Chapter Text
Life as a superhero was never going to be easy. Kara knew that, even back at the start where, despite her beloved sister's protests, she went ahead and did it anyway. She came out, revealing to the world that they had a second protector, exposing herself.
And so, so much had happened since then. Oh, so very much. But, right now, it’s the furthest thing from her mind.
What she'd never expected was that, somewhere along the way, she'd become so lost in her dual identities she'd become oblivious to things, things that perhaps should have been obvious. Things that shouldn’t have taken her by surprise.
But when you're wearing two faces and saving souls almost every day, the obvious thing, the thing you really should have known or seen or been prepared for, well, sometimes that stuff just leaps out at you from nowhere.
From nowhere , Kara thought. Understatement.
She stood, dumbfounded, and watched Lena's expression turn from inquisitive to concerned to upset in the space of ten seconds. She stood and did nothing, because the cogs in her mind had not only slowed down, they had more or less stopped turning entirely.
"Kara?" her name, whispered upon uncertain ruby lips, lips that just a moment ago were pressed to hers.
The flowers. Right, that’s it, that’s the turning point. She should have known, she should have realised! I mean, Kara thought, that's not something that you just do for a friend, even if you really like them. But then again, what if you really, really like them, and what if maybe, somehow, they like you too-
"Sorry, I shouldn't have," Lena said. Her expression shifted again, this time to one of resignment, her tired eyes visible for only for a second before she turned and hurried out of the room.
Kara stood motionless, one arm still held out grasping at air, the other clasping her notepad and pen to her chest. She held the notepad at arms length and looked at the blank page, wondering what she’d intended to write. That’s right, Kara mused. A late night interview. That's why she’d come, that's why she always found a reason to turn up at any hour of the day, always found a reason to go out for lunch, always found a reason, some reason, any reason, to be with Lena.
She lifted a hand to her mouth and wiped her finger across the lower lip, finding a small blot of red on her fingertip when she pulled it away. Lena… kissed me? She actually… did that? Kara's heart lurched in her chest at the recent memory, and her head almost throbbed as the disjointed threads finally unravelled themselves and reality sank in. She staggered backwards, feeling almost faint as she slumped against the nearest wall.
The office was silent save for the sound of the steady hum from the air conditioning in two of the overhead roof tiles, and Kara stared at the clock on the far side of the room, watching as each second ticked away. With each tick she felt more and more grounded in what had happened, in what was happening, in all of the new but not new feelings swirling within.
With each tick she felt a gnawing pull, reminding her how Lena’s lips had felt against hers despite how brief the contact had been. It made Kara yearn for another kiss, another, another! And each tick of the clock seemed to strike louder than the last, as though the time itself groaned in protest the longer that Kara just stood there, just stood there and did… well, nothing!
Kara heard the ping of the elevator far, far down the hallway, and knew she'd never make it in time, at least, not as Kara. But as supergirl? No, she couldn't trust Lena, not yet. Could she? No, yes. Perhaps!
Kara blew out of a puff of air and quickly fumbled for her mobile phone, dropping her notebook in the process. As the phone rang, Lena's name glaring brightly, almost accusingly, Kara picked up her things and then hurried down the corridor.
No answer.
"Damn it," Kara muttered. But then, was she really going to do this?
It was, as cliche as it sounded, so sudden. So very sudden. But then, was it? Why had she gone out of her way to visit Lena, just drop anything and everything at any moment to see her? Why did the feeling of Lena in her arms always feel more warm and more real than anything else had in her adult life?
She liked Lena. As in liked-liked. For how long, Kara couldn’t tell. Heck, maybe it was more than like. But for now, she had to deal with the fact she wasn’t as straight as she’d first thought, a notion that perhaps shouldn’t have been as alien to her as the fact she was, well, an actual alien.
Kara barely stifled a laugh at the thought, before finally deciding there was no way, no frickin’ way she could leave things like this. She needed to catch Lena, at least tell her it was okay, and maybe if she was lucky, if she hadn't already messed this up beyond repair, she could feel those lips again. Maybe.
Kara’s cheeks heated up at the thoughts running through her mind, racing almost as quickly as she was, too quickly in fact, faster than would be plausible should anyone see her super-sprinting at this late an hour. Slow down.
Slow down!
Kara slowed to a typical girl-in-heels sprint before halting at the second elevator. She re-dialed Lena’s number while frantically pressing the call button, but it was taking far, far too long. Lena would be in the car park and gone before she saw her again, and she’d have no reasonable excuse for (literally) flying ahead of her.
"Screw it," Kara muttered, shoving the phone down her pants pocket, turning to her right and entering the stairwell. She took one look down the several flights of stairs before hopping over the rail, hoping, hoping, hoping that nobody saw her blur all the way down, until she landed fairly elegantly save for her glasses falling loose.
Okay, I should have a few seconds , she thought, straightening her specs, leaving the stairwell and breathing a sigh of relief when she saw Lena walking a short distance away. If her heart had been pounding before it was nothing compared to now, hammering in her chest harder and harder with every step that she took.
Lena must have heard her footsteps, for she paused mid-step and turned to face Kara, with a silent 'o' formed at her lips.
Kara quickly closed the gap between them and pretended to be out of breath, an act she'd mastered so well that by now it was done out of habit. She doubled over, gasping. "Just, give me a minute," she said, although her heart sank when Lena folded her arms, seeming displeased at the interaction.
"I'm embarrassed as it is, Kara," Lena said, rolling her eyes, "let's just put it down to poor intuition and move past it."
Kara straightened up at the words, and she felt an ache in her chest, an ache that she'd hurt Lena's feelings like this. In hindsight it was something she'd felt so many times before, whenever Lena was hurting.
