Art by the superawesome @Jadedloverart
Lena was lost in thought, staring up at the white, textured ceiling tiles of the doctor’s office when the attending physician entered the room. A slight woman in her mid 50s, shoulder length salt and pepper hair and a pair of trendy black frame glasses perched on her nose.
“Hello Ms. Luthor, I'm Dr. Amaud, I’ll be your primary care physician.” She said, pulling the small stool out from the desk and settling in.
“It's nice to finally meet you.”
The ‘finally’ was not lost on Lena, a finale to the ever growing pile of You’re due for a Checkup! postcards that filled her trash bin. It didn't bother her, she was perfectly healthy. Last night was just a fluke.
She just needed to sit through this little interview so she can get discharged and go back to the office. There is a tray of samples with her name on it set to complete incubation in just a few hours. Lena put on her best, professional smile.
“Nice to meet you as well, Doctor. You came highly recommended from my primary in Metropolis, Dr. Tibitz. I'm sure I'm in good hands.”
“I'm happy to hear that. He is an old friend. Let’s hope we get along just as well.”
“I’m certain we will.”
“Let’s get right to it then. You’re here today because you collapsed while working last night, correct?”
Lena’s smile tightened “I wouldn’t call it collapsing. I got a little dizzy and lost my balance.” Lena adjusted her position on the examination table, crossing her legs, letting her black heels dangle front and center. “Improper footwear, long day, bad combination.”
“Anytime someone loses consciousness, however briefly, is cause for concern.” Dr. Amaud replied.
“I didn't lose consciousness. I just lost my balance. Now, if there isn’t anything else, I'd like to be on my way.” Lena made to get off the table but was stopped by Dr. Amaud, turning her monitor towards Lena. A spread sheet of percentages and numbers all color coded in reds and oranges.
“I can tell you’re a busy woman, Ms. Luthor, so I'll be succinct. I have the results of your blood tests here, and I must say, I haven't seen malnutrition like this since my days in the Peace Corp.”
Lena’s eyebrow twitched.
“Is that so?”
“Yes, Ms. Luthor, it is so, and I understand you are a scientist yourself so I'm sure you understand that our bodies need nutrients and plenty of rest.”
“I do. I'll be sure to take my vitamins from here on out. Thank you Doctor. If we are finished?” Lena asked, unable to keep the impatience out of her tone.
Dr. Amaud's eyes flashed from over the bridge of her glasses.
“At this juncture, it may go beyond adding supplements. Right now, we need to determine if your habits are contributing to the deficiency or if it's something else. So walk me through what you eat in a day and how much sleep you are getting.”
The line of questioning felt edged, as though the Doctor was fishing for something, waiting for a slip, and Lena was in no mood to entertain it. However, losing her temper in a doctor’s office was a sure way to prolong this already tedious encounter. She took a calming breath.
“I have an assistant that brings me lunch every day.”
“And are you eating what she brings you?”
Lena scoffed, there it is. “I run a fortune 500 company. My time is very valuable.”
Dr. Amaud frowned, her bracelet making a scraping sound on the keyboard as she typed. Lena knew where this conversation was going. She had it a thousand times over with Sam and Jess. She was a successful woman with immeasurable responsibilities. Not some child that needed to be hand-guided through her daily routine.
“My employees depend on me. There are times when I have to skip meals to put out a fire, then that comes with the job. You are a physician. You deal with constant emergencies, I'm sure you understand.”
The doctor let out a sigh, pushing the keyboard aside and scooting her chair forward to sit directly in front of Lena. With the way Lena’s legs hung off the table, swinging slightly, the position made her feel like a child about to be scolded. Louboutins or no, she was about to get an earful.
“Ms. Luthor I understand this is our first meeting, and believe me, I wish we had more time to develop a rapport, but my duty as a physician is to make sure my patients are as healthy as they can be. Now, you are here because your assistant and your CFO said you collapsed in your office around 2:00 AM which is longer than anyone should be at an office.”
Lena rolled her eyes, this conversation was becoming a chore. “L-Corp is working on acquiring a company based in South Korea, the time difference necessitates some overtime, I was just low on sleep.”
“Ms. Luthor, your levels are so low that I am surprised you aren't losing teeth. If we don't get to the bottom of this, passing out at your office will be the least of your worries.”
The news shocked Lena into silence.
“I don't mean to scare you, but I'm trying to understand how we got here. Now, Ms. Luthor, you are a 30 year old woman with considerable means, not an 18th century sailor, like these levels seem to indicate. If there is something wrong with your nutrient intake then we need to schedule more tests. But if this is the result of poor care habits, then that is a different conversation. So, Ms. Luthor, which conversation are we having?”
Lena lowered her eyes, picking at the paper roll covering the table. “I suppose my habits could use an adjustment.”
“Now we are getting somewhere.” Dr. Amaud breathed out, rolling her chair back to her desk. “So you are running on very little sleep and often skip meals. Over time, that can take quite a toll. But, luckily, there is a straightforward solution.”
“Excellent, just let me know where I can pick it up–”
“I'm prescribing you some time off. Let's start with 2 days a week. Mandatory.”
For the second time that afternoon, Lena was shocked into silence.
“Excuse me?”
—
The sun beat down on the gleaming black finish of the Aston Martin as it rolled out of the highest-end healthcare facility money could buy. Lena sat in the back, the partition rolled up, and tinted windows shielding her from the brunt of the bright afternoon sun. Lena opened her laptop, furiously scrolling through her newest messages with one hand, with her phone pressed to her other cheek.
“Sam, we are in the middle of a buy-out, I can't just leave, the board will go ballistic.”
“I think taking 2 days off every week is a pretty reasonable ask. In fact, I seem to recall it’s even backed by some kind of, what do you call those things? Oh right, Federal Regulations.”
“And reminding the board of the National Labor Relations Act is sure to win them over. I'm trying to get them on my side, Sam, not to instigate a hostile takeover.”
Lean rummaged through her purse, God what she wouldn't do for a cigarette right now.
“Lena. You passed out. Twice in one week. And don't think I didn't see that slip-up on the security footage of lab 3. You’re making mistakes. It's not like you, Lena. You need to take some time off.”
“Time off? Who is that, someone I know?” No cigarette, but a pack of mints. It will have to do. They will at least give her something for her jaw to grind.
“Lena. Pushing yourself like this is only going to make it worse. You got lucky it was after-hours. Imagine if you passed out in front of an employee, in front of the board, what would they say then?”
“Something untoward about menstruation, likely.” Lena scoffed.
Although Lena had triple vetted a majority of the board members, she was unable to sniff out the tendency towards misogynistic comments. You can't exactly put won't comment on your menstrual cycle on a resume. Where would it even go?
Perhaps the education section. Alma matter, Yale 1983, and in 2002 received a Can Act Normal Around Women in the Workplace certification.
And even with careful vetting, she didn't get everyone she wanted. They needed money, after all. And men with an inordinate amount tended to have…opinions.
When Lena took over, stocks were in freefall and L-Corp was in dire need of a cash infusion.
If they wanted to continue operating in the black she needed to bring in some deep pockets. Deep pockets that didn't care about associating with a Luthor, the pool was even smaller. It was inevitable that she would be dealing with a couple less than ideal personalities. It stabilized the company, but it also meant she had less control of her board.
“Honestly Sam, we just got them settled after what my mother pulled.They’re going to be sniffing for blood. I cant just take off.”
“Your mother’s attempt at running Lex’s appeals through L-Corp’s legal payroll was so transparent. She's desperate. Or at least trying to appear that way. Forget her. Listen to me. Lena, you are going to do great things, you just need to give it time to take.”
“The only thing they see is the next Quarter, you know that. I can’t take time now, Sam, I just can’t.”
Lena glanced out the window. The car was idling in the toll line, waiting for the downtown Bridge. The road here was nearly sea level, a view of the bay anf its glittering waters. A heron was perched on a rock just beyond the rails. Pearl white feathers and long, elegant neck. Sitting in the sun, solitary, free to take flight at any moment.
—
“Lena, you know I love you, but can I remind you that it's only two days? Just weekends, It's not like she said you have to be gone for months.”
“Oh, she did say that.” Lena scoffed, “I talked her down to weekends.”
“See!” Sam exclaims, she sounds like she is in the middle of chewing, “You’re a great negotiator! Especially when it's against your own self interest. Take the weekends off. We can handle things here.”
Lena out a breath. Her driver accelerating to change lanes. They’re crossing the National City bridge. The dark blue waters of the bay glittering below. She can hear the muffled sound of the radio coming from the cracked window of a nearby car. A commercial for the morning radio show, the National City Morning Show, your first source for National City news, Supergirl, and everything going on today in the bay.
She wondered if Supergirl ever had to deal with a board of directors. Or time off. Does Supergirl get PTO or is she more of a freelance contractor?
“Well?” Sam asks expectantly.
“I'm sorry?”
“I said where are you going to go for your mandatory weekend off?”
“I thought I would just stay home.” Lena said. She could hear her driver, Winston, unwrapping a piece of gum. She thought about tapping him on the shoulder for one, but decided against it.
“And just work from your laptop at your condo? I don't think so. You have to unplug. No wifi, no devices. Doctors orders.”
They were off the bridge and entering the tunnel towards downtown. For once, she was hoping she would lose signal. Just to get out of this conversation.
“You are both in league against me.” Lena scowled.
“Why don't you find a cute little rental down the coast? You've been here almost a year and you’ve barely left your office.”
“Well some people have a company to run.”
“Says the CEO to the acting CFO.” Sam replied. “How about I get your started. I’ll talk to Jess. We can look around, send you some options. Go home and rest for now. See you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.” Lena replies flatly.
Supergirl definitely never had to deal with any of this.
The superhero was a source of endless fascination to everyone in the City, but Lena had to take extra care not to be too intrigued. No matter how innocent her curiosity was. Well, mostly innocent.
Supergirl’s heroic smile and confident posture was perhaps a little closer to Lena’s teenaged fixation on Parker Posey than it was to Lex’s obsession with the caped hero of Metropolis, she needed to be careful. If she wanted to survive National City she would have to keep her interest decidedly neutral. For appearance sake. If she happened to pick up a couple of Catco copies with Supergirl lifting a bus, her neck and shoulder straining under the weight, then that was her business.
—
The air in the beachside town of her mandatory weekend getaway was different than National City. Rather than the smog filled hot air of downtown, here it cool and clean. A hint of ocean on the wind.
