Chapter Text
Kara didn’t realise the first time it happened.
She was flying through the National City skies, her mind drifting off to Leslie Willis and how close had Cat been to getting hurt. Luckily, “Livewire” (the girl really did have the wit of a YouTube comment) was now locked in the DEO.
But clearly, that didn’t help to ease Kara’s nerves one bit because before she knew it, she was flying around Cat’s building, focusing on her penthouse’s windows. She closed her eyes, floating in the night sky and focused on the steady rhythm of a heartbeat she knew too well. Cat was sound asleep and after a moment, Kara checked that Carter was resting too. She reluctantly flew away, telling herself this was a one time thing.
She came back every night after that.
*
There were nights where she could barely get some time off and there were times where the most urgent matter at her beloved home was a stolen purse. Tonight was definitely the latter. After making sure a couple of girls got home safe after a party, she flew around, feeling contempt.
Keeping people safe, and especially the ones she loved, gave a whole new meaning to her life. Which is why she flew around Cat’s penthouse again. The woman’s bedroom lights were off, but Carter’s were still projecting some light on his balcony floor. Kara landed softly outside his window, trying to make sure everything was alright.
“Hiyaa!” someone screamed behind her and out of pure instinct, the blonde raised her arm to cover her front from the attack. As soon as the baseball bat hit, it broke in half. Both the attacker and kara looked at it on the floor and then at each other.
“Supergirl?”
“Carter?”, Kara said, confused and she barely registered the boy lurching forward to wrap his arms around her in a tight hug. “Why did you attack me?”
“Because I thought you were a thief!” he answered, rolling his eyes as it it was the most obvious thing in the world. Oh, yeah, this kid was definitely Cat Grant’s son.
“A thief that climbed like 30 floors just to break into your home” Kara said, crossing her arms and Carter blushed.
“Uh, right. So what are you doing here?”
“I saw your light on and thought you were in trouble. Are you?”
“Only the school kind”, Carter said and Kara looked at him, confused. “I have a Biology test tomorrow and I feel so nervous. I’ve been studying all day for it”
“Oh, well… why don’t I help you study for a while? I’ll ask you some questions and then you’ll go to bed, ok? If you want to pass you have to get some rest too”
“You’d really do that?”
“Yeah, my duty is to help”, she said and crossed her arms, as if she was about to fight the scariest alien to save the planet.
So thirty minutes later, a lot of questions about photosynthesis and other stuff Kara had forgotten by now, Carter was ready for his test and more.
“Thank you for helping me study. And sorry I attacked you with a baseball bat”
“It’s ok, Carter”, she ruffled his hair and went out to the balcony, ready to fly away. She bent her knees and was about to take off when the boy’s question stopped her movement.
“Hey, how did you know my name?”
Oh, no.
“Uh… your Mom told me” Kara said, trying to smile convincingly.
“Ok. Well, thanks again”
“See ya”, she said and flew away, her heart beating madly in her chest.
Ok, that was close. This is the last time you’re flying near the Grants, Kara.
But of course, it wasn’t.
*
Cat Grant noticed a lot of things, but she chose to keep quiet about it. She noticed her son was excited the morning before his Biology test, which was weird in itself. But the true mystery came when they said goodbye at school. She kissed him and hugged him tight as usual, wishing him a good day. He walked back on his steps and knocked on the glass of the limo.
“What is it, sweetheart?” Cat said, worried.
“I just wanted to tell you that it’s really cool you told Supergirl about me!” he said, kissed her cheek and ran back to go inside.
Cat thought about it for the rest of the ride to CatCo. But the daily incompetence of her employees and some minor gossips about Hollywood royalty kept her away from the weird conversation she’d had with her son. It was only at the end of the day, when she allowed herself a moment of relaxation and jellybeans that her mind came back to it. Was she supposed to be worried? How did supergirl knew Carter’s name? And how did Carter know she knew his name?
“Miss Grant?”, Kara cleared her throat and Cat snapped out of her thoughts.
“Yes, Kiera?”, she mumbled, without looking at the girl.
“Your mother called to cancel dinner”
“Thank God. Then get me some sushi and order something for yourself. We still have to check the Tribune’s layouts for friday”
“Yes, Miss Grant”, the girl was on her way out of Cat’s office when she turned around, remembering something all of the sudden. “How did Carter do on his Biology test, by the way?”
Cat froze. Kara gulped. But before the girl could see Cat’s reaction, the woman feigned ignorance and smiled. “Oh, he did great, Kiera, thank you for asking”
And Kara was so naive she actually believe Cat hadn’t noticed. But she did.
