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Chapter Text

Lena Luthor hated Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was when the entire Luthor family gathered and became the biggest group of bigots Lena had ever had to deal with. They were anti everything. Gays? Confused. People of colour? Inferior. Poor people? Lazy bums taking advantage of the system. Aliens and refugees? Should go back to where they came from.

And while Lena would love to decline, say she's too busy and maybe next year? her mother would just guilt-trip her with the family's 'beloved' geriatric grandmother Lexa Luthor, who was never expected to last till the next year, but like a cockroach in the midst of a nuclear attack, she was steadfastly there and ready to spit acid.

So this year, Lena figured she should at the very least cause a big scene. Well, more of a scene than her yearly tradition of starting a fiery argument regarding current events where Lena and cousin Luke would duke it out until he was so incensed he cracked his beer bottle. It was the highlight of the evening, because by that point Lena could finally excuse herself from the party and no one would try to stop her.

"You know, Craigslist has a nice category for personal ads, plenty of people offer themselves to be platonic dates to piss off close-minded families," her best friend Sam had suggested yesterday after a fine bottle of Pinot.

Lena had snorted at the ridiculousness. "Craigslist? You're joking, right?"

"Nope," Sam had said, popping the last syllable, demonstrating she was partially drunk. "I did that once to Patricia. Showed up with a felon, this heavily tattooed biker girl back when Patricia grew a conscience and she tried to mend fences for kicking me out. Enter Nancy, and Patricia hasn't bothered me since. Come to think of it, I still keep in touch with Nancy, maybe I could ask her if she's free. I'm sure she'd love to piss off the mighty Luthors."

"It's definitely a possibility. If my goal is to truly piss them off, I want to really make sure I bring a winner. Someone who will cause such a scene that I am never invited to one of those infernal parties again. I'll first try to do a search around and see who I can find."

Which is where Lena found herself now, browsing National City Craigslist for potential candidates. And there were plenty.

But one of them really stood out to her, titled "Alien girlfriend for hire."

Lena clicked on the ad, feeling almost giddy at the double-whammy she would give the entire Luthor family.

Got a bigoted family that hates aliens? Want to show them how much you disagree with that and stick it to them?

Look no further!

I can either:

- Play the normal human and then spontaneously start displaying my powers and freak out your family when they start talking about how aliens are taking over 'hardworking humans' jobs'.

- Be fully alien the entire time, and menacingly crack my knuckles every time they approach the topic on aliens.

Either way, I can promise for an entertaining night. I can also start a physical fight if need be, though no one will be seriously harmed. I can also make suggestive moves if you're a lady and have the winning combination of having both a homophobic and alien-hating family.

All I ask in return and payment is a hearty plate of food...or 5 (bonus if it's potstickers).

Interested? Just email [email protected]

Lena immediately wrote an email to this Karanotanalien.

Good evening,

I would be interested in hiring you to play my would-be girlfriend for thanksgiving. I have a large family that gets together at the estate outside of National City, and they are the worst.

My family is very anti-everything and you seem to be the perfect person to piss them off. If you have no other offers, I would love it if we could attend as a pretend couple.

Regards,

Lena

Not even 15 minutes later, she got a response.

Hey!

First, you can ditch the fancy-speak. You had me at anti-everything. Just tell me when and where to meet, and I'll be there.

Kara

Lena blinked at her screen. This Kara seemed friendly enough, but Lena wanted to be sure she could be That One Person who would cause such a disaster that for years in the future, the debacle that was the Luthor Thanksgiving of '17 would still be a topic of conversation.

Hi,

Before we do the real deal, I would be interested in meeting you, figure out a plan about how we could do this. Would you be free to meet tomorrow?

Lena

Now the response was quick:

Sure! Where and when?

Lena thought about it for a moment before suggesting:

I know this nice place called Noonan's. Ever been there?

She was sure she could hear the squeal in Kara's response:

Know it? I love eating there! Done deal. Tomorrow at one?

And Lena agreed. When she went to bed, she felt elated. This would truly be a memorable Thanksgiving.

"You what?!"

Kara just watched as Alex was practically having a conniption in front of her.

"It's just for the weekend," Kara was quick to counter.

Alex sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You are Supergirl. You have a duty to this city and to people everywhere. You can't play pretend girlfriend to whatever stranger wants to piss off their families."

"I am doing my duty!" Kara exclaimed. "I am putting bigots in their place. I am so sick and tired of people yelling at aliens for this or that."

Gritting her teeth, Alex wished for someone to grant her patience. "And how exactly do you plan on doing that? By showing up and fighting everyone?"

"If need be," Kara said with a shrug. Then she snapped her fingers and added, "And arm-wrestling this one guy's brother. He's a big frat boy and really conscious about his image."

"I see. How many people have contracted you?" Alex casually asked, as if she wasn't about to grab her sister and lock her up in one of the DEO's holding cells. Never mind that she's an alien who could overpower her easily. She would do it.

"Three," Kara readily responded.

Alex's eye twitched. "I see. And how many people would try to exploit finding out that you're Supergirl?"

Kara shrugged. "They won't. I'll just be Kara with superpowers."

"This is a bad idea," Alex stated.

"It'll be fine!" Kara tried to put her sister's mind at ease. "And to reassure you even more, I am meeting one of my dates today during my lunch to talk about the event."

In Alex's opinion, that didn't reassure her at all.

Chapter Text

The next day, Alex was still adamantly trying to convince Kara that maybe she could cancel. Her sister had literally stayed over the night, hoping she could convince Kara by any means possible that it was a bad idea and that she should cancel.

"You could literally make up any excuse, it doesn't have to even be a complicated one! Like, say the alien overlords have summoned you," Alex tried while in the midst of serving coffee.

Kara just shot her a look for her effort from across the kitchen island where she was sitting, eating her mountain of waffles.

But that didn't stop Alex as she continued, sipping her coffee while leaning on the counter, "It's dangerous Kara. If what this lady said is true, you're literally going into an estate full of bigots, what if they have Kryptonite?"

"Oh come on Alex, now you're just being paranoid." Kara rolled her eyes. "Bigots or not, I doubt Lena's family has a stash of Kryptonite just lying about."

Alex froze, and looked at Kara for a moment. And then for a while longer, not saying a word.

"What?" Kara asked slowly, drawing her head back just as slowly. "Does your coffee taste weird?"

