Work Text:
Lena sighed at the television screens of her CatCo office, where several versions of the same scene played out – Supergirl being struck down, slammed down into the ground, the asphalt cracking underneath her like a meteorite had just crashed into it, rather than a girl who wasn’t even halfway through her 20s.
“It’s been two days since the world saw Supergirl be brutalized, and still no word about her whereabouts or well-being.” She said to James.
“She’ll turn up.” He said, ever hopeful. Lena supposed he knew what the Supers were like, even at their lowest.
“I hope so.” She responded, her mind suddenly wandering to the other most important girl in her life. The girl that had gained more importance by the minute until that fateful night. It was after the whole lead poisoning debacle, Lena had decided it was time to leave Sam’s and go home for some much needed sleep, and Kara, sweet, protective Kara had insisted she escort her home before she went to meet up with her sister at the bar.
It was a conversation that they both needed to have – one that aired out their fears, the truth they both shared.
Lena’s fear that no one would trust her because of her name, Kara’s insistence that she’d already proven herself time and time again.
“You know...I asked Supergirl to let me die today.” Lena said.
“I know.” Kara had blurted, catching herself. “I mean...She told me.”
“She refused to let me.” Lena let out a soft chuckle, tears brimming her eyes like they did when her insecurities and fears got too much even for her. “Even when the whole world thought I’d hurt those children she always believed in me.”
“We both did.” Kara said. “And frankly...I can never thank her enough for saving you.”
Lena’s heart warmed, and she looked at Kara with that gentle, loving smile on her face and Kara bit her lip and stepped closer to her.
“There would have been a lot of people that would have been thankful if she didn’t.” The CEO said.
“Well...screw every one of them.” Kara sighed.
“Kara.” Lena chuckled at the passionate response.
“I’m sorry I just...seeing you so...destroyed. It hurt.” Kara said. “Too much.”
“Kara what’s going on?” Lena asked gently, closing up the space between them and taking a gentle hold on Kara’s arm. “Are you okay?”
When Kara looked up, the two women were too close for the closeted Kryptonian to resist, she leaned in, giving her a soft kiss on the lips, one that was met with slight surprise, and then it was returned in kind. Soft, gentle, no hint of fear or panic, no rush. Lena would swear for the rest of her life that it was the most perfect kiss she’d ever experienced.
When Kara pulled away, she didn’t do so completely, staying close to Lena as if she were afraid that going too far would make the other woman fade away.
“I know you joke about quarterly assassination attempts but...I feel like I came way too close to losing you this time around.” Kara sighed. “I can’t pretend I don’t feel what I feel towards you when every time I look around there’s someone baying for your blood.”
“Kara.” Lena sighed, pressing their foreheads together gently. “You didn’t have to pretend.”
“You mean you...” Kara pulled away just a hair to look into her eyes, getting a nod in return. “I don’t get it. You’re a hotshot CEO, you could negotiate your way through anything...why didn’t you just...ask?”
“Because I’m also a Luthor and Supergirl is your best friend.” Lena shrugged. “I figured, even with the obvious friendship between the three of us, there was a line I shouldn’t cross.”
Kara let out a soft chuckle and leaned in, kissing Lena gently again. “The girl of steel will just have to deal with it. You can tell her I said that.”
“So brave.” Lena teased. “So...”
“So, will you go on a date with me, Lena Luthor?”
“I would be honoured, Kara Danvers.”
It had been a perfect moment, one of very few in Lena’s life, and since then they’d been going on a steady but respectfully slow pace. They hadn’t really told anyone yet, Kara had said that keeping the secret was almost as fun as the slowly budding relationship itself, something Lena had laughed at before she stole a quick kiss, out of James’ view, just before he entered her office.
Of course, Lena had yet to find out that Kara was the girl of steel herself.
And of course, Kara hadn’t pegged on being knocked out and put into a coma, unable to disguise herself and dance around the being away for too long.
