Chapter Text
Kara Danvers didn’t get paid enough. Already, this was true, but it became more apparent every time her boss sent her on some wild goose chase of an article instead of giving her something through which she could actually make a difference. She huffed, shuffling the papers she was holding so she could open the door, at the thought of him. She had asked him to give her something newsworthy, something important, but Snapper had just stared passively at her before telling her to finish her report on seagulls in National City’s harbor.
Speak of the devil. As soon she sat down at her desk, finally back from her mid-morning run to Noonan’s, Snapper had walked over and given her another assignment, this time on the rise and fall of crime in the city. At least it was slightly more interesting than seagulls.
“You wanted something better than birds, right, Ponytail? Here. See if you can get an interview with your gal pal in blue, eh?” He left, satisfied with her nod. Kara watched him go, and began planning the article in her mind when her phone buzzed. A text lit up the screen. Lena?
Lena Luthor: Can you come down to L-Corp? Something’s happened.
She frowned. This can’t be good, Kara thought. Her forehead crinkled as she typed.
Kara Danvers: I’ll be there in five.
Using her x-ray vision to confirm that Snapper was back in his office and out of her way, she hastily grabbed her bag before leaving the building in a hurry. Never let it be said that Kara wasn’t loyal to those she loved.
* * *
Lena was having… a day. First her car had broken down, leaving her subject to the horrors of public transportation, and when she finally got to her headquarters she was informed that there was someone there asking about her visa, which was really just the icing on the cake. To top everything off, it wasn’t even 10:30 yet.
As the CEO walked into her office, she was met with a man. She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Hello, sir, thank you for coming. How can I help you?”
One of the men stepped forward and presented a hand. She shook it. “Richard Gilbertson. I’m an immigration agent,” Lena’s heart skipped a beat. “I’m here to ask you some questions about your visa.”
She sat down at her desk, keeping her exterior calm and measured. “Of course. Ask away, Mr. Gilbertson.”
“You’re Irish, correct?” He took out a notepad and pen from his briefcase. “The Luthors raised you in Ireland before bringing you to Metropolis?”
“...That is correct, yes,” Lena didn’t like where this was headed. “I first came to the United States when I was eighteen.”
“Excellent. And you’re an American citizen, I take it?” That was a trick question and they both knew it.
“I’m afraid not. I’m still in the process of obtaining citizenship, but I have a visa-”
“A visa which, if I’m not mistaken, you’ve violated the terms of.”
“Excuse me?” Lena froze.
“Well, it appears you’ve violated the terms of the work visa you received those years ago, so I’m afraid you’ll have to take a, shall we say, leave of absence from the country.”
The CEO pinched the bridge of her nose. “Mr. Gilbertson, I have a multi-billion dollar corporation to run-”
“Well, I’m afraid that’s the way it has to be, and unless you’re planning on getting married anytime soon-”
Lena lifted her head out of her hands. “What was that?”
Mr. Gilbertson shifted in his seat. “Well, if you were to marry an American citizen, you would be able to apply for naturalization on that front.”
An idea was forming quickly in Lena’s mind, but it was risky and had almost no chance of working. She did the obvious thing and followed through with it. “Then I guess it’s lucky that I have a fianceé, isn’t it?”
Shock flooded both people, but for very different reasons. The immigration agent was taken aback that apparently the CEO was engaged, but the brunette was just shocked that she had actually said that. “I see. Well then, I suppose I’ll be seeing the two of you in a few days.”
“...I’m sorry?”
“We have to have a meeting with you and your partner to make sure that the two of you are really getting married, and not just marrying each other so you can stay in the country. I hate to sound rude, but that’s the way it is.”
The CEO considered her options. At this point though, she had already dug herself into a lie spiral, so what was really the harm in going in further? “I look forward to it. I’m afraid, Mr. Gilbertson, that I have a meeting in-” -She checked her watch- “-five minutes.”
He took the hint. Thank god. Lena thought. “Of course, Ms. Luthor. I’ll show myself out.”
