A little something good to come out of this worldwide pandemic. And as always, I own nothing.

Lena had seen the public give in to mass hysteria before, but this was ridiculous. She had one roll of toilet paper left in her house, went to the store to restock like a normal person, and found the shelves completely empty. It was the same at the next two stores she went to. Finally, she found some at the fourth store, though it was off-brand crap she would never normally use. But desperate times called for desperate measures.

It had been barely over a week since the Coronavirus scare started to sweep the world, yet it seemed the panic was just getting started. Bottled water was flying off the shelves at record speed, and Lena curled her lip to think of the harmful effects that could have on Earth's already fragile and ever-changing climate—Earth Prime, that was (that was still taking some getting used to). Which was all the more reason to protect the planet. It was literally the only Earth they had left.

National City looked like it was preparing for a hurricane or a zombie apocalypse instead of a little virus that had only a three percent mortality rate. Honestly, it was ridiculous, how worked up people were getting. They'd seen things like this before with Swine Flu. Lena had gotten Swine Flu, and it had been no different from any other case of the flu she'd contracted. But she was in perfect health, so there was no reason for her to be concerned. It was the people who were already ill who needed to worry.

That was why it was so obnoxious to see people getting so worked up over a little illness. It wasn't the end of the fucking world. She'd been there and done that—it didn't look like this. No, the skies were blue, not red, and there were no flying Dementor-looking things reigning down upon them, so she supposed they were okay.

She was also a scientist and had been following the case closely by doing her own research, not relying on news outlets and social media for her sources of information. And she concluded that it was fucking fine, and that people were overreacting. Half of her suspected Lex had manufactured the virus himself and released it so that people would focus on that rather than whatever it was that he was up to—because it had to be something. She knew Lex, and he always had something up his sleeve. That's why she agreed to work with him. Not because she wanted to or trusted him, but because she figured it would be easier to keep an eye on him if he allowed her in at least a little bit. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, as they say.

But keeping up with him and his convoluted schemes was exhausting, on top of trying to figure out her own endeavors with the Do No Harm Protocol. By the time she went to bed Thursday night she fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. It was impossible not to.

Her week at LuthorCorp had been kind of a frenzy. In the wake of the mass hysteria surrounding the Coronavirus, they'd had to take extreme measures to make everyone feel comfortable. They'd hired extra cleaning staff to make sure everything stayed constantly disinfected, purchased masks to be handed out to employees if they felt the need to wear them, installed extra hand sanitizer dispensers on every floor, sent out company-wide emails about health and illness, and urged anyone who felt sick to stay home.

And as the week wore on, she noticed less and less people around the office. Either people were actually getting sick, people were freaking out too much and staying home out of precaution, or people were using the outbreak as an excuse to say they were sick and get a mini vacation. Whatever the case, productivity was down as a result of the low attendance, and Lena was having to pick up the slack.

It wasn't abnormal for Lena to stay late at the office. Especially not since she stopped being friends with Kara. Recently she'd welcomed the extra work as it was a needed distraction from her broken heart and the hole in her life brought on by Kara's absence from it. But leaving the office at two a.m. and going back in for six the next day was starting to take its toll. On Wednesday she'd just slept on the couch in her office, but she woke up so stiff and sore that she vowed to never to it again. Part of her considered buying a new couch, one that had a bed she could pull out. But even as she was looking at new ones at her computer, she kept glancing back at the old one, a twinge of guilt in her stomach.

She'd never been one to form emotional attachments—not to people, places, and certainly not inanimate objects. But when she looked at that couch, her mind went back to all the lunches spent there with Kara, the visits in between the busy moments of her day that made the chaos a little less stressful. But mostly her mind replayed the day after Jack died, when Kara showed up at her office with flowers. It was then that Lena confessed her fear of succumbing to darkness, and Kara wrapped an arm around her, allowed Lena to hold her hand, and boldly stated, "You don't have to be afraid. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere."

Lena had given a small, bitter chuckle despite herself, and asked weakly through her tears, "Promise?"

"I will always be your friend," Kara affirmed as she leaned her head on top of Lena's. "And I will always protect you. I promise."

Lena hated herself for remembering that, word for word. Hated that it brought tears to her eyes that she had to fiercely wipe away before they ruined her makeup. She should have hated the couch, too, since it was stained with memories of her biggest heartache. She should have dragged it outside, taken a chainsaw to it, doused it with gasoline, and set it ablaze. But something in her just couldn't.

She was truly a masochist, because she couldn't look at it without feeling pain, but for some reason she liked the pain. It was better than feeling nothing, and if anything, it was a reminder to her of why she couldn't let Kara in again, why she couldn't trust her any longer. Because she didn't think she could survive feeling this type of pain twice.

