Chapter Text
CatCo Worldwide Media @catcomedia
Rumors swirl as Lena Luthor is spotted walking into National City General Hospital
“How are we getting out of here?” Kara hissed, squirreled away in the corner of the room by the window, staring out at the ever-growing crowd of people in front of the hospital. She whipped around and glared at Alex, “Did you really have to fall off your motorcycle?”
“Hey!” Alex protested, “I was hit by a car!” She waved her casted arm for emphasis.
“And now the media is at all the doors to this hospital!”
Alex turned and stared at Lena, raising one eyebrow, unimpressed. Her sister-in-law had been only minorly injured in the accident, but it had been a nerve-wracking couple of hours. Kara’s patience was already fraught most of these days, 37 weeks pregnant and decidedly done. Combined with the increasingly desperate media, determined they were to dig into their family, her wife’s stress had been growing ten-fold between fears of their child getting leaked and her own impending delivery.
The frantic call from Kelly had had the two of them rushing to the hospital, Lena sending Frank to get Kara from the house, taking one of her cars herself. Unfortunately, it was less than conspicuous, and a singular picture of her rushing into the hospital, sans her wife, had sent the internet into a spiral. Kara’s anxiety had subsequently transferred from worry about Alex to worry about the media once she’d seen her sister.
“Darling,” Lena started, walking over to sit next to her wife, “We’ll figure something out. Alex is VIP, they have protocols in place for these types of things.”
Tears welled in her wife’s eyes, a much more common occurrence that Kara had lamented greatly right when the door opened, Kelly sweeping in with lunch. She dropped a kiss to Alex’s hairline before pausing, taking in the scene as Kara practically sucked any tears she might have had right back down her tear ducts.
“Did I miss something?”
“Nope!” Lena said, jumping up, “Kara let me get out some food.”
“Please feed her,” Alex whispered, eyeing her sister as she opened a wrap.
Kelly glanced between Alex and Kara, nodding once before opening her own wrap. “Got it,” she mumbled around a mouthful of food. “Here, Kara I got you those chips you wanted and a smoothie!”
Lena snatched up the items to deposit in Kara’s lap, snagging her own wrap before settling next to her wife. She watched as Kara sucked down the smoothie with gusto, something she’d had only a mild like for before the baby, and had become one of her favorite things since then. If Lena was being honest, she hoped this new fondness of smoothies stuck around, any bit of healthy food she could get in her wife’s diet she would take.
The rattling noise from Kara’s straw indicating that it was empty echoed in the room, silent as everyone ate. Kara sighed, setting the empty cup on the side table next to her. “It’s only sooner rather than later that someone gets a shot of me,” she grumbled, hand waving over her stomach. “I just want this to be us for a little while, not the whole world.” She glanced at Alex, “I’m sorry for yelling.”
“Pah,” Alex waved her hand, grabbing her own smoothie, “I knew you’re not really mad, you fretted enough when you got here.” She pointed her cup at Kara’s stomach, “But please stop worrying and let us do some of that before my niece makes an early arrival.”
Lena grasped her wife’s hand, rubbing her thumb across her knuckles. “We’ll figure out a way to distract them. And keep them distracted so we can observe urvish lorakh okay?”
“What if we distracted them?” Kelly piped up from her place at Alex’s side. She looked at her wife, “You did just say let us take some of the worry from Kara.”
Lena shook her head, “We couldn’t ask y’all to do that, y’all are still somewhat inconspicuous.”
“No wait, love you’re right,” Alex said, sitting up straighter in her bed. “Lena, you’re my sister, in-law or not, you’re family. We come together for family.” She smiled at Kara, “El mayarah, yes?”
Kara sniffled, hoisting herself out of her chair and giving Alex a hug, crying into her shoulder.
“I know, I know, you love me,” Alex teased, patting her back. “Luthor get over here.”
Lena approached slowly, eyeing the two of them warily, “I can’t let y’all do this.”
Kelly grasped her hand, “Lena, we want to.” She glanced at her wife, who was pressing a kiss to Kara’s hairline, “Besides, Alex has wanted to fuck with the media since your coming out.”
“We are still not calling it that!” Lena protested but allowed herself to be pulled into a group hug. El mayarah indeed.
