Notes:
Written for the SuperCat Smut Games over on AO3
For the Prompts: Office, Panther, Overheard
I might have stolen a *touch* of the dream imagery from one of Nia's dreams in Future Shock. I'd sue myself, but I'm broke.
James office conference table was harmed in the production of this fic.
Work Text:
Nia moved through the dreamscape slowly and carefully, looking for any clue as to what the dream was trying to tell her. She'd gotten better at it in the months since she'd become Dreamer. Learned to tell the difference between prophetic dreams and normal ones, learned a good bit of the language of dreams, but sometimes the imagery still confused her.
This dream seemed simple enough. She was walking through the bullpen at CatCo, and there was something wrong. A sense that something was out of place. Something that made her feel both angry and violated. She just couldn't figure out what it was, but she felt like it was the key to understanding the dream, and she was starting to get frustrated.
A clue arrived through the balcony door in the form of Kara in her Supergirl suit, but it wasn't Kara the way Nia usually saw her. She looked exhausted, like she hadn't slept in weeks, and every movement seemed to cause her pain, and it was no wonder. She was covered in bruises and wounds, some were fresh and bleeding, but most looked old and festering. Nia could feel the pain radiating off of Kara, and her knees almost buckled under the weight of it.
Despite the pain, Kara moved with a purpose, scanning her surroundings, taking in every inch of the bullpen, which looked pristine but felt wrong, like everything was out of place. Nia followed her as she limped towards James's office. When they got there, Nia barely recognized the room. The wood paneling and bookshelves were gone, replaced with off-white walls, rose-colored drapes and tan sofas, and a glass coffee table. The neat, even rows of television monitors were replaced with a wild assortment of screens of various sizes and arranged seemingly at random. Everything about the office screamed of femininity, elegance and power. Even with the lights off, the whole space felt bright, safe and comforting all at once, but it looked like an ill-behaved child had stormed through, throwing mud and filth over everything. Nia felt as if some sacred space had been defiled, and she burned with a desire to wipe away the dirt and put it right.
Kara looked out at the balcony, and the pain pouring off of her grew. There was recognition on Kara's face, along with disbelief and fear. Whatever she saw, Kara knew what it was. Nia followed her gaze and saw a figure out on the balcony so bright and beautiful that it was hard to look at. It was also familiar somehow, but Nia couldn't place it.
Kara turned to run, but the figure on the balcony beckoned and Kara was pulled out the doors. Nia rushed after her, following her out onto the balcony, just as the first blow landed. Kara staggered but stood her ground. The second blow landed harder, and this time Kara hit back, and when the glowing figure staggered, Kara turned to run.
The glowing figure followed, and Nia chased after them. All three of them stopped in the middle of the office, and Nia watched helplessly as Kara and the figure traded blows until one of them left Kara stunned. The light from the glowing figure grew blindingly bright, and Nia heard Kara moan, and whimper, and cry out, begging in a language Nia knew somehow was Kryptonian. As the intensity of the light peaked, there was a sound like a wooden door being snapped in half, and Kara screamed like she was being torn open.
When the light faded away again, Kara looked different, more vital. The wounds weren't gone, but the older ones looked cleaner and less toxic. The pain radiating off of Kara was muted and fading. It should have been a good thing, but all of Nia's attention was focused on the gaping hole in Kara's chest where her heart used to be. The heart now steadily beating away in the hands of the glowing figure.
Nia was halfway into her Dreamer suit before she even realized she'd woken up from the dream, and wakefulness didn't slow her down at all. She finished pulling on the costume with only one thought in her mind. Kara was hurting and in danger and needed her help. The second she finished putting on her mask, she went out the window, using a burst of dream energy to cushion her landing, and headed for CatCo.
Kara touched down on the public balcony on the fortieth floor of the CatCo building with more than a little dread. She'd had Brainy install a few off-the-books security measures in the building after James had been shot, and one of them had gone off just a few minutes ago, letting her know someone was in the building when they shouldn't be, and in a place where no one should be. She knew, technically, that it wasn't her job to look after every little thing that went on in the CatCo building, knew that she might not have any right to enter the building at all if the new owner decided they didn't care for a reporter who kept inconsistent hours, at best. But for the time being at least, CatCo was still as much her home as her loft, and someone was violating the most sacred space in it.
