Archive of Our Own

Kara Zor-El was a coward.

She had faced aliens and witches and gods several times stronger than her and defeated them all, with help from her superfriends, of course. She had almost died more times than she cared to admit. She never hesitated to lay her life down in the service of this home she had adopted as her own, and for the people she had grown to love. But that was all Supergirl.

Kara Zor-El, on the other hand, was a coward.

She had taken the leap from being an executive assistant to junior reporter, to finally being a Pulitzer prize reporter in a span of three years. She had had her heart broken, healed, and then broken again by the same man she thought she loved. She had taken quite a while to heal again, but eventually she did and somehow managed to make more friends despite juggling being a Superhero and a reporter. But that was Kara Danvers being human.

Kara Zor-El, the one who was standing outside a certain CEO’s office, was a coward.

“Please follow me,” said the blonde. The tile on her table said her name was Eve Tessmacher, Executive Assistant.

Kara nodded and followed the shorter woman through thick, heavy-looking, solid wood, double doors.

“Miss Luthor, this is Kara Danvers, your 11 am.” Eve announced, gesturing at Kara.

“Thank you, Miss Tessmacher.” said a voice behind a widescreen monitor.

Kara watched as Eve walked backwards before finally turning around and closing the door behind her. She almost wanted to run after Eve. Instead, she stood there, not really knowing what to do.

“Please, Miss Danvers, take a seat anywhere, I’ll be with you in a second.” the voice behind the monitor said. Kara noted the delicious alto voice, memorized it, entrenched it in the very fiber of her being…which was such a gay thing to do, if Kara was honest.

See the problem was, Kara had always had a crush on the youngest Luthor. She had never met her personally before but read about her through several scientific journals that her sister Alex would sometimes leave in her apartment.

At first, it fascinated her to read about a Luthor making strides in the healthcare industry with her inventions. The name Luthor did not exactly inspire confidence especially in an industry that is meant to help and heal people. So, she delved deeper. The more that the Luthor family ruined their name, the more that this young Luthor pushed herself to be different and set herself apart. It seemed, at least to Kara, that she did not want to be judged based on her name alone. This, Kara could respect.

There was only one available picture of Lena Luthor anywhere online and it was an old college graduation picture. She was pretty, with piercing jade eyes, a strong, defined jaw, hair darker than night, long neck, and lips that were red and looked so soft.  She was literally like Snow White, except much, much smarter.

It was a downhill trajectory into a full-blown worship of Lena Luthor for Kara from there.

Other than a Twitter account that she only used to share current technological advances and scientific journals, Lena Luthor did not have a social media presence. So of course, Kara followed her on Twitter, earnestly reading everything she shared, and liked ALL of her shared tweets. She justified this by saying that what Lena shared was truly interesting, even though she understood only about 75% of it. She wasn’t exactly dumb, but there were things that Lena shared that just went past Kara’s brain. She liked them anyways.

Kara had also set up her devices so that they would alert her whenever anything new concerning Lena Luthor would come up. When Brainy asked why she was only keeping tabs on Lena specifically, Kara answered that Lena was the only one they could actually track through the internet. Lex and Lillian were much less forthcoming with their plans. This seemed to satisfy Brainy and sent her any and all he could find on Lena Luthor that Kara’s devices missed.

Her sister Alex had nothing to say, except that this was all too gay, even for Kara…and this was coming from Alex, who at the moment she said it, was practically sitting on her wife’s, Maggie, lap. So, it cut a little deeper than it should.

When Lex Luthor was finally confirmed to be well and truly dead, and with her mother Lillian Luthor locked forever in maximum security, Lena Luthor, the one who was quietly trying to make the world a better place, was suddenly thrust into the limelight. Overnight, she went from some major nerd that nobody, except Kara, cared about to the CEO of Luthor Corp.

And because Kara Zor-El had phenomenal luck, or not depending on how you look at it, Lena Luthor decided she wanted to start fresh with the Luthor family name and move their base of operation to National City, rename the family business into L-Corp., and turn it into a force for good. She had declined all interviews so far and had released a short press statement saying that she would be focusing on re-organizing her family’s company and making it stand for something better.

And because Kara Zor-El really had phenomenal luck, or not, again depending on how you look at it, her new boss, Andrea Rojas, decided that Kara’s Pulitzer-winning ass was good enough for some gossip column and that they should get whatever 411 they could get on this new Luthor. So, Kara did the thing she knew would get her rejected outright. She called L-Corp. and asked for a meeting.

At this point, you might have guessed what happened. Because really, depending on how you look at it, Kara Zor-El was either the luckiest woman in the world, or some luck villain just wanted her to suffer. Somehow, Lena Luthor agreed to meet her.

And that was how she found herself, with none of the confidence of Supergirl, and none of the charm of human Kara Danvers, sitting awkwardly in the all-white office of Lena Luthor: Genius, Prettiest Woman in the World, and L-Corp. CEO.

“Sorry for making you wait, Miss Danvers.” the voice behind the monitor had stood up and Kara Danvers suddenly lost all the words…just all of it, including Kryptonian words.

She had known Lena Luthor was pretty. For Rao’s sakes, Kara has had a crush on her for nearly 2 years now. But up-close, she was even more beautiful. There was something about the way the sun had just hit her that changed her jade eyes to something like seafoam green, it highlighted her strong jaw, and made her look fiercer. All Kara managed to do was nod.

“Would it be okay if we have this interview over lunch? There’s something I need to look over in the afternoon and it threw my whole schedule off.”

…is what Lena actually said.

But Kara, being a gay mess whose Kryptonian brain could not cope with the very human condition of being a useless gay, only heard one word: “Lunch?”

Which would explain why her only answer was a too-enthusiastic “Yes!”.

It would also explain why she suddenly found herself in Lena Luthor’s limousine, being driven to a restaurant Kara would never have even thought of setting foot in, and very much aware of how close Lena Luthor was.

“I prefer having my lunch here or at the office.” Lena was saying at they sat down and received the menu from the waiter.

Kara looked around. There was barely anyone in the restaurant. It was all shiny wood, Italian lighting, and some vague classical piano wafting in the background.

“This seems like a pretty private restaurant.” Kara replied, forcing out her words, her heart beating so rapidly against her chest, she swore Lena Luthor could hear them.

“It is, especially at this hour. It gets crowded during the evenings though.”

Kara didn’t know what to say so she rummaged for her recorder and her pen and pad to keep herself from saying something stupid. She was at least professional enough to list down everything she wanted to ask, and everything her boss wanted to know. Those were two very separate things.

“We can order first, and then we can do the interview while we wait for the food and while we eat.”

Kara nodded and stared at the menu. They were at least in English and they at least had descriptions of the food, but they lacked prices and Kara lacked the capability of pronouncing most of them. So, she settled for the easiest and most familiar.

“I’ll have the cheeseburger, medium rare, with extra bacon, fries and onion rings on the side, if you have them, and a large soda.” Kara said, hoping to Rao it wasn’t so expensive. She could probably charge it to CatCo., but it seemed like an abuse of company funds for her to order so much.

“Impressive.” Lena said, smiling at Kara. Kara nearly died of course, but this near death, she would happily admit to. “I will have the Seared Tuna Niçoise and a glass of Cheval Blanc please.”

The waiter bowed out and left Kara with a case of sudden onset gay panic. But she held on to her notes, and at least that gave her comfort enough to calm down and be a professional.

“Uhmm. Shall we start, Miss Luthor?” Kara asked, not really looking at the other girl.

“Fire away, Miss Danvers.”

“Please, just Kara.”

“If that’s the case, then it’s just Lena for you.”

Kara smiled weakly, but she was at least getting her bearings now. She turned her recorder on and placed it on the table where Lena could see. Lena only looked at the device curiously but said nothing.