When she woke up on Friday, however, she felt a whole different type of pain. This time it wasn't emotional, but physical. Every muscle in her body hurt, which didn't make sense. She'd actually come home and slept in her own bed instead of the goddamn couch, so she should have felt fine. But then she realized she couldn't breathe through her nose, and the moment she tried to sit up, her head swam.

She also registered that her body was hot, though she felt chills along with the cold sweat layering her skin. When she swallowed, her throat felt raw, as if she'd eaten sandpaper. Then she coughed, a heavy, wet cough, and when she was done, she was wheezing to try to catch her breath.

Well, fuck.

She grabbed her phone off the nightstand and called Lex.

"We need to shut down LuthorCorp," were the first words out of her mouth.

Lex was silent for a moment, then he asked, "Are you insane?"

"No, I'm fucking sick," Lena shot back, her voice nasally due to her congestion. "Half of our employees are either sick or staying home because they're worried about getting sick, productivity has dwindled to almost nothing, and half of the city is shut down anyway."

"Lena, this is ridiculous. You should know just as well as I do that there's nothing to worry about," Lex said with a deep sigh. "This will blow over. It always does."

"And until it does, we should close our doors," Lena said, pausing to cough again, sniffling once she'd finished. "I've taken on a heavier workload to compensate as is, and now that I'm sick, who is going to get literally anything done?" she challenged. "You're too busy doing whatever the fuck it is you're doing at the DEO to help me with LuthorCorp. Which is ironic, because when you helped make this new world you had to change my company's name back from L-Corp, yet even after imposing that name upon me once more, you've not stepped foot inside the doors unless it suited your needs."

"I thought you would want me to take a step back and not meddle more than I already had," Lex said, always the condescending ass. "I'd be more than happy to step in, though, if you need me."

Lena bristled at this. "I don't need you to, actually. In fact, I don't even know why I called you. If you're not going to bother, then you don't get a say." She swung her legs out of the bed, standing up slowly so she wouldn't get dizzy. "I'm closing LuthorCorp until further notice."

"Lena, don't be stup—"

"Goodbye," Lena said, hanging up before he could finish the insult. "And fuck you, too, big brother," she muttered as she began to slowly pad through her apartment.

She went straight to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee, anything to give her a little energy and hopefully make her feel better. While that was brewing, she grabbed her laptop from her briefcase on the counter and pulled it out. The bright screen hurt her eyes, and all she wanted was to go back to bed, but she forced herself to sit there and compose a company-wide email explaining the shutdown until further notice. By the time she was done, so was the coffee, and she made a cup before heading back to bed.

At least she intended to. But it was so far away. And the couch in her living room was right there. So that's where she landed, throwing her legs across it and covering herself with a blanket to fight off the chills. The coffee helped, too, but then it worked a little too well, because she suddenly started to feel hot all over. A fresh layer of sweat started to moisten her skin, and she had to throw the blanket off because she felt like she was on fire. She couldn't even enjoy her coffee because of this and set it down on the coffee table glumly.

She grabbed the remote instead and turned on the TV, immediately regretting the decision when every single news outlet was playing coverage of the Coronavirus. It was insane, that effect this illness was having on the world. There was a shortage of hand sanitizer, schools were closing, and entire countries were going on lock down. Yet, even sitting there feeling like shit, she still wasn't worried. She was more intrigued—perplexed, even—by the bizarre state the world had entered.

Eventually a news outlet broke the story that she had shut down LuthorCorp, and not thirty seconds later her phone was ringing from its place in her lap. Kara's name appeared on her screen, and Lena's heart was suddenly in her throat. She hit ignore almost immediately, and for a second considered blocking her. But even as her thumb hovered above the block button, something in her just couldn't do it. Instead she turned off her phone so she wouldn't be tempted to answer should Kara call again.

When Supergirl appeared on her balcony shortly after, Lena wished she could have been surprised. But honestly, she wasn't. She was surprised, however, when Supergirl timidly knocked on the glass sliding door before poking her head in.

"May I come in?" she asked hesitantly.

Lena tried to keep her face stony, to hide how on edge she felt at Supergirl's appearance, regardless of how sick she was. She knew she should have said no. And maybe had she answered Kara's call she would have been able to say no over the phone. But with her standing there in front of her, there was just something about her that couldn't say no. "I suppose so," she said instead.

Supergirl crossed the threshold, closing the sliding glass door gently behind her. She seemed awkward, shy even, and placed her hands on her hips for want of something to do with them. "I saw that you called for a temporary shutdown of LuthorCorp," the blonde said, her blue eyes never leaving Lena's. "I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I'm fine," was Lena's answer, trying her best to not sound congested. "Just a little under the weather."

Supergirl's eyes instantly flashed with concern. "What is it?"

