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Chapter Text

Kara was woken up abruptly by her phone ringing on her nightstand. She groaned and started fumbling for her glasses, her face still pressed into her pillow. When she finally got hold of them, she put them on and looked at the caller ID. It was Winn. At 7am. On a Saturday.

-"Winn !" Kara yelled just after hitting the answering button on her phone. "It's seven in the morning !"

-"Really ?" Winn said, glancing at the clock on his computer. "Oh sorry, I was just looking at the news on my laptop while drinking my coffee and..."

-"Winn !" Kara yelled again. "I was sleeping, so, whatever you wanted to say to me just say it now !" she finished exasperated. She put the phone on speaker, laid it on her nightstand, and reached for her sweatpants.

-"I was skimming through different newspapers when I saw that Forbes has released his 30 under 30 article for this year" Winn explained excitedly. "And guess what ?"

-"What ?" Kara asked, yawning. She took her phone again and dragged herself into the kitchen.

-"You're in it !" Winn practically squealed over the phone.

-"In what ?" Kara asked, still half asleep, and pulling out a cereal box from one of her food closet.

-"In the article !" Winn all but screamed. Kara winced and put her phone on the kitchen counter. That way, it would hurt less if Winn got too excited again. She was about to tell him to calm down when her sister Alex, entered the apartment, sipping her takeaway coffee.

-"In the youngest category to be exact. Check it out !" Winn continued trough the speakers.

-"She will do" Alex answered for Kara, putting her heavy suitcase down on the kitchen counter.

-"Hey Alex !" Winn greeted the older Danvers.

-"Hi Winn" Alex replied. "Sorry but Kara and I have a lot to go through today so you don't mind calling back later ?

-"No, of course ! I have to go anyway. Have fun !" he said cheerfully and hanged up.

-"Okay, what's happening ?" Kara inquired while pouring milk in her bowl of cereals. "Why everybody is up and jumping on me today ?"

-"Because of this" Alex answered and pulled out a copy of Forbes magazine from her suitcase. She flipped through it a few seconds then placed it open at the right page on the table. Kara leaned on her stool and read it while eating her cereals.

Kara Danvers, 24
Founder, Krypton App

Last year, Danvers, a MIT student specialized in biology, invented the Krypton App which allows people to monitor their heart rate, follow their pill schedule (know when to take which medicine) and that contains a digital card that any hospital can read by flash code containing all the essential information of the patient : full identity, blood type, which treatments they are on, if they had been on surgery before and for what, medical history, etc. Her app hit over one million downloads three month after it launched.

-"That's cool no ?" Kara asked her sister smiling with her mouth still full.

-"No Kara, this isn't cool" Alex sighted.

-"No ?"

-"No, this is huge Kara" Alex said very seriously this time.

-"Huge as..." Kara tried to guess what her sister meant.

-"This is great publicity for us Kara" Alex spoke again, smiling excitedly. "This article could catch the interest of potential investors."

-"And we could develop the app further !" Kara caught up on her sister, finally fully awake for the first time this morning.

-"Yes !" Alex added enthusiastically. She was proud of their work. When Kara had decided to create the Krypton App last year with the help of her MIT friend Winn for the programming, Alex encouraged her but didn't really thought much of it. But when Kara's and Winn's app had reached the top 10 of downloads the first week, Alex decided to quit her job at their Mom's laboratory. Her sister was very brilliant in her field but also so clueless when it came to some other things that Alex had taken upon herself to help her sister in her dazzling success. She had hired a lawyer, an advertising agent, an IT expert to help Winn with the updates and the technical support and last but not least, she rented a whole floor in a business building to accommodate all of those people. As for herself, she now was Kara's press and public relations agent, which explained her morning visit.

-"I guess the phone is going to ring all day now because of the article" Kara spoke again. "Sorry" she added, smiling apologetically at her sister.

-"Actually, it already has" Alex replied, smirking. "I booked you for a photoshoot with Cat Grant on Monday."

-"What ?! Kara exclaimed, dropping her spoon. "The director of CatCo ? The queen of all media ?" she continued, unable to believe it.

-"The one and only" Alex replied smiling fully.

*
**

Lena Luthor used to come at her office on Saturdays morning. Most of her employees were home which made the building much quieter than usual. The perfect atmosphere to get some work done. Lena greeted her personal assistant, Jess, and entered her office. She fixed herself a cup of coffee, seated on her white couch and picked up an exemplary of Forbes magazine among those that were displayed by Jess on the glass coffee table in front of her. She liked to start her day with a quick press review.

As she was casually flipping through the pages while sipping her coffee, she almost choked when she saw a picture of herself in the 30 under 30 section of the magazine. She read the text beside her picture :

Lena Luthor, 26
Founder, LCorp

The youngest of the infamously Luthor family had taken over Luthor Corp last year after her elder brother was convicted for embezzlement and prohibited sale of biological weapons to countries at war. She renamed her family's company LCorp and radically changed the focus to its research department from deadly viruses and biological weaponry to home therapy by developing machines that are simpler to use and easier to transport.

Lena smiled. It was a well known fact that public opinion in general and the media in particular, hated her family but it seemed that for her, the jury was still out. Maybe if she continued in this direction she would be able to make a name for herself outside her family. A good one, moreover.

After an hour of paperwork and a few phone calls, the quiet of the LCorp building was disrupted by a familiar tattooed girl.

-"How is the youngest of the infamously Luthor family doing ?" Veronica Sinclair asked enthusiastically, peering through the half-open door of Lena's office.

-"Veronica !" Lena exclaimed and got up to greet her best friend.

-"Congrats" Veronica said to the CEO after they hugged. She then revealed the bottle of champagne that she was hiding in her designer shopping bag.

-"Champagne ?" Lena asked. "Isn't it a bit early for alcohol ?" she went on, arching a brow questioningly at her friend.

-"What ? You really thought we were going to toast about your Forbes article with water ?" Veronica replied incredulously.

-"You're the only person crazy enough to drink champagne before noon."

Veronica was about to protest when Jess voice was heard through the intercom :

-"Miss Luthor ? Your mother on line 1."

-"Oh oh. Someone heard about the Forbes' publication too" Veronica warned, making a disgusted face. Lilian Luthor always gave her the jitters since high school.

-"Honestly, I'm surprised she didn't call sooner" Lena said wearily. She never had been a fan of her talks with her mother. "Even Cat Grant called before her."

-"Really ?"

-"Yeah, for some photoshoot on Monday" the CEO answered and went to press the reply button of her intercom.

-"Please hold it Jess, I'm going to take it in a minute."

-"Well, I better go" Veronica said and retrieved the bottle of champagne from the coffee table to put it back in her bag.

-"What are you doing ?" Lena asked, eyeing her friend's bag questioningly.

-"You said it was crazy to drink before noon so I figured you..."

-"What would be really crazy is talking to my mother without alcohol in my system" Lena interrupted sighing.

-"Amen to that !" Veronica exclaimed and put the bottle back on the coffee table. "See you later !" she then added and exited Lena's office.

When her friend was gone, the CEO plopped herself on her desk chair and asked her assistant to put her mother on the phone.

Chapter Text

-"James !" Kara waved at her friend when entering the big studio Cat Grant had rented for the day.

-"Hey Genius" James Olsen greeted, hugging Kara. "I knew when Cat told me about The young prodigies who will shape our future article that you would be in it."

-"Aww, thank you" Kara smiled. "I still can't believe it though. Being in this room for a photoshoot with all those amazing women." As to emphase what she had just acknowledged, Kara took another look around the big room. There was Megan Morzz, youngest Afro-American women elected deputy in the House of Representatives, Leslie Willis, alias Livewire, whose radio broadcast was the most listened in all the country and of course, Lucy Lane, youngest major in the army as well as James' girlfriend.

-"Enjoy it Kara" James said taking her friend by her shoulders, "you deserve it."

Then, the door busted open, and Cat Grant, the queen of all medias, made her (always dramatic) entry. She handed her coffee to her already short of breath assistant and discarded her coat and sunglasses in the first chair available.

-"Good afternoon ladies" the director of CatCo magazine said, dragging everyone's attention. "First, I wanted to thank you all for coming. I'm really glad that you could all be there today to help me make this article, which I care about very much and will, I hope, inspire a lot of little girls. The session will start with a group picture, then an individual picture of each of you to complement a little biography about you in the article. Now, I'm going to discuss the arrangements with the photographer, mister James Olsen over here" she went on, pointing him with her hand", so in the meantime, feel free to chat, drink at the buffet or whatever bring out your best profile."

As Megan and Lucy went for makeup, Kara and her grumbling stomach decided to try the buffet. Much to her deception, there wasn't a lot of food on the buffet, and the little that was, didn't seem very tempting. Damn this healthy food trend Kara thought bitterly. In her experience, healthy was often synonymous of disgusting. Where are the donuts ? She was about to leave when she got sight of what looked like fancy appetizers. She has never been rich or famous enough before to go to places where that kind of food was served, so she decided to try one. When she bit into the flaky pastry, she discovered that it was filled with meat sausage. But more importantly, she discovered that it was delicious. She grabbed another one and it was even better, because this time it was filled with cheese. As Kara was putting another one in her mouth and two more in her hand, she felt eyes on her, so she halted herself. She stopped chewing and looked at her right slowly. A brunette with pale skin and a glass of fruit juice in her hand was looking at her with her brows raised in question.

-"You look like you haven't eaten for days" the woman said, still looking at her strangely. Kara swallowed in the most elegant way she could manage before answering.

-"No, it's just that, I never tried one of those before and they're delicious" she said, smiling awkwardly, but the woman kept looking at her like she was an alien. So Kara decided to distract the brunette from her obvious gluttony by introducing herself.

-"I'm Kara Danvers by the way".

Lena was glad the strange blonde didn't offer her hand to shake. She would have hated to get her hand greasy and to smell food throughout the photoshoot. She looked at this Danvers girl one last time, before the blonde's pretty, sympathetic face would inevitably darken at the sound of her last name.

-"Lena Luthor".

-"Nice to meet you" Kara replied, smiling brightly.

The CEO of LCorp almost choked on her juice. Is it possible that this girl doesn't know who I am ?

Kara must have noticed Lena's stunned state because she asked something that the Luthor deduced was a "what ?" the blonde mouth being already full with another appetizer.

-"People don't often say that" the CEO admitted, smiling uncomfortably.

-"Really ? Kara asked genuinely. Then, after glancing quickly around to figure out if she could eat some more before her presence would inevitably be required elsewhere, she added : "why ?"

Lena put her glass down on the buffet table quickly before she could drop it. Is she serious ? How could she not know about my family's history ? Lena didn't know if the girl was making fun of her or if she really wasn't aware of the Luthors' reputation. The medias loved making the headlines with her last name and the perpetual polemic that seemed to follow it everywhere. Maybe she lived in a cave for the past two years, that's why she eats like she hasn't seen food in days ? Lena though confused. Still in doubt, she decided to play along for now.

-"Let see, where do I start ?" she began, facing Kara fully to gauge her interlocutor's reaction. "When my father build his fortune on the manufacture of biological weapons ?" she raised her hand to her chin and pretended to think about it. "Or maybe when my brother hijacked governmental money by selling those weapons to terrorists ?" She laughed hollowly. If she had to continue this conversation, she would need something stronger than fruit juice.

-"Yeah but all of this has nothing to do with you" Kara stated, like it was the most obvious and simple thing in the world. "The first time I actually heard about you, it was in this article about the development of home dialysis". She put two appetizers on her already empty napkin. "It's a great project, it could make life easier for thousands of patients."

To say that Lena felt utterly lost was the understatement of the year. It was the first time that someone dissociated her work from her family's accomplishments. Lena was so stunned that she didn't know what to do or say. She couldn't say she hated the feeling because she had never experienced it before this very moment but she did know that uncharted territory made her uneasy. So, she decided to distance herself from this strange girl who seemed to have come from another planet.

-"Yes... that's... the point" she managed to say, finally recovering from her shock. "Enjoy your petits-fours" she then added over her shoulder as she started walking toward the hair stand.

When every guest was finally ready, Cat Grant asked them to stand in front of James' camera. Kara was a little blinded at first with the huge spots on each side of the set. She turned her head slightly to the side to avoid the lights but her eyes met with the white panel standing behind them which was even worse. Eventually, her eyes started to adjust and so she walked further on the set to stand next to her friend Lucy.

-"I'm so glad you're here !" Kara exclaimed. "All of this is a little intimidating".

-"I'm not used to this kind of things either" the soldier answered, feeling a little out of place too. "Good thing that we know the photographer" she then added, winking at Kara. They laughed and came closer to Leslie and Megan who were already occupying the center of the set, being more used to the spotlight with their respective jobs than Lucy and Kara.

As James was adjusting the lights and his camera, Cat Grant asked the women to combine a nice face with a confident pose to reflect their success and accomplishments.

Kara had absolutely no idea of what Cat Grant was referring to. So, she decided to look at the other women's poses to get some inspiration. As she was standing at the far right of the stage, she started with the first person on her left, Lucy. She was doing what Kara supposed was the common military pose : frontal, legs slightly spread, and arms down with the hands clutched at the front. As for her face, Lucy kept it neutral, except for a barely noticeable smirk. Then, Kara glanced at Leslie. No way I'm doing that ! was what came to her mind. Livewire was clearly having fun with this. She had put one leg forward, was leaning into the camera with her hands forming two thumbs up and opted for a open-mouth smile like she was shouting something or laughing, Kara wasn't sure. Next, was Megan. The poster girl Kara thought. She was standing in a three-quarter pose, her arms crossed but not too tight and a perfect smile showing just the right among of teeth. Kara couldn't see Lena because she was standing on the opposite side of the set, so she was hidden by the others.

Kara just stood there, her arms dangling at her side, looking nervously at the camera. Finally, she decided that she would just smile like she does on family pictures.

After James took a couple of shots, Cat joined him to look at the pictures on the computer screen. James smiled at her girlfriend bold pose and Kara's typical bright smile.

-"Mmm..." was the only sound that escaped the CatCo director. James glanced at his boss. She was chewing on the branch of her glasses, her brows furrowed in thoughts. That wasn't a good sign. Something was bothering Cat on the picture and James was willing to bet that it had something to do with the sullen brunette on the far right of the picture.

Lena Luthor was leaning on one leg, her arms crossed tightly and was starring at the lens with a cocked eyebrow like she wanted to be anywhere but here. And it was true. Lena hadn't the best relationship with the press, mostly due to her family's doing. Plus, she couldn't ignore the suspicious glances Leslie, Megan and Lucy were throwing at her. The first two must resent her because her brother betrayed the government's trust and the third was surely investigating Lena in her mind as Leslie was the one who leaked Lex's personal bank accounts that helped put him in jail.

-"What's your blonde friend name again ?" Cat asked James, finally stopping chewing her glasses.

-"Kara Danvers. Why ?"

But Cat didn't respond, she just walked toward the set and called : "Keira ?"

James moved to the left so he would be in Kara's line of sight. Then, he pointed at her with his finger and mouthed "you" so her friend could reply to Cat before the CatCo director starts to get exasperated. That was something you would never want to do.

-"Me ?" Kara asked, squinting her eyes at James and pointing at herself.

-"Yes" Cat replied and waved for Kara to join her.

-"Could you come and stand next to Miss Luthor over here please ?" Cat asked Kara, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder and pointing to Lena.

-"Uh, ok" Kara replied, not really sure what all of this was about.

-"Let's see if your shiny attitude can rub off on our moody guest over here" Cat added, following Kara where the CEO of LCorp was standing and rolling her eyes at the comment in a spectacular fashion.

So much for distancing myself from the strange blonde Lena thought, sighting. Apparently destiny insisted to brought them together today. Or better say, Cat did. But it was practically the same thing anyway.

-"Lena, sweetie, stop brooding" Cat scolded, hanging her glasses on the collar of her silk shirt. "I'm depressed just by looking at you."

At that, Lena tensed immediately and opened her mouth to throw what was surely going to be a nasty reply when Kara's hand on her arm halted her.

-"We got this" Kara said hastily at Cat's already retreating form before the LCorp CEO could say something she would regret.

-"We ? Lena replied coldly, looking at Kara's hand still on her arm. She jerked her arm away and added : "I can't defend myself."

-"You guys are done here ?" Leslie asked impatiently, looking at them exasperated.

-"Some of us have a busy schedule" Megan added, followed by a "yeah" of approbation by Leslie. Meanwhile, Lucy was standing on her toes trying desperately to see what was going on without stepping out of the line.

Lena was now on the war path. If those women kept provoking her, there were going to find what they were looking for, meaning : a true Luthor. However, before Lena could do anything, Kara stepped between the CEO and her detractors. Again.

-"Sorry" Kara begun, smiling apologetically at the women. "She was just showing me some poses" she continued, designating an angry Lena behind her with her thumb.

-"Ladies !" Cat grant shouted from behind the computer. "We haven't got all night so let's go !"

Everyone resumed their pose except that this time Lena was not standing apart from the group but right next to Kara. The CEO's jaw was still clenched though. James started the countdown:

-"Three."

Kara still had absolutely no idea of what pose she was going to do. She started to panic. She couldn't just stand here, doing nothing but smile with her arms dangling at her sides uselessly. Think, think, think Kara was repeating to herself, her eyes darting around looking for a solution. A miracle would be more accurate. We're in a shooting about women with incredible careers, Kara started to think hastily. Super women basically. We... That's it !

-"Two."

Kara took a deep breath and then stood tall, her feet firmly planted on the ground. She put her fists on her hips and sported her more bright and confident smile. I can do this.

-"One."

As Lena was standing still with her typical stoic face that she reserved for the press, she felt something graze her left arm. She turned to see that it was Kara's elbow. The strange blonde girl was doing the superhero pose. Lena couldn't believe it. Neither did Cat apparently, judging by her confused face. Lena was hit by the sudden urge to laugh but had to contain herself for the picture so she fixed her gaze on a spot just to the left of the camera to avoid looking at Kara's insane pose or Cat's hilarious confused face. She couldn't repress the smile that graced her face though.

"Clic"

Cat Grant looked at the picture on the computer screen and smiled. "Well done James, you really are a genius"

-"Thank you" James replied. But she's the genius he thought as he smiled at Kara and gave her the thumb up for her first photoshoot. Only her could have made Lena Luthor smile on a picture. The CEO's smile was such a rarity James wondered if he would get a Pullitzer for that.

Chapter Text

The next day, Lena was studying the files of her two most promising research fields : home dialysis and home chemotherapy, when Lillian decided to pay her daughter one of her impromptu and annoying visit.

-"Miss Luthor ? You're mother is here". Jess' voice sounded through the speaker of the intercom. Lena sighted, defeated. There was no point to postpone the conversation, she would have to deal with it sooner or later anyway.

-"Let her enter" Lena replied warily.

After her father death, his testament made it clear that only his children would inherit Luthor Corp. Lillian had no right in the company and Lena congratulated her dad in her head for this decision every time she spoke with her mother. Lillian's love for meddling in other's business was astounding. However, she was still the only family Lena had left. So, when she took over Luthor Corp, she gave her mother an honorary spot on the board of directors. That allowed Lillian to be informed of what was going on with the company, to get a pass with full access to L Corp buildings and facilities and, last but not least, it gave her a most than honest salary. But she could, under no circumstances, make any decision, fund a personal project nor speak on behalf of LCorp.

-"Mother !" Lena said with false enthusiasm as her mother entered the office, however the CEO didn't bothered to stand. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit ?" The irony was not lost on her tone but Lena couldn't care less. Her relationship with Lillian had always been complicated and they were both very aware of it.

-"I see your photoshoot for CatCo went well" Lillian said, showing the latest cover of the famous magazine where the group picture was displayed.

-"It was ok" Lena replied, not knowing where her mother was going with this remark but not really caring at the same time.

-"We have a problem though" Lillian continued.

-"What problem ?"

-"Her" Lillian replied, laying the magazine on Lena's desk, on top of the file her daughter was currently reading, and pointed at Kara's face with her index finger.

-"What about her ?" Lena asked confused.

-"Your fields of expertise are too close. If you're not careful, she may surpass us."

-"And what makes you think that she will surpass LCorp ?" Lena wasn't over confident, quite the contrary actually thank to her mother's education, but she knew her worth and the amount of effort she put in her work.

-"Nothing now but we never know." Lillian went on, very seriously. Seeing her daughter's scepticism, she added : "but she was before you on the Forbes' list after all..."

-"30 under 30 is just a list mother, not a ranking" Lena answered rolling her eyes at her mother's paranoiac behavior. "It doesn't mean anything."

-"It's what they want you to believe but it is important" Lillian continued, not surprised at all by her daughter lack of interest in what she was saying. "They don't make those lists randomly, it means something and people notice the order, trust me. Everybody remembers the first, never the second."

-"So ? Lena asked arrogantly. "What do you want me to do ?

-"Make the first move" Lillian replied matter-of-factly. "Show her who's the boss in biological engineering before she surprise us."

-"Doing what exactly ?" Lena inquired sighting loudly. Her mother's antics were slowing her down in her work but mostly, they were starting to annoy her greatly.

-"Launch your own improved app, or discredit her work publicly by showing the flaws of her invention, tell the press she should leave this kind of work to professionals like LCorp, I don't know" Lillian listed quickly. "There are many ways."

-"I think I have enough enemies as it is so, I sure as hell won't add more to the list" Lena replied raising her voice a little. This conversation wasn't going anywhere and has taken too much of her precious time already. "Plus, I met the girl at the CatCo's photoshoot, she's armless. Unless you're a buffet" Lena smiled involuntary at the memory. She picked up the CatCo magazine on her desk and handed it to her mother to make it clear to Lillian that this meeting needed to end.

-"I knew you hadn't it in you to run an empire. You don't have what it takes" Lillian spat angrily, snatching the magazine from her daughter's hand harshly.

-"Oh you mean unlike Lex ? Lena stroke back. "Look where that got him."

-"He just hasn't been careful enough, just like you are right now" Lillian said in a warning tone, trying to keep her calm. Lena closed her eyes and pinched her nose in exasperation.

-"Please mother, leave that app girl alone I have work to do." At Lena's great surprise, her mother took the hint this time.

-"Very well, I won't bother you for much longer." Lillian walked back toward the door but stopped herself before opening it. "Just know that I would rather die than let your father's company turn into dust." She opened the door.

-"Mm mm" Lena wasn't paying attention to her mother anymore, this conversation had already lasted too long for her liking. She reopened the file she was reading before her mother interrupted her and didn't look up from it until Lillian was gone.

*
**

-"You're sure she's not mad ?" Kara asked James unsure, as they were entering the gym.

-"I'm sure" James replied, holding the door for her friend. "You did great."

-"I don't know, she didn't say anything when she saw the cover the other day and you know that's weird coming from Alex" Kara continued, still not convinced.

-"Hey, I was there remember ? James reminded Kara. "If I thought you did bad I would have told you and more importantly, I would have helped you fix it." He squeezed her shoulder affectionately. "The photo is great, trust me."

-"Yeah, you're probably right." Kara smiled. "Thank you James."

-"See you on the ring." He winked at her and entered the men's changing room.

Kara walked to the women's locker room. She dropped her red and blue sport bag in the first bench available and started changing. She really liked boxing with James. They started back when Kara was still in middle school. At the time, her parents were desperate to canalize her overflowing energy and boxing was the only thing that could do the trick and that Kara actually enjoyed. She tried training with girls but they were too scared of her. In fact, despite Kara's kindness and adorable face, her punches were very strong, sending countless of opponents in the ropes when they didn't simply pass out from the shock. With guys, that was another problem. Once they had been beaten by a girl, their pride prevented them from trying again. James was the only one who didn't care about this male ego thing and had the gauge to take Kara's punches.

When Kara exited the locker's room, she spotted James waiting for her next to the boxing ring. She started to walk toward him when a young man, approximately her age who was punching a red sandbag, turned to his friends and said loudly, looking at Kara : "I come here precisely to avoid my herd of fangirls and I still manage to run into one." He smiled at Kara cockily while his friend were laughing like idiots.

-"I can't be one if I don't even know who you are" Kara said calmly and continued walking until she reached James.

-"OMG she doesn't know who you are" one man from the group whispered loudly.

-"Girls and sports right ?" Another added, eliciting another round of laughing from the group.

-"Who are you supposed to be then ? A professional boxer ?" Kara asked, clearly not impressed.

-"Almost. Soccer player" the supposedly famous guy answered, smirking.

-"In this case, go back to your sandbag, I prefer training with my friend here" Kara designated James with her thumb, "he knows a minimum about boxing." She got on the ring while James moved the ropes apart for her.

-"So ? Maybe I know one thing or two about boxing too" the man spoke again. James sighed, exasperated. Some guys can't take "no" for an answer.

-"Okay" Kara replied. "Let's see how long you last" she added smirking. She put her mouth guard and her gloves on and motioned to the arrogant guy to join her. Encouraged by his friend shouting "ooooohhh" at Kara's challenge, the soccer player jogged toward the ring.

-"Don't kill him" James said to Kara, smiling but only half kidding.

Kara replied by winking at James. It wasn't easy to speak with a mouth guard. She then turned to the man who had finally got onto the ring. His cocked smile was more like a grimace now. After witnessing the little exchange between Kara and James, he wasn't sure if provoking the pretty girl to get her attention was a good idea. Especially when she was looking at him with her eyes that seemed to scream murder at him. He took a deep breath and got into position with his gloved hands raised at each side of his head.

-"Whenever you're ready" he said, hoping nobody noticed his voice being a little shaky.

By way of a response, Kara put herself into position and started walking toward him. Smirking. They started to circle around on the ring, sizing each other up. Kara attacked first. They exchanged a few punches. Thanks to his soccer training, the man was quick on his feet so he managed to step back or aside to avoid most of Kara's fists. He tried to hit Kara but his attempts kept cutting through the air or touching the most easy and least sensitive places : arms, abs, tights. Plus, as he was continually putting all of his weight back to avoid Kara's attacks, his punches had no strength.

This is going to be easy Kara thought as she easily dodged another punch from her opponent. The man was clearly an amateur. So, she decided to end this poor imitation of a fight quickly so she could go back to train properly with James. Now that she was a CEO of a fast growing company, she didn't have much time to distract herself and this soccer player was making her loose her precious time.

Let's end this.

Kara moved faster than she did until now and pretended to throw a punch at his stomach with her right fist. Predictably, his opponent's reflex made him lower both of his hands to protect himself. As he was still lowering his arms, Kara moved her left leg forward, bringing all of her weight with her, and throw a left uppercut in his now unprotected jaw. The blow was so strong that his feet lifted from the ground for a few inches before he fell unconscious on the floor. James winced as the soccer player's body hit the ground in a soft thud.

-"Kara..." he whined. "I said don't kill him." Kara took of her gloves and her mouth guard under the stunned gaze of her opponent's friends. Nobody dared to make a move toward their friend.

-"He's fine" Kara said to James calmly. "Just a little groggy". She poured some water from her bottle on her towel and went to wring it above the soccer player's head.

-"Hey, wake up" she said, nudging him with her foot.

After the soccer player had woken up, Kara had helped him sit on a bench and apologized for knocking him out.

-"It's me who must apologize, I shouldn't have underestimated you."

He then explained to Kara that he's name is Mike Daxam and that he trains from time to time in the gym to develop his upper body because football meanly build muscles in the legs. He had changed the gyms he goes to several times already because his fans eventually spots him and start waiting for him which annoys him.

After Mike felt well enough, he went to exercise on the machines with his teammates again, but not before giving his number to Kara and saying to her that he hoped she would have dinner with him.

-"Are you going to say yes ?" James asked Kara, frowning at Mike's retreating form.

-"I think so".

James sighed, still frowning. "What ?" Kara protested. "He apologized and he's cute. I think he deserves a second chance."

-"Ok, but I don't like him" James replied, crossing his arms.

-"Right. You can tell me all about it after I kick your ass" Kara said playfully and got onto the ring again.

Chapter Text

Kara was sleeping soundly in her bed when her phone rang. She extended her hand to turn her alarm off but halted herself when she noticed that it wasn't her usual ringtone. Someone was waking her up before her alarm clock. If she was honest, it shouldn't be that surprising. Being her own employer, her waking hour could be considered a little late compared to most people with jobs, but still. She hated it when it happened. Kara growled and answered before even looking at the caller's ID.

-"What ?"

-"Hey, it's Winn. We have a problem."

-"So ? You can't fix it on your own ? Kara asked exasperated.

-"I think I can but I had to call you first, this is huge Kara, we've been hacked !"

-"What ? How... What did they do ? Kara tried to process as she sat up abruptly on her bed.

-"I came to the building early because I wanted to work ahead on the project we've been talking last week, but when I started up the computer, there was nothing. All the data, gone. Must be some kind of computer virus"

-"Wait, so... all our work is lost ? Kara inquired, her voice barely above a whisper.

-"Not really. I always keep backups at home" Winn reassured her. "I'm going to my place now and I'll come back to reinstall everything."

-"Thank you Winn, you're the best !" Kara exclaimed relived.

-"No problem Kar'." She was about to thank Winn and end the call when she realized something.

-"Wait, if you have everything under control, why call me ?

-"Because..." Winn started to reply, wondering if Kara was really expecting an answer from him. "When something that huge happens, you call the boss before doing anything else." At Kara's silence, he understood that she genuinely had no clue so he finished : "Kara, I don't know if you're aware of this, or maybe you haven't fully processed it yet but, you're the boss."

Maybe being the CEO of her own company had its perks like personalized working hours but Kara was now just beginning to see the downsides as well. Responsibility had never sounded so unpleasant.

-"Yeah. Thank you Winn. See you at work."

*
**

After Winn's call, Kara went to Krypton Enterprise. She decided to rummage in the pile of resumes she had received while waiting for Winn to come back with the precious backups. Even if the Krypton App was a huge success, Kara didn't like to rest on her laurels. More than that, she loved to imagine, test new things, create. She had always been curious when she was little and if it was one thing she was sure would never change about her, it was that. She had thought about a new accessory for her app last week but this time, her biology expertise and Winn's IT programming skills wouldn't be enough. She needed a bio-engineer.

After a couple of hours, Winn was back.

-"Sorry it took this long, I had some trouble finding everything" Winn apologized, entering their office with a box full of hard-drives in his arms.

-"Don't worry, what matters is that we can get all of our data back now" Kara replied. "Do you think you can trace back who hacked us ?" she then added, her brow furrowed in concern.

-"Of course ! he answered, puffing his chest proudly. "It's actually the first thing on my list." He paused. "After reinstalling all of this" he sighted, looking at the loads of hard-drives.

-"Great !" Kara said enthusiastically. "Text me as soon as you find something." She took her trench coat from the rack and picked up her handbag.

-"Where are you going ?" Winn asked quickly. He had long hours of programming before him and he could have used the company.

-"I promised Mike that I would have lunch with him after his practice. I won't be too long."

-"Mike ? You didn't tell me anything about a new guy !" Winn exclaimed, feigning hurt.

-"That's because I only met him yesterday at the gym" Kara explained but Winn just let out a "um" and crossed his arms.

-"I will tell you all about him when I get back ok ?" Kara said to stop Winn's pouting. "For now, I don't know anything about him except that he's a professional soccer player."

-"What ?" Winn shouted suddenly, making Kara jump. "What did you say his name was again ?" Winn asked, remembering it perfectly but wanting to be sure before supposing anything.

-"Mike" Kara answered simply.

-"He wouldn't be Mike Daxam by any chance ?" Winn asked slowly, his eyes growing wide.

-"Yes that's it !" Kara replied. She remembered that his name was unusual but nothing more.

-"Oh. My. God" Winn said, putting his hands in front of his mouth in shock. "One mention of your name in Forbes and you're already dating a sports superstar ! James is right, you're truly a genius" he added, looking at Kara as if she was a goddess.

-"You know what ? Maybe you should go on this date. The guy has clearly quite the effect on you" she teased him, smirking.

-"Me ? Yeah ! I mean, no, no, I just, I'm a ladies' man you know that, Kara..." Winn tried to explain his outburst but Kara had already excited the office laughing.

*
**

The next day, when Kara arrived at Krypton Enterprise, Alex and Winn were already there.

-"Hey guys, what's up ?" Kara greeted them, hanging her coat on the rack.

-"Winn is trying to locate the source of the hacking right now" Alex explained. "And you ? How it is going with your new project ?"

-"I have trouble finding an engineer with the skills I need" Kara replied, plopping down on her chair ungraciously.

-"Maybe if you weren't going around interviewing soccer players you would find someone qualified soon" Alex said, smirking and making Winn snicker behind his computer.

-"Winn !" Kara shouted. She couldn't believe her best friend had rattled her to her older sister in less than a day.

-"I didn't said anything !" Winn defended himself.

-"He didn't have too" Alex intervened, putting her phone in front of Kara's face, showing her a picture of Mike and Kara eating at a restaurant.

-"What ?" Kara exclaimed, surprised. "Are you following me ?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at her sister in mistrust.

-"No, but some journalist did apparently" Alex answered, putting her phone back in her pocket.

-"Argh !" Kara groaned, leaning on her elbows and burying her face in her hands. "First the hacking and now that ? Can't people leave me alone one second ?" She sighed, resting her head on her hands. "I'm just a nerd, I'm not that interesting."

-"You may be a nerd but you're also the CEO of a successful company now" Alex started to say, "so I'm afraid that this kind of things will keep happening to you in the future."

-"For what it's worth, I'm proud of you" Winn intervened solemnly, making both women look at him questioningly. "Your first Page 6" he then added, his eyes all teary. Kara rolled her eyes while Alex slapped him at the back of his head.

-"Don't you have some tracking to do ?"

*
**

Half an hour later, Winn obtained a result.

-"There it is !" he shouted triumphantly, leaping out of his chair. "The source is a computer at..." He paused for dramatic effect, which made both women roll their eyes at the same time.

-"LCorp !" he finished, pointing both of his index finger at the screen.

-"LCorp ? Kara asked confused. "Why would they..."

-"Doesn't matter" Alex interrupted. "Winn, print all the information you found : time, IP address, etc"

-"Yes madam'" Winn replied with a military salute and started executing himself immediately. Meanwhile, Alex took her leather jacket she had left on Winn's chair and put it on. Then, Winn handed her the paper with all the information.

-"I'm going to take care of this right away." Alex said, taking the paper and looking at Kara to assure her that she could count on her big sister.

-"Wow !" Winn said at Alex's words. "You're not going to do something... drastic ?" he asked wondering if he would like the answer.

-"Like what ?" Alex inquired, having absolutely no idea about what Winn was talking about.

-"Hum, like, hurting someone ?"

-"What ? Who do you think I am ?" she asked him incredulously. "A secret agent or something ?"

-"No ! I just..." Winn replied lifting his hands up in surrender. "Wait, are you ?" he then added, squinting his eyes at Alex suspiciously. The older Danvers just rolled her eyes at him.

-"Winn, turn down your conspiracy theories for now, I'm just going to the police station so they start investigating LCorp. This is attempted sabotage."

In the meantime, Kara hadn't moved a muscle. She was still wondering why LCorp would do something like that to her. She was just a 24 years old who launched a trending app. The antonym of threatening.