***
Excerpt from Delaying Myself
Lena was a breath of fresh air. She brought forth curiosity and respect about all things Kryptonian, she never pried, but she always listened. When she proposed (well, when we proposed to each other), she had both a ring and a bracelet, fully committing herself to being my wife in every way that matters.
She’d hate the praise, but I credit Lena with my rebirth into my own culture. It’s because of Lena that we speak Kryptonian at home, that I say Rao’s prayers, that we celebrate our holidays. She took my hand and gave me space to emerge from the ashes, a phoenix rising, and cement my people into the story. When I think about our future, our children, I think of Lena. She leaps at the opportunity to observe traditions I nearly forgot myself, such as urvish lorakh, a month of peace, after the arrival of a new child. She’s perhaps even more determined than I am to preserve my people’s culture, and for that, I am the luckiest woman in the world.
***
Alex Danvers @alexdanverss
[image], [image]
Wear your helmets kids
noelle g @kyalin: so it was alex in the hospital??? So glad she’s okay, but that motorcycle is fuckedddd
epidote @she.ra: SINCE WHEN DOES ALEX RIDE A MOTORCYCLE
keller @ll.boss: @she.ra thats so lesbian of her
Alex Danvers @alexdanverss: @ll.boss correct young one
keller @ll.boss: @alexdanverss I- WHAT- IM SCREAMING IM DEAD
mango @thayrina: @ll.boss DID ALEX FUCKING DANVERS REPLY TO YOU?????
noelle g @kyalin: @ll.boss YOU ARE THE LUCKIEST PERSON EVER OMGGGG
aloy @sobeck: @kyalin has alex EVER responded to people before?
noelle g @kyalin: @sobeck NO!!!!!
boulder @korrasami: dude even in a hospital gown she’s still like, premium wife material
Kelly Olsen Danvers @kellyodanvers: @korrasami I would sure hope so, considering she’s mine ;)
boulder @korrasami: SINCE WHEN DOES KELLY OLSEN HAVE A TWITTER
***
Lena rubbed her temples, the headache throbbing worse than it had all morning. For once it had nothing to do with being in the office, her home study was soothing and comfortable. But despite not being at L-Corp, her workload was massive, all the things that needed her signature before her maternity leave kicked in a practical mountain on her desk. Jess was apologetic of course, and Lena herself knew it couldn’t be helped, but endless signatures and proposals were her least favorite part of her job.
Alex: why didn’t you tell me fucking with the internet would be so fun!!!!!
She blinked at her phone. Another text came in.
Alex: this is the most fun I have had in MONTHS
Alex: do you know how feral the children get when you respond to them?
That was nothing short of concerning. She snatched up her phone to respond.
Lena: wait, are you responding to people on Twitter, like, actually interacting with people
Alex: well duh, how else are we supposed to get eyes on us
Alex: wait, you don’t talk to people on Twitter
Alex: LENA YOU ARE MISSING OUT
Her headache was now twice the size it had been mere moments before. She stood, phone clenched in her hand as she swept out the door to find her wife. She didn’t have to search hard, Kara was seated in the living room, Jersey Shore playing on the TV for whatever reason, and a bowl of Cheetos perched on her rounded stomach.
“Do you know your sister is actually talking to people on the internet?” Lena said, stealing a Cheeto from the bowl. “Also, why are you watching Jersey Shore?”
“One, Jersey Shore is perfect a brain-numbing show,” Kara crunched a Cheeto between her teeth, “And two, yes I knew Alex was responding to people. She keeps sending me her favorite responses.”
Lena stared at her wife, sitting slowly down on the couch. “And she’s just…fine with that? Like, isn’t she worried about her public image?”
Kara stared at her quizzically over her bowl, “Uh no? She’s mostly just responding to ‘Queerlings’ as she put it. I think she enjoys it.”
She could do nothing but stare at her wife in shock, every ounce of media training that had been beaten into her since a child screaming at her. Enjoying talking to people? Preposterous.
“I-” She shook her head, “What?”
