"Oh my Rao, look!"
Kara's fingers dig into her arm, and if any of her agents were to mention seeing her in that second, Alex would forever deny the wince that twists her face.
"Hey, easy there, Kar."
"Sorry! It's just- it's Lena!" Her sister releases her to point excitedly at the magazine on Alex's desk. "Forbes is out today!"
Alex can't help but laugh.
"Yes, I know, I bought that copy while you were out saving the day this morning."
"Since when do you buy Forbes?"
"Since my second little sister is on the cover."
"Aww, Alex! I'm gonna tell her you said that!"
"I'll deny it! Also, I thought you might want to see it; you've only been talking about it for weeks."
"Because she made 30 under 30! That's like, huge!" Kara begins thumbing through the magazine, eyes scanning over the pages. "And she's on the cover! Of a magazine!"
"Not to point out the obvious, but she's been on the cover of CatCo magazine no less than four times since she moved to town."
Kara's look is so harsh that she's momentarily worried about heat vision.
"Alex. This is Forbes, completely different."
"Are you worked up because your girlfriend got interviewed by someone that isn't you?"
Another look.
Alex really needs to get with Lena about that heat vision resistant body armor.
"She's not my girlfriend."
"Ohhkaay, suurre."
"She's not! She's my best friend! Not my girlfriend."
"Mm, tell that to anyone who has to watch you two give each other heart eyes during game night."
Kara harrumphs, holding up the magazine -
"Can I take this?" At Alex's nod, she continues. "I have to go, Snapper will kill me if I'm late again."
"Come back when you're ready to talk about your giant, obvious crush on Lena!" She calls out as Kara super speeds out of the DEO.
God, those two were so oblivious.
— — — — — — — —
Despite her words, she's still shocked later that night when Kara shows up at her apartment door with a pout and two pints of ice cream
"Chocolate chip cookie dough, huh?" She waits until Kara is settled next to her under the throw before passing her a spoon. "Must be a rough night, wanna talk about it?"
In lieu of a response, Kara thrusts the now well worn magazine copy in her hands. Absently, she wonders how many times Kara must have flipped through it in the past ten hours for it to be so tattered.
"Page twenty-seven, halfway down the page." The Kryptonian offers before shoving a super hero sized spoonful of ice cream in her mouth.
Setting her own pint on the coffee table, Alex turns to the indicated page.
CM:So, Lena, we've talked extensively about your business and technological accomplishments, but what about your personal life? Has it been hard to have a social life outside of your busy schedule? Not to mention the pressure that comes with being the CEO of a billion dollar company, that has to be stressful.
LL:You know, it can be incredibly stressful at times, as you mentioned, and I don't have a lot of free time; but I have been so incredibly lucky to have a great group of friends around me. And honestly, they're all just a bunch of kickass women who really keep me grounded and help me see the big picture. When you're making decisions that have such a broadscale impact on a daily basis, it's easy to get caught up in your own head, and I'm so grateful to have my girls around me not only to inspire me but to bring me back down to earth. They're like the family I never had, and I can't say enough how much I love them and appreciate them.
CM: What about romance? How do you make time for that? Or is that even on your radar? You've been just killing it the last year, is romance even something you think about?
LL: (Laughs) I won't say it's not on my radar, at the end of a long day, it would certainly be nice to come home to someone and just relax. There's definitely a little part of me that craves the intimacy of candlelit dinner and kisses under the moonlight. But I'm content, I'm happy with where I'm at - and who knows, one day maybe I'll get the courage to confess my feelings and I'll get the happy romantic story, but for now I'm where I want to be, and I'm in a better place than I ever thought I would be, so I can't complain.
CM: That's fair, but I think our readers will have a hard time believing that you don't have the courage for something, especially after your CatCo takeover last month!
LL: Oh trust me, around the right person I just turn into complete mush! (Laughs) It's embarrassing!
CM: Well, back on solid ground, what has it been like taking over a media empire? That must be a big jump from the tech world your used to.
The article continues on for another half a page, but Alex thinks she's read what she needs to.
"Are you upset because she didn't call you her girlfriend?"
"Aleeex, I'm being serious!"
"Sorry, sorry; I'll be serious. What from that article upset you?"
Kara spends a long moment digging out a chunk of cookie dough before she speaks.
"BecauseIMaybeWantToBeHerGirlfriend."
It comes out in such a rush that Alex is afraid for a moment that she's heard wrong.
"Yeah?"
Kara nods solemnly.
"Well then what's stopping you?"
"Did you not read that article at all?" Kara is looking at her like she just asked if Britney Spears was still making music. "She has a person she wants to ask out, she just can't get up the courage! I can't ask her out when she's pining after someone else!"
"Oh my god."
"What?"
"Oh my god." She puts down her ice cream and stands.
"What?!"
"Oh my god." She tugs Kara to her feet and starts pushing her to the front door.
"What?"
"You are so clueless sometimes."
"What do you mean?"
"Lena so obviously has a thing for you, and she was obviously talking about you in that article; and if you don't go ask her out then I'm going to tell J'onn that you ate his entire secret stash of chocos."
"You wouldn't!"
"I would!" Alex promises. "So please, go talk to Lena!"
"But-"
"No buts! Let me know how it goes!"
With one final shove, she pushes Kara out the door.
As obvious as the two lovestruck idiots are, she still worries that maybe she did the wrong thing.
At least until she gets a text from Kara a few hours later.
Kara (11:06 PM): You were right. Thank you.
Kara (11:07 PM): Lena says thanks too.
Kara (11:07 PM): Please don't tell J'onn I ate his chocos.