just..." fingers brushing against trembling skin.

Kara closes her eyes, and gently, Lena draws both their hands up, fingers laced together. 

She had become familiar with Kara's touch. With its strength. With its warmth. Its gentleness. Its tenderness. It is a wonder that her hands alone never gave her away. But it has been a long time since they have been close in that way, have let themselves be close in that way, were allowed to be close in that way. 

She has missed it — missed her. 

Has ached to see if it's as she remembers it. 

It is. 

She remembers it again in the gentleness of fingertips that lift her chin, tilting her jaw to ease away the purple and blue edges blooming under her skin. Feels it again in the warmth of her palms as they press just under the hem of her shirt and across the skin they find there. 

"Even after everything I've done?" Kara asked, her voice cracking under the weight of guilt and doubt, and every other ghost lay bare. "Even after all the pain I've caused?"

"Hey, look at me," Lena urged gently, her fingers curling around Kara's wrists to draw her gaze upward, pulling Kara's focus back to her. 

"It's not your decision. I choose to bear it because I choose you. Just like you bear everything for me...choose me." Lena replied firmly, her gaze never wavering from Kara's tear-streaked face.

"Okay," she whispered, the word fragile. "Together."  "Always," Lena vowed.

----

Slowly, Kara's hands became her own again. 

When they do, she reaches up once more. 

Gently, she brushed a strand from Lena's face, tucking it behind her ear. Her finger lingered, tracing one more time the line of Lena's jaw. They stayed a little longer this time, and she can feel the way Lena turns into the touch, the way she lets her head fall just a little into her hand. She thinks maybe it says something about the irrationality of the universe that one of the heaviest things she has ever carried would fit so perfectly into her palm. 

"You're cold," she murmurs, more fact than question, feeling for the first time the small shivers and flecks of rain on Lena's skin.

Lena nods, the movement barely perceptible, and something unspoken passes between them – a quiet understanding, a shared vulnerability.

And with a gentle determination, Kara does the thing she wished she had hours ago. She takes care of her. She leans in just a little first, reaches out slowly, gives Lena time to pull away or maybe herself to, but neither of them do. Kara slips her arms around her then, one threading itself under her knees and the other around her back, and as she stands Lena curls towards the warmth of her chest. 

Together, they move through the dimly lit room and Kara sets her on the edge of the bed.  

"Let me get you something to wear" she says softly, turning around to pull out a heavy sweatshirt and a pair of soft cotton boxers. Lena winces slightly at the pull on her bruised ribs as she lifts her arms up to take them and Kara's brow creases with concern. 

"Do you? C-can I?" she tried to get the words to settle into any one question. 

"Just the sweater maybe." 

 Their hands work together again, easing the slightly damp sweater over Lena's head. 

She's slow and careful still, will always be careful with Lena, the word itself repeating over and over with every brush of a hand against chilled skin, with every trace of fingertips along the small scars she found both old and new. 

She hadn't realized she had stopped, her thumb running back and forth over one small scar at the base of Lena's collarbone, but the lilt of Lena's voice breaks through. 

"Hey. You with me still?"

Kara looks at the scar, but it's not guilt that settles in her stomach.

"I won't always be able to protect you."

And this was a different kind of confession altogether. Even if Kara could protect Lena from her, there was a whole world set against them too. 

"No, no you won't." 

Lena puts the sweatshirt down in her lap and places her hand over Kara's chest instead. 

"But I won't always be able to protect you either."

Kara looks down at the sweatshirt again, notices the faded MIT logo, realizes that she wasn't the one who put it in her drawer, places it instead in her mind among the other peices of Lena she had been finding in her apartment since she'd been back. Little hints of how the world had moved without her in it, the people that came and went. Those that stayed. 

She lifts Lena's hand off of her chest. Presses a kiss to her palm before letting it back down. 

She turns away to give Lena privacy, feeling a gentle tug on her arm when she was done changing. 

"Lay down with me" she asks, but it isn't really a question. 

Kara nods all the same, the mattress dipping under their weight, but it settles quickly, as do they. It was odd to feel so still in the aftermath of so much motion. 

"I like that your hands are always so warm," Lena said, her voice barely more than a breath. "I missed that."

"Really?" Kara asked, her heart swelling at the admission.

