MEETING #1 – AN ENCOUNTER

The day Kara's life changes, she doesn't even realize it.

It is an odd arrangement of various events, different accidents and crimes occurring with perfect timing that leads to her meeting Lena Luthor. Well, the word meet could be a tad bit inaccurate, since the word implies both parties being fully conscious, and involves at least a little bit of normal, not-sounding-weird-to-an-outsider conversation. Encounter might be more appropriate, considering the fact that all of the events take place in a crashed aircraft where Kara sticks her head through the broken window, pulls a bit of debris out, looks at the woman strapped in next to the pilot, and says "Hey, you're safe now."

Encounter it is, then.

Kal-El is there. He turns up in the middle of her trying to stop the sharp descent of the plane, and like the feminist hero that he is, politely asks for permission to help before jumping in, which she very much appreciates. Together they manage to save the passengers, and create a safe landing. Then he hangs back while she pulls the woman out, and then proceeds to saving the rest of the people.

The woman gets over her haziness in two minutes, which Kara considers rather impressive, since most people come out of the shock of their almost-accident and promptly go into the shock of seeing Supergirl in the flesh. This one speaks for the first time when Kara is in the middle of walking away from the crash-site.

"Supergirl," she says, slowly, as though musing over the name and Kara nearly drops her in surprise. Then she makes the mistake of looking down at her, and nearly drops her again, albeit for an entirely different reason this time.

Bright green eyes stare up at her through dark hair, and Kara hadn't noticed it while saving her life, but this woman is beautiful. She's got straight dark hair, the fringes of which fall over her (stunningly pretty) eyes. A perfect nose, and full pink lips complete the rest of her sharp features. She finishes her mental inventory, returns to the woman's eyes only to find her still staring at her, flushes to the roots of her hair, and hurriedly tears her eyes away.

"At your service," she replies.

"I'm Lena", the woman introduces herself authoritatively, seeming to regain some of her bearings "Thank you for saving my life."

"It's my job," she tells her, as she sets Lena down, a few miles away from where the cars are approaching (or so she guesses from the faint sound of car horns and sirens).

"No, it's not," Lena responds "But you did it anyway."

Kara looks away from her eyes after a moment and shrugs. That's when she picks up on some disturbance in the city. She signals to Kal, who waves her on.

"Who are you?"

She looks back "You said it yourself, didn't you? I'm Supergirl."

And with that, she flies away.

MEETING #2 – AN INTERVIEW

Cat tells her about it right before she's about to have lunch.

Which is cruel of her. Winn, ever positive, of course thinks it's an accident, but Kara, who knows Cat Grant inside out, assumes that her boss somehow knows that ordering her to interview Lena Luthor will make her appetite go away. As implausible as it sounds, she's learnt never to underestimate Cat Grant. The news of Supergirl saving the life of the magnate of L-Corp had been highly publicized, and no doubt her boss finds it hilarious, sending her to interview someone whose life she has saved once.

Another reason she feels apprehensive about this meeting is because she looked up Lena Luthor after she went home, and found out all about who she was related to. Kara is well aware of who she is related to, and how her cousin feels about their family. The first time she'd told him all about who she'd saved, his eyes had gone steely, and he'd just stared off into space, frowning hard.

"I don't like this," he'd said.

"What, that I saved her life?" she'd asked him, incredulous.

"Not that. It's just that...she's a Luthor. Her brother...who's to say that this isn't just some elaborate plan of his to harm me, one that she's involved in?"

She'd given him no answer then, not really having one that could simultaneously ease his (admittedly justified) paranoia and set his mind at peace. Now however...

"Hey, Kal," she says the instant he picks up the phone "Didn't you tell me once your newspaper wanted you to get an exclusive with somebody really important? Because, see, I had this idea..."

They meet at the lobby of L-Corp an hour later. Her cousin hasn't reached there yet, so she takes a moment to look around. The outer offices are plush, and well-furnished, and it's mostly quiet with the quick footsteps and small murmurs of the employees speaking of efficiency. The receptionist at the counter seems to be eternally busy, answering calls on the multiple telephones placed in front of her.

