Kara definitely had the piece done and on Lena's desk by the morning and had definitely gotten zero minutes of sleep that night.
Sitting at her desk, Kara jumped when she saw Lena's shadow standing next to her. When she turned her head to look, Lena was holding the piece she'd written tightly in her fist. At first, Kara was terrified that this would be another failure – after all, she'd been half asleep and thoroughly fucked when she'd written it – but when Lena's gaze softened, she melted like wax dripping over the side of a candle.
"Good work, Danvers," she said, actually smiling at her.
Kara let out and audible sigh of relief.
"Would you please come into my office for a minute?" Lena asked, her voice smooth.
But there was a hint of seduction there, and Kara was pretty sure she knew what her boss wanted. Biting her lip, she said nothing and rose to her feet, following Lena to her office. Lena locked the door behind them, making Kara swallow thickly.
The outfit Lena was wearing didn't help, and neither did the deep, sexy red color of her blouse. Kara was already wet in anticipation for what she hypothesized would happen next. Lena was insatiable in her appetite for sex, so Kara was fairly positive that what was coming was a request – no, a command – for gratification. And partly, Kara didn't mind. Her own hormones were going wild already, and as she watched Lena move gracefully to sit on top of her desk, facing Kara, she felt her knees go weak.
Nothing made her vulnerable like Lena Luthor.
"You did well last night," Lena finally mused, after letting Kara simmer in the awkwardness for several long, painful moments.
Kara blushed, dropping her gaze and trying not to look up Lena's skirt as the woman spread her legs slightly with intention. This, of course, failed miserably, and as her gaze rose just enough to see Lena's thong of red lace, she felt her stomach drop.
"Come here," Lena ordered, beckoning Kara to join her.
Of course, the Kryptonian obeyed without question, heart slamming wildly in her chest.
"What was that?" the CEO asked sharply, referencing Kara's lack of a verbal response.
"Yes, Miss Luthor."
"Such a good girl," Lena purred, putting her hands on Kara's shoulders and pushing down forcefully until Kara was in a kneeling position in front of her. "I should think you'd know what to do down there?"
Kara blushed, looking directly at the Luthor's panties, and nodded her head in understanding before slowly sliding the garment down and off, setting them neatly on the floor beside her.
Before Kara could dip her head under the CEO's skirt, Lena smiled down at her, tangling her fingers in her hair, and commented, "You're so pretty when you blush."
Kara felt her insides turning. Had she really just said that? But of course, Kara reminded herself, it meant nothing. Even if Lena did think she was pretty, it didn't mean anything more than that. The word she was probably looking for was 'fuckable.' But Kara shut her eyes anyway – just for a moment – and imagined their lips crashing together like two waves moving towards each other. After that, she got to work.
First, her tongue licked a stripe through Lena's wet folds, making the Luthor let out a low hum of approval. This spurred Kara on and let her know she was off to a good start, so she wasted no time giving the woman's clit the attention it was longing for. Slowly, the hero swirled her tongue around the swollen nub and sucked lightly, attempting to tease the other woman into bliss.
It worked. Lena was mewling and whimpering as she tugged on Kara's hair (which seemed to be something that she was particularly fond of). Soon, Lena was starting to slide forward off the desk, so, without stopping her tongue's assault on Lena's sex, Kara put her hand up to steady the woman in place on the edge of the desk. Lena hardly noticed as she began to buck forward against Kara's eager lips, nearing her climax.
"Fuck," the youngest Luthor ground out, still firmly holding Kara's head in place. "Fuck! Supergirl. Yes."
Then, she was coming, spilling her arousal all over Kara's waiting chin. And Kara drank it in eagerly. She was lost in the moment then, no longer thinking about the way Lena was using her for her own pleasure, but instead thinking about how close they were in that instant. How intimate it was to feel Lena losing herself. Kara's mind went blank as she cleaned the mess with her tongue and peppered kisses over the inside of Lena's thighs.
Slowly, Lena pushed Kara away and muttered, "You can go," as she smoothed her hair out of her face.
Kara wiped her mouth with the tissue Lena handed her and rose to her feet. She nearly choked when she ran head-first into Jimmy on the way out of Lena's office. Face flushed, she hurried away and avoided his gaze.
Kara thought about using her X-ray vision to see what they were doing, but thought better of it, out of respect for Lena. Still, her heart ached knowing that they had their own complicated thing going on. Instead of looking, Kara gathered her things from her desk and left CatCo on a mission to write her next article.
~!~!~
They met up for lunch, as they usually did, and Lena did what she always had: pretended nothing had happened between them. It was like they were new friends again, laughing over a meal. But the cloud over Kara's head was making her feel solemn and withdrawn. She fought it hard, knowing she had to pretend. Or at least, she wanted to, for the time being. She couldn't imagine not being able to touch Lena. The prospect of facing reality and cutting it off was unbearable. The CEO had her between a rock and a hard place, but Kara knew what her choice was. For as long as Lena showed interest, in whatever capacity, Kara would be there.