"Really," Lena affirmed, her own hand coming up to cover Kara's where it rested against her cheek. "I always noticed it, but then weren't close anymore and then you were gone. So it's... it's a reminder that you came back, but also that I am close enough to know that about you again."

Kara let her forehead rest against Lena's, breathing in the comforting scent of her. The rain that still clung lightly to her hair, dampening Kara's shirt, but she didn't mind. She would ruin every part of herself long before she let go of her again. 

 "It was always cold there. I don't um, I don't usually feel cold here, but there, it was always cold. And dark. And the darkness could have been okay I think, after everything, it's something that I've learned to carry with me, but the cold just never went away. I still feel it sometimes. When something goes wrong, or when I worry something isn't real, my hands get cold and there's this moment where I'm sure I'm there again."

Lena brought her hand up, tucking herself into Kara's side just a little further. Her hand coming up to rest over Kara's heart.  Kara released a shaky breath, focusing on the sensation of Lena's touch. Any cold quickly receding. 

"You're here." 

"I'm here." She confirms, tightening her hold on Lena, drawing her in, before pulling back just a little, brushing her thumb over her cheek.

"And you're here."

Lena's eyes fluttered shut at the contact, her hands coming up to grasp loosely at the front of Kara's shirt.

"I'm am."

And the world, with all its uncertainty and ceaseless motion, seemed to be held back, at least for one night, by that one piece of tangible proof. 

----

Kara had laid awake all night, daring the darkness to try and take this from her, too. But it was dawn now, and there was nothing left to fight. Lena was still there. She could still feel where her fingers had passed through the ends of her hair, could still feel where she left kisses pressed into her skin, could feel the weight of her head laid across her chest and the warmth of her body next to her. 

There had no ghosts to chase away that morning. There was only Lena. Nothing but Lena.  Nothing but Lena's hand as it slid along her ribs, nothing but her hair as it brushed her bare skin, nothing but her breath against her ear.  Nothing and everything tethered together.  She realized then she was clinging to Lena, her arm trembling to keep her close. As if to say to gravity and anyone else that they couldn't have her yet. But when Kara looked up at the corners of the room; they were bright in a way that hadn't quite reached the rest of the room yet, like the world too was giving them just a little more time together before the rest of it demanded their attention. 

And she would have lied there just like that until it did. If not for the gentle press of a kiss against her cheek. 

Kara tilted her head down to look at Lena, who was staring back at her with a soft smile. 

"Good morning," Lena whispered, her voice still heavy with sleep.

Kara's eyes traced the morning light that spread across healing bruises on her skin and in the flecks of gold in her eyes.  

"Good morning," Kara replied, her voice barely above a whisper still weary of the world pressing in still hesitant about her ability to keep it out, to protect Lena from it and her and all the other things that could cause her harm. 

"Cold?" Lena asked, running her fingers through Kara's disheveled locks, pushing them out of her face. The question heavy with what it really asked. 

"No." Kara shook her head, cupping Lena's cheek, her thumb running over the delicate skin. 

"How about you?"

Lena reached across an took Kara's other hand threading their fingers together and holding their joined hands up for Kara to see. 

"Never with you" 

Kara sat up, pulling Lena gently onto her lap. She ran her hands along the bruises she could see and the ones she couldn't. If she couldn't always protect her then could at least be there to take care of her. And for all the times she hadn't she let herself in that moment ask forgiveness. Let her body and her hand and the gentle press of lips say all the things she should have all along. 

[supercorpbb]

ALL SUPERCORP BIG BANG 2023 WORKS HAVE BEEN REVEALED!

We'll be back on Supercorp Sunday with a brief wrap-up, but as of now, the Big Bang is complete! Thank you to everyone who participated and to everyone who has supported the project. It was an honor 💙❤️

[supercorpbb]

Another Big Bang reveal!

The truth will set you free

Kara Danvers has kept a very big secret from her best friend Lena Luthor.

Not only is she National Cities resident superhero Supergirl, but she's also hopelessly in love with her.

She could never live with herself if anything ever happened to Lena, so she keeps putting off telling her the truth which comes back to haunt her. Can Kara accept being just Lena's friend? What happens when Jimmy Olsen gets added to the mix?

Kara has to choose between her feelings for Lena and trying to protect her; but when a mysterious alien enters National City and brings all her feelings forward how will this revelation affect the duo?

