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A Luthor and Datingapps?! (english version)

Summary:

There we are! I finally started the english version of my work "A Luthor and Datingapps?!".

Enjoy :-).

Chapter 1: Datingapps for a Luthor?

Chapter Text

___ L-Corp ___

 

Lena Luthor glanced at her silver Michael Kors wristwatch: 11:48 am. It was almost time for her lunch break, which - even though she was CEO of one of the largest companies in National City - she wouldn't miss. After all, lunch is the most important meal of the entire day....or was it breakfast?! Lena always got these common sayings mixed up; from an early age she was only used to do business talk and professional conversations. There was no room for the everyday language.

 

'Sad, Lena. That's a little sad,' she thought in the silence of her office. Both, her lunch break and the silence were two precious commodities in Lena's stressful CEO life. But sometimes it just paid to be the boss. When she wanted quiet she got it.

 

Lena sat in her white office chair, which was pleasantly comfortable, legs crossed in her black pencil skirt, and turned toward her huge window. She enjoyed the view of National City; it calmed her in a strange way. Lena's gaze wandered to the right, to the National City University. Almost hidden behind the many skyscrapers she spotted the dome of the university's Audimaxx. What she would give in some moments to be one of those students herself - perhaps to study microscience or bioengineering. To live a normal life of a 24-year-old. But she was now sitting here in her much-too-large office. Which seemed even more huge when she realized she had no one to share her lunch break or her quiet moments away from the office routine with. No one to send her sweet 'good morning' messages or slip notes with little niceties on them into her purse.

 

'God, we're sensitive today, aren't we?' Lena turned back to her computer screen with an eye roll that she directed at herself. She took her lunchbox, which she bought at Noonan's this morning, out of her black purse. Salad with turkey strips. She liked food. Whether it was healthy or fast food. She also loved to cook. She didn't mind that she had to go to the gym a little more often than usual because of it, she also liked sports immensely. 'Yeah, I'd be the perfect partner, so healthy and fit,' Lena thought sarcastically, unlocking her phone as she ate her salad.

 

She had only recently realized for herself that she was into women. This realization didn't come overnight. To be exact, her coming out took 2 years, several experiences with women (yet she never made it into a relationship), and a nudge or two in the "right" direction from her best friend Maggie Sawyer.

 

Maggie was an NCPD detective and had recently been in a relationship with someone named Alex Danvers. Maggie told Lena about her girlfriend in many Whatsapp messages and Lena was happy for her. She was really happy. She successfully ignored the little pricks in her heart so far.

Exactly this kind of message was waiting for Lena when she opened the messenger app.

 

"Lena, Alex just tried to teach me how to disassemble and reassemble a gun in under 10 seconds. I acted like I couldn't already do it in under 6 seconds. She is so cute when she is focused!!!

No, I don't sound like I'm in love!

I'm tough ok. Tough detective y'know. Detectives don't fall in love."

Lena smirked.

"Of course they don't. But you know Alex is a criminal agent and can tell you're lying when you pretend to be excited - or did you forget that due to your huge crush? ;-)"

Maggie's response came quickly.

"....What are you, a psychic? :p She's offended, apparently my poker face isn't as good as I thought. Hahahaha, oh god her pout is really cute. But don't you ever tell anyone I said that - the consequences, think of the consequences, Luthor.

Sawyer over and out, I need to do damage control over here :DD."

 

"Yeah yeah, you know how to make people disappear etc etc. I know, I get it. Bye detective :)."

 

Lena closed the app and focused on her remaining salad. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. She picked up her phone again and there it was: The dating app. Or rather, the dating app that MAGGIE had downloaded to her phone last weekend while she was drinking several bottles of beer (for Lena there was wine, she didn't like beer very much). Downloaded without Lena's permission, that was for sure. Lena didn't think much of dating apps. If she wanted to look for a one-night stand, she took the old-fashioned way and headed to one of the clubs in National City. But Maggie was tired of watching Lena's silent suffering go on.

 

"That's enough, Luthor! No one can stand that sad puppy eyes of yours anymore. Give me the phone, Detective Sawyer is taking over this unsolvable case from now on! You'll see, before the end of this year, we'll have you paired up." Yep, those were her words. Lena didn't even realize that she had "puppy eyes" until that moment. She vehemently denied it all evening, of course.

Lena was still staring at the app. 'Now what?' "HER" was the name of the dating site.

 

'Come on, what's the harm?' With that thought, Lena opened the app. She signed up and even uploaded a few photos of herself that Maggie (who else) had taken in Lena's ignorance. She deliberately left out pictures from the press. She didn't want to let people know who she was. She entered 'IrishGirl92' as her user name. And that was it - her profile was created. Not bad at all. Let's see what kind of women hang out on this app', Lena thought and looked at the profiles of the other users.

 

"Sandy69..uh, I guess the name couldn't be more subtle, huh?" Lena swiped left.

 

"Katherine__..hmmm, I'm more into the feminine look, sorry." She repeated the motion.

 

"SexyGirlWantsToFu..whupps okay no."

 

"Honey_Ti...oh god, some people seem to have exceptional creativity when it comes to their usernames."

 

Lena laughed as more and more names of this nature appeared on her screen. The longer she stared at her phone, acting only with the 'Next!" motion, the more disappointed her expression became. Her dark red lips twisted into a skeptical pout and she frowned.

 

'Well, I guess it's clear now that such apps just aren't for me.' Then, just as she was about to delete the app from her smartphone, her eyes landed on the latest profile, which was displayed under the section "Near you".

 

"Supergirl ... well look at that." Lena grinned and, after a moment of hesitation, opened the profile of the pretty blonde.

 

Chapter 2: Her name? Supergirl.

Chapter Text

'Wow, those are pretty blue eyes...'. The thought came to Lena for the 5th time over the short period in which she looked at the profile of 'Supergirl'.

 

The blonde had a variety of pictures that Lena worked her way through with enthusiasm. One showed her with a coffee-to-go mug in hand in front of Noonan's, wearing a gray sweater over a white shirt and tight fitting dark green pants with brown desert boots, a wide smile etched on her face. 'The glasses suit her,' Lena thought - and when she looked at the next picture, 'But she looks really good without them, too.' There the blonde was in a club with two young men - one was James Olsen, a photography student Lena had noticed at several of her press conferences.

 

Of course, she knew the names of most of the press people who attended her speeches. The fact that James was still a student surprised Lena because she felt he already possessed an exceptional talent for photography.

In the photo, the beautiful stranger and James sat at a bar while the second man - short brown hair, mischievous smile and a blue-checked shirt - snapped a selfie of the trio. 'Supergirl,' as Lena would really call her from now on in the absence of her real name, wore a knee-length, tight-fitting black dress, her long blonde hair falling in waves over her right shoulder.

 

Lena blew a soft whistle of appreciation through her pursed lips. The rest of the pictures showed Supergirl in her apartment, Lena assumed.

 

In her kitchen with a donut in her mouth and another in her left hand, she showed the camera the Peace sign with her right. Lena had to smile. So food was something she liked. That was a start.

Sitting cross-legged on her couch, grinning broadly, her arms wrapped around a woman with short, dark hair who sat to her right. The women leaned head to head.

"Alex!?" gasped Lena. What made Maggie's girlfriend sit so close to the beautiful blonde?..With..so much..physical contact, Lena thought. 'Maybe they are good friends'. '... Or maybe they used to be together?' But Lena immediately dismissed the thought, who would upload pictures with their ex-girlfriend on a dating site? '...Lots of people...Crazy people...People who are still not over their ex...People who wish their ex would come back to th....'

"Oh, that's enough! No need to paint the devil on the wall.", Lena scolded herself. Lena looked at the blonde's face one more time. She couldn't help but smile a little, as she really was a beautiful woman. 26 was the age Supergirl had entered on her profile. Lena didn't think twice, pressed 'Like' and closed the app. She briefly ran a hand through her hair, which was tied into a professional bun, and leaned back in her office chair. After a glance at her watch and a suppressed groan as Lena realized it was already 1:04 pm she got back to work. She still had four meetings to attend today, all with old, white-haired men whom she had to convince anew that even women her age could rightfully stand in their positions.

 

"This is going to be fun..." muttered Lena, starting to go through the sheets in front of her.

 

___National City University___

 

Kara Danvers was always in a good mood. Always. And although some people couldn't relate to this and sometimes looked at her funny from the side, it didn't bother Kara. She was a cheerful person and there was nothing wrong with that. The blonde adjusted the glasses on her nose and headed towards her friends James and Winn, who were waiting for her outside the entrance of the university.

 

"Good morning!" she grinned at them. A unanimous greeting came back from the boys in response.

"Kara, Karaaaa! How's it going?" Winn started immediately as they began walking side by side.

"What do you mean?" Kara returned, although she knew exactly what Winn was talking about. His expectant face could only mean one thing.

"What do I mean? Kara, you know what I mean! How many beautiful women have you texted with this weekend? 5? 10? Or can you not keep up with all the messages?" Winn winked at her.

 

Kara laughed softly and lowered her head bashfully. "None, okay?". Both Winn and James stopped abruptly on the gravel-laid circular path.

"None? Kara, so you haven't answered any?" Winn looked at her in shock.

"Ohhh, I get it - you're going all "'hard to get," am I right?" The busy student who devotes her days to her calling to make everyone's lives more righteous, correct?" James playfully nudged her with his elbow.

"Ahh!" Winn nodded appreciatively at Kara, "Smart girl, Kara."

 

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and yet because of this conversation, Kara didn't feel as cheerful as she usually did when spring was just around the corner. On their traditional game weekend James and Winn came up with the idea of signing Kara up on a dating site. Kara wasn't necessarily against it, however, she didn't know what good it would do. She got along very well with people in real life, so what was the point of meeting others over the internet? It was true, Kara had been in relationships in her life, but only short ones and only with men. That Kara was also into women had always been clear to her. James and Winn had taken her bisexuality in with great joy, as Kara would have 'even more people to choose from'. 'Great,' Kara thought, 'more choices is all well and good.' But she hasn't yet met a woman with whom anything serious could have developed. Even if she wanted to. Well, she and Lucy, a friend of the three of them, had kissed once at a student party. And it had been nice. Lucy's soft lips had been wonderful and Kara's head had been spinning during the kiss. But they'd both been drunk and agreed quickly that it should end there. The incident hadn't resulted in any awkward moments between them afterwards either, which Kara was glad about. Lucy was a good friend to her and she didn't want to lose her forever due to such a slip.

 

But no, since Winn and James had signed her up on the app, "HER" it was called, Kara hadn't chatted with any users yet. Which was maybe because she hadn't opened the app since. Maybe. But Kara also just couldn't find the time - or let's just say she was still a little skeptical about the whole thing.

 

"No, Winn. No 'Smart girl!" okay? I haven't used the app yet. That's all." Again, the two looked at her with wide eyes, but they managed not to freeze this time and continued on their way to the university.

"Oh, Kara. Oh Kara, Kara, Kara. You do know that the concept of an app is to use it, right?". Winn, being all IT student.

Kara only dignified the question with a sarcastic 'no shit' look in her friend's direction while she pulled her bag higher on her shoulder and went up the stairs of the entrance building.

"Winn, now don't be like that. If Kara wants to use the app, she will." James said, squeezing Kara's shoulder with a smile. " Although, of course, I would recommend it to her in a timely manner so we can finally have a fourth player for Mario Kart." He winked at her.

"I can't help it if Alex cancels game night every time! Why don't you ask our friend here why he thinks it's a good idea to always save the blue shell until the moment Alex is in first place?" said Kara, gesturing with her head in Winn's direction.

"Hey. Don't hate the player, hate the game, okay?".

"Besides, it's kind of funny that Alex is such a sore loser!" he added with a grin, ducking under James' flat hand aimed at the back of his head just in time.

The three of them laughed. Yes, it was funny that Alex couldn't turn off her ambition even on game nights. Still, they were almost always one player down at the end of the evening.

"Alex is also in love, so she'll have even less time for us now," Kara chimed in. She was happy that Alex had finally found someone in Maggie who made her happy. If her sister was happy, Kara was too.

"Although...hey, why don't we invite both of them? Then there would even be five of us!" occurred to Kara. Winn and James shook their heads at the same time.

"Lovers are not an asset to our game night, trust me. They're more concerned with each other than with the game," James said. Winn nodded in agreement.

But Kara didn't give in that easily, "We'll see! I'll ask Alex when I see her tonight. So, meet me at Noonan's in an hour, okay? ".

Glad that this topic had distracted her from the dating app discussion, Kara waved goodbye to the two of them before heading into the lecture hall for her lesson on "Human Rights - Past and Present" and dropping into a seat at the very front.

Of course, she was still thinking about this dating site, she silently planned to open it together with Alex for the first time. 'Alex will laugh at me for not doing it alone, but I don't care,' Kara thought to herself. Satisfied with her plan, she took her notepad out of her bag and waited for Miss Grant, her instructor to appear.

 

She looked around.

 

Many of her fellow students had sat in the rows behind her; no one wanted to sit in the very front by choice. Especially not with Ms. Grant. The woman was a successful author of several treatises on human rights in America, since even here there was great inequality and injustice. Cat Grant was also a strong advocate for women's rights; she was an ambassador and gave speeches all over the world.

