A New Home
The drive out of the city was made mostly in silence, the six teenagers split between two vehicles with Kara following behind on Alex’s motorcycle. Alex and Maggie each drove a DEO suburban, the back seats down in Alex’s to house the surprisingly docile dinosaur whom Alex learned was named Old Lace, to the address Lena had texted Kara that morning. The teenagers were happy to get out of Kara’s loft. It was better than the DEO, but with six kids it was pretty cramped.
“Are we sure this is the right place?” Maggie’s voice sounded in Alex’s ear over their comms.
“This where Lena said to bring them.” Kara responded as the caravan drove down a winding driveway that led to an impressive, if a but run down, mansion.
“Where is here?” Alex asked while climbing out of the driver’s seat. “Has she said anything else?” Alex wasn’t sure how comfortable she felt leaving these kids in the hands of Lena Luthor, no matter how much her sister trusted her. Sure, she had helped out during the Daxamite invasion, but Alex didn’t know her that well. Maggie had assured her that everything would be okay, trusting Kara’s instincts when it came to the Luthor.
“Here, is an old family mansion.” Lena had come out of the mansion’s double door entrance, dressed as perfectly as always. “It’s a little run down, but far enough off out of the way that they’ll be safe here.”
“Wow, Lena this place is incredible.” Kara spoke after pulling off her helmet. Lena smiled at her, though she seemed a bit struck by Kara’s appearance. Even though Kara couldn’t get hurt if she ended up crashing the bike, she still preferred to ride safely. That included wearing a helmet, a leather jacket, and leather pants.
“I’m glad you like it.” Lena finally spoke after watching Kara dismount the motorcycle and clearing her throat loudly. To the side, Maggie had a hand over her mouth to keep herself from laughing, as did Gert and Nico. Karolina shared a glance with Nico and let out a small snort. Alex missed the entire ordeal, too busy opening the back of her suburban so Old Lace could crawl out, only turning to see Maggie trying to hold in her laughter. “I’m sorry it took so long to get it set up.”
“Lean, it’s only been two days.” Alex rolled her eyes.
“Of course, it isn’t in the best condition. The outside could use some work, but I made sure the plumbing and electric were all up to date and had all the bedrooms furnished.” Lena lead the group inside the mansion. They found a drab interior, the wallpaper crumbling off the walls and some fixtures clearly worse for wear, along with a couch that looked brand new and sizeable television. “Still need to stock the kitchen, but I figured the sooner you guys could get here, the better.”
“You did all this in two days?” Gert asked, running her hand along the back of the couch.
“You’d be surprised what can happen when you have a lot of money and Luthor for a last name.” Lena said, shrugging as if it was no big deal. “All the bedrooms are on the second floor. The one right off the stairs to left is mine, but you can pick any of the others for yourselves.”
“Really?” Molly asked, her excitement clear. Lena nodded, and Molly raced for the stairs Lena pointed too.
“I guess we’re going upstairs then.” Gert mumbled, following her sister with Chase and the others trailing behind.
“This place really is amazing.” Maggie commented as Lena lead the adults to the kitchen after the kids departed. “I can’t believe you did all this in two days.”
“Thank you for helping us with this Lena.” Alex said, rubbing a hand down Maggie’s back as her fiancée took a seat on one of the stools around the island in the kitchen. “I don’t know where we could have put them if you didn’t have this place.”
“I’m sure you would’ve figured something out.” Lena pulled some water bottles out of the fridge, the only thing she had to offer.
“We’re not equipped to handle this large of a group.” Alex explained, “all of our safehouses are equipped for two, maybe three people. Our only option would have been to split them up.”
“Which none of them would like.” Maggie joined in, leaning into Alex slightly.
“And I had no clue what to do with Old Lace.”
“Right, that’s the dino’s name?” Alex nodded the affirmative. “Well she’ll have plenty of space to run around here without anyone seeing her. I amped up the security a bit. We’re not completely off the grid, but we’re as close as we can get without completely destroying all our phones. I’m confident no one will find us here unless we want them too.” Lena took a sip of her water.