Follow along as they navigate their friendship and what happens when the truth finally sets them free.

**Shoutout to Tukma and TrashPandaDreamer for stepping in as pinch hitters!**

Fic by Aphrodite_mademedoit: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48738994/chapters/122947483

Art by TrashPandaDreamer: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49576033

Art by Tukma: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49416871

[vox-ex]

Give me your hand

SCBB 2023

Kara just wants to protect Lena, but when has it ever been that simple. Over the course of one night, Lena and Kara let fear and ghosts unravel as they learn how to hold onto each other again.

Read it here or on AO3

_____

I had the unexpected chance to write something else for this year's @supercorpbb and I am so excited for you all to see the art that was the reason I was expected to say yes to the opportunity! Please go take peak and send some love to @guessimreallyhere

_____

Lena sighed, rolling onto her back as she listened to the raindrops ping off the windows before they made their way to the pavement below, the monotonous rhythm making the city feel heavy and frantic despite the late hour and stillness of the streets. Her fingers traced the path of the fading bruises and angry red lines of shallow cuts that stood in stark contrast to her pale skin—every mark on her body, a testament to the cruel irony of the unforgiving laws of motion.

It had been an almost tragedy in three acts. 

The burst of heat that came first, the explosion that came after, but like always — never quite the fall. 

Only Kara. 

Her body in front of her. 

Her cape spread around her.

Her weight pressed against her.

One body in motion meeting another not. 

And how many times must Kara have caught her in the same way?

Held her in the same way?

But the universe does not concern itself with those kinds of odds. 

And so the fall did come, after all, just in a different way. 

Lena could still feel the ghost of her arms around her. She winced as she recalled the crunch of her ribs cracking under the impact of them. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the anguished look on Kara's face when she realized what had happened — the frantic look in her eyes, the trembling in her hands, the breathless apologies that slipped out over and over and over through lungs that couldn't hold enough air to keep up. 

She turned and glanced at the clock. 11:50pm. She wondered how it was possible it could be the same day still, time feeling as fragmented as the rest of her. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she felt the ache of her body and the deeper pain of something else. She pulled a coat over the sweater that hung loose from her shoulders, the smell of sun-drenched wool and worn leather mixing with the heady scent of rain and asphalt as she stepped outside. 

----

Kara's knees buckled as she landed heavily on the floor that creaked beneath her, breaths coming in ragged gasps. She presses shaking hands hard enough against her ears she can almost forget the sound of Lena's body hitting hers. 

Too hard. 

Too fast. 

She had been too slow. 

Too uncontrolled.

And she should have stayed. 

But didn't. 

Couldn't. 

So she left. 

Ran. 

She flew so fast the city underneath had blurred, luminous smears streaking across her vision like stars disappearing until it became indistinguishable from every other bit of sky and stars and empty expanse of space she ever found herself in. Maybe she's disappearing again too. Maybe she never came back. Maybe she shouldn't have come back. 

"I'm sorry," she whispered over and over and over. "I'm sorry," matching the hurried but steady rhythm of Lena's heart that promised her at least one more chance. 

How many times had she saved the world, only to fail again and again at protecting one single person in it, the same single person in it? 

The cape on her shoulders felt heavy and cumbersome. The sigil on her chest pressed in against her lungs. 

It felt hard to breathe with them on. Hard to stay standing. 

She tore and pulled at them both until they lay in a pile on the floor. 

What good had they done anyway? 

She sank down beside them. 

What good had she been anyway? 

----

Lena pulled the key to Kara's apartment from the patterned groove it had worn into her pocket; the edges softened a little by its use over the past weeks. 

The quiet was overwhelming, like it had a weight to it. 

Pieces of Kara's suit littered the floor, rain pooling under the heavy fabric. 

"Kara?" Lena whispered as she moved into the room. 

"Don't!" Kara's choked sob broke the imprint of stillness. 

Lena could barely see her pressed against the shadows. 

"Don't," Kara said again, almost a plea, quieter, softer, but no less desperate. 

Kara's shoulders trembled, the hands knotted in her hair and around her knees, trying to hold herself together. She looked as if she had been put away in pieces, too. 

Slowly, Kara lifted her head, her eyes meeting Lena's for the briefest of moments before she looked away, tears glistening on her cheeks. "I can't," her voice raw with pain. "I hurt you — I always hurt you."

