I'll always come find you
Kara is a little embarrassed at how everything had played out, she never meant to cause a scene but in the heat of the moment she was upset. What she needed to figure out, is why exactly she was upset?
She didn’t care that Alex was dating Maggie, Alex could like whomever she wanted but It hurt that Alex didn’t feel like she could confide in Kara about it. They used to tell each other everything, now it seems like there is a disconnect with them. Part of Kara being excited to come to Hogwarts was getting to be with Alex and continuing their relationship, she just doesn’t know what’s changed. To be fair, things have been changing with Kara, she is feeling and experiencing a lot of things too quickly and it's starting to overwhelm her. Back at home life was simple for them, almost sheltered if she was being honest with herself.
As she made her way out of the library and stormed off, she realized she had no idea where she was going. All she knew was that she needed to get as far from everyone as she could get. Basically, on autopilot she found herself down in the kitchens in front of the Hufflepuff entrance. She didn’t really want to run into Winn or Barry so she practically bolted through the entrance.
All Barry and Winn saw from their seats in the common room was a blur of yellow and black with blonde hair flying past them.
“Was that Kara?” Barry asks looking over to Winn worriedly.
“Umm I think so, is she okay?” Winn asks, realizing it was unlike Kara to not stop and talk to them.
They both got up as fast as they could but weren’t able to catch her before she ran up the stairs to the girl’s dormitory. They weren’t allowed in the girl’s section, so they waited until one of their female classmates walked back into the common room.
“Hey I know this is super random but our friend Kara is up there and well , since we obviously can’t go up there do you mind telling her we're down here looking for her?” Barry asks as politely as he could.
“I guess.” The girl asks, giving them a confused glare as she makes her way up the stairs.
Kara was thankful there was no one in their room when she got up there. She wanted to curl up into a ball and just spend the rest of the day sulking. Since their common room was below the castle they didn’t have many windows, but Kara had found a place she liked to go to be alone. It was a nook in the corner of their room that had comfy armchairs and a lamp that was good for reading. It was out of the way enough that while people were sleeping you could read without disturbing anyone, and luckily for her not many people used it. She thought back to how the day had played out; how her conversation had gone with Alex, how she blew up on Lena and Maggie.
“Hey, some dudes are downstairs asking for you.” A voice interrupts her from her thoughts as a head pokes around the corner. The girl instantly realizes that Kara has been crying and clearly doesn’t want to be bothered.
“You know what, I’ll tell them you’re busy.” Kara just gives her a slight nod.
“Hey, so like Kara’s a little busy right now, she says she'll catch up with you guys later.” The girl says as she walks half way down the stairs, not bothering to meet them down at the bottom.
“Is she okay?!” Winn and Barry ask simultaneously.
“Yeah? I guess so, she just isn’t up for company.” Is all the girl says as she disappears back up the stairs, once again leaving Winn and Barry still wondering about Kara.
“What do we do?” Winn looks to Barry, hoping he’d have the answer.
“I don’t really know man, I’m not good with women so I’m just as lost. Maybe we should go get Alex? She’d know what to do right?
“It’s worth a shot.” Winn gulps out. They both get ready to leave the common room but someone is arguing by the entrance. They can’t make out who it is but whoever is on the other side of the door is not happy.
“Look I don’t care who you are, Slytherins aren’t allowed in here!” One of the 4th years tells whoever is on the other side of the door.
“I’m going to tell you one last time; I need to get in there!”
“Well that sounds like your problem.”
Winn is able to figure out that Lena is on the other side of the door, and that means she’s probably trying to find Kara. In an attempt to de escalate the situation Winn jumps in front of the 4th Year.
“It's fine, she’s with us.” He tells him apologetically.
“I don’t care Schott, no one besides Hufflepuffs are allowed in here, so take it outside.”
“Yep. No worries” he says as he slides by making his way into the corridor with Barry right behind him. He comes face to face with a fever flustered Lena.