-"Wait !" Kara shouted, grabbing Alex by her wrist as the older sister passed by Kara. "No need to go to the police."

-"The sooner we take care of this, the better, Kara" Alex stated and tried to leave the room again but Kara stopped her.

-"I think we shouldn't go to the police just yet."

-"And why not ?" Alex said a little exasperated.

-"I don't know, this whole thing doesn't make sense" Kara explained, "maybe we should go to LCorp and see what's going on before dragging the police into it."

-"Kara, it's the police's job to investigate, not ours" Alex replied swiftly, crossing her arms as a sign of her growing impatience.

-"I know but I want to try this" Kara insisted. "Please Alex trust me on this one." As Alex was still deciding if she should let her little sister handle this issue on her own, Kara picked up her trench coat on the rack and added : "If I don't get any result or if some of our data is leaked in the meantime, you go to the police ok ?"

After a few seconds that felt like minutes to Kara, her sister finally unfolded her arms and sighed :

-"Fine."

And with that, Kara was gone.

*
**

When Kara arrived in front of the L Corp building she got struck by how tall it was. This concrete monster must have at least thirty floors, Kara thought, impressed. She couldn't help to feel a little intimidated either, comparing the huge L Corp building with her sixth floor in the little multi-company structure located at the town's limit.

When Kara finally got rid of her initial stupor, she entered the building, which did nothing to ease her stress. The inside was as impressive as the exterior. While Kara was still gaping at the ceiling height, she was pushed around several times by employees in a hurry. The place was buzzing with so many people often with their nose buried in a file or their mind absorbed by a phone conversation that they failed to notice Kara in time to avoid her.

At least, Kara finally located the reception desk and pushed her way towards it, trying not to bump into anyone in the process.

-"Hi" Kara greeted the receptionist, a little out of breath from all the dodging.

-"Hello. What can I do for you ?" the young man asked smiling.

-"I would like to talk to Lena Luthor please."

-"At what time is your appointment Miss..."

-"Danvers. And I... uh... don't have an appointment" she admitted guiltily.

-"In this case there's nothing I can do for you Miss", the receptionist apologized shaking his head. "Miss Luthor doesn't see anyone outside of scheduled visits, I'm sorry."

-"You don't understand" Kara tried again, adjusting her glasses nervously, "I have to see her now". The receptionist shook his head no again. "It's important !" Kara said, raising her voice.

-"Miss, I'll ask you to leave now" the young man replied sternly, looking at the growing line behind Kara. She was wasting his time.

-"NO !" Kara all but shouted, making the receptionist push his chair back a little. She cleared her throat, trying to calm down. "I had all my data stolen by someone in this building and I'm not leaving until your boss gives me some explanation, is that clear ?" she finished, starting to feel exasperated.

The receptionist gulped nervously. Kara's outburst has drawn a lot of unwanted attention judging by the people now looking at them, trying to understand what was going on. The receptionist valued his job so he couldn't let this girl shouting what must be a false accusation all around the great hall but at the same time, she seemed determined to stay until she got some kind of answer.

-"Wait a moment please, I'm going to check this with my colleague" the young man said, his voice quivering slightly. In his defense, Kara did look a little frightening right now, half hunched over the counter with her eyes boring into his menacingly. He took the desk phone quickly. Jess would know what to do.

-"Jess ? There a Miss Danvers at the reception desk who claims to have been hacked by L Corp and want to see the boss." He glanced at Kara's and noticed that she still supported the murderous look in her eyes. So he picked the phone up and took it as far away as the wire could allow him to go before adding in a hushed tone : "I tried to make her leave but she refuses categorically. What do I do ?"

-"Send her to me" his co-worker replied matter-of-factly. He glanced swiftly at Kara again. Oh my God does she even blink ?

-"Are you sure ?"

-"You would rather she tells her story to the police, or worse, the press ?"

-"Ok, I'll send her in right away." The receptionist put the phone down slowly and took a deep breath before turning to face Kara again.

-"Miss Luthor's assistant asked me to let you up while she tries to fit you in between two appointments."

-"Thank you" Kara said smiling. She regretted to have lost her temper for a short time, especially seeing how the young man couldn't look her in the eye anymore, but she couldn't come back empty-handed. Alex's lack of trust in her little sister's judgment was pretty high already.

-"There. Take the elevator to the top floor." The receptionist said, holding a visitor badge with the tips of his thumb and index finger, his hand shaking lightly.

-"Thanks" Kara replied, snatching the badge at the speed of light. "Have a good day !" she then threw over her shoulder at the receptionist who couldn't shake the feeling that he just lived a near-death experience.
The elevator was so crowded, Kara was having difficulty to breathe. She still managed to reach the top floor button and press it. This attracted some curious look form the other people in the elevator but Kara thought none of it. The ride was taking forever. People came and went at almost every floor and the elevator was still crowded, but as they reached the last but one floor, Kara found herself alone. Now she wondered if that was why people had looked at her curiously earlier. Maybe I didn't hear the receptionist well, maybe the last floor is closed for repairs or something Kara thought when the "ding" of the elevator brought her back to earth.

When Kara exited the elevator, her stress got back full strength. There was only a long hallway and at the end of it, a miniature replica of the reception desk from the great hall downstairs. Kara then understood why nobody else got off the elevator with her. Lena Luthor's office was the only one on this floor. The whole of Krypton Enterprise could fit on this floor Kara thought nervously. She was definitely not in college anymore. This was the big leagues. Maybe I should have let Alex handle this. No. I made it this far, I can't chicken out now. But as Kara was walking toward the assistant's desk, she couldn't help but feel like a fish in shark waters, waiting to know which one of Krypton Enterprise or L Corp was going to feast or be eaten.

*
**

Lena was studying projects proposals from her research department to asses which ones deserved to be pushed forward or abandoned when her personal assistant, Jess, called her :

-"Miss Luthor ? Miss Danvers from Krypton Enterprise is here. She has proof that her company suffered some kind of computing sabotage and I thought you would like to deal with this matter personally, so should I sent her in or do you want to come out here ?"

At her assistant's words, Lena arched a brow in curiosity. The name didn't ring a bell but mostly, it would be the first time ever that someone would confront a Luthor directly and not through the medias. Despite the amount of work she still had ahead of her, Lena decided to take care of this unexpected incident right away.

-"Send her in" she told Jess from her intercom.

When Kara entered the office, Lena recognized her from the CatCo photoshoot and stood up to great her but the blonde beat her to it with an avalanche of words :

-"Hi, I don't know if you remember me, I'm Kara Danvers, we met at the..."

-"CatCo photoshoot" Lena finished smiling. "Yes I remember" she added offering her hand. Kara took it and they shook hands over the Luthor's imposing desk.

While Lena winced internally at Kara's firm grip, the Krypton's CEO took a quick look around. The place was huge. In addition to the impressive desk, there was a white couch, a large glass coffee table and, last but not least, a balcony with one of the best view of National City. All of this reminded Kara of the tiny office she shared with Winn which made her insecure again. She started fidgeting with her glasses, a nervous habit from her childhood she never got rid of, while wondering how to address the hacking without sounding too accusatory.

-"So, my assistant told me your company has been hacked by L Corp ?" Lena inquired, massaging her right hand discreetly.

-"Yes. All the data from our computers has been erased and my IT programmer was able to track back the hacking to your building" Kara replied, shoving her hands in the pocket of her chino pants to stop herself from fidgeting with her glasses.

-"I'm sorry. I hope there's not too much damage done" Lena apologized wondering who could have done that. There was absolutely no interest for L Corp to do that. Quite the contrary.

-"Nothing that can't be fixed, don't worry" Kara dismissed with a wave of her hand. "I came here to give you this" she added, reaching for Winn's paper in her pocket. "These are the IP address used for the hacking along with the day and time of its occurrence" she said, unfolding the paper and handing it to Lena.

-"It definitely comes from a L Corp computer" Lena stated, reading the information.

-"I thought that you would like to track down whoever did this within your company and take the disciplinary action that you see fit rather than drag the police into this and make the headlines for nothing."

-"It's... very thoughtful of you" Lena stammered uneasy. This was the second time that Kara surprised her. Lot of people would have jumped on the occasion to tarnish the Luthor name once more with a golden proof like that. "Thank you" she added and meant it.

-"No problem, us women CEOs gotta stick together, right ?" Kara replied laughing lightly. She was so glad to have resolved this issue on her own. Alex will have to get off her back now.

Once Kara was gone, Lena decided to investigate. After a few minutes of research she discovered which computer was used for the sabotage and checked the security camera footage. Lena didn't know every L Corp employee by name nor by sight but she was certain she hadn't seen this man with "Corben" written on his name tag before. She verified the employees register and didn't found him. That meant only one thing : her mother had given him her pass to access the building and the computer room. Seems like she did good on her promise to make the first move to show Krypton Enterprise who's the boss. Lena sighed. Apparently, she would have to speak to her mother for the second time this week, which was two too many.

Chapter Text

The next day, Lena went to work as usual. She entered her office after greeting Jess, fixed herself a cup of coffee and prepared to pursue her morning routine with her traditional press review when something caught her eye. The paper supporting the evidence of her mother's latest mischief was still on her desk, exactly where Lena had left it the night before. At the time she was too exhausted to confront her mother, even on the phone, so she had decided to postpone it to this morning. But as Lena stared at her phone desk with a disgusted face, she felt her resolve slipping away once more. She sighed and went to sit on her couch, picking up today's newspaper on the way.

After a few minutes of reading, Lena had to face the fact that she couldn't concentrate. She kept replaying her last encounter with the CEO of Krypton Enterprise in her head. She had to admit that the App Girl, as she liked to call her, had impressed her. For someone who was still so new to this world of big corporations, she had handled her first intimidation pretty well. The whole thing had awaken Lena's curiosity and like any good scientist, when something picked her interest, she studied it. Lena stood up suddenly, her mind already set up on her next task. She discarded the paper on the coffee table without checking if it had indeed made it there or fell on the floor and went to sit on her desk. She opened her laptop and typed "Kara Danvers" on the search bar.

After one hour of intensive research, including some app testing, Lena came to the conclusion that the work of Krypton Enterprise's CEO was really interesting and had great potential. She was about to close her browser and call her mother so she could finally start on her work for the day when she saw the newly added job advertisement on the Krypton Enterprise's website.

What a funny coincidence Lena thought as a new idea popped in her mind. Her conversation with her mother would have to wait. What a pity. However, before doing anything, Lena needed some advice so she decided to call her best friend.

*
**

After looking for her ringing phone for a full minute, Veronica Sinclair finally located it inside her oversized purse :

-"Yes ?" she asked a little out of breath from the frantic search.

-"Hi Vero, are you busy ?" Lena asked, frowning at her friend slight panting.

-"Sort of" her friend replied with what seemed to be a full mouth while some rustling could be heard in the back.

-"Please, don't tell me you're doing what I think you're doing"

-"And what do you think I'm doing exactly ?" Veronica said teasingly and Lena could hear the crooked smile in her friend's voice.

-"Alright, let me rephrase that" Lena replied, rubbing her forehead hoping her unpredictable and wild friend wasn't in the middle of some sexfest. "Are you alone ? I need your advice on something."

-"Not really, I'm at an art opening but it's so awful even their wonderful champagne can't make me stay. The olives aren't that bad though." Lena sighed in relief. "Wait a second, I'm going out" Veronica added as the soft rustling that could be heard in the back was suddenly replaced by the familiar sound of traffic. "So ? What's going on ?"

-"I'm going to do something crazy and I need you to stop me".

-"Something crazy ? And you call me ?" Veronica busted out laughing and Lena soon joined her. She hadn't realized how absurd it sounded until her friend pointed it out. Veronica wasn't known for her common sense and wisdom.

-"More seriously, you remember App Girl ?" Lena asked after recovering from their shared laugh.

-"The blonde who wolfed down the buffet at the CatCo photoshoot ?

-"Yes, that's the one. I don't know why but my mother decided she was LCorp's greatest nemesis, so, long story short, I googled her and it turns out, her work is really interesting".

-"Ok, and ? What's your crazy idea ?" Veronica interrupted. She was getting bored, business talk has never been her thing.

-"Well, the thing is that I would like to work with her but I'm quite sure my mother is going to kill me." At that, Veronica's interested rose again.

-"Ok, you know how much I hate your mother right ?" she said to her CEO friend, smiling. "So of course my response is going to be : hell yes go for it !"

-"Yeah but, you know how hard I worked to turn Luthor Corp into LCorp ?" Lena pointed out, starting to doubt herself . "The last thing I need right now is to fight with my mother again after we reached that semblance of peaceful coexistence."

-"Do you really think you would make a great collaboration you and App Girl ?" Veronica asked, serious for the first time since she answered her friend's call.

-"Yes. She makes quality work." Lena replied without a moment of hesitation.

-"So do it. Don't let your fear of Lilian's reaction ruin a great professional opportunity. You know she's just waiting for you to screw up to prove that Lex was better than you and make you feel bad. Your position as CEO of L Corp wasn't handed to you, you worked your ass off to make it there so you decide what to do, not her."

-"Thanks Vero, I knew I could count on you."

-"Anytime."

*
**

Kara was standing before the L Corp building once again. It wasn't less impressive the second time but at least today she had an appointment. As Kara pushed the front door open, she thought back to her phone conversation with Lena Luthor. When the CEO of LCorp had called her earlier, she immediately assumed it was to apologize for the hacking again but she couldn't have been more mistaken. Apparently, Lena thought that Kara's work was very interesting and that if Krypton Enterprise was still looking for a bio-engineer, LCorp would like to offer the use of its facilities and expertise in exchange of a percentage on the future sales.

So Kara found herself in the suffocating elevator again, wondering how a big corporation like LCorp could be interested in her little start up. She had been looking for a freshly graduated and self-employed bio-engineer to pay the lowest salary possible. She hadn't even considered reaching to well known companies because she knew a lot of people does it and so she would probably have received her answer months later if not any answer at all. This was a great opportunity so, of course, Kara had agreed to discuss her project with Lena and visit the LCorp equipments.

Jess announced Kara's arrival on her intercom and soon, the CEO of L Corp exited her office and greeted her guest. Lena was glad the blonde didn't crush her hand this time even if Kara's grip was still strong. She should slow down her bodybuilding Lena thought after withdrawing her hand, but then glancing at Kara's biceps, she decided it would be a shame not to maintain those in shape.

Kara couldn't help but notice that Lena was dressed in the same style she has at the CatCo photoshoot : a classy slim waist dress, high heels and hair perfectly done. Kara's brow furrowed slightly in confusion. She never really understood the need to dress up for work anyway. When it comes to work, Kara always chose comfortable above everything else, like now with her polo shirt, kakis and loafers. If it were entirely up to her, Kara would spent most days at the office in sweat pants, t-shirt and sneakers but Alex made it clear that she couldn't do that. Apparently, she had to dress for the job or people would mistake her for the daughter of one of her employees instead of the CEO that she actually is. So, Kara felt a little under dressed but the feeling faded quickly. It wasn't like she wasn't enjoying the view of a very dressed up Lena after all.

*
**

Lena took Kara to the home therapy aisle first, thinking that it was the one that would interest the blonde most according to her research on Krypton's work. Lena was feeling nervous while Kara started examining the latest LCorp designs. The Luthor had made sure before inviting Kara in, that her mother wouldn't be in the building for the day, but Lena couldn't help the anxious feeling that made her head turn to the door every time someone entered the lab. Soon however, all thoughts about her mother vanished as she watched her guest moving from workshop to workshop like a child in a toy store. The CEO of Krypton Enterprise was totally ecstatic, peppering the LCorp staff with questions when she wasn't leaning over them to get a closer look at their work. The scientists didn't scold Kara though, they were very aware of the presence of Lena in the room but that wasn't the only reason. From now on, this day will be marked in red ink on L Corp's calendars : the day the Boss smiled.

Lena wasn't aware that she was smiling as she watched her guest discover Lena's favorite lab. It was so refreshing to see someone actually enjoying and admiring her work for once. The old men of her council board were only interested in money, her mother in reputation and her best friend Veronica would support her to the end of the world but couldn't be more clueless about science. Meanwhile, there was this girl, enjoying herself immensely, calling every equipment by its name, even the most recent ones, asking questions on the latest studies published and techniques the lab assistants used.

-"Liking what you see ?" Lena asked, the amusement clear in her voice.

-"Yes ! This place is amazing !" Kara all but squealed. She took one last look at the whole room and sighed : "I wish I had a lab like that".

-"Well, you could use it if we work together" Lena answered, smirking.

-"Yeah about that..." Kara said, clearing her throat and adjusting her glasses nervously. She could talk about science all day but the truth was that she was very awkward whenever she had to handle a crow or a professional meeting. "It wouldn't be more interesting for you to collaborate with someone... you know... on bigger project ?" Seeing how the CEO of L Corp was frowning, Kara understood that she needed to be clearer or at least, finish her sentences. She took a deep breath and decided to focus on what was really intriguing her. "What I mean is... you can do so much with all this so... why me ?" she finally managed to ask.

-"As you know, I recently gave a new direction to my family company so I want to expend the scope of activities with people who share my vision and, from what I saw of your work, it seems you do" Lena replied, omitting deliberately the part where her mother's paranoia actually made her look into Kara's work in the first place.

-"Oh, uh, why do I sense a "but" here ?" Kara inquired, putting her hands in the pockets of her kakis to stop fidgeting.

-"Well, my decision will depend on what project you have. Your job advertisement said you were looking for a bio-engineer but not for what purpose".

-"Ah yes ! The project !" Kara exclaimed, suddenly remembering why she had come to LCorp in the first place. Her hyperactivity and her love for science didn't make her the most focused person in the world, far from it.

-"I was thinking about something to help diabetic people" she started to explain as she reached for the file in her bag, only to discover that she had forgotten it at her office.

-"I designed an artificial pancreas which will be strap to the patient belly and measure the level of glycemia" she continued, walking over a desk and rummaged through the blue prints that were sprawled on it to retrieve a notebook she had spotted earlier.

-"Then, the information will be send to the patient's smartphone via Bluetooth and the phone will define the volume of insulin the pump will have to inject to the patient" she went on as Lena followed as fast as her high heels could allow her to.

-"I already have a prototype for the measuring device and my coworker is already typing a code to make the phone calculate the volume of insulin needed" Kara said while sketching furiously on the notepad.

-"It's with the pump that I'm having trouble. It needs to be small, light, easy to use and transport, and I don't have enough expertise in nano bio tech to make one" she finished, looking at Lena expectantly.

-"I see..." Lena said, her brow furrowed in concentration while she examined Kara's sketches intently. "May I ?" she suddenly asked, holding her hand out. Kara put her pen in Lena's hand quickly. "If the insulin injection is controlled by the phone's calculations, the pump should work in a similar way to a catheter" Lena continued, starting to sketch in her turn.

The two women were so engrossed in their project talk that they both lost track of time until Kara spotted the late hour on Lena's watch as the later was pointing something on one of her sketches.

-"Wow, it's late !" Kara exclaimed and picked her bag up from the floor. She was going to be late for game night.

-"It is" Lena agreed as she checked the time on her watch as well. She frowned. That kind of thing hadn't happened to her in a long time.

-"Well, thanks again for the invitation" Kara said, extending her hand to Lena.

-"I'm glad you liked it. I look forward to your answer" Lena replied, shaking Kara's hand with both of hers.

*
**

-"I'm heeeeere !" Kara yelled as she entered her apartment and saw that everybody had already arrived.

-"You're actually just in time" Alex said smiling. "We were just about to order the pizzas."

-"It's like she can smell food miles away" James pointed out laughing.

-"If you were Batman, your bat signal would be a giant pizza in the sky" Winn added and busted out laughing with Kara close behind.

-"Geeks" Alex said fondly, as she dialled the delivery pizza's number.

-"We will take a Regina" Mike said to Alex, motioning to himself and Kara.

At that, everybody in the room froze. Alex glanced at Kara questioningly, Maggie cringing slightly next to her, Lucy tightened her grip on James's bicep and Winn just sat on the stool, his mouth agape.

-"What ?" Mike asked the room, confused.
-"Nothing, it's just that I usually order a whole pizza for myself" Kara explained. It didn't surprised her that Mike thought they would share the food. Most girls don't have her great appetite.

-"Oh, so we'll take two Regina then" he said to Alex, holding up two fingers in front of her.

This time, Lucy was the one with her mouth agape, meanwhile James cleared his throat uncomfortably, Winn grimaced, Maggie cringed harder and Alex's eyebrows shot to her airline as she glanced at Kara once again. Everyone in Kara's entourage knew of her almost sacred relationship with food and that ordering for her was close to a criminal offense. But to everybody's surprise, Kara agreed and went to sit on the stool next to Winn.

She must be in a very good mood to let that one go Alex thought. But the soccer player had been awfully lucky too. If Mike would have ordered a pizza with pineapple on it, nothing could have saved him from Kara's wrath. Nothing.

-"So, where were you all afternoon ?" Lucy inquired as they were waiting for their order to arrive. "Winn was telling us earlier how you disappeared at the office after a mysterious phone call."

-"I met with a potential bio-engineer for my new project actually" Kara answered sipping her soda.

-"That's great !" Alex exclaimed proud of her sister. She knew how Kara had struggled the past few days to find someone who would fit the job. "Who is it ?"

-"Lena Luthor" Kara replied, grabbing a handful of chips in one of the bowl set on the counter and stuffing it in her mouth.

-"Whaaaaat ?" Winn yelled as he stood up abruptly from the stool he was previously slouched on. "You mean, Lena Luthor as in LCorp ?" At Kara's nod, he squealed. "Oh my God ! They have the best equipment ! And they totally have the capacity to do mass-production !"

-"I know !" Kara agreed and they both jumped excitedly under the others doubtful gaze.

-"Wait, please tell me you didn't say yes to anything already" Alex asked, concerned.

-"No, I'm not dumb" Kara answered, rolling her eyes exasperated. "You know I wouldn't sign anything without consulting with you first."

-"As you should" Alex commented, sipping her glass of red wine.

-"I just went to take a look around and see if the offer holds up" Kara continued, Winn listening intently. "I'm very tempted to take her offer" she finished and Winn hi-fived her with a loud "yes !"

Their hype died down quickly when they noticed that they were the only ones happy about the news.

-"What's with the long faces guys ?" Winn asked. "Kara just got a great offer !"
-"I think I speak for everyone here when I say that the problem is not the offer but who it comes from" Lucy pointed, eliciting nods of confirmation by James, Alex and Maggie.

-"Oh I get it !" Mike exclaimed suddenly. "I won't trust a big company like this if it was recently run by a woman too" he added laughing. Kara looked at him quizzically, while James and Alex simultaneously stopped their girlfriends from punching Mike.

-"Lucy's right" Alex said, choosing deliberately not to respond to Mike's misogynist comment. "I don't really like all the bad reputation that seems to follow the Luthor name everywhere".

-"Lena's different" Kara replied sighting. She then turned to Maggie : "You, as a forensic expert, know that she never did anything wrong."

-"It's true that in all the investigations involving the Luthors" Maggie started to replied "she's the only one that hasn't been found guilty of anything but..."

-"There was this hacking" Alex finished for her.

-"It wasn't her !" Kara yelled exasperated.

-"You don't know that" James remarked. "She could have ordered that guy the police arrested, Corben, to do it."

-"What ? You have no proof of that !" Kara exclaimed. "Plus, no damage was done and she took care of it. Can't we move on now ?" Kara replied angrily. Why nobody listen to me ? "I need some air" she added and left. Alex called after her but Kara closed the front door behind her. Alex was about to go after her little sister when Maggie asked to talk to her in Kara's room for a minute.

-"What is it Maggie ?" Alex asked a little harshly. She wanted to catch up with Kara fast.

-"I think you should cut Kara some slack" Maggie said gently.

-"Kara needs me" Alex answered. "She's my little sister, I have to protect her" she added and turned toward the exit.

-"I get it, believe me" Maggie replied while catching her girlfriend by the wrist and tugging at it gently to make Alex face her again. "But overprotecting won't prevent her from getting hurt. You can't stop everything that's coming at her" Maggie continued, taking both of Alex's hands in hers. "You have to let Kara takes her own decisions, make mistakes. That's how she will learn and grow stronger until she won't need her older sister anymore." At that, she smiled and Alex did too. "In the meantime, the best you can do is guide her and especially, be there and support her if things go wrong"

Alex sighed.

-"Thanks" she said and hugged Maggie, thanking silently whoever gave her a girlfriend this perfect.

-"You're welcome. Now, we can talk about the real problem here."

-"What problem ?" Alex asked, having no clue of what her girlfriend was talking about.

-"How long do you give Frat Boy until Kara dumps him ? I say two weeks." Alex snorted.

-"Two weeks ? No, Kara will have kicked his pretentious ass out in three days !" she added confidently.

-"Mmm... I don't think so. I know Little Danvers, she's too kind. She will try to fix this human garbage first, educate him for a while until she realize that he's a lost cause."

-"You're right. She would totally do that first." Alex gave it another thought. "Okay, ten days then."

-"Hey ! Too late !" Maggie exclaimed. "You said three days, no changing back !"

Alex rolled her eyes at her girlfriends antics, and went to join her sister. When she exited the building, she found Kara seated on the porch's stairs.

-"Hey" Alex greeted and sat next to her little sister. "I'm sorry about earlier. It wasn't the right way to go about it. I was only looking out for you."

-"You always have looked out for me" Kara replied warily. "But I'm not an awkward little girl anymore." She sighed. "Okay, still awkward but not defenseless." She added, making Alex laugh.

-"Yeah, but I will always be your big sister" Alex admitted. "That doesn't just suddenly change because last year you invented a revolutionary app."

-"When you decided to quit Mom's lab to help me build Krypton Enterprise without any experience in this field, I trusted you." She turned and looked directly at Alex's eyes. Why can't you do the same for me ?"

-"I... I know I have a lot to learn" Alex confessed. "I'll be better, I promise."

-"I need your faith Alex, more than my super high IQ, more than Winn's programming skills, more than anyone's."

Instead of answering, Alex hugged Kara tightly, wowing silently to be a better big sister for Kara.

Chapter Text

-"Your mother is here" Jess announced via the intercom.

Lena sighed. Of course a good day like this one couldn't stay like that. No trouble had been reported, the research department was on schedule and she had almost finished her activity report for the board so obviously, her mother chose this time to make an appearance like she had some sort of sensor.

-"Let her in" Lena answered hoping that her mother would be brief.

-"Hello" Lillian Luthor said, closing the door of Lena's office behind her.

-"Hello mother."

-"How things at LCorp are going ?" Lillian asked, trying to sound casual.

-"Drop the act, I know you're here to tell me something so shoot" Lena replied already exasperated by her mother's presence. For once, Lillian indulged her by cutting to the chase.

-"There are rumors of an incoming collaboration between L Corp and Krypton Enterprise and I just want to know if they are true" Lillian went on, playing with the petals of the white flowers on Lena's coffee table.

-"Rumors ?" Lena inquired, raising an eyebrow.

-"Some employees have seen the CEO of Krypton Enterprise wandering the labs yesterday."

-"Some employees huh ?" Lena laughed warily. "Why don't you just say that one of your minions is spying in my labs ? Like Corben ?" At that, her mother visibly tensed.

-"I don't know what you're talking about" she said quickly.

-"Sure" Lena replied, not buying her mother's words. "I know a stranger couldn't have pulled that one out without your all access pass." She was sure her mother had hired the guy to do her dirty job but Lena couldn't prove it which annoyed her greatly.

-"Still doesn't explain what that Krypton girl was doing in the building yesterday" Lillian redirected the conversation, turning fully to Lena and crossing her arms.

-"I proposed her a partnership" Lena admited. "There, satisfied ?"

-"Actually, no" Lillian answered sternly. "That's not how you stay leader in the medical equipment industry. No collaboration, we Luthors don't take prisoners, an empire must be ruled alone."

-"That's what I'm already doing" Lena said, starting to raise her voice. "I make my own decisions, which includes deciding who I want to work with." She stood up and crossed her arms. "It's you that keep meddling in my business."

-"I'm just trying to help" Lillian replied, raising her hands in mock surrender.

-"I don't need help. Especially yours." Lena turned her head toward her window to indicate that she was growing impatient, hoping that her mother would take the hint and leave like the last time she came. Unfortunately for her, this was not one of those times.

-"Really ?" Lillian asked, faking surprise. "It seems that LCorp has trouble finding source of funding for its future projects..."

-"Yes, and whose fault is that ?" Lena interrupted angrily, looking at her mother again. "The Luthor name fell into disgrace since Father and Lex's started having troubles with the law, not with me taking over." She pointed an accusatory finger at her mother : "and it was you who almost managed to sink the Luthor name in the polls further, if that's even possible, with your stupid sabotage attempt." She sighed, trying to calm down. "Thank God the Krypton's CEO was kind enough to settle it amicably and didn't use it to make the big titles."

-"Someone had to act" Lillian said, straightening herself. She always had trouble admitting that she's wrong. "At least I did something" she added, casting a reproachful look at her daughter.

-"Well, I'm acting now" Lena stated in a calm and steady voice, having regained her composure. "But this time we do it my way. A collaboration would bring in more than a war."

Lillian laughed hollowly.

-"You're jeopardizing the Luthor's legacy just to get back at me."

-"No matter what you think of me, I am a business woman" Lena defended herself, looking at her mother right in the eyes. "The profit and prosperity of my company is, and must be, my number one priority. I'm not marrying, I'm doing business so, mood compatibility and other emotional subtleties have no place here."

-"As long as you know what you're doing" Lillian said in a tone that demonstrated clearly that she didn't trust her daughter's abilities to run the family company.

-"I do" Lena replied firmly and without hesitation, even if Kara hadn't given her an answer yet. She couldn't show her insecurities to her mother, the woman was like a hyena. She would notice them right away and use them against her. Lena's fake confidence seemed to do the trick though, because Lillian finally said her goodbyes and left the office. The sweet relief that Lena felt at her mother's departure was quickly replaced by the anxiety of waiting for Kara's answer. The girl seemed to have been so enthusiastic about them working together when she had visited but Lena was still careful. She knew that even transforming the family company in a force for good and renaming it wouldn't make people forget about her cursed last name.

*
**

After a long day working with Winn on the new upgrade of the Krypton App, Kara was finally home. When she entered, she was greeted by her older sister.

-"Hey Genius. Ready for the mid-season finale ?" Alex asked, fetching a beer in Kara's fridge.

-"I was born ready" Kara answered excitedly.

When the Danvers sisters where only 8 and 10, they did a pact. No matter what may come between them, work, boyfriend, girlfriend, life, they would always stick together. So, even with their crazy schedules since the amazing success of Kara's app, the sisters always managed to make time for just the two of them. Tonight was one of those sisters night. They would watch the newest episode of one of their favorite TV show, the one with super heroes, and talk about anything.

-"I received a call earlier from a big sport brand" Alex said. "They want you to represent they woman sportswear collection this year. Would that be okay with you ?"

-"Why not ? Kara answered, getting a large bowl from the cupboard.

-"The thing is, they're offering a lot of money for this contract and if your upgrade turns out to be a huge success and I bet it will be, we'll need money to expend Krypton Enterprise, especially recruit new people for the customer service."

-"Okay, I'll do it" Kara replied. "I already survived a CatCo photoshoot, this will be a piece of cake" she finished laughing.

-"How's the upgrade going by the way ?" Alex inquired, turning on the TV.

-"Winn and I spent the whole day working on it, the parameters are almost all set. Winn thinks he can finish the encoding fast enough for us to test it in a few days."

-"That's great."

-"Yeah but, we won't know for sure if it will work until we test it with an insulin pump prototype which we're not close of having yet" Kara explained, sighting.

-"Hey, it's true what I said the other day" Alex said, looking at her little sister. "I'm going to be better at trusting you so, if you think that Lena Luthor is the best candidate, go for it."

-"Really ?" Kara asked quickly, her eyes lighting up with pure joy and excitement, like a puppy who was promised a walk in the snow.

"Yes, you have my scientific blessing" Alex joked and went to take another sip of her beer but was interrupted by a bone-crushing hug.

-"Thank you" Kara said before releasing her sister. "I'm calling Lena to tell her, you can make the pop corn in the meantime" she finished, retrieving her phone from the kitchen counter and heading to her room to make her call.

*
**

After her mother visit, Lena had gotten back to work. She had managed to achieve a great deal because she wanted to clear her schedule as much as possible to have time to work with Kara in case Krypton accepted the deal. However, even if she was quite satisfied of how things were going for LCorp since its introduction to the world, she needed to vent about her horrible mother to someone. That's why she was now seated at her favorite bar, nursing a glass of red wine while texting her friend Veronica to join her.

After a few minutes of playing at some silly game on her phone, Lena saw Veronica enter the bar which was a surprise. The CEO had supposed her friend would be at some art show or party like she always was.

-"Let me guess" Veronica said as soon as she laid her eyes on her friend. "Lillian."

-"Who else ?" Lena replied warily. "What are you having ?"

-"If we're going to talk about your fucked up family" Veronica said as she took a seat on the stool next to Lena, "just ask for the strongest thing they have here."

-"How come you responded to my invitation so quickly ?" Lena inquired while they were waiting for Veronica's drink. "You weren't supposed to be at a party or something ?"

-"An art conference but it was so boring I left early. Actually, it was so lame I didn't even try to ruin it with my usual cynical remarks mind you" Veronica replied, accepting her drink from the bartender eagerly.

-"How come ? You love to give your unwanted opinion !" Lena joked.

-"For starters, there was no alcohol !" Veronica stated dramatically like it was the worst thing in the world. "Can you imagine ?"

-"So what ?" Lena asked her friend snorting. "You had enough at your third diet coke ?"

-"No, you know I don't drink that shit" Veronica answered very seriously. "If they had proposed the white kind though, I may have stayed a little longer" she then added with a smirk, causing Lena to roll her eyes.

-"So," Veronica began more seriously. "What did she do this time ?"

Lena sighed. She didn't even know where to begin. She decided to just report her earlier conversation with her mother word for word when her phone went off. "I have to take this one" she explained to her friend when she saw that it was Kara calling her. She then went outside to not be disturbed by the bar's musical background and took the call.

A few minutes later, Lena came back inside with a huge smile on her face which awoke Veronica curiosity instantly. She looked at her friend with her eyebrows raised in question, waiting for an explanation of her friend sudden change of mood.

-"Why are you looking at me like that ?" Lena asked Veronica as she took her previous sit. "There something on my face ?"

-"Uh, yeah. A huge smile" Veronica replied. "Care to explain ?"

-"I'm in no mood for Luthor jokes right now Vero, please" Lena answered sighting.

-"I'm not joking !" Veronica defended herself quickly. She too was wary of the medias jokes about Lena's stone face and ice queen attitude but she had to admit that seeing the CEO with a true genuine smile like this one was still a rare occurrence.

-"It's just that, five minutes ago, you were the personification of depression and now you're all smiles and cheery" Veronica explained herself calmly. "If you weren't already one of the richest people of National City, I would say you look like you just won the lottery."