“Baby,” Kara said, reaching on hand for hers, “I know that rich girl side of you is screaming right now, but it’s nothing bad. Celebrities interact with people on social media much more than you realize, and Alex is anything but. And she’s smart, maybe she didn’t get the media training you did, but we did all get a rundown when we got married. Also, Eliza taught us about the internet you know, we’re well aware that what you put up stays up forever.”
Lena sighed, “I just can’t fathom that she like, actually enjoys it.” She leaned into her wife’s side, placing one hand on her stomach, their child giving a resounding kick that had Kara wincing. “Though, Alex does enjoy fucking with people, so it honestly shouldn’t be that surprising.”
***
Alex Danvers @alexdanverss
[image]
That’s my wife 😍
Daughter of El @daugh.el: we are getting FED by alex
mango @thayrina: @daugh.el and i am LIVING FOR IT
noelle g @kyalin: @daugh.el okay but is anyone else curious why now?
boulder @korrasami: @kyalin you know, ur right, like kara and lena have been confirmed for over a year?
mango @thayrina: @korrasami i bet you’re reading too much into it, maybe she decided she wants to be more active on social media?
boulder @korrasami: @thayrina maybe, i mean, I AINT COMPLANING
aloy @sobeck: put some respect onto kelly olsen danvers cause WOW
epidote @she.ra: @sobeck im too gay for this
Alex Danvers @alexdanverss : @she.ra same
epidote @she.ra: @alexdanverss WHAT EXCUSE ME WHAT
***
Excerpt from Delaying Myself
My mother was my best friend. Not in the way that so many parents may state it these days, we very much were not equals, she was my parent after all. But I was a mama’s girl, inside and out. Though it was looking more and more like I’d take after my father, I loved spending days with my mother, just the two of us. I spent many days and nights curled up next to her as she worked through paperwork for her cases. I was her kir ehl, her ‘little star.’
It’s in this way that I feel the most sting from my mother. She was always truthful to me, except for the thing that ultimately killed my entire family and culture. There’s a residual anger that simmers there, a betrayal that clouds what I want to remember her by. When I was a child, I held my parents to the highest degree. It’s sobering to see them as flawed individuals.
I try not to let the what ifs cloud me, because what would have really changed if a child knew about war before it came to her? Would I have even understood? Realistically no, but a part of me, the part that still feels my parent’s loss as raw as the day it happened wonders when they weren’t there to see me graduate high school or college. When I married Lena and my father didn’t walk me down the aisle. When I have my first child, and my mother isn’t there to whisper words of encouragement in my ear.
***
Kara went into labor on a Thursday.
They’d been at home already for a week on maternity leave, her wife’s due date coming then passing in what felt like increasingly long days. Lena didn’t do well waiting, and she’d about driven Kara up the walls with her pestering. Normally they were very good at soothing each other’s individual anxiety, but when they combined together in perpetual waiting? They were in a self-destructing tizzy, Kara tired of waiting, Lena feeling as if they were standing on a ledge she could do nothing about. Eventually, Eliza had come to stay with them, called by Alex who’d been phoned by Kara, a soothing balm on Lena’s frayed nerves, and the maternal presence Kara had been missing increasingly as her due date grew closer. Eliza knew this, and brought herself as that person with first-hand experience, soothing Lena’s worries and Kara’s want for her mother.
And to remind them it was okay to be nervous about becoming parents.
Still, Lena was determined to be the best fucking birth partner the world had seen. Kara’s hips had been aching for at least a week, everything loosening for the baby. It was calming to see the things Lena had read about, had researched, were true in some fashion for her wife. Science was familiar, a soothing connection when everything else seemed to be changing at the speed of light.
And science gave her ideas to help her wife.
“All right darling, let’s get up,” Lena said, sweeping into their bedroom where Kara was resting against the backboard, book in hand.
“Uh, what are we doing?” Kara said, not making any attempts to move.
Lena gently took the book from her, placing her bookmark in it and setting it on the table. “We’re going on a walk,” she grabbed Kara’s hands and helped her up.
“A walk? What?” Kara protested and Lena guided them to their closet. “Lena my ankles are so swollen right now.” Lena ignored her, getting her to sit on the bench in their closet and gently easing tennis shoes onto her feet, giving said ankles a rub for good measure.
“Well, all the science says walking will help get this baby out.”