“First of all, thank you for this honor. I know you’re a private person so we’ll try and keep as much of your private life separate.” Kara said, quite impressed with herself that she was able to string together words with coherence.

“The honor is all mine. I read your article about my brother and it was as honest as it was ever going to get without showing bias.” Lena answered, her eyes trained on Kara’s.

“Is that why you agreed to do this interview?”

“Yes and no. I agreed to do this interview because frankly I was getting tired of being asked for one. I have more than enough on my plate now, what with running L-Corp. and continuing some of my projects at the R&D division. At the same time, though, I recognize the need for a good write up and who better to do it with me than National City’s own, Kara Danvers.”

“So why National City? You could have set up shop anywhere else.”

“Two reasons: One, there is already a Luthor Corp building here and it is almost as well equipped as the one in Metropolis with the bonus that it is as far away from Metropolis as I could manage, without sacrificing efficiency in running a Fortune 500 company. Two, because I thought it would be good for everyone to see a Luthor sharing her home with a Kryptonian. Change the current narrative, as it were.”

“Aren’t you concerned that some people might think that this is just another Luthor ploy against a Kryptonian?” She knew the question was a bit out of line, but it was one of the things she was curious about. Lena had never shown, as far as Kara knew, any inclination to join her family’s campaign against Kryptonians and all aliens, but not everyone knew that.

“I am expecting that kind of mindset, of course. But I also hope that people will judge me on my merits, and not because of my last name. It would also be a perfect opportunity to at least right some of the wrongs my brother has done. I am aware I will never fully be able to make up for all of his cruelty and malice, but if I can show the world that there is one Luthor left who is willing to do what is right and exist peacefully, maybe even work, with a Kryptonian, then it’s all worth it, I think.”

Kara had more questions…but they were all about quantum entanglements, polyatomic anions, and all the other things Lena has written about or was working on at the moment, and she wasn’t quite sure if the readers of CatCo magazine, let alone Andrea Rojas, would be interested in those. So she apologized and told Lena the truth about why she was sent there.

“Listen, you can write whatever you think is best, as long as it doesn’t really border on offensive. I don’t mind people having the wrong assumptions about me. It doesn’t really bother me one bit.” Lena assured her with a warm smile.

If it was even at all possible, Kara just became a bigger Lena stan.

And when all the dumb questions were thankfully over with (What is your morning routine? Coffee and emails. Night routine? Scotch and an unhealthy amount of True Crime Documentaries. How often do you go to the gym? Does once a year count? No don’t write that. That’s not responsible. Maybe say I go as often as I can spare the time? But less lame than that. How do you maintain your beautiful figure? Insane amounts of coffee, forgetting to eat on time, getting even less sleep than food, and of course, stress. So I guess you can write balanced work-life ethics and a healthy diet? How do you keep your skin looking so soft and smooth? Genetics. And moisturizers, I guess.), they still had enough time to enjoy their meals and talk freely.

Kara turned the recorder off as soon as she had crossed off the last dumb question she was relegated to ask and threw it inside her bag with disdain. It wasn’t that she thought her talents were far above writing fluff pieces…and to be fair fluff pieces were Kara’s favorite thing to write, if only because they were almost always hopeful and there was a deeper, more beautiful story each time.

But this was Lena Luthor, and after all that she has been through, and after all that she has done, she deserved more than a gossip column. But she knew it was out of her hands, so she resolved to write as beautifully as she can in order to at least be respectful of the youngest Luthor.

“I take it you don’t really like working for Andrea?” Lena asked, after she must have noticed Kara’s slight tantrum.

“It’s not that—” Kara tried to hide the frustration in her voice. “—it’s just that I don’t like the direction CatCo. is heading under her. It is undermining everything that Ms. Grant has done for the company.”

“Ah yeah, I did read somewhere that you were her secretary before?”

“You researched me?” Kara asked, suddenly uncomfortable. Kara tried to remember everything she’s ever posted online. She was sure there were one or two embarrassing things but she was also sure she had never posted anything about Lena.

“Of course, I did. I was not about to spend my lunch with someone I knew nothing about. So I did a quick search of you.”

“All good, I hope?” Kara felt like a balloon was stuck in her throat and she suddenly couldn’t swallow.

Lena smiled. Lena was smiling at Kara. Lena was smiling at Kara and looking directly at Kara’s eyes. “We wouldn’t be sitting here if I didn’t like what I saw, Kara.”

“Are you kidding me?” Alex exclaimed as they sat together at Kara’s for dinner.

Kara had just recounted her deeds of the day and was telling Alex about her lunch with Lena.

“What did I do now?” Kara asked, stuffing two potstickers in her mouth.

“You spent all morning having a mild stroke, a panic attack, and near coma just stressing about what you’re going to wear to look good for your interview with Luthor. Then you had another round of mild stroke, panic attack, and near coma when you were actually in front of her, and when she came on to you, you….did nothing!?” Alex looked exasperated but from what, Kara really couldn’t understand.

“What are you talking about? She didn’t come on to me. We had a nice lunch. She was polite and funny and gracious, and she even insisted on paying for everything…maybe because she saw how I almost had a heart attack when I learned how much the cheeseburger was.”

“Kara.”

“Alex.”

“You cannot be this smart and be this dumb at the same time. You understand her papers on complex physics but completely miss when the girl is openly flirting with you.” Alex rolled her eyes so hard, Kara was afraid they would pop off.

“Again, please tell me how and when she came on to me, because she didn’t.” Kara challenged, the potstickers completely gone now, the chow mein in danger of being extinct as well.

“She literally told you she googled you and that she wasn’t going to give you an interview if she didn’t like what she saw. That’s about as gay as they come. That’s even gayer than I am, Kara. Think about that.” Alex said, unable to actually eat her noodles out of frustration.

“Yeah she saw my articles, so of course she wanted me to interview her. If she didn’t like my writing, she wouldn’t have responded to my request.”

“That’s it, I’m taking you to court.” Alex said, whipping out her phone.

Kara’s phone started buzzing and she had a sinking feeling she knew what was coming next.

A.Danvers
Hello my fellow gays.

K.Danvers
Alex, this is lame. Let us at least change our names!

M.Sawyer
What’s happening?

N.Nahl
Oh before that, you guys should have seen Kara’s face when she came back at the office.

K.Danvers
Shut up, Nahl.

M.Sawyer
Rude, Little Danvers. Go on, Nia, embarrass Kara even more.

N.Nahl
I caught her hovering in the elevator, her eyes were a million miles away. Had to ask Brainy to delete the elevator footage.

K.Danvers
That’s not true.

N.Nahl
Oh I got receipts, boss. Brainy may have deleted them in your server, but we kept a copy in case you deny it.

M.Sawyer
Damn, Nahl. That’s hot.

W.Schott Jr.
Wait, why am I here?

M.Sawyer
God. Are we going to go through this again Winn? You’re gay.

A.Danvers
Kara, you’re a hopeless gay. And so is Winn.
Anyways, settle a debate between me and Kara.

K.Danvers
I move to change my name to Gaylien. You know cause

M.Sawyer
You’re lame?

N.Nahl
siubdfisjef

A.Danvers
Come on. Focus, gays.

M.Sawyer
So let us have it then.

K.Danvers
Ugh

A.Danvers
Without context, is it considered flirting if a girl you’re having lunch with and who just admitted she googled you tells you this:
“We wouldn’t be sitting here if I didn’t like what I saw.”

M.Sawyer
Hella gay and yes.

N.Nahl
I agree.

W.Schott Jr.
I’m not actually gay, but yes. That is flirting, and very gay

K.Danvers
You’re gay, Winn.

A.Danvers
I rest my case, Kar.
This court is adjourned.
And Winn, you’re gay.

Kara put her phone down and sighed.