“I can’t believe you did all this so quickly.” Kara said, in awe. “We can’t thank you enough for this, Lena.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Kara,” Lena smiled at her. “I’m happy to help, however I can. These kids deserve a chance.”
“Speaking of the kids,” Maggie said, sharing a look with Alex. “We need to figure out what their parents are up too, and how to stop them.”
“And we need to do it quickly. Their parents have to be looking for them, and the longer it takes to find them, the more danger they will be in.” Alex chimed in. “We can’t let that happen.”
“And we won’t.” Kara spoke to reassure everyone in the room. “J’onn has eyes on the parents already but we can’t do anything until we have proof. Right now, we have the kids’ word against the parents. We need more.”
“It’s going to take time to get anything solid.” Maggie added. “These people are well-respected and connected. They’ve been careful about all this for who knows how long.”
“They were only caught by sheer dumb luck,” Alex sighed. “We’ve got to be patient.” Alex hated this part of the job, the waiting for something to happen. It made her antsy.
“In the meantime,” Lena said, “there’s plenty of room for all of you to stay here, if you’d like too.”
“I think I should.” Kara said. “Just in case. Karolina doesn’t have control over her powers without her bracelet and we don’t really know anything about Molly’s strength yet.”
“That’s a good idea.” Alex said. “We’ll stay in the city, but we’re only a call away if you need us.”
“Have you thought about what to do in the meantime, while we’re looking for answers?” Kara directed her question to Lena. “I mean, I’m sure they’ll be entertained for a while with just exploring this place but that won’t last long.”
“She’s right,” Maggie jumped in, “they seem to get restless pretty easily. They’ll need something to keep them occupied, or at least to keep their minds off what’s going with their parents.”
“Aside from getting them clean clothes, hot showers, and warm food, I have no idea.” Lena admitted. “I was mostly worried about getting them here safely.”
“What about helping Karolina and Molly explore their powers?” Alex suggested. “If there’s anyone who can help two superpowered kids learn control, it’s you, Kara.”
“That’s a good idea,” Kara hummed, “but what about the others?”
“Maybe we should ask them when they come back downstairs? I’m sure they’ll all figure out their rooming situation pretty quickly.”
There was a loud thump from the floor above them, followed by yelling.
“Or maybe not.” Lena chuckled.
“Think we should check on that?” Maggie asked. Alex shrugged.
“They’re probably fine.”
“This place is great.” Molly lead the way as the six teenagers meandered around the second floor of the mansion. Gert seemed to be the only one interested in keeping up with Molly’s running commentary as she moved down the hall. While the youngest member of the group remarked on every single thing they passed from the crumbling wall paper to the weird ass painting on the left wall just passed the third door, the others only hummed if addressed directly. They were each too lost in their own thoughts, replaying the whirlwind of events that had happened since they ran from L.A.
As if running in the first place wasn’t crazy in and of itself, that they ended up in National City being helped by Supergirl and Lena Luthor was fucking insane, at least in Nico’s opinion. Nico still had trouble believing any one would help them, not to mention two of the most powerful women in the world. Then again, Nico also had trouble believing someone as amazing as Karolina would want to even stand next to her, let alone hold hands, but that didn’t stop the blonde from doing both of those things. Nico’s pretty sure Karolina’s hand in hers, thumb rubbing softly along the back of her hand, is the only thing keeping her sane at that point.
“Woah, Nico, this room was like, made for you.” Molly’s words finally pulled Nico from her thoughts. The goth girl moved to the front of the group, pulling Karolina with her because she didn’t want to let go of her hand, to look into the room Molly had just entered.
“Did you say that just because the bedding is black?” Nico asked, amused, as she and Karolina entered the room.
“No,” Molly stuck her tongue out, “I just think it matches your whole aesthetic.”