Kara stared at her dubiously, “Are you sure that isn’t an old wives tale?”
Lena grinned, whipping out her phone to proudly showcase the folder of peer-reviewed research on the topic. “Not this one, look, this article is from PubMed.”
Kara gently pushed her phone back towards her, “I’ll take your word for it, now help me up, you nerd.”
They made their way to the kitchen, Lena grabbing two bottles of cold water and shouting a quick goodbye to Eliza. The sun was shining, though it wasn’t yet hot out, still a crisp, delightfully cool spring morning. The kind they both delighted in, taking tea and coffee on their porch swing on the weekends. They lived at the end of the street, gated entrance keeping most of the strange folks that tended to pop up away. Kara always joked that having a gate behind the already gated community was excessive, but Lena didn’t mess around when it came to their family.
Besides, her Luthor family was insane enough as it was.
“Okay, the sun feels nice,” Kara said softly, closing her eyes and soaking up the rays.
“Are you photosynthesizing?” Lena teased, grabbing Kara’s hand and shifting the cold water bottles under her arm, the condensation dripping down her elbow.
“Yes.”
“You’re so weird,” Lena pressed a kiss to her cheek, “Now come on, let’s actually walk.” She pulled the two of them off the sidewalk and towards the curb, Kara staring at her in confusion.
“Lena, what-”
“There, now you can walk!” she said, dropping Kara’s hand to wave to the curb.
“...on the curb?”
“Yup.”
“Lena, what in the name of Rao, I’m not balancing on that curb.” She pointed to her stomach, “Baby equals no balance, equals I’m falling.”
“I meant curb walking!” She rushed over to the curb to demonstrate. “It’s supposed to help the baby descend into your pelvis and open your cervix for labor.”
Kara stared at her for one long moment before sighing and starting to walk. “Your science better be correct on this one,” she huffed, “This is like a pre-workout before the real deal.”
Lena grasped her hand again, “Hopefully baby girl gets the memo of eviction.” She squeezed her hand, “I love you you know?”
Kara shot her a grin, “Love you too babe.” They lapsed into a moment of silence before Kara spoke again, softly, “I wouldn’t want to do this with anyone else. I couldn’t , with anyone else.”
“Ditto darling,” Lena brought their intertwined hands up, pressing a soft kiss to Kara’s knuckles, causing her wife to blush red. She dropped their hands and reached out to place hers firmly on Kara’s stomach.
“All right peanut, how does Wednesday, April 9th sound for a birthday?”
***
Kelly Olsen Danvers @kellyodanvers
[image]
She was in a rush
boulder @korrasami: dude is alex’s shirt on backward
aloy @sobeck: @korrasami LMAO ITS A HOODIE
noelle g @kyalin: where on earth is alex going that she puts a hoodie on backwards
Alex Danvers @alexdanverss : @kyalin ice cream
noelle g @kyalin: @alexdanverss BRUH WHAT KIND OF ICE CREAM
Alex Danvers @alexdanverss : @kyalin you’ll never know >:)
Kelly Olsen Danvers @kellyodanvers: @kyalin mint chocolate chip (and chocolate milkshake)
Alex Danvers @alexdanverss: @kellyodanvers BETRAYED BY MY OWN WIFE
noelle g @kyalin: im in shock
epidote @she.ra: @kyalin YOU ARE SO LUCKY
mango @thayrina: dude kelly and alex are my new favorite couple like come on
Daughter of El @daugh.el: @thayrina they are like, peak lesbian goals, what are they, kelex?
Alex Danvers @alexdanverss: @daugh.el pls no that’s the name of kara’s pet robot
mango @thayrina: @alexdanverss kara has a robot????
noelle g @kyalin: @alexdanverss is this the robot mentioned in her book?? Or did lena make one???
