Chapter Text
„Do you seriously never get nervous when having to speak in front of this many people?“ Kara asked as she peeked around the corner to take a look at the crowd of reporters and important-looking business people that had gathered in front of the stage.
“I’m not exactly excited to go out there and stand in front of the people who are waiting for my downfall, but I’m not nervous, no,” Lena answered.
She rarely ever got nervous anymore. At least when it came to her work. To not show any signs of weakness in public was basically instilled in her since she was a child and the years of running her company only strengthened the perfect mask that was part of her business persona.
But it was also because she trusted in the work that she and her employees had done and felt pride for what they had achieved. Lena knew that the product they were about to present to the world was fully functioning and would help a lot of people.
Today’s product launch was the most important one in over five years. L-Corp had developed a technology that would help the field of medicine take a huge leap in the fight against cancer. Accordingly, this event was set up in a big hall, which was nicely decorated and had a five-star gourmet buffet as well as a bar with every drink imaginable to offer. Thousands of people were invited and were about to watch Lena take up the stage to present the technology and showcase how it works.
Because of the scale of the event, Lena had asked Kara if it was possible for her to join as Supergirl. Lena trusted in her security crew, but there was no one that she felt safer with than Kara.
Thankfully, Kara had gladly offered to help. So now, Supergirl and Lena stood behind the stage, hidden from the curious eyes of everybody who attended. There were only a few minutes to go until the event started and Lena took the time to examine herself one last time in her hand-held mirror.
“You look great.”
Lena glanced at Kara, who was now sporting a light blush. This was a new development as well. Kara voicing her thoughts out loud, as if to prove that she wasn’t hiding anything anymore. It was incredibly sweet.
But most of the time it wasn’t even her words that made Lena’s heart skip a beat. It was something about the look in her eyes… God, it made Lena want to be brave.
“Thank you. Have I ever told you how impeccable you look in blue and red?” Lena said in a joking tone, but the sentiment was completely serious. Kara looked straight up handsome in her new suit and the confidence she exuded while she was in her role as Supergirl was incredibly… attractive.
Kara chuckled and came closer to wrap her arms around Lena in a hug.
“Go and blow their minds out there, alright? I’ll be right there with you.”
Lena returned the embrace, taking a moment to breathe Kara in. “Thank you, Kara. I mean it.”
With a wink, Kara turned around and walked around the stage to find a spot that gave her a good overview.
Lena took one last gathering breath.
Showtime.
It was going well.
Until it wasn’t.
Her opening speech went off without a hitch and she had moved on to the showcasing part, wanting to present to the crowd how the technology works and what the process of invention was like. But as luck would often have it, the prepared video didn’t play on the big screen behind her.
Lena could see her tech team furiously working to get it fixed, but it left her to fill the awkward silence that always settled in when a problem like this occurred.
Except someone else filled the silence for her.
“Suck it, Luthor!” a young man in the front row yelled.
The crowd erupted in giggles. Some people at least had the decency to try and suppress their laughter, some were more unhinged. In her peripheral vision, Lena could see Kara stiffen and lean forward as if to take a step but deciding against it at the last second.
Lena knew the heckler. Gale Henson, the son of one of her business partners. His father probably sent him as his replacement because he couldn’t be bothered to actually put in work into the business relationship between L-Corp and his firm. It really wasn’t surprising that he also failed at parenting.
Lena had expected something like this. She had already encountered quite a few hecklers that had waited for the perfect opportunity to try and embarrass her. Little did they know that she thrived in these situations.
A small smile formed on her lips. As she made eye contact with Gale, who clearly thought he had done something amazing if his shit-eating grin was anything to go by, Lena made sure to keep her stare directed at him for a little longer than was comfortable.
The crowd slowly quieted down, and laughter was replaced with a tense silence that made a few people shift uncomfortably on their seats. It was then that Lena allowed herself to fully smirk at the guy, whose grin slowly started to fade. After taking her time to rake her eyes up and down his form, she went in for the strike.
“Mr. Henson, even if I wanted to – as you so gracefully said – ‘suck it’, there wouldn’t be much for me to suck on.”
A raise of her eyebrow and one last glance below his waistline to make sure everybody understood what she was inferring, and it was a done deal.
Gasps, loud laughter and a series of “ooooh”s filled the room. There was nothing quite like a dirty comeback to make even the most serious of business people chuckle.