“Lena what in the world is going on?” Winn asks.
“I need to see Kara, is she in there??” Lena asks, skipping the pleasantries.
“We saw her come in not too long ago but she seemed upset and went straight upstairs, she won’t come down. We asked already.” Barry cuts in.
“Fuck. I need to see her.”
“We get that and well try to help you, but first what’s going on? I feel like we’re missing something.” Barry asks Lena, guessing that they had indeed missed out on something important.
“I don’t know exactly, the rest I can’t really tell you. I just need to see Kara and make sure she’s okay.” She tells them, almost pleading.
“You know the rules, no one except Hufflepuffs are allowed in, and we tried to get Kara to come down and she doesn’t want to. We were just about to go find Alex and ask her what to do.”
“Don’t get Alex!” Lena blurts out, but quickly realizes they don’t know why Alex is the last person Kara needs to see. “That’s why I’m here… her and Alex sort of got into a fight. Just let me see if I can talk to her, please?”
“Okay okay, just calm down. Most students are out so no one is really in the common area, let me see if Winn and I can distract them while you sneak upstairs.”
“Thank you” Lena breathes out, relieved to have a shot of at least getting to Kara.
The plan probably isn’t the most thought out, but it works. Barry and Winn are able to ‘accidently’ catch one of Barry’s books on flames causing the remaining students to jump up to try and extinguish the blue flames giving Lena enough time to sneak in the front entrance and make her way upstairs. Luckily for her, the dormitories only ban opposite genders from going up the respective stairwells (unless you are part of the castle staff). The front door only unlocks if you know the appropriate way to open it, and with Winn and Barry there that was the easy part.
True to their word, there aren’t many students to slip past. The boys had let her know the female side was to the left, so she makes quick work of climbing the stairs as quietly as she could. The hard part would be locating Kara without running into anyone. It’s a lot darker up there than she thought it would be, considering Hufflepuffs tended to be very warm and bright. She slips down the corridor and guesses which room Kara would be in.
“Excuse me, I know most everyone in Hufflepuff and I’ve never seen you before. So, I’m guessing you don’t belong here.” An older girl that Lena has seen around, Hannah Abbott? That sounded right.
“Well you aren’t wrong; I’m here looking for my friend, maybe you can help me? She’s tall, blonde, blue eyes and smiles way too much? Maybe you’ve seen her?” Lena asks with a cheeky smile.
The girl folds her arms and looks Lena up and down, trying to figure out if she should alert anyone to the obvious intruder.
“I’m only letting you through because I’ve never seen Kara look so upset. She’s through that door.” The girl gestures a little way down the hall to a closed door. “Don’t make me regret letting you in here Luthor.” Is all the girl says as she continues down the corridor and out of sight.
“Thank you.” Lena mouths but no one is there to actually hear it. Lena quickly makes her way to the door, opening it slowly because she doesn’t know who else could be on the other side.
Lena wasn't surprised that the Hufflepuff rooms look how she imagined they would. The Slytherin dormitories were cold with only a few decorations, but the Hufflepuff rooms were filled with different house items. A Yellow and Black badger banner hung against the far wall and most bed spaces had various pictures or school apparel making the room seem very busy but homey. She scans the room and realizes that it appears empty? “Well Hannah’s advice wasn’t helpful if Kara isn’t actually in the room.” Lena scoffs to herself. Accepting defeat, she gets ready to turn and sneak her way back downstairs. Thankfully, she hears shuffling in one of the back corners. Being hopeful she follows the sound and is relieved to find Kara curled up in the chairs. She obviously hasn’t noticed anyone else is here, so she slowly makes her way to the blonde.
“Kara, why are you sitting in the dark?” Lena asks gently, not wanting to startle the girl.
“Lena? How did you get in here” Kara responds whilst watching Lena calmly take a seat in the empty chair next to hers.
“I had Winn and Barry snuck me up here. Kara we’ve been worried about you, are you okay?” Lena watches as Kara adjusts herself and rubs her eyes.
