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When Lena had moved to National City with her family as a teenager, she’d experienced a bit of a culture shock. Not that the world itself was all that different to Ireland, but growing up in a boarding school and suddenly being thrust into public school in the western world was jarring to say the least.
Her brother had taken over the family company and their parents had grown lonely in their expensive and lavish home, now empty of children. So they’d decided to bring their daughter back to them, wanting to hold their family together a little longer before Lena too went and made her mark on the world.
The young woman couldn’t fault them for this, she had missed them as well. Being with her family again certainly made the transition into public school a little easier at least, seeing as the raven haired girl had a support system during her tumultuous first few weeks.
Truth be told, moving back home had been bittersweet. Lena missed the grey days, the lush green grass and rolling hills, and her friends of course. She had been slightly pleased though to discover she’d picked up a very slight accent in her time abroad, so she at least had that to hold onto.
When she had first walked into her new school she had ignored the red string that had been wrapped around her right wrist for as long as she could remember. There were far more pressing matters to be dealt with than obsessively watching it for the first hint of movement, or waiting to feel that telltale tugging sensation she’d read about. And she had been very successful at ignoring it in favour of recalibrating for the curriculum set forth by a North American school system. In some courses she was roughly a grade ahead in terms of what she’d learned. And in others, well. She had some catching up to do.
But upon starting her second month, Lena could not ignore it anymore.
***
“Kara, get your ass back here.” The exasperation was clear in the voice beckoning her, but the blonde simply ignored it in favour of darting towards the refreshment table to raid the snacks.
A resigned sigh was heard behind her, and Kara became aware of her sister following her in the interest of preventing a repeat of snackgate2k17. Alex's adopted sister had a bad habit of overeating sweet food and it didn’t tend to end well, at least not for the redhead’s belongings. She knew Kara didn’t mean to but when she was on a sugar high she somehow became at least twice as strong as she usually was. And since the blonde liked to borrow her sister’s (and idol’s) things, she tended to break most anything she borrowed. The moment in time labelled snackgate2k17 was one Alex tried not to remember. Suffice it to say it had involved a massive amount of sour patch kids and chocolate chip cookies, and had resulted in a demolished mess which had once been three of Alex’s original NES controllers.
So when the redhead saw her sister veer away from the snack table at the last second, she was stunned.
Kara had been fully intending to stock up on sweets as it was in her humble opinion, the only redeeming quality to the job fairs her school held every year. She already knew she wanted to be a reporter and her cousin Clarke had already finagled her a summer internship at his paper for when she graduated later that year. Her career path was set, and she ended up bored out of her mind every year during these events.
However when she had almost reached the table where a plate of tweed squares was calling her name, she felt a tug on her right wrist. The blonde was seconds away from scolding her sister for trying to hold her back when she realized there was no one next to her. Quickly, her eyes shot down to see her red string was pulled taught and angling across the room.
Eyes widened in the kind of unadulterated excitement which was usually only reserved for food, Kara immediately adjusted her trajectory.
Upon following the string, the blonde was led through the congested centre of the gymnasium. With a grunt she forced her way through the unyielding bodies, entirely unconcerned with the wake of confused people left reeling in her dust.
“Kara, where are you going? Slow down!” The blonde vaguely heard her sister somewhere behind her, but she didn't care to slow down in that moment.
When she emerged out of the other side of the mass of bodies, she was face to face with a row of stalls, each belonging to a different company. The string was tugging slightly to her left, and following without hesitation, Kara pursued the scarlet sash of colour. Her eyes eventually stopped on the delicate knot at the end of the string, tied comfortably around a pale wrist.
So focused on the sight of her person and the sense of warmth filling her veins was she, that she ended up barreling right into the raven haired girl.
She’d been so distracted she’d forgotten to stop her feet.
“Oooof.” Kara managed to knock the wind out of her own lungs and likely out of the girl held loosely in her arms who she’d caught in the interest of saving her a few bruises.
“What the-” Finally joining gazes, the green eyed girl in Kara’s arms stuttered. It took her all of half a second to notice their strings were one and the same. “Oh my god.”
Kara sheepishly smiled. “Whoops?”
***
The two girls had been inseparable in the months following, spending as much time getting to know each other as possible. Their families were overjoyed for them, and each quickly became a fixture in the other’s home.
Having found their soulmate, neither put a second thought into the possibility that this wasn’t the end of their soulmate journey.
It was when they were on a class trip that things changed once more.
Their class was in Greece, visiting the Agora of Athens as part of their ancient history course. The students had scattered with the promise to return in exactly an hour to the relief of their chaperones, each finding something interesting to gawk at.
Kara and Lena were ambling without much intent, happily basking in the atmosphere and each other’s presence. They stopped for a few moments to watch a group of young women reenacting a training montage of Greek warriors before continuing on their walk.
Eventually using the entire allotment of the hour afforded them, the blonde and raven haired girls returned to the hotel with the rest of their class.
***
The literal last thing they’d expected was to wake up the next morning to the same day. It was quickly apparent that they were the only two to be reliving it, or at least to remember they’d already experienced it once before.
“What is happening right now?” Kara scrunched her eyebrows in exasperation, so shocked she forgot to butter her toast before biting into it.
Lena chuckled and reached out, smoothing the crinkle between her girlfriend’s eyes. “I have a few theories but I need more data before I come to a conclusion.”
Kara beamed across the table, captivated by the girl in front of her. “You’re such a nerd.” She chuckled as Lena threw a grape at her head. “Never change.”
