Chapter Text
They are entering a parking garage when Kara’s phone starts ringing. Everyone is already leaving the car, which gives Kara the opportunity to pick up.
“How is my favorite sister doing?” Alex immediately says before Kara can even utter a word.
Kara looks over at Lena and her friends. Sam and Jess, if she remembered correctly, are already dancing to a song they are singing themselves. For a second, she wonders if they have drunk too much and the only reason they are tagging her along is for her to bring them home.
But then her eyes are drawn to Lena, who is walking surprisingly steady on her high heels. “You could say I managed,” she tells her sister, the amazement evident in her voice.
Sam almost trips over some non-existent obstacle and Jess starts laughing as if it is the funniest thing she has ever seen. Lena only shakes her head and Jack doesn’t even look up from his phone.
“What’s that noise? Where are you?” Alex starts interrogating her, clearly not trusting Kara to take care of herself. If only she knew.
“You won’t believe me.”
“Try me.”
Kara chuckles at Alex's challenge. She can always try. “I’m about to enter a club with Lena Luthor.”
She can hear how Alex sits up in her bed.
“She picked me up and now we’re just going out for some drinks, I think,” Kara further explains the unusual situation. Whatever happens tonight, it certainly is an unforgettable night.
Alex starts laughing. “Clubbing with Lena Luthor – the Lena Luthor. Sure. Later.”
She hangs up the phone, leaving Kara to stare at her phone screen. Well, Alex clearly didn’t believe her, but she doesn’t blame her. She wouldn’t believe her either.
She wants to continue walking to stop herself from falling behind when Jack suddenly appears next to her.
“Hello.”
Kara chuckles awkwardly and pushes her glasses further on her nose.
Jack looks at her unamused. “Well? Who did you just tell that you’re with us?”
“That was my sister,” Kara immediately replies. Why does she feel like she’s being attacked? Isn’t she allowed to talk to her sister in the presence of Lena Luthor? That would be ridiculous.
He hums at her. “There’s another one like you?”
“Adopted, but yeah,” Kara eagerly answers. She loves to talk about Alex, which prevents her from noticing his hostility.
“Well, I will sue you and your adopted sister when something from tonight leaks out,” he casually tells her. He offers her a wink and then turns around to walk next to Lena as some kind of bodyguard.
The whole conversation dampers her excitement. She didn’t ask to come along, so why are they treating her like an inconvenience? Even if it is only Jack who did that. And Lena a bit too, even though she hates to admit that.
Lena asked her to join them tonight, but after that, she’s barely talked to her. If Kara has to earn the privilege to talk to Lena, she’s out. She has some self-respect and won’t stoop as low as begging a celebrity for attention.
She can’t think about it for long, because she is ushered inside an elevator with Lena and her crew. As the elevator starts to move, Kara can feel herself becoming nervous. Of course, she has been to a club before, but she’s sure it was nothing compared to the club she’s about to enter with the Luthor heiress. Besides, she’s still wearing the chef pants, which is not really the most flattering outfit.
“It’s called Roulette, named after my friend who also owns it,” Lena suddenly informs her.
Kara looks beside her and sees that Lena is standing a lot closer to her than before. Her perfume fills her nose and Kara is instantly mesmerized by her again. She knows she has forgiven Lena before she has even got the chance to get pissed at her.
“Your friends own a lot of places.”
Lena’s laugh is soft. She opens her mouth to reply, but she’s interrupted by Sam who throws an arm around her drunkenly.
“And we’re about to own the night,” she slurs.
Lena sighs and gestures at Jess to take Sam over from her. The elevator doors open and they continue walking. The loud bass of the music slowly starts to increase in volume, indicating that they’re close.
“She has a daughter. Six years old now. She doesn’t go out as much as she used to,” Lena offers the explanation as an apology.
“No worries,” Kara reassures her. “I like her.”
Lena looks at her for a moment. A soft smile adorns her face. Kara wonders what she’s looking at. Are her glasses dirty? Does she have something between her teeth? She quickly runs her tongue over her teeth, just to be sure.
