Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Kara was having a regular Friday night, as far as regular Friday nights at Al’s Dive Bar, National City’s only alien bar, were concerned.

There were only a few patrons sitting in the booths, one group was playing darts, and one of the regulars was sitting by himself at the bar. He was talking to M’gann while she was washing dishes, and Kara was only half-listening to them as she prepared a Saturn-style Cosmopolitan and one of the new Martian herbal liquors for a couple in one of the booths.

When she brought them over, she stopped by the booth next to it that was occupied by her sister Alex and Alex’s girlfriend Kelly.

“Quiet night, huh?” Alex asked, swirling her (human-friendly) beer in her glass.

Kara grinned. “I know. Gotta admit, it’s nice from time to time, and it means I can clock out on time. Unless Leslie is late again, then I’ll kick her ass.” She laughed. “Did you guys decide where we’re going later?”

On some Friday nights when Kara had the early shift, Alex and Kelly would hang out at the alien bar until Kara got off work and then go to another bar or club. Tonight was the first night in a long while they were doing this, and Kara was excited.

“There’s Karaoke night at Sunset and Vine, or maybe-“ Alex started, but Kara cut her off.

“Yes! Let’s go! I haven’t been there since Pride last year, and their fries are the best!” she exclaimed, her eyes wide in excitement. Then she grinned. “And you know, I put the-“

“- you put the Kara in Karaoke, we know” Alex finished and rolled her eyes. Kelly chuckled.

“Exactly!” Kara exclaimed and waved with her empty tray.

“And who knows, you’ve successfully taken girls home from that bar, and it’s been a while since you’ve loosened up,” Alex murmured into her glass, a good-natured smirk on her lips. Kara, of course, heard her anyways.

“I don’t need to get laid!” Kara protested, unable to hide a blush creeping up her neck.

Alex raised an eyebrow in amusement while Kelly watched them silently. She knew better than to try and interrupt the sister’s banter by now.

“Listen, I …” Kara started, then sighed. “It’s more complicated than that, you know that. Besides, Alex, you never were one to pick up girls at the bar either, so don’t come for me!”

Kelly grinned. “Touché.” Alex groaned and downed the rest of her beer.

Alex only wanted what was best for her, Kara knew that. She also knew that she would eventually have to start talking to new people if she ever wanted to be in a relationship again. But dating was hard as it was, and dating as an alien was even harder.

In fact, the last time she had gotten to know a girl at that bar and taken her home, she had turned out to be xenophobic, and Kara had deleted her number from her phone along with her hopes of ever finding someone for herself, who would accept her as she was.

For now, she had her friends, her cozy apartment and a great roommate, and her job at the bar as well as a free-lance journalist, and she was content. She would be lying if she said there wasn’t something missing - she was reminded of it each time she saw Alex and Kelly, Nia and Brainy, or M’gann and J’onn – but for now, she was as content as she could be.

Kelly gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, Kara. There’s someone out there for you. But for now, I think you need to get back to work, M’gann keeps looking over here,” she said and laughed.

Kara turned around, and sure enough M’gann was raising an eyebrow at her. She was confused for a moment since usually her co-worker didn’t mind Kara chatting with her friends during a shift, but then she saw a new group at a booth, and she sent her an apologetic look. M’gann only nodded and resumed her conversation with the regular.

She went over to the booth and took the new group’s orders, then back behind the counter. She emptied a can of salted peanuts into a bowl, then tapped three glasses of beer. She was about to put them onto her tray when she saw a woman coming in and anxiously looking around.

Her breath hitched in her throat. The woman was beautiful, and dressed to the nines. Her dress was low-cut, and her dark hair flowed over her shoulders, her lipstick a dark shade of red. Kara forced herself to look away and delivered the drinks.

When she came back, the woman had sat down at the counter, looking a bit lost. Kara approached her. “Hey, welcome to Al’s Dive Bar. What can I get for you?” she asked and smiled.

The woman looked up, and Kara didn’t miss the slight ‘o’ shape her mouth took when their eyes locked. When she didn’t respond after a beat of silence, Kara awkwardly cleared her throat. The woman blushed, the color on her cheeks apparent even in the dim lighting of the bar.

“Oh. What have you got? Scotch? Whiskey?” she hurried to ask and averted her gaze.

She had an accent Kara couldn’t pinpoint, but Kara only nodded and smiled professionally. “Whiskey coming right up.”

They had multiple varieties of Whiskey – Earth, Andromeda, even a brand similar to the one from Krypton – but Kara went with Earth Whiskey. Something told her the woman was not quite aware that this bar was a little bit different. She hadn’t looked around much when she came in, or she would have surely seen the aliens playing darts did not look quite human.

When she served the Whiskey, the woman gave her a thankful smile, then chugged down a big gulp of the drink in a seemingly nervous manner. Kara decided to engage her in conversation to ease her nerves.

“Is this your first time here?” Kara asked as nonchalant as possible.

The woman seemed surprised at the question and looked up from her phone. “Yeah,” she nodded and gave her a small smile. “My first Friday night in National City, actually. I just moved here.”

Kara put down her dish towel and leaned against the counter, giving the woman her full attention now. “Really? Welcome to National City! I’m Kara, by the way. Where are you from?”

“I’m Lena.” The woman said, though she seemed to be hesitant. She took another sip of her drink before she continued. “I’m from Metropolis.”

If Kara had suspected the woman was human before, she was certain of it now. Usually, in an alien safe-space like this bar, the aliens would freely discuss their home-planets and galaxies, always looking for new friends and someone who had maybe been to their own planet before.

Kara remembered the time she had met an old (alien) man who had been to Krypton in his young years, and the connection she had felt. They had talked for hours. Lena, however, seemed to be reluctant to even share the fact that she was from the other side of the country.

“It’s nice to meet you, Lena.” Kara said and smiled. “My cousin works in Metropolis, so I’ve been a couple of times. It’s a great city, but I think you will love National City, as well.”

Lena stared at her for a moment, and Kara was started to think she had said something wrong, when Lena smiled shyly. “I hope so. It’s a new start.”

Kara found the woman intriguing. She knew she should go back to waiting the tables or wiping down the counter, but she found herself drawn to Lena. She wanted to know more about her, what made her come to National City, to the alien bar of all places. It was not unusual for curious humans to come here, some wanting to make alien friends, some a little curious in other ways. But Lena seemed anxious and lost in a way Kara couldn’t describe.

“What made you come here tonight?” she asked.

Lena blushed and nervously fiddled with her phone. “Oh. Um, my friend Sam, who is in Metropolis, convinced me to download Tinder when I moved here. It’s stupid, but she said it was a good way to get to know people casually, because … I don’t know anyone here. So now I’m waiting for someone who suggested this bar, but she seems to be late and she hasn’t texted …”

Kara felt her ears ringing at the mention of a ‘she’, but she knew she needed to play it cool. “Well, I don’t think that’s a bad idea. Moving to a new city by yourself sounds scary. I hope she shows up soon” she said and smiled.

Lena looked down on her phone, her blush deepening. “I … yeah. Though I do enjoy talking to you, so it’s fine.” She cleared her throat. “I don’t … usually frequent places like this.”

Kara’s heart stopped. So Lena knew it was an alien bar, after all.

“God, that sounded conceited, I’m sorry.” Lena added quickly. “I mean, I usually go to five-star cocktail bars with business partners, not cozy, local bars like this where you can wear jeans and play darts. But I must say, it’s not a bad start to getting to know a new city.”

Kara tilted her head, doing her best not to let her confusion show on her face. Who was this woman? She was gorgeous, over-dressed, nervous, lonely, and … rich? … important? Kara thought about telling her to look around, to flat-out tell her that she was at an alien bar, but she held her tongue. Maybe Lena would go to the bathroom soon and see the other patrons on her way past the booths.

Kara only realized she had forgotten to say something when Lena got a panicked look on her face. “I’m sorry,” Lena started, “I probably shouldn’t have said that, I-“

“No, no you didn’t say anything wrong” Kara quickly reassured her, holding up a hand. “I’m sorry, I was just a bit lost in my thoughts. I-“

She wanted to say more, to ask Lena about her job and the bars she used to frequent in Metropolis, but at this moment a woman entered the bar and, after looking around for a moment, approached the counter.

“Hey, you must be Lena?” the woman asked, and Lena turned around towards her.

“Yes. Sarah?” Lena asked, and Kara noticed her clutching her Whiskey glass a little tighter. Right. Lena’s date.

“Yes.” Sarah said and smiled. “I’m sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we sit in a booth?”

Lena nodded, then gave Kara a grateful nod and followed her date towards one of the booths. Kara held her breath, but Lena didn’t seem to notice anything unusual about the bar. Kara decided not to listen to their conversation, but she looked at Sarah a little more closely. She seemed human, as far as Kara could tell. It occurred to her that maybe Lena’s date had chosen this bar at random and was unaware of its peculiarity as well.

Somehow, the thought made Kara chuckle, and she went back to wiping down the counter and serving drinks first to the group that had played darts and had now moved on towards the pool table, then to Lena and Sarah.

Her shift was coming to a close, and she went back to Alex and Kelly briefly to chat. Leslie was still nowhere to be seen, though it was not unusual that her coworker arrived barely on time, if only just to avoid Kara.

“Who was that woman?” Alex asked curiously. She was sitting facing the counter, and had watched Kara’s and Lena’s interaction with interest.

Kara shrugged. “Her name is Lena, and she’s new in the city. She’s on a date tonight, so don’t even say anything, Alex.”

Alex laughed. “Too bad. She looked like your type.”

Kara only rolled her eyes in response. She went back behind the counter, keeping busy and waiting for Leslie to show up. She was humming along to the song playing through the speakers, and looking forward to spending the night at Karaoke. She was compiling a list in her head of songs to force Alex to sing with her when M’gann approached her.

“Kara,” she said quietly. There was concern in her eyes.

“What’s wrong? Is Leslie not coming?” Kara asked, but from the way M’gann looked at her she knew it wasn’t that before she even finished the question.

“The blonde woman in the booth nearest to the door,” M’gann said, lifting her chin towards their general direction.

Kara blushed. “Oh. She’s the date of the dark-haired woman I talked to earlier, what-“

“It’s a White Martian.”

Kara blinked. “What?”

M’gann nodded, her face serious in a way Kara had never seen her. “I don’t think it has noticed me yet. But I read its mind. It has bad intentions towards the other woman, even though I am not sure why.”