Lena stepped out of the car, taking a deep lungful. She made her way toward the house, the seashell pebbled driveway crunching underfoot. She pulled her sunglasses down, to get a better look, pleased to find it matched the real estate brochure exactly.
The house was in the Cape Cod style: a single floor, with tastefully faded dark wood shingles. It sat in the middle of a lush green yard, spotted with islands of blooming pink hydrangea bushes and patches of tall honeyed beachgrass. Clean, simple. Understated in that moneyed old New England way. It felt familiar. Jess had done well.
Lena had been so surprised to find a house like this out West that she chose it right away. As eager as she was to start a new life, as far away from the Luthor name as one could get, she found she never could quite shake a few of her old proclivities. She wouldn't go so far as to call it nostalgia, as the first ingredient for that would require something to actually miss about her youth with the Luthors. But there is something to be said about the backdrop of a memory, if not a memory itself.
Whether it be the product of years at New England boarding schools, or summer visits to Martha’s Vineyard, she spent her formative years among places that looked just like this. Call it creature comforts.
Lena came to the wooden door, painted a deep red with black iron hinges. It was a little Salem, but she supposed that is what the architects were going for. Once in she made a beeline directly to the wine fridge, smiling when she found it fully stocked. Jess had sent someone to get the house move-in ready and even amidst the chaos of furnishing a house, she had managed to remember to make sure the fridge was stocked with Lena’s favorite wines. Jess was certainly due for a raise, Lena thought, uncorking a bottle to let it breathe while she unpacked.
Once settled, Lena decided to take her wine out on the deck. She began to pour a glass but thought better of it, snatching the entire bottle, opening the large french doors connecting the kitchen to a gray wooden deck, overlooking the beach.
The deck was large, dotted with wide Adirondacks, an electric fire pit and small tables. At the far end was a private boardwalk that led straight from the deck to the sandy beach.
She almost laughed. God, Jess had outdone herself. She half expected to find a Kennedy sitting in her living room.
“Here’s to a weekend.” She said to herself, taking a sip directly from the bottle. Under the warm afternoon sky, the Pacific ocean crashed just beyond the rails, as if in answer. For a moment, she felt like maybe she had made the right choice.
—
“I'm telling you it’s suspicious.” Alex said. She was leaning over Winn’s shoulder as they started the screen, a complex topographic map of the DEO.
“What am I supposed to be looking at?”
“Right here–” Alex pressed a finger to a spot on the map.
“--Hey, hands off the screen!” Winn said, exasperated, “Can’t be looking for bad guys through your grimy fingerprints.”
Alex rolled her eyes but stepped away.
“There, just next to the ocean. On the 1,200 line, it sort of juts out here and makes a little angle. That’s where the newest Luthor property is.”
Kara squinted, studying the map, with its riot of lines and nonsensical notations.
“So? Aren’t we all the way over here–?” Kara reached towards the screen but stopped herself at Winn’s warning glare.
“We are, but look at what the property sits on.” Alex says, clearly confident that Kara would pick up her meaning.
As if anyone could see anything on a map like this. It was one of those busy looking topographic ones full of crowded curves, and busy notations. What were the patches of close-together lines supposed to mean again, mountains? Or no, maybe it was a valley. Kara could never remember. She found herself missing the 3-D interactive holo-maps of Krypton.
“It’s on a….river?” Kara tried.
“It's on a hill. A big one. Get yourself a telescope, and you could be within visual distance of our operations”
Stared at the screen, nibbling her granola bar. Stale. Courtesy of the DEO breakroom. Her request for a sandwich vending machine has been denied for the 4th time.
“I don't know Alex, it's like 2 miles away, plus, I don't think there is a clear enough view, look at all that stuff in between,” Kara points at a patch of marks, trying not to think about how good a turkey panini would be right about now, “what are all those Xs?”
“Those are houses.”
“Houses? I thought you said this was a DEO blackout site. That looks like a whole neighborhood!” Kara exclaimed, stepping closer to study the map, feeling Winn tug her back by her shirt, not even taking his eyes off the screen.
“So you guys are getting ready to send a task force down to storm someone’s house for being too close to the base when it’s not even the only one? How is that fair?”
“Fair is for your average civilian. Luthors are about as far from that as you can get.”
“Have we investigated the other places? Who else lives there?”
“Of course. They all check out. We keep tabs on them, make sure they don’t get too close, but that’s all.”
“Why can’t we do that with this one?.”
“Kara you know why. If this was any other person you know I would be on your side, but she isn’t just another person. Its too much of a coincidence to ignore.”
“I just don't get why we are suddenly so concerned about privacy when apparently we have been perfectly happy with these houses down the road until now. Why did we pick this place if we are so worried about privacy.”
Kara is on a roll, she has finished her granola bar and is in the middle of unwrapping another one. Maple flavored. Winn is reclined in his chair playing with his phone. It’s his classic Im not getting in the middle of this tactic.
Alex pinched the bridge of her nose, “First of all, this is as remote as we can get within a 30 minute helicopter radius of National City. There are going to be some houses. We maintain a perimeter, we keep an eye on movements if they get too close. Second of all, this is different.”
“Ahuh. And what makes this one so different?” Kara asks, crossing her arms. Winn, seeming to know where this conversation is going, gets up to leave, muttering something about needing a coffee refill.
“C’mon Kara, you know this is different.”
“No, I don't think I do.” Kara stares Alex down, she wants to hear her say it out loud, that ugly thing that Alex is always able to dodge with double speak and vaguely military jargon.
“She is an unknown entity with direct, long standing connection to a domestic terrorist.”
Kara rolled her eyes. She is in no mood for this. She just spent the day fielding increasingly hostile edits from Snapper, then someone ate her lunch from the fridge. Then to top it off, when she finally thought she had a breakthrough on a lead she had been chasing for weeks, found it was another dead end.
It had been a long day, one she was ready to get over by eating her weight in potstickers but Supergirl was called in before she could even get the app open. At the very least she thought she was going to get to punch it all out, but no. She doesn't even get that today.
“Oh, well you didn't say she was an entity, that changes everything!”
Alex swivels in her chair, “Kara. This is Lex Luthor’s little sister. You know, Lex Luthor, the guy that nearly killed Clark? The guy that bombed City Hall?”
“So just because she happens to be related to someone that did bad things, that is supposed to make her evil too?”
“It makes her a person of interest.” Alex corrects, taking on her official DEO business voice. Normally, when she uses her super serious voice it just makes Kara laugh. This time it just pisses her off.
Kara and Alex stare at each other from across the room. It's a conversation they have had before. There's something about it that rubs Kara the wrong way. The suspicion, the accusation. They're not even giving this person a chance. They are deciding who she is before she even gets the chance to show them herself.
Lena Luthor moved to National City over a year ago and had yet to cross paths with Supergirl. Not that Kara had been hoping to. It's just, usually Supergirl gets to meet the major players in National City. They usually want to talk to Supergirl. Not that she looks forward to conversations with municipal officials or anything. In fact. Supergirl has been avoiding the City's Comptroller following an hour long scolding over damages sustained to City property during her battle with that Maldorian last spring. A Maldorian with six arms, six! She did the best she could!
But Lena Luthor was different. She kept to herself. Kara only caught glimpses of her going in and out of her office building. She was notoriously elusive, and never spoke to the press, but yet there were photos of her plastered over every newsstand. Photos of her getting in and out of a Black Rolls Royce, all dark hair and sleek heels.
She was intriguing. There was something about this woman that struck Kara. Made Kara want to meet her.
Alex is first to break the stare-down, sighing. “Kara, I know you don't think she has done anything wrong. And maybe she hasn't. But she dif just buy property suspiciously close to the DEO.”
“And that is supposed to mean–?”
“It means we need to keep an eye on her. Make sure she isn't up to anything.”
“And if we find out she isn't up to anything, will you leave her alone?”
Alex stares for a long moment. “Mostly.”
She knew this was all she was going to get. And after the day Kara is had, she is willing to compromise if it means getting to go home and faceplant into her bed in the next hour.
“Fine. What’s the plan then, how are we going to find out what she's up to?” Kara does her best impression of her sister’s serious DEO business voice, down to the folded arms and narrowed eyes. Alex chooses to ignore it, which. Fine, whatever.
“We can't get any equipment up there, that’s for sure. If we know anything about Luthors, it's their commitment to their own paranoia. She will likely have the place bugged to the nines, sensors, electronic detection devices–all of it.”
It's then that Winn chooses to stride back in, sans coffee refill that he had seemed so eager to scurry out of the room for, but he hands Kara a bag of chips as he brushes past her and all is forgiven. Kara immediately tears into it.
“We are going to need to go analog for this one!” He says, giddy.
“Exactly. Old school surveillance. No devices, just good old eyes-on-the-ground detective work.”
Winn and Alex turn to Kara with a look that she doesn't like.
Kara stops, mid chew “What?”
—
Kara choked on a mouthful of dust as soon as she pushed through the door. The house next to the Luthor’s clearly hadn’t been lived-in for years. Alex said it was mostly a summer home for their kids while they went to College in National City, but now that they had graduated, the place had been left mostly empty. The owners spent most of their time between Europe and New York instead.
Even after nearly 20 years on Earth, Kara would still stumble upon new human customs that baffled her. The idea of seasonal homes being one of them. How could some humans have no home, while others had many? It seemed a bizarre waste of resources. Especially when these vacation homes sat empty for so much of the year, if not completely abandoned.
Kara moved around the house, turning on lights, opening blinds, and checking the water faucets to find it the water pouring out crystal clear, even after a few years of disuse. Kara was surprised to find the place a little kitschy, the walls were covered with nautical themed decorations. Old buoys, netting, wooden figures of seagulls and lighthouses, and a large wooden boat wheel hung above the stone fireplace in the sitting room. Suddenly the family allowing a documentary film crew to use their home as a base while they filmed a feature on coastal seals made a lot more sense.
Kara traced her finger over the handles of the wheel, wondering if all of the homes these people owned followed a theme.
If she had a themed home what would it be? She couldn't think of any sort of aesthetic that she could follow. She liked too many different things. Soft blankets and big pillows. Does that count as a theme?
Her thoughts were interrupted by Alex’s voice crackling through the comms.
“Are you in? What's the place like?”
“Hmm..boat-y? Everything works okay, water, lights-it all turns on. It smells kind of weird though.”
