Chapter 4

As soon as Alex heard Kara calling and banging on her front door, she knew she was in for an argument. Her and Maggie had been watching some hilarious movie, but no doubt their jocular mood was about to change. The two just looked at each other and braced themselves for what was to come. Alex got up and unlocked the door. She opened to a tear streaked Kara. She looked betrayed.

"How could you?" Kara asked as she stormed through the door.

Alex closed it behind her and took a deep breath. "Let me guess. You talked to Lena."

"Yes I talked to Lena. Well, Supergirl talked to Lena!" Kara put her hands on her hips. "You knew. You knew what she wanted to see Supergirl about and you didn't tell me. You ENCOURAGED her, and then you didn't tell me."

Alex breathed out loudly. "I didn't encourage her, it was her idea. I just...didn't DIScourage her."

"Why? Why didn't you? How could you just let me...let me walk into that and let me get blindsided? She's my friend, Alex!"

Alex walked over and leaned on the bar. "Yes, she's Kara's friend. Not Supergirl's. This was a perfect way for you to hear the truth without facing it if you don't want to."

Kara scoffed. "If I don't WANT to? I just did whether Lena knows it or not. How is that fair to her?"

"I was trying to be fair to both of you. She needed to know how you felt, and you are able to decide what to do without any pressure."

"Alex. You know I'm not gay!"

"I don't know that," Alex proclaimed. When Kara looked at her dumbfounded, Alex continued. "Look. I didn't even know I was gay. I suppressed everything, not able to admit it. Not until Maggie. It wasn't until the right person came along, someone that I really cared about, someone that I thought was worth it that I finally admitted who I was. I don't know if that's the case with you too."

Kara stormed around the apartment. "That's crap, Alex, and you know it. I've had boyfriends!"

"So have I! That doesn't mean anything! Look, Kara, I'm not saying one way or another. But I've seen the way you look at Lena. I've heard the way you talk about her. You risked your LIFE to save her."

"I'd do that for anyone," Kara tried to deflect.

Alex looked at her for a minute and chuckled. "Are you sure? Kara, you went out of your way, WAY out of your way to find her and rescue her. When you could have easily been like the rest of us and believed she was guilty."

Kara huffed into the lazy boy, giving Maggie a silent glare. "Because she's my friend and I believed in her."

Alex sighed out and sat down next to Maggie who just sat silent. "Look, Kara. It wasn't my place to make that decision for you. If you only feel friendship toward Lena, then fine. I just didn't want to take any choice away from you by telling her you weren't interested."

Kara brushed a tear away. "No. You just left it up to ME to break her heart."

Alex just looked at Kara for a moment. "Did I?" When Kara looked up at her, Alex shrugged. "I'm not blind, Kara. You're right, I could have told Lena to forget it. But I didn't. Because I think maybe...just maybe...you might feel the same way."

Kara sighed and put her head in her hands. She groaned and looked back at Alex, a bit of resignation in her face. "You didn't see her, Alex. She was devastated. I hated seeing her like that."

Alex pursed her lips and looked at Kara with sympathy. "Just think about it, okay? You don't have to do anything if you don't want to. Just think about it."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The next week flew by. Kara and Lena texted a bit, but Kara was short with her responses. She didn't really know how to react, and the last thing she wanted was to lead Lena on. When Lena walked into her office on Thursday morning, Kara had no choice but to face her. When Lena smiled and walked in, Kara felt her face burning with embarrassment. "Hi Lena!"

Lena knew something had changed. Kara's usually bubbly texts and ridiculous cat memes had all but stopped. She was damned if she was going to just let Kara disappear out of her life. "Hey Kara, have you got a minute?"

Kara hesitated, unable to find any reason to send her friend away. She knew she shouldn't anyway. "Um, yes, sure. What's up?"

Lena closed the glass door to Kara's office behind her and shyly walked to stand in front of the reporter. She swallowed and could see in her eyes Kara was uncomfortable. "Um, listen Kara, I just wanted to make sure everything was okay...with us. It just seems you've been a bit...distant and I wanted to make sure I hadn't done anything to upset you."

Kara fidgeted with anything and everything she could find on the desk between them. She avoided Lena's eye contact. "No, no, nothing, it's just...I've been busy, that's all. Lots to do and I have, like, three stories Snapper has me working on and, it just...seems it's going to keep me busy for...a while," Kara felt guilty even saying it. But what could she do? She didn't want to lose Lena's friendship but also didn't want to make things worse for her.

Lena knew what was happening and knew she had to meet this head on if she had any chance of salvaging her friendship with Kara. "She told you, didn't she?"

Kara made her terrible attempt at lying. "What? Who told me what? No-no one told me anything..." When she saw Lena's face, she knew she had to stop. Instead she just nodded. "Yeah. She told me."

Lena shook her head. "Look, Kara, this is something I'll deal with, okay? I don't want it to affect our friendship, because, well regardless of anything else...I care about you...as a friend, and I-I don't want to lose that."