Kara slipped into the building, grateful that security had never gotten around to adding badge swipes to the balcony doors. It was something she'd have to bring up to whoever it was Lena had sold CatCo to. In a world where aliens lived alongside humans, there would be criminals who had abilities that humans didn't have, and the past year had seen too many of her co-workers in danger or even hurt by unexpected threats. Tonight though, the lax security worked to her advantage, letting her get inside without the risk that she would need to explain how little human Kara Danvers had entered the building via a fortieth-floor balcony.
She moved quickly and silently across the bullpen, ready for any threat, scanning quickly in the low light. She didn't see anything in the bullpen, or in Cat's… In James' office.
It probably shouldn't hurt so much to have to think of it that way, but she couldn't help it. No matter what happened, no matter how long, she didn't think she would ever be able to think of it as anything other than Cat's office first. She still resented the changes James made. Hated that she couldn't look through the window and see a piece of Cat, be reminded of a time in her life when everything felt like it made sense, even if it hadn't. But that was always Kara's problem. Home for her was always found in people, not places. Home was her mother and her father and her uncle and her aunts. Home was Alex and Eliza. Home was Cat and Winn. The voices and the heartbeats that surrounded her.
Cat was the first time a piece of home had ever walked away from her willingly. The first time someone she loved had walked out of her life simply because they wanted to, and not because they were locked away in prison, or because a planet was burning beneath their feet, or because they were terrified of their enemies finding Kara and hurting her. Cat had walked away because she wanted other things in her life beside Kara, and while she was the first, she wouldn't be the last. But of all of them, Cat was the one wound that never, ever seemed to close.
Kara stepped into the office, into the twisted mockery James had made of the sacred space that contained so many unspoken words, and looked around, finding it as empty as the rest of the floor. No one lurking in the shadows. Nothing nefarious. She'd talk to Brainy. See if it had been a false alarm. Maybe a motion sensor turned up too high picking up the shifting of air, or a mouse looking for scraps from the meals James ate too often at his desk.
Kara turned to leave, not sure where she would go. She almost dreaded her apartment and the loneliness it would bring. Alex had a girlfriend again and was busy repairing the damage that Haley and Lockwood had done to the DEO. Nia was lost in her new relationship with Brainy, and Kara didn't think that would burn itself out for a while. And then there was Lena. Lena who wasn't speaking to her because of the whole Supergirl thing. Lena, who was so angry she'd sold CatCo just to put space between them. Lena who was the latest person to leave Kara alone when she needed someone.
Kara had almost made it to the door of the office when she heard it. The sound that had been such a part of her life and her emotional landscape for so long, she couldn't believe she hadn't picked it up sooner. But then, maybe it shouldn't be a surprise. Not really. Time and distance and silence had done what no amount of sharp remarks or passive-aggressive digs had done. They had made her learn to live without the steady double beat of Cat's heart constantly on the edge of her awareness.
She turned around and used her x-ray vision, peeling back the side of the building, and sure enough, there was Cat, standing on her balcony, staring out at National City as if no time had passed at all. It was a sight that would have made Kara's heart sore once, but now, she wasn't sure what it made her feel, other than a confused mess of desire, longing and hurt. She wanted to rush out to the balcony and wrap her arms around Cat, to hold her and never let her go, and she wanted to turn and leave before Cat saw her, to disappear into the night, and pretend Cat wasn't there at all. Pretend this was nothing more than loneliness and old grief playing tricks on her.
Cat, like she always seemed to do, took the choice away from Kara. "Are you just going to stand there all night?" she asked, her voice never rising about a normal pitch, and her gaze never turning towards Kara.
Kara sighed headed for the door, because really, when had she ever said no to Cat? Just once, just on the one topic. She wondered sometimes if she hadn't, if she'd told Cat the truth the first time she demanded it, or if she'd told Cat her real name that last night on the balcony, if it would have changed things. She wondered if Cat would have stayed, and she wondered if she would have still wanted Cat to stay if that was the only reason.
She pushed open the door and stepped out onto the balcony, taking a spot at the railing beside Cat.
"Hello, Ms. Grant," Kara said. "It's been a while."
"It has, hasn't it?" Cat asked. "Not too long, I hope. I wouldn't want you to forget me."
Kara laughed, but the sound didn't have a lot of humor in it. "I don't think I could forget you if I tried. You did name me, after all."