"I was just... a little surprised," Kara said, smiling and fiddling with her glasses, "I-I mean I hadn't really thought about... well, that , with you, and-"
"Look, I'm sorry," Lena interrupted, and took a step backwards as though headed towards her car. "Like I said, can we just-"
"Let me finish!" Kara said, surprising herself with her boldness, and Lena too if the wideness of her eyes was anything to go by. It took her a moment to realise Lena was waiting for her to continue, and Kara squeezed her eyes shut trying to form the words, but no words would come. "Oh, just screw it," she said, taking a swift stride forwards. She slid her arms around Lena's shoulders and kissed her, but only briefly, because Lena pulled away with eyes wider than wide.
"Kara..." her name spoken again, this time whispered against Kara's lips, and this time spoken as though in the deepest pain, "What are you..."
Kara shook her head and sought Lena’s lips again, savouring the tingling warmth when she found them, a warmth that spread from her lips to her abdomen. This time her kiss lingered, and so she braved a second kiss, then a third, until finally, finally , Lena's shoulders relaxed and Kara felt herself cocooned in her embrace, her kiss ardently returned, Lena's lips, mouth and tongue taking her breath away like never before.
"Wow..." was the only word she could utter when they paused to catch their breath, and "wow..." was also the only second word she could muster.
Lena smiled, a smile so wide that it stretched from ear to ear, those prominent dimples making Kara want to kiss her all over again. She felt herself heat up at the realisation that they were actually doing this, and that heat tripled when she thought that they could be doing so much more. She saw something in Lena's gaze that suggested maybe she was thinking the same, and Kara gulped, feeling suddenly more nervous than ever.
"Kara," her name, spoken dryly this time, interrupting her terribly inappropriate thoughts. Lena arched an eyebrow and Kara followed the trail of her gaze, over her shoulder. "How did we get to my car?"
It was only then that Kara realised she was holding the other woman's legs at her side, holding her tightly against her car door, pinned as though she were weightless. And it was then that Kara was struck by two realisations, one, that nobody had ever made her fail so miserably at covering her secret identity, and two, with Lena's light chuckle and devilish lip bite, that it had never been a secret at all, not to her.
"You knew?!" Kara asked, relaxing her grip as the other woman's chuckle turned into raucous laughter.
Lena's laugh died to an amused hum and she lifted one hand to Kara's cheek. "I can pretend not to, if you like."
"What gave it away?" Kara asked, the heat of the moment taking second place to her curiosity, for now.
"Well," Lena said, leaning forwards until they were almost nose to nose, "I planted a microscopic tracking device into your ear when you weren't looking."
"You did WHA-" Kara began, then stopped when Lena's amused stare told her that it was a blatant lie. Before she could retort Lena leant forwards, placing her lips upon the base of Kara's neck, and if Kara had felt beautiful and new things today it was nothing compared to the heat sent throbbing through her from the contact. She closed her eyes and released long, shaky breaths while Lena's lips trailed ever so lightly upwards, until they were beside her ear.
"It's simple really," Lena whispered, lips grazing Kara's ear ever so slightly, "I know your scent. Your perfume."
"Oh I-I," Kara said, her voice shaking, betraying any sense of control, "I never thought about that. I... should. Um," she paused, because Lean's lips had started to trail downwards again, this time nibbling across her collarbone. "I should. Change. The perfume," she managed, barely getting the words out at all.
"So, now that you know I know," Lena said, stealing a dangerous glance upwards, "why don't you take me home?"
"Oh, you mean, like that," Kara blustered, fiddling at her upper blouse buttons, "I mean, a lift? A sky ride? haha. Back to yours?"
"Well, I don't bite," Lena said, leaning back against her car, flattening her palms against the door.
"Even if I ask nicely?" Kara asked, stumbling over her own feet as she stepped backwards, "Oops, hah! Forget I said that, I'm just going to get changed and-"
"Kara."
"And, um-"
Lena’s expression shifted to one of genuine concern. "Kara, I'm only teasing. I can drive, and we don't have to rush into anything."
Kara bit her lip, torn between wanting to rush into everything and wondering how any of this had even happened at all. She closed her eyes and willed her heart to slow down, exhaling a long, deep breath. "How about you drive us both to yours."
“My, aren’t you full of surprises?” Lena purred, one corner of her lips lifting wryly.
“I, I didn’t mean like that!” Kara flustered, “I mean, maybe sometime, I-”
She was silenced by a swift and unexpected kiss, with Lena’s hand stroking her cheek oh so gently, and the only thing that entered her mind was the wish that this wasn’t a dream, that she could feel more of those beautifully soft lips, more… more.
“I’m amazed we even have this,” Lena said, her words spoken so quietly that Kara felt sure they could only ever be heard by her. “Amazed, and grateful. If you’re sure this is okay…”
“Okay?” Kara said, barely holding back laughter. “Unexpected. But definitely okay. More than okay. Just, it’s a lot to deal with, two surprises in one night.”
“Two?” Lena asked, before lifting her car keys from her handbag.
“One being this,” Kara said, sneaking a sly kiss against Lena’s cheek before she climbed into the passenger side. “The other being you knowing my little secret,” she said, rolling her eyes as she strapped herself in.
“So I guess you could say you came out twice today,” Lena said, wearing the biggest grin Kara felt she’d ever seen before twisting her keys in the ignition.
“Oh no,” Kara said, groaning loudly.
“What is it?”
“My sister is gonna kill me!”
“She’ll have to get through me first,” Lena said biting her lip into a smile, then effortlessly shifting gears and driving the two of them out from the parking lot.
Kara could never have imagined today could unfold the way that it did, but then, life was full of surprises, and perhaps this was the best one yet.