Chapter Text
Kara stood there staring at the closed door for a while until in a hot flash of panic, she realized she had less than two hours until she was to be going on a date with the richest woman on earth. Instinctively she took out her phone to call Alex.
She hesitated. The silver L-Corp logo flashed at her. She had just made out with the woman who had designed that very same phone. Insanity. Should she tell Alex right that second? They would see each other that night anyway. And there was that little voice in the back of her head telling her that the date with Lena wouldn’t go anywhere anyway. In her mind she would show up at the L-Corp office only to be escorted out of the building by security, the whole thing turning out to be one big sick joke.
She should definitely call Alex, she decided. Her sister would be a voice of reason. Before she could overthink it even more, she was dialing Alex’ number.
“Hey, Kara, everything alright?” said Alex as she picked up. Her sister sounded sleepy.
“Hey, Alex,” Kara said, and then, she remembered why Alex might’ve still been sleeping, “Oh my gosh, I completely forgot you worked last night I’m so sorry!”
She could never quite memorize Alex’ schedule at the hospital. She could barely organize her own life as it were.
“It’s fine, Kara, I was going to get up anyway, I still have to prepare everything for tonight,” Alex assured her. Alex’ birthday had been at the beginning of the week. Kara had congratulated her one minute after minute. Her memory was good when it came to the truly important stuff.
“Right! Do you want me to bring food or drinks or…?” Kara asked, moving into the kitchen. The baby potty with the dirty dishes inside looked at her accusingly. She went over into the living room and flopped down on the couch. Moving laundry aside first.
“Please don’t cook anything,” Alex replied. Kara could hear her smiling.
“I won’t, I promise! But I could bring Potstickers?”
“What a selfless offering,” Alex laughed, “So you can eat them all yourself again?”
“Hey! You had some as well!” Kara protested. This fight had been going on for years at this point. What was she to do when the little bundles of joy were so delicious? Not eat twenty in one session?
“Sure, I did, whatever you tell yourself so you can sleep at night,” Alex told her teasingly. “But seriously, you don’t have to bring anything, there will be plenty enough.”
Begrudgingly Kara gave in, but wondered at the same time if Lena would be willing to go have potstickers for their lunch date. Which made her remember why she had called Alex in the first place.
“Alex! Does Sam know her boss is in town?” she asked.
“Stan? Yeah sure, why wouldn’t he be in town?” Alex asked back sounding confused.
“No, I mean her boss boss.”
“Lena Luthor? I mean she probably knows if she is, yes, why are you asking?” Alex replied still unsure of where this was going.
“She was at the shop today.” Kara said, retelling the events of her rather unusual morning.
“I can’t believe you made out with the Lena Luthor,” Alex said as Kara was finishing telling her about Lena asking her out less than ten minutes prior.
“Do you think I should go on that date?” Kara asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious. Absentmindedly she started sorting the socks from the pile of laundry next to her.
“Of course you should. Why wouldn’t you? Even I would go,” Alex told her.
“I don’t think Sam would find that very funny,” Kara said, while looking for the second to a pair of dog-themed socks.
“If I told her I had the chance to be with a billionaire I think she would understand.”
Kara could hear her grinning through the phone, but she wasn’t feeling the joke.
“I’m not a gold digger,” she said. She gave up looking for the missing sock moving on to the pile of t-shirts. She pulled out one randomly. It was t-shirt Sam had gotten at a work thing years ago. It had the old Luthor-Corp logo on it. How ironic. Kara threw it behind her without looking. It landed on a pile of dishes.
“Of course, you’re not, I’m sorry, I’m taking you seriously,” Alex said, sensing Kara’s turning mood. “But why wouldn’t you go? The woman is obviously into you, she’s smart and from what you’re telling me very attractive.”
“But what if I can’t keep up with all that? I live like a hoarder, I’m seriously broke and I suck at dating,” Kara complained.
