Chapter Text
Ky tugged her satchel up her shoulder, trying to both navigate the bustle of National City first thing in the morning, keep her drink in its designated cup, and text.
She should know better than to text and walk.
“Watch it!”
Glaring, she twisted on her heel to snarl, “you watch it.” And that would have been intimidating. You know, if the asshole had even stopped to acknowledge her after shoulder checking her.
Fun fact – if you collide with someone in a crowd, you’re both responsible.
Ass.
Huffing, she decided that something had to give and chugged the remainder of her hot chocolate, dumping the empty cardboard as she tried to refocus on her phone.
She’s received four emails in the time it took to finish that interaction.
Fuck.
“Fuck.”
The older she got the more she understood Lucy’s relationship with her phone. Equal parts reluctant extension of her person and lifeline to keep her from drowning. Quickly typing out a response to Dryl, she made sure to mentally check her math before clicking send. She could feel the unholy alliance of her parents forming a coalition in the back of her mind.
You already have two jobs – there is absolutely no good reason for you to also consult with L-Corp-Exodus ventures. Work life balance is a thing, kid.
What they didn’t understand is that there was a good reason. Lena and her Ma’s projects were really, reallyfucking cool.
Shoving her phone into her inside jacket pocket, she ducked into the big, shiny lobby that made up CatCo. Pressing the button for the elevator, she turned her wrist to check the time, pleasantly surprised to find that she was only 15 minutes late. In her family, that was practically early.
Stepping in, she absently pressed for the bullpen floor, leaning against the wall and debating the chances she received yet another email when she heard the frantic voice chase the closing doors.
“Hold the elevator!”
She leaned forward, catching the doors a fraction too late to be considered wise, if she were human.
“Oh! Thank you!” A woman, probably about her age, stumbled in after her. “Thank you.”
Ky leaned back against the wall, offering a half smile. “All good.”
“Oh, I am so late,” she continued, juggling a coffee and her phone. Her soft looking cream cardigan was bunched at the sleeves, green sun dress wrinkled at the edges, and her hair had more flyaways than Ky imagined she’d left the house with. She also smelt strongly of coffee, and a brief scan reveal a splotch of drying fabric at the edge of her outfit. “Ugh. You know, the crazy thing is, I am always punctual. Always.”
Ky made a noise of acknowledgement, pushing her hands into her pockets.
“But of course, the one day it matters, my new roommate took the keys to my rental car – accidentally of course – and I had to take the bus!”
It became increasingly clear that Ky was not needed for this conversation, but she still ducked her head to smother her smirk. This woman was having a bad enough day – she didn’t need to think that the stranger in the elevator was judging her as well.
“And I spilled coffee all over my skirt!” she spoke with her hands, and Ky briefly worried she’d lose more coffee to the floor of the shiny lift. “And all I wanted to do was make a good first impression on Ms. Danvers.”
Ky lifted her head, surprised. “You’re here to see Kara?”
The woman blinked; her ramble stymied. “Kara? No. No, I mean, yes. Kara Danvers. Ms. Danvers. She’s my new boss. I’m a new reporter here. At CatCo. And she’s supposed to… I’m rambling.”
“Yeah,” Ky tried to soften her smirk, “just a lot.”
The bridge of her nose darkened, illuminated by the too-bright lights. “Um… ha, um. Right. Yeah. Sorry,” she cleared her throat, eye contact absolutely unavailable as she stammered through what seemed to be a sentence. “Sorry. You don’t need to hear this. I’m just… it’s been a bad day.”
“I mean, yeah,” Ky pushed off the wall, eyeing the slowing numbers. “Your roommate committed grand theft auto and you don’t even have a full coffee to get you through.”
“She didn’t steal the car,” she rushed to correct, eyes widening and suddenly finding Ky’s. “She just… it was an accident.”
“How do you accidentally steal a car?” Ky lifted an eyebrow, amusement still high in her chest. “In my experience, it’s pretty deliberate.”
“You have experience stealing cars?”
“Some,” she smirked, a bit of a challenge in her voice. “Less than I’d like.”
“You…” the frown looked misplaced on this woman’s face. Like it didn’t belong. “You know what? Doesn’t matter. The coffee isn’t even for me.”
Ky chuckled, turning towards the door. “For future reference?” The elevator slowed to a stop. “Kara is more of a hot chocolate, or the essence of coffee drowned in vanilla typa girl.”
“Oh.”
The doors opened, and Ky stepped forward to place a hand over the door. When she glanced back, she found that the lingering blush fled the stranger’s cheeks, skin paling at the sight of the bustling ballpen beyond. Sympathy tugged at her chest, and she found herself offering a kinder smile. “Don’t worry about it. She’ll drink anything, really. Basically, a garbage disposal… but like, in a nice way? Anyway, I can show you the way to her desk, if you want?”
“So, you know her? Kara Danvers?”
“Yeah,” she gestured for her to go ahead before following step, leading her through the slight maze at the start of the office, waving Wendy the receptionist off when she went to greet her. “I’m her niece.”
“Wait, what?”
Ky snorted, passing the glass meeting rooms that always made Ky think of a fishbowl and turning towards the open plan portion of the office. “What? Don’t I look the part?”
“What? No! I mean, you do. I mean, you don’t not look like you could be Kara Danvers’ niece. You just… you’re not super young, maybe. I think. I’m bad at ages. And Ms. Danvers is only thirty-five, which means her sibling must be a lot older and… and I think I should stop talking.”
“You did just call me old,” Ky agreed around her laugh, “might want to stop while you’re ahead.”
“I didn’t! At least, I didn’t mean to. You just look like you’re my age.”