"Yes, I did," Cat said. "One of my better choices, if I do say so."
"I still think you should have gone with Superwoman," Kara said. It felt like reckless thing to say, since she'd only ever discussed the name with Cat as Kara, but then, the truth was hardly a secret between them at this point. Kara had never come right out and admitted it, and Cat had never come right out and said she knew, but there were enough hints dropped in both directions during their phone conversations that Kara wasn't sure why she'd never gotten around to having the conversation. Except, it always felt like something that should be said, should be admitted face-to-face, and she hadn't stood face-to-face with Cat since Cat had left after the Daxamite invasion.
"I remember you being rather indignant about the choice," Cat said.
"It was a little embarrassing at first," Kara said. "But I got used to it." Which was an understatement, because it was always something which connected her to Cat. Sometimes that connection hadn't been the happiest thing. Sometimes the loss it reminded her of had burned as brightly as the pain of her separation from Kal during her first years on Earth. But even when it hurt, she'd cherished it, the same way she'd cherished her memories of Krypton.
"You did more than that," Cat said. "You made it a symbol of hope for everyone."
"Not everyone," Kara said.
"Well, I don't think there was ever any chance of you winning over Lex Luthor," Cat said.
Kara glanced over at Cat, feeling an ache in her chest at the distance between her and Cat highlighted by Cat's words. The fact that Cat thought she was worried about Lex Luthor was just a reminder of how little Cat knew about her life. She considered telling her the truth, telling her about Red Daughter, and how much it hurt that she hadn't been able to save her. About Lockwood, and how much it hurt that it had been so easy for one man to stir up so much hatred for aliens. But really, what was the point? Whatever it was that had brought Cat here, she'd be gone again soon enough.
"I suppose I can't win them all," Kara said instead.
"No," Cat said. "But you do better than most people."
Kara made a non-committal noise as she stared out over the city, listening for trouble and torn between hoping she didn't find any and this moment could last, and hoping to get called away so she didn't have to say goodbye again.
"So, do you break into every building in town, or is mine special?" Cat asked.
"It's not your building, Ms. Grant," Kara reminded her.
"Yes, it is," Cat said. "Or, I suppose I should say, it is as of three hours ago."
"You're the one who bought CatCo?" Kara asked.
"Of course," Cat said. "When Lena bought it, one of the terms I insisted on was right of first refusal if she ever decided to sell it, and since I'm not the Press Secretary anymore, I thought it was time I come home."
"Well, good for you," Kara said, a little surprised at how harsh the words sounded.
Cat looked over at her, and Kara thought she detected a little bit of a frown.
"I thought you'd be happy," Cat said.
"I'm thrilled," Kara said. "Cat Grant. Always there to ride to my rescue, as long as it's convenient for you."
"Excuse me?"
Kara shook her head, not quite sure why she'd said it, but not willing to apologize for it, either. "I should get going," she said. She turned and headed back inside, not sure why she didn't just take off from Cat's balcony, but it felt wrong somehow. It felt to much like going back to the way things were, like pretending Cat hadn't left, and everything was okay.
She wasn't even sure why she was upset. Cat was coming home. Things were going back to the way they should be. Except, it hurt. It hurt that Cat could just walk away when Kara needed her, and it hurt that she could just walk back into Kara's life whenever she felt like it. It hurt that however much she wanted Cat back, she would never be able to trust it. Never be sure Cat wasn't just going to walk away again when the mood struck her.
"Kara?"
She stopped about halfway across the office, because apparently, they weren't pretending anymore. She turned around to see Cat standing there, confusion and hurt on her face, and she wanted to make it better. She wanted to apologize, but for once, she couldn't do it. She couldn't pretend that she was the one at fault just to make peace. She'd tried that, over and over again. Apologizing to people when she knew she hadn't done anything wrong. She'd apologized to Cat for getting upset about being named Supergirl, and for losing her temper when Cat was insulting her during Cat's mother's visit. She'd apologized to Lena for being angry about the Kryptonite, for being angry about the Harun-El, and for keeping her secret. To Winn for not returning his feelings. To James for being angry about… everything. To Mon-El so many times she'd lost count. It never worked. It never made peace. It just left people expecting an apology the next time they walked all over her.
"Kara, what's wrong?" Cat asked.
