Chapter Text
Kara had just come home from work that day and wanted nothing more than to relax in her couch and watch TV wrapped in a blanket while stuffing her face with food. She put her phone down after having dialed her favorite chinese take out restaurant to place an order when she remembered what she had overheard Lena say when she was leaving the hospital.
Well, that’s gonna be an interesting week…
It had been a few hours since Kara had visited Lena at the hospital but the words still echoed through the hero’s brain. She honestly wasn’t sure how she was supposed to interpret that sentence. The words had come off quite... flirty? Was Lena interested in women even? Kara had never thought about it beyond her own feelings. She had never thought for a single second that someone as powerful and gorgeous as Lena Luthor could ever be interested in her romantically. It already seemed like a miracle that they were friends seeing as Lena was a rich CEO and Kara was just a rookie reporter.
But it was definitely something that Kara had always admired about Lena and why she liked her so much. Lena was a strong woman, she would often tell Kara how she was sometimes not taken seriously in board meetings or at business events. Most other CEOs in town were middle-aged men and clearly they didn’t think twice about Lena Luthor, a 24-year-old woman. But Lena always had great comebacks to whatever these annoying white men threw her way. She was focused and determined to turn her company into something good and she wouldn’t let sexism get in the way.
Kara felt inspired by Lena when doing her job as Supergirl. If Lena could prove everyone wrong and fight the rest of the city who could judge her for being a woman or being too young for her position then so could Supergirl. The young Luthor didn’t even have powers and she never flinched in front of such a challenge. Kara felt ready to take on the entire world when she thought about Lena’s courage and strength.
The hero shook her thoughts away, trying to figure out what she should do next. She had bought herself a couple of days with the CEO. Lena had seemed to believe the whole pink kryptonite excuse and definitely seemed okay with Supergirl having a crush on her.
Kara felt very self-conscious about her article suddenly and she wasn’t sure she’d have the guts to go see Lena during the following couple of days, let alone try to flirt with her. Basically it had looked like a good plan until Lena had been so okay with it and Kara was abruptly very freaked out about the whole situation.
Kara’s phone dinged for what felt like the hundredth time that day, but this time she let herself pick it up and saw a text from Alex.
Kara stop ignoring my texts, we need to talk about this. I’m on my way to your apartment.
Kara had tried to ignore her phone all day after her sudden realization that everyone she knew had probably read the article and would try to ask her a bunch of questions about it. Kara definitely knew that Alex would call her out on it and apparently she was right according to the 27 texts and missed calls from her sister she was seeing on her notification panel. Kara quickly typed back an “ok” to Alex. She knew she had to face her sister eventually anyway.
Her notifications were also filled with Twitter mentions from various people asking more details about Lena Luthor and Supergirl. She sighed and decided that it was probably better to just turn off the Twitter notifications for now. Before she closed the app she quickly looked through her “Following” list and tapped on Lena’s username. The CEO’s profile showed up and Kara scanned it to see if she had tweeted anything about Supergirl. There was only a single tweet dated after the accident.
@LenaLuthor: Thank you all for your kind words regarding my recovery & a special thanks to #Supergirl for rescuing me yesterday. #SupergirlAndLenaLuthor
Kara felt herself blushing slightly, she didn’t know if it was because of Lena’s use of that hashtag or because of the special thanks she received, but either way she couldn’t help the smile on her face.
Kara’s apartment door opened at once, Kara locked her phone and looked towards the door to see Alex looking at her seemingly pissed off.
“What the hell, Kara?” The hero slumped back in the couch breaking eye contact with her sister. Alex took off her leather jacket, approached Kara and sat next to her. The eldest Danvers could see that something was definitely wrong and there was a good reason why Kara had postponed this talk so much.
“Hey, Kara, look at me. What’s wrong?” Kara looked up to her sister’s concerned face and felt a little better. She knew it was always safe to talk to Alex and she wouldn’t judge her so she started talking after swallowing hard.
“There’s no pink kryptonite, Alex. I made it up.”
“Shocker.” Alex rolled her eyes and let out a chuckle as Kara gently punched her arm. “It’s about you and Lena, isn’t it?” Alex smiled softly and the hero wondered how she had ever believed that her sister would be mad at her. Alex was always supportive and defending Kara, of course she would be okay with this too.
“I panicked after I kinda kissed Lena and I didn’t know what to do.” She paused briefly, her heart beating faster as she remembered the events. “When Snapper told me I was in charge of writing the article about it, I recalled that time I had been told about pink kryptonite and I figured it was probably my best option. I rolled with it and apparently everyone seemed to believe it. Even Lena.”
“You talked to Lena?” Alex was slightly taken aback, she had honestly expected Kara to hide forever from Lena after such an awkward moment. “How did that go?”