“Right,” Nico surveyed the room, the smell of paint reaching her nose, not quite fresh but not quite stale either. She wondered if Lena had had all the bedrooms repainted. The walls were painted a navy blue, accented with a dark grey that matched the pillow cases on the bed. The sheets and blanket were both black, with a soft grey blanket laying at the foot of the bed. The furniture seemed to be a complete set, the bed, dresser, and side table made out of the same dark wood. “What is my aesthetic exactly?”
“Darkness and magic.” Well, she had a point.
“So, I guess we know where Nico is staying,” Chase remarked, his eyes lit with mischief as he looked at the girl indicated, still holding hands with Karolina. “Although this place doesn’t really match Karolina, does it?”
“Well, it’s not my room, so…” Karolina trailed off, looking anywhere but at Nico. Chase held in a laugh at the identical pink cheeks the girls sported. Gert caught his eye, smiled, and then smacked him on the arm.
“What was that for?” He asked, faking a pout. Gert rolled her eyes and decided not to answer. Instead, she moved to the far side and opened the dark curtains. Sunlight flooded the room, and Molly came over to help her sister open the curtains all the way, revealing a double door leading to a small balcony. Karolina perked up at the sight of the doors and dragged Nico out onto the balcony.
“Woah.” The view that greeted them was of what had once been a spectacular backyard but was now just as run down as the rest of the house. They could see the remains of a garden beyond where the grass ended, where Old Lace poked around the weed-filled beds. An empty pool filled with dried leaves sat pitifully on the left-hand side of the yard. Honestly, it reminded Alex of the view from a window on the second floor of his parents’ house in L.A., all that was missing was the guest house.
“I wonder who lived here before.” Molly ran her hand along the balcony railing.
“Lena said she owned the place, and she had to get the electric and plumbing fixed.” Gert supplied. “It’s probably been in the Luthor family for generations.”
“It’s been abandoned for a while though, by the looks of it.” Chase pitched in.
“I thought the Luthor’s lived in the Metropolis area,” Nico said, “at least before Lena moved to National City.”
“They did.” Gert agreed. “Maybe this is like an old vacation home or something?” She shrugged.
“We should find rooms for the rest of us,” Chase suggested. Gert nodded in agreement and turned to go back inside the mansion. Molly followed her sister, with Alex trailing behind. Karolina turned to do the same only to be stopped by Nico pulling on her hand.
“Nico?” Karolina questioned, allowing herself to be pulled back to Nico. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” Nico nodded, suddenly feeling much less confident then she had been when she stopped Karolina from leaving with the others. She looked up, finding Karolina’s caring eyes already trained on her. Nico felt herself melting a bit. Karolina had that affect on her. “I mean, as okay as it can be.”
“Are you sure?” Karolina didn’t look convinced and for a second Nico wished the blonde didn’t know her so well. Karolina had always been able to see through her mask, when they were kids, when they spent two years not speaking, and even more so now, with this thing lingering between them.
“No,” Nico said honestly, because lying to Karolina didn’t feel right. “I mean, yeah, everything is pretty good, all things considered. We could still be driving endlessly and bickering over the music, or we could have been, I don’t know, found by some weirdo instead of the Agent Danvers but,” Nico took a deep breath, highly aware that she was beginning to ramble.
“But?”
“I, um,” Nico struggles to change what she’s feeling, the twist in her stomach that eases when Karolina squeezes her hand, into word form. “I guess I just need a straight answer.”
“To what question?” Karolina’s gaze is reassuring, open and honest.
“This one?” Nico pulls their joined hands up to chest-level. “Things have been different between us since the dance, but so much has happened and we haven’t been alone for longer than two seconds until now. I just need to know what this means?”
“For one,” Karolina smirks, “it means your question doesn’t have a straight answer.”
“Karolina.” Nico’s voice is not amused but Karolina can see the laughter in her eyes.
