Sam and Alex coparenting Ruby would be the funniest thing for several reasons but the biggest reason would be that everyone would assume they were a heterosexual couple until they met both of them at once and all three of them could watch and laugh as the straights get confused
During the explosion at the dedication, Lena just poofed. Vanished. So how about this: When Sam March goes to move the steel trellis off of Ruby, she realizes someone is already on the other side, her hand on Ruby’s shoulder…
“Everything is going to be okay!” Lena Luthor’s voice pitches high over the sounds of chaos. “We’re going to get you out from under there, okay sweetie?”
Ruby is too out of her mind with fear to respond, but Lena turns and grips the steel pipe with both hands. Her gaze lifts, and Sam sees the recognition flit across her face. “Samantha?”
“Lena.”
Ruby is sobbing as the ground continues to quake. Sam can hear the thundering of her own heart, of Ruby’s, the screams of the crowd dulling her thoughts. “Lena, please…”
Lena shakes herself, and sets her weight. “Towards me on three,” she calls. Sam grips the trellis, her gaze locked on Ruby. “One, two, three!”
Sam pushes. Lena pulls. With all their might, they struggle to move the latticework, but it doesn’t budge. The concrete gives too much resistance, and the trellis is too heavy to lift. Then it happens.
Another explosion rocks the square, carving another fissure in the rock under their feet. Ruby screams, and Sam’s focus narrows to nothing else. Heartbeat roaring in her ears, she shoves again and again. Metal groans and gives under her hands, and with a single, desperate shove, she pushes the trellis off and away.
The unexpected give causes Lena to stumble, but then Ruby is in Sam’s arms and she can barely see the stunned horror in Lena’s eyes through the tears in her own. But she registers the shock in her old classmate, in the wide-eyed gaze that bounces between the trellis and Sam. In a distant, far-off way Sam understands. She shouldn’t have been able to move it. But she had.
Before Sam can consider the implications, before she can thank Lena, two men in suits appear next to Lena. They help the CEO to her feet, and when Lena doesn’t protest the manhandling, Sam realizes they must be security. They shuffle her away, before Sam can say another word.
—
It’s not until days later that Sam gets a chance to properly thank Lena. At least, that’s what she tells herself when she makes an appointment to see Lena. It has nothing to do with moving the trellis, nothing to do with the bewilderment shifting into acute realization on Lena’s face, which has been playing on a loop since it happened.
“Samantha!” Lena greets her as she escorts her previous appointment from her office and sees Sam standing there awkwardly. “Please come in. It’s so good to see you!”
Lena is somehow exactly as Sam remembers, and also completely different. The warm welcome is not what Sam expects, and it throws her just enough to let Lena sweep her into an exchange of pleasantries that doesn’t feel false and a brief summary the events that have led her here to National City.
“And how is your… daughter?” Lena asks, with enough question that Sam can tell she’s trying not to assume. Sam nods a confirmation. Ruby is hers. Ruby is all she has.
“She’s fine. Barely a scratch.” Sam swallows. “That’s why I’m here, actually. Look, I don’t know what happened, but…”
“Don’t worry about your secret.” Lena’s voice is low, but without malice. Deference maybe, discretion, but not judgement. Sam stares at her. “It’s not mine to tell.”
“Thanks,” Sam returns, but she still doesn’t really understand what she means. She came here to explain it was a fluke, some kind of maternal adrenaline rush, and that she’d appreciate it if Lena didn’t turn it into a thing. But it wasn’t a secret. Not really.
Lena’s desk phone beeps. “Miss Luthor, your 10:30 is here.”
“Thank you, Jess.” Lena turns to Sam. “I’m sorry I don’t have more time to chat. I’d love to hear more about what you’ve been up to. It’s just there’s been quite a bit of an upheaval, and the interviewing has been eating up all of my free time.”
“I imagine everyone would want an interview after the dedication. I’m surprised CatCo hasn’t published an article yet. It’s been days–” Sam trails off when Lena spreads into a brilliant smile.
“Oh, no, no. I’m hiring an assistant. I recently made a significant acquisition, and my workload has since tripled. I’ve been told the only way to survive is to hire a permanent assistant.”
Sam stomach flutters oddly. She hasn’t found work yet, and reconnecting with Lena has been far more pleasant than she anticipated. But when she hesitantly puts out feelers for what Lena is looking for, Lena’s expression falters for the first time.
“Oh. If you’re interested…” Sam braces herself for the polite but firm rebuff, only to hear Lena sigh. “Honestly, Sam, I’d hire you in a heartbeat. Even if you don’t have a lick of experience, I remember from school that you’re quick on your feet and honest to a fault and you probably wouldn’t let me intimidate you…”
Sam tilted her head. “But…”
“But what happened at the dedication isn’t exactly out of the ordinary. Working for me could be dangerous: its why I’ve put off having a full time assistant so long. And with your daughter… I couldn’t ask that of you.”
Sam fishes for a counterargument, but Lena suddenly shifts track. “But of course I wouldn’t not hire you because you’re a parent, I just mean–” She huffed distractedly, turning to scribble a note on a post-it. “Here. If you want to give it some thought, and decide it’s something you’re interested in, call this number. This is the starting figure, and the position would offer full benefits, including 4 weeks annual vacation and stipends for childcare.”
Sam almost swallows her tongue when she sees the salary. She manages to catch her breath, and nods just as Jess knocks on the door. “Thanks, Lena.”
The smile Lena gives her brightens the entire room. “It was good to see you, Sam. And whatever you decide, it’d be great to stay in touch. Dinner next week?”