“Kara, those are all things that are changeable,” Alex told her. “We can clean your house; you know I’ve offered you before. You will maybe not experience serious financial wealth with the shop, but do you think that would matter to someone who’s already got more money than she could ever spend? And you know you don’t suck at dating. Just be yourself you’ll be fine, you’re lovely.”
Kara, who was currently folding an old National City Marathon t-shirt, sighed. “I’m sorry, I’m being difficult,” she said. “I’m way overthinking this.”
“Probably,” Alex laughed. “Hey, speaking of the shop, shouldn’t you be working right now?”
“Oh, crap,” Kara said letting the t-shirt fall back onto the pile. When she glanced over at the clock hanging on the wall in her kitchen, she realized she was running seriously late. “Sorry, Alex, I really gotta go, I still have to shower and, oh my god.”
Kara jumped up, pulling all the folded laundry down with her of the couch. She didn’t even notice as she was already sprinting up the stairs toward her bathroom.
“Bye!” she heard Alex saying, before she frantically hung up. She sent a quick message to Nia, telling her she could close the shop at three and that she wouldn’t be back. She jumped into her shower, trying to clean herself with superhuman speed.
--
An hour later Kara was jogging up the stairs from the tube station. The L-Corp skyscraper rose from the plaza that greeted her. She was wearing dark blue chinos and a light blue button up. In one hand she held a bouquet of flowers. Alex had sent her a thumps-up when she had asked for her approval. She hoped she wasn’t overdressed. Or worse; underdressed.
Entering the huge building Kara felt in awe. The woman she was about to meet with was the person running all this. Hundreds of people worked here, developing all kinds of new technologies. Insane, she thought. But very impressive. Maybe a little hot.
She beelined to the front desk, but a man holding a clipboard stopped her halfway.
“You’re late! Come with me,” he said and before Kara could protest, that she was actually a minute early for once, he was already walking away at a brisk pace.
Kara decided to follow him, he had probably been sent down here to lead her up to Lena Luthor’s office, she thought. But the guy didn’t lead her to any office, but instead to a mixed group of people, all looking expectantly in their direction.
“Okay, we’re all set now,” the man said, ticking something off on his clipboard. “We’ll start with a tour of the building, and then you will all have a chance to interview Ms. Luthor.”
An excited murmur rose through the group, and everyone started walking behind the man, who immediately started listing of facts about the architecture of the lobby. Kara found herself moving along with them.
“What magazine are you with?” A man walking next to her asked her, as they were entering an office space.
“Uh,” Kara said panicking. There was obviously a misunderstanding going on here. She had probably misheard Lena, and she had only been invited to this press event and not an actual date. But that was already too much thinking for her brain in panic mode.
“I’m with CatCo magazine,” she said spotting an issue lying on a worker’s desk, they were walking by.
“Nice! I’m with Forbes,” he said offering his hand.
She shifted the now very silly feeling flower bouquet to her left hand and shook his with her right.
“You bought her flowers?” the man asked, laughing.
Kara felt her cheeks redden. She was an idiot.
“No,” she said quickly, “I’m visiting my grandmother in the hospital after this.”
“Right,” the guy said obviously not believing her.
Just as Kara wished the ground would open and swallow her whole, the man leading the tour announced they had reached the finance department. This perked Kara’s interest and right as she took a look around, the reason for it walked by.
Samantha Arias stopped dead in her tracks as she spotted Kara Danvers walking with a strange group of journalists all talking amiably. Walking through her place of work. Their eyes met and Kara grimaced.
What the fuck, Sam mouthed, and all Kara could do was shrug apologetically. Alex would be getting a pretty weird call in a few minutes, she was sure. She waved goodbye as they kept walking down the corridor.
“You know her?” the Forbes reporter asked her. He was wearing a full suit and tie combo. His teeth were bleached to an uncomfortable degree and his hair was almost dripping with gel. Kara was sure she would still be smelling his cologne in bed tonight. She hoped this wasn’t his weird way of flirting.
“Yes, she is my sister’s girlfriend,” she said, not even sure why she was telling this stranger about it. She was too nice, Alex would say. She was just trying to be social, Kara would protest. Making nice with people was maybe her biggest strength.