Kal shows up a few minutes later, apologising for being late. Together, they are given access to the inner part of the building. A woman escorts them up an elevator, and through a variety of security measures. Kara thinks it's appropriate, considering the danger Lena Luthor's life seems to be in these days. They finally reach the heart of the building, to an elegant door that says L. Luthor on it. The woman opens the door, and Kara takes a deep breath, before stepping in after her cousin. The furniture in this office is sparse, but looks classy,and everything looks to be in its rightful place.

In fact, the only thing looking out of place in the setting is the woman standing aginst the gigantic glass screen looking over the city. Where every object in the place is still, calm, stable, there seems to be barely restrained energy in her. She seems to be talking on the bluetooth speaker attached to her ear, and her hands are moving, as though gesturing to an invisible audience. Periodically, she shifts her stance from her right to left foot, or bounces on the balls on her feet. A few minutes of talking later, she switches off her speaker, and turns back to face them.

Kara had been holding her breath in. It happened every time she would come face to face with someone whose life she'd saved. Maybe it was out of apprehension that they'd realize who she actually was, or an attempt to make herself smaleer than she actually was. It was a completely unconscious gesture, one that she was unaware of, and one she couldn't have stopped herself from doing.

Today, though, she does realize that she was holding her breath.

Because, when Lena Luthor turns towards her, it rushes out of her in one long 'Whoosh'.

As she would later explain to Kal, it was just a reflexive action, something that might happen to anyone at any moment, and not something he had to be worried about. Truth is, Lena Luthor had literally knocked the breath out of her. Now that she isn't in mortal peril, and covered in bruises or dust, Kara is reminded of how absolutely lovely she is. Her long dark glossy hair, falling over her forehead, the perfect arch of her nose and cheekbones adorning a well-defined, shapely face, and her eyes...

"Ms Luthor," Kara leaves the green-colored phenomenon her world had momentarily become, to find out that Lena has been staring at her the entire time Kara has been staring at her, and Kal is now calling her name.

"Ms Luthor," he says, shooting Kara a puzzled look, as though asking her what was up with her. They both break the staring contest and turn to him.

"I'm sorry, Mr Kent," Lena apologizes "Please, your questions."

Kara hangs around awkwardly as Kal, sorry, he was Clark now, asks his questions, probing suspiciously at the reasons she'd escaped the first crash she was supposed to have been in. She doesn't say anything till Lena brings up her second crash.

"Lucky Superman was there," she says offhandedly, not looking at them.

"Supergirl was there too," Kara points out, offended, then tones down her indignant demeanour "In fact, I heard she was the one who actually saved you."

Lena arches an eyebrow at her, and smirks "And, who exactly are you?"

She stammers now "Um, I'm Kara Danvers...I'm not with the Daily Planet. I work for Catco magazine...sort of."

Lena's smirk grows wider, and Kara can't understand how something so infuriating can seem so attractive "That's a publication not known for its hard-hitting journalism, is it?"

"Oh, I'm just...tagging along," she manages to say.

"Whatever," Lena replies, after a moment "I'm in a bit of a hurry so if you ask your questions, get it over with...I suppose you want to know if I had anything to do with the first crash."

"Did you?" Clark asks, a pleasant smile on his face.

"You wouldn't be asking me that question if my last name was, say, Smith, would you?"

"Oh, but it's not. It's Luthor," Clark retorts, smile still superglued to his face.

Lena looks up at him from her desk with an absolutely dazzling smile on her face, as though she actually welcomes the challenge "There's steel under that Kansas wheat" she says, playfully, and Kara irrationally, for a moment, resents her cousin, because she wants to be on the recieving end of that smile.
Then she decides she is being stupid, because what in the universe, Kara?

