Chapter Text
‘Stop making the eyes at me
I'll stop making the eyes at you
And what it is that surprises me
Is that I don't really want you to’
- I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, Arctic Monkeys
Wednesdays were lunch days. It was decided months before, that every week on a Wednesday they’d have lunch together. With Lena’s busy schedule and Kara having to juggle both being a reporter and protecting the city - they needed to make time for one another. That’s what best friends did.
They occasionally had dinner, movie marathons on some weekends (usually per Kara’s request) and Lena even came to game nights. But Wednesdays were special. They were a constant, it was never hit or miss - each week they’d eat a light meal and chat about everything to nothing. Wednesdays were Kara’s favourite.
So Tuesday nights had Kara excitedly messaging Lena and asking how busy she’d be so they could arrange where to eat and what time. (It was more often than not that they had to have early lunches - more of a brunch at eleven, or later lunches, maybe around two to three).
She fidgeted on the sofa, pizza in hand as she absentmindedly chewed; much more focused on the phone before her. She’d only had to fly off once during their conversation, resulting - to Kara’s utter disappointment - in a pizza slice strewn hazardously onto the floor and a half hour delay in texts.
They decided to meet at some Chinese restaurant near CatCo that she’d never been to (shockingly), after Kara searched up the menu and did a detailed analysis to make sure they had everything she liked. Lena looked at the reviews in the meantime, texting her approval and drawing Kara out of her staring contest with a pile of potstickers. They messaged for a while longer, causal chat about what they’d done during the day - Lena’s day much more interesting; working down in L-Corp’s labs on some swanky new device.
Kara always got excited when Lena talked about science; bringing back the old part of her from Krypton who snuck into her father's lab and worked on experiments. Gazing at stars and distant planets using Kryptonian tech and passing science tests like they were basic math she’d been taught by the age of two. Kara was set for great things on Krypton, she would’ve been a known member of the science guild; working towards a better future. Maybe she could’ve saved the planet, if only she’d been a bit older.
Earth science was slightly different to Kryptonian science, especially biology, and considering there were completely different elements on her home planet - parts of chemistry too. But the basics, the foundations of science; they were the same.
Things had drifted from memory over the years of suppressing knowledge, ignoring that part of herself. But whenever Lena spoke of new tech and working personally on L-Corps experiments; it brought everything back, brought back that part of herself she’d tried to forget. There was no use holding onto something that would never be, was what she had told herself, but Lena reminded her (even if she didn’t know it) that it was still Kara. That little girl that was destined to be a scientist, sneaking into her father’s lab - that was still her. Even if she’d taken a different path career wise, maybe one day she could sit down and speak of quantum physics and the biology of Kryptonian animals with Lena.
And so she entertained the idea of working down in the labs with her purely for fun - science goggles and lab coats, a merge of Krypton and Earth that only someone as intelligent as her best friend could achieve.
Eventually their conversation came to a lull as Kara cleaned everything up and got into bed, the day behind her as she listened for the sounds of the city - locating the soft ripple of water as it lapped against stone. It was enough to send her off to sleep, thoughts swirling with red sun and mindless laughter.
Until she was standing in a sleek lab, a pristine white desk and glass test tubes before her. Lena was leaning against the desk to her left, lower back digging into the smooth surface, a pair of goggles resting against her head. Her hair was slicked back into a ponytail, tight against her scalp as she watched Kara measure a volume of a substance into a clear pipette. The white of her shirt matched the desks, buttons dangerously low whilst the contrasting black of her skirt reached high on her legs. Kara followed the curve of her neck before focusing on the scientific equipment.
“Do you need some help with that?” Her voice was soft, breath ghosting across Kara’s skin as she looked up into Lena’s piercing gaze - bottom lip being tugged at by her teeth. The sight enchanted her, almost enough to make her drop the substance onto the table. “You look cute in that lab coat.”
Kara thought she felt a blush on her cheeks but couldn’t be sure. Lena grabbed at her sleeve, pulling her closer and taking the goggles from her face. It felt as if she were taking her glasses—somewhere in the back of her mind—and revealing her identity.