"I don't know, probably just a cold," Lena said with a shrug.

"Are you sure? What if it's something worse?" Supergirl took a step closer, looked at Lena a little harder—too hard. The brunette had to look away, a blush creeping onto her already hot cheeks.

"Then I'll deal with it," the CEO muttered, her green eyes trained carefully on Supergirl's red boots rather than her face. "Seriously, I'll be alright. You don't need to pretend you're worried about me, Supergirl."

When Lena finally looked up again, there was hurt on the blonde's face, her mouth twisted into a small frown. "I'm not pretending, Lena," she said in a soft voice.

Lena wanted to laugh, but her throat hurt so much she settled with giving a bitter smile. "Last time we saw each other you said you saw me as a villain, and now you're concerned for me. Which is it, Supergirl?"

"No, I said I would treat you like a villain if you acted like one."

"What difference does it make?" Lena asked with a shrug. "You can't treat me like an enemy one second and then come back and try to be my friend the next. It doesn't work that way. Maybe it used to, but not anymore."

"Lena—"

The youngest Luthor stood abruptly. "I've heard enough," she said, turning on her heel, ready to storm off too her bedroom.

But she stood too fast, and suddenly the world was spinning. The corners of her vision became blurry, and her knees began to buckle under her. Next thing she knew, she was falling. Then she felt sturdy arms hook under hers, cradling her body.

"Lena?" Supergirl asked urgently. "Lena, are you okay?"

Lena's vision slowly went back to normal, and she started to feel steady again. Suddenly she was all too aware of Kara's arms around her, the curve of her body against her back, her hot breath in her ear that sent her heart into an uproar. When she was able to, she pushed herself away from the blonde and fixed her with a frown.

"I'm fine, okay?" she said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I just got up too fast."

But Supergirl didn't seem convinced. Her eyes were misty, she was nearly shaking, and she was looking at Lena like she'd just cracked her head open instead of had a dizzy spell. "I think you should go to the doctor."

"I think you should leave me alone," Lena shot back, quirking an eyebrow.

She didn't wait for a response, simply turned around again—this time steadily—and started walking back to her room. But she quickly realized that she wasn't alone, and when she got to her bedroom, she stopped in the doorway and turned so abruptly that by the time Supergirl stopped they were nearly nose-to-nose. The blonde ducked her head shyly and took a step back.

"What?" Lena demanded.

Supergirl looked up again, those familiar blue eyes making Lena feel weak in the knees all over again. "Look, I know what's going on with Coronavirus right now is mostly an overreaction, but if you really are sick, you shouldn't be taking any chances." She clasped her hands in front of her and nervously twiddled her thumbs. "If you end up having it, you're going to have to stay home for a while. You're going to need someone to help you, someone who can't get sick."

"Someone like you?" Lena asked, lip curling. "I don't want your help, Supergirl."

"Kara," the blonde stated, her voice pained.

"Whatever," the brunette said.

But Supergirl didn't move, simply continued to stand there staring at Lena with a torn expression. "Look, you don't have to like me, or trust me… But I am concerned for you. I know you, and you like to think you're invincible. But you're not. You may think this is just a cold, but if it's not, and you get worse, you could end up in the hospital." She paused to bite her lip briefly, her eyes traveling over Lena's tired face. "And regardless of what you believe, that's not something I want to happen."

Lena stared at her for a few moments, wanting to argue more, wanting to tell her to take her concern and choke on it. But she didn't have the energy to fight. She barely had the energy to continue standing. So, instead she sighed and asked, "If I get tested for Coronavirus will you be satisfied enough to leave me alone?"

"If it comes out negative, yes," Supergirl stated, nodding her head.

Lena rolled her eyes. "Fine. I guess I'm going to the doctor."

"Brainy was able to come up with his own test at the DEO to make sure the agents are clean," Supergirl offered. "We could go there."

"There's no we," Lena said, wrinkling her nose. "I'm going by myself."

"I don't think that's a great idea. You can barely stand, should you really be driving?"

Lena bristled at this. "I'm not helpless. Besides, what did you plan on doing, flying me there?"

"I do know how to drive, Lena," Supergirl said, a small smirk on her face.

The CEO gave a deep sigh. "Fine. Just let me find my shoes."

She went into her closet and turned on the light, looking around for her sneakers. She considered putting on real clothes instead of her pajamas, but the moment she bent down to pick up her shoes, the world was spinning again, and she quickly nixed the idea. By the time she reemerged, Kara was standing there as herself again in her normal street clothes, glasses and all. Lena balked for a second, jarred by the sudden changed, but quickly recovered and went to get her keys.