-"It was indeed good news" Lena replied, relaxing. "You remember when I told you that I wanted to work with Krypton Enterprise ?" Veronica nodded but she actually didn't know really what her friend was talking about. She could remember the party in high school where Lena got drunk for the first time in every detail and name all of Lena's ex-girlfriends in alphabetical order but talk to her about work and you'll lose her interest in a second.

-"Well, the CEO just accepted my deal so now I'm impatient to finally work on a project that I'm passionate about" Lena went on, the huge smile from before making an appearance on her face again.

-"Is there something more I should know ?" Veronica asked, convinced that there was more at stake that just contracts and numbers. Nobody could be so enthusiastic about work in Veronica's opinion.

-"No, why ?" Lena wondered, confused.

-"Well, you seem hella happy for a work project" Veronica pointed, doing air quotes with her fingers on the last two words.

-"It's strictly professional" Lena replied, frowning at her friend. "There's nothing between Kara and I."

-"Kara, huh ?" Veronica said in a tone that showed clearly that she didn't believe Lena at all. Even more now that the name rang a bell and she remembered their phone conversation about the blonde.

-"What now ?" Lena asked, starting to get frustrated.

-"It's not App Girl or Buffet Girl anymore, it's Kara" Veronica went on, dragging the last vowel on purpose. "Interesting..."

-"Stop it, you're not making any sense" Lena interrupted, reaching for her glass and raising it to her lips to distract herself from her friend scrutiny but failing miserably when she realized that it was empty.

-"Ok, ok, I stop" Veronica said laughing at Lena's failed attempt at being casual about her teasing.

-"Thank you" the CEO said relieved and motioned to the bartender to refill their drinks.

-"Though, now that I think about it" Veronica started after they toasted to Lena new closed deal, "you always had a thing for blondes."

At that, Lena just dropped her head into her hands groaning in defeat while Veronica burst out laughing. Lena should have known her teasing friend would never let go of the subject so easily.

Chapter Text

Lena was making some calculations for the insulin pump when a paper plane landed on her lab desk. She glanced quickly at it and noticed that something was written on it in blue ink :

I finished the design for the glucose measuring device - K

She sighed and glanced over at her lab partner seated across from her and currently aiming at a LCorp employee with a makeshift slingshot. Lena rolled her eyes and walked toward Kara's desk.

-"Why didn't you just tell me ?" Lena asked, her hands on her hips with an incredulous look on her face. "You're desk is literally five feet across from mine." Kara, who hadn't heard Lena approaching while concentrating on aiming, jumped on her chair which made her miss her target, the tiny paper ball landing somewhere in the middle of the room.

-"You looked so focused over there, I didn't want to disturb you" Kara replied simply as if a paper plane would be more discreet than just calling out somehow.

-"And what's your explanation for this ?" Lena asked then, pointing to the slingshot which seemed to have been made with random items from the lab.

-"This ?" Kara repeated innocently, hiding the weapon under a paper, "it's nothing."

Lena just raised a questioning eyebrow, she knew it would do the trick. Kara sighed, there was no way to deny that she had been busted in flagrante delicto of silliness. So, she leaned toward Lena, motioning to a man with her thumb and mumbled "I just wanted to make sure he's not a robot."

Lena almost laughed but she contained herself. She smiled instead and glanced at the LCorp employee currently working on his desk a few feet away from them. "What makes you think he's a robot ?" she asked curious.

-"He's so stoic and he almost never takes breaks" Kara answered, wide-eyed. This time Lena couldn't repressed a giggle.

They have been working non-stop for two weeks now in the LCorp lab to make a prototype of their project and the more time they spent together, the more Lena was glad she had chosen Kara for the project that would help launch LCorp into the medical field for good and make people forget about its sinister ancestor : Luthor Corp.

Because doing science with Kara was fun. Weird, but fun. It seemed that Kara couldn't focus long on something. She often interrupted her work to do push-ups and sit-ups in order to raise her heart rate and by doing so, promote the blood flow to the brain (her words). She would also suddenly go on errands for donuts or potstickers because the brain needs sugar to function (to which Lena agrees but at a lesser level). Her desk is a constant mess because she works on every part of the project at once. One minute she would be designing a piece and the next minute, she would add a line of calculation on a sheet of paper she hadn't touched for half an hour.

Lena though it was very odd but she didn't say anything about it because it did the trick. Kara had always the most interesting ideas and she was incredibly brilliant at what she did, but mostly, Lena didn't complain because for the first time, she was enjoying herself.

Despite coming from a family of scientists, science has always been about work and merit in Lena's youth, not about passion. Plus, as her parents had decided early on that Lex would be the one to inherit the family company, her dad had never bothered to take her visit the Luthor Corp's facilities or even make some experiments with her. Her mother, for her part, had forced her to focus on activities such as chess or ballet to enforce Lena's wit and posture because Lillian hadn't wanted her daughter to embarrass her anymore than taking care of her already did. So science, for Lena, had always been something she did alone and in secret. Now, she was working on something that will revolutionize the medical field while giggling like a high school girl at Kara's antics and geek's jokes.

-"Okay" Lena finally said, still smiling. "So, where is this design you wanted to show me ?"

*
**

When the prototypes of the measuring device and the insulin pump had been finished, Winn had programmed a smartphone with the upgraded app for testing. Everything was working as expected, so Lena had proposed that they all go to National City's annual scientific exhibition (NCASE) to promote their project before its official launching.

The NCASE was a famous event where the big names in the medical and pharmaceutical industries went to see the newest equipments, the latest techniques improvements and the most recent research and theories. For Lena, it was the perfect place if you wanted to find investors, suppliers and make free publicity.

So here they were, in National City's greatest exhibition hall, running among all the amazing booths like children. Well, Winn and Kara were, Lena was more like the overwhelmed mom. She had to take hold of her two overexcited collaborators soon or they will never reach their booth. Lena managed to grab Winn by the collar of his blazer before he got too far but Kara, faster, managed to escape. Lena sighted, defeated. She released Winn's collar and took his elbow instead, leading him toward their booth, hoping it wouldn't take too long for Kara to join them when she spotted a man eating a hot dog. A wicked smile appeared on the LCorp CEO's face as a plan formed in her head.

-"Winn, is there a buffet around here ?" she asked casually, still looking out for a blonde ponytail and a blue dress in the crow.

-"Uh..." Winn said, turning the exhibition's plan in his hands, "I don't think so..."

-"There's food ?" Kara interrupted, appearing suddenly out of nowhere, her eyes darting everywhere in search of something edible. Lena pressed her lips together to prevent herself from laughing. She hadn't been sure her idea would work but it seemed that Kara had some sort of super hearing when it comes to food.
-"Apparently not" Lena replied, trying to sound serious. "Let's go to our booth, maybe there's something there" she went on, hooking her free arm to Kara's elbow to make sure the blonde won't wander again.

When they finally reached their booth, Lena made a mental note to thank Jess. Luthor Corp, as a big company, always had a reserved spot at the NCASE but as the company was specialized in the study of deadly viruses and biological weapons then, its front was totally inappropriate for LCorp. Lena was glad Jess managed to get rid of the war imagery and came up with a purified and sober design, which brought out the LCorp and Krypton logos perfectly.

-"Remind me why we're stuck here again ?" Kara wined as Winn was installing their prototype and the powerpoint. She was not used to be on this side of a booth and it was starting to make her very nervous.

-"We're here because it's the perfect opportunity to show our future product to the scientific community firsthand to arouse interest and make more people come to the official presentation in two days at LCorp" Lena answered calmly, laying out the booklets on the counter. "Plus," she went on, emptying a peanuts bag in a bowl and placing it on the counter, "it's always a good thing to make ourselves known to practitioners because they're often the ones who recommend new treatments to their patients."

-"I don't... I don't really know how to talk to people" Kara admitted shyly, snatching a peanut from the bowl and chewing it nervously.

-"Don't worry, I'll help you" Lena reassured Kara, smiling. "After running a worldwide company for a year, I learned a few tricks that will hopefully get us through this day without a hitch and..." she continued, taking the bowl of peanuts again and placing it at the opposite end of the counter, far away from Kara, "this is for customers only."

*
**

Lena is awesome was what Kara thought after spending several hours observing the CEO of LCorp charm every wanderer that happened to pass by their booth. While Winn and Kara handled the scientific part, explaining how the devices worked and doing demonstrations, Lena was selling it with all she got. She threw killer arguments after killer arguments, telling professors how Krypton and LCorp will revolutionize the way diabetes is treated by giving more freedom to the sick and unclogging hospitals, then saying to doctors how they will change the life of their patients for the better...

Kara was in total awe, so, when she left the booth to go searching for some food, she decided to bring Lena donuts. When she got back, Winn was busy showing of his computer skills to a pretty doctor so she came up to Lena who was pouring herself a glass of water from the booth's water-tank :

-"I thought you could use some fried sugary goodness" Kara said smiling and holding out the bag to Lena. "You eat donuts, right ?" Kara then asked hastily, remembering that she didn't really know if Lena was into greasy food like her.

-"Well," Lena said, approaching Kara and slowly taking the bag out of the blonde's hands. "I am human", she added, her eyes hungry but for what, Kara wasn't sure. She didn't get the time to think about it much anyway because a voice was heard :

-"Human ? Tell that to the people who died at the hands of your technology, Luthor" A tall man with greyish hair said.

-"Morgan Edge" Lena acknowledged, recognizing the man by his voice. She turned slowly to face him, her jaw clenched in anger. "Don't you have your own booth to take care of ?"

-"It's in good hands don't worry" he replied, smirking. Kara eyed him suspiciously. It was obvious that he wasn't here out of scientific curiosity. "I had to see if you would dare to show up here after what your brother did" he went on, his eyes never leaving Lena's.

-"You're mistaken" Lena stated, crossing her arms. "This is LCorp, not Luthor Corp. We specialize in home therapy and..."

-"You may have fooled others but your little trick won't work with me" Morgan Edge interrupted her rudely. "You Luthors are all the same. Viruses, exactly like the ones you study and manipulate" he finished, his eyes menacing.

-"Hey !" Kara intervened suddenly. She couldn't take it anymore. She knew Lena could handle herself, but this man was really starting to get on her nerves. She had worked side by side with Lena for weeks and the woman Morgan Edge was talking about had nothing to do with the one standing next to her right now.

-"This is Krypton Enterprise's project too, so if you have something to say about our work, you can say it to me too" Kara continued, her fist clenching at her sides. Morgan Edge gave her a once over, as if he had just noticed she was there.

-"The only thing I can say to you girl, is good luck" he said, smiling devilishly. He started to leave but turned and pointed his finger at Kara to add : "You're going to need it, trust me."

As he left, Kara exhaled, relived. What a jerk she thought and went to return behind the booth but glanced at Lena when she noticed that the brunette wasn't following.

-"You're ok ? Kara asked, concerned.

This made Lena jump. She was still so startled by what had just happened that she hadn't even noticed that Edge was gone. She hadn't been surprised by Morgan behavior, the man took every chance he got to intimidate her since she changed Luthor Corp's focus, consequently becoming his direct competitor. It was actually what Kara just did.

-"It's just that most people wouldn't touch a Luthor with a ten-foot pole but you..." Lena started to say, not knowing really what she should tell Kara having never been in this situation before. "No one ever stood up for me like that" she finally contented herself with saying because it was the truth.

-"That's what friends are for" Kara replied smiling because it was true. Lena wasn't at all like the medias made her look. They always referred to her as a ice queen or, for the most crude of them, a heartless bitch but she was so far from it. Lena was indeed always collected and often expressionless on TV or in newspapers but she was actually very kind and warm, but mostly, she was passionate about sciences, just like Kara. The Krypton CEO had a lot of fun working on their project and even made Lena laugh with some of her dubious nerdy jokes. So, Kara was really glad about the new project but she was also really glad she had made a friend of Lena in the process.

*
**

The NCASE was a success. Krypton and LCorp's artificial pancreas had received a great deal of interest, a lot of people leaving with booklets and the promise to attend the official launching. Speaking of that, after cleaning the booth, Lena had offered Kara to show her the LCorp's amphitheatre so the Krypton's CEO could prepare herself mentally for the D-day.

-"Ready ?" Lena asked Kara, opening the double door of the amphitheatre when Kara nodded yes.

-"Wow, it's huge" Kara said, impressed, as she entered the large room.

-"Want to get on stage to see how it feels ?" Lena offered, smiling reassuringly at Kara.

-"I don't need to get up there to know that I'll be a nervous wreck" Kara replied, laughing awkwardly.

-"All the more reason to go now before it gets full of people. To get use to it."

Kara exhaled slowly, looking at the stage once more. I can do this, she told herself and climbed the few steps in front of her. From where she stood now, the rows of seats seemed even more numerous than before.

-"It's... huge" was all Kara managed to say, shoving her hands into the pockets of her dress to avoid fidgeting any more than she was already.

-"Yes, it is" Lena replied smiling. "And you already said that" she added chuckling.

-"It's just that, it's already so impressive, I wonder how is going to feel when all those seats will be filled with actual people" Kara answered in one breath, a tensed smile on her face.

-"Oh this, I can tell you" Lena said casually, walking up the stairs to stand next to Kara. The later looked at her expectantly. She will need all the tips she can get. But Lena just leaned toward her and whispered "it feels amazing" in Kara's right ear, smirking. This made Kara shiver but she didn't understand why, she wasn't cold at all under the bright lights of the stage. Must be anticipation for the D-day, she thought.

-"We'll see about that" Kara replied, taking a look at the large room one last time.

-"I'm sure you will do perfectly fine" Lena said, putting a hand on Kara's shoulder and leading her toward the stairs. As Kara was walking down the steps, Lena noticed that her associate was slightly limping.

-"Are you okay ?" Lena inquired, a little worried.

-"Yes, why ?"

-"Your leg, it seems to hurt you" Lena went on, pointing at Kara's left leg with her finger.

-"Oh that" Kara dismissed it quickly. "It's nothing, I just kind of outdone myself at the gym yesterday and with all the standing today at the exhibition, I guess my knee is still a little swollen" she continued to explain smiling because this situation was nothing to worry about. It happened now en then and it wasn't a big deal.

-"You should put something on it to ease the pain" Lena suggested.

-"It's ok, it doesn't hurt that much" Kara replied, not wanting Lena to worry or waste her time looking for a drugstore still open at this hour.

-"Nonsense" Lena answered hastily, making it clear that this was not open for discussion. "I have a first aid kit in the conference room. It's not far from here."

-"Ok" Kara finally said, giving up.

After a bit of a walk, they reached their destination : a big glass room with a long table surrounded by chairs, a overhead projector on the ceiling, a projection screen and a flip chart. Kara supposed that this room was probably used for the shareholder meetings and wondered if she should make one for Krypton Enterprise now that she will be soon playing in the big leagues. Lena crouched next to a lower cabinet and started rummaging in it.

-"This should do it" she finally said after a few minutes. "It's a plaster. You put it on the swollen area and it will release an anti-inflammatory by the dermal route" she went on, starting to undo the packing.

-"Oh I know that stuff. I should really put some in my sport bag" Kara replied. She had already tried one of those before and it worked pretty well.

-"Where is the pain ?" Lena asked, holding the plaster by its corners between her thumbs and index fingers so the plaster won't stick to her hands.

-"It's my left knee but never mind I will..." Kara started to say, extending her hand to retrieve the plaster but Lena interrupted her.

-"No it's fine, just lift your dress above your knee and I will place the plaster" she said, already approaching Kara with her brow furrowed in concentration.

So Kara leaned back on one end of the conference table and lifted her skirt with both of her hands. Then, Lena kneeled in front of her and placed the plaster on Kara's swollen knee delicately, which made the Krypton's CEO tilt her head backwards, her eyes closed and breathe a sigh of relief as the cool sensation spread on her injured area.

*
**

Lillian Luthor was pissed. Very pissed. She couldn't stand being kicked out of the LCorp building by her own daughter. That ungrateful bastard. She had always known that Lena would be trouble since the first day she met the girl but Lionel had insisted and she had been compelled to take care of the little brat. Now, she was walking in the LCorp building after hours, her fist clenched in anger in the pockets of her coat for having returned her all-access badge to the IT department per Lena's instructions. She decided to take the long route to exit at the back of the building, not wanting any employee on their way out to witness her grand moment of humiliation. As she was approaching the conference room, she caught a movement in the corner of her eye.

Her daughter was there with the Krypton's CEO, talking. Lillian retreated to the darkest place of the hallway, far from the light emanating from the conference room, while she pondered what she should do. She was dying to go in here and give her daughter a piece of her mind but Kara's presence was an obstacle. If she decided to go in here now, they would rub their partnership in her face, which promised to be quite the success according to the comments she had heard from the IT employees earlier.

Finally, Lillian came to the conclusion that now wasn't the best time to confront her ever disappointing daughter and resumed walking when she saw Lena kneel before Kara. She halted herself to see what was going on but it soon became clear that her daughter was just putting some sort of band-aid on the other woman's knee. For a moment I thought they were... Then, something clicked in Lillian's mind. She suddenly realized that she couldn't leave LCorp without taking a bow and she may just have found the perfect opportunity to remind Lena to never double-cross her again. So, she took her phone from her coat's pocket and snapped a picture of the two women, paying due care to the camera angle and making sure to leave the plaster's packing out of frame.

Chapter Text

Lena Luthor never overslept. She even didn't really need an alarm since she was always awake ten minutes before it would go off, but today was different. The NCASE had wore her out, not mentioning the detour by L Corp she had made with Kara afterwards. It should have been just a little quick tour to show the amphitheatre to the Krypton's CEO but, as often with Kara, the few minutes turned into a few hours, talking about everything and nothing. It was strange how time seemed to pass differently when she was with Kara, hours flying like minutes as if they were trap in some sort of spatio-temporal void just the two of them.

So, when her morning alarm had gotten off this morning, Lena was still soundly asleep. She had just extended an arm, groping around for her phone on her nightstand, shut the damn thing off without even looking at it, and got back to sleep.

Now, she was late. She decided to skip coffee and reading her emails to get dressed instead. She was about to open her front door when she noticed that the few paparazzi that usually camped out in front of her penthouse had proliferated tremendously during the night.

Lena guessed that the gathering of journalist were here to collect more information about her collaboration with Krypton Enterprise. After all, it was only a rumor until she confirmed it at the NCASE yesterday with their shared booth. They were probably hoping she would give them more intel on their prototype.

Lena hated when reporters came to her penthouse like today, hoping to grasp the slightest crumb of information out of her. It took her by surprise and she didn't like to be unprepared. That's why she preferred to stage press conferences where she had control over which medias were allowed to assist, the reporters were handpicked by herself and question time was strictly minuted. Plus, she was going to be very late for work and the crowd would only slow her down. So, she resorted to an old ploy consisting of sending a car in front of the main entrance to gather the journalists' attention, while she escaped by the emergency exit at the back of the building were another car would wait for her.

As the car was approaching LCorp's building, Lena spotted another crowd of journalist as expected. She instructed her driver to enter the underground parking because it had an elevator with direct access to the building. When the reporters saw Lena's car at the parking entrance, waiting for the barrier to open, they rushed toward it trying to talk to her or at least take some pictures but Lena kept her tainted windows closed.

When Lena finally entered the elevator, she sighed in relief. She hadn't been in a media whirlwind like this since Lex's trial and it was bringing back stressful memories. Lena wondered how a simple professional collaboration between Krypton and LCorp had become the hot topic of the day, not knowing how accurate her choice of words was.

-"Good morning Jess" Lena greeted her assistant. "Sorry, I'm a bit late" she apologized. Even if she was the CEO and could come at any hour she wanted, Lena was insistent on setting an example for her employees.

-"No problem, it's perfectly understandable given the circumstances" Jess dismissed.

-"Yes, the press is quite on fire today" Lena stated, still surprised by its fervor.

-"I hope I don't overstep by saying this" Jess spoke again, "but I'm really glad for you and Miss Danvers" she continued, offering her boss a bright smile, "she seems to be a nice girl."

-"Thanks...she...is" Lena answered hesitantly. It was a weird way to congratulate her for her promising new partnership with Krypton Enterprise in her opinion but she didn't give it much thought.

-"Of course, this doesn't exclude the fact that this picture was a total violation of your privacy and the property of LCorp so don't worry, I already put the legal team on it" Jess assured her boss confidently.

-"Picture ?" Lena asked, her brow furrowed in clear confusion. "What picture ?"

-"Oh" Jess let out, her eyes widening at the realisation. "You haven't seen it yet..." she whispered before starting to put papers on top of her phone on her desk in the more discreet way she could manage. Unfortunately for Jess, the motion didn't escape her very observant boss.

-"Jess ?" Lena said warningly, one eyebrow raised in challenge. "Show me the picture please" she went on, extending her hand and her eyes darted towards Jess' phone whose bright screen could be seen through the papers the assistant had hastily put on it. Jess closed her eyes briefly. Shit. She didn't want to be the one showing her boss the picture. She really thought Lena already knew about it, it was all over the news after all.

This is so awkward Jess thought as she gave her phone to Lena, her hand trembling. The CEO took it and looked at the screen. It was an article from some people magazine titled : "LCorp and Krypton hot fusion !" Lena scrolled a little with her thumb and she saw it. Her eyebrows shot to her hairline and her eyes widened so fast Jess thought they were going to roll out of the CEO's skull.

It was her and Kara from last night, when she was applying the strap on Kara's knee probably, but it didn't seem like that at all. Lena's hands and the medical supplies had been conveniently left out of the picture so it was just Lena with her head between Kara's tights. It looked like Lena was...

The CEO put her assistant's phone back on the desk, screen first and a little too forcibly, which made Jess wince. It was the newest smartphone in the market.

-"I have to... I'm... I'm going to make some phone calls" Lena finally managed to excuse herself, her face turning an impressive shade of crimson and went to hide in her office.

Lena had barely enough time to put her bag down and her coat on the rack when her phone rang.

-"Hello ?"

-"I knew there was something more between you and App girl !" a very excited Veronica Sinclair all but shouted on the phone, making Lena wince and move her phone away from her ear.

-"Why didn't you tell me anything ?" Veronica went on. "Wait, you're not ashamed of me, are you ?" she finished, Lena very well picturing her friend putting her hand on her heart in shock trough the phone.

-"It's not what you think Vero, you know I would have told you if it were true" Lena said warily.

-"What do you mean ? Veronica inquired. "It's not true ?"

-"The picture is tricky, there's nothing between me and Kara."

-"You're sure there's nothing going on between you and App Girl ? Veronica insisted. "Because the picture is really good, doesn't seem fake at all."

-"Because it's not fake !" Lena answered exasperated. "We were really together in the building last night"

-"So there IS something between you and Blondie" Veronica teased.

-"No !" Lena exclaimed. "The picture is real but the perspective is all messed up" she tried to explain without losing her patience.

-"Well, I couldn't know, I'm not Bernard Pras*" Veronica answered sarcastically.

-"Argh ! Why I keep trying to explain it to you ?" Lena replied, losing her battle with patience. "You only hear what you want to hear !"

-"I actually got it the first time, I was just enjoying myself too much" Veronica admitted laughing. "I can just picture you, all red-faced in embarrassment and freaking out in your office."

-"Great, make fun of me, that's very useful" Lena said, sounding defeated.

-"Sorry, I couldn't resist."

-"Seriously Vero, what do I do ?" Lena asked after a bit. "This story is everywhere, it's so embarrassing."

-"If I were you, I wouldn't worry too much about it" Veronica argued calmly, all serious now. "You never really shined in the reputation department before anyway, so a new scandal more or less won't actually change anything."

-"Thank Vero, so helpful as always" Lena replied ironically.

-"No but seriously, don't worry" Veronica repeated. "Look at Kim Kardashian. Who still remembers that she got famous because of a leaked sex-tape ? Nobody ! And soon it will be the case for you and Kara too."

-"Shit ! Kara !" Lena exclaimed suddenly. She had been so overwhelmed by the picture and her conversation with Veronica that she totally forgot that she wasn't the only one in this awful situation. "Call you back later !" she threw at her friend and looked for Kara's number in her phone hastily. Lena tried to think quickly about what she was going to say to Kara but the more rings she heard, the less she knew what she would tell Kara.

*
**

Kara woke up and stirred in her bed. She was so exhausted last night after spending the whole day at the NCASE socializing that she had slept like a baby. She had warned Winn and Alex that she would go to work later the next day, she deserved to have a lie-in from time to time.

So, Kara got up feeling well rested and made herself a bowl of cereals as usual. As she was scrolling through her twitter feed while eating as she did every morning (even late ones) she started swelling with pride. She and Lena were trending on Twitter ! The hashtags were a little weird in Kara's opinion but she didn't mind it as long as the Internet were talking about their incoming project. She thought #LCorpKrypton or #ArtificialPancreas would be more accurate than #KaraxLena but she shrugged it off and clicked on the hashtag. People's comments were mostly positive but kind of strange. The sentences "I love them !" "they're so beautiful together" or "relationship goals" were the most recurring ones. Finally, Kara found a tweet where the author linked to an article that seemed to have started it all. She was surprised when she got redirected to a people magazine's article and not to a scientific journal's but scrolled trough the article anyway. She soon came across the picture of her and Lena in the conference room and almost chocked on her cereals.

-"What the hell ?"

Kara didn't like to curse but she was sure nobody will chastise her for it in this moment. After her shock passed, Kara started panicking. She didn't know what to do in this sort of situation, Alex was the specialist in communication and medias.

Alex ! Kara remembered suddenly. She checked her phone again but she didn't have any text or missing calls from Alex. What do I do ? Kara wondered when she heard an angry knock on her door.

Must be Alex ! Kara thought and sprinted to the door happily. Alex would know what to do !

When Kara opened her front door, she was showed back inside her apartment by a strong hand.

-"What the..." she started to say while stumbling backwards from the push but was interrupted by a very furious Mike Daxam.

-"How could you ?" he yelled, pointing his finger at her.

-"Mike, it's not what you think..." Kara tried to explain but he was having none of it.

-"Oh no, to the contrary, it's very clear now" he said, his eyes red with fury. "You went on a few dates with me just to get attention from the press while you were banging your coworker all this time !"

-"No !" Kara shouted, feeling helpless. "I would never do that, I..."

-"When I think of all the times I took you out to fancy restaurants or invited you to watch my games in the VIP tribune when I actually never stood a chance with you !" he continued to yell.

-"Never stood a chance ? Mike, what are you..." Kara tried to clarify but he interrupted her again.

-"You were a fucking lesbian the whole time !" he shouted, raising his arms in I'm such an idiot gesture.

-"What ? No, Mike, listen to me" Kara said, trying to make eye contact with him which was difficult as he kept pacing in the room like an enraged animal. "I'm not with Lena, there's been a misunderstanding"

-"I don't care if you're with her !" he replied angrily. "My problem is that you lied to me about being a lesbian ! I wasted so much time on you for nothing !" he finished, kicking one of the stools.

-"I'm not a lesbian, I'm bisexual" Kara said, wincing at the loud noise the stool made when hitting the floor. "So actually, you still have a chance" she went on, smiling reassuringly at Mike, hoping he would calm down.

-"Bisexual ?" Mike repeated incredulously and then burst out laughing in a maniacally way that made Kara's hair stand up on the back of her neck. "Please, we all know that's not a real thing" Mike continued. "Just admit you're a lesbian and that you took advantage of me for fame."

Kara didn't know what to say anymore. It seemed that nothing she could say would make Mike change his mind about his view on the situation at hand. He was convinced she had played him and Kara had no clue on how to fix it. Finally, she didn't have to because Mike straightened himself suddenly, and exited her apartment with a loud "screw you", leaving Kara lost and in shock.

*
**

As Lena heard the beginning of Kara's voice mail, she pondered over leaving a message or trying again later but the choice was made for her when Jess' head poked out of the doors to announce that Lillian was here to see her.

-"What do you want ?" Lena asked upon seeing her mother walk in. She was in a middle of a media crisis, the last thing she needed was a visit from her mother complaining about her revoked pass. Even if, Lena must admit, seeing her mother fidget uncomfortably with her visitor badge made Lena a little pleased with herself.

-"Is that a way to greet your mother ?" Lillian replied. "Especially when you should thank me" she added with a smirk that made Lena uneasy.

-"Thank you ?" Lena asked confused. "For what ?"

-"You were right. Collaboration is better than war so, don't blame me for taking your plan to the next level" Lillian replied, smirking.

-"The picture" Lena guessed in a flat tone as realization dawned upon her . "Of course, who else could it be ? But I don't get it. What's in for you ?"

-"The well being of our family company, as always" Lillian answered matter of factly. "Like you said, investors don't trust us anymore and the public boycott Luthor products since what happened with your brother."

-"And what, having a girlfriend will change all that ?" Lena asked, laughing at the absurdity of her mother's reasoning.

-"Your lack of vision will never cease to amaze me" Lillian stated disdainfully. "Lex would have got it easily but Luthor Corp is stuck with you now, thanks to your father." At that, the CEO just rolled her eyes. It wasn't the first time her mother disrespected her and it won't be the last.

-"People see us as gods Lena" Lillian went on. "We're rich, famous, we can do anything we want. We sell them the dream, Lena ! Every time they read about our accomplishments and success in the press, they escape their boring routine and miserable lives."

-"So, me having a girlfriend will make me more likeable to the public, that's what you're saying ?" Lena clarified, sounding as exasperated as she was feeling.

-"Yes !" Lillian answered enthusiastically. "It will increase your likeability and make people forgot about your brother's scandal."

-"I can't believe you're willing to give me a fake girlfriend for the sake of LCorp whereas you almost kicked me out of the house for being gay" Lena said, astonished.

She still remembered perfectly how she came out publicly by hijacking a Luthor Corp's Press conference so her mother would be forced to keep her under her roof. Because, if there was one thing that Lillian Luthor valued above anything else, it was reputation. So, when she had to decide how she would be portrayed by the medias after her daughter's public statement, Lillian quickly chose supportive mother over intolerant bitch. That bold move had been a huge win for Lena but it never felt that way to her. She would have preferred her relationship with her mother wouldn't be like a chess game all the time.

-"Times have changed" Lillian replied, the corners of her mouth downing in disgust. "Gays are in now. They even have that awful reality show with drag queens in it."

-"So you're using my sexuality to promote L Corp" Lena resumed flatly. "Classy."

-"Of course, it would have been better if that Danvers girl were black or latina so we could have curry favor with the minorities but I should have expected it" Lillian said, facing Lena with a huge look of disappointment in her eyes. "The job is always half done with you."

-"You won't get away with this so easily" Lena menaced.

-"Oh but I will actually" Lillian answered, smirking. "You better worry about your girlfriend. Make sure you two get your story straight" she continued, smiling at her intended pun. "I don't think a break up will help your future product's sales."

*
**

After Lillian had left, Lena stayed prostrated in her office for several minutes, wondering how her mother could hate her to this point. This wasn't the first time Lillian had treated her badly or played a dirty trick on her but the intensity of it was new. It made Lena rethink her position about cutting ties with her mother for good which she hadn't done yet because Lillian was the only family she had left, as horrible and contemptuous as it was.

Lena looked toward her vault, thinking about the tax file she keep hidden in there. She had built it when her mother was still Lex's associate and it could send Lillian behind bars for a long time. She had never used it because the fear of ending up totally alone was superior to the fear of Lillian's next move against her. Plus, even if Lena still had trouble admitting it, it was, in fact, thanks to her mother that she became interested in Kryton Enterprise and that she got to sign the contract that will probably launch LCorp on the market once and for all after Luthor's Corp fall into disgrace. But mostly, without her mother meddling, she wouldn't have met Kara, who, over the course of their collaboration, became more than an associate but a friend.

Kara. Lillian had left Lena in such an emotional state that she forgot that she was trying to call Kara before. Lena walked toward her desk to retrieve her phone when her door busted open, letting a red-faced Kara and a short of breath Jess in.

-"Sorry I haven't announced her Miss Luthor, she was so fast..." Jess tried to apologize to Lena but was interrupted by a very determined Kara.

-"I need to talk to you" the Krypton's CEO said to Lena in an urgent tone.

-"It's ok Jess, you may leave us now" Lena told her assistant so Jess left the office but not before giving the thumb up and an encouraging smile to her boss behind Kara's back. The gesture confused Lena until she remembered that she still hadn't tell Jess that she and Kara weren't actually dating.

-"Lena, what's happening ?" Kara asked, her eyes darting everywhere in panic. "They were journalists following me on the streets and when I came here, there was this huge crow asking me if I was checking on my girlfriend or if I had a lunch date with you" Kara explained, walking back and forth in front of Lena's desk and making wild gestures with her arms. "And where this picture actually comes from ? We were there after hours, nobody was supposed to be here, no ? And why do that ?" Kara continued in her rant, throwing question after question without waiting for Lena's answer.

-"Kara", Lena interrupted nicely. The blonde face was becoming redder as the seconds were passing by and Lena was worried Kara would soon forget to breathe entirely. "It's ok, you need to calm down now" Lena tried to appease her associate.

-"Calm down ?" Kara yelled suddenly making Lena jump out of her skin. "Are you not listening ? There are people following me in the streets Lena !" she all but shouted, Lena taking a few steps back at the outburst.

-"It may be normal to you but that kind of things doesn't happen to me" Kara went on, lowering her voice at the sight of Lena stepping away from her. "Mike broke up with me and he doesn't believe me when I say that we're not together so excuse me but yes, I'm panicking !" Kara finished angrily, her tone rising again at the end. She hated being the center of attention and Alex was still nowhere in sight to help her so, saying that she was panicking was the understatement of the year.

Lena had kept her cool until this moment but after the torturous visit of her mother and now Kara yelling at her like Lena wasn't in the same fucked up situation and mostly like she has something to do with it when her mother practically confessed she was the one who created this mess, Lena lost it.

-"There is really no need to stress out about that, you're way better without him anyway" she spat without really thinking it trough. It was a low blow and definitely petty but Lena couldn't help it. She was tired of everyone giving her crap for her mother's doing and she had never liked the guy anyway. Now that she was thinking about it, she had nothing against Mike, she actually never met him. She just overheard phone conversations between him and Kara when they were working in the lab but nothing else. The only thing Lena did know is that she disliked him and you don't always need a reason for that. Right ?

-"What's that supposed to mean ?" Kara reacted without missing a beat. "You think you would be a better candidate ? That's why you sold the picture ?" Kara asked successively, her eyes narrowing on Lena menacingly.

-"What ? No !" Lena exclaimed indignantly. "Who do you think I..."

-"I'm here !" Alex Danvers yelled as she barged into Lena's office like a SWAT team during an extraction. She took a quick look at the room and immediately picked up on the tense atmosphere. Her sister was red-faced, her glasses sliding down on her nose and her breathing erratic. As for Lena Luthor, she was standing rigidly, her arms tightly crossed on her chest with her jaw clenched.

It seemed that Alex had gotten there just in time. She had expected to walk in on a heated moment but just not that kind of heat. Not that she believed the picture to be true but one never knows, Kara had dated women before after all.

-"Alex !" Kara exclaimed, relieved. "Why it took you so long ? I send you a ton of messages" she added, walking toward her sister.

