"Hey, Kara! How do I look?" Kara heard Lena calling out to her as she emerged from the bedroom of Kara's apartment. The CEO had spent the night with the reporter after a rather anti-Luthor man had managed to break into Lena's home. While her home was being renovated with new security and while she waited for everything to simmer down, Kara had offered to act as the Luthor's host for the next day or two. Lena had not hesitated to take Kara up on that offer. She had, however, protested slightly when Kara offered to sleep on the couch while Lena took the bedroom, but nothing Lena said or did would stop Kara from insisting so, in the end, Lena caved to Kara's demands and took the bed. Now, with the sun just peeking up over the horizon, Lena had woken up and was getting ready for work. She'd made sure to bring some spare clothes while spending the night at Kara's.
Kara, meanwhile, turned around, having already been in the kitchen and devouring breakfast. She had been expecting Lena's typical wardrobe of a white blouse and a black skirt with black heels. What she got was Lena in full suit-and-tie mode. Her hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail that managed to look professional and elegant, despite only being a ponytail. She wore a confident smile, even winking at Kara and raising a questioning eyebrow. But despite this more playful accent to her expression, her posture was tall and proud. It was a very large-and-in-charge moment for Lena and it was abundantly clear she was channeling her inner CEO hard. She even crossed her arms and raised her chin to increase her no-nonsense, down-to-business seriousness. The commanding authority radiating off her was more than queenly, it was god(ddess)ly!
When Kara turned around and got an eyeful of all of that, she opened her mouth to gasp and speak all at once, forgetting that she still had half of a breakfast donut shoved in there as well. Suffice to say, it only took about two seconds for Kara to start choking, sputtering. It was mortifyingly embarrassing, to be choking to death (metaphorically speaking, of course) in front of her crush like this, but what else was Kara supposed to do when Lena "Sexy Badass in a Suit" Luthor sauntered out of the bedroom like that? Did Lena not know that her smile could kill a thousand people? And don't even get started on her eyebrows! Kara was sure that if the choking didn't kill her (which it wouldn't), Lena's overall appearance would. Kara was suddenly flooded with dirty fantasies of a domineering "CEO Lena" and she hated herself all the more as she managed to think those kinds of thoughts while gagging on a donut.
But the 'badass' part of Kara's assessment of Lena faded the moment Kara began clutching at her throat, still trying to hack up her donut. At once, Lena's face turned into one of concern and alarm. She walked quickly over to Kara, reaching out to the girl as she continued to choke.
"Woah, woah, Kara!" Lena put one hand on Kara's arm while she used the other to pat Kara's back, starting gently and then progressively getting harder and harder as Kara continued to cough. Once again, despite the seriousness of the moment, only comical thoughts could fill Kara's head.
The first was amusement that Lena thought that a mere donut mishap could kill a Kryptonian (though this wasn't Lena's fault, she still had no idea Kara wasn't entirely human). The second thought was in the similar vein, amusement that Lena was worried she might hurt Kara. In the back of Kara's mind, she was urging Lena to hit harder, it wasn't like a few slaps on the back from a mere human would do any harm to a Kryptonian! Then the third thought, and perhaps the most random and inappropriate of all, was that even though Lena was only slapping her on the back, Kara couldn't help but think about where else Lena could've slapped her. The thought made Kara want to giggle, except she couldn't. But it also made her blush, which she had been doing ever since she first saw Lena strutting in in that blasted suit! Just for a moment, Kara was glad she was choking, because at least it gave her an excuse as to why she was so red-faced!
At last, Kara felt the donut coming out of her windpipe. She quickly pushed Lena away and gave one more powerful cough. The donut shot out of her mouth like a bullet, landing all the way on the other side of the room. Kara was horrified, for multiple reasons. Her biggest was that Lena would question how Kara had been able to cough that far, but luckily, even though Lena did look astounded with how far that donut had gone, she didn't say anything other than:
"Are you ok?" and Kara, with a sheepish grin and a pretend final cough, nodded. Her smile was a bit too big to be real, but Lena seemed not to notice. Kara inwardly breathed a sigh of relief before she realized that Lena was still touching her arm and back. To keep from having another choke-attack, this time on the air itself, Kara quickly excused herself to clean up her mess.
But that excuse wouldn't save Kara forever. Instead, it only prolonged the issue at hand.
"Are you sure you're ok?" Lena asked once Kara had finished cleaning up the donut.
"Yeah! Fine! Yeah! Totally!" Kara stuttered as she took an awkward seat beside Lena at the breakfast table. Lena made the wise decision to choose eggs over donuts, and made sure to swallow before speaking. Meanwhile, Kara tried not to let her infatuation show too much.