Kara idolized her.

Even though Ms. Grant possessed a manner that made many people shy away from her it earned her the respect a woman of her position deserved. She was controlled, professional and bossy. A bit insensitive at times, Kara thought, but she knew her job.

As if on cue, Ms. Grant walked in and began speaking as she walked. Her voice echoed through the lecture hall, and immediately there was silence as quiet as a mouse: "Since you're gracing me with your presence on time today, of course I don't want to waste a second of your precious student life. We'll start where we left off yesterday - women's rights on President Donald Trump's time in office. As mentioned earlier..."

Kara picked up her pen and began to eagerly take notes. She banished thoughts about her love life to the very back of her mind. Now she had to concentrate on her studies.

Chapter 3: Lena...as in Lena Luthor?

Chapter Text

"...and therefore my dear female students, beware of men with toupé. Even more so if they use bad self-tanner. You are dismissed for today." Ms. Grant ended her lesson. And only after her last word did the students dare to get up from their chairs and leave the room.

Kara closed her notebook and couldn't help but give Ms. Grant one last appreciative look. This woman had accomplished so much and Kara hoped she could quickly learn from the best to do the same.

Just as Kara was about to swing her bag over her shoulder, Cat Grant's voice rang out in front of her.

"Kiera..right?"

"..Um..K-Kara, Ms. Grant."

"My words. Kiera, tell me why you're the only one who sits in the front row of my readings. Don't you have any friends? Or maybe...are there...hygiene issues regarding your person?"

Kara was too stunned by the fact that Cat Grant was talking to her. After class. With her, Kiera...er Kara. So her answer came a little late and quieter than she had wanted.

"I-I think the students are intimidated by you, Ms. Grant. Not to sound disrespectful! You're great, you're a very strong woman. N-not that I think you have too many muscles for a woman, I rather referred to your outstanding personality. Well, I don't mean to say that you're not trained.... A-although I can't judge that, it's not like I look at you every day. Oh, I do! But..but only because I want to give you my full attention-" Kara sputtered out, with Ms. Grant's expression looking more and more annoyed the longer Kara spoke.

Finally, she put an end to the misery and raised her hand.

"Kiera, less talking. What are you?".

"Um..don't you mean 'who are you?'...as in 'what kind of person are you--'".

"No, I meant what I said. As in: 'What are you? - Limited?". Kara stared at her lecturer, unable to hide her surprised expression.

"Because it appears to me that you are. What I wanted to hear from you in response to my original question was a specific, short answer. What you gave me was...," Cat Grant waved her hand in the air, trying to find the right word.

"Shameful, Kiera. Women who stammer around and can't make clear statements aren't cut out for the kind of job you're aiming for after graduation. And based on the fact that you're one:  the only one sitting in the front row and two: also the only one consistently taking notes, I'm assuming you take this course seriously. Am I wrong?"

Kara had recovered from her shock by now and replied in a firm voice, "No, Ms. Grant."

Ms. Grant eyed Kara for a moment. "That's good to hear, Kiera. Now go." She shooed her toward the exit with a wave of her hand.

 

As Kara came to a stop in front of the university's entrance she had to grin. 'I actually talked to Cat Grant today.' Beaming with joy and blocking out the fact that this 'conversation' had been more of a lecture, Kara was practically skipping towards Noonan's.

The advantage of Noonan's Café was that it was about a 10min walk from the university, so it became a kind of meeting place for students whenever they found time between lectures.

Outside the entry James and Winn were already waiting for Kara.

"Oh! What's wrong with you?! You look like someone just stuck an asterisk in your homework book. Uh, let me guess, the great Miss Cat Grant looked at you for longer than two seconds?" greeted Winn to the bubbly blonde. James just laughed.

"Better!" squeaked Kara. "She was actually talking to me! Cat Grant! Tome! Well, she calls me Kiera, but other than that, it was really wonderful! Okay, and maybe she wasn't really talking to me about anything mundane, but rather asking me why everyone is afraid of her which, in the end, was just a tactically smart move on her part to see how I express myself and-".

The two boys looked at each other, James raised his hands and turned to Kara, "Okay, okay. Kara. Slow down. How about we find a seat first and then you tell us the story from the beginning, huh?" He tried to suppress a slight smile as Kara nodded enthusiastically. So enthusiastically, in fact, that he was afraid her neck would sustain injury.

Winn and James pushed Kara into Noonan's, found a table for four and ordered their food.

 

___Kara's Apartment ___

 

As Kara unlocked the door to her apartment, she exhaled contentedly through her nose. Today was a great day. Alex would be coming over soon to have the obligatory sisters' night out with her, and Kara was already looking forward to telling her about the 'talk' she had with Ms. Grant.

Some might say Kara was getting too carried away with this moment of happiness, but - who cared about the opinion of other people who had never talked to the great Cat Grant? No one, really.

Humming happily to herself, she took off her yellow parka, hung it behind her front door, and set her bag on the kitchen island. Her apartment was already very large by her standards. And for the fact that she was a student and only worked as a dog sitter from time to time it was even huge.

But luck with the name 'Alex Danvers' was on her side, which is why she was able to afford this little gem of an apartment. Alex was a criminal agent and worked for the FBI. More precisely for a kind of secret organization of the FBI called DEO. 'Department of Extranormal Operations'. Sounds dangerous, doesn't it? No wonder Kara was actually constantly worried about Alex. What exactly Alex had to do in her job was, of course, top secret. Of course.

But the 'hush money' paid for it, in form of Alex's monthly salary, benefited both sisters. Exhibit A: Kara's apartment.

Kara was in the middle of preparing said apartment for the evening with her sister (this preparation mainly consisted in turning on the TV and putting several blankets on the couch, as Alex brought food and drinks) when the doorbell rang.

"Aleeeex!" Kara yelled as she yanked open the door and pulled her sister into a warm hug.

"Whew! Hey, Kara. Or should I say...Kiera?" Alex groaned with a grin as she said the last part.

Kara let go of her and glared at her. "Who told you? I swear, those little rotten...doofuses! Those, those...". Alex just laughed out loud and pushed past Kara into her apartment. She put the chinese food - mostly for Kara - and a six-pack of beer - mostly for her - on the living room table and turned to her sister to hand her her black leather jacket.

She ran a hand through her short hair and looked mischievously at Kara, "You know, when I was picking up our food, I ran into Winn and..well you know Winn. He's like a melicious gossip when it comes to news."

Kara pursed her lips into a pout, looked at Alex, and then commented on what she heard with a displeased, "Hmph."

Alex quickly tried to get Kara into feeling better. "But hey Kara!" she pointed to the food, "Look, potstickers! Your favorite food. And I know there's still ice cream in the freezer waiting for us from last time. Well, what do you say?" She winked at Kara and beckoned invitingly to the couch where she had settled.

Kara stood sulking in the room for a brief moment before a grin crept onto her face and soon after a laugh sounded from her mouth. "Alex you just know me too well!" She dropped down next to her sister laughing and quickly opened the bag of chinese food. By the time Kara had her third potsticker in her mouth and Alex opened her beer, the older of the two said, "And you want to know what else Winn told me?"

"Whdd?"

Alex grinned before answering, "He told me you've been hanging out on dating sites lately. Why am I the last to know about this?" Alex played the offended party.

Kara gulped down her food: "You were already gone when he and James got the idea to sign me up there. If you weren't so bad at losing, you would have been the first to know."

"I'm NOT bad at losing! What Winn does is called tactical manipulation! Whenever I'm close to the finish line--"

Kara raised her wooden chopsticks to cut Alex off. "Yeah, I know, he's always aiming for you. Which doesn't change the fact that it's not my fault you're the last to know. Apart from the fact that it's not really exciting news, is it? I don't even know if I should just delete this app."

Alex put down her beer and looked at Kara, almost horrified, "What? Kara, no. Why don't you want to try it and see if you can meet someone? You know, when you find the right guy..the right girl, that is, you feel like you've been reborn. Like it's only from that point on that you get to know all the aspects that life has to offer. And Kara, life has so much to offer when you can share it with someone."

Now it was Kara who looked at her sister in surprise.

 

"Okay, wow. Looks like someone's heavily in love."

 

Alex smirked and lowered her gaze toward the floor, then looked at Kara from below. "I guess I am, aren't I?" Kara looked at her sister with love and let out a high-pitched "Awww!" before hugging her sister with such force that Alex lost her balance and they both fell off the couch laughing.

"So." groaned Kara between fits of laughter. "Does that mean you'll help me find someone on the app?"

Alex glared at her. "You haven't used it once since you got it on your phone?"

 

"Nope." Kara let the 'p' pop.

 

Alex sat up and leaned against the seat of the couch, Kara mimicking her movement. Alex clapped her hands together, then rubbed them against each other and joyfully exclaimed, "Okay! What are we waiting for?"

Kara laughed as she fished her smartphone off the living room table, unlocked it and opened the app.

"I see they've already created a profile for you." Alex nodded appreciatively. "Not bad. Your best features definitely come out in the pictures. You love food, your friends and of course, your very best sister."

Kara snorted through her nose. " Alex, you're my only sister."

"And your very best, you didn't deny it. Now it's too late to claim otherwise." She stuck her tongue out at Kara.

 

"Alex? What does the red dot with the '1' in it mean?" after a quiet laugh, Kara directed her 'very best' sister's attention back to her phone screen.

"Oh that means you have a notification, I guess! Click it." Kara tapped the 'notifications' icon with her index finger and read out, "IrishGirl92 likes you! Hit the 'Like' button to start a conversation!".

"IrishGirl92, huh? Sounds good, Irish women are usually..very exciting." Alex commented with a wink before reaching for her beer and taking a sip.

Kara completely ignored Alex as she had already clicked on the woman's profile and was now staring at stunning green eyes. 'Oh, wow.' she thought to herself, 'I think I know what Alex means by "exciting."'

It was only when she felt a hand on her chin, gently closing her mouth that she realized how wide open it must have been. Alex looked at her mischievously from the side. "Kara, don't tell me you like what you see?" Kara still couldn't do anything but look at the woman's picture. 'Those eyes....who has green eyes like that?..' And oh, wow, that dress.' she thought as she looked at the picture as a whole. 'IrishGirl92' was wearing a white dress, which was separated in the middle by a thin black waist belt. She wore her dark hair in a high ponytail that looked...incredibly good on her. Her lips, twisted into a smile, were painted in dark red and showed straight white teeth.

Kara couldn't get out of her amazement at all. It wasn't until Alex leaned closer to her phone to take a good look at the woman as well and drew in a sharp breath in response that she was pulled out of her spell.

 

"What, you think she's good looking too?". She looked at her sister questioningly.

"Oh Kara, there's no question about it. That's Lena. Lena Luthor.", Alex explained to her as her eyes continued to rest on Kara's phone.

Kara frowned. " Lena Luthor? THE Lena Luthor? CEO of L-Corp and one of the youngest corporate executives in all of National City? That's what she looks like?"

"Yep." This time it was Alex who popped the 'p'. "Maybe you shouldn't always listen to the radio but watch the news or read the paper. Then you'd know what she looks like."

"Wow." was the only thing Kara said in response. This time at least out loud and not just in her mind.

 

"Yeah, wow. Indeed."

 

Chapter 4: The beginning

Chapter Text

"..So, what are you waiting for?", Alex looked at her sister expectantly.

 

"W-what, you mean I should write her? Alex, she's-! She's-!"

"Lena Luthor?"

"No, beautiful! Her name doesn't intimidate me, but Alex-look at her! How would someone like her want to have a conversation with someone like me?" said Kara, dropping her head back on the seat of the couch in exasperation.

Alex turned to her and frowned. "Kara, first of all, you're just as beautiful. And you're a fantastic person that anyone would love to have a conversation with." "Secondly..." she continued after Kara grinned at her and let out a quiet "Aww." "...In case you forgot again - she clicked the 'Like' button on your profile. You know that means she wants to get in touch with you?"

Kara lifted her head and raised her eyebrows. "Oh. Right.". She looked at her sister with a wide smile. "Alex! She wants to have a conversation with me! Her. With me!". She bounced up and down as much as was possible in a seated position on the carpet. 'Why does it seem like I've said that several times today?" flashed through her mind.

Alex laughed and nudged Kara lightly with her shoulder. "Go ahead, 'hit the like button and start a conversation'." She punctuated the slogan by indicating goose feet with her fingers. The blonde bit her lower lip and hesitated. What should she even write? A simple 'Hey, how are you?' seemed too trivial to her.

"Why don't you start with a quick 'Hey, I'm Kara. Nice to meet you.'", Alex said softly, as she read Kara's hesitation in her eyes.

Kara nodded. "... Yeah, okay." She glanced at her smartphone, which still showed the beautiful CEO's profile, and pressed 'Like'. Immediately, the screen changed to a chat window. 'It's a match!" it said at the top. Kara's fingers hovered over her phone keyboard for a moment before she typed in the text Alex had provided and pressed 'send'. Her heart was pounding. She usually only felt this electrified when she worked out at the gym and her whole body was full of adrenaline.

