A/N: Some important stuff to know: Lena knows Kara's Supergirl and supercorp is established.
This is based on a prompt I received about Kara getting Argo Fever.
Kara swung her legs back and forth over the edge of the examination table in the DEO med wing. The air whooshed between her boots, creating a low whistle. "Can I go now?"
Her heels thudded lightly against the metal base of the table.
"There's still an hour or so on some of the test results, Kar. How about you get under the sunlamps while you wait?"
Kara groaned. "Come on, Alex. The sunlamps are so uncomfortable, and I hate being alone in there."
"Well until I get all your tests back, I can't let you go. J'onn and I agree. Your powers are on the fritz right now—we've never seen them in this gray area before and we need to keep record of what's going on."
"How about I go to the artifact room and see what we recovered today? I think some are Kryptonian, I want to take a look. I could help."
Alex huffed, stepping out from behind the computer screen relaying Kara's test results as the data came back. Eager to get the clanging of Kara's boots out of her head, Alex finally blew out a breath. "Go ahead, but come back in forty-five minutes, all right? I'm not messing around. I want to go home just as much as you do."
Kara nodded, beaming as she slid off the table. "Thanks, Alex!"
"Yeah, mhmm. Forty-five minutes." She looked up from her tablet toward Kara, yelling at her retreating figure. "And I'm still not decided on the sunlamps yet, okay?"
"Okay!" Kara called from the hall, her voice traveling through the door. Alex found it's sudden tone nauseatingly cheerful. She rolled her eyes and went back to the computer, frustrated that Kara had put her life in danger again and then continued skip around as if nothing had happened.
/
Alex swung open the door to the artifact room where the new technology was being categorized and added to the DEO inventory.
"Supergirl!" She yelled and her voice echoed off the tall metal walls. A sole scientist worked at the front desk, proofing information as it was added to the database.
"Have you seen her?" Alex asked, approaching the desk.
"Uh, Supergirl? Yeah, she came in here, I don't know…" he glanced at his watch, "…an hour ago. She's back in the lab where they're looking at the stuff from today's mission—whatever was found in the ship after the fight."
Alex nodded, murmuring out her thanks, and made her way through the long aisles of metal boxes and reinforced crates before she reached the lab. "Kara, seriously?! We made an agreement that you'd be back in time."
The blonde turned toward her, lips down turned and eyes glistening in a way that told Alex she wasn't crying yet but might be soon, if pushed too far.
The brunette took a deep breath that shook through her lungs and steadied her voice. "Listen, I was expecting you back a while ago. What happened?"
Kara only spared a glance in her direction before looking back at the writings in her hand and a handful of steel devices.
Alex swallowed her frustration, pressing her foot harder against the ground. Her shoe squeaked, and she stepped off it, resettling her stance. "Kara?" she forced her voice softer and stepped closer, papers spread before Kara fluttering at the movement. "What's that? Is it Kryptonian?"
Kara nodded and swallowed. "Yeah, it's, um it's from Argo City. I think it belonged to one of my father's friends, he was a doctor. It has his initials. At least, I think they are." She squeezed her eyes shut. "The details get fuzzy, I can't be sure of his first name. I don't… I don't even know if I knew it in the first place."
Alex nodded, walking until she was beside Kara and leaving the silence open for Kara to fill. The blonde ran her fingers along the metal, feeling its coolness prickle her fingertips. "He was a good family friend and a good doctor, he worked tirelessly to cure diseases. These were some of the medical instruments he used."
"What do they do?"
"I'm not—I don't know exactly anymore. I can't remember much about being sick on Krypton, just my mom taking care of me and my father always trying to make me laugh when I didn't feel well." A weighted smile turned the corner of Kara's lips and she looked down at her hands, fingers entangled. She sucked in a deep breath, looking back at Alex, and seemed to jolt up a bit, words spilling as she spoke again. "There was, um, some other stuff, too, that you guys found while I was getting my ass kicked," Kara said, lifting a box from the ground and settling it on the table. "Books from one of the schools just outside Argo, a piece of a vase, some test tubes. Anyway, I'm sorry I didn't come back on time I got wrapped up in all this but it's just… it's just stuff."
Alex shook her head. "You know what, it's okay. Your tests didn't reveal much, to be honest. There weren't any surprises. Other than the whole powers situation you seem okay, so we're just going to put you on observation for a little while. Your cells aren't metabolizing sunlight like they normally do."
"So no sunlamps?" Kara looked up.
"Not tonight," Alex said, wrapping an arm around Kara. "They wouldn't do anything now anyway, but maybe later. I say we call it a night. Then you can go get your apartment ready for that girl of yours. She comes back tomorrow, right?"
In a millisecond, Kara's wary features were beaming. "Yes!"
"Good." Alex smiled and pulled Kara to her feet. "And Kara?"
The blonde looked over as they walked.
"It's more than stuff in those boxes. You don't have to downplay it."
Kara smiled and gathered her hair, pulling it onto one shoulder. "I'll see you later, Alex."
"Let me know if anything changes, okay? You're not a hundred percent in the clear just yet."
"Got it," Kara said, turning down the hall toward the large window in the center of the base. She moved toward the balcony and light from the setting sun glimmered off the gold of her suit.
