Chapter Text
Laura Hollis was sleeping with her boss’s little sister.
In her defense, she had only known she was her boss’s little sister for a week. And also they were technically a couple now. Like an actual going on dates, saying ‘I love you,’ holding hands walking down the street, calling each other ‘my girlfriend’ kind of couple. The real deal.
And as nice as all that was, it didn’t change the fact that Laura Hollis was sleeping with her boss’s little sister.
And she had been for like four and a half months.
So that was weird.
Carmilla kept insisting that it wasn’t a big deal, that Mattie would think it was hilarious. But Laura was still a nervous wreck over it, because the Mattie Carmilla knew seemed very different from the Miss Belmonde Laura knew. And admired. And respected. And she was screwing her little sister.
So Laura still hadn’t told her. She knew it would have to come out eventually. Miss Belmonde was Carmilla’s only family, and Laura was kind of crazy in love with Carmilla. It was only a matter of time.
It just seemed like more time would be better.
And it sure didn’t help that Carmilla had been sending flowers to Laura’s desk every day this week. It didn’t really hurt, as Miss Belmonde didn’t even notice, but still, it was drawing attention. On Monday, when a little potted African violet was waiting on Laura’s desk with a card that just read ‘for your desk, cupcake,’ it seemed harmless.
That night, curled up in Carmilla’s arms while she read a book, Laura thanked her for the gift.
“I don’t know what you mean, cupcake. Sounds like you have a secret admirer.”
It was adorable, the way Carmilla tried not to smile, focusing hard on the words on the page over Laura’s shoulder. Laura didn’t push her, just snuggled in closer and pressed a kiss to Carmilla’s cheek.
On Tuesday, the small vase of native violets that joined the little clay pot from Monday caused a bit of teasing from Lafontaine, Laura’s friend and the resident IT specialist, and a rather moody look from Danny, the layout designer Laura had had a crush on when she first started at MatCo.
Over a dinner of leftover Thai food at Carmilla’s apartment, Laura brought up the new delivery of flowers. Carmilla just gave her a coy little smirk and a blasé shrug of her shoulders, suggesting that whoever this secret admirer was seemed to have some kind of plan. Laura stole the last half spring roll right out of Carmilla’s chopsticks, setting off a tickle war that ended in sex that broke Carmilla’s floor. Oops.
On Wednesday, a vase of Alpine violets was waiting for her, and the whole office was taking notice. Perry, Miss Belmonde’s legal advisor, accosted Laura with questions on her lunch break, wondering who this mystery woman was that kept sending such lovely arrangements. Danny had become rather standoffish by this point, and Lafontaine thought the whole thing was hilarious.
They were the three at the office that knew Laura was Supergirl. So any girl that was going to such trouble to sweep her off her feet was a topic of great interest to them.
“I don’t know, darling, but it sounds pretty romantic to me,” was all Carmilla said on the subject as they were falling asleep in Laura’s bed that night.
By Thursday, when a planter of wood violets joined the African violet on Laura’s desk (she’d taken the other two bouquets home), Danny was being friendly again, which was a huge relief. Perry was giddy. Laf continued teasing. Miss Belmonde continued not noticing. Laura didn’t even bother asking Carmilla about it that night, but she picked up sticky buns from Carmilla’s favorite bakery on the way home from work. Carmilla was extra affectionate the whole evening.
When Friday rolled around, a week since Laura had nearly knocked Carmilla out of her bed in shock when she learned that Mattie was short for Matska, Laura was simultaneously having the best week of her life and completely at the end of her rope. Every time Miss Belmonde looked at her, she was convinced she just knew somehow, and it was wearing on her nerves. She was barely listening as she prepared to leave for her lunch break, standing at Miss Belmonde’s desk while she explained that yes, Lyra, I did have you schedule this conference call with the board of directors during my lunch break on purpose, because that old prune Vordenberg feels inferior when I eat in front of him.