“So what if she was flirting with me, Alex? She’s probably just playing around. And it doesn’t matter anyway because I’m not going see her again. It was a one-time interview for a fluff piece for Andrea.”

“Look, you’re my little sister and I love you. I know how confusing all of this is. But you’ve got to give yourself a chance, Kar. Why are you even stopping yourself from considering the possibility that someone might actually like you back?” Kara noted the change in tone in Alex’s voice. This was her ‘older-sister benign’ voice. Which meant she was serious…

“Because I’m scared, Alex.” Kara sighed. “I would rather face all the prisoners at Fort Rozz all at the same time, and deal with boring human problems than face the very real threat of my heart getting broken again. Plus, she’s human. She’s fragile and easily breakable. What if I hurt her?”

“I’m hearing negatives, Kar. You haven’t even given a thought to how maybe this will make you happy. You’re focusing on all the things that can go wrong.”

“Murphy’s law.”

There was a groan that Kara couldn’t tell if it meant Alex was frustrated or in pain.

“Do you know what Murphy’s Law really states?”

“Everything that can go wrong will go wrong?”

“No…that’s the popular version. But the actual quote is ‘If there’s more than one way to do a job, and one of those will result in disaster, then somebody will do it that way.’ It doesn’t guarantee that everything that can go wrong will go wrong. It just states that one idiot will almost certainly do a job in the worst way possible. And you, Kara Danvers, are not an idiot.”

So Kara Zor-El, being a coward, resolved to fix her problems with a two pronged approach: Be Supergirl and Kara Danvers.

She completely missed the part where Alex said that one idiot will do a job the worst way possible. She’s that idiot.

It wasn’t that Supergirl wished someone would hurt Lena Luthor. But come on, she had been in National City for close to a month now and no one, absolutely no one, had even attempted to kill her.

Sure, there were a lot of nasty comments left on her article about Lena when they released it online. Most were doubtful, but at least some were giving her a chance. There were several death threats, but they were mostly harmless kids in basements.

The best part was the handwritten thank you note complimenting Kara’s gift with words, and an open invitation to dinner that she received from Lena the day after the article was released. She hasn’t responded, because she was a coward. But a quick look at her desk and you will most certainly find Lena’s note, lovingly encased in glass, displayed prominently.

L-Corp was doing well and recovering every day, and despite the rocky start in National City, people were starting to forget about Lena, which was a good thing, all things considered. But this was a major dent in Kara’s plan. She was hoping to use Supergirl to spend more time with the CEO but since she had been relatively safe, there was no plausible reason for Supergirl to introduce herself. And because Lena wasn’t really doing anything ‘clickbaity’ there was also no reason for reporter Kara Danvers to get another interview.

So, Kara Zor-El, a coward, resorted to hanging out at the top of the building next to L-Corp, where she had a perfect view of Lena. It felt so stalker-ish, and frankly was reeking of longing and despair. But this was as close as she was going to get. Besides, she reasoned, the building was tall enough for her to watch over the city too.

She had also memorized Lena’s heartbeat, committed to memory its cadence. In the evening, when Kara was having a particularly difficult time zoning out all the noise of National City, she actively searched for Lena’s heartbeat, half a city away. It calmed her down, drowning the world’s noise away so Kara could finally fall asleep. Soon, it became her lullaby. Even Alex could tell, Kara was sleeping better.

This would go on for a few more weeks.

Not the part where she listens to Lena’s heartbeat.

No.

That she will do all the days of her life.

Lena Luthor has always been a consummate professional, which, if you can believe it, went hand in hand with her almost obsessive need to be left alone. Except that she will never, ever, admit that she also craved attention, but a specific kind.

See, Lena was mostly ignored at home when she was perfect, and the target of her mother’s ire and her brother’s bullying when she was anything less than that. She had soon learned that when her work was infallible, and so long as it made bank, her family was less terrible in that they didn’t pay her any attention at all.

Did she crave her family’s acceptance? She did. She still sometimes does, to be honest. But eventually, she realized that their acceptance and approval meant very little in the real world. She was at least self-aware that she had issues that needed to be dealt with…eventually. But her work became the center of her universe so that whatever issues she had, she placed them on separate boxes and buried those boxes so deep even she had forgotten them.

But they were there.

And they would rear their ugly heads at the most inopportune moments…like when she actually needed to be emotionally stable. Her inventions, on the other hand, were reliable and consistent, unlike everyone else.

Unlike her.

When her brother’s reign of terror finally ended, and with her mother in jail, Lena felt like she could breath a little easier for the first time. But then, even in death and/or in prison, her family still had a way of tormenting her. This time by saddling her with the family business. It wasn’t that Lena was not equipped to run it. She was, more so than most. It was a question of whether she wanted to run it or not. Then again, it wasn’t like she had a choice in the matter. But there was one other thing that she was thinking about.

She was curious as to who was it exactly that brought about her brother’s demise.

Superman had been trying to bring down her brother for so long that she was somewhat surprised when she learned that it was the journalistic efforts of one Kara Danvers, and the strength and courage of Supergirl that finally brought her brother down. The more she read about the duo, the more she began to think that maybe it was a sign, that maybe National City was the perfect place for a wayward Luthor to start again. Besides, there was already a Luthor Corp set up in there. She just needed some minor renovations and she could get settled in a month or two.

She left Metropolis and vowed to keep her head down and raise L-Corp. as a force for good.

And she did just that, except that people kept wanting to talk to her. Kept wanting to know mundane things about her. She just wanted to be left alone.

“There’s not a single day that I don’t receive these requests for interviews. It is driving me nuts, Sam.” she had complained to her CFO, Sam Arias, whom she left in charge of L-Corp., Metropolis.

“Maybe agree to just one and pepper it with side comments about how you’re a very private person, and that your time is better spent working on life-saving devices and running a multi-billion company.” Sam suggested.

It wasn’t a bad idea, Lena thought. So, she did just that. But if she was going to do it, she was going to do it right. And she knew just the person she wanted to do it with.

Kara Danvers.

By whatever luck she had, she was surprised to find out, through her assistant, that Kara Danvers, had in fact reached out and asked for an interview. They set it up and Lena Luthor nearly forgot about it.

The prototype for the image inducer she was working on was malfunctioning. One of her engineers was out due to a family emergency and wouldn’t be able to come back until late in the afternoon. There was no sense in rushing it, but she did spend her morning re-writing the prototype’s codes, making it more efficient and running on less drives. When Kara Danvers arrived, she was nose-deep in thousands of lines of codes that she thought of cancelling the interview altogether.

It was a good thing then that Kara Danvers decided to come in wearing a sleeveless, deep blue, form hugging dress, cut just above the knee. It highlighted her bright sapphire eyes, hidden behind adorably dorky glasses. Her hair was tied into a messy bun and a few strands fell on her perfectly sculpted face. She wanted so badly to reach out and tuck them behind Kara’s ears.

Lena could swear she had never seen anything more beautiful than Kara.

Her reverie was broken when something rumbled beneath her. She thought of her morning, her lack of sleep and breakfast. She thought of her coming hours and decided that perhaps an interview over lunch would kill two birds with one stone. Kara agreed.

And so the lunch/ interview happened and Lena was pleasantly surprised that Kara knew a lot about her work. She could at least follow along when they talked about Lex’s transmat portals and how she was thinking of converting it to something the UN could use for logistics. They touched on quantum physics, a little bit of bioengineering, and even a little bit about codes. If Kara couldn’t follow along, she was not afraid to admit it, and asked clarifying questions. But it was all off the record, clarifying that she was asking out of pure curiosity. What she needed for her article, she already got before they even started eating.

Kara was honest, adorable, and had an interestingly large appetite for someone so fit. It didn’t hurt that every time she smiled, she lit up the entire room.

