"Hey guys, this is SunnyD thank you for joining me this sunny Sunday morning for another super special weekend episode. There's nothing that I love more than spending my Sundays with you guys before going back to that Monday grind." Kara smiled at the camera in front of her.
She reads some of her subscriber's names off the chat list, greeting a couple of them personally and botching the pronunciation for some of them, laughing when they called her out on it. She was disappointed at not seeing the one user name she'd been missing the past couple of live streams.
"All right guys, the votes are in and we are going to be in the North American servers today. Before we get started on those seasonal rifts and leveling up for some of our subscribers, I just wanted to ask if anyone had seen LiLuCoRP93 yet."
Kara looks down at the open chat window but doesn't see the answer she was hoping for. It had been almost 3 weeks without her friend LiLuCoRP93 signing in and Kara was past being worried. She was borderline panicking. The only reason she managed to keep her voice as cheerful as she could was because her friend and moderator WinShot was looking into it. Being the youngest head of IT at CatCo counted for something and Kara was banking on that knowledge to help her know the truth about her missing friend.
Trying not to dwell on it she went back to her stream, keeping the conversation light while glancing at the user names of people sending her messages.
She sent another whisper to LiLuCoRP93 asking if everything was okay and continued leveling up her followers while taking occasional breaks to go read up on gaming news and laughing about what her followers said.
/
On Tuesday morning she gets a post-it with several numbers on it.
Not knowing that it was the best news of her week so far, she looks at it, confused because Cat usually leaves more than that when she needs Kara to do something for her.
She's about to head into her boss' office for clarification when Winn comes up to her and smiles into his tablet. "You can thank me by buying that fancy Belgian beer we read about on your last stream… it's imported so it'll be expensive."
"Thank you?" Kara asks, still confused.
"This phone number is the only thing I could find online that was associated with our mystery friend. Whoever this LiLu guy is, he's very serious about online security. Like not even has a twitter with the same usename as his twitch name kind of paranoid."
Kara nods while her eyebrows scrunch together in confusion.
"Kara, your brand is built on being easily recognizable as SunnyD online. So everything from your youtube channel, to your and even your LinkedIn page are all under SunnyD and not Kara Danvers… it's what people normally do. They find a name and stick to it as their online persona… but this LiLu guy hasn't done that. No similar sounding email addresses are registered to him, twitter, Instagram, nothing. This guy is like an online ghost…"
Kara laughs and awkwardly hugs Winn from over the top of her desk.
"And you found him. You found my impossible to track down ghost! Thank you so much Winn, you truly are the best!"
He blushes and shrugs it off, as if it hadn't taken him 3 weeks of late nights and coding marathons trying to get this information for her.
/
Kara bites her lip as she continues to stare at the numbers in front of her.
She doesn't think she can wait until the day is over and then the commute from CatCo back to her apartment before reaching out to her missing online friend.
So, she doesn't.
She takes an early lunch and hides out in an abandoned office in the basement.
The line rings twice and a soft voice answers her. "Hello?"
"Hi, this is Kara Danvers, I was wondering if you knew my friend… ummm… LiLuCoRP93?" She asks uncertain.
After a second of silence, she notices the slip up of having given her real name. Before the other person can answer she tries to backtrack. "I mean, this is SunnyD and I was looking for LiLuCoRP93. Not Kara Danvers. I don't even know her…"
She hits her forehead with her head and rolls her eyes at herself. Hoping that her sister doesn't give her another stranger danger lecture for giving out her real name to some online rando.
"I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong number."
The line goes dead, and Kara deflates.
/
Lena wipes at her eyes as she tosses her phone down on the couch next to her and continues to mindlessly flip through the channels. Hating that the news cycle wouldn't stop reporting the story of her brother being a domestic terrorist.
Every channel was the same, talking heads analyzing his life before the attacks. Trying to find some hidden meaning behind the minutia of his daily life. The soundtrack to the carnage that was playing on repeat.
The next hour would be filled with interviews. Every single witness, survivor or family member of survivors in critical condition would have a soundbite associated with their faces. All talking about the bombings. The faces of a new American tragedy and all Lena could think about was how nobody was there to do that for her brother.