"Lena?" was all Alex asked.

"Yeah..." Kara responded. She hadn't really mentioned Lena by name up till now, seeing as her sister had gotten into a fit ever since she first explained her idea and she hadn't been able to tell her everything. "Don't tell me she's an ex of yours."

"No!" Alex exclaimed, frowning. "It's just that I only know one Lena who would be part of such a bigoted family."

Kara was no more enlightened by Alex's words, and she urged Alex to explain. "And who is that? Should I know her?"

"You're joking, right?"

"I'm dead serious Alex, I have no idea who you're talking about," Kara said.

Alex groaned, setting her mug down. "I love you, but sometimes you are too naive for your own good." She paused for another moment before exclaiming, "The Luthors!"

Kara's mouth fell open. "What?!"

Satisfied that she was finally making progress with her sister, Alex continued, "Come on, don't tell me you've never heard of Lena Luthor, Lex's sister?"

"Not really." Kara shook her head.

"I mean, she's badass and super smart, and if she wasn't related to the Luthors, I'd probably admire her. How did you not know Lex had a sister?"

Kara shrugged. "I try to avoid thinking about the Luthors. Clark was never the same after losing his friend and having him become his worst enemy and he avoided talking about them at all."

"Well maybe you should, because this smells like a trap. What if she found out you're Supergirl and this is her way to lead you to some sort of cult sacrifice."

"Okay, you had a point earlier, but now you've totally lost it in exchange for conspiracy theories," Kara said, eyebrows arched. "I do agree that if this Lena is truly Lex's sister, I should be cautious, but shouldn't I at least attend? It'd be suspicious if I don't."

Alex sunk her head onto her hands. "You're lucky you're bulletproof. And fine, if you want to go, then go. But you are going to be wearing an earpiece, and I am going to be watching with a squad ready to go. If she even begins looking at her chicken madeira weird, I will not hesitate to go in there and arrest her ass."

"Overkill much? Come on Alex, for all we know, she's not even Lex's sister. Or even if she is, maybe she's the normal Luthor."

"I doubt it. That much crazy in one family? It tends to be hereditary."

Kara was standing by the door, waiting to see who would show up. Alex had managed to shove a picture of Lena Luthor in front of her before they left so that she would know who to look for.

Much to Kara's chagrin, at 1pm on the dot, Lena Luthor walked in. And the picture she had seen didn't do her any justice. She exuded power in her suit, with her hair immaculately tied in a bun, giving her a very pristine CEO appearance. For Kara, who had never been shy about her attraction to ladies, Lena was just- wow.

"I told you it would be her," Alex's voice filtered through her thoughts. "You owe me five bucks."

"Lena?" Kara asked, approaching the brunette.

Apparently she had startled the other woman, because she gave a little jump. Then she smiled a tight smile and tilted her head cordially. "And you must be Kara?"

Kara held out her hand, flashing what she hoped would be friendly smile, "Nice to meet you."

Lena shook it with a firm grip, clearly appraising the woman in front of her. "Shall we get a table?"

As they sat down, Alex muttered, "Remember, one wrong move and I'm going in there with the bazooka."

Rolling her eyes at Alex and her love for the large weapon, she wished she could retort with a witty response, but she was doomed to spend the entire lunch to listening to her sister's remarks without rebuttals. The best she could do was glare at her sister from across the road sitting in her car. J'onn hadn't approved the strike team, but had agreed the situation was dangerous enough to warrant sending his best agent on a recon mission.

"So..." Kara said, wondering how to start the conversation.

"I know what you're thinking," Lena started. "I'm a Luthor, and that changes everything."

"No!" Kara exclaimed with a small laugh.

Lena raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. "I can see you staring at the door."

Kara floundered for an excuse to say. She cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses, stuttering as she said, "There was a man...wearing a clown suit...outside...dancing with a...mailbox."

"What?!" Alex practically screeched in her ear, getting Kara to flinch the slightest bit.

Lena looked even less convinced as her eyebrow raised impossibly higher. She still gave Kara the benefit of the doubt to look behind her to see if she could spot the bizarre clown.

"He's gone now," Kara lamely supplied.

"Look," Lena said, turning back to face Kara and bringing her hands together on table. "I know this sounds like a far-fetched and ridiculous idea, and I don't expect you to believe me, but I hate my family. I have worked my entire life to separate myself from my family as much as I can. I made sure that my company had no ties to the name Luthor, and I try to avoid being considered 'Lex's sister'."

"Damn, she came prepared," Alex commented.

"But every single year," Lena continued, "I am forced to sit down with the worst people on the planet. They are terrible to everyone who is different, especially your kind, and it might seem like a suicide mission, but I will do everything in my power that you are not harmed throughout this coming dinner. So please, help me out?"

"Say no Kara. Use any excuse," Alex interjected before Kara could even open her mouth.

"I will definitely help you," Kara said, making sure to sneak a glance to Alex's car.

"This is definitely the worst mission I have ever been part of. There is no way this could go any more wrong."

Lena's face lit up. "Perfect!"

"One thing though," Kara interjected, "someone else also hired me."

"Well have them unhire you. I will pay you handsomely for this dinner," Lena was quick to say. "Money and an entire dinner of potstickers."

Kara paused a bit. It was a quite an offer. "Tempting, but I get to arm-wrestle a dude-bro that needs to be put in his place."

Lena let out a snort. "I suppose that can be an exception."

"If you're wondering what I'm doing, it's banging my head on the steering wheel," Alex deadpanned. "Wanna tell her you're Supergirl while you're at it?"

Kara perked up. "Great! It'll be a quick thing anyway. Show up, beat the guy, excuse myself early, and then we can go."

"Yes, if I show up fashionably late then it's their problem," Lena said with a mischievous smile. "Now, the game plan. Do you want us to order some food while we talk?"

Kara could never say no to food, so they flagged down a waiter who immediately recognized Kara as one of his regulars.

"Hello Kara. Nice seeing you sitting down for once." And then he looked at Lena and his eyes widened. It had been a while since he had seen her. "And welcome back Ms. Luthor, are you having your usual? The chicken madeira if I'm not mistaken?" the waiter asked.

Lena smiled at the waiter. "Yes Paul, and I'll be covering the tab."

Paul nodded. "Very well, and what will you be having, Kara?"

For her part, Kara felt that she ordered quite coherently considering that Alex was practically freaking out in her ear at getting Lena's order right. "I am so sweeping your apartment for bugs, just FYI."

