Chapter Text
There isn’t a minute to talk about the kiss, not when Lena’s frantically trying to perfect her spell, in as short a time as possible. She’s been muttering to herself the last ten minutes, perfecting the incantation, whilst occasionally looking over to Kara and giving her the most beautiful smile.
Kara’s caught up in it all, her heart is singing with a happiness she’d never thought possible, more powerful than any magic Lena could cast, stronger than the sense of home she’d felt when Lena had called to her. This is not where Kara imagined things going, when she showed up at Lena’s door worried Lena was keeping something from her, but if that was the moment that kick-started them on a journey to where they are now? Kara’s glad she did what she did.
A kiss, a conversation, a declaration. Kara told Lena’s she’s in love with her and Lena didn’t say it back, but she did encourage Kara to do something about it and Rao, what a kiss! If Kara could write poetry, she’d pen a dozen poems just about that moment. The melding of lips, the feel of Lena’s body beneath her finger tips, the eagerness to explore more of the woman, who Kara is undoubtedly head over heels about.
She still can’t understand how it’s taken her so long to see it. One magic spell, a union of sorts. A spell so strong, it summoned a future daughter to Lena’s doorstep.
Thoughts of El, remind her about everything else that’s been twisting inside her gut and guilt claws at her, for being selfish and kissing Lena, when she couldn’t possibly know the impact on El’s very existence.
Although, El is still very much existing. She’s messing around with Brainy in the kitchen, the pair appear to have a language all of their own, something Kara cannot fathom and to be honest, she’s not paying too much mind to them, not when she just kissed Lena Luthor.
“Kara?” Lena says, drawing Kara’s attention back to the room. “You know you really do need to stop thinking so loudly.”
“Sorry,” Kara ducks her head, looking up at Lena through her eyelashes and she sees something then. It’s the way Lena sucks in a breath, her eyes dipping to Kara’s lips and back up again. “And uh, sorry about earlier—” she says but Lena puts her hand up in an instant.
“Do not apologise for that, ever,” Lena says.
“No?”
“No, not ever. I’ve wanted you to kiss me for so long…” she’s smiling now, soft, affectionate and Kara is so lost in this woman, she can’t believe it’s taken her so long to see it.
“Really?”
“Oh, Kara, please,” Lena chuckles, but it dies on her lips when she catches the way Kara’s looking back at her hopelessly confused. “You really had no idea?” Kara shakes her head from side-to-side. “You took my breath away when you walked into my office. I once filled your office with flowers?”
Kara’s eyes widen and yes, she remembers the flowers, not so much a clue that she took Lena’s breath away, “and you liked me?”
“I always hoped, maybe you’d see me that way too, but…” Lena swallows thickly, “things didn’t quite go smoothly and after…well, I suppose I was happy to just be…”
Kara’s stuck wondering how long she’s been so cluelessly oblivious, but perhaps none of that matters anymore, “I really liked kissing you,“ she blurts out and could absolutely facepalm herself for it.
Lena chuckles, warm, in that way she does with Kara, endeared and understanding, “I really liked kissing you too,” she presses her lips against Kara’s and that light brush has Kara feeling like she’s floating, a bit like when she felt the comfort of Lena’s spell.
Thoughts of magic, of sending El back to her future and of what awaits them both, has Kara resolving to get the other thing off her chest.
“I don’t want to get in the way of whatever it is that brings you and El’s father together, she’s…” Kara can’t believe she’s about to talk herself out of having the one thing, she’s ever truly wanted, but Lena’s happiness is everything to her. “Much as I want to explore this, El’s special and I know we’ve only just met her, but I feel this attachment to her and I figure it’s because she’s half you and it’s…”
“You care about her?”
“I do, yes,” Kara takes a shaky breath, it’s surprised her, how deeply she feels about someone she only met two days ago. “I’d do anything for you and I want you to be the mom, I know you’re going to be. And, it’s not just about you. It’s El too, I feel this strong need to protect her and if that means, I have to step aside…”
“Ever chivalrous,” Lena sighs.