Kara gulped, and she looked towards the booth where Lena and Sarah were sitting. M’gann continued. “Now that I’m talking about it, it should notice me any moment. But the other woman seems unaware that her date is an alien, in fact she even seems unaware that-“

“-that this is an alien bar.” Kara interrupted, and the two looked at each other, their concern deepening. “I had the same impression when we talked. Should we do something?”

M’gann thought for a moment. “Let’s keep an eye on them. I’m still waiting for it to notice me, it seems pretty focused on Lena.”

Kara only hummed in response. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, and she was glad that Martians were unable to read Kryptonian’s minds for once. As much as she and M’gann joked about how much easier it would make their work sometimes, she didn’t want to draw the attention of the seemingly hostile White Martian.

After a few minutes that Kara and M’gann spent pretending to be busy, they saw Sarah go to the bathroom. Then, Lena walked up to the counter, asking to close their tab.

Kara accepted her credit card and conducted the payment, but she was hesitant to let Lena out of her eyes. She bit her lip. “Are you … are you two leaving together?”

Lena blushed.

“Excuse me?” Her voice was sharp. “That’s none of your business I believe. We had a nice chat earlier, but I don’t owe you an explanation on how I plan on ending my date tonight, Kara.”

“I-“ Kara stammered. She realized how her question must have sounded. “I didn’t mean-“

She didn’t get to finish her explanation, because several things happened at once. Sarah returned from the bathroom, and she must have recognized M’gann as a fellow Martian, because she let out an inhuman-sounding growl as she darted towards the counter.

As a result, M’gann shifted her appearance from her human version to her Green Martian version. Lena, who was standing with her back towards the room, saw the transformation and screamed.

Kara wanted to say something, but Lena turned around, and in the split second that Kara had been focused on Lena Sarah had shape-shifted into her White Martian form. Seeing the tall, frightening alien, Lena screamed again, high-pitched and frantic. She dropped her credit card onto the counter and clutched the nearest barstool.

M’gann growled at the White Martian, and it grabbed a barstool, tossing it aside as if it weighed nothing. Kara saw the other patrons standing up and surrounding them, vaguely noticed Alex speaking into her phone, but her first instinct was to protect Lena. The woman who had no idea where she was or who she was with, and whose already pale face seemed devoid of any blood now.

She was around the counter and by Lena’s side in a heartbeat, then grabbed Lena and used her super-speed to get them out of the bar. She headed towards the back door.

As soon as they stopped in the alley behind the bar, Kara let Lena go, and the woman gave her the most incredulous, frightened look Kara had ever seen. “Who are you? What was that?”

Kara gulped. “You’re at Al’s Dive Bar, National City’s alien bar” she explained as calmy as she could. “I’m sorry, I had a feeling you didn’t know when you came in-“ She paused when she realized Lena was staring at her, mouth agape.

They could hear some noises coming from inside the bar still, but most of it was yelling and screaming. M’gann and the White Martian seemed to be communicating very un-telepathically, though Kara didn’t feel like joking about it at the moment. At least seemed to be no serious fighting and no damage to clean up.

“I didn’t- I mean I don’t-“ Lena took a deep breath. “I’m not like my brother, I swear. I just had no idea- Sarah- my date …”

Kara couldn’t make much sense of her rambling. She put a hand on Lena’s shoulder, doing her best to calm her down.

“I’m sorry your date turned out to be a White Martian. They can shape-shift, you know. Some of them are hostile, some aren’t. I guess M’gann had a feeling this one wanted to deceive you. No idea why, though. I’m really sorry.”

Lena only nodded, the look of shock on her face making way for confusion. “And what are you?”, she asked, voice trembling.

“Oh, right” Kara said, pulling her hand away. “Um, I’m an alien, too. From Krypton. I can’t shape-shift though, don’t worry, we look human.”

A wave of recognition washed over Lena’s face, but before she could answer, they heard a whooshing sound. J’onn landed next to them. Lena looked scared for a moment until he shape-shifted into his human form. He looked from one to the next with a serious face.

“I was called, there seems to be trouble with a White Martian?”

Kara gave a head nod into the direction of the bar. “Inside, M’gann seems to be handling it.”

Just then the door opened, and exasperated-looking Alex stumbling out, Kelly in tow. “Just one, I just wanted one quiet night on my day off- Hi J’onn!”

She held the door open, gesturing towards the inside. “Sorry I panicked when I called you, but it’s never pleasant to see a White Martian unexpectedly, you know how it is.”

Kara cringed at her sister’s words. Maybe Alex was a little drunk.

“The White Martian is one of those who came here with M’gann after she went back. They know each other. Her name is S’rra. I didn’t fully get it, but she’s joined some radical anti-human group or something. Might want to keep an eye on that.”

Kara’s heart sank. Some aliens got along better with humans than others, and there was still hate towards each other on both sides. She shuddered to think what might have happened to Lena, and wondered if she’d been targeted specifically.

J’onn nodded. “Sorry about that, Ms. Luthor. I’ll go inside and see how I can help.”

Kara watched him go inside, the wheels turning inside of her brain. Ms. Luthor? Luthor as in Lex Luthor, who went to jail not long ago for planning to attack aliens in Metropolis?

She slowly turned around to Lena. Lena’s stare was fixated on the door J’onn had just entered. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Alex and Kelly whispering. She tuned in with her super-hearing before she realized she was doing it. A habit from her teenage years.

“I told you-“

“That’s Lena Luthor? She looks so different from what I-“

Lena cleared her throat, interrupting them. “So … I’m really sorry for the hassle. I’d like to go back to grab my purse and credit card, then go home. I’m really sorry.”

Kara snapped out of it. “Of course! Let me check if it’s clear.”

She tuned into the bar, trying to locate J’onn and S’rra. The music was playing like it usually was, and there was chatter, and M’gann cursing under her breath as she cleaned up, but no other Martians.

“It’s clear, they must’ve left through the front door already.” She smiled at Lena.

Lena looked puzzled, but nodded. “Okay.”

“Kara, we’ll head for the Karaoke place and wait for you there.” Alex said, took Kelly’s hand and waved. Kelly shot her an apologetic smile, then they walked down the alley towards the street.

Lena and Kara headed back inside. Kara could feel Lena being tense next to her, but visibly relax once she had confirmed for herself the coast was indeed clear.

M’gann approached them, broom in hand. “No major damage, only a few glasses and one barstool. I’ll text Al what happened. I’m really sorry, we wanted you to feel welcome, not scare you away.” She gave Lena a nod.

“I- yeah. Thanks. I’ll just go home, don’t want to cause more trouble” Lena said, letting out a low laugh.

“Of course,” M’gann said. She walked behind the counter, retrieving Lena’s purse. “Your credit card is inside.”

“Thank you.” She reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet. “Here, let me pay for the damage. It’s the least I can do.” She held out a 100-dollar-bill.

M’gann eyes went wide, but she took the money. “Thank you. I’m glad you’re okay. Kara, will you escort the lady out and make sure she gets home safe?”

“Of course.” Kara gestured for Lena to follow her through the front door.

Just then, Leslie entered like a whirlwind, the door forcefully slamming shut behind her. “So sorry I’m late, sorry Kara! Anything happen during your shift I should know about?”

Kara laughed, making her way past her coworker. “No, nothing in particular! Quiet night, nothing out of the ordinary! Have fun!”

Out on the street, Lena joined in on her laughter. It sounded like music to Kara’s ears.

“What planet is she from?” Lena asked with an arched brow.

“Planet Always Late and Annoying.” Kara laughed. “Just kidding. She’s our only human coworker, but she’s cool. Just always late and annoying.”

Lena only nodded, her gaze fixed on Kara.

“So,” Kara started, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. “Should I call you an Uber, or…?”

“No, no thanks!” Lena blushed. “I’ll call my driver, he’ll be here in a few minutes.”

“Of course.”

“You can go with your friends, I’ll be fine. They said something about waiting for you at another place?”

Kara shook her head. “I mean, yeah, but M’gann asked me to wait until you were safe, and it’s not a problem, I can wait until your driver arrives.”

It was the truth, she didn’t mind waiting at all. The air was a little chilly, not quite a summer evening just yet. She was just nervous, because this gorgeous woman was, apparently, Lena Luthor. She had seen her on the news, of course – she was a journalist after all, and her cousin was the famous Superman – but seeing her in person was completely different.

She looked … human. Seeing her nervous and scared was so drastically different from the short clips of press conferences or pictures on TV and in magazines. Those were edited, scripted. This woman in front of her was real, and so human. Kara could hear her heart beating in her chest, had felt her fear during the incident at the bar.

Lena got off the phone with her driver, and they stood awkwardly next to each other for a moment. Kara wrecked her brain for something to say. She wondered if Lena had ever met Clark and Lois, how much she really knew about Superman.

But she didn’t want to upset the woman any further, so she said the first thing that came to her mind.

“So, this bar that we’ll be going to later, Sunset and Vine. They host LGBT Karaoke each month, and I haven’t been in forever! It’s so fun, you should come sometime!”

An amused smile appeared on Lena’s face.

 “I mean, I assume, since your date was- you know! Or yeah, maybe that’s a bad idea, I mean, somebody could recognize you, or you don’t even like Karaoke-“ Kara felt a blush creep up her neck, scrambling to save herself from her endless rambling.

Lena laughed. Kara couldn’t help but stare.

“It’s fine, Kara. Really. But you’re right, I don’t usually sing Karaoke. As I said earlier, I don’t usually frequent these kind of places-”

“Totally!”

“But Al’s Dive Bar looked like an interesting place, and your coworkers are nice. I must admit it wasn’t the warmest welcome to National City …“

Kara cringed. “I’m really sorry. I’d love to have you again, if you want. You’re welcome anytime.”

Lena’s eyes widened at that.

“I mean it. From what I’ve seen on the news and tonight, you’re not like your brother. You were scared tonight, but that’s a normal reaction. Rao, I was scared too!” She scratched her neck.

“But yeah, please don’t hesitate to come by.”

A black SUV pulled up in front of them. The driver got out, and the relief on Lena’s face could have been seen from space.

“Thank you, Kara. Have a good rest of your night!” Lena gave her a small smile and waved, then got into the car as her driver held the door open for her.

All Kara could do was nod and wave back. She watched the car drive down the road and join traffic, disappearing into the night.

“I hope National City will be more welcoming towards you from now on” she mumbled as she headed back inside.

She quickly grabbed her stuff and made her way towards the other bar. Her friends were already waiting for her. Nia and Brainy were on stage as she entered, giving the audience an extraordinary performance of ‘I wanna dance with somebody’.