Kara shook her head. "No, no, of course it won't. We're still friends, Lena, that hasn't changed. Nothing has changed, okay, I just-I'm super busy is all."

Lena nodded, knowing full well that Kara was letting her down easy. She willed the tears welling up to go back to where they came from. "Alright. I'm glad we cleared that up." They met eyes, both looking sad. "I guess, I'll see you around, Kara Danvers."

When Lena turned to go, Kara felt an overwhelming sense of loss. She couldn't just let Lena walk out of there. Despite everything, Kara didn't want to lose her, either. "Ah, hey Lena!" When Lena whipped back around, Kara saw the expectation in her eyes. "Listen, I'm gonna watch a very cheesy, very cliche horror movie in my pj's tonight. You wanna...join me?"

Lena took in a deep, cleansing breath. She raised an eyebrow. "Will there be popcorn?"

Kara smiled genuinely. "All you can eat."

Lena smiled back, thankful for this gesture of friendship. "Count me in. Have a good day, Kara."

Once Lena had left, Kara slumped into her chair with a thud. She sighed out, wondering if she had done the right thing. Then, thinking about sharing a bowl of popcorn with Lena in the dark, cuddling during a scary scene played through her brain. Judging by her body's reaction to this thought...maybe she hadn't made the right decision. Or..maybe...

XXXXXXXXX

Kara had put a little too much thought into which pajamas she was going to wear that night. After trying on several pairs...one too skimpy of a top...one too kiddish of bottoms...she finally landed on a thick strapped black tank and purple and white checkered pants. She was arranging the various popcorn toppings she had bought when her doorbell rang. She looked through the front door to see Lena standing there, smoothing her hair down. Kara took a deep breath and suppressed a smile. Why did this feel like a date? It wasn't a date, it was two friends hanging out, watching a movie. Kara put her own hair in place as she walked over and opened the door. That radiant smile and sparkling eyes had Kara's heart in her throat. "Hi, Lena! Come on in!"

Lena had put extra effort in to be casual this evening, which in hindsight was probably missing the point. She had to prove to Kara that they could be friends, and so tried to go out of her way to act the way she always had before. "Good evening Miss Danvers!" He held up a bottle of white wine. "After much research, this bottle of 20 year aged Pinot Grigio is apparently best paired with microwave popcorn."

Kara smiled and nodded in appreciation. "Perfect! I could use a glass of wine!" She led Lena into the kitchen and pulled an opener out of a drawer. She noticed Lena perusing her selection of popcorn toppings. "I, uh, didn't know what you liked, so I got a little of everything."

Lena leaned over to read the labels of sprinkle popcorn toppings. "White cheddar, Cajun, spicy barbecue?! I didn't know they made such things for popcorn."

Kara turned red as she twisted the corkscrew. Perhaps she had put too much thought into this. "Well, me neither, honestly. I just thought...maybe you-"

"Maybe my Luthor blood craved extra flavor on my microwave popcorn?" Lena smiled, teasing Kara. "As long as you've got lots of butter, I'm good to go."

Kara finally pulled the cork out and picked up the packet of microwave popcorn, holding it for Lena to see. "Butter Lovers."

Lena smiled and nodded. "Perfect. Oh, I almost forgot," Lena reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope. Smiling, she handed it to Kara.

"What's this?" Kara asked as she took the decorative envelope and eyed it curiously.

"An invitation," Lena said proudly. "L-Corp and our new energy company GreenLight Co are co-hosting a ball to celebrate our new merger and move toward sustainable energy. As my good friend, I hope you will attend and help me celebrate! It's this Saturday evening."

Kara smiled. Any chance to see Lena all dressed up...wait, what? "Of course, I'd love to go! Thank you!" Lingering smiles and butterflies owned the night.

XXXXXXXXXX

The two friends settled into the couch like nothing had changed, relaxing comfortably in each other's presence. Lena had felt her heart beat faster at seeing Kara in her adorable pajamas, and could have sworn she felt Kara noticing her comfy yoga pants as well. They sat shoulder to shoulder, attacking the bowl of plain buttered popcorn as the blood and gore commenced on scene. Both were fans of the genre, but that didn't stop Kara from having to bury her face in Lena's shoulder once in a while. About half way through the movie, Lena noticed Kara had stopped reacting to the scares. She looked over to see Kara sleeping, her head barely resting on Lena's shoulder.

Lena just looked, something so comforting about her peaceful smile, cute eyelids closed in rest. As Lena was admiring, Kara shifted in her sleep, slipping an arm around Lena's waist. Lena's arms holding the bowl of popcorn raised inadvertently as The woman didn't know what to do. She let Kara settle in; face on Lena's shoulder, arm gently around her, fingers tickling a piece of exposed flesh. Lena swallowed down the arousal that suddenly shot to attention, and tried to settle down herself. She set the bowl back on her lap gently, peering over to the beautiful face so close to her own. Lena took a slow, deep breath and closed her eyes. Damn it, if this wasn't perfect. She focused back on the scene and threw a handful of popcorn into her mouth in frustration.

