An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Summary:
She was labelled as a liar by his friends and his Lady. And it wasn't like they were wrong. Lila Rossi was a liar. But it wasn't always black and white. And as someone who grew up with Gabriel Agreste's sharp eyes on him 7/24, Adrien knew there was always more to story.
When he looked at her, he didn't see a simple liar. He saw a girl who was scared to be herself, who was so desperate to make friends that she would do anything look 'cool', to make them like her. A girl who is far from home. A girl who needed someone by her side.
Do you guys remember me telling you about the Dress fic? Well you can thank @cannon-fannon @shesamarshmallow @dabvers for encouraging this nonsense.
Read it HERE or below
It wasn’t supposed to be this hard. There were rules in place, guidelines that she and Kara had hashed out over two bottles of wine (alien, for Kara) allowing them to keep this casual, simple, secret. It was easy at the start, fuelled by alcohol and lust, taking over their intimate moments before the sun rose and settled them back into their platonic roles. Months of late nights and sneaking home.
Lena glanced around the room, smiling when she made eye contact, eyes locking momentarily onto each person filling the room. Instinctively her eyes sought out Kara, her body encased in a sinfully sweet cocktail dress that mirrored the colour of the cape that she wore on a daily basis. She sipped her wine, dropping her gaze as Kara looked away from James, catching her appraising gaze. Lena cursed her accelerated heart rate, she cursed Kara’s super hearing, because of course Kara knew Lena’s train of thought. She always did.
Lena’s wine glass was still half full, meaning a quick escape into the kitchen was off the cards, so instead, swilled her syrah.
“Congrats on the award, Luthor.”
Lena smiled, accepting a side hug from Alex. She hissed lightly, Alex’s hand landing on a particularly tender spot on her ribs. She flushed with want, pushing the vivid memory of Kara’s mouth latching onto that spot, to the very back of her mind.
“Thank you, Agent Danvers…”
“Alex, please…”
Lena nodded, “Thank you, Alex.” Lena glanced over her shoulder to the spot by the curtain where she last saw Kara. Her best friend was still leaning against the back wall, clearly still trying to politely entertain James while discreetly watching Lena from the corner of her eyes.
She smirked and brushed her hair across her shoulder as she turned back to Alex. She could almost feel the heat of Kara’s gaze on her exposed back, she knew this dress was a good idea.
The party wound down in the early hours of the morning. Lena’s colleagues and investors were the first to vacate the ballroom, her friends, minus Kara, filed out shortly after, when the music was turned down to a minimum. The high ceiling echoed the sound of high heels against the hardwood, perfectly in sync with the heady beat of the song whispering through the speakers.
“Lena?”
She sighed, leaning into the hand that slid onto her shoulder. Kara’s voice was deep, soothing, bringing back memories of early mornings and hot nights, tangled in sheets. It wasn’t unwelcomed, but rules were rules. They were in public. Anyone could see them here.
“I booked a room upstairs.” The words slipped from Lena’s lips before she had a chance to turn around. She felt the pressure of Kara’s hands turning her on the spot, “You’re more than welcome to stay, if you’re too tired to catch a cab?”
Kara tilted her face to the side, scoping the room discreetly, “It is very late. And that dress… Looks a little complicated. Are you going to be okay getting into your pyjamas?”
Lena fought the shiver that was building from Kara’s fingers trailing down her spine, “I think I’ll manage, but I think I would appreciate having a friend there, just in case…”
Kara hummed and picked up Lena’s clutch, “Shall we?”
Lena led Kara to the elevator, smiling politely at the few staff still milling around the lobby. She was almost self conscious of the heaviness hanging between her and Kara as they waited for the elevator, terrified that if anyone got closer, they’d break the bubble that was slowly building.
The minutes dragged on, Kara’s hands fiddling with the two clutch purses, while Lena crossed her arms, willing herself not to give in to the urge to touch Kara. She heard Kara sigh with relief as the elevator dinged, doors sliding open, slowly enough to make Lena wish it would just hurry up. She smirked, Kara hit the close door button, three times in quick succession, stepping back with a whine as a family of four rushed into the elevator, thanking Kara for holding it. Kara sood against one wall, clutching the two purses in one hand, the other had a firm grip on the support railing of the elevator. Lena smiled from the other side of the elevator, knowing that there were definitely going to be indentations on the bar when Kara finally released her grip. The family exited on the the third floor. The doors slid shut and the cabin wobbled with the speed of Kara moving to pin Lena to the wall, “Do you know how much I wanted you tonight?”
