Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Prompt: Caregiving/Comfort
Words: 3094
Summary: Kara babysits Carter for an evening but when Cat gets home, things take on a more intimate turn than either are prepared for.
Home Is Where Your Heart Is
Kara had arrived to Catco with Cat's latte in hand and earphones in her ears. Music helped distract her from all the background noise when she got ready in the morning. If anything dire happened, her senses would pick up on it. Besides, it helped her mood in the early morning. She may be many things but a morning person was not one of them.
As she got off the elevator she noticed Cat was already in her office with the door closed. It appeared that she was having an argument over the phone.
She placed the latte on the desk and looked over to Winn. "I'm not late am I?"
Winn just shook his head. "No, but I got here ten minutes ago, she was already in there."
Kara stared at him, puzzled. "Do you know who she's on the phone to?"
"No but you're the one with super hearing." He told her with a pointed look.
"Really, Vince? You're his father, he needs you. He doesn't ask for much, neither do I but I would like to know that you're at least capable of taking care of him." There was a pause and Cat looked as if she were about to throw the phone. "Because… I've taken care of him much better than you have. And you can't even help me this once."
Kara looked over at Winn who gave her a questioning glance. She shook her head and opened her desk drawer grabbing an Advil before getting up. She slowly made her way to Cat's door, not drawing any attention to herself.
Kara knew it was serious when her boss didn't even hide the contempt and disbelief on her features. "And I haven't made sacrifices. I pray you're saying that as a poor attempt for a joke. I am not having this discussion. All I asked was for you to take him tonight because it is your Wednesday and I can't… You know what, fine. Goodbye Vincent."
Cat put her head in her hands and groaned. She stayed there, nearly resting her head on her desk for a few seconds. Kara quietly opened the glass door and she heard the other woman trying to calm her breathing.
Suddenly, Cat looked up and was about to yell for Kara but realized she was now standing a couple of feet from her desk. "Figured you'd need this."
Cat squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before grabbing the Advil from the younger woman and swallowing it without water. "Miss Grant, are you okay?"
That snapped Cat out of her trance. "I'm fine Kiera. And I don't appreciate my assistant ease dropping on a private conversation."
"I wasn't, I swear. It's just your office is made out of glass and I've gotten to know that when you're stressed, you're prone to headaches." She fiddled with the hem of her sweater. "I can watch him, you know."
She could see Cat's entire body shoot up. "You? You want to watch him. Why?"
Cat hadn't outright said no, so she supposed that was a good thing. "Because I like Carter, he's a sweet kid. And because I know that despite your best efforts, the Gala tonight is important to you."
"So, it's important to you too, right?" Cat finished for her, her tone unreadable.
Kara shook her head slightly. "Yes, but that's not the only reason. Believe it or not Miss Grant, people do things for others without an ulterior motive in mind."
"Hmm, I'm sure they do." Cat squinted her eyes in suspicion. "How did you know what I was speaking about?"
The younger woman looked towards the ground, mumbling sheepishly. "I might have come into your office a little earlier than you thought."
Cat sighed, "Well then I guess you heard about-"
"It's none of my business." Kara said quickly, interrupting whatever Cat was saying.
"You're right, it's not." She stared at Kara for a moment, almost as if her eyes could help Cat with her decision. "Alright, but unlike your bad taste in clothes, this will not be a recurring theme. Carter's nanny sprung a last minute vacation on me and she's leaving later today. He's been getting a cold because some mother couldn't be bothered to worry about what kind of germs she let her kid pass on to others. I would normally cancel my appearance but as you're well aware, I unfortunately drew the short straw and have to host. And I don't trust some incompetent part time babysitter to look after him."
Kara beamed and Cat's face scrunched up into confusion. "Why do you look like someone bought you a puppy?"
"Because Miss Grant," Kara started, the vibrations of laughter coating her voice. "Despite your constant efforts to be seen as an Ice Queen, you don't fool me. You care. That and you did just give me a compliment."
"I did?" She questioned, seemly confused.
Kara didn't quite know where she was getting her new found confidence from but she like it. "Yes, you finally realized I'm not exactly incompetent."
"Slip of the tongue." Cat said nonchalantly, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "Won't happen again."
"I'm sure." Kara agreed innocently, the corners of her mouth turned upward. "So where at what time would you like to pick Carter up?"
Kara then realized that they hadn't broken eye contact the entire time. She could've been imagining it but she thought that Cat might be flirting with her in some strange Cat like way. Because while their words weren't anything out of the ordinary Cat's eyes had taken on a more mischievous gleam. The older blonde's beautiful brown orbs seemed to be telling Kara that she wasn't imaging it.