Alex Danvers @alexdanverss: @thayrina @kyalin i plead the fifth
boulder @korrasami: i vote dansen for their ship name
***
Excerpt from Delaying Myself
My father’s name was Zor-El, my original last name, which is now my middle name. Names worked much differently in Krypton than they do in the states, or most places in this modern age. Men had no last names and instead took on a hyphenation to tie them to their house. My house is the House of El, which I am now the head of. My father’s chosen name by his parents was Zor, and the hyphenated El is added. Girls get last names, that of their fathers. My mother, Alura In-Ze, is of the House of El through marriage, but her last name, In-Ze, that of her father from the House of Ze, stays with her for life. I am the same. After living with the Danvers for months, I learned American marriage traditions and was horrified I’d lose my last name to marriage, it felt like the final nail in the coffin. I swore off getting married then, despite Eliza and Jeremiah trying to tell me I didn’t have to lose my name. It was only several years later that, upon wanting to recognize the Danvers as my family, that I changed my name. Zor-El would stay with me for life.
Krypton doesn’t exist anymore. It’s a sobering reality. The naming conventions of my people are dead. I will pass on the hyphenated El to my children, despite the change in tradition, because there are no longer laws of my people in existence. In the face of destruction, something blooms. It’s not exactly the same, warped by its history, but it's enough.
***
“Oh Kara,” Eliza said softly, standing a couple of paces from her hospital bed, tears welling up in her eyes, one hand coming up to cover her mouth. “Oh honey, you did so good.” She set her things down slowly, ignoring the bassinet that was between Lena and Kara, and gently wrapped her daughter up in a hug, pressing a long, soft kiss to her forehead. Lena felt her own tears well up in her eyes at the sight, of Kara relaxing fully into her adoptive mother’s arms. Eliza pulled back running one thumb over Kara’s cheeks, which had fat, wet tears running down them.
“You all right?” Eliza asked softly, and Kara nodded in her hands. Eliza pressed another tender kiss to Kara’s hairline, and then, only then when she’d determined her daughter was fine, did she turn all of her attention to her granddaughter.
“Oh you two, she’s beautiful,” she breathed out, one shaking hand covering her mouth. “Let me wash my hands.” With that, she turned towards the sink, and Lena felt like her heart would combust with the easy love from their daughter’s lone grandparent.
“Knock knock,” Alex said softly from the door, Kelly just behind her. Lena beckoned them to come in, a smile on her face as the room filled with the most important people to her. “We brought an extra visitor if you’re up for it Kara.”
Before Kara could say anything, there, from behind Kelly, was Sam. Sam, who was supposed to be on the other side of the country. Sam, who had a teenage daughter she didn’t want to uproot. Sam, her best friend, who she hadn’t seen in months, was here.
Lena was up and across the room before she even recognized it, tears already running down her face. Sam wrapped her up in a bone-crushing hug, and god, it felt so good to see her again.
“What are you doing here?” she said, wiping tears from her face. She turned to look at Kara, who looked just as shocked and happy as Lena felt, “You didn’t know?”
“You really think I was going to let you become a mother without me?” Sam said, grinning. “You were there for me Lena, of course I’m going to be here for you.” She turned to Kara, “Thanks for having a long labor by the way, made getting a flight much less stressful.”
“You’re welcome,” Kara said dryly. “Now get over here and hug me.”
Sam obliged, giving Kara a fierce hug and cooing at their daughter. Lena returned to Kara’s slide, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder and squeezing. Kara glanced up at her, eyes full of love, and Lena felt tears prickle in her eyes like they’d already done a dozen times today. Eliza finished washing her hands and gently scooped up their daughter, eyes misting as she stared down at her.
“Oh you two,” Eliza near whispered, glancing up at them, “she’s precious.”
Alex came up behind her mother, peering over her shoulder to get a good look. One finger gently brushed their daughter’s tiny cap, and Alex let out a sniffle that broke the reverent silence in the room.
“Rao I can’t cry anymore,” Kara said, wiping her eyes, “Alex stop crying before I cry even more.” The room let out a soft laugh at that, and Lena felt like bursting, so overwhelmed with love and adoration her body couldn’t handle it. She had everyone she would ever need, right here in this room.
Alex rubbed her eyes with her sleeves, “Kara you make really cute babies.”
“Stop it,” Kara whined, laughing to herself as she wiped her eyes, “God these postpartum hormones are going to kill me.”