-"Long story short : damn Maggie and her no phone in the bedroom policy" Alex replied, still a little bit sullen at her girlfriend's healthy lifestyle.

-"I'm sorry for all of this" Lena started to say to the sisters. "It's probably my mother doing, she was in the building last night" she admitted. "She wanted to get back at me for firing her from the LCorp board and I guess the picture was her twisted way to do it" Lena finished, feeling really sorry for her mother behalf.

-"I will take care for her" Lena felt compelled to add, seeing how Kara still looked at her suspiciously.

-"That won't change anything" Alex intervened. "The picture is out, taking it down now won't prevent it to be shared and continue to go viral."

-"Yes, you're right" Lena admitted, sighing. "The only thing we can't do, it's release an official statement to clarify the situation and stop the speculations."

-"I agree" Alex answered while Kara just stood there, watching the exchange. She kept thinking that she should say something, seeing how she was one of the two people concerned by this situation but she had absolutely no clue about what to say. She already had trouble communicating with strangers on a regular basis so, press control on the public ? Impossible. She was more than happy to leave the job to Alex.

-"So", Alex spoke again. "What do we say ?" she continued, looking between Lena and Kara, raising her eyebrows expectantly.

-"No of course !" Kara replied, suddenly awake from her passive state. Alex shrugged at her sister. She had to ask. In her defense, the scenario wasn't impossible and the picture was pretty explicit. Seeing that Lena hadn't said anything yet, both Danvers turned to Lena, waiting for her answer.

-"I think..." Lena started to say but stopped herself. She took a deep breath to prepare herself for Kara's wrath and added, careful not to look Kara in the eye : "I think we should confirm the rumor."

-"What ?" Kara yelled, starting to walk toward Lena but Alex blocked Kara's progress with an arm across her sister's chest.

-"It's just that I think we should wait until our product is out before denying anything or else it would divert the medias' attention from our work" Lena justified her decision in one breath, taking a step back just to be safe.

Kara shook Alex's arm off her chest and looked at her big sister, waiting for Alex to back her up before this situation could become crazier than it already was. Alex frowned, deep in thought.

-"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I agree with Luthor here" Alex finally said. At that, Kara huffed, looking indignantly at her sister as if she had eaten the last potsticker of the box and pouted. She wasn't so sure anymore that letting Alex take charge in this matter was the right solution all things considered.

-"If we deny everything now, the press will wonder who send the picture and started the rumor and for what purpose, which will feed the story for a few weeks more" Alex spoke again, thinking out loud. "In the other hand, if we tell the journalists it's true and to respect your privacy as a couple, they will focus on a new and more juicy scandal and be off our backs in no time."

-"Plus, we could take advantage of the attention we have from them now to promote the release party at LCorp in two days" Lena intervened, her confidence returned since Alex had sided with her and Kara seemed to stick to her side of the desk. "The more medias attend to it, the more coverage our product will have."

-"Hey" Alex said, poking a still pouting Kara with her elbow lightly. "You didn't tell me she was smart."

-"Not so sure it's a good thing anymore" Kara mumbled.

Seeing Kara's worry behind her pout, Alex put an arm around her little sister's shoulders and led her closer to the doors and as far as possible from Lena who had retreated behind her desk after Kara's outburst.

-"Hey, we won't do anything you don't want to do, ok ?" Alex reassured her sister gently, her voice low so Lena couldn't hear them. "I know you hate being in the spotlight and I know asking you to lie to the press is putting a lot of pressure on you" Alex went on, understanding.

-"It will be very difficult for me that for sure" Kara replied, grimacing a little as the prospect.

She had worked so hard to get this far. It would be foolish to let it all go down for a bad picture and a stupid rumor. She looked at Alex who was stroking her sister's shoulder softly, waiting for Kara to gave her answer. Alex always had her back and wouldn't ask her to do that if this wasn't the best option they had. But before deciding, Kara glanced at Lena one more time.

The LCorp CEO raised her hand to her mouth to pick at her fingernails but decided against it at the last minute, so she busied her hands by rearranging the furniture on her desk. Then, she raised her hand again to probably pass it through her hair in a nervous twitch, but suddenly remembered she had it tied in a bun and proceeded to move her stapler for the fifth time. Kara then realized that Lena was probably as nervous as she was and that this situation was making her as uncomfortable as she felt right now so she made up her mind. They were in this mess together, they will make it through it together.

-"I'll do it" Kara finally said, confidently.

-"Ok" Alex replied, clapping her hands. "How do we stage that public statement ?"

Before anyone could suggest anything, Jess poked her head through the office's doors and said :

-"Miss Luthor, Cat Grant on line 1."

After that, Jess left the room, leaving the three women looking at each other, debating internally what to do, until Lena stated the obvious :

-"Apparently, we just need to ask" she joked.

Chapter Text

-"Remind me why I have to do this again ?" Kara asked her sister one more time, her voice quivering from how nervous she was feeling.

-"Because we all agreed on this" Alex reminded her sister, smiling. "It's okay Kara, you got this" she continued, squeezing Kara's shoulders affectionately.

Both sisters were standing in the backstage, looking at the TV studio set with its red couch and matching armchair, basking in the strong lights from the spotlights. Alex had specifically asked for powerful lighting so Kara won't be able to see the little crowd attending the interview's recording. Alex would have preferred that there be no audience at all but Cat Grant was a tough negotiator.

-"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the most talked duo of this past two days, Kara Danvers and Lena Luthor" Cat Grant introduced as the audience clapped enthusiastically. Cat greeted the both of them with a handshake before taking place in the red velvet armchair, while Kara and Lena seated on the opposing couch. They were careful to seat so closely to each other that their shoulders touched. They had a relationship to sell after all.

-"So," Cat Grant spoke again, looking at her guests. "You two made quite the entrance on page 6 this week. Must have been hard."

-"Yes" Lena answered. "This picture was a violation of our intimacy and we would appreciate that the press and people would stop publishing it."

-"Of course. We, at CatCo, don't condone that kind of journalism, if we can even call it that" Cat reassured them with a disgusted face.

-"Thank you" Lena replied.

-"I asked for this interview because never before a couple has been so trending on social media. What do you think that is ?"

-"We actually have no idea" Lena joked. "We thought it was because of our incoming product but it hadn't been launched yet, only people on the medical field had seen a prototype at the NCASE."

-"I think it's more about hope" Cat Grant explained. "You're both successful women in your work field, you're collaborating on a product that, I'm sure will be a huge success and... you're in love" she went on. "You're showing people they can have it all."

-"Maybe" was all Lena chose to say. Cat grant was a skilled interviewer so the less Lena shared, the less she would risk to let something slip. Unfortunately, Kara seemed to have the same strategy but was pushing it to a whole new level.

-"What about you Kara ?" Cat interrupted as if reading Lena's thoughts. "You didn't say anything since you got here" she finished, her eyes narrowing on Kara.
-"Sorry, I'm just... not very comfortable speaking in public" Kara tried to explain, adjusting her glasses in a nervous gesture. She couldn't distinguish any face in the audience due to the bright lights on the set but she could feel all eyes on her and that was sufficient to make her uncomfortable. "Especially when I'm the main topic" she finished with a nervous giggle.

-"Really ?" Cat asked, surprised. "Well, you must have thought of that before asking Lena out surely" she went on, frowning and looking suspiciously at Kara. "Everybody knows she's a page 6 regular" Cat continued, throwing a knowing glance at the camera and the audience. "Or was she the one who asked you out first ?" she added, smirking and turning toward Lena.

Alex, Lena and Kara hadn't really had time to prepare the fake couple's backstory before the interview because they wanted it done quickly so the buzz around the picture would fell and they could focus the media's attention on their product instead. They agreed to stick the closest to the truth because that's how lies work best. Just small changes on the original story, some embellishments here and there and voilà. They decided to tell that they met at the CatCo photoshoot, then started to work together and became friends in the process and finally, their friendship blossomed into something more recently. So, the truth basically with just one step more.

-"No, I did" Kara answered quickly before her silence would sound suspicious.

-"I knew it !" Cat said enthusiastically. "How did you do it then ?" she then inquired, smiling. She knew it was something the audience was dying to know.

Kara's mind went blank. She glanced toward the backstage but it was too dark to get a glimpse of Alex. She needed help.

-"I..." she tried to say something but no idea came to mind. She was starting to feel really hot under the blinding spotlights and Cat's scrutinizing glare. Kara cleared her throat to buy herself some time before speaking but Lena came to her rescue.

-"She send me a paper plane form her desk to mine. She had written would you go out to dinner with me ? on it and I say yes."

A collective sound of "aawww" was heard among the audience.

-"I'm sure the women in the audience would like to know how is it to have it all" Cat spoke again, glad to hear that her audience was entertained. "So tell me, who takes which side of the bed, who takes longer in the shower, I want to know everything !"

When Kara heard about the set of personal questions that was coming their way, she got even more nervous than she already was if that's even possible. She was suddenly feeling very hot and started sweating.

-"I'm sure but, wouldn't it be better if we talk about our future project for a little bit ?" Lena asked Cat, in hope that the CatCo director would cut Kara some slack. The poor girl, Lena noticed, was feeling very uncomfortable. She had turned a shade paler and had undone the first button of her shirt.

-"Oh you two will have plenty of time for that at the LCorp's launching party tomorrow night I'm sure" Cat dismissed quickly.

Then, Lena started to worry. Due to their close proximity, she picked up on Kara's erratic breathing and after Cat had cut Lena's attempt to divert the subject, Kara had downed her glass of water in one sip.

-"So, tell me more about you too. Who text more ?"

-"I think that would be me..." Lena tried to answer but Cat Grant interrupted her.

-"Wow ! she exclaimed as someone in the audience even whistled approvingly. "Those are some fine arms !"

Lena glanced at her left to see what had Cat and the audience so excited about. Kara had indeed loosen the cardigan she wore on top of her shirt and was now rolling her sleeves hastily, her hands trembling but with a well practiced precision.

-"I know what drew you to Kara my dear Lena" Cat teased, winking at Lena who was trying very hard not to stare and blush. "Do you work out a lot ?" Cat then asked Kara with a renew interest for her shy and laconic guest.

-"Uh...I box... regularly" Kara managed to say, adjusting her glasses. She was feeling a little dizzy and Cat Grant was becoming more and more blurry in front of her. She glanced toward the backstage again in hope to catch Alex's eyes but only saw a black opening with unrecognisable shadows moving in it.

-"There is one more thing before the commercial break that I'm sure our audience is very eager to know" Cat spoke again. "Did Lena stole you from Mike Daxam ? It seemed that you two were dating before the picture was released yesterday..."

-"She didn't stole... Mike and I, we're not..." Kara tried to answer but it was like her brain was suddenly made of jelly. The words came jumbled in her mind and she was having trouble forming coherent sentences. Lena pressed her lips together in worry. Kara made no sense and seemed like she was going to pass out soon. Lena wanted to help her so badly but Mike was a topic she couldn't help with at all. Kara reached for her glass again but stopped mid-way when she noticed that she had already emptied it. She didn't remember finishing it earlier. So, she reached for the second button of her shirt instead and undid it. Then, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before answering :

-"I mean, we saw each other a few times but it was clear it wasn't going to work out" she managed to say. "Lena came after" she finished with difficulty. "Excuse me... I... need air" she then added quickly before standing up and heading for the backstage. She could hear Cat Grant announce the 15 minutes break while she staggered her way out of the stage.

At hearing the break announcement, Alex walked toward the exit of the backstage. The technical crew had forbidden her to stand at the limit so she won't appear accidently on screen so she had retreated next to the makeup stand waiting anxiously to know how it was going out there. She walked as fast as she could toward the stage to talk to Kara but was slowed down by the technicians running about and the huge amount of cables and wires lying on the ground. She was still struggling to pass when she got a glimpse of her sister walking down the hall in a unsteady way, followed closely by Lena.

Kara had difficulty to breathe and was feeling really dizzy. She wandered the hallway taking one or two turns she wasn't sure, and ended up in a dead end with a vending machine. She let herself slide along the wall, holding her knees up against her chest and resting her head against the vending machine whose soft whirring helped her find a steady rhythm on which to base her breathing.

Lena had shot up from the couch the second Kara had left. She had followed Kara's shaky walk until the blonde had stopped and let herself fall down next to a vending machine.

-"You know", Lena started to tell Kara, "it's ok if you want to drop the act. There will be others opportunities for me to redeem the Luthor's name without dragging you to my complicated relationship with medias I'm sure" she went on, reaching for her small wallet in the pocket of her blazer. She decided to take a bottle of water for Kara and then, after a moment of reflection, she also bought a bag of m&m's. She sometimes had the tendency to eat sweets when she felt particularly stressed and between Cat's inquisitorial interview and Kara's lack of response right now, she was starting to get nervous.

-"I'm so used to medias since I was little that I sometimes forgot that all this attention can make your head spin" Lena continued as she seated slowly next to Kara, careful not to rip her tight skirt in the process. Lena removed the bottle's cap and handed the water to Kara. The Krypton CEO just glanced at the objet, crossed her arms on her knees, and rested her forehead against her forearms, sighting.
Lena was running out of things to say and Alex was nowhere to be found so she decided to open her bag of m&m's and eat one for lack of better thing to do.

-"I'm sorry I'm such a mess. I'm screwing everything up" Kara finally spoke, startling Lena a little by her sudden response. Lena looked at Kara, then at the open bag of m&m's in her hand and wondered how she haven't thought of that sooner.

-"Hey, like I said, it doesn't matter" Lena replied, handing the sweets to Kara who pretended to think about it before picking a blue one out of the bag. "I shouldn't have asked that of you in the first place" Lena went on, smiling. "You said it was a bad idea and I'm starting to think you were right."

-"I really want to help, you know" Kara said, reaching for a red m&m's this time. "Our project is so cool and it's going to help so many people."

-"It will" Lena agreed.

-"How do you do it ? Kara then asked, looking at Lena for the first time since flying the TV set.

-"What ?"

-"Survive through this ?" Kara clarified, gesturing vaguely around them with her free hand, the other one already filled with several m&m's.

-"Think of this interview like a game" Lena explained. "Our goal is to promote our product and for Cat Grant, her goal is to entertain people, sell inspiring stories. The truth doesn't really matter."

-"Well, I must have lost the manual because I don't know how to play this game" Kara admitted, feeling defeated. She never really understood those unspoken social rules and conventions that everyone seems to know by birth while she keep wondering when it's appropriate to do or say this or that.

-"Ok" Lena spoke again, thinking about how she would explain to Kara what was expected of them today. "What about this : imagine your OTP..."

-"Britney and Justin !" Kara interrupted suddenly, a hand on her heart in a true worship fashion which made Lena laugh.

-"If you want" Lena continued smiling. "What would you want them to say if you were seeing them on an interview ?"

-"I would want them to tell me that they're happy and give me heads up on what they will do next."

-"There" Lena replied, smiling. "Now you know what to say" she finished, handing the bag of m&m's to Kara. It was clear that Kara would enjoy it much more than her.

After two wrong turns, thinking that Kara had headed to the bathroom, Alex finally located her little sister at the end of a hallway. She was seated on the floor with Lena, talking and smiling over a yellow bag of sweets like she hadn't been freaking out five minutes ago.
As the older Danvers watched them quietly at the other end of the hallway, her sister so relaxed and Lena wearing a smile that was becoming less of a rare occurrence the more time she spent with Kara, Alex wondered at what point Kara's and Lena's relationship became less about science and more about chemistry.

After the break, Kara had reassured her sister saying that she had indeed freaked-out but that she was better now and that she could do it.

Kara and Lena had seated on the red couch again. The second part of the interview was going well so far. Cat had asked them a bunch of trivial questions about their couple life like, what drew them to the other, what little habits bother them about each other. It were easy questions given the short time they were supposed to be a couple so Kara managed better than in the first try, especially with Lena's tip in mind. However, it was still a very challenging thing for Kara to do so she was still nervous. Her right leg had started bouncing after the third question but Lena had reacted quickly. As soon as she had noticed it, she had laid her left hand on Kara's thigh and leaned a little on it. It had been from instinct and now that she was thinking about it, it could have been a very bad idea. What if Kara jerked away suddenly ? No way Cat would buy their story after that...

Lena stopped breathing, bracing herself for the worst, but Kara didn't brush her hand off. Oh no, what she did was far more unexpected than that. Her leg stilled under Lena's hand and after a flash of genius or out of habit, Lena will never know, Kara sank her back deeply in the couch, putting her right arm around Lena's shoulders.

They stayed like that for a little round of questions until a woman with an audio headset and a note pad motioned to Cat that she needed to wrap up soon.

-"So, one last question before we say goodbye" Cat said and turned toward the Krypton CEO. "Kara, have you ever considered not asking Lena out, if only once, because she is a Luthor ?"

-"No !" Kara immediately exclaimed, bolting upright on the couch. She felt a little embarrassed for reacting so strongly in public but didn't regret it. She was glad that Cat had, at least, asked her something easy to answer. Maybe it was because she did know what she was talking about after spending several days working non-stop alongside Lena, or maybe it was because she was finally allowed to tell the truth without exposing themselves, but for the first time since this stressful interview had started, the words came flowing.

-"I know most people refer to her as some sort of Ice Queen but I never actually cared about that" Kara said truthfully. "And now that I really know her, I just wish people could see what I see in her" she continued, leaning forward and looking at Cat in the eye, as if to show how sincere she was. "Lena is the most intelligent, caring and generous person I have ever met" Kara went on, turning to look at Lena and taking the hand that was resting on her tight in hers.

-"I couldn't have asked for a better partner" she finished, smiling brightly at Lena.

Cat smiled as the crowd let out a loud "aaawww" in the studio. She was glad that her interview turned out well. She had some reservations at the beginning, seeing how the Danvers girl was so closed off and Lena kept looking at Kara as if she was about to screw everything up. Cat had almost thought the two women were playing her at one point but it seemed to be just public stress. Nobody can fake the look Kara had in her eyes when she answered her last question. Nobody.

*
**

Launching night, finally. Kara exhaled loudly as she was standing behind the door leading to the LCorp amphitheatre's stage. She could hear the low rumbling of the crow awaiting for her and Lena's entrance but contrary to the CatCo interview yesterday, excitement was the dominant emotion.

-"You look great" Maggie said, smiling and squeezing Kara's shoulder affectionately.

-"Yeah, how come you can rock a suit and I can't ?" Alex joined them, pouting. "We're sisters."

-"It's because you already look so good in dresses" Maggie reassured her girlfriend. "You can't have it all, it's not fair" she finished, kissing Alex on the cheek.

-"Ready ?" Alex asked Kara.

-"Yes" Kara responded confidently and she was. This was what she had studied so hard for. She had waited this very moment where she would walk on a stage before a huge crow, presenting an invention which would help so many people. Her mother, Eliza, always told her when Kara was little that if she could fly she would be a super hero because of her heart of gold and her commitment to help people. Kara wasn't wearing a cape, but right now, standing behind the double doors with her hands in the pockets of her pantsuit, she felt like a hero walking into her final battle.

The Danvers sisters went shopping earlier today because, as Alex kept saying to the great annoyance of Kara, a CEO as to dress for the job. Kara had tried some dresses on but she had felt that it wouldn't fit its purpose well. It never bothered Kara to wear dresses, she actually wear them occasionally but it's okay for when she's with friends or at some public place when she's not the center of attention. Tonight was different and knowing herself, she will probably find a way to lose her balance on her heels or to step and trip on her own dress' train because of the nerves.

So, she had decided on a suit and black brogue shoes. That way, she would be comfortable and could store the powerpoint's remote control and her smartphone in her pockets for the demo. She had chosen the blue indigo Yves Saint Laurent suit and matched it with a black shirt, leaving the two top buttons open.

Alex thought it looked good on her, saying how the blue of the suit brought out Kara's eyes. The blonde had agreed with her sister's opinion until now but, seeing how Lena, who had just joined them, keep eyeing her from head to toe without saying a word, she wasn't so sure anymore.

Alex and Maggie wished Lena and Kara good luck and went to join James, Lucy and Winn who were saving spots on the first row, leaving the two partners to share a quick but very uncomfortable silence.

-"It's the suit isn't it ?" Kara finally asked Lena, embarrassed under Lena intense glare.

-"Yes" Lena answered truthfully, regretting how it sounded the second the words left her lips.

-"I should have asked you before I'm sorry..."

-"No" Lena interrupted, feeling terrible for making Kara think she had messed up. "I meant, it is the suit but in a good way" she reassured Kara, smiling. "You look great" she finished, making Kara sigh in relief.

Well done Lena, the LCorp's CEO chastised herself internally. She was supposed to be the cold headed one here. The one used to the attention, the medias, public appearances and yet, she was the one freezing on the spot and making Kara nervous instead of guiding her. All of that because of a suit. A suit that brought out Kara's broad shoulders and blue eyes perfectly but still, it was just a suit.

In her defense, Lena always thought suits looked sexy on women but she never had the chance to see it with her own eyes. Her mother made her go to a very elitist private school where girls wearing menswear was not only forbidden but would make the greatest of scandal.

However, that wasn't all. Ever since the CatCo interview, something had been bothering Lena but she didn't really know what. The strange feeling started after Kara had said all those nice things about her in response of Cat's latest question. Maybe it was that because of Lena's awful childhood and the medias bashing, she's not used to people appreciating and complementing her publicly but she was certain that couldn't just be it. However, she shrugged the feeling off for now and accepted Kara's extended hand.

Let's do this.

*
**

The presentation had been perfect. Kara had stayed focused from beginning to end, her voice never quivering and she hadn't stammered even if she had adjusted her glasses once. It's so much more easy to speak about her work than about herself. She let the science do all the talking and her passion just shines through.

Lena, from her part, had nothing to envy Steve Job. She was clearly in her element, always finding the right words and doing poses for dramatic effect in a such a way that nobody could tell it was calculated.

After the presentation, the crow was moved to the reception room by Jess where a bar and a buffet were set. Only the small group of friends stayed to congratulate the two women.

-"Well done Bitch !" Veronica exclaimed as she engulfed Lena in a bone-crushing hug.

-"What she said" added Lucy, laughing, while she and James hugged Kara simultaneously.

-"Where is the champagne so we can celebrate this properly ?" Veronica asked, looking around as if she were at a restaurant and a waiter would pop out of nowhere to ask her if she needed anything.

-"In the other room" Lena answered, smiling. "But I'm afraid Kara and I won't be much available, we have still work to do."

Indeed, the presentation was just the first step. The easy part. Now, it was all about convincing the LCorp shareholders, potential investors and marketing companies to fund and market their product.

-"Yeah, let's Kara do the public relation work for once while I enjoy my first night off in a long time with a lot of wine" Alex said smirking.

-"You mean with A GLASS of wine" Maggie intervened, frowning at her girlfriend.

-"One glass ? You're not serious !" Alex protested. "I thought we were celebrating ?"

-"Yes, but you already had a beer at home" Maggie explained calmly.

-"Beer doesn't count" Alex grumbled, pouting, while James, Lucy and Kara laughed at the couple's antics.

*
**

Lena was smiling wearily at an old white man like she's being doing from the last two hours now, pretending to listen to his pre-war views on how to manage a big company when her wandering eyes found Kara in the crow. Lena witnessed with amusement how her fake girlfriend hurriedly put an appetizer in her mouth to use her napkin as a sheet and started drawing on it, probably to explain the purpose of their project to a shareholder that only show up to one meeting per month. The man took a quick look at the sketch, which he surely didn't understand Lena thought, and handed Kara a business card before walking away.

Then, Kara's eyes found hers, and the Blonde smiled at her with a thumb up as if to reassure Lena that she was doing her best to convince these old wolves of Wall Street that their project was great. Lena knew that this man was here just to determine if he should keep his shares or sell them based on the good health of LCorp and especially on the value of the dividends he received, but she didn't want to stop Kara in her tracks to do well. So, Lena smiled back and watched Kara be absorbed by the crow again, probably looking for something to eat. And then, as the last of Kara's back was disappearing in the sea of people, it hit her.

No.

This couldn't be happening.

No.

Not now.

No.

Not with her.

No.

It was suddenly all clear now, the weird feeling after the CatCo interview. She knew what it was. How she hadn't recognized it sooner ? It wasn't just Kara being nice to her that made her leaving the interview set by herself and hide at LCorp although they were supposed to sell their fake relationship. Kara has always been that way with her since day one : preventing her from losing it in front of Cat Grant at the photoshoot, trusting her to built a project together and stepping up during her confrontation with Morgan Edge at the NCASE. Kara had always been the same. It's Lena who had changed the way she felt around Kara because, even if she was just realizing it now, the evidence was here all along. Kara was perfect. Perfect for her and soon to be gone, like everything good in Lena's life.

-"Earth to Lena !" Kara interrupted Lena's inner turmoil.

-"Sorry, I was..." Lena started to say, turning to apologize to her previous interlocutor only to notice that he had already left, somewhere between her revelation and her internal freak out.

-"...so bored I must have zoned out" she finished, hoping that the man didn't think she was crazy.

-"I know what you mean" Kara replied smiling. "Can I join you to wherever you were ? I'm sure it's way cooler than down here" she added, laughing.

But Lena wasn't laughing. She just looked at Kara, so beautiful, with her bewitching laugh and her bright smile and wondered how, now that she had fallen so hard, she will be able to get back up again when this wonderful daydream will inevitably end.

-"Seriously, you don't have to worry anymore" Kara continued. Then, putting her right hand on her heart in a dramatic gesture, she added : "you have me now and I will protect you from old boring shareholders with my life." Lena laughed.

-"Kara Danvers, you're my hero" she replied as dramatically, all the while wondering if this was actually a good thing, because, how do you break up with the hero who saved you from the awful routine and solitude that was your life ?

Chapter Text

Friday. It's been a week since the release party and the fake couple had gone to one public appearance after the other since then. Kara has become Lena's official plus one at every public event the CEO of LCorp had to shown herself which meant a charity gala and the Children's Hospital 's inauguration for this week only. Add to that all the necessary little outgoings Kara and Lena had to do to maintain their fake relationship believable. So Lena had accompanied Kara to a science exhibit on Monday afternoon and they had both cleared their schedule to have dinner in a famous romantic restaurant on Wednesday's night.

Promoting their product and their relationship while still managing their respective companies was a lot of work but as they say, it's not hard when you enjoy it. Well, at least Kara was enjoying herself. Lena was another story. Ever since her realisation about her true feelings for Kara, Lena was in perpetual turmoil.

It wasn't the fake aspect of the relationship that Lena had trouble with. She had no problem lying to the medias, they did that with her all the time after all. No, what was bothering her was how much she appreciated Kara's presence and light touches but loathed them at the same time. Every time Kara put her arm around Lena's shoulder or kissed Lena's temple gently, the LCorp CEO kept wondering if it was just a practical thing knowing that Kara is taller than her or if it was what Kara used to do with her lovers but the final answer always came to soon for Lena's liking : she's doing it because it's what you and Alex asked of her.

And Kara was good at her job which made Lena's past week a sweet living Hell. Kara always sought to touch Lena in small ways when they were in public getting Lena hooked to Kara's presence at her side. Lena loved this kind of intimate moments with Kara so much that she sometimes provoked them. She had pretended a couple times that she had spotted some photographer on the street so Kara would take Lena's hand in hers or, Lena's favorite, Kara would take Lena in her arms and kiss her temple. Lena loved those embraces. She enjoyed every second of them, closing her eyes and inhaling Kara's scent but then she was quick on blaming herself for taking advantage of Kara's ignorance about her true feelings. So, to ease the guilt a little, Lena reminded herself each time that this wasn't going to last forever anyway so she should enjoy it as much as she could.

-"Hello Jess" Lena greeted her assistant when she exited the elevator.

-"Hello miss Luthor" Jess answered. "Your last order for the lab equipment has arrived, your three o'clock has been cancelled so I have rescheduled it for Monday at 9 am, the board asked...

A ringtone sounded loudly interrupting Jess's briefing. The assistant jumped on her phone, turned off the ringtone and then clicked hastily on an open web page.

-"Jess, what was that ?" Lena asked confused as to what had her assistant so stressed.

-"Hum, just a poll on the Internet."

-"A ringtone this loud and stressful for just a poll ?" Lena inquired, her eyebrow raised, showing that she wasn't buying it at all.

-"It's CatCo" Jess finally confessed. "They launched a poll to elect the best shipname for you and miss Danvers and we're currently losing so I make sure to vote every hour."

Lena sighted loudly. It annoyed her that Jess was supportive of her relationship with Kara to such an extent but Lena had thought it would be better to keep the situation that way because Jess was a real chatterbox and a gossip so if Lena told her the truth, all National City will know about the masquerade within two hours. In addition, Jess looked really happy for Lena and the CEO didn't have the courage to disappoint her assistant, so Lena decided to let this one slide.

-"Really ? Which one is winning ?" she asked, showing Jess she wasn't mad for obsessing a little bit too much.

-"It's the Karlena one" Jess replied, disappointment clear in her tone.

-"It's pretty" Lena said and meant it.

-"Yeah, but the one I'm voting for is the best !" Jess exclaimed enthusiastically. "It's Luvers" she revealed, her eyes shining with excitement. "Got it ?"

-"Hum, while I usually enjoy a good play on words, you have to admit that your favorite is less specific than the other one" Lena stated while wondering how people could spend so much time on the best way to give a famous couple a nickname.

-"Specific ?" Jess repeated, perfectly confused.

-"Yes, there's more than one person bearing the Luthor name and same goes for Danvers so how people can be sure they're talking about the same people ?" Lena inquired genuinely.

At this, Jess burst out laughing.

-"How come people won't know who they're talking about ?" she asked rhetorically, still laughing. "Is like saying you went to the Eiffel tower and assume people's first thought would be you meant the replica in Vegas and not the real one in Paris."

Lena chose wisely not to comment on her assistant enthusiasm, smiled and retired silently in her office with the urgent paperwork Jess had given her.

While Lena was getting up to speed on LCorp's current works, she wowed to keep up the pretence of a fake relationship with Kara all the way to its planned end because they had all agreed on this but she was slowly realizing that it was more difficult than she thought it would be. Her feelings for Kara on the side, the public's reaction wasn't exactly what Alex and her expected. They thought that after confirming the picture, the hype would die down quickly with the lack of drama and become yesterday news in a matter of days. But seeing how every appearance of the fake couple seemed to monopolize the crow and the press attention and how they were still trending on social medias according to Jess' reaction earlier, the truth was that they were still very well front page news.

The constant attention from the press wasn't what was bothering Lena, she has been used to it for a long time now. The problem was trying to forget about missing Kara when their supposed perfect relationship was splashed all over the news. That's why after their very public and staged romantic dinner Wednesday's night, she had decided to take a break on seeing Kara until the Sunday's brunch. So Lena had planned to lock herself in the LCorp tower for the next two days and catch up on some work.

After taking care of the more urgent things she had put on hold to promote hers and Kara's product, Lena decided to read the review that a renowned scientific journal wrote about the artificial pancreas. She retrieved the journal from her coffee table and took it to her desk. Then, as she sat at her desk flipping through the magazine waiting to come across the right page, her eyes landed on a new commercial spread.

Lena froze. Kara was definitely unavoidable for Lena it seemed. There was the CEO of Krypton Enterprise, spread in a two-page layout, wearing only a sport bra, shorts and a pair of boxing gloves. Lena knew she should just turn the page and move on but she found herself incapable of doing it and instead started detailing the picture.

Kara was in a fighting stance, her gloved hands raised to either side of her head. She wasn't wearing her glasses and had her hair up in a messy ponytail which made her blue eyes stand out even more than usual with the picture's dark background. Her brow was furrowed in concentration and her lips slightly parted in effort. Her body must have been oiled for the photoshoot because her skin looked like it was glistening with sweat. Lena eyes wandered further down, to Kara arms and belly. The LCorp CEO always knew that Kara was fit, it was quite obvious even through clothes but seeing those parts bared before her for the first time made Lena feel very hot suddenly.

She was so lost in her staring that when she heard a knock on the door, she ordered whoever it was to come in without thinking. There was nothing to worry about, she didn't have any appointment at midday and it was probably Jess wanting to inform her of something anyway.

-"Hi" Kara said, closing the door behind her.

At hearing Kara's voice Lena closed the magazine hastily and threw it in the trash as a panic reflex.

-"Wow, bad review ?" Kara inquired, surprised by the treatment Lena just gave to the poor magazine.

-"Two much commercials" Lena replied, smiling awkwardly.

-"I brought you food" Kara said then, holding out a plastic bag with a very proud smile on her face.

-"Oh thanks, you didn't have too" Lena replied kindly while plotting Jess' murder silently inside her head. Lena knew that she was the one who had asked Jess to make a note downstairs that Kara Danvers was to be shown in right away whenever it was possible but that didn't mean Jess shouldn't announce Kara anyway.

Lena stood up, retrieved the bag from Kara's hand and put it down on her coffee table.

-"You're not staying ?" Lena inquired when she noticed there wasn't enough food for the two of them, Hell, even for Kara alone, in the bag.

-"No, sorry" Kara apologized. "Winn and I have to finish a very important security update on the app today."

-"Oh, okay" Lena answered, hoping to not sound too defeated. She should be glad that Kara wasn't staying, it abided her plan to distance herself from Kara for a little while but the truth is that Lena couldn't help but feel disappointed.

-"I wanted to stop by though to invite you to game night at Alex's place tonight" Kara went on, looking at Lena expectantly.

-"Oh, I don't want to intrude in your family and friends gathering, I stole you from them enough with our work and this whole fake relationship thing" Lena tried to excuse herself, twisting her hands together in a nervous gesture.

-"Lena please, you're not intruding !" Kara exclaimed rolling her eyes. She wished sometimes Lena would stop five minutes with her Luthor complex as Kara named it.

-"Plus, I don't know if you noticed, but our dear product is the number one selling smartphone's accessorize this week" Kara continued, her eyes shining in excitement. "We have to celebrate, including you, because you know very well I couldn't have done it without you" she finished, crossing her arms on her chest. Someone isn't going to take no for an answer Lena thought.

-"What time ?" she asked, sighting in defeat.

-"Yes !" Kara all but shouted, raising her fists in the air as a victory sign. "See you tonight at 8 !" Kara threw over her shoulder and she was gone.

After Kara had left, Lena resumed working, but every time she passed by her desk in her numerous whereabouts in the building, she kept glancing at the magazine in the trash, wondering if it would be creepy of her to glance at the commercial one last time.

Of course it would be ! Lena chastised herself and retrieved the magazine with unnecessary force. She dumped it again in a recycle bin located in a very busy hallway of the building so she won't be tempted to go back for it. After receiving some curious looks from the way she aggressively dumped that poor magazine, Lena decided that she needed help dealing with that Kara situation.

*
**

After work, Lena and Veronica met in their favorite bar.

-"I'm surprised you called me Happy Hour" Veronica said has she hugged Lena. "With your product just out and all those outings with App Girl I saw in the press, I thought you were too busy for your old friend".

-"Oh Vero, don't say that" Lena answered, smiling because she knew Vero just said that to tease her. "You know I always have time for you and frankly, I need some time without Kara right now."