Neither one of them had mentioned the mortifying incident that happened last week. And it many ways, Kara was glad that it seemed to be in the past. Just like the majority of their moments, forgotten about until one of them touches each other. Sometimes, it's a slight brush against the other when they're trying to get by and sometimes it's a gentle touch of the arm while having a friendly conversation. She thinks she hears Cat's heart beat a touch too fast when that happens. And that Cat's delicate fingers linger on her arm for just a second too long for it to be completely platonic. But then again, her heightened senses aren't things that she can rely on too much in incidences like this. She wanted to believe it so much that she was probably reading too much into it.
Cat was the first one to pull her gaze away from Kara and instead focusing on her laptop screen. "My place, 6 o'clock."
Kara perked up at the other woman's words. She then reminded herself the context in which the words were being used. They were for Carter, not a date. She was not going on a date with Cat. It was almost as if Cat knew what she was thinking because she heard her clear her throat.
Kara swallowed before answering. "Sure."
Cat wasn't exactly sure what to expect when she got home later that evening. When Kara had come over before she left, she saw the excitement in Carter's face, despite his grogginess. When Kara entered her home, Carter ran to her with open arms. Just like the other morning at Catco, she was surprised. It wasn't as if Carter wasn't a sweet kid, he truly was. It was just he was so shy that coming around to people sometimes took a little longer than what others considered normal. But it seemed that he took a liking to her assistant and from the looks of it, she was pretty fond of Carter as well.
Of course she would be good with kids. She thought to herself as she quietly closed the front door and slipped her heels off.
One of the many disadvantages of being shorter than most was that she usually ended up wearing taller heels. Not that she wasn't good at it, or that she didn't look good in them. It was just after a long day, she was glad to slip them off.
She traversed through the house and couldn't help but smile at the site before her. The two of them were cozied up under what looked like a fort of blankets with Carter on one couch and Kara on the other. Slowly, she walked over to them. Kara's glasses were on the table, on top of a stack of magazines and parts of her blonde hair had started to come out of her ponytail. She didn't want to admit it but even sleeping she looked beautiful, unearthly. The fact that the younger woman admitted to having a slight attraction to her a while ago helped as well. She didn't admit it to Kara because it would complicate things and honestly, she had just started to admit it to herself but she also felt something for the younger woman. It was nothing serious, nothing that went beyond simple attraction. Because she was, even in those hideous clothes she insisted on wearing to work. There was beauty in her, beauty that ran deeper than her looks. Kara's innocence and belief that people were good until proven guilty was something that she both admired and hated about her. On one hand, that's one of the things that drew her to Kara in the first place but then again, she felt that it was up to her to try and mentor her by making her see that the world wasn't as black and white as Kara thought it was. She walked over to the younger blonde, her hand hovering a couple of inches above her cheek. She exhaled and moved it away, deciding to gently tap her on the arm instead
Suddenly she was being flipped onto the couch, her body landing with a thud on the cushions. She felt the weight of something heavy on her waist and realized that Kara was straddling her. They stayed like that for a moment, her wrists pinned to the edge of the couch by soft hands. The elastic had fallen out of her hair and she somehow looked completely different. Cat supposed it could've been the fact that her glasses were off, hair was mused and Kara was currently straddling her but there was something oddly familiar about her. It was Kara but it wasn't. That body was definitely the younger woman but those eyes weren't. Those eyes were hardened, like they've seen and experienced and a fair share of battles and suffering. While it should've made her feel threatened, scared even, it didn't.
"Kara," her voice was soft and suddenly there was no more weight on her and she was being propped back up to her feet.
"M-miss Grant I'm so sor-" She stopped herself, not wanting to get scolded for apologizing, instead she looked over the other woman. "Are you okay? I-I didn't hurt you did I?"
Those hardened eyes she saw a few seconds ago were gone, now replaced with worried, anxious ones.
She briefly wondered how that was possible before dismissing the other woman's concerns. "It's alright."
Kara looked at her sceptically. "Are you sure, I didn't mean to…it's just that you startled me and-"
Her voice faltered when Cat reached out and grabbed her hand. "Really Kara, I'm fine." She then added. "Although, I would like to know. Where on earth did you learn that?"
Kara smiled, hesitantly. "Alex taught me how to fight."
She cocked her head to the side. "Your sister, right?"
The other woman's smile turned into a complete grin. "Yeah. You should've seen her, she has the ability to take on someone twice her size without much effort. She and I have these sparing matches and she's such a great teacher, experienced fighter too. She told me that I'd never know when I'd need to use it."
Cat noticed it, it was hard not to. Whenever Kara would talk about her older sibling, everyone could see how much admiration she had for the older Danvers. She wondered if anyone had ever felt that way about her.
"Well, clearly she taught you well. Now I'm assuming Carter couldn't fall asleep." She asked gesturing to the still opened box of Settlers of Catan not too far from the couch and the blankets surrounding him.
Kara sighed, "He was a little upset. So I thought I could distract him until he got tired."