But her attention was snapped back to Miss Belmonde when she paused and looked past Laura to her door, a smile growing on her face.
“Little Monster, how many times do I have to tell you to let me know before you drop by?” she asked in a chastising, albeit fond, tone. Laura froze, eyes wide, and couldn’t seem to turn around. “I have a conference call during my lunch break today, can’t avoid it.”
“That’s fine,” Carmilla said, and the sound of her voice seemed to overcome whatever had Laura frozen in place. She finally looked over to find Carmilla smiling at her, pulling a gorgeous little bouquet of common blue violets out from behind her back. “I’m actually here to take your assistant out to lunch.”
Laura couldn’t help the way she lit up, completely forgetting that Miss Belmonde was even in the same galaxy, let alone the same room, as she reached forward and took the flowers.
“They’re beautiful, Carm,” she heard herself say quietly, and Carmilla’s smile was wide and pleased when she leaned in for a quick, soft kiss. Her mouth tasted like coffee and chocolate and Laura had to bite her lip to stop her grin from overtaking her whole face. “Thank you.”
“Glad you like them, sweetheart,” Carmilla replied lowly, and before she knew it Laura was being led out of Miss Belmonde’s office by the hand. “Have a good conference call, Mattie.”
Laura finally had the presence of mind to look back at her boss as they left. Miss Belmonde was sitting ramrod straight in her chair, mouth open slightly in surprise, gaze fixed on Carmilla.
“She’s going to kill me,” Laura blurted when they were sitting down at the diner down the street, and Carmilla rolled her eyes fondly. “Or fire me. Oh my god, I’m fired.”
“Laura, she’s not going to fire you,” Carmilla assured her, reaching over the table for her hands and giving them a solid squeeze. Laura pouted and Carmilla laughed. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about what I was doing earlier, okay? But I knew you were freaking out, and I knew you would freak out even more if I told you beforehand. So I took it out of your hands and now it’s out there.”
Laura sighed, a smile tugging at her lips that Carmilla grinned at.
“Okay, fine, that was actually really sweet,” she admitted, and Carmilla just hummed quietly in response. “I love you, you know.”
“I know,” Carmilla murmured, and like she always did when Laura said it, Carmilla blushed and looked down at their hands on the table. “I love you too.” She withdrew her hands as the waiter came by with their soup and sandwiches. “Now let’s just enjoy a nice lunch and not worry about my sister, shall we?”
Laura actually managed to listen to Carmilla’s advice for the rest of their meal, and for the walk back to the office. It was hard to worry with their fingers interlaced and Laura swinging their hands a bit between them. But the nerves came back while they stood in the elevator, and Carmilla noticed.
She had Laura up against the wall of the elevator before she could blink, lips curved into a smile as they pressed into Laura’s. And Laura hadn’t even realized how badly she’d needed this until she let out a blissful sigh and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend’s neck.
“I’m so glad you liked all the flowers, darling,” Carmilla purred in Laura’s ear, making her breath hitch before she started kissing a slow path down Laura’s neck.
“Carm,” Laura sighed, hands curling into fists on Carmilla’s hips. “We really shouldn’t…”
“That’s what makes it fun,” Carmilla grinned against the soft skin beneath Laura’s chin.
“Dude, seriously?”
Carmilla jumped and Laura turned her head toward the elevator doors so fast her neck cricked. Laf and Perry were standing there, Perry with her hands over her eyes and Laf with their hands on their hips and a shit-eating grin.
“You’ve reached your floor,” Laf snickered, shaking their head.
“Oh my god,” Laura groaned, and she could feel herself blushing so she turned and buried her face in Carmilla’s neck.
“You must be Lafontaine and Perry,” Carmilla smirked, stepping back from Laura and grabbing her hand. “I’ve heard terrible things about you.”
“Carm…”
“Carmilla, in my office, now,” Miss Belmonde barked from somewhere behind Laf and Perry. “You too, Lyra.”