-"Really ?" Veronica asked a little confused. She knew how much Lena heated the press so it was so weird seeing her playing her fake role so willingly unless she had a thing for her new work partner which Veronica would put money on it without a doubt. This could only mean one thing, Veronica thought. Trouble in paradise.

-"I get that the acting before the medias can't be a little tiring at some point but, there's much worse than go around National City with an arm candy" Veronica ventured, gauging her friend reaction very closely.

-"You think she makes a good arm candy ?" Lena asked, faking disinterest in the answer.

-"Well, I'm not really into her nerd/preppy looks but I must admit that she's good looking and charming."

Lena didn't answer. She kept looking at her glass, making the liquid swirl with a delicate turn of her wrist but the biting of her lower lip was all Veronica needed to confirm what she had sensed from quite some time.
-"What ? You don't think she's pretty ?" Veronica decided to push a little more.

-"Oh no, she is !" Lena replied enthusiastically but stopped herself short at seeing Veronica smirk. The latter just rolled her eyes dramatically and decided to put an end to this avoiding of the subject at hand.

-"I can't believe were facing a Cindy Ryan situation again" Veronica stated, sighting.
-"What ? No !" Lena protested vehemently.

-"Oh please !" Veronica cut her off. "You spent months in high school pinning after that blonde cheerleader and a few more before talking to me about it" she went on, ignoring Lena's growl of protestation at hearing that embarrassing retelling of a old high school story. " It's exactly the same but this time I'm putting an end to it a lot sooner" Veronica finished.

-"It's not the same." Lena protested weakly.

-"You right it's not. We're not in high school anymore so if you like the girl, you actually do something about it." Veronica said, poking at her friend with her index finger.

-"You never said to make a move on Cindy back then, so why should I do it this time ?" Lena inquired, swatting Veronica's finger away.

-"That's because Cindy Ryan was the straighter of straights and, if I'm being honest, kind of a bitch too."

-"But you think Kara is different" Lena stated, suddenly very curious about what her best friend thought about the Krypton CEO.

-"Well, the girl managed to surprise you, render you speechless and make you laugh at that CatCo photoshoot, three things no one was able to do in a long time let me remind you, and she did it all at once the first day you two met" Veronica listed like it was the more obvious thing in the world. "I have to admit, the girl must be special."

-"It doesn't matter, it will never work" Lena replied sighting and took a sip of her drink.

-"Uh, let me see..." Veronica started to say, putting her empty glass down on the counter and turning on her stool to face Lena fully.. "We established that she's pretty, she's smart and she's crushing it in the same professional field as you..." she continued, pretending to think. "Remind me what's the problem again ?"

Lena rolled her eyes.

-"It's just that we're both CEO of big companies, with all the work, we won't be able to spend time together which will damage our relationship" the CEO explained. "We're close now because we worked on a project together for weeks and because we have to fake a relationship but as soon that all of that end, so will our proximity."

Veronica didn't said anything. She just sat there on her stool, her right elbow on the counter with her head resting on her hand, smiling and shaking her head in disbelief.

-"Why are you smiling ? Lena asked a little offended by her friend dismissing her arguments so quickly.

-"Seriously Lena, do you hear yourself ? Veronica asked, astonished. "So typical of you to list everything that could go wrong but nothing that could actually go well" she went on smiling.

-"Sorry that my familial background make me pessimistic about love" Lena answered, crossing her arms in a closed-off gesture. She didn't like to be called on her defense mechanisms, even by her closest friend.

-"Hey, I'm just saying that you're condemning a romantic relationship with App Girl even before it had a chance to start." Veronica went on calmly, showing her friend that she wasn't reproaching her anything. "So, maybe you should just ask Kara what she thinks about all of this and hope for the best like everybody else."

-"Maybe" Lena finally replied after a while. "In the meantime, you should take another one" she continued, pointing at Veronica's empty glass. "Because I'm not really liking sober you right now, all judgy and bossy about my love life" she finished smiling.

-"You know what ?" Veronica said, banging on the counter with her hand. "You're right. Sober doesn't feel very good" she went on and turned to the bartender : "two more please !"

She let Lena change the subject because Veronica had pushed her friend enough for one day but mostly because she gave Lena more than enough to think over. Veronica hoped that Lena would follow her advice and go for it with App Girl. Lena deserved to be happy.

*
**

As Lena smoothed the inexistent wrinkles on her skirt for the hundredth time outside Alex's front door, she cursed herself for accepting Kara's invitation earlier. Pretend to be Kara's girlfriend while having real feelings for the Krypton's CEO was the easy part Lena realized, considering that what was expected of her. She was supposed to be all smiles and a little grabby around Kara but only in public. Now she was going to be in the privacy of Alex's apartment and in the same room as all the people who knew that she wasn't really dating Kara. Lena felt panic rise again. I shouldn't have accepted the invitation she thought, but it was too late now and to be honest, Lena knew she couldn't say no to that face anymore. Never could actually, if she was being honest. She rang the bell.

-"Hey, welcome" Alex Danvers said, motioning for Lena to come in. "Kara, your girlfriend is here !" Alex added as they walked further in the apartment making Lena blush.

-"Great ! Kara replied, still smiling awkwardly at her sister's joke. Kara already felt bad most of the time for distracting Lena from her CEO's duties with this whole publicity mess so the joke left kind of a bittersweet feeling.

After greeting Maggie, James and Winn and once Alex served her a glass of red wine Lena desperately needed, time has come for her to take a sit. She quickly glanced around the living room. Alex and Maggie were loved in a big lovechair, James was on one of the kitchen chairs that have been moved there for the evening and finally, Kara was on the leather couch. Alone. Giving the previous events of the day and especially a shameful one with a magazine, Lena made up her mind in one second and seated on the remaining kitchen chair next to James before Winn would come back from his bathroom trip.

As she seated down, Lena glanced at Kara and could have swear that the blonde looked at her with her brows furrowed in some sort of confusion and hurt ? before looking away and resume chewing on her slice of pizza.

-"Before starting this edition of game night" Alex said, straightening up on the chair, "I would like to propose a toast." She raised her glass, soon imitated by everybody else in the room. "To Lena, Kara and their artificial pancreas which became the number one selling smartphone's accessorize in one week !"

-"Cheers !" They all shouted in unison.

-"Now, let's get down to business" Kara said very seriously, echoed with a loud "yes !" from Winn.

-"Maybe some of you didn't play this game in a while" Kara addressed the group. "But I know you're all ready to get out there and prove yourself. So, let's the Time's Up challenge begin !" she continued very enthusiastically like a talk show host.

-"Since Lucy couldn't be here tonight, Winn, you have to team up with me bud', in the name of male solidarity" James pleaded.

-"Of course bud'" Winn replied, winking.

-"We're going to crush all of them" Alex commented to her girlfriend before taking a sip of her drink, which made Maggie smirk.

-"Well, it seems you're stuck with me these days" Kara said to Lena, half-joking. She was starting to think that Lena was beginning to grow weary of Kara's presence. Lena didn't showed that exactly but she did sit opposite to Kara tonight and the Krypton CEO wasn't stupid. Someone as beautiful, famous and high class like her must be fed up to put up with her awkward self for so long.

Lena noticed Kara tinted humor but chose not to comment on it. She would love if Kara stopped self-depreciating herself publically like this now and then. She is smart and pleasant to be around with and Lena wished that Kara would realize it sometimes.

*
**

Game night went very well. There had been a lot of laugher and everybody had a lot of fun. After a dozen or so of rounds of Time's Up, they decided to call it a night.

-"I can't believe we lost to you and Maggie" Winn complained to Alex. "I get it when you team up with Kara because of the sister bond and the fact that you lived together your whole life but you and Maggie ?" he continued, shocked. "There's some secret language operating here and I don't like it" he finished, eyeing Alex and Maggie successively and suspiciously which made the couple laugh.

-"Drop it Winn, you'll have your rematch soon" James said smiling while collecting the glasses.

-"Yeah, and I will team up with you if you want" Kara added, winking at her friend as she was wiping the table.

-"Thanks Kara, I'm sure the two of us can decrypt that spies eye communication" Winn replied very seriously.

-"How come you don't complain about Kara's and Lena's win too ?" Maggie asked, her tone obviously teasing. "They beat you too even if wasn't as far ahead than us" she added smirking.

-"Because they're both geniuses and great minds think alike" he answered matter-of-factly. "Everybody knows that" he continued as it was the most logical thing in the world.

-"Okay, I think it's time for me to take you home buddy" James intervened, grabbing Winn by his shoulders and leading him toward the front door. "Bye guys !" he said, echoed soon after by Kara and Lena who were close behind.

-"Bye !" Alex and Maggie said back in unison as they watched everyone leave.

-"You think Winn will recover from his defeat one day ?" Maggie asked her girlfriend later as they were both by the sink doing the dishes.

-"Yeah, he will be fine" Alex replied. "There was no way he could have beat us and he knew it" she smirked making Maggie laugh.

-"I think he was most disturbed by his loss to Lena and Kara than to us"

-"You think ?"

-"Yeah, and I kind of would be too if two people who just met weeks ago have more complicity and knowledge of how the other's mind works than me and my best friend that have known each other for years" Maggie explained.

-"Well, they did spent two weeks working non-stop side by side and they're currently faking a romantic relationship" Alex deduct easily. "That tend to bring people together."

-"Yeah sure, but you don't think there's more going on here ?" Maggie inquired. She couldn't be the only one to have noticed the crazy complicity and silent communicating between Lena and Kara. Like really good friends. Like, more than friends to be honest.

-"What do you mean ?" Alex asked even if she knew exactly what her girlfriend was talking about. She had her own moment of doubt when she had seen Lena comfort Kara during the CatCo interview.

-"I can't speak for Luthor, I don't know her very well but Little Danvers ? I think she's got a big crush on her fake girlfriend" Maggie finally voiced what she had been thinking all the evening.

Alex sighed. She knew Maggie was right but she didn't want to hear it. She didn't want anyone to confirm what she knew all along since that day she saw her sister talking with Lena next to the vending machine.

Kara, given her obvious awkwardness and social inadequacy, didn't connect often with people. It also made living with her quite difficult. So when she did click with someone, she had the tendency to invest herself too much in the relationship which often left her hurting when those people ended up leaving her. Since high school, Alex was always there to pick up the pieces every time people would grown weary of Kara. But this time, when Lena will abandon Kara in a few days according to the plan, Alex didn't know if she could do it. Because she agreed to the plan. She even convinced Kara to do it. If her little sister had indeed developed romantic feelings for Lena, Kara will soon be devastated and it all will be Alex's fault.

-"Stop with your nonsense and help me with this instead, would you ?" Alex finally said to Maggie, faking a smile and holding up a bag to put all the empty bottles of beer and wine inside.

*
**

After they bid their goodbyes to Winn and James, Lena and Kara lingered outside of Alex's building, both of them not wanting this evening to end but unable to ask the other to stay.

-"How did you came ?" Lena asked, picking up her phone to call her night driver.

-"Walking. My apartment is only a few blocks from here" Kara said.

-"Really ?"

-"Yeah, I know I could move into something bigger and closer to downtown now that I can afford it" Kara explained at seeing Lena surprise. "But I didn't expect that the Krypton App would blow up so much and then with our project and everything else, I didn't really had the time to think about moving."

-"And it's close to Alex" Lena guessed, smiling.

-"Yeah" Kara admitted. "Maybe I'm just waiting for her to move closer to downtown too before leaving here" she added smiling.

-"I think it 's great how you two still get along so well and are always there for each other" Lena said smiling too but her smile was kind of sad. She used to have this special link with Lex too but it was long broken now.

-"Hey, walk me home ?" Kara said, passing an arm around Lena's shoulder for comfort. She knew how talking about Lex always made Lena feel sad.

Lena nodded and let Kara drag her along the sidewalk gently. It felt good to have Kara close again. Lena sunk a bit more into Kara's side, enjoying the comforting sensation.

-"You know, you could spend the night at my place" Kara said after a few minutes of walking. "I still have your night bag somewhere, I think" she continued, raising her chin in thought.

Lena froze. It's true that you don't embark on a fake relationship without a minimum level of preparedness. Especially when the organizers are Alex "control freak" Danvers and Lena "always be prepared for anything" Luthor. So, since the day one, Kara and Lena each have a bag of clothes from the other in their home in case some relentless reporters would camp in front of their homes and the two women would have to pretend that they spent the night at their girlfriend's.

Until now, only Kara stayed a couples of night in Lena's guest room because they had stayed up late working at LCorp's lab and Lena's penthouse is far closer to it than Kara's apartment. Tonight it would be logic for Lena to go to Kara's. She would have done it without a doubt only a few days ago. But now, this sleepover meant throwing her plan to keep her distances from Kara out the window. It meant doing something she might regret.

-"Sorry, you already have me shadowing you all day and you just spent the evening with me and my friends" Kara apologized to Lena.

What ? Lena must have been caught up in her thoughts for too long because Kara had already withdraw her arm and was now standing in front of her with her hands in her pocket, looking embarrassed.

-"I'm sure you have more important things to do and other people you want to see" Kara continued, head still downcast and eyes on the ground.

-"No, I..." Lena tried to speak but the words wouldn't come. She didn't want Kara to feel like she didn't matter whereas she was the best thing that happened to Lena in a long time. But at the same time, Lena couldn't tell her fake girlfriend that she actually liked her. Or maybe she could. Maybe Veronica was right and it was time for her to take a chance.

The more Lena got bogged down in her internal struggle, the more embarrassed and uncomfortable Kara looked. She started fidgeting with her glasses and looked everywhere but at the brunette in front of her. Lena had to say something quickly. Do something now !

She kissed Kara.

She didn't know how she went from panicking to kissing Kara but the fact was that Lena had her arms around Kara's shoulders and her lips pressed against Kara's. She pulled back as soon as she realized what she was doing and met with beautiful but very confused blue eyes.

-"Paparazzo" was the only thing Lena thought to say.

-"Real..." Kara started to say while turning to see the reporter Lena supposedly spotted but Lena stopped Kara with a hand on the blonde's cheek.

-"He's still looking" Lena lied so Kara won't notice that they were actually the only two people on the street. Kara put her arms around Lena's waist and her chin on Lena's head, waiting for the LCorp CEO to give her the green light to move.

This made Lena feel as if the guilt she was experiencing now would kill her soon. And if she won't die of guilt, she was sure Veronica will kill her with her bare hands for no listening to her anyway.

-"He's gone" Lena said after a minute, glancing at a spot where a reporter could have been hiding if there was really one.

-"I didn't think they would track us to this part of the city" Kara wondered, releasing Lena from her embrace.

-"Me too" Lena replied and felt even more bad than she already felt for taking advantage of Kara's blind faith in her. That's why when Kara asked her again if she wanted to come to her place, this time Lena said yes. The smile on Kara's face was worth the torture of spending the night where everything would make Lena think of Kara, even if it also increased Lena's guilt of not telling the truth to Kara.

Chapter Text

Kara was still sleeping peacefully on her couch when sounds of a pencil scratching on paper and what seemed to be grunts of frustration pulled her out of her slumber. She stretched, wincing a little at the new pain on her lower back, probably caused by her sleeping on her old couch and reached for her glasses on the coffee table. She was glad she had managed to convince Lena to sleep in her bed, she would have been a terrible host if she hadn't. Alex was right, she had to get rid of that awful couch.

Kara seated up and now that she had her glasses on, searched for the source of the noises. Lena was there, perched on one of the kitchen's tool, fully awake but still in her pyjamas. Kara looked at the window. The sun hadn't finished rising, meaning it was way too early for a Saturday morning according to Kara's sleeping schedule. She considered going back to sleep, but as she glanced at Lena again, she found herself unable to move.

Lena was bent over a sheet of paper, a pencil in her right hand, and her left hand hanging over a calculator. She had her hair in a messy bun, done hastily with one of Kara's pens. She was so absorbed by her task that she didn't notice that Kara had awaken. Lena put a lock of hair behind her ear before writing something on her piece of paper. In that exact moment, Kara realized once again how beautiful Lena was, with the glimmers of dawn reflected in her black manna, her green eyes shining with excitement and that slight ripple of concentration between her eyebrows when she thinks. Kara got up slowly and walked towards Lena, as if hypnotized by this vision that seemed straight out of a dream.

-"Sorry, did I wake you ?" Lena apologized, suddenly aware of Kara's presence.

Kara just shrugged to show Lena that she didn't mind and went to seat in the other stool next to Lena.

-"What are you doing ?" she asked, curious about what had Lena awake this early.

-"I dreamt of something last night and I was afraid to forget it if I didn't draw it right away" Lena explained, tapping her chin in thoughts.

-"I know the feeling" Kara replied, smiling. "May I take a look ?"

Lena seemed to hesitate but finally slipped the paper she was writing on, to Kara.

-"Is this a... spaceship ?" Kara asked with her head tilted to the side as she examined Lena's drawing carefully.

Lena avoided Kara's gaze.

-"Yes" she answered, a little embarrassed by her outer space obsession that Lillian used to call a silly fantasy.

-"It looks awesome but I doubt its ability to fly" Kara said, smiling apologetically to Lena who growled in response.

-"I know !" she exclaimed, burying her face in her hands. "It was so beautiful in my dream I had to get up to draw it but the more I look and think about it, the more I wonder if it could ever accomplish what it was designed for" Lena continued, sighing in frustration.

-"Want some help ?" Kara offered, thoughts of returning to sleep completely forgotten.

-"Actually, I was hoping you would say that" Lena replied smirking, which confused Kara. "So I had those delivered because I know you never work with an empty stomach" she continued, showing Kara a paper bag supporting the logo of Kara's favorite donught's brand.

At the thought of biting in one of those marvellous donughts, Kara's eyes shone with excitement. She smiled brightly at Lena and thanked her but as Kara reached for the paper bag, it hit her :

How come she hadn't realized it sooner ?

Lena knew everything that there is to know about her. Her unconditional love for food, her hyperactivity, her awkwardness during major social events but despite all that, Lena was always happy to see her, she appreciated Kara's company and valued her opinion. Lena had even hanged out with Kara's family and friends last night and had looked like she had enjoyed herself very much. Most of all, Lena could be anywhere right now : working at LCorp, enjoying a good lie-in, having brunch with friends but she was here. With Kara. And donughts.

Lena was perfect. Perfect for me.

*
**

Lena was still at her office. She sometimes passed by LCorp on Saturdays to get ahead on some work or just to see how things were going but never stayed to long. Today was obviously different. She welcomed the distraction work was providing her. Her morning with Kara had been so wonderful she was afraid of mistaking dreams from reality. Waking up at K ara's and sharing breakfast together had felt so good and natural, she had a lot of trouble reminding herself that they were not really dating.

-"Miss Luthor ?" Jess voice sounded through the intercom, pulling Lena out of yet another daydreaming about her wonderful morning.

-"Miss Sinclair is here" Jess announced.

-"Send her in please, Jess" Lena replied. Her friend could be a good distraction since work wasn't really doing its job apparently.

-"Hey ! How's my favorite depraved friend doing ?" Veronica greeted Lena very enthusiastically as she engulfed her CEO friend in a strong hug.

-"Depraved ?" Lena asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

-"You know you can't keep anything from me" Veronica said, plopping herself down on Lena's couch. "I know you didn't slept at home last night" she continued, wriggling her eyebrows suggestively.

-"It wasn't like that" Lena refuted as she joined her friend on the couch.

-"Wait, are you saying that my awesome pep talk from the other day was useless ?" Veronica said, making an exaggerated betrayed face. "Please tell me that you, at the very least, got a goodnight kiss or something."

-"Not... really ?" Lena answered hesitantly, thinking back about how she kissed Kara on the sidewalk last night before chickening out and blaming an invisible photographer. She was pretty sure she couldn't count that kiss as their first if Kara wasn't aware that it was, indeed, their first.

Veronica rolled her eyes and threw her head back on the couch, grunting.

-"I can't believe it !" she exclaimed. "And they let you run this place ?" she continued in disbelief, gesturing vaguely with her hand to refer to the LCorp building. Lena just rolled her eyes at her friend antics.

-"Fortunately, you don't deal with the market the way you deal with your crushes or this place would already be bankrupt" Veronica went on, shaking her head.

-"You know what ?" Lena suddenly interrupted, straightening up on the couch. "You're right. Last night I behaved like a pathetic schoolgirl with a crush" she admitted. "It has to end."

-"Yes !" Veronica shouted, like she wasn't in a middle of a workplace. "That's my sharky CEO !"

Lena laughed at the silly nickname.

-"So, when are you going to tell App Girl that her contract got renewed for an indefinite period ?" Veronica asked, smiling mischievously.

-"Wednesday it's date night. We're supposed to have dinner, break up and part ways in good terms" Lena explained. "I think I will do it at this moment. If she agrees to go out with me, I mean for real this time around, great ! And if she doesn't...

-"At least you will know" Veronica finished for her.

-"Yes" Lena concluded. She won't chicken out this time, she will tell Kara.

-"Lena Luthor, waiting the very last moment to take action" Veronica said, looking at Lena with admiration. Suddenly, Veronica face turned shocked.

-"Who are you and what have you done with my friend ?" she asked, grabbing Lena by her shoulders and searching her eyes in false panic.

They both laughed loudly, making Jess jump and drop her phone on her desk. She grabbed her phone back quickly : she was at ten votes from making luvers top of the list before karlena.

*
**

After her groundbreaking realization, Kara needed to talk to someone about it. She, of course, thought of Alex first but, knowing her big sister and her super protective nature, she would warn Kara about all the things she should think about before even considering a real relationship with Lena until Kara would be too chickened out to do anything. Maybe diving headfirst was a mistake but at least it would be her mistake.

So, after Lena had left late this morning to go check some things at LCorp, Kara decided to pay Winn a visit at Krypton Enterprise. She figured that best friend advices would be better than big sister/publicist ones.

-"Kara ?" Winn said, very surprised, when Kara entered their office. "What are you doing here ?"

-"Uh, I don't know if you noticed before Winn, but I work here" Kara replied, rolling her eyes. "They even call me CEO around here."

-"Uh, I know that Miss smarty-pants but it's Saturday".

-"So ?" Kara said back as she hang her coat and went to sit at her desk across from Winn.

-"You never show up to work on Saturday" Winn stated, typing occasionally on his computer.

-"It's just that I realized something big this morning and I need to process it with my best friend" Kara explained, smiling excitedly at Winn.

-"Okay, if you showed up here on a Saturday it must be very important."

-"I don't know if it's very important but I need help, that's for sure."

-"Okay" Winn replied. He stopped typing on his keyboard and turned on his desk chair to give Kara is undivided attention. "Tell me."

-"I don't know how it didn't hit me before but this morning I had some sort of revelation" Kara started to explain, nervous. "I think...no, I am... in love with Lena" she finally managed to say. She looked at Winn anxiously and waited for his reaction.

-"Yeah, well, who isn't ?" Winn said, scoffing at the obvious. "So what's the big reveal ?"

-"But this is the reveal ! I'm in love with Lena !" Kara exclaimed, letting her shoulders drop in exasperation. Seeing that Winn still had his brows furrowed in confusion she added : "for real !"

-"Wait, you mean in love in love, not just a celebrity crush like everybody else ?" he asked, serious.

-"Yes !"

-Like, you're not saying that because you're faking a relationship but because you really love her ?" he asked again to make sure he had understood her friend correctly.

-"Oh my God, yes Winn, exactly like that" Kara replied, sighting. He was a very bright man but he sometimes was very slow at getting the simplest of things. Like Kara actually, that's why they were best friends.

-"Wow. What does Alex think about all of this ?" Winn said, finally caught up on Kar a's situation.

-"Actually, I forgot to tell you" Kara said, biting her lower lip guiltily. "Alex can't know about that. Well, not yet at least."

-"WHAT ?" Winn all but shouted, panicked. "Kara ! You know I hate keeping things from Alex !" he continued, lowering his voice and glancing at the hallway, hoping the others employees didn't heard him. "I don't how she does it but she always sense when I'm keeping something from her, then she drives me up the wall until I break under the pressure and tells her everything !" he explained, looking at his phone nervously as if Alex would have already sensed his treason and was going to call him for an explanation.

-"Winn, what are you talking about ?" Kara asked, totally confused. "You think Alex is a mind reading alien or something ? You need to calm down" she said, wondering how she's supposed to be the weirder in their group of friends with Winn acting like that.

-"More like a secret agent" he mumbled. "Wait, you think that could be it ?" he asked Kara suddenly.

-"Winn !"

-"What ?"

-"Focus !"

-"Yes, sorry" Winn apologized. He took a breath, trying to calm down. "So, you're in love with Lena, I'm mean for real this time and you want me to..." he resumed the situation. "What do you want me to do again ?"

-"I want you to tell me if I have a chance with her or if I'm completely delusional, if you noticed something that made you think that maybe she likes me more than a friend, what I should tell her" Kara replied in one breath, starting to feel panicked too. Maybe she didn't think all of that through. "You know, everything a best friend is supposed to say in this kind of situation" she finished, looking expectantly at Winn.

-"Okay..." Winn answered, processing the flow of questions Kara threw his way. "Sorry but I think I missed the fine prints of our best friends contract" he finally apologized.

-"Well, if you find the user manual for how to tell your friend/fake girlfriend you actually love her, let me know !" Kara replied, crossing her arms on her chest in frustration.

-"Sorry I'm not very useful but you should know I'm not really an expert at wooing girls" Winn joked, trying to light up his friend's mood. Kara smiled. "But, I'm sure about something though" he continued, growing unusually serious for him. "We're talking about Lena freaking Luthor here so, whether you have a chance or not, I think you should go for it because otherwise you'll regret it you whole life. Trust me."

*
**

After a few days of reflexion and replaying her conversation with Winn over and over, Kara decided that the best course of action was to wait until date night to tell Lena how she really felt about her. That way, if Lena didn't want a real relationship with her, Kara wouldn't regret anything since they're supposed to break up on this night and if Lena was all in, they would enjoy another great dinner en tête-à-tête.

It was the most logical solution and Kara loved logic. The only problem was that the outcome wasn't as predictable as a mathematical formula. Whatever Lena's answer was going to be, nothing will guarantee that they will still be friend after that or even if they will work together again on a new project.

But that wasn't her only and most urgent problem. Wednesday was date night but this time it could also potentially be the start of a beautiful love story so Kara wanted to be well dressed for the occasion. The thing was, when she needed fashion help, she usually turned to Alex and Maggie but there was no way for Kara to ask for help without explaining for what the outfit was. Especially when one is your sister/publicist and knows your schedule by heart, and the other is a walking human lie detector, well, in Kara's case anyway.

So Kara turned to the only person who knew Lena very well but won't tell her anything about Kara's intentions at the same time : Veronica Sinclair.

Kara had called Jess and asked for Veronica's number saying that she was planning a surprise for Lena. Jess had happily given the number to Kara without question and had promised not tell anything to Lena. Kara was glad that Jess was so nice to her even if the Krypton CEO was sometimes surprised to see how much Jess was supportive of her. Kara could understand that Jess was glad to see her boss in a relationship but Kara knew for sure that Lena had already been with other people before fake dating her and a real relationship is better than a fake one no matter who you're dating, right ?

*
**

Kara was already waiting for thirty minutes when Veronica finally showed up.

-"Sorry I'm late... Sweetie" Veronica said when she entered the luxury boutique where she had asked Kara to meet her.

-"Hi, it's ok, thanks for coming" Kara greeted Lena's friend, frowning at the term of endearment. What Kara didn't know, was that Veronica was so used to call Kara "App Girl" that she had forgotten what her actual name was and "sweetie" was the only thing she could came up with.

-"So," Veronica started to say to Kara when she was interrupted by a salesgirl.

-"Do you ladies need help with anything ?" the salesgirl asked. Kara opened her mouth to reply that any help was welcomed in her case but Veronica beat her to it.

-"Actually, my friend and I here" she said, gesturing between herself and Kara with her hand, "need to do a little fashion briefing first so, if we could have some privacy, that would be nice thanks."

The salesgirl knew better than to insist and began to walk away when Veronica seemed to remember something.

-"Oh, and could you get me some champagne please ?" she asked. "It helps me think."

When the salesgirl retreated to retrieve the glass of champagne, Veronica turned to Kara, her expression suddenly very serious and professional.

-"So, let me get this straight" she began, joining her hands before herself in concentration. "You asked me for help because you usually dress yourself for dates night but this time you have something important to ask Lena and the other people you normally turn to in emergency situations can't know about the thing you have to ask Lena" she resumed. "Am I getting it right here ?"

-"Pretty much yes" Kara answered, relieved that Veronica didn't seem to want to know more about this mysterious thing Kara wanted to ask Lena.

-"Now, before we find the perfect outfit," Veronica spoke again, "where are you on the Ana Wintour scale ?"

Kara furrowed her brows in confusion. She knew the name sounded familiar but in what field of expertise, she had no idea.

-"Hum, I don't..."

-"Okay... let me rephrase this" Veronica interrupted quickly seeing how Kara seemed to have no clue about what Veronica was talking about. Fashion was a very serious topic in Veronica's opinion and they're were wasting precious time here. "On a scale of 1 to 10, where would you rank your fashion sense ?" she asked again.

-"Hum... Three ?" Kara replied hesitantly. She never really thought about her looks that much.

-"So back to basics it is !" Veronica exclaimed, clapping her hands in a very fast and loud gesture. She suspected it wouldn't be easy working her magic in so little time but she wasn't one to back down from a challenge.

-"There is really five ground rules in fashion" Veronica started explaining, taking the glass of champagne the salesgirl was offering her. "There are others of course, fashion is a very complex domain after all, but only five are fundamental" she continued, taking a sip of her glass.

-"Okay" Kara replied, nodding.

-"The number one is actually more of a personal tip than a rule" Veronica went on. "Every time you feel overwhelmed by the options before you or the dress code for the event is too vague, remember this : if you want to be chic, go French like Dior, Yves Saint Laurent or Chanel. I you want to be sexy, go Italian. Valentino, Armani, Versace. Finally, if you want to draw attention, you need a little touch of madness and that what English brands are for, like Vivienne Westwood or Alexander McQueen."

-"Noted" Kara said, taping her temple with her index even if she knew she would never remember those brand and let alone pronounce them correctly. Well, at least she got the nationality part.

-"Perfect !" Veronica exclaimed. "So, what do we want to be Wednesday night ?" she then asked Kara, her full smile turning into a smirk. Kara may not have told her the thing she wanted to ask Lena but Veronica was no fool. Nor blind. This was her chance to help her best friend get the girl and Veronica was the kind to go kamikaze when she was on a mission. "Classy, sexy or crazy ?"

-"Uh, classy ?" Kara tried. She wanted to look good for Lena of course but their date was planned in a fancy restaurant and also, Kara didn't want to disclose her intention to Veronica too much, so classy seemed the right answer.

-"No !" Veronica shouted, making the employees jump behind the cashier. "It's date night for God's sake, not a job interview ! We want to be sexy, ok ? Se-xy" she explained to Kara as if she was a five years old.

-"Sexy, got it" Kara replied quickly, a little scared by Veronica's strong reaction. Then, Kara took a look at Veronica's dress one more time, and noticed how it ended just below Veronica's bottom and its neckline left nothing to the imagination. Maybe we don't have the same definition of sexy Kara thought nervously and started wondering if asking Veronica for help was a good idea after all.

-"Someone !" Veronica yelled in the boutique, making Kara wince both in pain and embarrassment.

-"Yes Madam ?" the blonde salesgirl from earlier asked, waiting for Veronica's order like a soldier standing to attention.

-"I want to see all your Italian suits for women please" Veronica said. She knew Lena had a soft spot for women in suits and since the launching party Veronica also knew that App Girl could rock a suit just fine. Veronica was going to make Kara the female (and younger) version of Brad Pitt so Lena would have no other choice to girl the hell up and ask App Girl out.

-"Right away Madam" the girl replied and she was gone as fast as she had came.

Kara released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She had been afraid Veronica would chose scandalous dresses which would have made Kara look more like an escort girl than the young prodigy CEO that she actually was. Suits are fine, I can do suits.

-"So, what are the other ground rules ?" Kara suddenly asked Veronica, wanting to interrupt the heavy silence that had filled the fitting room since the salesgirl left to prepare Veronica's order. This was Lena's best friend so Kara felt like she had to at least make some conversation. Especially if date night goes well.

-"You only gave me the first" Kara continued, trying not to ramble too much but wanting for Veronica to look away from her phone.

-"I don't know if you're ready for them yet" Veronica answered, eyeing Kara's outfit one more time. "You have to assimilate number one completely first and then we'll see."

Before Kara could come up with something else to say, the salesgirl came back with two racks of suits of all kinds. There were the classic black and navy blue ones but also some bright red or green and one which seemed to had been tailored directly from a 15th century tapestry.

Kara moved forward to take a closer look at the suits but Veronica stopped Kara in her tracks by showing a red suit against her.

-"Hum... It could be nice but more for a gala" Veronica said looking alternately between the suit and Kara's face in the mirror in front of them. "It's date night, you'll want an intimate setting and this color will draw to much attention."

-"What about..." Veronica continued, showing a dark blue suit against Kara's body again. "No, too classic, too expected" she concluded after a few seconds and hung the suit back on the rack.

Veronica rummaged among the suits for at least five minutes, shooting glances at Kara from time to time. Finally, Veronica pulled a black suit with the collar, the false chest pocket and the end of the sleeves in black satin.

-"Let's try this one" she said, holding it out for Kara to take.

-"Okay" Kara replied, relieved that veronica hadn't chose something too extravagant. "Can I have a shirt to try with?" she then asked the salesgirl.

-"Of course" the salesgirl answered, smiling. "What color do you want for the shirt ? May I suggest a dark red, it would look really great with that suit" she continued, waiting for Kara's response.

-"No shirt" Veronica suddenly said, making both women look at her with incredulous faces.

-"N...No shirt ?" Kara repeated, sure she hadn't heard Veronica well.

-"Yes, no shirt" Veronica insisted. "Less is more darling, trust me."

Kara glanced at the salesgirl, hoping for some help but the girl seemed to have completely recovered. She wasn't going to say anything, every salesperson knows that the customer is always right and frankly, she had already seen weirder requests. She showed Kara a fitting room and hung the suit inside before leaving.

When Kara exited the fitting room, she was confident. The suit had a very nice cut and suited her perfectly. But when she stopped looking at herself in the mirror and glanced at Veronica and the salesgirl, the latter was trying so hard not to laugh and Veronica sighed, face-palming herself.

-"What ?" Kara asked, confused. She really thought the suit looked good.

-"When you go shirtless you're supposed to take the bra off too, exactly like with very low cut and strapless dresses" Veronica stated, rolling her eyes.

-"Oh" was all Kara could manage. She never went out shirtless, how was she supposed to know that ?

-"And if you really want to wear one," Veronica went on, "don't borrow your little sister's. At that, the salesgirl laugh became silent as she started to have difficulty to breathe. Kara face turned red as she just realized that she was wearing her blue bra with multiple Superman logo printed on it.

