Kara groggily opened her eyes to blinding sunlight, the curtains wide open to the mid-morning sun. She rubbed her eyes and sat upright, only to freeze. She was naked and so was a brunette in bed next to her.
Golly, gee whiz. How had this happened?
She only vaguely remembered the night. She'd gone to New Vegas out of shame over the red-K incident in an attempt to drink it all away. Seeing her friends and family and boss, once she'd been cured of it, had been too much to bear. Every time she thought about returning, she had a panic attack instead. So she'd stayed in town and just wandered about getting drunk in various spots.
Last night had been perhaps the strangest one of all. She'd heard of an alien bar hidden in a side alley at the edge of the strip. Going to one seemed like a chance to relax her constant vigilance to fit in with the humans.
When she'd reached the bar, she'd been surprised to find a woman standing just outside it. The brunette in a violet suit stared at the green door, and shifted from foot to foot as if nervous.
"Hey," Kara said, confused. "Something wrong?"
The woman jumped and turned to Kara in surprise. "Oh." Her eyes widened further, and her gaze swept over Kara's body, her expression changing from anxious to calculated in the span of a second. "Hello. Um. Are you going inside?"
"Was thinking about it, why?" Kara had to admit the brunette was absolutely beautiful. A strong chin, full lips, gorgeous hetereochromiatic eyes, and a full figure to boot. Moments like this made Kara wonder if maybe, just maybe she should drop the straight act that humans preferred, so she could enjoy a moment with someone as beautiful as this woman.
"Good. That's good." The woman let out a relieved breath. "May I join you?"
Kara raised her eyebrows. "Uhhh. I mean, sure?" She considered whether it was a good idea to share her name, and decided that a first name should be safe. She wasn't wearing her glasses today - she'd broken them actually in a bar fight the other night when someone had tried to feel up a woman and Kara, drunk off some Aldebaran rum, had punched the dude - so she was a tad nervous about someone recognizing her. It's why she was going to the only alien bar in town.
She'd found that out after the bar fight. The woman she'd saved was an alien hiding as a human, and mentioned it as a thank you for saving her life.
So Kara held out her hand. "I'm Kara. And you are?"
The woman took her hand, firmly. "Lena. Thank you for this." She smiled, and two adorable dimples appeared in her cheeks.
Okay, so maybe for tonight, Kara would drop that frustrating straight act that humans prefer. She could just be her pansexual self and see where this goes. It wasn't like she was going to ever see anyone here again since she planned to head back to National City tomorrow. She couldn't hide here forever after all.
So the pair had entered the establishment.
That's when things got hazy. Kara had a few rums. The woman had asked her random questions about whether she believed someone could 'reinvent themselves' or if Kara believed in 'soulmates.'
Kara thought it likely Lena had been drunk or at least tipsy by that point. Especially since she'd started flirting with abandon.
Which made her absolutely irresistible. Lena had at one point leaned close, her smell a wonderful vanilla scent, and whispered, "Do you believe in magic?"
Kara grinned, her head all nice and fuzzy from the rum, and her hands so, so close to touching Lena's waist. She kept them to either side of her at the small table, where they sat so close together that their thighs were touching. "I sure do. Do you?"
"I - I have uncovered some evidence of it, yes." Lena tilted her head and twirled a lock of Kara's golden hair in her fingers. "You're the first person who has said that though. Would you - you like to experiment with me then?"
"Experiment?" Kara wasn't entirely sure what Lena was asking here. "You mean you can do magic? Or know someone who can?" That seemed like a lot of fun, and with the rum swirling in her belly along with eating nearly seven containers of fries, Kara was willing to do just about anything if it meant more time in this amazing woman's presence.
"Yes," Lena replied, which Kara dimly noted answered none of her questions. Turning toward the bar again, Lena tapped the counter three times. The bartender walked over with a smile, their blue skin glistened with sweat, and in their six-fingered hand they cleaned a glass. "We'd like the Anamchara please."
The bartender narrowed their eyes. "You sure about that? Pretty permanent stuff."
Lena waved her hand. "I've heard the rumors. Done my research." She slapped Kara's arm. "Companion here agreed, right darling?" She looked at Kara.
Kara nodded. "Sure thing. Let's do the Anamchara." She downed the rest of her rum, her brain even foggier.
And that was the last thing Kara remembered.
What the Anamchara was, she had no idea. It must have been a wild ride of a drink if it meant she ended up in bed with Lena, naked.
Did they... have sex then?
Kara blushed and looked at the still sleeping woman. Surely not. She didn't see any bruises and a quick check with x-ray vision showed no broken bones. There was a hickey on the left side of her neck, but that was it.
Which meant either they didn't have sex, or Kara somehow managed it without losing any control. That felt impossible to her, especially since she'd been drunk. Both of them had been.
