If days with Alex weren’t already exciting enough Kara had been bouncing non stop since Alex had arrived that morning. It truly was a blessing considering the fact she’d wanted to ask Lena about their kisses and if it was something they could do again or if it was only going to be a bed time thing but before she could ask Lena anything, Lena was getting ready and before she knew it Kara was giving her her goodbye hug for the day and she was alone with Alex. She didn’t have long to pout about it though as soon Alex was surprising her with a secret trip to the mall and any thoughts she was thinking before were instantly out the window as Kara bounded down the hall to get dressed. Once they had finally arrived Kara was eager to run around and let off some steam, but she stayed by Alex’s side, talking to her, asking her questions, playing with her tiger.
It was only after they had been in a book store to see some sort of Scientific Author did Kara start to grow antsy.
Sure, it was nice to spend time with Alex doing something the other girl liked to do. But after an hour of listening to science talk Kara couldn’t help it when she started rocking in her spot. Kara wasn’t interested in science, she was interested in candy.
“Alex when can we go?” she whispered, her legs bouncing eagerly as she tried hard to stay in her spot.
“Once this book reading is over,”
Glancing between Alex and the older gentleman sitting in a chair at the front of the group Kara glanced at the book in his hands. Noticing that they had hardly even gotten halfway through!
“But…That’s gonna be forever!”
Blushing a little as the people around them were quick to shush her Kara pouted as she slumped down in her chair.
Noticing Kara playing with her Tiger again, Alex figured they were in the clear. Until she noticed Kara ruffling through her backpack next to her, dropping cereal and other things she didn’t even want to ask about. Sighing a little she leaned over, gently nudging the alien. “Kara, what are you looking for?”
“My juice boxes! I thought I put them in here last night, I-”
“S-Sorry….I thought I put them in here before Lena and I went to bed….But….No wait! I didn’t because then I got distracted playing with her hair,”
Alex couldn’t help the small fond smile that settled over her face as Kara explained how her night played out, though the smile quickly disappeared as she heard the people behind them shushing Kara, yet again.
“She is being quiet, just relax.” she commented, giving them a small glare before looking back at Kara. She knew the girl wasn’t going to sit still, Kara didn’t sit still ever. Plus as she noticed the cereal bits falling out of her backpack Alex knew this was going to get more messy than anything.
“Okay…You don’t have to sit here, you can go look in the candy store and I’ll meet you there okay?”
“Can I go to the store with the animals?”
“What about…My tiger’s animal friends?”
“Yeah, I guess. But only there and the candy store okay?”
“Okay!” Beaming a little Kara quickly zipped her backpack up, sliding her arms back into the straps she leaned over to kiss Alex’s cheek before happily hopping up, not being very discreet as she made her way through the row of people and out of the book store.
“Wait for me there Kara,”
Once she was out on her own Kara was feeling slightly overwhelmed, but she just continued to tell herself that she was fine, she knew where she was going and Alex was only right there if she needed her. Everything was fine.
Hanging on to her Tiger’s paw she gave the stuffed animal a small nod before venturing off towards the store that had all of her Tiger’s friends in it. After all, she was most excited about the candy store, so she figured she’d save it for last! That way hopefully Alex would be done her book thing at the same time, then they’d be together again!
It didn’t take long for Kara to get distracted in the toy store, especially when her gaze fell on their newly added Lego section. That definitely wasn’t here the last time Lena brought her here so naturally she had to check it out! Inspecting every box took well over thirty minutes and once Kara had decided which ones she wanted she had them tucked under her arms as she continued to venture around, finding the store was a lot busier than it had been previously, which worked out for her because like always no one tried to talk to her.
It was only when she went to lift her Tiger up to show them their friends did she end up dropping half the Lego boxes, which left her pouting and confused for a second until she realized she had a way to carry them! She had her backpack! And since she didn’t pack those juice boxes it wasn’t as full as usual. Kneeling down she placed the Lego boxes in her backpack before zipping it back up and sliding it back on to her shoulders before leaning up on her tip toes to return to showing her Tiger the other animals.
“Maybe when we get home we can build a Lego room for you and then maybe we can get more friends! But I kind of like having you as my best friend,” she explained to the stuffed tiger as she cradled it back into her arms before eventually making her way out of the store and skipping towards the candy store.
Once there, Kara was instantly beaming. Feeling bright and happy like she always did whenever she was there. Stepping inside she quickly put her Tiger in her backpack, knowing she’d need her hands free. “I’ll grab you again after, I promise! And promises are forever,” she told her small friend before zipping her backpack up and grabbing one of the baskets.
Curiously looking around she figured she should pick some stuff for Lena this time too! Which had Kara thinking about Lena and missing her and wondering how her day was going. Maybe she’d ask if she could go to L Corp tomorrow.
Lena time was the best time after all!
