Lena entered her home office in her apartment, sat down, and as she spun around she was shocked to find another woman sitting there smirking at her.
"Who are you?" she snapped, as she stood. She tried to remain calm for the moment, but then the woman smiled and motioned for Lena to sit.
"You can call me... Izzy. You can at least pronounce that. And I'm from another dimension. I just wanted to have a chat with you, Lena Luthor." The woman's mischievous smile never left her face.
Swallowing as she sat down, Lena asked, "And what are we chatting about?"
"Supergirl, of course," said Izzy, her mirth barely concealed at this point.
Now worried, both for herself and Supergirl, Lena asked, "And what about the Girl of Steel?"
Izzy sighed then and leaned forward. "I'm not here to hurt you or her. In fact, I'm here to try to make sure neither you nor she gets hurt."
"What are you talking about?" demanded Lena, annoyance rising in her voice.
"Has Supergirl ever told you who she is when she's not being Supergirl?" Izzy asked gently.
"No, but I assume she has her reasons, most likely to keep others from being hurt. Jonn once said as much to me," Lena retorted, glancing to the floor, but then looked up again at Izzy. "Why do you ask?"
"Are you angry with her for not sharing that secret?" Izzy's smile was gentle now, her voice nudging Lena.
"As I said, I assume she has her reasons." Lena countered again.
Izzy leaned back in her chair and sighed. "Maybe she has other reasons, Lena. Have you ever thought about that?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Lena's anger was starting to show.
"Calm down. Let's think about this, shall we?" Izzy opened her hands to Lena, a gesture of openness, honesty, and Lena relaxed, a little.
"Let me tell you a story. Imagine you're thirteen years old, you live on another world, and you've just been inducted into your planet's Science Guild, a prestigious honor indeed. But your world is dying and your parents send you off to another world, another world that you know almost nothing about, where you will have amazing powers because of their yellow sun. Then you get here and Superman finds you and places you with an adoptive family. Everyone who really knows who you are treats you differently, not because of your name, or that you're pretty, or smart, but because you're basically a goddess come to earth. Everyone who sees you puts you on a pedestal. Everyone who knows who you are treats you as... different. And because of that, you're alone, so very alone."
"I hadn't thought about that," said Lena.
Izzy raises her hand. "There's more. Imagine you're that woman, now grown, and the world now knows you as Supergirl. People either worship you or fear you or both. But you're still that girl who left everyone behind, who lost everyone she ever loved, who watched her home world explode as she sped away in a space ship. Imagine the grief, the loneliness of it all. And then, here on earth, she's further isolated because of her powers. But..." and it is here that Izzy's eyes twinkle, "imagine that girl finds someone so incredible that she's drawn to them, and she falls in love with this other woman, this incredible, sexy, powerful, intelligent woman, and that woman seems to have feelings for her but... there in the back of her mind lurks that fear. What if I tell her and I'm no longer just someone she can love but instead she puts me on that pedestal too? What if I lose her if I tell her who I am? And all the while she can see this other woman clearly has feelings for her too."
"Wait, you're saying Supergirl is gay?" Lena asked.
Izzy laughed. "I said no such thing. Maybe she's bi though! But think about the scenario. Think about how terrified she must be of telling the woman she loves who she really is."
Lena sits thoughtfully for a moment. "That would be terrifying, to find someone you love but be totally in fear that if they found out the full truth about you, they'd no longer love you the same way."
Izzy leans forward then, staring straight into Lena's eyes. "And then imagine, on top of all of that, that the woman she loves has deep issues about people keeping secrets from her, that she would feel betrayed, maybe react angrily, maybe break everything off forever. Do you understand Supergirl's fears yet, Lena?"
Lena sits stunned because it's clear that Izzy is talking about her, Lena Luthor, but Lena has feelings for... and then it all clicks. "Oh my god, Kara?"
"She has never ever wanted to hurt you, Lena. But she's terrified that she'll lose you if she tells you. And your history strongly suggests she will. The question is this: once you understand all of this, can you forgive her for this secret? Forgive her for this fear? Because she's lost everything, absolutely everything she ever loved. And now she's afraid she'll lose you too." Izzy stands then. "You have to make a decision. I hope you make the right one." And at that, Izzy simply vanishes.
*****
Lena thinks back to a time several weeks ago, when she was visited by a 5th dimensional imp, of the story she told, of the enlightenment she brought to Lena. She'd been ready when Lex tried to taunt her with Kara's secret and she'd laughed at him, saying she'd known.
Tonight, Kara standing there crying, her glasses off, finally having told Lena who she is was the moment that Lena knew she'd made the right choice. Pulling Kara into her arms, "You are always Kara to me first. You've always been Kara to me, even after I learned who you really were." Lena holds her tight.
But Kara pulls back just slightly at that, looking at Lena. "You knew?"
Lena nods reaching up to brush a strand of hair back from Kara's face. "I had some help. I had someone help me understand how badly you've been hurt, how alone you've felt. So I knew I had to wait until you would tell me your secret."
Kara freezes for a moment, immobile, her eyes darting from Lena's eyes to her lips. Finally, softly, she says, "I've loved you for a long time, Lena Luthor. May I kiss you?"
Without hesitation, Lena leans forward, her lips meeting Kara's and that was when Lena knew she was home. Home was Kara. Home was their love. Home was their future together. And she'd fight for that future.