"Kara," Alex called from the bottom of the stairs. "You're seriously not about to try flying right now, are you? We just talked about your powers not functioning correctly."
Kara paused, back toward Alex before turning around slowly. "I forgot." Chin tucked toward her face and guilty smirk rising against her flushed skin. "Give me a ride?"
Alex rolled her eyes and tilted her head in the direction of the parking garage. "Let's go."
/
"You're home!" Kara cried, grin breaking across her face the next evening. "Oh, I missed you so much."
She threw her arms around Lena and pulled her close. With Kara's elbows bent around Lena's shoulders, they swayed slightly—the force of Kara's hug sending them rocking.
Balancing on her tiptoes, a laugh bubbled from Lena's lips and she turned her head to kiss Kara's cheek. "I missed you, too, darling."
"Are you hungry?" Kara asked. She pulled back to look Lena in the eyes. "I really wanted to cook something for you—I bought the ingredients and everything yesterday—but work ran late and I was just so tired for some reason, I accidentally fell asleep when I was reading the recipe. So we could maybe just order in?" A sheepish smile curled across her cheeks. "Would that be fine?"
Lena laughed again and wrapped Kara's gesticulating fingers in her own. "Anything is more than fine." Her amused expression softened as she continued. "How are you feeling after everything that happened the other day? I didn't get much in the way of details when we spoke on the phone."
"Oh." Kara dropped Lena's gaze for a moment and licked her lip, shifting her weight. "I'm—I'm okay—just a little tired. The intermittent powers thing is weird and new and frustrating."
"I can't even imagine." Lena nodded and took in Kara's gaze, turned down toward her feet. Her baby blue polka dotted socks contrasted the hardwood floor. "Is there anything else?"
Kara shrugged and exhaled. The breath stuttered out and the blonde rubbed her forehead. "The worst…" she took another deep breath. "The worst part is how much it has me thinking about Krypton. I learned early on that it's easy for me to fall off the cliff and get…" Kara swirled her fingers in the air. "…trapped in it all, I guess. I just—I don't really want to talk about it right now, maybe later," Kara admitted, feeling guilt surge inside her at the lost culture she couldn't reclaim.
Lena nodded. "Yeah, of course. I'm sorry, Kar." Lena drew Kara into another hug and rubbed her back. "Is there anything I can do to make it better?"
"Having you here is already helping," Kara said, nuzzling into Lena's neck. Her lashes fluttered against Lena's skin, tickling as she pressed closer. A few moments passed in quiet with the two fitted together and their breaths falling in sync.
Then Lena felt Kara smirk against her neck before she lifted her head. "And maybe snuggling and then some, ya know, other stuff. Later." Kara looked up, brows raised and eyes bright as she waited for Lena's response.
"Other stuff, huh?" Lena teased. She leaned so their foreheads were touching. "I thought you were tired, babe. And as much as I love doing 'other stuff' with you," she winked and continued, "you seem exhausted. I want you to rest if you need it."
Kara shook her head, blonde curls flopping against Lena's shoulder. "Never too tired."
"All right, well how about you settle on the couch for now and I'll call in our takeout order and then join you? Put on something to watch while we wait."
"I know you're only trying to see if I'll fall asleep, but I'm going to agree just to prove that I'm not too tired."
"Mhmmm." Lena hummed, nodding as she held Kara's gaze.
"Watch and see," Kara said, turning to make her way to the couch. "Let me take your luggage before I sit down."
Kara grabbed the suitcase and lugged it upward, dropping it instantly. The wheels crashed against the floor before the whole thing tipped over with a resounding thump. It landed on its side in front of the blonde's feet.
"Kara!" Lena exclaimed, laughing. "What the hell was that?"
"That's—" Kara pointed at the suitcase and balked. "Heavy!"
Lena rolled her eyes. "Welcome to the human world, Kara. I'll take care of this." She nodded toward the bag then put her arms on Kara's shoulders and turned her to face the living room. "You go rest on the couch."
"I'm not going to fall asleep!"
"I didn't say you were," Lena laughed, pulling a blanket from the back of the couch and tossing it at Kara as she passed.
"See you in a few. Wide awake," Kara smiled cheekily then ducked her head to suppress a yawn.
Lena eyed her carefully with a grin before disappearing. In the bedroom, she left her suitcase on the floor at the foot of the bed.
She unzipped it to start putting things away, but after hanging up her blazer she flipped the cover closed with her toe instead and changed into pajamas, deciding that unpacking could wait for tomorrow.
She took out her phone, ordering a human-sized amount of food for once and pulling her hair from her ponytail while she talked. Then she washed her face in the bathroom, clearing it of makeup and replacing contacts with wide rim glasses.
When she returned to the living room, Kara was curled on the couch, her own glasses askew on her nose, chest rising and falling slowly.
Lena plopped on the cushion beside her.
"Still awake," Kara murmured.
"Not for long."
Kara grunted in response, eyes closed.
"Come 'ere," Lena whispered, pulling Kara's limp body against her own and wrapping Kara's frame in her arms. She carded her fingers through the blonde's hair as they settled into the couch.
With her free hand, Lena stretch to grab another blanket, spreading it across both their laps.
Kara curled closer. "I love you, Lena."
"I love you, too, Kara. So so much."
