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I Could Have Danced All Night
Lena Luthor strolls around another gala, a charity event another of National City's major players is putting on, wondering if this one will go like the last she had been to. Supergirl is there, somewhere, so there is protection if it does. She hadn't looked very happy; whatever force had managed to get her there couldn't make her enjoy the socializing, the elbow rubbing, the press of conniving opportunists looking to get in the good graces of the city's resident hero.
Lena isn't very happy to be there either. Even with the active threat at her gala, at least she had had her best friend there with her. When she had asked Kara to attend this one as her plus one the other woman had turned her down, citing some kind of sister emergency. She had assured Lena it was nothing serious, but Lena still feels a stab of guilt at the desire she has to see her best friend, to have her there instead of with her sister.
When some old guard of National City's elite approaches her she feels that desire more acutely. She doesn't know what the man might want, and frankly it doesn't matter. Everyone wants something from her. Everyone except for Kara.
She indulges the man for a few minutes and leaves him with a smokescreen of pleasant words with no promises behind them. She has long mastered the art of giving nothing away while making the other party feel heard and seen. She hates that she has, hates how it reminds her of her mother, her brother.
So she retreats to a quiet place, an expansive balcony with only one other occupant. Supergirl, leaning against the thick marble railing that runs the length of the balcony, looking out over the city she protects. Lena considers leaving her to her solitude, but she and Supergirl have spent enough time together that she hopes her presence doesn't bother her. She approaches the rail as well, and watches the superhero for any sign of discomfort.
"Trying to find an emergency so you can ditch?" she asks, her voice light.
Supergirl glances at her and smiles before looking back out at the skyline. "Something like that."
"Mind if I join you?"
"Not at all."
So Lena does, leaning against the balcony with her elbows, holding her chin in her hands.
"You don't look like you enjoy this kind of thing," she says after a few minutes.
Supergirl keeps her eyes looking outwards. "There are a lot of people here, and it's hard to tell who's genuine and who isn't."
"I'll give you a hint; none of them are genuine," Lena says.
"None?" Supergirl looks over at her, her blue eyes spearing Lena to her spot. "Even you?"
Lena licks her lips. "If I were being genuine with the other guests I wouldn't have anyone I could actually conduct business with."
Supergirl smiles, her eyes softening. "I think that's a different kind of disingenuous. Most of the people here want money, power, social standing. If their companies or their wealth do any good it's only as a side effect of taking more for themselves."
"You think I'm different?" Lena asks.
"I know you're different," Supergirl answers.
"That means a lot, coming from you."
Supergirl shrugs. "You've proved yourself time and again."
Lena gives a dry laugh. "I wish everyone felt that way. Some people still can't see past my name."
"Their loss."
There's a sincerity in Supergirl's words that Lena can't answer, so she leaves them to echo in her heart. The silence grows between them, but it's comfortable, familiar, warm in a way she can't explain. Only when music pours out of the doorway behind them and the shuffling sound of dancing reaches Lena's ears does she break their silence.
"Were there events like this on Krypton?" she asks.
"I-" Supergirl coughs and starts again. "I was too young to go to any, but there were social events and celebrations the adults would attend."
Her voice is strained and Lena regrets bringing up her home planet. "Sorry, it wasn't my place to ask."
Supergirl looks at her and shakes her head. "It's okay," she says softly. "I don't get many chances to talk about Krypton. Even after all these years it's still hard to do, but sometimes I feel like I'm losing even more of it, memories that used to be so clear are... muddled."
It would be easy to mistake her for human except for times like these, when her eyes are distant, looking at a world that no longer exists. "I can't imagine what it's like," Lena says, "to lose so much. Lose everything. I don't know if I'd be able to carry on, like you do. That takes a lot of strength."
Supergirl stares at her for long seconds that have Lena licking her lips and swallowing against a lump in her throat. When Supergirl speaks again her voice is quiet. "You can understand better than most, I think. Your family betrayed you, people around the country fear you just because of your name. Even in this city, that you've done so much to help, there are still people who doubt you."