Lena bent down, kneeling next to Kara. 

"I think we've both done our share of hurting each other." she replied. 

"I just want to protect you, but instead, every time, every single time, I just..."

"You did protect me," Lena cut her off gently. The words you 'you always have' left for another time, another conversation. 

"These hands," Lena said, reaching towards her slowly. 

Kara murmured, her breath hitching in her chest as she fought to keep the panic at bay. 

"They're not going to hurt me," Lena assured her.

"Trust me," Lena replied, her fingers brushing against Kara's arm, the contact fleeting but grounded with intention, "trust that I know what I can bear."

Kara's gaze flitted between Lena's eyes and her hands. 

"You shouldn't have to bear it." 

"Kara," Lena reached for her hand,"...can I just..." fingers brushing against trembling skin.

Kara closes her eyes, and gently, Lena draws both their hands up, fingers laced together. 

She had become familiar with Kara's touch. With its strength. With its warmth. Its gentleness. Its tenderness. It is a wonder that her hands alone never gave her away. But it has been a long time since they have been close in that way, have let themselves be close in that way, were allowed to be close in that way. 

She has missed it — missed her. 

Has ached to see if it's as she remembers it. 

It is. 

She remembers it again in the gentleness of fingertips that lift her chin, tilting her jaw to ease away the purple and blue edges blooming under her skin. Feels it again in the warmth of her palms as they press just under the hem of her shirt and across the skin they find there. 

"Even after everything I've done?" Kara asked, her voice cracking under the weight of guilt and doubt, and every other ghost lay bare. "Even after all the pain I've caused?"

"Hey, look at me," Lena urged gently, her fingers curling around Kara's wrists to draw her gaze upward, pulling Kara's focus back to her. 

"It's not your decision. I choose to bear it because I choose you. Just like you bear everything for me...choose me." Lena replied firmly, her gaze never wavering from Kara's tear-streaked face.

"Okay," she whispered, the word fragile. "Together."  "Always," Lena vowed.

----

Slowly, Kara's hands became her own again. 

When they do, she reaches up once more. 

Gently, she brushed a strand from Lena's face, tucking it behind her ear. Her finger lingered, tracing one more time the line of Lena's jaw. They stayed a little longer this time, and she can feel the way Lena turns into the touch, the way she lets her head fall just a little into her hand. She thinks maybe it says something about the irrationality of the universe that one of the heaviest things she has ever carried would fit so perfectly into her palm. 

"You're cold," she murmurs, more fact than question, feeling for the first time the small shivers and flecks of rain on Lena's skin.

Lena nods, the movement barely perceptible, and something unspoken passes between them – a quiet understanding, a shared vulnerability.

And with a gentle determination, Kara does the thing she wished she had hours ago. She takes care of her. She leans in just a little first, reaches out slowly, gives Lena time to pull away or maybe herself to, but neither of them do. Kara slips her arms around her then, one threading itself under her knees and the other around her back, and as she stands Lena curls towards the warmth of her chest. 

Together, they move through the dimly lit room and Kara sets her on the edge of the bed.  

"Let me get you something to wear" she says softly, turning around to pull out a heavy sweatshirt and a pair of soft cotton boxers. Lena winces slightly at the pull on her bruised ribs as she lifts her arms up to take them and Kara's brow creases with concern. 

"Do you? C-can I?" she tried to get the words to settle into any one question. 

"Just the sweater maybe." 

 Their hands work together again, easing the slightly damp sweater over Lena's head. 

She's slow and careful still, will always be careful with Lena, the word itself repeating over and over with every brush of a hand against chilled skin, with every trace of fingertips along the small scars she found both old and new. 

She hadn't realized she had stopped, her thumb running back and forth over one small scar at the base of Lena's collarbone, but the lilt of Lena's voice breaks through. 

"Hey. You with me still?"

Kara looks at the scar, but it's not guilt that settles in her stomach.

"I won't always be able to protect you."

And this was a different kind of confession altogether. Even if Kara could protect Lena from her, there was a whole world set against them too. 

"No, no you won't." 

Lena puts the sweatshirt down in her lap and places her hand over Kara's chest instead. 

"But I won't always be able to protect you either."

