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Lena knew a few things about Kara Danvers.
She knew the cub reporter had a hankering for pot stickers, a habit of using odd verbal expressions, and an endless amount of faith in Lena despite the Luthor name. She knew that Kara was easily distracted by low cut blouses - a fact that Lena used to her advantage - and that her love of boybands had not faded one iota since her teenage years.
And one fine day, when Kara brought Lena a morning coffee for a quick discussion before work, Lena learned that Kara’s tan-colored pants were vaguely transparent under bright corporate light. “I’m assuming you’re a Panic at the Disco fan,” Lena teased, getting a quizzical look from Kara as she turned around.
But comprehension soon dawned on Kara’s face, as she realized that Lena had seen the question posed by her rear end: Are you nasty? “Golly,” Kara said, her cheeks flushing a bright shade of red, “My sister gave them to me as a joke, I was out of laundry-”
“It’s okay,” Lena laughed, wishing she could kiss the golly right off her friend’s lips, “You might want to change before Cat sees you, though.”
“Yeah, I- I have spare clothes at work, I should go,” Kara stuttered, backing out the door so as not to turn her back on Lena again, “Thank you!”
Lena smiled, figuring that was the last she would see of Are you nasty?
A few weeks later, she’d be proven wrong.
“Oh shoot, shoot, shoot-”
“Kara!” Winn’s voice rang over her ear, “They need you downtown, now!”
“I’m coming!” Kara said frantically, eyes scanning her gym bag for her skirt. But all she could find was her gym underwear, an old sweaty shirt, and the damn joke boxer-briefs that Alex had given her two Christmases ago. My skirt, my skirt-
“Kara!”
“Coming!” Kara shouted, wincing as she realized the other two women in the locker room were now staring at her curiously. Better do this on the roof, she thought, shoving on the boxer-briefs before rushing out. Rao, these aren’t even meant for-
She heard a crash across the city as she reached the building stairs, superspeeding to the roof as she pulled on the rest of the supersuit. Rao help me, she thought, launching into the sky, the proud words of Are you nasty? shining in the sun.
Reaching the site of the chaos, Kara sighed in relief as she recognized the creature. He’s just scared, she thought, having run into his kind before. He was an alien equivalent of an oversized squirrel, expanded in size due to the lower density of Earth’s atmosphere compared to his home planet. I’ll calm him down and get to the DEO.
It wasn’t a rough fight by any means. He knocked over some light poles and a chunk of building facade, which Kara caught before it crashed to the ground. Not long after, she picked the creature up, flying him across town for proper containment. A few tranquilizers later, and the creature stumbled quietly into the DEO, falling asleep in a containment chamber as the agents began the work to rehome him.
Unfortunately, that was not the end for Kara. “Those boxers? Really?” Alex asked, as Kara stepped into the control room.
“It was all I ha- Winn, what is that?!” Kara gasped, eyes flickering up to the DEO screen.
“Everyone’s talking about it,” Winn said, holding back a laugh as more tweets appeared on the monitor, “#SuperBooty is the number one hashtag on Twitter right now.”
“No,” Kara said, stepping closer, examining the image in front of her: a perfectly framed shot of her facing the creature, while also holding up the building facade… in all her undergarment glory. It was a well-composed photo, if not for the obvious. “No, no, no-”
“They’re calling it the ass of the century,” Alex said dryly, her voice warring with exasperation and a tinge of amusement.
“Cat Grant’s going to eat you alive tomorrow,” Winn said.
Kara swallowed harshly, still staring at the image on the screen. Crap.
“Whole ass out. An internet frenzy,” Cat said, pacing in the staff meeting the next morning, “We need more. Perhaps a humanizing story. Even Supergirl forgets to do her laundry-”
“Do we really need an article about this?” Kara squeaked, trying to ignore James’ stifled laugh behind her, “It doesn’t seem like that big a deal-”
Cat cut her off with the raise of an eyebrow. “For all we know, this was an homage to Harambe. We need answers, Kiera.”
“Of course,” Kara mumbled.
“You and James should reach out to your contacts,” she said, turning to the pair, “We need an interview with Supergirl as soon as possible.”
Kara let out another squeak, but James jumped in first. “We’ll try, Miss Grant.”
“And Kiera? Get a statement from Lena Luthor as well.”
“Lena?” Kara asked, her sense of mortification diminished slightly by her confusion, “Why?”
“The image of the superbooty-” Kara’s face turned redder again. “-is now Miss Luthor’s Twitter banner. I want you to ask why.”