"I'm glad you're home." Kara melted into Lena's side as her fingers ran over the reporter, soft and slow and warm.
"Me too." Lena kissed Kara's head. "Now sleep a little. I'm here."
Kara nodded, hair mussed against Lena's shoulder and closed her eyes.
/
The next morning, Kara slept through three alarms without so much as a murmur or jolt in her sleep. It was only when Lena resorted to shaking her shoulder, with an almost concerning amount of force, that Kara's eyes opened. Her body shot up and her gaze darted around the room before landing on Lena.
"Hey." Lena said quietly, moving the hand rubbing Kara's shoulder upward to cup her flushed cheek.
"Hi," Kara breathed out, chest deflating.
"Sorry to startle you like that you just—well, you weren't waking up," Lena bit her bottom lip. "I was getting worried."
Kara shook her head, closing her eyes for a moment as she pressed her forehead with the heel of her hand. "It's okay. I had a dream about Krypton and I'm just tired." She nodded and rubbed her eyes with loose fists. "That's all. Just tired." Her eyes drifted to her phone. "Shit! I'm going to be late."
"Hey, take it easy," Lena said, catching Kara's wrist when she jumped out of bed. She shook in her pajama pants, floor cold beneath her bare feet. "I got everything in order for you. You just need to get dressed and run a brush through that hair of yours, okay?" Lena smiled, easing the rapid pace of Kara's heart. "Take a deep breath, babe. You're still good on time."
"Thank you," Kara exhaled. "I don't know what's wrong with me, I'm just so tired, I'm so sorry."
"Don't worry about it." Lena rose from the bed and kissed Kara's cheek. "I've got to head off for work myself but let me know if you need anything."
Kara nodded, running her fingers over the comforter as she watched Lena leave, feeling the absence as a cold pang in her chest. "I love you," she called.
Lena paused in the doorway and turned around. "Love you, too."
Kara's lips turned up into a smile.
/
Lena set down her recipe for dinner before settling on the couch and pulling the novel she'd been reading off the coffee table. She opened to the page she'd left off on, finishing a single line before a thud at the door drew her attention.
She looked over as another thump rattled the frame. The nob was jostled, a scratching sound accompanied the wheeze of a strained breath.
Lena's features scrunched, brows pulling together as she returned her book to the table and stood up.
Her finger hovered over Kara's speed dial on her cell, knowing Kara would get there faster than the police ever could, as she approached the door.
Her bare feet padded across the wood and came to a halt. Lena jumped as something clambered at the other side, muscles seizing and mouth dry.
When she gazed through the peep hole her heart lurched up to her throat, fingers shaking in their haste to pull open the door. The knob was cool in her hand as she gripped at it, pulled harder and harder until the twisting gave way in coordination with the turn of the lock and she yanked it open.
The hinges groaned as the door swung open and Kara stumbled inside. Tears streaked her cheeks and a trembling hand grasped at her chest as the other grappled for something to hold.
Lena swooped beneath Kara's tipping form.
Finding purchase in the warm forearm beneath her own, Kara gripped Lena's arm with her free hand. The sloppy distribution of weight caused Lena to wobble. She took Kara's elbow with her other hand, steadying the blonde in front of her enough to look at her, eye-to-eye, but Kara's gaze shot around the room.
With her foot, Lena pushed the door closed, still using both hands to keep Kara upright.
"Kara?"
The blonde whimpered, the hand on her chest fisted her shirt and the fabric stretched, threads tugging.
Fingertips dug into flesh. Pale impressions against warm skin.
Their pinkish hue visible through the thinning fabric.
She bent over, hands dropping to her knees as she wheezed.
Lena eased her upward, taking both hands in her own. "Kara, sweetheart, can you follow me? It'll just be a second. I need you to stay upright." Lena walked backwards, pausing between each stride. Kara's legs followed the movement, knees buckling and knocking but keeping her upright like pliant branches in a storm. "Just a few steps to the couch. There you go, sit down."
Kara collapsed onto the cushion, swallowed by the furniture as she trembled.
"Are you hurt? Did something happen?" Lena asked, her words measured and her voice low.
Her gaze trailed over Kara, swept for visible injuries, and was pulled back upward by Kara's watery bellow of "no," palm still digging into her chest. "Nothing l—li—like that."
"Okay." Lena put an end to the blonde's ragged explanation. "It's okay. I understand."
Lena placed a hand on Kara's leg, a warm presence, and brushed the area with her thumb. "You're okay, Kara, you're okay." The rug pressed into Lena's knees as she knelt in front of her girlfriend. "I'm right here, riding this out with you... You're not alone; I've got you."
"S'rry. 'm s'rry," she murmured, words chopped between her gasps for breath and outpour of tears.
"There's no need to be sorry," Lena responded, continuing to seek out Kara's blue eyes.
When they finally met, Kara studied her face through red, puffy lids. She blinked, eyelashes sticky with tears, then took Lena's hand. The blonde's fingers shook with the aftershocks of adrenaline seeping through her system, quivering in Lena's palm.
Kara gave a weak squeeze of her fingers.
Lena rose with open arms and Kara tilted into her side, diaphragm still heaving. Her cheek was warm through the fabric of Lena's button-down shirt, still pressed and tucked from her day in the office.