Once Paul left, they got down to business. Lena bit her lip a bit before saying, "You know, don't take this the wrong way, but you look pretty human for an alien."

Kara let out a small laugh and adjusted her glasses. "Yeah, my physiology is pretty similar to humans', I just have...powers on top of that."

Lena grew intrigued. "Fascinating. What powers do you have?"

"Please do not tell her your powers Kara. At least not all of them. Particularly nothing that is specifically connected to Supergirl," Alex cautioned.

She figured she owed it to her sister to at least once listen to her, so Kara just said, "Enhanced strength, flight, to name a few."

"Like Supergirl?" Lena asked.

Kara let out a laugh. "Sure! But you know, I'm nothing like her. She's Kryptonian."

Lena nodded. "And you are?"

"I'm...Neptunian," Kara blurted after taking a moment to try and think of something up.

"I didn't even know there was life on Neptune," Lena said, sounding very much surprised.

"It's a closely guarded secret really," Kara said, and before her sister could jump in, she added, "So, that game plan?"

"Right, it's a simple matter really..."

"So she's really doing this?" Maggie asked, lying down on the bed on her side to look at her girlfriend.

Alex closed the book she was reading and sighed. "Yep. Supergirl is going to to go in and rile up the entire Luthor family while just pretending to be Kara the alien."

Maggie placed a comforting hand on Alex's leg and gave a soft squeeze. "I'm sure Kara will be fine, she can usually take care of herself."

"I know, it just irks me that her kindness is probably being taken advantage of. I mean, I want to believe that Lena is genuine, but it's just-" Alex's words died on her lips as she tried to figure out how to word it.

"She's a Luthor," Maggie supplied.

Alex sighed. "I suppose. After listening to her talk to Kara, she seems normal enough despite my original assumptions..."

Maggie hummed. "I have spoken to her a few times, with all the threats she receives - being a woman and a Luthor - and she's pretty nice. Well, as nice as a woman with a shit ton of walls can be."

Alex let out a laugh and settled down lying beside her girlfriend. "Fair enough. I'll give her a chance. Kara would definitely appreciate it. She still hasn't forgiven me for the constant commentary during lunch."

Maggie let ou a small laugh and threw an arm around Alex to pull her closer. "I'm sure, now you need to relax, everything will work out fine."

"Well, the entire point of the plan is for the dinner to be a disaster," Alex reminded her.

"Which begs the question, what is the plan?" Maggie asked.

"Well..."

By the time Thursday rolled around, Kara was feeling pretty nervous. She was heading into the lions' den later today, with no idea how the dinner could possibly go.

Her phone chimed with a new message.

'Ready for today?'

She and Lena had exchanged numbers while they were planning for the dinner, and they had kept up a nice stream of conversation regarding anything and everything, finding they had a lot in common.

Kara was officially convinced that Lena was genuine, and that she could tell her anything. It would be easy to admit that she was nervous, but she still didn't want to seem cowardly, so she responded 'definitely!' and then added a couple of buff arm emojis to sell her point.

'Fantastic. Let me know when you're done and I'll send a limo to pick you up at Andy's place.'

Andy being the kid - with the douche brother - that she was helping. He was totally down with her leaving early, his parents would never believe he had scored a chick anyway.

Kara frowned even though Lena couldn't see it. 'I thought I was flying over there?'

'Yes, but I just figured I could help you save some energy for the party.'

While Kara was touched, she didn't figure that she had to exert herself too much. 'I'll be fine, it's not like I have to use a lot to do what we have planned.'

And then Lena was calling her.

Kara was puzzled and it took her a few seconds to answer her phone, and when she did, her voice betrayed her confusion as she asked, "Hey, what's up?"

"So, you know how I told you about everyone who was going?" Lena started, sounding very apologetic, even though Kara couldn't figure out why.

"Yeah?"

"Well, my mother just decided to spring some 'good news'..." Just the way that Lena intoned the words good news meant that whatever it was wouldn't bode well for her.

"The dinner was cancelled?" Kara tried hopefully.

Lena sucked in a sharp breath. "No. My infamous brother, Lex...got furlough. He's going to be at the party."

Chapter Text

Kara was trying very hard to not freak out. It wasn't as if her cousin's arch-nemesis would instantly recognize her. But she was still very nervous with all the what-ifs.

And it also didn't help that she was keeping this from her sister. If Alex found out that Lex was going to be part of the festivities, Kara would be in a maximum security holding cell before she could say Kryptonite.

So she just tried to enjoy herself with Andy before the disaster struck. They were halfway through dinner, Brad had already downed a few beers, and conversation was mostly stunted and dull. Until...

"So doofus, how much did you pay for her?" Andy's brother - fittingly named Brad - asked with a condescending snort.

Andy's ears flushed red in anger and embarrassment, unable to retort with a good comeback.

"Now Brad, that's no way to speak about our guest!" Andy's mom admonished Brad.

Keeping her eyes steadily on Brad's slightly drunk and unfocused ones, Kara started, "So I hear you like to arm wrestle?"

"Yeah...what's it to you?" Brad asked, disinterested.

"I dabble in arm wrestling too!" Kara said, a chipper note in her voice, as if she was an airhead who couldn't possibly actually beat anyone against arm wrestling.

"Dabble." Brad let out a small snort. "Sure you do."

"How about this," Kara began, perking up. "I beat you in arm-wrestling, you leave Andy alone."

Brad hummed. "And what do I get if I win?"

Kara shrugged. "You figure it out." She placed her elbow on the table, arm up and hand open ready to clasp his. "Unless you can't handle losing to a girl?"

Brad's response was to grit his teeth and clasp his hand with Kara's waiting one.

The boys' mom let out a small laugh. "Now come on folks, there's no need to add violence to the mix."

"It's fine Ms. Carter," Kara reassured her. "It's all in good fun."

Ms. Carter made a confused noise and decided to start picking up the trays and taking them back to the kitchen.

Brad smirked. "Best out of one round?"

"You're on."

Brad immediately began to try to move his arm towards the right, straining. He didn't budge. Not even a milimeter.

Kara let out a small yawn and just held fast, finishing the small dollop of mashed potatoes still on her plate with her free hand.

Brad huffed. "What the fu-"

"Language!" Ms. Carter exclaimed once she came back, not seeming convinced that she shouldn't step in and stop.

