Work Text:
“Did you and Ms. Grant ever dated each other?”
The question came out of nowhere. In all the situations Kara imagined this conversation happening, this scenario was one of the most unlikely ones.
Cramped in the basement of Catco’s inventory, waving off spider webs and wrinkling her nose at the weird smell coming from the bookshelves, while Winn pointed a flashlight at her face.
“No.” Kara paused. “Why would you ask that?”
Winn snorted.
Kara could still see him perfectly in the unlit room thanks to her supervision. His eyes were shining with laughter.
“Oh, I don’t know. Just all these nights alone in her office while everyone else had already gone home.” Winn insinuated. He must have sensed the danger zone he was entering, because he hurried his speech. “I didn’t say anything. Just other people. You know.”
“Like what? What have they said?”
“Like. Maybe Cat Grant gave you the office because you two were sleeping together.” Winn shrinked. “I meant dating! But I didn’t say it! Someone else did. I don’t know.”
Kara faced the bookshelves.
This room smelled of old mold. She could hear the walkie-talkie suffering interferance in Winn’s waist.
Fetching twenty year old files for their new article was supposed to be Frankie’s job, but the janitor was taking leave to stay with his newborn son.
There was a brief silence.
Kara focused in examinating the old binders. Plastic ones, with scrawny writing on the side. They were somewhat organized, but she was still trying to figure out what the system was.
“I didn’t receive my office because of my relationship with Cat Grant.” Kara bited. Her words were calculated. So unlikely the sunny tone she’d usually had. The heat in the room, her worries as Supergirl and now this ridiculous rumor was wearing her patience thin. “I got the office because I deserved it.”
She sensed Winn shaking his head.
“I know that.” He bit his lip. “But some people claim you were just a secretary back then, so.”
Kara wheeled around.
She faced her best friend. In the dark room, her blue eyes glowed to a soft orange.
Sometimes this happened when her emotions got too intense.
“Just a secretary?” Kara scoffed.
“I didn’t-“ Winn went pale.
“Yeah. I’m sure that’s what all our co-workers say. While they left at 6pm, I stayed behind for hours on end, helping clean up and often assisting Ms. Grant with the next editions. Sometimes I’d go home at 2am.”
“Oh-“
“Also, I haven’t had a vacation in three years. Did you know that, Winn?” Kara raised her eyebrow. She continued before he could answer. “I had to leave Thanksgiving with my family, come all the way to Catco and help Ms. Grant not get killed by Livewire, then spend two hours talking with the FBI. On my day-off.”
“Right.”
“Everyone loves talking about being a secretary as if its an easy job or something, but I chose to stay behind. You can complain about capitalism sucking, and I’d agreed with you, but you can’t be mad at me for joining the game, when they're the ones leaving at 6pm and refusing to do extra-work.”
“Well. Okay-“
“In fact, I’m the one who started a Catco Union after Ms. Grant hit her 100th complaints by the HR.” Kara raised her voice. Some spider webs fell from the ceiling. “The only reason we have paternity leave is because I convinced everyone to petition for it. Including other things that Catco wasn’t offering, until me and Lucy stepped up and demanded it.”
Winn had hit his back against the other shelf. He just nodded nervously.
“And now you want me to say I only got the job because I was fucking my boss?” Kara glared at him.
Kara saw Winn open his mouth in shock.
“I didn’t say that!” Winn’s voice squeaked.
“I can speak 12 different languages. I have two degrees, one in journalism and one in biochemistry. I worked closely with Ms. Grant, arranging every Gala and securing every contact for this company. I had dinner with Bruce Wayne, I shook hands with executives and sent birthday cards to politicians.”
Kara adjusted her glasses.
Her eyes were still shining. A little speck of grey dust had stained her forehead.
“Any time our company would be attacked by a supervillain , the old crew would stay behind, which spoilers: it happened every goddamn year. We helped clean up, we picked up the phones and stayed until the crisis was over because Cat Grant always said people depended on us during tough times.”
Kara looked behind Winn and approached to him, closing the distance to less than 20 inches between them. Winn gulped, his eyes hypnotized to the other’s woman face, but she kept her attention to the books behind him.
“More than 80% of Catco’s old gang was terminated when Cat left. Now, the new people have been working here for less than six months and they wanna get pissed that I have my own office?” Kara’s voice echoed her disbelief.
“I guess.” Winn stiffled.
“They weren’t here when one of our employers got mind-controlled and commited suicide. They didn’t went to the funeral. They never had to deal with Rhea. They never witnessed Reign showing up and crashing through the window.” Kara removed a book from behind Winn’s back. He remained still while she towered over him.
“Once they go through their first alien attack, they can bitch all they want about having their own office. For now,” Kara examinated the book with a unnerving calmness. “the office is mine. I earned it and I’m not giving it back.”
Kara was pleased that the book she was looking for had been found. She flipped through the pages, ignoring Winn’s erratic heartbeat. All the articles she wanted were the original copy and clipped inside the plastic binding. She walked upstairs, not waiting for Winn’s footsteps to follow her. The smell of this basement was giving her a headache. As she exited the door and walked back into the common area, she was met with a crowd of bystanders.
The tension was palpable in the room.
Nia was laughing behind her hand. Several other co-workers stared at her with curiosity or open shock. Eve looked impressed.
Kara felt her blood pressure get higher when she realized that Winn’s walkie-talkie must have been transmitting the conversation – since Eve had an identical one sitting at her table.
“Kara said fuck.” James commented awed.
She saw Maxwell Lord appraise her like she was a rare vaise he wanted to inspect.
Someone let out a low whistle.
Lena and Sam were hunched together whispering. Lena blushed at something Sam said, as the CFO laughed.
Andrea’s eyes seemed to pierce right at her.
Kara had the sense her face was flustered.
“Catco has an union?” William looked around, dazed.
Lena approached the reporter. Her eyebrow was raised (that damn gorgeous eyebrow) and her red lipstick made Kara look at her lips, before she adjusted her glasses and looked back at Lena’s green eyes, now shining dark and sinful.
The CEO grinned.
Her slender fingers came up to Kara’s face and cleaned the grey spot in her forehead. Kara did her best to ignore the whispers, but it wasn’t as difficult. Her co-worker’s voices were being drowned by a loud wave in her ears, along with the sensation of Lena’s fingers on her temple.
“I’m booking you a vacation.” Lena dared her to challenge the request, but Kara just shrugged dumbfolded. The CEO stroked her cheek pleased, then walked to Andrea’s office in a confident strut, her heels clickling. Sam followed her, and minutes later Kara heard her soft laughter from behind the glass doors.
Jess scoffed. She followed behind, alreading making a call in her phone and sending Kara an frustrated glance.
Andrea sent her another look – calculating, not too different from Maxwell Lord’s – and the door of the office was closed.
Kara ignored her co-workers stares and dropped the binder at her old desk. She still liked working next to other people, so she only used the office when she was feeling overwhelmed or there was a Supergirl emergency.
She pretended not to see the dirty looks thrown her way. But when Snapper whispered under his breath, “Atta girl, Danvers”, Kara felt a odd sense of pride.
Nia leaned against her desk.
“So.” Her eyes glimmed mischievously. “That thing you said the other day, about dating Cat and getting free gifts from her-“
“That’s not relevant!” Kara half-shouted.
“Uh huh. Sure it isn’t.”