"Well done," Alex stroked her back supportively. "I think I've done my part for tonight. I'll leave you two alone for a bit, I bet she'll text you back in seconds." She winked at Kara, rose from the floor and crossed the room to put on her jacket. Kara followed her, " You don't have to go! We still have ice cream waiting for us, remember?".

"It's all good Kara, we'll eat that when you tell me about how your first date went." Alex grinned at her sister, pulled her into a brief but warm hug and raised her hand in farewell as she disappeared through the door.

'First date? Oh man, a date with Lena? That would be amazing.' Kara thought before turning around and clearing the remains of food and drinks from the living room table. She flopped down on the couch and stared at her phone she was holding in her hand. 'Yeah, that would be really amazing.'

 

___L-Corp___

 

Lena pushed the glass door of her office shut behind her and massaged her neck as she dropped onto the white couch directly to her left with a sigh. 'These meetings are really exhausting, no wonder so many business people suffer from burnout. Even more so when you spend 90 minutes teaching stubborn men that you have the upper hand and they have to convince you to cooperate with them and not the other way around.' she thought as she poured herself a glass of water, leaned back in the couch and closed her eyes. She took a sip, looked at her watch, which already showed 9:38 pm and reached for her smartphone lying on the glass table in front of her.

'Supergirl liked you back! Talk to her now.'

'Supergirl: Hey, I'm Kara. Nice to meet you.'

Mags: How's the search for your dream girl going ;) ?

The first two messages on her lock screen made Lena forget all thoughts of the meeting in an instant. Lena's heart felt strangely light - was that excitement? She grinned and took a quick breath before opening the app.

She must have read through the eight words of 'Kara', she now knew, a thousand times before she started typing.

 

'Hello, Kara. Nice to meet you too, I'm Lena. How are ye doing?

 

She pressed 'send' and in the next moment slapped her forehead with the flat of her hand while suppressing a groan. " 'How are ye doing,' really? Oh my God, you're stupid," she said aloud to herself. The next moment she had to laugh. 'Well, if she really should answer, at least I know she has a sense of humor...' Or at least can see past stupid questions like that.' She locked her cell phone, stood up and approached the large glass wall behind her desk.

'The city looks even more beautiful in the evening. So quiet.' she thought, enjoying the view with her arms folded behind her back. The silence lasted only briefly as her smartphone made a soft 'ping' sound. Lena looked at the display.

 

'Supergirl: Haha, all good so far and how about you? That might be a bit direct, but you're really pretty. :)'

Lena smiled at her phone and felt a slight blush creep up her cheeks. She had to giggle involuntarily. 'Oh, get a grip, she was complimenting you. You'll be fine with a simple compliment from a woman you've known for 2 minutes.' 'From a beautiful woman.' she added to her thoughts.

And just how she could handle it: she entered her code wrong twice and then shook out her hands one after the other, which suddenly seemed very cramped. Lena clicked her tongue. " Now calm down. What are you? A nervous teenager going through puberty?" After thinking for a moment, she wrote:

'I can't complain. Work is stressful, but I guess that doesn't go away. Thank you for the compliment, I can only return it. What are you doing, studying?'

Kara's answer came before Lena could even put her phone down. Lena's face almost hurt from all the grinning.

'Aww, thanks! :)  'Yeah right, I'm a human rights student at National City University. You said you work...I hope this isn't horrible now...my sister Alex told me what you work as/who you are. I just want you to know that I didn't contact you for any reason that had to do with your name or position. I..well you, you're...I like your photos. I like you. Therefore..yeah, that's why I texted you. :) I hope that's okay.'

Lena laughed softly at Kara's writing, which gave her a little insight into the blonde's sweet, clumsy personality, and thought about the newly acquired information. So Kara knew she was Lena Luthor, and judging by her text, she probably really wanted to know the person behind the name. And Lena guessed Kara, even though she didn't really know her, was telling the truth. However, one thing made her wonder.

'Alex? Alex Danvers? And don't worry, I trust you there when you say you want to chat with me because of me, not because of my name.'

Lena frowned. She trusted few people and certainly not strangers. So why did she find it so easy with Kara? She couldn't find a logical explanation to her question, it was just that - Lena trusted Kara. If her gut instinct was to mislead her so much, she would have to seriously doubt her knowledge of human nature.

She saw that Kara had already replied.

'Yeah right, Alex Danvers! :) Do you know my sister? And I'm really relieved that you're okay with that. Because I really enjoy writing with you :).'

Maggie had never mentioned that her friend had a sister. Lena would sort it out as soon as she was on her way home. She put on her beige coat, grabbed her bag from the floor next to her desk, and texted Kara and then Maggie on her way out.

'She's with my friend Maggie, she talks about her often. What a coincidence that I'm writing with you now. And I like our conversation as well. Or should I say. I like you? ;) Because that's how it is.'

Lena was surprised to find herself venturing out of her reserved writing mode so soon and...almost flirting with Kara. But she just felt so light talking to the pretty blonde. She already felt comfortable thinking that the two of them would be in further contact in the near future.

 

As she walked to the elevator, stepped inside, pressed the button for the first floor and turned to the closing doors she switched apps and texted Maggie.

'When were you going to tell me that your girlfriend has a sister who is also really good looking?'

Maggie's reply was prompt.

'Hahaha, so the search is going really well, I'm glad to hear that!!!. But Lena, the fact that you're going straight for the little Danvers - kudos, she really is a pretty girl. But who would be surprised, you have learned from THE Womanizer No. 1 how to catch the most beautiful women ;).

Lena laughed and was about to type a sarcastic reply. Maggie knew her too well and beat her to the writing.

She sent her an eye-rolling emoji. 'Careful, I know exactly what you're about to write. But hey, that screams double date in the near future then, am I right or am I right? ;-D'

Lena shook her head with a grin and walked to her car, which was parked in front of the L-Corp building in a reserved parking space. 'A date with Kara, that would be really nice,' she thought as she exchanged her cell phone for the car keys from her purse, got into her black 2014 Lexus IS250 F Sport and drove to her apartment.

Chapter 5: Who's flirting now?

Chapter Text

As Lena got out of her car and walked along the cobblestone path to the front door of her apartment, which was a bit away from all the noise of the city near a forest, she expectantly fished out her smartphone and read the reply Kara had already sent to her.

'Yes it really is a coincidence!!! :D But a good one, right? Are you still at work? Well, I'm sitting in front of my window watching the stars. The sky is simply beautiful today. Sorry..was that lame? Oh God, I hope not...'

Lena wondered when her facial muscles have ever been so strained as she smiled broadly at the monkey emoji sent by Kara, who slapped his hands (paws?) in front of his face. She unlocked the door and entered her apartment.

It was huge. Over two floors there was a kitchen, a spacious living room, a bedroom with a guest room next to it, two bathrooms and a sprawling balcony accessed through sliding glass doors from her bedroom that extended into the forest.

Lena's minimalist lifestyle was reflected in her home: the furniture was mainly black and white, there were many glass tables, the kitchen interior was made of dark gray and shiny marble and in almost every room the floor was covered with deep brown wooden parquet. Otherwise her apartment was rather unspectacular, there were a few pictures on the wall and books neatly lined up on shelves against the wall. Many of them were fantasy novels. Among them there were also some essays on bioengineering, biophysics and microscience (yes Lena Luthor is a nerd).

She liked her apartment. Even more though she liked her bedroom. It was Lena's little (okay, big) realm with a queen-sized bed, a walk-in closet and a glass roof that took up the entire surface of her ceiling. That' s where she could escape. She loved being able to fall asleep at night in the moonlight or look at the stars when she couldn't find any rest.

 

Lena hung her purse on a hook next to the door along with her coat, took off her high heels and went up the spiral staircase to her bedroom with an idea in mind. There she flopped backwards on her bed, snapped a photo of the clear stellar sky above her and sent it to Kara.

'You're right, it is beautiful. And don't worry, there aren't a lot of 'good' coincidences, but surely this is one. P.S. Even I can't afford such a view at work, I'm already at home. Aren't you in bed now? I can't imagine a student life to be easy either, you must be exhausted ;-)'

She dropped the arm with the cell phone in her hand on the bed beside her and looked at the sky. Alone for a moment, in perfect silence.

Yes, she really loved her bedroom.

She thought about today. Fine, she was mostly thinking about Kara. Why? She had only known the blonde for half a day...and yet...there was something about her that Lena admired. Maybe the fact that she was allowed to live the life Lena had always wanted? Free from difficult decisions to be made - just being a student and not worrying about the next day. Or maybe it was just Kara's nature that the black-haired woman found so fascinating: That sweet, open nature that she so rarely encountered in her everyday life. Lena's environment usually behaved respectfully, sometimes even admiringly towards her. But it was clear that no one dared to treat Lena as if she were a normal person. The only relationships she had were professional business relationships with other company presidents. And then she had Maggie.

...And maybe now Kara, too? Lena shook her head and sat herself up. 'Slow down, you've only known the girl since today. ..And yet...' she smirked and her eyes twinkled deviously for a moment. 'A little push in the right direction can't hurt, after all.' Lena rose, seized by unaccustomed courage, and walked down the hall to the bathroom. She changed her business outfit for a cute black negligè with lace that reached mid-thigh and...yes, showed enough cleavage to emphasize Lena's attempt of flirtation. She undid her hair, letting the light curls that had formed from her tight bun throughout the day fall to her shoulders. She quickly grabbed her toothbrush, coated it with toothpaste, popped it in her mouth and held her cell phone away from her in selfie manner. She grinned broadly and pressed the camera button.

Satisfied with the result, she opened the chat with Kara again and saw that someone must have had the same idea as her.

Oh wow, your view is really great! I'd love to have that too :)))! Haha, I'm just getting ready for bed and you?', it said under the photo she had sent to Lena. There she was - Kara in her bathroom, a messy bun on her head, holding her toothbrush with toothpaste into the camera, smiling broadly and winking.

Lena's heart beat faster as she looked at the beautiful blonde and thought, ' Maybe I'm not the only one flirting here.' However, a little giggle escaped her mouth the moment she saw what Kara was wearing. 'Can she actually be any cuter?' Lena asked herself, her eyes fixed on the baby blue pajamas with yellow duckies. A tiny "Aw." almost escaped her lips. Almost. She cleared her throat to regain some composure and sent her own image.

'Oh the view I got just now isn't bad either ;). You look cute. I'm about to go to bed too. Sleep well, Kara.'

 

Lena brushed her teeth, washed her face, combed through her hair and dropped exhausted into her bed. After setting her alarm for tomorrow, she waited for Kara's message hoping she hadn't already fallen asleep. Her cell phone answered the question.

'Oh wow, Lena. You're...that's, so...you...wow. I...I think I should go to bed, I don't know how to write properly anymore.... Good night - xoxo'

The next moment a new picture of Kara popped up. And Lena was left breathless. 'Oh no, I'm definitely not the only one flirting.'

Kara stood in front of her bed, which Lena could make out in the background, and blew a kiss to the camera. But that part of the picture didn't make Lena forget how to breathe. Rather the fact that Kara had changed her outfit caused her breathing problems and a warm, tugging feeling in the lower part of her stomach. ...Had Lena's picture perhaps given Kara the impulse? She secretly hoped so. With her mouth open, Lena looked at the 26-year-old's cleavage...er, outfit. A white silk nightgown, almost the same as Lena's, which gently clung to her...'oh jesus...' incredibly toned torso and gave her a peek of how many muscles Kara's abs seemed to consist of. Lena licked her lips involuntarily as she let her gaze slide from Kara's now loose, long blonde hair to her décolleté (...What? The angle practically invited her, okay?..) down over her belly to her legs. 'Nice, long legs. And toned too. God. ..I wonder how her thighs feel under my hands...'. Lena quickly shook her head, 'Okayyyy, that's enough! Off to bed.'

 

She (reluctantly) closed the app, not without saving the picture to her media library first, and switched her phone to silent before snuggling under her covers.

Lena bit down hard on her lower lip as she immediately thought of Kara's incredibly hot picture again.

 

'I wonder if I'll be able to sleep tonight...'.

Chapter 6: She knows Kara?!?

Chapter Text

___Maggie's car___

 

"SHE DID WHAT?!" Maggie stared at Alex from the driver's seat.

"Maggie, look at the road." Alex laughed and turned Maggie's chin back towards the traffic. Maggie had offered to drive her to work. During the drive the two had been talking about everything; the news, the weather, their (not at all sappy) affection for each other, and for the past 2 minutes..about Kara and Lena. Alex then held it against her girlfriend ('Aww, Maggie was her girlfriend!!!!') why she hadn't told her that she and Lena Luthor were friends.

 

-- 2 minutes earlier

 

"I didn't know you were interested in Lena Luthor, Danvers," it came back teasingly from Maggie. Alex only acknowledged the comment with her head tilted backwards and a 'Are you serious?' - look in Maggie's direction.

"Why didn't you tell me? Is it such a big deal? Being friends with L-Corp's CEO?"

 

"Look, I know it wasn't necessarily the right thing to do, but Lena is specific about friends of her friends knowing her. She then immediately thinks her friends, like yours truly, are being taken advantage of to get to her, the famous L-Corp CEO. It's cute that she's worried, so I didn't ask her if it was okay to talk to you about her. Judge me for that but Lena and I have been friends since we were little, some decisions you don't second guess."