After a few minutes of watching Brad strain himself and Kara not budging an inch, she sneaked a glance at Andy, who was gleefully having the time of his life. She glanced at the clock - almost time to go.

So with a push, Kara slammed Brad's arm down onto the table, making sure to not actually break his arm. But she still used enough force to make him wince and whine.

"That hurt!" Brad exclaimed, going to gingerly cradle his wrist.

"Not so strong now, huh bro?" Andy teased, high-fiving Kara.

Brad looked between them. "You two were planning this?"

Poor Ms. Carter didn't really know how to react. She knew her older son had an attitude problem that she had vainly tried to correct to no avail, but she didn't believe this was the way. But youth today was a mystery to her.

Kara and Andy just grinned at him, getting Brad more infuriated to the point he huffed and got up from his seat, stomping off to his room.

Figuring this was as good a time to get away, Kara thanked Ms. Carter for dinner, and excused herself, with Andy following behind her.

"Thanks for this, Kara. I'm sure it won't stop him for good, but I figure he could be taken down a peg or two every now and then."

Kara nodded and smiled, taking her phone out and holding it up. "Well, you have my number, so if you ever need me to straighten him out, just give me a call."

"Will do," Andy said with a grin.

Speaking of phones, Kara checked hers and saw that Lena had texted her a minute ago to let her know the limo was outside.

She got her bag and put her jacket on before walking outside where a limo was indeed waiting for her and a nicely suited man was waiting by the door.

"Evening Ms. Danvers. My name is Ralph, and I'm here to take you to the Luthor party," the man greeted, opening the door for her.

Kara smiled at him and said, "Nice to meet you," before sliding in to the car so Ralph could close the door behind her.

"How was beating Andy's brother?"

Kara yelped and jumped in her seat at hearing Lena's voice, locating her seated across from her.

Lena immediately looked repentant as she said, "I'm sorry, I didn't nean to startle you."

The car began moving and Kara cleared her throat. "Sorry, I just wasn't expecting you'd be here."

Lena moved so she was sitting beside Kara, their knees touching.

"It wouldn't be so sightly if we were to arrive separately," Lena said coyly.

Kara frowned. "I thought we were...wasn't I going to be flying in?"

"Well," Lena began, her smile faltering, seeming worried. "With my brother showing up, I've been thinking a change of plans would be needed. He's even more recalcitrant towards aliens than the rest of my family put together, and being a convict, I would understand that he no longer has any limits. Look at what he did to Superman."

"But Superman is Kryptonian, I'm Neptunian," Kara pointlessly sought to clarify.

Lena waved it off. "Alien is alien, no matter the planet or galaxy."

Kara nodded once. "Right. So what is the new plan?"

And so Lena explained it, grinning mischieviously the entire time. She ended with, "One thing we haven't really discussed is our romance."

"What do you mean?" Kara asked.

"Well, for starters how long have we been dating?" Lena asked.

Kara thought about it. "A few months, short enough that no one would reasonably have known about us, but long enough to be invited to the Thanksgiving dinner."

For the duration of the ride, they continued to iron out the details of their relationship.

"Lastly, kissing."

Kara did a double take. She was sure she heard wrong. "What?"

Lena didn't look the least bit fazed by what she had said. "Kissing. We are playing a couple, and it would work to our advantage to show some form of affection publicly, particularly kissing. Aunt Millie would have a coronary attack at seeing two women kiss."

"Right," Kara said with a laugh.

"But," Lena added, raising a finger. "We have to make it convincing. If we just kiss then, they will notice it's fake. Luthors are very keen in recognizing when someone is not genuine. So the trick is to practise."

"Right," Kara repeated, this time less certain of herself. Before Kara could say anything more, she was pleasantly surprised by feeling Lena's lips on hers.

She gave a small surprised yelp, but didn't move away. She just tilted her head the slightest bit and returned the kiss. It was soft and slow, the kind of languid kiss two long-time lovers would share.

And then Kara brought her hands up to Lena's cheeks and pulled her into a deeper kiss, one that Lena was more than happy to exchange for. It was messy and fast and they filled the car with their moans (so much so that even with the partition rolled up, Ralph was blushing a bright red and turning his radio volume up).

By the time the limo pulled up to the mansion, Kara was lying down across the car seat, with Lena straddling her hips, still kissing feverishly. They had somehow managed to keep their clothes on, but a few minutes more and Lena would have had Ralph drive them to her home instead, consequences of not attending be damned.

Instead, Ralph's very embarrassed voice piped up through the intercom. "We're here Ms. Luthor."

Lena regrettably broke the kiss and sighed.

"Wow," Kara said with a goofy grin, glasses askew but still steadfastly on her face.

Lena's hair bun had come undone and with her long brown hair cascading past her shoulders, Kara believed she looked even more beautiful.

"Wow indeed, but unfortunately, I don't want to kill my family so soon after we arrive, so we'll just keep our kissing vertical and PG rated," Lena teased with a wink.

Kara laughed. "Agreed. Shall we?"

"Let's."

They took a moment to sort themselves out and make themselves presentable again.

"What do you think? Hair down or up?" Lena asked, turning to Kara who was smoothing down her dress.

"Down," Kara said almost immediately. "Or maybe a messy bun. Whichever helps sell the idea that we were doing what we were just doing."

Lena smirked. "My my, Kara, you are devious. But very well, hair down it is."

They got out of the car, much to Ralph's relief, and headed to towards the door to the sprawling mansion that Kara was just getting around to see.

"You grew up here?" Kara asked in awe.

Lena nodded. "But don't let it fool you, it was not a fun experience."

"I'm sure." From the little Lena had told her while ironing out their plan, she knew that being a Luthor growing up was not easy.

Kara sneaked a glance to Lena and saw that she looked crestfallen at seeing her childhood home. So Kara did what any fake girlfriend would do, she grabbed Lena's hand, and gave her a reassuring smile when Lena turned to look at her.

"Come on, we have a family to scare shitless," Kara said.

Lena nodded and smiled softly, before heading over to the door and knocking.

An elderly man greeted them at the door. "Ms. Luthor! It's been a while. Come in, come in. May I take you and your friend's jackets?"

"Actually, Charles, she's my girlfriend," Lena stated as she let Kara help take her jacket off.

And so began step 1: tell the household staff. In Lena's opinion, it was the fastest way to spread the word.

