Chapter Text
Lena drums the folder containing her resume, her teeth tugging at her bottom lip. She uncrosses and recrosses her legs, hoping that the other women waiting to be interviewed don’t detect her nervousness. It had been a gamble coming here in the first place.
Lexa had been scrolling the news on her computer when she saw that the CEO of CatCo, Kara Danvers, was looking for a new assistant. Kara Danvers was an icon in National City; everyone knew her name and face. She’d studied under the legendary Cat Grant and had taken over the company when Cat Grant decided to move onto other ventures. CatCo had already been huge when Cat left but Kara made the company rise even higher. It had won numerous awards and accolades for its quality, hard cutting yet optimistic brand of journalism. Better yet, it had the coveted exclusive relationship with Supergirl, something that none of the other media outlets had access to.
On a whim, Lena decided to submit her resume and to her surprise, had gotten an in-person interview with Kara. It would probably amount to nothing. As soon as Kara would realize who Lena really was, she would probably make polite talk and afterwards Lena would be informed that the position was taken. All because of her cursed last name- Luthor . Just for once, Lena wanted people to not compare her to her brother. Just once.
“Lena?”
Lena tilts her head up.
“Ms. Danvers is ready to see you now.”
Lena nods at the receptionist and mentally braces herself. She walks into Kara Danvers’ office, head held high with zero trace of her previous nerves. Kara beams at her when she walks in.
“Ms. Danvers,” Lena says, shaking Kara’s hand.
“Please, call me Kara. Nice to meet you.”
Lena returns her smile and hands Kara her resume. Kara takes her resume but doesn’t look at it. Lena sits down, suddenly feeling self-conscious while Kara takes in her appearance.
“I have to say Lena, I was surprised when I looked at the list of applicants to be my new assistant and I saw your resume in there,” Kara says. She pauses, contemplative. “I guess my question is why?”
Lena nods. She had expected this question. “You were curious as to why a billionaire and Lex Luthor’s sister wanted to become your assistant.”
Kara nods in affirmation.
“I know you know what my brother has done. The horrible acts of destruction he did. The things he did are unforgivable and I’m glad he’s in prison.” Lena pauses, trying to gauge Kara’s reaction but she says nothing, motioning for Lena to continue. “I want to prove that I’m not like Lex. I want to make a name for myself outside of my family. I want to prove that not all Luthors are evil. I want to prove that I am capable of making a difference for good. I want to help people and I believe working for this company will be the best way of accomplishing that.”
Lena exhales, hoping she'd said the right thing. Hoping that Kara would believe her.
There’s a few moments of silence while Kara visibly looks like she’s digesting what Lena has told her.
“I completely understand,” Kara says after a beat. Lena’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “I understand what it’s like to be defined what your family has done and what it’s like to break out of that.”
Lena is perplexed. In preparation for the interview, she’d attempted to find out everything there was to know about Kara. Surprisingly, Kara’s public background information was scarce. It was as if her life didn’t begin until she had gotten started at CatCo.
Kara breaks out in a smile. “Would you tell the other women waiting that they can leave?”
Lena knits her eyebrows in utter confusion. “Pardon?”
Kara laughs when she sees Lena’s face. “You’re hired by the way.”
“Just like that?”
“Yep.”
“But what about my qualifications or -” Lena trails off when she sees Kara shaking her head.
“I don’t need to see your qualifications to know that you’re perfect for this job. I believe you when you say that you want to make a difference.”
Lena stands up, knees slightly wobbly. “Thank you, Ms. Danvers. I promise you I won’t let you down.”
Kara groans good-naturedly. “It’s Kara. Ms. Danvers makes me feel like I’m my foster mother.”
“Your foster mother?” The words slip out of Lena’s mouth before she can stop them.
“Yep, my parents passed away when I was thirteen.”
“I’m sorry. I was adopted when I was four.” Lena feels like she’s overstepped a million boundaries but Kara is surprisingly easy to talk to.
Kara gives her a sad smile. “I guess we both know what it feels like.” She picks up the papers off her desk and organizes them. “Okay! I want to see you here tomorrow at nine. Don’t be late!”
Lena nods and walks out of the office. She doesn’t bother covering up her wide grin at the thrill of being hired.
---
Lena gets to CatCo the next morning at 8:45am sharp, hot drink in hand. She times it so that she gets to the office seconds before Kara does. Kara gets out of the elevator and Lena is at her side instantaneously.
“Good morning, Kara.” Lena says, handing Kara her drink.
Kara’s eyes widen. “M-morning Lena. Wow thanks!” She says as she accepts the drink. She takes a sip. “Raspberry hot chocolate?”
Lena nods in confirmation.
“Wow, that’s my favorite drink. How did you know?”
“I have my sources.”
Kara shakes her head in disbelief. “Jeez, you’re already better than my last assistant. He was convinced that I loved black coffee that tasted like it was brewed with sewage water.” Kara wrinkles her nose in disgust at the memory.
Lena laughs. “Is that why you fired him?”
“Nah, I- I mean I could’ve lived with the sucky coffee but he was always late or texting his girlfriend or whatever.” Kara walks into her office with Lena not far behind. Kara drops her bags on her desk and relaxes into her chair. “He was a pretty bad assistant but I hate firing people so I had Winn fire him for me.”
“Seriously?”
Kara pouts. “It’s seriously a problem for me. One time I had to fire this guy because he was always late or just not coming in at all. I started talking to him and he started telling me about his children and I couldn’t just let their father be unemployed so I ended up giving him a raise.” Kara toys with her glasses. “Turns out he was lying for sympathy so I actually had to fire him. But I still felt really bad about it.”
