There was an incessant beeping drilling Kara’s eardrums as she slowly roused. She recognised the sound as Lena’s alarm. She nudged her friend, groaning and pushing her towards the bedside table. “Turn it off…”
She heard Lena stir, sitting up and reaching for her phone, “No, we’ve gotta get up. We’re going to the market this morning, remember.”
Kara whined, and dragged Lena back into bed dropping her arm back on top of her, “No. It’s too early.”
Lena chuckled, “Come on, shower. I’ll make it worth your while…”
Kara cracked an eye open, “Bargaining is not your strong suit, Ms Luthor. You’re naked, in bed. What could you possibly offer that tops this?”
“I could top…”
“We both know that you’d last maybe thirty seconds…”
Kara huffed, compensating for the weight of Lena’s body resting on her stomach, “Well… I could always threaten…? Bring out my Luthor side…”
Kara whined as Lena’s lips ghosted up her bare neck, “I swear to Rao, I won’t eat your smelly kale for a month.”
Lena laughed, “You could just get in the shower and save the drama? I’ll meet you in there after I finish the list.”
Kara twisted to the side, dropping Lena onto the mattress, kissing her soundly, “Relax, you’ve met Alex and Maggie before. Eliza is harmless. And it’s not like you’re my girlfriend…?”
Maybe it was Kara’s indifferent tone, or the shrug that her comment carried, but something about it made Lena’s stomach churn uncomfortably, “You’re right. I’m just the best friend who woke up naked in bed with her daughter today...”
Kara stood up, laughter ringing through the room, “You’d better keep that under wraps then…”
***
It had been nearly ten minutes since Kara had stepped under the spray of the shower and there was still no sign of her best friend. She focussed her hearing, drowning out the sound of the cascading water, and zeroing in on a familiar heartbeat.
It was slow and heavy.
Sleeping.
Kara rolled her eyes. Lena Luthor had never been a morning person. She spent too many nights focussed on work for her to even want to leave the bed before seven. And while last night wasn’t work, it was definitely enough to warrant a couple of extra hours.
Kara turned off the shower and got ready for the day, snapping a quick picture of her sleeping best friend, with every intent of uploading it to instagram later in the day. She floated over to Lena’s side of the bed, and managed to pry the shopping list from Lena’s hand. She’d let Lena get a few more hours before having to wake up and start stressing about the meeting Eliza thing.
***
The sun was well and truly up by the time Kara heard Lena stir. She switched on the coffee machine, and plated up the pancakes she’d brought back from Marco’s.
(“No Lena today…?” “She’s still in bed.” ”Wear her out last night…?” “KELLY!”)
It didn’t take long for the footsteps to reach Kara, a pair of arms winding around her stomach, “I’m sorry.”
Kara chuckled, spinning around to return the hug.
It was moments like this that made Kara question how platonic their relationship actually was. She knew that, at least on her side, there was a definite blurring of lines. The realisation should have terrified her, but there was something about the thought of loving Lena that soothed that broken place in Kara’s chest. “You were exhausted. But, I went to the market and got the stuff on your list. And breakfast. Kelly and Marco say hi.”
Lena groaned and nudged Kara back, “Kelly still shipping us harder than Jess?”
Kara snorted and handed Lena a plate, “She wants dibs on our wedding cake.”
“Well she’d better up her game, if that hideous #Karlena cupcake was anything to go by,” Lena replied. She rolled her eyes at the offended look on Kara’s face, “It was atrocious, Kara.”
“It was a beautiful, physical representation of our love, Lena!”
Kara froze for a second, cursing Rao for her inability to think before she spoke, at least until she saw the coy smile that Lena hid behind a lip bite. It made Kara smile a little wider too.
***
Lena was stressed.
Kara had been floating around the kitchen, trying to dip her finger in the pie filling for the last twenty minutes. Which normally wouldn’t be an issue for Lena, but it was still simmering on the stove and she was trying to braid the pastry for the top of the pie and Kara had that adorable, cheeky grin on her face. It wasn’t until Kara knocked the lid of the saucepan onto the floor that Lena really lost it, though.
“Kara, get out of my kitchen!”
Kara’s feet hit the floor, “I’m helping!”
“No! You’re annoying. I need to finish this. We only have three hours before dinner with your family and I haven’t even finished the pie top…”
Kara didn’t push Lena’s temper. She very rarely got stressed to the point of raising her voice, and Kara didn’t want today to be that day. “I’m sorry… But Lena, it’s just Alex, Maggie and Eliza…”
Lena sighed, “Alex knows we’re… She knows about this whole… scratching itches or whatever we’ve named it, which means Maggie also knows, which in turn means that there is a very high probability that your mom knows too, or will find out because YOU have a habit of blabbing when you’re nervous.”
Kara spluttered, “Bl… Wha… I… I do not blab!”
Lena leaned over, touching Kara’s forehead with the spatula, leaving a smear of fruit, “Crinkle, darling.”