-"Can we have some double-sided tape for Supergirl, please ?" Veronica asked, totally unfazed by Kara fashion faux-pas, making the salesgirl cry from laughing too much.

While the salesgirl went to the back to search for double-sided tape, wiping carefully at her eyes with a tissue to prevent her mascara from running, Kara pulled the suit's jacket down, suddenly self-conscious about her Wonder Woman panties and not wanting the waistband to show.

What ? There were no more Superman panties her size and the Wonder Woman ones had the same color on them anyway so...

-"Do you need help for the shoes too or you have that covered ?" Veronica asked, eyes glued to her phone screen again.

-"Yes I'm set, thanks" Kara replied.

A few minutes later, as Kara finished paying for her articles, her curious scientific mind got the best of her.

-"Now that my outfit is settled for date night, can you tell me the other four rules of fashion ?" she asked Veronica. Kara wasn't that interested in the answer, well, she wasn't interested in fashion at all but her mind hated to be left in the unknown.

"Unless the less is more is a rule too, in this case it would be the other three" she tried again at Veronica lack of response.

-"No, that's not a rule, it's more like a trend" Veronica finally replied, holding the door open for Kara as they exited the boutique.

-"So what are the four others ?" Kara insisted.

-"I'm not sure you're ready yet."

-"Well, if I'm 3 on the fashion scale, I can at least know the first three ground rules" Kara argued, smiling cockily.

-"I forgot you were a smart-ass like Lena" Veronica said, sighing. "Okay, so the second rule is : never wear more than three colors at once."

-"Okay" Kara encouraged, smiling because she was getting her answer. "And the third one ?"

-"Never mix prints" Veronica enunciated slowly, her eyes going back and forth between Kara's navy shirt with white dots and her grey checkered pants.

-"But I... the checkered print was so subtle and..." Kara tried to defend herself, in vain.

-"Like I said, some rules take time to assimilate".

After Veronica put her sunglasses on and said her goodbyes, Kara watched her leave and hoped that date night would go well for her because she was pretty sure that she hadn't score any points with the best friend today.

Chapter Text

-"You're leaving already ?" Winn wined, not wanting to work for another hour alone.

-"Yes Winn" Kara replied. "You know that Wednesday night is date night."

-"Ah yes" Winn remembered. "Good luck with that by the way" he added, smiling at Kara with his two thumbs up. Kara smiled back, already a little nervous about tonight.

-"Why would she need luck for a planned brake up ?" Alex asked smirking, as she entered Winn's and Kara's office.

-"Uh for no reason" Winn answered quickly, standing up abruptly and collecting papers randomly on his desk. "I have to make, uh, some copies" he continued, exiting the room as fast as possible before Alex could notice he was hiding something.

-"Is he okay ? Alex asked her sister when Winn was gone.

-"Yeah, closing up the office by himself stress him out a little but he will be fine" Kara reassured Alex, relieved that Winn hadn't said too much, his attitude was already being suspicious enough.

-"Anyway, I stopped by to remind you that we meet at your place tomorrow at ten to prepare for the two big meetings with investors on the afternoon."

-"Alex, I know" Kara replied, exasperated. "You kept reminding me of it for the past two days now."

-"Well, it's very important" Alex said back, totally unfazed by Kara's exasperation. But then Alex features softened and she looked at her little sister fondly.

-"I also wanted to tell you that I'm proud of you" she continued, making Kara stop pouting immediately.

-"When I asked you to engage in that fake relationship with Lena Luthor, I know it was a lot to ask of you and I was ready to tell you to drop everything if it became too much but you did it" Alex went on, looking at Kara proudly.

-"You kept your cool under the pressure, attended all of those big social events even if you hate them and played your role perfectly until the end" Alex finished, meaning every word.

-"Well I did panic a few times, Kara admitted, laughing, "but I'm lucky that Lena is being so patient and nice with me" Kara added, not wanting to take all the credit. She's pretty sure she wouldn't have been able to do all of that with someone else.

-"I have to admit, knowing her family, Lena surprised me" Alex admitted. "She's actually quite nice and someone we can trust apparently."

-"Yeah..." Kara agreed, debating if she should say more. Probably not. The nerves about tonight were already almost killing her so if she told anything to Alex now, she would end up discouraging Kara entirely. That didn't mean she couldn't test the waters.

-"I think... I would like to work again with her on other projects, even, you know, keep hanging out with her..." Kara said, trying to sound casual. "As a friend" she felt compelled to add, suddenly afraid that Alex would push the subject and Kara would be obligated to lie to her sister about her true intentions for tonight.

-"Yeah as long as you don't keep dating her, I don't see why not" Alex replied laughing. Kara froze.

-"I still can't believe how the press got so crazy about you two, following the two of you everywhere" Alex continued while Kara tried to compose herself, adjusting her glasses nervously. "I'm not going to lie, after tonight, I'll enjoy this return to calm" Alex finished, smiling encouragingly at her sister and Kara returned the smile even if she didn't share Alex's relief at all.

*
**

Lena was rummaging through her dressing for the perfect dress since at least half an hour when her doorbell rang. She walked to her door and looked through the peephole only to see boobs. She didn't have to ask to know who it was. Lena only knew one person who wears heels high enough that their head juts out above the peephole and dresses with incredible plunging necklines like this one.

-"Hey, I wasn't expecting you" Lena said as she opened her door.

-"Well, since you weren't answering my texts, I had to come by to see how you were doing" Veronica said, hugging Lena in greeting.

-"You kept texting me asking which dress I will wear tonight and I didn't replied because I didn't pick one yet" Lena clarified, pulling back.

-"And it's getting late so I came to help you pick one because at this rate you will go naked."

-"Just admit that you wanted to make sure I won't chicken out this time" Lena said, eyeing her friend suspiciously.

-"Are you going to ?"

-"No."

-"Uh uh" Veronica said unconvinced. "So, let's see what we have here" she continued, passing Lena and walking toward the dressing.

-"Jesus ! Have you been robbed or what ?" Veronica exclaimed, looking at the mess that reigned in the room with clothes and shoes scattered all over the floor and a bunch of dresses chaotically piled up on the bed.

-"I'm having trouble choosing" Lena said, feeling embarrassed by the current state of her bedroom and dressing.

-"I can see that" Veronica said back, looking around her and wondering where she should start.

Lena seated down on a chair while Veronica started to sort through Lena's clothes in the dressing.

-"You think it will work ?" Lena asked her friend after a few minutes of silence.

-"That ?" Veronica replied, pointing to the short-sleeved navy blue shirt with big yellow flowers on it that she was currently holding to see what was hanging behind it. "Unless you want to take App Girl directly to a honeymoon in Hawaii after dinner, no I don't think it will do."

-"No, not the shirt" Lena sighed. "I mean tonight. You think she will say yes ?"

-"If we manage, by some miracle, to find the perfect dress in this designer mess, yes, I'm confident she will say yes" Veronica answered, abandoning her search for the holy dress in Lena's dressing and trying her luck with the pile of clothes on the bed.

-"I wish I had your confidence sometimes" Lena confessed, propping her right arm on the back of the chair and resting her chin on her hand, thoughtful.

-"You know, if I had the same heritage as you," Veronica said, rummaging through the clothes on Lena's bed, "between your father who had you from an affair with an Irish woman, your adoptive mother who never accepted nor loved you because of that and your brother who's a notorious criminal in jail..." she continued, throwing a few clothes over her shoulder and others on the dressing's floor from time to time, "and, in addition to all of that, come the typical problems all rich and famous people face, namely, constantly wondering if people want to be with you because they like you or because they want something from you, I think I would lack some confidence too."

When she didn't get a response from Lena, Veronica stopped her frantic search and faced her friend.

-"Why are you looking at me like that ?" Veronica asked, seeing how Lena was currently staring at her with her eyebrows raised and her mouth open in shock.

-"You tell so much bullshit usually that I can't help but be surprised when you're struck by a sudden flash of blazing clarity like right now" Lena answered, laughing.

-"Hey, I may have a few screw loose but I still have all of my neurons thank you" Veronica said back making Lena laugh harder.

-"Here, put this on" Veronica said, throwing a dress on Lena's face to make her stop laughing. "Green had always been your color."

*
**

Kara thanked the cab driver and watched the car disappear in the sea of vehicles. She turned toward the restaurant entrance, straightening the jacket of her suit. She looked at the time on her watch. She was 5 minutes late. Right on time Kara thought, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath as she thought back to her conversation with Veronica.

-"Don't forget to arrive 5 minutes late" Veronica had told her through the door of the changing room, when Kara was getting dressed again after trying the suit.

-"But that wouldn't be rude ?" Kara had asked then, confused.

-"No !" Veronica had replied. "It's only 5 minutes and it will all be for Lena's benefit anyway."

-"How so ?"

-"By showing up late, you make sure that she would be already seated at the table so she could see you arrive in all your shirtless glory !" Veronica had explained her master plan proudly.

-"Oh."

-"Don't worry, she will be so blown away by your entrance that she won't mind your lateness and will say yes to everything you will ask her."

-"Hopefully" Kara said out loud to herself. She pushed her glasses up her nose and entered the restaurant with determination.

She was greeted by the maître d'hotel who informed her that Lena had already arrived. A waiter asked Kara to follow him to the table she had reserved. She had specifically asked for a table in the quieter area of the restaurant. Usually, on date night, Lena and her would chose the most exposed table so the paparazzi could photograph them and sell their fake relationship. But this time, Kara wanted a more discreet setting because public attention always made her uncomfortable and tonight, she needed the most enabling environment for what she was about to do.

Lena glanced at her phone to check the time. She's late. Lena frowned. That was unusual for Kara. Lena debated internally whether or not she should text Kara when she saw her waiter come back to her table with a blonde head following him. Lena stood up and smiled brightly, glad that Kara was finally here. But as the waiter stepped to the side to pull back Kara's chair so she could sit, Lena froze.

Kara stepped forward and stopped a few inches from Lena, waiting for the brunette to initiate the contact like she always did.

Lena mind went blank. She stood there, unmoving, except for her eyes which kept going back and forth between Kara's face, her cleavage and the patch of skin Lena could make out from the opening at the bottom of Kara's blazer. Kara was absolutely stunning.

Seeing that Lena still wasn't doing anything as the waiter left to retrieve their menus, Kara started to feel uncomfortable. She didn't know what to do. She usually let Lena set the pace and Kara only had to follow. Kara put her hands in the pockets of her pantsuit to stop them from fidgeting with her glasses. She never had been good at social interacting, especially when there's a lot of people around and they expect her to behave a certain way.

Suddenly, Kara's eyes widened in realization. She's doing this on purpose Kara said to herself and took her sit, embarrassed to have taken this long to get it. After all, tonight was supposed to be the last date before their brake up which will officially be announced after a week without any contact to let the rumor take off first. Lena probably didn't want them to kiss and be all touchy just before a brake up. It wouldn't make sense. It was better to keep their distances so people would think that there was trouble in paradise. Kara smiled to Lena but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. If Lena was following their strategy thoroughly it meant that she was ready to move on so it would be very hard for Kara to convince Lena to give her a chance.

Watching Kara sit made Lena snap out of her stupor. She blinked twice to compose herself, smiled back at Kara and seated too. As soon as the waiter came back with the menus, Lena practically snatched hers from the waiter's hands and held it in front of her as to block Kara's cleavage from her view.

What's wrong with me ? Lena wondered, glancing from her menu to Kara's face from time to time to reassure the blonde that everything was cool and that she wasn't hiding like a coward. Lena didn't know why seeing Kara in that shirtless look turned her on that much. She had seen Kara in suits plenty of times, sometimes even in beautiful cocktail dresses though those never had plunging necklines but splendid bare backs instead. No, Kara has always been the same. I'm the one who has changed, Lena concluded. She was so wrapped up in her perpetual conflict with her mother, the hacking and her work that she didn't realize how perfect Kara was until recently.

Behind the safety of her menu, Lena started to think about what happened before Kara stunned her with her look. Lena had been surprised that Kara had chose a table so far away from the windows or the center of the room. Then Kara didn't greet her. Lena frowned. Maybe Kara, the always logical one, was keeping a cool head and pursuing their established strategy, probably eager for this media circus to end, meanwhile Lena was being all emotional just because she realized a week ago that she didn't want this break up anymore.

*
**

Dinner was a disaster.

Date nights had always been wonderful moments between the two of them but tonight had been definitely different so far. Topics of conversation had been rare and lame, revolving around work, news and the weather, and they were punctuated by a very loud and deafening silence. Every time one of them had tried to start a conversation it fell flat because of their laconic responses which made them even more nervous about confessing their feelings and consequently, more silent.

As they were walking round and round in this vicious circle, Kara started to get really nervous. She felt like everyone in the room were looking at them as if the others customers could sense the discomfort emanating from their table. Kara started to feel hot under the staring even if it was probably all in her head and reached for the button of her blazer but remembered just in time that she didn't have anything underneath. She stopped herself and drowned her glass of wine in one gulp instead.

Kara glanced at Lena, trying to convey with her eyes what she couldn't say out loud. She needed help. She needed Lena to say something, divert her attention, do anything so Kara wouldn't panic and flee the place. But Lena didn't get the hint. Not this time. She even couldn't look Kara in the eye more than one second it seemed. So when the waiter came back to them to clear the table and ask if they wanted dessert, Kara declined for both of them and asked for the check.

It was a bit rude of Kara judging by the frown and kind of angry look Lena was throwing her way but Kara couldn't get out of here fast enough. At least she's looking at me now Kara thought bitterly and stood up, walking toward the checkout before she could faint from her erratic breathing.

*
**

When Kara exited the restaurant, Lena was still outside on the sidewalk, phone in her hand, waiting for her chauffeur to take her home. Kara didn't join her immediately. She closed her eyes and counted in her head to normalize her breathing.

The fresh air of the night on her face was a sweet relief after the oppressing environment of the restaurant. Kara started to breathe normally again. She opened her eyes and thought back about what Winn had said to her that day, when she wasn't sure Lena was worth all the trouble Kara was going trough at the time and will continue going trough if tonight miraculously went well.

-"whether you have a chance or not, I think you should go for it because otherwise you'll regret it you whole life. Trust me." Winn had said to her.

And now, looking at Lena standing there, with her back stiff and her arms crossed on her chest because she probably was still mad at her, Kara thought Lena would always be worth the try.

Lena checked her texts on her phone. Andrew, her chauffeur, will be there in fifteen minutes to pick her up. That wasn't considered a long time in National City, it was actually fast considering the city's incessant traffic but Lena couldn't wait to get out of this horrible evening soon enough. Kara too it seemed, considering how she asked for the check and flew to the checkout like her life was depending on it.

-"Walk with me ?"

She jumped at hearing Kara's voice. Lena was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn't hear Kara exit the restaurant and walk to stand next to her. Lena wanted to decline. What was the point of trying anymore ? It was clear that Kara wanted nothing more to do with her. But Kara was looking at her with those eyes. So blue... so pleading...

Lena agreed, and now they were walking for the past five minutes and any of them uttered a word yet.

Kara wanted to take Lena's hand in hers like they used to do during their very media covered walks for the promotion of their product. But her hands were so clammy after passing the last five minutes wondering how she could say to Lena that she really liked her that Kara doubted Lena would appreciate it. But she had agree to come with Kara. Lena was there, walking by her side willingly although she could be anywhere else right now, so maybe everything was not lost. Maybe she still had a chance.

Lena wondered why Kara didn't took her hand in hers yet. Kara used to do it all the time when they walked side by side on the street at the highlights of their fake relationship. Maybe she was cautious not to appear too close to Lena when they were supposed to break up but in this case, this walk to her home together was already a mistake. Maybe Kara wanted to spend a little more time with her before all of this ends which meant that Kara wasn't as ready to let go as Lena thought. So maybe now was the time to get it all out. Now or never as Veronica would say.

-"I really like you."

-"May I see you again ?"

They both spoke at the same time.

-"What ?" They both asked at the same time again, stopping in their tracks, neither of them sure if they heard the other well or if they were just imagining things.

Lena recovered first.

-"Sorry, you go first" she said after clearing her throat quickly, hoping Kara couldn't hear the hopeful expectation in her voice.

Kara pushed her glasses up her nose and glanced to her left and right nervously. She then took a breath and put her hands in her pockets, facing Lena fully on the sidewalk.

-"I said, I really like you" Kara answered, looking at Lena straight in the eye.

-"You do ?" Lena asked incredulously, her hand moving up her arm on its own accord to pinch herself. This is really happening.

-"Yes" Kara replied more confidently this time. "I know that I wasn't the most thrilled with this fake relationship at first but, that was before I really knew you and I..." she smiled. "I would really like to try this again with you. I mean for real this time."

By way of response, Lena threw her arms at Kara's neck and hugged her tightly. She couldn't believe her luck, Kara liked her too.

Kara never knew what the right amount of pressure was necessary in a good hug so she always went for low because nobody likes to be suffocated. So this time, always true to herself, she hugged Lena back by joining her hands loosely on Lena's lower back. They stayed like that for a few seconds until Kara's confusion took the better of her like it always did.

-"Is that a yes ?" she asked softly in Lena's ear.

Lena laughed against Kara's shoulder. Oh Kara.

-"Yes Kara, it's a yes."

-"Oh, noted" Kara replied, smiling and hugged Lena a little tighter.

After a minute or so, Kara broke their hug suddenly.

-"I have an idea !" she exclaimed and took Lena's hand to tug her across the street. They stooped at the corner, in front of a mini market open all hours.

-"Wait here" Kara instructed Lena and entered the shop. She came back a few minutes later with a bottle of champagne.

-"Let's celebrate !" Kara said enthusiastically making Lena shake her head and laugh.

*
**

The short walk to Lena's penthouse was everything their diner should have been. They shared the bottle of champagne while talking and laughing, their arms hooked together.

-"Why are you making that weird face every time you drink ?" Lena asked, not ashamed one bit for looking at Kara's for most of the walk, now that her attraction has been proved mutual. Lena had her arm hooked in Kara's and was leaning a little on her, trusting Kara to guide them through the still busy streets, Lena's eyes being currently too distracted.

-"I, uh, don't really like champagne" Kara admitted, blushing adorably.

-"But, you bought it" Lena stated, a little puzzled.

-"Yes. Because we're celebrating" Kara explained matter-of-factly. "That's not what people drink when they celebrate something ?" she wondered then, her brows furrowing in confusion.

Lena laughed good heartedly.

-"In most public events yes but it's just us, we can celebrate with anything you want Kara" Lena explained, still smiling.

-"Oh. Noted" Kara said, pushing her glasses up her nose and nodding as if she was literally writing down the information in her head and cataloguing it in a drawer in her brain.

-"We're here" Lena said, stopping in front of her penthouse. "Want to come up ?" she added, biting her lower lip. "I promise I have other things to drink than champagne."

Kara had followed Lena out of habit. They had done this often after their dates, go to Lena's, stay to chat for a bit until all paparazzi were gone so Kara could leave discreetly. Sometimes, when it was very late, she had stayed in the guest room. But tonight, as Kara was standing in the elevator with Lena pressed into her side and glancing her way from time to time, their arms still linked, Kara thought that this time might be different. Better.

Kara didn't really know if it was the wine and champagne she drank, or the exhilaration from knowing that Lena liked her back or maybe if it was just the fact that Lena kept pressing into her, but Kara felt daring. As always, she didn't know if it was appropriate, expected or something you see in movies but you can't do in real life, but this time she couldn't care less.

She turned toward Lena and kissed her right on the lips. Time seemed to stop for a few seconds before Kara felt Lena kissing her back and arms sneaking up around her neck, urging her even closer. Kara gripped hard at the elevator's support bar with both hands to prevent them from exploring Lena's body right now and there.

At the "ding" of the elevator, Kara tried to break the kiss to exit but Lena's hands stayed in Kara's hair, pressing their lips together in another passionate kiss. Kara walked them backwards, one arm around Lena's waist and the other extended behind her in search of any obstacle. After a few seconds of chaotic walking, Kara's back finally hit Lena's front door, breaking their kissing session.

-"Let me get my keys" Lena said, sounding a little out of breath. She turned and lowered her head to look for her keys inside her purse, unintentionally giving Kara a very tantalizing view of her neck.

As Lena was retrieving her keys and holding them in front of the lock, she felt Kara kissing her neck, making Lena close her eyes and tip her head back.

-"Kara ? Let me open the door please" Lena managed to said but it took all of her willpower, stopping Kara being the last thing she wanted right now.

-"Oh, sorry. Sure" Kara replied, halting her ministrations and stepping out of the way.

-"I didn't see you as the type of girl to hook up on the first date" Lena said teasingly as she opened the door. Kara taking the lead tonight surprised her but she wasn't one to complain. Quite the contrary actually.

-"Technically," Kara started to answer, pushing her glasses up her nose, her face a little flushed, "if you count our fake dating, we're on our sixth date already."

-"Mmm" Lena pretended to think over, as if she hadn't already planned for tonight to end this way since the moment she had seen Kara walk in the restaurant with that shirtless look.

-"Fair point" Lena finally conceded, dragging Kara inside by the collar of her suit jacket that Lena was dying to strip Kara of, all evening.

*
**

Kara was awaken by the incessant buzzing of her phone. She extended her arm to grab her phone and squinted her eyes to see the caller ID. She recognized the picture instantly : Alex. But then, her eyes caught the time on top of the screen and Kara's eyes shot open in panic. It was 11am. She was supposed to meet with Alex at ten to discuss important meetings in the afternoon. Kara swiped her screen quickly to answer and was immediately greeted with Alex's shouting.

-"Kara where are you ? We were supposed to meet at your place at ten !" Alex scolded Kara on the phone without a hello.

-"Uh... Problem with the subway, I'm coming" Kara made up, panicked. She didn't know if Alex bought the lie because her big sister had already hanged up after an angry : "hurry up".

Kara put the phone down on the bedside table and reached for her glasses but they weren't there. She squinted her eyes and looked around her and just remembered that she wasn't home. She was at Lena's, who was still sleeping soundly, by her side, an arm draped across Kara's waist. Kara took a deep breath and then proceeded to extract herself from the bed. She took Lena's arm off her gently and got up. Lena grunted a little and rolled on her other side but didn't wake up.

Kara exhaled relieved. Now, she had to find her glasses and get dressed, in that specific order because looking for her clothes in a blurry room wasn't the best plan for sure. She spotted her glasses on Lena's dressing table. She put them on quickly, grabbed her clothes discarded on the floor and flew in her birthday suit directly to Lena's guest room.

Kara opened the closet and retrieved her bag of clothes she had there for the few nights she had spent at Lena's since the start of their fake dating. She rummaged through it and pulled out panties, a light blue shirt, a pair of dark blue jeans and...

No bra.

Kara never packed one because she always thought it would be superfluous knowing that she would simply wear the same as the previous night but this time, she hadn't been wearing any. Kara closed her eyes and sighed loudly. There was no time for technical details, Alex was waiting for her, so she got dressed, cringing every time she closed a button of her shirt on her braless torso.

Kara chose to go by subway because with National City incessant traffic, it was the quicker way and she was already late to meet Alex. The only problem ? It was crowded. Kara had the feeling that everyone was looking at her and more specifically, at her breasts, like they could see her nipples pointing through her shirt. The side glances were certainly more provoked by Kara's awkward standing, with a hand gripping the bar to steady herself and her other arm pressed horizontally across her chest to hide it, than the fact she was braless. The regular passengers of the National City's subway had already seen much more extravagant looks for sure. However, for Kara, the weird looks were nothing compared to the constant reminder of her situation, when she could feel her breast move freely at every step she took, which make her walk with her arms crossed tightly around her chest like a very angry cartoon character.

At last, Kara reached her apartment. She thought she would go straight away to her room to put a bra on but that was obviously without counting on Alex. As soon as Kara crossed her doorstep, Alex jumped on her.

-"Finally !" Alex said, exasperated. "Come sit with me, I made coffee" she continued, gesturing at Kara to sit across from her on the kitchen counter. Alex opened the cupboard and began filling their cups.

Kara noticed that her sister had already sprawled tons of papers and folders on the counter and started highlighting the most important parts with a yellow marker. She took her sit on the opposite stool, putting her elbows on the table so her forearms would block the view to Alex when she will seat in front of her.

Alex returned and offered Kara a cup of coffee. As she reached out to take the cup, Kara realized her mistake but it was already too late.

-"Why aren't you wearing a bra ?" Alex asked, looking at her little sister suspiciously.

-"What ? I... uh..." Kara stammered, her face becoming redder and redder by the minute. She didn't know how Alex managed to get the truth out of her every single time with just a look but Kara, who has been the winner of every science decathlon in middle school and high school, answering before the question was even finished, couldn't make up a lie in five seconds when Alex was looking at her like she was right now.

-"You what ?" Alex insisted.

-"I slept with Lena !" Kara finally confessed. "Happy ?" she continued, angry at herself for lasting so little in front of her big sister.

-"You know I'm not" Alex replied calmly, sighting and taking a sip of her coffee.

-"It's not going to change anything Alex, I swear !" Kara defended herself immediately. "Everybody already think we're together and our project is a success, you have to admit that we make a pretty good team Lena and I."

Alex just sighed again, shaking her head from left to right, disapprovingly.

-"We've been fake dating for weeks already and it all went well" Kara insisted, willing to know why Alex was so bothered by her little sister new relationship.

-"Oh sure, if you think having a panic attack on live television is doing great."

-"It was one time !" Kara objected quickly but Alex wasn't finished.

-"Or going to work with your Pikachu sleepers without noticing, going for a jog at 3 in the morning because you can't sleep and, my favorite, calling me in the middle of the night to vent about all those old investors mansplaining your work to you at a gala."

-"You think I can't handle it" Kara said, finally understanding what Alex had meant to say. "As usual" Kara spoke again, crossing her arms on her chest and glaring at her sister. She thought they had gotten beyond that point already.

-"Kara, it's not that I don't trust you" Alex replied quickly, feeling guilty. "I said that I was going to do better about that and I will. I am." Alex took a deep breath. "It's just that, last year, nobody knew who you were and suddenly, your app is the most downloaded app of the month and you're dating the medias' favorite scapegoat. It would mess with anyone's head."

They were silent for a moment, none of them wanting to say something that could hurt the other but standing their grounds either way. Then, Kara seemed to realize something.

-"Wait, how come you're not surprised ?" Kara asked Alex out of the blue.

-"About what ?" Alex asked back, confused.

-"Me and Lena. You're not happy about it but you're not surprised" Kara said. She furrowed her brows, thinking back to their previous exchange. "How could you have known if we got together only last night ?"

-"Oh please ! "Alex answered, rolling her eyes. "That was bound to happen."

At seeing Kara's confused face, Alex felt obligated to explain herself.

-"I know you Kara, this fake dating business wouldn't have lasted more than a week if you weren't head over heels for the Luthor girl." Alex enunciated, smirking at her little sister. "I'm still amazed at the number of boring administrative tasks and insufferable social events Lena managed to bring you with her."

-"I would have gone either way" Kara mumbled, wanting to wipe off that proud smirk from her sister's face.

-"You're right" Alex said. "You letting Lena pick food from your own plate should have been proof enough" she added, laughing.

Alex said that to poke some fun at Kara and ease the tension the subject brought between the two sisters but Alex wasn't very far from the truth. She had learned a long time ago that with Kara, the smiles, the kindness, the loyalty weren't proof that the blonde cared for someone. Her shiny personality made her like that toward everyone else. No, with Kara, Alex had to pay attention to other details, like how Kara was willing to extract herself from her comfort zone, how she was ready to pick up a fight to defend someone even if she hate conflict. Alex knew all of that very well because she had been that person to Kara for so long now that she would recognize the behavior anytime.

-"Yeah, yeah," Kara interjected, offended by the fact that she could have been this obvious with Lena. "That doesn't explain how you were so sure Lena would like me back" Kara continued, smiling proudly, thinking she had discovered the flaw in Alex's reasoning.

-"Oh Kara" Alex answered, dropping her head in her left hand. "Sometimes I forget how you can be the most intelligent person and the most oblivious at the same time." Alex raised her head and looked at Kara, smiling.

-"You're gorgeous, you're super smart and you're the kindest person I know" Alex enunciated naturally making Kara blush. "Lena never stood a chance, trust me."

-"I don't know if I will be able to handle it," Kara said, growing serious again. "Being with Lena I mean" she clarified, making sure Alex was following her on this important topic. "But I'm sure of one thing : I won't make it without you."

Kara looked at Alex expectantly, her eyes full of hope. Alex's support had always meant a lot in Kara's life and today Kara really wanted to be sure she still had it.

Alex thought back of all those time Kara has seemed so happy around Lena and how Kara was looking at her right now, asking for her sister's support when she didn't really need it. So, for the first time in her life, Alex thought that she could share her status as Kara's special person with someone else.

-"You know I'll always have your back" Alex replied and tugged at Kara's arm to hug her little sister awkwardly above the kitchen counter.

-"Thanks" Kara murmured in Alex's shoulder.

-"Just do something for me please" Alex said, breaking the embrace.

-"What ?"

-"Next game night, you and me will be on the same team like old times, to show your girlfriend that the Danvers sisters are a package deal, okay ?"

-"Okay" Kara replied, smiling.

Chapter Text

Kara and Lena were on cloud nine. Everything couldn't be more perfect. In the space of a few weeks, Lena was fully integrated to the whole Danvers family, participating in game nights, going to family dinners at Eliza's, geeking with Winn. Even Alex surprised herself a few times by asking Lena for some business advice on how running a successful company. It was definitely the sweetest dream come true for both CEO's.

If there was anyone who couldn't stand all of that sugary happiness surrounding National City at the moment, it was Lillian.

All those pictures of the happy couple scattered on page six were becoming sickening. There were a reminder of her previous failures, first the hacking and now that. She wanted for L Corp to shot up in the polls, which it did beyond her wildest expectations, but she also wanted to mess with Lena. She wanted Lena to refuse to play the fake couple card and ask for her mother's help to save the company. Or to accept out of defiance toward Lillian but suffering everyday afterward for being stuck with an awkward and annoying side-kick all day.

-"I couldn't know that they would really fall in love !" Lillian ranted out loud in her country house, still shocked that her plan had backfired so badly.

She could let it go. The family company was prospering again, she could enjoy a nice early retirement...

-"Family company" Lillian mumbled to no one in particular, getting up from her couch to pour herself another glass of cognac. A Luthor company, build from scratch by her husband and her son and now run by an ungrateful bastard that SHE took under her wing.

The company may be successful again but Lillian's ego was severely bruised. She couldn't go round in circles in her enormous country house with too much time to think while Lena rubbed her victory in Lillian's face, displaying her dubious lifestyle for everyone to see.

She had to do something.

*
**

Kara closed her big sport bag full of clothes and locked the front door of her apartment behind her. She hadn't been there in a while, spending most of her time at Lena's penthouse now, which explained the clothes refill she had to do. As she exited her building, she heard someone call for her.

-"Kara Danvers ?"

-"Yes ?" Kara answered as she turned around.

-"I don't know if you know me, I'm..."

-"Lillian Luthor" Kara provided easily. "I recognize you from the news."

-"Oh of course, if you had said you knew me from what Lena told you I wouldn't have believe you since we don't speak to each other anymore" Lillian said, shrugging.

Kara didn't respond, she didn't really know what to say. Lillian smiled at Kara's lack of response. It proved that she had guessed correctly and that Lena never spoke of her to Kara. It also showed that Kara ignored all about Lillian's manipulative tendencies and her conflicting relationship with her daughter which meant that Lillian's job just became so much easier.

-"If you want to speak to Lena she's not here" Kara said, shifting her weight from one foot to another, not knowing really what to say to the woman.

-"Actually, I was hoping I could talk to you" Lillian answered, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

-"Me ?"

-"Even if my daughter and I aren't on such pretty terms, I needed to see you."

-"Why ?" asked Kara, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at herself for only asking one-word question and consequently giving the impression that she was clueless. Well, she was indeed clueless as usual but at least she could not show it so easily every single time. Especially to her girlfriend's mother.

-"Lena is using you. She stays with you only to get in the media's good graces."

-"What ?" Kara exclaimed before she could help it. Way to go Kara, now she not only thinks you're clueless, she thinks you're dumb too.

-"I mean, that's impossible" Kara tried again, dropping her sport bag to her feet and crossing her arms on her chest in what she hoped was a confident posture.

-"I swear this is true. I even have a recording to prove it" Lillian said, her face serious. On the inside, she wanted to jump with glee at seeing Kara's confused face. So easy.

-"A recording ? What do you mean ?" Kara inquired urgently, uncrossing her arms to push her glasses up her nose in her signature nervous gesture. She didn't care about looking confident anymore, this conversation was starting to stress her and something was telling her it was about to get worse.

-"I recorded our conversation in case she didn't stick to the plan which, is exactly what happened."

A plan ? What plan ? Kara wanted to ask but this time the words didn't came out. Her mind was going into overdrive.

-"L Corp was sinking in the polls" Lillian spoke again. She sighed dramatically before continuing. "We needed to do something about it and Lena thought that faking a relationship with you would increase L Corp popularity in the public opinion."

Kara scoffed. Lena would never do that to her. At the same time, Lillian didn't seem to be lying.

-"The plan was for the two of you to fake a relationship long enough for the public opinion to accept more easily the Luthor Corp to L Corp transition and lunch your product with maximum publicity and finally separate when all of this would be achieved" Lillian continued, totally unfazed by Kara's lack of response.

Kara wanted to leave. This conversation was making her more and more uncomfortable by the minute, but she hated how her anxiety made her stay. It manifested itself to Kara a few days ago as a little voice in her head, telling her that she was too happy for it to be normal and that the other shoe was going to drop anytime soon.

-"I only realized recently that Lena is perpetuating this masquerade when there is no purpose to it anymore" Lillian went on, unperturbed. "You seem like a very good girl miss Danvers, I don't want Lena to take advantage of you like that. You deserve an authentic and reciprocal love my dear."

Kara wanted to leave and go back to her happy bubble with Lena but the little voice made her stay, telling her to just listen to what Lillian has to say. Even if it was going to hurt, Kara knew. Really hurt.

-"It's not possible... Lena wouldn't... She's not..." Kara tried to defend Lena but the words couldn't form coherently in her mind, her head hurt and nothing made sense.

-"Unfortunately, I have known her for longer than you and she had always been a manipulative child" Lillian spoke again, trying her best to look really afflicted by the situation. "That's why I recorded our conversation that day. I was afraid that her greed would push her to far so I collected the evidence to end this charade before someone get hurt. In this case, you".

Lillian expected the girl to be completely taken aback by the news but she had to admit that her more than laconic and then silent reaction was a pleasant surprise to Lillian. She feared the girl would scream and cry pathetically so Lillian decided to play the recording and finish with the plan so she could go home and take a well deserve hot bath for her hard labor.

-"Someone had to act." Lillian's voice could be heard in the recording.

-"Well, I'm acting now." There, Kara recognized Lena's voice instantly.

-"With Krypton's CEO ?"

-"I proposed her a partnership."

-"For now but we both know that's not your whole plan, is it ?"

-"I don't need help. Especially yours."