They hear her tell her story, of how she was adopted, and how her brother was the only one who made her feel like she belonged somewhere, and Kara doesn't know if it's only the fact that she looks so forlorn while talking of Lex Luthor, but she believes her. They use their powers to look out for anything out of the ordinary, but there isn't anything strange in the office. Lena hands them a flashdrive, and Kara assumes this mission is over and done with. However, Clark surprises the hell out of her by telling her to look out for more, and leaving her alone near the vending machines.

"Kal!"

"Come one, Kara, humor me on this."

"What am I supposed to say if they ask me why we're still here?"

"You're smart," he urges "You'll think of something."

And with that, he's gone.

Silently cursing him in her mind, she wanders around the corridors, trying not to look conspicious and like she belonged. She doesn't find any mysterious doors, or sealed off cabins or anything. Neither are there any people whispering about top-secret anti-Superman projects. What she does find, though, is Lena Luthor.

"Ms. Danvers!" she smiles "We meet again!" She motions for the two men walking beside her to go on without her, and they leave "And where is Mr. Kent?"

"Um..." Kara says, eloquently "He found a friend here, and they're off...talking, somewhere here."

"Leaving a beautiful lady all by herself? I must say, I'm not very impressed with him right now."
Kara blushes.

"Are you waiting for him here?" Lena inquires "Because if not, I have a car waiting outside, one I have get into, and if you don't mind, maybe we could walk out together."

"Of course I wouldn't...mind, that is."

They walk in silence for a while, till Kara asks something that has been burning in her mind since the interview "Why did you not mention Supergirl saving you?" When Lena turns to look at her, questioningly, she stammers a bit "I just, you know, thought it weird, that's all. I'm sure...other people would...too," she finishes, awkwardly, regretting having brought up this dangerous topic at all.

Lena looks at her some more, and Kara adjusts her glasses, but unwilling to back down. Finally, she smiles, a teasing, playful smile, and Kara' superhuman heart picks up speed.

"I just wanted to mess with you a little bit," she confesses "I guessed you were a Supergirl fan, and thought it would be fun."

"How did you...?"

"I read your gushing article on her in an edition of the magazine you work for."

"So you do know me," Kara says "Why on earth would you..."

"Ask you your name? Like I said, purely in pursuit of amusement. Come on, Ms. Danvers, you don't for one second think that after an attack like that, I would let just anyone into my building without the strictest background check, do you?"

She finally smiles at her, amazed at this woman "You..." she starts "You are absolutely..."

"What?Wonderful? Intellectual?" Lena cuts her off, then looks up at her innocently "Beautiful?"

Yes, you are, Kara thinks, but doesn't say aloud. Instead she says "Something".

There is silence after that, till Lena once again breaks it when they are almost to her car"Just for the record, I do think a lot of Supergirl."

"You do?"

"To be the reciepient of people's adoration, and at the same time, a convenient target for them to blame their personal failings on when things go wrong must be extraordinarily difficult. And yet she goes out and does it every day, every hour without any expectations. She must be a remarkable woman."

Kara falters for a bit, because no one has ever thought of her life that way before, and yet it makes so much sense.

"What?" the woman walking beside her asks, when she falls behind.

"I don't think anybody has ever said it like that, before," she tells her, honestly.

Lena tilts her head, and looks at her for a moment, before turning and climbing into her car.

She lowers the windows as the engine starts "You," she says "You are quite something too, Ms Danvers."

And then she is gone.

MEETING #3 – AN UNPLANNED DINNER TOGETHER

The third important meeting that Kara remembers is entirely her fault.

It comes after a few more times. Kara, who has been assigned the job of writing a juicy article on L-Corp has to talk to Lena Luthor to ask her questions on her beloved company, and after a few inquiries, conversation invariably turns to their private lives, and before she knows it, she and Lena have become...friends. A lot of evenings see her at Lena's office, curled up on her couch with Chinese take-out and wine, talking late into the night about literally everything under the sun. It alarms her how well a friend Lena's managed to become in such a short amount of time.

What alarms her more is how distinctly not-just-friendly her thoughts on said friend are sometimes.