“For Fu… Rao’s sake! I’m calling Eliza. She’ll tell you, you’re being ridiculous.” Kara swiped the pie filling off her forehead and tasted it, “You’re lucky this is delicious or I’d be mad.”
***
This is it, Lena thought. She could feel Kara squeezing her hand, in an attempt to comfort her as the elevator slowly made its way up to Alex’s floor.
“Lena, relax. You’re Lena Luthor. You take on the world’s most powerful people everyday…”
Lena smirked, “I thought we weren’t discussing that tonight…?”
Kara chuckled, “Get your mind out of the gutter. You know what I mean.”
“You’re right. I’m fine.”
“Yeah you are.” Kara leaned down, pecking Lena on the lips, but quickly pulling away as the elevator doors slid open. Honestly, if Lena didn’t already think she was falling for Kara, that moment would’ve been her epiphany. Or maybe it was the look in Kara’s eyes as she pulled Lena towards the door.
Either way, Lena knew one thing.
She was well and truly in love with her best friend, and as long as Kara was looking at her like that, Lena could do anything.
Alex Danvers was the complete opposite of her sister, Lena mused as she watched the DEO agent glance around the coffee shop, eyes scanning quickly past each of the patrons. Lena waved, nudging the mug towards the second chair at her table.
It was the first time she’d actively sought out Alex, going as far as asking Kara to pass along her phone number, so that Alex had the freedom to contact Lena when she was comfortable with the idea. Honestly Lena was terrified that she’d overstepped, spending the entire evening prior working up the courage to ask Kara to bridge the communication gap.
Kara had laughed and tossed a pillow across the couch, (“That’s what’s been worrying you? Contacting my sister?”) and promptly sending the text. The reply was quick, what the fuck Luthor? gracing her phone screen from an unknown number. If Kara felt left out of the brusque exchange, she certainly didn’t show it, and Lena found herself wondering why the hell her best friend had that dorky grin on her face for the rest of the night. She’d certainly enjoyed wiping that expression off Kara’s face a few hours later.
***
“Efficient as ever, Luthor. How’d you guess my order?”
Lena chuckled, and sipped her cappuccino, Alex’s phone and keys landing on the table with a clatter. “I have some sway with your sister…”
Lena’s eyes widened as Alex clenched her eyes shut and shook her head, as though ridding herself from Lena’s words, “Please never refer to that again and I will give you anything you ask, within reason.”
Blood rushed to Lena’s cheeks, embarrassment at Alex misinterpreting her, at her complete lack of tact. Usually she was more composed, but she was having coffee with Alex Danvers, without the presence of Kara or Maggie as a buffer. “I’m so sorry. That was unintentional. I just meant… I was freaking out and texted Kara and she told me you usual order.”
Alex laughed, her face tilted towards the ceiling. “What is going on there....? Wait, you’re not here to ask me if you can date her are you…?”
Lena rolled her eyes, “Alex, we’ve been over this… Kara and I are just friends… Best friends.”
“Hmm, okay. But you know, normal friendships don’t involve weekends full of italian food and sex,” Alex deadpanned, she fixed Lena with an odd expression, her head tilting slightly. It reminded Lena of the times Alex turned interrogation mode on during game night, and it was slightly unnerving to be on the receiving end of it.
“Well, most friendships are lacking our ability to compartmentalise needs and wants,” Lena needed to take back the conversation before Alex twisted the topic again, “But I didn’t ask you here to discuss your sister’s ability to turn me into a quivering mess…”
Alex let out a disgusted squawk, tossing her napkin across the table, “Gross!”
Lena caught the napkin, chuckling as she reached into her bag, pulling out the small carry case. There was no use beating around the bush for this discussion. She didn’t have time to go through most of these files on their own, so she needed to outsource. And there was only a select few that she could trust with this.
Alex’s eyes flicked to the case being pushed toward her across the table, a question forming on her lips, but faltering as Lena shook her head and began to speak. Alex knew Lena had been in Metropolis, she’d heard nothing but complaints from Kara about it. Heck, Kara even spent the Tuesday night curled up on Alex and Maggie’s couch, citing boredom. Of course Maggie thought that was hilarious and the jokes were still being made about Kara’s attention span.
Alex assumed it was a business trip. L-Corp finalising a merger or looking into another takeover. But in truth, it was a personal visit.
It had been almost three days since Lena did a walk through of Luthor Manor, just outside Metropolis. She’d planned on turning the property into an orphanage, because who else would need a house with twenty enormous bedrooms, bathrooms and acreage?
She left those details out, instead just telling Alex that she visited the manor, and wanted to go over all of Lex’s nooks and hiding places, just in case.
Alex hardened at the sound of Lex’s name, her back straightened, coffee mug back on the table, clearly forgotten, “You found something.”
It wasn’t a question. Alex was smart enough to know that Lena wouldn’t trust anyone else with Lex’s belongings. The only person with more to lose than Lena, was Alex, not counting Kara herself.