Lena ducks her head to gather herself. "You face that too. Your family didn't betray you, but there are more people like my brother out there, people who fear and hate you because of your powers."
"But most people understand I'm trying to do good. I guess I just feel like, my planet was taken from me, but yours hasn't really accepted you." Supergirl blinks and raises a hand quickly. Lena wonders how long she and Kara have known each other with how many behaviors they have in common. "I'm not saying everyone, or that they shouldn't, I just- I just admire your strength. You're still trying to do good too, despite everything you've been through.."
Lena laughs a little, dry but understanding. "I never thought a Super would ever admire a Luthor."
"It's the truth though, I mean it."
"Thank you," Lena says. "And maybe I don't have as many people who understand me, but the ones who do matter so much to me. Quality over quantity, I guess. They give me the strength to keep trying."
"Succeeding, I think you mean," Supergirl says. "At least from what Kara tells me." She looks away at their mutual friend's name and Lena can't help but wonder why.
"She's probably the biggest reason for any success I have at trying to do good." She watches the superhero closely, but then Supergirl is looking at her with those striking blue eyes again and her breath catches at the sincerity she sees there.
"Don't discount your own strength, your own abilities. That's what-" she stops for a moment and shakes her head- "that's what Kara believes in."
"I'll have to thank her too," Lena says quietly.
"You don't have to, she- you're important to her too. She'll always support you."
It's said with such certainty that Lena can't help but feel that she's a common topic for Supergirl and Kara. She can't imagine why, and she wonders what she's done to deserve two of the warmest people she's ever met to believe in her in any kind of way, but she knows that's a topic for another time. Another person even. Kara is much easier to fluster than Supergirl, and much easier to needle information out of.
"Let's clear up this heavy atmosphere," she says instead. "There's music playing and no one watching. Care for a dance?"
She says it as a joke, really, a way to lighten the mood. She's sure Supergirl will smile and say no, and she's half right. The smile is there, but Supergirl reaches for her and says, "only if we do it my way."
"Your way?" Lena asks before she can think.
"Yeah. Come here."
And Supergirl is tugging her close, gently, carefully, and she looks down.
"Step on my feet," Supergirl says.
"What?"
"Don't worry, I won't feel a thing." Supergirl's smile turns teasing, something Lena has never seen on her before, and she feels a fluttering in her stomach.
She has an idea of what Supergirl is going to do, but she nods and steps on the other woman's feet, then Supergirl's arms are around her waist and her own dart up to latch onto her strong shoulders. They rise into the air, a few inches at first, then a foot or two, then the bottom of Supergirl's boots are above the top of the railing. Lena just barely holds back a gasp and she squeezes her eyes shut and presses her face into Supergirl's neck.
"Too much?" Lena feels as much as hears, and she nods.
A chuckle shakes her and she wants to tell her to stop, that it isn't very heroic to laugh at someone scared out of their mind, but it's a pleasant laugh, a warm one that seeps into Lena's heart in such a familiar way that she can't seem to care anymore that she's flying, pressed against Supergirl. Or perhaps how close they are is what makes it okay.
"Just a bit," she says.
"Is this better?" Supergirl asks.
Lena manages to open her eyes and they're only maybe one foot off the ground, much more manageable. "Yeah."
Supergirl moves them then, swaying through the air gently back and forth in time to the music. Lena can't move away- not that she particularly wants to with the heat from her dance partner combating the slight chill in the air- but she can appreciate the swooping feeling in her stomach, can even enjoy the spin Supergirl takes them through and laugh when it's done. She feels free, untethered except for Supergirl's strong arms around her, her warmth and strength evident through her suit and Lena's dress.
They land when the music ends and Lena takes a step back, though she catches Supergirl's hands with her own. "Thank you," she says.
Supergirl looks at her with a smile as bright as the sun that gives her her strength. "My pleasure Ms. Luthor, it's not often I get to use my powers for something other than fighting."
"Well if you ever want to dance again, you know where to find me," Lena says before she can really think about it. She knows she should be more careful with her words, that she's dangerously close to flirting with Supergirl, but she can't help the atmosphere or the look that the superhero is giving her.