She berates herself for missing him. For being so selfish when others have lost so much more than just a goofy brother.
The candles lit on the street are next and all Lena can thing about is how lucky they are because they won't have to deal with years of trauma and therapy just to learn that they would never feel safe while out on the streets again.
People hug each other on camera and Lena scoffs. She's alone and strangers can find more comfort than she ever could in someone like Lillian. Who called her to tell her that now that they were the last of the Luthors, Lena had to take over the company and keep up appearances in court.
No mention of her brother.
Lillian's golden child wasn't brought up once in the longest conversation she had with her mother since she turned 21 and finished her second post-doc.
They never brought up his name again and that hurt worst than the not knowing why he did it because it felt like she was the only person in the world mourning Lex Luthor.
Not the monstrous version that other people full of vitriol were turning into their martyr, but the brother and best friend she had known for years.
Lena sighs as she continues to watch the same footage without seeing it. Wishing that she could yell at Lex or cry against his shoulder again. Do anything but stare at the empty urn they placed without fanfare in the Luthor mausoleum.
She rubbed at her eyes.
Not wanting to think of her mother.
Of Lex.
Of how he knew how it haunted all three of them to lose their father and stupid Lex still chose to do this to himself and to others. Lena was so mad at him for abandoning them.
/
She flipped to another channel and sighed. Her whole body hurt.
Lena stretched out the kinks in her neck and her eyes naturally landed on her untouched PC. It made the anger swell up again. Lex had taken the one refuge they had built for themselves growing up. They both loved science and technology and now she couldn't even turn on her computer or watch her favorite streams on her phone because all she could think about was 'what if this is why he turned so violent?'
Even if there was no link between the two, video games made her feel connected to him. He wasn't here so she couldn't punish him. But she could punish herself. She could stop herself from seeking out the best parts of her brother by not allowing herself to enjoy the things they loved together. So, Lena sat there and flipped to another channel. Thinking about her goofy brother who loved to play video games and let her win most of the time because he loved her more than he loved to win.
/
It was another Tuesday and she was stuck. Unable to move forward because all she could feel was anger and disappointment. She was poised to take over the company that she had never wanted to work in, much less run. She was stuck fielding questions from reporters to which she had no answer to. Lena didn't know why Lex did what he did. She didn't see it coming. She felt as blindsided as everyone else. So, she kept quiet on the whole thing.
Being portrayed as a heartless bitch was better than co-conspirator, or worse, next in line to blow herself up.
She wonders what the reporter that called her would say in her article. The one that talked about…
Lena's eyes widened.
That girl, Kara Danvers… she never used her full name or asked her about Lex. She only asked for her twitch name.
Lena grabbed her phone, unlocking it with her thumbprint as she pulled it near her face. She opened a browser and searched for SunnyD. Easily finding her face and some facts about her, like the fact that she lived in National City, but nothing else. Her real name was unknown and so was a lot of other things.
After another search, this time with Kara Danvers as the query, she found out that SunnyD and Kara Danvers were one and the same.
/
Her desktop had a fine layer of dust on it. It was turned off instead of sleeping. Unusual for someone that had spend over 10 hours a day on a computer.
Lena had used Youtube and later twitch as a refuge. Growing up she had loved to watch Lex play video games. Cheering him on from the background until she was old enough to build her own desktops and join him. Even then, she preferred to watch Lex play Diablo, Doom and all the other games they would often talk about.
Although she dabbled and loved computers, she never got as into gaming as Lex did. As the youngest she preferred being a spectator.
As people began sharing something besides cat videos on Youtube, it became a way to fill the silence when she was in school and waiting for tests to run while being unable leave the lab. It made her feel safe because it reminded her of Lex. If Lena were to guess, this would also be the reason why she felt less lonely.
After a while she stumbled onto SunnyD's channel. She was looking for a new Demon Hunter build and everyone kept talking about her class build analysis and breakdowns, so she clicked on the link and her crush was instantaneous.
