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“How do I look?” The blonde asks over her shoulder to her cousin, while twirling her long pale pink dress adored with small while flowers, in the floor length mirror sandwiched in between two huge pieces of laboratory equipment she had seen used but never knew what for.
“Like you’re going to a county wedding.” The brunette replays, not looking up from her task of imputing coordinates into the control panel of a device left forgotten deep in her mother’s lab.
“Mhpppp, whatever. You’re positive you can do this right?” She inquires again, while bring over the dark purple suit jacket to the lab table her younger cousin has been working at for the last few days. “Also I must ask, why the purple? It’s not like you have a shortage of blue suites.” She finishes with an eyeroll.
“For the same reason you picked a pink dress, instead of blue. I wanted to match my mom.” She replies while sliding the panel on the device closed and hitting the power button. “And yes Emily. Aunt Sarah showed me after Aunt Ava grilled me on the guidelines for using the device.”
“Guidelines.” Emily deadpans while crossing her arms, acting very much like her mom. “You mean the laws of time traveling.”
“Same thing, you ready to go?” The brunette says while throwing on her jacket affixing it, so her matching purple waistcoat was visible and double checking the timer on her watch was set. “Or do you need a refresher on the plan?”
“Talk to least amount of people as possible, dance a little, take photos then leave.” The blonde snarks while centering the other woman’s grey tie over her white shirt. “Thank you again for doing this for me.”
“No need, I get it. I’d go to my parents wedding too… still might.” She nonchalantly replies with a small smirk, then presses the enter button on the device creating a swirling portal in front of them.
“Planning a pitstop on the way back?” The other says while hooking arms with her cousin.
“Maybe, but as Uncle Winn would say: ‘Once more into the breach!’” She proclaims causing both to laugh as they walk into the time bend created.
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The pair step out into a grove of trees behind a wooded building adored with a garland of white roses, just of the other side of where circular wooden tables were arranged.
“Okay Emily, looks like they just tossed the bouquet, so you have a few songs before they drive off into the sunset.” The brunette tells the other while smoothing her jacket once again.
“Plenty of time. Where are you going to be?” Emily asks while searching the crowd for her parents.
“I’ll be back by the tables, keeping to myself. Go have fun, and don’t forget to get that photo.” She tells her cousin before they split up.
Spotting her parents at a table talking to each other, she can’t help smiling seeing the love story she was told as a bedtime story for years play out in real time for her. Wanting a better vantage point, she silently moves over two tables pretending to watch the crowd gathered on the dance floor and not the couple to her right.
Sitting on the edge of her seat, her smile stretching into a grin seeing the two women standing knowing the big moment was about to happen. The moment their lives changed forever, the kiss that sparks the greatest love story, putting Romeo and Juliet to shame. After all the heartache and years, they finally… what?
To say she was confused would be putting it mildly. She has the story memorized, hell she’s been writing it out as a novel since she graduated from college. She knows what is supposed to happen now. And yet there’s no kiss… just a hug? No confession of love, only friendship and for a long horrifying moment panic sets in. Anxiety induced thoughts of screwing the timeline up, ruining her parent’s life, her life, her sister’s life, really her whole family if the butterfly affect is as bad as Aunt Ava made it out to be, race through her head so fast she left her seat, just a little too fast for a human not that anyone noticed, and started to pace next to the tree line to process and plan.
She pauses to start the deep breathing exercise her mom taught her when she notices her.
In her panic she missed her aunts driving… well flying off and the party starts to dwindle down. Emily is now dancing with Eliza, her other mother has gone back to catching up with her uncles, but it’s the ravenette standing off to the side with a full drink she knows is a whiskey that grabs her attention.
Because she knows that look.
The way her eyes are shining just a little brighter, her lips press just a little too tightly together and the tiniest of a furrow between her eyes. She’s griping the glass as if it’s a ledge and the only thing keeping her from falling overboard while her other arm is holding herself just as tight.
Jax has seen this look many times before, whenever her other mother was hurt saving the world. Her Aunt Alex tried to explain it as worry or anxiety to her when she was little. But Jax never thought that really fit the look. Once she was older she figured out what that look really meant: Stoic Heartbreak. With the way she’s staring at Kara, it’s not hard to figure out who Lena’s heartbroken about.
Which prompts her to do something reckless.
The one thing she was explicitly told never to do. Disregarding everything her aunt drilled into her about time travel, she starts walking across the field over to Lena, with only a vague idea of what to say.