“But I’d much rather you weren’t wearing anything right now." She whispered it as if it were some dark secret that shouldn’t be spoken, and Kara’s heart picked up as Lena’s lips grazed her neck. They made a path towards her chin, and at some point she’d pushed Lena up onto the desk and situated herself between her legs, hands gripping at soft shoulders as their lips finally met and she was being pulled in even closer.
Kara ran a finger across her jaw, one hand clasping behind her neck and the other resting against her waist; thumb absentmindedly rubbing at soft skin beneath the rough shirt.
Quick hands grabbed at the buttons of her lab coat and her own palms settled against the CEO’s thighs - aching to touch skin. “Help me get this off, ” Lena tugged fervently at the coat, voice coming out in harsh breaths. Kara slipped it off in seconds and helped Lena pull the pastel blue jumper over her head.
She fumbled with Lena’s shirt buttons and ran her mouth along the newly exposed collar bone, pulling the piece of clothing from her body in one swift motion. Legs locked behind her own, pushing tanned skin against pale as Lena reached for her bra, fingers exploring the sharp edges of her back. “ Do you know how long I’ve wanted to do this? " The sensual words sent a jolt to Kara’s stomach, making her spine crawl with anticipation as Lena dragged her mouth towards her chest. “ Every time we’re together it’s running through my mind.”
Kara’s hands smoothed down the expanse of velvety thighs (at least that’s how she’d imagined them to be), creeping under the hem of her skirt and crawling back upwards (her assumptions had been correct). Lena’s breath hitched at the contact - pulling Kara closer until she was almost flat against her, if it weren’t for the skirt restricting the movement. She really had to take that off.
So she pulled at the zip on the back and edged it down her legs, staring up at Lena’s flustered form from the floor. The woman seemed to glow beneath the bright lights of the lab, radiant - almost ethereal. The sudden arousal Kara felt was overwhelming.
Lena tugged at her ponytail, nails scraping against her scalp as she dragged Kara’s face towards her own. A hand reached for her chest, a thumb skirting around a hardened nipple as teeth pulled at her lip. Lena continued massaging her breasts, eliciting a moan from the Kryptonian as she leaned into the touch.
Kara sought out Lena’s bra whilst she reached for the button of her pants, tugging them so that they dropped to her ankles. All of Kara’s senses were tuned in on Lena: the sound of her heartbeat, dilated pupils that mixed with a swirl of green, fair skin soft against the pads of her fingertips and the taste of her tongue - both bitter and sweet like red wine and sugar.
“Kara,” She whispered out as a breath, warm against her cheek as she raised a thigh between Lena’s legs and squeezed at her breasts. "Supergirl. ”
The use of both her names had Kara stopping abruptly, a wave of confusion washing over her, and suddenly she was sat upright in bed - lungs heaving and sheets crumpled between clenched fists. “What on Earth just happened?”
-
Kara lay flat against her bed, arms outstretched and fingers dusting the sides of her duvet - a bit like a starfish. Blonde hair was splayed across white sheets as her feet dangled off the bottom, swinging every so often.
Lena was her best friend. Their relationship was completely platonic - at least it had all seemed that way beforehand. Now Kara couldn’t help but sift through memories; picking out details that had otherwise seemed friendly, but now bordered on romantic in her mind. An office full of flowers, dropping in at random times with lunch to make sure Lena wasn’t starving behind her desk, a damned bridal carry that had her remembering the feel of the woman’s legs against her fingertips. What had she gotten herself into?
A mess, that was what. A stupid mess of conflicting emotions. Surely, the dream meant nothing. Dreams always had subliminal messages, ways of dealing with everyday situations through the subconscious mind. Kara found herself looking up the words ‘sexual dream about a best friend’ as she gripped at her phone, scouring through every article and website to find something that made sense.
That’s all she wanted to do...make sense of the situation. Because, currently, everything was a bit of a jumbled mess of confusion.
The research helped qualm her worries slightly. Perhaps the dream represented their growing closeness, or maybe Kara longed for Lena’s CEO confidence (a few websites suggested sex dreams meant longing for an aspect of the other person that was absent in herself). The other woman was rather confident in the dream, from what Kara could remember...not that she remembered every detail, because that would be strange.
And this situation wasn’t strange. It was perfectly normal to dream about occurrences that had never crossed her mind, and would never in the future. It wasn’t like the dream was particularly detailed...more of a blur than anything.