“Doesn't surprise me. They haven't stepped foot in there for almost 6 years. Open some windows, maybe light some candles. Oh, and you’re going to have to fix up the yard, it shouldn't be obvious that this place has been abandoned. It’ll be suspicious.”
Kara let out an exaggerated sigh, this was not on the pre-approved list of activities that Kara agreed to. The DEO had a bad habit of underselling the amount of work Kara was expected to do on a mission.
“Oh don’t give me that, you like yard work!”
“You said I wasn't going to have to do anything except watch movies and keep an eye on the house next door. Yard Work is neither of those things.”
Alex was partially right, Kara had to concede. Kara does likes working outside, particularly in the privacy of her Midvale house where she can really let loose and use her powers. The smell of leaves and fresh dirt blooming around her while she pulled weeds and snapped logs with her hands. Sometimes she enjoyed it so much that she didn't even speed through. Honest work Clark called it. This was different, though. This was not honest work. This was….lying work. Landscaping of lies. Lie-scaping? Working the yard for the sake of keeping up an elaborate lie to spy on the person living next door. Kara tried to put the thought out of her mind.
“Kara this is all the housework you’ll have to do, promise. We just have to make it look natural. Nothing out of the ordinary so we can watch her.”
“Fine.” Kara replied, moving to step out to the backyard, “but you are paying for my takeout tonight!” The backdoor creaked as she pushed through. The yard looked like a veritable forest. Overgrown bushes and downed trees with jagged branches poking through the tall grass.
Superspeed it is, then.
“You are paying for my takeout for the rest of the week.” Kara tells Alex shuffling her way through the grass.
“Deal. Now get to it. She could be there any minute. Stay out of the way. But if she sees you–”
“Act natural, yeah.”
“No powers.”
Kara sighed again. There goes her weekend of watching movies.
When Lena wakes just after dawn it is to the sound of gulls and crashing waves instead of distant car horns. She reaches for her phone just like she always does. It reads just after 5:59 in the morning, as it always does. Since she was young she always had the uncanny ability to wake up before her alarm. No matter what time she set it, she would wake one minute before the sound. She hadn't thought it was strange until her boarding school roommate commented on never hearing her alarm go off on the weekends when she woke early to have breakfast in the cafeteria unbothered.
Lena figured it was born from nearly a decade of waking at the same time for boarding school. Something that, after enough repetition, just became integrated into her circadian rhythm. Ever the experimenter, she spent her winter break that year testing the limits of her ability. Setting her clock to varied times, 6:02, 5:47, 6:40, seeing if enough variation could trip it up. But without fail she would wake exactly one minute before. It never failed, but she always set an alarm just in case. Even with her ability tested, she could never put full faith in it.
She hadn’t set her alarm last night for the first time in years but she woke up at her usual time anyhow. She could either get a start on her mandatory relaxing weekend now, or idle in bed.
Lena placed her phone back on the nightstand, and forced her eyes closed. She should sleep in. That's what people do on weekends off, right? Right. She took a deep breath, trying to relax her muscles. Just outside her room the sound of gentle waves and a few gulls could be heard. The linens of her bed felt luxurious and cool on her skin. All was at peace.
She gave it another moment before twisting out of bed.
A carafe of coffee, a bowl of frozen berries and yogurt, the New York Times crossword and over halfway through Why Zebra’s Don’t Get Ulcers and Lena was at a loss. She started at the hightable in the kitchen, then thought about moving to the couch in the living room but thought better of it. It felt too indulgent. Couches and the things one did on them were for evenings. Late afternoons at the earliest. If she sat down she would lose her focus.. Instead, moved to the reading nook down the hall, with the big bay window and deep red cushions, and was now sitting out on the deck.
She felt itchy. Like there was something she needed to do but for the life of her couldn’t figure it out. She stood, taking a coffee cup and moving to place it in the sink. The cup looked out of place in the large white porcelain sink. She stared at it for a moment before deciding to just wash it. There, done. She looked at her watch, silver and clunky, one of her Fathers. It was just barely mid morning.
Lord, how was she going to get through this weekend? She slept in for the first time in nearly 3 years, she made herself a breakfast smoothie, sat on the deck and listened to the ocean, she even read a book. Non-fiction of course. An old book she had remembered her friend Jack recommending to her, Why Zebras Don't get Ulcers.
She had talked Sam down from No Science to some science. Although, if cornered, Lena would have difficulty calling biological anthropology a science. When Sam had listed anthropology as a safe topic it had made Lena scoff. It was Lena’s reaction that ultimately allowed it to settle into the category of Sam’s approved weekend reads. And it was about stress. How appropriate.
Lena decided to walk around the property before it got too hot. Spring in National city was mild, but the midday sun still beat down. Unencumbered by clouds as it was. The weather in National City was leagues better than any place she had ever lived. It had none of Metropolis’ swampy summers, or Gotham's wet and stormy springs. It was anyone’s perfect weather. Well, almost anyone. Lena mostly tried to stay inside.
To Lena, the constant sunshine was a chore. She had the complexion of a creature born to the dews and damp of the night and, as such, would turn an unflattering shade of new-lobster pink at the hint of afternoon light. And it made her itch.
She made another pot of coffee, put on a sun hat, and went to admire the yard of her new weekend home like the proper WASP Lillian had tried to mold her to be.
—
Lena was admiring the pinkish blooms of a hydrangea bush when she heard the distinct snap of a branch being split coming from the adjacent yard. No, not a branch. It sounded thicker, a log maybe? It was mid-spring, the neighbors must be clearing the winter debris in preparation for the season.
She traced her finger on the pom-pom bloom of the hydrangea. Remembering off hand that the blooms reflect the acidity of the soil. Blue for acidic and pink for alkaline.
Alkaline soil, commonly found in dry, arid areas. California, American Southwest, Yucatan. Porous, sandy soils.
Everything about her home and yard was a nearly perfect replica of a New England seaside town, down to the shingle. Yet the pinkish hue of the hydrangea blooms reminded her she was not in Kansas (Massachusetts?) anymore. Not everything was as it seemed. A glitch in the Matrix, as Sam would say.
Her thoughts were interrupted by another sound, this time a loud groaning crack.
She listened. Waiting for the thunk of an axe hitting wood, or the rhythmic sawing of a branch. Lena sipped her coffee, waiting.
Then, again, louder –the sound of fibers slowly tearing, and snap! Unmistakable this time, a log was being snapped.
What on earth? Lena made her way over to the edge of her property, craning her neck over the perfectly trimmed hedge separating her property from the one next to it. She nearly dropped her coffee mug at what she saw. It was a woman, holding a rather thick branch in her hands and ripping it in half. The woman tossed each half into a pile, only to bend down and reach for another. As if she was doing mindless yard work and not the titular event at a Highland Game.
“Oh my God.” Lena muttered at what she thought was just barely under her breath. But it must have been louder than she intended, as the woman snapped upright, twisting around to look directly at her. The speed at which was spotted had the distinct feel of wild prey being located. It startled Lena enough that she dropped her mug, spilling the remainder of her coffee. Lena cussed bending down to retrieve her mug, her new sneakers, bought for the express purpose of helping her transition into relaxation mode were stained brown. She hadn’t even been wearing them for 15 minutes. Of course.
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you, are you alright?” The woman was suddenly at her side.
“--Jesus Christ!” Lena exclaimed, tipping over and landing flat on her ass, her mug flying out of her hand and landing somewhere in the grass. Christ she was fast. Lena had hardly bent down and then she was right there.
“Oh no! I did it again–Geez!” The woman knelt down next to Lena “Here, let me help.”
While the woman rooted around the grass for the mug Lena took a moment to get a look at her. She was wearing a blue and white striped long sleeve shirt over burnt orange coveralls. Her sleeves were rolled above her elbows, a blonde ponytail was poking out of her cap.
“Aha! Got it” The woman turned, flashing Lena the brightest smile she had ever seen. It was like seeing a toothpaste commercial in person. “And look, no damage!”
“Thank you.” Lena blinked.
“I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I guess I wasn’t expecting to see anyone here yet.” The woman had moved to kneel a respectable distance away.
“Likewise.” Is all Lena said. She was still splayed on her ass, hands behind her, holding her up. Feeling nothing like the Heir to the Luthor fortune and head of a multi-billion dollar company. Instead feeling entirely like a 10 year old in a sandbox. They stared at each other for a moment before the woman cleared her throat.
“Does anything hurt? Can I help you up?” the woman asked, holding her hand out. Lena glanced between the outstretched hand and the woman’s face. She was pretty. In a girl-next-door kind of way. Sunkissed and tan, with a smattering of freckles over her nose and cheeks. A pair of black framed glasses covered bright blue eyes. Big blue eyes that magnified the worry on her face.
It almost made Lena want to comfort her.
Almost.
Lena ignored the outstretched hand, taking her mug and standing on her own.
“Nothing hurts, no. I’m fine. You just caught me by surprise.”
The woman stood with her, her smile small, and sufficiently chastised. “Not expecting neighbors?” The woman asked.
“Not exactly. Seems you weren’t either. Focused as you were.”
Focused was a polite way to put whatever the hell Lena had just witnessed.
The woman let out a choked laugh, “Yeah, totally focused! Absolutely. Just catching up on some work around the yard. You know, because I live here.” The woman winced, but recovered quickly, rocking back on her heels.
“So, do you live around here?”
“Yes.” Lena glanced back at the house behind her, finding it very clearly within the line of sight from where they stood.
“Oh right! Duh! Of course you do. Live here, I mean.” The woman laughed, “I guess I just meant, like, if you lived here here, or just…you know, around here.”
“Well I don't make a habit of wandering around the yards of strangers if that is what you’re asking.”
“Right, right, me neither! Just my own yard. Which is right here.” The woman gestured to the house behind her.
“Right.” Lena said slowly.
The woman was radiating a nervousness that was bordering on frantic. Lena could practically see the air around her rippling with it; like the air over a road in the height of summer.
“Well, I guess I better get back to it.” The woman blurted, a little too loud, “Oh! I'm Kara, by the way. I guess I’ll be your new neighbor.”
The woman stuck out her hand again, her smile a little lopsided. Lena took her hand, noticing her nails were well-kept. Trim.
“Lena.”
Kara’s hands were soft, not at all scratched or blistered like one might expect of someone spending the morning in the yard.
“Lovely to meet you, Kara. Do let me know if you’d like the name of some good landscapers,” Lena made a point of eyeing the lawn over Kara’s shoulder. “It looks like quite a lot to do all by yourself.”