“It’s the right thing, I can see how much you love her, how much you’re going to dote on her.”
“I imagine you’ll be doting on her twice as much as me.”
“Well, yeah,” Kara shrugs, a little bashful because she’s pretty sure it’s true.
Lena chews on her bottom lip, putting her book to one-side, she takes Kara’s hand and sits her down.
“You do know it’s not essential for there to be romantic love between two people who become parents?” Lena asks, amusement dancing behind her eyes. “Or for there to be a known donor?”
“I do, but Lena,” Kara gives her a sad smile. “It’s you. You deserve—”
Lena cuts her off with a shake of her head, “I meant it, I want to get back to kissing you and if it helps to quieten all those raging thoughts of yours,” Lena kisses her again and Kara’s hands instinctively come up to grip at her waist, she never wants to let her go, but her thoughts are still a mess in her head and when she’s supposed to be enjoying this beautiful moment, it hits her that this could be their last kiss.
“Lena,” she says in a whisper, the ache overwhelming. “What if all this, if El never…” she can’t say it and the way Lena sucks in a breath is why.
“She’s still here, Kara. Isn’t that answer enough. We’re not messing up the timeline, you know I’d never take a risk like that, it’s why—” she hesitates, looking conflicted about what she can and can’t say, much like El has, several times over the last two days. “Please trust me, it’s going to be okay and this thing with us? It’s not going to stop El from existing. I promise we’ll talk about it more once El’s where she belongs.”
Kara has faith in Lena, believes her and knows she’d never do anything to put her own child in harms way. It really could be possible for them to have it all and with that thought, she says, “okay.”
Which has Lena smiling at her, “good, now I really do need to get back to work.”
—
The night sky rolls in all over again and Kara drifts into the backyard, looking up at the stars, when she hears footsteps behind her, turning to find El, wrapped in one of Lena’s soft cardigan’s. She looks so like her mother and it has Kara feeling a bit emotional about the reality that at some point soon, they’ll have to say goodbye.
“Did you find it?” El asks, coming to stand beside Kara, her eyes studying the night sky, until her hand comes up to point out the tiny shining star that Kara had been searching out.
Kara’s heart stutters, she turns to look at El, who is staring right back at her, “have you been?”
El glances back to the house, a sign she’s wondering what Lena might think if she were to reveal another secret, “it’s beautiful. You’re always happy there.”
Kara looks towards the twinkling light, then she looks back to the house, where she can see Lena moving around inside, “I’m happiest here.”
“Wherever she is, home is her, it’s us.” El says, swallowing thickly. “I miss you, my version of you. I…”
“I know I’ll be missing you too, so much,” Kara can’t imagine what her future self is going through right now. “We’ll have you home soon. I promise, your mom is a total genius, she’s also a perfectionist, she’ll have you back and it’ll be as if you never left. I’m sure of it.”
It’s quiet for a minute, the purple light dancing across the cracks in the universe almost to the rhythm of Lena’s heartbeat.
“I’m glad I got to meet you both, when you’re…” El breaks the silence, a softness in her voice which she tries to belie with a shrug, “it’s nice to see that you’ve always been this way with each other.”
Kara wraps an arm around El’s shoulders, giving a light squeeze, “I’m going to miss you.”
“You’ll see me soon enough, I’ve been assured, I am a very delightful baby,” El grins up at her and then it drops as something flashes behind her eyes. “But, um, also, maybe don’t get too mad, if one of your capes gets a tiny hole in it, when it’s being used to make a super fort.”
Kara’s brow crinkles, “you can’t make a hole in my cape, it’s virtually indestructible.”
“Virtually, being the key word” El says, “and it really was an accident.”
Kara laughs, she can’t fight it, whatever this girl gets up to in the future is bound to bring her so much joy, even if she does tell her off, for somehow damaging a virtually indestructible cape. “Your magic must be very powerful,” she says, still chuckling to herself and heading back towards the house.
“You could even call it my super power,” El mutters.