Kara doesn’t say anything, she just gives Lena a look like she’s willing herself not to start crying again.
Lena can’t take it anymore and moves to hold Kara in her chair, which ultimately sends Kara into tears.
Lena can’t really make out what Kara is saying, but she gets the gist of it. “I’m so sorry Lena, I didn’t mean to yell at you like that.” Is what Lena can repeatedly hear Kara saying.
“Shhhh. Kara it’s okay, I’m just worried about you. Please tell me what happened?” Lena softly whispers to her as she rubs soothing circles in Kara’s back.
It takes Kara a few minutes to catch her breathe before she’s calmed down enough to talk.
“Just breathe Kara, it’s okay, I promise.”
Kara takes a deep breath and finally looks Lena in the eyes. “I’m sorry I yelled at you; you didn’t deserve that.” She tells Lena as her lip quivers like she’s fighting back tears.
Lena grabs Kara by the chin so she can’t look away, she wants Kara to know that she means her next words. “Kara I know you’re upset and I’m sorry I didn’t get to explain my side of everything. You have to know It was never my intention to hurt you and I am so sorry if I did.”
“It wasn’t you Lena, it was between me and Alex and I overreacted.” Kara sighs, she was finally understanding why she was so upset. “I got so mad today not because Alex and Maggie are dating or because you knew about it. I’m upset because I’m afraid of losing my sister, she couldn’t even tell me about something this important in her life. What else doesn’t she want to tell me?”
“Oh Kara, I’m sorry. I will maintain that I didn’t actually know until this morning and like I said it was an accident. I can’t speak on Alex’s behalf but I know she really loves you and I think if you gave her a chance to explain..”
“A chance to explain?? She had what, months? As she chose to just not tell me!”
“Kara, I get that you’re upset but I’m trying to help you.” Lena says cautiously not wanting Kara to get angry.
“Ugh you’re right! See I’m doing it again, I’m getting upset and I’m taking it out on you. You should just leave.” Kara says as she fidgets making space between herself and Lena.
Now Lena has never been one to express her feelings, but she would be damned if Kara got to push her way into her life to just simply shut her out when things got hard.
“No. you don’t get to do that. You don’t get to stay when I told you to leave that time you saw me crying in the forest, now it's my time to be here for you and I’m not going anywhere.” True to her word, Lena didn’t move a muscle.
Kara wanted to be angry, she wasn’t in the mood to keep fighting with people but it was clear Lena wasn’t going anywhere. She wasn’t mad at Lena, in fact she was more embarrassed than anything. Lena had come to comfort her and she’d lashed out, but that was part of the problem. Kara always had Alex to calm her down, she’s never really had to deal with her emotions alone. What Kara realizes in that moment is that she has someone else in her life who is willing to be patient and understand her. Lena didn’t deserve the brunt of Kara’s anger but she was willing to take it if it meant Kara felt better. Which in turn made Kara feel even worse. “Ugh Lena you’re right, once again I’m sorry.”
“How about no more apologies? Just let me be here for you.” She says as she gives Kara a reassuring smile.
“I really don’t deserve you Lena Luthor.”
“On the contrary it is I that doesn’t deserve you Kara Danvers.”
“I’m going to disagree with you there.” Kara says as she gives out a laugh. “Do you think Alex and I will be okay? God she just told me important news and I completely made it about me.”
“Well Kara I am a little biased here, but I think your feelings are valid. You have every right to feel the way you do, I just think next time you should try to understand Alex’s side of thing and not run off before we’ve had a chance to explain everything to you”
“So, what exactly did happen this morning?”
“Well, I may or may not have walked out on Maggie making out with your sister.”
“I’m glad it was you and not me, I don’t want to imagine anyone making out with my sister.” Kara looks at Lena like she is horrified about the thought, making Lena laugh more.
“So, you really aren’t mad that your sister is dating a woman?” Lena asks, just wanting to clarify.