When they hugged goodbye, Kara's stomach flipped.
~!~!~
Supergirl had just finished a rescue downtown when she got the text from Lena.
'I need you.'
Heart leaping in her chest, Kara felt an eruption of butterflies inside, but told herself that this was likely just Lena looking to get laid.
Still, she wasted no time flying to the Luthor's penthouse, landing on the balcony in her suit.
Expecting to find Lena wearing some sort of revealing clothing, awaiting sexual favors, Kara was shocked when she saw Lena sitting on the couch in her National City University sweatshirt, sobbing as she held a glass of wine.
"Lena," Kara breathed, instantly kneeling in front of the woman. "Lena, what happened? What's wrong?"
She assumed something had happened with Jimmy. Most of her didn't really want to hear whatever Lena was about to tell her about their relationship. On the other hand, Lena was her best friend, before anything else, and Kara knew she'd do anything to make her feel better. So she listened.
"M-My mother was here," Lena choked out, words slightly slurred and voice cracking.
Raising an eyebrow in surprise, Kara asked, "And… what happened?"
"She t-told me I'm a 'fucking d-disgusting disappointment' and that I s-should have worked for her instead taking over and renaming L-Corp," Lena slurred, through hiccupping sobs.
"Oh, sweetheart," Kara cooed, taking the wine glass from her friend and setting it down on the coffee table and not really thinking about the pet name she'd just used. "I'm sorry. But she's wrong, okay? She is so, so wrong about you. You're not a disappointment. You have so much to be proud of. You're a beautiful, strong, independent woman, and you are working so hard to do good in the world. You're perfect as you are."
Lena looked up, and Kara instantly noticed that her eyes were glassy and bloodshot. She's drunk, Kara assessed. Shit.
"You're beautiful, you know that?" Lena mumbled, reaching out to stroke Kara's cheek. "Especially in that goddam super suit."
"Lena," Kara said seriously. "I—"
"Kiss me, Supergirl," the brunette interrupted, continuing to stroke the hero's cheek.
Gently, Kara pushed her hand away and offered instead, "How about a hug? I don't think you're in any condition to be kissing anyone right now."
"Excuse me," Lena said drunkenly. "But I'm a grown ass woman who knows when—"
But Kara's arms were around her, and as soon as she felt them, Lena started to cry again.
"I wish she loved me," Lena sobbed suddenly. "I wish someone loved me. Why am I so unlovable, Kara?"
The hero's heart ached at this, longing to tell Lena how much she truly, deeply loved her, but knowing it wasn't the time. It would probably never be the time.
Instead, Kara assured her, "You're not unlovable. Your mother is just…"
"A bitch?"
Kara nodded hesitantly.
"Yeah. I know," Lena sniffled. "But she's still my mother." After another nod from Kara, followed by silence, the CEO asked, "Kiss it better, Supergirl?"
Again, Kara's heart lurched. That was all she wanted to do in that moment. But she knew that Lena was compromised by the alcohol, and she also knew it would mean nothing to Lena if they did kiss. And, not to mention, it would just further fuel Kara's feelings for her, which was the last thing she wanted. She could detach during sex, or even pretend, but kissing… it was too intimate, too real. And her hurt was too raw.
Before Kara could protest, Lena was cupping the back of her neck and pulling hard, trying to kiss her, but using her super strength, the hero held her off.
"Lena, please, don't kiss me right now," she pleaded, her voice sounding weak.
The plea was soft and half-hearted, but it was there, and Kara was going to stick to it.
"Why don't you want me?" Lena whined, tears once again pouring down her cheeks. "Why am I so—"
"Lena," Kara warned. "You're drunk, and you don't mean it."
"I mean it," Lena begged. "Don't you want to save me, Supergirl?"
That was it. That was all Kara could take.
"Stop," she said harshly, holding Lena off as she grabbed for Kara's suit. "You know I do."
"Then kiss me," Lena whined. "I need you."
"You're drunk," Kara asserted, her tone serious but without judgment.
"I don't care."
"I care."
"Well, don't. Stop caring about me. Stop being perfect. Stop—"
Surprised by Lena's choice of words, Kara responded, "I'm not perfect, Lena. Please, don't say that. And I could never stop caring about you. You're… You're my best friend…"
Kara almost choked on the last word. It hurt so much that she could feel her insides crumbling. But for Lena, she stayed strong.
The CEO shook her head in response, saying nothing.
"Let's get you to bed," Kara sighed, grabbing the wine glass and making her way to the kitchen to pour it down the drain.
When she returned, lifting Lena into her arms bridal style, Lena protested, "I don't want to go to bed! And I can do it myself!"
Looking at the Luthor sadly, Kara lamented just how close they'd been before having sex for the first time. Now, they were closer in some ways, but more distant in others. Kara could no longer allow herself to fall. Without saying anything, Kara carried the kicking woman to her bedroom and carefully set her down on her bed.
"Easy," the hero whispered. "You need rest."
"I hate her," Lena said suddenly, starting to cry again. "I'm worthless."