 

Alex gave her a fleeting kiss on the right half of her lips. Maggie looked lovingly at her girlfriend for a moment ('Aww, Alex was her girlfriend!!!') and then focused back on the road.

"I'm not judging you....I get it now, of course. I'm not mad at you either, really. But speaking of me being interested in Lena Luthor - negative, but my sister is." She looked at Maggie expectantly, hoping this information would surprise her.

"Oh, I know, Lena told me they're texting," Maggie grinned.

 

"Ohhh, you already know?", Alex made no effort to hide the disappointment in her voice. Maggie nodded.

Alex thought for a moment, then exclaimed triumphantly, "Ha, but did you also know that Kara - my sweet little sister - sent her some pretty... candid pictures last night?"

 

-- Present

 

"Are you kidding me?" Maggie shouted in disbelief.

 

Alex was as happy about Maggie's reaction as a little kid (or Kara) was about candy. "Seems like Lena hasn't told you yet," she grinned.

 

Maggie just made an impatient hand gesture signaling Alex to continue.

"Well, they're not downright dirty, but I didn't think Kara would take pictures of herself in a nightie. And on top of that, for someone she barely knows."

 

Maggie's eyes got big and her mouth formed an O as she laughed out loud in surprise, "What?! Oh man, little Danvers is quite the flirt..... But I guess she gets that from her sister.". Maggie looked impishly over at Alex, who blushed slightly, but quickly regained her composure and said, " Lena seems to have done that to her. ...Which I'm able to relate to...".

"Woho, hey! Wait a minute! What are you trying to say? Do you like Lena too?", Maggie stopped in front of the entrance to the DEO (she was never allowed in, Alex wouldn't let her, even when she used the puppy eyes and a pout in combination. And she was SO good at it!) and looked at Alex with narrowed eyes.

"No, of course I don't. I already told you that, didn't I?", Alex reassured her.

And then she winked.

"Why are you winking? So you do think she looks good !?"

"No, Mags don't worry. I don't think she looks good."

Alex winked a second time.

"Alex!!! What the hell does that mean?"

 

But the tall brunette had already pressed a goodbye kiss to her forehead and got out of the car. She turned back once more and said muffled through the glass of the window, "Maggie, do you really think I'd go for Lena Luthor when I have you?"

Immediately Maggie's feigned annoyance melted away and she groaned a soft (very soft, no one had heard, detectives don't sigh in love) "Aww." "No, no I don't."

 

Alex winked at her through the car's window -

"Alex, damn it, what was that about now?! Aleeeeex!"

- and walked up the steps of the DEO, laughing.

 

___ Noonan's___

 

Kara had to hurry to pick up her usual breakfast at Noonan's (two donuts, a turkey sandwich, an apple and a large green tea) in time for her first lecture ("The Legal System of the United States", led by Mr. Snapper - ugh, she just didn't like that rude, arrogant guy). She had gotten up a little late - not because her thoughts had been revolving around a certain dark-haired beauty for most of the night... no, nonsense - so she hurriedly changed into a light, rose-colored summer dress and matching ballerinas. She stormed out of her apartment, throwing her bag over her shoulder.

 

When she reached her destination, a little out of breath, her friends greeted her directly.

 

"Hey Kara, we were beginning to think something bad had happened to you!" Winn shouted in her direction with relief.

 

"Why would you think that?" she asked as she marched up to the counter and paid for her order with a smile.

 

"Well, the last time you didn't eat breakfast was the day the big stomach flu went around and you were forced to live on liquids only," James explained.

 

"Not that you didn't try to eat regular food anyway," Winn added with a slightly disgusted look on his face.

 

Kara rolled her eyes and spread her arms helplessly. "How many times do you want me to apologize to you for throwing up on your shoes? No one asked you to come to me that day."

 

"Um yes you did, as a matter of fact. I quote, 'Guys, please don't let me die alone in my apartment. What are friends for? Please, please, please!' Those were your words."

 

Kara waved it off, " Anyway, we're definitely even. Lucy's birthday party last month, you remember? My dress definitely remembers. And every other person who took pictures of us." Winn pursed his mouth as he remembered his 'little slip'.

 

"Someone should tell Lucy for her next party that she needs to check the Tabasco sauce for expiration."

 

"Who even voluntarily drinks Tabasco sauce at a party?!" both James and Kara said at the same time.

 

"Hey, I'm a scientist! If a package says 'You try you die' I have to check the contents for the truthfulness of that statement, don't I?" he defended himself.

 

Both friends laughed. "Winn, you're a nerd, but you're not a scientist yet," James said.

 

"The emphasis is on 'yet,' my dear friend," Winn replied, sticking his tongue out at James.

 

"Don't worry, you're our sweet, little and clever nerd/scientist-in-progress, Winn." Kara pressed a kiss to his cheek with a grin, and after a quick group hug, she took her leave, still in a hurry.

 

 

In such a hurry, in particular, that she didn't see the woman who had robbed her of sleep last night glance briefly left and right from across the street before she, too, made her way into the café.

 

Lena hadn't had a significantly longer night than Kara. However, she was used to finding things like getting enough sleep low on her to-do list. After all, being a CEO didn't always get you everything you wanted. She entered Noonan's and immediately ignored all the looks that came her way. She would've liked to have been here an hour ago, as she usually was. Then she would've found the café much emptier. She had come to terms with not paying attention to the curious glances and whispering (she was a person in the public eye, so she could not avoid such things), but it never completely passed her by that people were talking about her and not with her.

 

However, the fact that she had the beautiful blonde to thank for forcing her to carry her breakfast and lunch through the steadily filling café improved her mood rather than worsening it. 'Oh Kara,' Lena thought dreamily as she paid and quickly stepped back out onto the street. 'She's really good with surprises. And in the morning she seems to be the perfect mix of sleepy, sexy and cute.', Lena remembered the picture and the text that had been waiting for her when she had gotten up.

 

Good morning Lena, I hope you slept well, I tried at least ;-D. Have a nice day, I'll text you as soon as I have time, I promise! 'xx' was written under the photo.

 

And wow, this photo...

 

Lena had never felt as awake and yet so... aroused at the same time as when she looked at Kara: In her white negligè, lying on her stomach, half covered by her blanket.

 

She smiled tiredly into the camera, supporting her head with one hand. Her hair laid a little bedazzled on her shoulder and from the angle Lena could catch a very good glimpse of...certain areas of Kara's upper body. Kara's cleavage told her that she must not have been wearing a bra while sleeping...and that her breasts seemed to be just as round and soft as Lena had dared to imagine them. She could also see Kara's figure very well in the picture.

 

And what a form this woman had! Her back arched into a slight hollow back which again emphasized her incredible butt covered by the sheets.

 

The very thought made Lena bite her lower lip with unusual desire and she inhaled deeply through her nose to suppress an inappropriate moan.

 

'Kara Danvers, you're not the only one with a few tricks up her sleeve,' she had thought to herself that morning and snapped a photo of herself while still in bed as well. Lena was well aware that she was still wearing her nightgown and that she was almost provocatively holding her hair, which had become messy through sleep, out of her face with one hand. She was also aware that this arm movement pulled her sexy gown up slightly, far enough to reveal a view of her - not slightly - toned body. In the photo she smiled and squinted her eyes a bit:

 

'Good morning to you too, Kara. I felt the same way as you - want to guess the reason why ;)? I''ll look forward to your message later.''

Lena was surprised once again by her...frankness. She didn't even think about Kara reusing her photos, sending them to journalists or uploading them on the internet. 'Reckless, Luthor.' she said to herself.

 

And yet...she trusted Kara.

 

The realization hit her once again as if out of the blue. Trust...many people had to work hard for years to earn Lena's trust. Until now, Maggie was the only exception. She'd won Lena's trust the day she'd stuffed a handful of sand down the pants of the boy who'd pushed Lena off the swing at the playground - Peter McBride, that jerk - and made him cry.

 

"That should teach you to tease girls, doofus," the little dark-haired latina-italian had said, helping Lena up. Since then, the two had been inseparable.

 

Continuing to be lost in her thoughts Lena almost ran into the young man who was half blocking her path to the door. She stopped confused and looked at him.

 

"Excuse me... I, I-I don't mean to be rude. My name is Winn... Winn Schott. You're Lena Luthor, right?"

 

Lena eyed him briefly - his face looked strangely familiar - and when she answered, "Indeed. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Schott," in a composed manner, she caught sight of James Olsen behind him. " Oh, and Mr. Olsen, what an honor to meet you here.".

 

"Oh no, Ms. Luthor the honor is all mine." replied James quickly extending his hand and smiling at her. She shook it.

As Lena turned back to the nervous Mr. Schott - Winn - something clicked in her head.

But before she could say anything, Winn sputtered out, "Ms. Luthor, I love your inventions! Your bio-engineered sensor that reduced the energy consumption of all household appliances in National City by half? Unbelievable!!! The ID scanner that helps check airline passports for accuracy in the shortest amount of time is one of the most futuristic developments in the last 30 years, did you know that? ..O-of course you knew that.... And..and oh, your micro-technical electro...". Lena stopped Winn with a raised hand. "Mr. Schott, I'm glad my technologies excite you so much. However, I must interrupt you for a moment 'cause a question has come to my mind.".

Winn immediately closed his mouth and nodded to indicate to Lena that she could ask her question. James, meanwhile, stepped closer to the two.

 

Lena looked at the men for a moment. "Are you two friends with Kara Danvers?".

 

"Oh Kara, yes she's our best friend. She's a ray of sunshine." replied James with a smile and Winn nodded affirmatively.

 

'I'll take your word on that', she thought. Now it was Lena who smiled as well. She spoke first to James and then to Winn.

"Good to know."

"Mr. Olsen, it's been a pleasure to be able to talk to you face to face at least briefly. I hope this wasn't the last time?" James nod his head slightly," I hope so too."

 

"Mr. Schott, a pleasure to meet you as well. If you are able to find time, why don't you pay L-Corp a visit and I'll explain what technology I'm working on at the moment."

 

Winn's eyes almost seemed to fall out of their sockets.

 

"Th-That would be a great honor for me, Ms. Luthor. A huge honor. A truly wonderful-" James put a hand on his shoulder putting an end to his stammering.

 

"He'll be happy to take you up on your generous offer." The two smiled at Lena, James held the door open for her and she stepped out, disappearing into the crowd.

 

The boys watched her go for a moment before Winn grabbed James' arm and squeezed excitedly.

 

"James, that was!!! That was Lena Luthor! Lena. Luthor! Oh wow, please tell me I'm not dreaming."

 

James laughed briefly and carefully eased his mate's grip. "Don't worry, it wasn't a dream. She's... amazing, you're right. And she's actually very nice.".

 

The two remained in happy silence for a few seconds before reviewing what was said earlier and realizing the most important thing about Lena's sentences at the same time.

 

 

"SHE KNOWS KARA!?!" they exclaimed as if from one mouth.

Chapter 7: You are Lena Luthor, god damn it!

Chapter Text

___National City University___

 

 

Kara hated Mr. Snapper's lectures. She just didn't like him as a person. Nevertheless she sat in the front row every time because she still wanted to get a good degree.

 

Yet she found the hours when she was allowed to listen to Ms. Grant much easier than this one. That's why she was more than happy when her lecturer dismissed her and her fellow students with a disdainful snort and a wave of his hand in the direction of the exit. Kara let out a relieved sigh as she packed up her things - nearly at the speed of light - lifted her bag and ran out the door. God, she really hated him. And Kara Danvers didn't hate many people. In fact, she hated pretty much no one. Except criminals and bullies who did harm other people. Mr. Snapper...was a breed of his own. Unfair grading, arrogant behavior towards his oh-so-uneducated students, bored responses to requests about his lectures. All this diminished Kara's sympathy she had shown him out of politeness at the beginning of her studies day by day.

 

'At least there's one good thing about this,' Kara thought. For today she had only Snapper's lectures to survive, the rest of the day was free as usual. Already in a better mood she made her way to the wide courtyard of the university, where there were already many other students who had sat down in the grass and enjoyed the sun. Kara did the same but looked for a shady spot underneath a tree, because the spring sun was unusually hot and she didn't want to get a sunburn. She sat down and propped herself up with her elbows in the soft grass.

She enjoyed the light breeze and the smell it carried.

Flowers, fresh grass and damp earth.

It smelled like spring.

 

Kara closed her eyes and took a few more breaths. She loved spring. She grabbed her purse, pulled out her cell phone and put the bag under her head for support. Her smartphone showed 10:00 am. And a message from Lena. Kara sat up.

 

"Good morning to you too, Kara. I felt the same way as you - do you want to guess the reason why ;)? I' ll look forward to your message later."

She had to swallow. Hard. Kara had briefly wondered this morning if her picture had been a bit much. After all, she and Lena had only known each other for a short time. But judging by Lena's text, the black-haired beauty didn't mind a few risky photos. And judging by Lena's picture, Kara was probably not the only one who liked to play with fire.

 

"Oh holy shit!" it escaped Kara. She slapped her hand over her mouth and quickly looked around to see if anyone noticed. Everyone seemed to be busy with themselves. No strange looks were aimed in her direction. 'Thank God.' Kara's eyes drifted back to her phone. Back to Lena. 'This woman is going to kill me for sure,' Kara thought as she looked at Lena's abs.