And of course, James had no idea what was going on between the two of them when the conversation of why Kara was missing from work had come up.
“Kara’s the only reporter who had a knack for tracking her down, is she in yet?” Lena asked, slightly concerned though she hid that fact, but she hadn’t heard from the girl in a couple of days. She thought perhaps Kara was overly worried about Supergirl, but even that didn’t explain the silent treatment and mysterious no-shows at work.
“Kara? No she...no...she...she’s not...actually.” James stammered. Lena raised a brow at him.
“Is...everything okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, fine.” James shrugged. Lena surveyed his features and sighed, she’d noticed all too much the looks that James had given her and Kara when they were together, and she didn’t want to create a mess from lies and secrets. Despite the fact that it had only been a few weeks, she thought perhaps it was time to let at least the people in their inner circle know the situation between them. Of course that was a detail she’d have to discuss with Kara first.
“Listen maybe when Kara comes in we should talk.” She suggested.
“Talk?” James asked.
“It’s nothing to worry about but there is something you should know.” Lena explained as best she could.
“Okay.” James gave her a weird chuckle.
“I come from a family of secrets and lies and we all know how that turns out so...” Lena said, but James had no time to respond, Reign had come crashing in through the window.
It took a few hours for the press release to go out.
“Telling them CatCo was no longer under siege and urging the public to stay calm.” James had said.
“Calm? The streets are desolate. People are barricading themselves in their home, The city is terrified.” Lena stated.
“Yeah but there are people out there working to rectify the situation. Don’t worry.” He said, his hand coming up to her bare shoulder. She froze, pushing him off and cursing herself for wearing this dress. She had hoped to entice Kara with it, the teasing each other when they both knew people were watching had been their favourite secret little game to play. But with no Kara, this dress was useless.
“James I...I know why you were acting strange earlier on.” She sighed, resting against her desk.
“N-no you don’t.” He stammered. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
“Listen there’s no reason to explain, we’re both adults, it’s a human reaction.” She shrugged.
“I d-uhh I don’t know what...” he stammered and stumbled in his words. “I’m not sure what you mean it’s just...it was...Kara.”
“Kara?” Lena repeated curiously. “Is...is this because you two used to date?”
“Wha- what? No.” He said. “She’s just...”
“Just what?” Lena pushed.
“She’s sick.” It came out like he was unsure of it himself. “She’s sick. She has the flu. It’s just a really, really, really, really bad flu. You know how people get when they get a flu, they get vulnerable.”
Worry spiked in her mind.
“God she won’t mind me knowing I’m her g-“ she stopped clearing her throat and playing it off. “I’m her best friend. You know, I should go over there.”
“Yeah that’s good you’re a good friend...” James said, cursing himself internally. “ but. ”
Lena stopped and turned to look at him.
“But what?” she said expectantly. He gulped.
“Soup.” He said, trying to sound as sure of himself as possible even if he wasn’t. “sick people love soup.”
“Okay I’ll get her some soup.” Lena said, turning and leaving before he could stop her again for whatever reason it could be, the last thing she heard from him was a small list of different soup options, like she didn’t already know Kara’s favourite.
What she didn’t know what the conversation being had on the phone in her office when she left.
“Winn. I need your help right now.”
“Hey boss so uh...James just called.” Winn began nervously.
“I fail to see the relevance.” J’onn stated. Of course he does. Winn sighed internally. He’s loading military grade weapons, he doesn’t give a damn about James.
“Well it seems that he might have put Kara into a little bit of hot water with Lena Luthor.” He began. “And since we have an hour...”
“Oh no, not again.” J’onn sighed. The smile and the double thumbs up Winn gave him helped increase his enthusiasm at a steady rate of 0%. But It was Kara. And Rao help him he’d do anything for Kara.
“The indignity.” He sighed as he tied his...Kara’s?...bathrobe around the small, lithe figure he’d morphed into.
“Kara you in there?” came a knock.