When Lena went back to her office, she knew something had changed inside her. But she couldn’t quite place her finger on it just yet.

It would come to her the morning Kara’s article was released.

She had received quite a number of commendations in her life. Words have been written about her, praising her genius, her tireless work in pursuit of knowledge, her diligent studies that could very well one day save humanity from itself. She never really listened to those. If they knew the demons that drove her to perfection, they wouldn’t even think about writing those words. Her ideals weren’t so high. She wasn’t selfless. She just wanted to be left alone.

But what Kara Danvers wrote was honest.

It painted her as an overworked, hyper focused executive who was quite honestly more suited for the lab but was doing her best to change the narrative about her company and her name. She wrote down her quirks and told the world that Lena Luthor was normal, except for her love of Kale. She had a less than ideal upbringing, an infamous family, and a multi-billion-dollar company riding on her back. She was flawed, completely human, but struggled to be better than who she thought she was.

It was as if Kara Danvers saw through her disguise.

This…this was the attention Lena Luthor craved. The kind that saw her, sans all the achievements and the money and the unfortunate family connection. Just her.

So she did something she had never done before. She hand wrote a thank-you note. And as an afterthought, included an open invitation to dinner, redeemable whenever Kara Danvers wasn’t busy being an awesome reporter.

As soon as the messenger took the note, Lena began questioning whether it was too straightforward. Perhaps an e-mail would have sufficed? And what was that deal with the invitation to dinner? Why did she add that?

The rest of the day, all she could think about was how miscalculated that note was. It was a mistake and Lena knew it. She knew it the moment it left her hands. But she couldn’t take it back. She wanted Kara to have it, no matter how bad it was…and that was just as annoying as making a mistake in the first place. All day, she kept hoping she would hear back from Kara, but her e-mails remained stubbornly Kara-free. They were filled with other things, but nothing from Kara.

Over the next few weeks, she suffered from an aching need to call Kara Danvers. She was even considering buying CatCo., if it meant ridding Kara of her problematic boss and having an excuse to just be around Kara’s orbit. But that was excessive and insane. She also knew next to nothing about running a multimedia company. It was irresponsible and illogical and the more her brain rejected it, the more she wanted to do it. So she called Sam.

“Why CatCo?” Sam asked.

“It seems like a good investment.” Lena answered less than truthfully. She hated lying to Sam, but she didn’t even know how to explain to herself what was happening.

“You need someone to run it. You know anyone?”

“Well there’s always Cat Grant.”

“No. She’s put her shares in a blind trust cause she’s working for the government…and actually doing well there. I doubt she’d want back in.”

“Then I guess I’ll hold off. And Andrea Rojas seems to be doing well in terms of subscriptions. Their stocks are on the rise, but you’re right, it’s trash most of the time. I think only a handful of reporters actually work on newsworthy stuff.”

“Yeah, their only redeeming quality is that Kara Danvers is still working there for some reason. I read her article about you, by the way. I’ve never read anyone take you down so gently.”

Lena laughed. “It was quite refreshing, actually. And perhaps more sincere than most.”

“She made you seem—human.”

“Are you saying I’m not?”

“Lena, with your hours? I’m starting to think you don’t actually sleep.”

They both laughed. Which reminded Lena…

“Sam? Can I ask you something personal?”

There was an awkward silence on the line when Lena thought she had lost Sam.

“Sam?”

“Yes. Sorry, Lena. I just…you sound…scared? Are you okay?”

Lena sighed. If there was a god, he had at least some mercy on Lena to send her a friend like Sam.

“I’m okay. I’m just…uncertain.”

“If moving to National City was the right thing to do? I thought we had gone over this. We even had a legal pads and pros and cons lists.”

“No, it’s not that. I know moving here is the right thing to do. Have you ever known me to do something I’m not one hundred percent sure of?”

“No. That’s why I’m worried about how you sound.”

“Well, now I’m not sure how to explain this but…”

And Lena did explain, with as little feelings involved. She tried to be clinical about it. She talked about the lunch, and what she thought about the article, and the thank-you note that had seemingly been ignored.

“Lena Kieran Luthor, are you serious right now?” Sam sounded like she was suddenly giddy, as if sometime while Lena was explaining, someone shot her with adrenaline.

“First off, what’s with the full name? And second, yes I am.” Lena replied, frustration seeping in to her voice. She knew Sam must have heard it because her CFO’s voice changed into something almost maternal.

“When was the last time you felt like this?”

Lena paused. But the answer came fast and unbidden… “Never.”

“Okay…do you remember when you were the head of R&D?”

“How could I forget? It was the first time I felt like I was truly in my element.”

“And do you remember what you said to me when you first met Jack?”

“I have an eidetic memory. Stop asking me if I remember things.” Lena rolled her eyes, certain that Sam, even though she was on the other end of the country, could see it.

“Humor me.” Sam insisted. “What did you say?”

“I told you he seems interesting and that he would be a great partner.”

“And you tried, Lena. You saw him as a potential partner, and you tried. But deep down, did you ever truly love him?”

“Are you saying I didn’t love Jack?” Lena was even more confused now. She had no idea where Sam was going with this and no idea why Sam was even bringing Jack up.

“You went through the motions with Jack. You tried to be the good girlfriend even though at your core, you only ever wanted to be in the lab. And you were a good girlfriend. You never forgot his birthday and your anniversary. You scheduled dates because you were both busy. I even saw you reading books on relationship. You worked for that relationship and it was good while it lasted. But deep down, what you felt for him was nothing more than Lena Luthor working hard to be perfect.”

“I don’t see how that’s relevant to what we’re talking about.”

“In your own small way, you did love him. But as I said, you worked on that relationship as if it was another one of your projects. You were dedicated and perfect and when it was time to go, you left it. But now, here comes Kara Danvers…and you were willing to make a mistake for her. You knew sending that note was a mistake, you could have stopped the messenger from leaving. Why didn’t you?”

“…I don’t know.”

“You had a disaster in your office that could not wait. You were considering cancelling the interview all together but the moment you see her, you suddenly had a flexible hour for lunch. Why?”

Lena didn’t have an answer for that one either.

“And now, weeks after that thank-you note, you’re still so afraid to just call her, so afraid to make a mistake or get rejected, but you did consider it, didn’t you? And that’s why you’re talking to me instead.”

“What should I do, Sam?”

“Make mistakes, Lena. Stop being perfect and allow yourself to want things…to want her. If she’s not interested, then fine. But now that you’re out of your family’s shadow, stop being perfect and be Lena Kieran Luthor instead. And going by how Kara Danvers describes her, she sounds much more awesome.”

Kara had never been so busy in her life.

Somehow, she had managed to piss Andrea off that she had assigned a ton of copy-editing work on her pile on top of the article she was supposed to hand in today. Nia, Brainy and J’onn had gladly volunteered to take over watching National City for the day so Supergirl didn’t have to rush out and Kara could focus at work.

“I don’t understand what’s so hard about remembering to vet sources—Nia?” Kara was complaining before she registered the look of utter shock and then the sudden shift to amusement on Nia’s face.

She was vaguely aware of all the slight gasps and the soft whispers around her before she heard two very distinct sounds: a familiar heartbeat and a delicious alto timbre.

“Kara?”

Kara turned around to find Lena walking towards her. Time slowed down as Kara took all of Lena in: the brown coat hiding what was an obviously expensive dress, the severe bun that only served to clear her face of anything distracting Kara from the bright jade eyes that shifted in tone depending on where the light was touching her, and that smile…Rao, that smile.

It had been so long since she had seen Lena up close that she seemed to have forgotten the effect Lena had on her. But her brain was remembering it all now and it was grinding to a halt.

“Lena! Surprise visit to CatCo?” She managed to say without stammering.

She looked around. Everyone in the office, including Andrea, was looking at them and Lena was unbelievably oblivious to all of it.

