Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Kara’s finger hovered uncertainty above the rusted metal doorbell found on the tarnished wooden door that led into the Luthor residence, her fingers shaking slightly at the prospect of introducing herself to such a high up household. She swallowed harshly as she though of what the next few months could be, the responsibility that came with caring for the child of a Luthor- that’s if she even makes it through the first ten minutes. She technically got the job weeks ago however her interview was with the house steward and no matter how much Alex reassures her she’s almost certain the instant Miss Luthor sees her she will be sent away in disgrace and replaced by someone who actually has some form of credential (while she was known in her old neighbourhood for how much she was loved by the children she cared for babysitting was never supposed to be a long-term thing and it was certainly not meant to bring her here.) She’d gotten the job through one of the mothers she’d worked for, apparently they knew Miss Luthor in collage and were aware that she was looking for a childminder, thinking she was just mentioning it out of politeness Kara replied that she could definitely put her name forward, well she has no idea what she must have said about her but Miss Luthor had e-mailed her only hours after to inquire after her interest and after considering it for a good deal of time (and with a lot of pushing from Alex) Kara had accepted.
Shaking her head slightly at her own hesitance Kara reached up and pressed the button, only gasping a little at the discordant tone before stepping back a little and forcing her hands to come to rest at her side. There was a rest of what must in reality have only been twenty of so seconds however to Kara it felt like an awful lot longer- should she ring again or would that seem disrespectful; her foot tapped nervously on the smooth tarmac of the driveway as she contemplated just giving up and running as far away as she could, but before she could the door swung open to reveal an elderly woman sporting a crisp white apron, a smudge of flour visible on her wrinkled forehead. Kara smiled in a way she hoped looked genuine and reached out her hand “Hey, Kara Danvers, it’s great to meet you.”
“Ah so you’re the new nanny Sam wouldn’t stop going on about” Kara chuckled nervously and anxiously wiped her hands on her trousers, her voice coming out tense.
“I fear she may have oversold my skill”
The woman chuckled, her voice jesting “Let’s hope not, Miss Luthor is sort of counting on it,” her voice lowered to almost a whisper as she glanced quickly over her shoulder, “Look I didn’t tell you this but you’re not the only childminder we reached out to in the past couple of weeks- the Luthor name doesn’t exactly attract positive attention right now.”
Kara nodded slowly- it was no secret the way Lex Luthor had been dragged to jail the month before after being found guilty of the murder of twenty eight U.S officials- his aim was unclear although had the bomb gone off mere seconds earlier the president would have been only centimetres away- making the motive pretty clear.
“But Lena’s… she’s not like him, she’s a good person, and the love she has for that little boy,” The woman trailed off almost sadly, letting out a sigh before continuing, “I just wish she didn’t work so hard.” Kara squeezed her shoulder understandingly, she knew exactly what it was like to watch someone you love throw themselves into their work, too many of her nights had been spent trying to pry Alex from her desk while she obsessed over yet another unsolvable case. Her response seemingly brought the woman’s attention back to her presence “My point is give her a chance, as you can probably imagine her life isn’t exactly easy going right now.”
Before Kara even had a chance to reply she had moved on, Kara was beginning to suspect she would always be a step behind this mysterious woman. “So if you go through here then up the stairs your room should be just to the right.” Her voice flew right by Kara, her senses flooded with the view of the inside of the house. The entrance hall, which had almost made Kara choke when she realised the space almost as big as her old flat was simply there to house coats and shoes, seemed positively tiny in comparison. Everything was speckless, that was the first thing she noticed (with the exception of the size of course) not a speck of dust could be seen on the painfully white furniture- she couldn’t help but question how a small child could possibly live here and for a second she found herself questioning whether she had read the description right. The woman, clearly sensing her confusion, chuckled lightly, “Connor’s play area is towards the north of the house, he’s in a Latin lesson right now, that’s why it’s so quiet, he should be back soon.”
It was only now Kara realised she had never gotten the women’s name but before she could ask the woman was firmly patting her on the shoulder and marching back over the polished marble floor through one of the many doors that Kara was certain she would never be able to memorise. It was only now that what she had said really registered in Kara’s head, Connor would be back soon and Mrs Luthor was clearly still at work, quickly she hurried up the crimson red carpeted staircase (only tripping once) and threw her suitcases onto the bed- she had little time to look round the room and instead decided to take the time to adjust her appearance in the mirror before rushing back downstairs to wait for the young boys return.