A glance to the right confirmed that Kara was trying her hardest to stay professional, but the press of her lips and the mirth in her eyes betrayed just how much she wanted to laugh.
Lena took no real joy in embarrassing people. She always preferred if things stayed civil. But her years in the business taught her that sometimes it was the best way to assert dominance and to shut people up. Especially straight, white men. And Lena couldn’t deny that it was a little satisfying to wipe the smug grin off their faces.
However, talking back came with a risk. And that was being proven right now.
The clear embarrassment on Gale Henson’s face quickly gave way to furious anger. It was obvious in the curl of his lips and the squint of his eyes. Lena had been in enough situations like these to know that this would escalate quickly.
“You bitch!” he yelled, just as he drew his arm back to throw the glass in his hand at full force.
Lena got ready to duck, not sure if she was going to manage to evade it, when Kara suddenly stood in front of her with the glass in her hands.
Right. Super speed. Was Lena ever going to get used to it?
Lena opened her mouth to thank Kara when she suddenly heard the sound of glass crunching. Looking down, she saw glass pieces fall from Kara’s hand onto the floor.
That was the first sign that this wasn’t over.
The second sign was the growl that Kara let loose.
The third sign was the hush that fell over the crowd.
Kara stalked over to Gale, who now stood stock-still with his eyes wide open in fear. In the reflection of his glasses Lena could see that Kara’s eyes were glowing. Oh, this was going to be much more of a situation than she had meant for it to be.
“I don’t think you want to find out what happens if you try to hurt her one more time,” Lena heard Kara growl as she grabbed him by his lapel.
Lena rarely got to see this side of Kara and if she didn’t know her as well as she did, she would probably be scared as well. Kara Danvers was so gentle, soft-spoken and kind of a dork. Supergirl, however, was strength personified.
While it was a bit of a shock to the system to see Kara this angry, at the same time it filled Lena with a whole lot of warmth to hear and see how protective Kara was of her. To have someone who actually cared for her and her well-being was something that she would most likely never really get used to.
Well, and if she was being honest, seeing this powerful side of Kara was very… cool. Yeah, cool was definitely the word she would choose.
Lena shook herself out of her trance to diffuse the situation. As much of an asshole as Gale Henson was, based on the fear in his eyes, he had learned his lesson.
Lena was able to lean over the edge of the stage and put a hand on Kara’s shoulder.
“It’s alright. I don’t think he’s gonna try anything else.”
Hearing Lena’s voice seemed to pull Kara out of her stupor, so Lena kept quietly talking to her.
“He didn’t hurt me. Everybody is fine.”
Slowly, the glowing of Kara’s eyes lessened until her diluted pupils were visible again. Swallowing hard, Kara lightened her grip on the guy’s suit.
“We got it from here, Supergirl.” Two of Lena’s security guards showed up at Kara’s side. Even these big, strong men looked a little scared of the blonde, but who could blame them? Supernatural powers were certainly a sight to be seen, especially once you knew what force they could evoke. However, Lena knew that Kara would never hurt anyone if it wasn’t definitely necessary.
Letting go of Gale, who looked very close to shitting his pants, Kara took a step back and let the security guards do their job.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured, looking shaken up by her own outburst.
Lena squeezed Kara’s shoulder comfortingly. “You’re fine.”
Kara nodded, but didn’t dare to look up into anybody’s eyes and just walked back to her previous spot on the right far end of the stage.
As Gale Henson was dragged off, looking like a puppy with his tail between his legs, Lena spoke up once more.
“Oh, and Mr. Henson? Please tell your father that L-Corp is no longer interested in working with Henson Enterprise.”
If the quiver of his bottom lip was anything to go by, he knew that he messed up. Immensely.
“Now, shall we get back to what you actually came here for?”
Lena’s least favorite part about events like these was the mingling with people. She knew how to give a good speech, she could handle the questions from the reporters, but it was the empty conversations at the end of the night that exhausted her. There were quite a few people who were genuinely excited about what Lena had presented to them, and that was nice. Lena didn’t mind explaining the process behind the project further and was happy to listen to people’s thoughts.
But there were a lot of conversations with people who only attended because they knew it was good for business. Fake smiles and handshakes that were too firm were a clear sign. Added to that was often barely concealed jealousy in their eyes and passive aggressive remarks that Lena had to deflect with a smile.