In her search, she’d happened upon two external hard drives, one tucked away in a false drawer bottom, locked with a biometric scanner, similar to the one at Lex’s base and the second, haphazardly tossed beneath the floorboard under the bed in the room once occupied by Lex. Honestly, after seeing the contents of that particular one, Lena would never be able look Lex in the eye again, nor Kara’s cousin, for that matter.
But the first hard drive, 4 terabytes on Krypton. Everything from it’s location in relation to Earth, to the language and customs. Lena had saved some of the information, eager to learn more about the place where her best friend grew up.
“I did, and I need your help.”
“Lena, what is this…?” Alex asked, flipping the drive over in her hands. Lena could almost see Alex working to figure out what could possibly have Lena so worked up.
Lena casually glanced around, making sure no one was within earshot, it wouldn’t do for some of that information to become public. “It’s probably duplicates of the information Lex originally collated, but you might as well double check. Maybe have Winn run his scanner. I just…. Worry.”
Alex smiled, “I know, me too.” She slipped the case into the bag by her side, “You’ve looked?”
Lena nodded, “Of course. I saved some of the information regarding the language and numeric systems to my personal server, the one Winn has been trying to crack for the last two weeks...”
Alex snorted, “I told him you weren’t stupid. He still thinks you have no idea. Are you planning on learning Kryptonese?”
Lena suddenly felt her age, glancing at the table instead of meeting Alex’s gaze, “Is that… Do you think Kara would mind…?”
“Are you kidding me..?” Lena looked up, Alex staring incredulously across the table. She reached a hand across, latching gently onto Lena’s wrist. “You’re planning to learn her native language for her?”
“She deserves it. I couldn’t imagine losing what she has.” Lena flipped her hand over, thankful that Alex made the first move to join their hands. “I have the opportunity to give her something back for the unwavering friendship that she’s given me since we met. Not once has Kara ever asked for anything in return…”
Lena tapered off, she was almost embarrassed that she was divulging this information to Alex. These were feelings that she’d had tucked away, fueling every little deed, every gift, every accommodation she’d made for Kara. Kara has given so much, not just to Lena, but to National City and Lena had the means to give back.
“Lena, you… I have something that might help. Give me a few days to sweet talk Winn into making a duplicate and I’ll get it to you. It is probably the next best thing to having Kara there teaching you.”
***
Lena had been in the lab every day for the last three weeks, working to perfect some new industrial polymer that she’d helped one of the L-Corp interns tweak. On more than one occasion, Ka… Supergirl had swooped into the lab on the 35th floor to find Lena and Kade neck deep in equations and molecular models.
The first night it had happened, Kara hadn’t heard from Lena since lunch, she knew that Lena’s lab inspection blocks were set after lunch, so she didn’t think much of it, at least until Lena missed two calls. Missed calls were exactly the incentive Kara needed to realise that something in the lab had sparked that fervent need that Lena often felt when she saw a promising project. Of course, Lena’s office was the only entry point available to Kara, after noticing the lights on the 35th floor. She had to use the biometric lock that Lena had installed on the outside of the balcony to let herself in, because she knew that Kara Danvers or not, Security wouldn’t let her anywhere near the labs.
Using Lena’s elevator, the superhero made her way to the labs. The glaring red Research in Progress light was lit above the fourth door on the right, Kara assumed correctly that it was locked, so she used her x-ray vision to not that she was in fact the only one besides Lena and one other, on the floor. She pressed her hand onto the gel plate, and waited until the light flicked green, unlocking the lab with a hiss.
Lena was huddled over a microscope with pipette in one hand, her hair falling from the bun it had been restrained in at lunchtime. The young person beside Lena, was openly gaping at Ka…
“Supergirl!” they squeaked out. Lena looked back at the intern, before following their confused gaze to the entryway. Kara waved awkwardly, Lena’s confusion turned to recognition and ended in a swift slap to her forehead, “I missed dinner…”
Kara nodded back towards the intern, who was still looking like Kara was about to arrest Lena on the spot.
“Oh, right… Kade… this is Supergirl. Supergirl, this is Kade, one of L-Corps brightest interns. They’re completely trustworthy. We may have gotten slightly carried away.”
Kara held out her hand to the intern, “Nice to meet you Kade, have either of you eaten since lunch? Because it’s pushing eight o’clock…”
Lena reached into her pocket and glanced at her phone… “You called twice?”
“Yeah, I had to sneak in via the office. So if you two wanna keep going, you could crack the window and have fresh pizza, or you could call it a night… Honestly, considering us three, four security guards on ground floor and thirty-two…? Janitors… Should I count the unborn baby with the janitors or…?”
“Supergirl, please. Kade, are you ready to finish up here? I’ll set a three hour block after my afternoon meetings to help you with your project, if you’d like?”
The intern nodded, their dark eyes shining with gratitude, “Thank you so much Miss Luthor....”
