Another week, another chapter and they're off to James's house!
As always thank you to my amazing beta AyakaSpencer. As always your comments reviews etc keep me going :) so thank you.
Enjoy everyone!
A week later Kara is nervously bouncing on the balls of her feet as she waits for Lena to get dressed. Looking up at the familiar click of Lena's heels and finds her at the top of the stairs as she slips her earrings in. Kara's momentarily floored by how beautiful Lena is as she descends the stairs in a casual blouse and jeans, her hair perfectly framing her face.
"Do I look ok?" Lena asks looking down at herself checking nothing is out of place and Kara mentally kicks herself for staring.
"Yeah, you look amazing, great in fact," Kara stumbles. Lena nods with a small smile as she lifts her purse and phone before eyeing the keys in Kara's hand.
"I'll drive," Lena states, holding her left hand out with her right hand on her hip.
"I can drive," Kara protests, indignantly fidgeting with her glasses.
"Alex told me about the time you almost crashed because of a ferret," Lena states, raising her sculpted eyebrow in a challenge.
"Ok, first of all, it was a possum that came out of nowhere and secondly I passed the driver's test like any capable human," Kara protests. Lena looks incredulously at Kara, who groans as she deposits the keys in the CEO's hand.
"You know I could have flown us," Kara states petulantly as soon as they leave the city limits and Lena glances over at her, lips twitching playfully
"You know I hate flying," Lena objects lightly as she looks back at the road.
"You've never complained before," Kara mutters, disgruntled as she taps at the screen, punching in directions for Calvintown.
"I was never really in a situation where it was recreational." Lena doesn't need to look to know Kara rolls her eyes.
"Maybe we should get you used to it, so it'll save us having to drive for an hour to visit James when it would only take me ten minutes," Kara grumbles.
"Yes, because I'm sure J'onn and Alex would love reports of Supergirl and Lena Luthor flying across the state."
Lena tries to hide the irritation in her tone but fails. If Kara notices she doesn't say, making Lena shake her head at Kara's mumbles of protest, that sounds awfully like "spoil sport".
Stepping into James's new home was quite the shock to Lena, who was surprised by the impact the difference in timeline had on James' life. He had moved back to Calvintown, a small town upstate, where he had grown up, Kara had informed her but this was not what either of them expected.
"James lives here?" Lena whispers quietly enough that only Kara would hear. The Kryptonian shrugs as they look around the suburban home.
"Apparently, but even for James it's a bit low key," Kara whispers back. It was a large house, decorated with pastels, with photographs lining the walls.
Walking through the home they were greeted by the sight of Alex listening to Winn discuss a language neither of them recognised, while Brainy and J'onn discussed something quietly in the corner. Nia and Ruby were discussing the various superhero outfits, judging from the way Ruby was talking about capes.
"Kara, Lena, good I'm glad you guys could come," James greets them with a grin and a brief hug for both of them.
"Of course!" Kara grins back, noticing the way his eyes flicker over to Lena, who was not smiling or returning his enthusiasm. Kara nudges her gently with her elbow and Lena musters up an overly enthusiastic grin.
"We wouldn't miss it," Lena enthuses, noticing the way James glances at Kara ambiguously before nodding.
"Great, well, ugh, I made lasagne, it should be ready soon but get yourselves a drink," James says as he slips back towards the kitchen. As soon as he was away, Lena sighs, removing her jacket.
"We can do this, it'll be fine," Kara reassures them as she takes the CEO's jacket to hang up. Lena sends her a look full of disbelief. Kara should know she's seen it often enough, the way her green eyes show how done she is with the situation before it's even begun.
"Oh man, I hope James got that Voltoron Alcohol from M'gann," Kara voices, changing the subject moving toward the drinks.
"I'm sure there's wine," Lena whispers reassuringly and Kara notes how she rubs her hands together like she does when she's nervous.
"Oh right, you don't know," Kara mutters under her breath as she looks over the drinks selection eagerly. "Human alcohol doesn't affect me," Kara explains, tilting her head close to Lena's as she explains.