Quite a lot was an understatement. More like a sh*tload, but Lena wasn’t about to be so crass. Especially with a new acquaintance; a new acquaintance that looked like she ate rainbows for breakfast. Kara’s yard looked like a riotous mess, right up until it met Lena’s property line at which point the grass and decaying detritus immediately turned into lush, perfectly trimmed lush green lawn.
“Oh, not that’s alright. I find it relaxing, but thank you anyways! And nice to meet you Lena!”
With a polite smile and wave, Lena made her way back to her home. Once inside the cool of her home, Lena went to wash the dirt off her mug. Meeting her neighbor had Lena feeling a little off kilter. A rare occurrence. Running a company with thousands of employees had her meeting new people nearly every day. Even the quirky PhDs down in R&D hardly registered with her. Lena wondered what was so different about this person.
Perhaps it was her demeanor. Anxious, energetic, and a little goofy. It was incongruous with her captain-of-the hometown-basketball-team appearance. It wasn’t until she sat down at her kitchen table that she remembered what brought her over there in the first place. That woman, Kara, had been ripping huge branches in half by herself. But after meeting her, somehow it seemed a little far-fetched. Maybe she had been mistaken, perhaps it was soft wood, or they were already half split from an axe. Any number of reasonable explanations. Either way, what an odd neighbor she had.
—
“I’m sorry, can we back up to the part where you spoke to our suspect?” Alex asked, voice tight.
“It was just for a second!” Kara defended. She had been lounging on the couch hoping to finally get through the first movie of her promised movie-marathon-weekend with some extrajudicial surveillance on the side when Alex had called for a status update.
“You said I had to take care of the lawn so it wouldn't look suspicious.”
“You haven’t even been there for 24 hours–”
“--and then you said I couldn’t use my powers. So it took forever. Besides, she came to me, I was just trying to get through those downed trees out back and there she was!”
There was a long sigh from the other end of the line. It was a familiar sound, Kara could practically see her sister hunched over in her chair, massaging her temples trying to gather her thoughts.
“Okay, okay. This is fine, we can work with this. We just need to pivot.”
Kara glanced longingly at the movie that was paused. The house she was staying at had a huge TV and she was getting the feeling she was not going to be able to enjoy it tonight.
“Tell me what happened, and do not skip any details.”
Her sister has an uncanny ability to glean an inordinate amount of information from the smallest of details. Kara liked to keep her distance from the intelligence gathering aspect of the DEO. The way the agents discussed chasing leads had always bothered her in a way she couldn’t quite articulate.
Alex being the one to ask the questions did little to calm that discomfort. The questions start off innocent, like what was she wearing, to things like whether Kara noticed any stains or discoloration on her shirt that could indicate she is working with chemicals.
“Did she seem at all suspicious?”
“Suspicious how?’
“Distracted, jumpy, anxious in any way?”
“Well, she dropped her coffee when I saw her.”
“Elaborate.”
Kara groaned. Her mug of hot cocoa had gone cold, her bowl of popcorn was soggy, and the movie had been on pause so long the TV had shut off. There goes her quiet evening. It felt a little invasive, relaying the details of their interaction to Alex. The encounter had been brief, but it was pleasant. Lena was a little cautious, but perfectly polite.
“What about her eyes?”
Lena’s jade green eyes, bright and focused suddenly flashed across Kara’s vision. She felt her mind stutter to a halt. Then, her voice, low and smooth.
It looks like quite a lot to do all by yourself.
“Kara?”
“Huh?” Kara sat up suddenly, feeling caught somehow, even though she was alone in an empty room.
“Her eyes, were there bags, did she seem tired? Like maybe she had been up all night working?”
Kara let out a breath. Right. The spying. Nothing like a little extra judicial surveillance of a civilian to douse whatever train of thought that was.
“I guess she seemed a little tired? Or I don't know, maybe sad? Can we please end this so I can finish my movie? I was outside working all day.”
“You get energy from the sun.”
“Alex” She groaned, kicking her legs against the couch, “Come on! I told you everything I know. We only talked for like 30 seconds!”
Whether any of the information was useful to their operation, Kara wasn’t sure. But she hoped it would all point to Lena’s innocence. Lena didn’t seem like she was there running an evil lab, or trying to spy on the DEO. She seemed nice, maybe a little sad.
Alex finally relented, letting Kara get on with what little was left of her evening, but not without a few threats about keeping a low profile and a promise to not speak to her neighbor unless it was absolutely necessary for maintaining cover.
If she had to talk to Lena, she would follow the same story they fed the homeowners. Film crew. Harbor Seals. Kara asked if she could modify it to journalism, since she didn't know anything about film making.
“You don't know anything about harbor seals either.”
“I know they are super cute! And I can look it up.”
Kara lay in her bed that night, decidedly not doing the research on harbor seals she was supposed to be doing to help her polish her cover. Instead she looked up articles about Lena. The woman had immediately rebranded after inheriting the company, removing all research and products related to weapons and establishing a biomedical research division. To go from partially printing money with lucrative defense contracts to the risky long game of bio-research was practically sacrilege. The stocks plummeted, her board was drafting votes of no confidence, Bloomberg had ran an hour-long segment digging into every choice she made. But somehow, she held on. She made no public appearances, only paparazzi shots of her getting in and out of her office.
Kara had wondered how someone so young could stand it. Any negative coverage of Supergirl always left her either fuming or punishingly guilty. Usually the latter. Just two weeks ago she had been pacing around her living room, ranting to Alex about a particularly scathing article on her fight with a Galorian.
Why did everyone always blame her for property damage, it's not like she was the one with 30 foot tentacles and temper. She was just trying to help! For as often as Supergirl was in the public eye, negative press never failed to rattle her.
Yet here was this woman who had every publication in National City churning out incredibly critical op-eds about every part of her. Her character, her incompetence, her lipstick choices. Kara felt her face heat up, at the memory that particular spread. It was a Catco original. Kara lingered in the conference room entryway, unable to pull her eyes from the conference table, covered as it was with closeup photos of Lena Luthor in various shades of wine red lipstick, her dark hair cascading over her shoulders. The one they ran with was taken at the Wayne Industries Winter Fundraising Gala. It wasn’t quite candid, taken by an event photographer in all likelihood. It showed Lena standing alone, backlit by the bar in a sparkling black co*cktail dress with a plunging neckline and glittering diamond earrings.
All that criticism, but she never gave any of them a minute of her attention. No interviews, no public statements, nothing. Kara admired it. Then, just a week after the hour-long Bloomberg piece aired, L-Corp announced a semiconductor that was not only half the size of the available market, but could be produced at half the cost. It was incredible. The stocks leveled out, but the media remained skeptical. Lena Luthor, despite delivering the consumer electronic advancement of the decade, was still on thin ice.
Kara had watched the saga in fascination. She secretly hoped Supergirl would run into her, just so she could see what she was like. As if the stars had been listening, here she was. Lena Luthor, in her morning joggers and a West Elm ceramic mug, looking at Kara like she was trying to figure her out.
Kara would prove the DEO wrong. Lena Luthor was good. She just knew it.
And getting to know her was the way to prove it, not spying on her from behind closed doors. Besides, Alex said to keep a low profile and maintain her cover. Being a friendly neighbor was the perfect way to do that. Kara fell asleep that night with a feeling of giddiness she hadn’t felt in years.
—
By the time Sunday afternoon rolled around, Lena was beside herself with boredom. She had all her things packed and sitting by the door, eager to as she was for the drive back to National City.
Lena was sitting on the back deck having a glass of wine and doing the crossword when she caught a glimpse of her neighbor, Kara, hauling two enormous bundles of logs and twigs, one under each arm. Over the course of the weekend her neighbor’s driveway became crowded with those large, paper lawn bags, each stuffed to the brim with leaves and grass. She had managed to clear the entire property in just 2 days and was hardly affected at all, judging by that happy little trot she had.
Lena glanced at her watch. Still a few hours before weekend traffic calmed enough for her liking. She loved to drive, but sitting in hours of traffic with the rest of the weekenders returning to National City was not something she was interested in doing. No, better to be doing something equally mind numbing but with access to a bathroom and refrigerator. And a view of whatever the hell Kara was up to.
Lena took a moment to think about her odd neighbor. She was young to be a homeowner, especially in a town of primarily wealthy beach side homes. Not that Lena had any room to judge. She didn't seem the type to have made a fortune in tech or finance at a young age. Perhaps she had a wealthy family.
She watched as Kara tossed the bundles of wood into a pile as though they were weightless. Strong, Lena thought. Kara was bending amidst patches of beach grass and rock outcroppings not far from Lena’s private boardwalk.
Lena’s property had beach access by way of a raised wooden boardwalk that led from her deck and meandered all the way to the sandy beach. It allowed for access while keeping the natural brush and dunes. She could of course have it all cleared but that would risk inciting erosion. Her mother would be disgusted. What was the point of beachfront property if you weren’t right on the beach? Lena was in the middle of rolling her eyes at the thought of her mother when she heard Kara.
“Oh hi little guy!” Kara shot upright, cradling something in her hands. “Aren’t you cute! You’re a little far from home though, how about I get you back to the beach?” Kara cooed.
Lena watched Kara stumble through the brush one hand holding whatever creature she had planned to rescue, the other scrambling for purchase in the sand, losing her balance every few steps under the shifting sands. It was sort of cute.
The woman was strong, but it seemed she didn't exactly know what to do with her limbs. Before she could think of a reason not to, Lena called to the woman stumbling through the brush.
“You can use my walkway. It might be easier for you.” She called, hoping Kara could hear her from her deck.
Kara jumped, whirling around to face Lena. It seemed to take Kara a moment to register who was speaking to her. The moment she realized, her face lit up with an excited smile that Lena had difficulty believing was for her. “Lena, hi!”
“Hello, Kara.” She replied coolly.
“I didn’t see you there. Sorry. Hope I didn't disturb you again.”
“Not at all. I was just having a glass of wine. Please, feel welcome to use my walkway if you need to get to the beach. Your side looks a little….” Lena paused, fishing for the polite word for full of f*cking ticks, “bushy.”
Lena took a sip from her glass, watching as Kara rose from the sand and small brush, her hair sticking out in every direction.
“Are you sure?”
Lena nodded, “Of course.”
Kara made her way through the brush and dunes, getting to a spot where she could reach the rails of the boardwalk, scrambling to pull herself over but stopped herself halfway, one leg hoisted over the railing, eyes wide as if just realizing her mistake.
