Archive of Our Own ^beta

Lena’s teeth chattered as she walked from the airport’s warm lobby and into Midvale’s cold winter air accompanied by thick snowflakes. That was the only inhospitable part about her small hometown. Her months in Los Angeles did nothing to prepare Lena for her annual holiday trip and the cold that came with it. The associates at L-Corp teased her, asked her why she would ever trade in the LA sun for the tiny tundra town in nowheres-ville, USA. Lena countered that their sun soaked skin could use some snow and the Christmas magic a smalltown could conjure. However, that was the lie she told the office and herself every year. All of her roads lead back to Midvale not because of a little Christmas cheer, but because of who lived in the town that she called home all those years ago. 

She promised herself this year would be different, and it already was. Instead of calling the person Lena always did when she stepped foot in Midvale, she called a taxi. She would have called Lex but he had flown in earlier to help their parents set up the house for Christmas. However, Lena knew he and their mother would be shopping in the town over for presents while their father most likely drove them around. The Luthors were not the closest knit family but they tried for the sake of the holidays. Lena knew they would have picked her up, but they had learned years ago someone else always met her at the gate. She shivered against a gust of wind that plastered snowflakes against her gray peacoat. She pulled the red knit hat down further over her cold ears to bring her a semblance of warmth.

Lena fought off a wave of disappointment as a yellow taxi dulled from snow sludge and salt pulled up to the curb instead of an old Chevy truck with mud on the tires. The trunk of the cab popped open and Lena put her suitcase in there before hurriedly climbing into the back seat. She savored the warmth and told the driver the address to her childhood home. She looked out the fogged up window and brushed the snow out of her black hair as Christmas songs played from the radio. This year would be different, Lena repeated to herself. It already was. 

The ride from the airport to the small town of Midvale was a short one. It was a bright and cold afternoon as Lena watched the snow covered town surround her in a comforting hug. Kids played in the snow as their parents talked to shop owners just like their parents had and their grandparents before them. That was the thing about Midvale, the small town rarely gave up its citizens. For most people in her town, it was a comfort to see where they would be years in the future. For Lena Luthor, it was a grim fate that she and her brother had no intention of accepting. Hence the birth of L-Corp in sunny LA, the polar opposite of their small town roots. 

There were redeeming qualities about the town and they were more evident to Lena during the holidays. The old shops decorated their windows in winter, Hanukkah, and Christmas themes while Main Street was strung with lights that twinkled as the snow fell. The people were hospitable and remembered her from when she was a young child with wild black hair running side by side with- Lena’s heart stopped as she looked out the window. A woman walked down Main Street, her arms full of wrapped Christmas presents as she stopped to talk to the baker with an infectious smile. Her golden hair was tucked into a blue pompom hat, it had gotten longer compared to last year and had collected snow from her time outside. Lena held her breath as she watched her laugh, her blue eyes crinkled as they always did. 

Lena’s cab passed and her heart ached as the woman’s laugh died on her face as she noticed who sat in the backseat. The cold from the window was bearable in comparison to the icy wave of regret that swept over her. Kara Danvers watched the cab drive by with a look that was a cross between utter confusion and sadness Lena was the cause of. She slumped against the seat and closed her eyes as she chastised herself for not thinking this through. 

Her phone buzzed in her hand and her heart sank further into her stomach. 

I didn’t know you were flying in today. Here for the holidays?

They normally didn’t text unless Lena was visiting. It was easier this way but the guilt that ate at her contradicted that. 

Without thought, she replied. Just the weekend. Couldn’t get my normal flight time or any more time off. I thought you were working today? 

I finished early. Where are you staying? 

I’m staying at my parents house. She knew what was coming next. Her heart pounded as she watched the text bubble appear under her message. 

Since I didn’t meet you at the airport can I take you out for your homecoming drink?

Lena didn’t need to see Kara in person to visualize the smile on her face, the blush that stained her cheeks, that small intake of air she did when she was slightly annoyed. 

Lena wanted this year to be different, for the sake of them both, but she couldn’t say no to Kara Danvers. Same place? 

I can be at your place in 5 min. I have to drop those presents off to Mom. 

The cab pulled up to the Luthor property and she thanked the driver profusely. She stepped out of the taxi and looked up at her childhood home. For as homely as Midvale was, the Luthor property was grand despite its age and location. It had been a part of their family for hundreds of years, and Lena took solace in its old yet sturdy bones. Its grandiose stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the quaint little town down the road but covered in snow, it looked like it belonged. 

