Chapter Text
In a rare moment of peace with no aliens to chase and no citizens to defend Kara and Alex were snuggled under a fuzzy blanket on Kara’s couch. Alex’s head was resting on Kara’s shoulder something indistinct was playing on the television. It had been a long and intense week, having a gay awakening and then being rejected by the first woman you really liked was exhausting.
“You okay Alex?” Kara asked sensing her sister’s anguish. She peered down to look at Alex. “I don’t need super hearing to hear you thinking.” Kara said softly.
Alex let out a long and shaky sigh. Kara watched her brows furrow, and her eyes redden.
“What if it was just a one off?” Alex asked turning her head away from Kara and closing her eyes.
“What are you talking about?” Kara asked
“What if… what if it was just Maggie? Like an anomaly.” Alex lifted her head from Kara’s shoulder and wrapped her arms around her knees.
“Alex we’ve been through this,” Kara said gently.
“I know, I know.” Alex huffed, suddenly feeling too warm she kicked off the blanket. “I just I—“
Kara stayed quiet giving Alex the time she needed to process her thoughts. She knew it was hard for her to get the words out.
“—I have no other data and I don’t know where to go from here or what to do but I know I’m not ready to go out or anything and I just don’t know.” She ran a hand across her face.
“Hmm well, I have an idea a way for you to test the waters maybe.”
“Okay, I’ll bite, what’s your idea?” Alex tipped her head looking at Kara curiously.
“Tinder,” Kara grinned.
“No Kara no way.” Alex started to get up, but she lost her balance when Kara yanked her back down.
“Come on Alex it will be fun, you can just flick through some of National City’s finest women.”
“No Kara I don’t,” she paused. “I don’t want anyone seeing me on there.”
“Oh.” Kara deflated. She should have known it wasn’t a good idea.
“Sorry.”
“I know!” Kara exclaimed. “We could use my account!” Kara gripped Alex’s arm excitedly.
“You have tinder?” Alex scoffed.
“Of course. I haven’t really used too much.” Kara pulled her phone from her pocket. “Let’s have a look; I just need to switch my preferences.” Kara’s tongue poked out the side of her mouth as she concentrated. “There we go, now let’s see who’s out there.” Kara wiggled her eyebrows at Alex who just rolled her eyes.
“Okay, what do you think of her?” Kara asked showing her the profile of a redheaded woman.
“I don’t know.” Alex’s nose scrunched up.
“Oh come on she’s cute,” Alex tipped her head and gave Kara that ‘look’ “Okay okay, swiping left.”
They continued on this way for a few minutes. Kara would show Alex a profile, and Alex would make some sort of non-committal grunt or role her eyes.
Kara swiped again
“This is a waste of time Kara I don’t see the –“
“Oh, Rao!” Kara gasped when she saw the next woman. She would recognise that side profile anywhere. Had she stopped breathing? Yeah, she’d definitely stopped breathing.
Alex watched her sister’s blue eyes widen and her jaw drop.
“What?” Alex leant over Kara’s shoulder showing much more interested than before.
“Is that Lena Luthor?”
“Oh Rao,” Kara muttered again.
“It totally is,” Alex chuckled.
Kara flicked through the pictures each one was taken at a slightly obscure angle. If you didn’t know Lena very well, you might not recognise her. But Kara did know her well; she knew the exact shade of her skin and the exact line of her sharp jaw.
“I didn’t know she liked girls,” Kara said. The little crease appearing between her eyes.
Alex’s eyebrows shot up, and she stifled a laugh.
“Really how did you miss that memo? Jesus you’re supposed to be a reporter.”
“She never told me!” Kara defended.
Alex sighed and shook her head. “Have you been living under a rock?”
Alex took out her own phone and tapped away on the screen for a moment. She passed the phone to Kara, smirking.
Kara took the phone from Alex and hesitantly tore her eyes away from Lena’s Tinder profile to look at the screen.
“Oh, Rao!’ She exclaimed dropping the phone like it was on fire. She had not been expecting that! No, she had not been expecting to see numerous photos of a young Lena Luthor locking lips with different girls. Some pictures were much less innocent than others.
Alex watched as her sister flushed redder than she’d ever seen her before and her mouth opened and closed no sound coming out. Kara looked back at her own phone trying to make sense of the new information. Alex could see her hands shaking.
What did this mean? Kara thought even though she knew very well what it meant. If she hadn’t been so shaken she might have wondered exactly why she was reacting so intensely.
“She’s pretty.” Alex said interrupting Kara’s internal monologue of ‘LENA KISSES GIRLS LENA KISSES GIRLS I KARA AM A GIRL.’
“What?” Kara stuttered.
“I said she’s pretty.”
“Oh yeah, she’s gorgeous,” Kara said wistfully with a soft smile on her face. When Kara realised what she had said she tried to take it back “I mean umm…I… she’s..,” She stuttered.
“Kara.”
“Yeah?” Kara answered not looking away from her phone.
“Do you maybe want to swipe right?” Alex tipped her head to the side surprised yet intrigued by her sister’s reaction to seeing Lena on tinder. She knew Kara was friends with Lena, and like she did with everyone, wanted to see the best in her but she wasn’t aware how deep Kara’s feelings were. She didn’t think Kara was aware of it either.