They were silent the entire ride to the DEO, Lena in the passenger seat of her own car while Kara sat behind the wheel. Thankfully they made it there quickly, and Lena was sitting in the medical unit at the DEO with Brainy examining her way sooner than if she would have driven herself.

It turned out the she did have a temperature over 101, but even after finding that out, Lena insisted she probably just had the flu. But then Brainy did the test, and it just had—had—to come out positive.

Lena was floored. How had she gotten the fucking Coronavirus? She barely had contact with people as it was, and she was one of the most hygienic people she knew. She carried hand sanitizer in her purse before the epidemic started. There was no logical reason she should have gotten it. Yet she knew better than to question Brainy's diagnosis.

She pouted the whole way home, refusing to talk to Kara as she chauffeured her back to her building. And when the blonde followed her upstairs, Lena insisted she leave the entire way to her penthouse. But Kara acted like she didn't hear, even though Lena knew it was impossible for her not to with her super hearing.

Even after Lena climbed into bed, Kara was still there. She left Lena's side for one second, only to appear a moment later with a bottle of water and an Advil.

"Here, this should help with the fever," Kara said, handing them to her.

Lena took them, though she frowned up at her former friend. "Okay, thanks, you can go now."

But the reporter stayed rooted on the spot. "Are you sure there's nothing else you need? Maybe I could run out and get you some cough medicine? Or some soup?"

"No." Lena shook her head firmly. "Please, just stop, okay? You've done enough."

Kara bit her lip, looked down at Lena with a torn expression. "It's okay, you know?" she asked. "If you need help. Everyone needs help sometimes." She took in a shaky breath, gave a hesitant smile. "Even Supergirl, as you know."

Lena had to look away at that, instead tilted her head back and tossed the pill into her mouth, washing it down with water. When she was done, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and set the bottle on the nightstand. Then she settled between the covers and turned so that her back was to Kara.

"Not me, not from you," Lena said, not even bothering to look over her shoulder. "I believe you know the way out."

She waited for a response, listened intently to see if the blonde would have anything else to say. But when she finally dared to turn around again, Kara was gone, and Lena wanted to kick herself for actually being disappointed. After all, she was the one who'd told her to leave.

But that didn't mean she didn't instantly regret the decision.

She fell asleep some time after that, and she hoped to feel better when she woke up. But if anything, she felt worse. Her body hurt in ways she didn't know it could, and every single one of her limbs felt like they were filled with lead. She lifted her foggy head, wincing as it pounded at the action.

"Hey, careful," Kara said, instantly appearing at her side.

"Kara, what the hell?" Lena asked, slightly startled. If she wasn't feeling so awful, she would have jumped a foot in the air. "What the fuck are you doing here?" She glanced around the room, spotting a novel open and balanced on the arm of a chair in the corner of her room. "How long have you been here?"

"Only about an hour," the blonde answered, taking Lena's abandoned, mostly full bottle of water from the nightstand and handing it to her once more.

"Okay, you ignored my other question," Lena said, snatching the bottle from Kara with as much energy as she could muster. "Why are you here?"

"Because you're sick," Kara said, as if it were obvious.

"I fail to see how that's your problem," Lena said, leaning against the headboard and glaring up at the reporter. "We're not friends, anymore, remember?"

"No," Kara said, shaking her head and sitting at the foot of Lena's bed. "You decided you didn't want to be my friend anymore. I never stopped wanting to be yours." She shrugged. "So, like it or not, I'm helping you. And unless you have Kryptonite hidden somewhere around here, there's literally nothing you can do to stop me. So I guess you're just gonna have to deal with it."

Lena stared at her, her mouth hanging open slightly as her green eyes narrowed. She knew what Kara was saying was true, about her not being able to stop her. Yet she never thought the mild-mannered Kara Danvers would be so forceful. Then again, she remembered, there were apparently way too many things about her supposed friend that she didn't know.

"Fine, but I'm not talking to you," Lena grumbled, throwing the covers off her legs. "Just go sit in the corner again and be quiet." She stood slowly and began to pad across the room to the bathroom.

"Where are you going?"

Lena turned to see Kara staring at her with concern on her face. The brunette raised her eyebrows expectantly. "To use the bathroom and take a shower. Unless I can't do that by myself?"

Kara's mouth tightened, and her cheeks went a bright shade of pink. "No—I mean, yes. Sorry." She shook her head quickly. "I'll shut up now," she muttered, shuffling back to the chair and immediately sticking her nose in her book.

Kara slept on the couch that night. The next morning, she woke up Lena with breakfast in bed, and she was about to thank her for going through the trouble.

Then she remembered she wasn't supposed to be talking to Kara, and immediately shut her out again. But Kara didn't retreat back to the living room. Instead she went back to the chair in the corner and picked up the book she'd been reading the day before, Lena noting she was almost finished.