 

It was almost unfair. Who was so successful at such a young age and owned such an incredible physique on top of it all?! She caught herself counting Lena's abs (at least 4 of them, for sure) and shook her head. 'Kara, for God's sake. Get to know her first and don't already try to imagine what she looks like naked.' Kara had to laugh for a moment. As if she was the only one who had ever tried to imagine Lena Luthor naked. 'BUT - you're the only one who is getting pictures of her sent to you,' she reminded herself. Kara took a deep breath through her nose - In order to get a clear thought, not for the blush in her cheeks to fade, that was obvious. "Okay, step number one: get to know her," she said aloud to herself as she typed into the chat window and texted Lena a reply.

"I feel like I've used this word way too many times...but: wow. Lena you look stunning :). Wow, really. Wanna meet up some time?"

 

Kara tapped 'send' and stared at her phone.
And stared...and stared.

 

And slapped her forehead.

 

"Are you out of your mind?!" Oh goooood. Oh God, oh no.Oh. God." Why had she asked Lena out? Who did she think she was? As if Lena Luthor even had room in her schedule for her. 'So much for step number one, that worked out great,' she thought, rolling her eyes. She had to fix this. Quickly.

 

"Well I mean, if you want to. You don't have to, of course. We can just keep writing like we did before. No objections :) ! Don't feel forced to do anything. So I, um, I would like to meet you, but that does not have to be right now. Or at all if you don't want to. It's all good, no stress :))"

 

Why did she come across as a stuttering, stammering, insecure something even via text messages? Kara groaned and dropped her head into her hands. "Ow!" She had momentarily forgotten that she was still holding her phone and it had collided with her glasses and they in turn had collided painfully with the bridge of her nose. She put the smartphone in her lap, took off her glasses and stroked her face with both hands. 'Okay Kara. Either you've totally blown it with her now, or she miraculously wants to stay in touch with you after all.'

 

'Maybe we'll remain distant acquaintances, sending each other lovely greetings on their birthdays and at Christmas.'

 

"Ahhhh! Why am I so...so...me?!!!" she slumped backwards and crossed her right arm over her face.

 

A happy chirp from the tree next to her was all that came in reply.

 

"Well thanks a lot, man.", Kara groaned.

 

 

___L-Corp___

 

 

Lena pushed open the front door to her office with her butt, still holding her food in both hands.

She set her breakfast (black coffee and a cream cheese bagel) down on the desk and moved her lunch (peking soup with croutons) along with her purse underneath it. While she booted up the computer and carefully tucked yesterday's finished papers into their associated folders, she thought about her conversation with Kara's friends.

 

They're cute, there was no question about that. Not cute like Kara. More like cute....and nervous. Lena couldn't help but grin slightly as she thought about Kara's friend Winn. And they seemed like nice, polite people. The kind of friends Kara deserved. Lena was very happy for Kara that those around her were doing her justice. 'Slow down, who am I to judge who does and doesn't do Kara justice?' she stopped herself. 'You've only known her for a short time. Get to know her first. The rest will come. And then, someday, maybe, you'll might be in the position to judge her friends.'

Lena nodded her head slightly, as if to confirm her own words.

Still, she was at least allowed to think that the boys didn't seem to be bad or overly pushy people.

 

"LEEEEENAAAA!"

 

Unlike her friends.

 

Lena looked up and was able to react just in time, jerking her head back. Away from Maggie's wiggling index finger that hovered dangerously close in front of her left eye. She looked at Lena in a playfully blaming manner.

"Well well well, what was that I heard about you and little Danvers?"

The blush shot up the back of Lena's neck and she rolled her chair a bit more away from Maggie's - still - judgmentally extended finger, just in case.

 

"Maggie, what the hell? How fast are you?!...And how did you even get- JESS!"

 

Her assistant appeared in the doorway eyes wide as if she already knew she had done something wrong. "Miss Luthor, I'm so sorry! Detective Sawyer said she weren't here due to business and that you already knew and since you're such good friends I thought...I thought...," she stammered almost helplessly to herself.

"Yes, 'Miss Luthor,' we are friends, remember? Friends tell each other things. Things like they've been texting cute little - oh and kinky - coeds lately, for example," Maggie interrupted her, teasing Lena further. Her attempt to hide a sly grin as she did so, failed.

 

"Okay, okay. God. Jess, it's okay, go back to work, please." Lena took a quick breath, and when Jess closed the door behind her again - not without another almost tortured "I'm so sorry, Miss Luthor!" shouted through the narrowing crack - Lena finally turned her attention to her friend. The blush had already reached her cheeks, but her expression didn't led on that she was incredibly embarrassed by the situation.

 

"Good morning to you too, Maggie." she said emphatically calm.

"Oh pff, 'good morning' fiddle faddle, let's get straight to the important stuff: YOUR betrayal of OUR friendship! The knife in my back guided by your hand! Oh Lena, what have you done to me!", Maggie walked around the desk and theatrically dropped back right into Lena's lap.

 

"You, who I thought was my closest confidant!", she slapped her arm over her eyes and slid to the floor. Half lying on top of Lena, half kneeling on the floor, Maggie remained in that position, making continuous snivelling noises.

 

Lena, shocked but not at all surprised by Maggie's little display, had her hands raised to her chest. Partly so that Maggie wouldn't bury them under her as she dropped into Lena's lap and partly because, as mentioned earlier, she had been momentarily shocked.

 

"Oh wow, sure you didn't miss your profession, Mila Kunis?" she got out after a short laugh.

 

This awakened Maggie from her frozen position and she looked up at Lena, "You think I look like Mila Kunis?".

Lena glanced at her with a slightly raised eyebrow. "I didn't say that."

"Oh, but you implied it. And that's the same, tee-hee.", she stuck her tongue out at the CEO and finally rose from Lena's lap.

 

"Where on earth did you get that tongue-sticking-out-thing?..Is your girlfriend that bad of an influence to you, huh?", Lena teased Maggie, trying in vain to distract her from all other topics.

Maggie meanwhile stood again and turned her back to the window front so that she was looking down at Lena from above (and that truly didn't happen often in her life...never, actually). " First of all, if anything then I'm a bad influence on her. I'm the wild one in the relationship."

 

"Second..." she continued, ignoring Lena's "Ugh, too much information.", "... don't think you can deflect from yourself. I heard something, and I'm really offended that I didn't hear it from you first." Maggie pursed her lips into a pout.

 

Lena dropped her head back and groaned. "Oh Maggie, now don't be like that! I'm not going to show you every single message and photo Kara and I send to each other."

 

"AHA!" There was that finger again.

 

"So you admit to sending dirty pictures back and forth!"

 

Lena slapped Maggie's hand away lightly, " They're not dirty!..Well, maybe a little, but they're not naked pictures okay!? She's cute!"

 

Lena couldn't help but smile as she pictured Kara's dimples, her red cheeks, and her beautiful smile.

Maggie crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked at her friend.

She hadn't seen Lena smile like that in a long time.

 

"I agree," she added softly, putting all her friendly affection towards Lena into those few words.

 

Lena's smile deepened and she looked at Maggie with bright eyes. "I want to meet her, Maggie."

 

"I bet she wants to meet you, too."

 

"Are you sure about that? I mean, maybe she's just-"

 

"Don't even think that sentence through. Kara Danvers is an incredibly kind person and she treats people the way she thinks they deserve to be treated. And judging from her sister's stories, she's not just talking to you because she wants to be nice. That girl seems to have quite a thing for you," Maggie put a hand on her shoulder and winked at her. Lena felt that slight ache again from the unfamiliar long smile, but she didn't care. Maggie's words had completely erased her brewing doubt.

 

She stood up and hugged her longtime friend. "Woah, she sure seems to make you happy if you're even hugging me willingly," Maggie mumbled into Lena's shoulder - okay, her collarbone - and squeezed her tight.

 

"Is this dumb? Am I getting my hopes up too quickly?", Lena broke away from Maggie slightly to look at her. Maggie smiled and gently stroked away the crease of worry between Lena's eyebrows with her thumb.

 

"No, I don't think so. I'm sure Kara feels the same way. After all, she wouldn't be sending you so many hot pictures if she didn't."

 

Lena finally broke away from the embrace now and lightly punched Maggie on the shoulder, "Wow, mood killer."

 

Maggie just raised her shoulders. "Sorry not sorry."

 

Lena shook her head with a smirk and looked out at the city underneath her. Again her gaze lingered on the university. "Maggie, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. That will change in the future, I promise. Besides...I can't help it if your girl is such a gossip." She had to grin at her last sentence. She still kept her gaze toward the glass front even as she heard Maggie suck in a sharp breath.

 

"What did you call my girlfriend?"

 

"Um...beautiful?", Lena tried to save herself.

 

"Pfff, I hope so........Wait, you think my girlfriend's beautiful? Hey, she's taken, remember?!", Maggie played the aghast one really well.

 

Lena finally turned to her and said, "So what, a good eye knows gold when it sees some."

 

She was too far gone, she knew it. But she loved to tease Maggie.

 

Her detective friend's outrage was now no longer just put on, "You..what? How..why do you know such sayings?? Never mind - you think Alex is hot?! Even though you're in the process of getting to know Kara better?"

 

Lena's poker face, practiced for years, came in handy since she had long since been mentally crying with laughter on the floor. "Why get one when you can get two?"

 

She winked.

 

"OH NO! Not you too!" Maggie walked up to her and Lena could see the temper flare in her eyes. Oh, she had so gone too far.

 

"Why are you winking? Why does everyone always wink when they say stuff like that? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!" She was throwing her arms in the air in pure exasperation.

 

Lena couldn't keep up the facade any longer and burst out laughing.

 

"Maggie! Maggie, it's all right! I don't want anything from Alex, no worries....even if I really don't know what you mean about the winking." She looked apologetically at her friend.

 

"Argh, Luthor! When are you going to stop teasing me anyway?..Okay, yes I know the answer. Never, right?" Lena just nodded.

 

"Hey, but you always pay me back for that, so we're even."

 

Maggie nodded triumphantly. "That's right! And now I'm even good for one more. Get ready for my revenge!" She giggled and rubbed her hands together.

"Aren't you supposed to laugh diabolically when you say something like that?", Lena asked her.

 

Maggie just waved it off. "Pfff, what century are you living in? I'm just reinventing the evil, period."

 

Lena just raised her hands placatingly, "Oooookay."

They grinned at each other. They knew why they were still friends over so many years.

 

"Well, I'll be on my way then, after all, not everyone can be their own boss and decide when they want to start working," Maggie teased Lena and waved goodbye with a two-finger salute. Lena rolled her eyes and waved after her. 'If only she knew...'

A soft 'pling' drew Lena's attention to her purse. More specifically, to her cell phone.

 

"Ohhh, did Kara text you?" came from Maggie, who was standing half inside half outside Lena's office.

 

"Come on in, for god's sake! Do you want the whole company to know?"

 

Maggie didn't need another invitation and slipped back inside Lena's office. "Go on, take a look!" she urged.

Lena raised her hand to calm Maggie and reached into her bag.

 

She read Kara's messages. Or rather - Maggie and she were reading Kara's messages.

"Uhhh, I think you've got little Danvers head turned, huh?" came teasingly from Lena's left side. (Maggie was too short to read along over Lena's shoulder, she had admitted that to herself some time ago).

"I swear to God, if you turn this into anything dirty with your comments-" began Lena but Maggie stopped her directly, putting both hands over her own mouth.

"Lena, no. Sorry, you know how I am sometimes.  Kara's messages are sweet. You're sweet. You're cute, okay?"

 

"...Oh damn, why are you so good at the puppy eyes anyway?". Lena had to avert her gaze from Maggie's big googly eyes, or she would have hugged her - another time today. And Lena was not a hugging person. Especially not twice a day.

Maggie smiled, she knew Lena wasn't mad at her anymore. " So, when are you guys meeting?"

 

Lena looked at her, confused.

 

"Hello?! You told me 2 minutes ago you wanted to meet her and before Kara's word vomit - sorry, but that's what that was - she asked if you wanted to meet her. You know what you have to do right?", Maggie raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"Ignore her message and not reply to her for three days?" Lena was helpless. Her brain seemed to have short-circuited. Why? She had been on quite a few dates, after all. What was wrong with her?

 

"What, no, what? How do you...are you a frat boy? Are you an ass? No, you text her that you would like to meet her and then you see if you can find a day off together. I know that will be rather difficult with you-" Lena interrupted her, "I'll take a day off for Kara. Or two."

 

Maggie looked at her warily from the side. "Ooookay, easy there, tiger. Write to her first. The rest will come naturally."

 

Lena pressed her lips together and nodded quickly." Yeah you're probably right. Thanks Mags." Maggie squeezed her shoulder encouragingly. "You'll do fine."

 

And on her way out she shouted with a laugh, "You are Lena Luthor after all, god damn it!"

 

Now she had to laugh also. She was Lena Luthor, for crying out loud. Surely she could handle a date.

Lena, who had been holding her phone the whole time, took a deep breath and texted Kara:

"Kara, I would love it if we could meet up sometime. Why don't you tell me when you're free and we'll see what we can do. How does dinner sound?"

