"So, this is the place?" Lena asked. She and Kara were standing outside a small tattoo parlor in one of the lower ends of town.
"Yup," Kara replied, the nervousness evident in her voice. Lena gave her a sympathetic look.
"You don't have to do this, you know?" she asked.
"But I want to," Kara replied. And it was true. Maybe to Lena, this sudden interest in getting a tattoo was strange, but to Kara, it had been a very mulled-over idea. It had only been fear that had ever held her back from getting the tattoo sooner, but now she finally felt ready to face that fear, and it was all thanks to Lena for offering to come along as moral support.
Just earlier that week, in fact, was when Lena had recruited herself to join Kara to the tattoo parlor. Kara had been at her desk at CatCo, nervously fiddling over some of her work, when Lena had walked by. And it was a grave mistake for Kara to look distressed in Lena's presence, because Kara only needed to look a little bit unhappy for Lena to catch it. Lena was like a hawk when it came to the wellbeing of her one and only friend here in National City. And it had been after this little call-out that Kara had been forced to confess. She admitted that she'd wanted to get a tattoo, but was too scared to go.
"Well. I didn't think you were that kind of person," Lena had remarked when Kara first confessed interest in getting a tattoo, but she had not sounded judgmental when she said this. Actually, Lena had sounded almost... turned on? But Kara tried not to focus on that fact, or the fact that she liked the thought of it. Instead, she only focused on what she had been trying to tell Lena initially, which was that she scared. After hearing that, Lena had instantly offered to join Kara to the tattoo parlor for support. Kara had been so touched and excited by the offer that she had said yes at once and didn't even realize what she was getting herself into until it was too late. Now here they were.
"I just needed someone to go with me," Kara continued, talking to herself just as much as she was talking to Lena.
"I understand," Lena replied, touching her arm gently. "But is there any reason we had to choose this particular tattoo parlor? I'm sure there are a few others here in National City that might not seem so... grungy," Lena looked back at the building in front of them. Although it was a decently built building and not in total disrepair, Lena definitely had a point that it didn't look to be one of the city's prouder or more up-kept buildings.
"Well, that would be nice," Kara admitted. "But remember that, as a Kryptonian, a normal needle wouldn't exactly work on me."
"Ah!" Lena slapped her forehead. "How could I have forgotten?" but Kara shrugged, to let Lena know it wasn't a big deal.
"This tattoo parlor is owned by a group of local aliens who had wanted to do a body-art shop that catered to more 'alienistic' designs, and of course, there are other aliens here who can't use normal needles any more than I can," Kara explained as they continued to look up at the building.
"And how do you know that? Have you been here before? I thought this was your first tattoo?" Lena asked.
"It is," Kara promised. "But of course I would know some of the local alien hotspots," she added and Lena nodded understandingly again.
"Of course, I should've realized..."
For a moment more, the two continued to stand outside the building on the sidewalk, just looking up at the sign hanging over the door. It was all too clear that Kara was still very nervous about this tattoo...
"Don't worry, Kara, there's nothing to be afraid of," Lena whispered, she squeezed Kara's arm a little tighter and Kara gave a weak nod in response. She took in a deep breath, steeled her nerves (ha, ha), then gestured to the door.
"Shall we?" she asked, her smile was forced, but at least it was there. Lena smiled back, comfortingly, and she led the way inside.
Once inside, Kara uneasily made her way to the alien that was to be her tattoo artist. He was a bird-like fellow, covered in iridescent, scaly feathers, and he had wide golden eyes. Instead of a beak, however, he had a mouth that looked vaguely human, and his fingers, though long and thin, were not talons. Lena walked behind Kara as they approached the tattoo artist, her hand was now on Kara's back as a gesture of comfort.
"So, what's the design?" Lena asked, trying to calm Kara down as they finally reached the tattoo artist.
"You'll see," Kara replied nervously as she gave the tattoo artist a small piece of paper. He inspected it for a few seconds before nodding.
"Where will you be wanting the tattoo?" he asked. His voice was a little gruff, but it wasn't like one couldn't understand him through his dialect.