"What's wrong?" Kara asked, hating the edge of hysteria she could hear in her own voice. "You're really going to ask me what's wrong?"
"Well, obviously," Cat said. "I'm not a mind-reader like your large green friend."
"Well, maybe next time you're bored, you can go live in a cave on Mars and take lessons," Kara snapped.
"Oh," Cat said. "That's what this is about."
"No," Kara said. "I'm upset because I'm so attached to the seventies man-cave aesthetic in James' office and I know you're going to remodel."
"Kara…"
"You left me," Kara said. "I needed you. I told you how much I needed you, and you still left. And what? I'm supposed to just welcome you back with open arms? I'm supposed to let you back in, depend on you again, so you can just walk away whenever you feel like it?"
"Kara…"
Kara closed her eyes so she didn't have to see the tears shimmering in Cat's eyes. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to stop the words that just kept spilling out. "Do you know how much I needed you? How much it hurt when you weren't there? The things I did, trying to fill that space?"
"Oh, Kara. I never meant to hurt you. I was trying to protect you."
"Oh, that makes it all so much better," Kara said. She opened her eyes and looked at Cat. Everyone who ever left me did it to protect me. My parents sent me away to protect me. Clark gave me to the Danvers to protect me. Jeremiah 'died' to protect me. Astra died trying to protect me. Even Alex…"
"Did something happen to your sister?" Cat asked, and Kara could hear the concern in her voice.
"She's fine," Kara said. "Just… forget it. I shouldn't have said anything. Have a good night, Cat." She turned to leave, but she only made it one step.
"Wait," Cat said.
Kara stopped.
"Kara, look at me."
Kara turned around and found Cat barely a step away from her.
"I'm sorry," Cat said. "I never meant to hurt you. I just wanted… No. No, that's not the truth. I didn't leave to protect you. I left to protect myself. What I said before was true. I left because I wasn't happy. I left because this place was too small. But not because I needed to dive. Not because I needed new challenges. I left because I was afraid of what would happen if I stayed."
"What do you mean?" Kara asked.
"That I would do something stupid, like tell you how I felt," Cat said.
"How you felt?"
"You're going to make me say it, aren't you?" Cat asked. She shook her head. "I turned into a cliché, okay. I had this beautiful, brilliant, amazing assistant. Someone I knew was special from the moment she walked into my office. And I watched you become everything I ever hoped you would, and so much more. And I stood there, in that tiny little office, with you looking at me like I was something more than an old, bitter thing who destroyed everything she ever loved except her son, and I realized that somewhere along the way, I fell in love with you.
"I left because I couldn't stay here and watch you throw yourself at someone who didn't deserve you. I couldn't watch you be with James, because I wanted you for myself. And I had to leave, because I know that I'm small, and petty, and jealous, and I would never forgive myself if I let that side of me hurt you. And then, I came back, and you had Lena and had a boyfriend, and you saved the world again, and Olivia offered me a way out, and I took it.
"But when Lena's lawyers called me to tell me she was selling CatCo, I knew I couldn't stay away anymore. Because what I said in that alleyway that night was true too. The key to happiness is connection, and you are one of the strongest connections I have ever had."
"You… You're in love with me?" Kara asked, not quite able to believe what she'd just heard.
"Yes," Cat said. "It's pathetic, I know. I spent three years running away from it, and it still hasn't gone away. And I'm not saying this because I expect anything. I just… I don't want you to think it was your fault. I don't want you to think that you weren't enough for me to stay. I left because when I hurt, I lash out, and I didn't want to lash out at you. Not again. Not the way I did with Siobhan."
Kara stared at Cat, the words turning over and over in her head. Cat loved her. Cat was in love with her. It was like every idle daydream she'd had her first two years at CatCo except for the ones about pitching Siobhan into space were suddenly coming true.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Kara said.
"Because I was your boss," Cat said. "Because I'm a silly old woman with an inappropriate crush. Because you were sniffing around after James Olsen. Because I've destroyed every relationship I've ever had. Because I-"
Kara pulled Cat into a kiss, cutting off whatever it was Cat was saying. For a moment, Cat froze, but then Cat's hands were in her hair, pulling. As Cat kissed her back, Kara felt it in a way she'd never felt a kiss before, feeling things she thought only existed in romance novels and movies. Every part of her ached, everywhere Cat touched felt like she was on fire, and the world around her narrowed, the ever-present din fading away until all she could hear was the beating of Cat's heart, the blood rushing through Cat's veins, and the whimper coming from her own throat.