Lena just shakes her head. Kara really was something else.
--
Lena’s first day was a blur. She’d underestimated just how busy of a person Kara was. Kara was usually in meeting after meeting. If she wasn’t in a meeting, she was usually on her way from or to one. Lena took copious notes during the meetings and she made sure Kara had her regular fix of hot chocolate. Before Lena knew it, it was 7pm and dark outside. Everyone in the office had left except for her and Kara.
Kara is busy typing something on her computer. She pauses and looks up at Lena. She smiles but the lines under her eyes betray her exhaustion.
“You can go home Lena. Great job today!”
Lena hesitates. “Are you sure? I can stay a little bit longer.”
Kara waves her off. “I have a million more emails to send but thanks. See you tomorrow!”
Lena complies, feeling slightly guilty as she leaves. She doesn’t know why.
--
The next day, Lena gets to the office at the same time as she did yesterday. She expects Kara to come in later than usual but to her surprise, Kara arrives only a few moments after Lena does.
“Morning Lena!” Kara says, chipper as ever.
“Good morning Kara,” Lena says. “How are you always so cheerful?”
“I’m an alien,” Kara deadpans. Lena laughs at the joke.
She misses Kara’s sly smile.
--
“Alright, so what’s everyone working on?” Kara asks the team, clasping her hands together.
Every morning, Kara rounds up the leads of each team to pitch ideas for content. Lena sits on the sofa by Kara’s desk, pen poised to take notes.
“The teacher’s union is thinking about going on strike. They want a bigger budget for the schools,” a woman standing in the back pipes up. Lena recalls that her name is Ellen.
“No one cares about that,” Jack says derisively. Lena prevents herself from rolling her eyes. She’d only met Jack briefly but knew that he was worth avoiding. He looks around the room and lowers his voice. “I have an exclusive that Winona Jett has been seen around town cheating on her husband. I have pictures as proof.”
The people around the room murmur amongst themselves. Winona Jett is a huge movie star who is known for her philanthropy. The scandal would attract many readers.
Kara raises an eyebrow at his interruption but doesn’t say anything. She looks at Lena.
“Well Lena, what do you think?” Kara asks.
Lena drops her mouth and she’s well aware half the room has done the same.
“Think about what?” Lena replies.
“Which story should we print? The teacher’s union or Winona Jett’s infidelity?”
Lena bites her lip. Kara looks at her, expectant, and Lena is determined not to mess this opportunity up. “Well, the story about Winona Jett is juicier definitely but I think reporting about the strike is more important than some woman’s marriage troubles.”
The grin that Lena gets knows that she’s made the right decision. Kara faces Jack and nods.
“We’re going with the teacher’s strike story. The Jet story, while juicy, is better suited for a tabloid magazine, not CatCo.”
Jack looks like as if he’s been punched but wisely says nothing, cowed.
Lena’s face is impassive but on the inside she feels elated. She relishes that Kara seeks her input and listens to what she has to say. At CatCo, she isn’t defined by her last name or her background. She’s just Lena. And she can actually make a difference.
--
Everyone in National City knew who Supergirl was. She was the city’s enigmatic hero, always ready and willing to help those in need. She cast a large shadow over the city but unless there was a crisis of some sort, she was largely forgotten in the everyday public consciousness.
Lena Luthor is walking home from the store, grocery bags dangling off her arms when the ground shakes underneath her. A hulking monster appears before her own eyes, roaring and shrieking while crushing cars and pedestrians alike with its feet.
In that moment, Lena’s feet remain frozen to the ground. All of her previous knowledge of self-defense and self-preservation have disappeared from the depths of her brain. She looks on as the monster clambers closer to where she stands.
Lena suddenly finds herself flying. In her terror, she closes her eyes and prepares for a sickening crash only to realize that she appears to be carried? She opens her eyes and she sees that it’s none other than Supergirl who has saved her.
Supergirl gives her a reassuring smile that for some inexplicable reason calms down Lena. There’s just something about this whole situation that seems familiar to Lena but she can’t quite place why. It’s rather baffling.
Supergirl places her gently on the street a few blocks away from where the monster is busy terrorizing the town. After she makes sure that Lena is okay, she flies off.
Lena doesn’t move for several moments, taking in what just happened. When she gets home, she puts away her groceries and looks up everything there is to know about Supergirl.
--
At work the next day, James Olsen produces a picture of Supergirl rescuing Lena. Lena flushes but asks for a copy afterwards.
--
Kara pulls her to the side and asks if she’s okay.
Lena nods, reassuring Kara that she’s fine. Kara doesn’t look quite convinced but drops the subject.
No one has ever asked Lena that before.
Kara sends Lena home early that day.
--
“Kara, I have some forms for you to fill out,” Lena says to an empty office. She blinks. Well, that was odd. Kara had been there only a few moments ago.
She sees James Olsen walking by out of the corner of her eye.
“James! Have you by any chance seen where Kara went?”
James rubs the back of his neck. “Ah yeah, she had a private matter to deal with but she’ll be back soon.”
He gives Lena a charming smile but she’s not quite convinced. She lets the matter drop and she sees James’ shoulders relax.
The next time Lena looks at Kara’s office, Kara herself has materialized at her desk.
--
Working for Kara Danvers is completely unlike what Lena had imagined it to be. Kara is quite possibly the nicest person ever but she isn’t a pushover. She is friendly but firm. She has an insatiable appetite but never seems to gain a single pound. She would inexplicably disappear in a flash but would reappear minutes later as if nothing had happened. Despite her bubbly exterior, Kara is an enigma that Lena couldn’t quite figure out. She was determined to try, however.