“I told you to call me Lena. You are going to change the construction industry, Kade Daniels. I’ll let Doctor Morretz know that you’ll be continuing on independently, and added to R & D payroll.”
Lena helped Kade pack up their project, small talk about the proposed applications of the polymer, giving Kara the opportunity to surprise Kade with her complex knowledge of chemical composition.
“I was surprised too, Kade. I was expecting all brawn, but she’s got a brain beneath all that blonde.”
Kade laughed and packed their bag, “Thank you, Lena. I don’t think I could’ve cracked that last part.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow. Come in a little later to cover your overtime tonight.”
***
Fast forward three weeks, the closest thing Lena’s seen to a day off in a while being the few days she spent going over the Luthor holdings in Metropolis and working with various building and safety companies regarding the repurposing of Luthor Manor.
She’d returned late on Thursday, Kara collecting her from the airport and catching an uber back to Kara’s apartment. Lena was adamant, no matter Kara’s argument that she’d already spent too much time away from L-Corp.
Unfortunately for Lena, she was weak when it came to Kara’s abs, a fact that Kara had recently begun using to her own advantage, meaning Lena agreed to Saturday and Sunday’s schedules being rearranged.
***
Saturday morning found Kara seated atop the island in Lena’s kitchen, dressed in naught but her underwear, while Lena brewed coffee in what looked like the most complicated coffee machine Kara had ever seen. Friday had been a rough day for Supergirl, with several call outs that still had her slightly on edge and wishing that she could just turn off her damn Super senses for one day.
Curiously enough, she noticed a familiar heartbeat make its way into the hallway, so in a burst of speed she was covered in a robe and standing by the front door.
“Alex!” she said opening the door, fighting the blush that was quickly engulfing her features. It was one thing for Alex to know that she and Lena had an… arrangement… but it was another completely, for Alex to see Kara half naked in Lena’s apartment at seven on a Saturday morning.
Alex quickly looked up at the ceiling, clearly seconding Kara’s thoughts. “I’d apologise for turning up this early but it seems like there’s no need, do I smell coffee…?”
Kara barely processed Alex walk past until she heard Alex’s “Seriously?” from the kitchen, reminding Kara that Lena had still been half naked in the kitchen.
“Good morning, Alex,” Lena said, somehow keeping her cool much better than Kara was. “Coffee?”
“Uh… I’ve gotta get to the DEO, but thanks...:”
Lena rolled her eyes and pulled a travel mug from the top cabinet. Kara watched Alex’s eyes widen before she turned away completely giving Kara an awkward thumbs up. “What can we do for you this morning, Alex?”
Kara still hadn’t spoken, but slowly collected herself and rushed into the room to grab another robe for Lena.
Alex was still glancing out of the glass panel wall, “I have the thing… the one I was telling you about yesterday.” Kara watched Lena shrug into the robe and hand Alex the travel mug, before tapping the lead lined briefcase.
“I will take good care of it. I’m fairly certain that it won’t take me long,” she said quietly, glancing over at Kara.
“Anyway. Lena, it was great to see you… Uh… You too, Kara. But I need to get the hell out of here. This is more information than I needed.”
Kara snorted, “Maybe you’ll keep that in mind next time you and Maggie get carried away while I’m in earshot. See you tomorrow night?”
Alex laughed, “Yeah, I’m expecting you there too, Lena. Eliza has been nagging me to set that up.”
Kara and Lena’s simultaneous yell of, “What!?” was drowned out but the sound of the hallway door clicking shut.
It took them a moment before either reacted, Kara stressing about Lena’s reaction, Lena stressing about the whole situation. Their eyes met, setting off the manic laughter that usually came along with trying to process an awkward occurrence.
“You’re meeting my mom…” Kara wheezed, resting an arm across Lena’s shoulder and pulling her in.
Lena nodded into Kara’s neck, “At least she’s not a genocidal maniac?” They laughed for a few more minutes, until another knock sounded at the door, “I ordered from Marcos. Kelly will lose it if you answer my door in a robe. And don’t you think enough people have been scarred this morning?”
Kara rolled her eyes, “Believe me, there was little to no scarring on Alex’s part. My sister checked out your ass. I had to see that.”
“Possessive?”
Kara rushed to the door before answering, “Hungry.”
Well… (keep in mind that this is a VERY rough draft)
“Turn it off…”She heard Lena stir, sitting up and reaching for her phone, “No, we’ve got to get up. We’re going to the market this morning, remember.”Kara whined, and dragged Lena back into bed, dropping an arm on top of her, “No. It’s too early.”Lena chuckled, “Come on, shower. I’ll make it worth your while…”Kara cracked an eye open, “Bargaining is not your strong suit, Ms Luthor. You’re naked, in bed, with me… What you possibly offer that tops that?”
Lena had always loved to learn. Finding and retaining information, grasping complex theories and practical applications were what she was good at. It was how she managed to graduate high school at twelve, college at fifteen. She was twenty four with a masters in electronics and communications engineering and technological entrepreneurship, not to mention her degrees in computer sciences and biomedical engineering.