“I like you, Nico.” Karolina’s spoke lowly. “I didn’t kiss you at the dance just because it was an end of the world situation. I kissed you then because I couldn’t go another minute without showing you how I felt. I didn’t expect anything more than a single kiss, I still don’t honestly.” Karolina smiled softly at the shorter girl. “This, whatever is going on between us, can be whatever you want it to be. If you want to be friends and forget the kiss ever happened, that’s what we’ll do.”
“And if I don’t want to do that?”
“Then we’ll figure it out.” Karolina let go of Nico’s hand for the first time since they arrived at the mansion, bringing her hand up to cup Nico’s cheek. Nico leaned into the touch. “It’s up to you, Nico.”
Standing there, on a balcony overlooking the backyard of their new home, with the sounds of their friends bickering barely reaching her ears and Karolina’s hand cupping her face so gently, Nico felt breathless. Her heart beat frantically within her chest as she stared into Karolina’s eyes, sure the blonde could hear it, too. She was lost Karolina, the blue of her eyes, the pink in her tanned cheeks, her soft smile. She looked at Nico so tenderly, so openly, absent any pressure or expectation for Nico to do or be anything other than what she wanted to. In that moment Nico had her answer.
The smaller girl was just rising to her tip-toes to connect her lips with Karolina’s when a crash from the hallway drew their attention.
“Karolina! Come help me beat up Chase!” Molly’s voice floated to the balcony, followed immediately by Gert herself.
“Oh,” Gert surveyed them, Karolina still caressing Nico’s face and Nico half on her toes, glaring daggers at Gert. “She’s a little busy, Molls!” Gert called over her shoulder with a smirk. “We found rooms for everyone but you, Karolina.”
“Great. Leave.” Nico spoke before Karolina could, obviously displeased.
“Why are Molly and Chase fighting?”
“They both want the same room.” Gert shrugged in a ‘well, what can you do’ sort of way. “I’ll fill you in later. But right now,” Gert’s tone was teasing, “I think I should go before Nico murders me with her eyes.”
“Good idea.” Nico had settled back into her original position, sulking as Karolina laughed. “I’m glad you’re amused.”
“I’m more than amused.” Karolina stated, smiling widely.
“Why’s that?”
“Because,” she tapped Nico’s nose, “Gert won’t let anyone else bug us for a good fifteen minutes.” Her smile grew. “Which means you have fifteen minutes to finish what you were about to do.”
“What makes you think I was going to do anything?” Nico asks, but she’s already reaching for Karolina.
“Call it a hunch.” Karolina has no idea where this newfound confidence is coming from, but when Nico connects their lips, she can’t quite bring herself to care. Nico’s hands rise, one cupping Karolina’s cheek and the other sliding to the back of her neck. Karolina’s arms wrap around Nico’s waist, lifting slightly so she doesn’t have to bend down so far. The kiss is soft, lingering, their lips separating for the briefest second before connecting again. Karolina feels weightless when they part and has to check she still has her bracelet on just to be sure she’s not flying.
Nico pulls back slightly, setting her weight back down on the balls of her feet instead of the toes. Her cheeks are flushed, matching Karolina’s. They stare at one another for a second, breathless and happy, before Nico breaks the silence.
“So,”
“I told you it wasn’t a straight answer.”
“Shut up.” Nico can’t stop smiling. “Does this mean, are we together now?” Nico looks unsure now, her fingers twisting in the hair at the nape of Karolina’s neck.
“Do you want to be?” Karolina returns. She ached to say yes, but she needs to make sure Nico knows she had a choice. Karolina would never force her into anything.
“Yes.” Nico’s answer come readily. “I want to be your girlfriend, Karolina, more than anything.”
“I want that, too.” Karolina smiles and this time it’s she who connects their lips. Nico kisses back and Karolina is sure she’s dreaming. She’s kissing her girlfriend. Nico Minoru is her girlfriend. She giggles against Nico’s lips. She’s still smiling when Nico pulls back.