“Well, I mean, I went to see her at the hospital as Kara this morning. I had to know if she was alright. So I got to her room and-”
“Wait, how did you even get access to her room? Isn’t it supposed to be family only?”
“She put me on her visitor’s list apparently.”
“Of course she did.” Alex whispered under her breath and bit down a chuckle, waiting for her sister to keep going. Kara decided that it was best to ignore Alex’s reaction and continue her story.
“So I got to her room and she seemed okay which eased my worry. We talked about the article, that she had already read apparently, and she wasn’t upset about it. She said she understood I was a journalist and I had only done my job to retell the events.”
“And she believed the pink kryptonite part?” It seemed odd to Alex that someone as smart as Lena wouldn’t pick up on such a fishy excuse.
“I think she did, yeah.” Kara looked away, preparing herself for her sister’s reaction, “There’s something else… I told her that during my interview with Supergirl, she had told me that the pink kryptonite’s effect would take a few days to fade away completely and that she may get visits from National City’s superhero.”
“You did what now?”
“I-I don’t know… I figured it would give me a window to try and make a move as Supergirl if I wanted to… It felt like a smart idea at the time. Now I’m not so sure though.”
“Do you plan to go see her as Supergirl anytime soon?” Kara knew the question was coming but she still stiffened when it escaped Alex’s mouth.
“I wanted to but…”
“But you’re chickening out now, aren’t you?” Kara nodded slowly.
“I just really like her, Alex. And I don’t want to mess this up or compromise my identity as Supergirl.”
“I know you do,” Alex scooted closer to her sister and patted Kara’s back caringly, “and it’s gonna be alright. Don’t worry about it.” Kara flashed a smile, happy to have someone on her side.
“Thank you.” Kara didn’t want to say more. She thought about the hug that they had shared and, of course , about Lena’s words she had overheard as she was leaving but she wasn’t ready to tell Alex all that just yet.
“Now you have to go see her as Supergirl! You don’t have to try to make a move if you’re not ready yet, but you did promise the girl a visit, didn’t you?”
“Alright, I’ll go tonight then.” The doorbell rang and Kara’s face lighted up. “But first I need to eat all these delicious potstickers!”
“Don’t eat too much before your big date though.” Alex teased as she got up, picking up her jacket on the way and opening the door for the delivery guy. Kara giggled as she greeted the man and paid for her food. “And I expect you to come see me and tell me all about it afterwards obviously.” Alex said very excited for her sister as she squeezed through the door and left the apartment.
Kara had just finished throwing away the last empty containers of chinese food and cleaning up the kitchen counter. She was hesitantly walking towards her bedroom — she would usually fly or float — to go change into her supersuit and head to Lena’s apartment.
The hero breathed in and out slowly a couple of times, put on her suit and supersped her way to Lena’s penthouse building before she could change her mind. As she flew she felt herself get more confident — using her powers had always made it easy for her to slip into the Supergirl persona.
She stopped before the high building, floating near the top floor as she contemplated the lights inside and the shadow of Lena walking around her living room. The hero almost turned back at once but she knew better. Kara took a deep breath and landed delicately on the balcony. She may have been freaked out on the inside but it sure couldn't show on the outside. She was back to being the strong and confident superhero.
Lena didn’t seem to notice Supergirl outside her window so Kara decided to knock softly on the glass even though the sliding doors were already opened. It was a fairly hot day and the breeze was nice. She saw Lena jump up a little and smirk when she realized Supergirl was the one on the balcony. She approached and gestured for Supergirl to get inside. Kara nodded as a thanks and stepped inside the penthouse.
She had been there a few times as Kara but it still felt a bit odd for her to be there as Supergirl. She looked around the apartment, observing what had changed since the last time she had been there but everything pretty much looked the same. A nice and cosy apartment.
“Supergirl! I didn’t think you would show up.” Lena’s tone was light and slightly teasing. Kara felt relieved to know — for sure now — that Lena wasn’t mad at her superhero equivalent for the slip up of the previous day.
“Well, I came here to apologize formally for my behavior. I thought it would be best to do that sooner rather than later.” Lena stayed silent for a second and Kara decided to just go ahead with her apology. “I’m sorry if I’ve made you feel uncomfortable in any way. I swear it was not my intention and I promise to do my best to keep it all under control until the effects of the kryptonite have completely faded away. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me and that this won’t in any way affect how you see me.”
Kara held Lena’s stare to support how genuine her apology was. However, it still felt rehearsed to Lena but she knew Supergirl meant her words regardless. The CEO couldn’t help the grin forming on her face as she imagined Supergirl practicing her apology in front of a mirror until it was good enough. And Kara had actually rehearsed it a few times to make it sound formal. She really did not want her true feelings for Lena to shine through her little speech.