Kara looks down at the sweatshirt again, notices the faded MIT logo, realizes that she wasn't the one who put it in her drawer, places it instead in her mind among the other peices of Lena she had been finding in her apartment since she'd been back. Little hints of how the world had moved without her in it, the people that came and went. Those that stayed. 

She lifts Lena's hand off of her chest. Presses a kiss to her palm before letting it back down. 

She turns away to give Lena privacy, feeling a gentle tug on her arm when she was done changing. 

"Lay down with me" she asks, but it isn't really a question. 

Kara nods all the same, the mattress dipping under their weight, but it settles quickly, as do they. It was odd to feel so still in the aftermath of so much motion. 

"I like that your hands are always so warm," Lena said, her voice barely more than a breath. "I missed that."

"Really?" Kara asked, her heart swelling at the admission.

"Really," Lena affirmed, her own hand coming up to cover Kara's where it rested against her cheek. "I always noticed it, but then weren't close anymore and then you were gone. So it's... it's a reminder that you came back, but also that I am close enough to know that about you again."

Kara let her forehead rest against Lena's, breathing in the comforting scent of her. The rain that still clung lightly to her hair, dampening Kara's shirt, but she didn't mind. She would ruin every part of herself long before she let go of her again. 

 "It was always cold there. I don't um, I don't usually feel cold here, but there, it was always cold. And dark. And the darkness could have been okay I think, after everything, it's something that I've learned to carry with me, but the cold just never went away. I still feel it sometimes. When something goes wrong, or when I worry something isn't real, my hands get cold and there's this moment where I'm sure I'm there again."

Lena brought her hand up, tucking herself into Kara's side just a little further. Her hand coming up to rest over Kara's heart.  Kara released a shaky breath, focusing on the sensation of Lena's touch. Any cold quickly receding. 

"You're here." 

"I'm here." She confirms, tightening her hold on Lena, drawing her in, before pulling back just a little, brushing her thumb over her cheek.

"And you're here."

Lena's eyes fluttered shut at the contact, her hands coming up to grasp loosely at the front of Kara's shirt.

"I'm am."

And the world, with all its uncertainty and ceaseless motion, seemed to be held back, at least for one night, by that one piece of tangible proof. 

----

Kara had laid awake all night, daring the darkness to try and take this from her, too. But it was dawn now, and there was nothing left to fight. Lena was still there. She could still feel where her fingers had passed through the ends of her hair, could still feel where she left kisses pressed into her skin, could feel the weight of her head laid across her chest and the warmth of her body next to her. 

There had no ghosts to chase away that morning. There was only Lena. Nothing but Lena.  Nothing but Lena's hand as it slid along her ribs, nothing but her hair as it brushed her bare skin, nothing but her breath against her ear.  Nothing and everything tethered together.  She realized then she was clinging to Lena, her arm trembling to keep her close. As if to say to gravity and anyone else that they couldn't have her yet. But when Kara looked up at the corners of the room; they were bright in a way that hadn't quite reached the rest of the room yet, like the world too was giving them just a little more time together before the rest of it demanded their attention. 

And she would have lied there just like that until it did. If not for the gentle press of a kiss against her cheek. 

Kara tilted her head down to look at Lena, who was staring back at her with a soft smile. 

"Good morning," Lena whispered, her voice still heavy with sleep.

Kara's eyes traced the morning light that spread across healing bruises on her skin and in the flecks of gold in her eyes.  

"Good morning," Kara replied, her voice barely above a whisper still weary of the world pressing in still hesitant about her ability to keep it out, to protect Lena from it and her and all the other things that could cause her harm. 

"Cold?" Lena asked, running her fingers through Kara's disheveled locks, pushing them out of her face. The question heavy with what it really asked. 

"No." Kara shook her head, cupping Lena's cheek, her thumb running over the delicate skin. 

"How about you?"

Lena reached across an took Kara's other hand threading their fingers together and holding their joined hands up for Kara to see. 

"Never with you" 

Kara sat up, pulling Lena gently onto her lap. She ran her hands along the bruises she could see and the ones she couldn't. If she couldn't always protect her then could at least be there to take care of her. And for all the times she hadn't she let herself in that moment ask forgiveness. Let her body and her hand and the gentle press of lips say all the things she should have all along. 