“How much time do you think we have left until they come looking?” Just as Nico speaks, a rush of footsteps comes from the bedroom.
“Not much.” Karolina laughs as Nico grumbles, letting go of Nico’s waist and taking her hand to pull her back into the mansion.
“There you guys are.” Molly says, entering the room from the hallway as Karolina closes the balcony door. “I thought we were going to have to send out a search party. Karo, we found you a room.”
Karolina allowed Molly to pull her out of the room, shooting Nico a smile over her shoulder as she walked out. Nico rolled her eyes and followed them, curious to see the room they others had picked for her girlfriend. Wow. Girlfriend. That was going to take some getting used too. The room Molly lead them too was on the opposite end of the hall, closer to the room Lena had chosen. It was across from Gert, who had the room on the right side of the hall, with Molly next to her on the right and an empty room to the left. Chase was next to Karolina, across from Molly, with Alex on the other side of him. On Karolina’s other side was an empty room, and then the one Lena had said was hers.
“Wow, this room is like, the exact opposite of Nico’s.” Karolina commented as she walked in. The walls were painted a light blue, white trim, the bedding in shades of white and light grey instead of dark. The furniture had the look of purposely distressed wood, with white paint artfully chipping away to reveal the grey wood beneath it. It was the direct opposite of Nico’s room, sans the balcony. “Does anyone else have a balcony?”
“Gert and I both do, I think they’re only on the right side of the building.” Molly explained with a shrug, pulling back the white curtains to show Karolina the view of what used to be the garden lining the driveway this room offered. “Do you like it?”
“It’s great, Molls.” Karolina assured the girl, smiling and returning the hug Molly gave her. Molly left the room a moment later when Gert called for her. Karolina turned to see Nico surveying the room and smiled at her. “I guess opposites really do attract, huh?”
“I guess so,” Nico laughed slightly, meeting Karolina at the end of the bed. “We should probably get the others and head back downstairs.” Nico’s eyes stay on Karolina’s lips as she speaks.
“You’re probably right.” Karolina leans in and kisses Nico’s forehead before scooting past her to the door. Nico is struck for a second, wondering how Karolina kissing her forehead can leave her dumbfounded. “Nico?”
“Coming.” Nico snaps herself out of it. “Right behind you, K.” She takes Karolina’s hand when she’s close enough and they gather the rest of the group. Nico smiles slyly when Gert shoots her a knowing smirk as they head down the stairs.
The six teenagers spent a few minutes wandering around the first floor of the mansion before they stumbled upon the kitchen and the four adults therein. Lena offered the teens warm smiles as the filtered into the room, even as conversation between Kara, Maggie, and Alex faded to a stop.
“Everyone pick a room?” Lena inquired, receiving nods from the assembled group.
“We left the rooms closest to yours open,” Nico told her, “in case anyone else is staying here.”
“I guess one of those will be mine then.”
“Your staying here too?” Molly asked Kara, clearly excited.
“I am.” Kara confirmed. “If that’s alright with all of you?”
“Are you going to train us?” Karolina asked, shaking her bracelet slightly.
“I’d like to, both of you.” Kara smiled at Molly. “We can work on your abilities without you hurting anyone.”
“But that’s only if you want to,” Lena interjected. Molly agreed immediately, with Karolina adding her agreement after a moment of hesitation. “But there’s somethings we need to get settled before we start any sort of training.”
“What’s that?” Gert asked, sounding nervous.
“It’s nothing bad,” Kara was quick to reassure them. “First off, we need to get you guys some clean clothes.”
“Yeah, that’d be nice.”
“And we still need to stock up on food, and anything else you guys need.” Kara continued, ignoring Chase’s comment for the moment.
“But we obviously can’t just take all of you to the store.” Maggie pitched in. “There’s no way you won’t be recognized if you’re all out together.”
“We also don’t want to leave all of you here alone, unprotected while we go shopping.” Alex gauged their reactions, which ranged from understanding to visibly annoyed.
