Chapter 53

"That is cool," Lena admits. "Perhaps if we have time when I come back you and Vasquez can talk to me about the science behind it."

Winn gasps excitedly, his eyes sparkling. "That would be awesome! I love that I have a new nerd friend aside from Maggie and Alex! You don't seem like you'll punch me like they do."

"You love it, nerd." Maggie says, lightly punching Winn's shoulder playfully, her dimples on display as she smiles.

Winn just grins at her but doesn't answer. He turns back to Lena and Kara and hands them the cloaks. He and Vasquez beam proudly as they take off their backpacks to put them on first. As soon as they're on, the cloaks turn a mixture of gray and black, the exact colors of the floor and walls around them.

Lena raises her eyebrows and studies the material, fascinated. Kara's hand on hers snaps her out of her daze. She smiles at her girlfriend, then refocuses on the people around them, who luckily look more amused by her curiosity than anything. Vasquez steps forward first to say goodbye.

"It's been nice to have you around, ma'am, even if we haven't met officially." Vasquez says politely, sticking out their hand.

Lena smiles and shakes their hand. "Thank you. Maybe when we get back we can talk more."

Vasquez's smile grows. "I would like that. Um. I have a lot of work to finish up. Is it alright if I hug you before I go?"

Lena nods and the hug is brief but not stifling or unpleasant, which is more than she can say about most physical "affection" she has received in her life. Vasquez hugs Kara next and murmurs something to her that makes her beam.

Vasquez squeezes Kara's arm before leaving, and then it's Winn's turn. His lower lip is wobbling and his eyes are shiny. Lena ignores the tears that streak down his face when he hugs Kara.

"Be careful, okay? The world needs you. need you." He mumbles to her, but they're so close to Lena that she can hear him perfectly. "Both of you."

Lena's so surprised by his addition that she would startle if she weren't frozen with shock. He's worried about her. Kara's adoptive brother is worried about Kara her. Not just Kara. It's almost baffling, for these people who she hasn't even known a week to care so strongly about her... She mentally shakes it out, not wanting to get caught in a spiral of guilt and self-hatred.

Winn also asks Lena's permission to hug her, which she appreciates to no end. She doesn't particularly like hugging many people, mainly because she doesn't like feeling trapped and hugs always seem to be given to Lena by people who want something from her. But these people, Kara's family, who have welcomed her into their group without much protest despite her last name... So no, Lena doesn't mind hugging them. She feels safety in the hugs instead of the threats or other motives.

Winn hugs her and promises to talk to her more about each other's work later. He scurries off to the side after that, attempting to discretely wipe the tears off of his face. It doesn't work and Maggie subtly hands him a tissue.

J'onn approaches them next and he goes to Lena first. She straightens her posture and looks into his eyes, refusing to appear intimidated. J'onn's lips twitch up for a millisecond, almost too quickly to see, then stay flat.

"Take care of her, Miss Luthor." He says in his gruff, almost fatherly voice. He doesn't spit out her last name like it's poison on his tongue.

"I will," Lena promises seriously. She would protect Kara with her life.

J'onn's face gentles and he smiles at her like he's heard her thoughts. Wait, he's a Martian so he might have. Lena tries not to panic at the thought. She's not comfortable with anyone looking through her mind. Especially her girlfriend's space dad.

J'onn places a hand on her shoulder. "I know. Stay safe."

Lena tries to keep the surprise off of her face as he squeezes her shoulder. It's not a tight squeeze, like her mother has done to intimidate her or keep her in line. J'onn moves into Kara and she flings herself at him, hugging him tightly. His expression gentles further, as if he were looking at his own daughter. He hugs her back until Kara lets go, grinning at something J'onn whispered to her.

James and Lucy are next. James gives Lena a mistrustful look but shakes her hand nonetheless. He drops it as soon as he can and uses a tight grip. This is the intimidation Lena's used to. After so many years of that, she's no longer affected by it. She squeezes back just as hard, noting the almost impressed look in his eyes.

As James moves on to hug Kara, Lucy gives Lena a hug after asking permission to. She pulls back and gives her an apologetic look.

"I'll talk to him while you're gone. I can't promise he will be any more friendly, but I'll try." Lucy promises in a low voice.