"I'll have to take you up on that some time," Supergirl says, and Lena licks her lips in response.
If she shouldn't be flirting with Supergirl, Supergirl definitely shouldn't be flirting with her. She's a hero, an icon, a beacon of hope, and she shouldn't be flirting with someone as... controversial as Lena, to say the least.
Supergirl's head snaps to the door and she steps back to create a more appropriate amount of space between herself and Lena. A couple bursts onto the balcony and stops short as they look at Lena and Supergirl and Lena and Supergirl return the favor. The man is older, one of the white-hairs that Lena finds intolerable, and the woman- girl almost- is maybe half his age.
"As I was saying, Supergirl," Lena says smoothly, slipping into a lie frustratingly easily, "thank you for taking time for such an important cause, I'll be sure to let the host know that something came up."
Supergirl stares at her for a few seconds, glances at the couple that had joined them on the balcony for a moment, then nods at Lena. "Of course, Ms. Luthor. Thank you."
Then she's in the air, flying off to the city that she protects, and Lena strolls back into the party without another thought for the couple that had interrupted them.
The next day Lena's lunch is brought to her by her favorite person, and they share the couch in her office along with her food. Kara asks if she enjoyed the gala, and Lena considers the question for a moment. The gala itself had been forgettable, but dancing with Supergirl hadn't been.
"I think Supergirl was flirting with me," she says as an answer.
Kara chokes on the food in her mouth and spends a few seconds coughing and flailing. When she recovers she gives Lena a strange look. "What- what makes you say that?"
"We danced," Lena says. "We even- well, I don't know if she was serious, but I said we could dance again if she wanted, and she didn't say no."
"It- it was a gala, right? There's dancing at those things, isn't there?" Kara asks, voice higher than normal.
"Of course," Lena answers, "but you didn't hear her. I'm not saying she was coming on to me, but," she shrugs, "it just sounded flirtatious."
"Were you flirting?" Kara asks.
"I didn't realize I was until I had already spoken."
"And were you serious?"
Lena shrugs again. "If she showed up on my balcony and asked me to dance, I don't see why I wouldn't dance with her."
"Oh I-" Kara's face is screwed up in thought and Lena spots the furrow in her brow that belies her tension, though Lena isn't sure what Kara has to feel tense about. "I didn't know you felt that way about Supergirl."
Lena avoids her best friends searching gaze, suddenly aware that she's discussing interest in a mutual acquaintance with someone that she has a minor crush on. "I don't have feelings for her, but she is an attractive woman, and, well, we were pressed awfully close together."
Kara's face reddens, though Lena isn't sure if she's embarrassed by Lena being involved, Supergirl being involved, or both of them being involved. Or maybe she's just not used to talking so frankly about Lena's attraction; it's not exactly a common topic for them.
She decides to change the subject a little. "She also said she believes in me. Like someone else I know."
Lena can almost see the hint fly right over Kara's head. The other woman looks caught up in too many thoughts. "Would you want to- to see if something was there, if she was interested?" Kara asks, voice quieter than Lena is used to.
Lena frowns at the thought. A Luthor and a Super. It's one thing for them to fight on the same side, but to go further, to explore a deeper relationship is something so improbable it's not even worth considering. She says as much to Kara, who grabs her arm and leans in closer.
"But if she was interested," she says, "if she came up to you and said, 'hey Lena, I'd like to take you on a date,' would you consider it?"
"Do you know something I don't?" Lena asks. She says it lightly, but is shocked at how distraught Kara looks.
"I- I don't know."
Kara looks as surprised as Lena feels at her own words.
"What does that mean?" Lena asks.
"It- I- I'm so sorry Lena, I just remembered a lead I have to follow up on, I'll- I'll see you tonight, if that's alright? Make up for ditching?"
Lena is used to Kara's sudden excuses, though that doesn't make them less frustrating. This isn't like her usual excuses though- there's usually an actual phone call, or at least that faraway look that precedes them. This excuse seems more like pure panic, and Lena finds herself nodding.
"I'll text you when I'm on my way," Kara says, already halfway out the door.