Kara took her own jacket off and handed them to a stunned Charles, before linking her arm with Lena's and walking further along into the house.

And then Kara's phone began to ring. It was Alex. "I'm really sorry, I have to take this."

"Of course," Lena said. "I'll be over there, talking to Lisa."

Kara nodded and went to answer her phone, stepping off the foyer to a side hallway.

"Hey Alex, how's it going?" Kara greeted.

"Hey Kara," Alex said, sounding quite terse. "Is there something you forgot to tell me?"

Kara blinked. There was no way- "How'd you know I made out with Lena?"

"You what!?" Alex yelped. "You- no, we can talk about that later. Right now, I want to know why I'm looking at an alert that Lex Luthor is out for the weekend to spend some quality time with his family."

"Errr." Kara was at a loss for words. "It slipped my mind?"

"It slipped your mind that your cousin's arch-nemesis was going to be furloughed and attend the party?" Alex deadpanned.

In her defense, Kara had been preoccupied with thinking about Lena. "Yes," she ended up saying.

Alex sighed. "Stay put, I will get you some backup."

"No Alex it's not-" and then she heard that Alex had hung up. "Necessary," she finished, speaking to no one.

Well, not no one.

"And pray tell, what's not necessary?" asked a deep, smooth voice.

Kara turned around and her blood ran cold. Lex Luthor. And a very intimidating bodyguard.

"Well, clearly you know who I am," Lex started, noticing her reaction. "But I am at a disadvantage in regards to you."

She could hear Alex's voice in her mind telling her that under no circumstances at all whatsoever should she tell him her name. "Kara Danvers."

"Ah." He then pointed to the bald burly man behind him. "And please don't mind Steve, he's a guard from the prison who was instructed to chaperone me for this weekend."

Kara and Steve exchanged curt nods. In Kara's opinion, Steve largely resembled that Hitman videogame character that Alex loved to play, rather than a government worker.

"Leave her alone Lex," Lena called out, walking up to them.

Lex turned to give his sister a tight smile. "I see that the rumours are true. You and Kara here are lovers."

Lena barely blinked as she countered, "Problem?"

Lex shrugged. "None at all. I am happy my little sister found love. But the rest of our family might not think the same."

"Well I don't care about them. This is my true self," Lena stated.

"It's not me you have to convince," Lex was quick to counter, bringing his hands up placatingly. "As the saying goes, 'you do you, girl'."

Both Kara and Steve flinched at his words.

Lena meanwhile snorted. "Spare me the supportive brother bullshit Lex. What do you want?"

Lex's facade broke into a devious and hungry grin. "It was the slang that gave me away huh?"

"Let's say that a sting in jail did nothing for your terrible poker face," was all Lena deigned to say. "Now, I repeat, what do you want?"

"Well, the issue is as follows. If I want to spend less time in jail, I need to demonstrate that I'm a changed man. Rehabilitation and all that good stuff. And for that, I need a sponsor to take me into their custody."

"Ah," Lena said, already looking done with this conversation. "And why don't you ask mother dearest? I'm sure she would jump at that opportunity."

"Been there, done that. But as you well know, mother and Amanda Waller don't exactly see eye to eye, and the old hag will never concede to releasing me into her custody."

"The answer is, and will remain no. Now come on Kara, I want you to meet the more respectable side of my family," Lena said, taking Kara's hand in hers.

Lex let out a derisive snort. "There is no such thing as respectable in our family."

As Lena began leading Kara away, the latter called out, "It was nice to meet you! And don't worry, as they say in Neptune: The tides will bring you what you're looking for the most!"

The last thing that Kara saw before she turned the corner was Lex and Steve exchanging very befuddled looks.

Once they were out of earshot, Lena let out a small laugh. "Nice touch."

"Thanks, I figured some Neptunian wisdom would confuse him," Kara snickered.

Lena composed herself again and led her to the grand living room where the party was being held.

They mingled a bit with cousin Irma, who was actually pretty progressive about the entire situation, despite asking if they insisted being called 'gal pals'- "I saw an article calling you guys gal pals, and I wouldn't want to be offensive."

And then Charles cleared his throat from the doorway. "I do apologize for the intrusion ladies and gentlemen, but I have a young lady claiming to be Becky Luthor. Can anyone vouch for her?"

A deranged voice yelled out, "Is she finally back from whoring up half of the world?"

Charles took that to be a confirmation and let the new guest in.

Kara sucked in a breath.

Lena noticed her reaction and frowned, asking in a hushed tone "What is it?"

At first, Kara was speechless, and Lena tried to ask, "Do you know her?"

Kara nodded.

"Have you dated her? Is that it?" Lena continued.

That got Kara out of her reverie. "No!"

Her response was a bit loud, and everyone turned to look at them. Kara smiled sheepishly, noticing that the newcomer was coming their way, having located her.

She lowered her voice and said, "That's my sister."

Chapter Text

Lena gave her an incredulous look and then Kara realized what that must've sounded like.

"I mean that she is my sister and not actually a Luthor," Kara quietly clarified.

"Ah. And why is your sister here?" Lena asked in a hushed whisper.

"Because she got worried when she found out her sister was going to be rubbing elbows with the world's most xenophbic alien hater, your brother," Alex said, sidling up next to the two ladies.

Lena nodded slowly. "And how did you dind out about Becky?"

"I may have perused the Luthor dossier and found the least likely person to actually show up at this party and posed myself as her."

"Becky is somewhat of a pariah with the Luthors," Lena explained, keeping her voice down as she looked out to the guests staring at the three of them in disdain. "And she had been banned from these parties for her raucous attitude. But I suppose that now you're here, they can't very much just throw you out."

"And what are the three of you gossiping about?" Lillian Luthor asked, walking up to them. She gave a scathing glance at Becky and her lip gave the slightest curl of disgust.

"Actually mother, I was just telling Becky here about all the things Kara will do to me once the party's done. She's been feeling very frisky," Lena said, deadpan.

Lillian let out the fakest laugh Kara had ever heard. "Oh aren't you precious. And speaking of which I don't believe I have had the pleasure of officially meeting you, Kara."

Kara glanced at the outstretched hand and she debated taking it. It vaguely made her think of shaking hands with the devil. "Likewise," Kara said, keeping one of her hands on Lena's back and the other holding her clutch, refusing to shake hands with her date's mother.