“Nice,” the man said, grinning in a way that made Kara reconsider calling it her biggest strength.
After a half-an-hour-tour of the whole building (which turned out to be pretty interesting, actually), they were finally led up to the CEO’s office. At this point, Kara had heard the suit’s whole life story, including all his conquests in university and she felt like she needed another shower. At least he had not asked for her number.
As they got up to the front room of Lena Luthor’s spacious office, another group of journalists were being led away by another man with a clipboard, who looked almost like the carbon copy of her clipboard man. Maybe they were experimenting with cloning at L-Corp now, Kara thought.
Be it luck or fate, somehow Kara managed to be first in line for the interview part. She didn’t even know if she still wanted to see Lena, she was absolutely mortified by her own stupidity. But there wasn’t enough time to flee and before she knew it, she was being led into the office itself by clipboard guy.
Lena sat behind her huge desk, wearing a tight black dress, the same hairdo and red lips as earlier. She looked incredible. She was talking to a woman standing next to the desk, who was wearing a headset and taking notes on a tablet. People up here got the good stuff it seemed. Kara briefly wondered if clipboard guy was jealous of tablet girl, but then Lena spotted her.
She got up immediately. Their gazes locked and Kara stopped walking. She felt heat spreading in her chest. The clipboard man looked at her confused and then at Lena.
“Ms. Luthor, this is Kara Danvers from CatCo magazine,” he told her. He had inquired about it before he had led Kara inside the office, and Kara still standing next to the Forbes reporter, had had no choice but to lie again.
“Right,” Lena said, breaking eye contact with Kara. “Thank you, Hugh, you may go.” Hugh nodded, gave Kara a judging look, especially frowning at the flowers still in her hand and exited the room, leaving the office doors open.
“You may sit over there,” the woman with the headset told Kara and pointed over to a sofa arrangement. Kara took place on one of the armchairs, awkwardly laying the bouquet in her lap.
“Actually, Jess, you may go as well,” Lena told the woman. Kara was very concentrated on staring at a spot on the wall, but there was a short silence that followed, in which Kara could only imagine the questioning look Jess was giving her boss.
Finally, the woman sighed. “Alright, let me know if you need anything,” she said, and Kara heard her walking towards the exit as well and Lena thanking her. The soft click of closing doors made Kara finally turn her head.
Lena was standing at the doors looking over at her. Kara wondered if she should get up again. She suddenly felt very stupid.
“I’m so sorry,” Lena said breaking the silence. She started moving towards the sitting arrangement, taking place on the couch across from Kara’s seat. As she walked by Kara could smell the sweet notes of Lena’s perfume.
“I completely forgot about this press thing, and I couldn’t cancel it.” Lena smiled awkwardly, obviously being embarrassed herself.
Kara hadn’t been mad exactly during the whole thing, just mortified and very confused and now she felt even the tiniest twinge of madness melt away.
“It’s fine,” she said smiling. She already knew she had a weak spot for that tiny smile of Lena’s. “These are for you by the way.” She offered Lena the, at this point quite disheveled looking, bouquet of flowers.
“Thank you, they’re beautiful!”, Lena said smiling genuinely. She put the flowers into an empty vase, which was conveniently placed on the low table between them. “But seriously, it’s not fine. Let me make it up to you,” she insisted.
“Like how?” Kara asked teasingly. She watched Lena correct her posture and fold her legs under her in a very elegant way. The woman looked so different in her business attire to this morning in her shop. Kara had trouble connecting the two versions in her head. But then Lena got the same look in her green eyes, she had had when they had kissed and the warmth in Kara’s chest intensified.
“I could take you out to dinner tonight?” Lena offered.
Kara’s heart sank. “I can’t tonight, I’m sorry, my sister is celebrating her birthday,” she said.
Lena’s smile fell. Kara wasn’t sure if she was imagining it, but it looked like she actually started pouting.
“Oh, that’s fine then, another time,” she said finally, but Kara could tell it wasn’t genuine.