She grabbed a soft drink from the bar, then plopped down next to Alex. They didn’t talk about what happened all night, and Kara was silently grateful for it. She had fun and enjoyed herself, but in the back of her mind all she could think about was Lena Luthor.

Chapter Text

A few weeks later, an unexpected opportunity arose for Kara to see Lena again. She was working from home late one afternoon, having run errands earlier in the day. She’d been staring at her screen for several hours, but it seemed like the words simply didn’t want to transfer from her brain onto the document.

It was a commissioned article for the local newspaper on the upcoming mayor elections. Kara needed to write a short introduction on each candidate and then compare them on some key issues that interested the readers. Some of them were pro-alien, some anti-alien. One was a climate changer denier. One was a gay man. All of them were human.

It’s not like she expected to get National City’s first alien mayor this year. It would be a first nation-wide, anyways. Metropolis had had a vice mayor from the Andromeda galaxy a few years ago, but that was about it. Nevertheless, reading the anti-alien rhetoric of some and then writing them down for her own article made her feel less than enthusiastic about her work today.

She heard the elevator arrive on her floor and footsteps approaching the door. Nia, her roommate, was coming home. A moment later, the door opened.

“Hey Kara!”

Kara got up with a smile on her face. Nia was a welcome distraction.

“Hi Nia! How was your day?”

Nia dropped her bag on the floor and looked at Kara with an unreadable look on her face.

“You didn’t see it yet?”

Kara frowned. “See what?”

“Lena Luthor’s newest press release!”

Kara’s heart skipped several beats.

“What happened?”

“She supports Quinn, the progressive mayor candidate. Made a statement and everything.”

Kara nearly jumped. “But that’s amazing, Nia! Aren’t you happy about that? A Luthor supporting a pro-alien mayor?”

Nia hummed. They walked to the kitchen, and Nia took a glass from the cupboard.

“Yeah, but do we know it’s genuine? What even is her motivation? I mean, she just relocated her company here, so I get that she’s still rebranding as new CEO and everything …” she filled the cup with water and took a sip.

Kara stared at her roommate. It occurred to her that despite her run-in with Lena Luthor at work the other week and thinking about it constantly, she had never mentioned it to Nia … They had been at Karaoke that night, but there had not been an opportunity to tell her friend.

“It’s genuine, I’m sure.” She cleared her throat. “I may have forgotten to tell you, but I met her recently …”

Nia nearly spit out her water, eyes wide in shock. Kara did her best to give her a run-down of that evening, of Lena’s obliviousness, the White Martian, their brief conversation in the alley, Lena’s assurance she was not like her brother.

“Ohhh!” Nia simply said. “Hmmm. That changes things, obviously.”

“Yes. I just know she’s genuine, and this will be huge-“ Kara started, but Nia interrupted her.

“No, I mean yes, obviously! But I meant it in a different way.” She smirked.

“For the last two hours in the office, Cat has been trying everything under the sun to get in touch with Lena Luthor, to get an exclusive with the Luthor who supports aliens. But no one at L-Corp was available for comment. Not even Cat’s special connections could get her an interview, and she is furious!”

Kara had a feeling where this might be going, and she didn’t like it one bit. As if on cue, Nia’s phone on the table started vibrating like crazy.

“You see this?” she asked as she held up the phone. “This has been the CatCo reporters group chat since Lena Luthor uploaded the statement. It’s a miracle I went home on time today!”

“That sounds stressful. I hope you can get an interview tomorrow.” Her attempt to appear clueless and nonchalant failed miserably.

“You used to work at CatCo, Miss Danvers! You’re a free-lance journalist! You’ve met Lena Luthor in person, you’ve been her knight in shining armor!” Nia had a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“I only interned at CatCo after college and then didn’t accept the job offer-“ she pointed out weakly.

“Eh, potato-potahto.” Nia shrugged.

“Please, Kara! You’re our only hope! Can I text this to the group? So everyone else can go home for the day and stop Cat from breaking her ankles from pacing so much?”

Kara bit her lip. It would be a huge deal. Getting an exclusive interview with Lena Luthor when Cat Grant had failed to. That was, if she even got the interview. If Lena remembered who she was at all. There was no way Lena Luthor knew about her day job, in all likeliness she would laugh at a bartender trying to interview her.

“Can I think about it?”

“Yes!” Nia clenched her fist in success. “That’s not a no. Thank you, Kara. Truly. Yes, please think about it, and let me know tomorrow?”

“Sounds good.” Kara sighed.

Nia gave her a quick hug. “You’re the best. I’ll text the others that we might have an option, no further details.”

“Okay.”

They stayed in the kitchen for a while, talking about the mayor candidates, and Nia talked about a new lunch place she tried. She had plans with Brainy for the evening, so she excused herself to get freshened up and change.

Kara returned to her room. She closed the document she had been working on, unable to focus on anything else but the possibility of interviewing Lena. She started by reading her statement, then googled her, read her Wikipedia page, the L-Corp website, the controversy about her statement that has emerged on social media.

She texted Alex and Eliza, who both told her to go for it, and thought about it some more. When she fell asleep, she was still unsure about the entire situation.

She woke up early the next morning, before her alarm clock rang. She could already hear Nia in the kitchen. The smell of coffee woke her up once and for all, and the memories from the day before came with it. She sighed and got up.

“Good morning!” Nia greeted.

Kara returned the greeting and started preparing her breakfast. As they both sat down to eat, Nia cleared her throat, breaking their comfortable silence.

“I’m sorry I was being pushy last night. I was just a little overwhelmed and over-excited. You can totally say no, of course. Cat will get over it.”

Kara nodded as she chewed. “Don’t worry. I thought about it. I wasn’t sure until earlier, but I think I want to go for it. I mean, I have nothing to lose, right?”

Nia smiled. “Yeah. And it’s not like you already have the interview booked, she needs to approve it first anyways.”

Kara simply nodded again.

“Last night I talked to Querl about it” Nia continued. “He was very jealous you’ve met Lena Luthor. Apparently, he’s a huge fan? I didn’t even know Lex Luthor had a sister before the trial and the rebranding of the company and everything.”

“Yeah, I think that was the case for many people. She was never in the spotlight before. I knew about her but only that she worked at her family’s company. She looked so different in person I didn’t even realize it was her at first at the bar,” Kara agreed.

They continued their breakfast, talking about this and that. Nia kept on typing on her phone, the CatCo group chat seeming very busy this early in the morning. Kara couldn’t hide her curiosity.

“How are things at CatCo these days?” she asked, taking a sip of coffee. “I mean, generally. I’m assuming Cat is still a little stressed this morning.” She chuckled.

Nia grinned. “Yeah, I haven’t confirmed anything yet, and L-Corp still is not available for comment.”

There was a moment of silence. Nia seemed to think what to say next. Kara asked about her day often, and Nia told her everything she could. All about the chaos of the workplace, their colleagues, the stories as far as she was allowed to. Kara missed it sometimes, even if she knew she’d made the right choice not to continue working there five years ago.

“Do you miss CatCo sometimes? Do you ever get lonely working from home?” Nia asked with a serious expression as if she’d read Kara’s mind.

Kara bit her lip. “Yeah. Sometimes. I just wonder what could have been, you know? I’m happy with the work I have now. I love working at Al’s. But yeah, I wonder where I would be now in life if I had taken the job offer …”

Nia nodded. “Understandable. I often wish I could work there with you, you know?”

She smiled.  “But I wouldn’t trade our kitchen talks for anything. And I’m glad you prioritized your mental health. It’s tough, and I’m lucky to be working with the team that I’m in.”

“And I’m happy you’re happy there.” Kara smiled back.

The time after her internship at CatCo, her breakup with James and the refused job offer had been the worst time of her adult life. She still sometimes saw Cat Grant’s disappointed face after she told her she couldn’t work at CatCo.

However, she simply couldn’t do it after an incident in which a human colleague had bullied the only known alien colleague. She hadn’t been as open about being an alien yet, and witnessing the incident had been worse than all her high school years combined. So, she had finished the rest of her internship and then sworn to herself never to go back.

After months of barely leaving the house, J’onn had gotten her the job at Al’s Dive Bar, and she had slowly returned to life. She then started as a free-lance journalist, and hadn’t changed anything about her situation in years. Much to Eliza’s disapproval at times.

“Hey” Nia said, pulling Kara out of her memories. “You’re still an excellent reporter and writer, you know? You can make every story worth reading, even the annual fall fair at the retirement home!”

Kara laughed, remembering the stories she had gotten assigned in her time at CatCo. “Yeah, I’m glad I choose my own stories now. I mean I enjoyed writing the occasional fluff piece or covering the National Fencing Championships, but I do prefer the real stuff.”

“Absolutely! Which is why I’ll leave now, so you can finish your election article! Write something nice about Quinn, will you?” Nia laughed and got up to put her cup into the sink.

Kara grinned. “Only nice things to say about him! And he’s Lena-Luthor-approved now!”

Before she continued the article, however, she spent a good chunk of her morning drafting an e-mail to L-Corp. Will Lena even read this herself? Should I mention we’ve met? Does she remember me at all?

In the end, she kept the e-mail short, simply requesting an interview about Lena’s political statement, and included a link to her website. If Lena read the e-mail and remembered her, she should recognize her, she rationalized.

With her heart beating out of her chest, she pressed send.

Two hours later, she had a confirmation in her inbox and an appointment for the next day.

Chapter Text

Dear Ms Danvers,

I am happy to offer you an interview tomorrow from 10-11 am at L-Corp.

Please give your name at the reception desk and ask for Miss Huang, who will lead you to my office.

Best Regards,

Lena Luthor

Lena pressed send before she could change her mind. She didn’t normally respond to press inquiries herself, that’s what L-Corp had their PR department for, after all. However, this one wasn’t most cases. She had been waiting to hear from Kara Danvers.

It had happened like this:

She’d been catching up on fencing news late at night, sitting on her couch with a cup of tea. Watched fencing competition highlights from the European Championship, and somehow stumbled onto a CatCo article about an Olympic champion from a few years ago. In the recommended articles, one article stood out to her – about the National Championship she had attended as a spectator in National City a few years ago with Lex.

“Wondering what it would be like to be the one on the podium, sis?” She still remembered her brother’s teasing words. She could have stood on that podium, had she continued the sport.

Lena gripped her phone, fighting back tears. She didn’t want to think about Lex and their good times together. Didn’t want to think about what could have been if she’d continued the sport she loved, instead of joining the family company.

She clicked on the article anyways, for nostalgia’s sake.