"On my hip!" Kara replied, but then even she seemed to understand what this was going to mean, but before she had time to change her mind, the tattoo artist gave another grunt of affirmation.
"Take off your pants, then," and Kara's face suddenly felt hotter than any sun in the universe.
For a moment, Kara could only stand there, mortified, while Lena watched from behind with a smirk. Because Lena was behind Kara at the moment, Kara couldn't see the hungry light flitting across Lena's face, but if she had, she might've been even more mortified, because Kara wasn't sure which idea embarrassed her more: having to strip in front of Lena and have Lena think it was awkward, or having to strip in front of Lena and have Lena find it attractive/arousing. It was no secret to anyone, even Lena (because Kara was awful at lying/keeping secrets), that Kara had a giant crush on Lena, so while the idea of having to strip in front of her was doubly terrifying to Kara, it was doubly exciting for Lena. If only Kara knew that Lena reciprocated her romantic feelings, and if only she knew that Lena was quite looking forward to this next couple of hours...
"Well, Miss?" the tattoo artist questioned as Kara continued to stand there, looking stupefied and slightly humiliated. "If you want this tattoo, you're gonna have to get over your shyness, or have me put it somewhere else!"
"Go on, Kara, there's nothing to be afraid of," behind Kara, Lena offered up encouragement, a taunting smile stretching across her face. Kara felt her own face start to burn again. What was that supposed to mean?!
"I don't got all day," the tattoo artist agreed. "And it won't be like I'll be taking pictures, or nothing," he added.
At last, Kara was forced to concede, and as she slowly rolled down her pants, intentionally looking at her shoes, she felt her face get hotter and hotter. It took all her strength not to look up right now and turn around, just to see what Lena was thinking. Lena had been clever, placing herself behind Kara for this whole ordeal, because that way, the only way Kara could gage how she felt at the moment was if she dared to turn around and look Lena right in the eyes. That wasn't something Kara was ready for. So the curiosity continued to kill her as she finally gave her pants a weak toss and stood back up, bearing her now-unclothed hip to the artist. At least she'd worn plain white underwear, and nothing dumb, like the underwear she had with the little fruits on them. She thought they were cute, but she would've been mortified if Lena would ever see them.
"You may feel a little pinch," the man said as Kara reluctantly lowered herself to the ground, lying on her side and exposing her leg to the tattoo artist. He lowered his Kryptonite needle towards Kara's skin. Kara blanched again. Now here was another thing she had to deal with: her fear of this oncoming pain. On top of her embarrassment at being pants-less in front of her crush, she was about to get jabbed by a needle over and over and over again. But it was too late to turn back now. With nothing else to do, the great Girl of Steel clenched her eyes and teeth closed.
"Do it," she commanded and the tattoo artist obliged, but only seconds after Kara felt the first wave of stinging pain, she felt a comforting hand touch her own. She didn't need to look to know it was Lena, and in her mind, Kara thanked Lena a thousand times over, trying not to focus upon the fact that this meant that Lena was holding her hand while her pants were off. Why did she think this was a good idea?!
But at last, Kara's tattoo was done.
"There we go!" the tattoo artist looked satisfied and Kara sat up and finally opened her eyes. When she looked down, she smiled.
"It's perfect!" she decided and the tattoo artist gave another satisfied nod of agreement. Lena, meanwhile, leaned over to get a better look. Although she had watched the whole process, finding it fascinating to see how the tattoo artist did his work (and ok, admittedly, she also liked getting to look at Kara's bare legs), she was still intrigued on what the design actually had been that Kara had chosen. It looked like her trademark Supergirl logo, yet the left third of the "S" was covered by what looked like a large "L". From the way it was laid out, it looked like the L was hugging the S. Perhaps it was another Kryptonian word?
But while Lena continued to study Kara's leg intently, Kara suddenly looked uncomfortable again. She also realized that they were still holding hands... Having Lena ogling her leg was bad enough, but the realization that she was going to have to tell Lena was the tattoo really meant (Lena was going to ask, and Kara really had no valid reason to keep it secret) was just as nerve-wracking.
"It's our logos," Kara explained shyly as Lena continued to stare at the slightly reddened tattoo with interest and mild confusion.