"College must have really sucked for you," Lena jokes unconsciously, and Kara shoots her a wry smile.
"Can you two just not for like five minutes," Alex requests as she waddles near with her hand bracing her back. Kara and Lena spring apart, Kara inadvertently knocking a bottle that Lena catches before it can hit the floor.
"Right, sorry," Kara apologises sheepishly. Lena and Kara quickly look away from one another right as blue eyes meet green.
"I thought you said Alex had her memories?" Lena whispers as she pours them their respective drinks.
"She's probably playing it up for Sam," Kara says under her breath shrugging as she glances at Sam who is watching them carefully. Lena hands her a glass of what could be vodka but smelled like liquorice.
"Thanks," Kara smiles gently and Lena returns it. She had to act the part, she reminded herself. She slips her hand onto Kara's elbow in a way that she would have done to any date to a Gala. They move further into the room and Lena doesn't miss Kara taking a deep breath, mentally preparing herself.
"So, you managed to break out of L-corp?" Sam asks as she steps up beside them. Lena smiles, thankful to have Sam to talk to for the evening.
"Yes, but if the board keeps requesting all these assurances, I might have to live there," Lena sighs, frustrated. Sam chuckles, leaning against the table with her.
"Don't worry, I'm sure Supergirl will always come to take you home," Sam gently nudges Kara's arm, who laughs awkwardly with a nod.
"I'm going to see Alex," Kara announces with a small smile before slipping across the room.
"I'm surprised," Sam breaks the silence with a grin and Lena feels her stomach drop.
"At what?" Lena counters with far more bite than she intended, and she kicks herself at Sam's raised eyebrow.
"That you're behaving. Normally you can't keep your hands to yourself," Sam teases and Lena shifts as she recalls how the week earlier she hadn't kept her hands to herself.
"Oh, well-" Lena stumbles over her words as she tries to formulate a thought. Her mind fills with images of Kara pinning her to the bed.
"Did Kara give you one of her; 'be a good girl and behave' speeches again?"
Lena's face flushes bright red at the thought of Kara ordering any such thing, she didn't want to think about the kind of sex life this version of herself had.
"Something like that," Lena blushes, Kara had definitely not told her to be a good girl and she can feel her underwear dampen at the thought. They had been caught already, just by being themselves, Lena racks her memory thinking back to when they had been fine and they had never been overly comfortable in each other's space, had they? Lena second guesses. Kara's awkward laugh fills the room, drawing everyone's attention.
"It was just hilarious," Kara's blush told her that Kara felt as awkward as she did. Walking over to Alex and Kara, Lena watches as Sam stands slightly behind Alex, her hand on the small of her back.
Lena glances inconspicuously around the room to find people sparing glances at them , small frowns decorating their faces. They look out of place, Lena concludes, they weren't acting 'normal'. Lena forces herself to relax and places her hand on the small of Kara's back. She feels Kara stiffen under her touch, and Lena hates how she wants to feel Kara's muscles tighten for very different reasons. Lena looks up as Kara glances down at her. She sends the Kryptonian a silent, subtle look telling her to play along. It was all she could do to convey the message to Kara to get her to relax at her touch. She was glad when she felt Kara relax.
"Dinner's ready guys," James called as he gestured to the dining room. Kara and Lena hang back slightly as they slowly join the others.
"What was that about?" Kara asks quietly in her ear, and Lena hates that it sends shivers up her back.
"We're not touching each other enough," Lena whispers quietly.
"Excuse me?" Kara reels but Lena shakes her head, griping Kara's wrist.
"Sam asked if I was on my best behaviour because we weren't touching each other," Lena continues gesturing between them, "It means people are noticing," Lena adds with a glare and Kara understands.
"Ok, I mean we've been friends for years it's not going to be that difficult it's just a bit of flirting and touching," Kara rambles and Lena had to refrain from rolling her eyes.
"Are you two coming or do you need some privacy?" James asks and both women turn to find the table looking at them.
"Yes, no, we're coming," Kara announces as she leads them over and Lena can't help the roll of her eyes.