-"You're taking it too far Lena, someone could get hurt."

-"No matter what you think of me, I am a business woman. The profit and prosperity of my company is, and must be, my number one priority. I'm not marrying, I'm doing business so, mood compatibility and other emotional subtleties have no place here."

-"As long as you know what you're doing."

-"I do."

Kara felt numb and empty. The sounds of the city were suddenly tuned out and seemed so distant. Her body was there but she couldn't really feel it. It was as if she could see herself from outside, standing there doing and saying nothing.

-"I'm sorry" Lillian said as she put the recorder back in the pocket of her trench coat. "Lex has always been criticized for being venal and for his thirst for power but Lena has always been worse than him."

With that, Lillian turned and left a very stunned Kara alone on the sidewalk. Lillian couldn't help the devilish smile that slowly creped on her face as she walked away. She knew her plan would work, she designed it after all, but she absolutely outdid herself in the role of the regretful mother afraid of her own offspring. She definitely deserved a good glass of Château Margaux 2009 to accompany her hot bath.

This can't be true, Kara kept telling herself after Lillian's departure. She couldn't believe it.

But it was Lena's voice, you heard it, the little voice in her head replied sneakily.

Lena would never do that.

But it was Lena who answered your job advertisement on your website, was it ? And who suggested the fake relationship in the first place before you and Alex agreed to it ? The voice spoke again, stronger this time.

-"No !" Kara shouted in the empty street, covering her hears with her hands but the little voice wouldn't stop.

-"Shut up, please, shut up" Kara whispered repeatedly. She started to feel dizzy and wasn't sure if her legs would support her any longer so she seated on the first step of the porch to her building.

She retrieved her phone in her kaki's pocket and searched for Alex's name in her contacts but she couldn't find it because her vision was suddenly all blurry. She took her glasses off to clean them and noticed that there were drops of water on them but it wasn't raining. When has she started crying ? So she opted for the vocal commands and cried her sister's name to her phone.

Alex arrived a few minutes later. She parked her car just in front of Kara and got out as she hung up. She had talked on the phone with Kara during the short ride to get there, helping her little sister through her panic attack with a breathing exercise.

-"Kara ?"

Kara didn't respond. She looked up at her sister, her breathing calmer but still a little laboured. Alex took the sport bag Kara had dropped on the sidewalk earlier, opened the door of her car and threw the bag on the backseat. She then opened the front passenger door and walked back to Kara.

-"Come on Kara, let's go" Alex said gently, helping her little sister get up.

Before starting the engine, Alex glanced at Kara.

-"What happened Kara ?" she asked, concerned. "You didn't say anything on the phone beside that I had to get you."

No reply.

Alex hated this. If she had to chose between rambling Kara and quiet Kara, she would chose rambling Kara every day. In both cases, it means that Kara is super nervous and overwhelmed but at least, the stream of words shows that she tries to put some order to the chaos in her head whereas when she says nothing, it is there that Alex worries.

Alex was about start the car and go home when she remembered something. Kara and Lena were a thing now. Maybe Lena could help Alex figure out what was wrong with Kara. After all, Lena did a pretty good job in calming Kara that day on the CatCo TV set and they weren't even together yet.

-"You want me to call Lena ?" Alex asked, turning to Kara who had been looking straight ahead, her face expressionless, since she got into Alex's car.

-"No !" Kara shouted suddenly, making Alex jump and grip the steering wheel in surprise. Kara's eyes were finally looking at Alex, wide and panicked.

-"Don't call her" Kara begged softly, almost whispering.

In light of Kara's reaction, it didn't take a genius to get that whatever happened had something to do with Lena Luthor so Alex decided on her next question, bracing herself for another outburst.

-"Kara, something happened with Lena ?" she inquired, carefully.

No response. Again.

Alex sighed. It was clear now that she wouldn't get any more answer tonight. So she started the car and drove back to her apartment.

*
**

Lena Luthor was worried. It had been so long since she had worried about someone but she had to admit that, even if Kara and her weren't dating for long, Lena was a little afraid of her reaction if anything bad happened to Kara.

Kara was supposed to come home after picking up some clothes at her place last night but she never made it there. Lena had texted Kara when the latter was taking too long and Kara had replied that's something came up and she won't be back tonight. Lena had then asked if it was something really bad but she didn't get any more answer from Kara.

Lena tried to call Kara this morning but she had been send straight to voicemail every time. Lena had tried to call at Krypton's but Winn told her that Kara hadn't arrived yet. So Lena dropped by Kara's place before going to work and Kara wasn't there either which left only one possible place : Alex's apartment.

*
**

Alex Danvers' apartment had never been so quiet. After Alex had brought Kara home last night, the sisters had taken their usual place on the couch and Kara finally told Alex and Maggie what Lillian Luthor had said.

Now, the three women were in the kitchen, Alex and Maggie sharing worried glances over Kara, slumped on her seat, moving her cereals around with her spoon but not eating them.

Alex was about to call Winn to ask him if he could run Krypton Enterprise for the day since Kara wasn't feeling very well but was interrupted by a knock on her door.

-"Alex ? It's Lena."

All three women looked at each other, eyes open wide in panic.

-"Maggie" Alex said, recovering first, "take Kara to the bedroom, quick."

Maggie nodded and ushered Kara in the bedroom, closing the door behind the blonde.

-"Alex, is Kara here ?" Lena said through the front door. "Let me in please, I'm worried."

-"Coming !" Alex replied and started walking to the door.

-"Alex..." Maggie warned her girlfriend with a pointed look.

-"It's fine" Alex reassured, rolling her eyes. "I'll just tell her to go away."

Maggie just sighed but didn't leave her spot. She should go into the bedroom to help Kara who must be a panicked mess at the moment, knowing that Lena was here but Maggie was more worried about what Alex could do to Lena right now. Last night, after Kara had told them what happened, Maggie had a very hard time to prevent Alex from paying Lena a visit in the middle of the night so Maggie thought that the Danvers she needed to keep eye on, was definitely Alex.

-"Is Kara ok ?" Lena asked before the door was even fully open.

-"Lena..." Alex tried to speak but Lena launched herself in a panicked rant.

-"Tell me she's ok. She said something had come up last night and then, nothing ! I tried to call her but she doesn't answer. I went to her place, she wasn't here and Winn told me she isn't at work either..."

-"Lena ! Alex said, raising her voice to stop Lena's rant. "Kara's fine and no, she's not here."

As Alex was speaking, Lena noticed the blanket on the couch, then the abandoned bowl of cereals on the kitchen table and finally, Maggie glaring at her with her arm crossed in front of a closed door. Kara is here.

-"Kara !" Lena shouted, taking a step a forward. She was stopped by Alex's forearm on her throat and pushing her backwards.

-"I know she's here" Lena said, shaking Alex's arm of herself but backing up a step more at seeing Alex threatening look. "What's going on ?"

-"I'll tell you what's going on" Alex replied, her eyes narrowing on Lena with anger and her voice dropping to a dangerous tone. "You're going to get the hell out of here and if I ever see you near Kara ever again, I'm going to kill you, is that clear ?" and with that, shut the door right in Lena's face.

Maggie dropped her head in her hand. She specifically told Alex last night no death threats and that she won't stand bail for her in case Alex took the big sister act too far. Well, at least she didn't hit poor Lena, Maggie thought and laughed internally at the cliché saying that Latina women are hot headed. Clearly those people haven't met her girlfriend.

*
**

-"Miss Luthor ?" Jess called through the intercom on Lena's desk.

-"What is it Jess ?"

-"Veronica Sinclair is here to see you."

Lena sighed in relief. Since last night, the situation with Kara had become more and more difficult to understand. First, Kara didn't came home, then there was the weird text followed by no response and finally, the visit at Alex's apartment. It seemed like everyone was really mad at her for something she did but Lena had absolutely no idea what. That's why she had asked Veronica to come see her and was so relieved to know she was finally here. If someone could help her in the weirdest of situation, it would be veronica.

-"Send her in" Lena said to Jess through the intercom and stood up quickly to greet her best friend.

-"Thank you for coming so swiftly" Lena said gratefully, hugging her best friend.

-"Well, you said it was urgent so, here I am."

-"It's just that usually, you're not up until at least noon" Lena said, seating on her white couch and gesturing to Veronica to do the same.

-"Wait, what time is it ?" Veronica asked, looking around Lena's office in a search for a clock and finding none.

-"9 am."

-"Wow !" Veronica exclaimed. "It's actually very late. I must have enjoyed that party more than I thought I would" she finished, making Lena laugh and shake her head. They had the same age but somehow, her best friend managed to keep the same lifestyle as if they were still in college.

-"Well, early or late, I need your help" Lena cut to the chase. This whole situation with Kara was already stressing her more than she was willing to admit.

-"Ah yes !" Veronica replied, dropping herself on the couch, next to Lena. "If I remember your text correctly, you said that App Girl won't talk to you anymore for some reason. Any idea why ?"

-"Absolutely not." Lena sighed warily. "That's why I called you. I thought you might help me figure it out."

-"But didn't App Girl said anything or I don't know, left you some kind of clue ?" Veronica inquired, taking her high heels off and putting her feet on Lena's coffee table.

-"No" Lena replied quickly. "Nothing. Just, radio silence."

-"Damn" Veronica said, her eyebrows shooting up in astonishment. "And you have really no idea what you did for her to ghost you like that, all of a sudden ?"

-"No !" Lena defended herself immediately. Then, seeing the perplexed look on her friend face, she decided to shine a light on her own internal investigation. "I've been replaying all of our interactions from the last few days in my head all morning and nothing comes to mind. I can't see what I did to make her so mad at me."

-"You're really sure ?"

-"Yes ! I'm telling you, there's nothing !" Lena said, raising her voice in exasperation. If Kara could just tell her it would be so much easier but Kara didn't seem to want to talk to her anymore.

-"Sorry to ask that but I have to" Veronica spoke again, a focused frown on her face. "It's a issue that people don't take into consideration often but it can have its importance."

-"What ? Tell me !" Lena urged her friend impatiently. Any suggestion was very welcomed at this point.

-"You're not gonna like it..." Veronica warned, making faces.

-"For God's sake Veronica, just tell me where I screwed up so I can fix this situation !"

-"Do you think that maybe, it was because of..." Veronica started to elaborate, putting her hand under her chin in a deep thinking gesture. "How do I put it politely..."

-"Just spit it !" Lena interrupted, rolling her eyes at her friend antics. She needed an answer, like, yesterday.

-"Is there a chance that maybe you weren't... you know... good in bed ?"

-"What ?"

Lena was rarely surprised when it came to what might get out of Veronica's mouth but she had to admit that she didn't see that one coming.

-"We never really talked about it and as my friend, I always assumed that you crushed it in this area, like me, you know ?" Veronica went on, very seriously.

-"For goodness' sake Veronica, you don't ghost someone because they're not good in bed !"

-"Speak for yourself" Veronica mumbled.

-"I mean, the reaction is a little disproportionate don't you think ?" Lena tried, not wanting to go into details of her intimate relationship with Kara. Best friend or not, some things must stay private. Always.

-"You know, I'm just trying to help" Veronica said, feeling sorry for her poor confused friend.

-"Well, you're not helping."

-"Sorry."

-"Plus, it doesn't explain why her sister was so mad at me too" Lena spoke again, a few moments later. "She shut the door in my face !" She added, the anger she hadn't felt at the moment from the shock of the surprise making its way to the surface finally.

-"Good point" Veronica agreed. "Unless, sibling solidarity is way more powerful than I thought. I don't know, I'm an only child."

-"You should have seen the look her sister gave me" Lena said. "It felt like she was ready to kill me. What did I do Veronica ?" Lena asked, looking at her friend desperately. She hated not knowing. The millions what if running through her mind were slowly driving her crazy.

-"OK, let's start from the beginning again" Veronica decided, sitting up on the couch and facing Lena fully. "If you didn't do anything wrong on a professional and personal level, there is only one option left."

-"Which one ?" Lena inquired, afraid of already knowing what Veronica was suggesting.

-"Do I really have to say it ?"

-"Yes" Lena answered, closing her eyes and bracing herself for the conclusion she already reached earlier this morning but wanted so badly to be wrong.

-"Please Lena, don't tell me this drastic turn of events hasn't your mother's name written all over it !

-"I thought about it, of course but..." Lena admitted, sighting. "I banned her from L Corp and nobody had heard anything from her for weeks now. She must be mopping in her country house, cursing me."

-"Precisely !" Veronica exclaimed. "She couldn't sink you professionally so maybe she's taking out her rage on your private life. You know it's her style to stoop to such a level."

-"Maybe but what's in it for her ?" Lena asked. This question had been bugging her all morning already and maybe her friend could provide her with a plausible explanation. "I mean, it was her idea to fake a relationship with Kara in the first place. Why ruin her own plan now ?"

-"What do I know ?" Veronica said, shrugging and then raising her hands in defeat. "To get back at you because she couldn't do it the first time with the hacking fiasco perhaps ?" she tried. Lena shook her head slightly, not convinced.

-"Plus, her plan was for you two to fake it until the new product sells itself not to stay together afterwards, no ?" Veronica suggested. "I mean, the old bitch is still homophobic."

-"Maybe" was all Lena said. She didn't really care what Lillian's motivation were actually, the only thing that mattered to her now was how she could fix this situation.

Lena could easily live with the media and half of National City hating her, she was so used to it by now, it wouldn't really make a difference in her day to day life. However, since Kara stopped talking to her last night, Lena discovered that it was very difficult to carry on with her day knowing that, from now on, Kara thought of her as a Luthor and not as Lena.

Chapter Text

-"I don't want to go" Kara whined.

-"Kara, we already talked about this" Alex sighed. "The break up rumors between you and Lena are attracting a lot of bad press right now and we need to focus the media attention on your project again."

-"And the award ceremony will be the perfect occasion for that, I know" Kara repeated what her sister has been saying to her the past few days. "The problem is that there's a good chance Lena will attend the ceremony."

-"Yes, but I will be there too" Alex replied, putting her hand on Kara's shoulder. "And it will be quick. You get up on that stage, take the award, give a few thanks and get out."

-"As simple as that ?" Kara echoed, looking at Alex for reassurance trough the mirror she was standing in front of.

-"Yes, as simple as that" Alex confirmed, adjusting her little sister's tie.

During the ride to the award show, Kara tried to keep her anxiety from rising up too high. Even the fact that this was her first ride in a limo couldn't distract her from the panic she felt at the prospect of seeing Lena again after four days without talking or texting to the CEO of L Corp.

Kara was starting to feel grateful that her sister had rented the limo. Alex has said that she couldn't possibly show up at the award ceremony in a cab or worse, exiting the subway and Kara was now glad for the tainted windows and the soundproofed back which helped her pretend she was in some sort of protective bubble.

Soon, Kara would be crowded with journalists, investors, scientists and hospitals managers from everywhere and the only person who could have helped her navigate through all that, well, let's just say that they weren't in speaking terms anymore. Fortunately, Alex would be there but Kara couldn't deny the fact that she secretly wished Lena was the one accompanying her like they originally planned.

*
**

-"Hey, you should slow down on that" Veronica said, grabbing the glass of champagne directly from Lena's hand after the CEO picked it up on a passing trail.

-"Hey !" Lena protested. I was going to drink that."

-"Oh I know, but some of us can hold their alcohol," Veronica said slowly, "and other can't" she finished, looking pointedly at her friend.

-"What if she doesn't come ?" Lena wondered out loud anxiously, starting to pick at her fingernails, her hands not being occupied with a glass of champagne anymore.

-"Relax Lena, she's going to come, trust me" Veronica replied, rolling her eyes. "She has not arrived yet because someone wanted to be there early so we wouldn't miss her."

-"She has to, this is my only chance Veronica."

Since Kara was avoiding all of her calls and text, Lena figured that the only chance she had to talk to Kara was this very evening where work forced the two of them to be in the same space again after Kara had started ghosting her.

So Lena has spent the last hour standing near the front entrance, hopping to spot Kara when she would arrive and ask her what Lena could do to fix whatever she had done to Kara.

*
**

When Kara stepped out of the limo and her feet touched the red carpet, she was assaulted by a multitude of flashes. Alex was by her side in a second, hooking their arms together and guiding her forward. Kara tried to muffle the shouting of her name and focused on her sister voice, which kept saying "keep walking" in her ear. As she finally reached the entrance, Kara thought she noticed, between two blinding flashes, a familiar pair of green eyes looking back at her, but she could have imagined it.

As Lena was contemplating seating for a few minutes, her feet starting to kill her, she heard Kara's name being shouted by the crowd of journalist outside. She craned her neck to get a better view of the red carpet and finally saw Kara in person for the first time in days.

Lena expected to see Kara in one of her signature pastel colors but was surprised when Kara appeared in a black suit with a black shirt, the only spot of color on her outfit being her light blue tie and matching pocket handkerchief. Even her blonde mane was unusually tied in a bun.

This outfit was very discreet and made it easy to blend in the crowd and Lena wondered for a minute if this wasn't the purpose of it after all. But a lot more will be needed to detain Lena, she will be following that blue spot that was Kara's tie with her eyes until it would be imprinted in her retina if necessary.

*
**

-"Sorry Lena but if you're going to keep following App Girl until the prize-giving takes place it's going to be without me" Veronica warned. She was growing tired of walking around the room waiting for the perfect opportunity for Lena to approach Kara.

-"I have to talk to Kara, it's not negotiable" Lena replied, the wariness clear in her voice.

-"I get it but that sister of hers is worst than a CIA agent, she won't leave her side" Veronica pointed, exasperated. "The woman didn't even take a bathroom break in the last hour for God's sake !"

-"There's still five minutes left before they give the prize" Lena reminded. "Come on, Veronica, help your best girl out would you ?" she begged doing her best puppy eyes.

-"Okay. Just because it's you asking" Veronica conceded. "I'm a party girl, not a marathoner you know."

-"Thanks Veronica, I owe you."

Just as the two women were going to move forward into the crowd to keep their strategic distance between them and Kara and her sister, the president of the National City Hospitals Foundation tapped the mic and demanded the guests' attention.

-"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the annual National City Hospitals Foundation award ceremony. As you know, this event aims to reward the people who help the hospitals of National City to improve significantly the way they attend and treat the patients."

Everyone in attendance turned toward the stage to hear the man out. Lena would have to wait if she wanted to talk to Kara. The problem was that it would be harder for Lena to catch Kara when the crowd would disperse all at once after the ceremony.

-"This past year, we witnessed the arrival of two very motivated new players on the field" the president continued his speech. "Both made an incredible contribution to increase the quality of our public health service so let me tell you that the debate to decide on a winner has been very intense."

He paused for dramatic effect. This was, after all, a first for the foundation.

-"So intense that, in fact, we couldn't decide at all. Yes, you heard me right, this year we will be rewarding two extraordinary people."

Kara frowned.

-"Did you know about this ?" she asked her sister.

Alex shook her head.

-"First, Kara Danvers of Krypton Enterprise" the president went on, after the few "oooh" of surprise stopped.

People cheered and applauded.

Kara new she was going to win the award. All winners do. After the commission deliberates, the designated winner receive a letter informing them that they had been chosen by the committee. The medical field being composed principally by very busy professionals, they make sure that way that the winner will be of attendance to take their prize and prepare an acceptance speech. However, Kara was never told that there would be another winner this evening and probably, this other awarded person didn't know about Kara's win either.

-"Whose App revolutionized first responders daily work and reduced medicals errors, especially during first-aid intervention, by half" the president of the foundation finished the announcement and gestured to Kara to come join him on stage.

Kara got up on the stage, shook the president's hand and accepted her award with a bright smile. Then she stood awkwardly on stage next to him waiting to know, like everybody else's, who the mysterious co-winner was.

-"Then, Lena Luthor of L Corp" the president declared, pointing were Lena was standing, with his hand.

The crowd applauded politely as Lena made her walk up on stage and went to stand next to the president. The later being the only thing separating the two women right now.

-"Whose recent assumption of the leadership of the late Luthor Corp helped decongest our overcrowded hospital rooms by developing at home medical care with a range of practical and affordable new products" the president spoke again, totally unaware of Kara's new rising panic.

Then the president of the foundation put his hand on Kara's shoulder and gestured for her to take his place behind the lectern so she could give her thanks.

The president went backstage to give room to the two women. Kara took a few steps forward and went to stand behind the lectern. She blinked a few times because of the flashes coming from the front row entirely composed of journalists. She put the award down on the lectern and adjusted the mic to her height as she searched for her sister in the crowd. Kara quickly spotted Alex and saw her gesturing silently for Kara to speak and then leave fast.

You get up on that stage, take the award, give a few thanks and get out, Kara remembered. She took a deep breath and pushed her glasses up her nose quickly.

-"Good evening everyone" Kara begun. "Thanks a lot for this award. I'm glad that the Krypton App helped so many people, I designed it with no other goal in mind, so it's really great to see that it completed its mission well."

Kara kept her eyes focused on the crowd in front of her, trying to establish a visual contact with all the different parts of the attendance to make sure she was addressing everyone like Alex taught her.

-"I would also like to thank my parents, who gave me this love for science and always believed in me" Kara continued smiling.

-"To my sister, who dropped everything to help me in this wonderful but crazy new adventure" Kara went on, looking at Alex who had tears in her eyes.

-"And finally, a big thank you to my IT guy, Winn Schott, who helped me bring Krypton App to life with his incredible programming skills" Kara spoke again, smiling at Winn who was winking and pointing fingers gun at her. The crowd applauded enthusiastically.

Kara was done. Well, she should have been done if Lena hadn't won the award too. Now, Kara was compelled to say something. It would be weird not to, with Lena standing only a few feet away from her and knowing that they just launched a new medical product together.

Kara was afraid that if she looked at Lena and saw her beautiful dress and pleading eyes, which she got glimpses of earlier while she was mingling in the crowd, she would forget what to say and make a fool of herself. Kara pushed her glasses up her nose and approached her mouth to the mic again.

Don't look at her.

-"Before I hand over the mic to Miss Luthor, I wanted to congratulate her on her win" Kara said, motioning to Lena with her left hand but without looking at her. There was a round of applause and Lena smiled to the crowd politely.

Don't look at her.

Kara could feel Lena eyes boring into the side of her head and it was becoming harder and harder to not turn her head, just once.

-"In my opinion, Lena Luthor deserves that award as much as me" Kara continued.

She caught sight of her sister in the crowd, doing a back and forth gesture with her hand at her neck, thus motioning for Kara to cut her discourse short. Alex knew how bad Kara had taken the news of Lena's betrayal and she wanted Kara to spent the less time possible sharing the stage with the Luthor. Kara nodded imperceptibly at her sister and decided to wrap up her speech.

-"In fact, I wouldn't have collaborated with her on the artificial pancreas if I didn't think she was the most talented and altruist person I know" Kara spoke again, gripping the edge of the lectern to resist the urge to look at Lena.

Don't look at her.

-"I'm just...Glad that National City is finally catching up and acknowledging it" Kara finished, and stepped aside to let Lena take her place behind the lectern before Lena could look at Kara or try to shake Kara's hand as a thank you.

However, Lena attempted neither of those things. If she was being honest, she was still a little stunned by Kara last words. If Kara still thought so highly of her then it meant that Lena had still a chance to fix everything. Surely, all of this mess was just a big misunderstanding and everything could go back to normal if Lena put the right amount of effort into it.

So, when the clapping started to die down, Lena, more motivated than ever, straightened her shoulders and took her place behind the mic.

-"Thank you all" Lena said. "Thank you Kara" she added after a pause, glancing at Kara but the latter stubbornly kept looking straight ahead, just bowing her head slightly to acknowledge Lena's words.

-"This prize means quite a lot to me." Lena spoke again, stroking the award Kara had left on the lectern. "When I first took over Luthor Corp and changed its focus to home therapy, it was very hard." Lena sighed at the memory. "Nobody wanted to invest or even be associated to LCorp in any way. I won't lie, I struggled a bit, but receiving that prize today means that LCorp helped a lot of people so now, I can say it was totally worth it."

There was some applause but Lena wasn't done yet.

-"I would like to thank everyone at LCorp who helped me get this far of course, but I would also like to thank Kara Danvers, who was the first person to remind me that I'm more than my family and to trust me with a project that I'm very proud of." Lena added, gripping at the side of the lectern. She spotted Veronica in the crowd, giving her two thumbs up to let Lena know she was on the right track.

It was now or never.

"I hope that the artificial pancreas would be the first common project of many, because I can't see myself working with anyone else anymore" Lena continued, smiling at Kara.

As the crowd clapped again, Kara couldn't help to turn and look at Lena this time.

Lena walked away from the lectern and went to stand in front of Kara, who remained quiet and clenched her fists so hard at her sides so she wouldn't be tempted to reach for Lena's hands.

-"Kara, for whatever I have done to you please forgive me. I can't imagine my life without you in it."

Kara almost answered.

Almost.

The murmur of the crowd which wanted to stay silent but couldn't restrain its anticipation at the prospect of a juicy scoop, halted Kara. Even if Lena was far from the mic now, the first rows have heard her very well and were almost exclusively made of journalists. The rumors of Kara's and Lena's break-up had been spreading non-stop for the last few days, so everyone in attendance knew that, what Kara was about to respond would either confirm or deny them.

Since when Kara did owe them a response ?

First of all, since when her life become so complicated ? All she ever wanted was to make science and if she helped people in the process, even better. But this ? She has never asked to be constantly the center of attention, she has never wanted to be a source of entertainment. Why people couldn't just leave her alone and let her work in peace ?

A flash from a photographer standing just at the foot of the stage, brought Kara back to reality. She glanced nervously at the assembled guests looking back at her, expecting. Kara panicked and flew the stage quickly, prize and decorum totally forgotten.

Lena stood paralyzed as Alex bolted after her little sister, half expecting the night to end this way since the beginning of the ceremony.

*
**

A mess.

A fucking mess.

That was her life right now. Lena had thought that she would fix everything the night of the ceremony but the truth is that she just made everything worse. The media were thrilling on her and Kara's break up, but mostly, they were too happy to gave Lena the bad role. Since they couldn't blame her on anything professional, they used the few words she had spoken to Kara on stage two days ago against her, making assumptions that Lena must have done something bad to make Kara run away.

Everyone was adding fuel to the fire that was Kara's and Lena's relationship, saying the most horrible things about her but that, Lena was used to. No, what unsettled her the most, was that they came after Kara too, saying how she had it coming for getting involved with a Luthor, or that she should have stayed with Mike, the perfect golden boy, instead of that vermin that was Lena.

She needed to get away. Lena had her fair share of scandals with her father's more than controversial political views and her brother's criminal conviction, but somehow, this one was were Lena drew the line.

She got up from her desk, opened her safe and retrieved a white envelope. She sat at her desk again and opened the envelope. She took the set of keys that was inside and stroked it affectionately.

When her father died a few years ago, Lena inherited an old mansion in Ireland. She had discovered in her father's will that he had bought this mansion as a gift for Lena's biological mother but the latter had died while giving birth to her so he gave it to Lena instead.

Now, every time she wished to get away from the city and take some well deserved vacation, she would go to this mansion to relax and refocus on herself. She hadn't gone there for a while now but today it seemed exactly what she needed.

Her decision was made. She would take a week away from everything until this another mediatic storm settle down. But first, she would have to inform Jess and Veronica of her plans, the only two people who would worry and search for her it seemed.

She decided to begin with her best friend before briefing Jess on everything LCorp related and dialled Veronica's number.

-"Hey Veronica" Lena greeted when her friend picked up.

-"What's up girl ?"

-"I'm just calling to tell you that I'll be leaving soon."

-"What do you mean ?" Veronica asked, the confusion clear in her voice.

-"I'm so tired of all of this. I've had my share of media shitstorm involving me and my family but this is too much."

-"Yeah, sorry about that" Veronica sympathized with her friend. "They're going hard on you but nothing's new, right ?"

-"It's just that this time it feels different" Lena said. "She, Kara," she clarified, "she's not used to all of this and..." She took a deep breath. "Her face is everywhere Veronica, It's too hard to not think about, well, everything" Lena finally admitted what was bothering her the most.

-"Okaaay..." Veronica dragged the word while wondering why the hell Lena was calling her to tell her all of that.

-"I'll check everything with Jess regarding L Corp, so don't worry about being disturbed with work stuff, I just called you to tell you that I won't be available for lunch or to be your plus one at some boring gallery opening" Lena said, smiling at the last bit.

-"Lena ?" Veronica asked, a hint of worry tainting her voice. She hailed a cab in a hurry.

-"Yes ?"

-"You're not going to do anything stupid, right ?" Veronica inquired as she yanked open the door of the cab that just stopped in front of her.

-"Anything stupid ? What are you..." Lena wondered out loud as she organized some papers and files on her desk to give to Jess until it hit her what exactly her friend was thinking. "Oh my God Veronica, I'm not going to kill myself !" Lena yelled on her phone.

-"OK that's good but just so you know, I'm already on my way !" Veronica replied as the cab took off in the direction of the LCorp tower.

-"Jesus Veronica, seriously ? What is wrong with you ?"

-"What's wrong with me ?" This was Veronica's turn to yell. "You're the one talking about leaving, about how tired you are and that you checked with Jess so she could look after L Corp while you're gone ! What was I supposed to think ?" she hissed on the phone angrily now that the panic had wore off at Lena's reassurance that she wasn't planning to end her life soon.

-"I'm just going to retire to my stupid mansion in Ireland for a few days !" Lena clarified, letting her head drop on her hand at her friend dramatic response to her call.

-"You stupid !" Veronica immediately shot back. "You scared the hell out of me !"

-"Sorry" Lena finally apologised after a bit. In truth, Lena could have been a little more specific and Veronica's reaction, though a little exaggerated, at least showed how she cared about Lena.

-"Since I'm already on my way over your office, lunch at Il Palazzo ?" Veronica asked, having recovered from her panic in a flash and always keeping her priorities straight.

-"Meet me in ten."

*
**

"Kara, for whatever I have done to you please forgive me."

Kara had very little sleep last night after the ceremony. Lena's words kept haunting her in her sleep.

"I can't imagine my life without you in it."

Kara got up from her bed, growling. She rubbed her eyes as she kept replaying what happened on the stage over and over again.

What if what Lena had said was true ? Kara wondered. Alex seemed convinced that Lillian was right, arguing that those Luthor were all the same and that she had been foolish to had fallen for Lena's "good Luthor act".

Kara wasn't so sure anymore. Lena seemed really hurt and confused last night. She didn't look like she was lying at all.

Knowing herself, Kara wouldn't be able to move on without going to the bottom of this situation. She turned her inner conflict in a way she could understand it better : a math problem. Two people, Lillian and Lena, had dissentient views of the same situation. Both women had arguments to convince Kara of their respective theories, so, the only thing Kara needed to decide was an objective proof. And there was only one person who could help her get that proof.

*
**

-"I'm not sure that's legal Kara." Winn answered, uncomfortable. Kara had asked Winn to meet her at Noonan's shortly after her morning breakthrough so he could help her with his amazing IT skills.

-"Well, if my theory is confirmed, what Lillian did isn't really legal either." Kara retorted. Winn just frowned, still having cold feet about hacking another's person phone.

-"So, could you do it ?" Kara asked, looking at her friend with her eyes full of hope.

-"Technically, yes" Winn replied, deep in thoughts. "But you'll need to stay within a radius of sixteen feet from Lillian's phone for the download to work." He took a sip from his latte and added : "plus, with that method, we can't select what file we want to retrieve so we have to download the whole memory of the phone, so it might take a while."

-"OK." Kara said. "And how much time do you need to build this hacking device ?" she then inquired.

-"Hum... A few hours ?" Winn replied.

-"Perfect !" Kara exclaimed, smiling widely. "Because I know where we'll find Lillian tomorrow" she added, showing an article on her phone to Winn, about an auction sponsored by Lillian. "You could sit a few rows behind her and game on !"

-"Me ?" Winn reacted immediately, panicking. "Why me ?"

-"Well, she doesn't know you so she won't suspect anything."

-"Kara I'm not sure I could..." Winn started to protest.

-"Please" Kara insisted, doing her best puppy eyes.

Winn sighed. He was doomed.

*
**

Calm down. Breathe. Everything's fine, she won't suspect anything.

Winn kept repeating those few words mentally as his sweaty palms and erratic breathing was drawing the attention of the old man seated next to him.

Winn had managed to sit two rows behind the Luthor widow so she couldn't spot him, without turning completely and the downloading could still be carried on smoothly.

The mission was going well and Winn was starting to relax. Unfortunately for him, Lillian suddenly decided it was the right time to stand up.

Where is she going ? Winn wondered anxiously. There was still a lot of time left before the end of the auction. Plus, as the honored guest, Lillian sat at the front row so if she left the room, Winn would be out of range and the download would be lost.

Winn glanced quickly at his phone. 10 minutes of downloading left. He has to do something. He won't have a new good opportunity like this one again. Winn stood up hastily, startling his neighbour, and followed after Lillian, making sure to stay seven feet behind.

Lillian exited the room as Winn rightfully thought, took right in the hallway, stopped two times to greet people and then made her way toward the bathroom.

Winn panicked. If Lillian entered the bathroom, the door will close behind her and all connexion between their cell phones would be lost. He glanced at his phone again : 2 minutes.

-"Hey ! Mrs Luthor !" Winn said as Lillian was reaching for the door handle.

-"Yes ?" Lillian replied, raising an eyebrow.

-"I just wanted to say that I'm a huge fan of your husband's work and that it's so sad that he isn't here anymore to bless humanity with his genius" Winn started to improvise, hoping he could buttonhole Lillian for the remaining 2 minutes.

-"That's very kind of you to say, thank you" Lillian answered politely. She reached for the door handle again.

-"It's a shame that your daughter doesn't seem to follow her father's path. She clearly has the potential, such a brilliant woman like her.

-"Well, Lena's a grown and capable woman. She can run the family company as she please" Lillian said, a discreet rictus of disgust making its way at the corner of her lips. She clearly didn't agree with her daughter's vision concerning L Corp.

-"Of course ! L Corp has so much potential as a company is amazing" Winn continued stalling.

-"Yes well, if you'll excuse me young man, this lady here is trying to attend to her needs."

-"Oh, right, sorry" Winn stammered as he fumbled with his phone still in his hand.

30 seconds.

But when Winn looked up from his phone, Lillian had turned the handle and was already pushing the bathroom door open.

-"Wait !" Winn all but yelled in despair.

Lillian sighed audibly and turned slowly to Winn, a clear look of impatience on her face.

-"What ?"

-"Sorry, it's just that I kind of promised a selfie to my friend " Winn tried as a last resort. "Do you mind ?" he added, gesturing to his phone, sheepishly.

Lillian Luthor sighed again but nodded at Winn to stand next to her.

*
**

-"This is bad. So bad" Winn kept saying as he was rummaging through Lillian's phone on his computer, witnessing information he shouldn't ever be aware of.

-"Just search for recording files like, mp3, and skip the rest" Kara urged him, squeezing his shoulder anxiously.

-"Ok, ok."

Winn taped on his keyboard for a few moments .

