Chapter Text
Kara knew it was a simple lunch with a friend but she couldn’t help being nervous. There was just something about how Lena made her feel. The way Kara’s heart fluttered and her chest felt light. Her cheeks reddened and she was at lost for words over the simplest question the CEO asked her.
She checked her hair one last time in the mirror of the elevator, making sure she looked presentable before she stepped out of the it and headed towards Lena’s office. She knew the way like the back of her hand having been there so many times but each step was hesitant regardless. When she was at the door, Kara knocked softly, waiting a second before opening the office door. Her eyes were glued to her feet, she couldn’t get the courage to look up as she pushed the door.
“Kara, hi! I’m so glad you’re here.” And there it was, the blonde’s fastening heartbeat and the warm feeling in her chest. Kara closed her eyes for a moment, gathering the courage before she dared looking up and she was met with the most beautiful and genuine smile she had ever seen. She was just crazy about Lena Luthor.
Kara was lost in her own mind, thinking about her lunch with Lena when she was brought back to Earth by the familiar sound of a DEO call. She shook her head, hoping it would help dismiss the thoughts of the beautiful Lena Luthor before picking up, using her serious Supergirl voice.
Alex was barely done explaining the situation to the superhero when Kara exclaimed, "I got it, Alex!"
The DEO call had alerted her of an imminent threat inside the L-Corp building, something had exploded close to the top of the tower. Her heart was racing at the thought of woman she loved being in danger. She knew she should not care this much about the young Luthor but she could not help herself. One would even say she had a weak spot for the raven haired woman. Everyone had warned her about the Luthor name, Kal had told her about the whole debacle with Lex but Kara wanted to give Lena the benefice of the doubt, give her a chance to prove herself before judging her on her family name.
Within seconds of answering the call, Kara was in her Supergirl suit, flying away as fast as she could to the L-Corp headquarters. Once she was close enough, she started scanning the building for any more exploding devices that could have been placed or anything that seemed unusual. All clear, thankfully. She noticed a big group of people at the foot of the building, apparently most L-Corp employees had already been evacuated and were grouped around a few ambulances.
No signs of the CEO in the crowd though. Kara decided to go inside of the building to check herself if anyone was still inside. The young superhero found a few people scared and clearly hurt, she carried them out, two by two and carefully let them down on the sidewalk near the closest ambulance. The few paramedics thanked her and Kara flashed a bright smile before heading back inside the smoky building.
Still no evidence of Lena. Kara was trying to stay positive, thinking she could have left work early or that maybe she had a meeting outside of town that afternoon that she had forgotten to mention to Kara over lunch. But it did not sit right with her, she couldn't convince herself because deep down she knew Lena was still inside and possibly very hurt. She headed to the top floor of the building and entered Lena's office through her balcony.
Kara immediately spotted Lena on the floor, seemingly unconscious. Lena’s eyes were closed and Kara felt her heart tightened not being able to look into those emerald eyes for reassurance. But at least her heart was beating and that was enough for the superhero. She hurried Lena into her arms before flying out the window and down near one of the ambulances.
A small crater was visible on the road where Kara had landed. A few paramedics quickly brought a gurney next to Supergirl. She hesitated for a moment, not wanting to let go of the woman in her arms. But Lena needed medical attention so Kara gently put her down. The paramedics were ready to move the CEO into the ambulance but the superhero’s hold on the gurney tightened to keep them from taking Lena away. She knew her strong grip had most likely left a mark on the metal bars but couldn’t get herself to care.
Kara looked at the young CEO’s face, one hand in Lena’s hair, stroking it softly. She felt so helpless seeing Lena lying unconscious. Her feelings for Lena emerging from deep inside of her. Kara felt tears coming up to her eyes. All those people were only attacking Lena because of her last name. It made Kara sick to her stomach because Kara did know Lena. She wasn’t Lena Luthor for Kara, she was just Lena, one of her closest friends. Lena was always cheering Kara up with a flirty smile and a bad joke. And vice versa, the superhero could just be Kara around Lena, there were no expectations because of her Supergirl identity. She could just be Kara Danvers, bumbling CatCo reporter.