"Oh, Kara, it's okay." Lena said softly, brushing hair back from Kara's face and twisting to sit beside the woman without letting go.
"Panic attack in the elevator. Everything felt tight, couldn't breathe." Kara gave in explanation after a few moments, through a rough voice and short breath. Lena reached up and thumbed away her girlfriend's tears. "Don't know why." She looked down and shook her head as a hiccup sent her shoulders jolting again, breaths still clipped. "I felt it coming on all day, just didn't think it was actually gon—gonna happen. My powers are completely gone now." Kara shook her head. "It was stupid. I was stupid." The end of each sentence was heavy, unbalanced by the weight of her own frustrations.
"Hey, hey, hey no." Lena guided Kara's chin, so she was looking into Kara's tear stained eyes. "That's not true."
Kara wiped her eyes and pulled in a steadier breath. "I hate when this happens."
"I know." Lena nodded, rubbing a spread hand up and down Kara's back, soothing her body and easing it down from the state of panic. "But it's over now, you're through it."
Kara nodded this time, slumping into Lena's hold and dropping her head onto the woman's shoulder.
"Oh, babe." Lena's face scrunched in thought. She looked down at Kara's damp skin and flushed cheeks. "You're really warm."
"Run warm." Kara muttered into Lena's neck. "Y'know that."
Lena shook her head and smoothed Kara's hair. "This is different than Supergirl warm," she said. "It's human warm. Should I call Alex?"
"No," Kara moaned. With her eyes still half-lidded and her cheeks red, she pushed away, palm damp and spread against Lena's collarbone. Her legs wavered, toes tripping over each other as she tried to stand, one hand relying on Lena's shoulder for support and the other still working to get away.
"Okay okay, Kara, sit down." Lena watched as the blonde swayed. "I won't call Alex if you don't want me to."
"Okay… thank you… Sorry." Kara rubbed at her face, eyes pinching at the headache pounding across her forehead. "I'm not thinking straight, sorry. I'm just worked up from all that." She gestured toward the front door, thinking about the elevator and its handrails that jutted into her back when she'd pressed against the walls, and the grating of its cables in her ears, and the fluorescent lights, and sharp corners, and lack of space. "And I don't want to bother Alex right now. I'm not in the mood for more pointless tests."
Kara dropped onto the couch beside Lena, shaking, repeating herself. "Sorry."
"It's okay." Lena held out an arm and Kara sunk back into the touch. "I'm going to get you some water and make some tea, and then we can just relax for a little." Lena stood and moved the TV remote from the coffee table to the space beside Kara's knee.
Lena returned a few minutes later to Julie Andrews frolicking through green hills, belting the opening lines to The Sound of Music. A soft smile pulled at Lena's cheeks and she couldn't help giving Kara's shoulder a squeeze on her way around the back of the couch.
She placed a glass of water on the small table beside Kara and offered tea, only pulling Kara's gaze away from the screen when the mug was in the center of her vision.
"Oh," Kara breathed, turning her head toward Lena. "Thank you."
She curled her hands around the warm ceramic and held it close to her chest against her sternum. The steam whirled in tendrils, moisture pervading against her skin. A deep breath finally dislodged the mass of residual worry clanging inside her chest.
"My pleasure," Lena assured her. She sat down and pressed a kiss to Kara's temple. The warmth of her lips lingered even as Lena pulled back, smiling at Kara.
Two syncopated thumps echoed off the hardwood floor as Kara toed off her left, then right, shoe. She shifted upward on the couch, shuffling into Lena's side and pulling her knees up to her chest.
Kara tucked her feet, clad in teal socks dotted with pastel donuts, under Lena's thigh; turning, so her head fell against the CEO's shoulder.
Lena put an arm around Kara and drew her closer.
Using one hand, Lena could count the number of panic attacks she's accompanied Kara through in person. There have been a few more she'd only found out about after the ordeal; an additional two she'd talked Kara through over the phone; and one occasion where'd she'd done it via text.
Each time, Lena amended the list in her head of how to help Kara best in the aftermath. A running formula for Kara's comfort.
The musical finished, and Kara's breathing had steadied, her eyes were still open. Her body a warm weight against her girlfriend's legs. The rolling credits filled the screen and Kara looked up from Lena's lap, where the woman was smoothing back blonde hair, to catch her eyes.
"I know we usually go for a walk now, but that means taking the elevator again, unless you want to walk down twenty-one flights of stairs."
Kara shook her head, blonde hair spreading on Lena's pencil skirt. "Not the stairs. If I avoid the elevator now it'll just get worse later."
"You'll be okay if we take it?"
Kara nodded and sat up. "With you."
/
They changed out of their work clothes and left the apartment, riding the elevator hand in hand.
Lena could hear Kara's breath hitch with the small jolt of movement as the elevator began its descent. The Luthor spoke continually, voice low and near, about work, about the weekend that was still three days away, about summer plans they should start organizing soon. Maybe a getaway to a cabin on a lake up in the mountains, or a beach house on the coast, or a flight to Italy or Spain or Ireland.
Lena was just excited to make up for all the sick days she'd spent trudging through work, all the scheduled-in vacation time that she'd replaced with business trips and meetings. She finally had people worth stopping for.
