Work Text:
“She’s in a meeting,” Lena’s assistant doesn’t even bother to look up. Kara’s getting used to it. Suspects she’s the only person who randomly turns up at Lena’s office, but she wouldn’t mind a smile or a hello. She tries to tell herself that it’s not personal and that if Lena hired her, she must be good at her job, so she takes a seat and waits. She still misses the days when she could race past Jess, it’s been a long time since then, so much has changed for both her and Lena.
If she happens to tune into Lena’s heartbeat to pass the time, then that’s her business. Lena’s always a steady presence, calm, collected and she has a rhythmical heartbeat to go with it. Kara wouldn’t necessarily say it’s one of her favourite sounds, but it’s up there. Along with Lena’s laugh and the sound of her voice and the way the fabric of her skirt swooshes as she walks in a room.
It’s whilst tuning out the background office noise that she first hears the little jump. A tell that Lena is stressed and Kara can only imagine what her meeting is about. It’s then that she hears a raised voice, one that you wouldn’t need super hearing for, she knows this because Lena’s assistant looks up at the door and scowls momentarily.
Kara’s not content with scowling, she needs to know Lena’s okay and hones into the voices on the other side of the door. She startles slightly when she realises it’s James who’s in there with Lena. She hadn’t even known he was visiting.
“I think we both messed up,” James is saying. “But I made a mistake when I walked away.”
‘Oh,’ Kara thinks and then a big “what?” Slips from her lips. She hears Lena make a similar sound.
“You walked away?” Lena says a little more calmly than her heartbeat is acting.
“I let you walk away,” James says in earnest. “And I’ve regretted it ever since.”
“I ended things because you…look, never mind. The past is the past. We’ve both moved on. I’ve moved on.”
“You have?” James sounds as surprised as Kara feels. She should know this. Lena would have told her. They’re best friends and Lena tells her things. These sorts of things, except they’ve never really talked about James and Lena has been single a long time. About as long as Kara has, if she thinks about it. It’s meant they’ve had all the time in the world to hang out and the thought that’s about to change, doesn’t sit well with Kara, not at all.
“You didn’t think I’d be able to get over you?”
“I didn’t say that,” James says, defensively.
“But you thought it,” Lena’s tone is cooler now. Kara can feel the chill of it through the walls.
“What I meant was no-one said anything to me. Kelly told me you’re busy with setting up the foundation and you’re either here or at Kara’s. I figured that meant there wasn’t much else going on in your life.”
“Some would say that I have quite enough going on in my life,” Kara hears Lena take a sharp intake of breath. It’s not something James would necessarily pick up on though. “And I really need to get back to work.”
“One date,” James says in a hurry. “We go out, talk like adults. What we had was good, Lena. I think we owe it to ourselves to give it another shot.”
Kara focuses on remembering how to breathe, she follows Lena’s pattern as the silence drags out in the office.
“I’m seeing someone,” she says and Kara hears the crack of the armrest in her hand.
“Sorry,” she grimaces as she looks up, but Lena’s assistant has disappeared, Kara must have been too deep into listening into Lena’s conversation to even notice.
“You are?” James says when Kara returns her focus and maybe she should stop listening? This is definitely a private conversation.
“Don’t sound so surprised,” Lena chuckles dryly.
“I didn’t mean…it’s just you…I guess I never thought?”
“That someone would want to date a Luthor?”
“No, I’m…I just thought someone would have told me.”
“It’s new and—” Kara can hear the wheels of Lena’s chair as she pushes it back and stands. “If you don’t mind, I have a lot of work to catch up on before my date tonight.”
Her date?
Kara is on her feet the second she hears the office door open, James steps out first. He looks forlorn, not that Kara feels any sympathy for him. He blew his chances with Lena a long time ago.
“Kara!” he spots her before Lena. “Just the friendly face I could do with. You got time for a coffee?”
“I’m just—” she stops when Lena appears behind him. That familiar smile brightening her eyes. “Hey,” she says forgetting James asked her anything.
“Or a beer, tonight? I could do with a friend,” James keeps talking.
“Can’t, sorry,” Kara finally looks away from Lena, sees the way James’ shoulders sag. “Lena and I have plans.”
“Not anymore, Lena’s got a date,” he tells Kara. “Guess she was too busy to tell you she’s cancelled.”
“I didn’t cancel,” Lena chuckles and for a beat, Kara’s heart seems to stop.
“But you said…” James’s brow crumples. “Huh?” He looks so confused as he looks between them, but as Lena throws Kara a furtive glance, she can’t help the smile that slowly begins to form.
“My plans are with Kara,” Lena says with a hesitant nibble at her bottom lip and if Kara tracks the motion, she figures maybe now it’s not such a bad thing to get caught.
“Yep,” Kara beams, “plans with me.” James opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out because Lena is grinning back at Kara so broadly. “A date, with me. Lena and me,” she says as if there’s a need for further clarification. She walks past James and into Lena’s office, turning around just as Lena closes the door.
—
For a second they just look at one another, Kara isn’t sure if it’s her heartbeat or Lena’s that’s loudest anymore.
“Was that okay?” Lena asks, her throat bobbing as she swallows. Kara’s does the same.
“Yes,” she steps forward, but Lena’s still gripping hold of the door handle and she’s not sure she’s reading this right anymore. “Do you want to go on a date?” She asks and as Lena’s eyes widen, she clarifies, “with me?”
Lena’s breath is shaky as she says, “yes.”
“Then it’s a date,” Kara’s smile is, thankfully, infectious as Lena finally let’s go of her iron grip on the door handle and takes her own step forward.
“A real date?” Lena asks, her nerves suddenly replaced by a confidence that makes Kara’s breath hitch. Lena’s eyes drop to Kara’s lips as she takes another step.
“A very real date,” Kara’s the one left breathless now.
“Would you believe me if I said, I had planned to ask you later? James just beat me to the punch, he’s kind of annoying like that. I’m sorry, it’s taken me so long to work up the courage.”
Kara’s jaw drops at the confession, the thought that Lena’s been working up to this? She wonders how much time they’ve both wasted on the uncertainty of asking. Kara’s had her reasons. Plenty of them, she can’t remember exactly what those reasons were, but guesses they no longer matter, not when Lena’s looking at her like she is right now. “I’m glad you did, I think if you waited for me, it’d probably be another five years.”
Lena laughs, it’s sweet, a beautiful sound that fills Kara’s heart. “Are you going to take five years to finally kiss me?” Lena says and Kara shakes her head lightly.
“No,” she says, stepping ever closer, her hand cupping Lena’s cheek, almost close enough. “Not if you don’t want me to.”
“I don’t,” Lena’s eyelids flutter closed and Kara says her own thank you to the universe as she leans in and finally does the thing she’s been thinking about since the first day they met.
Kissing Lena Luthor is as perfect as she’d imagined and perhaps she’s spent a lot of time imagining it, now she plans to spend as much time as she can doing it, but first she has a date to get ready for and it’s going to be the best date either of them have ever had.