Work Text:
Kara and Lena never really discuss their living arrangements, but by their first Christmas together Lena has basically moved into Kara’s apartment. They share the space well, and both obviously have space of their own elsewhere (Kara’s office at CatCo, Lena’s workroom at the Tower), but by spring Kara can’t help thinking about a larger place that is truly theirs.
The thought keeps turning over in the back of her mind, even as she plans her proposal to Lena (she still grins and tears up remembering Lena’s enthusiastic “Yes!”), then moves to helping Lena to plan the wedding, and of course deals with her everyday life as both editor-in-chief and a superhero. So it’s not really a surprise when she goes for a walk one day and notices a “For Sale” sign. Pulled out of her head, she takes a good look at her surroundings. The neighborhood isn’t that far from the Tower, and this section of the street appears to be a mix of both homes and businesses. Some buildings clearly have apartments above the storefronts, while others are townhouse-style residences. The sign hangs on the railing of one of the latter, a home painted a cheery turquoise with white trim and a dark blue roof. A short flight of stairs leads up to the front door, next to which is a large bay window, complete with a white cat asleep on the sill. Kara smiles as she continues to study the building’s exterior, noting the large windows on the second floor framed by the dark tiles of the roof. Something about this place just feels right.
Kara fishes out her phone and takes two pictures: one of the house, and one of the realtor’s contact information. She resolves to talk to Lena tonight.
Lena can’t say she’s surprised when Kara mentions finding a bigger place. The former CEO loves her fiancée, but they both need a little more room than the apartment provides. And when Kara offers up a photo of the house she found, Lena immediately sees its potential.
Three days later, the pair meets with the realtor to view the place, and Lena immediately falls in love. If she had designed her dream house, it might look something like this. (To be honest, she probably wouldn’t have chosen turquoise for the exterior, but having seen it she can’t imagine it being any other color.) The building is larger than it looks from the street, longer than it is wide. The current owners are out for the day, but Millie, the realtor, explains that the family of four have lived here quite comfortably. (Ever the curious one, Kara asks why they’re moving. Millie says both adults have secured jobs with Wayne Enterprises, so the family are relocating closer to Gotham.)
Once inside, Lena’s imagination takes flight. The basement would be perfect for a home laboratory, a space that is truly hers. The main floor consists of the living room (both Lena and Kara love the way the bay window has been turned into a reading nook), dining room, kitchen, and a tiny water-closet style bathroom. A back door in the kitchen leads to a small backyard, complete with a tiny vegetable garden. Stairs lead from the living room to the second floor, which contains three bedrooms and a full bathroom. The two smaller bedrooms overlook the street; Lena can easily imagine one of them as a combination home office and art studio for Kara. The bathroom sits above and behind the stairs, with doors both into the hallway and into the master bedroom. The bedroom itself is easily the largest single space on this floor, with a large window and a tiny balcony overlooking the backyard.
“So,” Millie asks as they finish the tour, “what do you think?”
Lena and Kara only have to exchange a look before turning to the realtor with a smile. “We’ll take it!”
Kara quickly discovers that moving into their new house is nothing like her previous move to National City. For one thing, there’s way more paperwork involved this time around. Thank goodness Lena and Alex and Kelly know people to help with that sort of thing; Kara just signs wherever they tell her to. The previous owners move out in the midst of all that, and Lena and Kara start working with J’onn, Alex, and other family members to make necessary upgrades to the house before the couple can move in.
Said upgrades include a variety of things, from discreet security cameras to structurally reinforcing the balcony so Kara can safely take-off and land there. Alex and J’onn also install a hologram privacy screen for that area; the world may know that Kara is Supergirl, but that doesn’t mean the neighbors need to be aware of all her comings and goings. (Speaking of the neighbors, Kelly and Kara work their contacts in various government offices and news sources to keep details of the sale private. Kara and Lena will introduce themselves on their own time.) Clark flies out for a weekend to help with interior work, and Brainy helps Lena set up the basement to her specifications.