“Yes, yes I’m coming.” He said in Kara’s voice. He opened the door and tried to put on his best act. Alas Martians were not known for their theatre skills.
“Lena. What a surprise.”
“Kara you haven’t been answering my calls, I’ve been worried.” Lena said, genuine concern in her eyes. J’onn would have been glad for the sincerity of it all if he wasn’t feeling extremely uncomfortable at that moment.
“Yes I’ve just been trying to sleep off this...” the fakest cough in history took place at that moment. “...flu.”
Lena hesitated, unsure how to respond at the suddenly all too distant girl. She chalked it up to the flu and put on her best smile. “Uh, well...”
She held out the container in her hands towards the girl.
“Chicken soup.” J’onn took it with a nod. “That’s very kind of you.”
“Can you believe what’s going on out here?” Lena asked, striding into Kara’s apartment, unaware of the silent curses going on in J’onn’s head as she walked in.
“Yes I uh, have been keeping up with it.” He said. “I am a reporter at a national news organization.”
Lena gave him a weird look. “Yeah, I know. You work for me...that fever has really gone to your head.”
“You have no idea how much I am not feeling like myself.” He said, trying to stay calm so he could get out of this situation ASAP.
Lena sighed gently and bit her lip. “Listen, I know this is unimportant, given everything that’s going on right now, but...We should probably have a talk.”
“Perhaps this is not the time.” He tried to wiggle out of it. Lena was already sitting down.
“It’s about James...this morning he started acting really odd.” She began.
“Olsen can be...enigmatic.” he said with a nod.
“Yeah well, I know what it’s about.” Lena sighed. “I mean come on Kara, my brother’s Lex. James is Superman’s best friend and...you know for a minute there I forgot my last name was Luthor...That’s a mistake I won’t be making again.”
“I’m sure that’s not the case.” J’onn said as he sat down, trying not to act too strangely. “Olsen likes you. I assure you if James is being awkward, it is not because of your last name.”
“And here I was coming to make you feel better.” Lena sighed in relief. “Well if you’re not too worried about it I suppose I shouldn’t be either, after all you know James better than I do...I should go back to work. You should rest.”
“Yes, boss.” He nodded. Lena gave him a gentle smile before she stood, and the next action made him freeze. A gentle hand cupped his cheek, a thumb caressing it softly.
“Screw it, I took my flu shot this season.” Lena said, leaning in and pressing her lips against J’onn’s – thinking it was Kara. The kiss wasn’t too deep – but it was definitely not simply a bold show of affection between friends. A fact he became certain of when Lena cupped the back of his head, the kiss lingering on for a moment longer before Lena finally pulled away. “Mmm...so worth the risk. There’s more where that came from the minute you’re better...so get better soon.”
A wink had his currently white cheeks turn red and Lena chuckled before she got up and left the apartment. When he was able to shake the shock off, he flew out of the window, morphing back into his regular form mid flight.
“Agent Danvers!” he roared, storming into the DEO building.
“There you are. Ready to go?” Alex said.
“In a moment.” He said.
“Hey boss, did it go okay?” Winn approached him.
“You.” J’onn growled. “Don’t ever make me do that again.”
“Do what what’s going on?” Alex asked.
“I just had to kiss Lena Luthor.” J’onn said. Winn’s mouth went wide open. Alex laughed.
“I mean I know the Luthors aren’t your cup of tea boss but kissing Lena isn’t exactly something you should be annoyed about.” She joked.
“I was disguised as your sister. ” He said. Now Alex’s eyes went as wide as Winn’s mouth.
“ What?!”
“one-zero-zero-one-one-one...” Kara read off Alex’s cast.
“Yeah that’s code.” Alex nodded. “Braniac 5.”
“Ugh I can’t thank him enough.” Kara sighed.
“Having him being able to communicate with you in there...” Alex sighed. “It helped...I was really worried about you.”
“You knew I’d come back.” Kara shrugged.