When the elevator doors parted, Kara kept her fingers entwined with Lena's, through the lobby and out onto the street.
The CEO didn't do anything other than squeeze them back and tell Kara that she was proud of her, before letting the conversation fall back to vacation and CatCo and the DEO, this time with Kara giving input.
They made it seven blocks shorter than usual, turning back at the entryway to the closest park. Beyond the ornate gateway, a pair of runners dipped around a corner into a patch of woods; to the left, a Labrador bounded through the grass, chasing after a tennis ball in the dog park; on the other side of the fence kids hung from monkey bars the color of firetrucks.
"Keep going?" Kara asked, pausing and looking at Lena.
"It's up to you, babe. How are you feeling?"
Kara's bloodshot eyes and increasing weight as she leaned against the other woman and decreasing contributions to the conversation gave Lena the answer to her question, but still she waited for Kara's decision.
She shrugged.
The sun was setting, and she was shivering.
Goosebumps prickled her skin.
"Whatever you want."
Lena took in Kara's trembling frame one more time before letting go of her hand and pulling Kara against her side. She let her fingers graze up and down the curve of Kara's ribcage as they walked, touch featherlight but impact heavy. "Let's go home. We've still got dinner to eat, anyway."
She tried not to be worried by Kara's lack of response.
/
It was just past eight when Kara stopped eating, barely a quarter of the way through her food, and started pushing it around instead.
Lena forced her concerned gaze over to the TV, where the news was playing in the background. Then she turned to Kara again and continued upholding the nearly one-way conversation.
She feigned nonchalance for another five minutes, but then Kara made another attempt to force down one more piece of pasta and her eyes were nearly closed from exhaustion and her lips were just millimeters away from a wince and Lena couldn't help the chuckle that she breathed out or the way her fingers hovered to help.
"Kara, babe, it's okay."
She stopped Kara's hand with her own, lowering the fork to Kara's plate.
"Huh?" Kara blinked. A heavy thing that almost kept her eyes sealed.
"You're exhausted and you're not hungry. It's okay, I just want you to be comfortable."
Kara's cheeks flushed pink and she blinked again, revealing a sliver more of her glassy eyes. "Sorry, it's not that I don't like it. I do… it's great! I just—I'm not… I'm not really hungry."
"I know." Lena ran a hand over Kara's back. "I'll take care of this," she said, nodding toward their plates and glasses. "You go hop in bed."
"Thank you," Kara said with a nod that was barely a bob of her chin. She got up and her fingers tightened around the counter, she froze in place, muscle held tight for a moment before she eased her eyes open again, squinting in the dim light. A sigh of a relief fell from her lips, the room had stopped spinning enough that she could pull her hand away from the granite.
"You okay?"
Lena's hand lingered at her elbow.
"Yeah." Kara took a deep breath. "I've just had a headache all day and I think it's getting a little worse."
Lena hummed softly and threaded her fingers through Kara's hair. "I'll get you medicine and some water, okay? You just get changed and lie down. Sound good?"
Kara nodded. "You'll um… you'll come in in a little bit?"
"I've got a call with foreign investors at nine, they're flying in to talk in person tomorrow, but after that, I'm all yours," Lena promised. "Now go," she tilted her head to the bedroom. "You're falling asleep on your feet."
/
In all of Lena's experiences with Kara after a panic attack, the blonde was always so exhausted that she was passed out before nine-thirty. Sometimes Lena found her earlier, sprawled across the couch cushions and snoring lightly, or knocked out curled up in the chair by the window she liked to read in or, once, asleep at the kitchen counter with her laptop still open and her glasses crooked on her face.
So, when Lena emerged from the office at nearly eleven, she tiptoed through the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water and some more medicine for Kara when she woke, before easing the bedroom door open and slipping inside.
The room was lit by yellow light from the lamp on the nightstand, at Kara's side of the bed. Instead of having fallen asleep reading or writing, as Lena had expected, Kara was awake. She was curled on her side, blinking at the wall.
Her fingers ran along the edge of the blanket she was under.
"Lena?" Kara said, voice hoarse. Her body lurched with a sneeze as she sat up and curled her legs in front of her.
Lena placed the water and medicine on the nightstand.
"It's me," she soothed, giving Kara's thigh a squeeze as she passed, on her way to the dresser.
"What are you still doing up?" Lena asked as she swapped her button down for an oversized college shirt. "Did I wake you?"
Kara shook her head and pulled the sheets back into her lap. The white fabric gathered at her waist and fell in crumpled waves around her side. She tugged it a little harder, balling the sheet in her fist and holding it to her chest.
"Everything okay?" Lena slipped on navy sleep shorts with white stripes.
Kara nodded with a long blink, her gaze rested heavily on Lena. Following as she disappeared into the bathroom and emerged a few minutes later with a toothbrush in her mouth.
"You don't look good, Kar," Lena said when she crawled under the sheets after finishing her nighttime routine. She stretched to plug her phone into its charger. "How's your head?"
Kara murmured and attached herself to Lena's side.
"What was that, darling?" Lena turned, letting one arm settle around Kara's back, her hand resting at Kara's hip.
"Still hurts. I can't sleep," she muttered into Lena's abdomen and moved to hide her face there. Her lips tickled Lena's side, the sensation prickling through the fabric of her t-shirt. "But 'm so tired."