Youngest medalist in history of National Fencing Championship

Today the National Fencing Championship (NFC) concluded at National City’s Lakehawks Stadium, drawing record numbers and making history with the youngest ever medalist in the US. A recap.

By Kara Danvers

The small photo of the journalist next to the name and date made her take a double-take. She clicked on it, reaching the journalist’s profile. It was Kara. Kara from the alien bar. She looked younger, and she was wearing glasses, but there was no mistaking it.

Kara, the bartender from the alien bar was also, Kara, CatCo journalist? It didn’t seem to make sense. There were, however, no recent articles. She googled her, hands suddenly clammy. Sure enough, the journalist had a website. She worked freelance now, Lena learned, writing about local politics and environmental issues. Completely different topics from her time at CatCo, Lena noticed.

It was definitely the same person as from the bar. Lena had no idea what to do with that information. She’d thought about the encounter many times, had even thought about going back to the bar. She hadn’t made another attempt at making friends in National City after the date disaster, instead focusing on work. But that didn’t mean her thoughts hadn’t led her back to Kara occasionally.

She decided not to read too much into the coincidence, and went back to catching up on Fencing news.

Until the next day when Jess, her secretary, entered her office.

“Miss Luthor, I have someone from Quinn’s PR office on the phone.” Jess gestured towards her own office that was just next to Lena’s. “They sent a thank-you letter regarding your private donation to his campaign. Now they would like to know if they can make the matter of the donation public? A Luthor-endorsed progressive candidate would be huge for them.”

Lena bit her lip, unsure how to answer. She had made the donation private for a reason. She didn’t want to cause a huge media storm, not now that things at L-Corp had finally settled down a little. At the same time, she wanted to help the candidate she endorsed win.

She was about to tell Jess she needed a minute to think about it, when she remembered her discovery from the night before. Kara Danvers, the freelance journalist and the alien bartender.

It was an idea, a plan that popped into her head. Maybe she could-

She smiled at Jess. “Yes, let them know they can proceed. I will also draft a statement of endorsement for Quinn, we can talk it over at the 2pm meeting.”

“Of course, Miss Luthor.” Jess seemed to want to add something, but then turned around and left the office before Lena could remind her to please call her by her first name.

Lena exhaled audibly. She usually wasn’t one to act on impulse, and all she could do was hope this plan wouldn’t backfire.

So now here she was, pacing back and forth in her office at 9:57 am, unable to focus on anything besides the upcoming meeting with the journalist.

Her plan had worked out almost frighteningly well - from what Jess had told her with barely concealed amusement, making Cat Grant nearly have a nervous breakdown in the process. The queen of all media seemed to be desperate for an exclusive. Lena couldn’t help but wonder if it had to do with the Daily Planet in Metropolis having broken the story about her brother months ago, and if Cat Grant wanted her own Luthor exclusive this time.

L-Corp’s social media follower count had also been rising steadily, and media outlets already talked about a “new era” for National City.

All because she really wanted to see Kara Danvers again.

It all felt like a little too much.

“Miss Danvers is downstairs, I will bring her up.” Jess poked her head into the office, an amused smile on her face.

Lena nodded. “Thank you.”

“Relax, Miss Luthor. You made the right choice.”

“Call me Lena, please” Lena reminded her for the 100^th time, but Jess was already halfway to the elevator.

She sighed and took a sip of water, then sat down in her chair. Far too soon, the door opened again, and Kara was standing in her office, wide-eyed and blushing.

Kara the journalist looked different from Kara the bartender. She was wearing glasses, her hair in a neat ponytail. A button-down tucked into a pair of chinos. Lena had to remind herself not to stare. She rose from her chair.

“Welcome, Miss Danvers, please take a seat.”

Their eyes met, and it seemed like Kara’s blush deepened.

“Thank you, Miss Luthor, for taking time out of your busy schedule for this interview.”

“Please, call me Lena” Lena said for the second time in a few minutes.

Kara smiled. “Well, if I’m calling you Lena-“

“Kara it is.” Lena returned the smile.

As they both sat down, Kara cleared her throat.

“So, before we start. We’ve met before-“ she fumbled with her tablet in her hands.

Lena nodded. She knew they would have to bring it up, but she hadn’t actually thought it through. Relieved, she gave Kara a small smile.

“Yes, thank you again for saving me at the bar. I was quite surprised to find you were also a journalist.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m just happy no one was harmed that night!” Kara averted her gaze, shifting in her seat. “And yes, as you can see, I work freelance as a reporter. Thank you, again, for having me here. If I may ask, why did you respond to my request? I’m sure you’re aware of the number of reporters who have been asking for an interview …”

“I have my assistant go through the requests beforehand, and then I let her know who I would like to work with. As you know, I’m very careful how L-Corp is represented by the media. I looked you up and recognized you.” Lena explained it as nonchalant as possible, but her heart was nearly beating out of her chest.

Kara gave her a look as if she wanted to ask something, but then looked at her tablet, pushing a button so that the screen lit up. “Right! Well, I’m honored. So, should we go on record?”

She pulled out a small recording device, and Lena nodded.

Kara asked about her donation, the statement, and L-Corps new direction. Questions Lena had prepared for in advance, easy to answer. She wanted to use the company for good, make a new home in National City and provide for the citizens. She wanted to help minorities, and endorsing a progressive political candidate was part of that. And since National City had the largest alien population in the United States, after her brother’s crimes that also meant endorsing alien rights.

So far, so good.

Until Kara asked: “Have you had a chance yet to interact with the alien community in National City?”

Lena bit her lip. She hadn’t told anyone in her life about the White Martian incident besides Sam, and Kara … well, Kara had been there. It felt like a trick question. She looked at the reporter, but her face gave nothing away. Had she underestimated Kara? Was this a trick to get her to slip up? Had she made a mistake?

“I … have. I visited an alien bar on my first night here, unknowingly. People were very welcoming and nice. However, I was tricked by an alien who has the ability to shape-shift into humans. It was a rather unpleasant experience, but I was helped by other, friendly aliens, and I know most of them are very nice and just want to live their lives. So all in all, I do hope to interact more with them in the future. And since L-Corp has a new anti-discrimination policy, we hire people from all over the universe. I know many aliens come from technologically advanced planets, so I would be happy to do research alongside anyone who has the qualifications!”

She managed a smile and took a long breath. Kara scribbled something on her tablet, then returned the smile.

“Speaking of L-Corps research and development, any new projects you can tell us about?”

Lena hummed. “Well, I can’t tell you about the big projects just yet, but there will be announcements in the near future. However, after my experience with the shape-shifting alien, I’ve been working on a side project.”

She cleared her throat, then opened a drawer to pull out a device about the size of a computer mouse. “This is the prototype for an alien detection device. You put your finger on it like this, and it scans for human DNA.”

The device lit up green. “If the DNA is non-human, the light turns red. That way, people have a way to know if they’re being tricked, for example if a woman is on a date and wants to make sure her date is who they say they are.”

She expected Kara to ask more questions, but the reporter was silent on the other side of the table. Lena’s smile faltered. Kara reached onto the desk and turned off the recorder.

“This will remain off the record. How do you intent for it to be used? Will businesses have this device at their entrances, will they be able to deny entry to alien customers? Many aliens who look completely different from humans use image-inducers so they can lead a normal life on Earth. This device would ruin any chance of normalcy for those people.” Kara’s voice was shaking, and her disappointment ran like a shiver down Lena’s spine.

Lena swallowed, putting the device on the table. “It’s intended as a safety measure. Of course other aliens can also use it. If I had had this device that night at the bar, I wouldn’t have been attacked by the White Martian.”

“That’s not the point.” Kara sounded angry now, and it made Lena’s heart sink. She had never meant to anger and disappoint the reporter.

“I’m lucky, because Kryptonians look like humans. Except for my powers that I have on this Earth, I can lead a normal life without changing much. But my friend, who looks nothing like a human, had his image-inducer fail at a pizza place once, and was threatened with physical violence. You say you want to support aliens, Lena. But how does this support them? This device, once widely available would only serve as a tool for discrimination.”

She gave Lena one last look, then started putting her recorder and tablet back into her bag. She got up. “I will leave this off the record. My article will be finished by this afternoon. Thank you again for your time. But I’m asking you to rethink your project, and what you can do to actually help alien residents in this city.”

With that, Kara left. All Lena could do was stare after her. Tears started forming in her eyes, and the heavy office door falling shut may as well have been a bomb detonating in Lena’s ears. Had she just bombed and burned the only new bridge she had built so far in National City?

Wiping her tears with the sleeve of her blouse, she picked up the device and smashed it on the floor. Then she stomped on it with her heel for good measure. The cracks and crunches were satisfying, but they couldn’t stop her tears from falling.

“Fuck, I messed up” she mumbled to herself, head in her hands.

She hadn’t thought it through. Had only thought about the incident at the bar, about the fear she had felt. Kara was right. And Lena was angry with herself that she hadn’t thought about it. That she had let fear guide her, not compassion. Maybe she was no better than Lex after all. The thought evoked a sob from her.

That’s how Jess found her twenty minutes later, slumped onto her office chair, crying over her own foolishness.

Lena took a deep breath as she walked through the door of Al’s Dive Bar. She was instantly hit with all the smells and sounds of a bar on a Friday night, no different than any other in the city. She made a beeline for the counter, finding an empty bar stool. M’gann was mixing a drink. When she saw her, she raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Is Kara working tonight?” Lena asked quickly, before M’gann could say anything.

M’gann simply nodded towards the other end of the bar, where Kara was putting fries and drinks on the table of a group of large-bodied, blue and green aliens. The Kryptonian stayed there for a minute, laughing and talking with the group. They seemed to be regulars.

Kara’s words about aliens who didn’t look like humans echoed in her mind, and she swallowed down the guilt she had been feeling all week. But she was here to apologize, and to ask Kara for a second chance.

When Kara returned to the counter and spotted Lena, her eyes were the size of flying saucers.

“Can we talk, please?” Lena asked, not caring how desperate it might sound. She was desperate, after all.

Kara nodded, then led them to an empty booth in the corner. It was a bit quieter there. They sat down. Kara said nothing, arms crossed in front of her. Lena swallowed down the lump in her throat, unable to meet Kara’s gaze.

“I came here to apologize. For the detection device. You were right, and I was an idiot for not realizing how the device could be abused. I’m truly sorry. I was hurt and scared from the White Martian incident, and I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

She cleared her throat, then continued. “I realized that this device would be something Lex would build. I destroyed the prototype. No one else was working on the project, as I said it was just me, and I deleted any files concerning the device. I’m truly sorry, Kara.”