There were several explanations as to why she’d had that dream, and so Kara let it slip her mind as she headed to CatCo, completely platonic thoughts of Lena churning in her mind.
Despite pushing those...thoughts down , she was distracted throughout the day - mind flitting back and forth between different subjects as if trying to distract herself. She took longer than necessary with her Supergirl duties and bugged Snapper for new stories: anything to not be idle at her desk.
Lunch came about much quicker than Kara would’ve liked, as she nervously squeezed between bodies; locating the little booth in the corner of the Chinese restaurant Lena had said she’d be in.
The lighting was dim, a red tint that made everything look warm; helping in softening out the businesswoman’s sharp features. It didn’t help that her dark locks weren’t pulled back tight in a ponytail, but rather loose about her shoulders; resting against her tight, burgundy blouse that left little to Kara’s imagination. She looked quite gorgeous, as she always did Kara supposed.
“Kara, hi,” Lena stood as she rounded on the table, a warm smile pulling at her cheeks as she leant in for a hug.
Kara mildly panicked, thoughts racing back to the dream and their less then innocent flush of bodies - and managed to knock into the table, causing the cutlery to rattle and a fork to fall onto the floor.
”Oops, I’ll just- yeah-“ they both reached for the fork at the same time, brushing hands, and Kara shot backwards as if she’d been burned.
“Are you okay?” Lena righted herself, handing the fork over to a passing waiter and regarding Kara with concerned eyes. “You seem a little off.”
“I’m all good, great...doing well,” Kara stuttered, feeling a familiar heat creeping up the back of her neck - tinting her ears and cheeks red; only amplified by the lighting. The woman watched her for a few more seconds, before gesturing for them to take a seat.
They started a casual conversation about work and their mornings, Kara managing to keep her cool for a few minutes - eventually finding herself drawn in by the movement of Lena’s lips and the light glisten of pink lipgloss that covered them. She caught herself, instead staring intently at the napkin resting by her hand, studying the textured patterns and the contrast between the white and dark oak of the table. I wonder what tree this table came fro m. A tree in Canada, maybe? Or Brazil? “Kara?”
“What? Oh yeah, yeah I- um...think that’s a good idea.
Lena blinked in mild shock, a slight smirk tugging at her features, “I asked what you were ordering.”
Kara could feel a blush spreading across her cheeks, a flash of guilt rushing through her. “I’m so sorry Lena, I’m just a bit...distracted.”
“Yes, I’ve noticed,” She spoke dryly - without malice - which only worsened Kara’s guilt. “What’s on your mind? You know, you can always talk to me.”
Kara felt horrified at the thought of talking to Lena about the subject of her thoughts - and had to adjust her glasses at least thrice in the time it took her to gather everything into an intelligible answer. “Oh, Snapper was just bothering me about an article...you know how work can be.”
Lena studied her for a moment, the intense green of her eyes certainly not helping the blush on Kara’s cheeks, before deciding pushing wouldn’t solve anything. “If you’re sure. We can get lunch another time if you’re not up for it right now?”
“No! No, it’s fine. So, what I’m ordering...I think I’ll go for the Kung Pao chicken, oh, and not forgetting potstickers! And maybe some crispy duck, but I saw a great review on the Singapore noodles.” Kara continued rambling on, finding the talk of food was a great distraction. It was food after all. “What will you be ordering?”
Lena looked taken aback as Kara glanced up, gaze focused on the reporter’s face already, her soft smile perking up a bit almost forcefully. She skimmed over the menu resting against the table, the first time either of them had checked it since entering the restaurant. “Uh...I think I’ll try the mixed vegetable soup.”
“Is that all?” Kara’s brows furrowed as if the woman had said something to offend her, eyes narrowing dangerously.
“Yes?”
“I thought you liked the chicken dishes...with lemon sauce? Or the noodles? Even wonton soup is better than vegetable soup.” She had a full blown frown now, concerned at the thought of Lena only eating soup when Kara was about to order a virtual buffet.
“Okay, I’ll have the wonton soup.” Lena nodded vindictively, and Kara was slightly taken aback by how little she was ordering. She’d seen the CEO devour a double cheese burger and fries from Big Belly Burger, and still have room for donuts.