Their daughter got properly introduced to her, small but no less important family, before finally being passed back to Lena, who cradled her closely to her chest. It felt impossible that this warm, small weight of a person had grown inside her wife for over 40 weeks, but she had. She was practically bald, the faintest whisps of blonde hair, a few loose strands from a paintbrush truly, poking out from under her cap. She was slightly red still, and wrinkled, and yet Lena had never seen anything more beautiful, more perfect in her life. Gently, as if she were glass, she carefully ran her fingers along their daughter’s face, memorizing it both in touch and gaze.
“Do you have a name?” Eliza asked softly, breaking Lena out of the trace that was her daughter. She glanced at Kara, who nodded once before turning back to their family.
“Laoise Kar-El Luthor-Danvers,” Lena said softly, speaking more to her daughter than to the room at large.
“It fits her,” Kelly said, “And it’s a perfect representation of you both, born new in her.”
***
noelle g @kyalin: going on four months of no new lena and kara pictures 😭
epidote @she.ra: @kyalin we’re starvinggggggggg
aloy @sobeck: @kyalin i swear they are my favorite people ever, how did we live before them
noelle g @kyalin: no alex or kelly sightings either. Man we got comfortable with them talking to us
boulder @korrasami: @kyalin dude for real
Alex Danvers @alexdanverss: who says we aren’t just…lurking 😈
boulder @korrasami: @alexdanverss wait WHAT
boulder @korrasami: @alexdanverss did you just imply ur fam just lurks on twitter
Alex Danvers @alexdanverss: @korrasami ;)
***
“You promise you can’t see any baby stuff?” Kara asked from where she was sitting on the couch, a box of potstickers on her lap.
“Please, have a little faith,” Alex said from behind her phone, “Besides, this will make it seem like everything is normal, now hold up the box of potstickers.”
Kara complied, “What, like I don’t have a tiny, very dependent person whose sole food source is me?”
“Yes exactly. Now smile!”
She did just that, and Alex crowed with excitement. “Oh, that’s the perfect shot, look!” She thrust the camera in Kara’s face, who took the phone laughing. They’d all seen the increasing whispers of their disappearance from the public. It wasn’t like they were common in the first place, but they’d usually share a photo at least once a month, or be caught out on date night at the bare minimum. The ‘fake sisters night’ Alex had decided to put on was becoming a whole operation to lie to the internet, or as Alex called it, an ‘omission of truth, not lying.’
To Lena, it was damn close.
“This good Lena?” Alex asked, thrusting the phone in her direction.
It was a somewhat grainy shot of Kara and poorly lit, but it did look like just a quick shot on sisters night, and not the middle of the day on a Tuesday. Kara looked happy, which was no surprise, considering she was currently devouring her potstickers as if she’d never eaten before. And true to Alex’s word, there was no sign of baby stuff anywhere in sight, cropped to just show Kara’s collarbone and up, the background clear.
Lena nodded, and Alex let out a whoop, scooping Laoise out of her arms in one fell swoop. “All right, media Alex is accounted for, now let me be Auntie Alex. Kara, go sleep, I’ve got her. And Lena,” she spun to look at her, “Please go shower, that shirt has dried baby puke on it.”
“Are you sure-” Kara piped up, standing slowly from the couch, potstickers long devoured. She stared at Alex as if she couldn’t quite believe her, and if she moved too fast she’d spook her offer away.
“Yes Kara,” Alex reiterated, “And I know she’ll take two ounces in about thirty minutes, and there’s pumped milk in the fridge, so I won’t wake you. And you,” she waved at Lena’s shirt, “Throw that in the laundry, I’ll get it done.”
Now it was Lena’s turn to protest, “Alex, you don’t have to do our laundry.”
“Uh, the whole point of me coming over here is to do whatever y’all need, not just baby cuddles.” She swayed with Laoise, “Not that I won’t take any you give me baby girl.” She looked up from where she was cooing their daughter, “What, stronger together yes?”
***
Alex Danvers @alexdanverss
[image]
Sister night! Sister night!
noelle g @kyalin: WE FINALLY GET DANVERS SISTERS CONTENT FROM ALEX ITS BEEN SO LONGGGGGGGG
aloy @sobeck: @kyalin no for real its been FOREVERRRRRR
mango @thayrina: dude kara looks so pleased for those potstickers
Alex Danvers @alexdanverss: @thayrina they were gone in two seconds
boulder @korrasami: @alexdanverss does kara like potstickers?!?!