“No! I mean I guess I never really thought much about it, it makes sense though, she never did talk about boys much. As long as she’s happy I don’t care who she dates.”
“I think that’s what you need to tell her, I’m sure she's terrified that you won’t accept her. I for one can tell you how scary that is.” Lena tells her trying to make sure Kara understood how Alex felt but not realizing she had just outed herself.
“What do you mean.” Kara asks quizzically.
“Shit” Lena thinks to herself as she thinks of ways to play this off. She doesn’t want to lie to Kara so decides it's better to just tell her the truth, maybe if she can accept Alex then can she accept Lena too? “Well…. I haven’t actually told anyone this before but I like girls.”
Kara's expression doesn’t tell much, like she’s trying to process what Lena has just told her. “Oh.” Is all Kara say’s. Lena waits, but Kara never says anything else.
A million thoughts are going through Kara’s mind, how has she not picked up on 3 very important people in her life being gay? Clearly she hasn’t been paying enough attention. Finally, to Lena’s relief, Kara speaks. “I really need to work on my gaydar.” Is all she simply says.
“That’s it?” Lena asks dumbfounded, expecting another outburst or even rejection. “I need to work on my gaydar? God that was such a Kara response and Lena can’t even be mad about it.
“I mean Alex and Maggie do wear flannels often and talk a lot about quidditch. I really am oblivious aren’t I?”
“You really, really are.”
“I should probably go talk to Alex and make things right. How did you get up here again?”
“Ha. So a funny story, Winn and Barry may have started a fire downstairs to distract everyone long enough for me to sneak up here.” Lena says as she rubs the back of her neck feeling slightly embarrassed with her recent confession and all.
“Blue fire?” Kara asks very nonchalantly.
“Yes? What does that have to do with anything?”
“It’s supposed to be purple, but Winn can’t seem to get the spell right and keeps casting blue fire. I bet that was fun to watch.”
“I mean it got the job done, oh I also may have run into Hannah Abbott on my way up here.”
“You what?!”
“She seemed cool about it, hopefully I didn’t get you into too much trouble.”
“The problem is how do I get you out of here without causing any more trouble.”
“I may know a way.”
Lena didn’t actually have a plan, she sort of just winged it. The idea was the same, causing a distraction long enough for Lena to get out the front entrance. They made their way to the foot of the staircase and Lena explained what she needed Kara to do.
“Okay Kara this is simple, once we get down there you cast ‘Lumos Maxima’ and then i'll meet you out in the corridor.”
“Okay, but what if I mess it up?”
“Well Kara, for my sake I really hope you don't,” she says giving her a reassuring nudge as they descend the staircase. “Ready, 1, 2, 3! Go.”
“Lumos Maxima!” Kara says as she flicks her wand. Instead of coming out in a bright blinding light, her charm came out more like a strobe light causing everyone in the common room to cover their eyes from the brightness. Lena anticipated that and noted which direction the front entrance was so she could make an easy escape.
“Jesus Kara turn that thing off!” Someone yells.
“Oops sorry guys, just practicing for charms!” She apologies to everyone as she runs toward the front door leaving everyone still groaning from being blinded in the common room.
Kara collides with Lena who is standing outside the door waiting for her, this time Kara is fast enough to grab her before they topple over.
“I see some things never change Miss Danvers.” Lena says, Kara still holding her while both girls laugh uncontrollably.
“At least I’m getting better aren’t I? I caught you this time.” Kara says with a smirk.
“God you’re such a dork” Lena says as she rolls her eyes at Kara. “Okay, if you were Alex where would you be?”
“Easy, I’d be at the Quidditch field watching the stars.”
“Um okay, well that was easier than I thought. To the Quidditch field then.”
The walk is mostly in silence, with the occasional burst of laughter when Kara commented something funny along their walk.
“Hey Lena?”
“Yes Kara?”
“Thank you for coming to find me today.”
“I'll always come find you.”