The CEO merely smiled and nodded, trying to mask her panic. As soon as the man left the room, she texted the one person in National City that would be able to help her: Kara Danvers. Debating for a few moments what to say, she ended up sending a simple text.
Lena Luthor: Can you come down to L-Corp? Something’s happened.
She gnawed at her lip worriedly for a few seconds, her phone pinging before she knew what was happening. A text lit up the screen.
Kara Danvers: I’ll be there in five.
Lena sighed, leaning back in her chair. Her mind was going at a million miles per hour trying to figure out how to tell Kara that she needed to marry her to stay in the country, but her brain kept coming up with all the ways she could get rejected and/or arrested.
She began thinking of all of the ways that she would possibly be able to break the news to Kara, because there was no way it would be easy. Then again, it’s not every day you ask someone to marry you, Lena thought. I guess the best way to broach it would just be to be straight up about it? ...Well, as straight as I can be about it, that is.
The sound of the door opening interrupted Lena’s thoughts. She looked up to see Kara, looking slightly disheveled, and her assistant looking unimpressed beside her. A smile grew on her face without her consent, mirroring the one on her friend’s. “Kara! Thanks for coming on such short notice, but we have… a situation.”
Kara’s face went from relaxed to worried faster than was humanly possible, taking several steps closer to the CEO. “What’s wrong? Is it Lex? Crap, Lena, we have to move you-”
“It’s not Lex, Kara.” Lena loved her friend, but her rambling did more harm than good sometimes. “In fact, it’s something completely different,” She began pacing and wrung her hands. “I, um. I’m going to be deported.”
The worry shifted again. “What?!” The Kryptonian’s voice flooded the office. “Wh- I-I didn’t- Is there anything we can do?”
Lena’s nerves began building up inside her. “As a matter of fact, there is, but… there’s a slight cost,” She broke off briefly, studying Kara’s face. After a few attempts, she began again. “I guess what I’m trying to say is….”
“...Is..?”
“Will you marry me?” To say that the words were not what Kara was expecting to hear would be an understatement. Her jaw may as well have been on the floor, her eyes wide. Lena was quick to reassure her. “If you don’t want to, I understand, of course. It wouldn’t be for very long, only a few months while I work on getting citizenship, and then we could get a div-”
“Yes.” Kara regained her composure quickly.
“....I’m sorry?”
“Yes, Lena. I will marry you,” A small smile crept onto the reporter’s face. “Well, fake-marry you, anyway.”
If someone had asked Lena earlier that day (preferably not while she was on the bus) if she planned on getting engaged in a few hours, she would have laughed them off. Now, here she stood, desperately trying to think of something to say to her new fianceé.
A grin made its way across Lena’s face. “Excellent, darling,” She had tacked on the term of endearment for shits and giggles, but there was no mistaking the slight blush creeping up Kara’s neck. “I would give you a ring, but I’m afraid I was a bit short on time.”
Kara grinned lopsidedly. “Nah, don’t worry about it,” She considered for a moment. “But you’re right, we probably will need rings.”
At this point, Lena had probably gotten the Guinness World Record for Most Poorly Thought-Out Decisions Made In One Day. “Why don’t we go shopping?”
“....Right now?” Kara wasn’t complaining, but she did have two jobs to do. And it’s not like Lena’s schedule is free, either, She thought.
Lena rarely stuttered, but this was a day of firsts. “...Well. I-I mean, if you want to-”
“I’d love to!” The superhero tried quickly to cover her outburst. “I-I mean, I’m okay with it. If you are. Of course,” She looked around, desperate for something to take the spotlight away from her. “Uh, don’t you have, like… stuff to do, though? Meetings and the like?”
Lena waved a hand. “I can have Jess clear my schedule,” She made a quick call to her assistant before walking back to Kara and offering her her arm.
“Shall we?”
Kara looked at her for a second before grinning and taking the proffered arm.
“I believe we shall, Ms. Luthor.”