Alex Danvers @alexdanverss: @korrasami LIKE potstickers? She worships them like they’re the second coming of Rao themselves
epidote @she.ra: @alexdanverss omg kara lore
Alex Danvers @alexdanverss: @she.ra pls that aint lore, that’s the fucking book cover
noelle g @kyalin: @alexdanverss omg i love you
Daughter of El @daugh.el: wait is this the first kara sighting since her award????
aloy @sobeck: @daugh.el OMG YOU ARE SO RIGHT
boulder @korrasami: @sobeck thats nearly FIVE MONTHS
aloy @sobeck: @korrasami we have been DEPRIVED
***
Lena stared at the post on her phone, thumb hovering over the post button. It had been a month, their month, of peace. It had been peaceful and exhausting all at the same time, but now to share their little girl with the world? She was hesitating.
“Are you nervous?” Kara whispered, Laoise asleep in the bassinet next to her.
“Yeah, are you?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s just,” Lena started, “She’s ours you know? And sharing her with the whole world? Rao, I’m scared. But I want to shout from the heavens about her, about you, and how wonderful our family is.”
“I feel the same way,” Kara said softly, snuggling close to her. “We lead such high-profile lives, I don’t want anyone commenting anything on her you know? She’s our perfect little girl.”
Something twisted in Lena’s gut. “Do you regret our coming out? If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be in this situation. Your pregnancy would have been less anxiety-inducing.”
“I’ll never regret you, Lena Luthor,” Kara said fiercely, pulling away to look her in the eyes. “And honestly, I think it would be worse if we hadn’t come out. It would never end, the media circus, and I would feel like a secret, not an oath.”
“I love you,” Lena breathed, “My sun,” she cradled Kara’s face with one hand, reaching across with the other to grasp the rail of the bassinet, “and my stars.”
Kara sniffled, pressing a soft, impassioned kiss against her lips. Lena could taste the saltiness of her tears on her lips and knew her own probably mingled as well. The past month had been some of the best moments of her life, and the hardest, a rollercoaster she never wanted to get off of.
“Can I see your post?” Kara asked softly, forehead resting against her own.
Wordlessly, Lena handed over her phone, the two photos shining brightly in the dim room. The first was Lena’s new favorite photo, Kara and Laoise cuddled on the porch swing early in the morning, fresh sunlight streaming through the trees. A steaming mug of tea sat on the small table next to her, and Laoise was cradled on Kara’s chest, wispy, bald head facing the camera. Kara was staring down at their daughter, one hand on her back, the other tracing her face, her golden curls falling like a halo down her shoulders. She was stunning, the patron saint of motherhood present on her deck.
The second photo Lena had added was to stop any and all questions about how they’d gotten a baby in the first place. Kara was smiling at Lena behind the camera from where she stood in their backyard, the small pond shining in the background, one hand cradling her stomach, the other on her lower back. Her hair was in a messy bun, and she was wearing sweats, but it was one of the most authentic photos Lena had of her wife, one she’d looked back to nearly every day since she’d taken it.
“Oh wow,” Kara marveled, “I didn’t know you had these pictures.”
“Are they okay?”
Kara didn’t respond, staring at the images, the blue light from her phone illuminating her face. A lone tear rolled down her cheek, and she made no movement to wipe it away.
“Is this…how you see me?” Kara asked, awe in her voice. She tore her eyes away from the phone, shimmering tears in her eyes. “You made me look beautiful.”
“Oh darling,” Lena whispered, bringing up both hands to cradle Kara’s head, “You are the most stunning person I have ever known.”
“Even now?”
“Especially now.” Lena let one hand fall to her shoulder, “I didn’t think I could possibly fall more in love with you darling, but watching you as our daughter’s mother? I’m floored every day by you.”
At that, Kara surged forward, pressing a bruising, heated kiss on Lena’s mouth, which left her gasping. Kara’s hands came up to hold her jawbone, raw love scorching her skin.
“Khap :zhao rrip,” Kara breathed.
“Ditto darling.” Lena responded with another kiss, “Shall we tell the world?”
Kara nodded, picking up Lena’s phone. “Let me add one more picture okay?” She clicked through Lena’s phone. “There, done.”