“No—uhmm. I’m here to see you, actually.” Lena replied with a shy smile.

“You are?” Kara tried to suppress the happiness in her voice. She’s here to see me!

“L-Corp is hosting a party this weekend. It’s a much-needed gala fundraiser for the children’s hospital. They need the funds to update their machines and equipment…and I was hoping you’d come as my plus one.”

“Uhhh…” Kara was speechless. Her brain was still trying to cope with the fact that Lena Luthor was standing right in front of her.

“You are literally the closest person I have to a friend in National City, which is a sad commentary in and of itself. Most people wouldn’t touch a Luthor with a ten-foot pole but—“ Lena did something then that made Kara’s heart stop. She bit her lower lip, looked down, then looked straight into Kara’s eyes. “—it would mean a lot to me if you were there with me.”

“Of course, I’ll come. I’m honored.” Kara managed to say, and she meant every word of it.

Something lit up behind Lena’s eyes and she wanted to ask—

“I love parties!” Nia exclaimed from behind Kara. “Could I come too?”

“No.” Kara said, curtly, throwing Nia a warning look, then turning to Lena, pleading.

“Of course, your friend can come.” Lena turned to Nia “What’s your name?”

“Nia Nahl, I’m one of the junior reporters.” Nia answered, extending her hand towards Lena. Kara almost laughed at the look Lena gave Nia’s extended hand. Instead of taking Nia’s hand, Lena subconsciously folded her hands in front of her but kept her warm smile trained at Nia.

“Well, Nia Nahl, find yourself a nice dress and I’ll see you there too.”

M.Sawyer
Of course we can change the group chat name, but not our own name. This is still lame, @A.Danvers.
What’s up, @N.Nahl?

K.Danvers
Rao, Nia, if you say anything, I’m throwing you into the sun.

N.Nahl
You won’t, boss. Besides, you need help, and they need the gossip.

W.Schott Jr.
This should be good.

A.Danvers
What did Kara NOT do now?

N.Nahl
You know how Kara’s been a lovesick puppy for the past few weeks?

A.Danvers
It’s been terrible.

M.Sawyer
The worst.

W.Schott Jr.
I think one of the aliens she sent to the DEO last week begged to be apprehended rather than spend one more minute listening to Supergirl pining.

K.Danvers
That never happened, Winn.

M.Sawyer
I dunno. Seems plausible.

N.Nahl
Anyways, so, I think we might be coming to the end of it all, or it’s about to get worse, depending on how Kara plays this.

A.Danvers
Okay, enough with the suspense Nia.

N.Nahl
Right. Guess who just walked in to CatCo. and asked Kara out as her plus one to a high-profile party?

A.Danvers
High profile party?

N.Nahl
The exact words used were ‘gala’ and ‘fundraiser’.

M.Sawyer
Fancy…

N.Nahl
Kara was just called in to Andrea’s office so now I can continue my story.

M.Sawyer
Oooooh. Kara’s in trouble.

A.Danvers
Tell me it was Lena Luthor, please.

N.Nahl
YES IT WAS!!

W.Schott Jr.
Hold up. THE Lena Luthor?

M.Sawyer
Damn. Little Luthor’s got balls. Pity Kara doesn’t.

N.Nahl
You guys should have seen Kara’s face. It was as if Lena Luthor had hung the stars for her.

A.Danvers
And Kara said ‘yes’, right?

N.Nahl
Barely, but yes.

A.Danvers
Okay…okay we can work with that.

M.Sawyer
Way to go, Little Danvers!!! When’s the wedding—I mean the gala?

N.Nahl
This weekend. And guess who scored tickets to watch the courtside events to the Super/Luthor wedding gala?

W.Schott Jr.
You are not about to tell us you also got an invite.

N.Nahl
Okay, I won’t.
But I totally got an invite. And now we need to find Kara the most drop dead gorgeous dress in less than 48 hours.

W.Schott Jr.
Damn. I’m just a little bit jealous.

K.Danvers
Back. LOL Andrea is mad. Anyways, @A.Danvers, I really can’t be Supergirl today. I just got a whole new stack of work to do, thanks to Lena.

N.Nahl
She says with a gentle smile on her face.

K.Danvers
Shut up, Nia.

A.Danvers
Sorry. Just had to deal with something too. No worries, Kar. We got it. Also, Mags says we’ll go dress shopping tonight after work.

N.Nahl
I’m in!

K.Danvers
Uhmm. Actually…I can’t.

M.Sawyer
Okay, back. Wait, why not?

K.Danvers
Something about needing to finish this pile today.
[mybosssucks.jpg]

W.Schott Jr.
RIP

Kara did eventually finish her pile that evening, Lena’s distant heartbeat her only remaining companion as one by one the rest of the people at work left. She noticed Lena’s slightly elevated heartbeat, but not so elevated as to cause concern. And it was the same rhythm she fell asleep to when she came home that evening.

The past few hours had been unbearable for Lena.

She was grateful at least that the organizers she hired were organized. Everything about L-Corps’ event was coming along just fine. There were some minor hiccups (like Lena’s last second demand about having potstickers at her party, remembering that Kara had mentioned how much she loved them) but nothing that couldn’t be fixed in time.

Except for one detail: Kara Danvers.

“Lena. I love you. You’re a great boss and a wonderful friend…but it’s two in the morning.” Sam’s voice murmured, half-asleep, on the other line.

“I’m sorry, Sam. I just need your advice on something. It’s about Kara.” Lena said, not really aware of the time.

“Okay. I’m up. This better be good.” It amused Lena how Sam could come fully alert at the mention of Kara’s name.

“Well, I went to her office this morning and asked her to come to the gala with me as my plus one and she said she’ll come, but I haven’t heard from her since. It feels like I’m the only one looking forward to it.”

“Nope. I know you, Luthor. Details. Use your brain and tell me exactly everything you said.” Lena could almost hear Sam shake her head on the other line. So she repeated everything she said and everything Kara said, line per line…including the part about her co-worker Nia Nahl.

“Oh my god, Lena Kieran Luthor…” the frustration in Sam’s voice was so thick, it couldn’t have been mistaken for anything else.

“Really? Again with my full name?” Lena deadpanned.

“First you call her ‘close to a friend’ then you invite her as your ‘plus one’. Nowhere in that brief conversation did you even specify that it was a date.” Sam said, ignoring Lena’s retort.

“Isn’t a ‘plus one’ a date?” Lena asked.

“Oh you sweet summer child. How about I invite you to my Aunt Aida’s fourth wedding next month and put you down as my ‘plus one’? Does that mean you’re my date then?”

“I suppose not…” Lena said, clarity coming down on her, albeit slowly.

“Listen, I’ll give you points for being so ballsy and walking into her office to ask her out. But seeing as you didn’t actually clarify that you wanted her to be your date, don’t expect too much. Besides, you still don’t even know if she likes you like that, much less if she plays for our team.”

“Point,” Lena surrendered. “So, you’re saying I should calm down and assess the situation as they come this Saturday, see if there are signs that she is interested in me, right?”

“Exactly. Stop thinking too much about it and let your CFO have her beauty rest.”

“You’re the best, Sam.”

“I know, Lena.”

Kara did eventually call Lena the next day, much to Lena’s relief, although she missed the call. She had been in a meeting, and when she walked past her assistant’s desk, Eve informed her that Kara Danvers called and—

But Eve never got to finish what she was going to say because as soon as she mentioned Kara Danvers had called, Lena cut her off and demanded that she not be disturbed for the next hour.

As soon as she sat down on her throne, amongst the muted colors of her office, Lena picked up her landline and called Kara’s direct line at CatCo.

“Kara Danvers.” Kara’s clear, cheery voice said on the other line. Lena noted a little bit of strain, something she was quite familiar with. She had been overworking, it seems.

