Lena stood in the elevator that would take her to her next meeting. Inside the small metal box were a handful of other businesspeople. It was a very large and diverse group for such a tiny elevator at such an early hour in the morning, but there was one thing everyone had in common: the way they stared at Lena. Every single eye was turned on her, full of distrust and dislike. None of them said a single word, or even made a single sound, but their disdain and disgust with her was palpable and it took all of Lena's strength to push her elevator button and then slip on a mask of her own indifference, trying to hide how much it really hurt her heart to see the way all of these people were looking at her.
Although part of her agreed that she deserved such a reaction, she still couldn't deny how much it broke her heart to see how much the people of National City still hated her. Even though she'd never met any of these people before, all of them were still looking at her with hatred. She'd never done anything to them, yet they were all looking at her like they expected her to try and kill them. Lena understood their wariness around her, but it still made her feel angry, sad, lonely, ashamed, unworthy and defeated to have so many strange eyes all piercing into her soul with such silent but deadly hostility, but what could she do except hide behind her little emotional wall and silently beg the elevator to go faster?
Suddenly, Lena found herself wishing that Kara Danvers could've been there with her. Although this was an impossibility, Kara being neither a CEO or an L-Corp employee, it was still a pleasant idea to the CEO of L-Corp just because Kara had been the first and only person to never judge her for her last name and to love her for who she was, and not who the rest of her family was. Kara had always been so kind and friendly to Lena, even when the rest of the world hated her on sight.
If Kara were here now, fanciful an idea as that was, she would've laughed at the vacant stares of the other elevator patrons. She would've turned it into a joke and made their distrust of Lena into a disinterest with their jobs. They didn't really hate Lena, they were just jealous that she had a super girlfriend and they didn't! Kara would've laughed and made it all ok, just like she always did. Kara always knew how to make Lena feel better, and how to make the scary times less scary. But Kara wasn't here right now, so Lena was on her own. Just her and all those stares…
But it wasn't even just strangers on the elevator. Lena knew Kara worked with the DEO, though she went under the alias of "Supergirl" while working there, so by proxy, Lena worked with the DEO as well. She wasn't technically a member, but she was an ally, linked to the clandestine group by Kara. The group, however, treated Lena with the same distrust and disdain that the strangers on the elevator did. It didn't matter that Lena had proven herself a valuable asset and a trustworthy ally multiple times already, they still only saw a female Lex Luthor. It didn't matter that Kara, or Supergirl, had personally and verbally vouched for Lena time and time again, the DEO still did not trust Lena and continued to treat her as a potential enemy and it seemed that nothing would ever change it.
Instead, all of them, J'onn, James, Winn, Mon-El, even Kara's sister, Alex, all judged Lena, and her relationship with Supergirl. They were already on edge about Lena as an individual, so of course her relationship with Supergirl set them all over that edge. They didn't like the relationship. They didn't trust it. They constantly tried to "protect" Supergirl from it, while simultaneously attempting to scare or warn Lena away. Not that it worked. Much as their words hurt, she refused to let people like them control her life, so even though their judgements were endless and merciless, she continued to stand by Supergirl's side. What right did any of the DEO have to make calls on Lena's relationship with Supergirl? Supergirl might've been one of their most important members, but she was not their property. And they did not know Lena. They never even tried to get to know her in the first place, so what right or reason did they have to try and assess her relationship with Supergirl?
It seemed that, in all aspects of life, Lena Luthor was despised. Whether it was family, coworkers, strangers, associates or acquaintances, no one ever really truly liked or trusted Lena. They could put on fake smiles and pretend, but Lena was always able to see right through the deception and false politeness. There was only one person in all of the city whose respect for Lena was genuine: Kara. And for that alone, Lena was not willing to give up on Kara. The jury might've been out surrounding the controversy of her relationship with Supergirl, but Lena didn't care. Her choice still was, and always would be, Supergirl. She would always choose her love for Kara over her hatred for anyone else, or their hatred for her.
And at the same exact time that all of this was going through Lena's mind, Kara was facing problems of her own down at the DEO. Once again, she and some of the other workers were arguing over her relationship with Lena. Alex insisted that Kara needed be more careful around the Luthor, and when Kara tried to argue with her, J'onn only intervened and insisted that they didn't mean this to be taken personally, they were just trying to look after her. Naturally, such an idea infuriated Kara.
"You think I need protection from her?" she demanded of J'onn.
"You can't deny it, Kara," Alex answered for J'onn. "Even if Lena, herself, is totally good and harmless, she's a natural magnet for trouble. Remember Lex's assassination attempt? Or any time we've had a brush with Lillian?"
"So you're still blaming her?" Kara growled, interrupting her sister. Even though she knew Alex meant well in her remarks, she was still implying that none of any of those issues would've ever happened if Lena hadn't been in the picture. That was enough to anger Kara greatly.
"We're just saying you should be careful about how trusting you are with her," J'onn tried again to mediate, but Kara wouldn't listen.
"You're saying I should distrust her because she has the potential to be dangerous?" she demanded. "Because if that's the case, none of you should ever even look at me again! I have the potential to be far worse than any of the Luthors could ever be, combined! Remember the Red Kryptonite?"