'Not bad. Not bad at all, Luthor. Impressively serene.' Lena mentally patted herself on the back. And yet she felt a flutter in the pit of her stomach as she sent the text. She was nervous as hell. 'Relax, all you can do now is wait,' she told herself and dropped back into her office chair.

 

A glance at the clock told her that she only had a good 15 minutes left to gather the papers for the upcoming meeting and have breakfast.

 

'Thank God I'm a woman,' she thought as she slid her cell phone into her pocket, popped her bagel into her mouth and pulled the papers she needed from the files and folders.

Multitasking was the key word.

 

Chapter 8: Smooth,, Luthor. Very smooth, indeed.

Chapter Text

___L - Corp___

"Working with L-Corp will not only benefit our company, I assure you." Lena shook hands with the NC Airlines corporate executive in turns and handed Jess the signed contracts.

She glanced at her wristwatch as everyone exited the glass-walled meeting room. "Jess, what other appointments do you have scheduled for today?"

 "Ms. Luthor, your 11 am appointment has been canceled, National Enterprises says they've looked over the paperwork again and don't need a meeting to assure us of their support."

"Oh, nice," Lena commented.

"Starting at 2 pm, you can expect to interview Cat Grant and one of her students from National City University, she'll ask you a few things about the collaboration with the Open Society Foundation and also how you manage your day-to-day life as a female CEO."

"She's going to bring a student? Do you know which one?"

"No, I'm sorry, Ms. Luthor. But if you want, I can find out immediately." Lena was mentally already in her office (or more precisely on her cell phone) and therefore answered a bit late: "...No. No Jess, that's not necessary, thank you."
 Her assistant nodded. "The team meeting is scheduled for 4 pm and Lord Technologies have arranged the presentation of their latest invention for you, starting at 6 pm. The L-Corp lab sent me a message, they have made some sort of breakthrough regarding the macro atomizer and wanted to let you know. Maybe you'd be interested in looking at it?" 

She struggled to keep up with Lena, as her boss had long since headed back to her office.

Lena turned her head without stopping, " Ugh, I hate Maxwell Lord and everything that has to do with him. Please send Jonathan to this showing, he will represent me excellently. And let the lab know I'll be down to see the progress when I get a chance today." She pushed open the door to her office.

 "But Ms. Luthor, Mr. Lord explicitly requested your presence."

 "That will be all, Jess." she replied, leaving no room for further discussion as she closed the door behind her.

 At the mention of Cat Grant and one of her students, Lena's ears pricked up. 

Maybe Kara was coming? But she would have mentioned that., wouldn't she? 

As far as Lena could remember, Cat Grant was a lecturer in human rights at the university and Kara was studying that very subject. She noticed herself nervously drumming her fingers on her desk behind which she had settled.

'Easy, Lena.' she admonished herself, closing her hand into a fist to get her fingers under control. 'Just ask her.' 

 

"Hey Kara, tell me, did you maybe forget to mention that you wanted to meet up with me earlier - let's say... today? ;)"


'Smooth, Luthor. Very smooth indeed.'

... Okay, she had to stop praising herself every time she successfully flirted with Kara... or sent her a proper, coherent message.

Lena put her cell phone down on the table. She ran her hands over her face briefly and exhaled. Her 11 am appointment was cancelled, which meant she now had just under 3 hours of actually nothing to do.

Well, nothing was a lie. She never had nothing to do. But Lena pulled her high heels off her feet, massaged them with the help of a foot reflexology rug she had pulled out of her drawer, and decided she would start her lunch break a little early.

 With a swing of her feet, she turned her chair towards the glass façade, the spring sun already shining down on her. Lena closed her eyes and practically beamed back as she smiled.

She knew how she would spend her free time.

Her hand found the speed dial button on the office phone behind her, she fished for the handset with her long fingers and held it to her ear.

"Jess, I won't be in my office until 1 pm. For emergencies you can reach me on my cell phone."

"Okay Ms. Luthor. Enjoy the sun."

Lena smirked, "Thanks, Jess."

She hung up and, after one last glance at National City, pushed herself out of her chair and slipped back into her high heels. Handbag over her left shoulder and her cell phone and lunch each in one hand she made her way downstairs.

Once she reached the ground floor, the sun seemed even brighter than before, so she pulled her sunglasses out of her bag and slipped them on.  Lena knew that she was now attracting even more attention, because although the glasses covered her green eyes, they additionally highlighted her perfectly arched eyebrows and her cheekbones, giving her an even more impressive look.

Impressive in the sense of sexy. Lena was aware of that. That's why she loved wearing these glasses.

It should be allowed to boost one's ego a little, shouldn't it?

She was nearly strolling down the street, though she had to remind herself over and over again not to fall into a kind of running pace, because usually she was stressed when she went somewhere.

Walks had always been a foreign word to her.

But now she could finally look into the windows of the stores she usually hurried past.

And what she had missed! A pastry shop with beautiful, multi-layered cakes, for example, made Lena's mouth water.

And the sports store that followed reminded her that she was participating in the charity obstacle race at National City Park that weekend.

Preparations for it were already in full swing, Lena noticed as she crossed the street and entered the sprawling grassy area. She moved along the barriers and looked at the obstacles in the form of sand hills, water ditches and climbing walls. 

'This is going to be fun,' Lena thought, and her eyes grew wide when she saw the mud field, a good 100 meters long, that had been placed directly behind one of the climbing walls. 

 She didn't know why, but she loved to get a little dirty. Even in kindergarten, she had been one of the first to jump into every puddle on rainy days with her rubber boots and rain cape, screaming louder and louder with excitement the higher the dirty water splashed. Maggie usually followed hot on her heels.

The two had even been officially crowned "mud queens" by the kindergarten staff - Maggie and Lena had refused to let any of the boys become "king" because no one could match them. And because even then they had developed a certain defiance towards the male sex. Of course, neither of them knew why at the time. It was just that boys were dumb. 

'And they still are:' Lena grinned to herself as she thought of the (failed) dating attempts she had made before her choice finally fell onto women.

Her thoughts drifted to Kara. If she really was going to be Cat Grant's escort, then Lena really needed to put the images of the blonde out of her mind. At least for a short time.

...Those incredibly hot images...Kara's shapely cleavage peeking out of her nightgown, her endlessly long legs... which would definitely look good with Lena's head in between-.
She shook her head at herself and swallowed because her throat had suddenly become very dry. After one last clearing of her throat, she had gradually caught herself again. She didn't know why she felt such a demanding heat in the lower part of her body every time she thought of Kara.

...Of course she knew.


But knowing things and admitting things to herself are two different pairs of shoes.

 

Lena wandered along the part of the gravel path that wasn't gated off until she found a park bench directly across from the centrally located lake where she sat down.

She opened the styrofoam package in which her soup was stored and started to eat, lost in her thoughts. 

'If Kara really shows up at my office today- okay, enough. You don't know. And Kara hasn't contacted you about this either. So don't even think about it too much. If Ms. Grant is going to take someone else, then you're going to be disappointed afterwards, and that's just downright unprofessional.'

She sat up straighter.

'Exactly. Never become unprofessional, that's important. ... Not even with arrogant blowhards like Maxwell Lord.'

Just the thought of him made her furrow her eyebrows in annoyance.

Lena quickly smoothed the resulting crease with her ring finger.

'Don't. He's not worth needing some ridiculous facelift.'

She laughed. 

'I hope Jonathan will brush him off in the finest of manners. Too bad I won't get to see it live. Jonathan's negotiators have always gotten the short end of the stick. He is doing a really good job. I should probably offer him a raise sometime. Ashlyn and the kids will definitely benefit.'

Lena smiled at the thought of Jonathan's kind-hearted family. They had invited Lena to thanksgiving every year until now and even though she wanted to keep her relationships with her employees distant, she always gave in when it came to Jonathan Treystone.

And how she loved those evenings.

The atmosphere in the Treystones' cozy house on the edge of the city seemed to bubble with pure love - Dylan and Hannah, the twins, always infected Lena with their joie de vivre sooner or later, and by the end of the day she was chasing them all over the house or playing hide-and-seek with them. Lena laughed more on those days than the rest of the year combined.

And in Jonathan's wife she had found another friend besides Maggie. Ashlyn held the same serene charisma as her balding husband and the entire family had sparkling bright blue eyes.

What people often interpreted as icy cold and calculating in Jonathan's gaze, Lena could only categorize as empathetic and loving concern after many evenings with him and his family.

The six-foot-four, strong-built man never left the side of his wife on thanksgiving, who only appeared to be the complete opposite.

Long, light blond hair and a delicate figure quickly made Ashlyn seem delicate. But Lena knew better. Not just once had she seen Ashlyn effortlessly lift both now 5-year-olds with one hand each to separate them when they argued.

Four months ago they even had an new baby and Lena had been close to tears when Jonathan had sent her a photo from the hospital.

On it, he was looking lovingly at his daughter, Emily, while holding her and half sitting on Ashlyn's bed. Ashlyn looked wiped out, but the gleam in her eyes outshined that.

Lena loved the Treystones as if they were her own family.
More so, considering that she had a rather difficult relationship with her family.

Which is why she trusted Jonathan so much when it came to difficult business partners.

Every employee had to earn Lena's respect and Jonathan had more than earned it after over 12 years of being employed by both Luthor Corp and L-Corp as a senior security consultant and chairman of the board. 

When the company was still called Luthor Corp and her brother Lex was CEO, Lena first met Jonathan on her 18th birthday.

Of course, her mother hadn't planned a birthday party for her, and her father Lionel was away on business. But he had at least congratulated her by postcard from Bangladesh, which even arrived on time.

Her mother...well for her it was a day like any other.

 

_______

"You're turning 18, Lena. Do you want a medal for that? Others have already taken over the management of an international company at your age. Isn't that right Lex?"

Her brother looked at her apologetically across the breakfast table for a moment before replying, "Yes, Mother. I have to leave now Lord Industries are still not ready to take me up on my offer. Don't wait for me at dinner."

Her mother smiled contentedly and looked at Lena almost smugly. "See?"

Lena felt ashamed. She was ashamed that she had thought turning 18 was something special. That she would finally no longer be invisible and that her mother would take her seriously. Far from it.

She lowered her eyes and excused herself as she left the kitchen and went to her room. Running was not allowed in the house.

She cried for what felt like an eternity until her cell phone vibrated. Confused, since Maggie had already congratulated her via gift package from Brisbane - her police training was there - she wiped the tears from her face and looked to see who was trying to reach her.

Lex.

"Hello?"

"Hello, sis. I expect you at my office in 10 minutes."

That was it. Lena looked at her cell phone, which had already gone dark again. A honk almost made her fall off her bed. Looking out the window, she saw one of Lex's company cars parked in front of the house with the engine running.

She jumped down the stairs, not paying attention to whether she was running or walking appropriately. 

"Mother, Lex wants to meet me. I'll see you later," she called into the kitchen and was already outside. One of Lex's employees held the door to the car open for her.

"Hello Lena, I'm Jonathan. I heard you turned eighteen today. Congratulations!"

Lena was taken aback, as no one had congratulated her in person yet today, not even Lex.

"Oh..t-thank you, Mr. Jonathan."

 The huge man laughed, "Just Jonathan. Please, get in the car. Lex has a surprise for you." He appeared to be no more than 10 years older than she was.

She grinned at the big teddy bear, the name she secretly gave him because he radiated such a friendly aura (so cuddly), and climbed into the passenger seat.

"So tell me," Jonathan began when he also got in and started driving. "What's it like to finally be 18?"

  Lena shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Reminded of her mother's words, she suddenly felt silly again.

 "I..I don't think it's anything special, you know."

 Jonathan looked at her briefly with his steady blue eyes. "Why do you think that?"

"Well, because it isn't, is it? Lex has accomplished a lot more at my age, so why should I be proud of turning 18?". She always took to her mother's words so quickly. She consistently felt less worthy when she judged her.

"Oh, but why are you comparing yourself to your brother? Everyone is different and that's a good thing, you know? If you were just like your brother, then you wouldn't have anything that made you you. Nothing that says, "I'm Lena." ... You see, when you're 18, that's when growing up really starts. You'll still discover so much about the world and especially about yourself. You're just beginning to develop as a person. Don't let anyone limit you."

He smiled at her with total assurance.

And Lena took his word for it.

"Especially not from your mother, she can be a bitch." he added and winked.  Lena had to laugh but quickly put her hand over her mouth, fearing her mother had heard. Completely unfounded, of course.

Jonathan parked the car in front of the large entrance to Luthor Corp and turned to Lena. 

"Hey, Lena. I know we've only known each other for about 7 minutes, but Lex has told me a lot about you. And he's really proud of you, even said something once about how he'd love to have you in his company when you are old enough. So he's more than convinced of your potential, and from everything I've heard about you, I am too. You just have to believe in yourself. You've got the brains." 

He smiled back at her and before he knew it, Lena had swung her arms around his neck and was squeezing him tight.

"Thank you, Jonathan. You're truly very kind." She beamed at him.

He laughed and returned her hug. "Oh, thank you. You're very kind, too, you know. Now come on, Lex has a surprise party planned for you upstairs."

 They both got out and Jonathan realized his mistake.