Lena hid this from Lex, pretending she liked Diablo 2 and then 3 because of how much he talked about it. Not because of the blonde gamer that always seemed to have a positive attitude. She doesn't remember when Lex found out she was following SunnyD but instead of mocking her endlessly for being so obviously into the host, he started following her too. Liking that she had solid advice and was one of the few people that could get exclusive access to certain Blizzard employees when it came time to chat at BlizzCon. Even though she wasn't part of the press, she was still a positive mouthpiece for the developers because she refused to discuss uncomfortable topics other, more seasoned video game journalists tried to report first for higher view numbers.
/
As twitch became a bigger platform, Lena was in grad school and would tune in every day that SunnyD was streaming. They would often chat via whispers or on the stream chat itself. Lena found that the positive attitude and easy-going demeanor of the streamer made her weeks a bit more bearable.
/
After a while she began paying it forward to SunnyD and other followers by doing giveaway Thursdays. Where she would gift monthly subscriptions to people just tuning in. The first time she did it, SunnyD had sent her a whisper asking her if she had been hacked and that she would refund her money if this was the case. Letting her know that she would absorb the cost of the subs. When Lena laughed it off and told her it was her way of giving back, their friendship continued to evolve into daily whispers messages both on twitch and in game.
They had never exchanged names or phone numbers because they didn't have to.
/
Except now that Lex had gone mad and Lena had been unwilling to do anything but sit in front of the TV and alternate between hating her brother and missing him so completely that she felt she would never be whole again.
Lena looked at the calendar on her wall and realized she'd been home for over 3 weeks. Ignoring calls and the rare day her mother dropped by to visit.
She turned on her computer and waited for Windows to boot up. Curious as to why Kara Danvers needed to call her and how Kara got her number in the first place.
/
As soon as she logged onto twitch, she saw hundreds of new messages waiting for her.
Staying invisible she quickly read and dismissed most of them. They were one or two quick lines asking where she was and if she was okay.
Some were reminders from other users whom she had gifted subs to that SunnyD was looking for her or asking about her.
As they got closer to the current date the messages went from quick lines to more persistent questions about where she was and if she could please let SunnyD know that they were okay because she was freaking out and constantly asking about her.
Once she got to Kara's username, she saw a ton of messages, dating back to the day of the attacks. Hoping that she was safe and not in Metropolis. Others mentioned how she was having a special memorial episode for the families of those affected by the attacks and that she was welcome to join, as long as she kept negativity to a minimum.
Lena clicked on the archived video for that day and was surprised at how somber the usual sunny Kara looked.
As the video continued and she learned about her cousin, who was among those that were lost during the attacks her brother had orchestrated, she realized why Kara was worried about Lena's safety. About others being affected by this. And she was upset that this stranger could handle their grief so publicly and so well while Lena had been unable to leave her apartment.
"I'm sorry to say this, but guys, the ban hammer is going to come down hard if you can't stop saying mean things about Lex and the other Luthors. Although I don't agree with his views, and I also lost someone, I just don't think it's fair to make this a negative space. Remember that we're about positivity in this channel. Especially during these days when so many people have been affected by not so nice things… I just want to be sure that everyone feels safe and can share good things about those we lost."
Lena felt less alone in the dark. Kara Danvers had reached out with her raw honesty and found a way to connect to her. Without knowing who she was, she was offering her a safe harbor. A way to mourn her brother, along with Kara's dead cousin. She was the one person that didn't prop him up as a martyr to follow or tear him down as a monster. Lex was simply a man that died in the tragedy and he didn't warrant any special attention over the other positive things that existed in the world that day.
Things like knowing that Ivy, 19, was good at boogie boarding. Something that ChocoboFlakes shared.
/
"Alex you better not be calling to cancel on sister night tonight because I need you to for once be super cool with abusing your power and like waive your FBI badge to get some info on a friend Winn couldn't find… and you can't do that if you're making out with Maggie."
Lena laughed at the answer that was sent her way. "It's not Alex."
Kara stopped pacing her living room and looked at her screen. Squinting at the unfamiliar number before putting it back to her ear.
"um… hi, sorry I didn't mean to dial you. I thought you were my sister."
