Kara lay on the couch, facing Krypto. The dim light of the living room fell softly across her suit. The red cape draped down the side of the couch, pooling near her boots. Her blue eyes shimmered faintly in the glow, rimmed with exhaustion and something rawer—fear, maybe. Grief. The dyed strands of blonde hair framed her face, messy as usual. She looked smaller tonight, even at five foot five, as though the realisation that she was loosing the one good thing she had left, was crushing her and the room.

Krypto lay across from her, his breathing shallow but steady for now. Kara’s bare fingers moved slowly through his fur, tracing the familiar pattern of white and grey as though memorizing every strand before it could fade. “Hey, boy,” she whispered, voice cracking in the quiet. “You’re still handsome, you know that?” Her thumb brushed against the corner of his muzzle, trembling slightly. “You always knew when to bark at the right people. Clark still owes you for that delivery guy you scared off last year.”

You sat across from them, watching her—not intruding, not speaking. The sound of the heater filled the silence that followed her words. Kara exhaled shakily, her lips pressing against Krypto’s forehead. “You were the only one who understood me. You didn’t even need words.” Her tone fell to almost nothing, the syllables breaking halfway through. “You stayed when I didn’t even want anyone to.”

Her hand stilled. A tear slipped down, tracing a path along her cheek, vanishing against the red fabric of her suit. She blinked hard, trying to keep her breathing even, but her shoulders began to shake anyway. The first sob didn’t make a sound. It came as a tremor instead, as though her entire body rejected the idea of letting go.

Kara bowed her head closer to Krypto, whispering something against his fur that only he could hear. Her eyes squeezed shut, jaw clenched, as if she could hold the moment together by sheer force of will. Another tear escaped, then another.

Kara didn’t look up. Not even when her breathing hitched again. She just kept tracing Krypto’s face with a gentleness that broke her own heart, silent tears spilling faster now, her cape brushing the floor as she started to shake.