Lena sighed, exposing her neck to Kara’s roaming mouth, “Judging by your inability to wait until we’re in the confines of our room…”
“It’s this dress… You know how I feel about you in a backless dress…”
Lena chuckled, slipping her arms around Kara’s neck, “Why do you think I bought it?”
“Because you’re a tease?”
She slipped out of Kara’s grasp and moved towards the opening doors, “So you could take it off, Kara.” She barely made it three steps down the hallway before Kara caught up with her, their subdued giggles echoing through the hallway.
Lena stumbled into the door, one of Kara’s hands attentively tracing the curve of Lena’s hip, the other holding the clutch steady so Lena could remove their room key from the depths. Her hand shook, encouraged by the whisper of Kara’s breath against her neck.
“Having trouble with the key?”
Lena pressed back into Kara, ignoring the groan from behind her, “You’re certainly not helping.”
She swiped again, the light on the lock flashing red for a second time, Kara took her hand and steadied it as she assisted with unlocking the room. The green light flashed, prompting Lena to swing the door open.
She laughed, feeling her back hit the now closed door of the hotel room. Her hands tangled in blonde hair, Kara’s lips finding the pulsepoint on her neck, sending Lena into a daze. “Kara…”
The sensations on her neck ceased, Kara’s eyes locking onto her own, the silence of the room deafening as Lena felt herself slipping further into… whatever this was. It was moments like these, in the dim lamplight that made Lena wonder, maybe… just maybe she wasn’t the only one falling.
***
Kara brushed a trickle of blood from her lip, chest heaving as the dust and rubble settled around her. She glanced over at Alex who was watching three aliens being loaded into the back of a DEO van. She brushed the debris from her shoulders, standing painfully in the middle of the small crater she’d created during the fall. “Danvers, a little help?”
Alex turned back, noticing Kara’s grazed legs and bruised face, she sighed and jogged to the nearest van to retrieve a rescue rope. She planted her feet, tossing the other end down to the not-so super hero. Kara climbed quickly, knowing that she was still quite heavy, even when solar flared. Collapsing next to her sister, she fought off the DEO medics, who were attempting to clean some of the blood away, “I’m fine.”
“You’ve solar flared, Supes… That’s the exact opposite of fine. You were reckless,” Alex huffed.
“Maybe that’ll deter any jerks trying to go after Miss Luthor again,” Kara winced as she sat. “I don’t wanna sit in the sunlamps. I had dinner plans…”
Alex laughed, “Well Supergirl, unless your date has some solar lamps at his apartment you’re not going anywhere…”
Kara grumbled and followed Alex back to the second van, “It’s not a date, and she definitely does.”
Kara watched the recognition dawn on Alex’s face, “At least come back and change. I’ll drive you there myself. First, we’d better call because she’s probably losing her mind right now.”
Kara rolled her eyes and reached into her boot as the van began the short drive back to the DEO. Sure enough, there were four messages from Lena.
LL: Okay, that looked painful, I’ll charge the lamps.
LL: Why the hell are you not getting up?
LL: I stg if you’re dead I’ll fucking kill you
LL: Are you bleeding?? HAVE ALEX CALL ME
“She wants you to call her,” Kara said, tossing the phone to Alex. She accepted the chilled water from Vasquez, who nudged another at Alex.
“Girlfriend worried, Supes?”
Kara choked on the water she was sipping, spraying a small amount onto an indignant Alex, who was dialling Lena’s number. “Just a friend.”
“Lena, hey! Yeah, she’s fine…” Kara found herself wishing back her super hearing when Alex laughed, “I know, I know… You can… I’ll have her there in an hour.”
Alex tossed the phone at Kara, who fumbled with it a few times before it hit the floor of the van by Susan’s foot. “You owe me.”
***
Kara was still aching by the time they arrived at Lena’s apartment building. Alex offered to walk her up, but she shrugged off her sister’s concerns and made her way to the elevator gingerly. She fished her key from the back pocket of her jeans and swiped for the penthouse. The elevator was jarring on her aching bones, but she knows for a fact that she’d never have made it up the stairs. The elevator opened directly into Lena’s foyer, where Kara found her best friend standing with two glasses of wine and a soft smile. Kara stepped forward, accepting the glass, thankful that her weakened state would leave her susceptible to the effects of the wine.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, just… a bit sore.” Kara followed Lena into the apartment, eyes firmly fixed on the way her silk dressing gown clung to her curves.
Lena glanced back over her shoulder, holding a hand out, “Come into the bathroom.”