Kara licked her lips, worried now. Why couldn't she remember the rest of the evening? What the hell had been that drink?
Lena grumbled and rolled onto her back, one arm flung over her eyes. "Who left the curtain open?"
"Uhhh." Kara wanted to bolt right then and there, but Lena had lowered her arm at that point. So running now, before she'd confirmed or denied the sex seemed really rude. She should at least make sure the brunette was okay. Sleeping with a Kryptonian didn't seem like a wise thing, not with how stupidly strong she was.
Lena stared at her for a long moment. "Oh. You're not a dream then." She sat upright and looked down at herself. "Ah. I see." Her expression changed to a thoughtful one. "You're the hot blonde I recruited for my experiment, aren't you?"
"Um, yeah?" Kara grabbed the blanket and swiftly wrapped it around herself in mortification. Especially since the blanket had fallen down and she had full view of Lena's amazing breasts. It left her feeling faint with desire, which was not helping her frame of mind. Her fingers curled into fists, ripping the blanket. Why didn't Lena cover herself up? What was even happening?
Lena shook her head. "Perhaps this wasn't my smartest idea. Tell me, hot blonde, how did the experiment go?" She tilted her head to study Kara intently.
"Sorry?" Kara stared back. So Lena didn't remember either?
Lena frowned. "The experiment. To prove the existence of magic. I'd heard of that alien bar just off the strip had some potent magic. I wanted to see it for myself. We did ask for it, didn't we?"
"Maybe?" Kara shrugged. "I vaguely recall you asking for it. Then I woke up here."
Lena groaned and fell back on the bed. "Dammit. I was so careful to not get smashed drunk!"
"Wait, you weren't drunk at first?" Kara didn't have a good idea of how to tell exactly when humans got drunk, but she'd assumed Lena had been after two and a half scotches. That was what it took to get Kara drunk on Aldebaran rum, which was pretty strong stuff. She'd heard scotch was strong stuff for humans.
"No. I wasn't. Tipsy, yes." Lena nibbled on her thumb.
"So, what do you remember?"
"I asked for the Anamchara. The most interesting magic gimmick that they perform there. It's suppose to bring good luck to one's relationships I was told, which considering my life of late I needed it. The bartender took us through a side door to a rather ridiculously decorated room. Like someone vomited rainbows everywhere. The woman in the room looked human. I believe she asked me if I wished to use my own gift. Rather strange ask. I can't remember what happened after however."
"It apparently led to us here, naked," Kara pointed out the obvious in a vain hope it meant Lena would cover herself. She was tempted to throw the blanket over Lena. Anything would do at this point. She kept her gaze steadily on the painting on the far wall to avoid staring at Lena's wonderfully shaped breasts.
"I see that," Lena said, amused. Her intense gaze swept over Kara. "Wish I could remember the sex."
That turned Kara's face an even brighter shade of red. She stammered for a moment until she gave up on words and only swallowed uneasily.
That seemed to amuse the brunette further, and she laughed. "Far too easy to fluster you." She leaned forward and cupped her hand against Kara's cheek. "As much as I want to make up for that lack of memory right now, I do have to check out before noon. My flight leaves this afternoon, and I'd like to not rush it."
"Right." Kara nodded, her entire body aflame from Lena's touch. "I, uh, am leaving today too."
"Hmm. How about we get dressed and have lunch before we head our separate ways?" Lena looked like she was staring more at Kara's lips than anything else. "Would be nice to spend the day with a beautiful woman during my final week as a non-married person."
Kara gaped. "Wait, wait, you're getting married in a week?"
Lena hummed. "Seems so. Oh don't look so scandalized. Jack knew I was coming out here for a bachelorette party." She clucked her tongue at Kara's shock. "He just didn't need to know it ended technically two days ago. I wanted a little time to myself. Though why I'm telling you this." She shook her head. "So, lunch?"
Kara nodded unable to say no at this point. Lena was utterly fascinating, and also very confusing, but then human courtship had Kara absolutely baffled. On Krypton they had no such thing. The matrix took care of calculating best possible matches.
It was when Lena moved to stand that Kara's eyes took in the tattoo over her heart. Had it been there the entire time? Kara face and neck turned even redder. Gosh, she'd been too busy staring at Lena's breasts or mouth that she didn't even notice the detailed tattoo. It looked like some sort of cross between a tree and --
-- her family's crest. What?
Lena slid out of bed and walked toward the bathroom. Only a minute later she poked her head out to frown at Kara. "Do you remember us getting a tattoos together at any point last night?"
Kara shook her head. "No? I don't remember anything beyond you asking about that magic thing."
"Then why do you have the same tattoo over your left breast?"