It's just, something about Lena. It's not just the way she looks, although her looks are...Kara could write sonnets about her, her delicate yet strong features, the cut of her jaw, her green, green eyes (She has, actually. It is embarrassing.). Her mind is the most attractive part of her. It works lightning fast, and she has an entirely different way of looking at the world that makes Kara stop and reconsider. And Lena makes her laugh. All the damn time.
Well, except for their last meeting, a week ago.

Kara thinks about it as she floats high above Luthor towers, eating potstickers out of the take-out container. About their last meeting, when Lena had proudly shown her the newest creation worked out by her employees – the alien detector. She had no idea how she'd managed to not erupt into a furious outburst right then and there (Not that it would have worked. Lena was annoyingly stubborn when it came to decisions she had made herself). They had sort of argued over it, and now Kara was giving her the cold shoulder. She was here to find out more about the alien-detector, and whether there were more models of it lying around.

That was the official story, anyways. The actual one was that she missed Lena. Missed her razor-sharp wit, her jumping from topic to topic during their conversations, her laugh...Stupid human, she thinks, stupid stubborn human, who doesn't know anything, while digging into her container for more.

After a while of more digging, she frowns. That's weird, she wonders, I could have sworn there was some more left...

It takes her five seconds to understand, and then she's swooping down as fast as she can. Mid-flight, she curses herself for being such an idiot. For being such a sentimental idiot, that, to have an optimal position for hearing Lena's voice clearly, she'd positioned herself right bove her office, which is why the potsticker must be falling on her balcony. She watches in alarm, as the potsticker moves closer and closer yet to Lena, who had unfortunately come out to the balcony, presumably for some fresh air...closer, and closer, and...she makes a mad grab for it, beats gravity, and plucks it out of the air, just a few nano-moments before it would have splattered sauce all over a very expensive suit.
She doesn't get lot of time to celebrate her save, because Lena's voice rings out from where she is standing looking out over the city, all without having turned around "Supergirl."

"Oh, come on," Kara whines out "After all this trouble?"

Your shadow is visible," Lena tells her as she turns around to face her, highly amused "That was what gave you away." She pauses, then frowns "What are you doing here, by the way?"

"Checking on the alien detector devices you are planning on releasing," Kara replies, landing on the balcony.

"How do you know about that?"

Kara pauses. It's not as if she can say "You showed it to me". She straightens up, authoritatively "I have my sources."

Lena looks sheepish, then, as though realizing that this is an alien she is talking to about her alien-detecting device "I suppose you're not to happy with me either."

"Either?" Kara asks her, voice deliberately casual.

"Kara wasn't pleased about this," she admits.

"Kara? Who's that?"

Lena gives her a long, measured look "A friend."

Kara waves her hand, privately having fun playacting "Well, whoever it is, she's right."

"Well, you would think so."

"That's not why...well, obviously it sort of is, but that is not the main reason I am so against it. It's just plain discrimination, like...say, the Yellow Star Jews had to wear back in Nazi Germany..."

"Are you comparing me to Hitler?" Lena sounds incredulous, which...okay, calling her Hitler was taking things too far, but Kara gets incoherent when passionate about the topic at hand "People have a right to know if they are at harm, if their lives might be at risk by being in contact with these dangerous aliens..."

"I am one of these dangerous aliens", she states flatly "And I saved your life a month ago."

Lena falters a little, but tries to cover it up quickly "You are the exception."

She raises an eyebrow "Am I? Are you saying that you're not scared of me? That you trust me to not harm you?"

"I am, and I do" Lena replies, without hesitation, and it throws Kara off balance for a moment, because she obviously means it, and she has no idea why.

Before either of them can say anything anything else, there is a knock on the closed door of the office. Lena groans.

"Fuck, can't I get one moment in peace from everything? I swear, they're always there asking me questions or asking me to sign some papers, or expecting me to make instant decisions. It's like I have no life outside of L-Corp."