Caught up between having a panic attack over Lena being hurt and her own feelings for the other woman, the superhero leant in slowly, dropping a soft kiss at the corner of Lena’s lips.
Kara immediately regretted her actions though. She straightened herself, her body was stiff. She let go of the gurney and flew away, red burning her cheeks as she realized what she had done in front of what seemed like hundreds of people.
Kara was having some kind of panic attack for sure. It had been almost an hour since she had saved Lena and she was still in shock over what had happened. The hero slumped further into her couch, trying to calm down but she couldn’t get Lena out of her head. Kara was praying to Rao that the raven-haired woman was alright, that she made it to the hospital and that nothing bad had happened to her. She seemed fine when Kara had rescued her, there was no apparent injuries on her body. Lena probably just needed rest and maybe to be checked for a concussion.
As much as she wanted to, she knew she could not visit her, not right away anyway. She was just Kara Danvers and she was aware that only family were allowed visits and updates after something like this. Family she knew Lena didn’t have unfortunately. Kara wished she could be there as a friendly face when Lena woke up, she wanted to go to the hospital right away and make it all better but she just couldn’t.
And of course, there was the second reason of her panic attack. She had kissed Lena. Lena Luthor. It wasn’t full on the lips, but close enough and that was so unprofessional of Supergirl. She should never let her feelings as Kara get in the way of her work as a hero. She knew that, but she was so worried about Lena that she got caught up in her own feelings and had messed up.
The more she thought about it, the worse it got. She had only meant it as a caring gesture, because she did care about Lena, a lot actually. But Lena had never even met Supergirl. And there were journalists at the site, maybe they had witnessed the whole scene, maybe people were already speculating about Supergirl’s identity and whether or not she had a close relationship with Lena Luthor.
Kara’s train of thought was cut short when she heard the familiar ding of her phone. She picked it up hoping for a distraction. She had received an email from Snapper. She opened it and started reading.
I hope you’re already working toward getting an exclusive with Supergirl on what happened between her and Lena Luthor earlier because National City wants an explanation for this. I expect 500 words by tomorrow 8am.
A shiver ran along Kara’s back. If she wasn’t sure people had noticed before, well, now she was. People had definitely noticed her slip up.
The superhero had been too scared to check before but she took a deep breath and managed to click the Twitter icon of her homescreen. Kara was not ready for what she was seeing. #SupergirlAndLenaLuthor was trending in National City. She clicked the tag and started scrolling through various tweets, most of which were expressing confusion. Some people seemed thrilled at the news and showed a lot of support which surprised Kara a great deal. Of course there were some more reserved opinions, obviously from anti-alien accounts that were “disgusted by this interracial interaction” Kara read under her breath. Her brows furrowed and a sigh escaped her lips. She locked her phone deciding she had seen enough.
Thoughts were rushing through her head a hundred miles an hour. She was already having enough problems dealing with her own feelings and now she had to deal with everyone else’s aswell apparently, and she had to write an entire article about it. She hesitated for a minute, wanting to email Snapper back and let him know that she may not be the right reporter for this one. Unfortunately she knew very well that Snapper would never change his mind without a more valid reason.
Kara tried to gather herself, taking the time to breathe in and out slowly a couple of times. She picked up her laptop and started typing in a new document, describing the events as accurately as she remembered them. She focused her article on L-Corp, the explosion that had occurred, what it could mean for the company, who could be behind these hateful actions and of course on the many employees safely rescued.
She knew she had to talk about the CEO, even just to mention how she had been transferred to the closest hospital after the attack on her company. But the soft mark of affection she had showed towards Lena was in the back of her mind, obstructing her objective writing. Kara figured she had written a good part of the article already and she could relax for a while watching something on TV before she had to worry about wrapping up the article for Snapper.