“You know, I thought you and that blonde over there were going to kiss earlier.” She immediately blurts as she stops next to Lena. While not the best opener, she’s running a little short on time, so it’ll have to do. Fortunately, it works and she’s unable to stop the small smirk on her face as Lena whips around to face her. Her stoic heartbreak expression gone, as she transforms into her old CEO persona she’s hasn’t seen in a while, raised eyebrow and all. “The love radiating from you two was almost tangible.”
“I do not enjoy strangers butting themselves into my private life, nor do I care for their opinions.” Lena declares while crossing her arms, after setting her drink down on the table next to them.
“We’re at a wedding, there’s no strangers here only family.” Jax banters back enjoying another one of their verbal bouts, ignoring the small fact everyone’s future depends on her wining for once.
“Whose family would that be.” Lena sharply replies, not hiding the annoyance from her voice.
“A distant relative of the bride.” She says with a smile on her face, a rough plan formulating. Knowing Lena would be able to tell if she lies with her magic, she goes with a reckless strategy… lying with the truth.
“Cheeky.” Lena deadpans “Now Miss…”
“Ohhh I can’t give you my last name. Would complicate a few things and I doubt you’d believe me any ways.” She tells her with a smile after waving her hand as if brushing the idea to the side.
“If this is some sort of game-“
“Jax. Spelt J-A-X that’s my first name.” She cuts Lena off mid speech. “I’m very proud of it too. It has great importance to my mothers.” Jax starts to tell her mother who looks very guarded, but the tiniest bit of curiosity is shinnying in her eyes. Speaking again before Lena has a chance to response she continues “You see I was named after an uncle who unfortunately passed before I had a chance to meet him. He and my mother were going to change the world, cure cancer in a garage.”
Jax pauses when she sees the moment Lena recognizes who she’s describing. Her back straightening a faction more, her crossed arms tightening against her now, as if she’s bracing or maybe holding herself.
“How… how did he die.” Lena quietly asks, voice barely above a whisper as her CEO mask slowly slips as disbelief shines in her slightly watery eyes.
“He got impatient, experimented a project on himself and died as a result.” Jax softly replies with a sad smile. “He was the first person to show my mother she could be loved and in honor of that I was named after him.”
A few stray tears fall down Lena’s face before she inhales deeply quickly wiping her cheeks, trying to center herself again. “You said mothers, as in plural?” She whispers, arms falling to her side.
“I did. She’s the reason for the spelling. See she’s not from around here and wanted a name from her culture. Not many Earth names fit. But Jax did in a way.” She says while smirking to herself, knowing the reaction she’s going to get.
“What does that mean.”
“The name had not been used for some time because of a scientist with that name while dabbling in space travel, blew up one of her planet’s moons, becoming the first banished to the phantom zone.” Jax says why shrugging her shoulders, a small laugh escaping at the disbelieving look on her brunette mother’s face.
“Now I know this is a trick, no way a war criminal would ever share a name with my-“
“Reclaiming names is kind of my family’s thing. I’m honored to be a part of it, even if only a handful of people know. See both my mother’s reclaimed their names.” Jax starts but her voice crakes as the emotion gets stuck in her throat, her bright blue eyes filling with tears.
Because she’s still scared. Scared this whole trip has ruined her family and nothing will be there when she goes back, and she needs her mom. Telling her everything is going to work out. She’s here standing in front of her, talking to her, but it’s also not her. And this is a whole lot harder than she ever imaged it to be. So, she quickly wipes her tears and starts again.
“One did as a way of becoming whole, joining both versions of herself. The other had a bit of a harder time at it, but she succeeded. And her name is known as a force of good in the world.”
Jax stops once again as tears threaten to overflow, and it sets Lena off. She steps forward and pulls Jax into a tight hug. Both leaning into each other for comfort after the unexpected emotional turn in their conversation.
“Why are you here right now? Is there a danger or some villain.” Lena asks after pulling back from the hug, eyes searching around for a threat.
“No, nothing like that.” Jax says with a grimace, not too sure if it’s a good idea to say but damage is done already. “My cousin wanted a photo of her with her parents at their wedding. It’s part of an anniversary gift she’s making for them.” Jax tells her then nods to the woman dancing with Nia and Brainy wildly throwing her arms in the air.
“Then why risk speaking with me, time travel is a very dangerous science, and you should know this.” Lena reprimands softly, it causes Jax to stand a little straighter as it sounds awfully close to her ‘mom’ tone used whenever she’s in trouble.
