The Heat of Ice

4.

3:30am is definitely easier this morning. Kara wakes up. Tip toes around her room to get ready and not wake Maggie. She grabs her bag and heads toward the door. Sneaking around became thrilling. That was until she got to the door. Maggie walked out of their shared bathroom, catching Kara by the door.

"Kara..." Maggie said, sleep in her voice, "are you seriously sneaking out right now?"

"I-- uh--I was just struggling to sleep and didn't want to wake you," Kara lied.

Maggie eyes the bag and skates in Kara's hands.

"So, you were going for a walk with skates? That really makes sense," Maggie responded.

"Okay, fine," Kara huffed, "I am trying to go get a skate in before anyone else is on the rinks. I am just really struggling to adjust with someone with me at all times."

"I get it," Maggie sympathizes, "but I can always just sit with you while you skate. I mean, I would prefer maybe 5am rather than 3."

"Okay, let's wait until later and I can grab a free rink and you can come with me."

"Thank you," Maggie says, "I know it's annoying but I promised your sister I would do my best to keep you safe."

"I appreciate it Mags."

**********

Knowing that Kara has a quad, Lena has made a new goal for this Olympics. Be the first to throw it successfully on the rink. She has felt stagnant for quite some time in the sport, and with the knowledge that someone else is going to potentially pass her, it makes her want to push harder. Lena gets to the rink around 4am, knowing that Kara has been wrapping up her own skate around that time the past few days. When she arrives, the rink is empty.

Lena is... disappointed? But why? She should be glad that the rink is empty so she can warm up her jumps. Maybe she was starting to feel like Kara wasn't actually scared of her and saw something in her that other's didn't. But obviously not. What else did Lena expect? Maybe Team Canada saw her sneak into their practice yesterday and that scared her off? That could make sense. 

Lena shakes it off. She isn't here to make friends. She is here to win gold. And with Kara throwing quads, so should she.

*************

After Kara and Maggie get back from the rink around 6am. They return to their rooms to get ready for breakfast with the team and the rest of the day. Although being alone was not an option, she still got in a skate, drowning out the world with her headphones. But the lack of sleep is definitely catching up to her today. She usually catches a nap before breakfast but she couldn't fall back asleep before her skate this morning.

She plops down onto bed when she hears her phone ringing. She goes to grab it, excited to see it's Clark.

"Hey Clark!" Kara says excitedly.

"Hey Kara," Clark says, "how are you adjusting? Have practices been going well."

"Yes," Kara says, "yesterday I landed all 5 of my quads in my free skate practice. They are starting me this year to compete for the team skates!"

"Kara that's great!" Clark exclaims, "I can't wait to see you give the Luthor's a run for their money."

"I definitely think I have the competition in the bag," Kara says confidently, "but.. Lena doesn't seem like she is anything like Lex. I have talked to her in passing and she seems very ashamed about who her brother is."

"I still wouldn't trust it,' Clark dismisses, "she's still a Luthor. She's probably just like her brother. Lex had the Mr. Nice Guy act up until he heard that I was landing quads. He went off the rails competitive and completely changed his demeanor."