She never gets the chance to ask Lena. They have arrived at two thick doors, which are opened the moment the bouncers notice Lena. The music is now so loud, she won’t be able to hear anything else. Lena notices her discomfort at the music and winks at her, before dragging her along to the VIP section.
They don’t have to wrestle their way through a dancing crowd like Kara is used to. The crowd lets them trough once they notice who is trying to move past them. Every eye is trained on Lena, while she doesn’t seem to notice them.
Kara catches up to her. “Doesn’t it bother you when everyone is looking at you?” Kara wonders aloud.
“Not as long as they keep their distance,” Lena answers after giving it a thought for a moment. They’re almost at the VIP area.
Lena can’t even really finish her sentence when a guy walks up to her and puts his arm around her. “Come on, Lena babe, how about a picture?”
He is clearly drunk and Lena uncomfortably tries to wiggle out of his grasp. Kara steps in and pushes him back. He almost falls due to his drunkenness. Out of nowhere, two guards appear and they drag him away.
Kara looks shocked at the roughness with which the guards handle him, but she doesn’t feel sorry for him. He had it coming with the way he approached Lena.
“Are you okay?” she asks Lena concerned. She would hate it when someone came up to her like that, but she guesses Lena is used to it.
Lena nods, an unconvincing smile on her face.
As soon as they reach the VIP area, Lena disappears. It leaves Kara a little lost and anxiety starts to come up when she imagines she has to wait here all night all alone for Lena to show up again. Luckily Sam appears next to her with a drink in her hand, which she gives to Kara. Where she even managed to get one this quickly, she does not know. They both lean on the railing that separates the VIP area from the dance floor.
Kara’s eyes roam over the crowd and after a while, she spots Lena, who is talking to a pretty brunette. The dress the other woman is wearing barely covers her body, which puts her tattoos on clear display. Lena says something that makes the other woman laugh and she places a hand affectionately on Lena’s shoulder. Kara can feel jealousy swirl in her stomach, which is completely unwarranted.
“That’s Roulette,” Sam states when she sees Kara looking at the couple. “She may own the place, but she’s got nothing on you. One look at those arm muscles and Lena was a goner.”
Kara looks at Sam surprised. First, when did she manage to sober up this much? And second, what?
“Get down there,” Sam encourages her.
Kara takes one last look at Lena and Roulette and decides that she’s going to do what Sam said. She’s never going to experience such a night again, so why not make the best out of it?
Without Lena, the crowd doesn’t really split like before but Kara eventually manages to get close to Lena. Although, she doesn’t spot Kara immediately. Not wanting to just hang around, Kara slowly starts to dance to the music. She might be alone, but everyone around her is dancing – so she feels good. It makes her even forget that she’s wearing chef pants.
Everything becomes better when she finally catches Lena’s attention. She says something to Roulette, who walks away with a sour face. Lena doesn’t even give it a second thought and joins Kara. They start to dance together. Kara doesn’t even really know what song is playing. She is completely focused on Lena.
They are not even touching, but she can feel Lena’s presence and it’s almost too overwhelming. The bass only adds to the buzzing that is already spreading through her body. Too slow for Kara’s likening, they start gravitating towards each other. They are still not touching, but Kara can feel the heat coming from Lena’s body.
And finally, finally, Lena lays her hand on Kara’s shoulder, and pulls are a few inches closer. Kara puts her hand on Lena’s hip and they start swaying to the music in the same rhythm. It feels amazing. Her eyes are trained on Lena’s and neither is able to look away.
Kara feels her heart rate getting out of control and she marvels if the same is happening to Lena. The magic is broken when a guarded look suddenly takes over Lena’s eyes and she gently pushes Kara those few inches back.
Before Kara can comment on it, her phone starts vibrating. She wants to ignore it, but her phone just keeps going and she lets out a tired sigh when she looks at the screen. Mon-El, of course.