“Hi Kara, it’s Lena. Sorry I missed your call.” Lena said, trying to match Kara’s cheerfulness with her own.

“Hi! It’s no problem at all. I was just wondering if I should pick you up or if we’re going to meet there or…” Kara was rambling and it was adorable. Lena never much cared for people who rambled too much instead of getting straight to the point. But Kara was an exception.

Kara seemed to be Lena’s exception to everything.

“Why don’t I pick you up at your place? Say 7pm?” Lena offered, suddenly aware of how risky this offer was. What if Kara really thought this was just a friendly invite? Wouldn’t offering to pick someone up be construed as a romantic gesture? But…wasn’t that what she really wanted? To clarify that this was, in fact, a date?

“That would be great” Kara replied, and then added hesitantly, “Uhmm. I kind of need your number so I can give you my address.”

“Kara Danvers, has this been all a ploy for you to get my number?” Lena teased, suddenly feeling bold. This was what Sam said…make mistakes, go after what she wanted.

Lena heard Kara laugh on the other line. It wasn’t the first time she heard it. Kara just really seemed to like laughing. She laughed at all of Lena’s lame attempts at humor when they had lunch. And it was always something so fresh and bright. It sounded like home…a home Lena never had and never knew she wanted.

“Yeah…you caught me. And here I thought I was being extra sneaky about that. You have foiled my plans.” Kara said, her voice betraying the smile Lena was sure she was wearing.

“You forget that I come from a family whose main business is supervillainy.” Lena teased.

“Oh that’s right. I forgot your last name was Lannister. Lena Lannister, right?”

“Who?”

Lena swore she heard Kara gasp on the other line.

“Please tell me you have heard of Game of Thrones.”

“I have heard of it. I’ve never really found time to read the books.” Lena answered, not really knowing where this conversation was going, but she liked the banter. And it gave her an excuse to talk to Kara. Any excuse to talk to Kara…

“R—Read it? It’s been adapted into a TV show.” Was that amusement or disbelief she heard in Kara’s voice?

“Sorry…I’ve been living in a lab or in the office…basically under a rock.”

“No. That’s not good. And as your friend, I’m going to change that. So, get your butt ready, because it is going to spend a lot of time on my couch and we are going to marathon every essential piece of pop culture you have missed over the last century.”

Friend… Somehow that hit Lena in a way she never expected.

“That—that sounds like a great idea.”

“Well, I have been known to have some great ideas sometimes.” Kara chuckled, then cleared her throat. “So, I really am going to need your number, Miss Lannister.”

“Okay, you know what. I’m not even going to Google that. I trust that that name is an excellent villain worthy of my name.”

“Not to spoil too much, but yes, the Lannisters do put your name to shame.”

Lena laughed. She wanted to know, but she thought it would be a more pleasant time if she learned exactly how evil the Lannisters were in the comfort of Kara’s couch, or even better, in the comfort of Kara’s embrace as they sit on her couch.

“I will hold you to that. So, tomorrow 7pm, I’ll pick you up. I’ll be the one in the suit.”

Again, there was that gasp on the other line.

“W—wait. Y—you’re wearing a suit?”

“Yes. A rather expensive bespoke suit. Why?” Lena asked, suddenly worried if she had made the wrong choice. The suit was perfect for the gala. She knew she would have to be mobile and in something she would be comfortable wearing all night. Besides, it went with a rather delicious looking pair of pumps she had been dying to wear.

“Well, I bought a dress. If I had known you were going for a suit, I would’ve gone for a suit too.” Kara sounded worried all of a sudden.

“Then we’d be the dorks who came in matching suits. That’s not a bad idea, honestly. But, seeing as this is our first date, maybe you going out on a dress and me on a suit isn’t such a bad thing.” There. She said it. Lena finally said the word ‘date’…and suddenly she was worried too…

“Uhmm. Yeah. You know what? That makes sense. Please tell me you’re wearing one of those dark suits, cause the blue dress I’m wearing really looks good on me and I’d hate to rush out and change the color.”  Lena noted that Kara’s voice was lighter now…she also noticed how Kara was much more concerned about color coordinating rather than the fact that Lena just confirmed that it was a date.

“Of course, it’s a dark suit. Black looks good on me. But so does blue…” Lena laughed, hoping Kara gets the clue. She didn’t.

“Well then, Miss Lannister, give me your number and I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow, 7pm. I’ll be the hot one in the blue dress.”

And Lena did finally give her personal number, one that only three people in the world had: Lillian, Eve, and now…Kara Danvers.

K.Danvers
So, gays. Lena just used the word the date. And she’s coming to pick me up at my apartment. And she’s gonna be wearing a suit. I’m legitimately panicking right now.

N.Nahl
Oh so that’s who you were flirting with on the phone.

K.Danvers
I was not flirting. I was having a completely normal conversation.

N.Nahl
[puppykarainlove1.jpg]
[puppykarainlove2.jpg]
Receipts, boss.

M.Sawyer
Wow, you aren’t even a couple and you look so whipped already

A.Danvers
Yeah…that whole ‘twirling the phone cable’ is just screaming power bottom.

M.Sawyer
And that cutesy smile while tucking your hair back…seriously, Little Danvers. You got it bad.

K.Danvers
Okay. But did you all miss the part where I wrote that she called this a date and that she’s coming to pick me up tomorrow…and that she’s wearing a suit?

W.Schott Jr.
Well it is her gala fundraiser. So she needs to move around and be comfortable. A suit is comfortable.

A.Danvers
Also, please don’t say that you did not know this was a date. She literally went to your office, in person, and sent you a Lena Luthor-sized invitation to be her ‘plus one’ in her own gala. That screams date to me.

N.Nahl
[supergirldown.jpg]
I think we just broke Kara.

M.Sawyer
Don’t worry, Little Danvers. We’re gonna make sure Lena’s not gonna be looking at anyone else but you tomorrow evening, or for the rest of her life.

Lena was well aware of her few redeeming qualities. One of those is the fact that Lena Luthor is never late. She had never been late for anything, ever. She would much rather wait for a couple of hours than make people wait for her for one minute.

Which is why she had been standing outside Kara’s apartment door for the last 20 minutes, not quite knowing how to knock or to introduce herself. She could hear people inside, they seemed to be laughing and enjoying themselves. She could hear Kara laughing along with them. She could have knocked and spared herself the pain of standing in ridiculously tall pumps for 20 minutes. But soon enough, 7:00PM came and she knew she had no choice.

She knocked.

Everything went still and silent inside the apartment before she heard two distinct footsteps shuffling toward the door.

“L—Lena…” Kara’s voice said, breathlessly, upon opening the door.

Which really, if Lena thought about it, would make sense given that the light blue dress Kara wore was so tight, Lena wondered for a moment how she could breathe in it. The dress looked simple enough, but elegant. It showed off everything without showing anything. Lena could make out the lines on Kara’s abs, the way the muscles rippled when she breathed. It also had the unfortunate, or fortunate, design of being sleeveless, which showed off Kara’s arms…and for the first time in her life, Lena understood the allure of touching things labelled “Do Not Touch”.

“Hi…” was the only response Lena could form. Her throat was suddenly very dry and while the suit she wore was, in truth, tight, it seemed suddenly tighter around her neck.

“Come on in, please. I’ll introduce you to my friends. I just need to get my shoes and purse then we can go.” Kara said, stepping aside and ushering Lena inside.

Lena heard a collective inhale of breaths.

“Lena, these are my friends. This is Alex—my sister, Maggie—my sister’s wife, you know Nia, and Winn—a friend from work.” Kara said, gesturing from left to right. “Guys, this is Lena Luthor.”