Lillian took her hand back with a quirk of her lips. "I see Lena has told you about me."

Not wanting to spend more time with her, Lena said, "Please excuse us, mother. We have better things to do than to listen to you fishing attempts."

"Clearly," Lillian sneered, walking away.

And then Lena rounded off on Alex once more. "Why do you have a dossier on us?"

"I work for a clandestine organization within the government," Alex responded simply. "Against my better wishes, Kara decided to be a good samaritan for Thanksgiving and help you, so I'm here for back-up."

Kara was surprised at how forthcoming Alex was being. But it was her turn to ask a question that had been nagging her. "Do you actually look like Becky? No one seems to be giving you a second glance."

Alex shook her head. "Not in the slightest. But people are less likely to look at the shameful relative, so it gives me a break."

Lena hummed. "Not to mention that the real Becky was known for radically changing her hairstyle - among other things - so it's not so far out there that Becky would have chopped off a good chunk of her hair and became a red-head."

Alex let out an amused snort. "She kinda did, but she's blonde now. Now, please tell me that you guys changed the plan a bit with Lex's inclusion."

Kara nodded, but before she could elaborate, they were interrupted by a soft bell.

"Dinner is served," Charles called out.

"Does he do everything around here?" Alex asked, jerking a finger towards the elderly worker.

"Pretty much," Lena responded.

They were all ushered into the dining room where a long table was already set up. Lillian obviously sat at the head, with Lex at her right side, and Lena on the left. Steve sat beside Lex, and Kara sat beside Lena. Alex grabbed the chair next to Kara before Ron with the lecherous eyes could snatch it.

The soup starter was a calm affair, but when the appetizers came, Kara struck.

Well, rather, she broke her knife in half.

"Oh!" Kara exclaimed in surprise, getting the calm din that had built to stop abruptly.

Lex was semi gaping, having been in the process of bringing his fork to his mouth when the knife broke.

Steve just continued eating, and Alex hid her grin by wiping her mouth.

Lena looked worried as she asked, "Are you okay Kara?"

"Yeah," Kara nodded, wincing and holding her hand as if it was in pain. "The knife must've not been of good quality."

Lillian scoffed. "This is the finest German steel!"

Kara made a face. "Someone probably lied to you."

That got everyone to begin murmuring and examing their utensils, holding it between both hands to see if it'd bend or break.

Lillian plastered a polite smile and called out, "Please, everyone, I am not in the habit of being cheap for the festivities, so just return to eating your dinners."

The majority of the guests went back to their dinner and conversations, though a few were still trying to see if they could bend their forks, much to Lillian's chagrin.

Eventually, it was time for the first course.

Lena had explained to Kara that bowls and platters of food were served in the middle, but they were usually lukewarm at best.

"Why she doesn't complain is beyond me, she usually would never let this stand," Lena had commented.

But it worked good for their plan.

"Can you pass the mashed potatoes, Lex?" Kara asked, pointing to the bowl by Lex's side.

Lex looked at it briefly before deciding to hand it over to her.

Then Alex took her cue.

"Say, Uncle Larry, is this your seventh or tenth wife? I can never remember."

That got everyone to look at Larry and his quite embarrassed wife, and Kara took that time to subtly heat up the bowl with her vision while Lena also shielded her from her mother's view by leaning forward.

Larry was fumbling through a response while Kara served herself and Lena a few spoonfuls before holding it back out and quietly saying, "Thanks Lex."

Lex, very intrigued by Larry's meandering attempt at an explanation, just took the bowl without giving it much thought.

Except Kara had heated it up quite a lot. Not fully intentional, she had meant to just confuse him with the temperature change, but she might have overdone it a tad.

"YEOUCH!" Lex yelped, throwing the bowl up because the reality was: it was searing hot to the touch.

That got everyone's attention to flip back to Lex, who practically ran out of the room to dunk his hands in cold water, closely followed by Steve, who couldn't let his charge out of his sight.

And the bowl?

Well, it did a nice trajectory upwards before gravity did its thing and it flew down to land upside down smack dab on cousin Luke's head, covering him in the scalding mashed potatoes.

His undignified scream would fuel the vengeful part of Lena for years to come. Although no additional victim was set in mind (they really had no way of knowing how Lex would react with the bowl), this added an extra sense of satisfaction for Lena, who hated the little weasel.

A small break was added so that a gaggle of concerned Luthor women could help poor Luke and usher him to a bathroom and clean him up.

Lillian was glaring at Kara, though the latter was doing an excellent job on ignoring it in favour of talking to Lena.

Once Lex had returned, fuming and mouth set, he sat down and he didn't say anything nor look at anyone. True to form, Steve sat down beside him and was quiet as well.

Kara and Lena had figured that after this, they could keep things normal until the turkey carving.

Well, that was the plan, until…

"Really Lillian, I know the world is full if those liberal hippies," some distant aunt began stating boisterously. "But we never had any problems during this dinner until Lena and her lesbian showed up."

Kara gritted her teeth but Lena put a calming hand on Kara's thigh. Well, it wasn't exactly calming, but more focusing her attention elsewhere.

But Alex had no such indication to stop, and she just retorted, "Well sucks to be you because there are three lesbians here."

The aunt let out an insulted gasp. "Well no wonder you'll never amount to anything in life."

This time, Kara had enough foresight to hold her sister back, though Alex was putting up a hell of a fight.

Lillian, who was probably a few steps away from a conniption, clinked a fork against her glass just as the gaggle of relatives were reentering with cousin Luke, now clean but still sporting a nasty red welt on his face from where the potatoes dripped onto him.

"Come everyone, let us begin with the turkey carving." Right on cue, two waiters brought out the turkey on a cart, depositing it in front of Lillian. "Now, who wants to do the honours?"

Lena immediately offered, "Kara can do it!"

Kara was at first confused, mind still focused on Lena's hand earlier on her thigh. Then she remembered. "Oh yeah, I'm quite handy with a knife."

They could see Lillian's internal struggle and eventual resignation to, "Very well, Kara, the turkey's all yours."

At first, Kara began to cut the turkey slices like a pro, serving them to the guests. And then it was Lex's slice, and she angled her knife differently, added a bit more pressure, and sliced.

An unbearable succession of noises was heard as Kara not only cut through the turkey, but also the silver platter it was served on and the table underneath it. Everyone flinched and cringed at that, even Kara was regretting the amount of force she used.