[touchoffleece]

Pinch-Hitting 3rd Cover Art entry for @red-priestess-of-scully-romanov's SCBB (2023) Entry run by @supercorpbb

This was for red-priestess-of-scully-romanov's Nikita AU for the Supercorp Big Bang (2023). Since It was on a time crunch, I got an excuse to re-venture into an old art style I don't use much with digital where I keep the bold black/dark outlines. Thank you to red-priestess-of-scully-romanov for the writing that gave me inspiration. Thank you to the organizers from supercorpbb for the chance to make this final art for the event, and with it the experience I got along with this final opportunity. Seriously you guys are amazing, thank you so much for organizing all this and doing your best in making this a positive experience for everyone.

I was not too happy with the background so I played with effects, and I still could not decide which version I liked better so here's both versions for (mostly personal) archival purposes. Link to ao3 below:

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[missluthorwillseeyounow]

under the crimson skies (the sun will kiss the night)

Kara loves her, Lena knows this. She feels it in everything Kara does — every kind and encouraging word, every fond smile. Kara Danvers' love is not something you can miss or take for granted. She loves proudly in each word and action.

But Kara's heart doesn't race for Lena the way Lena's heart dances madly in her chest whenever Kara is around. Kara isn't drawn to Lena like a magnet in a pull so powerful it feels like it could defy gravity whenever Kara takes to the skies and Lena longs to follow her.

No. In that, Lena is alone.

…

Post finale. In which Lena tries to recreate a Kryptonian holiday for Kara, and gets everything perfect. Everything, except for one thing that makes it all wrong.

____

(x) AO3 Link HERE

My submission for the @supercorpbb Big Bang 2023, inspired by @spicycheeser ‘s prompt: Holiday + First Kiss. Also LOOK at this incredible art by @thelastandonlyunicorn , just look at it! Amazing!

[red-priestess-of-scully-romanov]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

nikita au is live! thank you @touchoffleece for the awesome last minute art and thank you @supercorpbb for putting this whole thing together :)

[supercorpbb]

Another Big Bang reveal!

this love (is brave and wild) (General Audiences)

“Have you ever like known something that you didn’t actually know until you were confronted with a situation and then you really did know all along, but kinda wish you could go back to not knowing because things were simpler and less confusing, and you don’t want someone else to know what you know because them knowing what you know could change things for the worst?”

Alex pauses, furrowing her brows as she slowly repeats Kara’s question back to herself. “Kara, to prevent me from having an aneurysm trying to figure out what the hell you just said to me, ask me again, but this time, ask me like I’m a six-year-old.”

or

Falling in love isn't as simple as it is in Kara's favorite movies, but that's the least of her worries until her best friend decides to visit from Metropolis.

Fic by miathesapphic & Art by Caitlin72: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48560692/chapters/122491291

[supercorpbb]

Happy Friday! Today is the FINAL DAY of Supercorp Big Bang 2023 reveals! After 36 days of reveals and what will be 150 total works, we've reached the finish line. But we're not quite done! We still have a bunch of reveals today that we're really excited for!

[thelastandonlyunicorn]

For my second SCBB entry I had the honor of creating art for @missluthorwillseeyounow 's beautiful fic:

under the crimson skies (the sun will kiss the night)

Summary:

Kara loves her, Lena knows this. She feels it in everything Kara does — every kind and encouraging word, every fond smile. Kara Danvers' love is not something you can miss or take for granted. She loves proudly in each word and action.

But Kara's heart doesn't race for Lena the way Lena's heart dances madly in her chest whenever Kara is around. Kara isn't drawn to Lena like a magnet in a pull so powerful it feels like it could defy gravity whenever Kara takes to the skies and Lena longs to follow her.

No. In that, Lena is alone.

….

Post finale. In which Lena tries to recreate a Kryptonian holiday for Kara, and gets everything perfect. Everything, except for one thing that makes it all wrong.

Find the fic (rated T) by SorrowsFlower on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48993271

My art on AO3: https://archive of our own.org/works/48764203

[supercorpbb]

Another Big Bang reveal!

lights out (and away we go) (Mature)

Luthor F1 is failing. Lena's only hope rests with Kara Danvers, who would never join the team that nearly killed her cousin. Would she?

Fic by Naralanis: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48991564/chapters/123598951

Art by ChocMintChip: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49331380/chapters/124484035