“Is that him?” Lena asks her after looking at the phone screen too.
Kara nods. “Where can I find somewhere quiet to talk?”
She really, really doesn’t want to talk to Mon-El now, but she knows him. If she doesn’t let him know that she’s fine, he will start to worry and before she knows it, the whole police force is looking for her. Maybe she can calm him down and convince him to give her some time.
“Come…” Lena grabs her hand and Kara can’t do anything but follow. The disapproving glance Jack sends them doesn’t even bother her.
It’s obvious in the confident way that Lena guides her that she’s been here before often. She leads them to the rooftop where a few other guests are quietly talking among themselves. It’s a stark contrast to the loudness of the club.
“Are you sure you want to call him?” Lena looks over her shoulder at Kara.
No. “Yeah, just to calm him down.”
She feels that Lena disapproves. “Isn’t that a good idea?” she asks her.
“Every time I have a fight with someone, I just fly to another continent. I’ve learned that disappearing helps."
Kara tries to keep the shock from showing. The casualty with which Lena talks about flying to another continent is something Kara would have never imagined someone could have. She starts worrying whether Lena expects her to just agree with her and talk about all the countries she’s been to, which is none. Of course, she has been to other states, but that’s about it.
“Cool,” Kara mumbles as an answer. “It’s just that I can’t really afford to fly to another continent every time we fight.”
Lena’s face crumbles. “Yeah, yeah,” she mutters. “Of course.”
They are silent for a few seconds and just stare at each other. Their different world views hang between them without really creating a division. It’s just there, underneath the attraction Kara feels towards Lena.
“Hilarious,” Lena interrupts their meaningful silence. “You can afford to go to a really expensive restaurant, but you can’t afford to fly to another country.”
Kara has to laugh at her cheekiness. “Don’t give me a hard time.”
Lena smirks at her, before suddenly looking serious. “Why did you tell your crazy boyfriend no?”
The question surprises her. She didn’t expect Lena to just bluntly ask her that question, but she should have known better.
“He isn’t crazy,” Kara starts to defend him, but she doubts her own words. It is a habit to always defend him to other people, but maybe she’s has a point. “He just goes a little crazy, sometimes.”
“Crazy or not. He shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that.” Lena’s voice has lost its teasing tone all of a sudden and she sounds agitated.
She hadn’t thought about it that way. It’s just how Mon-El is. He does crazy things like this, whether she’s comfortable with it or not. Lena probably knows this and Kara is actually quite done with talking about Mon-El.
“What about you?” she retorts. “Why did you break up?”
There is a flicker of distrust in Lena’s gaze and it makes Kara take her words back. “You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to.”
“Two years of pretending is two years to many.”
The implication behind it is clear and Kara is a bit surprised. The whole relationship was fake? She always thought that was a myth surrounding celebrities that didn’t actually happen that often. Clearly, she was wrong. Despite being really curious, Kara doesn’t question Lena knowing that she probably doesn’t want to elaborate.
“Then you’re just like me,” Kara says instead and a heavy feeling overwhelms her. “I pretend everything’s fine, but…”
She hesitates. Why is she opening up like this? It would just feel so good to just put everything out there for once. It’s not like she will ever see Lena again. And some part of her believes that Lena understands her.
"At the end of the day, all I want is someone who will be there for me unconditionally and give me a hug when I need it."
Lena doesn’t take her green eyes off her for one second and Kara can sense she’s getting lost in them, which results in it taking a while before she realizes what she has said.
“I mean me and Mon-El for instance, not me and you,” she clarifies weakly. She wishes for Lena to just look away and take away the awkwardness she’s feeling. At the same time, she keeps on looking at Lena who just nods at her.
“Take your time,” she advises her after taking everything in. “Enjoy being alone, and then, maybe call him.”
Apparently, Kara is not done with being honest. “Alone? I don’t really know how to be alone – I think.”
Lena puts her hand on Kara’s arm, just like Roulette did before. “Now you know me.”