And then silence.

"Oh wow," Kara breathed, making a show of even checking the knife under the table, poking at the protruding end.

Lillian was flabbergasted. "How..."

Kara shrugged. "Cheap silver?"

"It was a family heirloom!" Lillian countered.

"Maybe someone pawned it off and replaced it with a cheap imitation?"

A facepalm was heard in the silence, and Kara was sure it was Steve.

"And the table!?" Lillian demanded. "It was mahogany!"

"Someone lied to you?" Kara tried again.

"Enough!" Lex thundered, bolting upright and throwing his napkin onto his plate. When Kara turned to look at him, she could see he was shaking in fury. He pointed to Kara. "You, with me, now!"

As Lex stormed off with a very nonplussed Steve, Kara and Lena exchanged glances. The former shrugged and followed Lex out the door.

Lena and Alex soon followed, and by that point, the rest of the guests also went along, everyone very curious as to this showdown.

Lex walked to the foyer before barking at Kara. "What kind of sick joke do you think you're playing?"

Kara feigned confusion as she said, "I'm not playing any kind of joke."

Lex scoffed. "Right. You merely just so happened to break a knife, heat up a lukewarm bowl, and carve a hole onto a silver platter and a mahogany table just out of pure coincidence."

"Things happen," Kara innocently said, adjusting her glasses.

He wagged an accusing finger at her. "Who put you up to this? Was it Waller? Or...Superman."

Kara frowned, trying to ignore the nauseating fear that Lex would find out the truth by asking, "Superman what?"

"He put you up to this!" Lex screeched.

"Lex, that's preposterous," Lena interjected. "I was bringing Kara before I found out about you coming, isn't that right, mother?"

Lillian had no choice but to nod, though by the way her right eye was twitching, she was sorely reconsidering hosting future parties.

But that did not sate Lex. "You are not human, I am sure of it!"

Kara did not back down, and did not drop her charade of indignation as she huffed before asking, "Then what am I?"

Lex spluttered a bit before exclaiming, "Kryptonian!"

"I thought Superman was the last Kryptonian," Alex piped up.

"He once mentioned a relative. A cousin of some sort. You must be her. That Supergirl that's been showing up in the news recently," Lex said, gritting his teeth.

Kara rolled her eyes. "Seriously? Do I look Kryptonian? I mean, I wear glasses, for crying out loud!"

Lex let out a guffaw. "So does Superman when he's not out saving the world!"

Lena had had enough of this. "Honestly Lex, you sound deranged. So what, if I put glasses and a red cape on a dog, he's all of a sudden the Super Dog? Listen to yourself."

"You mock me, but I am telling you, the one mocking all of us is her!" Lex pointed an accusing finger once again at Kara.

"Then let's settle this. If I am a Kryptonian, or even an alien, I should easily defeat you in an arm wrestling competition, right?" Kara suggested, holding her right arm out.

Lex willingly took it, and within minutes, they were both leaning over a table, their hands clasped, both of the staring intensely at one another.

"Begin," Lillian dryly said, looking very done with the entire event. She was ready to down half a bottle of whiskey that was hiding in her liquor cabinet.

It didn't take long for Lex to slam Kara's hand down on the table, but victory was not so satisfying for him. He merely frowned, and then came to the realization of, "You could have easily just thrown this entire contest to make me think you don't have super strength."

Thankfully, Steve had had his share of playing chaperone. "Alright Luthor, time is up."

"This is ridiculous! They're playing me!" Lex whined.

"I don't really care. Time is up," Steve insisted.

But Lex didn't want to go gently off into the good night. Suffice it to say, resisting Steve was going to cost him five years of freedom from an already lenient 6 lifetimes.

Grandma Lexa didn't take the news well, fainting once Lex had been sufficiently tased and apprehended.

Lena decided that the confusion was a wonderful time to slip out, taking Kara and Alex with her.

"Well, I dare say that was a smashing hit," Lena gleefully stated as she adjusted her coat back on.

Alex nodded. "I have to admit, it was a lot of fun."

"It really was, and I really appreciate your help," Lena added with a smile. She even hugged Alex, which the latter returned after a few seconds of confusion.

Realizing that it was her cue to leave, Alex headed over to her bike, waving and winking to Kara.

Lena then turned to Kara and coyly asked, "If you want, we can head back over to my place and continue where we left off in the car?"

Kara's grin was wide as she nodded and said, "I'd want nothing more."

Chapter Text

The next month wound up being exceptionally busy for Kara. It seemed that all of National City had turned to villainy in order to celebrate the holidays, and she was flying around non-stop stopping crimes and saving people. She was pretty sure she had used up her vacation days for the next 5 years with all the time she had to take off from work.

That also meant that Kara hadn't been able to see Lena either, and the blossoming of their maybe-relationship had mostly fizzled. They still texted, sure, but whenever Lena had even slightly brought up them getting together, maybe watching a movie, Kara had steadfastly had to make an excuse. And because of those excuses, the invitations to get together were becoming more sporadic.

It probably would help if Kara told Lena that she was Supergirl - Alex was a big supporter of that idea. The one night that Kara decided to catch up on work at CatCo and burn the midnight oil, Alex took charge of vandalising her entire apartment with various coloured Post-Its blaring out "TELL HER!" all in caps (she still hadn't found all of them, but in her defence, Kara had lost count at 57).

But Kara couldn't.

"And why the hell not?" Alex asked after Kara had found yet another post-it stuck under the coffee machine.

"Because!" Kara said, keeping her back to her sister, slathering jam onto her toast.

"That's not a reason," Alex responded.

Kara just glared at her sister for that.

"Oh don't give me that. You're not going to incinerate me," Alex rolled her eyes.

"Try me," Kara said, sticking out her tongue too.

Alex blinked once, bored. "I am one of the few people that put up with your superheroic tendencies, you need me."

Kara groaned. "I don't know. I think of telling her, and then I just panic and...don't."

"Is it because she's a Luthor? Because we've proven that her bringing you to that disaster of a dinner showed you that she's not-"

"Of course it's not that," Kara interrupted to say. She didn't even know the reason herself, but she knew enough that it certainly wasn't that.

Alex tried to think of something else. "Is it because you think it'll change something between the two of you?"

Kara frowned, resting her elbows on the table, across from her sister. "Maybe...?"

"Yes?" Alex pressed.