“Oh wait, um–I'm sorry I didn't ask. Is it okay if I just–?” She used the hand not gripping the wooden rail to gesture at herself, body twisted awkwardly around the rail.
“Of course.” Lena repeated, not quite managing to hide a smile.
“Thank you! Do you want to see him?” Kara asked, eyes bright, making her way toward Lena, hands cupped around her creature.
“Oh no, that’s alright.” Lena said, pressing further into the back of her chair, “I’d rather not.” She figured Kara would barrel towards her anyway but was surprised to find that Kara stopped immediately.
“It’s okay,” she said, “He’s a little shy anyway, aren't you, little guy?It’s okay, you can stay in your shell, we won't make you come out.”
She shot Lena a conspiratorial smile, then peaked between her hands, “Let’s get you back to your friends before it gets dark. Say thank you to Lena for letting us use her walkway!”
She gave Lena one last smile before jogging down towards the beach, the boards of the walkway creaking under her steps. “Be right back!” she called over her shoulder.
Lena watched her spill on the beach, bending over and talking to the little creature. It was a beautiful evening. The ocean was calm and the skies were turning a purple-pink that Lena was still getting used to. The sunsets were different in National City. Lighter, almost. Lena took a deep breath, letting the cool, salty air fill her lungs. Every reminder that she was as far from Metropolis as she could get on the contiguous United States made her breath a little easier. She had just settled herself in one of her deck chairs when Kara came trotting back up. She stopped just in front of Lena’s chair, smiling, haloed by the sunset behind her. She was rather beautiful, Lena thought, idly.
“He said thank you,” Kara told her, her hands clasped dutifully behind her back.
“How polite,” Lena smiled, finishing the last of her wine and setting it on the table next to her chair.
“Yup. Guess he was raised with good manners.” Kara said, rocking back on her heels.
“A rare quality among mollusks.” Lena joked. It was a small one, as far as jokes go, but it pulled a sudden bark of laughter out of Kara that pleased Lena more than she would care to admit.
“Don't get me started on those clams.” Kara shot back, eyes dancing. “Pretty creative insults. I don't think I can repeat it in polite company.”
“I wouldn't dare ask you to relive it.”
They smiled at each other for a moment, nothing but the sound of distant waves between them. Kara stood a polite distance away, holding her hands behind her back in a way that made her seem eager, but nervous. The backdrop of the setting sun behind her, in all the light pinks and deep blues making her smile all the more warm and inviting.
It must have been the rhythmic drumming of the ocean at dusk, lulling her into a state of hypnotic suggestibility; warmed further by two glasses of red wine that made Lena do what she did. Maybe it was the balm of a weekend spent alone, with nothing but the birds and late spring breeze billowing through her curtains. Or maybe it was this woman, handsome in the waning light, standing a few paces away, looking at Lena like she was someone she wanted to know.
“Would you like to stay and watch the sun set?”
Lena asked, picking at the blanket on her lap. Not quite trusting her ability to keep her face neutral. Years later, looking back at this moment, Lena would recognize that strange twisting feeling rising from deep in her chest for what it was. Not nervousness, or anxiety, but something more tender, if deceptively close in feeling. A feeling that surfaced so rarely in her life of silence and shadows that she barely had the ability to recognize it: hope.
When she looked up, Kara had her head tilted, smiling widely.
“Really?” Kara said, her smile growing.
“Come, sit.” Lena said, pulling the blanket off the chair next to her, placing it on her own lap.
Carefully, as though she was in the presence of a wild animal, Kara sat. Gingerly, at first, hands folded in her lap, back straight. Like a student and awaiting instruction from a favorite teacher.
“Would you like a glass of wine?” Lena asked, gesturing to the house behind her, “I have a rather large selection.”
“Oh, no that’s alright.” Kara said, waving her hand.
“Tea, then?”
“I'm fine, but thank you.” Kara said.
Lena paused for a moment, recalibrating. Usually her house guests, few as they may be, were eager to dive into her liquor cabinet. Kara just sat across from her, a small smile on her face, studying Lena. Time to switch tactics.
“So, we’re neighbors.” Lena prompted.
“Seems so.” Kara laughed
“How long have you lived here?”
“Um, a few months. I’m just renting.” She answered, looking suddenly shy.
“I see. So you are rather new as well. How have you found it so far? Any tips for a newcomer? Jogging routes to try, people to avoid?” Lena asked, feeling a sly smile creep up.
The woman before her looked fit under her loose navy sweater and jeans. Lena could see the outline of broad shoulders under the thick-knit material.
“Well the ocean is really beautiful. I guess I spend most of my time there or watching movies. I haven’t really met many people yet. It's pretty quiet around here.” Kara was staring hard at her hands, fidgeting. Perhaps it was a sore subject. Maybe the move to a sleepy seaside ghost town wasn’t entirely by choice. Lena certainly understood that feeling.
“It’s mostly seasonal homes here, yes. I’d imagine it picks up in the summer. I'm only here on weekends myself.”
That seemed to perk Kara up. “Really, just weekends?”
“Yes. By order of my physician, and colleagues.” Lena said, trying for humor but falling flat. Now it was Lena’s turn to fidget. Picking at the fabric of the knit blanket in her lap.
“Wait, hold on,” Kara started, twisting in her seat to fully face Lena. “It wasn’t your idea to live here? Your doctor made you?”
“It was communicated to me that if I didn't start taking regular time off, it would affect my health. So yes, my doctor told me to take weekends for the next few months. I would have happily spent it in my apartment, mind you, but my team was all too eager to get me out of the city.”
“So it was your work that made you come.”
Lena wasn’t sure why Kara was so fixated on the distinction, it’s not like it mattered who forced her into this seaside boredom prison, but she indulged her curiosity anyway.
“Both, really. My physician, and my plotting colleagues.” She didn't hide the disdain in her voice at the mention of her colleagues. Though now, as she faced the open enthusiasm of Kara, with her broad shoulders and bright eyes, she felt some of that disdain slip away. “If I stayed in the city, it would be too easy for me to work, apparently. So, here I am.”
Kara let out a loud laugh, and flopped back against her chair. “Wow.”
Lena bristled at the reaction. She was not sure what reaction she was expecting, but she certainly didn't expect Kara to laugh at her.
Kara must have noticed her sour look, as she hastened to clarify “I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you. Just the situation. Or, rather, our situation, I guess.”
“And what situation is that?” Lena asks archly, still feeling defensive of Kara’s reaction.
“I'm sort of here for work too.” Kara says, rubbing her eyes. “I didn't exactly want to be here either.”
“What a pair we make.” Lena says with a light laugh. She pulls her legs up under her and twists to face Kara, who is now sitting with her head in her hands. She reaches out to brush her hand along Kara’s arm, comforting.
“And what is it that you do, Kara?” She asks gently.
Kara peeks out from where her head is planted in her hands. A playful smile peeking through. “I'm a journalist. Here for the seals.”
Lena tries to ignore the cold dread that creeps up at the word journalist. Just thinking about the media circus she was in the few weeks before the semiconductor made her break out in a cold sweat. Lena had to very carefully remind herself that every journalist was not out to hound her personally. In fact, Kara has shown no indication she knows who Lena actually is, she might not even care. There are plenty of journalists that aren’t interested in the goings on of the Luthors. Some are focused on aerospace, or international politics, and some are interested in–
“Seals?” Lena prompts, trying to hide a smile. It was a noble pursuit, it was, she knows that. Working on her prejudice of the humanities has just fallen to the wayside amidst her 80 hour work week.
“They mate not far from here. It’s been documented that some of the seals that don't get picked come here to mope.”
Lena let out a surprised laugh, “So you’re here to document the behavior of depressed harbor seals.”
“Seals are mammals. Mammals get depressed.” Kara shrugged.
“I suppose I'm not in a place to judge. I'm not exactly at my best right now either, perhaps we can commiserate.”
“I'm sure the seals would be happy to have you join them.”
“Misery loves company. Or I suppose in this case, moping does.” Lena smiled. She watched as Kara shifted in her chair, moving to sit sideways, her legs dangling over the armrest.
“Are you?”
Lena looked up from where she was watching Kara gently swing her feet. Her ankles poked out over her low socks.
“Hm?”
“Are you moping?” Kara clarified, her tone somewhere between joking and concerned.
“No.” Lena answered, automatic.
“Hey no judgment here.” Kara said, her hands up, placating, “But if you’re not moping then I guess you don’t need the Kara special. Guaranteed to cheer anyone up. Mammal to mammal.”
Lena narrowed her eyes. “Since I am decidedly not moping then I suppose not. But perhaps I can see a menu? For future reference, of course.”
Kara’s smile grew, “As it happens, we do offer a takeout menu.”
Kara twisted in her chair, fishing her phone out of her pants pocket. Lena watched as she typed, deleted, and typed again before handing it over to her.
Lena let out a loud laugh, at what she saw. The screen, open to the notes app had just words
Ice cream!
Fish?
“A boutique menu, I see.” She said, trying to cover her laugh with her hand.
“Yeah. We do pop-ups.” Kara joked.
They smiled at each other for a moment. The last of the evening light fading over the ocean. It would be dark soon and Lena would have to drive back to National City. She found herself a little disappointed at the thought.
Lena glanced over her shoulder. She could see the inside of her house through windows of the deck doors, and her bag sitting by the door where she had placed it hours ago. She let out a breath. A few more minutes couldn’t hurt.
“I'll have to try it. Do you see many clients?” Lena asked, handing Kara’s phone back, careful not to let their hands brush.
“Not yet. But the season’s just starting.”
“Right, youre just at the start of the season. A rather long assignment, then.” Lena commented, dropping the metaphor. “Since you’ve been here for a few months already, I mean. Are the seals that unpredictable?” She teased.
“Sometimes!” Kara coughed, “I can also cover other things while I'm here. I'm kind of remote at the moment.”
Kara shrunk back into her chair, facing forward, looking across the darkening ocean. Lena could feel the temperature of their conversation suddenly cool. There was a twinge of disappointment that she tried to ignore.
“I see.” Lena said, “No rest for the weary then.”
“Not really.” Kara replied, resting her head in her hands. “You know I was sort of hoping this assignment would be a break, but it doesn't seem like it’s going to pan out that way.”
“Perhaps you could dip into that Kara special of yours.”
Kara seemed to perk up at the suggestion, “You’re right. Ice cream can fix anything.”
“Or fish.”
Kara’s face twisted at that, and they both shared a laugh.
