Work Text:
“What’s that?”
Lena frowns, sweater halfway over her head. It’s only once she untangles it, pulls her arms free, that she realises her shirt has gotten tangled in the mix and she’s currently standing in front of Kara in nothing but her jeans and a bra.
She’s not a shy person, she’s not exactly worried about the whole shirtless aspect of their current situation, but she is worried about what Kara has just seen, something she’s been actively trying to hide from Kara, something that’s never been an issue until right now, when she’d spilt ice cream down her shirt and had decided to just remove her sweater instead of going to the bathroom to clean up.
“Lena?” Kara whispers, eyes still locked on Lena’s ribs, right under her bra line, the black ink a stark contrast to her pale skin. It’s saying something that Kara hasn’t even glanced at her chest once, Lena knows her best friend is a boobs girl, has caught her staring more than once. But no, Kara’s eyes haven’t moved from the tattoo.
“Is that…?” Kara asks quietly, crossing the small space between them in two slow steps.
Lena holds her breath as Kara reaches out, palm scorching against her bare side as Kara rests her hand against her skin, thumb trailing over where the tattoo sits.
Lena swallows. “I can explain.”
Blue eyes finally look up, locking with Lena’s. Kara is close enough Lena can see the freckles scattered across her cheeks.
“Why do you have the House Of El coat of arms tattooed on your ribs?”
Kara doesn’t look mad. She looks curious.
“I got it before we met,” Lena starts. She knew this day would come, has been trying to bring it up to Kara for a while now. She just thought she’d be the one to tell Kara, didn’t expect Kara to see it on her own. “It was back when Lex was obsessed with all things Super, back before Supergirl came out. I didn’t know what it meant, I just knew it meant something, it felt important, that it didn’t just stand for ‘Superman’. I decided to get the tattoo because I knew it would drive Lex crazy, that it was something that stood for everything he hated, when all I saw was a symbol of hope.
“And then you stopped that plane from crashing and National City had its own Super and I loved the fact that I had a symbol on my body that stood for such good.” Lena laughs, knows her cheeks are red. “And then things got a little embarrassing when we met, when we became friends. El Mayarah. When you told me what it meant, it felt so right having it on my skin.”
“What about when…” Kara trails off, Lena knows when Kara is talking about, when her lies, and then Lena’s subsequent actions, nearly destroyed them. “You didn’t get it removed?”
“I thought about it,” Lena admits. She’s actually surprised she’s managed to keep the tattoo a secret for this long. “But that felt final, I wasn’t ready to give you up yet.” Lena clears her throat. “I’ve tried on more than one occasion to tell you about it, but I was always scared, I didn’t know how you’d react.” She’d been scared both because it’s embarrassing, and because if Kara told her to remove it, it would prove that Lena wasn’t as important to Kara as she was to her, even though logically Lena know it would have nothing to do with that. “But I should’ve told you, I should’ve asked how you felt about it, whether it was inappropriate or not, and for that, I’m sorry.”
Kara’s hand is still hot against her side, her thumb trailing a maddening line across her ribs. Lena’s taking that as a good sign, even if she doesn’t quite know what it means.
“When I first arrived on Earth, and saw that symbol everywhere, I was so mad. I was upset that the symbol of my family was on t-shirts and lunchboxes, on posters and jewellery. It didn’t feel right, like my family was being disrespected. It reminded me of my family every day and it hurt.”
Lena suddenly feels sick, she’s a part of it. Kara’s never mentioned anything like this before, or else she would’ve gotten the tattoo removed immediately.
“But the longer I was on Earth, the more I looked out for the symbol, it was comforting, seeing it, knowing my family wasn’t forgotten. And while I’m not thrilled at seeing my family’s legacy on underwear. It’s better than not seeing it at all.” Kara laughs. “I actually have a pair of “Super” underwear, courtesy of Alex.”
“So, you’re not upset about the tattoo?” Lena asks. “I can have it removed, or covered, I don’t want to do anything offensive or anything that upsets you.”
Kara lets out a breath, her thumb stills its movements. “Please don’t remove it.” She lets out a breath, and they’re still standing so close that Lena feels the cool air wash over her face. “It makes me happy seeing the symbol on you, it…it feels right. You’re my family now too and I like that this links us. That it has linked us, through everything.”
Lena likes the thought, of them being linked, no matter what.
“So,” Kara takes a step back, her hand dropping from Lena’s side, and Lena is suddenly disappointed. “Please, don’t remove it.”
She’s not sure why she’s disappointed, they’re nothing more than two best friends, standing in Kara’s kitchen, dishing up ice cream together. And sure, Lena is still shirtless, which she should probably fix, but it means nothing. Even if for a moment there, with Kara standing close, eyes locked on hers, it felt like there could be something else between them.
But then that disappointment turns into something else entirely when Kara leans down, soft lips pressing right over the tattoo. Kara lingers, a sigh escaping from her lips. A combination of the warm lips on her skin and Kara’s cool breath makes Lena shiver.
“Shoot, you’re cold,” Kara says pulling away, tugging off her own sweater to hand it to Lena, despite the fact that Lena has a perfectly fine shirt right beside her. And even knowing that fact, Lena takes the offered sweater, purely because it’s Kara’s and will smell like her, and pulls it over her head.
The sweater is tighter than Lena’s one had been and Lena doesn’t miss the way Kara’s eyes find her chest.
At least things are back to normal.
“I like knowing it’s there,” Kara says, reaching across the space between them to lay her hand over Lena’s side again. “El mayarah, you and me, stronger together.”
“El mayarah,” Lena repeats.
They stand like that, eyes locked again, for an extended moment, until Lena breaks it. She has to do something or else she might just throw caution to the wind and lean forward and kiss Kara.
“Come on, we should eat this ice cream before it melts.”
“Wait.” Kara drops the hand from her side but then takes Lena’s own hand instead. “There’s something I’ve been hiding from you too, and when I tell Alex about this, she’ll call me an idiot if I don’t just tell you now.”
“Kara, you don’t-“
“I love you. I mean, of course I love you. But I’m in love with you too, and seeing that tattoo on your skin, Rao, I want that.” Kara says, words falling quickly from her mouth as she starts a full on ramble, Kara Danvers style. “You and me, together? How could I not want that? Ever since I got back from the Phantom Zone, it feels like something has changed between us. We’ve been closer than ever and everything with you feels so undeniably right, like seeing my family insignia tattooed on you. You’re my best friend, you mean so much to me, you’re my home, and I don’t want to pretend you’re not anymore. I want you, in any way you’ll let me have you.”
“ Kara ,” Lena breathes, tears in her eyes as she surges forward, and then the same mouth that was not long ago pressed against her side, is now pressed against her own, hot and perfect. “I love you, too,” Lena mumbles, the words mostly lost against Kara’s lips but Kara must get the message because she pulls away quickly, eyes wide.
“You love me, too?” Kara asks, blue eyes searching hers, full of so much hope that Lena’s not sure how she missed Kara’s feelings before now.
Lena tucks a stray strand of hair behind Kara’s ear. She lets her hand linger when Kara leans into the touch. “Of course, I do.”
“And you want this?” Kara questions, gesturing between them.
Lena smiles. “I do. Was the kiss not enough? I can show you again if you like?”
Kara grins and Lena’s never seen anything more beautiful in her life. “I definitely would not be opposed to more kissing.”
Lena laughs and this time it’s Kara who kisses her, hands tugging her close, ice cream long forgotten as Lena gets lost in Kara’s kiss.
(Kara is all sad eyes and a stuck out lip when she realises later that the ice cream has melted, but she quickly forgets when Lena tugs off her own sweater again).