Cat flared her nostrils and Kara could see her fists clench. "If I could, I would make him pay."
Kara placed her hand on the other woman's shoulder. "I know, trust me I would too. But getting mad isn't going to do anything."
Kara could hear Cat's intake of breath and much like a lot of things about their dynamic lately, she wasn't sure if it was because of her touch or her words. "He booked a last minute flight to the Bahamas with his new girlfriend and didn't even tell me."
For a moment, Kara forgot about the younger boy sleeping near them. "He did what? But you've had that the Gala scheduled for the past two months. I know you told him."
Cat made her way towards the kitchen as she spoke. "Yeah I know. But he told me I wouldn't understand and that I wasn't…"
Kara saw the other woman's face fall for a moment, the quiet making itself known again. "Cat?"
She smiled slightly at the mention of her name before looking from the stove back to Kara. "Did you make this?"
It took a moment for Kara to respond. "Uhm, yeah there's some saved for you. Carter thought you would like it. I know there was already food for him but he wasn't feeling well and I always used to have this when something was bothering me. I still do, I hope you don't mind."
Cat waved her off. "No, no it's just. You cook?" She asked Kara as she grabbed two bowls from the shelf.
Kara shook her head as she grabbed the ladle and motioned from Cat to sit down at the table while she served. "Oh Rao no. Alex and Eliza tried to teach me but I was never any good at it. The only things I can 'cook' are grilled cheese and soup."
"Don't sell yourself short. This isn't too bad." Cat told her earnestly, as the liquid made its way to her lips.
"Thanks, we used to have something like it back home." Kara's sad smile and faraway look told her everything she needed to know about what 'home' she was talking about
"Your birth place?" Cat didn't mean for it to come out as a question.
The other blonde's eyes glistened as she spoke. "Yeah, mom and Aunt Astra used to make something like it. I don't remember what they used to call it and I've been trying to replicate it seen I came here."
"And have you?" She asked curiously, the journalist in her telling her that maybe there was more to this story and that maybe they weren't just talking about soup anymore.
Her suspicions were deemed true when Kara's voice wavered. "Not quite, it's a hard thing to perfect when you don't have the recipe."
Kara closed her eyes, for a moment and Cat wondered if she was about to cry.
It seemed like she wasn't the only one who could perfect a mask because the next thing she knew, the younger woman was smiling cheerfully. "So, how'd the Gala go? And by that I mean how did Lois take it when she realized that you were the guest of honour hosting this year?"
Cat laughed and decided to enlighten the other blonde. "You should've seen it, priceless. I think the camera's caught it.
Kara didn't bother hiding her amusement. "I hope so, she deserved it."
"While we're on the subject, did you ask them to keep it quiet?" Shooting her a look, she added. "On my behalf."
Kara didn't need a mirror to realize that she must've looked like a puppy caught doing something bad. "W-well I figured that since the hack earlier this year, it would show people how much you've bounced back."
She almost laughed at the deer in headlights expression her assistant had adopted. "Hmm, thank you."
"That and I figured you'd much rather witness the shock on Lois' face yourself." The younger woman wasn't disappointed when Cat laughed, the same laugh she had used in her office before.
It was then that Kara knew what a mistake this had been. Cat didn't like her, she was doing this to be polite because Kara knew, she knew that Cat still thought she was Supergirl. Kara shook her head, how could she be so stupid? Cat was trying to manipulate her into being vulnerable enough so that she could expose her.
Seeing the other blonde's face fall, she briefly wondered what was wrong. What she wouldn't give to be able to read minds. Although, many people did think she had that superpower. And maybe she did, in a way. After all it all came down to details and she was damn good at her job. Kara was too, she thought to herself. She was usually able to anticipate what Cat needed, when she needed it. Not only was that a quality that made her stand out from the others but that was another thing that Cat wanted to help her with.
"I should go, Miss Grant it's late." The coolness of her voice wasn't something she was accustom to.
"Yes, it is quite late." She agreed, distracted.
As she got up to leave Cat placed her hand on her arm, ignoring her slight flinch. "Thank you, for watching him."
Kara flashed her a small smile. "Of course. He's a good kid." Their gazes lingered for a beat. "And he's lucky to have a mother like you."
Kara moved away, leaving Cat at a loss of what to say. She then realized exactly how foreign this situation was for the both of them. Cat hated not feeling like she had the upper hand and now was no exception. They needed a sense of normalcy, she needed it.
"Oh and Kiera, I expect my latte hot tomorrow." Her tone was more biting than usual.
The look Kara shot her made her think that the other blonde knew exactly what she was doing. "Of course. Goodnight, Miss Grant."
AN Well this turned out completely different than even I expected. This is my longest chapter yet. Thanks for sticking with me, the next one will be up in a day or two. Thanks for reading, leave a review on your way out please. They make my day, thanks.