Kara looked down and nearly jumped out of her skin. Sure enough, the exact same tattoo was emblazoned over her own heart.
They stopped by a cafe near the airport. Lena sipped her coffee, while she waited for Kara to pick up their food from the front counter. The tattoo on her chest still ached, so it had to have happened sometime during their drunk escapades. It irritated her to no end that she had no memory of it.
So much for her experiment. Her hope of witnessing the magic had gotten her instead a hot blonde sleeping in her bed. If they'd had sex, she had no memory of it, which was a crying shame really. She would have liked to have been railed by all that muscle.
A TV hung in the corner of the cafe, no sound from it, but captions ran across the bottom of it. A red-head woman stood in front of a burned down building. The captions mentioned how Supergirl was still missing. No sign of her for over a week. A picture of the blonde superhero appeared in the top right corner of the screen.
Lena put down her cup and stared at the picture for a long moment. She'd already had this thought last night, while she had stood outside the alien bar trying to psych herself up.
Sure, the hot blonde had been in civilian clothes, but her lack of glasses, her facial features, and muscular body had Lena wondering if she was Supergirl. It had been part of the reason she'd decided to ask the woman to accompany her. Even though Lena also knew it was highly doubtful the hot blonde was such a superhero.
Not until this moment, staring at that broadcast, did it occur to her that:
If Kara was Supergirl, what the hell was she doing in Las Vegas going to alien bars and picking up girls?
Her assumptions and reasoning last night had been a rather ridiculous leap in logic, hadn't it?
Lena nibbled on her thumb and considered her options. Asking directly was out of the question. They were in a public place. Asking discreetly could work, but was it worth it? So what if Kara looked like Supergirl? Better to leave this bizarre situation semi-anonymous.
Besides, Lena had no plans to reveal her surname, not that it'd matter since in a week it'd change to Spheer anyway, and she'd finally be free of its curse. But she wasn't a fool. Even with the name change, she couldn't ever forget what her brother had done, and guilt and shame hung heavy over her still.
She let out a heavy sigh and rubbed her eyebrow, frustrated with herself. Maybe her decision to go along with Jack's wishes was messing with her head. Kara simply was a hot blonde that had a passing resemblance to Supergirl. Her wishes to meet and work with Supergirl, was just that.
Only a few weeks ago, she'd considered moving to National City to work with Supergirl herself. She'd been seriously considering taking the CEO role to remake Luthorcorp into L-Corp to undo vile deeds of her brother. To redeem the family name and push the company toward being a force of good in this world.
Jack had been against the idea, and due to their upcoming wedding, Lena had quietly shelved the idea for the moment. It meant putting the company in yet more hiatus with no CEO at its helm, but Lena felt herself reluctant still to directly turn down the role. The idea of her, a Luthor, working with a Super? Damn, had that been alluring. She'd almost broken off the engagement to do it anyway, but Jack's logic overruled her emotions.
He was excellent at that.
It was why she allowed the engagement and was bothering with marriage. He was a decent man, and heavens knew, no one else would dare to ever bed a Luthor. Her one-night stands with women she'd used a pseudonym: Lena Keiran or Tess Mercer, whichever one seemed more likely to net her a fling.
The upcoming wedding would be a small affair, and it'd net her the quiet life she'd wanted. It wouldn't assuage her guilt and shame, especially if she didn't take the CEO role to fix the wrongs her brother did.
But was Jack right? Didn't she deserve a life separate from the Luthor's legacy? They loved each other, and he was willing to look past her trysts with women. To look past her last name and the fact she was related to a mass murderer. Lena doubted anyone else would. Not even Supergirl.
Kara placed the food on the table and smiled. "So, uh, how's the coffee?" She winced at her own words. "Um, I mean, you know, you..." she trailed off and sat down, flustered.
Lena raised an eyebrow. She took a bite of her salad. "The coffee is a little watery, but I drink it for the caffeine. So, if I may ask, where is home for you? Mine's Metropolis."
Huh. Interesting. "You live there long?"
"A few years. Grew up in Midvale." Kara dug into her food, which now that Lena examined it, was a ridiculous amount. Eight pancakes, seven eggs, a massive pile of hashbrowns, and enough bacon to make up an entire pig.
"That's a lot of food," Lena said, then colored at the fact she'd said it out loud. "I mean, not that that's a bad thing at all."
Kara still blushed. "I know, I know, I eat a lot." She chuckled, but there was a hint of unease in it. "Gotta keep up these muscles somehow!" She flexed her right arm dramatically.
Lena swallowed and tried not to think about those muscles flexing while they railed her against the bed.
Damn, she wished she could remember their evening. She ended Las Vegas with a bang, and couldn't even remember what was likely the best part of the night. Served her right. Whatever that "magic" had been, it likely had been a very intense alcoholic drink. One that had them both plastered.