"Given that I dialed you, I doubt you meant to call me at all." Lena answered. Amused at how flustered Kara sounded over the phone. Unlike her confident SunnyD persona.
"Oh… right… yes… ummm what can I help you with and my sister would never abuse her power in any way, shape, or form." She awkwardly laughed. Too high to be natural.
"Is that how you got my number?"
"Your number? You called me." Kara states sounding unsure.
"Earlier you called me, looking for LiLuCoRP93?"
"Oh, golly, yes that was me. I'm sorry for bothering you but I'm looking for my friend. There was… I mean… I'm sure you've heard about the Metropolis bombings and how a lot of people were injured… or worse? I… I guess I wanted to be sure that my friend LiLu was okay… I haven't heard back from them and long story short another friend hacked some stuff and apparently all he could find was this number… but if you don't know him or her because women can be fans of the stream too… but if you don't know them then I'm sorry for bothering you and umm… please don't tell people about the hack thingy I don't want Winn to get in trouble."
Lena laughed at Kara's longwinded explanation of how Kara managed to get her cellphone number.
"No. That's fine… my name is Lena. Not LiLu, by the way."
Kara exhales from the other end of the line and Lena can feel the smile as she starts talking in an excited and rapid-fire way now that she knows that her friend is safe.
/
It's been six months and Metropolis hasn't warmed up to the idea of another Luthor taking over the company.
Lena convinces the board that without a new location their stock will continue to plummet. Once they agree she suggests National City instead of Silicon Valley. The housing market is oversaturated and living in a slightly cheaper city while staying within a 6-hour drive from the world's best tech companies and workers means a bigger incentive for them to poach talent that's been churned up and burnt out on big tech companies in that particular city.
"Does this mean we'll be able to recoup some of our investment by cutting down on costs via contract buyouts?" A board member asks. Lena knows he's not interested in them, just wants to sell his stock before it takes another huge plunge. He was never smart enough to see the big picture.
"Of course not Mr. Matthews. We'll make this LuthorCorp East, our current CFO, Samantha Arias will be stepping in as CEO as soon as the announcement is made. I will be running LuthorCorp West in National City and if everything goes according to plan our stock should bounce back before the November fiscal quarter ending."
/
The move to National City goes smoothly.
Except for the fact that Lena hasn't told Kara that they're living in the same city yet.
She's too afraid that the other girl will want to meet up and Lena hasn't come out as the sister of the country's most notorious modern domestic terrorist yet. She doesn't know how to start that conversation.
So, she avoids it entirely.
Sticking to everything else but that. Their friendship continues until they're texting throughout the day and having long conversations late at night, until they fall asleep. Once Kara ends her stream and Lena heads home, they cook together and just live parallel lives where they can pretend they're next to each other.
Only Lena knows that if they were any other girls they could have the real thing.
/
Lena's life stays packed away in different boxes until days after her announcement. LuthorCorp moved West and it was being renamed LCorp.
She's so frazzled by her mother's call that she simply shakes her head yes to whatever Jess is saying. Waving her away. Not realizing that she was waving Kara in.
A fluff piece for CatCo.
The perfect thing a new reporter could tackle.
One so shiny and new that the sticker on her hastily bough red notepad is still on the back.
Lena looks up from her call and the phone falls from where it was resting, in between her shoulder and ear. Kara is more beautiful in person than she could possibly imagine.
The blonde woman smiles shyly, unsure of herself, and pushes her glasses up by the corner.
"Hi. Sorry to interrupt your phone call but your assistant said it was okay to come in." Lena nods, in a trance. Not listening to the confused shouting coming from her thighs.
"I can… I can wait outside." Kara points to the door and Lena jumps up, the phone clatters against the floor.
"No." She half shouts and winces. "I mean, that won't be necessary."
Lena bends down and puts the received in the cradle, ending the call with her mother. Kara smiles and Lena mirrors it unconsciously.
"What can I help you with?" She asks, extending her hand for an introduction. Kara shakes it too vigorously and laughs at herself before letting go and introducing herself as the CatCo reporter.
Lena teases her about it not being a publication known for its hard-hitting articles and wonders why they would dedicate a puff piece to her when months ago they were ready to crucify her for being a Luthor.
