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“It’s for charity!” Kara argues, arms crossed.
Alex throws her hands up in the air with an exasperated groan. “Kara, how is offering to kiss people going to help charity?”
“Well, obviously it’s not going to be ‘Kara’ doing the kissing! Nobody wants to kiss Kara!” She holds up a hand to stop Alex, who looks like she has a retort at the ready. “But, people do want to kiss Supergirl, so we’ll set up a kissing booth and profit. Easy.”
Alex works her jaw furiously, opening and closing it much like Mrs. Beanie’s class goldfish, Ernie. Just less orange and shimmery and more red and angry.
“You- This- It just-” Alex sputters. She stops and takes several deep breaths in a clear attempt to calm down and Kara takes the opportunity to inch towards the door to her apartment.
“Look, it’ll be fine, Alex,” she says cheerfully, taking another, bigger backwards step towards the door. “It’s for charity, what could go wrong?”
——
“You’re what?” Lena asks, report forgotten as she presses her phone harder to her ear like it’ll help her understand better.
“I’m gonna set up a kissing booth at your fancy person gala to help with donations!” Kara says brightly.
“Kara, you—”
“Well, not me. I mean Supergirl. That way I can keep watch over you and help rake in some money for the fundraiser. Sorta like we’re launching a two-pronged attack on someone who needs to be taken to Pound Town!”
Lena gracefully chokes on air and has to take several moments to cough out a lung.
“Lena?” comes Kara’s voice, floating worriedly through the tinny speaker of her phone. “Are you okay?”
“I’m— Yeah,” Lena rasps, pinching at the bridge of her nose. “Just. Could you explain that bit about P- um, Pound Town?”
“Mm, yeah!” Kara says with her mouth full. By the time she continues, it sounds like she’s swallowed whatever she’d popped into her mouth. “So sometimes we need to take down a target, right? But it’s hard to really outmaneuver them straight on. In those cases, we try to approach from two different angles—hence the two prongs—and take ‘em to Pound Town. Beat ‘em up real good.”
Lena blinks, and blinks again. “You think,” she starts, “that taking someone to Pound Town is equivalent to beating them up?”
There’s a crunching sound on Kara’s end, like she’s just taken a bite out of an apple. “Well, yeah, of course! What else could it possibly mean?”
Lena shakes her head and decides to drop the matter. “I guess it’s not all that important,” she says. “But, so, back to the kissing booth thing.”
“Listen, Lena, it’ll be so perfect! Who doesn’t want to kiss Supergirl?”
And as Lena hangs up half an hour later after having failed to properly dissuade Kara, she can only drop her head into her hands and groan because Kara’s right: Who doesn’t want to kiss Supergirl?
——
Everyone wants to kiss Supergirl.
The line for the kissing booth is ridiculous, circling around the room as soon as the booth itself is revealed, even without Supergirl present just yet.
Lena kinda wants to die.
Everyone in line is going to get to kiss Kara for a hundred dollars, and even though she keeps reminding herself it’s for charity, she still feels like it’s incredibly unfair that all these strangers will get to kiss her before she even gets to.
There’s a prickly sort of discomfort growing just under the surface of her skin and Lena glares extra hard at the board members standing in line, taking note of the particularly stingy few who keep giving her pushback on necessary funding and raises for her researchers.
There has to be a way to convince them to spend more money or leave Kara alone forever, and as she considers her options, an idea slowly forms.
——
"An auction?" Kara asks, still dressed as Kara and furrowing her brows. "But wouldn't it be better to just have everyone pay a flat fee to kiss m— Supergirl?"
Lena shakes her head emphatically and the smell of her lovely perfume reaches Kara's nose. The dress she's wearing tonight is tight, black, and backless. She looks, in a word, stunning.
"Not at all," Lena says. "See, the problem with that is that it means everyone thinks they can steal your lips."
Kara opens her mouth to ask about the severity of Lena's usage of the word "steal" in relation to her lips, but Lena barrels on.
