Lena’s eyes fluttered open. A happy sigh left her mouth at the image across from her. The sun rays shone down on her sleeping wife. It was a rare thing for the kryptonian to sleep in after the first rays of sun-brushed her skin. The younger woman pushed a blond lock away from Kara’s face and leaned closer, kissing her forehead.
The blonde took a deep breath as she woke and stretched to the length of the bed. “Good morning.” she sighed.
“Good morning my love.” Lena answered and kissed the blonde again. “How come you are still in bed on this lovely Saturday morning?” she asked, brushing the golden hair.
Kara hummed at her wife’s touch. “I got called away around 3 am. Needed the extra sun and cuddle.” she answered. She moved closer to her wife and pulled her into a hug.
The two women giggled and cuddle for a few more minutes until Kara’s stomach interrupted them. Lena laughed and pulled the blonde out of bed.
The happy couple walked to their kitchen with soft giggles to not wake up the children, but to their surprise, the kids were already awake. Alex was waiting for them right at the entrance of the kitchen. He was wearing a formal set of clothes. The only thing missing was the tie.
“Mom. Jeju. Would you like to join us for a moment?” he asked with an innocent smile.
Lena raised a surprised eyebrow and looked at her wife who shrugged in return. “Can we grab breakfast first?” she asked, amused by her son’s formality.
“Don’t worry. We got that covered in the living room.” He said with a grin and walked back to the living room. There, the other three kids were waiting, wearing their formal clothes as well.
The two women sat on the couch and smiled at the two empty bowls, milk and cereal boxes on the coffee table. “Please serve yourselves.” Alex added before walking next to his drawing stand. So the women did, reaching for their plastic bowls with cartoons.
“Did you guys eat?” Kara asked as she was filling her bowl.
“Yes. Alex made cereal for us.” Dawn answered with a huge smile.
Alex cleared his throat. “As you might’ve noticed, we have something important to tell you.” he said and flipped the first page of the sketchbook on his drawing stand. Lena almost choked on her first spoon of cereal while Kara gasped with a smile.
‘Reasons to get a dog!!!’ was written with big letters on the sketchbook.
The next hour was spent with the kids explaining why they should adopt a dog. The twins even passed the two women notebooks to keep notes.
Each child took a different segment. From playing with the puppy to walking it and even washing it. All pages were accompanied by little drawings. In the end, there was even a timetable made by Dawn.
Lena would lie if she said she wasn’t impressed, considering the kids are between the ages of 8 and 12. By the end of their presentation, Liran passed them flyers from the three different shelters the kids believed were good.
“We will let you think over our proposal.” Alex announced when they were done and motioned for his siblings to follow him to the playroom.
“Wow.” Kara whistled when she heard the door close. She was quite impressed.
“I know. I wish I was this confident in my first boardroom presentation.” Lena agreed and looked through the flyers. “I can’t believe your sister helped them research shelters.” she added.
“Me neither.” the blonde said with a smile. She slowly leaned on her wife’s shoulder. “Sooooooooo??? What are you thinking??” she asked with a huge grin.
Lena sighed and looked at her wife. “Did you tell them to do this?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“No.” The blonde laughed. “Maybe my DNA passed my wish for a dog down to them.” she shrugged making Lena chuckle.
“I don’t know.” Lena sighed as she stood and walked to the drawing stand. “They said they will be responsible, but would they?” she asked. “What if they get bored with the dog after a whi-”
Kara gasped. “No child of mine would get bored with a dog.” She huffed making the ravenette roll her eyes.
“Okay, what if they get bored with the chores. We would end up being the ones to feed, walk and wash the dog and we are both really busy.” she added.
Kara opened her mouth to answer but she shut it when Lena continued. “Even if they don't get bored with the chores, we will still have to be with them during those times.” she sighed and flipped through the sketchbook to find the time table. “They might overfeed or even underfeed the dog. And look at the walking times. Not accurate because one of us has to be with them. I’m not gonna let my children alone outside with all these crazy people still hating me.” she whispered the last part and frowned.
“I can take the dog to the school when I pick them up. We can walk back home, maybe even stop at the park.” Kara insisted and walked closer to her wife. She hugged her from behind and felt the shorter woman lean into her.
Lena groaned. “The mess the dog would create in the bathroom.” she sighed and turned around to hug Kara.
Kara held her wife for a few minutes before speaking in a low voice. “What are you really afraid of?”
The ravenette sighed and looked back at the blue eyes she fell in love with. “I’ve never had a pet. I won’t know how to act around it...or pick it up.” she answered and placed her head under the blonde’s jaw once again.
