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Kara had heard the remark. There was no way to even think that she wouldn’t, not when Lena, who was standing several feet away had heard it so clearly. And her girl of steel could handle being hit with a train, but she was still susceptible to words, especially words thrown at those she loved instead of her.
The remark was barbed, but fortunately not well enough aimed to do actual harm since the man had none of the personal connections that would make that sort of statement effective on her, but Kara never thought about Lena’s immunity to such comments and she reacted by swinging around and placing her body between Lena and the repulsive man.
It was her protective stance, the one she used to intimidate, to ward off, and Lena loved her for it. Even when she was being exasperating and overprotective, taking needless offense to the collegiate banter that bordered on hostility and rolled off Lena like water from a duck.
She knew where the pose came from. On Alex, this pose, hands on hips, legs wide in a defensive stance came instinctively, a natural reaction to years of putting herself between Kara and the world, a juggernaut of power even without alien super strength. On Kara, the pose looked deliberate, a slow moving choice of where to precisely place each hand, each foot, how to angle her head just to so to indicate her defiance. With her powers she had to take care with each precise movement, Lena knew, and even when she was being protective, even when she was beyond thought and acting as much on instinct as she could, she was still oh so careful.
It was an interesting contrast of thoughtless to thoughtful. She briefly wondered if the sisters had ever considered it and dismissed the thought in favor of intervening before Kara’s confrontation with Jacobs escalated into a blood feud for her honor. (She hoped Kryptonians didn’t have blood feuds, but a cocktail party with her colleagues was probably not the best place to find out.)
She wasn’t the tactician in their family, but she saw her opening and went for it, walking up behind Kara and sliding her arms around Kara’s waist through the gaps her hands on hips pose easily afforded her, and pressed her body against Kara’s, resting her chin on Kara’s shoulder. Whether Kara meant to or not, she relaxed into Lena. Threat or no, the need for care and deliberation in each movement or no, some things, some reactions were pure instinct for Kara, and she melted into Lena’s arms, leaning against her for greater contact while still trying to glare Jacobs down.
It was an interesting contrast and put Lena in mind of a golden retriever trying to get petted and be a guard dog at the same time. She decided to keep that thought to herself, though she smiled and pressed a kiss against Kara’s cheek before looking at Jacobs with a glare so cold it could have chilled all the champagne in the room. Her return salvo was just as barbed as his had been but her aim was better and the man deflated like a popped balloon before making a hasty retreat, too poorly armed for a battle of wits with her, or possibly anyone in this room. She made a mental note to have him removed from the guest lists for future events.
She held Kara for a moment longer, letting the warmth of their bodies pressed together soak into her skin, staving off the chill of the personalities around her, and cloaking her a protective layer of love before she reluctantly separated them, going back to mingle with the other guests, playing the perfect hostess, aware that no matter where she went or what was said, Kara would be there to protect her, ready to throw herself protectively in the way. It was a silent form of love and it said more than she could put into words, so she didn’t try to, she just found her own ways of saying it back just as silently, knowing Kara could hear it.