The fact that all of this takes place simultaneously with the other pieces of Kara’s suddenly busy life means it takes a lot longer than she’d like. In the end, they finally move into the house a mere two weeks before the wedding. Despite Kara’s offer to speed-run the unpacking process, Lena insists that no, they’ll do it together. They manage to at least get boxes into the correct rooms and the kitchen and master bedroom mostly set up before wedding guests start to arrive.
Kara and Lena invite Winn and Ayla to stay with them during the wedding festivities, allowing the three friends to reconnect and Kara and Lena to get to know Winn’s wife. Lena finds that she gets along well with the Winathian; the two of them and Winn often end up in long conversations about various technologies, much to Kara’s amusement. When Kara goes off to work, Winn and Ayla help Lena with her wedding present for Kara, a surprise for when they get back from their honeymoon.
The ceremony is everything Lena hoped it would be: beautiful weather, no bad behavior from the guests, no interruptions from supervillains looking to ruin their big day. When Lena and Kara arrive on Argo for their honeymoon, Kara’s parents are waiting to greet them with open arms, literally: Zor El immediately steps forward to envelop both of them in a hug, and Alura does the same for Kara before turning to Lena and introducing herself. (Lena appreciates that the older woman understands that Lena may not be comfortable with a hug from a stranger.) The older couple show the younger pair to their quarters before bidding them goodnight and making vague promises about seeing them “in a day or two”. Lena’s face warms at the knowing smiles pointed their way, but then the other pair leave and she’s suddenly alone with her wife and Kara’s looking at her like she’s the only person in the universe and…
It ends up being three days before they see Kara’s parents again. They do make it out of bed, several times, but the novelty of Kara not having powers, not having to be careful the way she normally does, on top of the whole “honeymoon” thing, makes for a strong aphrodisiac. Kara is playful, willing to try new things, relaxed in a way Lena has never seen during these intimate moments, and Lena loves it. So yes, three days later they finally meet up with Zor and Alura for dinner, and Lena doesn’t even blush at the twinkle in Alura’s eye when she comments on the length of time since they last saw them.
They stay on Argo for another week, alternating bedroom fun with trips to the couple of cultural places that survive in this floating city and spending time with Kara’s parents. Eventually, though, they have to go home. The house looks almost the same as when they left, although Winn and Ayla thoughtfully left them groceries and cleaned up the air mattress. “Home sweet home!” Kara enthuses, dragging Lena in for a kiss.
Lena hums into the embrace before pulling back slightly. “I have a surprise for you.”
“Oh?”
“Follow me.” Lena leads Kara up to their bedroom, smiling but otherwise not answering any of the blonde’s guesses. Once in the room, she carefully shuts the door and directs Kara to pull the curtains. Confused but game, Kara follows her directions before joining her on the bed. Suddenly a little nervous, Lena shows Kara a small, two-button remote. A push of the “on” button opens a panel in the ceiling right above the bed and turns on the light fixture hidden in the alcove, bathing the room in warm, red light.
Kara gasps. “Is that… where did you get a red sun generator?”
“Winn and Ayla helped me build and install it. Do…”
Kara cuts off Lena’s question with a kiss that lasts long enough they’re both panting when Kara finally pulls back. “You, my wife, are amazing.” She pushes forward again, guiding Lena onto her back, and very little more talking happens that night.
Three months later
The week they finish unpacking, Kara and Lena host a combination housewarming party and Game Night. Everyone brings food, Kara and Lena take turns showing people around the house, and they play and laugh far into the night. Eventually, the others go home. Kara locks the front door and sets the security system (J’onn insisted and Alex backed him up. Kara admits it’s nice not having to constantly be on her guard.) while Lena puts away the last of the leftovers. The couple heads upstairs and moves around one another as they complete their nightly routines. Finally, they crawl into bed. Kara wraps herself around Lena as the brunette burrows in against the early autumn chill. Chuckling, Kara kisses the back of her wife’s neck and closes her eyes, thinking, There’s no place like home.