"Why didn't you do that before I left," Cat asked once the kiss was over.
"Because you were my boss," Kara said. "Because I'm just a silly little girl with an inappropriate crush. Because what would Cat Grant ever want with me? Because everything I've ever really loved gets taken away sooner or later, so I'm terrified of wanting anything."
Cat kissed her again, and this time, Kara reached down, hooked her hands behind Cat's thighs, and picked the smaller woman up, carrying her aa few steps and setting her down on the conference table. She slipped her hands inside Cat's blazer and rested them on her hips, pulling Cat to the edge of the table, but Cat put a hand in the middle of her chest and pushed her back.
"Is this what you want?" Cat asked.
"Yes," Kara said.
"You don't have to do this to get me to stay," Cat said. "I'm not leaving again. Whatever happens, I'm not."
Kara kissed her again, because she could and because she didn't want to have to think about whether she believed it or not.
"I want you," Kara said, the words tumbling out of her mouth. It was probably the truest thing she'd said in a long time. She'd wanted Cat for so long it felt like forever. She'd never believed she could have her, never believed Cat would ever feel the same way, so she'd convinced herself to want to be Cat's friend, to be a part of Cat's life, to be there for her, but the longing for more had never really gone away. She had loved Cat with an intensity that had never been matched in her life, except for Alex. But what she felt for Cat was very different from what she felt for Alex. Everything she felt for Cat was tinged with desire, and hearing Cat say she felt the same way turned that desire into an all-consuming need.
"Here?" Cat asked.
"Here," Kara said, because she didn't want to let go. "Now," she said, because she didn't believe it would last. "Just tell me what to do."
"Haven't you ever?" Cat asked.
"Not with a woman," Kara said. She'd thought about it. There were plenty of temptations. A couple of girls in high school. A few girls in college. One of the girls she'd worked with at Noonan's. Lena. Lucy. Imra. Susan. But there was always Eliza's voice in the back of her head telling her to fit in, to not draw attention, to be what this world called normal, so she'd never let the desire she felt lead her down that road.
Cat pushed Kara back again, and this time, she slid off the table onto her feet. She grabbed Kara and spun her around so Kara's back was to the table.
"How do I get this off you?" Cat asked.
"Unclip the cape first," Kara said.
Cat reached up and pulled down the neckline of Kara's suit, exposing the clips that held the cape in place. She pulled them open and the cape fell, pooling on top of the conference table.
"There's a zipper in the back."
Cat smiled and pressed herself against Kara as she reached for the zipper. Kara grabbed the edge of the oak conference table to steady herself as her knees went weak. Everywhere Cat touched her, pressed against her, felt like she was being hit by one of Leslie's lightning bolts. Heat pooled between her legs and she smelled the scent of her own need mixing with Cat's, and she felt an ache in her chest that was terrifyingly familiar. The same ache she always felt when she knew she was about to lose something she couldn't live without.
Cat peeled the suit away, leaving Kara bare to the waist, and feeling more exposed than she ever had before.
"Is this okay?" Cat asked.
"Don't stop," Kara said. "Please don't stop touching me."
Cat leaned in and kissed Kara again, and Kara shivered at the feel of Cat's silk suit against her bare skin, and Cat's hands sliding up her sides. She whimpered as Cat palmed her breast. The fabric of her bra was in the way of what she really wanted, so she reached back and unhooked it. Cat moaned approvingly into the kiss and pulled the bra out of the way.
Cat moved away from Kara's mouth, leaving a trail of kisses down Kara's neck, shoulders and chest until she covered a nipple with her mouth. When Cat's teeth scraped over the pink flesh, Kara thought her powers had gone haywire, because it wasn't the first time she'd ever had someone's mouth there, but it had never felt like this before. Every touch of Cat's fingers, every scrape of her teeth, every swipe of her tongue, every gentle little suck felt like it was going to break Kara open.
She felt Cat's hands slide inside the waist of her suit, and heard the wood of the conference table creaking as she tightened her grip. Cat pulled the suit and tights down to Kara's knees, stopping only when the boots halted her progress.
"Is this what you want?" Cat asked.
"I want you," Kara said.
"I'm here. I'm not going anywhere," Cat said. "Whether this happens or not, I promise I won't leave you again."