So when Lena realised that there was a chance that her best friend’s superpowers had a downside, she did what Lena does best.
She’d always noticed Kara’s quirks, little flicks of her fingers when she wore certain fabrics, the forehead taps when she was trying to get her mouth to catch up with her brain, the inability to string a sentence together when under pressure.
They became more noticeable since Kara and Lena had returned from their weekend away in Rome.
Little things, like Kara flying them to the couch whenever she realised that Lena’s housekeeper had used the silk sheets, instead of cotton, because they made her skin feel icky or the sound of silk being rubbed gave her goosebumps. There was the way her nose crinkled when walking past various soaps and detergents in the grocery store, or even on random people on the streets. But the one that got Lena thinking most, was that damn pen.
Kara went through nearly three pens a day. They had to be a retractable ballpoint, with a heavy casing and gel ink. She’d confessed to Lena that she bought them in bulk once a month, which had to be pricey, especially when coupled with the excessive grocery bill.
Lena had slowly been working on a pen casing, made from an L-Corp patented titanium alloy and modelled on a pen that she’d snuck from Kara’s hair two weeks before. She’d finally managed to get a prototype to last for over two thousand clicks under pressure. It was a little light, but there was always an opportunity for her to add another layer of into the barrel if Kara needed.
She’d barely collected the gift box that she’d had Jess collect when Kara texted her about breaking yet another pen. Lena chuckled at the timing, but knew Kara wouldn’t make it through the day if she was already feeling the stress of being over crowded and over stimulated.
“Jess, what’s left on the agenda for today?”
Jess ran her stylus down the organiser before raising an eyebrow, “Just the usual lab inspections, and you should be receiving an email from Giuseppe De Costa regarding your visit to his facility in Rome last month.”
“Perfect. Cancel the lab inspections, reschedule them during my research block tomorrow morning and we’ll take the afternoon off…” Lena walked to her desk, aware that Jess was following behind.
“Ah… Off… Miss Luthor?”
She turned and fixed Jess with a smirk, “Well, not really. Think of it as… Investigating suppliers for future fundraisers or galas. And I honestly don’t remember the last time you called me Miss Luthor…”
Jess chuckled, “It was last time you sprung me with a day off. Habit, I guess.”
***
“Thank Rao, you’re here!”
Lena laughed and twisted around in Kara’s grasp, “Break your last pen?”
Kara grinned awkwardly and held up the ink cartridge that she’d been attempting to take notes with. “Oh Jess! You came too!? This is awesome. Please tell me you’ll actually try things with me, because we both know that Lena won’t touch anything that isn’t “healthy”.”
There was a moment where Jess wondered if Lena had remembered that she’d actually dragged her along, and it confirmed when Lena’s eyes widened as she remembered to pry herself out of her friends grip.
“I’m definitely not as fussy as Lena. And I’m pretty sure I just saw someone making a bouquet of flowers out of cotton candy…”
“What!?”
Lena laughed, and nodded at Jess to use her card to treat herself and Kara. She turned back to Kara, who had turned her back to the large tree and was kicking at the dirt under her boot absently. Lena reached into her bag and pulled out the gift box she’d stashed the pen in, “Kara? You okay?”
Kara grinned, “Just a little loud. Turning my hearing off is easier when I’m focussing on my strength or speed.”
Lena nodded, “I understand. But I have something for you. And it should help. At least, it’ll cut back on your pen bills.”
Kara glanced at the box and pulled the pen free, she clicked it once, gingerly, testing it, her eyes flicking to Lena. She clicked it a second, third and fourth time, all in quick succession. “Lena Luthor, you are perfect.”
Lena just rolled her eyes and took Kara’s spare hand, “I try. Now let’s go, so you and Jess can eat your weight in sugar.”
Kara rushed around her apartment, nervously cleaning as she listened to Alex get closer to her front door. She had called Lena in a panic almost five minutes earlier complaining that there was no way in hell that Alex didn’t know about them. Lena had laughed and reminded Kara that she was okay with Alex knowing about their agreement.
“Are you embarrassed, Kara…?”
“Embarrassed? Of what…? I spent two days in bed (“Don’t forget the plane, sweetie…”) with the most attractive and powerful woman in National City. It’s not embarrassed. It’s… Just… I don’t know how Alex is going to react is all…”
“Well, let me put it this way, if Alex freaks out, you’re going to explain to her that we are both consenting adults and you won’t mention it again. And you’ll probably send me a sad message about your sister being unreasonable… To which I’ll reply with a snapchat of what I’m wearing… or not wearing…”
Kara had laughed heartily along with Lena, thanking her for calming her nerves for a whole three minutes until she heard Maggie’s car pull up to the curb.
“I have to go. Alex is coming up the elevator.”
“Have fun, Kara. Say hi to Alex for me.”