“Do you want some? I can run and get some. I almost always have some on hand.”
Lena felt herself smiling, Kara rushed to clarify before Lena could open her mouth.
“Ice cream, not fish. I think I have Rocky Road, Chocolate Chip, one I think one of the basic Ben Jerry flavors, but I can never remember the name. I don't usually go for those since they are kind of small, and they have a lot going on in the flavor department. Some of those things are too hard to be in ice cream, you know? Like hello, I’m here for the creamy part, not bits of peanut butter frozen solid.”
It would be easy to say yes, and spend a couple more hours eating ice cream and debating the finer points of frozen dessert, but the coming work week loomed over her. She had narrowly escaped a vote of no confidence last week. Granted, it was by a wider margin than her first one, following the decision to close the weapons research division, but still. She needed to figure out a way to unite the board on something that wasn’t their dislike of her. On top of a looming inspection of the new semiconductor facility she had a lot on her plate.
“Not tonight. I'm afraid I need to head back to National City soon if I want to get there at a decent time to get to bed.”
She watched Kara bend to slip her shoes back on, having taken them off some time over the course of their conversation.
“That’s okay, more for me then. So….next weekend?”
There was a slant of hope in Kara’s voice that sent warmth through Lena’s veins. It had been awhile since people had wanted to voluntarily spend any time with her. People that didn't want anything from her, that is. Kara sounded unsure of herself, like Lena would say no.
“I'll be here.” Lena confirmed.
Kara stood up then, stretching. “Well, I better get to it. It was nice talking to you Lena, and thanks again for letting me use your neat little boardwalk by the way. You saved me from an evening of picking sticky burrs out of my pants.”
“Always happy to be of service.” Lena said, gathering her empty wine glass and blanket. She chose to ignore the strange choked laugh Kara let out at her reply.
Later, when Lena was in the car, speeding down the empty highway back to National City she couldn't help but think how odd she felt. She even had her windows down, enjoying the feel of the wind, taking deep lungfuls of night air, cool and damp. Lena couldn’t remember the time she had been in a car with the windows down. Always having to be mindful of hair and makeup lessened the appeal of any kind of breeze.
She felt settled. Tired, but present. Aware of herself, in a way that made her feel both small and calm all at once. Like a zoom out of herself, in the car with the dark road stretching out in front of her. She thought of Kara, how she had turned and waved at least twice while she jogged back to her side of the property.
Next weekend might not be so bad if she had a friend. For the first time in over a year she found herself looking forward to something.
—
Lena returned for the second weekend with a new sense of vigor. She had managed to please the Board with a series of wins that even her staunchest adversary had to admit, however begrudgingly, that the numbers were promising. For the first time since she began her tenure at L-Corp, she left the building feeling like she was in control.
She had even bought a bottle of champagne on her way up the coast, at a darling little tasting room just off Highway 1.
Feeling social, she decided to set herself up on the front lawn. She thought about dragging the chairs from the back deck out front but an experimental lift had doused that idea immediately. They solid wood Adirondaks and they weighed a f*cking ton. Instead she elected to bring a kitchen chair out and sit amidst the green grass and pink hydrangeas of her weekend home.
She had managed to get through a few chapters of her book when she spotted a light on in Kara’s home. Before she could second guess herself, she was at her neighbor's door pressing the doorbell. It was much in the same style as her own, though much more modest. Perhaps they were part of the same property once and have since had split.
She remembered Kara telling her that she was renting the place. For a moment Lena panicked, what if the owners were there during the week and Kara was only there on a weekend arrangement? Was Lena supposed to even interact with Kara while she was on assignment? Perhaps it was best if she let Kara come to her instead. Lena was just about to turn away when the door swung open, revealing Kara, barefoot in a dark blue hoodie and grey joggers.
“Lena!” Kara exclaimed with a wide smile.
Lena felt her doubts melt away at the enthusiastic greeting. Like Kara had been waiting for Lena to come to her door.
“Hello, Kara.”
“Did you just get here?”
“I did, yes.”
“Well, happy weekend! Do you want to come in?” Kara asked, gesturing behind her. The house was warmly lit, and every available surface seemed to be covered in nautical-themed nicknacks.
“I was actually here to invite you to join me for a glass of wine. Perhaps on the deck. We can watch the sunset again?”
Kara smiled at that, “I’d love to. I'll get my shoes.”
—
“So, what are we celebrating?” Kara asked, nodding at the champagne bottle Lena was meticulously pouring from. Lena’s hand was wrapped around Kara’s, holding the other woman’s glass steady as she poured. Lena wasn’t sure what possessed her to do something so intimate, but Kara didn’t seem to mind.
“I just had a good week, I suppose.” Lena said, topping Kara off and settling into her chair.
Kara has her feet kicked up on the wicker footrest Lena had brought out earlier. The last time they sat out here Lena took notice of the way Kara seemed to splay herself across surfaces.
“Come on, you gotta give me more than that! How about some highlights?” Kara asked, with a crooked smile, all confidence and charm.
“I suppose I could. I was able to settle the board down with a few patent filings. Nothing world changing, but it will help carry us over to next quarter, and give R&D some wiggle room until at least the end of the year.” Lena said.
“That’s great Lena, congratulations!”
“Thank you. Oh! And we discovered some surveillance software and were able to track the operating IP address, judsign by the encryption we think it belongs to some sort of government agency. Hopefully by next week we can see who has had access and shut them down with a few cease and desists.”
Kara choked on her sip of champagne, spraying it all over herself.
“Sorry. I always forget how bubbly these are.” She sputtered. Lena wordlessly hands her a napkin, watching as Kara wipes her face and hands, looking suddenly nervous.
“You think it was a government agency? How do you know?”
Lena hummed, “Well we don't know for sure, but when I was helping the FBI collect evidence against Lex, I worked a little with the IT team to help install similar software to the servers. Some of it looked familiar, if a little more advanced.”
“What happens if you find them?”
“Slap them with a cease and desist, for starters. Depending on how much information they were privy to we can sue them for damages on potential earnings.”
“What if it's personal?” Kara asked quietly.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, what if they are just spying on you, specifically. Not L-Corp.”
“More of the of the same, I suppose.” Lena says, taking a sip of her champagne.
“If I’m being honest I prefer them to spy on me over my company. Afterall, we are still trying to get through all the things Lex was siphoning through L-Corp when he was in charge. We don’t know what we don’t know, so to speak. So, if it was personal it would be less of a headache, in all honesty.” Lena keeps her tone light in the hopes of lightening her companions' rapidly souring mood.
“We will throw so many lawyers at them it’ll make their head spin. My team is very good.” Lena finishes with a wink, but finds Kara wasn’t looking at her. She was staring into her near empty glass, brows furrowed. Lena picked up the champagne bottle that sat on the table between them, reaching over to gently take Kara’s hand and fill her glass.
“I know surveillance is a nasty business, Kara, but I assure you, I'm used to it. Don’t worry about me, I know how to handle a little extra-judicial civilian surveillance.”
“You shouldn't have to,” Kara says, more darkly than Lena was expecting. She twists in her seat, placing her glass on the table and sitting to fully face Lena.
“You’re so good Lena, I looked you up, did you know that? I've been following what you do since you got to National City. You’re amazing. I hate that people won’t let you be your own person. That they’re treating you like you were the one who did all those things when you were the person who tried to fix it!”
Kara’s eyes were burning with indignation, she was more upset on Lena’s behalf than Lena was herself. Lena wasn't sure what to make of Kara’s sudden display of emotion.
“Well thank you, Kara. I appreciate that.” She said softly.
Kara looked a million miles away. Her jaw tight as she stared down at her hands.
“I need to go.” Kara says, suddenly standing.
“Is everything all right?” Lena asks, bewildered. They had barely sat down and yet it seems she has managed to upset her new friend.
“Kara, please, if it's something I said–”
“--No, Lena it’s not you I just need to-” Kara shakes her head, seemingly at a loss, “I forgot I have to call my editor tonight. He’s going to be off soon and I don't check in, he's going to be mad.”
Lena watches Kara gather her things, just as Kara turns to leave Lena reaches for her hand, stopping her.
“You would tell me if it was something I did, right?” Lena manages to keep her voice from shaking because God, how embarrassing would that be, nearly crying when someone she hardly knows leaves abruptly.
Kara softens immediately. The stormy look on her face replaced with a sad smile, “Lena of course I would. It’s not you at all. I just have a boss that is a huge jerkface. How about a raincheck, are you busy tomorrow?”
Normally Lena would be mortified at the level of relief she feels at Kara’s explanation, to feel so much for something so small, but she is so buoyed by the invitation to see her tomorrow that she doesn't care.
“Brunch at my place? We can finish the champagne, make mimosas. I'm not much of a cook but I'm sure I can whip something up.”
“Pancakes?” Kara asks, eyes bright. Her somber mood forgotten.
“Of course,” Lena says, giving Kara’s hand a final squeeze. “Pancakes it is.”
They smile at each other before Kara excuses herself and jogs back to her home. But not before offering to help Lena move the chairs under the awning, in case it rained that evening. She lifted them like they weighed nothing. After Kara had gone, Lena gave an experimental lift, suspicious that they had perhaps just been heavier than she remembered, only to find she could barely move them an inch. Lena felt her face warm. That neighbor of hers was strong.
—
“Kara, you can not under any circ*mstances tell her who we are. We are supposed to be operating in the dark and having Lena Luthor of all people know is going to blow our operations completely out of the water.”
Kara was pacing the living room, phone pressed between her ear and shoulder. She needed room to gesticulate. She was feeling too much. Between the hurt look on Lena;s face when she stood up to leave, and the hopeful way she asked to have brunch the next day. Kara hated that she was lying to this person who was just looking for a friend.
“She’s going to find out anyway! She said her team already discovered your stupid sneaky software last week, and it's a matter of time before they figure it out.”
“I’ll alert Winn now, we can be back in the dark in a few hours. We can make it look like a mistake.” Alex was taking on that tone she used when she thought Kara was being unreasonable. As if this warrantless surveillance of a civilian was completely reasonable, and Kara was just being too emotional.
“No! I didn't tell you this so you could be even sneakier, I told you because I'm done. She didn't do anything wrong. She’s just here to rest.”
“Kara. Please. You’ve known this woman for barely a day. She could be lying, we can’t jeopardize our operation on your weird infatuation!”
Kara blustered, “I am not infatuated–”
“Oh, you’re not? Want to explain your Google history then? Did you forget you were using your DEO phone?”