To her credit, Kara doesn't bristle at her name. Instead she laughs and reassures Lena that CatCo is more than just high waisted jeans and celebrity scandals.
"We want to attract younger readers… and they just happen to be more interested in tech news than other demographics… if CatCo is going to steal them away from other publications, we have to be where the news is." Kara blushes and looks down at her empty notebook.
Lena bites her lip to keep herself from smiling.
'How can someone so confident on camera be so shy in real life?' She wonders.
/
Once their interview ends Kara thanks her and almost trips over herself as she tries to arrange her things into her purse while putting on her coat. Lena falls a bit more in love with her friend and wonders how terribly this thing could end.
Before she can think about it any further her phone rings.
It's Kara.
She wants to answer it but she's paralyzed with dread.
It goes to voicemail.
She goes back to work.
/
"Hey Lena, this is Kara. Want to hear the weirdest thing ever? I just met Lena Luthor and I don't know… she just… she inspired this feeling of… tenderness… I guess is the word. Like, you know when you meet someone, and you just instantly feel this connection? Like you just know them? I know it's weird but I kind of felt that with her… maybe it's because you guys share the same name or something."
Kara laughs nervously before continuing her voicemail.
"Anyway… I know we've never talked about this before… but I think we should meet… I… I did something crazy and I need you to call me back as soon as you can."
/
Lena's face went pale as soon as she heard the voicemail.
/
"Kara, you need to call me again… I'm not sure if meeting is such a good idea… we… we should probably discuss this." Lena instructs.
/
"Lena, I'm sorry we keep missing each other's calls. I would text you about this but it's too big to share over text." Her voice sounds breathless.
/
"Kara… if whatever you've about to do that's crazy, I don't think is a good idea." Lena feels her heart beating against her chest.
/
"Hey, Lena, I won't be able to call you back for a couple of hours, but as soon as I'm able to call you again, we have to talk so please pick up." Kara's last message was 3 hours ago, and all of Lena's calls go unanswered. Automatically going to voicemail.
/
Her head hurts and she can't do this game of phone tag anymore.
"Listen, Kara, I really don't want to meet… and as great as this has been, I don't think we should continue talking to each other if this was where it would eventually end up… I'm sorry but I think it's for the best." Lena doesn't know if her message makes any sense, but she hopes that Kara respects her wishes.
/
She goes home early for the first time since she joined LuthorCorp, now LCorp.
Jess sends a doctor to her apartment.
Lena insists that she's just feeling a bit queasy and doesn't need the visit but lets herself be looked over.
Too heartbroken to argue.
When he leaves Lena sits in front of the TV and a pang of familiar loss and anger hits her. She's angry at Kara for wanting more than what they had and she's angry at herself for being a coward. She knows that as soon as Kara finds out who she really is she will hate her. She's Lex's little sister, whose brother took away Kara's last blood relative. The same Lena Luthor who stood there and allowed Kara to make a fool of herself because she didn't know that they weren't two strangers meeting when she came over for an interview.
She wipes at her eyes and changes the channel. Wishing she could take it all back but knowing this was the most painless way to break the whole thing off.
/
Kara hears Lena's messages while at the carousel, waiting for her luggage. She holds it together long enough to lock herself away in a bathroom stall before breaking down.
She cries in the airport bathroom for hours after hearing that Lena doesn't want to meet her.
That she doesn't want anything to do with her anymore.
Her impromptu trip to Metropolis to surprise Lena is ruined before she could even explain that they were finally in the same city.
/
The weekend passes in a blur of mourning for both her cousin and the person she lost that was still out here.
Alive and unwilling to meet.
Lois is wonderful and supportive, even while still dealing with her own grief over her husband of less than a year.
Kara doesn't remember much of the trip, she puts up some pictures on her twitter of the memorial to all those who were lost in the attacks and asks her followers to be kind to one another. Apologizing for missing her super special weekend episode but hoping that everyone would understand.
/
The article is published the following Monday and Lena doesn't know how a stranger could see so clearly into the core of who she is when other have spent years looking past everything.
She acts impulsively and asks Jess to fill Kara's office with flowers.