"Well, that's good to know," Lena said next. "Now, if you don't mind me asking again, how do you think I look?" and Kara suddenly wished that there was another donuts she could choke on at the moment.
"Uhhh, might I inquire as to why you are asking?" Kara tried to ask innocently, straining to keep her voice level.
"Ah, I've got some important business meeting to attend to later, and I wanted your opinion on whether or not this suit looked good enough," Lena replied, then she scooted her chair back a little to give Kara a fuller view of her suited body. Kara had no excuse for her inferno of a blush this time, luckily, though, Lena didn't comment on it.
"Well, I think you look amazing," Kara said, still trying to keep herself in control. "I mean, it looks very professional, and business-y," then she inwardly cringed at her own unintelligent choice of words, but Lena seemed amused enough by the remark.
"Good. It was exactly what I was hoping for!" she declared proudly. "I just didn't know if this suit seemed too plain, or too dark and if I should've gone with my navy blue one instead..." Lena continued to suggest other options for her meeting's business attire, but all Kara could think was, She has more suits?! Dear, Rao! Is it bad that I want to ask her to try them all on? But Kara managed to keep herself from asking this question.
"Don't worry, Lena, I think you look fine," Kara promised at last. "It looks perfectly professional and I have no doubt that everyone else at your meeting will be wearing something similar. They can't call you out on anything!"
"Well, that's just it," Lena admitted with a kind of amused weariness. "I know I'll already be one of the only females at the meeting and I really don't need to show up as the only one in a suit..." and Kara nodded knowingly. Although Lena had no issue in dressing in a more feminine manner, as her usual wardrobe of a blouse and skirt implied (and Kara seen Lena in red dresses and Rao help her if it wasn't one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen), there were still days when Lena did prefer to wear more masculine clothing, like the suit. But while Lena might've preferred it, there certainly were plenty of nasty and sexist CEOs out there who didn't. These were the guys Lena was talking about right now.
In the past, there had been instances where Lena would show up to a meeting and be the only female there in a suit. Sometimes, no one would say a word, and it would be accepted as totally fine. But other times, especially with the more daring CEOs, there would be disapproving stares, or even a few reprimanding words. Although it didn't happen often, Lena could still remember every sexist pig that ever told her that she shouldn't wear a suit. Some said it was unprofessional, some called it cross-dressing, some said it looked ugly on her, some said she would look better (read: sexier) in a more feminine outfit. Lena just didn't want today to end like that.
Of course, she was going to wear the suit either way! She hadn't come to Kara for validation on that! Lena already knew what she wanted to wear, and that was exactly what she was going to do. She had instead come to Kara for support, wanting to hear Kara's approval of her outfit so that she could carry those words with her to her meeting. That way, in case some dress code debate did arise, Lena wouldn't be leaving the office in a pair of handcuffs, and the man responsible wouldn't leave in a body bag. Kara's validation wasn't encouragement for Lena to wear the suit, it was encouragement for Lena to not kill anyone who disagreed with her choice in wardrobe.
"No, don't worry Lena, I think you look amazing and if anyone says otherwise, I'll call Supergirl," Kara offered. Lena laughed.
"I was about to ask you that same thing," she joked and Kara laughed right along with her.
"We're in the 21st century, after all," Kara continued. "No one should be bothered by a woman in a suit! And if they are, screw them! You've got an example to set, Lena, not as the 'good little businesswoman who does what she's told' but the brave and bold boss that's gonna change the world!"
Kara raised a playful toast to Lena, using a glass full of chocolate milk, then she quickly took a swig of it so that she didn't also accidently add, "Besides, you look absolutely stunning in a suit and I wouldn't mind if you had a change of wardrobe and that was all you ever wore again!" Kara didn't exactly need to word-vomit all over Lena right now, so she swallowed down that little thought with a gulp of her drink.
"You flatter me," Lena laughed in reply, Kara really did always know exactly what to say! And the chocolate milk toast was pretty funny too. Lena raised her own cup of coffee in response.
"But now, I have one more question," Lena said, as she set her mug back down. "Should I wear a bowtie or a necktie?" she picked up the two objects from the table. She'd brought them in earlier, but then set them down during Kara's donut mishap. From the look on Kara's face as she processed Lena's question, it looked like Kara was going to choke again, this time on her milk... She has a bowtie and a necktie! Holy Rao, what would she look hotter in? What do I want to see her in? Wait, what am I saying?! Uhhhh, couldn't she just wear both? Or neither? She's already going to kill me with that suit of hers, are either of the ties really necessary?! Oh, Rao, help me...
