Chapter 23

Lena and Kara change into pajamas that Lena provides on opposite sides of the tent, facing away from each other. Since there isn't really a barrier or even a cloth hanging up, they have to do that so they won't end up seeing each other naked. That still doesn't stop Lena from choking on nothing when she turns around to see Kara in shorts and a tank top. Because gods, her .

Lena clears her throat awkwardly, glad that Kara didn't seem to notice her staring and drooling. What she herself doesn't notice is that Kara is too busy drooling over her to see that Lena's drooling over Kara.

"So how do we do this?" Kara asks once she snaps out of her Lena-induced haze, gesturing to the bed.

Lena shrugs. "I have no idea. What do you normally do when you sleep next to your sister?"

"Usually I sleep on my back and she rests her head on my shoulder. But it's perfectly fine if you're not comfortable doing that, Lena."

"How about... We just get in bed and go to sleep. We can see where we end up during the night." Lena says.

Kara nods. "Yeah, that's fine."

Lena resists the urge to sigh gratefully. She really doesn't want to bother Kara with the nightmares she will inevitably have, and she doesn't want to make Kara uncomfortable if she does something wrong. She smiles at Kara and gestures to the bed.

Kara gives her one of her kind smiles that makes Lena's brain melt into gay mush. Kara gets under the covers and scoots over until she's almost touching the tent. Lena gets in, staying on the other side but a bit more in the middle than Kara, who's evidently trying to respect her personal space. Lena and Kara don't turn away from the middle, instead lying facing each other.

"Goodnight, Lena." Kara murmurs.

"Goodnight, Kara."

Kara uses her super-breath (she really needs to think of a better word for that) and blows out the last few candles in the room. Darkness falls upon them and Kara falls asleep quickly. Lena eventually goes to sleep, her mind still racing at the thought of having a nightmare while sleeping next to the woman she's developing a hopeless crush on.

And of course, Lena's fears become a reality. She wakes up in the middle of the night, her body stiff and unmoving. She wills her limbs to move and nearly sighs in relief before Lena remembers she's sleeping next to someone. She hesitantly opens her eyes to see the minimal light in the tent being reflected off of Kara's eyes. Lena can practically feel the concern radiating off of her.

"Are you alright, Lena? Your heart's racing and you're all sweaty."

Lena tries to wave it off. "I'm fine."

"You're obviously not, you're crying." Kara gently points out.

Lena's eyes widen and she reaches up with one hand to feel the wetness of a few tears falling from her eyes. She grits her teeth and wipes them away, mentally chastising herself. She hasn't let herself cry in front of someone in years. Not even when her mother was being especially cruel.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kara asks quietly, placing her hand down in the space between them with an audible light thump.

Lena purses her lips and allows herself the comfort of placing her hand on top of Kara's.

"I just... It's usually the same dream. Me having to watch as Lex spirals into madness again without being able to help him. Tonight, I..." She swallows and ignores how her lower lip trembles, pushing on. "Tonight, I ended up being the person who had to kill him."

Lena sniffles and internally berates herself for showing weakness. She's a Queen now, by the gods. She shouldn't show weakness in front of anyone, let alone a Princess of a Kingdom she's hoping to become allies with.

"Can I hug you?" Kara's hesitant voice breaks through her thoughts.

Lena bites her lip for a moment while she thinks before nodding, hoping that Kara's eyes have night vision or something so she doesn't have to say it. Kara wraps her arms around Lena and she takes a shuddering breath, resting her head on Kara's shoulder and drawing comfort from her strength.

"You know it's not your fault, right?" Kara whispers.

Lena lifts her head to look up at the vague outline of Kara's face. "Hmm?"

"Your brother's madness. The people he hurt and killed. You know none of that's your fault, right?"

Lena considers lying but in the darkness in Kara's arms, she feels comfortable enough to tell her the truth. She hates that she's burdening such a beautiful soul with her thoughts and her guilt. The things that Lena has been keeping inside, that have been pressing on her shoulders until she nearly falls to her knees, come tumbling out like leaves from a tree in fall.