“The kids never had a pet before either. You can learn together.” Kara answered and kissed her wife’s forehead. “I also think it will be a great strength practice for them. Soon they will want to remove their red sun watches. Practising their strength with something they love like a pet…” she sighed as she thought about Streaky. “It will help. Trust me.”
Lena hid her face in the blonde's chest and groaned. “I’m not cleaning any poop or puke.” she mumbled, making the blonde laugh loudly.
The bell echoed in the shelter when the door opened and the family walked inside. A melody of barks and meows were heard in the busy shelter. The kids were buzzing with energy but they promised to be good. They held their mothers' hands and wait patiently.
That was until Luna gasped and pointed to one side of the shelter. “Puppies!” she whispered and four heads turned in the direction she was pointing. More gasps were heard and soon most of the family were cooing over the puppy pen.
Lena was observing them from afar, amused by her family's excitement. That's when she overheard an employee.
‘Everyone loves the puppies. Such a surprise. Don’t worry Buddy, we will find someone to adopt you.’
The ravenette turned around and looked at which dog the teenager was talking to. It was a german shepherd.
***
She walked closer and noticed one of his ears had a piece chopped off and his fur was short in most places.
“What happened to him?” She asked, frightening the teenager who was putting food into the dog’s bowl.
The girl cleared her throat and spoke. “He was rescued from a bad home. The owner cut his ear off a bit because he peed on the carpet.” then she pointed at his fur. “As for the fur… We think it was another punishment.” she added unsurely.
Lena looked at Buddy who was eating the food like it was his first meal in ages. “He is really thin.” she whispered.
“He actually put on a bit of weight since we got him. He was thinner.” the teen added before closing the cage slowly to not scare the dog.
***
The employee moved on to the next dog but Lena stayed. The CEO grabbed the file outside his cage. That’s where Kara found her.
“Honey!” Kara gasped for air. “You have to come to help me. We narrowed it down to three puppies, but without your help, we might end up with five.” she said with a laugh. When her wife did not respond, she walked closer and placed her hand on the shorter woman's shoulder.
Lena turned around with teary eyes and the blonde gasped. “Lena? What happened?” the blonde asked and gave her a hug. When she let go, the shorter woman passed the folder she was reading.
Kara used her superspeed to read it. When she finished, she looked at her wife with anger. “If I find that man…” she snarled.
Lena placed her hands around the blonde’s and leaned in so their forehead touched. “I know darling, I know.” she signed and turned to the dog. Surprisingly he was trying to smell them. The folder said that he was concerned about strangers.
“Hi there.” Lena greeted with a soft voice. She raised her hand slowly like Kara showed her and let the dog smell it. Buddy was probably feeling more trusting because of Kara and the kryptonian effect she has on dogs. The blonde joined her and soon the dog let them pet him.
“Oh! That’s really weird.” the teen said when she walked back to them. “He is always more trusting with women, but it still takes some time for him to let anyone pet him.” the girl said surprised.
“How well is he with kids?” Lena asked, her green eyes not leaving the dog's brown orbs.
“Oh! Erm... I am not sure. Let me ask Mrs Donavan.” The girl said and rushed to the front desk.
A few minutes later a concern middle-aged woman walked close to them. “Hello. Daisy told me you are interested in Buddy?” she asked with a surprised expression.
Lena stood and tried to ignore the worried expression on the woman. She probably read about her brother's secret dog fight clubs. “We are interested in giving him a good home.” she answered. “Just wanted to make sure he is okay with children.” she added and pointed to her kids who were still around the puppy pen.
Mrs Donavan turned to look at the kids and smiled. Most kids treated the puppies as toys but the four Luthor-Danvers kids were careful with each move and how they would pick up the puppies.
“I see.” the woman said and turned to the couple. “Unfortunately, we are not sure how Buddy would act around kids.” she said making the two women frown a bit. “But,” she added and smiled at the hopeful eyes across the couple's faces. “We can have some play dates between your family and Buddy. I see he already likes you two which is a rare thing.”
“What can I say.” Kara shrugged with a smirk. “Animals love me.”
“I can see that. Before we start this procedure, I would like to see how your kids would react to the idea of adopting an older dog instead of a puppy.” she suggested.
Lena knew what she was doing. The shelter owner wanted Buddy to go to a good home. A good home where kids will treat the dog with kindness. Somewhere that the kids won't whine for not adopting a puppy “Of course.” She smiled and called her kids over.
The four children walked close to them with huge smiles. When they reached the women, they started talking all at once.
“Mom, we found the perfect puppy.” Alex gasped when he reached them.