Kara reached out and linked their fingers together, squeezing Lena’s hand, revelling in the fact that she didn’t need to hold back.
The large claw foot tub that was the centrepiece of Lena’s bathroom, was filled with bubbles releasing a soft aromatic fragrance into the room. Kara knew that every single one of her muscles was going to relax the second she sunk into it. She pulled Lena in close, her hand brushing back a strand of hair that had fallen out of the pins holding Lena’s hair back.
“You are… the best friend an alien could ask for,” Kara said. There was something about the wording that was sitting heavy in Kara’s chest. Maybe she was overreacting. It could have just been a side effect of the solar flare. But looking at Lena’s downcast gaze, she realised that she was very wrong.
“I know, now get in there. I don’t want the water getting cold.”
Kara nudged the silk off Lena’s shoulder, “You’re coming too, right?”
“I’m just getting the wine.”
Twenty minutes and a bottle of wine later, Kara had pulled Lena up onto her chest, trying to feel as much as she could while she still could. As much as she hated feeling so powerless, there was an upside to a solar flare. Every nerve on Kara’s body was on edge, tingling at the touch of Lena’s fingers, burning at feel of Lena’s lips on her face.
The bubbles had long dispersed and the water was beginning to cool, but Lena was still here, still pressing kisses along Kara’s jaw, still proving to Kara that she definitely wasn’t the only one who’s heart was already in danger.
***
Is Lena Luthor Off The Market? Turn to page 12 for more
Kara scoffed as she glanced at the cover of the new CatCo magazine, of course they were going to jump on that. James frowned at her following her line of sight, “Look, Kara…”
“No, I get it. She’s a public figure, and I know you have free reign with CatCo at the moment, but don’t you think printing this without her go ahead is risky?”
“Either we jump on it, or someone else does. This way, Lena has more of a chance of keeping this boyfriend a secret…”
Kara laughed loudly, startling Eve into dropping her stapler, “Secret boyfriend?”
“Well we’ve had no confirmation from her about whoever he is, so secret works.”
Kara shook her head, handing Jakes the cover, “Can I at least see the story? Who wrote it?”
“Annika from social.”
James shuffled a few pages around before handing one to Kara, sure enough one corner of the page was filled with a candid picture of Lena, exiting her town car, a large pink circle highlighting two small bruises visible on the side of her neck.
“Seriously? You’re running this picture? Of our boss? Our friend, James…”
James shrugged, “I tried to reason with Snapper, but he had a point. The public want to know, and if we don’t run the story, we lose readers to other publications. Why are you so defensive about this?”
“Because it’s Lena!” Kara quickly skimmed the article, which dropped several names of male celebrities and CEO’s, trying to work out a timeline. The smug part of Kara knew exactly where those hickeys came from, she knew who was responsible for the magnificent smile on Lena’s face. She also knew that that twinge of jealousy bubbling away in her gut, was not normal best friend behaviour, and she was either going to have to get it under control, or she was going to have to have a much needed conversation with her best friend.
***
Lena fell back onto the bed, gasping for breath made worse by laughter. Kara joined her not long after, complaining about the absence of their pillows, which had somehow ended up on the floor. Her blonde hair was tied up in a messy knot, cheeks flushed pink.
“You’re the one that tossed the pillows in the first place,” Lena chuckled, nudging Karas shoulder. Kara whined and rolled back on top of Lena, attempting to reach the nearest pillow.
“Get off, you’re sticky and sweaty and disgusting!”
Kara laughed and rubbed her face into Lena’s neck, “You weren’t saying that five minutes ago…”
Lena rolled her eyes, “Five minutes ago you had a hand between my legs, big difference.”
“Oh, so I should…”
Lena squirmed as Kara slipped her hand down her side, “I’m sensitive!”
Kara laughed harder, rolling off to the side, pulling Lena on top of her, “I’m teasing.”
Lena stared at Kara for a few seconds, “Should we talk…?” She watched the acknowledgement flicker across Kara’s face, the straightening of her mouth looking more like Supergirl than Kara.
“If you think we need to talk…”
Lena rolled onto her side, body still flush with Kara’s, legs still tangled awkwardly, “I think…. No, I know… I need to talk.”
She propped herself up on her elbow, knowing that this conversation was only going to end in one of two ways. She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but the way Kara was looking at her? The way Kara touched her? Surely there was something to it.
“We’ve been doing this for nine months, Kara…”
“Nine months, this Friday…”
Lena snorted, “I’m being serious…”
“So am I,” Kara replied.
“Anyway… What are we doing? This was only meant to be temporary…”
Kara shifted onto her side, “You want to stop?”