Laura immediately panicked and went to press the ground floor button of the elevator, but Carmilla just dragged her out by the hand. Before she was even remotely ready, Laura was sitting in a chair in front of Miss Belmonde’s desk, Carmilla in the chair beside her and her hand still tight in Carmilla’s.
Miss Belmonde just stared at them, switching her gaze between them every so often. Carmilla just stared back, bored, but Laura was practically squirming in her seat.
“Miss Belmonde I’m so sorry I was going to tell you I swear,” she finally blurted, unable to take it anymore. “But I promise I didn’t even know she was your sister until a week ago and up until then we weren’t even dating it was mostly just sex.” Laura shut her mouth with an audible clack of her teeth when Miss Belmonde’s eyes went wide. “Aaaand I really shouldn’t have told you that, oh my god.”
“You both know I do not like surprises,” Miss Belmonde began after another long silence, but then Carmilla sat up in her chair.
“None of this was Laura’s idea, Mattie,” Carmilla drawled, squeezing Laura’s hand for reassurance. “She was as surprised to see me show up as you were. And by the way, her name is Laura, not Lyra, and if you already knew that and this is some kind of power play bullshit, let me tell you, that’s the kind of thing your mother would do.”
Miss Belmonde’s mouth fell open. So did Laura’s.
“And besides that, I wasn’t trying to blindside you,” Carmilla continued, glancing over at Laura and giving her a quiet smile. “I’ve been sending you a message all week. You’re just too important now, I guess, to pay attention to what’s literally right in front of you.”
Carmilla pointed behind her through the glass walls of Miss Belmonde’s office, and her sister’s gaze followed. Laura looked too, only to find her pointing at… her desk. Covered in violets.
“Violets?” Miss Belmonde asked quietly, and Laura’s eyes snapped back to her boss. That was a tone of voice she’d never heard before, and she was surprised by the softness of her expression as she looked at Carmilla. “You’ve been sending her violets.”
“Yeah,” Carmilla shrugged, and Laura was even more surprised to see her girlfriend blushing.
“Do they mean something special?” Laura asked quietly, and Carmilla smiled at her again.
“When Mattie and I were younger, I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between my own feelings and… whatever Mother told me to feel,” she began haltingly, and Laura squeezed her hand. “So we made our own language. If I was really happy, I’d hum the Spice Girls. If I was really upset or hurt by someone, I wouldn’t look them in the eyes. And if I was really in love with someone…” She paused and drew Laura’s hand up to her lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “I’d send her violets.”
Laura’s heart felt like it was too large for her chest when she smiled at Carmilla, because the look Carmilla was giving her right then was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.
“I love you so much,” Laura sighed, and Carmilla laughed lightly, embarrassed.
“She knows about Mother,” Miss Belmonde said, eyes fixed on Laura. Carmilla nodded. “And about you?” Another nod. Miss Belmonde was silent for a few long moments, still just staring at Laura. Then a slow smile spread across her face. “I knew it. You are Supergirl.”
Laura choked on her inhale, coughing for a few breaths as Carmilla patted her on the back.
“What, uh… what are you- uh, what?” Laura spluttered, and Carmilla just kept rubbing her back gently, concerned. “We’ve been over this before, Miss Belmonde, remember?” Laura shot a panicked look at Carmilla. “I uh… I met Supergirl, here, in your office. I couldn’t…”
“Yes how did you manage that?” Miss Belmonde asked, leaning forward interestedly. “I understand Kryptonian technology is quite advanced, was it a hologram? A robot?”
Laura just sat there with her mouth hanging open, blinking. Carmilla cleared her throat.
“Mattie, I’m sure that’s not…” Carmilla began, putting on a very good approximation of her usual disaffected drawl, but Mattie apparently saw right through her.
“You’ve known all along, haven’t you?” she cut Carmilla off swiftly, practically clapping her hands in excitement. “Wait, that’s why you two were sleeping together in the first place, wasn’t it? I know you always worry about hurting people, Carmilla, but you couldn’t hurt Supergirl…”
“Holy shit, Mattie,” Carmilla groaned.