Her hand is warm and Lena’s lips look so good. It’s almost as if an invisible force pushes her closer to Lena and Kara isn’t about to stop it. She has never felt like this. Is this how attraction is supposed to feel?
And does Lena feel the same?
Lena is moving closer too, so probably.
With her eyes focused on Lena’s lips, she notices how she slowly tilts her head. Kara just wants to kiss her. And why not? Maybe it’s all the confusing feelings that are taking over her body. Or maybe it’s just the alcohol that she has been drinking tonight. Whatever it is, it makes her decide to close the gap between them.
Or at least, that is what she thought she was about to do.
At the last moment, Lena breaks the eye contact and Kara feels a soft hand on her chest pushing her away softly.
Again.
Afterward, Lena can’t look at her. Kara swallows and pushes her glasses back on her nose.
What was she thinking? “Sorry, Lena…”
Lena downs her drink and looks at her without really looking. “I’ll see you downstairs.”
Lena has gone back to the club for almost half an hour when Kara decides it’s probably best if she heads inside too. The alcohol can’t really prevent the coldness that is slowly taking over her body. She shivers when another cold gust of wind hits her.
The warmth her the club welcomes her back and Kara can feel her muscles starting to relax again. Despite taking a moment for herself on the rooftop, she has not processed what happened before.
Did she do something wrong? Did she completely misread the situation and did Lena not want to kiss her? Is she going to be sued for harassment?
It’s likely she’s not that far off. Why would someone like Lena want to kiss her?
The loud music in the club can’t drown out her thoughts. She orders a new drink at the bar and starts taking slow sips while she looks for Lena in the dancing crowd from her comfortable bar seat. Lena is nowhere to be found, but she spots Jack looking at his phone from his place against the wall.
Perhaps he knows where Lena went. The last thing she wants is to talk to Jack, it is clear he doesn’t approve of her tagging along tonight. But she wants to find Lena and apologize and don’t end this night with a bad feeling. The only way to do just that is to talk to Jack.
“Where’s Lena?” she asks him once she has made her way over to him.
Jack looks up from his phone. He is obviously irritated that she distracted him from whatever important business he has going on.
“She went to the dance floor to dance with Sam and Jess,” Jack tells her annoyed.
Kara tries to find Lena again when Jack speaks up again.
“Leave now, and it’s a win.”
Did she hear that right? “What?”
“When you do what I do, as long as I’ve done it, you start to know people. I think there is nothing wrong with you, Kara. Hell, maybe I even like you.”
Kara just knows something dreadful is coming and the hope to find Lena to apologize and have a good rest of the night disappears instantly. Jack is about to make her land back on earth after her night in the sky with Lena.
“She has had an awful week,” Jack starts. “And in these situations, Lena looks for someone to make her feel good. Sometimes she finds them at dinner. Sometimes at a party. Hell, one time she even managed to find someone at a hot dog stand. Just someone who can’t believe what’s happening to them.”
Kara shakes her head. That doesn’t sound like Lena. On the other hand, how well does she know Lena? Isn’t it a celebrity’s job to make everyone like them. Lena probably is one of the best at that.
Jack continues his story about how he always throws those people out eventually, but Kara doesn’t really need to hear it. The message is clear. She has done whatever Lena wanted and now she can go. If she has to leave, she wants to with whatever dignity she has left.
Before Jack can conclude his monologue, Kara nods with resignation. “I understand. Just give me an address where I can send the clothes to and I will be gone.”
“You can keep them,” Jack reassures her as if he’s doing her a huge favor and he’s the good guy.
Kara just wants to go home, which is exactly what she does. Without looking back, she leaves the club. All alone, she stands in the elevator. Her reflection is mocking her. She was pathetic to think of tonight as anything more than just some ploy to entertain a bored millionaire.
The elevator doors close behind her once she has reached the ground floor.
"That was fun," she mutters to herself, and then she walks outside - leaving Lena and everything that happened tonight behind her.