"This is for charity, but I know for a fact that several of the men in line are only here because they want to spend what amounts to pocket change to them in order to kiss you. So, no, it wouldn't be better. We're changing it to an auction and we're going to make them pay a proper amount to win a kiss."
Kara worries at her lip, then decides better of it and pulls out a tube of chapstick that she applies liberally instead. She presses her lips together to spread the moisturizing balm, then pops them.
"You think people will actually pay more than a hundred to kiss Supergirl?" she asks, slipping the chapstick back into her pocket. "I was wondering if a hundred was already too much to ask in the first place…"
There's an indecipherable gleam in Lena's eyes when they drop to her mouth and then bounce back up.
"They'll pay."
——
There's a rumble of dissent when Lena reveals that Supergirl is no longer doing a kissing booth, but when she has the auctioneer announce that the starting bid for a kiss is a thousand dollars, an entire roomful of mysteriously acquired paddles shoot up into the air nonetheless.
Kara, as Supergirl now, feels her jaw drop.
"Wow!" she says into the mic. "Thank you all so much for being so generous; it's great to see all of you so excited to raise money for charity!"
There's another rumble through the crowd, but this time it's laughter. Kara's not entirely sure what everyone's laughing about so she just smiles and giggles along with them as Lena gestures for the auctioneer to continue.
The number doesn't go up by tens, fifties, or even hundreds. The price for a kiss from Supergirl goes up by thousands, and the paddles keep rising.
"Do I hear fifty-thousand dollars? Fifty thousand for a kiss from—?"
The room, almost as one, raises a paddle.
The auctioneer chuckles and shakes his head, dabbing at his round face with a handkerchief.
"Well, well, let's see if we can really get this party started: Do I hear a hundred thousand dollars for a kiss from Supergirl?"
Paddles raise with only a few dropouts, and Kara almost feels a knee buckle. She turns away from the mic to make meaningful eye contact with Lena, who's seated in the first row.
A hundred thousand?! she tries to signal with her wide eyes and raised eyebrows.
Lena sends her a smirk in return, almost as if to say, I told you they'd pay.
And she's right. The number rockets up by ten thousands now, moving closer and closer to a million dollars and still people keep placing their bids.
It's only when the number hits a million and starts increasing by millions that more and more people begin dropping out. Pretty soon it's just two men on the floor: One older, one younger.
The bid reaches thirty-nine million dollars and the younger man drops out with an annoyed sniff and a shake of his head.
The old man grins, and something about it makes the hair on the back of Kara's neck stand up. She plasters on a smile as the auctioneer rattles off, "Thirty-nine? Thirty-nine going once… twice…!"
The room goes quiet, like everyone has suddenly decided to hold their breath. Kara looks around in confusion, then feels her own breath catch when she notices Lena has a paddle raised.
"F-forty million," the auctioneer sputters, clearly not expecting Lena's late bid. He dabs at his forehead. "Forty million from Miss Luthor, do I hear forty-one?"
The old man shifts in his seat looking immensely irritated, an angry, splotchy red spreading across his scowling face.
"Going once."
He rakes a hand through his thin hair and glares daggers at Lena.
"Going twice."
He reluctantly lifts his paddle.
"Forty-one," the auctioneer says. "Miss Luthor?"
Without hesitation Lena raises her paddle and the old man grits his teeth, looking so red now that Kara genuinely worries that the rest of his body isn't getting enough blood.
"Forty-two million dollars," the auctioneer rattles off. "Forty-two going once."
The man tightens his grip on the paddle.
"Forty-two going twice."
He almost looks like he's about to bid, but then he glances at Lena, then over at Kara, and concedes, grunting out a Bah! and setting the paddle down in his lap.
"That's an astounding forty-two million dollars from Miss Luthor for charity, and a kiss from Supergirl!" announces the auctioneer, once again wiping at his forehead with a wide, triumphant grin on his face.
The room breaks out in polite cheers and applause and Kara joins in, laughing joyously at having been a part of such an incredible success.
She's still clapping and smiling as Lena stands and makes her way up on stage, and she's still celebrating when Lena steps close and settles a hand on her hip, her brilliant, gray-green eyes searching Kara's face.