“Okay,” Laura blurted, and the sisters looked at her in shock. Laura sighed, shoulders slumping. “It’s true. I’m Supergirl.”
“Laura, you don’t have to…” Carmilla began gently, leaning in toward her and reaching up to run a hand through her hair. Laura hummed comfortably at the touch.
“It’s okay, Carm,” Laura replied quietly, putting a hand softly on Carmilla’s knee. “She would have found out eventually. She’s your family.” Carmilla smiled a bit and Laura sighed. “Besides, Betty already knows about you. It’s only fair.”
“Cupcake…”
“I’ve never seen you like this before,” Miss Belmonde said quietly, and Laura had once again practically forgotten she was there. But she was looking at Carmilla with a fond smile on her face that Laura had never seen, and Carmilla was blushing again. “It’s nice. To see you so happy.”
“Thanks, Mattie,” Carmilla murmured, and Laura squeezed her knee.
“Well I wouldn’t want to ruin this for you,” Miss Belmonde went on, sitting back in her chair. “So I suppose I’ll have to keep your secret, Laura.”
Laura almost didn’t recognize her own name out of Miss Belmonde’s mouth.
“And thank you, again, for everything you’ve done for National City,” Miss Belmonde went on with a small smile. “And for my sister. And for me.”
“Um…” Laura mumbled, blushing, and Carmilla just laughed as she got to her feet. “Wait where are you going?”
“Your lunch break is over, creampuff,” Carmilla murmured against Laura’s temple, planting a kiss there as she headed for the door. “Dinner at your place tonight?”
“Yeah,” Laura replied faintly, watching her go. “Love you.”
“Love you too.”
And she was gone, leaving Laura sitting in Miss Belmonde’s office. With Miss Belmonde. Who was just sitting there, smiling at Laura when she turned back to face her.
“You really do love her,” Miss Belmonde stated simply, tilting her head a bit to the side.
“Yeah,” Laura repeated. Her mouth was dry and she swallowed hard.
“Well she was right, your lunch break is over. You already have the list of calls you need to make before the day is over, so I suggest you get back to work,” Miss Belmonde said, suddenly all business again. Laura got clumsily to her feet and made for the door. “Laura.”
Laura froze, glancing back, but Miss Belmonde was looking down at her tablet screen. She made a ‘shoo’ gesture at her, so Laura just smiled and went out the door.
“Way to go, L,” Laf said when Laura flopped into her desk chair. “You didn’t get canned.”
“Somehow,” Laura sighed, smiling over at her friend.
“So are you gonna tell us about this girl now? Because if you don’t, Perry is going to have an actual conniption.”
“Okay, fine, fine…”
“So, did you get fired?”
Laura shut the door behind her with a roll of her eyes. Carmilla was sitting on Laura’s couch like she owned the place, but when she saw that Laura’s arms were full of the planter and bouquet of violets from the past two days, she jumped to her feet to help.
“No, I didn’t get fired,” Laura sighed, but she couldn’t make herself sound too annoyed. Not when Carmilla pressed a kiss to her lips as she took the planter from her arms. “Thank you.”
“Is she actually calling you Laura now?” Carmilla teased, depositing the planter on the kitchen island beside a bag of what smelled like Laura’s favorite Lebanese takeout.
“Yes, and it’s weird,” Laura sighed, placing her bouquet carefully in the sink before she practically threw herself into Carmilla’s arms. Carmilla yelped and they both tumbled over, landing on the kitchen floor in a tangle of limbs. Carmilla let out a slightly pained laugh as Laura sat up, straddling her waist and taking her face in her hands. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to keep thanking me,” Carmilla said through a grin, and Laura just shook her head and kissed her.
“But I will anyway,” Laura murmured, leaning back in to kiss her over and over between laughs.
So she was sleeping with her boss’s little sister.
But she was also in love with her boss’s little sister, and that made everything so much better.