She looked up. “I’m not like my brother. I’m trying to be better.” Her eyes filled with tears.

Kara studied her for a moment. Then her earnest expression softened. “Thank you, Lena. That means a lot. I’m glad you destroyed the device. I know you’re not like Lex. And I’m sorry I left so abruptly without talking more, but I was really shocked and upset, and yes, reminded of your brother. But I know you’re trying, Lena.”

“Thank you, Kara” Lena whispered. She couldn’t stop a few tears from falling. “It means a lot. You’re the first person I met in National City, and I was scared I fucked up right from the start.”

Kara smiled weakly. “You didn’t. But I’m really glad we talked about it first, before that device hit the shelves. And I appreciate that you apologized.”

Lena could only nod. They sat in silence for a moment.

“Thank you for the amazing article, by the way” Lena said once she trusted herself to speak again.

The article had been nothing but flattering, front-page on the local newspaper.

“Of course. Just doing my job.” Kara smiled.

Lena felt like this was the end of their conversation. She had apologized, Kara had forgiven her, and now she should leave this place and go home. However, there was one thing she still wanted to do.

She’d talked it through on the phone with Sam for the past few days. All Lena had talked about was Kara, and her fuck-up, and how angry she was with herself for hurting Kara. And maybe she had let it slip that she found the reporter attractive and friendly.

So, Sam had made Lena put on her big girl pants and made her 1) apologize in person and 2) ask her out. So far, part one had gone successfully. But Kara seemed to want to get back to work, and Lena didn’t want to waste her time. She was at work, after all. Lena only had one chance. She took a deep breath.

“Can I make it up to you?”

Kara said nothing for a moment, only studied Lena again with that unreadable look on her face. Then, she smiled softly. Oh, Lena would do anything to be on the receiving end of that smile. Her stomach fluttered.

“How?” Kara asked.

“Oh. Um. So, there’s a new vegan burger restaurant that the wife of one of my engineers recently opened, and I’ve been meaning to go to show support. Is that something you would eat?” She cleared her throat.

“Of course!” Kara grinned “I don’t think I’ve ever had a vegan burger, but there’s a first time for everything! When are you free?”

Lena was a bit dumbfounded. This all seemed so easy. She couldn’t help the suspicion bubbling up inside of her, despite there being no evidence of Kara being dishonest. She had half-suspected that Kara would dismiss her. That she had no interest in Lena, was only doing her job as a reporter. If she was wary of her, Lena wouldn’t blame her, she had every right to be.

“Next weekend?” she asked instead, doing her best to quiet her racing mind and heart. She didn’t really have plans besides watching Fencing highlights and work, and maybe talk to Sam on the phone.

“Can I have your number to text you a time? I don’t have the shift schedule for next week yet” Kara asked, pulling out her phone. There was a hint of a blush on her cheeks.

Lena nodded and pulled out her private phone. She only had Kara’s work e-mail, but it seemed weird to use it to make private plans. They exchanged numbers, and Kara’s smile only got bigger. Lena did her best not to stare.

“Thank you, Lena. I’ll text you, and I’ll see you next weekend!” Kara got up from her seat.

Lena took that as her cue to leave, and she gave Kara a nervous smile in return.

“I’m looking forward to it. Bye, Kara!”

She called Sam as soon as she was outside, too overwhelmed to keep the news to herself. A part of her was already in self-doubt mode. Kara had forgiven her too easily, agreed to meet up with her too easily. Should she be worried? What if Kara disliked her? She was a Luthor after all …

“Or maybe she’s interested in you too, Lena!” Sam sighed after Lena had unloaded all of her worries onto her friend.

“She just wrote a really positive article about you, Lena. She could have leaked the information about the detection device, but she didn’t. She accepted your apology. Please, Lena. Meet up with her, and then we can go from there.”

Lena knew her friend was right. “Alright. Thank you, Sam.”

Sam laughed. “Maybe that failed date on your first night was good for something after all, huh?”

Chapter Text

Having Kara with her made eating at a new place much more enjoyable, Lena found. The downtown restaurant was brightly lit and well-frequented, but they were comfortable in the corner by the window.

“This is really good” Kara smiled as she spoke with her mouth full.

“Yeah”, Lena nodded. Her kale salad was fantastic, and she already had put it on her list of places for Jess to pick lunch for her from.

They had taken some time to find a flow of conversation, Lena feeling a bit shy and unsure how much was appropriate to ask. She had so many questions for Kara.

“So, how long have you lived in National City?” she asked, hoping it sounded casual enough.

“Since college.” Kara smiled again and wiped some burger sauce from her mouth with her thumb, making Lena almost miss what was said.

“But I grew up in Midvale, about a three-hour drive from here near the coast. And before that, well. I lived on my home-planet.” She chuckled.

“Krypton?”

Kara paused. “How do you-“

“You mentioned it. At the bar. When you-“ Lena panicked.

“Oh! Alright.” Kara waved her hand as if to wipe away Lena’s worries. “Sorry, I didn’t remember how much I already told you about myself. It was so hectic. It’s cool that you remembered that!”

Lena swallowed. She didn’t tell Kara she remembered every detail people told her, to the point she had to fake forgetting birthdays to not come off as creepy. She tried to formulate her next question in her head, but it must’ve been written all over her face, because Kara answered before she had a chance to ask.

“Yeah, I came to Earth at age 13. The Danvers adopted me. You met my sister Alex at the bar.” She spoke with ease, as there was no one near their table to overhear them.

“That must have been so hard. I can’t imagine.” Lena said. Then she added: “I’m adopted as well.”

Kara raised an eyebrow. “Really? You’re not a Luthor?”

“No, I am.” Lena grimaced. She gave Kara a brief run-down of her family.

They talked about being adopted and their families until they finished their food. Kara didn’t talk much about Krypton, instead talking about the Danvers, her first year of high school in Midvale and learning English. Lena told her about growing up with the Luthors and her boarding school experience.

They ordered smoothies, and Lena remembered to take a picture for social media as Jess and Sam had asked her to. To look ‘more approachable’ and ‘put herself out there’, as Sam had put it. She should have taken one with the food, but she had been too distracted by Kara.

“Could you take a photo of me with the beverage?” she asked Kara, handing her the phone.

She felt ridiculous, and Kara must have sensed it.

“Relax! You look great, and the lighting here is perfect!”

Lena blushed, and Kara snapped a few photos.

“Thanks” she said shyly, accepting her phone back and sending them to Jess before she could change her mind about them.

“Do you want to take a selfie together?” Kara asked with a grin.

Lena nodded, and Kara scooted over to her side of the table. She felt her heart thumping in her chest, Kara’s arm warm where they touched. She smiled for the camera.

“Thanks! I’ll send them to you!” Kara beamed, and as she typed on her phone Lena took a second to look at her face. She thought there was a blush on her cheeks, but she wasn’t so sure.

“Can I drive you home?” Lena asked after she’d paid, not wanting their time together to end.

It was strange. She was so out of her comfort zone she could feel it in her fingertips and toes. But something about Kara’s presence was addicting in the best way. Like she could do this, eat unfamiliar food at an unfamiliar place, and be fine.

Kara looked at her with wide eyes, but nodded. “Okay.”

They got into the car, and Kara gave the driver her address. It was in a part of the city Lena hadn’t been to yet, far from the business district and the tourist attractions. They drove in comfortable silence.

After a while, Lena noticed Kara fidgeting in her seat, looking out of the window and checking her phone every few seconds. They pulled into a side street, and the car stopped. Lena looked around. A typical National City residential area, from what she could tell. Apartment buildings, a corner shop, a bus stop at the intersection.

She cleared her throat, wanting to thank Kara for the evening, but Kara spoke first.

“Do you want to come up?” It was so quick and mumbled she almost didn’t catch it.

This time, it was Lena’s eyes that went wide. Sure, she had offered Kara to drive her home, but only because she wanted her to be safe, and because taking the bus always looked stressful to Lena. But now she worried she may have implied something else, that Kara thought she wanted to intrude into her personal space. She should have asked Sam before asking such a spontaneous question.

She only realized she hadn’t said anything when Kara added a panicked “you don’t have to, of course! Sorry!”

“No, I’d love to. If it’s alright. I don’t want to intrude.”

“You’re not intruding. Um, I don’t have anything special at home, but we can drink coffee or tea or something?” Kara unlocked her seatbelt and hesitated, a hand on the door.

Lena only nodded. She asked her driver to park somewhere close and get a coffee for himself while he waited, handing him fifty dollars for his troubles. Despite the fact that he was on call all day and she hired him personally, she felt like she could never pay him enough for making him witness her own awkward attempts at making friends.

They took the elevator up to Kara’s apartment, and it was like entering a new world. The building wasn’t old, but it was completely different from Lena’s. It looked well-used, and the elevator creaked a little.

Kara gave her a nervous smile as she unlocked the door.

“Welcome! It’s nothing special, but I love it here. I live here with Nia, my roommate. She’s not here right now, though.”

Lena took a deep breath to calm her nerves, her lungs immediately filling with a mix of unfamiliar smells. Old leather, burnt toast, lingering perfume … it smelt like a home, like a well lived-in place, somewhere where people come and go. So much unlike her own, almost sterile penthouse.

She looked around as they entered the small kitchen. There were a few dishes in the sink.

“It’s lovely” she said and smiled.

She meant it. Overwhelming and foreign, but lovely. It was Kara’s place. It couldn’t be anything else.

“Do you want coffee? Tea? We have decaf, too, I think. Nia’s boyfriend drinks it.” Kara opened a cabinet to pull out two mis-matched mugs, and looked at Lena expectantly.

“Coffee would be great.”

Kara started preparing the coffee, and Lena took the time to look around some more. There were photos and postcards on the fridge. Lena recognized Alex and Kelly.

Kara handed her a mug, and Lena laughed at the design. “Batwoman? You’re acquainted?”

Kara grinned. “Yes, but psst!”

She put a finger over her mouth. “I happen to know the identity of the new Batwoman, but it’s totally confidential.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not planning on stepping foot into Gotham City anytime soon” Lena winked.

“Fair.” Kara put what seemed like an obscene amount of sugar into her coffee, then gestured for Lena to take some.

“No thanks, I’m good.” Lena took a tentative sip. She was usually very picky with her coffee, but this one tasted surprisingly good. She wondered which one of the roommates was in charge of buying it, but she didn’t ask.