***
A mere week later, they figured it out. Or well, they didn’t figure it out as much as someone else had figured it out for them. Lena had had an inkling, and was proven right when they made the discovery, but sweet Kara had been entirely clueless up until it was spelled out for her.
They had been walking the length of the Agora for the seventh time when they heard a shout.
“You! Wait a second!”
Both girls turned, startled at the proximity of the voice. It was with dawning realization that Lena watched the lithe brunette in period specific armour run up to them, while Kara’s features were awash with adorable befuddlement.
“I’m sorry to disturb you, but I couldn’t help but see you walking past my troupe.” The extremely tall girl with bronze skin and wind tousled chestnut hair cocked a hip as she took a confident stance before them. “I was wondering if I could show you around? There are a great many things you won’t see unless a local shows you.” A smile far too charming to be fair stretched plump lips and her accent set both Kara and Lena’s hearts thumping.
Lena darted her eyes over and met the ice blue staring wide eyed between the two of them. “What do you say Kara?” She quirked a brow at the blonde, silently implying her preference.
“Um, uh. Yeah. Sure. Thank you.” Kara giggled, a pretty blush dusting her round cheeks.
“Wonderful. I’m Diana, what are your names?” The amazon-like girl passed closely between the other girls, brushing their shoulders as she began to lead them further into the Agora.
Chuckling at the flustered mess that was her girlfriend, Lena answered. “I’m Lena, and this is my girlfriend Kara. We’re happy to meet you Diana.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Diana winked at them, beckoning them further with a careless but graceful hand.
***
Happily, the blonde and raven haired girls woke up the next morning to a new day. They managed to sneak away from their group (not without leaving a note detailing they hadn’t been kidnapped, Lena at least had enough forethought to set their chaperone’s minds at ease) to meet Diana for lunch once they’d finally woken fully.
It was in a quaint little bistro that Diana explained the concept of soulmates in Greece. It became apparent that the seeming inevitability of having a red string tethering you to another person wasn’t universal. Different cultures had different experiences, and this was how it was in Greece. When the day arrived that they were in close proximity to their destined, the day would repeat. Over and over and over until they found them.
And while it was unconventional, the three girls couldn’t find it in them to be resentful, or upset, or anything other than overjoyed.
***
It was with heavy hearts that Lena and Kara returned to National City, leaving Diana behind in Greece. They’d exchanged phone numbers, emails, social media, everything they could which would allow them to remain as connected as possible.
Through the rest of their senior year, skype dates were a constant. They had a dedicated whatsapp chat where they each shared things daily. Little care packages were sent in the mail, and everything they could share, they did.
After they’d graduated, both the blonde and raven haired girl had decided to attend the same university. Kara was attending for a full journalism degree, her summer internship having only fed the fire. And Lena was planning to earn an engineering degree.
Instead of risking separation by rooming in the dorms, they’d agreed to rent a small apartment off campus.
Having settled in comfortably, both girls were lounging on their second hand couch, surrounded by unpacked boxes. Two barely touched pizzas were sat on two boxes set before them which acted as a temporary coffee table.
They were about to dig into their second slices when a knock on their door interrupted them.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get it. I’d never separate you from your pizza.” Lena chuckled under her breath, kissing Kara’s smiling tomato sauce covered lips on her way to the door.
When she swung the heavy door inwards, her shock was only overpowered by her elation.
“Diana!” The raven haired girl leaped into the brunette’s arms, wrapping her limbs around her like a touch starved koala.
Laughing fully, Diana walked into the apartment and kicked the door shut behind her. A mere split second later a second body was plowing into her, wrapping strong arms around her waist from the side.
“What are you doing here?! How are you here? Why are you here? Not that I’m not happy you’re here! I’m really happy, like super happy. But-”
“Kara, breathe.” The brunette was absolutely amused and enamoured by the girls attached to her.
Kara shrugged sheepishly. “I’m excited?”
At this point, Lena pulled back and let herself fall back to her feet, her hands still resting comfortably on Diana’s upper chest. “Please answer the puppy’s questions.”
Diana laughed, reaching an arm out to wrap around both of the other girl’s waists. “To answer all of your questions at once, the university has an excellent exchange program.” Kara squealed in response, diving in to squeeze the brunette once more. “Although unfortunately, they didn’t have any dorm rooms available. Do you two have any suggestions for where I could stay?” An impish grin greeted Lena and Kara’s stares.
“That’s a silly question. Of course we do. Now, where’s your luggage? We need to get you settled.” Lena wiggled her eyebrows at her second soulmate, eliciting a delighted laugh.
“My bags are in the rented car in the parking lot. But I have a serious point of business to address first.” And with that she leaned down a little and pressed a firm kiss to Lena’s lips. They both smiled into it, not being able to hold it for long due to their inability to control their happiness.
“Hey, no fair.” Kara hadn’t removed her arms from around Diana, but she pouted prettily as she watched her girlfriends kiss.
Lena rolled her eyes as she pulled away from the brunette. “Patience really has never been a virtue you possess, has it?”
Chuckling, Diana turned her head and leaned to the side so she could kiss the eager blonde. Kara hummed into it, her bones relaxing as she sagged further into the taller girl’s side.
They broke apart when the blonde couldn’t control her giggles and the three quickly went downstairs to retrieve Diana’s belongings.
When they finally settled into the worn couch, they sat as close to each other as possible without being on top of each other. The rest of the two pizzas were eaten, and something was playing on the tv although they weren’t really invested in it.
But who could blame them, they were so overjoyed to be together again and they just had so much to tell each other.
Not to mention they also had some kisses to catch up on.