Lena went into the drawer in her nightstand and took out the book she'd been working on as well and propped herself up on the pillow to read. But not even two pages in, her eyelids became heavy.

When she woke up, the clock told her three hours had passed. The book she'd been holding was no longer in her hands, instead on top of her nightstand with the bookmark in place. And while she didn't remember pulling the covers over herself at any point, they were now tucked up to her chin. She looked over at the corner and saw Kara sitting there once more, only something was different.

She looked freshly showered, her wet hair hanging loosely over her shoulders. And she was now wearing an old t-shirt and blue and red checkered pajama pants. There was also a new book in her hands. A dufflebag sat at her feet. She looked up when Lena stirred, smiling a little as she dogeared the page she was on and closed her book.

"Hey," she said softly, standing from the chair. She crossed the room, crossing her arms over her chest as she went to stand at the foot of Lena's bed. "How're you feeling?"

"Honestly?" Lena asked, her voice husky and raw. "Like I got hit by a fucking truck."

Kara nodded. "Been there, done that. Not fun." She shuffled her bare feet on the plush carpeting, glancing down at them quickly before gazing back up at Lena. "Do you want another Advil? Maybe a cough drop or something? I stopped at the drugstore and got some supplies when I went home to get clothes."

"Clothes?" Lena asked, her brow furrowing. "Just how long do you plan on staying?"

Kara shrugged. "Until you're feeling better."

"That could be a while," Lena said, watching as Kara went back to the chair and opened her dufflebag, taking out a shopping bag from inside. "You really don't have to."

"I know," the blonde said with a smile as she returned to the bed, sitting at the end of it. "I want to."

Lena opened her mouth to say something else, but thought better of it and closed it again, instead watching with interest as Kara started to take out everything she'd bought at the store. There was a thermometer, cough drops, cough syrup, nasal spray, and an assortment of other things. Honestly, way more than Lena thought she needed.

"I've never been sick, so I didn't really know what to get," Kara explained sheepishly as she set all the items on the bed. "I just got stuff I've seen Alex use before when she was sick."

Lena blinked rapidly and shook her head as she picked up the thermometer. "I'll pay you back for all of this."

"Don't worry about it," Kara said, waving off the offer.

Lena bit back a smile, tried not to let herself get won over by Kara's kindness. Instead she took the thermometer out of its packaging and took it to the bathroom to clean before using. When she came back to the bedroom, it was under her tongue, so she was silent until it beeped, the fever alarm going off to let her know that she was still burning up. She sighed as she placed it on the nightstand.

"I'll take an Advil and a cough drop now," Lena said as she settled back onto the bed.

Kara handed her the pack of cough drops before disappearing into the hallway. When she came back, she had a fresh bottle of water and the whole bottle of Advil. She shook one out into her hand and gave it to Lena along with the water.

After Lena took the medicine, she popped a cough drop into her mouth, sighing as it started to melt onto her tongue. Kara scooped up the rest of the things she'd bought at the pharmacy and put them back in the bag for later, setting that on Lena's nightstand. Then she went back to her chair and her book.

Lena watched her walk away, a twinge of sadness that the blonde was actually following orders for a change and staying away from her, even if she refused to leave. Lena almost wished Kara would disobey her wishes once again and come over and sit beside her instead. But she didn't, and Lena found herself pouting about it.

She tried to pick up her own book and read again, but she couldn't concentrate on the words in front of her. She kept looking up and stealing glances at Kara, and then she realized she'd reread the same sentence about five times. So, with a sigh she closed the book again and set it to the side and turned on the TV instead.

She pulled up Netflix and scrolled through the movies, trying to decide what to watch. Finally, she decided on a zombie movie, simply because she found the irony amusing, and put that on. As the opening credits started, she saw Kara slowly close her book and crane her neck to see.

"You can come sit over here if you want to watch the movie," Lena said, surprising both the blonde and herself.

"Okay," Kara said happily, bouncing up from her chair and scurrying over to the bed.

She climbed in beside Lena and made herself comfortable between the covers. Lena watched her, her chest constricting and her heart hammering in her chest. When Kara caught her staring, a small smile stretched across her lips.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing." Lena shook her head and quickly turned her attention back to the TV.

Surprisingly enough, Kara fell asleep during the movie instead of Lena. The brunette looked over halfway through to see Kara's eyes closed, mouth open slightly, and soft snores coming from her. And because Kara was asleep and couldn't see, Lena allowed herself to smile while gazing over her sleeping form.

Even while sleeping, Kara was gorgeous. That much was perfectly clear. Her lips were pink and plump, her features were soft and angelic, and up close, Lena could see freckles dotting her cheeks. She looked so innocent and sweet, it almost made Lena forget what Kara had done—how she'd broken her heart.