"So, what about you? You grow up in Metropolis?"
"No. Small town a few states over. I only work there." She tapped her fork against her plate. "I have been considering National City however. For my next business venture." Why had she said that? She'd shelved it due to Jack, yet the words had flowed out of her without thought.
"Oh?" Kara smiled, her face lighting up as if it was the sun itself. "It's a pretty great city! And pretty safe. With, uh, you know, Supergirl and all." She gave that uneasy chuckle again.
"Which is currently missing?" Lena studied Kara closely. "I seems strange. She's usually so attentive."
Kara devoured a handful of bacon and gulped down a glass of water. "Maybe Supergirl needed a break? Even superheroes get burned out I hear."
Huh. This wasn't proving or disproving any of Lena's theories as to Kara's true identity. If anything, it left her in more confusion. She rubbed her itching tattoo through her satin shirt absently, her eyes once again going to the newsfeed about the whereabouts of Supergirl.
In her periphery, she noted, to her surprise, that Kara also rubbed her shirt over where her own tattoo was located.
When Lena stepped off the private plane, she planned to meet her driver and have a quiet ride to the outskirts of Metropolis, where Jack and her currently lived. The flight out had been delayed a few hours due to a bad windstorm, so it was the early hours of the next day technically. Far too early for Jack, not that she expected him after she'd texted to say she'd been delayed.
Two steps later, she dropped to her knees in agony, her hand pressed against her heart, the tattoo on fire. It burned through her, and her entire body seized up. Voices blurred in her hearing. Her vision glazed with tears, and she curled up, biting down a whimper.
A sonic boom assaulted her eardrums, and the pain instantly faded. She was lifted into the air and pressed against a very warm chest. Opening her eyes, she stared at the familiar blonde face from her last night in Las Vegas.
Except this time, Kara wore her Supergirl suit, and beads of sweat glistened on her brow.
"Hey, hey, you okay?" Her voice held an undercurrent of worry. "Do - do you need to go to the hospital? I can fly us."
Lena stared and stared some more. Her brain felt fuzzy from the sudden pain and then abrupt absence of said pain. "I -- uh." Well, that was wonderfully eloquent.
Words. She understood them quite well.
Even more eloquent. This certainly was not her day.
"Yeah." Kara smiled, sheepishly. "Um, yeah. So the hospital?"
Lena nodded, mostly because with that level of pain, she really should be examined. Just in case. She'd simply text Jack after. Best to not worry him until she had a better idea of her situation.
Kara had no idea why she'd felt the need to fly all the way to Metropolis, but the pain in her chest wouldn't let up until she'd reached the city. Then it only faded the moment she'd landed by Lena.
She was pretty certain that whatever happened the other night, that neither of them remembered, played a role in all of this, but what and why and how? Kara didn't know who to ask for help in unraveling that.
Her cousin maybe could do some research for her, but she really did not want to deal with him telling her off about being irresponsible. She already carried the weight of shame from the red-K still. Las Vegas had numbed her a bit to it, but it hadn't erased its impact.
Returning to National City, even if it was only for 18 hours, had brought back the shame with a vengeance. That and her phone, which she'd left behind for her Las Vegas escapade, had been filled to the brim with messages from Alex, Winn, James, Lucy, and Cat.
So she'd dived into thwarting crime and saving people from burning buildings to make up for the week she'd spent drinking away her shame.
Only for the pain to start and the urge to fly to Metropolis consumed her thoughts.
Now she walked into the Emergency Department at the hospital Lena suggested she use. Finding Lena crumpled on a tarmac next to the Luthor plane had been unnerving on all counts.
Lena had also been in agony, to the point she'd nearly passed out from the pain it looked like.
She had flown in a Luthor private jet. Considering how Lex Luthor had tried to kill her cousin and herself, it had startled her. Which made her wonder if Lena was connected to them. Maybe worked for Luthorcorp? Related cousin? Someone within the family? Either way, that made asking Kal for help impossible.
So, Kara was back at square one. Who did she ask for help? And what exactly did Lena and her do? What had been that magical experiment they'd tried?
"It's fine," Lena said to the nurse who had positioned herself between Kara and Lena's stretcher. "She can stay with me."
Kara blinked. She had gone on autopilot there. "It's okay. I mean, I can wait..."
"Nonsense." Lena waved her hand. "You rescued me off the tarmac. Keep me company a little longer."
Kara smiled and relaxed. It did help her feel better that she wouldn't be leaving Lena's side. The idea of not being in Lena's physical proximity had left her feeling cold, the tattoo pulsing with spurts of pain at the mere thought.
So she followed the nurse into an exam room, swept her cape out of the way, and sat down to keep Lena company.