"I want you," Kara said. "I want this. I've wanted this for so long. Please, let me have this."
Cat slipped a hand down between Kara's legs. Kara hissed as Cat cupped her, grinding the heel of her palm into the hood of Kara's clit.
"Lie back," Cat said. "Lie back and let me take care of you."
Kara nodded and lay back on the table, watching as Cat leaned over her, trailing kisses down her stomach. She bit her lip as she felt Cat's fingers slip between her folds, and heard the heavy oak creak again as Cat's fingers teased her entrance.
"Please," Kara begged. "Cat, please."
Cat pushed two fingers inside, and Kara let out a cry as she arched her back.
"God, you're beautiful like this," Cat said, reverence in her voice.
Kara lifted her right hand up and reached out. Cat seemed to know exactly what Kara was looking for, because she reached up with her left hand and threaded their fingers together.
"Promise you'll stay this time," Kara said.
"I promise," Cat said. She leaned down again, pressing a kiss just about the patch of soft blonde hair between Kara's legs. The next kiss was lower, and the one after that lower still, and then Kara screamed as Cat's tongue slipped between her folds.
It felt… Kara didn't have the words for it, because it wasn't just how incredible it felt having Cat's fingers inside her and Cat's tongue driving her towards the edge. It was that this was Cat. Cat there with her. Cat touching her and filling her.
"/ ,rao, rrahdhuhs/" Kara moaned. "/ .sokao:zhaolu w khap/"
She arched her back, writhing and moaning as Cat took her, taking care to keep her right hand relaxed so she didn't hurt Cat, but she felt the fingers of her left hand start to dig into the wood of the table as Cat's fingers and tongue drove her mad with want and need.
"Please, Cat," she cried out, not sure what she was begging for, only knowing she didn't want this to stop. Cat squeezed Kara's hand and Kara felt like Cat was holding on to her heart. She felt heat behind her eyes and squeezed them shut as Cat found a rhythm that made the world fall away. For the first time in months, there were no cars, no sirens, no alarms, no voices, just the sound of three hearts beating.
When Nia had first become Dreamer, she'd complained to Brainy that it was a lot harder to get into buildings when you weren't a Kryptonian. Brainy had responded by making her a blank security badge that would open any RFID badge swipe on the planet. Something she was very grateful for as she slapped it against the scanner on the front door lock at the CatCo building. Once inside, she ran straight for the elevator.
As she rode up the elevator, she thought about calling for backup, getting Brainy and Alex and a full DEO tac team but she'd decided against it by the time the elevator passed the twentieth floor. If whatever was up there was a danger to Kara, however good the DEO was, it was out of their League. It might be out of hers too, but she was there to take it on one-on-one, just to help Kara.
The elevator stopped on thirty-nine and Nia got out, dashing across the hallway to the stairwell, and rushing up the stairs. She stopped at the door to the fortieth floor, and opened it slowly, careful to be as quiet as possible. She slipped out of the stairwell and crept towards the bullpen, ducking down and hiding behind the statue of the pink panther that sat off to one side, keeping out of view of the office until she knew if Kara was here.
"/ ,rao, rrahdhuhs .sokao:zhaolu w khap/" Kara cried out, and Nia had to bite back a curse because she'd almost arrived too late.
Nia rolled out of cover, coming to her feet with a clear line of sight to the office door and the strongest orbs of dream energy she could conjure in each hand. Nia stood there, stance perfect, mind focused, ready for a fight, but completely unprepared for the sight that greeted her.
Kara was laying on the conference table in James' office, her cape underneath her, her suit pulled down around her knees with a blonde woman kneeling in front of her. The blonde woman's face was buried between Kara's legs, the fingers of her left hand threaded through the fingers of Kara's right, and given the way the blonde's arm was moving, there was no doubt where her right hand was. Given the sounds Kara was making, and the way she was writhing on the table, and the way the area around her eyes was glowing brighter than a pair of flood lights, there was no doubt how much Kara was enjoying it either.
"Please, Cat," Kara said, and Nia's eyes went wide, because holy fucking shit, that was Cat.
Nia dived behind the base of the panther statue again, covering her mouth with both hands to keep herself from screaming.