"...I don't even know," Kara just sunk her head onto her hands. "I just have a feeling it'll be a bad idea."

Alex left it at that, but she wished her sister would just tell her. It was killing Kara to not be able to tell Lena the truth, that much Alex knew.

Lena looked at her phone, wondering if she should try her luck with texting Kara. It was New Year's eve, just before 7pm, and despite still being at LCorp trying to finish some paperwork, Lena hoped she would be able to ring in the new year with Kara. She wanted to at least try and see if maybe something would happen.

But before she could do that, the door to her office slammed open.

"Evening Ms. Luthor," a woman with a silky-smooth voice greeted. She was dressed in a shimmering red dress and the smile on her face spelled danger. The intruder drew a gun from her purse and pointed it at her. "Now, I'm going to need your help with something, and I would advise you to cooperate, lest you want me to kill you."

Lena didn't move her arms, but she tilted her head, not letting the gun pointed at her heart frighten her. "Well if you're going to threaten me, at least introduce yourself."

The woman let out a mirthless laugh. "Oh you are something else. You don't recognize me?"

"Should I?" Lena asked, racking her brain for the identity of this woman. Nothing.

The woman shrugged. "I suppose not. Once upon a time we attended boarding school together. Veronica Sinclair?"

Recognition dawned on Lena and she gasped.

The woman smirked, satisfied. "Oh yes, you do recognize me. But now I go by another name. Roulette, and as much as I would love to catch up. I have need of that brain of yours."

"Literally or figuratively?" Lena deadpanned.

Roulette's eye twitched and she cocked her gun. "Figuratively, but if you don't cooperate, I will have it literally. Now come, on, stand up."

Behind her, Lena could see Jess holding a phone to her ear. Hopefully, the cops would show up soon. But meanwhile, she had to comply. So Lena put her hands up, and slowly stood up.

And then a great crashing sound was heard as someone burst in through the glass door to her balcony. Lena flinched and cowered a bit, and when the glass cleared, Supergirl was standing beside her.

"Put down your weapon," Supergirl commanded.

Roulette didn't move, but rather smiled wide. "Supergirl, I was hoping you'd show up."

With a flick of her wrist, Roulette shuffled around the purse in her other hand and in one fluid movement, pulled out another gun and pointed it at Supergirl.

Supergirl frowned, bemused. "You do know these don't work on me, right?"

Roulette shrugged. "The one I'm pointing at Ms. Luthor wouldn't. But this new one has bullets dipped in Kryptonite. I imagine they will be quite painful, if my understanding of your physiology is correct."

Grinding her teeth, Supergirl curled her fingers into fists.

"And before you get any ideas to try and rush me or something, I can just as easily shoot her in that time, and I'm sure you can't apprehend me and save her at the same time, right?" Roulette asked, feeling very confident in her position.

While she had been talking, Lena felt the underside of her desk for a button. Turning to Supergirl, she said, "I do hope you don't have anything metallic on you."

Supergirl looked at her, very confused. "What-"

Lena pressed the button, and the magnet overhead activated, making the guns fly out of Roulette's hands, as well as a few paper clips and Lena's stapler.

"Now, Veronica, you were saying?" Lena asked with a satisfied smirk, crossing her arms in front of her.

Roulette huffed, and right then, the cops showed up. Lena deactivated the magnet - which promptly caused both guns to fall on Roulette's head - and the officers arrested her.

Once they had cleared out, only Lena and Supergirl were left, and the former looked at her broken glass door. "I do hope you're going to be paying for that," she commented with a smile.

Supergirl flinched at seeing the mess she made. "Sorry about that. How much do I owe you?"

Lena waved it off. "I was just joking. But there is something I want to know."

Supergirl, who had been actively avoiding looking at Lena right in the eyes, asked, "What is it?"

"Why were you keeping this from me, Kara?"

The question, combined with her name, made Supergirl lock her surprised eyes with Lena.

She floundered around for an excuse but Lena interrupted it with a swift, "I know it's you Kara, don't try to convince me otherwise."

At that, Supergirl's confident manner slipped away to show Kara's quiet demeanour. "When did you find out?"

Lena smiled and said, "Probably when, every time I wanted to meet up with you, Supergirl was busy off saving the world."

Kara let out a small laugh. "This past month has been busy. I promise I haven't been avoiding you."

"I know. But why didn't you just tell me?" Lena asked. "I would've understood if you were busy saving the city and the planet from something or other. I could even help if it came to it."

And at that moment, Kara knew the answer to the 'why' that had been eluding her. And she said, "I had been afraid. Afraid of what that would do to us."

Lena was confused. "You being Supergirl doesn't change how I feel about you."

Kara shook her head. "Not that. It's just...my cousin, when everyone found out he was dating Lois Lane, she became a target so they could get to him. And even though I know you're totally capable of defending yourself," Kara pointed to the enormous magnet on the ceiling, "I didn't want to add more stress or let it impact us just because I care for you and I happen to be a superhero."

"I see." Lena thought for a second before saying, "And what did Lois do when she was faced with that reality?"

Kara shrugged. "Took self-defense lessons."

"Well, I have been trained by the best, so I've got that down. I think I can handle being your girlfriend," Lena said, smiling self-satisfied. "And like you said, if it's not brawn, it'll be brains."

"I know, it sounds silly saying out loud but-" Kara began.

"But nothing. It's a genuine worry you had, although I wish you would have just told me and I would have assuaged you long before. That way we could've maybe spent the holidays together."

Kara smiled. "Thanks for understanding. And I was thinking maybe we could celebrate the New Year together?"

Lena nodded. "I would love that."

Without further preamble, Kara scooped Lena up in her arms, with a yelp and a laugh from the latter, and Kara said, "Where to, Ms. Luthor?"

Lena could hardly manage a straight answer because she was laughing so much. "Let's go to my place, we can see the stars and the fireworks while drinking some champagne and-" Lena paused, seeing Kara looking at her so intensely and with such a goofy grin on her face. "What?"

"I know I'll sound like a total sap but, I want to keep hearing that laugh for the rest of my life," Kara said, stepping over the glass and out onto the terrace.

Lena's response to that was to surge up and kiss Kara on the lips, wrapping her arms around Kara's shoulders.

"And I want to keep seeing that smile," Lena responded when they parted.

Grinning like a love-sick fool, Kara flew up and towards Lena's house, and her future.