But nothing could make her forget that. Nothing. And all these residual feelings bubbling to the surface, they had to be nothing more than the fever making her crazy. She couldn't allow herself to get swept up in them, to let Kara worm her way into her heart again. So then why couldn't she bring herself to wake Kara when the movie was over and kick her out of her bed? Why did she turn off the TV and the lamp and let her stay?

And why when Kara moved closer and threw an arm around Lena, did she allow her to stay like that instead of pushing her away? But also, why did that simple action comfort her in ways she never imagined? And why did being in Kara's arms feel like home?

These were the thoughts that swirled around her head until finally the fever and exhaustion took her under again.

The next morning when she woke up, however, she was alone. Kara was back in her chair, and when she looked up, her cheeks went red when she saw Lena staring back at her. The blonde froze for a moment, then closed her book and stood, crossing the room.

"Sorry I fell asleep in here last night," Kara muttered, her eyes on the ground. "I know that crossed a line."

"It's fine," Lena said, her voice still somewhat raspy. "It's not like I made you leave."

Kara smiled a little and looked up at that. "How're you feeling?"

Lena stared at her, heart thudding rapidly in her chest. She licked her dry lips before firing a question of her own back, "Kara, why do you care so much?"

The blonde simply shrugged. "Because I do."

"Yeah, but why?" Lena asked again. "After everything—Myriad, crisis, me denying your attempts at mending our friendship over and over again—why do you still care about me?"

Kara was silent for a few moments, and Lena could practically see the gears turning in her head, trying to decide what to say. The blonde chewed her lip as she thought, sitting hesitantly on the edge of Lena's bed. She put her hands in her lap and pulled at her fingers nervously, taking in deep breaths through her nose.

"I had a visitor recently. His name is Mr. Myxlplyx," Kara said, glancing at Lena. "And he wanted to help me to mend my relationship with you."

Lena's brow crinkled in confusion. "Why?"

"He kind of owed me, and he's forced to do good to make up for all the bad he's done… It's a long story," Kara said quickly. "But he gave me a chance to go back in time, to important moments in our friendship where I felt I messed up by not being honest with you. I thought that maybe if I was the one to tell you instead of Lex, you wouldn't be so angry." She sighed, a deep long sigh. "First I went back to the day Mercy Graves attacked. I told you right before it happened."

"How'd I react?" Lena asked, curious to see what she'd done in an alternate reality.

"You were still angry," Kara said, her eyes becoming misty. "And hurt… You went to see Sam, and you were so hurt that I couldn't trust you with my secret. But in that timeline, that same night when I got poisoned with Kryptonite, you didn't make it to me in time to save me, and…" She gulped. "I died. So, we decided to go back further, to when Sam was still Reign. Before I had James go into your vault to check for Kryptonite."

"And?" Lena asked.

"You were still angry and hurt," Kara admitted. "But you still came to help us stop Reign. Without Kryptonite." Her face darkened at this, and it appeared that her hands started shaking. "But then Reign killed you, Lena. You died in my arms, and I just held your lifeless body until Mxy brought me back, and then started all over again."

Lena stared at her silently as the news of her untimely death in an alternate timeline settled over her. And suddenly she realized why Kara looked so worried when she fell in her arms the other day. To her, that had already happened, but with a much more tragic end.

"So, I went back to the beginning," Kara went on, "I told you almost immediately. And you weren't mad. Not at all. In fact, you were thrilled. We joined forces and did amazing things for the world."

"Then why isn't that the reality that you solidified?" Lena asked.

"Because when you refused to reveal my identity, Agent Liberty kidnapped you, and the only way to save you was to reveal myself to the world," Kara said with a soft smile. "So, I did. And I saved you." Then the smile turned into a frown, and she looked to the ground sadly. "Only for Agent Liberty and his followers to turn around and attempt to murder you again, this time succeeding—along with killing literally everyone else I know. Alex, Nia, Winn—all dead."

Lena didn't know what to say to that. What does someone say to something like that? Kara basically told her she chose her over everyone, including her own sister. And none of it even fucking mattered because she still wound up dead in that timeline anyway.

"I even tried a timeline where we never met, figuring you were better off without me," Kara said, darkness taking over her features again as she looked up at the CEO again. "But it was so bad, Lena. I never saved you from the helicopter attack, and it still happened, and your mom did experiments on you and turned you into a female Metallo. You were so angry, and so alone, and so not you." She shuddered, as if trying to shake the memories away. "You tried to kill me, and I didn't even fight you. I just… let you, because for a second I felt like I deserved it."

"You didn't," Lena said quickly. "Even at my angriest, I never wanted you dead." She paused to cough, her cheeks reddening. "For what it's worth."