"Oh, ... act surprised, okay? I think I just screwed up big time."

Lena nodded and they both laughed as they marched up the stairs towards Lena's birthday party.

_______
 

 

Lena had to smile at the memory of her first meeting with Jonathan. He had been a good guy even back then. And that impression hadn't changed until today.

She looked at her wristwatch. Almost half past 12:00. It was time to slowly make her way back and prepare the office for Cat Grant's visit.
When she personally welcomed someone into her office, she liked to fix it up herself. After all, it was her office. Her space. So she took it for granted to do Jess's job once in a while, and water her flowers, fluff the cushions of her couch, refill the water, and put away papers that weren't relevant to the meeting at hand.

She dumped the empty wrapper from her soup in a trash can next to the bench and leisurely walked back toward L-Corp.

 

___National City University___


 

Kara startled when her head suddenly started vibrating.

More specifically, the bag her head had been resting on.

She shielded her eyes with one hand and fumbled behind her. She must have fallen asleep, because she had several messages from Alex, Winn, and James. All of them reminding her that she still had to get food and the drinks for the weekend's fundraiser. 

And that this food shouldn't just be consisting of dumplings and donuts.

'Alright, gotcha,' Kara thought to herself, rolling her eyes. These were just delicious snacks, she couldn't understand that not everyone shared her enthusiasm for them.

She was looking forward to the obstacle course. She and Winn had signed up to volunteer at the food booths. Alex and James were participating in the run. The weather forecast for Saturday was top-notch. Clear skies and lots of sunshine would await the citizens of National City. Kara texted her friends and Alex that she already knew what she was doing and that they shouldn't worry about the food.

Then she saw two more messages.

From Lena.

"Kara, I would love it if we could meet up sometime. Why don't you tell me when you're free and we'll see what we can do. How does dinner sound?"

"Hey Kara, tell me, did you maybe forget to mention that you wanted to meet up with me earlier - let's say... today? ;)"


Kara's initial nervousness, which now always seemed to rise in her at Lena's messages, gave way to confusion, as she didn't know what Lena was alluding to. Just as she was about to write to her about how Lena came up with it, a long shadow loomed over her. She looked up and jumped to her feet frantically.

So frantically that she tripped over her bag and had to catch herself on the tree next to her.

"Ms. Grant!" 

Kara tried to regain her composure to some extent and smoothed out her dress.

"Huh, sorry, I didn't hear you come over."

Her lecturer looked at her urgently through her sunglasses. Kara could sense it.

"Obviously."

They just stared at each other for a moment, and Kara continued to struggle for composure as she adjusted her glasses and cleared her throat.

"Kiera. What semester are you in?"

"Sixth, Ms. Grant."

"So you're facing your final exams next year."

"Yes, Ms. Grant." It wasn't a question, but she felt the urge to answer Ms. Grant immediately on everything.

"And as an almost-graduate of your degree program, I'm sure you're also aware that you should be getting real-world experience?" asked Cat, looking at Kara over her sunglasses.

Kara nodded eagerly. "Of course! I was even lucky enough to get a temp job at the National City Parliament last summer, and Brenda McFirley herself told me a lot about her 'Open Society Foundations' movement during that time. It was impressive! And through Mrs. McFirley, I also got to know Richard Gibbs. He said he knew you! He is really an impressive person! ...To stand up for women's rights as a man, that's just-"

"Yeah yeah, let me guess. Impressive.", Ms. Grant interrupted her. "Do you also know which company Open Society Foundations is partnering with?"

Kara didn't have to think twice, "Yes, with L-Corp! The company offered its support to Mrs. McFirley's organization last winter." She smiled half devoutly, half in awe (..wait, what?) at the thought that Lena was, of course, also an advocate for women's rights.

This woman was really something.

 Cat didn't miss Kara's expression and she briefly drew her eyebrows together in confusion.

"...Exactly. Kiera, you will accompany me there today for an interview."

With that, she brought her out of her daydreaming and Kara replied, puzzled, "There? Where? To L-Corp? Are we talking to Lena pers-...i-I mean Ms. Luthor herself?!"

Ms. Grant had already turned on her heel and was looking over her shoulder when Kara quickly slipped on her bag and caught up to her.

"Think of it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. To learn from two figures in the women's rights movement at the same time. Chop chop, the meeting starts in 20 minutes. Call us a cab, will you?"

Kara opened her mouth and closed it again. She was once again too caught off guard to be able to form a complete thought. Cat sighed and stopped. "Or maybe you don't want to go?" She raised an eyebrow questioningly. 

"Of course I do! I'll order a cab right away, Ms. Grant." She fumbled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed, feeling Cat's (satisfied?) gaze on her. She looked up and noticed that her lips had turned up ever so slightly. Now she was fully confused. Was Ms. Grant so desperate to have her by her side?

And something else made Kara pause for a moment.

Lena's message! 

Now she knew what she had meant by it. Jesus. And replying to Lena wasn't going to work now either, because she wasn't going to be so rude as to play around with her cell phone in front of Ms. Grant. 

Damn.  
 "Well, we don't want to keep Lena waiting...I mean, 'Ms. Luthor', of course." She smirked harder now and resumed her walk to the street and the cab that just arrived.

Kara blinked and had to swallow for a moment. Surely Ms. Grant couldn't have directly assumed from that one sentence of hers that Lena and Kara knew each other.

 

Could she?

Chapter 9: Especially when they're cute. 1/2

Chapter Text

Lena had just finished the final 'clean up' in her office and set the full glass pitcher down on the sideboard next to her desk when Jess answered the speakerphone on the office phone.

"Ms. Luthor, Cat Grant is here. Would you like me to send her in?"

Lena pressed the talk button and answered, "Yes please." She straightened up, cleared her throat and smoothed out her outfit. 'Professional, Lena, always keep it professional.' It seems the companion is not K-'

She hadn't finished the thought when Jess gently pushed open the door and invited the two guests inside with a wave of her hand.

And Lena felt as if time stood still.

There, behind Cat Grant, the cute woman, nervously adjusting her glasses, walked through the door. She was wearing a pretty cute pink dress with matching shoes and her blue eyes seemed to be set off even more by the blonde of her hair and the light-colored clothing.

'Wow.' was all Lena could think. 'Wow. Wow. Wow.' Kara seemed just as overwhelmed, as she was magnetically drawn to Lena's gaze from the moment she stepped in.

Blue met green and it seemed like that was the only thing that mattered.
Kara's mouth opened slightly and Lena studied her soft and curved lips inappropriately detailed.

So detailed, in fact, that her mouth dropped open as well. Which she didn't notice until Cat Grant cleared her throat.

Lena blinked rapidly, closed her mouth, and smiled politely at them both as she walked up to greet them.

"Ms. Grant, I'm glad you're here," she said as she shook Cat's hand.

"The pleasure is all mine, Ms. Luthor. Ms. Danvers is my associate but she will be more of an outside observer in our conversation." Cat returned the handshake, gesturing to Kara, who stepped to Ms. Grant's side.

A small, nervous smile tugged at Kara's face as her eyes found Lena's again. "...Ms. Luthor. P-pleased to meet you."

She held out her hand and Lena saw that it was shaking ever so slightly. She thought it was incredibly cute how excited Kara obviously was.

Well, maybe that was just because of Lena's popularity and not because of the fact that there was a rather unplanned first meeting between the two of them.

Nevertheless. Lena thought she was cute. Even more so when she grabbed her hand, squeezed reassuringly and saw Kara's cheeks turn slightly pink. 

"Ms. Danvers. A pleasure as well." she brought out in a surprisingly deep and almost insistent voice. Kara's cheeks then darkened even more and Lena saw her lower her head in mild embarrassment, though Kara never broke eye contact.

'Oh God! My flirting voice!' She really was using her flirting voice! In front of Cat Grant! She hoped a quick clearing of her throat would distract from her voice pitch and, turning to Cat, continued speaking.

"Can I get you something to drink? Water perhaps? Coffee,tea?"

Cat regarded her for a moment too long. 'Did she notice something? Oh please don't...'

The lecturer replied calmly, "Thank you Ms. Luthor, water would be perfect."

Lena gestured with her head towards the white couch right next to them. "Please, sit down." Making sure her request included Kara, Lena looked at her and nodded affirmatively.

Kara smiled and Cat spoke, her eyes straight ahead as she moved toward the couch.
"Kiera, how is Ms. Luthor supposed to get the water if you're keeping her from it?" It sounded more amused than scolding.

Kara blinked and looked down. At Lena's and her hand still linked together. Lena seemed to realize it in the same moment and they both quickly let go. They grinned shyly at each other.

Kara hurried over to Ms. Grant and settled down beside her at a proper distance. The black-haired woman turned and poured water into two glasses, which she placed in front of her guests.

She sat down in a comfortable chair, also white, across from them.

"So. You're asking me questions about L-Corp's connection with Open Society Foundations and my everyday life as a female CEO, is that correct?" Lena's question was directed at Cat, but she couldn't help taking one quick look at Kara. God, this woman was adorable. And so toned at the same time, Lena observed as she took note of the blonde's exposed legs in her field of vision. Again, she had to force herself to focus her gaze on Cat.

It wasn't easy.

Especially not when Kara suddenly changed her sitting position, disentangling the previously crossed legs from each other and giving Lena an involuntary seductive view between her legs for a brief second. Just a bit more of Kara's thigh. And yet, for Lena's lower body area, it was enough to get misplaceably heated. 'Oh, God.'

She quickly averted her eyes toward Ms. Grant, who seemed to be talking to her.

"...exactly how it started." Cat looked at her expectantly, pen and notepad at hand.

"I'm sorry, what was that? Forgive me, I was lost in thought."

Brief surprise flickered across her face, but it quickly gave way to an almost knowing smile. " In thought..Ms. Luthor, if it's inconvenient right now, let me know, we can always reschedule."

Kara's eyebrows lifted slightly. She didn't have the slightest clue what she was sparking in Lena. All she knew was that Lena Luthor was one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen, and she was incredibly displeased to end the meeting so soon. A tiny downward tug of the corners of her mouth subconsciously expressed Kara's concern.

Lena noticed this and quickly replied, "No, no. I'm really sorry. An unfinished project from this morning. Just nagging at me." She laughed apologetically. 

Cat nodded and repeated her question from earlier. 

 
Kara found it incredibly exciting to be in an interview like this. She hoped her nervousness about meeting Lena earlier than expected didn't show. If it did, she could always blame it on the excitement everyone has when meeting a celebrity.

But she also just couldn't tear her eyes away from Lena. This woman. Was a knockout. She had her black hair tied into a professional updo and the dark red lipstick really matched perfectly with the blouse she was wearing under a dark blazer. The skirt went to above her knees and she wore high heels that were at least 4 inches.

Kara's gaze wandered along Lena's entire body. She just couldn't help it. This woman radiated such confidence, such energy....Kara found it incredibly sexy. When she realized how hot Lena was, her breath became shorter all of the sudden. She pressed her lips together and tried to regulate her breathing through her nose.

With limited success.

When she looked back into Lena's face and saw her jawline moving up and down as she spoke, causing her perfectly formed cheekbones to appear and disappear in a regular rhythm, her stomach began to feel strangely light. As if there were little colorful creatures in there, fluttering around joyfully.

'What's the matter? You can't have such strong feelings already. You don't even know her yet!' Kara's reactions to Lena confused her visibly.

Thank God Ms. Grant didn't pay much attention to her and Lena was also focused on the conversation.

Kara gradually regained her composure and listened to the interview.

"...Which is why I personally think it's nonsensical to say that female CEOs are automatically weaker than male CEOs. That's simply wrong and so incorrect.", Lena just finished her sentence.

Cat jotted down notes and quickly skimmed the pages she had written. 

"Ms. Luthor, I think you've answered all my questions. Thank you for your time."

Lena waved off. "You're welcome." At that, she looked at Kara, not her lecturer. 

The intense green of her eyes seemed to practically hypnotize Kara. That's how helpless she felt when she returned Lena's stare. When one corner of the black-haired girl's mouth twisted into a flirty smirk, a stunned squeak escaped her - Lena Luthor wouldn't be flirting with her in a very conspicuous, inconspicuous way, would she?

"Kiera, is there anything you'd like to add to this conversation?", Cat commented on her reaction, unaware that Lena's facial expression was the trigger. 

"Her name is Kara."

Ms. Grant was now also eyeing Lena, puzzled. Albeit for a very different reason. But she caught herself much quicker than Kara and her surprise gave way to something else. 

'Oh, shoot. So much for being professional.', Lena thought as she realized why Cat was looking at her like that. 

"How did you know Ms. Danvers' name was Kara?" There it was. The question Lena would not answer under any circumstances. Kara's horrified face also suggested she was thinking the same thing. 

Lena gestured with one hand in mitigation. "Oh, you know, I always make inquiries about visitors I'm not familiar with." 

"Especially when they're this cute," Cat added.

"Exactly."

 

Lena's eyes went wide, in sync with Kara's. She hadn't really said that, had she?! Kara remained silent, but her dark red cheeks were commentary enough.

Cat, on the other hand, had not lost her voice. "Well. I guess my questions are really answered now." She rose and walked almost triumphantly toward the door, turning her head as she placed her hand on the doorknob.


