Story: all about you (and i know that it's a lie)

Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Romance

Pairing (s): Kara/Jimmy

Summary: Maybe the world had noticed how on top of it all she seemed and showed absolutely no mercy when it was time to take her off that high pedestal of hers. — Instead of staying home all night after her fight with Alex, Kara decides to go the bar for a drink. [Kara/Jimmy].

A/N - I was forced to watch Supergirl the night it premiered because of my mom and now I like it. For those that know me, I prefer Marvel over DC any day, but I'm willing to give this show a chance. Also, I'm addicted to Kara and Jimmy now. Expect more stories from me about this ship from here on out. Title taken from "All About You" by Birdy.


all about you (and i know that it's a lie)

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She swirls the amber liquid in the cup with a black plastic straw. She never relied on alcohol to keep her pain away before, and she shouldn't even be drinking now, but when the substance burns her throat she feels at ease. She observes those around her in the bar, wondering if their reasons for being here are the same as hers. They probably are.

Except they most definitely didn't almost get beaten to death by a fugitive alien who wants them dead.

Yeah, they aren't here for the same reasons she is.

Depression makes her shoulders slump, eyes dimming in brightness, mouth dry even though she already gulped down four shots.

She scanned the bar again and saw him. He donned a tucked in white dress shirt, khaki's, and a leather jacket draped across his arm. He was unusually overdressed, wearing clothes appropriate for a fancy dinner at a restaurant. But that thought instantly vanished as they locked eyes from across the room; he had been standing near the entrance, and then he wasn't, walking in her direction towards the bar, a trace of a smile on his lips.

Kara hadn't addressed his presence, choosing to focus her attention on her drink, though she heard the squeaking sound of the bar stool as he twisted around to face her.

And she knows damn well why she suddenly cares about her appearance.

"Kara," he greets.

"Jimmy."

Unfortunately, she wasn't able to hide her discouragement from her voice because he asked, "What's got you down?"

At first, she thinks she should be honest. Oh, just feeling disappoint 'cause my sister doesn't think I'm a decent super hero. Did I tell you I almost died today? But she'd rather lie, oddly enough, and she hates lying. She says to him, loud enough so he could hear her over the music blasting through the speakers, "Nothing's got me down, Jimmy. I'm alright."

She hopes that he doesn't notice how much of a lie that really is.

Either he believed what she said or, you know, the more logical reason, knew she wasn't telling him the truth and opted on exploiting it instead. He said, meeting her gaze, "That's interesting, Kara, since everyone I've ever known always comes to the bar when they're in a good mood. It's not like I call them out on drowning their sorrows, which I don't, but I'm not completely against making them aware of how bad a habit that is." She turns away and she knows he's caught her. He continues. "And you know what else I do? I listen. I listen and I keep listening until I breakthrough to them."

She sighed. "I can't tell you what you want to hear."

She sees him nod out the corner of her eye. "I understand."

For some reason, Kara finds her walls of secrecy ebbing away. The first slip: "It's kinda hard to explain to the average person."

He doesn't say anything. The second slip: "I mean, I've never been in this situation until recently so..."

Again, he doesn't speak.

Guess he really was serious about this whole 'listening' stuff. Most guys throw that out the window the minute I start talking.

Well, this was a first.

Nonetheless, she kept going. "You might not get why I'm behaving this way. Drowning your sorrows? How cliche am I now, right?" Her mind recalls her sister's words at the lab. Her mouth says the words too quickly for her liking. "It's just, you know, when your own sister doesn't have faith in you, you start wondering if what you're doing with your life is wrong or if the choices you keep making are wrong or if basically everything you even are is just wrong. So you try to get rid of that empty feeling inside because you want the pain to go away."

Kara meets his worried stare. "But you know what, Jimmy? I still feel like I'm slipping. I...I really don't know how I can fix this. I am terrified because whatever I do next could make or break me. Whatever I do next could ruin everything I've built these past few years and I just feel so frustrated because there's nobody that can help me but myself and—"

Kara's head is buried in her hands and she's a sobbing mess. Jimmy hugs her, rubbing her back in soothing circles, leaning forward in his seat so he could pull her into his arms.

It swirled inside her head like a raging storm.

(You're right. The world doesn't need me.)

Even though she keeps it vague with him, he comforts her. Even though he doesn't know all the details and the facts, he comforts her. Even though she lied to him, he comforts her anyway. And these thoughts aren't unsettling in the slightest. When was the last time the world had knocked her down, but she didn't have the strength to get back up?

Never. Because, she realizes, there was never a first time.

Maybe the world had noticed how on top of it all she seemed and showed absolutely no mercy when it was time to take her off that high pedestal of hers.

But what she didn't understand until now was that she wasn't alone, that people cared about her. If a guy she just met could give her every bit of compassion he had, then her sister probably hadn't met all those terrible things she said earlier. After all, people made mistakes.

And hers was thinking the answers to her problems would be found at the bottom of a bottle.

"Kara?" Jimmy had long since let her go, attempting to get her talking again. His caring eyes searched her tear stained face. He gently pushed a blonde strand of her behind her ear. "C'mon, where's the nervous and shy and very talkative girl I met in my office a few days ago?"

The walls didn't feel like they were closing in on her anymore. She could finally breathe, air filling her lungs in a rush. A small smile graced her lips. She joked. "Well, I think you're looking straight at her. Only she isn't formally dressed in fancy work clothes or currently delivering Ms. Grant an espresso latte. Or a lettuce wrap. Or canceling her therapeutic sessions she always reserves after having lunch with her mother."

He relaxed once he heard the humor in her voice. "I like you better this way."

She raised an eyebrow. "What way?"

"Not sad but upbeat and, I think I'm actually hearing some sarcasm too."

"Oh, I am definitely being sarcastic to you right now."

Silence.

They both broke out into a fit of laughter.

Though this night started out a bummer, she's glad it turned out like this; no more crying and no more doubting and especially no more brooding. It just wasn't her style.

Minutes later, she's rushing out her seat, hugging Jimmy goodbye.

And before she exits, on her journey home to apologize to Alex and hoping she's forgiven too, she shouts to him, "Thank you! See you tomorrow!"

What she almost didn't catch was him responding, softly, "You're welcome, Kara."

She thinks her heart skipped a beat.