"It's worth a lot," Kara said, a tiny smile making its way to her face. "But through all those trial and errors, one thing became perfectly clear—I couldn't change the past for the better. Things happen the way they happen for a reason. There was never a right time to tell you I was Supergirl. You would have been hurt regardless. It was just inevitable. I still wish it would have come from me, and it should have. For that I'm still sorry." She looked at Lena pointedly, unblinking. "But I'm not sorry for keeping it from you completely. I meant what I said when I told you I was trying to protect you. And after seeing what would have happened had you known all this time, I realized I made the right decision. Because had I done things differently, you'd be dead, or one of your mother's projects rather than a person. So, if this is the road I had to take to get us here today, you healthy—with the exception of you know…this. You've done so much good, and up until you partnered with Lex, you were on a great path." She sighed and reached out a hand, placing it gently on Lena's knee. "I know you're a good person, Lena. I never questioned that. And I'm sorry I hurt you, I truly am. But when given the chance, I had to keep everything the same. Because it was the only way to protect you, to keep you alive, and when it comes down to it, that's the decision I'll always make." She shrugged. "So, you can be mad at me. You have every right to be. But I need you in this world, even if I can't be a part of yours."

Lena was stunned. She was actually at a loss for words because she was trying to process all Kara had said, because it was a lot. And if her head wasn't spinning before, it certainly was now. She opened and closed her mouth a few times to speak, but nothing came out. Finally, Kara took her silence as rejection, because she nodded solemnly and stood.

"Sorry, I broke the no speaking rule," she muttered. "I'll go back to my chair and stop bothering you."

"Wait," Lena said, catching her by the wrist and stopping her. She tugged at the blonde's arm gently and coaxed her back to a sitting position. Shakily, she moved her hand from Kara's wrists and instead laced their fingers together. "Why… Why did you tell me all of that?"

"Because you asked," Kara said, quirking her head to the side curiously. "And because it's the truth. And I told you no more secrets, and I meant it. I also promised I'd never lie to you again." She gazed at Lena, a small, half-smile on her face. "Regardless of what's happened recently, I'm not going to break my promise. Not a single one." Now she smiled fully, squeezed Lena's hand gently. "Remember when I promised I would always be your friend and protect you? That's never changed."

Lena was silent for a moment, choosing her next words carefully. "Lex had a lot of video of us together, which is creepy, but… There are some moments that are honestly very sweet." She took in a long, shaky breath. "Watching them was especially hurtful because they stirred these… feelings. And when I felt like they were all false, it kind of broke me." She bit her lip, glanced away to gather some courage because Kara's eyes were so intense. "I'm used to people lying to me to manipulate me or simply to toy with my emotions. So when you told me you did it to protect me, I didn't want to believe you. Because I was so set in my ways, and caught up in my anger, that I never once wanted to allow myself to think your words were true—that you did it out of a place of love instead of malice. It was easier if you were lying, because then maybe I could learn to hate you instead of loving you…In the way that I did."

"Which was?" the blonde prodded, always oblivious.

"As much more than my best friend," Lena admitted almost at a whisper, but she knew Kara heard her clearly. She had to. Yet she didn't pull her hand away like Lena expected. In fact, her grip tightened, though not enough to hurt her. When she didn't say anything, Lena went on, "When I found out you were Supergirl, it broke my heart. In a lot of ways. Yes, I felt betrayed, but there was a lot more too it. I thought it was a lie because you didn't trust me. That you kept up the charade because you didn't care. I'm so used to people doing things to hurt me, I just lumped you in with everyone else who's ever hurt me, and that's not fair." She scooted closer on the bed, thankful when Kara didn't back away. "If I look back, yes, there were lies, but you were there for me. As both of your identities. You emotionally supported me as Kara and have literally saved my life as Supergirl. Supergirl always showed up for me, and I never could quite figure out why, but now I know… It was always you. You were there for me even when I didn't know." She reached up her free hand and brushed a few stray strands of hair from Kara's eyes, tucking them behind her ears. "All this time I've been angry with you, but I really should have been thanking you."

Lena's eyes traveled to Kara's lips, as they often had on much more than one occasion. They were always so inviting, so soft-looking, so distracting when Kara bit the bottom one. Lena still held one of Kara's hands in hers, her other hand was still near Kara's face, and she slowly pressed her palm against Kara's cheek, expecting her to flinch away from her touch. But she didn't. Instead she leaned into it, though her eyes were questioning.

Slowly Lena leaned forward, and when Kara's eyelids fluttered closed, the brunette's heart soared as she closed her own and pressed her lips to Kara's. It was soft and sweet, slow and tender, and everything she'd always dreamed it'd be. Except in her dreams she wasn't running a fever, wasn't sick from a literal pandemic, could breathe properly through her nose, and had enough energy to take things well beyond kissing. Too soon she had to pull away, settling instead for pressing her forehead against Kara's. Their eyes opened at the same time and met, a goofy smile instantly stretching across Kara's face.