“Hello.” Lena said, nodding politely. She was suddenly conscious of four pairs of eyes looking at her intensely. And while this should never have bothered her, she had an overwhelming need to make the people that matter to Kara like her. So she smiled at them as warmly as she could.

“Nia, will you be joining us?” Lena asked, remembering Nia Nahl, the co-worker she had also invited. Nia was also wearing a simple yellow dress.

“Oh. No. My boyfriend is coming to pick me up in a few minutes. I’ll see you and Kara there later.” Nia replied, as Alex, stood up and approached Lena.

“Hi. I’m Alex.” the taller woman said. Lena thought she was beautiful too, in a supermodel kind of way. Alex was slender and slim and had sharp features and soft brown eyes. It was a delicate balance between severe and gentle. Alex held her hand out and once again, Lena was hesitant, before Kara saved her.

“Alex, I told you she doesn’t do handshakes.” Kara said as she exited what looked like her bedroom / closet.

“Right.” Alex muttered. “Anyway, uhhh. We heard that this was for the children’s hospital and while we can’t really match your donors, we would like to help in our own small way.”

Alex produced a cheque and handed it over to Lena.

“We weren’t sure who to make it out to, so maybe you can just fill in that part later.”

Lena noted the amount on the cheque and was silent. It was generous, to say the least.

“It’s not just from the four of us. We gathered donations from our offices and well, that’s about as much as we can squeeze from them.” Alex said, almost apologetic.

“This is generous. Thank you.” Lena said as she sailed to the nearby dinner table and wrote the appropriate name on the cheque.

“All good?” Kara asked, waiting for her. When Lena looked up, Kara had managed to tie her hair in a neat bun and away from her face. Despite being behind glasses, her blue eyes sparkled and not for the first, or last time that evening, Lena was lost. It was a good thing then that Kara held out her arm—yes those arms that Lena had been dying to touch since she laid eyes on them—for Lena to take.

Of course, she took them without hesitation.

“You kids have fun.” Alex shouted as Kara closed the door behind them, Lena still securely held in her arms.

It was unbearable.

Kara had gone out on dates before and had enjoyed them, for the most part. She had dated men. She had dated women. And again…enjoyed both.

But she had never dated Lena Luthor, which Kara had now come to realize was a level far different from everybody else. For one, Lena Luthor came to pick her up in a suit that should be made illegal. It was custom fit to Lena and made her look more feminine, hugging her tight in all the right places. It was all black, except for the tie, which was a deep, deep blue. Her hair was down and ironed straight, resting gently past her shoulders, framing her beautiful face. And because Lena was so pale, it made her eyes pop out and sparkle. Lena’s pants tapered off and introduced Kara to one of the most beautiful pumps she had ever seen.

Lena’s entire ensemble screamed expensive and out-of-Kara’s-league. Not to mention she smelled insanely good. It was hard enough that Lena looked so good, but Kara’s super senses could smell even her shampoo, her soap, her lotion…everything about Lena was suffusing her senses, making everything else around her seem dull and lifeless.

And then there’s that damned heartbeat. It was strong and steady and…nervous?

Her heart rate was slightly elevated, causing her to blush and Rao be damned it just served to make her even more attractive.

When they came to Lena’s limo, Lena had opened the car door for her, an annoyingly innocent thing to do, but when Lena did it, she did it with such grace, Kara’s thoughts stopped.

So the limo ride was just that more unbearable.

She didn’t want to admit it, but as good as Lena looked in her suit, every fiber of Kara’s being was begging her, screaming at her to rip them off of Lena. The windows were tinted, and the privacy partition was up. There was such a short distance between them now, it would only take a few seconds

“Are you okay?” Lena’s voice ripped her violently away from her reverie.

“Uhh. Yes…yes. Just nervous. Never been to a-uh gala before.” she stammered, unable to look at Lena in the eyes.

She heard Lena hum. “I’ve been to hundreds of these ever since I was a child. If you survive one, you’ll survive all of it…although I am a bit nervous too.”

Kara heard the uncertainty in Lena’s voice. “Now why would you, THE Lena Luthor, be nervous?”

Lena chuckled but immediately went serious. Her eyes now trained on Kara’s.

“There’s this woman I desperately want to impress tonight. And she doesn’t really seem to be interested in my fortune or my position, two of my best qualities, according to popular polls. So I’m at a loss on what to do.”

Kara thought about it for a second before answering.

“Look, you are more than your money or your position or even your name. You are adorably quirky, funny when you want to be, warm and caring…plus it doesn’t hurt that you are insanely hot. Like it’s not even fair how R—I mean God decided to put all that brains, and all that heart, and all that beauty in one person. It’s just not fair, Lena…and if this lady can’t see that, then that’s on her.” And Kara meant every word of it…even though now that she thought about it, it kinda stung how Lena was here to impress someone else. Perhaps another investor?

Lena seemed to relax though and the rest of the trip was shrouded in comfortable silence between two intelligent people who can’t seem to find the right words to tell each other how they feel.

It was just as grand as Kara had always imagined something called a ‘Gala’ would look like.

Every last detail, even the flowers that decorated the tables, were exquisite that Kara would have suffered from sensory overload if she hadn’t been so focused on the woman who had not let go of her arm since they got off the limo.

She could feel Lena’s pulse, hear her heartbeat, and it drowned everything else. As the host, Lena had taken the time to walk around, welcoming guests, none of whom surprisingly even attempted to shake her hand or hug her. When she looked at Eve, who was standing behind them, Eve had quietly mentioned that among Lena’s social circles, it was widely known how averse she was at being touched…which now explained why everyone was looking a certain way at one Kara Danvers who was lovingly holding Lena’s arm.

“Miss Tessmacher, would you be a dear and get me something to drink. Preferably scotch.” Lena whispered as she smiled at another guest.

Kara watched as Eve made a beeline for the open bar.

“Oh my god, she actually came.” Kara heard Lena whisper, and her elevated heart rate suddenly shot through the roof. Lena let go of Kara’s arm and turned to look at her.

“How do I look?” Kara could feel Lena’s nerves jumping through skin. It was so palpable; Kara was suddenly nervous too.

“Beautiful…” was Kara’s only reply. There really was no other word to better sum how Lena looked.

“Okay. I want to introduce you to someone.” Lena said, biting her lip as she took Kara’s arms again. She was trembling as she led Kara to a corner of the event hall where two figures stood—one tall, and another one slightly shorter than Lena—almost in the shadows.

“Taja Cunningham…you’re really here.” Lena said, almost out of breath. For the second time that evening, Lena let go of Kara’s arm and to Kara’s surprise, she went in, without hesitation, for a hug from the other woman.

Taja was, in no uncertain terms, beautiful. She had hair darker than Lena’s and amethyst eyes that were now boring uncomfortably through Kara’s own. There was something about her that seemed regal, so much so that she looked taller than she actually was.

The hug was one too many seconds than Kara was comfortable with watching Lena hug someone and she was starting to get annoyed.

“I did say I would, Lena Luthor. And who is your friend?” Taja asked as soon as they pulled apart.

Lena looked at Kara, smiled widely, and was that…pride?

“This is Kara Danvers.” Lena said, going back to holding Kara’s arms.

“Kara Danvers…ah yes. I read your article on Lex Luthor. It was very well done. Although I must say, I enjoyed your series on ‘Aliens of National City’ more. It had heart…and we sure could use more of those these days.” Taja said, extending her hand to Kara which Kara shook.

Kara blushed. She wasn’t even sure who Taja was but the compliment seemed genuine enough.

“Lena Luthor, I’m afraid I can’t stay for long, you know how it is. But for the price of my donation, would you mind terribly if I steal away your date for a dance? I promise to bring her back safe and sound.” Taja said, not really waiting for Lena’s response as she pulled Kara to the dance floor.

Taja took Kara’s hand and wrapped it around her waist as they slowly swayed to the music. Kara was about to say something when Taja interrupted her.