Kara’s jaw dropped in horror, staring long at Cat until James gave her a gentle nudge with his elbow. “Of course,” she choked.
“Chop chop,” Cat said, as the meeting broke apart, each member of the staff moving to get to work. Kara rushed out the door, with James following close behind, trying to politely hold back his laughter.
No one noticed the smirk on Cat’s lips. Oh Kiera, she thought, it won’t last long.
Kara felt totally defeated as she stepped into the LCorp elevator. This’ll blow over, she thought to herself, pressing the button for the top floor, I just need to wait it out, the news cycle always moves on.
She adjusted her dress, thinking of the pair of lettered underwear sitting at home - evidence of her crimes. I should burn it, she thought, why on Earth is Lena using that photo…
The elevator dinged. Kara stepped out into the lobby, greeted by Jess, who waved her through to Lena’s office. “Thanks again for scheduling this on short notice,” Kara said as she passed Jess’s desk.
Jess’s tone was professional, but there was no hiding the amusement in her eyes. “I’m sure Miss Luthor would love to be part of the superbooty story.”
Kara’s grin froze as she felt her face warm, and she scuttled through Lena’s office doors to avoid further interactions with Jess. That wasn’t why she was here anyway. “Lena,” she said, watching as her friend rose from her desk. “I’m sorry to bother you on short notice.”
“Not at all,” Lena said, amusement shining in her eyes as she gestured to the couch, “I was expecting you anyway. Considering…”
Kara tilted her head curiously. “You knew we’d want your take on Supergirl’s wardrobe?”
“Not exactly,” Lena said carefully, “If anything, the reporting strikes me as lopsided. Has Cat ever had you report on the fact that your cousin also wears his underwear in public?”
Kara’s brow crinkled. “You’re right!” she said, feeling self-righteousness bubble within her, “No one blinks an eye for him, but suddenly it’s a media frenzy if-”
Kara halted. My cousin.
She said my cousin.
MY COUSIN-
“Oh gosh,” Kara said, slowly sinking onto the couch as a different realization washed over her, “You knew.”
Lena quirked an eyebrow. “Well, not until the superbooty incident.”
Kara groaned at the mention, glancing to Lena sheepishly. “Well, I guess that’s out in the open now,” she replied.
Lena’s face tensed with uncertainty. Kara watched as she took her seat next to her, wondering what was causing Lena to hesitate. Lena frowned, glancing downwards. “I wouldn’t be offended if that made you nervous,” she said.
“Nervous?” Kara asked, realizing what Lena was feeling. She’s worried that I might be scared of her, Kara thought, reaching for Lena’s hand. “No, Lena- of course not. I know who you are. You’re good. You’ve proved it so many times.”
Lena let out a small sigh, clearly relieved by Kara’s words. “I’m glad you think so,” she said. Kara held her gaze for a moment, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
The moment passed. Lena smiled, nodding to Kara’s purse. “Interview?”
Kara nodded, and pulled out her notebook.
The interview didn’t take long. Lena, of course, knew the type of quotes a Catco article would be looking for, and a blushing Kara wrote them down. But from there, conversation ambled - from the happenings at LCorp and Catco, to Kara’s neverending quest to hide her secret.
“I have a confession of my own to make,” Lena said, a touch teasing and a touch shy as Kara finished packing away her stuff.
“Oh?”
“I’d been- feeling conflicted,” Lena said honestly, “I suppose that’s no longer an issue…”
“Conflicted?” Kara asked.
Lena bit her lip. “I was wondering if you would like to go on a date Friday night?”
“Conflicted- a date- oh,” Kara said, her eyes widening as she realized the implication of Lena’s words. She wanted me- both of me?
She supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised. Not with how Lena filled Kara Danvers’ office with flowers, or how her interactions with Supergirl did seem flirtatious in retrospect. Lena didn’t want to choose, and now it turns out there was never a choice that needed to be made. “Golly,” Kara grinned, “That’d be nice.”
Lena smiled back.
The two stood up - Kara to head back to Catco for her article, Lena to greet a couple of lawyers for her next meeting - and made their way to the door. “I have one last request,” Lena said.
“Anything,” Kara replied.
“Don’t get rid of those shorts,” Lena murmured.
Kara turned around, eyes wide. “What? Why?”
Lena smirked. “Because someday I want to find out the answer.”
“The- oh- gosh-” Kara stuttered.
“See you Friday?” Lena asked, cutting off Kara before she spiraled too hard on the implication.
Kara glanced in Lena’s direction, smiling back. “Yeah,” she said, “See you Friday.”