"You mean this?" Lena asked, obviously very confused. She withdrew a bit before raising her left hand to show the golden bracelet. It looked exactly like the one Maggie had shown her.
"Where did you get this from?" Kara asked, looking at the brunette with a pounding heart. She was so relieved to see a confused look on her face. A second later though, it changed into an angry expression. She leaned back at the door, crossing her arms in front of her. It was her typical defensive motion that Kara had witnessed several times before. Only Lillian could make her act like this.
"Mother gave it to me for Christmas a couple of years ago... don't ask me why I'm still wearing it. What did she do this time?"
"Maggie found a bracelet that looked exactly like yours this morning next to a dead alien. I have to call her, excuse me."
Kara took out her phone and Lena suddenly found herself wondering how the blonde managed to have it on her anyway. Her costume was tight, so tight, Lena had a hard time keeping her eyes from admiring the muscular form in front of her.
"This place is a dead spot. You'll better try it in the conference room. It's not quite as private as here... but..." she raised her hand again, just to slightly touch Kara's strong stomach. The blonde was able to feel the heat of her skin through the fabric and it send shivers down her spine. "What is it with your sudden need of privacy anyway?"
Kara felt her phone almost falling down as she lost the grip through her sweaty hands. She was so nervous around the brunette, an odd feeling she only had with... but that was something from her past. The thought nested in the back of her brain, but she felt it constantly pulling at her chest. She would have to let Alex go, to let the safety go. Lena looked at her with a determined expression. Kara wasn't sure what that look meant, all she could think was how beautiful she actually was. Again, an odd thought to think about anyone that was not Alex. She wasn't used to all this. It simply overwhelmed her to feel this way about Lena. There were so many things that could go wrong, so many possibilities of hurt and despair ahead of them. How could she ever be sure and where was she supposed to start trusting someone else? She had no answer to that and Lena seemed to recognize her inner turmoil. The brunette leaned in and softly pulled her into a hug. It was a soothing move that made Kara relax a bit. Maybe a hug was a good start after all.
"Take your time Kara. I'm not going anywhere." the brunette said, as if she'd magically read her thoughts. She felt unsteady and raised her arms to hug her back. It felt good to have her close.
"Thanks... we... some douchebag took pictures of us kissing on your balcony and I'm supposed to write the big story about Supergirl supporting gays or Supergirl in love or whatever... some... stupid stuff." she mumbled, slowly pulling away just a bit to look at the brunette. "I just can't believe... what did I do to deserve this?" she said. She immediately noticed a shade of disappointment flashing over the brunette's face, but it was over a second later. Instead, the CEO started laughing, bringing one hand up to cover her mouth.
"I'm sorry..." she apologized, but Kara could see and feel her body shaking with waves of laughter. "I know you don't need this right now, but..."
"There will be a huge gossip story on the front page, about us! That's the least thing we need right now. When this story is going public, you can say goodbye to privacy."
"I grew up with people making assumptions about me all the time Kara. To have them talking about me kissing the prettiest super hot kyptonian girl would be a welcomed change. But I get your point. Do you know the name of the paparazzo?"
Kara only shook her head. She wished she could be as calm as Lena. The woman had just started to improve her reputation and in just twenty four hours she wouldn't be able to cross the street without being surrounded by cameras and journalists.
"Don't worry about that Kara." she said, placing a little kiss on her cheek before she pulled away. "Worry about my mother. I'll check the company files for the remaining closed down factories and other potential harbours... sometimes I think she really just wants me to find her..."
"Thanks Lena. I know you're super busy, I really appreciate it." Kara said, finally pushing the door open to get out of the dead spot. Just a few steps later she saw that she already had two missed calls and one message from Alex, showing just one word: Cadmus.
"I have to go, um... call you later?"
Lena just gave her a bright smile. She knew she'd be working until late in the morning with all the extra research she had to do, but her Supergirl was worth the effort.