“We’re not children,” Wilder spoke up, defensive. “You can leave us alone.” Based on his tone, Alex guessed the boy meant from that statement than simply leaving the six teenagers alone in the house.
“We know you’re not kids.” Kara attempted to play peacemaker. “But you are in danger.”
“We can take care of ourselves.”
“Alex, shut up.” Nico rejoined the conversation.
“Nico,”
“No, Alex. You don’t speak for all of us.” Nico’s voice was firm. “They’re right. It’s dangerous for all of us to be left alone here. What if something happens and Karolina’s lights act up again, or Molly uses her strength and passes out before we can get to her?”
“We got this far on our own.”
“We got this far through luck and you know it.” Nico held her hand up to stop Alex from adding anything else. “They’re trying to help us, Alex. They can help us. Whatever issues you have with that you can deal with on your own time.”
Wilder glared at Nico, but she didn’t back down. There was a tense moment when Alex cast his gaze to the rest of his friends, each of whom seemed to be in agreement with Nico.
“Fine.”
The adults in the room steered the conversation back towards the supplies they needed to get and who would go to get them. Eventually, it was decided that Kara and Lena would stay at the mansion with Chase, Gert, Alex, Karolina, and Molly, while Nico went with Maggie and Alex to get clothes and food. Nico, without her makeup, seemed the least distinctive out of the group, and she had the added bonus of knowing almost everyone’s sizes already. The group split, the rest of the kids heading out of the kitchen to explore downstairs a little more while Karolina said good-bye to Nico and then joined the others. Alex, Maggie, and Nico left without further delay, returning a few hours later with clothes, food, and few other things the six teenagers thought they would need. Purchases were dully sorted and placed into the appropriate locations, dinner eaten, and finally the runaways retreated up the stairs for the evening.
“Are we crazy?” Kara asked Lena, once it was the two of them alone in the kitchen, washing the dishes used during the day. “For doing this?”
“No,” Lena shook her head to emphasize her response. “I mean, taking in six teenagers and a dinosaur sure sounds a little crazy but, at the end of the day, I think we’re doing the right thing.”
Kara nodded thoughtfully, waiting a full minute filled with the sound of water running from the tap before opening her mouth again. “I’m sorry.” At Lena’s silence, Kara continued. “That I didn’t tell you about me.”
Lena wants to say that it’s okay. That she understands why Kara would keep something like that from her, and that she doesn’t hold it against her, because she doesn’t, and it is okay. But it’s also not okay, because was so sure she had finally found someone that wouldn’t lie to her, that wouldn’t withhold the truth just because it would hurt.
“I understand why you didn’t.” She says instead. The dishes are clean, and Lena throws the sponge she’d been using to wash them into the sink after turning of the water. “I won’t stop being your friend because of this, Kara.” Lena repeats the words she said to Kara two days ago, when the secret finally came out.
Kara nods, her smile small but true. They turn off the lights in the kitchen when Kara’s done drying the last cup, tossing the towel onto the counter, and make their way to the staircase. They stop at the second floor, Lena’s room to one side and Kara’s to the other. It isn’t until Kara moves to head into her own room that Lena speaks again, reaching out and grabbing Kara’s wrist to stop her from moving.
“I won’t stop being your safe place either,” her voice is softer than Kara’s ever heard before. “You don’t have to be Supergirl or Kara Danvers with me, not now, or ever. Secret or no secret, you can always be yourself with me.” Lena meets Kara’s gaze, lowering her voice further with something akin to nervousness shining in her eyes. “Just like I can always be myself with you.”
Kara feels the smile on her lips grow as Lena leans up and places a soft kiss against Kara’s cheek. “Good night.”
The shorter woman is gone before Kara can return the sentiment and she’s left at the top of the stairs, staring at Lena’s closed door with a red lipstick print on her cheek and swirl of emotion in her chest.