It's meant as an apology, more than anything else.
But Kara doesn't know that.
She only sees an act of kindness when she needs it the most, and she is overwhelmed with joy. Wanting to spread a little of that joy around she calls up the flower shop on the corner of 3rd and Sunset. Owned by a couple that's been married for 45 years. Spending as much money as she can afford to without dipping into her rent money for the month and buys the nicest bouquet she's ever gotten another person.
After all's said and done, she still can't afford the 55-dollar delivery fee, Lena's office is out of their delivery area, so it incurs an extra charge. Kara mulls it over and tells Mrs. Andreeva that she will pick it up herself during her lunch break. It's not ideal but Kara can at least afford the bus fare to deliver them herself.
/
When she gets to LCorp she expects to be able to drop off the flowers at the front desk.
Instead she's ushered through security and the vase goes through the x-ray machine. Next to the tray that holds her purse and belt.
She heads up the elevator and hopes she can just leave the flowers with Lena Luthor's personal assistant. She wouldn't know what to say to the woman she's met only once. Kara stopped trusting her judgement after this weekend. When she realized she was a fool for seeing more in a friendship than there ever could be. She didn't connect with that Lena and she wouldn't be able to connect with this one.
/
"Miss Luthor, Miss Danvers is here to see you." Jess' voice speaks over the intercom. Breaking the silence in her office.
Lena feels herself sweat through her paper-thin silk blouse at hearing those words.
"Thank you, please send her in Jess." Lena smooths down her skirt and fixes her lipstick. Knowing that she has 30 seconds before Kara bursts through the double doors.
/
Kara hesitates before moving towards the doors and Jess is kind enough to open them for her, so she doesn't lose her hold on the glass vase.
"Thanks." She whispers before smiling up at Lena.
/
Her heart lurches forward when she sees Kara's smile. She dreams of a world where Kara is bringing her that exact bouquet because they're dating instead of this weird strangers/acquaintances limbo they're currently in.
When she hears Kara giggle over them being unable to shake hands while she's holding the vase it weakens her resolve to stay as far away from her as possible.
They sit down on her couch and talk for a bit. Exchanging pleasantries until Lena touches Kara's hand a they both look up, fire running between their veins. A small touch leaving them both confused as to whether they were the only ones to notice the flame.
Lena is quick to pull away, and asks if Kara is free to go get some coffee.
Kara blushes and looks down at her hands while shaking her head.
"I'm sorry Lena, you're really nice and I would love to get to know you better, but I don't think I'm in the right headspace for that right now." Her voice breaks at the last part of her explanation.
"I'm sorry… is… is everything okay?" Lena wants to understand what's wrong with her friend.
"It's… it's not you… you're lovely and I really needed the flowers after having a terrible weekend in Metropolis, but I just—"
"Metropolis?" She wonders aloud, interrupting Kara's explanation as to why she was being turned down for coffee.
"Yeah… I… I flew there on an impulse this past weekend… there's this girl I like… we met online and we've been friends forever and these past couple of months we've gotten really close and I thought there could be something there so I flew out to see her… she lives in Metropolis, and before I could let her know we were in the same city and that we should meet, she left me a voicemail that she didn't want to meet and—" Kara is beyond mortified at the fact that she's crying in front of busy CEO but she can't stop the tears from coming.
Lena is speechless.
She reaches out and wraps Kara up in a hug. Not being able to fully enjoy the irony of being turned down for not being herself.
"I didn't want to meet you because I didn't want you to hate me." Lena confesses.
Kara looks up and there's that adorable scrunchy thing her forehead does when she's confused about something. She's seen it over the years on her stream and has even called her out on it online a couple of times.
"Meet me?" She asks. Pulling back so the air between them turns cold. She misses Kara's warmth against her.
"LiLuCoRP93… I didn't want you to meet her… or well… me, because my brother killed your cousin and I couldn't live with myself if we met and you saw me as just another Luthor… then… then I moved to National City to be closer to you, but I was too scared to tell you so I kept lying about being in Metropolis… I… I thought you'd be okay with never seeing me. With just being friends online."