It didn’t take long before Kara had filled the basket, which was when she paused to think that well, she already had a basket from here at home….No, she had two! One was holding her Lego and the other had crayons in it. So surely, she didn’t need to bring another one home, when she didn’t have anything to go in it! Shrugging off her backpack once more she dumped the contents of the basket into her backpack, taking a moment to organize everything before ultimately just shoving it all in. Quickly standing up she glanced around and noticed that Alex still wasn’t there, so she must have been early! Well, it couldn’t hurt to make her way back to the book store, then maybe Alex would be pleased she had gotten everything on her own and they’d be able to go home faster! She was getting rather hungry after all.
Sliding her backpack back on Kara happily made her way out of the candy store and into the main part of the mall, trying to remember what way she was supposed to go to get back to the book store.
When Kara had felt like no one was paying attention to her, one person was. The candy store owner, who had instantly noticed when she walked in and wasn’t with Lena. And though they knew nothing about her, they could at least connect the dots from their past visits that when she came in and had Lena with her, she was with her for a reason, a very important reason, the owner realized as they noticed Kara quickly walking back out of the store after filling her usual basket and suddenly it was gone, tempted to chase after her they figured in case the girl had a mental breakdown or something, the safest option for everyone was calling mall security.
Kara had managed to get halfway in the complete wrong direction when she was startled by the man stepping in front of her, though she attempted to step around him he ended up just cutting her off every time. Furrowing her brows in confusion she tried to think of the English word for what she was supposed to say to ask him to move, only he beat her to the punch.
“Ma’am, I’m going to need you to come with me”
“Oh um, I’m not supposed to go anywhere with stra…um…people I don’t know” Kara explained with a quick nod, holding on to the straps of her backpack. Though this man seemed nice enough Kara had seen all black outfits before and she wasn’t a fan of them, nor the people that wore them that’s for sure, except for Alex….Oh no Alex!
“I really do have to be getting back to my friend…Can you tell me which way the book place is please?”
The security guard made eye contact with the co-worker he’d brought along, the one standing behind Kara. A silent conversation that they needed to take her in, without causing a scene and clearly that was going to be an issue, though not the most ethical, they figured their plan would work.
“Of course, we’ll escort you there”
Instantly perking up Kara smiled rather brightly. “Oh thank you! I don’t know if her book reading thingy will be over yet, that book was huge but I really do want to get back to her,”
The moment she was lead into a small room with nothing but a table and chair in it Kara realized this wasn’t the book store, and she didn’t want to be here.
“Um…I think we made a wrong turn, I’ll just be going-”
“N-No I really should be-”
Startling at the raised voice Kara plopped down in the metal chair, biting harshly into her lip she looked down at her lap, that uncomfortable feeling in her chest.
Peeking up at the man Kara sighed softly as she shrugged her backpack off, hesitating before holding it out to the man, noticing his friend enter the room again as well Kara quickly looked around before her gaze fell back on them.
“Do you know why you’re here?”
“Um…B-Because you tricked me? I really do need to be going”
“You’re here because we got a call saying that you could have possibly been stealing, all we’re doing is checking and asking you a few questions.”
Looking clearly confused Kara instantly tensed up the moment she noticed the other man taking her backpack and moving it to a table behind them. Leaning over a bit to try and watch him she furrowed her brows even tighter.
“I don’t under…Please don’t touch those” she quickly adverted as she noticed the man pulling stuff out of her bag, standing up on instinct Kara flinched and squeaked as she was quickly told to sit down again.
Doing her best to take a few deep breaths like Alex had taught her Kara glared down at her lap, she was incredibly uncomfortable and she hadn’t felt this way since the DEO.
“Did you pay for any of the items in the bag?”
“P-p…I don’t…understand” she mumbled, a frustrated and sad sigh leaving her lips. “I…would really like to go home please”
Looking between each other the two security guards shared a sigh and a shrug. Clearly this wasn’t going anywhere.
“Look Ma’am….Everything you took will have to be returned to the stores. We won’t press charges, but you may be banned from the premises,”
Still looking greatly confused and clearly not understanding the next time Kara looked up she noticed all of her candy and the Lego boxes now sitting on the table in front of her.
“But those are…” Instantly growing wide eyed as she noticed the man pulling her Tiger out of the bag Kara perked up. “He’s mine! Please don’t hurt him”
“Everything will need to go back”
“But…he’s…He’s mine! He’s my best friend, we…We share a bed at home, he’s mine…”
Even though she didn’t understand what was going on the panic was truly setting in as Kara realized her tiger was going to be taken away. Her tiger that was clearly worn and dirty and definitely didn’t belong with the shiny brand new objects sitting on the table.
Kara’s gaze stayed intently on her Tiger, not even noticing that the cereal, crayons, and other small knick nacks were also being taken out of her backpack.