Kara opened her eyes as a hundred possibilities ran through her head, but the next heartbeat echoed through the room and Kara turned towards the pink panther statue in the bullpen. Her left hand tightened on the wood of the table as tears welled in her eyes.
Why now? Why couldn't she just have this one moment for herself? Why couldn't she have Cat, have someone who loved her, and she could love in return, even if it was just for a night?
Kara used her X-ray vision to peel away the layers of marble and masonry and steel until she saw Nia, kneeling down behind the statue's pedestal, both hands over her mouth, an absolutely mortified look on her face.
Kara let her head fall back on the table. She didn't even have to guess what had happened. Nia'd had a dream, misinterpreted it, and rushed to the rescue. She wanted to scream in frustration, but instead, she just screamed as Cat curled her fingers up against Kara's front wall.
She should say something. She knew that, knew Cat would never want to be seen like this. But she couldn't do it. She didn't really believe Cat would stay, that she would get to keep this, that she would get to have something she wanted so desperately, so she wasn't going to give it up. She knew it was wrong, that it was selfish, but just this once, she was going to be selfish. Just this once, she was going to ask for what she really wanted.
"More," Kara said, the word drawing a moan from Cat. She whimpered when she felt Cat pull her fingers out, but she screamed when Cat pushed three fingers back inside her. She closed her eyes, losing herself in the rhythm, in the building pressure as Cat filled her and stretched her again and again, letting the world fade away until it was just her and Cat, until…
Until…
The sound of splitting wood echoed through the room, followed a moment later by Kara's screams as she came, her whole body shaking and trembling.
What the hell? What the fucking hell?
Why the hell would her dream lead her here? Lead her into the middle of her idol and mentor and her best friend and other mentor having sex in her boss's office?
Why the hell where Cat and Kara having sex in the first place?
Okay, stupid question. Kara was insanely hot, and if Nia was honest, if she'd had any clue Kara was into girls, she might have decided to chase her instead of Brainy. And Cat Grant was Cat Grant, and you'd have to be insane not to want what Cat had to offer, because she was Cat fucking Grant. And yeah, hot people tended to like hot people, and Cat had said she and Kara were close, and Kara has said she and Cat were close, and Nia had never even imagined how close they were, because her little queer heart would have exploded at the thought, and right now, it was a miracle it hadn't exploded right alongside her brain at the reality.
And there were other parts of her that were reacting to what she'd seen and what she was hearing, because she'd just seen Cat Grant going down on Supergirl, and she was pretty sure she shouldn't be thinking about how freaking hot it was, because she had a boyfriend. A sweet, adorable boyfriend who she loved, and who she was devoted to, and Cat and Kara were her friends, and she definitely shouldn't look again.
She stuck her head around the corner of the statue base and swallowed. Cat was still on her knees, her arm pumping as her mouth worked between Kara's legs, while Kara writhed and moaned and arched her back. The area around Kara's eyes was glowing even brighter, lighting up the entire office.
"More," Kara said in a tone than made Nia squeeze her thighs together.
She ducked back behind the statue, because she should not be watching two of the most important people in her life in such a private moment, even if they'd decided to have that private moment in a very public place.
She needed to move. To get up and make a break for it. She knew that, but if she did, Kara might hear her.
She froze, suddenly terrified, because Kara could hear heartbeats from miles away. What if Kara had already heard her?
She jumped as the sound of splintering wood echoed through the bullpen, followed by the exact same scream she'd heard in her dreams, but in context, it carried a very different message.
As the world slowly came back to her, awareness replacing the blood pounding in her ears and the starts dancing in her eyes, and the fire burning in her lungs, she looked down to see Cat smiling up at her from where she knelt between Kara's legs.
"Wow," Kara said. "That was…"
"Amazing? Astonishing? Life-altering?"
Kara nodded. "All of that," she said.
Cat smiled as she stood up, a smug smile on her face. "It's good to know I've still got it."
"Definitely," Kara said. "I didn't even think that could happen for me."
"What?"
"I've never… with a partner," Kara said. "I mean, I liked it, but I just thought, because of my powers…"
"Oh," Cat said. "Never?"
Kara shook her head. "No. I mean, it's not like I've had a lot of experience."
"Well, it doesn't sound like anyone you had experience with knew what they were doing," Cat said.
Kara didn't argue. Instead, she sat up and pulled Cat in close and kissed her again and hoping she could find a way make the night as memorable for Cat as Cat made it for her.