“Because it happens here today. The big moment, the start of your next adventure. The beginning of my family and I think I messed it up somehow.” Jax rambles out, her anxiety boiling to the surface preventing her from stopping. “You two have an honest, raw, vulnerable conversation and… and then bam, a kiss and that’s the start of it. But you had the conversation and only hugged…. so I came over here to try and fix this mess somehow, but I don’t know what to do and-“
“Jax breath. Take a deep breath it will all be okay, here breath with me alright.” Lena starts, cutting of the ramble while also grasping both of Jax’s hands to help ground her. “It would seem you inherited more than your eyes from your other mother.” She says with a smile, adoration shining in her eyes, or maybe just amusement.
“Not my favorite of her traits, no.” Jax sarcastically says while rolling her eyes, no longer feeling so out of control.
Lena squints at Jax’s words, quirking her eyebrow once more, “How many traits did you inherit? Better yet how?”
“You know how dangerous this science is, I can’t say anything.” Jax replays her eyebrow raised copying the woman across from her. It causes Lena to let out a little laugh. “But there’s a simple way to find out.”
“I fail to see anything ‘simple’ about this.” Lean says with a scoff, before looking over at Kara currently walking around on the phone.
“No, I suppose your right.” Jax replies softly, “But I think it might be worth a try.”
“What if…” Lena starts only to be cutoff once again by Jax.
“There are more than one set of outcomes. What if it turns out alright?”
Jax tells her while turning to looking over at Kara too, now standing next to Lena instead of in front of her.
“I see you got the hope speech trait from her too.” Lena says with a tiny sad laugh.
“Your wrong.” Jax replies with a huge grin growing as she looks back at Lena, knowing the reaction coming. “She’s not the one I got that from.” Lena snaped her head towards her so fast the joints cracked, and Jax bit her tongue, so she didn’t laugh at the gobsmacked look Lena has.
A string of tinny beeps goes off from her watch and Jax looked up finding Emily looking back at her. Their time there was up, staying any longer and the time bureau would be alerted. Flicking her head to the side, Emily got the message and started walking back to the area they originally landed.
“That’s my que. My time here is up.”
“You mean this trip right!? Not like fading away like that awful 80’s time travel movie.” Lena almost shouts, panic clear in her voice.
“I guess that depends on your next conversation.” Jax tells her, noticing Kara walking up to them, minus her glasses that she left on a table in the back. “See you around Lena.”
Jax departs just before Kara gets to them, walking quickly over to Emily. Pulling the device out of her suit jacket, she inputs the time and space coordinates for the return back. Praying to Rao there’s a back to get to.
“You just had to have a chat with your mother hu.” Emily teased her right away.
“They didn’t kiss, and I panicked.” Jax defended pressing the enter key bring up the portal again. “Besides I followed the guidelines.”
“Sure you did Jax.” Emily laughs before walking into the breach. Jax following right behind her but stopping right at the edge.
“Fuck it.” She says watching the portal fizzles out, quickly changing the coordinates to a less distance future date.
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“… my ukiem.” Lena said into the mirror practicing the words for the thousandth time today, taking a deep breath after. Only for her heart to start racing out of her chest on hearing a knock at the dressing room door. Signaling it was time. “I’m almost ready Sam.” She says as the door opens.
“You mixed up your words. Ukiem means family love. Zhao is for romantic love.” Jax tells her with a smile as their eyes meet in the mirror.
At once Lena is out of her seat at the vanity, not caring if she wrinkles her dress pulls Jax into a tight hug. “I was hoping you would show up.” Lena tells her, voice a little wobbly. They break the hug, but neither feels like moving too far way.
“Well, I was dressed for the occasion.” Jax snarks, smile growing to a grin. “Besides, seems only far I crashed my parents wedding too.”
“Speaking of, I meet Alex and Kelly’s new foster child Emily, a few months ago.” Lena starts with a smirk, “She wouldn’t be the cousin you were with, now would she?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I’m sure.” Lena responds with a laugh, just as the door opens once more, as Sam walks into the room.
“Lena it’s time to make an honest- who the hell are you.” Sam asks, her tone changing from teasing to integrating within a breath, turning a glare towards Jax.
“A distant relative of the bride.” Jax smoothly responds with a smirk, causing Lena to laugh while Sam only scoffs.
“Right. And how future distant would that be?” Sam smugly responds.
“Sorry I don’t know what you mean.” Jax replies with her smirk still in place.
“Uh hu, whatever you say.” Sam says with a scoff again but also rolling her eyes. “It’s time to go Lena or you’ll be late and might actually give Kara a heart attack from nervousness.”
Through the open door the wedding march could be heard coming from the great room off to the right of the hallway from the room they were in. The rest of the wedding party already walking in. Leaving only the bride to yet enter.