Kara looked to Alex, eyes wide.
“I don’t know.”
“You know Kara, if you do, that’s okay.”
“I don’t know,” Kara said again. What if she didn’t like Kara back? Oh, Rao what if she did like Kara back and they matched! No, no she couldn’t do this now. Now wasn’t the time for a gay awakening (technically it would be a bi awakening). She couldn’t steal Alex’s thunder again.
“Let’s watch House of Cards.” Kara turned up the volume and settled back into the couch.
“Kara?”
“Shh Alex I’m trying to listen to the show.” Kara focused on the TV so intensely Alex worried she would zap the thing with her heat vision and blow it up.
She didn’t bother pointing out to Kara that she would still be able to hear the TV if she was at the D.E.O. Alex knew better than most not to push Kara her sister clearly needed time to process her thoughts. When Kara was ready, she would unload her thoughts in a tidal wave of hand waving and rambling.
It was not unusual for Alex to stay over after movie nights and tonight she’d definitely craved the familiar comfort of Kara’s presence.
Later that night when they were both tucked into bed and Alex had long since fallen asleep Kara lay awake staring at the ceiling. She couldn’t get the images of Lena kissing other girls out of her mind. She feared would never be able to sleep again if this continued. Peering through the dark to check Alex was still sleeping, Kara quietly reached for her phone and then quickly ducked under the covers so the light wouldn’t disturb Alex.
She bit her lip nervously as she typed in “Lena Luthor gay’ (using an incognito tab of course) and selected images.
She almost let out an alarmed squeak when the images loaded. Images of Lena Luthor pressed against a woman, hands tangled in her hair and lips locked, Lena Luthor being straddled by a blonde in what looked like a club. But the image she couldn’t stop staring at, the image that made her heart skip a beat and stomach flutter was a more innocent photo of Lena Luthor holding hands with a dark-haired woman. They were crossing the street, Lena was sweetly smiling at the woman and looking completely enamoured with her.
“Rao.” Kara whimpered. She was so screwed.
Kara folded the covers down and peered over to check if Alex was still asleep and then she did something foolish. She opened up tinder again. Her stomach sank when the app reloaded, and she wasn’t greeted with the image of Lena Luthor’s side profile. No, come back Lena, Kara thought.
As if possessed— because what normal person would do what Kara was about to do— Kara went into settings on the app, she narrowed the age and distance settings to find Lena quicker hopefully.
Then, she started swiping quickly through all the women. This is insane! What! Are! You! Doing! Kara! She thought to herself, but she kept going.
She swiped through the women as fast as the app would let her until that sharp jawline appeared. Kara let out and audible ‘eep’ and almost reflexively swiped passed Lena. Her heart hammering hard in her chest Kara looked through Lena’s three photos. The first photo was Lena’s side profile; the second photo was the back of Lena overlooking the beach, the last photo was Kara’s favourite. It was a cosy photo of Lena’s lower half with a ginger cat curled in her lap (A cat! Kara didn’t know Lena had a cat! A cute fuzzy cat!)
Kara bit her lip and groaned. How could one human be so gorgeous? What was she supposed to do? If someone asked Kara why she did what she did next, she wouldn’t have an answer. Closing her eyes, she let out an unsteady breath and swiped right.
Kara kept her eyes closed tight for so long that when she opened them again, it was dark, her phone had locked. She unlocked the phone and read. You and Lena matched. Kara gasped loudly and dropped her phone.
Oh Rao, what have I done? What have I done? She thought. She violently through kicked off the covers and shouted for Alex.
“Alex, Alex! Wake up.” Alex groaned but didn’t move. “Come on Alex, wake up!” This time Kara shook Alex roughly by the shoulder.
“What? What is it? Where’s the alien?” Alex sat up abruptly and looked around the room for the threat but only saw Kara staring at her wide-eyed.
“Alex, I did a terrible thing, I’m so stupid, stupid stupid stupid.”
“Kara it’s the middle of the night, what did you do?”
“I…I umm,” Kara couldn’t say the words, so instead she held out her phone for Alex to see.”
“Please don’t tell me you woke me up to show me your lock screen.” Alex huffed.
“What? Oh whoops.” Kara unlocked the phone and handed it back to Alex.
“You matched with Lena. Oh my god Kara.” Alex started laughing.
“I don’t know what I was thinking Alex. It was like I couldn’t stop. It’s like there’s something wrong with me. Maybe- maybe it's kryptonite! Like another color kryptonite.” Kara hung her head in her hands.
“Kara you dork don’t be so dramatic. The only thing wrong with you is that you have a crush on a Luthor.” Alex said jokingly.
Kara groaned “How did this happen?” She flopped dramatically back onto her pillow. “I didn’t think we’d match I was just curious but sure she wouldn’t like me back. Oh, Rao now she knows. What am I going to do the next time I have to interview her? Oh, no stupid stupid stupid.” Kara started slapping her hand against her forehead.
“Umm… Kara I don’t want to alarm you but…”
“What??”
“Lena just messaged you.” Alex couldn’t stop herself from laughing when Kara inhaled deeply and then choked on her own saliva.