“You could come as my plus one!” Kara offered, eyes lighting up at the idea.
“Oh, no, I really wouldn’t want to intrude,” Lena tried to say, but Kara would have none of it.
“Don’t be ridiculous it would be lovely! My sister will love you and you already know Nia from the shop! My roommate’s gonna be there too, he’s a huge science nerd. And my sister’s girlfriend literally works for you,” she told her all excited at the prospect.
“I’m sorry, your sister’s girlfriend does what?” Lena asked, genuinely confused for the first time.
“She’s one of the managers in the finance department, maybe you know her? Sam Arias. Samantha,” Kara replied. She looked at Lena expectantly.
“The name does ring a bell actually,” Lena said getting up and walking towards her desk. She looked at something on her computer. “Yes, I actually have a meeting with her and some of her colleagues on Monday.”
“See! It’s going to be great,” Kara said now very much into her own idea. Her fingers were already twitching to text Alex the news.
“Do you really think so?” Lena looked unsure. She had moved to the front side of her desk leaning against it and crossing her arms in front of chest.
“Most definitely!” Kara said, getting up and walking towards the other woman. Excitedly she took her hands in her own. “You’re going to love it!”
Lena looked down at their intertwined hands. Kara realized what she had done and quickly let go. She immediately missed the feeling. Lena’s hands been warm and very soft, and the feeling had had goosebumps shoot up her arm. She flexed her fingers open and close.
“I’m sorry, I should’ve asked,” she said.
“I literally kissed you without your consent not even three hours ago,” Lena said raising an eyebrow. “I’m very sorry about that, by the way, I don’t know what came over me.”
“Are you sorry about not asking for permission or are you sorry that you kissed me?” Kara asked, seeking eye contact with Lena.
Lena looked up from where she had been looking at her now empty hands. Kara wondered if she had been thinking the same thoughts as her.
“I don’t think I could be sorry about kissing you,” she said then, locking eyes with Kara.
Kara felt the warmth in her chest turn to heat and start spreading down. She took another step forward. They were very close now, almost as close as they had been in the tiny hallway in her house earlier. She leaned her head to the side, here gaze moving back and forth between Lena’s eyes and her lips. She remembered how they had felt on her own earlier, how intoxicating the feeling had been. She suddenly wanted more. She leaned in slightly.
“May I-,” she started to say, but before Lena could say another word, the doors of the office opened once more.
Kara jumped back by instinct, immediately missing the warmth the other woman’s body had radiated even without them touching.
The woman from before, Jess, poked her head in. She took a second to take in the scene that had just played out before her. It was all the time Lena needed to move back behind the desk.
“Yes, Jess?” she asked, voice much cooler than before. Kara found herself wondering if this was the woman’s CEO voice.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Luthor, but the other journalists are waiting, and the next group is set to arrive soon.” At the word journalist Jess pointedly looked at Kara, like she was pointing out an example of someone who didn’t fit that description. Kara could feel the heat from earlier rise entirely up into her cheeks.
“Alright, thanks, Jess, I’ll wrap this up and send for the next one,” Lena replied. Kara wondered if the other woman could control whether her cheeks ever colored in embarrassment. That would be one superpower Kara would have love to have.
Jess nodded and closed the doors again.
“I’m sorry, my schedule is very full today. You can take my personal elevator down if you’d like,” Lena said turning to Kara. She gestured over to a sleek glass tube, Kara hadn’t initially noticed when walking in. She nodded thankfully.
“Pick me up at seven?” she asked while she walked over to the elevator. Lena followed her, typing something into the small pad, which was set into the wall next to the glass doors of the elevator.
“I’ll be there,” she smiled at Kara. Her voice had the same warmth again as earlier. Even though Kara’s cheeks were still burning, she could feel her heart beating a bit faster. The glass doors opened, and she stepped inside.
“Bye,” she said waving.
“Bye,” Lena said still smiling.
As Kara started moving down, their eye contact didn’t break until it was physically impossible to keep on. Kara wished she could see through walls.