"You don't love me as more than just a friend and you think I'd be more upset about your last name?" Kara shakes her head and stands up. Collecting her purse from the coffee table. "I'm sorry Lena… I'm really glad that we got to meet and everything but I need to go."
"Kara, wait!" She shouts, trying to stop her from leaving.
Kara stops and turns around, hand on the door handle.
"Lena, I know you feared that I would run because of your last name, but believe me, it's not the case. The reason I'm leaving right now is because my best friend lied to me for months. This amazing woman that I had feelings for made a decision that affected both of us because she didn't trust me. She lied because it was easier on her to hide behind a screen… and then… to make it worse… she cut me out of her life and told me that it was best not to meet or talk again."
Kara wipes the stinging tears from her eyes before continuing.
"The worst part is that I think she was right. Not because her last name is Luthor. It was probably best we didn't meet because she didn't give me a chance to explain why I wanted to meet her. Why I bought an overpriced ticket, last minute and flew 5 hours on a whim because I thought we had a connection… something real… but I guess that was also in my head. So thank you for the flowers and for the coffee invite, but it's going to be a no on my part on that. Have a good day."
With that, Kara walks out of her office and Lena laughs until she cries. Only Kara Danvers would be polite in her fit of anger.
/
"Hi… is this WinShot? Admin to SunnyD's channel?" Lena asks nervously. Hoping that Kara hasn't talked to their mutual friend about what happened.
"Yes, this is Winn, how can I help you?" He asks distractedly. Lena hears the click-clack of a blue switch mechanical keyboard on the other end of the line, loud and hollow, as if he were bottoming out the keys.
"This is Kara's friend, LiLuCoRP93 and I was wondering if you had her address… I was in town and I wanted to surprise her." There's and excited shout on the other end of the line and then whispering.
"I knew she had an amazing time meeting you in Metropolis! She didn't mention you at all, but she was smiling while at work and took an early lunch… honestly though, you better hurry because I heard a rumor that Lena Luthor has a crush on her and sent her like two flower shops full of arrangements to her office."
Lena laughed. Not knowing how right and wrong he was about everything.
"I'll keep that in mind when I see her tonight then. Thank you for giving me her address."
/
She showed up at apartment 4A with her heart in her hand, along with some gifts she hoped would bribe Kara to at least listen to her.
/
"Please Kara, open the door. I got you a Switch and Diablo 3… I know you're dying to review it but haven't been able to buy a console for just one game you already own and love on PC."
"You're trying to bribe your way into my apartment?!" Kara's voice is high pitched and angrier than she's ever heard it sound.
"Yes. Stupid me thought bribery would be better than breaking and entering…" Lena says, not sounding the least bit regretful.
"I don't know why you're suddenly above that when you hacked CatCo to get my home address in the first place." Kara shouts accusingly through the thick wooden door.
Lena rests her forehead on it and laughs. "I didn't need to hack CatCo… I sort of just used social engineering on our mutual friend to get your address…" She confesses.
The door opens a crack and she can see Kara looking at her suspiciously. "You did what to who?"
Her heart soars with hope. This was more than she thought she would ever get.
"Social engineering… it's low tech hacking I guess is the easiest way to describe it. You trick someone into giving you important information… in this case, our friend, WinShot, into giving me your address… I was hoping you wouldn't have talked to him about what a massive asshole I was before I got a chance to see you again."
Kara sighs and open the door. "you know, google has a do no evil policy… LCorp could use something similar to stop you from being like this." Lena smiles as she walks through the door.
/
They talk all night about the things they'd been too afraid to broach before.
Kara tells Lena that she studied marketing and was never interested in reporting… not until her cousin died and she realized that she was angry at him for abandoning her again. The first time he had abandoned her she was 13 and their parents had died in an explosion. He never gave them being a family a chance. Simply dropped her off at the Danvers' doorstep because he was about to move in with his girlfriend.
He had grief to work through too. But his was different than the weight of a world collapsing in on itself. He didn't know the old country like she did. He grew up knowing English and Kara was too foreign to be able to connect with her. They were strangers. Connected by blood and a name. Strangers. And Clark couldn't see past that, regardless of what their parents stipulated in their wills.