“This one had me scared.” Alex said. “But at least I knew you were okay with him. How was that anyway?”
“It was weird.” Kara shrugged. “I had to remember who I was...it was illuminating.”
“Yeah?” Alex asked. “What did it illuminate you on?”
“About what’s important.” Kara shrugged. “How much being human actually means to me. The people in my life...You, Mom, the boys, J’onn...”
“Lena.” Alex said.
“Y-yeah.” Kara sighed. “Her too.”
“mmhm.” Alex sipped her wine. “Her... especially from what I hear.”
“what?” Kara looked up at her and Alex gave her a knowing look. “How did you find out?”
“Long story short? J’onn had to pretend to be you but sick. And Lena kissed him.” Alex said.
“ What?!” Kara said. “No. You’re bluffing.”
“I am not. He stormed in there traumatised. If Reign had killed him I bet he would have been thankful for not having to live with the memory that long.” Alex joked.
“Oh my god.” Kara deflated and then started laughing. “Oh my god. ”
“It’s not funny.” Alex said, but she’d started laughing too.
“Thank Rao Lena doesn’t know. She’d be mortified.” Kara chuckled.
“Yeah I thought the same thing.” Alex said, her expression turning somber. “But then I wondered about what would have happened if you were in that coma longer.”
“...oh.” Kara sighed.
“Or worse...” Alex sighed. “I hate to think about what would have happened if you didn’t wake up. But God knows at least I would have had an explanation...to her you would have just disappeared.”
“I cannot believe my sister is suggesting I tell Lena Luthor I’m Supergirl.” Kara sighed, taking a mouthful of wine.
“I’m not.” Alex shook her head. “I’m suggesting you tell your girlfriend that you’re supergirl, because it’s the truth...Kara take a little advice from my painful experiences, if you’re not open with who you are and what you want from the beginning, it’s only going to lead to a lot of pain later on.”
Kara looked at her sister and sighed, knowing she was right.
“Okay...I’ll tell her.” She said.
“And promise me no more comas, huh?” Alex said.
“I’ll try.” Kara chuckled.
“Good, cause I just got a new case of red wine and I need someone to share it with.”
Later, when everyone else at CatCo had gone home hours ago, Lena Luthor sat in her office, reading up on the reports for what was hitting the presses in the morning and trying not to be too worried about Kara, or how weird she’d been acting earlier.
A knock on the glass door caught her attention and, as if summoned by her own thoughts, Kara was there.
“Kara.” Lena said. “What are you doing here? You should be home, resting.”
“I’m...all better.” Kara shrugged. “And I needed to see you.”
“Oh, well.” Lena smiled at her as Kara walked in and sat down on the couch beside her. “I’m glad you’re all better.”
“Yeah...thanks for the soup by the way.” She said, pushing her glasses up her nose nervously.
“It’s okay. I just wish you’d told me earlier you were sick. I...I can’t really understand why you’d hide that from me I mean you’re human Kara, it happens.” Lena chuckled.
“I know it’s just...” Kara shrugged and sighed, leaning against Lena’s shoulder gently and taking a moment to bask in the bliss of the older woman’s touch before she potentially destroyed it all.
“I’m just glad you’re okay.” Lena sighed gently against her. “You’re too easy to worry about, you know that?”
“I need to tell you something.” Kara gulped. “And it’s definitely not going to help the worrying thing.”
“Oh?” Lena looked at her curiously. “what’s up?”
“What I’m about to tell you isn’t an easy thing to hear...I promise it’s not an easy thing to say...and it’s not really gonna be easy to believe either...” Kara sighed.
“Kara.” Lena cupped her chin gently. “If I wanted easy I should have changed my name from Luthor to...well just about anything else.”
The blonde let out a soft chuckle before she stood up and sighed. She paced around nervously, unsure of how to start.
“Kara you’re still acting weird.” Lena sighed, standing up and taking her hands to stop her pacing. “Talk to me. Is this about what I told you about James?”