“Mind if I walk you to the entry way.” Jax asked shyly. “I know Sam is walking you down the aisle, but could I walk you there?”
Lena nods, not trusting her voice at the moment. She asked Sam to walk her down the aisle because she was the closest to a family member she has, or well had she amended the thought. Linking arms, they walk slowly the few dozen steps it takes to reach Sam, who went ahead of them, waiting at the entry way.
“Before I forget.” Jax starts after taking a few steps. “Tonight, when you stop at the Fortress before leaving on your honeymoon, you should stumble into the third door on the right in the east wing.”
“What is in the room?”
“Let’s call it a wedding gift from Kara’s parents.” Jax responds, with a smirk again.
“You really are not going to tell me.” Lena asks again, this time raising her eyebrow.
“Nope.” Jax says popping the p. “But it will answer a question you asked me last time.”
“Last time…” Lena mumbles to herself as they reached their stop. “Is it a birthing matrix?” But Jax simply squeezes Lena’s arm before letting go.
“There’s a simple way to find out.” And both have smiles on as they hug tightly once more, as the string of tinny beeps go off from the watch once again.
“You have to go so soon.” Lena asks, the wedding march repeating the bridge section again in the background.
“Afraid so. I’m already pushing it as it is.”
“Lena, you will see her again. But not if you don’t get this wedding started.” Sam whispered urgently while trying to be as polite as possible and taking Lena’s arm in hers.
“Don’t worry, if things go as planned, I’m not too far way.” Jax jokingly says, before walking back to the dressing room to breach for the final time back home.
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“JAX WALSH DANVERSE LUTHOR what in all of the galaxies were you thinking!” Kara sternly demanded once the time bend closed and Jax was once again standing in her mother’s private lab. Quickly looking around and seeing everything exactly how it was before the two cousins left on their trip, Jax let out a long breath in relief.
Everything is going to be okay.
“Also, how did you even know about that device! It was years before you were born. You know how dangerous tech like that is, what could have happened because of your little joyride in the past?” Kara asked continuing on her lecture, very visibly upset over how reckless her eldest daughter acted.
But Jax was too relived that she still had her blonde mother to give her a lecture than upset with disappointing her… well for right now at least.
“Darling, give her a break. You know how responsible Jax is, and I doubt she would do something so reckless as time travel without knowing all the risks involved.” Jax hears Lena say as she walks into the lab, and she can’t help but run over to her.
“Mom!” Is all she was able to get out before almost crushing her mother in a hug.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment since you bought that purple suit last week with Alex and Emily.” Lena tells her child squeezing Jax tightly knowing how indestructive she is.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Kara asked beyond surprised at her wife’s tone. She thought for sure Lena was going to be beyond disappointed with their eldest. Kara fully expected a repeat of the hovercar incident reaction.
“Ieiu! I’m so glad you’re here!” Jax tells her other mother before zooming into her for a hug, not minding her strength this time. “I was so scared something went wrong after nothing happed how you told me in your stories… and I was certain that it was because of something we caused by just being there, but Aunt Sarah said that just being there wouldn’t cause any issues and Aunt Ava did agree but she also kept listing off rules we had to follow, and I thought we did… I mean I even set a timer… and-”
“Hey hey breath it’s all okay, I’m right here. Whatever happened I’m sure we can figure it out together.” Kara soothed her daughter holding her a little tighter while shooting her wife a very confused look over Jax’s head.
“It would seem your story was not as factual as you claim dear.” Lena said with a smirk moving closer to them. “I told you that you were missing a part.” She finishes with a laugh.
“What? How does that have anything to do with this?” Kara asked again, confused and feeling like she’s on the outside of an inside joke.
“I’ll explain later darling.” Lena tells her wife unable to keep the grin off her face, “Right now I think we should lock the portal device back up and have some family time. We’ll watch some old movies and order out for dinner.”
“Pizza and Potstickers?” Kara askes hopeful, she may not know what is going on or what happened, but she does know her wife better than anything. And if Lena is reacting this way to their child leaping through time… well it must have been for a very good reason or not that big of a deal. Either way she is not going to turn down family time… they can discipline Jax for her actions tomorrow.
“Sounds perfect.” Lena says as they all make their way out of the lab. “Also, Jax I think I know the perfect ending for your book.”
“I have been struggling with one as Ieiu always just said ‘and they both lived happily ever after, the end’ and writing that feels too much like a bedtime story or fairytale.”
“What do you know about quantitative entanglement?”