#a conclusion

[dykefish]

guys, do you think i have the swag?

[freddiefreakeratwalmart]

Homes are mine now.

[redhairstrongheart-moving]

“.....” He takes a deep breath.

“WOW M-MEN I HAVE SO MANY COOKIES AND SO MANY KIND WORDS I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY. I’M FEELING A TON BETTER TODAY MEN. I HAVEN’T YELLED AND REALLY SAID A LOT OF THINGS IN DAYS, BUT NOW I’M READY TO GO! THANKS MEN! ALL THESE COOKIES AND SNACKS ARE GOING TO PUSH ME THROUGH MY WORKOUTS FOR THE NEXT WEEK. AND ALL THESE MOVIES AND STUFF. HAPPY NEW YEARS MEN!”

[bridgetteirish]

Supercat 16 sleeping together on the couch

This is the conclusion(?) to two other ficlets of the same prompt.  So, you can maybe all stop being mad at me now?  Best to read the others first probably:

Part 1     Part 2

Part 3

“To Carter.”  Kara raised her glass of sparkling apple cider and the rest of the room followed suit.  Carter rolled his eyes and blushed, but lifted his own glass at his mother’s quiet glare.  “For a clean bill of health and a full head of hair.”  James ruffled Carter’s floppy curls at the mention of his newly grown hair and he giggled and ducked away.

“Here Here!” The room called in unison and everyone took a sip.  Kara’s eyes met Cat’s and her skin erupted in goosebumps where cool hazel eyes swept over her and sparkled with mirth.  Cat was happy.  She looked relieved and free and full of the life she’s had to fight so hard for over the last few months.  The urge to cross the room and sweep Cat into a hug nearly overwhelmed her, but instead she drained her glass and began gathering frosting-coated paper plates, crumpled napkins and empty punch cups in an attempt to get a head start on cleanup and avoid the pang in her chest at Cat’s easy smile.

She tossed an armful of plates and cups into the trash compactor and turned to gather more but found her arms full of gangly teenager.  Kara rubbed his back and pulled him away so she could see his face.  He was beaming.  The shine in his eyes matched his mother’s.  Happy, unburdened, free.

“Awesome party, Kara.  Thank you so much.”  He shoved his hands in his pockets.  He was still the shy boy he’d been before all of this.  Before surgeries and doctors and physical therapy.  Kara was so happy to see him back, she thought she might burst.

“You’re so welcome, buddy.  How are you feeling?”  She knew he was sick of them asking, but she couldn’t help it.  It was almost reflex by now.

Carter rolled his eyes but gave her a half smile.  “I’m fine, Kara.”

“Oh, I almost forgot.”  Kara reached for her bag on the counter.  “Supergirl is really sorry she can’t be here today.  She’s, um, she’s really proud of you.  She said you’re the bravest kid in National City.”

Carter’s smile could have powered the city for a year.

Kara cleared her throat in an attempt not to cry.  She dug around in her bag for a moment and pulled out a small wrapped gift.  “She wanted me to give this to you.”

Carter tore open the gift just as Cat walked up to the pair.  She placed a warm hand on Kara’s arm as she slid past to deposit the cake knife in the sink.  Kara took a deep breath and turned her smile on Carter.

“Woah, no way!”  Carter exclaimed in that way only teenage boys could ever truly muster.

“Way,” Kara grinned proudly.  “Advanced copy.  Not even in stores yet.”

Carter turned the newest Supergirl video game over and over in his hands.  “Thank you so much, Kara!”  He threw his arms around her neck and she squeezed as lightly as she could.

“Thank Supergirl.  She really did feel bad she couldn’t be here.”

“Right, Supergirl.  Uh, tell her thanks.  Can I go play, mom?”

“Sure, sweetie.  Go have fun.”  Cat’s eyes were locked on Kara, shining with affection, with warmth.

“Yesss!  C’mon Luke, let’s go check it out!”  Carter and his friend disappeared down the hallway, a few of the other kids followed in their wake.

Kara turned her attention back to cleaning up the mess as laughter filtered in from the adults still chatting in the other room.  

“You’ll spoil him.”  The voice startled Kara a bit, even though she was acutely aware of Cat’s presence as she leaned against the kitchen counter sipping from a champagne flute.

Kara tossed another armful of flotsam into the trash.  “He deserves it.”  She shrugged and rinsed her hands in the sink.

Cat drained her glass and set it on the counter.  She pulled Kara from where she was washing the cake knife so she was forced to look at her.  “He deserves to get back to a normal life.”

Kara smiled and allowed herself the pleasure of squeezing Cat’s shoulders, unsure if she’d be allowed to do more.  “And he will, Miss Grant, after he spends a couple of hours playing a new video game on a sugar high with his friends.”

Cat smiled in spite of herself.  “And I suppose I’ll be the one dealing with the aftermath of that long after Supergirl is tucked up in her fortress for the night?”

Kara read the amusement in Cat’s question, but a heavy heat settled between them anyway.  Kara had been there through every part of Carter’s surgery and treatment.  Cat had to know she wasn’t alone.  So, as Cat attempted a joke, Kara felt compelled to affirm her place at Cat’s side.  

“I’ll stay as long as you need,” she whispered, studying Cat’s shining eyes.