“Don’t talk. Just listen. It is in my vested interest to know who you are Kara Zor-El. And while I’m sure you mean Lena Luthor no harm, I would like it very much if you tell her the truth before things between you and her go further than linking arms. She deserves to know the truth, and you know it. My friend has been betrayed far too many times and it would break her fragile heart to know that you are hiding something this big from her. I love Lena Luthor like a sister and I watch over her as one. Do right by her and you will never have to see just how cruel and merciless I can be. And believe me, Lex Luthor and Lillian Luthor are fluffy unicorns compared to me. Consider this the shovel talk. Do not ever break her heart or I will, quite literally, destroy your world.”

And with that, Taja broke away with a smile so benign, it felt like someone else had threatened Kara. She held Kara’s hand and pulled her back towards where Lena was standing.

“Your Kara Danvers seems lovely, Lena Luthor. Be happy.” Taja said, as she went in for another far-too-long hug.

“When will I see you again?” Lena asked, apprehension and sadness thick in her voice.

Taja looked at Kara then back at Lena with her benign smile.

“At your wedding, of course.” Taja said, handing Lena a folded cheque before walking away, the tall figure in the shadow quietly following her.

“So your friend seems nice.” Kara said as they danced. Lena’s forehead rested on Kara’s cheeks.

“Taja is like a sister to me. I don’t think I would have survived all those years at college while my brother went mad, if it hadn’t been for her. She’s always had my back no matter how busy she was.” Lena answered fondly.

“That would explain the shovel talk.” Kara laughed.

Lena pushed herself away and stared at Kara in disbelief.

“She did the shovel talk?”

“Yeah. She basically threatened to destroy my world. It was genuinely terrifying—wait why are you laughing?”

It took Lena a few more seconds to compose herself before pulling Kara back so close to her, Kara could swear she felt Lena’s heartbeat, among other things, through their clothes.

“She had never done the shovel talk to anyone I have ever introduced to her. She must really like you then.”

“I take it this means her approval of me means a lot to you?”

Lena did not even hesitate. “Yes. She is more of a family to me than Lex or my mother ever was. And even though I barely see her, she still calls me on Christmas and Thanksgiving and has something delivered for my birthday every year if she couldn’t physically deliver it herself. Last year, she bought me the latest synchrotron.”

“Beautiful and rich…now how do I compare to that?” Kara asked.

“Kara Danvers, are you actually jealous of her?”

“Can you blame me?”

Lena pulled away and held Kara’s hands, staring into Kara’s eyes.

“It’s adorable that you’re jealous and I know it will sound so cliché, but you have nothing to worry about. My eyes are on you, Kara.” Lena wrapped her arms around Kara’s neck and pulled her down for a kiss, but was surprised when Kara pulled back. “Kara?”

“First of all, I really want to kiss you right now, so please don’t think that me pulling back is me rejecting you…but I also cannot, in good conscience, let you do that without telling you something. So, can you trust me completely, without question, for the next ten minutes?”

The thing about Lena and trust was that she never really had much of it. Almost everyone she had ever met only ever needed something from her. Trust was never a thing that the Luthor household had much in stock and even worse, was explicitly taught to not have any of. She trusted her inventions. They were perfect and had never failed her. People, on the other hand, were neither perfect nor infallible. Why would she trust them?

So, it came as a surprise to Lena, then, that she trusted Kara openly. She reasoned that the reporter had been honest with her from the beginning. There was no reason to distrust her now. Lena nodded, then, even though she had no idea what was happening.

Kara led her to the elevator and pressed the top floor of the Baldwin. Once they reached the top floor, they went through a series of staircases until they reached the Baldwin’s helipad. She was about to ask how Kara knew how to get to the helipad when Kara asked her to close her eyes.

Because it was still well within the ten minutes that Kara asked of her, she closed her eyes and she felt herself being lifted.

“Please…when you open your eyes, please, I beg you, tell me you still like me.”

Lena felt the wind on her face and when she did open her eyes, she saw a familiar face so close to her own.

“Supergirl…” Lena said, gasping. She had never imagined she would get this close to the Super…or really any Super for that matter.

“The trick is not to look down.” Supergirl whispered gently as they hovered far above the helipad and Lena’s heart stopped for a moment. That voice was unmistakable. Eidetic memory or no, she had memorized Kara’s timbre by heart and the more she looked at Supergirl…

“Kara?”

“Y—yeah?”

“Put me down please?”

Superg—Kara did not have to be told twice. She gently descended back to the helipad.

“So…you’re Supergirl?”

“Yes.”

“And your name is Kara Danvers?”

“Well—yes and no. My real name is Kara Zor-El. I was taken in by Alex’s family when I crash-landed on Earth. They adopted me and gave me their name, hence Kara Danvers.”

“Why are you telling me this? I’m a Luthor.”

“I believe in judging people by their merits, Lena. I never judged you for your name.”

“That’s not true. I see you near my building all the time. You’ve been watching me.”

“Uhmm well yes, but not for the reasons you think. Ever since we had that lunch, I’ve been trying to find a way to talk to you again without seeming too stalker-ish. I was hanging out near your building in case something goes wrong…and well, nothing went wrong. So I just stayed there, listening to your heartbeat. Then it became a daily thing. A side effect of super hearing, unfortunately, is you hear everything, literally… and I know this is really going to sound creepy, but I’ve gotten so used to listening to the sound of your heartbeat, I could isolate it all the way from my apartment and listen to it until I fall asleep. It drives the world’s noise away, gives me peace. That’s what you do to me, Lena Luthor. You give me peace.”

Lena didn’t really know what to say, so she did the only sensible thing to do. She pulled Kara Zor-El down and gently kissed her. Kara did not hesitate and responded and for a long while, they stayed there, tasting, teasing, and just generally heady with each other’s presence…until Lena remembered just how human she was and had to stop.

“Needed to breathe…” she said, gasping for air, resting her forehead on Kara’s.

“You also still have guests so we have to go back. But if you want, we can continue this later?”

“I’d be so disappointed if we didn’t.”

“Good.”

“So about that shovel talk…”

“Expect one from Alex soon.”

“Why do I think that’s actually more terrifying than if Superman did the shovel talk with me?”

“Oh it is. My cousin is a softie.”

K.Danvers
Guess who got the girl, bitches?

K.Danvers added
L.Luthor

M.Sawyer
Whoa whoa whoa who added Lex Luthor to the chat?

W.Schott Jr.
Silly lesbian. Kara would never add Lex here. That’s the hot Luthor…Lillian.

A.Danvers
Okay, bullies. Stop it. Welcome, Lionel.

L.Luthor
All wrong, I’m afraid. I’m the hotter cousin, Lutessa.

N.Nahl
Oh so that’s the reason why you were gone for about twenty minutes last night.

M.Sawyer
Little Danvers!!!

A.Danvers
Kara Danvers, you bring shame upon the House of Danvers.
[shame.gif]

K.Danvers
What did I do now?

A.Danvers
Really? Twenty minutes? For shame.

L.Luthor
Oh, no…we didn’t do that during the gala. We did it afterwards. And for faaaaar more than twenty minutes.

A.Danvers
Okay, I take it back. I actually did not need to know that.

K.Danvers
What? I was just listing down the positions and the places we did it in.
And it’s still lame that we can’t change our names.

A.Danvers
Hey Luthor. I’ll be dropping by your office in 5mins. Be ready to sign a fuck ton of NDA’s

W.Schott Jr.
Make sure you read those thoroughly. Alex might have slipped in a marriage contract there. What with you banging her precious innocent little sister.

K.Danvers
Awww Alex thinks I’m precious?

L.Luthor
Awww Alex thinks you’re innocent?

A.Danvers
I am so over this group chat.