Lena frowns down at the mess Kara had left behind. She cleans it herself, mostly to distract herself from her swirling thoughts. There's something in her head, something about Kara and Supergirl, but it just isn't clicking. She decides to text Kara, to tell her not to mention anything to Supergirl even by accident, since the idea of Supergirl flirting with her had just been a passing thought.
Somehow she's not surprised when Supergirl knocks on her balcony window as she's packing her bag to go home. She doesn't want to think that Kara had betrayed her trust, and instead hopes that the superhero is there of her own accord to clear the air between them.
She walks to the balcony door and opens it with a small smile. "Back to dance with me already?" she asks, trying to sound friendly and not flirty.
Supergirl gives her a small smile in return. "Mind if I come in? I won't be long, I just... have something I want to say."
Lena's anxiety shoots up and her stomach clenches, but she puts on a face full of practiced ease and steps aside to allow Supergirl to enter. The other woman strides to the middle of the room and turns to face her, looking anxious herself.
"Supergirl, I'm sure I can handle whatever it is you need to say," she says, though she's not sure how much she believes it.
"Me too," Supergirl says quietly. "You're one of the strongest people I know."
Lena's breath catches in her chest and she has to force herself to start again. "Thank you."
"And I want to say- I want to start with the fact that I trust you. So, so much. It- I couldn't when we first met, of course, and not because of your name. I knew from our first conversation that you weren't like your brother, your mother. I knew. I want you to know that, that I never thought I couldn't trust you because of them."
Lena frowns but nods. Supergirl swallows heavily and seems to brace herself.
"The more I got to know you the more I trusted you, but there's always been... something, some reason that I couldn't- that I didn't-"
"Supergirl," Lena interrupts. She has an idea of what Supergirl wants to say, what she wants to reveal, but she doesn't know why. "You don't owe me anything. You've saved my life so many times, and-"
"And you've saved mine," Supergirl interrupts in turn. "And I do owe you, Rao I do, because I've been keeping this from you for so long, long past the point where I trusted you with it, because... because I was selfish. And afraid. Because I'm worried you'll look at me differently after I tell you." Her voice drops. "I'm worried you'll hate me."
The idea that Supergirl cares if Lena would hate her throws Lena off. "Then keep being selfish," she says. "Nothing has to change."
"I am being selfish," Supergirl says. "Because I do want things to change, and I don't want you to be hurt, so please remember that I never meant to, that this thing just kept growing out of my control and I didn't even realize how much it had, and how much I wanted things to change until we were talking earlier and you said-"
Supergirl looks at her then, mouth moving but no sound coming out, her secret stuck in her throat. A lump forms in Lena's throat as well, because this is too much, what Supergirl is implying. It's not just about the night of the gala, and it's more than the two of them have ever interacted. Unless...
"How much earlier do you mean?" she asks quietly.
"This afternoon," Supergirl answers. Talking around what she wants to say has unstuck her throat.
Lena stares at her, her emotions running well out of her control. "Why now?" she manages to ask. She can hear her voice shaking. "Why now, Kara?"
"Because I wasn't flirting with you last night, but when you asked me about it, I realized I wanted to. That maybe, when I'm not wearing this suit, I have wanted to, for a while."
It's no longer Supergirl speaking. God, all she can see now is Kara, her blue eyes and blonde hair, her nervous ramblings and tics, her warmth and joy, the hope she inspires. Her belief in Lena, even given to her in the third person. And it's hard for her to think badly of Kara. She isn't sure if she's supposed to feel hurt or angry or disappointed, because all she sees before her is a woman who had just bared her heart.
And Lena wants to answer her.
"This is a lot," she says.
"If you need time, or space, or anything else just tell me," Super- Kara says. "And please, please know that I- not telling you this sooner was me being selfish, and weak. I didn't want to lose what we had."
"What did we have?" Lena asks quietly.
"A friendship where I could just be Kara. Everyone else who knows, every time we talk it always comes back to Supergirl eventually. But me and you could just chat about work, or food, or cheesy movies and that was enough. Enough for you to like me."