"Do you want tea?" Lena offered, already propping herself up on one arm, prepared to get out of bed.
Kara shook her head and wrapped an arm around Lena's waist.
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Jus' stay 'ere. Having you close always helps."
Lena pressed a kiss to Kara's head. "I'll stay up a little and go through some emails, okay? I won't lie down all the way until I know you're asleep."
"You don't have t' do that. I know you have stuff to do in the morning. You need sleep, too."
"I don't mind." Lena stroked Kara's hair, knew that sometimes having someone awake beside her helped Kara fall asleep—alleviated the pressure to drift off quickly before she was left lying awake by herself, ruminating alone and getting trapped in her thoughts.
Here, she had Lena's hand in her hair, at her side. She had Lena's diaphragm rising and falling like the tide beneath the weight of Kara's arm. The scent of Lena, lingering expensive perfume and coffee surrounding Kara each time she breathed.
Here, she had Lena. And with Lena, Kara could close her eyes.
/
The night dragged on, with Kara twisting beside Lena, flopping from one side to the other, eyes opening every few minutes.
She blinked her eyes open again after another fifteen minutes of changing position to no avail. Her gaze settled on Lena, following her hands as they typed out email responses. Her fingers worked in perfect sync, hesitating only when her head needed time to catch up or she paused to proofread a response. Lip between her teeth and eyes scanning the message's text.
Kara watched as she replied through three, four, five more emails until Lena looked down after pressing send, catching Kara's eye.
"What're you doing?" The CEO asked with a little smile raising her cheeks. She removed a hand from the keyboard in favor of smoothing back Kara's hair instead.
Kara shrugged and raised her head off the pillow only to drop it right beside Lena again. "Just watching you."
"Still can't sleep?"
Kara shook her head. "I'm sorry. You don't have to stay up."
Lena waved a dismissive hand. "Watching me type emails is pretty boring, I'm sure."
Kara shrugged again. "I don't mind. I just like being close."
"And I like having you close," Lena assured her. She closed the email tab on her computer. "But I think we can do better on the entertainment front." She opened Netflix and looked at Kara. "What do you want?"
"Pick one of your documentaries."
Lena raised her brow. "Really?"
Kara nodded, a wry grin curving across her face and adding some light to her paled features. The glimmer emerging from the fog of her eyes had Lena eagerly awaiting whatever remark was about to jump forth from Kara's lips.
"They always put me to sleep."
Lena scoffed and rolled her eyes to suppress her smirk. "Oh, well aren't you just brilliant."
"I like to think so." Kara's grin grew into a full smile, reaching her eyes and Lena couldn't help but reciprocate with a smile of her own.
"And I'd like to think you have better taste in TV, Supergirl," Lena quipped, and Kara giggled.
But her laugh morphed into a cough, ribcage racking against Lena's side. The smile slipped off the blonde's face and she sat up, struggling against the sheets she'd tucked around herself. Lena's hand found its way to Kara's spine, rubbing up and down as it lurched, and she tried to fill her lungs.
"You're okay," Lena soothed. She gave Kara some space as perspiration gathered at her hairline, eyes doing their rapid sweep of the room, unable to focus. The hand on Kara's back, reminding the blonde that Lena was still there.
Kara nodded, finally pulling in a full breath and dropping her head onto Lena's shoulder. Her chest quivered with the prior strain to breathe. Jagged exhales blew onto Lena's arm.
Lena turned and kissed the top of Kara's head. "How about a romcom?" She tilted her head to look at the blonde. "Woefully your favorite."
Kara smiled, but it did nothing to clear her eyes or return some color to her face this time. She settled back into Lena's side, her skin warm against the other woman's.
Kara's cheek pressed against the heathered gray of the CEO's shirt—well worn from use and wash cycles. Snuggled beneath her blue fuzzy blanket, sheets, the comforter and sharing in Lena's body heat, Kara's shivering finally ceased. The warmth lulled her eyes closed as the opening score faded into dialogue and Kara fought for her eyes to open again, lids engaged in a cycle of separating then falling together over and over until her head nodded forward and she surrendered to sleep with Lena's hand scratching gently through her hair.
/
She lurched upward, trapped beneath the layers above her. Limbs thrashed against the sheets, against the pervasive heat pressing up against her lungs, suffocating. So heavy, her thoughts turned to mush, sludging around in her brain and joining the pounding, like horse's hooves, against her skull.
A wheezy breath tore through her lungs. Cool air washed over her clammy skin as she loosened the grip of the first blanket, wet with her own sweat. She scrambled upward, not bothering to untuck the other sheets, until she was on top of them and her head reeled with the sudden movement.
Her head fell onto her knees as she rasped for air. A grip tightened around her lungs as the darkness pressed into her vision in spotty blinks of lights.
"Hey…" Lena's soft voice pressed into Kara's consciousness. She vaguely registered the mattress shift, the sheets tugging slightly beneath her. "Hey, hey. You're okay. Drink this," Lena unscrewed the cap on the water bottle at the nightstand and held it out to Kara. "Just breathe, babe. Just breathe."