They sat down at the table, and this time conversation flowed naturally from the start. Lena asked more about Alex, and Kara told more stories about growing up in Midvale. They drank their coffee until it was cold, and Lena didn’t check the time once. It was effortless, talking to Kara. New, but not unwelcome.

Both of them startled when there was a noise at the door, and two people came in.

“Nia!” Kara yelped. “I didn’t even hear you guys!”

“Hey, how was your day-“

A young woman barged into the kitchen and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Lena. Her eyes darted from one to the other, and then her initial shock was replaced by a genuine smile. A guy followed after her, much more reserved, and waved shyly at Lena.

“Oh, hey, you must be Lena!” The woman introduced herself. “I’m Nia, Kara’s roommate. I had no idea you would be here. This is my boyfriend, Querl.”

Lena smiled, trying her best not to let her nerves show at the unexpected company. “Hey, nice to meet you two.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms Luthor” the boyfriend (Querl? It was an unusual name for sure) said.

“Brainy, please-“ Kara started, but Lena spoke at the same time.

“Just Lena is fine. Pleasure to meet you, too.” She assumed Kara had told them about meeting up with Lena Luthor, and, well. She didn’t blame anyone for being surprised at her presence at a place like this, at a time like this.

Nia looked between them again, then moved around the table to take a seat. Querl followed her.

“I can’t believe Lena Luthor is in my kitchen, damn” she mumbled, but Lena heard her anyways. She wasn’t sure if Nia had meant to say it out loud. Kara chuckled, evidently having heard it as well.

“Lena, I must say, I was pleasantly surprised when you moved L-Corp here to National City and rebranded. It was a very welcome change, after everything that happened with your brother. Allow me to ask about your next projects? I’ve followed your work since the publication of you PhD thesis, and I’m very interested to hear if you’re still involved in Research & Development since becoming CEO?” Querl’s question was both unexpected and straight to the point, but Lena could tell there was no malice behind his words.

In a way, it was nice to be asked about her work in this way. The media had been largely interested in her political affiliations and her relationship with her brother, and Kara had avoided the topic completely so far, asking Lena only about her personal life.

Once again Kara looked ready to come to Lena’s defense, but Lena smiled, attempting to let her know it was okay.

“Thank you for your interest in my work, I appreciate it” she said, facing Querl. “I’m still settling into my role as CEO, it’s a lot. But I will still be involved with R&D. I’m planning to expand cooperation with Spheerical Industries in the nano-tech department by the end of the year.”

She winked at Kara. “Though that’s off the record for now.”

Kara, to her surprise, blushed. She stared at her with an open mouth, and for a moment Lena was worried she’d said too much, when Kara smiled again. It eased Lena’s nerves immediately.

“How come you know so much about my work, Querl?” Lena asked.

She could see Nia and Kara exchanging a glance out of the corner of her eye.

“I appreciate the answer, Lena. I’m sure your company will make great advances in the nano-tech of the 21^st century.” He closed his eyes for a moment before he continued.

“As for your questions, I am a 12^th-level intellect, and finding members of the human population who possess an above-average intellect such as yourself brings me great excitement. It gives me hope for the future of planet Earth.”

Now it was Lena’s time to blush. It was clearly meant as a compliment, and she’d never been good with those. She knew she was smart, but usually people tried to use that against her.

“Thank you. What’s a 12^th-level intellect? I’ve never heard of that unit of measurement.” After their brief exchange, she now expected Querl to be some sort of alien. Though he looked fully human, but then again, so did Kara. Since coming to this city, she’d already learned her lesson to not judge a book by its cover many times over.

“I am Coluan, of the Brainiac Clan” he simply replied.

Lena only nodded. She wanted to ask more questions, but the way Nia stared at her boyfriend made her bite her tongue. Suddenly the atmosphere in the kitchen was tense, and she wished she still had coffee to distract herself.

“Querl …” Nia started with a hand on his arm, but he gave her a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry, Nia, Lena is friendly. She’s very intelligent.”

Nia groaned at that, but then giggled. “Yeah, you already said that. You really weren’t kidding when you said you admire her work.”

She looked at Lena. “So, uh, yeah. It’s been really nice to meet you! I hope we didn’t crash your evening!”

Lena smiled. “Not at all. I can show you around my lab sometime if you want, Querl.”

Querl’s face lit up, making the others laugh. “It would be an honor.”

Nia and Querl left the kitchen for the living room shortly after, and Kara and Lena were alone again. Kara was giving her a look Lena couldn’t fully read, something between worry and amusement.

“Sorry, I didn’t know they’d show up. I hope it wasn’t too much.”

“Not at all” Lena repeated her sentiment from earlier. “They’re nice. I’ve met so many different people here already, and it hasn’t even been that long.”

Kara blushed at that, looking at her hands in her lap. “If you want, you could come to game night next time? It’s our turn to host, and I’d love to have you there.”

She looked up and grinned. “And Brainy and Nia too, of course.”

Lena could feel anxiety spreading through her limbs at the invitation, but she nodded. “Thank you. Please let me know when you host it and I’ll let you know if I can make it.”

Kara’s excited face made Lena’s heart splutter, and she realized she’d clear her schedule no matter the time and date. Even if being invited to a game night so casually was nothing short of terrifying. But that was a problem for future Lena (and Sam).

“So how do you know Nia?” Lena asked, both out of curiosity and to distract herself from her future anxiety.

“She was a freshman at my college around the time that I graduated. And she works at CatCo now.” Kara avoided her gaze at the mention of her former employer.

Lena knew better than to press the topic. Kara hadn’t talked about her work at all in the last few hours. She changed the topic to her roommate at boarding school, and Kara looked grateful for it.

She stayed for a while longer, until she looked at the time and remembered she had a driver waiting for her somewhere. She didn’t want to leave, but she could feel herself getting exhausted, the excitement and newness of the day catching up to her.

Kara hugged her tightly as they said goodbye, and Lena hugged her back.

“Thank you for the coffee. I’ll see you soon.” She did her best to commit to memory the way Kara’s strong arms felt wrapped around her, the way her hand was resting on her lower back.

“Bye, Lena. See you soon” Kara mumbled into her hair.

Lena wanted to commit to memory the sensation of that, too.

Chapter Text

Kara took a deep breath as the elevator door opened and she stepped into her old office. CatCo had changed, but only a little. She looked around, clutching her bag tightly. She noticed a few new furniture, a few new faces, a new vending machine in the corner.

Out of habit she tuned her superhearing into Cat Grant’s office. Her old boss was on the phone, berating someone for cancelling an appointment last minute. She smiled.

“Kara!” A familiar voice exclaimed next to her, and a second later she was engulfed in a hug by James.

“I can’t believe it!” He looked at her like he hadn’t seen her in all those five years she hadn’t stepped foot into CatCo, when in fact he had seen her Saturday at Al’s.

“Nia told me Cat asked for you to come in, but I couldn’t believe you’d actually do it …”

Kara grinned. “Me neither. I can’t believe I’m here.” She pushed a strand of hair out of her face. “I can at least listen to what she has to offer.”

After Kara had published her exclusive with Lena in the National City Post instead of selling it to CatCo, Cat Grant had reached out to her. When Kara hadn’t replied to her email within the hour (she had been too busy freaking out to Nia and Alex), Cat had personally called her. She’d offered her a job at CatCo, and Kara had been way too curious to say no. So here she was.

“Miss Danvers!” A small, blonde woman called out to her.

“My name is Eve Tessmacher, Cat Grant’s assistant. Pleasure to meet you. Miss Grant is waiting for you in her office.”

Kara nodded, smiled nervously and followed Eve.

“Good luck!” James whispered.

Cat rose from her seat when she entered her office, and Eve ducked out as quickly as she’d appeared.

“Kiera, Kiera, Kiera.”

The glint in Cat’s eyes was as familiar as it was terrifying. Kara averted her gaze.

“Miss Grant. You wanted to see me.”

“Why don’t we sit down, Kiera?” Cat gestured towards the couch, and they sat down on opposite sides of the coffee table.

“First of all, congratulations on your exclusive with Lena Luthor. I won’t pretend that I wasn’t upset the job didn’t go to one of my own journalists here at CatCo, because I’m sure Miss Nal let you know all about it. Now, pray tell, how did you land the job? I’m curious.”

Kara swallowed. She didn’t want to tell Cat Grant about the true circumstances, but she also didn’t want to lie. “Miss Luthor visited the bar that I work at, and I was very lucky that she remembered me when I reached out to her after her donation became public.”

Cat lifted an eyebrow. After a moment, she spoke: “Well, it’s been interesting to see your development as a journalist for the last couple of years away from CatCo.”

“Thank you.” Kara looked up for the first time. Cat held her gaze, and then gave her a genuine smile.

“I’m serious. You’ve gained experience, you’ve grown. Not that you couldn’t have done so here at CatCo, but I digress. You’ve made a name for yourself in National City. You should be very proud of that.”

“Thank you,” Kara repeated, doing her best to suppress the tears forming in her eyes.

She had never really allowed herself to look back on her achievements. Now that Cat mentioned it, she had indeed grown. She wasn’t quite where she wanted to be in life, but she also wasn’t the anxious and depressed college graduate anymore.

“But I didn’t call you here to talk about you not working for CatCo. I want to talk to you about working for CatCo instead” Cat continued.

“I’m offering you a job as a Senior Reporter.”

Kara stared at her former boss for a moment, the offer slow to sink in. She had expected something like this, but hearing the words out loud felt different. When she didn’t answer right away, Cat added:

“It’s a stable job, better pay, better benefits. If you are concerned about the work environment, it has improved significantly in the past few years, and I think Miss Nal and Mister Olsen can attest to that. Our HR is trained in diversity and inclusion and that includes other planets.”

Kara nodded slowly. “I … thank you. Can I please think about it?”

“Of course.” Cat smiled.

“What topics would I cover?” Kara asked.

“I’m glad you ask. You’ve been covering the mayor candidates for National City, and you interviewed Lena Luthor. Polls favor Quinn to win in the election next week, and if he wins, I want you to interview him. I really think this is your strong suit, and you can make an impact on the people of National City by writing about what represents your values.”

Kara took a deep breath. “That sounds good. I’ll think about it and get back to you by tomorrow.”

Cat got up and went behind her desk, pulling something out of her drawer.

“Here’s the contract. If anything is unclear, you can reach me through Eve, otherwise please drop it off signed within the week. My signature is already on it.”

With wide eyes, Kara accepted it and put the document in her bag. She wanted to say more, but Cat was already shushing her out.

“Now go, I don’t have time to be sentimental all day. Chop chop. I’ll hear from you, Kara.”