“James?” Kara asked. “What about him?”
“You don’t remember what we talked about when I came over?” Lena asked. Kara sighed.
“Okay. See the truth is that...That...wasn’t me.” She said.
“What?” Lena chuckled. “I know you said you weren’t feeling like yourself but...”
“No that’s not it...It literally wasn’t me.” Kara sighed. “It was...I really shouldn’t have opened with that.”
“Kara please tell me exactly what’s going on?” Lena said, crossing her arms. Kara gulped.
“It might be a lot more believable if I showed you.” She said. Lena looked at her expectantly and Kara hesitantly reached up, pulling off her glasses. She closed her eyes and lifted one leg up from the ground, the other following without moving as she levitated slightly. She looked over at Lena, who’s eyes had gone wide at what she was witnessing. A second or so later Kara landed back down on the floor gently. No one spoke a word, and the blonde was getting nervous. “Lena?”
Lena looked at her, uncertainty in her eyes, and then she stepped up to her, reaching for her button up shirt and slowly starting to undo the buttons from the top downward, Kara allowing her to do so as she revealed the blue skin-tight suit with the big red ‘S’ on her chest. She opened the shirt a little further, staring in silent shock at it before stepping back and looking up into Kara’s nervous eyes.
“Please say something.” Kara said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“You’re supergirl.” Lena said, swallowing thickly. Her eyes grew wider as something dawned on her. “The fight. That was you getting beaten...You were hurt.”
“It’s a long story.” Kara gulped. “But I promise if I knew there was any danger of me getting injured like that...”
“Of you nearly getting killed, you mean.” Lena sighed.
“I just wanted you to...I just wanted to be Kara...just Kara, in someone’s eyes. And for the longest time in your eyes that’s who I was. And it felt so good.” The kryptonian sighed. “I’m so sorry.”
“How could you be at two places at once?” Lena asked. “You said that whoever I was talking to at your apartment wasn’t you.”
“Long story short, I have an alien friend who can shape shift. James panicked when you said you were coming to see me. He didn’t know what was going on between us...or that you’d kiss me.” Kara said. “Lena I’m so sorry.”
Lena sighed, her eyes going to the symbol on Kara’s chest, and hand trailing over it gently. “All this time...all the times you flew onto my balcony...the time you caught me when I fell...begging me to climb and not give up on that plane...All this time it was you...why didn’t you say anything? We were best friends...Kara we’re dating...Is this because I’m a Luthor?”
“No. Hell no.” Kara shook her head. “I promise you that had absolutely nothing to do with it. I just wanted you to like me for me. Not for the S. Not for the girl of steel. That’s only a part of who I am.”
“Kara.” A gentle hand came up to her cheek. “I love you for who you are, completely. No amount of superpowers or fancy super suits could change that.”
Kara smiled at her and then her eyes lit up in realization.
“Wait, what did you say?” she asked.
“So much for super hearing.” Lena rolled her eyes. “I said I love you f-...oh.”
Kara grinned at her. “I love you too Lena.”
The blonde leaned in, wrapping her arms gently around Lena’s waist and pulling her in for a gentle kiss, one incredibly similar to the one they shared for the first time weeks ago.
“mmm. I should have known it wasn’t you earlier.” Lena chuckled. “No offence but your friend isn’t much of a kisser.”
“He didn’t peg on it happening...Also, Alex and Winn know too.” Kara said. Lena nodded.
“Well I suppose it was about time...we should tell James.” She said.
“Also...my foster mom might be coming to visit soon...She saw what happened on the news.” Kara said. Lena sighed.
“It can’t be worse than my mother.” She shrugged. “But that’s all for later...right now, I want to enjoy having you back, knowing you’re safe.”
“I am.” Kara nodded. “I promise.”
“Good.” Lena kissed her again. “I love you, Kara Danvers.”
“I love you too, Lena Luthor.”