Kara honestly just wanted to let the worry disappear for a couple of hours and enjoy her movie but the romcom showing on her TV screen couldn't quite hold her attention, the feeling of Lena’s skin on her lips always coming back to her causing her heart to flutter in a delicious way.
Suddenly Kara had an idea. It sounded stupid and it probably was stupid to be completely honest, but she thought she could make it work. She remembered a couple years ago how Kal-El had explained to her that there was a bunch of different types of kryptonite and they all had different effects; some affected humans or animals and gave them powers for example, and some others had a... relatively less dramatic effect. Kara had a particularly special one in mind : pink kryptonite, the one which made Kryptonians have gay tendencies.
She had only ever heard about it from Kal-El and it was a rare type of kryptonite, even her cousin had never seen any. Kara figured that most of National City wouldn’t know much about the Kryptonian culture and that if young reporter Kara Danvers had quotes from Supergirl explaining she was under the effect of pink kryptonite, everyone would take her word for it and believe the superhero.
What else could Kara do? She couldn’t just tell the truth without putting her secret identity in danger and she really was not ready to admit her feelings to Lena or tell her that she was Supergirl.
This was good, it would give her some time to figure out how she wanted to handle the situation with Lena. She hesitated, thinking about Alex, who would read this article and have a million questions about why she had published that.
But when Kara realized that she could use the pink kryptonite as an excuse to spend some more time with Lena as Supergirl, all semblance of doubt was gone. Something like that would probably take a few days to wear off completely, right? That would give her at least two days where she could go see Lena as Supergirl and act flirty around the young CEO. The thought of making Lena blush a little was all Kara needed to be convince this was a good idea.
Within minutes Kara was furiously typing on the keyboard of her laptop to finish the article Snapper had requested. She proof-read a few times, making sure it felt legit, like something she would say as Supergirl before hitting send on the email to her boss.
Kara touched down delicately on the ground in an alley close to the National City Hospital. She changed into something a bit more Kara Danvers-y and headed towards the front of the hospital.
Her article about pink kryptonite had been published the previous night. Snapper had approved it a few hours after she had sent it and it seemed to be at the center of every conversation in National City that morning.
Kara figured she ought to go see Lena and tell her about the article in person, maybe Lena would even have some questions about it. Frankly, Kara was also really eager to witness Lena’s reaction to Supergirl showing affection to her. She had no idea if Lena liked Supergirl, if she recognized the work of the superhero, if she hated her or if she was completely indifferent. This could be a good way to find out how Lena felt about Supergirl exactly and it could reassure Kara in coming out to Lena as Supergirl in a distant future, if Kara ever wanted to.
The young reporter reached the threshold of the hospital, closed her eyes for a second, taking a deep breath before opening her eyes once again and entering the building. She knew she may not be able to see Lena but she had to try. She had to see her to make sure she was alright firstly, and to talk to her about the article secondly.
Kara walked towards the counter where a young nurse with brown curls was filling out some paperwork. Kara glanced at the tag on the nurse’s scrubs that read the name “Maria”. The nurse looked up at Kara.
“What can I help you with, sweetheart?” the nurse smiled at Kara, making some of her worry fade away.
“I’m here to check on a patient… b-but I’m not sure if I have the right to see her though. You-you see I’m just a friend and I know that usually only family is allowed and-” Kara was fidgeting, looking down at her own hands.
“Who are you here to see?” The nurse chuckled softly at Kara’s nervous rambling.
“Lena Luthor.” Kara replied quietly, thankful for the kindness of the nurse.
“You must be Kara Danvers, I take it?”
“I- Yeah… That’s me. H-how did you know?” Kara frowned, visibly confused.
“Ms Luthor asked for you to be put on her visitor list, ‘just in case’ she said.”
“So, that means she’s okay, right? She’s awake and responsive?” Kara’s shoulders relaxed as she answered the nurse. She felt the immense weight of worry that had built up in the past 20 hours just go away at once.