Under guidance from Lena's steady hand, Kara's fingers curled around the bottle and brought it to her lips. Once she began drinking, the water cool against the raw pain in her throat, she tipped the bottle further. Kept going until it was finished, pausing only to breathe.
"More?" Lena asked, prepared to refill the bottle but Kara shook her head, beginning to tremble again in her damp pajamas.
"Didn't—didn't mean to wake you," she whispered. "Sorry. Just a bad dream. I'm sorry," she said, growing teary-eyed.
"Don't be sorry—Here, change." She offered Kara a new pajama shirt and took the empty water bottle. "What's with all the apologizing anyway, love? I thought we were past that." Lena asked, offering Kara a soft smile when her head emerged through the hole in the new shirt. The Luthor sat on the edge of the mattress, wiped Kara's sticky skin with a cool, wet washcloth.
Kara bit back a groan at how nice the cold water felt against her face and settled for a shrug as an answer to Lena's question.
Lena let the silence hang as she moved the cloth from Kara's forehead to the back of her neck.
"I just feel guilty," Kara murmured.
"For what?"
"Getting in your way and keeping you up like this."
Lena shook her head and took Kara's hands in her own. "I don't mind a single bit, Kara. It's rare that you're ever less than super-human, so just let me take care of you, all right? I can't count all the times you've stayed up with me before. You have nothing to worry about."
Kara just sighed and let Lena help her lie down again, holding her hand the whole time.
/
Kara groaned, turning onto her stomach. She landed on top of her arm and felt the bones inside it jab into the soft spot beneath her ribs but couldn't find the strength to pull it out from under her.
Her eyes parted halfway, pressed against the pillow to hide from the light pouring through the window, assaulting her vision.
She shuffled her legs over the side of the mattress, let her toes press against the floor before trying to heave herself upward. She had her body halfway upright when she wobbled, hand jutting out to steady herself against the nightstand and knocking its contents off the surface.
Her phone clattered against the floor. A patter of three pens followed.
Kara cursed.
She bent to pick them up and a surge of dizziness washed over her, leaving her frame halved as one hand pressed into the mattress and the other gravitated toward her head.
"You okay?"
Lena's voice was trailed by a thrum of footsteps that vibrated through the floor and up to Kara's head.
"Yeah." She frowned at the hoarseness of her voice and the sharp pain as she swallowed, coughing and trying again. "Yeah I'm fine."
The footsteps stopped, and Lena's hand rested on her shoulders. "You sure?"
Kara attempted a small nod, eyes still squeezed closed. "Just got up too fast."
Her teeth chattered, and she wavered in place as she moved off the bed, opening her eyes to see Lena's gentle features pulled in concern.
"Is it late?" Kara asked, squinting in the brightness and wrapping her arms around herself.
Lena nodded. "Almost noon."
Kara's eyes widened. "What about CatCo? What about you? You had so much you needed to do today."
With a squeeze to Kara's hands, Lena drew her worried gaze to focus on the woman in front of her. "It's all fine. I called James this morning and told him you were sick, he's going to pass it on to Snapper. And I've been doing some work from home, I went out a little while ago and got you a few things. I'll just have to go in this evening for a couple of meetings."
"Okay," Kara said, the tension seeping out of her form as she leaned into her girlfriend, burying her face into Lena's neck. "You really think I'm sick?"
Lena laughed and threaded a hand through Kara's hair. "Yeah, I do, love."
Kara groaned.
"You know what always helps when I'm not feeling well?"
Kara shook her head, pouting, and her warm lips pressed against Lena's collarbone.
"A nice hot shower."
Kara nodded, letting out a little moan.
"That sound good?"
"So good."
Lena smiled into Kara's hair, pressing a kiss to her head. "You'll be okay in there?"
Kara nodded. "Yeah, I'll be good."
"Just call out if you need anything, I'll be in the living room."
/
Kara shuffled toward the couch, wearing a different pair of flannel pajamas and toting a blanket around her shoulders like a softer, fuzzier version of her Supergirl cape. She plopped beside Lena, her weight sending her crashing into the other woman's side.
"Hey," she said and poked her head up from the blanket. Strands of blonde hair stood up, framing her flushed cheeks.
"Did that help at all?" Lena nudged her laptop to the side and curled her newly freed hand around Kara's shoulder.
Kara nodded, her damp hair pressed into Lena's side but Lena just held her closer.
"Hungry?"
"Little bit."
Lena ran her thumb over Kara's shoulder. "What do you want? I'm going to get you some medicine and water, too, while I'm up."
Kara pursed her lips in thought. "Doughnut."
Lena laughed, rolling her eyes, as she eased Kara from her side and stood up. "Somehow I knew that was coming."
/
Kara crashed three-quarters of the way through her doughnut and at the climax of whichever Harry Potter film she'd choose. Lena tore her gaze away from the finances report on her computer, down to the mass of blonde hair that'd dropped into her lap as Kara's body went limp.
After extracting the remaining doughnut piece from Kara's hand and putting it on a napkin on the coffee table, Lena sprawled a hand across Kara's back, rubbing large circles over her shoulder blades and looking up at the screen to identify the movie as the first film. A soft smile spread across her face, it was Kara's favorite one and they'd probably watched it half a dozen times on that couch.