She barely made it through the door with her bags before she heard the familiar rumble of a truck as its tires crunched along the gravel. Lena turned and stood in her doorway, a smile she reserved just for this moment every year spread across her face as that old Chevy truck parked itself at the bottom of the steps. A woman climbed out of the driver’s side and came around the front of the truck with a smile as bright as the Christmas lights on Main Street. Lena missed that smile everyday she was in LA. 

Kara Danvers bounced up the steps to meet Lena, every inch of her still Midvale’s homegrown golden girl. Her snow dusted blue pom pom hat was hand knit by Mrs. Danvers, a second mother to Lena when they had been growing up. She had on the matching one and Kara’s smile grew as she spotted it on top of her head. “Nice hat, where’d you get it?” 

A shiver went down her spine, the sound of Kara’s voice for the first time in a year was always a shock to her system. “A friend’s mother made it for me years ago. Sadly, I don’t get a lot of chances to wear it in LA.” 

Kara smirked as she took a step closer and adjusted the hat on Lena’s head. “Is that Lena Luthor admitting she misses the cold?” 

She looked up at Kara with an endearing smile and blush on her cheeks. Lena remembered the summer day Kara had shot up in height, forever leaving Lena to look up to her friend. Mr. Danvers blamed it on the extra farm work he had enlisted Kara for when Alex went away to college that summer while Mrs. Danvers blamed it on the extra food Kara had consumed. Based off of the worn jeans, almost too tight flannel that covered Kara’s arms, and mucked up boots, Kara still helped her father when she wasn’t at work. Some things just never changed. Lena hummed a response, “You will never hear me say that.” 

“Worth a shot,” Kara let out a dramatic sigh. She looked over Lena in her peacoat, hat, and crimson lips with a soft smile before Kara opened her arms to her. “Welcome home.” 

Lena instinctively melted into the hug, her arms went around Kara’s waist and she nuzzled into her chest. She smelt like cinnamon, snow, and the cookies Kara’s mom made every holiday season. Kara smelt like home . 

Kara laughed as she picked Lena up and spun her around. Lena playfully fought against her friend’s embrace, “Kara!” 

Her friend continued to laugh as she put her down, her blue eyes crinkled from the smile plastered on her flushed face. “I had to! It’s my favorite ‘Lena’s Home’ tradition.” 

Lena shook her head but the smile on her face betrayed her feelings behind that little tradition. “Oh, that’s your favorite tradition?” 

Kara shrugged, her smile still wide. “That and your welcome home drink. Ready to go?” 

She nodded and followed Kara to the truck. Kara held the door open and offered her hand to help Lena into the passenger side. 

“Thank you…” Lena’s voice trailed off as Kara smiled back at her and closed her door. She watched her walk around the front of the truck with her hands in her pockets like she had done when they were teenagers. Lena had watched this scene over and over again throughout the years and each time it never prepared her for when Kara would jump into the driver’s seat with an excited grin, “Ready?” 

“Ready.” Lena rubbed her hands together and blew into them. 

Kara watched the moment carefully and turned up the heat in the truck. She put her arm around the back of Lena’s chair and said, “I’d offer to hold them, but I kinda need them to drive.” 

Lena laughed and watched the movement with an unexpected ache in her chest. Kara turned back and prattled on about Midvale gossip and how her family had asked relentlessly when Lena would be home. She only half listened though. Lena was more absorbed in the way Kara’s mouth would turn up into a smile when she talked about Alex or the sigh in her voice when she recounted town drama. She watched the way Kara drove with one hand, her other drifted between it’s resting spot on Kara’s thigh or on the stick shift. Lena missed this familiar sight more than she cared to admit to. 

Kara tisked as she parked in a spot between the Methodist church and their old school yard. She leaned forward on the steering wheel and looked around the street. “The snow is coming down pretty hard.” 

Lena shifted her gaze from Kara to the fast falling snow outside the truck. She grumbled, “Great…” 

Kara laughed as she reached behind her and handed Lena a red scarf. “C’mon, it’s just a little snow.” 

She wrapped it around her neck and inhaled the smell of home as she mentally prepared to entire the snow storm. “Little?” 