-"There it is" he finally said. "All recording files. Should we listen to all of them ?" he asked, turning to Kara for permission on how to proceed.

-"If we must" Kara replied sighing. There was a lot of them on the screen.

-"Wait" Kara spoke again before Winn could click on the first file. "According to Lillian, she recorded that conversation between her and Lena a long time ago but if I think she tempered it somehow, it should be a recent file. No ?"

-"Ok, I will organize the files from the most recent one to the oldest and then we start listening to them one by one.

-"Ok" Kara simply answered, bracing herself.

Winn double clicked on the first recording file. A male voice was telling to his unknown interlocutor, probably Lillian, that she or he owed him money. Kara told Winn to skip it and move to the next file. At the first three words spoken, Kara hit the pause button a little too hard.

-"It's this one."

-"Ok, let's see what it can tell us" Winn said and started to explore the file's properties in detail.

-"Interesting" Winn spoke again after a while.

-"What ?" Kara asked anxiously. She was finally going to know whom, of Lillian or Lena was right.

-"It's edited."

-"Like it's been modified ? Kara inquired, frowning.

-"More like it was pieced together" Winn answered. "See, some fragments come from other recordings that are almost one year old and other had been recorded like, a week ago but they all have been mixed up in this file" Winn explained.

-"Oh my God it's fake" Kara stated the obvious, eyes open wide in shock.

-"Hum, why are you surprised ? Winn asked his friend, very confused by her reaction. "Wasn't that what you were expecting when you asked me to investigate ? That it might be fake ?" he added.

-"Yes but, it also mean I screwed up" Kara admitted, dropping herself on a nearby chair. "Big time."

Chapter Text

Kara was anxiously waiting for the L Corp elevator to reach Lena's floor. She may have done that ride countless times, she still felt intimidated by the big elevator cabin and the insane amount of floors every time.

She wondered how Lena will greet her, after all the ghosting from Kara's part. When Kara found out about the tempered recording, she had tried to call Lena right away, but it rang and rang until she reached Lena's voice mail. That didn't surprised Kara, it made sense, she knew she had some explaining and apologizing to do.

When she exited the elevator, she spotted Jess at her desk per usual. Kara took a deep breath and clutched the donuts box she had brought with her a little harder before she walked toward Lena's assistant.

-"Hi Jess !" Kara greeted, smiling.

-"Hello Ms Danvers" Jess replied coldly, her eyes never leaving her computer screen.

Kara was a little taken aback by Jess cold demeanor. The girl used to like her a lot, always happy to see her. But it seemed that Jess was even more loyal to her boss than Kara thought. She wasn't going to forgive Kara so easily for hurting Lena, no matter how unintentional it was.

-"Is Lena here ?" Kara asked, hopefully. She was afraid Jess would say that Lena didn't want to see her at all but she had to try.

-"No. She's away on vacation."

-"Oh" Kara let out in surprise. She haven't known Lena for long but Lena and vacation in the same sentence felt antinomic somehow. "Do you know when she will come back ?"

-"She didn't say" Jess kept giving Kara short replies and haven't glanced at the blonde once yet.

-"Did she, hum, left a number so we can reach her or something ?" Kara asked, the worry clear in her voice now. Maybe she had taken too long to figure things out and Lena didn't want anything to do with her anymore.

-"Yes" Jess answered truthfully, making Kara's eyes lit up instantly.

-"Oh great !" Kara couldn't help herself to say enthusiastically.

-"But it's not for you" Jess added curtly. Kara's smile fell in a second. "Professional emergencies only" Jess spoke again, but this time it was clear in her tone that she felt a little sorry for Kara.

-"Well" Kara uttered, not really knowing what to say. Apologising to Jess wouldn't make any sense, she wasn't the one Kara had let down and the secretary had been kind enough to answer Kara as best as she could with the information Lena had left her.
-"Thanks anyway" Kara finally came out with and turned to leave.

-"Wait" Jess said suddenly, making Kara stop in her tracks.

Maybe Jess took pity on me at least and is going to help me contact Lena after all, Kara thought and her heart sped up at the prospect.

-"Those" Jess enunciated slowly, pointing at the box still in Kara's hands, "stay with me".

Right. The donuts. What else could have it been ?

-"Of course !" Kara replied instantly, giving Jess an embarrassed smile as she turned quickly and deposited the box on Jess' desk reverently.

-"Enjoy !" Kara threw over her shoulder at Jess, as she pressed the elevator's button.

-"Will do !" Jess replied as the elevator doors opened and Kara disappeared from her line of sight.

Jess opened the box Kara had left her and chose a donut with chocolate icing. She took a bite and couldn't prevent the moan that escaped her lips.

As she feasted on her donut, Jess realized how much she had missed this since her boss' break up. Kara used to bring Jess her guilty pleasure every time the Krypton CEO brought lunch for Lena. Of course, Jess missed seeing her boss happy the most but she couldn't deny that Kara's thoughtful gestures was something Jess had gotten used to and was now yearning for again. No matter what happened between the two CEO, Jess hoped that Kara's visit today meant the later was on her way to mend things. No one deserved to be happy more than her boss, Jess was well placed to know that.

*
**

Back to square one.

Kara stood on the sidewalk, contemplating what her next step would be. Obviously Lena didn't want to be disturbed, Kara deduced. She had left Jess a number in case an emergency regarding L Corp arise but she must have let someone else know about her plan for all the non professional stuff. And since Lena's mother is anything but trustworthy as Kara had learned the hard way, that left only one other person :

Veronica.

As much as Kara wanted to stay as far away as possible from Lena's eccentric best friend, she didn't have much choice. So she took a deep breath and called Veronica. This has to work Kara prayed silently.

-"Yes ?" Veronica picked up after three ringtones.

-"Hey Veronica, it's Kara."

-"Who ?" Veronica asked. She was so bad at remembering names. That's why she always gave people nicknames.

-"It's Kara" the blonde repeated, thinking veronica hadn't heard her correctly the first time.

-"Keira ?" Veronica said. "I don't know any Keira."

-"It's Ka... Nevermind" Kara changed tactics. Her name clearly didn't ring any bell to Veronica.

-"Lena's friend" she clarified.

-"Sorry Girl" Veronica replied laughing. "I'm Lena's friend. Try harder next time !"

-"Wait !" Kara shouted on the phone afraid that her last chance to contact Lena would disappear with Veronica hanging up on her. "I'm Kara" she tried again desperately when she thought back of something that could help veronica remember her. This might work Kara said to herself. After all, she couldn't wipe this memory from her brain herself even if she wanted to. "I'm... Supergirl bra ?" Kara mumbled hopefully.

-"Oh ! App Girl !" Veronica exclaimed. "How have you been Girl ?"

-"Hum, okay thank y..." Kara answered before Veronica interrupted her suddenly.

-"Wait. Didn't you dump Lena like a piece of trash at the award ceremony ?" Veronica inquired even if by the tone of her voice Kara could tell that Veronica recalled the scene perfectly. "I'm sure that according to the best friend code I'm not allowed to talk to you" Veronica added reproachfully.

-"That's the thing !" Kara intervened before Veronica could cut the conversation short. "I'm trying to fix this mess and I thought that, maybe, you could help me ?" Kara pleaded.

-"I don't know, that's sound like a lot of work" Veronica complained.

-"I'm sure it will be easier than to dress me up for a date" Kara snapped back in her head. How could her only chance at mending things depends solely on that crazy woman ?

-"Ha ! That's for sure !" Veronica said between laughs.

Wait, did I say that out loud ? Kara wondered as she chastised herself internally for being so reckless. Now Veronica won't help her for sure.

-"Ok, this was a good one and I'm feeling generous today so I'm going to help you" Veronica spoke again.

-"Thank you ! Kara exclaimed joyfully. "Where are you ? I'll join you right away."

-"Okay. I'm..." Veronica started to reply but she had taken a cab to get here so she couldn't tell where she was exactly in the city.

-"Excuse me sir, where am I exactly ?" Kara heard Veronica ask trough the phone.

-"At the art opening of the great Paul..." a man answered before Veronica interrupted him rudely.

-"I know that, you moron ! I mean what part of town, what street !" she went on.

-"Why don't you look outside by yourself instead of bothering me ?" the man said back angrily.

-"Fine, I will go myself so you can keep staring boringly at this painting hanging upside down like your brain !" Veronica responded and exited the art opening.

After a few seconds of rustle, Veronica was back on the phone :

-"Hey App Girl ?"

-"Yes ?"

-"I'm at the corner of the 6th and the 24th" Veronica told Kara.

-"Got it !"

*
**

-"I knew it ! That woman is worst than cancer !" Veronica exclaimed angrily. She never liked Lillian and this new low blow from her part just proved to Veronica she definitely never will.

-"So what's your plan exactly ?" she asked Kara who was sitting next to her on a street bench.

-"Well, since Lena doesn't pick up the phone and Jess won't contact her unless there's a work emergency" Kara explained, "I thought that... maybe... if you call her, she would answer ? she finished, looking expectantly at Veronica.

-"I'm sorry, Jess ?" Veronica asked back.

-"Lena's personal assistant ?" Kara provided, her shoulders sagging. How could she make this woman focus once and for all on the matter at hand ?

-"Oh, yeah the Asian girl !" Veronica simply said, glad to have been able to remember someone so quickly.

-"So ? What do you think ?" Kara insisted. "You call her and hand the phone to me ?" she added, almost pleadingly.

-"Hum... I don't think that would work" Veronica answered, scrunching her nose. "She would hang up before you even got the chance to say her name fully" she went on, honestly.

-"Lena would never do that" Kara dismissed with an uneasy laugh.

-"Uh, yeah she would" Veronica asserted again.

-"How can you be so sure ?"

-"Because it's what I would do."

-"I'm not really sure that qualifies as a good reasoning in this situation" Kara said.

-"What do you mean ?"

-"Well, you're not really alike you and Lena" Kara stated the obvious.

-"Of course not !" Veronica gladly admitted. "But she's my best friend so I know her best."

Kara sighed, defeated. She really thought this would work. If she couldn't talk to Lena there was no way she would set everything right.

-"Hey, don't worry, we'll figure this out" Veronica tried to cheer the blonde up. Kara looked back at Veronica and gave her a side smile to let her know she appreciated the effort but Kara couldn't hide her deception.

-"Wow" Veronica said suddenly. "Now I get why Lena couldn't be mad at you. How do you do that with your face ?"

-"Do what ?" Kara inquired, totally clueless.

-"You look like a puppy but... human" Veronica tried to explain. "Like, you've just been ditched on the side of the road and you're begging me to take you with me in my car with your eyes" she extrapolated, leaving Kara totally confused. "It's fascinating."

-"So you're not going to help me ? Kara asked a little desperately.

-"I will do better than that !" Veronica exclaimed cheerfully like she had the best idea ever. "I'm going to call Lena, ask her what her exact location is, and then..." she paused for dramatic effect, "you can join her over there and apologize in person. What do you think ?"

-"Hum...it could work ?" Kara mused, deep in thought.

-"Of course it will !" Veronica replied enthusiastically. "No way she won't forgive you if you do your puppy eyes to her" she added, smiling at her own brilliant plan. "Or maybe they don't work on command ?"

-"Just... call her, please" Kara pleaded. She won't survive to Veronica explaining her weird human-puppy theory for only one minute more.

-"On it !" Veronica said as she retrieved her phone from her purse. She selected Lena in her contacts and put the phone to her ear. Kara watched Veronica anxiously.

-"Hey Bestie !" Veronica said cheerfully on the phone and winked at Kara to show her that she got this which didn't reassured Kara at all.

-"Hi !" Lena answered, glad that her friend was calling to check on her.

-"How's the retreat going ?" Veronica asked. "Doing yoga on the grass among black-headed sheep ?"

-"Oh my God that's so cliché !" Lena responded, laughing.

-"But true, am I right ?

-"Let's say you're not entirely wrong" Lena admitted.

-"Hey, I was thinking of sending you a little something to keep you busy over there, what's you direction again ?" Veronica inquired in the most casual way she could muster.

-"If it's to send me a dildo like the last time I was on vacation it's a hard no" Lena stated sternly. Veronica burst out laughing, making Kara jump.

-"Oh come on ! It was so funny !" Veronica defended herself, still laughing. "I would have loved to see Lillian face though, I'm sure it have been epic."

-"Thank God she never saw it" Lena replied, sighing in relief like it hadn't happened years ago when she was still a teenager. "I had the good sense of opening your package in my room" she recalled. "I had to spent the rest of the holidays hiding it in the hotel suite after that, hoping she would never find it tough."

-"I promise it's not a dildo this time" Veronica assured Lena. Then, she glanced at Kara who was twisting her hands in her lap, her right leg bouncing up and down nervously, and added, smiling : "It's way better than that."

-"OK" Lena relented. "Ready to write it down ?"

After Veronica had carefully wrote the direction down on a piece of paper Kara had handed to her, she wished her best friend a good night and hung up.

Good night ? Kara wondered to herself. Weird. Then she looked at the direction Veronica had written down and didn't recognize the zip code.

-"Where is it exactly ? Kara asked Veronica, confused.

-"Oh that's in Ireland sweetie" Veronica replied like it was the most obvious and usual thing in the world.

-"Wh-what ?"

-"Good luck app Girl !"

*
**

-"So ? How did it go ?" Winn asked Kara eagerly as soon as she came back to the office.

-"She wasn't there" Kara replied as she walked toward her desk. "She's actually on vacation."

-"Oh, really ? That's... rare for Lena Luthor" Winn mused. "Let me guess, the Hamptons ?"

-"No, Ireland."

-"Wow, that's far" Winn let out, surprised. "Do you know when she will be back ?"

-"No, but it doesn't matter because I decided to fly over there to see her" Kara answered truthfully.

-"Wait, what ?" Winn exclaimed. He suddenly noticed that Kara had came back with a large sport bag and hadn't removed it from her shoulder since she arrived.

-"I just came here to grab my passport and then I'll take a cab to catch my flight" Kara explained to Winn, her decision made.

-"Have you been to Europe before at least ?"

-"Winn, it's Ireland. They speak English there, I'll be fine."

-"I don't know, with their accent it might as well be French" Winn mumbled back. "Wouldn't be better for you to wait for Lena to come back ?"

-"What if she doesn't come back within a month ? Have you thought about that Winn ?" Kara asked her best friend rhetorically. "What I'm supposed to do ? Show up just like that and apologize when I've known for weeks that it wasn't her fault at all and that I didn't say anything to her all this time ?" Kara finished, resolute. It was the best course of action and she wasn't letting anyone tell her otherwise.

Winn never witnessed Kara make a decision that big without consulting with him or Alex first. It seemed so out of character for Kara that Winn couldn't help but worry. He wanted to ask Kara is she was sure of herself but at the same time Kara was finally doing something on her own and very confidently for the first time in a long time. He didn't want to ruin her resolve with his doubts.

Plus, the last time Kara was so sure about something and insisted until Winn gave in was when she invented the Krypton App. And Winn has always liked Lena. She is a really nice and smart person when you get to know her. He wasn't blind and he knew that she made Kara happy too, so he decided to be a good best friend.

-"OK, you have a point" Winn finally said. Kara seemed relieved that he wasn't trying to stop her. She was already second guessing herself, she didn't need anyone giving her a reason to chicken out.

Suddenly, Winn engulfed Kara in a strong hug.

-"Good luck" Winn said and meant it. "I'm sure she would forgive you."

-"Thanks Winn."

*
**

The ten hours flight was okay. Kara agreed to a few selfies but she took her plane at 8pm so she spent most of the trip sleeping. She even got a seat next to the window so she could admire the city's lights as the plane was ascending.

Of course Lena's mansion was in a quiet countryside, somewhere in the middle of nowhere so Kara had to take a bus at the airport to the closest city and then, nothing. She had to do the rest by foot. At least one hour walk according to the GPS on her phone.

She could have rented a car but Kara never took a driver license test. She didn't see the need in that, living in a big city like National City with public transportation and cabs everywhere. Plus, even if she did own a driving license, everyone was driving on the wrong side of the road here and knowing herself, she would crash after only 5 minutes of driving.

She adjusted her sports bag on her shoulder and started walking on the side of the road. The sky was grey and the air was a little chilly but the long walk would warm her and she could contemplate the beautiful landscape that lay before her.

After 20 minutes of walking, it started raining and Kara's cardigan which was already struggling to keep her warm became useless pretty fast.

Maybe she didn't think this whole thing through after all.

*
**

Erin was glad that Lena was here again. It had been so long since the last time the young woman had stayed in the family mansion. When Lena had discovered the place after opening her late father's will, she had decided to keep it. She put Erin, her biological mother's housemaid and friend in charge of watching over and maintaining the mansion. In exchange, Erin would live in the outbuilding, specially renovated for the occasion, for free and receive a more than comfortable salary.

Erin had been so relieved when Lena had offered that arrangement. She had always lived in this remote part of the country and worked in this particular mansion for so long now that she didn't knew what she would have done with her life otherwise.

Lena had arrived three days ago at the mansion and Erin couldn't be more delighted. She had been there when Lena's mother had given birth and unfortunately, had died in the process. Erin had taken care of baby Lena in her first weeks of life until Lionel Luthor had came to sign a bunch of paper and bring Lena back to America, so Erin considered Lena as if she was her own daughter.

Erin told Lena today that she was going to the village to buy some groceries and asked the CEO if she needed anything. After Lena assured her that she didn't want anything, Erin got in her red pick-up and left.

When she was halfway to the village it started raining hard. Erin just shrugged. She already had her raincoat on and as always in Ireland, the downpour will soon be replaced by beautiful sunny spells. The locals use to say that the weather here is as changeable as a woman's mood.

As she continued driving, Erin spotted someone walking on the left side of the road. As she got closer, she noticed it was a young woman and that she was completely drenched. Erin wondered where this woman was going on foot in this godforsaken area, everyone here had a vehicle unless...

Erin hit the brakes right after she had passed the woman. Even if the pouring rain made it more difficult to see clearly, she was sure she recognized this woman's face from her magazines. With Lena living on the other side of the ocean, Erin made a habit of buying magazines which mentioned in one form or another Lena. That's why she had bought Forbes for the first time months ago. She was so proud of Lena. She had also read all that came after between Lena and that other CEO, Kara something.

Plus, this road only led to a pair of farms beside the mansion and Erin knew everyone who worked and lived there. That couldn't be a coincidence. So Erin put her pick-up into reverse and moved back until she stopped at the young woman's height.

-"You okay there ? Where are you going ? Erin asked after rolling down the passenger window.

-"Hi, I'm uh, going to a mansion, somewhere at the end of this road ?" Kara replied, squinting to see the driver's face despite all the rain drops on her glasses.

-"Oh I know which mansion you're talking about. I just left there actually" Erin told Kara. Yes, after looking more thoroughly at the young woman and hearing her American accent, Erin was now sure that she was speaking to Lena's magazines sweetheart. Or ex-sweetheart.

-"Really ?" Kara said hopefully. At least she was on the right path it seemed.

-"You're only halfway there and you're going to catch a cold all wet like that" Erin said, sighting. "Get in, I will drive you" she finished, unlocking her pick-up doors.

-"Oh, really ? Thank you !" Kara thanked Erin, throwing her sports bag in the back of the pick-up and got in.

-"Name's Erin by the way" the Irish woman said, turning her pick-up around.

-"Kara."

While they drove in silence, Erin took pity of the poor girl shivering next to her so she turned the heat up even if with her rain coat on she will be too hot soon. Erin sensed that the girl wanted to ask her something but didn't know how to proceed so Erin waited patiently. After a few minutes, Kara finally spoke :

-"Earlier you said that you came from the mansion..." Kara started hesitantly, approaching her freezing hands to the aeration grid.

-"Yes" Erin confirmed. "I work here."

-"Hum, do you know if...there's someone else, hum, there at the moment ?

-"You want to know if Miss Lena will be at the mansion when we arrive there" Erin guessed, smiling.

-"How did you..."

-"It's Europe here not the ass end of nowhere" Erin answered laughing. "We got the news and I have a friend who won't shut up about your app saving her life.

-"Of course, sorry" Kara apologized. Her recent access to celebrity was something she was still trying to get used to.

-"To answer your question, she's at the mansion. Not expecting you though."

-"Yeah I know" Kara admitted, sighting. "I'm trying this whole improvisation thing for the first time but since I landed here I'm starting to realize how unprepared I am."

-"Well, that's life kiddo, you're never really prepared for it."

*
**

Lena was comfortable in the mansion's living room, reading a good book on her couch with a warm blanket draped loosely on her lap when she heard the front door open.

-"Erin ?" she inquired and saw that it was indeed her maid making her way in.

-"You're back already ? Lena asked confused. "I thought you were going to the grocery store ?"

-"I was Miss Lena but then I found something, or rather, someone on the road who wants to see you" Erin explained. "And since it was raining a lot and the poor thing was drenched from head to toes I thought it best to end her misery and bring her here already."

-"Someone ?" Lena wondered out loud. Who could it be ?

-"Tall, blonde, American ?" Erin provided.

Kara ? Lena deduced immediately but chastised herself as soon as the thought entered her mind. That's not possible. They haven't talked since the award ceremony and nobody beside Jess and Veronica knew that she was staying here.

-Name's Kara ?" Erin added and smiled when she saw Lena jump out of the couch like she's been electrocuted.

-"She's here ?" Lena asked, staring at the front door as if she could see through it.

-"Yes, that's what I just said Miss Lena" Erin replied patiently, smiling. "The poor girl is freezing outside in my car Miss, should I let her in ?"

-"Yes, of course" Lena said, finally snapping out of her stupor but Erin made no move toward the front door. She just eyed Lena with an eyebrow raised questioningly.

-"What ?" Lena asked.

-"I just thought that maybe you would want to change before I let the Miss in" Erin informed Lena, eyeing her again.

Lena took a quick look at her fluffy socks, her over-used sweatpants and her birth mother's old wool jacket. She didn't have to look at a mirror to know that her hair were a mess since she didn't brush them this morning after she woke up.

-"I'm just..." Lena said to her maid, pointing at the staircase before darting to her room on the first floor of the mansion to change. Erin just laughed lightly.

A minute later, Lena was back in jeans and a sweater, her hair tied in a messy bun.

-"I'm ready" she told Erin, glancing at the front door and playing anxiously with the hem of her sleeves.

Erin opened the front door and motioned at Kara to join her. Kara exited the red pick-up, put her sports bag back on her shoulder and walked the short distance between the car and the front porch.

-"Sorry for the wait" Erin apologized. "Miss Lena will see you now."

-"Thanks" Kara answered, hugging herself to protect herself from the cold and to prevent her hands to fidgeting with her glasses.

Erin opened the door and kept it open to let Kara in. Lena couldn't believe her own eyes. Kara was here.

-"Hi" Kara said shyly to... the coat stand. With the temperature difference between the outside and the warm mansion, Kara's glasses had misted up for a few seconds and she had of course, picked the wrong shadow she could perceive, to greet.

-"I'm here" Lena clarified and couldn't stop the amused smile that graced her lips.

Erin wasn't so considerate of their guest feelings and snorted loudly, then pressed her hand to her mouth to suppress her laughter and failed.

But Kara didn't seem to mind. As soon as the fog had dissipated from her glasses, her focus lay solely on Lena.

-"Hi" Kara said again, looking directly at Lena this time.

-"Hi" Lena replied, still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that Kara was really here, standing in front of her.

Erin considered staying a little while to see how all of this would play out, the conversation promised to be quite interesting. However, if Erin didn't go to the grocery store soon, there wouldn't be much to eat for dinner and she had the feeling that there would be one more person at the table this evening.

*
**

The front door closing behind Erin brook the two CEO back to reality. They didn't know how long they've been standing there, staring at each other not knowing what to say.

-"Maybe you want to dry yourself" Lena finally spoke.

-"Yes, that would be great" Kara replied hastily.

While Kara dried herself and changed in the bathroom on the first floor, Lena fixed them two cups of tea that she set on the coffee table, in front of the couch, and waited for Kara.

A few minutes later, Kara was back in clean clothes. They were still too light for the current weather but the mansion was warm enough.

-"Thanks for the tea" Kara said and sat down on the velvet reading chair, next to the couch Lena was already seated on.

-"You didn't bring anything warmer than cardigans ?" Lena asked, noticing that Kara had gotten back in the same outfit, only replacing the wet clothes with similar items in style but of different color : a shirt, kakis and a cardigan.

-"No" Kara admitted sheepishly. "It isn't supposed to be spring here too anyway ?"

-"Yes, but here spring means chilly and rainy mostly."

Silence fell over the room again. Kara fidgeted with her glasses, trying to find the best way to explain herself to Lena and apologize. Kara spent the whole trip thinking about this moment and now that she was finally here, in front of Lena, she didn't know where to begin.

Lena brought her cup of tea to her lips and inhaled it. It was too hot to drink yet so she put the cup down again. Kara didn't seem like she was going to speak soon and Lena couldn't stand the quiet tension anymore.

-"I can't believe you travelled all the way here" Lena suddenly broke the silence.

-"I tried to call you but since you didn't respond and I couldn't wait to speak to you, I decided to come" Kara answered, relieved that Lena broke the ice first and was apparently willing to talk to her.

Lena remembered Kara's call. When her phone had rang that day and she had seen it was Kara calling, Lena had almost answered immediately. Then she had thought that maybe Kara was calling her to tell her that she was done with her professionally too, that she was the worst or something like that so she had decided to wait and listen to the voicemail instead but Kara never left one.

-"I was in the shower" Lena lied. "And since you didn't left any voicemail I thought it wasn't that important."

-"You don't have to explain yourself" Kara replied quickly. "I didn't answer you for days before the award ceremony and after... Let's say I deserved it and I'm not mad."

-"And now you're here" Lena stated. She picked her cup of tea again to keep her hands busy. "Why ?"

-"Because now I know Lillian had set me up" Kara told the truth. "She came to me that night and she made me believe that everything we had was a lie" Kara continued. She glanced at Lena. She didn't seem surprised or angry, just weary.

-"She told me that you pretended to be with me to win the press and the public favor so as to save your company after your brother's trial" Kara kept going. "That you offered to work on a joint project with me to benefit from my ideas and my company growing popularity to restore L Corp image."

-"And you believed her ?" Lena asked even if she already knew the answer.

-"I'm sorry but she played perfectly on my insecurities" Kara confessed. "She just had to instil the doubt in my mind and then I did all of the work by myself like the idiot I am."

-"The more I thought about Lillian's theory, the more things added up" Kara admitted. "How you answered to my job advertisement, how it was you that came up with the fake relationship idea in the first place and of course how someone like you would fall for someone who can't handle herself at a damn photoshoot ?" Kara finished angrily, leaning forward on her seat and hiding her face in her hands in embarrassment. She was still so mad at herself for falling right into Lillian's trap.

-"You should have come to me" Lena said but there wasn't one shred of reproach in her voice.

-"That was my first thought too" Kara agreed. "To what end though ?" she then asked rhetorically. "I would have come to you and you would have told me the truth, that all of what Lillian said was made up but doing that you would have accidentally strengthened your mother's story because that's what people that are caught do. They deny and they lie" Kara explained the reasoning she had at the time.

-"I was lost so I did the only logical thing that came to mind" Kara continued after a pause. "I asked for advice to my family and friends and they..."

-"All turned their backs on me because that's what you do to a Luthor" Lena finished for her. "Isn't it funny that my mother and I share the same last name but people always believe her over me ?" Lena added, laughing hollowly.

-"I'm sorry I believed Lillian and that not once it occurred to me that your mother could have invented all of it" Kara quickly apologized again. "Because what kind of mother would do that to their own child ? I knew your relationship with her was strained but that was basically all I knew. You never speak about her. I couldn't have known she would be capable of such cruelty towards you."

-"What made you change your mind then ?" Lena genuinely asked. Usually, when she was involved in anything and things didn't turn out as expected, people didn't bother to look for the truth, it was easier for them to blame everything on the Luthor. Of course Kara was different. Kara had always been different.

-"You" Kara admitted in a heartbeat, looking straight at Lena. "I was wrong before, speaking to you was the right thing to do. Well, speaking isn't the right word because I didn't exactly said anything back and it wasn't really what you said but more how you said it" Kara ranted but judging by the creasing brow on Lena's face, what Kara was saying wasn't making much sense.

-"That night at the gala" Kara clarified, "I knew you weren't lying. I don't know how, but I knew. And since my logical mind couldn't trust a simple hunch, intuition or whatever people call that, I had to find proof, but he moment I found it I came here" Kara explained, smiling uncomfortably, still ashamed at herself for taking so much time to discover the truth and apologize to Lena.

-"Once I found out, I had to came here as soon as possible because..." Kara exhaled loudly. "Lena, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me and if you'll have me, I want to give us another try."
In that moment, Lena could have asked Kara what was the proof that she had found exactly, how Kara retrieved it, but Lena realized she couldn't care less. For the first time in her life, someone was choosing her. Kara had believed her, had searched for the truth and crossed an entire ocean to tell Lena in person that she was sorry and she still wanted her.

It was a weird feeling for Lena, to finally hear everything she had always wanted someone to tell her, especially Kara, and still feel uneasy. Lena had the sensation that she was dragging Kara down with her somehow. Love shouldn't be that hard. Kara shouldn't have to work so much to justify her relationship with Lena to everybody else. So before giving her answer to Kara, Lena had to make sure Kara was aware of what exactly she was getting herself into.

-"Kara, if we give ourselves a second chance you have to know that this incident with my mother won't be the last" Lena warned Kara.

-"Yeah I know" Kara replied, smiling brightly. "Never believe anything Lillian says, trust you always, I learned my lesson well."

-"I'm serious Kara" Lena said, her face growing very serious. "My mother won't stop there. The media won't stop either. Remember what you said the first time we met ? That I wasn't responsible for my family's mistakes ?

-"I still think that."

-"But you're the only one" Lena added, sighting. "My mother will always make me pay for my father infidelity and the media will always make me pay for my father and my brother mistakes with the Law. All of them decided to take me down since I took over the family company and they will stop at nothing until they manage to destroy me." Lena took a deep breath and continued. "You have to understand that you can't pick me without my baggage and all the mess that comes with it. We're a package deal, sorry."

-"I can take it" Kara replied instantly.

-"Really ?" Lena inquired, raising an eyebrow at Kara.

-"Yes. All of it" Kara assured Lena, her eyes never leaving Lena's.

-"You, who panics every time someone ask a question too private for your liking in an interview ? You, who hates mediatic events and run away as soon as things get too hard ?" Lena reminded Kara and then quickly sipped at her tea to avoid looking at Kara anymore. Lena knew her words would hurt Kara but Lena needed to say them. She needed to know if Kara really understood what it meant to date a Luthor, to date her, and if Kara was ready to face it all.

Kara took each of Lena's words like punches in her stomach. She clenches her jaw as she feels her heart start to race and her breath become labored. This is exactly what Lena wants Kara reasoned. She wants Kara to get overwhelmed, to panic and run away, proving therefore that Lena is right about her.

So Kara remained seated, hiding her clenched fists in her pockets to not show Lena her internal struggle and said nothing. She started counting to five in her head to calm herself and fight the urge to get up and leave.

Not so long ago, Kara would have left. But this time was different. This time, she had a reason to stay and fight. Someone worth it and, as always since Kara met Lena, the latter didn't realize that she was that person. That she deserved to be fought for so she was trying to scare Kara away. That's okay Kara thought internally. She had enough faith for both of them.

-"If someone had told me two years ago that I would invent a revolutionary app that would be used by billions of people, I wouldn't have believed them" Kara said, voice unwavering. To Lena, she had never looked so calm and collected.

-"If I had been told that I would be in a fake relationship then a real one with the most beautiful and smart woman of this planet, I wouldn't have believed it" Kara went on, smiling absentmindedly and gazing into space like she was recalling some fond memory.

-"And yet, I did it" Kara stated, chuckling as if she still didn't believe it. "Because you see, learning, it's what I love most. I'm good at it. The thing is, there's no book or science to teach you life. The better way to learn about life, is to live it" Kara continued then paused to look at Lena again.

-"So yes, I hate mediatic outings, I abhor that I have to do small talk with old snobs because I need their money to produce my ideas and I loathe above it all that the press keep saying those nasty things about you" Kara admitted.

-"But you know what ?" Kara said as she went to seat next to Lena on the couch. "I've done all that and I survived. I learned. So now that I know what your mother is capable of, I will be more careful. I won't believe anything until you explain to me what's going on" Kara continued, taking Lena's hands in hers.

-"And I won't buy champagne to celebrate anything anymore because turns out, I don't like it" Kara added, earning a laugh from Lena.

-"You learned quite a lot indeed" Lena observed, smiling. She stroked Kara's knuckles gently with her thumb.

-"And I don't forget anyth..." Kara started to brag but was cut short by Lena's lips on her.

*
**

One Year Later.

It was a beautiful Sunday morning. Lena was enjoying her breakfast on the balcony of her penthouse, letting the sunrays and the fresh morning air graze her skin.

As she was scrolling the news on her phone, she reflected on the past year. So much had happened. Now LCorp numbers were more than good, Kara had moved in with her a few months ago and Lillian was in jail where she belongs, after Lena had finally summoned up the courage to leak anonymously her mother's tax files in the press.

This is how it feels when one has it all ? Lena thoughts smiling to herself. She was truly happy for the first time in a long time and it felt really good.

As she continued to scroll absentmindedly on her phone, Lena stumbled upon a picture of her and Kara from last night, when they were dining at one of their favorite restaurant. The article was titled "The proposal !" and in the picture, Kara was showing Lena a little black objet and Lena was beaming, her hands joined in front of her face in a overjoyed gesture.

The thing was, Lena recalled this scene perfectly and there wasn't any marriage proposal involved, she was sure of it. What Kara had showed her last night and which looked like a black jewellery box, was instead a finished new prototype. Lena had been very moved by the sight of it at the time because Kara and she had been struggling with its design and mechanism for weeks and Kara had finally found how to make it work.

It was this moment that Kara chose to wake up at last and join Lena on the balcony.

-"Mornin' " Kara said, bowl in hand and mouth already full of cereals.

-"Good morning darling" Lena replied, taking a sip of her coffee. "Have you seen this ?" she then asked Kara, showing her the article.

-"Oh, that's interesting" Kara observed.

-"We could be eating a sandwich on a bench and they would find it interesting enough to put it on page six" Lena complained.

-"What's your answer then ?" Kara inquired, stacking up toasts on her plate like she was famished.

-"To what ?" Lena asked confused.

-"The article" Kara clarified. "They don't say what your answer was in there" she continued, motioning to Lena's phone with a half eaten toast.

-"Are you... serious ?"

-"It's just, the last time we played along with the medias little fantasy it ended pretty well I think, so... why not try my luck again ? Kara said, smiling broadly at Lena.

Lena, totally dumbstruck, glanced at Kara still in her pyjamas, then at herself with her robe. It wasn't the most romantic scenario ever but looking back at how their relationship started, Lena agreed with Kara's leap of faith. It's wasn't perfect or utterly romantic but it was them. So much like them.

-"Yes !" Lena exclaimed as she threw herself at Kara.

THE END