"Easy," Kara repeated, sitting beside Lena on the bed.
With careful hands, Kara reached over and stroked back some of Lena's hair, which was loose and messy. It almost looked like sex hair, it was so tousled. Kara blushed at the thought and returned her attention to the present, where she carefully eased back a whining Lena against the pillow.
"I'm going to stay right here to make sure you're alright, okay?" Kara asked.
Lena shook her head, grumbling, "I'm fine. Just leave."
"You asked me to come here."
"Because I thought…" Lena started, rubbing her eyes. "I thought you'd…"
"What? What did you want me to do?"
"Save me."
"Lena—"
"Save me from myself, Kara," Lena whimpered. "I'm so tired. I'm so miserable."
With a soft sigh of sympathy, Kara nodded her head and told her, "I know, Lena. I know. But I'm right here, okay? And I'll… I'll always be here for you."
Kara hesitated at the end, not because she wasn't sure if she would, in fact, always be there for Lena, but because she wanted to say, 'I'll always love you.' But she knew she couldn't say it. That would have been ridiculous. Especially when Lena was so uninterested in a committed relationship with her. She made that evident in the way she acted after they fucked. Lena always left her.
Pulling on Kara's arm, Lena used a surprising amount of force to tug Kara into the bed, until the Super was lying on top of her.
"Lena—" Kara tried to protest, but Lena's embrace silenced her.
Lena wasn't trying to kiss her. She just wanted to be held. When her hands snaked around between Kara's cape and her suit, resting on her lower back, Kara shivered with want.
"Please. Please, will you hold me?" Lena sniffled, clinging tightly to her friend's torso.
The Kryptonian felt as if she might die right there. And she would've died happy, too. If only for a moment, Lena was finally holding her. Really, really holding her. But it was nothing more than a drunken need for reassurance from a friend after a particularly traumatic encounter. Kara had to remind herself of that as she slipped her arms around Lena in return, rolling slightly so that her weight wasn't on top of Lena, but rather beside her.
"I've got you," Kara whispered, stroking Lena's hair back when she started to cry again. "You're perfect, Lena. You're beautiful, you're smart, you're funny, you're sweet. You're everything anyone could ever hope for. Your mother will always be wrong about you."
This only made Lena cry harder, feeling a surge of emotions shoot through her like heroin. Kara was, as always, saying all the right things, and Lena wondered if maybe, just maybe, she should actually listen to her.
But it was too hard to accept Kara's report that she was 'perfect.' Instead, Lena resigned herself to holding on to the fact that Kara felt she was perfect. Because, at least someone did.
Lena whimpered and sobbed for the next seven or eight minutes as Kara began to rock her slowly and hold her against her chest. Then, finally, Lena fell asleep in the hero's arms.
~!~!~
In the morning, Lena woke alone in the bed. Kara was gone.
Distracted by her headache, Lena stumbled into the bathroom to grab some painkillers and brush her teeth. Oddly, her bottle of painkillers was on the edge of the sink already. Once that was done, she headed to the kitchen for coffee. But to her surprise, as she approached the kitchen, she heard the tell-tale sound of coffee dripping into the pot, and the sound of Kara's feet pattering on the floor.
"I made you breakfast," Kara nonchalantly announced, spooking Lena to the point of jumping.
"Jesus, Kara," Lena snapped. "I thought you were gone! Way to scare the shit out of me."
"I think what you were looking for was 'thank you,'" Kara grumbled, flipping the pancake she was making.
Lena bit her lip, embarrassed by her outburst, and said, "I'm sorry. You're absolutely right. Thank you."
"Did you find the painkillers?" the blonde asked. "I left them on the sink for you."
Lena nodded and approached her friend slowly from the side.
"Kara," she said softly, after a long bout of silence.
"Hmm?" Kara asked, turning her head to look at the beautiful brunette beside her.
"Really… Thank you."
The sincerity and obvious gratitude in Lena's voice made Kara blush. It was something she hadn't heard from Lena's lips in a long while. Since before they'd started their sexual dalliances.
"It's nothing," Kara mumbled, turning back to the pancake as she flipped it out of the pan and onto a plate. "Eat."
Lena looked a little surprised by the forcefulness of Kara's command, but she took the plate when it was handed to her and made her way to the dining room where she sat down and started eating slowly.
Kara didn't join her at the table, but instead spent the time Lena was eating cleaning up the kitchen and washing the dishes from breakfast.
"Kara," Lena called out, after she'd finished what was on her plate. When the hero appeared before her, Lena asked, "Did you eat?"
Kara shrugged, saying, "Not hungry."
This, Lena knew, was a boldfaced lie. The Kryptonian was always hungry.
"Kara… What's wrong?" Lena asked with concern.
Again, Kara shrugged and remained non-verbal.
"Alright," the youngest Luthor sighed. "Keep your secrets. You always do."
This stung Kara deeper than she would have liked to admit, so all she could say in response was, "I hope you feel better, Lena. I've gotta get going."
Before Lena could even protest or say goodbye, Kara was gone.