Something shifted in Cat’s gaze.  An affection, a warmth settled there and Cat reached a slender, gentle hand up to cup Kara’s cheek, which had gone pink at her admission.  “Oh, Kara.  I’ll never really know how to thank you.”

Kara did smile now, tossing her own joke between them.  “No need to thank me ma’am.  All in a day’s work.”

Cat sucked in a breath.  “God, when you turn on that Supergirl charm.”  The hand on Kara’s cheek curled brazenly around the back of her neck.  “It’s breathtaking.”  Cat pulled them together.  Their lips had barely brushed when sirens sounded from the street below.

Kara pulled away and cocked her head to the side.  Their eyes met and a sound like a disappointed puppy escaped Kara’s lips.

Cat tugged a bit at the collar of Kara’s shirt and practically growled.  “Go, but come back when you’re done.”

XXX

A twelve car pileup kept Kara busy for hours.  She flew cars and people to safety, kept roads clear for traffic and rescuers, and flew a woman in labor to the hospital hoping the woman wasn’t truly going to name her daughter Supergirl.

When she was finished she was covered in a thin layer of motor oil and city grime.  She supersped through a shower at her apartment, dabbed a couple of drops of the perfume Cat had rejected from a swag bag behind each of her ears and launched herself back out through her open window just as the sun had begun to sink behind the National City skyline.

Cat had left the balcony door open.  She’d taken to doing that as Carter had been going through the worst of his therapy so she could come and go at will.  The living room was quiet and dark, but the large wall-mounted television was tuned to CCN, which was recounting Kara’s afternoon adventures.  Kara surveyed the room and found Cat, curled up on the sofa, sound asleep.  She’d never tell Cat, but the soft snores coming from under the mass of blonde curls caused a tidal wave of affection to sweep through Kara from top to toes.  

Cat was feather-light and warm.  Her head fell naturally against Kara’s shoulder as Kara lifted her as silently and gently as she could manage.  She kept her strides even and quiet on her way up the short staircase towards Cat’s bedroom at the back of the penthouse.  She passed Carter’s rec room on her way and smiled at the mess of boys passed out on the floor beneath an epic blanket fort.  The empty pizza boxes and soda cans covering the coffee table gave away the evening’s activities.  No wonder Cat was exhausted.

She resumed her walk and Cat shifted a bit.  Her nose brushed down Kara’s neck softly and Kara swallowed heavily, willing every nerve in her body to calm down so she wouldn’t drop Cat in the middle of her hallway.

“You smell nice,” Cat whispered sleepily and Kara bit back a frustrated groan.

“Stay cool, Danvers,” she told herself aloud and pushed open Cat’s bedroom door.

At her words, Cat’s head lifted from her shoulder.  “No need to stay cool, darling.  Not when things are just about to heat up.”

Kara froze, taking in the possibility that she’d woken Cat.  She looked down at the smiling woman in her arms.  Any clever Supergirl comeback died in her throat when confronted with the unguarded, sleep-soaked beauty of Cat Grant.  “Cat, I--”  She was cut off by the press of Cat’s lips against her own.  She sighed into Cat’s mouth and made sure to keep a hold of the woman still tucked safely in her arms.  Cat pulled away so Kara continued.  “You fell asleep and I was just--”  Cat stopped her with another kiss, and Kara couldn’t help but open her mouth to allow Cat entrance.  She could taste bourbon and frosting on Cat’s tongue and she found herself craving more.  Cat’s hand threaded itself through Kara’s hair and this time as they parted Kara placed a kiss on the tip of Cat’s nose.  “You may not be fully awake and I think we should--” A third kiss swallowed her words and was over far too soon.

Kara chased Cat’s retreating lips.  “Kara,” Cat breathed.

“Mmm?”  Kara placed gentle kisses against Cat’s jaw, reluctant to pull away..

“Shut up,” Cat demanded and captured her lips again.

[geschwartz]

[a-souls-sojourn]

A Reckoning

"What do I need?!" I cry to the heavens

"What am I missing?" I shout as I weep

"I help when I'm needed, I do not let my friends feel alone! I'm here for all others, yet I don't have a home!"

"Don't you?" The wind whispers in its thousands of ways.

In the moments of meaning and the "have a good days."

In the smile of a stranger turned into a friend

In the feeling of a long story that has come to its end.

On and on the winds meaning is clear

You do have a home, and it is right here.

"Why then do I feel a missing peace,"

"You are feeling the grief, and the loss of a friend. Just let yourself weep or it might never end,"

"Grief?!" I cry "how do I weep when I know it was me!?"

"I lost this friend myself, I pushed them, and I made them want nothing more from me. I do not deserve to heal from that wound. The knife I placed in my own heart should stay!"

"Why?" The wind asked, in it's whispery way

It mentioned the progress and heartfelt regret.

It noticed the music, the remorse, and the deepest of debts.

It brought up my suffering, my past, then my will.

It showed me the wandering, the listless, how I was there still

"You need to forgive yourself and let yourself heal. You aren't who you were on that selfish day."

"You've let yourself fester in penance and shame. If you continue, you will hurt others like them. The world doesn't deserve what you would wrought. So let yourself out of your self-inflicted rot."

"I'm sorry," I whisper back. "I wish to forgive, but I can not forget."

"Then don't," the wind spoke in a sudden gust. "Do not forget, yet let yourself trust."

[xlntwtch2]