Kara hung up the phone and dropped it to the couch as she rushed to the door as Alex’s key turned in the lock, barely giving Alex time to drop her bag before lifting her sister from the floor.
“Kar… Kara… Super strength!” Alex wheezed.
Kara dropped her back to the floor stepping back slightly, “Hi! Lena says hi too...”
“Speaking of! Did you have fun on your filthy weekend away…?” Alex chuckled slightly as she placed the bag of chinese containers on the counter. She’d clearly missed the way Kara’s cheeks turned pink.
“It was okay,” Kara kept her voice as casual as she could, hiding things from her sister was not one of her skills.
Alex glanced over her shoulder, a disbelieving look plastered across her face, “Just okay…? Come here and selfie with me before I wipe my makeup off.”
Five minutes later, Kara and Alex were silently making their way through the eight cartons of food that Alex had brought along, “So… You told me it was okay… Yet, you told Lena that it was, and I quote “Amazing”... with a smirking emoji…”
Kara paused mid mouthful of omelette, Alex had her interrogation voice on. She swallowed heavily, “It was… I was in Rome, with my best friend… for a whole three days…”
“And you did what for those three days… because I vaguely remember a drunk text about alien alcohol being served in a random liquor store…”
Kara gasped, “Oh my Rao! They were so open about everything and I walked in and rather than having to find someone to tell me where an underground bar was, I just found it while I was getting Lena’s whiskey. The girl behind the bar didn’t ask questions, just mentioned that the second bottle was probably a little strong for human consumption… I didn’t feel out of place at all.”
Alex laughed, “You bought your first bottle of alien alcohol in a liquor store… Aw honey!” She ficked a cushion at Kara’s face. “Did you meet anyone nice…?” Kara’s blush came back with full force, why couldn’t her Kryptonian genetics cancel out this particular flaw? “Oh? Come on, Kara… Spill!”
Kara picked up the cushion off the couch and buried her face into it, “I really think you’d rather I didn’t…”
Alex tossed the empty container onto the coffee table and yanked the cushion away from her sister’s face. “I really think I do want to know…”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you…”
“Kara, you’ve been single for months! It’s about time you got yourself back on the horse… what better way than a hot Italian?”
Kara sighed, “That’s the thing… It wasn’t a hot Italian…? I mean… They’re hot… Rao, they are… But…”
Alex raised an eyebrow, “They…? Kara… Are you hinting that you hooked up with someone… who is not your usual type?”
Kara smiled awkwardly, “Well… I’m not gonna lie, but this person… She’s definitely female.”
There was a moment, the two of them staring at each other, a silent conversation taking place from across the couch until Alex let out a disgusted groan, “You and Lena…? That’s what you’re telling me right…? Have I lost my bet with Maggie…?”
“Uh, first of all, yes, me and Lena, secondly, it’s totally just casual. And finally… What bet, Alex?”
Alex sank back into the cushions, “Don’t worry about the bet. I’m going to regret this but I’m morbidly curious and I need to know…”
Kara laughed, “As I said… It was amazing. She’s very… she’s got great stamina…”
“Ew, Kara… Please stop. I was wrong, I can’t... I’m never gonna be able to look at her face again…”
Lena Luthor wasn’t usually a nervous person. She could command an audience, she could dominate the boardroom, but right now? She was panicking.
Honestly, Lena never really thought her friendship with Kara would reach a stage where she was slowly being introduced into the group, one by one. Maggie had been first. She and Lena had long since discussed the whole Maggie-arresting-Lena debacle, Maggie spending the better part of ten minutes apologising before Lena could get a word in edgewise. She and Maggie had hit it off fairly quickly, bonding over their mutual love of Italian cuisine and various scientific magazines.
Alex was next. She’d been a little harder to crack than Maggie, mainly because Lena had to spend a good portion of their first meeting convincing Alex that Kara really was just a friend. But now, she often ran various projects past Alex before perfecting the science behind them. It was good to have an impartial party who was willing to tell Lena when she was being too damn ambitious.
Lena hadn’t technically met Lucy. They’d connected via Facebook not long after Kara convinced her to join the “superfriends group chat”. Lena still didn’t quite understand the name, but she figured it was something to do with the fact that everyone in the group was in some weird way, connected to the girl of steel. She was still honestly trying to figure out who knew who and how.
Lucy was strangely comforting, and they’d had many private late night-early morning conversations thanks to Lucy being in… well from what Lena could figure out, she was last posted somewhere in the Middle East.
Winn… He was a special case. Lena had sought him out on her own soon after the gala, where he had helped her out of a sticky situation. It wasn’t until a few weeks later that Lena realised that her friend Winn and Kara’s Winn were the same person. That certainly made Lena feel a little silly. Winn had started becoming a little scarce when he had started dating a girl called Lyra, who Lena was still yet to meet.