Kara had already made her decision. Once outside, she didn’t bother waiting for a bus. Instead, she ducked into a quiet side street and took off for Al’s Dive Bar to put in her two weeks.

Thanks to her x-ray vision, Kara knew it was Alex at her door before she even opened it, but the giant hug she found herself engulfed in still took her by surprise.

“Congratulations! I knew this day would come!” Alex was beaming at her in a way Kara hadn’t seen since her sister told her she had a new girlfriend.

Kara hugged her sister back, taking in the moment. “Thank you.”

“Tell me everything.”

They moved to the small living room, and Nia joined them. It had been a whirlwind of a day, and Kara still felt giddy with excitement.

“Cat Grant gave me a job offer, and I’ll accept it. I still can’t believe it myself, but it feels like the right choice.” She smiled at her sister and her roommate.

“I’m so happy to get to work with you, finally!” Nia gushed and gave her another hug, probably the tenth since she’d come home from work and heard the news.

Alex grinned and gave Kara a playful shove. “It’s only what mom and I have been telling you for years. But I’m glad it all worked out now. Not that I didn’t admire your work as a freelance writer, but … you know. Change is good sometimes.”

“I wouldn’t have gotten here without you two.”

“Aww.” Nia looked like she wanted to add something, but Alex waved her hands.

“Okay, I won’t cry today! Kelly told me to tell you congrats from her too, and to invite you to dinner to our place again sometime, we can be sentimental then!”

Kara laughed. “Only if she cooks one of her Ethiopian dishes.”

“Speaking of food!” Nia chimed in. “Should we order pizza, or do you guys want to have a sister night? I can go to Brainy’s place.”

“Come on,” Alex said. “I’m not kicking you out of your own apartment. Brainy was still working on something with Winn at the DEO when I left, but he can come over too? I haven’t seen him outside of work in a while.”

Nia smiled gratefully and texted her boyfriend, then ordered them pizza. She ordered 6 just in case Brainy would want some as well, and Kara always had a strong appetite. Besides, they were always down to eat leftovers in their household.

“How has work been?” Kara asked conversationally.

She knew Alex was under a million NDAs and didn’t talk about the DEO much in her private life. It was a good thing she was friends with many of her colleagues outside of work. As an alien, Kara knew what they did was important for her and the city’s safety, but no more than that.

She wasn’t in the public eye like her cousin used to be. She sometimes wondered what could have been if she hadn’t been so focused on fitting in as a human all her life and become a superhero herself. But those were merely daydreams for slow days at work.

“Surprisingly quiet” Alex said.

“We’ve had a few minor disruptions due to L-Corp moving here, but those have quieted down as well since people have realized the company has made a 180-degree turn.”

Kara only hummed in response. Nia came back into the room.

“We’re talking about Lena Luthor again?” she grinned.

Alex raised an eyebrow, and Kara blushed.

Before Kara could answer, her phone vibrated with an incoming message. Grateful for the distraction, she opened it. It was a long congratulatory message from Lena. Alex peeked over her shoulder.

“You told me you two went to dinner the other night, but you’re texting too?” It didn’t sound accusatory, but there was a hint of disbelief in Alex’s voice.

“Ohh, you’re not caught up on the tea? Lena spent hours here after their dinner!” Nia grinned and plopped back down on the couch.

“Hours, where?”

“Our kitchen!”

Kara decided that Nia was enjoying this way too much, and gestured for them to let her speak.

“Look, Alex, I just haven’t had time to tell you everything yet, but yeah, Lena came over after our dinner, and we talked a lot, and she also met Nia and Brainy.”

She shifted in her seat, suddenly nervous how Alex would react. She felt that it was important that her sister liked Lena.

“Wow.” Alex looked at Kara with an unreadable expression. “Lots of new information today. I’m glad you two had a good time!”

“Yeah, we did. I told her about game night, and also kinda invited her?”

“Oh.” Alex and Nia exchanged a glance.

Kara fiddled with her phone in her lap. She wanted to text Lena back. And she wanted Alex to stop looking at her like she had two heads.

“I’m glad you two apparently hit it off, but are you sure it’s a good idea? With so many of us working for the DEO I mean, and …” Alex let her sentence trail off.

Kara knew what she wanted to say, anyways. She had briefly wondered the same as well, but now that she had spent more time with Lena, she knew she had nothing to worry about.

“If you meet her properly, you’ll see she’s not like her brother. She’s great.” She smiled at Alex.

Nia nodded. “Yeah, she’s nice. She doesn’t need to know about your work.”

“Okay, fine.” Alex nodded.

“Great!” Kara took the opportunity to text Lena back, doing her best to hide her screen from her nosey sister.

Lena’s texting style was formal and grammatically correct with proper punctuation. From the few times they had texted, Kara had gotten used to it, found it endearing even. So, she was surprised to find Lena had used a 🎉 emoji. She smiled to herself.

The doorbell rang, and Nia got up to answer it. “Must be our pizza!”

She opened the door, and Kara followed her.

“Brainy? You deliver pizza now?”

Brainy stepped into the apartment, holding six cartons of pizza.

“Oh, don’t be silly! The DEO pays me enough. I met the delivery person downstairs and told them I’m going up anyways.” He set the cartons down on the kitchen table.

Kara laughed. “And they believed you?”

“Obviously I told them your names, as well as your exact order. There was an 95,6% chance Nia would order two pizza margherita, one funghi-“

“Alright, okay!” Nia laughed too.

“Thank you, Querl.” She kissed his cheek.

Once Alex had grabbed a beer from the fridge and Brainy had said his congratulations to Kara on the new job, they sat around the kitchen table.

Kara practically inhaled her first pizza, only slowing down when she grabbed the second one and Alex scowled at her.

“What? I had an exciting day, I’m starving!”

“I can’t wait to eat lunch with you when we work together.” Nia chimed in, grinning.

Alex hummed. “Oh, yeah, you’ll see her all day most days, it will give you a real new insight into how much she really eats. Just like in high school.”

Kara pouted, even though she knew they were just teasing her. “Love you, too.”

“How do you think you will handle CatCo again?” Querl asked, concern evident on his face.

“I remember you once told me you didn’t eat as much at lunch because the other interns teased you for it, and you didn’t want to tell them about being Kryptonian and having a different metabolism.”

Just like that, the conversation had turned serious again. Nia looked surprised.

“Cat reassured me that the work environment has changed. I obviously don’t know if that’s true, but I feel like I can trust her. And I’m much more open about being an alien now than I was back then.” Kara gave him a small smile.

“I don’t really care anymore what others think how much I eat” she added, sticking out a tongue at Alex.

“I can do cool things that humans can’t, and it took me a lot of time and help to be able to control them, so why would I be ashamed of it? I’m not harming anyone.”

Alex put down her slice of pizza and squeezed Kara’s arm. “Damn, I’m so happy to hear this from you. Therapy really paid off.”

“Yeah.” Kara nodded.

“I think in high school until after college, I just … I either wanted to go back to Krypton, or become fully human.” She sighed.

“Obviously, neither was an option. I think working at Al’s and meeting so many people through my freelance work, both human and alien, helped me become more comfortable being who I am. And, obviously, knowing you guys.” She smiled at Nia and Querl.

“I’m happy my companionship has been helpful to your mental well-being” Querl said in earnest.

 “Damn, I thought we’d save the sentimental stuff for another day. You’re gonna make me cry over my pizza.” Nia laughed. “Love you too. Can’t wait to see you 24/7.”

Alex grinned. “Does Cat know what she’s done?”

They laughed.

“I can’t believe I’m really doing this,” Kara said.

She knew she was repeating herself like a broken record, but it was true. She hadn’t felt this excited in a while. Both in her professional and her personal life, things were looking good. Going to dinner with Lena and texting her occasionally felt thrilling in a brand-new way. Knowing Cat Grant valued her work made her giddy with motivation to go out there and write about the world.

The four of them finished their pizzas exchanging stories and laughter.

Chapter Text

When big changes were happening in her life, Kara had a tendency to scoff at the mundane tasks she nevertheless had to do. She was taking the biggest leap of her professional career, yet here she was folding laundry and washing dishes.

It was a Saturday, except she wouldn’t clock in to Al’s tonight. She had finished her last shift the night before. She had received a huge flower bouquet and an expensive bottle of Cosmos Redshift 7 liquor, and even Leslie had signed the card wishing her all the best for her future. M’gann had hugged her tightly, and she had to promise Al she would still attend Karaoke night from time to time.

Nia was vacuuming the living room – they were hosting game night tonight. It all felt familiar, yet it all was so different. And the change wouldn’t start on Monday morning, either – she had invited Lena to game night, and was now anxiously checking her phone every five minutes.

It had been almost two months since the White Martian incident. In a way, she almost wanted to thank S’rra.

Lena had asked her a million questions in preparation for game night – what to bring, what to wear, who would be there. Kara had answered each one patiently. They had met up for lunch one more time, in addition to texting almost daily. Just like that, Lena had become a regular presence in her life.

Alex and Kelly were the first to arrive.

“Did you bring the potstickers?” Kara asked as she hugged them by the door.

Kelly held up the bag. “Of course!”

“Did they print the ingredients like I asked?” Kara ran a hand over her hair.

“Since when do you care what you put in your mouth?” Alex asked, taking off her shoes.

Kara scowled at her sister. “It’s for Lena.”

“Is she too fancy for the Chinese restaurant down the street?”

“It’s not like that. She just gets nervous when trying new foods, and she’s also meeting new people so it’s a lot, and I want her to be comfortable.” They went into the kitchen, and Kelly put the bag onto the table.

“That makes sense.” Kelly agreed. “You agreed to be nice, Alex, remember? Let’s not judge her before she even gets here.” She put a hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder.

Alex exhaled audibly. “Sorry. Yeah. I guess I’m nervous too. I trust your judgement, Kara, and I want to like her, but you know with my work … I’m just nervous I guess.”

“I get that. Let’s just see where the evening takes us” Kara said.

Alex hugged her sister again. When she let go, her eyes wandered towards the fridge. Next to the usual postcards and photos, there was also a selfie of Kara and Lena. Kelly followed her line of sight, and the couple exchanged a knowing glance.

As they made their way into the living room, the doorbell rang again. Nia came out of her room to open it, and Brainy, James and Winn entered. After greeting her friends, Kara checked her phone again. As if on cue, the doorbell rang again. Taking a deep breath, Kara went to open it.

Lena looked stunning. She was in a soft-looking sweater, and her hair was down. She was holding a bottle of wine, beaming at Kara.

