#walden: 'um could we go out to dinner

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

Come When You Call, Pt 4

After Kelly's call, some of Lena's heaviness dissipates. She smiles over dinner, her eyes catching on his over forkfuls of pulled pork from the barbeque joint in town. That night, the back porch goes unvisited, both of them sleeping soundly until James' alarm goes off to announce the start of a new day.

"You should go to work," she says, padding into the kitchen wearing an oversized t shirt and plaid pajama bottoms. Her hair is wavy and tousled with sleep, but her gaze is sharp and present, lacking the distance they'd had when they first returned to Calvintown.

James nods. "Yeah. You sure you'll be okay here on your own?"

"Yeah," she affirms, accepting the mug of coffee he presses into her hands.

"You'll call, if anything happens."

"Yes, I'll be fine..."

James eases back, sensing that pushing any harder would only serve to irritate her. "Okay."

He leaves her cross-legged on the couch, paging through his copy of On Walden Pond, half empty mug balanced atop her knee. The day passes agonizingly slow. He keeps one eye on his phone, scrambling to answer it every time it buzzes with a text. Two are from Kelly, three from his employees, but only one is from Lena: a photo of a pair of deer grazing in his front yard.

He recognizes the angle: she'd lifted the blinds on the front window and perched her phone on the back of the couch. He takes a moment to picture her there, gazing out the front window with a book of poetry in her hands, catching a glimpse of suburban wildlife.

When he returns home that night, it's jarring to see the lights on inside the house, but James finds himself warming to it almost instantly. The move to Calvintown has been good for him in a lot of ways, but it's also been lonely. He's missed his friends-- he's missed Lena.

He finds Lena in the kitchen, barefoot and standing at the stove stirring a pot of boiling pasta.

"Smells good," he says.

It reminds him of their trip to the lakehouse, right down to the music playing faintly in the background.

"It's only pasta and marinara," Lena warns. "Don't get too excited."

"Hey, anything I don't have to cook is always cause for celebration." He tosses his briefcase on the couch and loosens his tie as he joins her in the kitchen. "So you had some visitors today."

Lena instantly brightens. "I've never seen them so close before! I mean, we had a family of them in the woods outside the manor, but they always kept their distance. These barely noticed the cars going by!"

"Yeah, they're pretty used to humans around here. I think that smaller one only just grew out of his spots--"

A knock on the door interrupts him. They both freeze, their heads snapping towards the sound. The knock comes again, sharp and insistent. James gently touches Lena's wrist, even as she pulls a knife from the block with the other.

"James? Lena!"

The tension in James' shoulders evaporates at the sound of Kara's voice. The knife slides back into the block as James moves swiftly to unlock the door. He opens it to reveal Kara, hair hastily pulled into a ponytail and blouse unevenly buttoned. She nearly vibrates with nervous concern, and James steps aside to let her in.

Her hand squeezes his wrist gently as she steps inside, but she has eyes only for Lena, moving just a little too fast to sweep her friend into a hug.

"Thank Rao you're all right," Kara breathes, arms still tight around Lena. "When Kelly told us what happened... are you okay?"

She pulls back then, holding Lena at arms length by both shoulders to scan her for injuries.

"I'm okay," Lena says softly. "When did you get back?"

"Um... five minutes ago?" Kara says sheepishly. "I came as soon as I heard. Lex-- did he hurt you?"

Lena shakes her head. "No, Kelly saved me before he could do anything."

"I'm so relieved she was there." Blue eyes flash to James. "You too. Thank you."

James nods. His throat has suddenly locked up, making it impossible to speak. Seeing Kara so soon is a shock to his system-- as much as it's a relief, he knows what comes next.

Lena is leaving.

As if on cue, Kara turns back to Lena. "Are you ready?" she asks.

Lena blinks uncomprehendingly. "Ready for what?"

Kara huffs a laugh. "To come home," she says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

James watches as Lena's eyes widen slightly, then turn to him. Clearly, she hadn't thought she'd be returning to National City. They'd both thought they had more time. But now that Kara and the rest of the Superfriends back in town, there would be nowhere safer for Lena than at Supergirl's side.

"Oh," Lena says, seemingly coming to the same conclusion. "Right. Of course."

If James hears the slightest disappointment in her voice, he chalks it up to his imagination. Lena reaches for her wrist, and after a moment to fiddle with the dial, a purple event horizon sparks to life in James' living room.

Kara moves towards it, her hand in Lena's. She only pauses when Lena hesitates at the threshold of the kitchen. She glances between them briefly.

"I'll give you guys a moment. See you on the other side?" she asks Lena. When Lena nods, Kara steps through the portal with a final nod to James, disappearing with a crackle of purple energy.

Lena shifts hesitantly on her feet, tucking her hair behind one ear.

"I have to go," she says quietly.

James nods. "Yeah," he gets out. He smiles. "National City needs all of its heroes."

Lena closes the distance between them, lifting up onto her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you," she murmurs, one hand lingering on his chest. "For everything."

James covers her hand with his, pressing it against his heart.

"I will always care about you, Lena. If ever need anything... all you have to do is call."

She nods, offering him a small, sad smile. "I really have missed you."

"Well, now you know where I am." With one last squeeze of her hand, he lets her go. "Don't be a stranger."

He watches her step through the portal, chin up and shoulders square. Somehow, he knew she was going to be all right.

#guardiancorp #come when you call #this is probably the final part #i really enjoyed revisiting gc #hope you guys liked it too #esp the part where comes flying in the moment she heard lena was in hiding #cuz shes also proving lena wrong #lena thought no one would miss her #but turns out everybody did #attempted read more #we'll see how it works