"And uh... thanks for the compliment... you're... uh... super hot, too" Kara whispered the last three words with a smile on her face and she was very satisfied with the slight shade of red that covered Lena's cheeks just a second later.
"What do we have?" Supergirl asked, once she'd arrived at the DEO headquarters.
"Winn took a look at the bracelet, seems like Lillian wants us to find her..." Alex answered.
"It's a tracking device, surprise!" Winn said, sounding as enthusiastic as always. "I was able to locate a potential harbour."
"Nice. Then let's go."
"Wait, Kara, you wanna run into a trap? Are you out of your mind?" Alex hissed, instantly scooting closer. Her arms reached to touch hers in a protective manner that was all Alex.
"Well I won't be alone and what other choice do we have? I won't let Cadmus kill another alien just while we're standing here. I already wasted enough time."
"Kara, please I know you feel guilty, but there has to be another way. What did Lena say? Maybe she's able to find something that might help us."
"Oh really? Now out of the sudden Lena's the good one again? What comes next, you wanna use her as a lure?"
"You're exaggerating Kara and this has nothing to do with the mission anymore does it?"
"I think we should calm down for a minute." Winn said, raising her hand, but his voice got lower with every word. His eyes looked around, searching for confirmation and eventually finding it in J'onn's eyes.
"Winn's right. We shouldn't argue. I'll fly to the said coordinates masked as Supergirl. If they have a kryptonite trap, it won't knock me out. Let me clear the area first Kara, then you can do what you gotta do."
Hours later, long after sunset, Alex helped an injured Kara off the operation table.
"I still don't think this is a good idea. You need to rest. Please, stay." the brunette said, clearly worried. Kara could hear it in her voice, it was the protective-older-sister-voice. She felt bad for their argument earlier.
"Please get me home Alex. I cannot stay here." Kara hissed. She hoped Alex could see the determination in her eyes. It was a strange moment and for the first time she truly felt constricted by Alex's constant will to protect her. "I actually feel much better now. Please stop worrying so much."
She eventually got on her feet, but had to lean on Alex shoulder a bit. The brunette held her by the waist, careful not to touch the wounds. Kryptonite fragmentation bombs had hit the blonde. It was nothing serious, but her body took unusually long to regenerate.
They walked in silence until they finally managed to get Kara into the car.
Alex felt miserable and useless. She hadn't been able to protect Kara during their fight. The pipe-killer had knocked her out shorty after they'd arrived. Eventually J'onn and Kara had been able to stop him, she was told. A great victory in their fight against Cadmus, although, for Alex, it felt like a shattering defeat.
"I'm sorry." Kara whispered, clearly in pain. The sound of it made Alex feel sick.
"Don't be. I'm glad you made in out in one piece." she whispered back, sitting still with her hands on the wheel. She felt almost paralysed.
"I'm sorry I overreacted about Lena. I know you meant well." Kara shifted in her seat, suppressing a groan. She definitely wasn't used to being in pain. Even though they'd been able to remove the kryptonite from her body, she still felt the all those little wounds.
"I'm sorry you didn't feel like I was on your side... because I am, always. I never believed that Lena had anything to do with the pipe-killer... and I'd never sacrifice her or anyone else just to get to Lillian." Alex said, slowly taking the blonde's hand in hers now. It was just a small gesture and a look into each others eyes, but it was all they needed at the moment.
They drove in silence, feeling the comfort that goes along with being surrounded by loved ones.
Just when they eventually exited the elevator, Kara felt her phone buzzing.
"Uh... can you get that?" she asked Alex. "It's probably Lena."
They stopped for a moment and Kara leaned herself against the wall while Alex quickly took her phone, audibly breathing out a second later.
"What? What is it?"
"You're fired."
"What?"
"Kara?"
"Mon-El?"
… to be continued. Sorry for the long wait. I was on vacation (UK for the first time, I was SOOOO excited) and I'm kinda busy right now, so don't be mad if the next update will take a while, I won't make any promises. :)