“He’s mine….Give him back to me”
Though she didn’t want to be rude, that panic was taking over and was being replaced with a protective side. Looking between the two men who were clearly ignoring her Kara curled her fingers into fists, telling herself to relax she last thing she needed was to start shooting heat beams out of her eyes.
“I…P-Please give me my Tiger back”
Standing up Kara let out a frustrated sigh as she moved over to the men, reaching for her Tiger she had managed to grasp his leg before they noticed and that was when the unthinkable happened.
With the man hanging on to one end, and Kara hanging on to the other, the moment she went to tug him back, her Tiger’s leg ripped clean off, stuffing flying everywhere and a horrified gasp leaving the tiny alien.
“Y-You….You…He’s broken! Why…Why would you hurt him like that?!” looking down at her own hands Kara couldn’t help the tears that quickly filled her eyes as the realization set in that she had done it…she had hurt him. “Oh no…Oh no, oh no” kneeling down she tried to scoop up as much of the stuffing as she could.
“I think you should leave,”
“Dude she’s the one that grabbed-”
“Don’t worry I’ve got this,”
Taking the remainder of the stuffed animal the security guard leaned down to be at Kara’s level. “I’m sorry about your friend, what’s your name?”
Squeezing her eyes shut Kara shook her head slowly, shaky breaths leaving her as the panic settled in her chest once more.
“H-He’s…broken…I…I broke him…” she looked wide eyed, her breath coming in rapid paces as she couldn’t seem to be able to take an actual breath.
“Hey, I’m sure you can get him fixed. What’s your name?”
“Okay Kara, I’m going to get you some water and then we’re going to talk okay? But we have to stay civil okay?”
Gathering all the stuffing off the floor Kara crawled around until she had every little piece picked up, setting it on the table she delicately set her Tiger’s leg next to the stuffing, slowly sitting back down in the chair she wiped at her eyes, harshly playing with her sleeves.
“C-Can I please go home…”
“Kara, do you know your phone number?”
Furrowing her brows she shook her head quickly.
“What about your parents number?”
The moment the word parents set in Kara felt that panic rise in her chest once more, the tears welling in her eyes again.
“I…don’t….n-no parents.” she mumbled, tugging her sleeves over her hands as she hid against her palms, trying to take a few deep breaths.
“Okay…Well do you have a guardian?”
“G-Guardi…I don’t…” sighing a frustrated sigh Kara cried into her hands. “I don’t understand….I just want to go home…”
“Do you have someone who takes care of you?”
Nodding slowly Kara wiped at her eyes with her knuckles. “L-Lena…She…She takes care of me…she’s my friend,”
“Great, do you know her phone number? So I can call her and tell her your here?”
Instantly looking up Kara shook her head a little. “N-No um…I’m…I’m not supposed to be with Lena today, not until later and she…She’s really important but I….I love her a lot…um…yes…I…I need her here.”
Patting around on her body Kara rubbed the side of her head for a moment trying to remember if she had her phone with her today. “My…phone is in my backpack,” she mumbled quietly, rubbing at her eyes once more she reached out to grab her Tiger’s leg, cradling that to her chest for a little bit of comfort.
As the security guard moved to grab her phone Kara didn’t even notice as he went through it and found Lena’s contact number. “I’m going to give her a call and then I’ll be right back okay Kara?”
Nodding absently Kara watched him leave before she quickly moved to grab the rest of her poor Tiger, bringing him closer and delicately laying him on the table, looking over his leg and all the stuffing and feeling even worse about the fact she had literally destroyed her best friend. “I’m sorry…I’m s-sorry”
“She’s clearly not all there,”
“Which is why we’re calling someone for her. I don’t think she realized she stole things but she clearly can’t be on her own.” The security guard said simply, getting the number from Kara’s phone he used their’s to quickly call it.
The moment the line picked up he sighed a little in relief. “Hello is this Lena? This is Clint from the National City mall security, we have Kara here and we’ve been informed that you’re her guardian. She was caught stealing and there seems to be a lot of miscommunication between us, and she is quite upset. So we were hoping if you are able to, that you would be able to come down here and we can explain the situation and release Kara back to you.”
Once he hung up Clint moved back into the room with Kara, bringing a small cup of water with him as he set it in front of her, being mindful not to touch any part of the stuffed toy.
“Lena is on her way Kara, so we’ll just sit tight and then we can get this all sorted out okay?”
Nodding a bit Kara delicately took the water, slowly drinking it as she finally started to calm down.
“…she’s gonna be so mad at me…” she mumbled sadly as she looked down at her Tiger. Truly the only thing Kara was concerned about was her tiger and the fact that Lena might be upset that she broke him, that she couldn’t control her powers and she broke him. Truly still not understanding why she was here or what was happening.