She wasn’t going to say anything.
Yet.
*
“So, I was thinking…”
“What about?”, Kara took her eyes away from the night lights of the city, smiling warmly at Carter. They were both at the boy’s balcony, enjoying each other’s silent company. After rescuing children from a field trip gone so horribly wrong, the only thing that could comfort Kara was the sight of Carter, safe and sound.
“I was wondering about your powers. Like, how do they work and everything?”
“Well, the people from my home planet, called Krypton, had the ability to absorb radiation from stars, especially the yellow ones”
“Like our sun”, Carter said.
“Exactly. So my body transforms the radiation into powers”
“What is your DNA like? And your blood? Do you get sick or sneeze?” the boy had a look of wonder and excitement in his eyes and words were coming out of his mouth faster than Supergirl flying around on a mission.
“I should definitely introduce you to my sister, because she knows more about this than me”
“You have a sister?”
“Yes. She is a bio-engineer”
“That is so cool. And does she have powers too?”
Kara gave an awkward laugh and cleared her throat. She looked to the horizon again.
“No, she’s from Earth. She’s actually my adoptive sister. I arrived here when I was around your age, after my home was destroyed”
The silence could be excruciating. Kara knew that grief and loss were a part of her life, but she often wished she didn’t have to explain where she came from. Not because she was ashamed, but because it was too painful to remember, let alone talk about it.
“I’m sorry”
“Hey, it’s ok”, she said and put her hand on his shoulder. “My adoptive family is really good to me. It was hard at first, but now I feel like I’m at home”
“I know it’s not the same, but I know what’s it like. The feeling that you don’t belong anywhere” he said, sadness clouding his features. Kara kneeled and looked at him in the eyes before she spoke.
“Carter, your Mom loves you. You’re smart, and kind and special. And it doesn’t matter if you have powers or not, your heart makes you a hero, ok?”
“Ok”, he said and hugged her.
“We’re a couple of weirdos, aren’t we?” Kara said against his hair and he laughed.
“It’s cool”
*
Kara discovered too late that flying with ice cream was a very complicated endeavor. Still, she made it to the thirtieth floor without spilling much and landed softly in Carter’s balcony.
“Are you in the mood for ice cream?”
“I could have dessert” a grown woman said and Kara almost dropped the food. Cat Grant.
Alex is going to kill me.
“Miss Grant! Hi!” Kara mumbled and before she could stop herself, she motioned towards her face, as if she was adjusting a pair of glasses that weren’t really there. Cat’s eyes widen at the movement, and her lips stretched in a smug grin.
Busted
“I think you got the wrong floor, Supergirl. The only people in dire need of rescue are the Henderson’s and their awful taste in decoration”
“I… I was just doing my night rounds, Miss Grant” Kara stammered, blushing.
“With ice cream. I see”
Cat circled the girl, stalking her prey and Kara shifted awkwardly.
“Look, after Livewire I came by to make sure you were safe. And Carter was studying and we talked a little bit. And we’re friends. So I brought ice cream. That is now melting so if you could please take a cone”
“Fine”, Cat conceded, her fingers grazing lightly against Kara’s as she took the ice cream. She leaned back in the railway and looked intently at Kara as she ate her vanilla scoop. The girl’s attention was split between Cat’s tongue and her accusations. “You will have to excuse me if I’m being rude but I don’t like the idea of anyone keeping my son up past his bedtime and feeding him sugar, especially on a school night.”
“Yes, of course, I understand” Kara mumbled, the ice cream melting and running down her arm.
“If you insist on visiting, you cannot bring sweets after 7, he has to be asleep at 9:30 and you will under no circumstance take him flying with you”
“But I promised!” Kara actually pouted and Cat had to refrain her impulse to kiss her right there. It was bad enough that Kara was incredibly adorable, brave and kind. But she cared about Carter and enjoyed spending time with him and that was what made her completely irresistible.
“No flying”, she said with a glare that put an end to the discussion. Kara licked her ice cream -what was left of it anyway- smearing some of it at the corner of her mouth. Cat took a step forward and cleaned with a finger that she diligently licked a moment later.
“The only person you should be keeping up all night in this house is me, Kara”, she purred in the girl’s ear. Kara opened and closed her mouth, looking completely dumbfounded. “Good night, Supergirl”
“This conversation is so not over”, Kara muttered, following Cat inside the penthouse.