"Are you ready?" she whispers, just for her ears, and Kara blinks in confusion.
"Ready?" she echoes uncertainly, gaze flicking down to where Lena's licking at her red, red lips.
"Mmhm, we're gonna give them a show," Lena murmurs. "It's a forty-two million dollar kiss, after all."
And it hits Kara then, for the first time, that she's auctioned off a kiss. And Lena bought the kiss. So now they're about to kiss.
"I- wait. Hold on," she rushes out, though her arms wrap around Lena's waist to pull her closer on reflex. There's a noticeable, not-small part of her that relaxes immediately once Lena's in her arms. "Right now? In front of everybody?"
"In front of everybody," Lena says quietly, eyes trained on Kara's mouth. Her cheeks are pink and Kara can feel the way she's trembling in her arms.
"Okay, well, only if you're sure," she says, ducking her head to catch Lena's eye. "We don't have to do this. We can do it later, or, well, not at all."
Lena sucks in a short breath and shakes her head almost imperceptibly as she lets it out again. "No, no, I want to do this. It's for charity."
Kara nods. "For charity," she says, and maybe she should wonder exactly what part about kissing Lena is for charity, but—
Lena is the one who closes the distance and fits their lips together, firmly but tentatively, like she's still asking if this is okay.
It is so okay. It is the okayest thing to have ever happened between them, Kara thinks, and she can't help the low, pleased rumble that reverberates from her chest into Lena's as she leans in for more, one hand sliding up Lena's bare back to press their bodies more firmly together.
Lena makes a tiny, sighing noise against her lips and heat rushes through her, warming her from head to toe. She almost shoots them both off the stage and through the glass roof when Lena abruptly opens her mouth and licks out at her upper lip, tongue soft and wet and sweet when she eagerly opens her own mouth to let her explore.
Her head spins miles above her body as Lena kisses her, as she kisses Lena, as they move their lips and tug with teeth and taste with tongue. Lena is huddled up so close to her but Kara still wants her closer, wants to feel more of her silky, warm skin under her hands as she tastes her over and over, listening to nothing else but the litany of her quiet noises of delight.
It feels like it's been far too short of a time when Lena pulls away, but not before giving her one more lingering kiss, lips sticking and dragging enough that Kara feels like something inside of her breaks apart when Lena stops kissing her. She whines unhappily and Lena places a placating kiss to the corner of her mouth, nuzzling softly at her cheek with a contented hum.
"Forty-two seconds," she murmurs, resting their foreheads together.
"Huh?" Kara asks eloquently, licking her lips again and again just to taste Lena on them.
"Forty-two seconds," Lena repeats, and like she just can't help herself, she lightly brushes her nose against Kara’s. "One second of kissing for every million dollars I'm donating."
"Uhh…" Kara can't seem to get her brain to work, every part of her attuned to Lena and hyper aware of all the places they're touching.
"For the fundraiser?" Lena tries. "Charity? Kissing booth turned kiss auction?"
Slowly, Kara rolls her scattered brain yarn back into a yarn ball.
"Oh," she says several moments later, fingers stroking at the skin of Lena's back. "Right."
Lena lets out a soft laugh, and the way Kara can feel the muscles of her back move just under her skin is hypnotic.
"I think I got a little carried away though. Time to do some damage control," Lena says.
"I— Carried away?"
"I did just stick my tongue down your throat in front of all these people," she says dryly.
Kara snorts and kisses a rosy, pink cheek. "Well, I did too," she says. "But can you blame me?"
She releases Lena then, and clears her throat, doing her best to work through the kiss-induced brain fog.
"Thank you," she says, belatedly remembering to face the mic properly and address the room. It picks up the tail end of you so she repeats herself, barely taking notice of all the gawking faces in the crowd as she replays the memory of Lena sliding her tongue across her lip. "Thank you, Miss Luthor, and everyone else who placed a bid, for your incredible generosity tonight."