“I did not mind, really.” The words made Kara swallow. She tried to tell herself that Lena probably did not mean anything by that. Again. “I mean, Kara Danvers probably told you already but I think it’s good for me to be associated with someone like you. Someone as good, as smart and as stunning as you.” And… there it was again. Stunning . Preparing herself to engage the flirting with Lena was one thing but being on the receiving end was something totally different. Kara had dismissed it when Lena had complimented Supergirl that morning but these compliments were just too obvious. It had to mean something.
Seeing Supergirl slightly blush made Lena feel even more daring. She wanted to see how far she could go and how much she could get away with.
“I’m just glad there is no hard feelings and I hope you’ll still call me if you need anything from me, Ms. Luthor.”
“Please, Supergirl, we shared a kiss, I think we’re passed you calling me Ms. Luthor.” Lena laughed genuinely. Kara’s face was almost entirely red at this point and it was hard to stay in control. She nodded in understanding and took a step closer to the smaller woman.
“Lena, then.”
“Actually, I do have a request” A smirk appeared on the CEO’s face. “I would love if you could drop by my office tomorrow. I’m going there briefly to oversee the works on the L-Corp building reconstruction since it was badly damaged yesterday, and I could use your strength to clean things up a bit. If you don’t mind of course.” As Lena articulated her last words, her eyes gazed up and down, checking out Supergirl, stopping briefly on her strong arms.
Kara felt self-conscious in the supersuit that accentuated her defined features. Somehow it also made her more daring though, “Anything for you, Lena .” She paused, slightly surprised at her own flirty tone and continued on a lighter note, “I would be happy to help.”
“Good then. I will email Kara Danvers the details and she will forward them to you. How does that sound?” Lena raised an eyebrow as she usually did when asking something and Kara felt her heart twitch at once but didn’t flinch on the outside to not let Lena know how that eyebrow made her feel.
“I will check with her but I think it should be fine.” The hero tried to compose herself and managed to flash a small smile.
Kara really wanted to stay more and spend more time with Lena but she knew she should probably go and respect Lena’s privacy. It was kind of late after all and she did promise to keep her cool around the CEO and not do anything too gay.
Kara started to turn around towards the window in order to leave through the balcony when Lena spoke.
“Supergirl,” Kara turned to face Lena again but she didn’t realize that the CEO had taken a few steps forward and she found herself really close. She jumped up. Kara stayed in the air for a few seconds and floated backwards to add some distance between the two of them.
Lena looked down to their feet, noticed how Supergirl was in the air and continued, “It’s so cool I love seeing you use your powers.” And Kara swore she could see a sparkle in Lena’s eyes for a second.
The superhero settled back on the floor and crossed her arms, waiting for Lena to say something more.
“Oh yeah, right. I was gonna ask you about the pink kryptonite. No offense but… it does sound made up. I had no idea there was more than just one type of kryptonite.”
Kara realized that Lena hadn’t moved to National City when the red kryptonite events had occurred and apparently she hadn’t heard about it — which was probably for the best. “Well there is about ten different kinds… that I know of. I heard about them through my cousin’s experience on Earth. Most of them are quite harmful to Kryptonians and dangerous in general so I’m glad I haven’t been in contact with them.” Kara added in a flash of panic, “U-Up until now I mean!”
“How does it work though? I mean, what is kryptonite composed of even?” Lena was getting very interested in this subject and the odd properties of kryptonite.
“Well ultimately they are just shards of matter from when Krypton exploded and apparently some pieces have managed to travel through space and arrive here.”
Lena picked her own brain trying to figure out how this could hurt Supergirl on Earth when she had probably been exposed to it her whole life on Krypton without feeling hurt there. And Kara could see right through her.
“You’re wondering how was life on Krypton and whether it was already harmful, aren’t you?” Lena nodded while looking away pensively. “It did not hurt back on Krypton, life was good there actually. I’m guessing something happened when my planet exploded-”
“Some kind of chemical reaction probably.” Lena interrupted Kara, finally coming up with a logical explanation.
“Yes! Exactly. And now, well, now we have all these different kinds of kryptonite. But I’m glad that they are quite rare though and that not everyone can get their hands on it. I mean it’s probably possible to synthesize kryptonite but I don’t think anyone would have the ability, resource and reason to do so… so that’s a relief.”
Kara’s eyes met Lena’s for a second and she realized she hadn’t felt like Kara Zor-El in a long time, but she did in that moment. Not Supergirl. Not Kara Danvers. Just Kara Zor-El, the kryptonian girl she used to be.