"Thank Rao for my other-worldly immune system," the blonde said, and she seemed to be having trouble breathing as well, though hers was more likely from nerves than illness. That made Lena's heart flutter a little to realize. "But you are burning up still," Kara said, removing her head from Lena's and checking her forehead with her hand instead. "You could probably use another Advil. And eating would do you some good." Kara lifted her hand from Lena's forehead, instead taking her hand in her own to bring it up to her mouth and kiss the back of it. "Chicken noodle soup?"

"Sure," Lena said with a nod.

But Kara didn't move. Instead she stayed there, staring at Lena uncertainly. "Before I go get that, I just have to know… Earlier you said you loved me, as in past tense." Her face was open, vulnerable, yet she seemed tense. Nervous, even. "Is that really in the past, or do you still feel that way?"

"Kara, I just kissed you," Lena said, trying her best not to laugh. It was a little funny, though, as well as adorable. But she didn't want to laugh and make Kara feel self-conscious. "But to answer your question… Present tense." She gave a small smile. "I love you."

"Good," Kara said with a nod, breaking into a wide grin. "Because I love you, too."

Lena still felt physically like shit, sure. But the moment she heard Kara say those words, a warmth that wasn't a fever spread over her. It was an unfamiliar sensation, one she hadn't felt since the night she'd shot Lex—happiness.

And that feeling only doubled when Kara brought her a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup to her bed not ten minutes later. This time Kara immediately sat beside her in the bed, helping herself to the remote and turning on Netflix. She selected another horror movie, which Lena was fine with, and they sat together watching the movie until Lena was done and Kara took her dish back to the kitchen.

While she was gone, Kara's phone lit up with a text, and when she got back, Lena told her to check her phone. The blonde did, instantly frowning when she opened the text.

"Is something wrong?" Lena asked, frowning herself.

"Uh…" Kara hesitated. "One second."

She pressed the phone to her ear, apparently making a call, and left the room. Lena waited, a little impatiently, barely watching the movie until she heard Kara coming back, and she was apparently apologizing to whoever she was on the phone with. When the blonde reappeared, she was off her phone, but she looked relieved regardless of having done something to someone worth apologizing for.

"So, uh… Since we're being honest, I feel like I should tell you what that was about," Kara said slowly, looking somewhat guilty.

"Alright?" Lena quirked an eyebrow.

"This guy William asked me out, and at first I turned him down because I just didn't feel anything for him, but then everyone was telling me to give him a shot, so I did, because I thought you hated me. But with everything that's been going on with you, I kind of just… Forgot about him." She sighed and ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "I just canceled my date with him, and I agreed before I knew how you felt, but I don't know… I felt like you should know." She winced slightly. "You're not mad, are you?"

"I mean, you literally just told me that you picked me over him… So, no?" Lena asked with a small laugh. "But I do appreciate the honesty."

Kara let out a breath she appeared to have been holding. "Okay, good," she said, climbing into bed on Lena's side and crawling across her legs to the empty spot in the bed.

"Was he mad?" Lena asked curiously.

"No, he's actually not a bad guy and understood," Kara said.

"Understood what? What did you tell him?"

Kara smiled as she put an arm around Lena's shoulder and pulled her into her side. "That I got back together with my ex."

"I think I missed the part where you asked me to be your girlfriend," Lena shot at her playfully, though she brought her hand up to Kara's hanging off her shoulder and laced their fingers together.

Kara let out a laugh. "Lena… Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Okay," Lena said with a smirk. "But only because apparently we literally need each other in order not to die, according to these alternate timelines," she added cheekily.

"See, it's a good thing I'm here to help you through the Coronavirus," Kara told her.

Lena shook her head with amusement. "I'm sorry it took an actual pandemic for me to stop being dramatic long enough to listen to you."

"I'm sorry it took me this long to start being fully honest with you," Kara answered. "We both have a lot to be sorry about. Why don't we stop focusing on all the wrong we've done, and just promise to try to be better in the future?"

"Deal," Lena said, smiling.

"Deal," Kara said with yet another grin of her own. "For now, let's just focus on getting you better, okay?"

"I'm starting to feel better already," Lena admitted, though she was sure her uplift in mood had something to do with it. "But I think I should remain quarantined with you in this bed for at least another couple of days."

"Good," Kara said before pressing a sweet kiss to Lena's temple. "Because I didn't plan on letting you leaving any time soon, and there's nowhere else I'd rather be."

This is what I did with my sick day, and I have no regrets. (I have a sinus infection, not corona, no one freak out.)