"What can I do for you?" Kara asked.
"You could get dressed," Cat said.
Kara stared at Cat for a moment, wondering if she'd done something wrong. She knew that whatever was happening between them wasn't going to last, no matter what Cat said, but she'd thought she'd get the night, or if not the whole night, then at least the chance to touch Cat the way she'd wanted to.
"You're gorgeous, naked, but I don't particularly want to share the view with my driver on the way home."
"Home?" Kara asked.
"Home," Cat said. "As fun as this was, my bed is a lot easier on my back than the floor or the couches in here, and I don't think the table is up for anything more than a trip to the dumpster."
Kara looked down at the table, which had a massive crack running three quarters of the way across the surface, but then the deeper implications of what Cat was saying started to sink in and she looked at Cat.
"You want me to go home with you?" Kara asked.
"If you want to," Cat said, her voice a little hesitant.
"Yes!" Kara said. "Yes, of course. I just… I didn't think… I mean…"
Kara stopped, because she wasn't sure what she meant, other than that she didn't think this would last, and that she didn't think Cat would stay, and she didn't want to say those things, didn't want to give voice to her fear. But she could see it on Cat's face. Cat knew. Cat always knew.
"I know I hurt you when I left," Cat said. "I'm so sorry. I just never imagined you'd feel the same way. And I'll be honest. I'm scared. I'm terrified. I'm terrible at relationships. I'm afraid that this only happened because you think it's the only way I'll stay-"
"No," Kara said. "No. Cat, I have wanted this for so long. I wanted you. I still want you. I just lose everything I love."
"I can't promise you won't lose me," Cat said. "I'm old, Kara. I'm closer to fifty-five than fifty. And you're still young. But I'd like to try. If you want this. If you really, truly want this. I'd like to try."
Kara nodded. "Please," she said.
"Okay," Cat said. "Do you have a change of clothes here?"
"In my desk," Kara said.
"Good," Cat said. "Because I want to take Kara Danvers home. Not Supergirl."
Kara smiled and leaned in to kiss Cat again. "Be right back," Kara said before she used a bit of super-speed to fix her super-suit, grab her street clothes out of her desk, and take care of one other little detail.
Nia could hear them talking in the office, but she couldn't make out what was being said, which was both frustrating and a relief. Frustrating because she didn't know if the conversation was involved enough to cover the sounds of her making a mad scramble for the stairs, but a relief because she knew the conversation had to be intensely private.
The pieces of the dream were starting to make sense to her now, and she'd badly, badly misinterpreted it. She knew the dreams were sparked by events that had significance to the timeline. Things that shifted the course of events, that changed people and things, and the significance of the image of the glowing figure, which she now knew was Cat, holding Kara's heart was so obvious in context that Nia wanted to hit herself for taking it so literally.
Whatever happened tonight had ended with Kara falling in love with Cat.
Nia was happy for them. She really, truly was. And she needed to figure out a way to escape without Kara noticing she was there so she didn't spoil the moment. It had nothing to do with the fact that Cat could reduce people to a grease spot with a well-placed glare, and Kara could literally throw her into orbit.
Maybe she could use a bit of the dream energy to muffle the sound of her escape and…
The world shifted between one thought and the next, and Nia found herself sitting on the public balcony off the bullpen, in a spot that couldn't be seen from inside. She'd been moved by Kara at super-speed enough times in training to understand what had happened, and if she hadn't, she was pretty sure the note in her hand would be clue enough.
Dear Nia,
1). You saw nothing tonight. Seriously, Cat would kill us both, so from now until all light fades from the universe, you saw nothing.
2). Work on your dream interpretation, please.
3). Thank you for *not* calling Alex and the tac team. That could have been really embarrassing.
4). Sidekicks get to clean up the broken furniture, and James needs a new conference table. Call Kevin in maintenance. He never asks questions.
Kara.
In less than a second, she was standing next to Cat as Kara Danvers, rather than as Supergirl.
"That is so hot," Cat said.
Kara laughed and took Cat's hand. "Ready?"
"Yes," Cat said.
Kara let Cat lead them to the private elevator, smiling the whole way. There was a part of her that was still afraid of Cat leaving, or the universe snatching this away from her, or any of the million other things that could go wrong, but she has something now that she didn't when she spotted Cat on the balcony earlier.
She had hope.