It had been a hectic day at CatCo. Someone had tried to murder Cat Grant.
Kara heard Cat's voice before the elevator even opened. Looking around, and making sure no one saw her, she heated the latte she had in her hand with heat vision.
The elevator doors opened and out strutted Cat Grant, looking as flawless as ever.
"Good morning, Ms. Grant." Kara beamed at her as she handed her the latte. The corners of Cat's mouth pulled upward just the tiniest bit as she took it.
"Kiera, call Judy from Human Resources and tell her to send me the list I asked for ASAP. Also make sure the editorial team get the layouts James has been working on, and don't forget to confirm my assistance to the gala this weekend." Cat strutted into her office without offering her assistance a second glance, leaving her writing furiously into her little notebook.
"Sure thing, Ms. Grant." Kara mumbled, but the older woman was already gone.
"Ms. Grant?"
Cat looked up to see Kara standing at the entrance of her office looking unsure. They were the only ones left at the office. The sun had already gone down, leaving the city immersed in shadow. Cat had been lost in her own thoughts sitting on the couch with her feet propped up on the table. She had even taken her heels off. She had been sure she was alone.
"What is it?" she asked, lacking her usual bite.
"Are you all right?" Kara stepped into the office and stood near her, looking incredibly worried. In fact, she had looked worried all afternoon.
Cat thought about her answer. She could wave away her assistant's concern just like she had waved Supergirl's away when she came to apologize after she was thrown off her building. Truth be told, she hadn't been scared when Supergirl threw her off her balcony. Some part of her knew she would be all right. She knew Kara would never hurt her, much less her heroic alter ego. Today had been a different story. She was so sure she was going to die. It had been terrifying. After pondering for another moment, she decided to go with the truth.
"No, I'm not okay."
She should've known. She should've known he was carrying a gun with him. She should've known something was amiss when she told Cat her 12 o'clock appointment was there. Kara should've known.
How could she have known though? He looked absolutely harmless: Charming smile, perfectly pressed suit, he even carried a freakin' suitcase. He had strutted into Cat's office all dimpled-smile, and Kara had turned around unconcerned.
She hadn't realized until it was too late.
As soon as she heard the answer, Kara closed the space between them and sat beside Cat. The older woman could feel her assistant's burning gaze on her. Tentatively, Kara took one of her hands between her own, and Cat let her. Before all of this, she would have never let the younger woman get so close to her. She would have never let herself show her weakness to her. But tonight was different. Kara had saved her life. As Kara, and not Supergirl.
She didn't realize until it was too late. Until she heard the gun cock, and saw the man start to raise his arm. She had been walking towards Cat's office to deliver some urgent mail she had just received. When she was close enough, her hearing had picked everything up. The sound of the gun, the smell of sweat, the erratic beat of Cat's heart. Cat was standing behind her desk, a look of horror plastered on her face.
Time seemed to slow down, until the world was no longer spinning. Kara's mind went into overdrive. There was not enough time for her to change into her Supergirl costume, jump out a window, and fly into Cat's balcony to save her. She had to do it now, in front of everyone at the office, if there was any chance to save her boss. It would expose her, but it would be worth it. Cat was worth it.
She willed her feet to move. Rao, she desperately wanted to. She dropped the paperwork, and her hands immediately moved to the top of her shirt. She was about to tear the buttons apart when it hit her: There was another way to save Cat. She was already close enough to her office. She could run at human speed, and tackle the older woman. It was the only way they could both be saved.
So Kara ran. Kara ran towards Cat, as humanly fast as possible. She may have run a little bit faster than the fastest human on the planet, but she had never felt so slow in her entire life. She felt as she wouldn't reach Cat in time. She was in agony. She covered the distance in 3 seconds but it killed her to know she could reach her in half a second. She felt as if she was trapped in one of those dreams where no matter how much you ran, the door would always be far off in the distance.
When she finally reached her boss she was ecstatic. She almost forgot to slow down enough to not hurt Cat when she tackled her. She wrapped her arms protectively around the other woman as she pushed her down as softly as she could. She may have even floated a bit to spare Cat the impact, depositing her softly on the floor, and covering her small frame with her bulletproof one.
The gunshot sounded less than a second later.
"Why are you not okay?" Kara asked in a small voice as she stroked her thumb over Cat's hand.
"Aside from the fact that I was almost shot today?" she asked, sarcasm dripping. She regretted her tone instantly but her assistant didn't seem to mind it, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.
"I thought, I wouldn't make it in time." Kara whispered, deflating completely. Her eyes became shiny all of a sudden, and Cat stared for a moment as the younger woman fought to keep her composure.
"But you did." She said reassuringly, squeezing one of the hands that held her own.
"B-but if I hadn't you-"
"Kara!" the sole mention of her name properly pronounced shut her up immediately. "I'm not one to dwell on 'what ifs', and I suggest you do the same. What's done is done, and it will not do you any good to dwell on past decisions, and the alternate universes that might have derived from them."
Kara's big blue eyes were completely focused on her, and Cat had to close her eyes for a moment to get her thoughts back on track. Her voice turned softer. "The truth of the matter is that you saved me. You saved me, Kara. Not Supergirl, or any one else. You did. And I-"
Blue eyes narrowed in confusion as she faltered. Cat took a deep, invigorating breath as she continued. "I want to thank you, Kara. What you did today was… heroic, to say the least. You are a true hero."
"But?"
Cat's eyes widened in surprise. There hadn't been an implied 'but' at the end of her sentence, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. There was actually something she wanted to say, or rather do. Kara was staring at her as if they were the only people left in the world, and it left Cat breathless. Her stare was so intense she was afraid lasers would shoot out of her eyes. Pun intended.
"But, I wasn't completely honest when I said I never dwell on 'what ifs'."
When she didn't continue Kara squeezed her hand reassuringly.
"What do you mean?"
"There was something I wondered, when I was stuck in that dreadful moment. I was so sure I was going to die that I-" She took another deep breath. "My mind began to wander. I took a trip down memory lane, as cliché as that sounds. I thought of Carter, Adam, and even my mother." She winced at that.
"But in the middle of that something else occurred to me. Something I hadn't done, and suddenly wished very much I had. It made me realize that life is too short, too fragile not to do something you really want to no matter what lame excuses you tell yourself. So I've decided to do it." She now stared pointedly at Kara with the feline expression that let the person on the receiving end of it know she was about to get what she wanted.
The younger woman gulped, as she nervously adjusted her glasses. "What are you going to do, Ms. Grant?"
"This." She whispered as she softly grabbed the back of her assistant's neck, and pulled her in for a kiss.
It was blissful. The tension immediately slipped off Kara's shoulders, as she kissed back eagerly. She'd been waiting for this moment for so long. Secretly, and longingly pinning for the older woman she worked for. She never thought it would happen, never thought her feelings would be reciprocated.
Somewhere along the kiss Kara felt Cat start to shake, so she immediately wrapped her arms around her. She held her protectively against her just as she had held her earlier, hiding behind her desk, as James tackled the man who had tried to kill her.
When the kiss finally broke, Cat immediately buried her face in Kara's neck.
"I've got you, Cat. You're safe. I will always keep you safe."