Lena steps up next to her and places a possessive hand over her bicep. Kara looks down at it as Lena speaks into the mic.
"It was truly my pleasure, Supergirl. Thank you for offering yourself up time and time again to protect the city and to help those in need," she says, fingers tightening over her arm. "Let this be yet another example of your courage and bravery in the face of the unknown, as you are—as ever—a woman of your word, someone who will not back down from a challenge."
She pauses, then tangles the fingers of her free hand with Kara's. Kara manages to keep herself from jumping, but can't contain the bright, giddy smile that makes itself at home on her face. She squeezes Lena's hand and warmth swells inside of her when Lena squeezes back.
"This is what happens when a Luthor and a Super work together," Lena announces, “but it also just barely scratches the surface of what we are all capable of when we let ourselves help one another. One kiss from Supergirl and forty-two million dollars raised for charity… I think we can call that a resounding success, and the night's only just begun."
Lena nods graciously and licks her lips when the crowd applauds, but Kara's too busy thinking about their kiss and enjoying the way they're still holding hands to really pay attention to anyone else. She wonders if Lena can still taste her too.
"Now that the kiss auction is over, please feel free to help yourself to the food provided by Mrs. Zhou's Catering. If you'd also like to participate in the silent auction, that will be ongoing until nine, with a reminder that all proceeds—including my own donation—will be going to The Trevor Project and the Transgender Law Center. Thank you."
With that, Lena steps off the stage amid another healthy round of applause, tugging Kara gently along behind her.
——
They end up tucked in a small, secluded alcove, far from the main event. Lena still hasn't let go of her hand and it makes Kara feel like she could take on the whole world if she had to.
"Sorry for tonight," Lena says softly, stroking her thumb over Kara's but not meeting her eyes.
"Why are you sorry?" Kara asks, exceedingly puzzled. "You have nothing to apologize for."
She pulls Lena closer by their joined hands until she can properly wrap her up in her arms, a mirror of what she'd done earlier onstage.
Lena shivers slightly and Kara aches with the need to hold her tight and protect her forever.
"Hey," she prompts, dropping their foreheads together and valiantly trying to ignore the way Lena's shaky exhales are brushing at her lips. "Lena…?"
Lena sighs and sags forward, falling further into Kara's embrace and tucking her face into her neck. "I just… I totally took over your kissing booth idea and turned it into something else entirely when you were so excited about it," she mumbles, warm breath curling across her skin in distracting puffs. "Not only that, but then I made you kiss me on stage in front of everyone. Right in front of their salad."
A surprised giggle bubbles out of Kara's chest. "Did Nia teach you that one?"
Lena nods, but otherwise stays silent and small in her arms.
"Lena…" Kara looks up at the ceiling like it's where her courage is hiding, then takes a deep, bracing breath. "I wanted to kiss you."
Lena goes so still that Kara nervously rushes on. "I want to kiss you. I like kissing you. You're my best friend and I… I can't even imagine kissing anybody else, to be honest."
Lena burrows further with a tiny, shy squeak, pushing her face right up to Kara's neck, and it's close enough that she can feel how warm her cheeks are, can feel Lena's lips ghosting over her skin.
Kara clears her throat but her voice still cracks a little when she says, "I'm thinking about kissing you again right now, actually."
It takes a couple quickened heartbeats, but Lena finally pulls away from where she's trying to hide in Kara's neck.
"You are?" she asks, blinking up at her with wide eyes, voice soft and sweet.
"Yeah," Kara breathes. "I mean, now that I've done it once I just can't stop thinking about it."
It’s inevitable that Kara’s eyes fall to rest on her mouth then, so she watches in real-time as Lena parts her lips and wets them with a pink tongue, watches as they curve up into the prettiest smile she’s ever seen, watches as she says, "Then maybe we should kiss some more."
A helpless smile of her own blooms across her face and she leans in closer to ask, "For charity?"
Lena giggles, nose scrunching, tongue peeking out from between her teeth. "It'll be a direct deposit to the Lena Luthor Foundation," she promises.
And this time, Kara's the one who closes the distance.