Clark abandoned her then and years later he abandoned her again by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Grainy surveillance footage shows him buying three hot dogs from a vendor and then everything is grainy as everything moves too fast. One minute he's holding food and the next he's trying to tackle Lex into the ground.
Not knowing that it wasn't a knife or a gun, but a bomb that was part of a chain reaction of bombs, mean to kill as many people as possible in the panic and chaos that ensued.
Kara understood Lena's complex feelings of loss, anger and grief when it came to Lex.
She thought that being a reporter would bring her closer to her cousin. Holding onto the bits of him she could remember. Feeling guilty that she rebuffed him when he tried to reach out because she was sure he would always be there. Instead she feels lost and further away from what she wanted. Which is to play video games and give people a safe space to exist in. The same space Alex and Eliza created for her when she became a Danvers.
Lena talks about Lex and why Kara's channel was a lifeline when she felt like she was drowning during college and then grad school. How much Lillian hated her, Lena thought it was because she wasn't a Luthor by blood. Not knowing that it was because she was a Luthor that she brought down so much ire on herself.
They talk about how much Lena worked at not being like her family but understanding that her life was forever split down the middle by Lex's actions. Linked to him, regardless of how much good she did in the world. How much she tried to put miles between them.
He haunted her, like a ghost.
/
Lena wakes up the next day to an unfamiliar alarm. The song blares under her pillow. She grumbles and reaches blindly for her phone. It's lost beneath the sheets, with a huff she gives up and heads towards Kara's bathroom instead. Her bladder is killing her.
After drying her hands, she emerges to face an apologetic Kara. She's not wearing a shirt, just a bra and some black slacks. One of her socks has a hole from which her toe sticks out of. "Um… sorry about waking you up… I have to go into work and it usually takes me an hour on the bus, so I'm used to waking up before 7AM."
Lena nods too enthusiastically. Her stomach is toned and flat but it's nothing compared to the abs on display in front of her. God she is not strong enough to stop herself from acting on this attraction. Now that everything was out in the open. That they both knew how each other felt, who they were. Lena wanted nothing more than to stay in bed all day with Kara. But they hadn't even gone out for a date yet, and Lena didn't want to rush into things.
Especially this morning, when they were both so raw from exposing themselves so fully to each other.
"That's not a problem darling. I can walk out with you… or… if you don't mind having breakfast with me, I can have one of my drivers drop you off at CatCo… it might be quicker than waiting for a bus." She suggested. Lena could restrain herself from jumping Kara this very second, but she was weak and the woman she'd loved from afar loved her right back.
Kara looks down at her hands and blushes. "Yes. I'd love to get back into bed with you… I mean have breakfast in bed with you…"
Kara's eyes widen at her slip up.
"I mean it's so nervous in here I better go to work." She turns around and bumps so hard into her dresser that she keels over. She huffs in anger and runs out of her apartment. Running right back into her bedroom because she was so flustered by Lena that she had left her place without a shirt or shoes.
"I'm sorry I forgot to." She points to herself and looks away.
Lena smiles and reaches up to touch Kara.
The fire they felt is stronger than before. Threatening to consume them and for once, Lena is tired of pretending she doesn't want this as much as she does because it's not in the right order. First meeting, first date, first kiss and so many other steps that are too complicated and unnecessary. She knows all of Kara and now Kara knows all of her.
Why can't that be enough?
Using all her courage Lena states her intentions, hoping Kara doesn't stop her. "I'm going to kiss you now. Unless you tell me to stop." Kara closes her eyes and leans forward.
As soon as their lips Lena feels this explosion of colors inside her. She starts shaking. Terrified of this unknown feeling.
Kara stops kissing her and pulls away. Her eyes are dazed. "Wow… did you feel that too?" She asks. Shivering.
Lena nods and leans forward again.
/
Lena thought that her world was fractured by one life altering event. Everything that happened before Lex's madness and everything that happened after.
That day she learned a new way to tell time:
love.
Author's note: If you're a D3 fan then you know exactly which "Hey folks this is..." streamer I am totally basing Kara off of here.