Chapter Text
Buying CATCO was a business decision, Lena tells herself. An investment. Whether Kara worked there or not was irrelevant. Morgan Edge needed to be stopped.
Except when Kara tells her she no longer works at CatCo, Lena can’t stop herself from reaching and pleading for Kara not to have her go through this alone.
A single red heart turns out to be the only response she can muster when Kara tells her she’ll be at work. Lena stares at her phone for hours that night, reading over the simple sentence from Kara. “See ya tomorrow, boss.” As if that wasn’t the sexiest text she’s ever received. She takes a cold shower because if she did anything else her mind was telling her to do, she would not be able to face Kara Danvers in front of all of her new colleagues.
Her first day at CatGo goes off like an airbag to the face for how much whiplash Lena endures. From first-day gift planners to blow offs to apology hugs, Kara Danvers was turning out to be a more complex woman than Lena previously considered. It’s an admirable quality in the Luthor household. Lillian might actually be impressed. Lena smirks at the idea.
Call it scientific curiosity that has Lena wanting to spend more time figuring Kara out. Thanks to Sam and Ruby, Lena learns she can easily picture her and Kara attending events together that aren’t work-related. Also thanks to Sam, she learns that Kara is freakishly strong. And strong-headed. Which is not a bad thing except when Kara refuses to let things go with Edge and the chemicals, and Lena remembers why not putting an end to this crush the moment it started was a bad idea. She decides it’s time to call the whole thing off and do what a Luthor does best - ruin lives and run away.
But the alcohol in her system makes her fuzzy enough to forget that Kara Danvers is just as bull-headed as she is, so of course she would send Supergirl to her rescue. And now Lena worries there’s something other than lead in the water in National City because Supergirl is literally carrying a plane to save her and refusing to sacrifice her for the greater good. She’s going to need a bigger suitcase for all the baggage she’s packing.
Sister.
She wishes Supergirl dropped her after Kara says the word.
And then Reign drops Supergirl and Lena is terrified. Working with Kara helps. With what, she’s not sure. She is sure that Kara looks amazing in a little black dress, especially when she’s distracting security guards with her luminescent smile. She’s also sure she would have liked to place her hand in the crook of Kara’s elbow as they entered the gala together, only because she wanted to gather a little more evidence of Kara’s strength, considering she was passed out the last time.
Mon El’s sudden appearance sends a wave of disgust through her whole body. She figures it must be the beard, not because she’s going to have to tell Kara or because Kara might get back together with him. Beards just never did anything for her, personally. They’re wiry and scratchy and she shivers at the idea of having one anywhere near her - whoa. Focus, Luthor, she tells herself. Maybe Kara is also not into beards. Lena would never grow a beard.
She’s still mad about it when she tells Kara she saw him, but Kara brushes it off like it’s nothing and Lena thinks maybe her little flirtation about the recorder did the trick. She sprinkles a little “I’m not a killer because of you” on top and Kara hits her with that damn friends word again. But when Kara looks at her like that she needs to walk away as quickly as possible because she’s sure the flush in her cheeks has worked its way down her neck to her very exposed chest and she wishes she had on any pair of shoes other than these ridiculous heels that make her escape far too slow for her liking, even if it does make her legs look amazing. Ok, maybe the heels aren’t so bad.
Unlike Ms. God Complex’s ego. It’s not like Lena made the kryptonite herself or used it for anything other than containing an actual World Killer and with the approval of the host to boot. No, Supergirl’s posturing and demanding are not at all attractive and at least that’s one crush Lena can firmly put to bed. Not like that. She grasps onto a modicum of dignity.
And promptly loses it. Even though Supergirl has been completely unreasonable throughout this entire ordeal, she still tells Reign to take her in Lena’s place and Lena wishes that one of these blonde women would stop messing with her head. Ok, that’s not fair. Kara hasn’t done anything but be kind and supportive like she is in the elevator.
When Kara wraps her into a hug, Lena softens under her touch and spills her heart out to Kara as she’s become prone to doing. Can pheromones have this effect on people? She makes a note to check. Regardless, she’s happy to be done with Supergirl and the DEO because now she can spend more time with Kara again. She feels guilty enough as it is for being so distracted the past few weeks.
The terrifying thought flashes across her mind that Kara might mistake her time away as not caring or, worse, thinking Lena has something going on with Supergirl. She vows to make it up to Kara. Just as soon as they take care of Reign…again.
Somewhere along the way, Lena loses her ability to keep Kara and Supergirl separate because when she says “I don’t think about you while I’m doing it,” her mind immediately goes to Kara. And then she remembers “sister” and she wishes she said it to Kara because she wanted just a tiny bit of retribution for that small act of cruelty. What a waste of a fabulous double entendre.
But, really, it’s not fair to take her frustrations with Supergirl out on Kara. Despite their tentative peace over the harun-el, Lena knows it’s only a matter of time until Supergirl discovers she’s still working with the space rock and will likely go right back to being her mightier-than-thou self. But Kara still looks at Lena like she holds up the sun. At least, that’s how she chooses to interpret Kara’s wide eyes and dropped jaw when she sees her waiting in James’ office. Don’t even get her started on that little head dip Kara does when she laughs at something Lena says.
Lena thinks she’s getting pretty good at this whole opening up and “making friends” thing. Nevermind her curiosity to know what it might be like to kiss Kara. It’s for science.