“She is adorable and has the cutest ears.” Luna said.
“The puppy actually likes me. She didn’t bark.” Liran said with a huge grin.
“And her tail shook when I told her that potstickers are my favourite food.” Dawn added with excitement.
The married couple laughed at their kids' enthusiasm. “Alright kids, calm down for a second.” Kara said. “Your mom and I want to ask you something.”
“This here is Buddy. We are thinking of adopting him. What do you think?” Lena asked and pointed to the cage a few feet away from them. She observed her kids' reactions.
“What happened to him?” Alex asked and took a step closer, curious about the dog's condition.
Buddy snarled and the boy stopped. “Sorry.” he whispered. He took a step back and sat on the floor. “Now he will think I’m not a threat since I look smaller.” he said with a grin. True to his words Buddy stopped snarling and turned his head sideways, curious about the little boy.
“He was in a home that did not treat him right.” Mrs Donavan said, surprised by the boy’s action. Last week, a family had passed by Buddy’s cage and the son of that family moved closer, ignoring the sign on the cage. When Buddy snarled he started screaming and then the father called Buddy a beast that wanted to eat his kids.
“Why would anyone be mean to a dog?” Liran asked and sat next to Alex. The twins joined them with a sad expression.
“Because they are bad people.” Lena added, biting the inside of her cheek with her anger.
“I wish he wasn’t scared of us so we could adopt him.” Luna said with a sad voice.
“Well.” Mrs Donavan cleared her throat. These people were the first who, not only was considering adopting Buddy but also putting the dog's feelings over their own. “We can set up some playdates and see how comfortable he is with you.” she said with a smile.
The kids’ faces lit up and looked at their moms. “Can we?” Dawn asked and pouted. Her siblings followed suit.
“Of course, sweetheart.” Lena sighed and kneeled closer to her children. “But you guys need to remember that he might not like us and we might end up not adopting him. Okay?” she asked
The kids nodded in understanding.
“So, when do we start?” Kara asked the older woman.
Two months later
The door opened and four heads turned to the entrance of the apartment. The soft patting of paws was heard and soon Buddy came into the view of the kids. He had gained back his weight and his fur had grown back.
He looked much healthier and happier now.
The kids walked closer to their moms and new dog and petted him. The family spent two months having three meetings per week for Buddy to finally be ready to go home with them. It was slow progress but was worth it.
Kara removed the red leash from his collar and the dog instantly started exploring the house. He moved slowly around, always looking back to see the reaction of his new family and to make sure they were following close behind. The kids walked with him, pointing at stuff and explaining to Buddy what they were.
Kara gave Lena a side hug as they watched the children and dog walk around the apartment. “I’m happy you found him.” She said and kissed her wife’s forehead.
“You are not mad we didn’t adopt a puppy?” She asked. She felt Kara shaking her head and smiled. “I’m glad you convinced me to adopt a dog.” the shorter woman sighed as her eyes followed the new member of their family.
“I can’t take all the credit.” Kara whispered as she smiled at her children.
Kara landed on the balcony of Lena’s office and opened the door. She fell to the floor when Buddy attacked her with licks and happy yips. “Hiii Buddy! How was your day?” she asked with a smile and petted the dog. His tail was wagging so rapidly Kara thought it might turn into a propeller.
The two women agreed that Lena should take Buddy to work the first few days to not leave him alone in the house. That was a month ago. Lena liked the company of Buddy as he always knew when she needed a cuddle.
“I think you visit me just so you will see him.” Lena said with a dramatic sigh and an eye roll as she exited her bathroom.
“That is not true.” Kara huffed and stood. “I brought you food.” she added and walked outside to pick the food she left on the table.
“The fact that you leave the food outside so you will get cuddles from Buddy first says a lot.” Lena said with a smirk and looked at her blushing wife. She leaned on her desk and patted Buddy’s head. He was the perfect height, she needn’t lean down much.
“Fine, I wanted some cuddles.” Kara sighed and placed the containers on her wife’s desk. She leaned closer and kissed her. “I have to go.” She kissed her again. “I will see you tonight.” she finished and gave her wife another kiss.
Lena sighed and waved at her wife who patted Buddy one last time before heading to the balcony. “Say hi to the others for me.” she said and Kara gave her a thumbs up before flying off to Central City.
The CEO turned to her companion and smiled. “It’s you and me now.” she stated. She grabbed her iPad and moved to the couch. She removed her heels and folded her legs underneath her as she sat down.
Buddy climbed on the couch carefully and laid his head on her lap with a deep sigh. The young woman combed her fingers through his dark fur as she worked.