But it wasn't even just Lena in a suit (or red dress) that sent Kara's head into the heavens and the gutters all at once. It was pretty much just Lena in general, because no matter what she wore, it always got Kara's heart pounding. Even if it was something as casual as...
"Boxers! Oh, no! Here we go again!" Kara moaned as she walked into her apartment later that night to see Lena reclined on the couch and in nothing but a pajama shirt, and a pair of flannel boxers. Flannel. Boxers. Kara really hated Lena for that. How was this woman able to make suits and boxers, both, look so good? And on the same day!
"Oh! Kara!" Lena turned around as she heard the apartment door swing shut and Kara's dismayed expression was forced to quickly snap back into its usual, preppy grin. Kara waved weakly at her before moving over to join Lena's side on the couch.
Kara had to swallow down another fit of nervousness as her leg brushed Lena's. How on earth was this woman able to make baggy boxers look sexy? Well, actually, Kara had to admit that boxers on a woman was always hot (well, boxers on anyone could be sexy, when done properly), but Lena had somehow taken it up to a whole new level. But then again, Lena was the kind of woman who could make suits and boxers work without even trying. Kara even almost missed Lena's question, she was so busy totally not staring at Lena in boxers. But since Kara had a pretty good guess what the question was, she was able to answer despite not having heard the question fully.
"Yeah, work was good," said Kara. "But tell me, how did your meeting go?" and Lena's eyes lit up. Apparently, it had gone very well.
For the next few minutes, Lena explained everything. In short, Lena and several other large companies were trying to do something that was halfway between a merger, and a trade. Since all four of the companies there all marketed for similar products, they were trying to unite as one instead of tearing one another down, or buying one another up. Because of that more positive, teamworking mentality, the people in charge had been incredibly friendly and, Lena's suit had been genuinely complimented by some of the other meeting attendees.
"That's great!" Kara congratulated Lena sincerely, some of her nervousness removed just from Lena's happy story alone.
"I know, right?" Lena agreed with a satisfied smile. "Ah, but it was nice to finally be able to get out of that suit and into something more relaxing!" she sank deeper into the couch, legs spreading a bit as she did so. Kara fiddled with her glasses.
"Well," she tried not to stutter. "I thought you looked good in that suit."
"Well, thank you, Kara, you're too kind," Lena chuckled. Kara's fiddling worsened and she cleared her throat softly. Lena seemed oblivious to this.
Instead, the boxer-clad woman only leaned against her flustered friend.
"Want to watch a movie?" she asked, and Kara thanked her lucky stars that she hadn't jumped when she felt Lena rest her head against her shoulder. That might've sent poor Lena into the ceiling, which wouldn't exactly be a good thing for Lena. Or Kara. Or the ceiling.
"What? Oh! Uhhhh, yeah! Sure! Ummm, what did you have in mind?" Kara asked, but in the end, it didn't really matter what Lena's decision had been because Kara spent far more time staring at Lena and her boxers out of the corner of her eye than she did at the screen. As with everything else that had transpired that day, however, Lena seemed oblivious.
"Oh, Rao!" Kara sighed, but then when she felt Lena's head sag even deeper into her shoulder, she realized that the woman had fallen asleep and, despite everything else, Kara smiled and gently kissed Lena's forehead. She thought she saw Lena's face flicker in response, but it could've just been the light from the TV. Kara would never know.
But to be quite honest, nor would Lena, for although she thought she had felt the phantom lips of someone she loved pressing against her forehead, because she was already halfway into dreamworld, she couldn't be sure either. Instead, the two sat there together in silence, the only noise and light coming from their little TV. Kara continued to watch over Lena as she slept, and she briefly wondered if maybe she could come up with an excuse for Lean to wear her suit again tomorrow...
AN: I was inspired off a Tumblr textpost wherein Lena asks Kara about whether or not she should wear a bowtie or a necktie, but Kara is just so flustered from seeing Lena in a suit at all that she can't even think about choosing between ties. Instead, all she sees is Lena+Suit=gorgeous, LOL. Then the "boxers" thing was a prompt wherein Kara gets flustered after seeing Lena in boxers, so here's a 2-for-1 where Kara gets flustered no matter what Lena wears because Kara's got it real bad for Ms. Luthor.
Also, as of 5/18/19, I've edited the plot slightly so as to explain why Lena was in Kara's bedroom. Lena had to spend the night (for reasons similar to why Lena had to stay at Sam's place in 3x05) and Kara insisted that Lena take the bed. The two are not in a relationship (yet) and they are not living together, Lena was just spending a few days with Kara until everything else got fixed.