"Thank you. I appreciate that." Lena says. "I don't blame him for not trusting me. He saw first-hand what Lex's madness did."

Lucy smiles softly at her. "So did I. He's just being stubborn and overprotective. We'll work on it. If he won't listen to me, I'll bring in Alex and Maggie to knock some sense into him. Literally." She winks and seems delighted when Lena chuckles. "Don't doubt that I could kick his ass too, though."

"I don't. Good luck with that, Major." Lena says.

"I'll need it," Lucy sighs. "Stay safe, Lena. Or as safe as you can be."

Lena nods and Lucy moves on to practically tackle a laughing Kara with a hug.

Queen Eliza and Jeremiah come next, heading to Lena first while Kara and Lucy hug and talk. She sticks out her hand and is surprised when Jeremiah's hand gently lowers it.

"Is it alright if we hug you as well, Lena?" He asks.

Lena nods, not trusting her voice at the moment. Jeremiah hugs her, keeping it short and the pressure exerted on her low. Eliza is next and hugs her a little bit tighter but also keeps it short.

"Take care of her, okay?" Eliza says when she pulls back, taking Lena's hands in hers to get her seriousness across. "And yourself. We need the both of you."

Lena nods seriously and Eliza smiles at her, squeezing her hands once before releasing them and heading over to her daughter to hug her.

Maggie and Alex come over to Lena.

"Don't do anything stupid, okay?" Maggie says.

"No promises."

Alex rolls her eyes then her gaze falls down at Lena's clothes.

"Eyes up, babe." Maggie reminds her, sounding more amused than anything.

Alex flushes scarlet. "Pfft. That wasn't what I was doing, you just have a dirty mind. I was looking at the fabric and Lena's armor."

"Sure you were." Maggie teases, poking Alex's side and making her giggle at the touch.

"Stop that," Alex half heartedly bats away her girlfriend's finger. "No, really the cloak is really cool. So is your armor, by the way."

"Thank you, I made it myself." Lena says proudly.

"Really? What did you use? I haven't seen anything like it before. Can I touch it it?"

"Yeah get it, babe." Maggie says teasingly, keeping her voice low enough so Alex's parents won't hear her.

Alex gets even redder and sputters for a good couple of seconds before responding. "You know that's not what I meant! I mean like the sleeve or something."

"I don't mind." Lena says.

She pulls up the sleeve of the cloak and it shimmers, the colors moving slightly as the fabric shifts. The armor she wears has a hole for her thumb to keep it in place, so the sleeves are a pretty good way to get a feel for the fabric.

Alex runs her fingers along it back and forth a couple of times, feeling the grooves and holes that Lena added for breathability, flexibility, and protection.

"We'll have to talk about it sometime. Between the polymer you use for your armor and the one I use for mine, we can make extraordinary armor." Alex says.

"I would like that," Lena admits.

Alex smiles. "Is it okay for us to hug you too?"

"Sure."

"Group hug!" Kara says excitedly, drawing her sister and Maggie into a hug with her and Lena.

Alex doesn't even try to fight it and awkwardly pats Lena's back, to Lena and Maggie's amusement. Kara watches them all happily, ecstatic that three of the most important people in her life get along well. When they all pull apart, the others are watching them in amusement.

Kara picks up their backpacks and hands Lena's to her before getting one last hug from Alex.

"Be careful. You hear me? Both of you." Alex murmurs, but once again Lena can hear her.

"We will," Kara promises. "Love you."

"Love you too." Alex wipes underneath her eye and smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes.

Kara takes Lena's hand and they say one last goodbye to everyone before heading out the door.

Whoo, done! While I'm writing this, it's like 4pm on my graduation day and I've been busy from like 9am until maybe 2:30 or so with rehearsals and lunch, and I have all those other things to do, along with my other grandparents coming over soon and graduation starting in like two hours... Plus there's the senior's all night party tonight (I've never stayed up all night before, so it'll be interesting to see how dead I feel and if I can bring myself to write tomorrow's chapter). So yeah, pretty busy. I wasn't sure I would be able to finish this chapter today, I didn't even get to start it until the afternoon. But it's done!! Anyway. The special Sanvers scene comes ever closer and next chapter, Lena and Kara are on the road again! Thank you all for reading and for your amazing comments! Stay awesome!