"Kara. You can figure your way out on your own?" She deliberately left her question unanswered as she opened the glass door and pulled it shut behind her.

They both took a few seconds to process what had just happened.

Lena was quicker. "Um, so.... Hi Kara." She smiled awkwardly at the blonde.

Kara had to grin and bit her lower lip. "Yeah, hi.. That.... was.. well...pretty embarrassing now, wasn't it? You um, y-you look really good. I've..been meaning to say that all along." 

"You too. Oh yeah, you can definitely call it embarrassing. Well, I mean I already mentioned that you're cute..so there's that." She smiled mischievously to ease some of the tension still hovering in the room.

Kara just looked at her sweetly with her big blue eyes.

Lena could look at that expression all day. Kara really was cute.

She cleared her throat, "Soooo, do you want to maybe go get a coffee? Or do you have to get back to class? I can call you a cab if you want."

Kara raised her hands soothingly. "Oh, no no, I don't have to go back to uni today. So yes, I'd love to have coffee with you." They smiled at each other.

"Would hot chocolate be okay, too? I'm not really into coffee," Kara added playfully.

Lena had to laugh and nodded as she took her jacket off the hook and held the door open for Kara.

Chapter 10: Especially when they're cute. 2/2

Chapter Text

"Jess, you know all about what's going on with this company, right?" Lena closed the glass door of her office behind Kara and looked at her assistant.

"Well, superficially yes, it's part of my job, after all. Why do you ask, Miss Luthor?" 

The CEO revealed a neat stack of sheets and Kara wondered when she had grabbed them out of her office.

"I'd like you to run the team meeting for me today," she said, slipping the sheets to Jess.

"B-but Miss Luthor..I can't represent you at all!" 

Kara's eyes grew wide, "Oh no, no! Lena, you don't have to reschedule, we can do it another time-" Lena's hand on her lower (!!) back silenced her instantly.
 ...Well, maybe she gave away a teeny, surprised "Oh!", but who was paying attention........no one had noticed, right?

 "Jess, I am convinced that you will represent me excellently. You are my personal and only assistant for a reason. You will be given the same respect as I will, so don't worry. You will find all the important issues that need to be addressed today in these documents. I'm counting on you."

 Lena smiled confidently at her.

Jess still smiled back a little uncertainly, but cleared her throat and said, "Of course, Miss Luthor. I can handle that. Thank you for your trust."

The black-haired woman nodded and led Kara down the floor to the elevators. She pressed the button on the private elevator and the two got inside.

Kara's nervousness made itself known again, "Th-Thank you for rearranging your schedule just for me, Lena. That was really...nice." She smiled at Lena, who grinned at the blonde as well.

 Ugh, Lena's hand on her back really didn't make it any easier for Kara to get her pulse down to normal. But she didn't want her to take it away either. It felt so nice and warm. ....Somehow safe.

Lena continued to look at her without saying anything. Kara looked down into her green eyes. And again...time seemed to stand still. She noticed that Lena had little golden speckles in her eyes that almost seemed to glitter in the light. Simply beautiful. 

Only when she felt Lena's breath on her cheek did she realize how close they had gotten.

She instinctively took a step back even if she regretted it the next moment as Lena let her hand slide off her back.

 
"Sorry Kara, your eyes are just....really mesmerizing. I..sorry, that was probably a little close, wasn't it?" Lena gave a short laugh.

"Oh, no it's all right. You don't have to apologize, really." Kara quickly shook her head and smiled back at her, but stopped herself from taking Lena's hand at the last moment to support her statement. She wasn't the only one lost in the eyes of the other woman, apparently.

"Okay." Lena couldn't stop smiling. 'What's wrong with you, she'll think you're a complete idiot. Stop it.'

As long as Kara looked at her like that.... she just couldn't help it. Why should she, the moment was wonderful. She had never felt so...happy? Lena didn't know if it was the word she was looking for. The fact was that it felt good.

To be here with Kara.

Face to face.

All by herself. Just her and this pretty blonde....

 

A clearing of a throat interrupted her flow of thoughts.

 

"Um, Ms. Luthor? Aren't you going to push a button?" Jess's head appeared in the elevator doorway.

Both women looked at Lena's assistant, startled, as if they'd just been caught doing something.

"Oh, yes of course." the black-haired woman replied, pressing the button for the ground floor. The doors closed and Kara grinned slyly at them.

"Oops."

 "Yes. Oops." They both laughed.

Lena let Kara lead the way as the elevator announced it had reached the ground floor with a soft 'pling' and the doors opened again.

"Oh." Kara smiled and walked ahead of Lena through the foyer towards the exit.

'Seems I still have manners, so that' s good to know. Keep it up,' Lena thought.

She ignored the little devil on her shoulder who whispered in her ear that she had only used the excuse to look at Kara's butt. Although it was hard to ignore the obvious fact that she had Kara's backside right in front of her. Especially because Kara had quite a swingy stride. 

'Was she doing that on purpose?' Lena dismissed that thought right away, Kara was way too innocent.

Well...

She immediately had to think about their exchange of pictures again.

'Maybe I'm wrong.' she thought and couldn't suppress a small grin.

This time it was Kara who held open the door to L-Corp and let Lena go through first. They both grinned at each other, as if they just couldn't do anything else when they looked at one another.

 

"So, do you have some favorite cafe we want to head to?" Kara joined Lena, who had already stepped onto the sidewalk in front of the building. She would go anywhere with her, that was for sure.

"Hmm, do you know Noonan's? Want to go there?"

Almost anywhere.

"Oh..uh, I think it's pretty crowded there at this time of day and um..all the students are probably really loud. You know, young teens and such..." Kara laughed tensely, her brain working at full speed to give Lena a good alternative to Noonan's. Under no circumstances did she want Lena's and her first date to become some sort of 'double date' just because James and Winn were going to join them sooner or later. She knew they were going to be there all day today because 
 
a) there were 4 doughnuts for the price of 2 today (while supplies lasted and they ordered the doughnuts to eat there not for takeout) and

b) their friends had decided to do some highly focused brainstorming to help Kara's 'rusty love life' get going - Winn's words. They were apparently really desperate about their game night.

 

And Kara knew they were going to freak out and Lena would've been her 'date' for the longest time because the guys wanted to be on their best behavior and it was very likely to go very wrong. Kara knew them, after all.

Besides, she already kind of wanted Lena to herself. Sorry not sorry.

"Um...okay." Lena laughed briefly at Kara's statement, but didn't think any longer about why she had made that decision. "Where do you want to go then?"

"Well, how about the park? I know there's a sweet old man there from time to time with his stand selling the best hot chocolate I've ever had!" 'Wow, that wasn't even a lie AND a really good plan B.' Kara praised herself.

"Does he sell coffee by any chance?"


"Yeah."


"Well, let's go then.", Lena beamed at her and the two walked side by side towards the park.

They chatted about all sorts of things on their short walk to the park.

Lena's work, Kara's studies, their shared love for food and for sports, Alex, Maggie, ...yes really about everything.

"...And then I said I'd really like to help out at one of the booths at the charity run this weekend. After all," Kara pulled up her shoulders with a laugh, playfully apologetic, "I really love food. And sharing it with people, or giving them the boost of energy they need during the run only makes me happier."
 

Lena laughed when they reached the 'sweet old' man's booth and said, "You're generally a very happy person, aren't you?" She looked at the blonde from the side, who studied the drink menu in detail and nodded her head affirmatively.

"Alex calls me jolly all the time, and I think that sums it up pretty well, doesn't it?" The black-haired woman twisted her lips into an approving smile and gave an almost whispered, "Yes, that sums it up very well."

Kara turned her head and looked at her for a fraction of a second, surprised, but then very much in love.

'Hold on..in love? Lena, don't jump to conclusions.', Lena blinked rapidly to clear the thought from her mind.

She cleared her throat, "And what are you taking? It's on me."

 "Oh, no Lena, you don't have to-"

"I insist." She looked at the blonde.

"...Hmm, all right, I'd like a hot chocolate with coconut flakes on the cream. Please. Thank you." Kara's grin almost made Lena laugh again herself. 

"Aye, aye, captain. You want to find us a free bench or something?" 

"Aye, aye, Captain." Kara saluted and kept an eye out for a place for them to sit.

Lena laughingly ordered for the two of them, and as she paid and turned around, Kara waved at her from a bench almost directly next to the long mud run.

"Well you sure picked a nice spot. I'm looking forward to this run." The black-haired woman handed Kara her cocoa and took a sip of her iced coffee.

Kara, already downing her hot cocoa as if it was water, choked and had to cough.

"You...you're participating in the run?"

"Yeah, sorry I forgot to mention that earlier when you were talking about it."

The blonde wiped some cocoa off her chin with a tissue. "Oh, it's no big deal. I'm just gleefully surprised that we'll see each other there eventually." She beamed at Lena.

"Sure I'll see you around, I'm looking forward to you providing me with 'the energy boost I need', ha!" She grinned and punctuated her statement by flexing one arm in Popeye fashion. She didn't know where she got this utter self-confidence, but she topped it off by tensing the other arm as well, carefully, so as not to spill her coffee, moving it into the same position.

"...Oh man, that was really stupid now wasn't it?" She looked at the blonde, who followed her short performance silently, but with a surprised look.

Lena's cheeks got hot and she felt how embarrassed she was getting because Kara still didn't say anything.

Kara snorted and laughed out loud. Lena joined in with relief. 

"You're quite something!", Kara said between several laughs. 

"She's actually pulling my leg there, what do I think of that..." she said more to herself, smiling and winking at Lena.


She was glad Kara didn't think she was completely stupid and her cheek color returned to normal. "Sorry, but when you give me a pitch like that..."

"You're welcome." Kara was still laughing and shook her head.

"You know, for someone who runs an entire company by herself, you're pretty grounded. Not that I expected anything different, I just wanted to tell you."

Lena had never looked at it that way before. Never thought of herself that way. She always assumed that all the other corporate bosses were just arrogant snobs to the core. She had never considered that their job alone could have made them that way.

Perhaps because it had never been the case with her. Her mother, after all, was also an obnoxious person, without having had any really outstanding, professional successes.


"Thank you, Kara. I think it's nice that you think of me that way." She looked deep into Kara's eyes and smiled, trying to really get her gratitude across sincerely.

The blonde returned her gaze. And again, it was as if they were completely alone.

 
As few words as they had exchanged moments before, they now seemed to say as much to each other with their eyes. Both felt absolutely at ease.
Lena's gaze wandered briefly - just very briefly - to Kara's mouth, which was slightly open.
She had to swallow and looked for confusion in Kara's eyes..or permission.
The blonde's eyes couldn't have been warmer and as Kara leaned forward and brought her face closer to Lena's, she could see that her pupils seemed to have grown larger, almost as if she were feeling the same desire as Lena.

She let her hand slide off the bench toward Kara's and paused for a second before lowering it to her hand without ever taking her eyes off Kara.

Lena almost didn't notice how Kara quietly and quickly sucked in the air and how her pupils enlarged a bit more.


Almost.

As close as she was to her face by now, the suction of air and the change in Kara's eyes just didn't escape her.

And she noticed how it just fluttered in her chest. It felt warm and cold at the same time, but not in a bad way.

She didn't know why they had gotten so close again so quickly but she also didn't care at all.
Kara's tongue licking over her lips in a split second made her stop thinking.

Stop breathing.

Stop smelling anything except the light, sweet smell of chocolate coming from Kara's lips.

Stop hearing anything except the blonde's steadily quickening breath.


Almost simultaneously, both women leaned towards each other and Lena's chest seemed about to explode. She heard a soft, eager whimper from Kara and it broke her resistance.

She lightly but demandingly gripped the back of Kara's head and reached into her hair while pulling herself even closer. She felt Kara's hand at her waist. She pulled too, almost dragged, to close the distance.

Lena lifted her head a bit to finally be able to touch Kara's lips with her own, and Kara opened her mouth a bit more-.


 

"Miss, excuse me. Miss."

 

The pair practically jumped apart, that's how caught they both felt.

The old man from the refreshment booth stood in front of them, smiling cautiously.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I just saw you sitting down here and I noticed you didn't give me a chance to give you your change back. Here you go." He handed the completely perplexed black-haired woman several banknotes and some coins. Lena accepted it with her mouth open.


"That's it, have a wonderful day both of you!"

As quickly as the man had come, he was gone again, leaving the two perplexed ladies behind.

Lena looked, first at the money in her hand and then at Kara. "I..." She didn't even know what she wanted to say. "You...so that..." She wondered if she was ever capable of speaking reasonably again.

Kara felt the same way, she blinked and took a deep breath. The blush on her cheeks remained, however.

"Yeah so...I um..." she laughed. At herself and at what had just happened.
" Do you wanna go for a walk? I think the wind might do us some good right now." She smiled, stood up and held out her hand to Lena.

Lena cleared her throat and took it. "Yes. Yes, you might have a point."
She also took a deep breath and her head cleared up a bit.

God, what had just happened? Or almost happened?


'Well,' Lena thought as she and Kara walked along the park path that was still passable. 

'I guess some women you just can't resist very easily.'

 

'Especially when they're cute,' Ms. Grant's sentence echoed in her ears.