Which brings Lena’s thoughts back around to the fact that tonight was her first official “induction to the Superfriends”. Which according to Kara, should have happened months ago, but unfortunately due to everyone’s conflicting schedules, there was never a chance. Luckily enough, Kara’s weekend off coincided with Lucy’s, giving everyone else the drive to take the Saturday off completely.
She’d been texting Kara intermittently throughout the morning, asking if she should bring anything, fending off accusations of bribery when Lena suggested bringing an aged bottle of scotch from her bar, eventually leading to her standing in front of Kara’s loft, three hours early in a pair of tights and her oversized MIT sweater.
Lena chuckled at the stunned look on Kara’s face when she opened the door wrapped in her towel. "Aren’t you cold…?“
"I am too hot to feel the cold. You’re early,” she said disappearing into her bedroom, presumably to finish changing. Lena was thankful that it gave her a few minutes to help her overcome the blush that had set in at the thought of what could possibly be hidden under that towel. She could’ve kicked herself. She might not have many friends, but she knew that letting her thoughts wander there was definitely not a friend thing to do…
"I just… usually when I have a Saturday off there’s a bouncing blonde dragging me across the countryside or causing havoc for my PR department…“
Kara’s laugh was positively gleeful at the reminder of the fiasco that her social media post had caused the month before. Lena’s brain nearly short circuited when Kara left the bedroom, still half pulling the shirt over her head. She was so weak. And Kara had washboard abs.
"How is Jess handling Yousef’s incessant emails and voicemails?”
It was Lena’s turn to laugh as she removed the bottle of scotch from her bag and placing it on the bench along with the pack of donuts she’d deposited on the way past.
"Honestly…? I think you should maybe start upsizing Jess’s coffee and adding a chocolate brownie to the usual lunch order. The words, ‘I’m going to strangle Kara’ actually left her lips yesterday.“
Kara had the decency to look a little sheepish, "I will definitely make it up to Jess. But… you have to admit, the panicked phone call from Yousef was hilarious.”
Lena snorted and flipped open the donut box. "This is true… donut?“
Two hours later, Lena and Kara were sprawled across the couch, legs tangled together as they silently watched the live feed from the L-Corp satellite that Lena had looped into Kara’s tv. "What’s that one called…?”
Kara raised an eyebrow, “There are roughly twenty thousand objects on the screen, Lena…”
Lena rolled her eyes and used her phone to zoom in on the star in question, “This one.”
Kara laughed, “Me completing a masters degree in astronomy does not mean I can name every star in the sky.”
Lena tilted her head from her spot on Kara’s shoulder, an eyebrow raised in challenge until Kara sighed, “Rigel. It’s the seventh brightest star in the night sky when viewed from Earth…”
"You can view it from places other than Earth?“
There was a definite smirk in Lena’s voice. Kara dug her fingers gently into Lena’s side, causing the CEO to squirm away, "You can if you’re an offworlder, Ms Luthor.”
"So, what has Supergirl told you about Rigel?“
Kara laughed, "We don’t usually talk about the stars. But I can tell you that it has a surface temperature of 11000K and a radius of 54.29 Million kilometres give or take…”
"That’s almost double the temperature of the sun… right?“
Kara was about to answer when the loft door swung open, revealing Alex, who was holding six large pizza boxes and a pained expression, "You know, you could’ve got the door… so much for… Oh, hi Lena!”
Lena quickly climbed off Kara and rushed to take the boxes from Alex, who thanked her and hung her coat.
"Where’s Maggie?“ Kara said, looking over the back of the couch.
"Finishing paperwork at the Precinct. Wine?”
"You and I both know that I don’t drink wine…“
Alex threw Kara a sarcastic smile, "Well it’s a good thing I was asking Lena then, because your lazy ass didn’t even attempt to help with the pizza…”
Honestly, taking Alex up on the offer to drink, when all she’d had to eat was donuts, was probably a bad move on Lena’s part. She was tipsy before anyone else arrived. On a positive note, Maggie had ended up bringing along a dark maroon bottle of something with foreign (alien?) on the label.
Kara held up her hands and groaned, attempting to shield herself using Lena’s hair, “I hate all of you…”
Lena leaned over and sniffed the glass in Kara’s hand, “What the fuck is that? It smells like that time I burnt out the wiring on the circuit I was working on…”
Maggie laughed, “That is oddly specific, yet strangely accurate…”
"So, Kara Danvers, any particular reason your poison is battery acid?“ Lena chuckled as Kara tossed back the glass draining it in one.
A knock at the door spared Kara an answer, "Lucy!”
Game night went well, at least, as well as it could for Kara and Lena who were kept at a pleasantly buzzed level after Lena completely decimated the squad at Jenga and then again when she paired with Kara for charades.
The Superfriends had all slowly trickled out of Kara’s apartment, shortly after midnight, leaving Lena and Kara to tidy up the empty pizza boxes. The silence was comforting, Kara occasionally giggling would set Lena off and they’d dissolve into another round of laughter. The loft was once again clear, and Kara and Lena were back in their spot on the couch, once again watching the stars via Kara’s tv.
