All the Words Left Unsaid

Party Preparations

"Are you sure you're up for tonight?" Alex inquired, watching Kara devour her second burrito as they entered her apartment.

"Definitely," she tried to assure with her mouth full. "I've missed you all so much, there's no way I'd rather enjoy my own company. There's too much to catch up on."

"Speaking of, if you notice Brainy eating more than usual, he's well into his new stress eating habit, so, watch out for that."

"Oh great!" Kara commented with sarcasm. "I'll be sure to welcome him to the club." The sisters laughed before Kara dashed to get into more comfortable clothes and they both settled into the apartment as if Kara had never left. Alex grabbed a drink whilst Kara flopped on her bed. After a content sigh she exclaimed loud enough for Alex to hear her from the kitchen, "it is so good to be back." Alex walked into the bedroom rolling her eyes whilst leaning in the doorway. "Do you have any idea how much I've missed this baby?" Kara turned with outstretched arms attempting to hug the bed.

Alex guessed, "more than me?" At the same time Kara declared, "more than you." They chuckled at their synchrony then Alex mumbled that she'd let Kara sleep. "Um", Kara started, slowly sitting up on her bed, "how is Lena?" Alex moved to sit on the bed, knowing that a brief sentence as an answer wouldn't suffice. But Kara didn't seem to notice as she rambled on, avoiding eye contact. "It's just she seemed a little distant? Or reluctant, or I don't know, I guess I was expecting or hoping that she'd just-" Kara paused to breathe, concern evident in her facial expression, and looked at her sister. "How is she?"

Alex took a deep breath, preparing her answer. "Lena really blamed herself for what happened to you." Kara shook her head and rolled her eyes, the fact that Lena was so quick to place the blame on herself whenever something bad happened frustrated Kara. "She wanted you back so badly Kara, you should have seen her determination."

This made Kara smile as she imagined Lena working hard to bring her back, she nodded with her eyebrows raised. "She can be quite the workaholic."

Alex scoffed and nodded in agreement before placing a hand on her sister's knee. "She made it very clear how much she cares about you." The comforting touch, steady eye contact and the value of those words hitched Kara's breathing. "You're both willing to sacrifice so much for each other."

This triggered another thought and Kara was compelled to ask, "did anything happen to her while I was gone?" Alex sighed and got comfortable next to Kara on the bed as she explained everything she knew Lena went through in her sister's absence.

Soon enough, Kara fell asleep in the comfort of her own home and Alex couldn't help but smile at the sight before moving to the living room to slump on the couch. Letting her mind drift off on it's own accord, a sorrowful sigh that escaped her lips brought her attention to her thoughts of what Kara went through and what she suspected she still had to go through before feeling more at ease. She shook those thoughts away knowing they weren't helpful right now, and got to work making the apartment look fit for a casual party. Gathering the decorations, she wondered about the others. Specifically considering someone she knew wasn't busy but was left on their own, she sent them a text asking for their help preparing the party. After arranging the banners and blowing up balloons she received a message requesting her help downstairs.

Alex stood with her mouth agape at what she found. 10 bags of Kara's favourite foods, each of them almost overflowing, waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Lena pushed the door open with her back, holding two more bags and Alex bursted into laughter when she saw her dishevelled appearance. Lena tried to speak between panting, "no, stop, I-". She dropped her head and laughed along, setting the bag down as she was unable to carry the heavy bags whilst laughing. She stood in the middle of the hallway, breathless, appealing to Alex, "I could barely take it all out of the car and bring it here."