“Hey, hope I’m not late!”

“Not at all. Come in.”

Their hug lingered, and Kara reached for Lena’s hand to give it a reassuring squeeze.

“Everyone is in the living room. Are you ready?”

Lena smiled nervously. “Sure!”

When Kara introduced her to her friends, she could feel their stares prickling like Kryptonite under her skin. They were all friendly and cheery, and yet she felt nervous with how much she wanted everyone to like Lena. Not tolerate her for her sake, but genuinely like her. She didn’t think too much about why as she held onto Lena’s arm.

Nia scooted over to make room, and Lena sat down between her and Kara. Lena put the bottle of wine down on the table, and Alex grabbed it to inspect the label.

“Thank you, Lena, I would love to try this! Did you bring any board games?”

Lena swallowed. “No, I don’t own any. What do you guys usually play?”

“Oh, it’s a whole ritual.” Kelly chimed in and laughed.

Kara realized belatedly that in all her explaining of game night, she had neglected to explain which games they would be playing. Then again, Lena hadn’t asked. Maybe she had felt like she was asking too much?

“We’ll explain them to you, no worries” Nia spoke up.

“But first, food! I’m starving!” She grabbed a donut from one of the plates. “Help yourself, Lena! So far, we have these donuts, potstickers and we will order pizza later.”

There were three plates of donuts. One was marked vegan, one blueberries – not for Kelly!, and one the rest.

“I bought the vegan donuts from Noonan’s for you, and there’s also vegan potstickers, I also have the ingredient label if you need it. Do you want something to drink?” Kara explained quietly.

Next to her, Lena shifted in her seat. “Thank you, Kara. I’ll have some coffee. And yeah, I’d love to read the label later.” She smiled.

When everyone had their snacks and drinks, Alex raised her wine glass for a toast. “Congratulations Kara on the new job, and thank you Lena for being here!”

Everyone cheered.

“How do you like National City so far?” Winn asked.

Lena blushed. “It’s a new challenge, for sure. But I’m meeting many new, exciting people.” She glanced at Kara, which caused her to blush as well.

“Brainy told me you offered to show him your lab” Winn said, grinning.

“Oh! Yes, I did offer that. The offer still stands, I just don’t have much time right now.” Lena looked at Querl with an apologetic look on her face.

“He only mentions it 5 times a day” Winn teased.

Querl looked offended. “On average, I have been mentioning it to you 2.3 times a day since my first meeting with Ms Lu-“

“Nope!” Nia intercepted. “We’re here to play games!”

Thankfully, Lena seemed to find it amusing.

“Okay, so for starters we like to play a game called Nebula Quest.” Nia continued.

“It’s a Kryptonian game” Kara added.

Querl chimed in. “It’s similar to Pachisi or Senet.”

“The Indian and Egyptian board games?” Lena asked.

Querl looked delighted. “Yes! Lena, you are a wonderful addition to game night already, I must say.”

Lena’s cheeks darkened again, but next to her, Kara was beaming as she pulled the game out of the box.

“I used to play this with my father. You can play it with two or four players, we usually play in teams. This is not an original board of course, we 3D printed it a few years ago.” She ran her fingers over the Kryptonian writing on the board.

“You basically have to move all your pieces through the opponent’s home galaxies and then off the board” Kara added. “There are no dice, we use four sticks. There is also a more complicated version where you can draw additional cards, but we can start simple.”

She continued to explain the rules, and then teamed up with Lena. The game was strategic but not too complex, and Lena seemed to genuinely enjoy it. They won the first round easily. The second round went to Nia and Querl, after which they decided to order the pizza and start the potstickers.

Kara felt like she was floating. Maybe it was the glass of Cosmos, but mostly it was Lena’s presence. They were glued together on the couch, Lena’s warmth intoxicating her more than the alien liquor. With the first awkwardness gone, the conversation flowed easily. Lena, Querl and Winn were discussing something to do with nanotechnology, and Kelly was grilling her about her new position at CatCo.

When their bellies were full with pizza and potstickers and everyone except James as the DD had some alcohol in their system, they voted to play Trivial Pursuit next. Usually, Kara teamed up with Alex or Querl, but no one batted an eye when she chose Lena this time. The other teams of two were Kelly and James, Nia and Alex, Querl and Winn.

Alex rolled the dice, and they landed on Entertainment. James drew a card. “Who played the role of Neo in the movie The Matrix?” – “Easy. Keanu Reeves.” Nia triumphantly grabbed a pink wedge and inserted it into the playing piece.

Next, Querl and Winn chose Science and Nature. “What is the chemical symbol for gold?” Lena asked. “Au”, Winn answered easily, and took a green wedge.

Kelly and James correctly answered what the longest river in the world was, and then it was Kara’s and Lena’s turn. They also picked Science and Nature.

“Oh, this is a good one!” Nia laughed. “What is the name of the phenomenon where light bends as it passes through different mediums, such as air and water?”

“It’s called refraction” Lena answered easily.

Next, Nia and Alex also landed on the same category. Querl drew a card. “In quantum mechanics, what principle states that it's impossible to know both the exact position and momentum of a particle simultaneously?”

“What the fuck!” Nia exclaimed.

Alex stared at Brainy in disbelief.

“Oh, please, you know this! This is common knowledge, right?” Brainy looked around the group.

Kelly chuckled.

“I believe it’s the Uncertainty Principle” Kara answered quietly.

Querl nodded as the put the card down. “Thank you, Kara! I knew there was a 97,5% chance you’d get this right.”

Lena, however, was staring at her with her mouth open. “How do you know this, Kara? I thought you studied journalism?”

Kara blushed bright red. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her. Her friends knew she had been the youngest member of the Science Guild on Krypton, however she hadn’t had a chance to mention it to Lena yet. Besides, it was something her friends and even Alex tended to forget. She didn’t blame them. No one expected a depressed bartender to know about quantum mechanics, after all.

“Um, Krypton was more advanced than Earth, and I was in the Science Guild. I can tell you more about it sometime, if you want.”

Lena studied her face for another moment, her eyes briefly darting to her lips, then back up. There it was again, the feeling like she was floating. Lena put a hand on her arm.

“I’d love to hear as much as you will tell me.”

Kara swallowed thickly, then nodded and reached for another sip of Cosmos.

The game continued, and eventually Nia and Alex got their green wedge.

During their next turn, Kara groaned when she couldn’t name the capital of Uzbekistan.

“It’s Tashkent” Lena answered nonchalantly.

It made Alex chuckle. “I can see why you would team up with her, Kara. You have some serious competition. I’m calling dibs for next round!”

Nia shoved her in mock-offense. “Hey, I’m smart too! You guys are just show-offs!”

It made them all laugh. Kara couldn’t contain her smiles when she caught Alex’s line of sight. She felt like her sister was truly warming up to Lena. Alex stuck her tongue out at her sister.

A few rounds later, all they needed was an orange wedge to fill up their piece. Finally, they landed on the Sports & Leisure category. Kelly drew a card from the deck. "In what year did the sport of fencing make its Olympic debut?"

“Umm …” Kara started to think out loud, but next to her Lena’s head shot up.

“I believe it was in the 1896 Olympics in Athens.”

“That is correct!” Kelly said and smiled.

“Witchcraft!” Nia exclaimed, jumping up. “How can you know science and sports and geography?”

Nia seemed a little drunk, and Kara worried it might overwhelm or offend Lena. However, Lena only smiled.

“I know nothing about sports in general, rest assured. I only happen to know a lot about fencing. I used to fence when I was younger.” A hint of pride was gleaming in her eyes.

Now it was Kara’s turn to stare at her. She wrecked her brain if Lena had mentioned fencing during their previous time together, but drew a blank. They had talked about so much, and yet, she realized, there was so much they still had to learn about each other.

Of course, it had only been two months since they met. Kara made a mental note that for their next lunch, she would tell Lena about Krypton, and Lena would tell her about fencing.

“Oh, wasn’t there a championship in National City a few years ago?” James chimed in.

“Right” Kara said. “I wrote an article about it.”

Lena blushed. “I attended it as a spectator with … with my family.” She looked like she wanted to add something, but then bit her lip.

Nia looked between them. “Woah!” It made them all laugh.

“Brainy, will you get your girlfriend a glass of water, please?” Alex asked. “I can’t finish this round without her.”

Querl simply nodded and went to the kitchen.

Nia plopped back down on the couch. “See, I knew you think I’m smart too” she said and leaned her head on Alex’s shoulder. When Querl came back with the glass of water, they continued.

To no one’s surprise, Kara and Lena won. The two high-fived. Seeing Lena enjoy herself and laugh along with her friends had Kara’s stomach erupting in butterflies, and she only hoped Lena was having as much fun as she was.

The next round Alex and Lena teamed up. They worked surprisingly well together, Kara noticed, even though they came in close second to Querl and Nia. After that more snacks were fetched from the kitchen and everyone switched to soft drinks and water. They decided on a round of charades, which Lena was refreshingly terrible at.

When the night ended, everyone wished Kara good luck once again for Monday and said their goodbyes. Nia went to sleep immediately, having already dozed off on the couch.

“Sorry Kara, just leave the dishes in the sink, I’ll do it tomorrow!” she yawned as she went to her room.

It was just Kara and Lena in the kitchen now. “I can help,” Lena offered.

“Oh!” Kara looked around the place. “I mean, totally, only if you want! If you’re tired you don’t have to.”

Usually, she would use her superspeed to clean up. However, she felt hesitant in front of Lena, and she wanted to spend even more time with her.

“I don’t mind” Lena smiled and grabbed a wine glass to put it next to the sink.

“Thanks.” They worked next to each other in comfortable silence.

“I had a lot of fun tonight, thank you for inviting me” Lena said when they finished.

“Of course. You’re welcome to join our next game night anytime.” Kara felt like it was the understatement of the century.

She wanted Lena to come to every game night from now on. She wanted Alex to compliment the expensive wine she bought, and Querl to fawn over her knowledge of science. Hell, she wanted Nia to go to sleep early each time so she could have this quiet moment with Lena instead.

As Lena grabbed her purse and jacket, Kara remembered the first game night after she and James had broken up and he had brought Lucy instead. How well the two had matched. She’d always wanted that. Her perfect partner at game night.

Maybe it was too early. They had also noticed how little they knew about each other so far. But maybe, Kara thought as she hugged Lena goodbye and Lena lingered, maybe she could have this. She had opened herself up to a new career opportunity, maybe she could also let someone new into her life like this.