She did not often get to talk about her past on her former planet or her life as an alien in general and it felt nice for once. She was glad that Lena was so easy to talk to. Supergirl straightened herself and cleared her throat trying to get back to just being Supergirl.
“Could you tell me about the other kinds of kryptonite? I would love to hear more honestly. It sounds fascinating.” Kara noticed the same sparkle in Lena’s eyes again, probably due to being excited to learn about something new this time.
“I’m happy to explain and I trust you with this information, Lena, but try to keep it to yourself, alright?”
“Of course, I understand this could be potentially dangerous for you and your cousin.” Lena honestly didn’t believe it would be that easy to get this kind of information from Supergirl but she shrugged and figured it was probably due to the pink kryptonite still having partial effects.
“Well, there’s green kryptonite, which is the natural form and the most common one, also the only one you’ve heard of I’m guessing. It’s very harmful to us, Kryptonians, but actually it can also be dangerous to humans. I think Superman once told me about a man who had developed cancer from guarding a stock of kryptonite for a secret agency for too long.” Kara was assessing Lena’s reaction but she seemed to just drink Supergirl’s words and try to best assimilate the information she was being given.
“I think you may also have heard of red kryptonite and actually there is a common misconception surrounding that one. People often assume that it makes us evil but that’s actually not true. Not entirely true anyway.” The hero tried to keep a smile on her face despite the awful memories replaying in her head every time red kryptonite was brought up. “While it can turn a Kryptonian evil, red kryptonite has the potential of doing virtually anything. Each chunk of red kryptonite is unique and does something completely different to each individual.” Kara looked down and chuckled before adding, “I’ve even heard a tale of someone turning into a dragon for 24 hours after being exposed to it once.” The taller girl insisted on someone knowing full well that Lena would get it.
“Superman as a dragon?! That must be terrifying.” Lena’s eyebrows raised and she let out a soft giggle.
“I think another time he was exposed to a different shard of red kryptonite and he couldn’t speak any languages except Kryptonese for about two days, I believe. I had to go to Metropolis and translate things for him until the effect had faded.” Kara felt happy to share these stories with someone and Lena seemed amused which encouraged her to keep going. “I’ve heard once that some scientist there had tried to make red kryptonite and he instead created what he later named ‘bizarro red kryptonite’ which holds the same properties as normal red kryptonite but applies to humans instead of Kryptonians.”
Lena seemed a bit freaked out by this last confession and Kara felt the need to move on to another kind.
“I also know of gold kryptonite that removes a Kryptonian’s powers temporarily but it can’t hurt or kill us like the green one does.” The hero spoke fast, rushing the words out of her mouth and Lena kept looking at her with this cheeky smile and daring green eyes.
Supergirl went quiet and very slowly took a step towards Lena.
“Then there’s opal… white… blue… silver…“
She took another step forward. They were standing really close now. Tension was in the air. Kara was taller and using this to her advantage. She shot Lena a playful look and her voice seemed like it had dropped an octave. “... and there’s the pink one.”
Kara had a smug look on her face. She felt cocky and adventurous. “As for my experience with pink kryptonite I just- I can’t help feeling this attraction. Attraction to you, Lena .” The CEO swallowed hard at the way Supergirl said her name, maintaining eye contact with the taller girl and trying not to melt under such an intense gaze.
“How come you are attracted to me then?” Her curiosity peeking as to why Supergirl would show interest in her out of everyone in National City.
“The real question is who wouldn’t be attracted to you honestly?” Lena felt herself blush slightly and looked down to her feet for half a second before daring to meet Supergirl’s gaze again. “You use every resource available to you to do good . You are literally a genius . You’re one of the most powerful people in the city and probably the most powerful woman actually.” Kara looked around her at the apartment before adding, “You are definitely pretty rich by the look of this large home, which is always a plus. And of course,” Kara gazed at Lena, starting at her feet until she settled back on her face, enjoying everything on the way. “You’re pretty sweet on the eye.”
Lena felt like the hero was pretty much undressing her with her eyes. Kara winked, a side grin visible on her face, and now, the roles were reversed. Kara was the one being flirty and Lena was the flustered one.
The hero took one last small step towards Lena to completely close the distance between their bodies. Feeling as daring as ever, she looked down to the smaller woman, a smirk on her face. Lena felt a shiver run down her back and she couldn’t tell if it was from the breeze of the open window or because of Supergirl.
“I know I said I would try to keep my feelings to myself for the next couple of days but,” Lena was staring right back at Kara’s deep blue eyes that had darkened over the last minute. Her knees were failing her as the superhero leaned forward. “It’s just so hard to keep it to myself when it comes to you.” Their lips almost touching. Lena closed her eyes, ready to feel Supergirl’s touch.
But suddenly she felt a shift, she opened her eyes and Supergirl was gone.