"I should've noticed." She breathes out. "He's my brother, I should have seen his obsessions and madness. I should have known. I could have stopped him. I-"

"You don't know that. Lena, sometimes we don't see the pain the people we love carry until it's too late."

Lena closes her eyes, squeezing them shut but the tears continue to fall. "I tried, you know." She breathes out. "I tried to talk to him, to tell him what he was doing wasn't right. He was just... Too far gone. I couldn't reach him."

"Then nothing could have stopped him." Kara murmurs.

Lena may not entirely believe it, but Kara's words make her tears fall faster as she stops trying to hold back her tears. Kara pulls her closer, careful not to hurt her, and hums a Kryptonian lullaby that Alex used to call her down whenever she had a nightmare. Lena's heart rate slows and she falls asleep quickly, feeling safe in Kara's arms.

***

Maggie and Alex finish brushing their teeth and then head back out to Alex's bedroom.

Alex gets underneath the covers and moves so she's in the middle. She shyly gestures for Maggie to join her. Maggie smiles at her, charmed by the different layers of her partner. She gets in and lies on her side next to Alex. Alex raises an eyebrow when Maggie doesn't cuddle up to her.

"Come on, Danvers. Turn around, I'm the big spoon." Maggie says, grinning at Alex's surprised expression.

"Mags, you're smaller than me." Alex points out.

She blinks at the nickname but finds that she doesn't mind it when it's Alex calling her that. "That doesn't mean I can't be the big spoon."

"How about this," Alex begins. "Tonight, you talked a lot about your childhood trauma. So I'm going to be the big spoon because being the little spoon is always comforting. Next time, you can be the big spoon."

"So what I'm getting is one, you have been the little spoon and find it comforting." Maggie puts up one finger, grinning at Alex's blushing face. She puts up another one. "And two, you want to sleep with me again."

"That's not what-I... Ugh."

"You're cute." Maggie laughs, giving Alex a quick kiss. "And I'll agree to what you've said on one condition."

"What is it?"

"Give me a goodnight kiss first."

Alex grins goofily at Maggie, shaking her head with a grin. "And you call me cute. Yeah, deal."

Alex leans in and kisses Maggie, slowly and passionately. They get lost in it until Alex pulls back so she can breathe. She rests their foreheads together and gives Maggie a quick kiss.

"That was one hell of a goodnight kiss." Maggie says breathlessly.

Alex grins and Maggie steals one last kiss from her before turning around so she's facing away from her partner. Alex rolls over to blow out the last candle. She pulls up the covers and snuggles closer to Maggie, kissing her shoulder. Alex drapes her arm around her waist, beaming in the dark when Maggie's hand finds hers.

Maggie cuddles back against her and yawns. "Goodnight, Danvers."

"Goodnight, Sawyer." Alex murmurs.

They fall asleep easily.

When Alex wakes up, she's face down on the warm bed. She reaches up to rub the sleep from her eyes and stops when she notices that Maggie isn't there. Did she leave during the night? No, the bed is still warm, she must have just left recently. Alex turns over and sits up, looking around the room. Maggie's clothes are still on the floor, so that means...

Maggie walks through the door, holding a tray that she sets down on Alex's table. She turns and jumps when she notices that Alex is awake.

"Hey," she greets. "Sorry if I woke you up, I wanted to get us breakfast." Alex doesn't respond, she just keeps staring at Maggie like her brain is short-circuiting and Maggie frowns, worried. "Alex?"

"You're... You're wearing my clothes." Alex manages to get out.

Maggie looks down at herself and then back up at Alex. "Yeah. Is that not okay?" Alex gets out of bed and walks over to Maggie, who's looking increasingly concerned with every step Alex makes. "Alex?"

Alex still doesn't answer, instead backing Maggie up against the table. She leans in and kisses Maggie deeply, pouring all her feelings about Maggie, about seeing her in Alex's clothes, into this one kiss. When they pull back, they're both panting.

"So... I'm guessing it's okay that I'm wearing your clothes?" Maggie gasps out.

Alex nods. "You look even more gorgeous than usual."

Maggie's answering dimpled, beaming smile makes Alex swear the room gets brighter.

Man, this was fun! Soon, things start to happen... :) Thank you all for reading and for your amazing comments! Stay awesome!