There was a moment of silence, thick and deafening, leaving Lena biting her lip, searching for words. “I don’t.” The relief was apparent on Kara’s face, but quickly replaced with her blank Supergirl mask.
“I’m sensing a but…”
“Very good, Obi Wan,” Lena quipped, attempting to lighten the mood slightly.
“Serious Lena.” Clearly, it hadn’t worked.
“I don’t want to just be a booty call.” She huffed out a breath and continued quickly, before Kara could get a word in, “I want you tonight, I want you tomorrow… I want to kiss you in the street… Hold your hand in public, with our friends… If it’s too much… If you just need me as your best friend, then tell me now, because I can’t keep this up if my heart is just going to end up broken.”
She looked up, Supergirl was gone, Kara’s soft smile back in its rightful place, “That’s good to hear.”
“It is?”
“I don’t want you to just be my best friend. We’re not temporary, Lena. We never were. You were never just a notch on my bedpost,” Kara answered. She pulled Lena down for a kiss, pouring every bit of contentment she’d felt over this discussion into it.
“Good.”
“Does this mean we get to celebrate our nine month anniversary?”
okay guyss so i’m mhairi and here are my two bbs; angelica and kim.
(tw death in kim’s intro)
muse 32 + elle fanning + cisfemale + she/her ; is that angelica heading toward the faricy home? they must be going home to their family. at sixteen years old, the high school junior is often called the vain. maybe it’s because they seem so vibrant + charming, but i bet their parents think they’re flighty + spoiled. rumor has it that she knew her dad was committing crimes, but i doubt that’s true. angel doesn’t seem like the type
so this is angelica juliette van buren faricy, a vain slightly spoilt brat.
also don’t call her angel, that was her dads pet name for her, his little angel, and calling her that will set off a tsunami of emotions
she’s always had a talent for charming people, mostly adults. with her perfect blonde curls and blue eyes she’s well versed in how to win someone over with a perfect smile.
as a result she’s a little too preoccupied with her looks, thinking a bit too much of herself.
she’s honestly trying to make the most of the relocation to hawaii, attempting to convince herself that this will all be one big holiday; dad will be back soon and they can go back to manhattan. deep down she knows it’s impossible but a girl can dream?
as for her secret when she was 12 she stumbled across documents linking her dad to his crimes but being his ‘little angel’ she did what a good daughter does and destroyed the evidence. it didn’t matter to her what he did, they where a family and to her family could do not wrong,
muse 67 + lana condor + cisfemale + she/her ; is that kim linh heading toward the kalawar home? they must be going home to their family. at nineteen years old, the college freshman is often called the jester. maybe it’s because they seem so outgoing + comedic, but i bet their parents think they’re irresponsible + impolite. rumor has it that they sell test answers, but i doubt that’s true. linh doesn’t seem like the type.
and now on to my second bb linh thị kim
so for a bit of back story: kim dosen’t know much about her birth mum beyond facts. she was vu thị ahn, the daughter of vietmanese immigrants to california who met her dad, linh quang tuan, gave birth to her and left all in the span of 18 months.
so for the first few years of her life kim and her dad got by just the two of them, first in california and then in hawaii after he relocated the pair for work. but tragedy struck when kim was eight and she and her dad where hit by a drunk driver. kim was fine after a few weeks in hospital but her dad died.
she bounced around the foster system for the next few years falling back on humour as a safety blanket, her dad was always a joker and this was her way of keeping him alive.
her first instinct is always to joke around and she can seem insensitive at times but she always has the best of intentions at heart
for the last four years she’s been with the kalawar’s and she finally feels like she fits in, she aged out of the foster system a year ago but to her new moms she was family and she’d always have a place with them.
Jane sat where she typically did, curled up on the high branch of a tree. It kept her out of reach of anything that couldn’t climb and it meant she had a relatively good view of things around her. At the moment, she was attempting to eat an apple she’d found that was about eighty percent rot. Picking around the pieces was tough, but worth it for the few mouthfuls she got before she finally gave up and dropped it. Being used to solitude as she was, she thought nothing of what could have been below her and in the path of the falling apple, even if it might have been a person.
“For many years I did, actually. Grew up with three, one of which went with me to Hogwarts. She was black, and quite wonderful company. After she died I never got a new one --- it would feel like replacing her, I suppose. Besides, I thought it would perhaps be a bit... strange, to be able to turn into the same animal as my pet. (..) However, one could say that, yes, I do have cats, as there’s so many walking around the castle.”