XXXXXXXX

It was the final, bloody scene of the movie, but an unexpected kill made Lena jump in her seat. She had been watching quietly as Kara napped half in her lap, but this inadvertent twitch woke the sleeping beauty at her side.

Kara opened her sleepy eyes and took in her surroundings, she had her arm around a slender, comfy waist and looked up to see she had drooled on a smooth, sexy shoulder. She pushed herself up and met the eyes of Lena Luthor. The room was dark, but the occasional flash from the TV shone in those crystal orbs like fireworks. She couldn't help but glance down at those plump lips, wondering just what they tasted like. A blood curling scream brought Kara's eyes to the TV, seeing the movie was near completion. She looked back at Lena, realizing she was closer than she should be. And yet she didn't move. She just laughed out. "I guess I...dozed off. I'm sorry if I drooled on you," she said quietly.

Lena didn't move, just barely shook her head, mesmerized by Kara's nearness. "It's okay," she whispered. Lena was determined. She wasn't going to lean in. She wasn't going to try and kiss Kara. They were friends. Just friends...just...did Kara just lean in closer? Was the gap between their lips getting smaller?

Kara felt herself giving in to what she was trying so hard to convince herself she didn't want. Kissing Lena would be disastrous. And probably she'd regret it. But it would also probably be nice. And soft. And warm. And she bet Lena tasted really good...and she kept leaning closer...

BANG! BANG! BANG! "Kara!"

Kara jumped back, the knocking on her door acting like an adrenaline shot to the heart. She looked at a startled Lena, and instantly she realized what was just about to happen. She stood up as the knocking continued. She walked over to the door in a haze, tucking her hair behind her ear. She opened the door and a very unstable, very drunk Mon El stumbled through the door.

Lena stood up, red faced and worried. She saw Mike stumble through the door, and knew that in an instance their quiet evening had come to an end.

Kara sighed as Mon El looked at her, clearly three sheets to the wind. "What are you doing here?" She pleaded. She was less than pleased at his presence, even more worried that Lena might get the wrong idea.

"I...was just down the road...having a drink, annnnd...I need a place to crash. Please?"

Kara shook her head vigorously. "No! No! Go, call a cab!" She glanced back to see Lena walking slowly towards them, fidgeting with her fingers.

Mon El now noticed Lena for the first time. "Oh. Oh, diddddnt know you had COMPANY!" He slurred. He staggered a few more steps, wiping imaginary spider webs off his face.

Lena moved out of Mike's way, concerned about him being in Kara's apartment like this. She looked over at Kara who was shaking her head in disgust. Kara followed behind him. "What are you doing?"

He staggered to the couch and turned to look at her. "I'm just gonna...take a quick nap and I'll be on my way." He raised his hand and motioned back and forth between Lena and Kara. "Continue on with...whatever is going on here. Don't mind me, I'll just-" and with that he thumped onto the couch in a heap face first and didn't move.

Kara sighed and looked at Lena who was clearly concerned. "I'm sorry, Lena, I guess we should call it a night. It's getting late anyway."

Lena looked at her wide eyed and motioned toward Mike. "I'm not going to leave you alone with him. In this state? There's no telling what he'll do!"

Kara shook her head in disagreement. "He's not going to do anything, trust me. I mean, look at him, he's already passed out. I couldn't get him out of here if I tried. I promise it'll be fine."

Lena wasn't so sure. She didn't know this Mike well, but she knew he hadn't taken their break up very well. "I don't think so Kara, I just don't feel right leaving you like this. What if he-"

"He won't! Trust me, I can handle him. If it makes you feel better, I have a lock on my bedroom door. I promise, it will be fine. Sadly, it's not the first time he's done this."

Lena gritted her teeth. "It's not? Well, sounds like it might be time to put your foot down."

Kara sighed and nodded her head. Lena was right. "Yeah. I know. I'll talk with him in the morning. In the mean time, I'm okay."

"Promise?" Lena still felt strange about leaving. She looked over and he was snoring. When Kara nodded, Lena couldn't come up with another reason to stay. "Well...alright. But call me if you need anything." Lena grabbed her coat and let Kara walk her to the door. When she turned, they just looked at each other for a moment before they both finally leaned in for a hug.

Kara didn't want to let her go. Although she had to admit she was a bit grateful for the sudden halt to their evening, she couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if that blundering idiot hadn't knocked on her door. Who was she kidding, she knew exactly what would have happened. What was going on? Why was she toying with Lena like this? It wasn't like her at all. She didn't mean to flirt with Lena...did she?

Lena smiled at Kara and thanked her for a great evening. She took one last look at Mike before walking out of the apartment. She left there with a renewed hope. Kara may not know it yet, but she DID have an interest in Lena, one beyond friendship. Still determined that she wouldn't push her friend, it was time to use other tactics to get Kara to realize her feelings.