"It's hard to imagine the others don't like you for you," Lena says, voice darker than she intends.
"They do, I just... gosh this is complicated. I grew up for 12 years without powers like this, and I never expected to have them. Even just in the time I've been on Earth I hid my powers for longer than I've been using them, trying to fit in with everyone else. They're a part of me now, of course, and I'm glad I can help so many people, but being with you made me feel normal again. That's... that's what I didn't want to lose."
Lena fights the worst of her emotions, but a lifetime of Luthor upbringing and vitriol from anyone without the name are hard to overcome in such a short time. Dark thoughts press in on her, and her tongue turns sharp. "So you used me?"
"I wish I could say I didn't," Kara says. She looks down at her boots, and the image of Supergirl so close to tears over keeping a secret from Lena rattles her.
"Kara," she says to get the superhero to look at her again, "what else have you kept from me? What else have you lied about?"
Kara meets her eyes and Lena is struck, as she always is, by how expressive her eyes are. How full of naked emotion. It's one of the reasons she trusted Kara so much, because she never seemed able to hide what she was feeling.
Maybe Lena had been wrong about that.
"Obviously the excuses I made, when I had to cancel or leave early, but other than that nothing."
"Nothing?"
Kara shakes her head vehemently. "Nothing. I love potstickers and Disney movies, I love game nights and animals, I'm sorry but I hate kale, it's literally the worst vegetable and the rest of them aren't even good to begin with, and every time I've reached out to you it's because I wanted to, because I love having you in my life, you and your strength and intelligence and your determination. I- my belief in you. I never lied about my belief in you."
Then again maybe Lena had been right about Kara, about how poorly she hid her emotions- not her secrets, but how she felt about them. How she grimaced whenever an emergency interrupted their time together, how she lit up whenever she spotted Lena, how she moaned and groaned about Snapper and winced in sympathy when Lena unloaded her own feelings about her board of directors, her shareholders.
How sincere she turned whenever she spoke about her belief in Lena, in or out of the super suit. How she looked at Lena like Lena was important, not because of her name or her position but because of her belief in Lena. That's the heart of their relationship, Lena realizes, that Kara believes in her and that she believes in Kara. She had seen Kara's sharp mind when she approached Lena about the press conference for the renaming of LuthorCorp, she had seen her kindness and empathy in how quickly she learned all of Lena's little landmines, the defenses she had put up to keep people at arm's length, the defenses she strolled right through.
So there's only one more thing that Lena can think to say.
"Then this afternoon, you asked me another question, a hypothetical. I think I'd like to hear the real thing now."
Kara's eyes shine with hope, and she grabs Lena's hands. "Lena Luthor, I'd love to take you on a date. Would you do me the honor?"
Lena licks her lips. "No more lies."
"Never."
"There's still a lot we have to discuss."
"Of course."
"I may not be easy to date."
"I know I'm not easy to date. If I mess something up just let me know and I'll try to fix it."
"Always."
"And I don't want you putting yourself in harm's way anymore. Not that I did before, but..."
"I'll promise that if you do."
"I'm invulnerable."
"Not invulnerable enough."
"Lena."
"Kara."
Kara starts first, a snort, then a low laugh that brings out Lena's laughter as well. Kara bumps her forehead into Lena's until they're past their own silliness, but her eyes don't lose their shine. "You didn't answer my question."
Lena can't fight a smile so wide her cheeks hurt. "Kara Danvers, I'd love to do you the honor of accompanying you on a date."
Kara bites her lip and Lena watches intently, wondering if it would be too forward to capture those lips with her own teeth.
"I hate to bring down the mood," Kara says, "but there is one other little part of dating me that we have to get out of the way first."
"What's that?"
"Paperwork."
"Darling, I'll sign whatever you need me to," Lena says, then she gives in to her impulsive thoughts and kisses Kara for all she's worth. When they pull apart some time later she's red faced and panting, though Kara at least looks quite pleased, even if she can't show the same effects of their efforts.
Kara stares down at her, so much emotion filling those eyes that Lena can barely stand it, before she speaks. "On second thought, the paperwork can wait."