“You can have some of my crispy duck anyway. And maybe a potsticker or two.” Kara gave her a crinkly smile, somewhat proud of herself for offering to share.
“Truthfully, I haven’t got much of an appetite.” Lena rubbed at her temples, and Kara noticed how tired she looked then - younger underneath the light and without the strict bun pulling her features back. “I’ve had big investors hanging by a thread, it’s been driving me crazy trying to keep them tied to L-Corp.”
“Would you like to order to takeaway? We could sit in your office, maybe it’d be more comfortable. You can finally take those death traps off your feet for a while.” Kara made a point by glancing at the five inch stilettos beneath the table.
Luckily, Lena was distracted with deliberating over the idea, and didn’t notice Kara’s lingering stare at the black skirt barely covering her thighs. It simply reminded her of the dream; it wasn’t as if she wanted to stare at her legs...the notion was absurd . They were best friends.
“It’s fine, we can eat here.” Lena called for a waiter, and Kara watched as she spoke - nodding dumbly when she asked if she’d gotten the order right. When truthfully all she could hear was the beat of her pulse.
“So, what’s Snapper got you working on?” Lena swirled the red wine the waiter had brought them, watching her over the glass as she waited for a response.
The look had Kara stumbling slightly over what to say. “Uh- you know, the crime side of things lately, like...robberies and whatnot.”
“Sounds interesting. I bet there’s a lot of action.” She seemed to smirk as she set the wine down, regarding Kara with raised brows.
"Yep, it's a lot more exhillerating than writing about pot holes and streetlights, not that that's not important...that's very important,” She trailed off awkwardly, glancing at everywhere but the woman in front of her.
"How's your day been so far?"
"I've just been finishing up an article due tomorrow, nothing too big." Kara watched as a waiter passed by carrying dishes that had her stomach grumbling in anticipation, before settling her eyes on Lena again. "How about yours?"
"I was working down in the labs again-" Anything else she said about the matter became background noise as her mind flashed back to white desks, pale skin and soft lips.
But I’d much rather you weren’t wearing anything right now. Deft and delicate fingers running down skin, tugging at hair and pulling at buttons. Help me get this off . Ragged breathing, quiet moans.
“Kara, are you okay?” Lena had stopped talking about her day and was waiting expectantly for a response, frown lines painting her cheeks.
“Uh- yeah. Yes. I was just thinking about science,” Kara played with the rim of her glass, tapping at the side to avoid eye contact, “I miss it is all.”
It wasn’t exactly a lie. She missed science greatly, it’s just...the science she was thinking of was Lena splayed out on a desk, legs spread for her.
“Oh, I didn’t know you were into science?” Her eyes seemed to glisten; greens and blues lighting up like they did when she was explaining something she was passionate about, or Kara was letting her know that she was loved, that she always had a place in her family.
“I tend to hide that part of myself.” Kara noticed the question in her eyes; inquisitive yet not too insistent. “My father was a scientist. I was going to be a scientist, before...” Hands waved about nonchalantly, shoulders shrugged as if it didn’t really trouble her - but that stupid crinkle must’ve been there by the sympathetic look she was receiving.
“I’m sorry, Kara. I wish I’d known. I hope my endless science talks haven’t been hurtful in any way.” Lena placed a palm over her hand, thumb gently brushing over her knuckles; the warmth welcomed. She felt her heart picking up slightly, the fastened pace felt and heard.
“No! Not at all! It’s almost therapeutic, somehow. It digs up that part of myself I’d forgotten, that I’d pushed down.” Kara turned her hand and squeezed Lena’s own, smiling reassuringly despite it not reaching the eyes. “I love it when you talk to me about science.”
“Are you telling me I’ve been simplifying my scientific explanations for no reason, all this time?” Lena teased, the lighter atmosphere a relief to Kara, who had felt a weight slowly settling down on her. And just like that, the beauty before her lifted it.
“Well...it’s been years. My memories a bit hazy.”
“I’d love to talk about it with you some day.” Lena’s smile was so soft, so warm, that Kara forgot everything that’d been plaguing her mind beforehand. The dreams, Krypton; it all faded with the crinkles by Lena’s eyes and the way her nose scrunched slightly.
“I think I’d like that.” And Kara meant it.