"What?" Lena echoed, finally looking up from Kara's leg to meet Kara's eyes.
"It's our logos," Kara repeated, still looking really shy. But it finally all clicked for Lena. The S was, as she'd guessed, Kara's Supergirl sigil. But the L was Lena's own logo for L-Corp.
"A Luthor and a Super!" she breathed in understanding.
"SuperCorp," Kara nodded shyly. "And there's something else I have to say..." she added, and Lena only nodded, heart suddenly pounding.
What followed was the long-awaited confession. Although Kara certainly hadn't intended upon ever admitting that she had a crush on Lena, let alone in this kind of situation, she figured that she as might as well. Lena would've seen the tattoo either way, and would've demanded an explanation either way, so Kara had been in a double-bind from the moment she and Lena walked into the tattoo parlor. So, with nothing else to do, the Girl of Steel confessed everything.
Lena could only listen in stunned silence. Maybe she had come here in the hopes of teasing a confession out of Kara (though Kara's confession wasn't really much of a confession at all since Lena had already suspected it), and maybe Lena had come here because she liked the idea of getting to stare at Kara's bare legs for a couple of hours, but to hear Kara openly admitting her love for Lena, and doing it in such a sweet and romantic manner, made all thoughts of teasing Kara fly right out of Lena's head. Had this been the real reason Kara had wanted a tattoo? A way to immortalize her affection for Lena on her skin? Had this been the plan from the start?
"I remember reading a gossip article about us once," Kara confessed. "They said that you and I, as Supergirl, were really only in a friendly relationship for the publicity, and for more private benefits..." Kara had paused, sounding disgusted by this, but before Lena could worry if she had maybe misread Kara's intentions after all, the answer became clear in Kara's next statement. "While I don't deny that those extra benefits sound wonderful, you are so much more to me than that!" and that was when it got painfully sappy. "You're a friend, and a companion. You've always been there for me, and for all of the rest of my team. Without you, we never would've come this far, and I owe you a debt I can never repay..."
Not having expected such an emotional day, Lena could only open and close her mouth, afraid that anything she might say would cause her to burst out crying. Now, it was Kara who was calm and confident, and it was Lena who could only gawk and gape. Behind them, the tattoo artist was rolling his eyes at the sappy confession. Soon they'd be wanting matching couple's tattoos!
"So while I didn't exactly plan on confessing this today, I figure that now is as good a time as ever," Kara continued, then she looked back down at the large SuperCorp tattoo on her hip one more time before looking back up to meet Lena's eyes head-on. "So, Lena, do you think you would be interested in being my girlfriend?"
The two left the tattoo parlor that day, each of them having something that they hadn't had before. Kara had a sweet new tattoo, and Lena had a sweet new girlfriend, and both of them had a sweet new portmanteau for their sweet new relationship.
"So, SuperCorp, huh?" Lena asked as she and a re-pantsed Kara exited the tattoo parlor.
"What can I say?" Kara replied, having returned to her more sheepish tone now that the last of her worries had gone.
"Well, it's a good thing I like you," Lena said.
"You do more than that," Kara replied with a grin.
"That I do," Lena decided to concede. "That I do," then she kissed Kara's cheek and Kara's witty remark went right out the window and the only thing Kara could think to do in reply was kiss Lena back. It wasn't much of a comeback, but neither of the two women cared at all.
AN: Kara would so get a SuperCorp tattoo, lesbi-honest. LOL (Or in Kara's case, if she's a bisexual, would we say let's BI honest? Hehehehe, stupid puns. Sorry. LOL.)
Edit as of 2/18/19: Several reviewers were asking how Kara could physically be able to get a tattoo because, as a Kryptonian, she's pretty much immune to puncture wounds. This is my fault for not explaining, but I actually got the story idea from a Tumblr prompt which says that the tattoo parlor she and Lena go to is an alien-based, alien-run parlor. They used Kryptonite needles for the tattoo, I just didn't explain it clearly enough in my fic, but like I said, that was my mistake. Thanks to everyone who pointed it out! I really do appreciate the feedback! (I promise I'm not being sarcastic!)