"That's what she said," Sam sings under her breath quietly into Winn's ear, who spits his beer over the table. Lena glares at Sam, who chuckles triumphantly. Sitting next to Kara when she was this nervous felt like a dangerous game. She was fidgeting, her knee shaking like it did in the car, and Lena was sure she would bend a fork without realising it any second now.
"So, Kara, how's that article on meta-human and alien interrelationships coming?" James asks as he plates everyone's food, placing it in front of them. Kara's jaw worked for a few moments.
"Yeah, it's sure going great."
Lena grits her teeth before placing her hand on Kara's thigh, forcing it still.
"Did you contact that source I gave you in Star City?" He continues without noticing Kara jumping at the contact.
"Not yet, but I will on Monday," Kara promises as she looks back at Lena, who is almost pleading at her to not be so damn obvious."How is the um running of a newspaper going?"
Lena swears she sees J'onn roll his eyes from across the table.
"Yeah, it's good," James mutters as he sits, and Lena can see the fork changing shape in Kara's hand.
"Relax," Lena hisses in Kara's ear, placing a hand over the bent fork in Kara's hand, and the Kryptonian turns glaring openly at her.
"If you two are going to start making out at the table again, can we at least get a warning?" Nia groans.
Kara whips her head to look at Nia. "What? That di-" Lena kicks her, and she's sure she's broken something as pain blooms in her foot. "Only happened one time," Kara amends.
"Three times, actually," Winn corrects with a helpful smile and Lena's stomach flips.
"Not including game nights," Brainy added. "If we include those, then we should include sex in the algorithm which has happened approximately-"
"Not over dinner, please!" Alex shouts and Lena wants the ground to swallow her whole. Lena's cheeks are flushed and Sam's grin can't be hidden as her wife openly glares at her for instigating the whole thing.
"We shouldn't be talking about this in front of Ruby," Lena dismisses trying to regain any control over this situation. She's also sure the fork under her and Kara's hand has snapped.
"Please, I caught you guys in the lab at L-corp last summer," Ruby shrugs and Lena pales. What kind of relationship did her other self and Kara have where they were constantly caught by her friends? They both blushed as they stared down at their plates.
For the rest of the dinner, Kara and Lena were mostly quiet, listening and absorbing the small stories told here and there, trying to deduce what had or hadn't happened. They listened intently as James told a story about Guardian and Winn.
"Man, I miss those days," Winn sighed, longingly.
"Yeah, but you and I are like the dream team," Nia argued.
"You say that like Kara and I are sub-par," Brainy accused.
"Look, don't blame me, blame Alex, she's the one that put us on separate teams," Nia deflected.
"I only did that so Kara and Winn would stop making Star Wars references and you and Brainy would stop being sickeningly cute with each other," Alex defended.
"Some of us are romantics, Agent Danvers, and we should not be subdued," Brainy argued.
They laugh, and Kara was thankful for the small insight into their lives at the DEO. They move from the table, Lena following Sam naturally as she accepts a glass of soda that she wishes is laced with something significantly stronger, and she silently kicks herself for being the designated driver.
"Kara didn't want to fly?" Sam asks lightly.
"She wanted to drink," Lena thinks quickly and is thankful Sam nods, even if her eyes never leave Lena's face.
"Right and you don't?" Sam asks with a raised brow, her features no longer teasing.
"It makes more sense that I drive the drunk Kryptonian home than my driver," Lena insists.
"You know you're going to have to trust her at some point?" Sam teases and Lena smiles softly as the words hit home. She knows Sam is simply talking about trusting Kara with the car, but it resonates with something deeper. "Hey," Sam prompts, pulling Lena from her thoughts, "Is everything ok between you and Kara?"
Lena smiles, "Of course, why wouldn't it be?"
"You guys have just been off for the last week," Sam explains quietly. "Plus, you looked ready to have a heart attack at dinner."
"Honestly, everything's fine, Sam." Lena reassures her friend. "I'm just embarrassed that you put up with us."