"We need to talk…“
Lena rolled herself over, "Is this about the fact that you only get drunk on battery acid…?”
Kara laughed, “It’s Zakarian Ale and yeah… kind of…”
Lena had had her suspicions for a while, and honestly, if Kara wasn’t ready to tell her, then Lena wasn’t going to force the subject. She tugged on one of Kara’s braids, feeling much braver than she had six hours ago. "It’s okay. I know you trust me… and if you need to keep your secret then I’m not going to ask you to divulge it…“
Kara rolled her eyes, "What if I want to?”
"Then I’m gonna have to find a new best friend, because I don’t think I can be friends with someone born in Gotham…“
Kara laughed and pushed Lena off the couch, catching her easily before she hit the floor, "I wasn’t born in Gotham.”
"Metropolis…?“
"Lena!”
Lena laughed and allowed Kara to tug her back onto her stomach, “You know, I think I’ve known for a while."
"Really?”
Lena’s breath caught in her throat at the sound of Kara’s voice. She sounded so small, so scared. "Yeah, I mean, there’s no way that blonde is natural… Seriously though, I don’t care where you come from. I don’t care that you could probably easily lift me one handed… I know what you are…“
Kara smirked, "Say it. Out loud. Say it…”
"Vampire…“
Kara laughed loudly, mingling with Lena’s giggles, "You’re an idiot.”
"But you’re still my best friend, so what does that make you…?”
Kara sighed as she looked out across the cafe she was currently seated at. Of course she hadn't expected Lena to up and cancelled her meetings for the day, but she also hadn't banked on the boredom that came with being alone in a foreign country. She could take some photos for James, she could finish her coffee (which was spectacular)... She could update her instagram, and brag to Alex and Maggie that she was sipping coffee in a Roman piazza.
She glanced down at the text that had arrived from Lena, and frowned. “Really?”
She opened her purse and sure enough, stashed behind her driver's licence, was a credit card, with the L-Corp logo, and Kara's name printed along the bottom. She chuckled, and sent Lena a cheeky reply. She did have the rest of the day after all.
By the time Lena arrived back at the hotel, Kara was settled in the large tub, covered in suds, a glass of wine in her hand.
Lena dropped her handbag on the counter and pushed what was clearly some kind of alien beverage to the side before pouring herself a glass of the red wine Kara had picked for her. She took it into the bathroom and slid down the wall, raising her eyebrow at Kara.
“I see you're enjoying the life of a kept woman…?”
Kara chuckled, “How was work?”
Lena dropped her head back, a little harder than expected, “Sucked. You look like you had fun though.”
“Mhmm, found some souvenirs for everyone, did you know they actually have an off world section in their liquor stores here? It's crazy. Also, I picked up some of that biscotti you've been raving about.”
Lena hummed into her glass, “You're perfect…”
Kara blew a handful of suds at her friend, “So… anymore unavoidable meetings tomorrow or can we really drink…?”
“I'm sorry, I thought it was Kara that showed up on my balcony last night, not Alex…”
“I'm gonna tell her you said that…”
Three hours later found Kara and Lena giggling into their wine bottles, having forgone their glasses once Kara had dragged herself out of the bathtub. Lena had showered quickly, and they'd both donned the fluffy bathrobes that Kara had swooned over the night before.
Lena was partway telling Kara about the idiot son of one of the investors who had tried picking her up at the bar before their meeting.
“He just kept asking if I spoke Italian, and I just said yes, but that I wasn't interested, and he kept asking and asking…. Until his father came over…”
Kara snorted into the bottle of wine, “How'd that go down…?”
“Benito heard his father call me Signorina Luthor and nearly passed out. Honestly, I don't even know why people bother dating. Wait… I didn't ask you about your dinner with that guy Maggie set you up with last week,” Lena said, a smirk gracing her lips.
Kara rolled her eyes, “Jeremy was… I don't wanna say worse than Mon-El, but I swear to Rao, I have never been more thankful for a slime spewing alien attack.”
Lena leaned further into the pillows, the wine leaving her cheeks tinted pink. “You're telling me the only person you've slept with since Mon-El is me? And all we do is sleep…?”
Kara laughed, reaching across Lena to drop the empty bottle onto to the bedside table, “Honestly, if I didn't think it'd be weird, we totally wouldn't just be sleeping.”
Lena raised an eyebrow, the wine definitely giving her an edge of confidence that she wouldn't normally have while Kara was as close as she currently was.
“Weird, miss Danvers?”
Kara leaned back slightly, planting her hands on either side of Lena's waist, “You don't think us sleeping… not actually sleeping, but sleeping together, would be weird?”
Lena laughed, still wondering how the hell Kara could add that much bravado to one of her word vomits. “I think it would only be weird if we made it weird.”
“Are you saying what I think you're saying?”
Lena disposed of her wine bottle and grabbed Kara's collar, “I might be…”
