Chapter 21

"You have me now," Kara says.

"Thank you." Lena doesn't sound like she believes that Kara means it, which just makes her want to prove it to her. "Are you alright sharing a tent with me? If not, I can always find other accommodations for you."

"It's fine. Um, I have one question though. What did he mean when he said that everyone knows about your preferences?" Kara asks.

Lena purses her lips. "I hoped you wouldn't have picked up on that. It's well known, in the Luthor Kingdom at least, that I am a lesbian."

Hope bubbles up in Kara's chest because whoa, she may actually have a chance. That is if Lena's type is awkward aliens who nearly fly into trees because they see a pretty girl.

"Okay. Is that what he meant? Why would he say it with such disgust, then?" Kara wonders, confused.

"Yes, he meant my 'preference' for women. He doesn't exactly get that sexuality isn't a choice." Lena rolls her eyes but then quickly recomposes herself. "The Luthor Kingdom, as you know, is a smaller kingdom. We focus mainly on technological advances and how to increase our already impressive wealth, not social issues. Not being straight in Luthor Kingdom is still a bit of a taboo. My being a lesbian was a source of great shame for my mother." She says bitterly.

Kara frowns, not liking Lillian Luthor even more now, and holds out her hand for Lena to hold if she wants. Lena looks down at her outstretched hand in confusion and Kara's heart snaps in her chest. Has Lena really been offered so little comfort in her life?

Lena hesitantly takes it after looking up at Kara's eyes and gentle expression. Some tension in her body leaks out at the feeling of her hand being held.

"Are you sure you are alright with my people seeing you holding hands with me?" Lena murmurs quietly. If Kara didn't have super hearing, she would strain to hear what she said.

"Of course!" Kara answers and there's so much conviction in her words that Lena doesn't question it. "Why wouldn't I be okay with it?"

"They might think that you're gay too. I don't want them to treat you any different because of their prejudices."

"Well I'm already pansexual so they wouldn't be that far off. And I'm already an alien so they're already treating me differently because of their prejudices." Kara shrugs.

"Pan... What does that mean?" Lena questions curiously.

"It means that gender doesn't matter, I could like anyone." Kara explains.

"Oh. In Luthor Kingdom, we didn't really have a word for that. That I know of, at least."

"Queen Lena," a guard says as he comes up to them. "Dinner is ready and the tents are set up. Would you like to eat in your tent with Lady Kara?"

Lena looks over at Kara, who shrugs. "Yes I would. Thank you. And could you get us extra food for Miss Danvers?"

He nods and they walk together to Lena's tent where only one bed has been made up. Lena raises an eyebrow and makes a mental note to ask Kara if she's okay with that when they're alone. The guard leaves only to come back a moment later with two plates, one with normal proportions and the other heaping with food. He bows to them and leaves again.

Lena realizes that she's still holding Kara's hand and blushes for the first time in a while. She clears her throat shyly and then sits at the table that they have set up. Kara sits on the other chair and starts eating.

Lena can't help that's she is impressed Kara can eat so much so quickly. Kara's an alien, so it's possible she has a fast metabolism. That wouldn't be surprising, considering her powers and how she has been using them a lot today. But she can't help wondering where it all goes. Kara seems very fit, which is something Lena definitely noticed. She stops herself before she starts drooling over Kara's biceps. Again.

"They only made up one bed," Lena points out. "Are you okay with sharing or would you like me to get another bed in here?"

"No, I'm okay with sharing. Are you? I mean, I'm a cuddler when I share a bed, Alex can attest to that."

This woman is going to be the death of her. Lena hasn't slept next to someone since Lex comforted her when she had nightmares when she was eleven. All of her one night stands have left before she has fallen asleep (though not before she has pretended to be asleep). She just hopes that her nightmares aren't bad on this journey.

They've never really gone away, which has become one of her many secrets that she has kept from her family. Over the years, Lena has taught herself not to wake up from her nightmares screaming and instead wakes up frozen still, sweaty and terrified. It's the worst way to wake up but it's kept Lillian from calling her weak because of her nightmares like she used to.

Lena lets out a short breath and realizes she hasn't answered yet. "Yeah, it's okay. Just don't hog the covers."

***

"I'll get us some beer." Alex offers after they claim a pool table.

"Alright Danvers." Maggie says as she starts pulling balls out of the pockets.

Maggie watches Alex as she walks away, reveling in the fact that this woman is actually with her and not some hot girl at a bar that she would only hope of getting up the courage to talk to.

"Two beers please." Alex orders when M'gann gets to her.

M'gann looks past her as she pours their drinks and sees Maggie.

She winks at Alex and she hands her the beers. "These are on me. Good luck on your date, Sir Alex."

Alex blushes and thanks her before heading back towards Maggie. She's leaning over the pool table, placing balls in the triangle. Alex almost trips over nothing when she looks at Maggie's ass. She manages to regain what's left of her composure by the time Alex gets to her.

"Hey," Maggie greets. "So I'm thinking we make a bet."

"A bet?" Alex prompts, handing Maggie her drink.

"Yeah. I usually like to pay for a girl's drinks and food but I have a feeling you won't just let me pay for everything."

"You've got that right," Alex says. She would never let someone she actually would like to see again pay for everything. "So what's the bet?

"It's not really a bet, it's more of an incentive to win. Whoever loses a game has to buy the next round of drinks."

Alex raises an eyebrow. "So you're planning on going for multiple rounds?"

"Danvers, I could go all night long." Maggie rasps out, letting her voice drop a few octaves.

Alex's eyes widen and she blushes. She clears her throat and shuffles on her feet. "Right. Um, yeah that sounds good. As long as I get to pay for the food since you're going to be buying all of our drinks."

Maggie's smile widens. "Cocky, Danvers? Well then show me what you've got. You can break. Ladies first."

Alex raises an eyebrow at her and grabs a pool stick. She tests it's weight in her hands, which Maggie notices is similar to how she tests the weight of an unfamiliar sword. She gets into position expertly and Maggie immediately knows that there's know way she's going to win against Alex.

Maggie's pretty good but just the way Alex moves tells her that's Alex is way out of her league. Which shouldn't be surprising to her since Alex is way out of her league in the dating sense too.

Alex moves confidently and shoots effortlessly, the balls breaking apart smoothly.

One ball falls in a pocket and Maggie looks in. "You're solids, I'm stripes."

Alex nods and looks around the table. Maggie can practically see the calculations that are whirring through her head. Yeah, there's no way she's winning. This is what she gets for going against a genius.

Alex carefully maneuvers herself and shoots, her entire face lighting up when she gets another one of her balls in a pocket. It makes Maggie's inevitable losing more than worth it to see her that happy. Alex pockets two more balls before she misses by an inch. Maggie's not entirely sure if that was on purpose or not.

Maggie takes her own pool stick and tries to figure out what she can do. And oh, Alex so missed on purpose because she left one of Maggie's perfectly open for her to at least get one ball in. She doesn't comment on it, instead giving Alex a confident grin like she actually believes she can beat Alex.

Maggie aims and gets it in. She doesn't even try to hold back her excited, victorious whoop. Alex grins at her as she does her short by dorky victory dance that she's never let herself do on a date before. But with Alex, she feels free and safe to be herself.

Wow, really gay. And I just had to do research on pool. It's probably still not super accurate, but it's the best I can do with what I know! Let me know if I majorly screwed up anywhere :) Next chapter, Maggie and Alex continue their date and Kara and Lena sleep together! Next to each other, I mean. Thank you all for reading and for your amazing comments! Stay awesome!