Kara glances back at her over her shoulder, but El’s watching the light show. Purple flashes crackle in the sky, flickering, fading. A reminder that they really need to get El back to where she came from and quick.
Kara finds Lena in the lab, she’s cleared the workspace, leaving only a bowl on the surface. Beside it there’s a cloth, the ingredients Kara sourced for her earlier, laid out neatly on top.
Lena puffs out a breath, nods to herself, then her eyes meet Kara’s and there’s this nervous energy about her as she says, “can you get El?”
—
Kara does as she’s asked and can hear the wobble in Lena’s voice as she explains the process to her daughter. Kara steps out of the room, giving them a few minutes alone and tries to get her own emotions in check. It’s been a whirlwind of a few days and as much as she wants El to stay, she knows she has to go home.
Lena pokes her head out of the door a minute later, “El’s wants to say goodbye to Esme and the others, could you?”
The next hour is full of laughter, tears, hugs. Kara’s always thought these people were her family, but this is on another level. This is her life.
Alex is the last to give El a hug, “can’t wait to meet you again, kid,” she says.
“Okay, so remember that super cute feeling, on the day I discover your secret stash of English chocolate.”
“You wouldn’t,” Alex gasps, then she says incredibly quietly, “never, ever, let my sister know.”
“Deal,” El says, holding out her hand and Alex shakes it firmly, a ridiculous grin on both their faces.
Kara’s doing all she can, to not get distracted by the very idea that Alex has a secret stash of chocolate and focus on the way her sister has bonded with Lena’s daughter. It’s another piece that just fits into place. This is Kara’s family. It feels good and she turns to Lena, sees the way she’s watching with that same fondness. Lena’s hand finds its way into Kara’s palm, a double squeeze, a sign.
“It’s time,” Lena says and with a last goodbye, the others leave Kara, Lena and El alone in the house.
“What now?” Kara asks.
Lena’s bottom lip trembles, “we hug,” she says and Kara’s already got her arms wrapped around her, when El snakes her way in between them.
“I’m so happy I got to see you both, this you,” El says once they’ve disentangled, Lena wiping the track of tears from her cheeks.
“I am so happy that I got to meet you too, even though it’s a little earlier than my lifeline had planned,“ Lena kisses El on the top of her head, “in this time and in yours, I love you.”
“Love you, kid,” Kara says, pressing a kiss just beside the spot where Lena did.
A breath rushes out of El’s lungs, “I love you, too,” she says, taking both their hands and then they hold each other for another minute, until Lena steps behind the metal worktop and sets herself ready to work her magic.
—
Lena’s hands are shaking, although her words are steady. Kara’s task is the same as before, she holds the bowl, gently working the mixture into a powder, smiling over to where El is sitting cross-legged in the middle of the circle. Lena’s incantation picks up its pace. The white light appears and then there are only the two of them. Lena’s shoulders slump, tears fill her eyes and Kara’s beside her in a flash.
“It worked,” Lena says, quietly. “Our daughter is home; can you feel it?”
Kara knows it too, not just from the obvious sign of El no longer being in the room with them, but she can feel it in the magic which is somehow coursing through her veins. A completeness, signifying everything is as it should be. The same sense of calm washes over her as it did in the seconds after Lena first cast the spell and she closes her eyes, clinging to the moment for a second longer, “I feel it,” she says, her eyes flutter open and then they widen, “OUR?”
“Oh, darling,” Lena shakes her head, a bemused smile on her face. “This is why I love you.”
Kara opens her mouth, then closes it again. The last few days catch up with her and suddenly a whole lot of things make sense. She could spend hours picking apart everything she missed, but it’s not important. What is important is that she told Lena how she feels and Lena loves her back. At some point they are going to have a baby girl and she is going to grow up into an incredibly awesome kid and Kara’s happier than she ever thought possible.
Lost for what to do, now they’re alone, Lena clears up the lab and Kara makes her way around the house, tidying up the traces of their visitor. She misses El instantly, looks for her on the couch, expects to find her sitting at the kitchen counter and when she catches Lena doing the same, she takes her by the hand, walking out into the backyard, where they stand and look up at the night sky. It makes her feel more connected to their future in so many ways.