“Yes, she’s alright. She mostly needs rest but she should get out of here as soon as her tests come back which shouldn’t be too long now.” Maria returned a smile. “Do you wanna see her?”
Kara nodded enthusiastically, following the nurse as she guided her to a quiet room at the end of the corridor. Lena was probably put in this specific room for privacy reasons, she was sort of a celebrity in National City after all.
The woman gestured to the door to signal to Kara that she could go inside. Kara mouthed a ‘thank you’ before flashing a bright smile and opening the door.
Kara couldn’t help but expect to see the worst as she slowly pushed open the door. The blonde was nervous and her heartbeat was wild in anticipation.
The reporter’s face relaxed instantly and her heartbeat settled when she saw Lena sitting in the hospital bed, reading on a tablet with her glasses on. Lena probably had Jess bring her a few things to keep busy while she was staying at the hospital. Kara was relieved to see Lena in her serious CEO mode, as if nothing had happened the previous day. She knew how Lena couldn’t stand not doing anything, so of course she was going to work on something L-Corp related, even from the hospital. It was a funny sight though, Kara had only ever seen the CEO in her fancy work attire, she sure didn’t expect to see Lena in a hospital gown.
It took Lena a few seconds to notice Kara was at the door, Lena’s face lighted up when she did. Kara smiled shyly in return as the CEO put her tablet down on the nightstand and took off her glasses, dropping them delicately on her blanket-covered lap. Kara let go of the door handle and stepped fully inside the hospital room, leaving the door open behind her.
“Kara! I can’t believe you showed up!” Kara could feel the happiness flowing from Lena’s words which made her stomach twist in such a nice and familiar way. They shared a long look which was filled with relief on both sides. The blonde was glad to find the green eyes of the CEO once again.
“Of course I would show up, Lena! One of my best friends gets hurt and ends up in the hospital, don’t you think I would like to check on them and see how they’re doing?”
Lena’s heartbeat quickened at Kara’s words. Kara had called her one of her best friends. Obviously they were close friends, but hearing Kara say the words was an entirely different thing.
“I just- I put you on the visitor list, hoping you’d come but I wasn’t 100% sure you would…” Lena sighed softly. Kara felt the need to get closer to Lena and reassure her but she stopped herself, not wanting to let her feelings act in her place for a second time in two days.
“Well, I’m here now. So, tell me, how are you feeling? Does it hurt anywhere?” Kara enquired as she finally stepped closer to find a seat in an armchair next to Lena’s bed.
Lena felt touched by the genuine emotion on Kara’s face. She could see the blue eyes emanated with concern. “I’m doing fine. Thank you for worrying though.” Lena paused, a shy smile hanging on her lips. Kara’s facial expression didn’t seem to ease so the CEO continued, “Really, Kara, I’m alright, I swear. I don’t feel any pain, I was mostly just tired. I even had a full night sleep, which is something I haven’t had in months to be honest. I feel great, I’m telling you.”
Lena’s words were more convincing this time. The blonde woman shifted in her seat, her mind drifting to the second reason why she had come to see her friend.
“I’m glad, you’re doing good. I was really worried about you.” Kara paused, her voice shaking slightly, before continuing in a softer tone, “Actually, that’s not the only reason I’ve come to talk to you… ’
Seeing the hesitation on Kara’s face, Lena engaged, “It’s about your article, isn’t it?” Kara couldn’t hold a light gasp. So, Lena had read the article already. So much for wanting to ease Lena into it.
“And… h-how do you feel about it?” Kara asked hesitantly.
Lena chuckled, “Well, I mean, I know it’s just the effect of that silly kryptonite and there isn’t much to it.” Lena paused for a second, looking down at her hands and fiddling with her glasses before looking back up to Kara’s blue eyes. “Don’t get me wrong, I mean, I’m flattered to be the girl crush of National City’s own superhero honestly.” Kara shuddered at the words girl crush . Lena was so much more than a girl crush to her.
