Supercorp Adventures

up to me: part three

Chapter three: The Talk

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Lena was stalling. Her relationship with Kara was evolving, turning old exes into new friends, yet despite their newfound closeness, there was still something holding them back from their fresh start. Lena knew what it was. The feeling of having unfinished business with the blonde kept following her around like a shadow so she decided to rip off the band-aid on a Wednesday evening and get it over with.

'Why did you end things between us four years ago?' Lena asked quietly, her voice devoid of resentment or accusation. Her gaze was soft and curious on the blonde who was currently enjoying a potsticker during one of their dinner dates at Kara's apartment.

Kara almost choked on her food at the unexpected question.

'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you,' the other woman offered genuinely, but Kara waved her off.

'It's fine,' she assured. She paused as she considered the question. 'I didn't want to hold you back. I didn't want to keep you in National City when your future was clearly in Metropolis.'

'Was it that clear?' Lena mused.

Kara frowned and pulled her legs up to sit cross-legged against the arm of her couch and face the Luthor on the other end of the furniture. 'You had the company and your family waiting for you in Metropolis.'

'Working at LuthorCorp was what my family wanted,' Lena pointed out. 'Doesn't mean it's what I wanted my future to be.'

Kara paused before asking a question that was four years overdue. 'What did you want?'

Lena stared into the familiar blue eyes and let the tension between them wash over her. It was strange how Kara had the ability to make any space feel safe just by being there, as if it was her superpower. 'You,' Lena finally answered, and with that single word, it was like a dam had broken. All the emotions they had buried came crashing down on them, freeing them and overwhelming them at the same time. 'You were in every future I envisioned for myself,' the CEO continued. 'Whether I ended up in Metropolis or in National City, you were the one thing I knew I needed.'

Kara chuckled softly. 'You never needed me, Lena.'

'Sure felt that way,' Lena remarked, smiling nostalgically at her younger self's infatuation.

'It wasn't easy,' the blonde remembered. 'Letting you go was the hardest thing I've ever done, but I don't regret it.'

'You don't?'

'Do you?'

Lena thought about it. 'I always wondered what we could've become if we had done the whole long-distance thing,' she confessed. 'But our careers have taken off and we found our way back to each other.' She smiled. 'Things could be worse.'

Kara nodded. 'We had some growing up to do, and we were lucky enough to have a place to go to after graduation, I didn't want us to waste that opportunity.' Silence followed as the women let their words sink in. 'I'm sorry for how I ended things,' the reporter spoke up after a moment.

'You don't have to apologise for that, Kara,' Lena tried to tell her.

But Kara cut her off with a gentle smile. 'I do. I broke your heart and sent you on your way without giving you the chance to say your piece.'

Lena cleared her throat. 'Why did you?' She asked tentatively.

The blonde ran her hand through her hair and huffed. 'I didn't want you to change my mind. I guess a part of me didn't want you to stay in National City.'