“Now don’t tell me you don’t get this kind of snow in the sunshine state?” Her friend teased as she got out of the truck. A gust of wind and snow entered the cab and Lena regretted ever leaving LA. Then Kara opened her door with a smile and she started to regret not coming home sooner. 

They did a quick jog through the snow to the warm light that leaked from the cafe across the street. Like most stores on Main Street, Marjorie’s was a small family owned business that had been there for as long as Lena could remember. The bell above the door rang as Kara held open the door for Lena. She stepped in and stopped in the doorway to embrace the warmth and the smell of fresh pastries intermixed with the bustle of the cafe. 

Kara came in behind her and shook off the snow from her coat. “Jeez, it’s busy in here.” 

“A snowy afternoon is a perfect excuse to come in.” Lena gazed around Marjorie’s to see if she recognized anyone as they stepped into line. She noticed them all but they didn’t seem to notice her. Lena wasn’t the same little girl or teenager that came in with Kara Danvers anymore. She had moved to LA and had become the center of Midvale gossip while Kara had planted her roots just as she was supposed to. Where Lena convinced herself she was happy in her corporate life in LA away from Midvale, Kara never needed to talk herself into that content mindset. She had fulfilled her dream and had become a reporter with extra time to spare to help her family. Lena had chased and caught her dream too. Why was she still unsatisfied? 

“You’re right… I don’t see any tables open,” Kara lamented. “Would you want to take it to go? We could head upstairs to my place.” 

Lena paused and looked up at Kara with her eager eyes and easy smile. All of the warning sirens had been dulled from the short amount of time Kara had re-entered Lena’s orbit. “I would love that.” 

“Good, then I can actually hear all of your adventures from LA,” she motioned to the business around them. “I can barely hear myself think!” 

They ordered their hot chocolates and Lena tried to dissuade Kara from paying. That was when Kara reminded her that when Lena was home, and it was always her treat. Lena stopped after that and took her hot chocolate without another protest. Kara led the way out of the busy cafe and to the door right next to it’s entrance. They climbed the stairs and rushed into Kara’s studio apartment to beat the draft in the hallway. Lena put her drink on the counter and took off her coat to hang in the same place it had for years. She never realized how much she missed Kara’s place until she was wrapped in it’s coziness of throw blankets and colorful pillows. 

Lena looked back at Kara, who stood in the doorway with a far away look on her face. 

“What’s wrong?” She asked. 

“I- uh…” Kara shook her head as she shrugged off her coat. “It’s just… Well… It’s stupid but...” 

Lena waited, the dread pooled low in her stomach as she watched Kara fiddle with the lid of her to-go cup. 

She looked at Lena with a confused yet hurt expression. “I don’t like airports, you know that. But I never mind picking you up because it meant you came back to me- I mean home. You came back home.” 

Lena wanted this year to be different. She wanted to come back and not feel the ache in her chest that was placed there by the fault of her own actions. Lena didn’t want to see it on Kara’s face either. Every day she was away from Midvale, Lena could not help but listen for the sound of Kara’s laughter in LA or search for her face in the crowded city. It had been years since they had called it off, before Lena broke both of them in a simple phrase. “I won’t ask you to wait if you don’t ask me to stay.” 

Every year she had come back, kept her distance, and took solace in the awkwardness of their conversations. It made it easier to stay away from Kara when she was home. Then she would go back to LA, where her associates published articles of glowing words and take pictures of her fake smile. The real one was reserved for the person who stood in the doorway in wait. Lena realized then that the roads in Lena’s life didn’t just lead back to Midvale. They lead back to Kara, her road not taken.  

Lena damned the warning in her head as she closed the space between them in a stride and kissed Kara with the intensity brought about from years of depriving herself of this luxury. She tasted like hot chocolate. She tasted like snow. She tasted like the happiness Lena sought out. Kara kissed back fervently, her arms encircled Lena and pulled her close. Lena never wanted her to let go. The tumbled back to the couch, Lena had fallen on top of Kara as Kara busied herself with tangling her fingers in Lena’s black hair. Lena had her hands on Kara’s chest when Kara pulled away. 

“What’s wrong?” Lena breathlessly asked as she trailed her finger along Kara’s jawline. How could she have given this up?

“If this is okay with you, it’s okay with me.” Kara chuckled as she took Lena’s hand and kissed it. 

“‘Tis the damn season.” Lena smiled into yet another kiss that was long overdue.