“Wait did you post it?” Lena grabbed the phone, staring down at the post. There, as the first photo was a picture of the three of them, one Eliza had taken only days after Laoise’s birth. It was taken in the kitchen, light streaming in from behind them. Lena was cradling Laoise in her arms, with Kara’s hands on her hips. Rather than looking at their daughter, however, they were looking at each other, noses a hairbreath apart. They looked awestruck, as if they’d uncovered the secrets of the universe in the face of their daughter, seen only by her wispy, blonde hair.
Lena Luthor @reallenaluthor & Kara Luthor-Danvers @karazorelld
[image], [image], [image]
Laoise Kar-El Luthor-Danvers, April 11th, 2024
***
noelle g @kyalin: WHAT. THE. FUCK.
noelle g @kyalin: KARA AND LENA HAVE A BABY??!?! AN ACTUAL BABY TM
boulder @korrasami: @kyalin EXCUSE ME WHAT
noelle g @kyalin: @korrasami LOOK AT THEIR PAGES NOW
boulder @korrasami: HOLY FUCKING SHITTTTTTT A BABY. A WHOLE AS BABY.
Daughter of El @daugh.el: she was born in APRIL?!?!?
aloy @sobeck: @daugh.el how the fuck did no one know they had a baby
noelle g @kyalin: @sobeck a whole baby a MONTH AGO
epidote @she.ra: okay but they look so fucking happy oh my god
aloy @sobeck: @she.ra kara is actually stunning in those pictures like, how can someone who just had a whole ass human look that good
noelle g @kyalin: not only did they manage to hid their pregnecy, but they didn’t announce their baby till a month after they were born. Like, that baby is no longer fresh
boulder @korrasami: @kyalin they have every right to their privacy
noelle g @kyalin: @korrasami oh they do! I just DONT UNDERSTAND HOW THEY PULLED IT OFFFFFF
mango @thayrina: @kyalin kara would have been at least 20 weeks at the National Book Awards
noelle g @kyalin: @thayrina they have to be like, witches or aliens or something cause HOW THE FUCK
Alex Danvers @alexdanverss
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Three generations of Danvers women ♥️
epidote @she.ra: IM ACTUALLY DYINGGGGGGG WHAT
Alex Danvers @alexdanverss
Also, thank y’all for playing along these past couple of months, surprise, you all fell for it ;)
noelle g @kyalin: @alexdanverss im in awe of you
aloy @sobeck: @alexdanverss i can’t even be mad because that’s so fucking sweet
boulder @korrasami: @alexdanverss are you saying you’ve been active on social media to get the media off your sister?
Alex Danvers @alexdanverss: @korrasami winner winner chicken dinner!
mango @thayrina: why is no one talking about the fact that her middle name is kar-el, that’s kryptonian naming conventions!!!
epidote @she.ra: @thayrina i might actually cry im so fucking happy for kara and lena
CatCo Worldwide Media @catcomedia
Revival , Kara Luthor-Danvers opens up about motherhood in the wake of genocide
***
Excerpt from Revival, written by Kara Luthor-Danvers
My daughter will never know Krypton.
She’ll never know Argo during the solstice, how the city would sparkle with shining lights. She’ll never know about the foods I’ve never been able to recreate, their recipes lost to war, their materials inaccessible. She’ll never know my mother or my father. She won’t ever choose between a guild, and won’t laugh about games I no longer have access to. She’ll hold only stories, a generation removed from loss.
But the weight of Krypton does not rest on my daughter.
Because Krypton is more than just who she came from. It’s more than just the loss we have suffered. Krypton lives on in the stories I share, lives on in every one of you who has consumed its novels, its experiences. Every time someone learns, someone listens, and picks up a story about my home, it lives. Stories are greater than any man.
My daughter is a revival, not of my culture, but of myself. And understanding that life continues, it flourishes, it changes. Because I am not built only on grief, but in joy, in sadness, in anger, in fear. I choose to live out the rest of my life as a Kryptonian, so that all the things I can give my family, my wife, our children, will be a part of their story, however they choose to write it.
I am but one woman. But stories are like that of the gods, connecting all of us throughout all of time.