“Absolutely,” Sam responds, though the Lena she remembers used to be happier burying her nose in a book during meal times than making conversation. “I’ll check with Jess to find a time.”
“Perfect. Thanks for stopping by. It really was great to see you.”
—
“Mom.” Ruby flopped into a chair at the kitchen island as Sam cooked dinner. “Lena Luthor offered you a job. Lena Luthor.”
“Yes, Rubes, she did. She was just being polite, I’m sure.”
Ruby wasn’t fazed. She rolled her eyes, a near constant expression these days. “She doesn’t have time to be polite. She meant it. You have to take it!”
Sam turned off the heat and turned to face her daughter. “It’s not that simple honey. There’s a lot of things to consider.”
“Like what? You haven’t had a real job in over a month. We might not need the money right now, but you’re not happy just sitting around here.”
God, she had her father’s insight, and her own outspoken nature. A deadly combination for a parent trying to skirt the issue. “Like you,” Sam sighed, giving up the pretense. “You’re my world right now, and working with Lena would mean long hours. Weekends too, probably. And…”
“And what?”
“And it could be dangerous. This weekend wasn’t the first time an event has been threatened while Lena was there. With her family– it’s not her fault,” Sam said quickly when she saw Ruby start to bristle. “But I can’t risk leaving you alone. Not now.”
Ruby was quiet for a long moment. Long enough for Sam to serve dinner and set a plate in front of her, which Ruby picked at as she gathered her thoughts.
“This weekend scared me,” Ruby said finally, lifting her gaze to meet Sam’s. “But Lena Luthor ran towards the danger to help me. So did you. If you had run away, I don’t know what would have happened.”
“I would never have let that happen,” Sam said, reaching for her daughter’s hand. For once, Ruby didn’t pull away. “Never.”
“Then you can’t run away from the danger now, either.” When Ruby looked at her, it was like looking at her husband again, five years on. Her heart stuttered, even as Ruby tightened her fingers around her hand. “You could help Lena Luthor change the world.”
Sam blinked back tears, pursing her lips as she gave her daughter a smile. “When did you get so wise, huh?”
Ruby smirked. “Since Thursday when my guidance counselor started talking about college. Just think: if you get the job, I would have a better chance of getting an internship at L-Corp. The admissions office at Harvard would flip: what safety school?”
“Well then that settles it, I absolutely cannot take the job, because you are going to stay here forever and ever and– ack!”
Ruby pelted her with a piece of broccoli, and as the food fight commenced, Sam let laughter erase her doubts. For now.
—
Hours later, Sam pressed the phone to her ear, acutely aware of Ruby not watching from where she sat reading from the couch. The phone rang, and rang, and then–
“Lena Luthor.”
Sam blinked. She’d expected the HR department, or Jess’ after hours line– not Lena’s direct number. “Lena, hi. It’s Sam. Sam March?”
“Oh! Sam–” Lena sighed on the other end of the line. “You probably don’t use Samantha any more, and I used it this morning–”
“No, no, it’s fine really. It caught on in college and I never went back, but really–” Ruby cleared her throat, pointedly turning the page of her book. “Right. Sorry. Anyway, I was just calling, about the matter we discussed this morning?”
“Oh,” Lena’s voice dimmed. “That’s okay. It was a long shot, anyway…”
“I’d like to take it,” Sam interjected quickly. Lena paused.
“Really?”
“Really. Your new number one fan says I’d be an idiot not to go for it.” Ruby’s eyes widened as she frantically started gesturing to cut the conversation short.
Lena chuckled across the line. “Maybe I should offer her a job too.” There was a rustling of paper before Lena continued. “I’ve got an opening at 9am tomorrow. How about you come in for a quick interview, and we can go over some of the details?”
Sam sighed, releasing nervous tension she didn’t even know she had. “That’d be great. See you then.”
When she ended the call, Ruby was there in an instant, throwing her arms around her neck. “This is going to be so amazing, Mom.”
“Yeah,” Sam nodded, returning the hug full force. “Yeah, I think it will.”
Reign: The thing about Lena I find so interesting is that, after all her family and Supergirl have done to her, she's still got hope life will get better.
Ruby: The thing about Lena you find so interesting is that she said six words to you.
Googling advanced science fair projects so that I can make Ruby look like a little genius, and justify the idea of her and Lena bonding even before Lena and Sam really become friends and wondering when the fuck I became invested in my idea for a reigncorp fic.
Because a girl can never have too many WIPs apparently.
I’m either gonna give her a project that’s totally avergae for a 12(ish?) year old or something that’d probably be expected for a college student and I will have no fucking clue because I’m a writer not a scientist dammit.
#2: Something happens to Lena. Extra villain points if (but not limited to) it happens after we're in a romantic relationship.
#3: Someone else dates Lena after I've fallen in love with her (because how could I not?) OR I date someone who then breaks my heart. It might be Lena, it might be someone else. If it's someone else, then extra villain points for denying me my one true love and suffering potential/probable queerbaiting from the CW. Forced heteronormativity may come into play in either event (side-eyeing James in both instances.) Supercorp with jealous Reign seems unlikely.
#4: I kill Mon El but get treated as a villain instead of getting the recognition as a hero that I deserve because TPTB say he's a good guy. Whatever.
Truthfully, my money is actually on secret option #5: bad writing like "it can't be helped, it's in my DNA" despite Lena and Winn proving the opposite (bad writing also plays a lot into option #3.)