Kara felt herself blush “I was just doing research!”
Alex scoffed “Lena Luthor, Met Gala 2019 dress; Lena Luthor Metropolis Fashion Week 2018; Lena Luthor, keynote speech for Science Guild of America Clean Water Initiative Conference. Should I keep going?”
“Her keynote speech was really good.” Kara mumbled.
“Sure, Kara. And the dress searches? You saved the photo of the Winter Fundraiser to your phone. Kara, it connects to the DEO drive.”
Kara paled at the thought of the DEO security team seeing a sudden onslaught of Lena Luthor in a series of low cut co*cktail dresses popping up between photos of crime scenes and stakehouts.
“It was a nice dress. I thought maybe I could…get one. For…myself.”
Kara was grasping at straws and she knew it. Alex knew it too.
“Look, Kara, I get it, she’s hot. I won’t deny that. But don’t you think you’re being a little too soft on her because you like her face?” Alex’s tone was softer, now. She sounded more like her sister and less like Agent Danvers.
“I'm just trying to keep you from making a mistake. We have to make sure we know she is innocent. Just because you want her to be innocent, doesn't mean she is.”
“If you keep treating people like you how you expect them to behave then they’ll start doing it anyway. It’s setting them up for failure!”
Kara could hear Alex sigh and adjust her chair. It was going to be a long time before they agreed on things like this. She just hoped that Alex could trust her judgment, even if she didn't agree. Why didn’t anyone trust her?
Whenever Kal had a hunch, it was like the whole room would scramble to accommodate him. He thinks this camp is secretly running an anti-alien militia? Great, lets tap their wires. Someone he interviewed as Clark seems suspicious? Okay lets put a detail on them for the next 4 months.
When it came to Kara? Suddenly they needed hard evidence.
It pissed her off. Sure, she hasn’t been at this as long as Clark, but she is every bit as good at it, if not better. So she had less arrests, so what? If you looked at the numbers Supergirl had nearly the same number of incidents as Superman, she just happened to be much better at de-escalating than he was. So she never got the credit.
“I'm not doing it anymore, Alex. I'm going to tell her and you’re just going to have to trust my judgment. If I'm wrong then I'll take responsibility, but I know she's different, Alex. I just know it.”
When she heard Alex’s muffled groan Kara knew she had won. At least for now.
“Full. Responsibility.”
“Completely.” Kara replied, trying to sound serious while fighting a smile.
“And you keep your comms on you from here on out. If something goes wrong we need eyes on it. No more leaving it in the house.”
Kara winced. Of course Alex noticed. She was never as good at being sneaky as her sister.
“Got it, comms on.” Kara said, nodding. She would keep them on her person, just not on on. That should count, right?
Kara placed her phone on the nightstand that night. Her usual habit of surreptitiously reading articles about Lena doused by the idea that her sister could see her entire activity history. Yeah, she’s hot. So what? Kara thought. Her embarrassment at being caught was overshadowed by her excitement of seeing her new friend tomorrow, this time without the burden of this stupid lie.
—
Kara found herself smiling over her mug of coffee, listening to Lena explain the finer points of champagne production. They were sitting in Lena’s kitchen, bright and airy. The windows overlooking the sea were cracked open, the sound of gulls and distant waves filtering through.
Lena sipped a mimosa while Kara had elected to go with coffee. She never liked the taste of alcohol, and since she couldn't’ even feel the effects the whole idea just never appealed to her.
“It's why Napa is considered the wild west of wine production. They don't have the rules, family plots, and history that they do in Europe. Certain grapes need to be harvested and stored a certain way. Vines must be tended to with specific soil conditions, even elevations. But here they grow sauvignons in the same field as Rieslings.”
Lena punctuated the end of her explanation with a haughty sip of wine. She reached for a grape, piled in a bowl between them, a golden bracelet on her wrist clinking against the marble counter.
“The nerve.” Kara said, joking. She didn't really understand the nuances of wine making but she was pleased at the smile she was able to pull from Lena at the joke.
“When I was touring vineyards in the South of France every vineyard had an opinion
about the way they grow them up here. I can’t say I recall all of it, my French isn't what it used to be, but it was fascinating nonetheless. A new creation, breaking hundreds of years of tradition. Where will it lead?”
Lena finished thoughtfully. She must have mistaken Kara’s silence for disinterest, she glanced up at Kara, sounding suddenly shy, “Please, stop me if I'm boring you,” Lena said, popping a grape in her mouth, Kara’s eyes following the motion, “I know you hardly drink at all, I can’t imagine this topic is particularly compelling for you.”
Kara felt caught under her gaze. Lena was looking at her from beneath her lashes, her lips, painted a dark maroon to match her maroon MIT sweater, formed a shy smile. She looked soft and warm. Lena had a way of making everything she wore look effortless and pretty. Kara felt a little silly in her burnt orange shirt and coveralls.
“I don't think it's boring! I think it’s interesting. Especially the part about breaking traditions. I might not know a lot about wine, but I do know something about breaking traditions.”
Lena’s eyes flashed at that. She leaned forward, elbows resting on the counter.
“Oh? Do tell.”
Kara had the distinct feeling that she needed to tread carefully. Lena’s full attention on her, her body angled towards Kara, bright green eyes waiting, evaluating. Kara swallowed.
“I grew up in a pretty um, restrictive environment. Compared to here, at least. There were a lot of expectations for me. And, even though everyone is–”
Kara paused, trying to gather her thoughts. “Even though I don't live there anymore, I can still feel them. I guess I'm trying to make new ones while still honoring the old ones. Or the people who gave them to me, I guess. If that makes sense.”
Lena made a sympathetic noise, placing a comforting hand over Kara’s wrist. Grateful, Kara turned her hand, grasping Lena’s with her own.
“I feel like it's my duty to keep them alive. The traditions, I mean. Even though this world is so different. They don't exactly…fit.”
“Sorry.” Kara let out an embarrassed laugh. Reaching to adjust her glasses just for want of something to do with her hands “You were probably hoping for a rebellious teenager story and here I am getting all weird instead.”
Lena hummed at that, dipping her head down to catch Kara’s gaze as she stared resolutely down at the counter.
“I think it's rather noble of you, Kara.” She said gently, squeezing Kara’s hand.
“I’m no stranger to breaking tradition myself. The life I am living doesn't necessarily align with the path my family expected of me.” Lena let out a good humored laugh, but Kara could hear the sadness behind it.
“My family doesn't exactly have the kind of traditions I would like to replicate. In fact, I'm trying to get as far from them as possible.” She shot Kara a sardonic smile.
“I think it's very thoughtful of you to want to honor your family. You are a kind soul, Kara, and I think your family would be very proud of the person you have become.” Lena hadn’t pressed Kara for details on the traditions, or where Kara was from, and for that Kara was grateful.
Kara felt her eyes water. She couldn't help it, Lena’s tone was so sincere, so gentle, it felt like she was being held.
“Oh, Kara, I'm sorry I didn't mean to–”
“It’s okay! I'm not crying, I promise. Just a little misty is all.” Kara assured.
“Here, I'll whip up those pancakes I promised earlier. See if that will cheer you up.”
Kara brightened immediately. Pulling her back and squeezing them to her chest she let out an excited little squeal. It was a habit of hers, pulling her limbs close to her body to keep them contained. It was easy to lose control in her excitement and she would be mortified if she broke anything in Lena’s pristine, expensive looking kitchen.
“Pancakes make everything better.” She said “Not that anything needs to be better. I'm having a great time as it is. Everything is already perfect.”
Lena stood with her back to Kara, whipping batter in a large bowl. She turned her head to flash Kara a confident little smirk that made Kara blush.
“Glad to hear that.” She said, turning back to the batter.
Kara ate nearly all of the pancakes herself. Lena had slid her own plate towards Kara when she saw Kara was already halfway through her own. Kara was starving, she had run through her groceries already, and, having only eaten a box of cereal that morning, was feeling ravenous.
They were the kind that came in a yellow box, and a little raw in the middle, but they were perfect. Lena had made them for her.
Kara glanced up to see Lena studying her. “Sorry, I know I eat a lot.” she said through a bite of syrupy goodness.
“Not at all,” Lena said. She was leaning on her elbow, smiling at Kara like she was endeared, instead of grossed out.
“I'm glad someone likes my cooking. I have to admit, I was a little nervous. I don’t often cook.I went through a couple test batches yesterday to make sure I would be prepared”
“Test batches–?” Kara started, words muffled by a mouthful of pancakes. She took a moment to swallow her last bite. “Did you practice making pancakes, Lena?”
“I did.”
The image of Lena squinting at the instructions on a cardboard box of pancake mix, cussing as she attempted to execute the perfect flip, all for the sake of impressing Kara made her feel suddenly warm.
Suddenly, a thought came to her
“Wait, Lena, were you nervous?”
“I was.”
“Why?”
Lena looked up from where she had been inspecting her nails. Her sea green eyes focused and piercing. Kara felt glued to her seat.
“Well, it's not everyday I get to cook breakfast for a beautiful woman. I wanted to make sure I got it right. I like to be very thorough.” Lena finished with a wink and immediately stood, collecting their plates. Kara hardly had time to respond.
“Uh.”
Kara watched Lena’s back as she rinsed the dishes and placed them in the sink. She tried not to listen to the woman’s heartbeat but it was loud. She really was nervous. Over Kara! Kara suddenly had the distinct sense that she needed to do something to help ease her mind. The woman had just put herself out there, afterall. Maybe Kara could be brave too.
“You’re beautiful too.” Kara said, quietly.
“Hm? What was that” Lena said, her voice light and airy. A distinct contrast to the rushing beat of her heart. She still hadn’t turned around. She was busying herself moving the frying pan and mixing bowl around the sink. They were already clean, Kara knew. She had cleaned them for Lena while she plated their pancakes.
“I said I think you are beautiful, Lena.”
She heard Lena take a deep, steadying breath before turning to face Kara. Lena had her hands wrapped in a dish towel, her back against the sink. Save for her fidgeting hands, she stood very still. She looked like she was about to bolt.
“You do?” She asked, voice small.
“I do.” Kara said, moving to stand. Suddenly the way she and Lena immediately connected made sense. Kara never had trouble making friends, but her connection with Lena had been almost instant. They were able to chat so easily and Kara couldn't figure out what was different about Lena. Maybe this was it.