Sighing, Lena looked around the room when her eyes landed on Kara, who was also making polite conversation. Quite a few people were more interested in talking to the superhero than to Lena and honestly, Lena couldn’t blame them.
But it was apparent that Kara’s heart wasn’t in it either. Her usual sunny attitude was dulled. Her smiles didn’t reach her eyes and she kept looking around as if to find an escape. When her gaze eventually settled on Lena, Lena tilted her head towards a quiet corner on the left side of the hall in a clear request to meet up there. Kara nodded gratefully and excused herself from the people that surrounded her.
“You don’t need to stay, you know?” Lena said with a smile, as the two of them managed to find a little bit of privacy. “My security will take it from here. I’ll be fine.”
Kara vehemently shook her head. “I’ll stay as long as you will be here.”
“Darling, you’re hating every second of it. And I don’t blame you. Talking to all these people is exhausting.”
“It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
Kara sighed and dropped her head, shuffling her feet. “I’m sorry for making such a scene before.”
“Is that what has got you so down?” Lena asked.
Kara nodded, still not meeting Lena’s eyes.
“Hey, look at me.” Lena reached out to squeeze Kara’s hand comfortingly, satisfied when Kara looked back up at her. “It’s okay. I’m not mad at you.”
“I’m mad at myself though,” Kara huffed, running her hands through her hair.
“At least now I know I won’t have anyone messing with me for a while,” Lena grinned, trying to make Kara crack a smile, but Kara wasn’t having any of it, too frustrated with herself.
“Usually I can control it better.”
“So why couldn’t you this time?”
Kara looked at Lena incredulously.
“He was trying to hurt you, Lena!” she exclaimed and then immediately clamped her mouth shut, nervously looking around to see if anybody had heard her outburst, but the noise of hundreds of voices talking at the same time seemed to have swallowed it.
Lena just shrugged her shoulders. “His ego was bruised. People have tried much worse things than throwing a glass at me.”
“Well, I’m gonna stop them from doing so when I can.”
Lena smiled softly. “I appreciate that.”
And she did. She really did. She appreciated that Kara was there when Lena asked her to. She appreciated that Kara looked out for her. She appreciated pretty much everything about her.
Especially the way Kara looked at her. God, it made her feel bold. Like right now.
Kara’s eyes flicked back and forth between Lena’s. It was clear that she was thinking something through. Once she seemingly decided, her gaze turned soft.
“I just really can’t stand the thought of you being hurt,” Kara mumbled eventually.
“Why?” It was a stupid question to ask. But Lena needed to hear Kara’s answer.
“I don’t want the people I care about to get hurt.”
“So you care about me?” Of course Lena knew the answer. Every smile, every touch, every gesture made it blatantly obvious. But it was the extent that was unclear to Lena.
“Lena, at this point it should be pretty clear that I care about you.”
“How much?”
“What?”
“How much do you care about me?”
Kara gulped, suddenly looking very nervous. Lena knew that she was being pushy. But she was so tired of beating around the bush. This definitely wasn’t the right time to have this conversation, but when was ever the right time?
She knew how she felt about Kara, and she was pretty sure that Kara felt the same way. So why were they still circling around each other rather than meeting in the middle?
“A lot,” Kara finally whispered. “Possibly a little too much.”
“Good.”
“Good?”
“Yeah. Because now I don’t feel as stupid about caring a little too much about you as well.”
Lena watched as Kara’s gaze turned hopeful. Gone was the frustrated crinkle between her eyebrows and instead a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips, while her eyes zeroed in on Lena’s mouth. Lena knew what that meant, and it made her heart pick up pace.
“If you kiss me now, the press will have a fit about what to put on the front page,” Lena whispered.
“Well, I wouldn’t want to draw attention away from your incredible product launch,” Kara said just as quietly, though her eyes were still fixed on Lena’s lips.
She shouldn’t do this. She really shouldn’t do this.
“Fuck it.”
Sliding her hand around Kara’s neck, Lena pulled Kara closer and slot their lips together. Kara immediately melted into the kiss and drew Lena in by her hips.
Instantly hundreds of cameras started flashing. But Lena didn’t care. All she knew was that the need for Kara’s lips on hers was greater than the need for her product launch ending up on the front page. She’d deal with the consequences later.