Deciding that she needed to cut her some slack, Ky eased up. “Her sister, my mom, is older, and I’m adopted,” easiest explanation for the slightly skewed ages. “Which also explains the ethnicity disparity.”
The blush returned. Okay, maybe she didn’t ease up that much.
“Hey,” she nudged the woman, lifting her chin towards the upcoming desk. “Look alive.”
Panic seeped back into her expression and Ky realized that she might be a bit of a lost cause. She even gave her a beat to make the first introduction – to do anything but mutely follow Ky to the desk – but decided it might be easier if she took the wheel.
“Aiahv!” Kara’s head snapped up from her computer, smile instant and blinding. “Sorry I’m late. But I picked up a stray that I think belongs to you.”
Kara’s eyebrows dipped, head tilting as she stood from her desk. She was wearing something definitelyapproved by Lena – tight and grey with a neckline that cut a line across her collarbone. Maggie would probably have done something horrific like whistle just to make her blush.
“Ms. Danvers,” the words tumbled from her mouth, body stuttering to a stop next to Ky. “Its… you.”
“It’s Kara,” she waved off, smile friendly and open and confused. “And, sorry, do I know you?”
“Um. Hahaha, um. Kara Danvers. Its Kara Danvers, wow. Ah, uh,” she shook her head, shoving a hand out in front of her. “I’m Nia Nal.”
“Oh Nia,” recognition spread over Kara’s face, and she stepped around her desk to quickly take the not-strangers hand. “Nia, it’s so nice to meet you! Cat says amazing things about you.”
“Really?” Nia seemed briefly stalled, and Ky stifled another laugh. Then she jump started, jerking a little in her attempt to hold the coffee out between them. “Oh! This is for you. I… I’m so sorry I’m late. It’s been, I’ve had-”
Ky, taking pity, reached out and placed her hand on Nia’s forearm, forestalling any additional rambling. “Nia’s had a tough morning, aiahv. She’s normally very punctual.”
Kara glanced between them, slowly taking her coffee and smiling, even with questions in her eyes. “Do you two know each other?”
“Oh, yeah,” Ky waved a hand, shifting to dump her bag over Kara’s desk so it was by her chair. “Good friends. Already confessed my history of automobile theft – so, what’s that? Stage three of friendship?”
“Confessing criminal backgrounds is only stage three?” Kara asked around her laugh, glancing at the still flustered Nia. “I’m scared to ask what goes after.”
Ky smirked, leaning back against the desk and cross a foot over her ankle. “Nothing I want to tell my aunt.”
“Uh. Gross,” Kara wrinkled her nose, even if there was light in her eyes. “I do not want to hear that. You’re still fourteen and scared of talking to pretty girls.”
“You’re in your thirties and you’re still scared of talking to pretty girls.”
“Pffft,” she waved a hand, then overcorrected when she realized she was still holding Nia’s offering. “I’m- that’s not- I’m married to a pretty girl.”
“Ugh. Gross,” Ky repeated teasingly, crossing her arms over her chest as the grin inched into her expression. “I don’t want to hear that! You’re still in your twenties and blushing every time Lena touches your arm.”
“You’re married?”
Honestly, Ky had kinda forgotten that Nia was still engaged in this conversation. She had seemed to have checked out somewhere around ‘levels of friendship’. Even Nia seemed horrified that she’d asked the question, all but clapping a hand over her mouth when the words had already escaped.
“Oh,” Kara’s fingers found her glasses, eyes widening. “Right. Um. No! Nope,” she popped the p, just like her sister, and Ky snorted. “No. No marriage here. Me and Lena- just been together for so long, you know? Practically feel married.”
God, for someone who made a career of secrecy, her aunt was a terrible fucking liar.
“Anyway,” Ky relaxed her arms and offered a hand to Nia, who was slow to tear her eyes off Kara. “I’m Ky, by the way. Ky Danvers.”
“Oh!” tugging her purse back up her shoulder, Nia reached back and shook her hand with a surprisingly solid handshake. “Right. Sorry. I didn’t even introduce myself. I’m-”
“The Normally Punctual Nia Nal, I know,” she let her smile go lopsided in that way that always made Harper glare at her but, also, blush. Which she considered a double win really. “Nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you too,” the smile was genuine and, finally, somewhat relaxed. It wasn’t a surprise – Ky was pretty sure humans couldn’t run on that kind of adrenaline for such a long time. “Thanks for showing me the way.”
“No worries,” she tossed a hand at Kara. “Her very much Not-Wife sent me here anyway.”
Kara’s eyebrows dipped. “Lena sent you?”
“Yeahp. I’ve got a hard drive that you left in the kitchen that is apparently essential for a story that is due today,” and before Kara could do more than widen her eyes in horror that she’d forgotten said device, Ky pushed on. “And strict instructions not to hand it over until you stop to eat. We do have brunch plans, if you remember.”
“Right,” Kara nodded, even as her eyes drifted to the satchel now stored behind her desk.
Ky tipped her body, blocking her view. “You know I’m faster than you, yeah?”
Kara exhaled in a puff of air, nodding solemnly as if she wasn’t going to try and eat their favorite diner in Star City out of waffles again. “Right. Yes. Food. Got called away early this morning. Nia,” and then the smile was on, full force. Blinding really. “It’s so great to meet you. Welcome to CatCo! I’m sorry I’ve got to duck out, but I’ll walk you past James’ office and introduce you before we head out. And if you have any questions, you know where I live.”
“Ah, great! Great,” Nia’s smile shifted into something easier, relaxing with every second. “I really appreciate it Ms. D- Kara.”
“No problem,” and then she was sweeping her phone off her desk and pressing her laptop shut. “I promise – I’ve got your back.”