She had had very little information on Connor when she accepted, however with the knowledge that he was in a Latin lesson she had honestly expected the child returning to be ten or eleven at the very youngest- she therefore struggled to contain her surprize when the young boy who walked through the door looked to be about four years old, accompanied by a crisp looking butler, his uniform starch and precise. He ran towards her without a second thought- not even stopping at the butlers amused cry of “Mr Luthor!” stopping, his feet skidding on the shiny surface of the floor, inches from crashing straight into Kara’s legs.
“Why hello Connor, I’m Kara, did your mummy tell you about me?” Kara couldn’t help a giggle from escaping her lips at the enthusiastic smile on Connor’s face.
“Mummy said you’d play with me, and Mr Thompson said I could beat you at chess!”
It was now that Kara’s attention was brought to the stiff old man in front of her. He like the woman who had shown Kara in appeared wearied, yet not discontent, his hair parted perfectly in half and his hand gracing a meticulously carved wooden cane, although his posture seemed to be almost perfect. He smiled not unkindly, his eyes filled with a twinkle that made him look almost youthful “I certainly said you could try master Luthor, I don’t believe we have met before, you must be the new childminder?”
Kara grinned, bouncing on the soles of her feet “That’s me, Kara Danvers, It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr Thompson.”
Mr Thompson nodded in return, “The pleasure is all mine, I do hate to leave you like this, especially on your first day, but I have some errands I told Miss Luthor I’d complete before she returned and I really must rush off.” He crouched down to address Connor “I’m sure you wouldn’t mind showing Miss Danvers here to the games room would you Connor?”
Connor raised his arm in a clear attempt of a salute, his face totally serious “Yes sir”
“That’s a good soldier, Miss Danvers, I trust that I will be seeing you around?”
Kara beamed happily, any tension she had been feeling dissolved after watching the easy way Mr Thompson and Connor conversed, It was obvious to her, even in knowing the boy for such a short time, that she had made the right decision in taking the job. “I certainly hope so” a small hand took hers, tugging her forwards towards one of the many doors surrounding them.
“Come on, I wanna play chess!”
Kara only felt a little overwhelmed at the fact that a four-year-old child knew how to play a game so strategic- however he was the child of a Luthor, such intelligence obviously ran in the genes, besides, he was four, how good could he really be?
//
It turned out Kara had severely underestimated the young Luthor’s skill. They were five games in and Kara had yet to get past three moves without being told how obviously she had left her king unguarded- she had give up all hope of winning. Miss Luthor still had yet to appear and Kara was beginning to think she was going to have to send the child to bed before his mother even arrived home.
Checking her watch for the seventh time she sighed and began to pick up the pieces from the floor from where they had been scattered during Conor’s latest victory dance “Okay little guy, one more and then I think it might be time for you to go to bed.” Connor frowned at the suggestion but sat himself down willingly almost certainly to thrash Kara yet again. Kara was startled by a voice from the door, silky and low yet light and humorous “mind if I join you?” Connors eyes lit up at the interruption, a joyful grin quickly covering his face.
“Mama!”
Kara turned round to see what was easily the most beautiful woman she had ever seen in her life. Mrs Luthor was exquisite. Her hair combed neatly into place, gently cascading down her back, her lips coated in a deep red that somehow made her look both professional and classy and her eyes, oh my god her eyes- a sharp icy blue, yet somehow gentil as they gazed down at her son whom she looked at with so much love. I was those eyes that now met Kara’s, who was forced to acknowledge that her mouth was hanging open in shock, her brain halted at the sight before her.
“Sorry I didn’t mean to scare you”.
Kara shook herself back the present, pinching her wrist harshly while she stuttered “No it’s uh- It’s no problem at all, how long have you been stood there?”
Miss Luthor smirked “Long enough to know that you could really do with some help.” Kara frowned good naturedly at the reply, Miss Luthor walking round the table they had been sitting on to sit on a chair next to Kara, opposite her son, “do you want to start honey?”
The game went in mess of colour to Kara, not helped by Miss Luthor’s insistence on holding her hand ever time they moved a piece as ‘It was her game after all’. Connor won, although Kara was largely convinced that was due to Miss Luthor feeling bad at taking such a triumph off such a small boy. When Connor went to change into his pyjama’s Kara questioned this- getting nothing but a wink in response- a wink that made her face burn a warm red.
When they finally stood to leave, Connor insisting both of them had to be there for the bedtime story otherwise the characters in the book might feel as if they don’t care, Lena offered her her hand to help her stand and Kara doesn’t think anyone’s mouth has ever gone so dry as such a small amount of contact
She had her sister on the phone the instant she entered her room,
“Alex, I’m fucked.”