Chapter Text
Later that night, they’re relaxing before bed, Kara writing in her journal in quickly-scrawled Kryptonian script, Lena intently focusing on her book, simply existing in each others’ space and enjoying the quiet company. But something is nudging at the back of Kara’s mind, a fleeting memory gasping for breath at the edges of her consciousness, tugging her heartstrings (if she had them) dreadfully down into the pit of her stomach. She’s not accustomed to this feeling, especially around Lena, and not for lack of trying, can’t seem to push it aside. She settles instead for laying her journal aside and gazing quietly at her wife, always mesmerized by the constant and consistent motion of her eyes across the pages, chest rising and falling slowly, content.
“Can I… um… touch… you?”
She cringes a bit as she says the words, knowing they’re wrong, they’re awkward, and where on Earth was the Pulitzer-prize-winning reporter who had such a way with words when you desperately needed her? Certainly not here, now, in this bed next to her pregnant wife, struggling to find the words to articulate—
“Of course you can touch me, Kara.” The mirth in her voice is unmistakable, a tone that Kara has loved since the moment she heard it, but now all Kara wants to do is bang her head against a wall at her own verbal clumsiness.
“No, well, Rao, I know, I mean, I meant your— the baby,” Kara finally manages, and Lena’s eyes soften.
“Yes, Kara, of course you can.” She pauses. “And, while unnecessary, thank you for asking.”
Kara blushes at her genuineness. Still, her hands hesitate to reach out to touch the woman next to her, until Lena finally bridges the gap with her own. She takes Kara’s hand in one of her own and slowly brings it up to her mouth for a quick kiss pressed to her fingertips, then back down again to her midsection. She pushes their hands, together, under her nightshirt to rest against the bare skin of her stomach, and Kara can feel Lena’s body fluttering underneath her palm. Their heartbeats quicken in unison, and there are tears in both their eyes minutes before either of them is able to conjure words again.
Kara’s lips start moving before she even realizes, the memories floating back to her of their own volition.
.zhindodh kryguhshusi ,rao, w rraop i ehrosh
She is 3 :zehtol and waving goodbye to her parents on her first day of :gaolom .
.zhindodh kryguhshusi ,rao, w rrip i ehrosh
She is 7 :zehtol and watching her aunt and uncle saying vrreiahvo uvrreoshia under a canopy of jraolahso owahshia.
.zhindodh kryguhshusi ,rao, w rraopo i ehrosh
She is 9 :zehtol and holding her baby cousin for the first time in the voktoielahs surrounded by the entire House of El.
.zhindodh kryguhshusi ,rao, w rrup i ehrosh
She is almost 10 :zehtol and being placed in a pod by her teary-eyed mother.
.zhindodh kryguhshusi ,rao, w rrip i ehrosh
She is suddenly jolted back to the here and now by Lena brushing a stray tear from her cheek.
“That was beautiful.”
Kara didn’t realize she was speaking out loud.
“Was that Kryptonian?”
She nods. “ Kryptahniuo .”
Lena looks at her quizzically, so she clarifies, “ Kryptahniuo . The name of the language in… itself. ‘Kryptonian’ is its name in English.”
“Oh, I… never thought of that. Makes sense, though.” She pauses before asking, “What was that you were saying?”
Kara swallows the lump in her throat, borne of memories and dreams. “A… blessing? or prayer, I guess?” She takes a deep breath, urged on by Lena’s gently inquisitive gaze. “Yeah, the kryptahniuo word is enai-ehd , which would be ‘prayer’, but it’s more often used more colloquially as like, well-wishes.”
She knows Lena’s next question before it ever leaves her lips.
“What does it mean?”
She has to think about that for a moment.
“Um… well, kryptahniuo grammar is a lot different from English,” she starts. She stares at the wall, the ceiling, anywhere that isn’t Lena’s face, knowing if she looks at her she’ll start sobbing. “The first word, um, zhindodh , means ‘wish’, but since there’s no subject, it’s like, a very general hoping that something happens. Kryguhsh , well, there’s not really a good translation. It means ‘guide’, but also ‘protect’? Kind of like ‘watch over,’ I guess… and then rraop i ehrosh is ‘your life’, but it’s more specifically like, the journey of life.” Kara realizes she’s rambling (story of her life), but she manages to finish lamely, “So, I guess an approximate translation would be something along the lines of, ‘May Rao guide your journey’? Yeah, zhindodh kryguhshusi ,rao, w rraop i ehrosh . May Rao guide your journey. That sounds right.”
When she finally looks back at Lena, she is looking at her with such adoration and reverance it takes her breath away. She reaches a hand out and brushes Kara’s hair behind her ear, pressing their lips together, fingers fluttering along her jawline on the way back down.
“That’s beautiful, Kara,” she whispers. Her brow furrows in concentration as she tries to pronounce the foreign words. “ ?zhindodh kriguhsushi … raop i ehrosh ”
Kara’s eyes light up the way they do whenever Lena speaks in her language. She gently corrects, “ ,rao, w rraop i ehrosh . And, um, it’s kryguhshusi , not kriguhsushi .”
Lena tries again. “ .zhindodh kryguhshusi ,rao, w rraop i ehrosh ”
“Perfect.” She punctuates it with a kiss to Lena’s lips.
They sit together in silence for a few minutes, hands still joined on Lena’s belly, Lena’s head resting on Kara’s shoulder, enjoying a moment of simple, quiet relaxation.
Suddenly, Lena blurts out, “Will you teach me?”
“Huh?” Kara’s brain hasn’t quite caught up to her ears yet.
“Will you teach me? I want to learn kryptahniuo .”
Her heart catches in her throat, but Lena’s nervous speech continues. “I—I know how much it means to you, to be able to keep Kryptonian culture alive, and to speak in your native language, and I want to be able to do that with you,” she takes a deep breath, “and I want our kids to as well. To speak kryptahniuo , I mean, with both of us, so it comes just as naturally to them as English.”
Kara is trying desperately not to cry by the time Lena’s finished. She nods frantically, pulling Lena into her for a bruising kiss, mumbling “yes, of course I’ll teach you” against her lips. Her heart feels so, so light at the prospect of being able to share another piece of herself with Lena, and with their kids, their biological kids, who will be Kryptonians just like her and Kal, who will—
Wait a second. “Kids? Like, plural?”
Lena is smirking at her, and Kara’s hand rejoins hers on her stomach, full of awe. Lena chuckles. “Maybe we’ll just focus on one at a time.”
