An Ocean of Fire- Supercorp AU

29- Day Five: Tradition

It felt as if ten thousand pairs of eyes were staring directly into her soul.

Smoke curled around the edges of her lungs, and the fires raging outside the tent they were dining under were doing nothing to ward away the chill seeping into her skin.

Her food sat before her, largely untouched, while she remained with her eyes transfixed on some point in space. Red sparks danced up into the black night sky and the press and hum of people around her made her wish she was one of them.

She was barely registering the way her spoon felt between her numb fingers, the way the table linen brushed against the tops of her thighs, the way the air filled and emptied from her chest.

Lena dropped the utensil, giving up all pretenses of eating anything, and sat back in her chair with a defeated spine. Her hands fell into her lap and her gaze remained beyond infinity.

The first thing to register to her since she'd stumbled back through their wing, through the glass doors, into the garden firelight, and into Kara's arms, was that same arm sliding around her back and drawing her tightly against a warm side.

It felt almost as if she could turn into that side and reach beneath the maroon cloak and let it swallow her.

She felt, more than saw, Kara looking up at someone who was leaning over their table. It could have been Alura, or Zor-El, or Alex - faces weren't ticking any boxes for Lena tonight. She felt Kara nod, then lean down and press her forehead to Lena's temple and murmur something softly to her.

She didn't know what it was, but it made her feel a little more warm. She nodded to Kara without really understanding why, and suddenly they were rising from the table and Kara was bidding everyone goodbye, with that arm, that strong arm, wrapped tightly around her waist.

Lena didn't say anything to anyone at all, but Kara made that okay for her. She pulled her close as they left, as if to hide her away from questioning eyes, and it seemed like nothing more than a young couple in love.

The Luthorian Princess stayed tucked close to the Kryptonian - after their door had shut behind them, after Kara had paused in front of Lena's room briefly before skipping it and heading straight to her own, after the blonde had carefully helped her out of her boots and unpinned her cloak.

Her arms knew to wind themselves around a strong neck as she was easily lifted into protective arms and carried to the bed. There was no protest or confusion on her tongue when a warm body slipped in beside her, pulling sheets and blankets up, pulling her in, wrapping her up. Her face knew to find the space beneath Kara's jaw; her hands knew to slip around powerful shoulders. Her knotted back knew to let go when insistent fingertips pressed away any hesitation.

In the end, her mind knew that her body had found a safe place to rest, and the universe relaxed into the embrace of a warrior named Kara Zor-El.

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There was no squire the next morning- only Kara.

She had heard him coming from a thousand feet off, and intercepted him with a few soft words before he even made the door. He rushed off to fulfill an order, and a few minutes later a young man from the kitchen appeared with a tray of food and tea.

She set it down gently on the table before the fireplace and set about stoking it - the skies were grey this morning, and the walls of glass were a poor conductor of heat. When it was roaring once more, she returned to the bedside, reaching down to run her fingers through dark hair.

Green eyes blinked up at her, and Lena sighed softly and stretched, pressing her face down into a pillow that smelled wonderfully like Kara.

"I don't suppose you would tell everyone I've fallen ill, would you?"