It had only taken a quick chat with the man at the candy store for Alex to realize that Kara was gone, somewhere in the mall, until he had shouted out at her that she should probably check in with security and that was when Alex’s heart sank into her stomach. Security meant Kara had been caught doing…something. God only knows what.
Quickly making her way to the customer service counter she sighed. “Hi yes, I have a friend, her name is Kara…I’m looking out for her today and I was just informed that she is with the mall security team. If you could just let me get back there I can figure out this situation,”
“Just one moment please,”
Watching as the woman at the desk made a call, explained the situation and then chatted with the person on the other end. Alex absently tapped her fingers against the table, growing a little too impatient but telling herself to chill out.
“They can take you back there, but unfortunately you are not going to be able to see her, as the team have called her legal guardian to come and pick her up. Once the guardian arrives you’ll be free to see her.”
“Legal guardian? But she….Ah fuck.”
The day had been longer and more grueling than Lena could have expected. Between the disaster paperwork she needed to re-file and numerous video conferences, she felt as though she couldn’t catch a break.
To make matters all the worse, Lena hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the night before. Kissing Kara had been at the forefront of her mind, no matter how hard she tried to push it away. She shouldn’t have done it. Hell, she shouldn’t have even thought about doing it. But perhaps that was the problem. She hadn’t been thinking, and she let her confused and over emotional state get the better of her. She had been upset over Jack and Kara had been so kind, sweet and thoughtful.
Then there was the nagging memory of the fact that Kara had reciprocated the kiss. Not once, but twice. Of course, Lena knew that she couldn’t really count it, because Kara probably didn’t understand what any of it really meant. Though they probably kissed one another on her home planet (or at least Lena assumed so), there was really no way to assume if Kara knew what it meant for humans. Much less, that it was something that she should not be doing with Lena.
Sighing deeply to herself, Lena stapled together the papers she had just been half-heartedly scanning, adding them to the ever growing pile on her desk.
When her phone started to vibrate against the desk, Lena furrowed her brow when the unrecognizable number flashed across the screen. She ad half the mind to ignore it, but the National City area code was an indication that it may have been something important.
“Hello?” She questioned, as she clicked the accept button.
“.. Yes it is. With whom am I speaking?” Lena questioned, her curiosity peaked. after all, she wasn’t expecting any kind of phone call today. Not on her personal cell phone.
“This is Clint from the National City mall security, we have Kara here-...”
Lena let out a low, long sigh. Of course. Of course she had been too busy getting ready in a fluster that morning that she hadn’t confirmed exactly what Alex had planned for her day with Kara. Of course that meant that somehow, she had gotten into trouble. This was just the cherry on top of a fabulous twenty four hour period.
“Yes, I will be there very shortly. Thank you, Clint,”
Hanging up the phone, Lena took a moment to let out a long, steady breath. She closed her eyes, grounding herself for a second before gathering her things together to put in her purse.
“I’m going to have to leave early, Jess,” Lena called out as she walked out of her office to where Jess was inputting the data of the day into the computer system.
“Is everything.. Okay?” Jess asked carefully, the blank expression on Lena’s face was entirely unreadable - which was never something good.
“I have to go get Kara out of some trouble.. And perhaps murder a scientist,”
Jess blinked in response, not really sure what to say.. And absolutely biting her tongue about providing an alibi if her boss was serious about the murder part.
“Alright. I’ll make sure to forward to phones,”
Walking through the mall, her heels clicking dangerously against the floor, Lena had somehow managed to stew even farther into her annoyance during the drive over. How could Alex had been so reckless? For someone so intelligent, it was a wonder how she had managed to be so stupid.
“Hello. Lena Luthor,” Lena greeted the woman sat at the customer service desk, watching as her eyes flashed with recognition. That only made Lena wonder even further about exactly what had happened to make this situation more memorable than their average teenage shop lifter.
“Oh... Yes, Just one moment,” The woman muttered, picking up the phone to make a call to security. Lena controlled her breathing, tapping her nails against the counter in sheer irritation.
“Miss Luthor?” A kindly looking security guard called out to Lena, gesturing for her to follow him back.
“Thank you. I appreciate the phone call and I can only apologize for Kara. I thought I had left her with a competent carer, but I had vastly mistaken,”
Lena stepped through into the security area and caught sight of Alex nervously sat down, looking far too much like she was a student waiting in line for a meeting with the principal.
Alex looked wildly around when the door opened, eyes widening when Lena stepped in with purpose. She stood up too fast, almost knocking over the plastic chair.
Lena cut her off with her finger, turning her icy stare to bore into Alex.
“I’ll deal with you later,”
Alex’s mouth shut tight, lips sucked between her teeth to cease any temptation she had to try to explain.
“Just through here, Miss Luthor,” The guard guided, opening the locked door to the interrogation room. Lena didn’t waste a single second before she marched in, trying to control the boiling anger she was feeling about the situation.