Kara moved to stand in front of Lena, gently removing the dish towel that was wrapping her hands and placing it on the counter. Lena was almost shaking, far from the confident woman that had been sipping mimosas at the counter with her just minutes ago. Kara made sure to move slowly, as though she was encountering a nervous deer.
“There is something I should tell you, though. Before I um–do anything else.”
“And what is it you were thinking of doing?” Lena said, slipping back to that smooth, flirtatious confidence that made Kara stutter. She traced her finders up Kara’s arm, looking like the cat that just caught the canary.
Kara took a breath, she needed to get this out now before she lost her nerve. She couldn't let Lena’s smooth, sexy, whatever get in the way of her focus.
“Wait, Lena, I'm serious. There's something you should know.”
Lena backed off immediately, putting her hands behind her back and leaning against the sink. Kara missed the contact, but tingling feeling of Lena’s hands running up Kara’s arms remained.
“Can we um, can we sit?” Kara asked, chewing her lip.
“Of course, Kara.” Lena said, dropping that smoky seductive tone, replacing it with a genuine warmth. Kara couldn't decide which she preferred. Both were making her a little hot under the collar.
Lena led Kara to her couch, was a little uncomfortable, cloud-grey and sort of hard. Styled that fancy minimalist style that seemed to be so popular these days. Oh well, it would help Kara focus. Kara sat at the far edge of the couch, squeezing her knees to her chest, and trying to focus on her breath.
“What is it, Kara?”
“There isn't an easy way to say this so I'm just going to say it.”
“I'm not doing a piece on the harbor seals. I am a journalist though, and I was sent here to watch you.”
Suddenly, Lena’s face went dark “I should have known. And what were you hoping to find, exactly?”
If Kara could sweat, this would be one of those moments where it would begin to seep through her shirt. She felt hot, itchy, and like she wanted to run.
“”I wasn’t hoping to find anything!” Kara said, turning to Lena fully, “Really, I promise. I didn't even want to do this. They were just so pushy and they think you’re up to something. But you’re not, I know you aren't.”
“How noble” Lena scoffed, echoing the sentiment from earlier with none of the warmth. Kara winced.
“And what organization is this? I would guess, but every publication in the City has been hounding me since I moved here so it's hard to narrow it down.”
Kara watched Lena shut down in real time. She sat ramrod straight, facing forward, jaw clenched and pointedly not looking at Kara.
“So, I sort of have two jobs, actually. I work as a journalist during the day and then at night I um–I work at this other place, sort of.” She wasn’t sure if she should reveal her identity but Lena had been so sweet and genuine, and practiced making her pancakes and Kara just couldn't bear it.
“It's the Department of Extraterrestrial Operations. It's a secret organization, they operate behind the scenes, and Lena, they are super secret and no one is supposed to know about them so please don’t tell anyone else. But they think you bought this property to spy on them so they sent me to watch you to try and figure out if that was true.”
“So you’re a spy.” Lena was staring at the floor, she spoke so quietly Kara might have missed it, were it not for her super senses.
“Not usually, but I guess for this assignment I am, yeah.” Kara said, sighing. “I really do like you Lena. I don't want to lie to you about this.”
“You mean anymore than you already have.” Lena said flatly, “You know, didn't consider it before but I suppose you do make an excellent spy. So easy to trust.”
Kara could feel her chest splitting. She was losing this person before she even got to know her. She should never have agreed to this.
“I'm sorry, Lena. I can go if you'd like.” Kara rose from the couch, making her way towards the door.
“Wait.”
Kara turned, Lena was leaned over the back of the couch, one hand twisted in her shirt, her eyes stony. She chewed on her lip, the silence stretched between them.
“Is that really the truth?”
“It is.” Kara said, “and um, there’s more. If you have questions I'll answer them.”
“Any question?”
“Yes.” Kara nodded.
“You’re either an exceedingly good spy or a terrible one.” Lena laughed, though her smile didn't reach her eyes.
“It's my first time. Doing reconnaissance like this. I'm usually more of a…field operative.” Kara said.
Lena hummed, “Certainly explains your strength.”
Lena invited Kara to sit back down, and Kara was determined to do everything she could to make her not regret it. This time, when Kara sat, she faced Lena, hands folded in front of her. Ready.
“Ask anything you want.” Kara said,
Lena regarded her, eyes narrowed. Kara fought not to squirm under her gaze.
“Tell me about this secret, clandestine organization.”
So Kara did. She told Lena how they started, what they did. And how the Luthors were a primary driver of its founding. Lena took it all in with a solemn look. Asking probing questions, nodding along as though things were coming together. Kara watched Lena’s mind work, making connections that Kara hadn't even considered. For a moment, Kara forgot the sour mood, caught as she was in her admiration of this woman’s mind. She really was brilliant. Then, the conversation turned to Kara again.
“What is your official title, in this clandestine organization of yours?”
Though Lena’s mood had lightened through the conversation, her arm slung over the back of the couch, her tone still held a certain level of caution.
Kara thought for a moment. They only ever called her Supergirl, she wasn’t exactly sure if she qualified as an Agent. She seemed to have more security clearance than the average operative, but she also wasn't’ privy to the inner workings of the top officials. As much as J’onn and Alex tried to keep her in the loop.
“I don't exactly know.”
Lena’s face twisted at that, “Well, what does your paystub say?”
“I don't exactly get paid.”
“I'm sorry, you don't get paid? You’re working for a secret government organization and aren't even on the payroll?”
“Well it would sort of defeat the purpose.”
“And what purpose is that, exactly?”
“Of…me. Of what I do.” Kara said, wincing. The more she talked to Lena the more she was realizing her position at the DEO was a little more improvised than she had thought. Alex had taken care of the paperwork, she and J’onn and Alex had just begun working together and that was that. It wasn’t exactly like she had to interview as Supergirl.
Lena was not picking up what Kara was putting down. She stared at her, incredulous waiting.
“And that is?”
Kara stood abruptly, she unbuttoned one of the straps of her overalls and pulled her shirt off, revealing her suit underneath.
Lena’s mouth hung open. “Oh my God.”
“I'm kind of Supergirl?”
It took 2 whiskeys, both carefully brought by Kara and tossed back instantly by Lena for things to settle down. Lena was holding an ice pack to her head, again brought by Kara, and rubbing her temple with her hand.
“I can confidently say this is not where I expected the day to go.” Lena said, sounding haggard.
“I'm sorry.” Kara told her. They were sitting closer together now, empty whiskey glass on the table
“I've had two whiskeys, it's not even 2.”
Kara’s ears caught on the breathy way Lena laughed. She willed herself not to go warm at the sound.
“Though I can't exactly be blamed.” She shot a look over at Kara. It wasn't dark and angry like when their conversation started, but it wasn’t quite fond either. Either way, Kara counted it as a win.
“Believe me, I get it. I sort of wish I could have one right now.” Kara said.
“You are welcome to pour yourself one.” Lena motioned to the liquor cabinet in the corner of the room. “I have a wine fridge as well.”
“It doesn't really do anything for me.” Kara smiled ruefully.
“Shame.” is all Lena said.
After a beat of silence Lena pressed herself back against the couch and groaned. “So, now what happens?”
“What do you mean?”
“You have revealed not only your investigation, but the organization you work for, and your secret identity. All to the person you are supposed to be investigating. I can’t imagine your employer will be too happy.”
Kara felt the color drain from her face.
“Oh. That.”
Lena raised an eyebrow, challenging.
“Well, when you put it like that…” Kara trailed off, feeling suddenly ill.
“Something you forgot to consider?” Lena asked. She sounded a little haughty. Kara was trying to focus on not finding it, well, hot.
“No! Well, yes, maybe? I might be in a little bit of trouble. But it's okay. I can deal with it.”
Kara took a steadying breath, “I'll deal with it.You’re worth it.”
Lena was suddenly sitting close, she could smell her perfume. It was earthy and warm. Perfect for the woman with the calculating green eyes and long, dark hair that seemed to captivate Kara so.
“Well do let me know if you need any help. I'm not exactly well-liked in those circles, but I can offer a different kind of support.”
Kara felt Lena’s hand brushing up her arm. Like earlier, she felt heat shoot all the way through her body, and, like earlier, she felt something stirring in her.
“Different like how?” Kara hedged. She had an idea what Lena was angling for but after their talk she was feeling unsettled. She had spent the last hour unable to look Lena in the eye, cycling through looking at the floor, the ceiling. She had felt Lena’s presence as acutely as a touch, but she was too scared to look her in the eye. Overcome with guilt as she was.
Lena was close now, and from the corner of her eye Kara could tell Lena was studying her intently. Gone was the anger, but it was replaced by something else. Something quieter, but no less simmering and intense.
Gently, Lena touched Kara’s cheek, guiding Kara to look at her.
“I was thinking something like this, if you were amenable.”
She pressed her lips to Kara’s. It was delicate, like a question. It took Kara only a moment to press in.
Suddenly all Kara’s senses were filled with Lena. Her perfume, her warmth, her soft lips. Kara’s hands slid into her silky hair, scratching at her scalp. Lena let out the prettiest sigh, pressing herself into Kara, throwing her arms around Kara’s neck. Kara felt like she was on fire, she pulled at Lena until she was straddling her lap, running her arms up and down her back. Lena was clinging to her, her hips stuttering. Kara deepened the kiss, sliding her tongue into Lena’s mouth, sighing at the easy way she opened for her. She was just about to start kissing down her neck when Lena pulled back. Resting her forehead against Kara’s, panting.
“This was more how I had hoped today would go.” She breathed, eyes still closed.
Kara only laughed, squeezing Lena. Delighting the feel of Lena’s warm weight on her.
“So, will this type of support suffice?”
Kara opened her eyes, looking at Lena. Sparkling and warm and so, so soft.
“I feel like I can do anything.” She told her, a wisp of hair around her finger. Lena watched, fondly.
“Good because I think there’s someone at my door.”
“Huh?” Kara asked. There was a pounding at Lena’s door, it sounded distinctly military. Hard, authoritative, impatient.
“Lena Luthor, we know you’re in there. Open this door immediately. You have 30 seconds to comply.”
Kara let out a loud groan, pressing her head forward to Lena’s chest.
“I turned off my comms.” Kara groused. “I'll get them off your back, just a minute.”
Kara was about to speed away when Lena caught her hand. “Thank you. And don't be too long. I was hoping to be on mine by the end of the evening.”
Kara sputtered. Lena stood up, light as a feather and made her way to the kitchen, shooting Kara a wink over her shoulder.
-End -