“That’s one way to see it I suppose. I’m glad you’re not taking it the wrong way. I wasn’t sure how you’d react to the whole situation. Especially given that you probably don’t remember any of it happening…”
“I’ve had far worse rumors going around about me in the media. I’m actually enjoying some lighter gossip revolving around the Luthor name, it’s refreshing. And, I mean, how could I ever be upset about being associated with such a stunning woman?” Lena raised an eyebrow, smirking at Kara who was trying to make sense of Lena calling her stunning. The CEO was making it so hard for Kara to hide her feelings when she was so flirty all the time.
“Uh, I-I’m just relieved you’re not mad at me for publishing the article without checking with you if it was okay first. I wanted to ask you but you were at the hospital an-and I didn’t want to overstep… Snapper had given me a short window to get back to him with the article and-”
“Kara, breathe, I’m not mad at you.” Lena’s soft voice had always soothed Kara and made her feel somewhat safer. “Now since you’ve talked to Supergirl... is there anything else I should know?” Lena teased.
Kara jumped at the opportunity, “Well, she did tell me that it would take a few days for the effect of the pink kryptonite to wear off but that she would try to control her feelings as best as she could and that you could expect her to be very professional. No more slip ups.” Kara saw a brief hint of disappointment on Lena’s face, quickly replaced by more neutral expression.
“Well, Kara, you should let Supergirl know that I’m not mad, especially since it wasn’t really her fault, it was merely the pink kryptonite acting in her place. I’d rather have it this way than something like the red kryptonite fiasco.” Lena stated in a serious tone. Kara grimaced remembering the events.
“Right.” Kara fidgeted a second before continuing, “You know, you can probably tell her yourself though. She mentioned that she may come to see you. In order to apologize formally, of course!” Kara blurted the last part of her sentence feeling slightly embarrassed as Lena smiled.
“I guess I’ll tell her myself then.” Lena whispered, mostly to herself.
At this moment there was a delicate knock on the door. Both women jumped a little and looked up at the door. The nurse that Kara had encountered previously was at the door frame.
“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” The nurse said playfully seeing the two young women — especially Kara — blushing slightly at her words. “I finally got the results back from your tests, Ms Luthor. It seems like everything is in order which means you’re free to go home. You’ll have to get some rest though and that means no work from home, at least for a day, alright?” The nurse raised an eyebrow insistently. Kara guessed the nurse had already figured out how overloaded with work Lena was.
“Thank you, Maria. I will rest at home, I promise.” Lena told the young nurse, relieved to know that she could go home.
“No problem, Ms. Luthor. Well, I’ll leave you two to your conversation.” She glanced at Lena, then to Kara and winked at the CEO before closing the door again.
Kara waited for the door to be completely closed to exclaim, “Well, that’s amazing! I’m really glad to see you’re okay, Lena.” the raven-haired woman’s lips curled upwards at her friend’s genuine expression. “I think I better go now and let you pack your things so you can go home and rest.”
Kara shifted in her seat, unsure of how to say goodbye. Lena made the choice for her. The CEO sat up on the edge of the hospital bed and dropped her feet to the ground to stand next to the chair where Kara was sitting. The reporter stood up and extended her arms around the tiny brunette. Lena suddenly remembered the height difference between the blonde and herself. She would usually wear heels and Kara had flats which made them about the same height, but this time Lena was barefoot which made Kara a few significant centimeters taller.
They engaged the hug and Kara was suddenly very aware of how thin the hospital gown was, feeling Lena’s body pressing against hers. She was very glad that her friend couldn’t see her face because she was sure her face was entirely red. Kara took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself down.
Lena squeezed one last time before letting go of Kara whose face was still slightly red from the sudden closeness. Kara took a step back and flashed a last smile at Lena before walking towards the door to exit the room.
Once Kara had exited the room, Lena whispered to herself, “Well, that’s gonna be an interesting week…”
Kara flushed, her super-hearing had picked up on Lena’s words. She kept walking through the hospital hallway, her mind buzzing with confusion, unsure of what Lena meant with those words.