This was a sore topic for Kara to bring up, but when it came to defending Lena's honor, Kara was willing to use whatever she had, including references to her own past mistakes and moments of villainy.
"That was the perfect example of how dangerous I can be, yet you all still forgave me and you all still trust me, so why not Lena?" Kara cried. And Kara continued to defend Lena passionately until she finally grew so angry with how stubborn and blind her coworkers were being that she finally just stormed right on out. She wanted to leave before she blew up and ended up doing something regrettable later. Alex and J'onn watched Kara go with pained expressions, but neither of them made any move to stop Kara, or apologize for what they had said. Kara, meanwhile, didn't even look back as she stormed right out of the DEO HQ. The angry, unfair judgements and the disapproving, distrustful stares were taking a toll on the Kryptonian and she wasn't sure how much more Lena-slandering she was going to be able to take before she blew a gasket.
She just couldn't believe that, of all people to be questioning her choices in love and loyalty, that it would be Alex and J'onn. They were her family! They had been so for years! Her most trusted and beloved companions! Yet here they were, standing firmly against her and not even giving Lena an inch! Alex and J'onn had both seen all the good things Lena had done for National City themselves, so why they were still so against the Luthor was beyond Kara. Kara just hated how all of this hatred was coming from family, and all of their excuses were about Lena's, but never Lena herself. If Kara was supposed to distrust Lena, it was because of Lex or Lillian, but not because of Lena herself. Didn't any of them see why that was so problematic and ridiculous to Kara? Apparently not... Suffice to say, the rest of Kara's day was pretty lousy.
But that night, when the working day was done, Kara approached Lena about what her friends at the DEO had said about them.
"They weren't exactly shining examples of love and support," Kara admitted ruefully as they dined at one of the smaller, quieter cafes in town.
"I can't say I'm surprised," Lena's tone was more bitter than Kara's, but held the same air of disappointment.
"I just thought they would react better because you've worked with them in the past," Kara muttered, pained and apologetic.
"I had hopes, but I'm still not surprised. It's not very easy to trust someone whose top skill is the ability to lie and deceive," Lena chuckled darkly.
"That is not your top ability," Kara insisted passionately, shaking her head. "Nor is it written in your DNA. They need to stop using the ghosts of your past to haunt us like this. Maybe you are a Luthor, but you are a good one. I wish they could see that! And I wish that they understood that I don't care what they think about me and you! I don't care, because right now, you're mine! And I love you, and nothing will ever change that!"
Kara shook her head again, frustrated. Lena, however, smiled, genuinely touched by how protective and supportive Kara was getting.
"I have to be honest with you, Kara, I really don't mind what they think as much as you do," Lena confessed. "I mean, I know it's important to you that they accept this, us, but the things they think and say about me don't really bother me as much as you think they do."
"Really?" Kara sounded disbelieving.
"Yes," Lena promised. "When I'm with you, I forget to be hurt by these things. All I remember is you, and suddenly, nothing else matters. Besides, our love is not theirs to speculate about. That's why it's ours..." then Lena gently pulled Kara in for a kiss. It was far from their first, but it was no less sweet and deep than the first had been. Both of them smiled against one another's lips and lost themselves in each other...
As time passed, both of the women continued their romance. Even though the world had knocked them down so many times before, they refused to stay down for long. Instead, they both ignored the stares they received from strangers and acquaintances alike. Lena never hesitated to shower Kara in physical affection, and even when Kara was in her Supergirl outfit, playing up a different role, Lena was still very open about the affection she lavished upon Kara. Sure, there was a slightly different flavor to it when Kara was Supergirl, but Lena no longer cared what anyone thought when they saw a Luthor and a Super together. Instead, in those moments when Lena was standing beside Supergirl, nothing else mattered except the two of them. Let the DEO shudder in horror and let the other Luthors cry disgrace. Let the press speculate romance, sex, betrayal, marriage, affairs or sabotage. Or let them try to do the opposite and claim that Lena and Kara/Supergirl were both straight and any perceived romance between them was only that. Just two gals being pals. It didn't matter to Lena. All that mattered was Kara, her hero, her Supergirl.
"Your hands are tough, but they are where mine belong," Lena had told Supergirl once, nestling her hands into the Kryptonian's. It was a slightly more private moment than usual, Supergirl standing on Lena's balcony and Lena leading her inside just for a friendly chat, but Supergirl didn't mind. On the contrary, as she took a seat beside Lena on the couch in the office, she did not hesitate to embrace the Luthor.
"I'll fight their doubt and give you faith," she promised.
"And any snide remarks from our families about the taboo will be ignored," Lena agreed, returning Supergirl's embrace just as hard. "Because my heart is yours…" The two nuzzled one another affectionately, gentle touches slowly melding into sweet and loving kisses. The little song they had created echoed around their minds as they kissed.
Yeah, life was rough, especially between a Luthor and a Super, but they were capable of a great deal of wonderful things when combined, so who was to say that their love wasn't going to be another one of those great achievements? The stakes were high, the waters rough...
"But this love is ours."
AN: Just shameless Supercorp set to the Taylor Swift song of the same name. Also, yes, in this AU, Lena knows Kara is SG and they're both cool with it. And yes, slight reference to CW's Supercorp queerbaiting.