“How long did you know?” Kara asks, tilting her head to look at Lena.
“I had a feeling,” Lena smiles softly. “She acts a lot like you and when I ran those tests. It only confirmed my suspicions. She looks like you too.”
“I think I was too lost in how she looked so like you,” Kara admits. “She’s really a super?”
“Genetically, yes. She’s your daughter.”
“Wow,” Kara’s kind of wondering how they work all that out, but she’s no doubt Lena will be capable, she always is. “Me and you, huh?”
“If it’s the future you want?” Lena sounds like she somehow doesn’t know the answer to that, so Kara faces her fully, taking hold of both her hands.
“It’s the only future I want.”
In every lifetime, in any future. It’s not magic that binds her to Lena, it’s something far greater and now she knows what it is she feels, it’s love.
Something that looks a lot like relief washes over Lena’s features, before her smile grows a little incredulous, “you really couldn’t tell she was yours?”
Kara can see it now, “in my defence, you were in the room, so I was probably distracted.”
“Distracted, hmm,” Lena hums, amusement dancing behind her eyes.
“Yup, you know, it’s not just Esme who thinks you’re very pretty,” she says and likes the way it makes that blush rise up Lena’s neck, dusting her cheeks. Kara leans in, her voice low, “I also think you’re hot, I’ve wanted to know how it would feel to kiss you, to touch you…”
Lena’s chest rises slowly, she exhales, her tongue licking out at her bottom lip, “Kara,” the way she says her name is breathy, needy. “I want you, too. So much.”
Kara acts on instinct, capturing those lips in a sure kiss. Deep, intense, desperately trying to pour all her feelings into it and Lena kisses back with a fierce need. It so powerful, that it has Kara trembling when she pulls back to look at her.
There’s no flash of light, or visitor from their future, this time, but it’s the most life altering moment in Kara’s life. She can see the love she feels, reflected back at her in Lena’s eyes and they head back inside the house, wrapped in each other as they begin this new journey of theirs, taking time to fall deeper in love, working through all the things in life that will one day, lead them to meet El, all over again.
As they fall into Lena’s bed, a bright flash of purple fills the sky and in the blink of an eye it’s gone. The cracks in the universe repairing themselves, with everyone in their rightful place.
—xxx- Somewhere in another place in time -xxx—
El opens her eyes, she’s in the lab. Her mom’s spell-book lays open, traces of ash form a circle around her and she’s very much alone. She scrambles to her feet, speeding through the house, looking for the one thing she knows will tell her, she’s home and in the right place in time. She finds her answer, behind the third door on the right. All dressed and ready.
Like magic calling to her, she hears them land, rushes to the front door and can’t fight back the emotion as her two moms walk purposefully up the path, too lost in each other to realise they’re being watched.
It’s Kara who looks up first, catches the way El is looking at her, like she’s not seen her for weeks and then she whispers something to Lena, even though El can hear, thanks to her super-hearing, “and now it makes sense that we wouldn’t know she was missing.”
Lena looks up, her eyes meeting El’s and her smile growing wider, “time to welcome your baby brother home,” she turns the baby carrier around and El rushes forward, crouching down.
“Hey buddy, feels like I’ve been waiting a decade to meet you,” she places her hand in his, likes the way it feels when he wraps his fist around her finger.
They make their way inside and El’s halfway towards the nursery, when Kara says, “I know about the hole. I kept my promise.”
El turns back to her, rushing into her arms, taking a moment to enjoy the warmth of her mom’s hugs, “I missed you, mom, so much.”
“I know, baby, I know,” Kara gives her an extra squeeze, kissing the top of her head.
“And it was really weird calling you Kara,” El says once she lets go. “Did you really have no idea?”
“Turns out, I’m easily distracted by your incredibly beautiful mom,” Kara says, her eyes drifting towards where Lena is settling the baby down in his crib.
It’s good to be home, with her moms. A life where they’re happy. All four of them. A family.