The movies played in succession as Kara slipped in and out of sleep, murmuring in Kryptonese when her eyes were shut; and staring ahead, snuggling closer to Lena when she woke, declining each offer from the CEO to talk about any of the things that had her twisting and gripping onto Lena's shirt while she slept.
So Lena did what she could, making sure Kara was drinking water, passing her tissues when she needed, helping Kara layer on blankets and then strip them off when she got too hot, and running her hands through Kara's hair to lull the blonde back to sleep.
Kara had been asleep for her longest block since getting up that morning, pushing three hours, when Lena slipped out from beneath her and Kara's eyes slipped open.
"Lena?" she whispered, loose fist raising to press against her throat as she tucked her chin down.
"I'm right here, sweetheart." Lena knelt in front of the couch, her clear eyes searching out Kara's red rimmed, droopy ones. She freed a hand from around her mug of coffee and squeezed Kara's.
Kara blinked again, fighting to keep her eyes open.
"You goin' to work?" Kara murmured, voice muffled by the blanket wrapped up to her nose.
Lena nodded. "I have to get ready and then head over. I've got a meeting with those investors I was talking to yesterday and a run through with some of the scientists in R&D on a few projects they've been working on. So it might be a little while until I get home, unless you need me to stay? I'll cancel if I have to."
Kara shook her head, regretting it as the aftereffects of her shaking heightened the ache in her skull. She set her head back down on the pillow Lena had slipped in to replace her legs when she'd stood. It wasn't nearly as warm or comfortable, but Kara nestled into the coffee colored fabric anyway. It quickly lost its coolness from the heat radiating off Kara's skin. "Go in. I'll be okay. 'M just gonna sleep, anyway."
"Okay." Lena's fingers curled in Kara's hair, running from her temple down the side of her head. "Do you need anything? Are you hungry?"
Kara's stomach coiled at the thought of food and she shifted her position. "No, but thanks."
Lena squeezed her shoulder. "I'm just going to change and gather my things, before I check in with you one more time before leaving."
Kara nodded, dragging herself upward into a sitting position and resting her head on the back of the couch. A collection of three blankets had accumulated around her shoulders and she held them close, eyes following Lena as she milled around the apartment, getting ready for work as the sun dipped closer to the horizon.
"All right, babe," Lena said half an hour later. "I've got everything you might need on the coffee table over here, so I'm going to head out. Are you feeling any better at all?" Lena asked and Kara shook her head, pale cheek mushing against the couch cushion.
"Not really." Around her hairline, blonde strands clung to clammy skin and beneath the blanket, she trembled.
Lena stood in front of her, pausing for the first time since she'd gotten up. She gazed at Kara, quiet as she took in her state. Her hand rose to her lip, thumbnail pressing against it. "I hate leaving you. I think I'm just going to call and cancel." Lena turned away from the couch, searching for her phone.
"No, no," Kara protested with a weak, breathy voice, raising her head from the back of the couch.
Lena faced her again, a frown pulling down her lips and turning her green eyes misty. "Kara, I'm worried. I don't want anything to happen to you, I care too much. I would never forgive myself."
"It's probably just a stupid cold," Kara pressed, reaching out and taking Lena's hand. "And I'm just going to be sleeping, honestly. I'll be fine."
Lena bit her lip. "I think you should let Alex know what's going on. I can call, I'm sure she'd come over."
Kara shook her head. "She's on a date right now, I don't want to worry her."
Lena wavered, she'd needed to leave three minutes ago to avoid being late.
"If I'm not feeling better tomorrow, I'll call Alex, okay?"
Lena sighed, casting another glance at her watch then back to Kara. "Okay." She twisted the strap of her bag around her finger.
Kara reached out to stop her fidgeting, holding both of Lena's hands. "It'll be fine."
"I think I'm supposed to be telling you that," Lena laughed, leaning in to kiss Kara's forehead. "I'll see you when I get home but it'll probably be late, so don't try to stay up. And don't hesitate to call if you need anything, at all. I mean it. I love you."
Kara tugged the blanket tighter around her shoulders and slumped into the couch, her eyes already falling closed. "Love you. I'll still be right here on the couch when you get back."
Lena couldn't help but look behind her as she let the door close.
/
It was just past eleven when she eased the apartment door behind her, hoping not to wake Kara. It was just past eleven, when Kara wasn't still on the couch, like she'd said, or in the kitchen, or in the bedroom. And the apartment was dark and moonlight was throwing shadows over the furniture and every sound echoed in the quiet. Lena's voice calling, calling Kara's name. The noise raising from a whisper to shout. A sliver of light from under the bathroom door and whispering in a language Lena had never heard come from a mouth that wasn't Kara's.
Kryptonese scraping against the silence and Lena's fist against the door and the mumbling that wouldn't stop.
It was just past eleven, when Lena shoved the door open. Her heart in her throat and a bruise raising across her knuckle.
A gasp stuck on her lip. Kara's eyes wild, her body jammed in the corner. The back of Kara's head bloodied, then cradled in Lena's hand.
It was just past eleven, when Lena rushed out of the apartment, one hand taking on Kara's shaking, murmuring frame; the other, trembling as she dialed Alex's number.
A/N: Let me know if you'd rather have Alex be with Maggie or Sam in this fic?
Thanks :)