Kara looks at her, and make a split-second decision "You said you trust me? Do you stand by that?"

Lena squints at her "Yes".

She smiles, steps forward, and looks questioningly at a stunned Lena, who nods without thinking about it "Hold on to me, then."

Then she takes an extremely surprised Lena Luthor in her arms, and flies off into the sky.

Lena smells nice. Her perfume isn't all tht flashy, it's subtle, and sort of fruity, but in an understated way, which suits her, and Kara finds herself inhaling deeply as she flies up towards the highest tower in the city, all the while enjoying the feel of the woman in her arms. It makes her feel guilty, but the way Lena clings to her drives all thought from her mind.

She finally lands on the deserted rooftop, and makes a gentle landing. Lena doesn't step away instantly, instead remaining locked in position, her elbows on either side of Kara's head.

"That could be counted as assault, you know?"

"If that was assault, then it was a very welcome one, okay? I saw the look on your face when there was that knock on your office door. You did not want to deal with them," Kara retorts, confidently, even though there is a very huge part of her that still can't believe she just did what she did.

Lena stares at her for a long time, and she tries not to squirm under the scrutiny. Finally she smiles, and now it's Kara's turn to stare as what seems to be the most beautiful face on the entire universe stretches into a wide grin. I'm screwed, she thinks, I'm completely, utterly screwed.

"Fair enough," she says "But you owe me lunch. You just flew me away from a very delicious lasagna meal."

Kara mentally smacks her forehead for being so forgetful, of course Lena, being the workaholic that she is, wouldn't have eaten yet. Then something occurs to her, and she flies off again.

She comes back in five minutes, and has the satisfaction of seeing Lena's eyes widen at the sight of the enormous two boxes of pizza she's holding in her hands.

"Okay, I know that you're a superhero, but this is ridiculous. How on earth did you manage pizza in five minutes?!"

"I am a woman of multiple talents," she says, head held high in the air. Then she drops the smug facade she's holding "Also, people really love Supergirl."

It is one of the best afternoons of her life , that day, when she kidnaps Lena Luthor away fom her office, and has lunch with her. They eat, ad talk, and Kara looks at the gentle smiles Lena sends her way, and feels absolutely content, the most satisfied she has ever been. They even debate about the alien detector thingy, and Lena, a little grudgingly admits that she may have been a little discriminatory in her initial assessment of aliens.

When Kara finally drops her off at her office, it is already sundown. She sets them down gently onto the balcony, and waits for Lena to go. Like before, though, Lena stays in position, arms locked around Supergirl, looking up at her.

"Thank you, Supergirl" she says "For a wonderful lunch."

Kara clears her throat nervously, trying to cover her awkwardness, and Lena finally takes a step back.

"I'll...see you around, I guess" Kara says, fumbling, more like her daily life personality than her larger-than-life superhero-self.

"I look forward to it," Lena replies, and Kara can feel the warmth in her voice all the way down to her bones. She turns around, prepares to take flight, and is just about to jump, when there is a voice from behind her.

"Hey, Supergirl?"

She turns around, and is surprised to see Lena still standing there. Her mild surprise, however, gives way to absolute astonishment, though, when the woman, rushes forward, presses a quick kiss to her cheek, and blushing furiously, walks back into her office, leaving her standing there all by herself.

Kara holds a hand up to her cheek, marvelling at the still-there feel of Lena Luthor's soft lips. Then she dazedly makes her way to the ledge and flies off into the dark.

If the citizens see a blue and red blur doing somersaults in the air and zooming around, they chalk it up to one of the alien eccentricities their beloved hero seems to suffer occasionally, and dismiss it.

"Must be something," she picks up on an old woman, walking in the park "Supergirl must be happy today."

"Defeated a super powerful alien," a ten year old muses.

"Met her real family today," a college student guesses.

"Maybe," a guy sitting in a bar says, smirking "She got lucky tonight."

High above the world, Supergirl thinks of green eyes, and a mischievous smile, and agrees wholeheartedly.