"Lena come on, after the time you saw Alex, we don't get embarrassed, you know that," Sam smiles before frowning. "You just seem pissed, it's like you guys are fighting again?" Sam pushes and Lena sighs, taking in her friend's words, trying to formulate a response she doesn't really want to think about what she supposedly saw of Alex.
"What's going on?" Nia asks curiously, stepping up beside them.
"Lena and Kara are fighting," Sam states matter-of-factly.
"We're not fighting," Lena protests quietly.
"What makes you think they're fighting?" Nia asks, ignoring Lena, glancing between the two women.
"Lena's doing that thing where she glares when she thinks no one's watching," Sam informs, and Lena has no idea she does that.
"Oh sneak glare," Nia teases and Lena rolls her eyes. She definitely doesn't do that.
"You know anything Kara's done, she's going to make it up to you the best she can," Sam reminds her. "Even if she doesn't know what it is."
"Remember when she flew you to Mexico because you said you were pissed that Lord was bragging about going to Canfa and you were fed up with being stuck in National City." Nia giggles at a memory Lena doesn't have.
"You weren't even pissed at her and she went out her way to make you happy," Sam recalls with a chuckle and Lena responds with a small smile.
"True," Lena muses, recalling Kara flying to Dublin for her favourite scones. She had gone out of her way to make it up to Lena in every little way she could, prior to Lena manipulating her.
"So, are you going to forgive her?" Sam prompts gently and Lena glances over her shoulder at Kara. She's standing discussing something animatedly with Winn and Brainy. She finishes whatever she's saying and catches Lena's eye, a half smile dancing on the corner of her lips and it makes her stomach do a weird flip.
"I suppose it depends on how she makes it up to me," Lena sighs in an overly dramatic tone, making both Sam and Nia laugh.
Across the room, Kara is watching as Lena laughs, her face bright and unguarded the way it often was prior to the Pulitzer ceremony, and Kara wants to make her smile like that again.
"Hey Kara," She turns at the sound of James behind her, "Do you think you and J'onn could give me a quick hand with the deck?"
She's nodding before realising what she's agreed to. Stepping into the back garden with J'onn and Winn, she stares at the stack of wood and she's never built a deck in her life.
"I'd like it to be just like Alex's so it shouldn't be too difficult," James states and she glances at J'onn helplessly. They get most of the foundation structure boards down before James asks.
"So, you drove up here huh?" James is staring at her pointedly and Winn is glancing between them as he 'helps' by handing them nails not trusted to do anything else.
"Ugh yeah, Lena wanted to drive," Kara explains, trying to act normal as she presses a nail into a board.
"Really?" Winn asks, and Kara hates at how surprised he sounds, his tone giving away that them driving here was not normal.
"Yeah, you know, to mix it up a bit," Kara shrugs. "Besides, if I flew here then I wouldn't be able to drink."
Both Winn and James nod, and Kara swears she sees J'onn shake his head at her excuse. She grits her teeth as she desperately tries to act normal.
"So you guys aren't fighting?" James asks as he begins hammering down boards.
"What? No," Kara scoffs as she hands him a nail, and he hammers it in.
"Cause you guys aren't being insufferable, which means your fighting." Winn chimes in and another nail goes in.
"It doesn't mean we're fighting, we're just being courteous to everyone around us." J'onn clears his throat and Kara knows she was never any good with interrogations.
"Right," James states drily in disbelief.
"Why is that so hard to believe?" Kara asks with nervous laughter.
"Because you two are never courteous," Winn states with a shrug. "You are literally together all the time with the longing looks, and the broken furniture."
Kara blushes at the insinuation before rolling her eyes, "We're fine, you guys. Nothing is wrong." Kara presses a nail into the board and looks back up to see James with narrowed eyes.
"It doesn't seem that way," James states with a frown, he looks over Kara thoughtfully before concern laces into his tone. "Is something wrong?"
"What- No, everything is fine," Kara back peddles another nail bends under her thumb.
"We just want to make sure you're ok Kara," James admits as he hammers another nail which Kara is beginning to slowly feel is being nailed into her coffin.
"Honestly, everything is fine, Lena and I are fine, we're great in fact." Kara nods more to herself as the final nails go in.
"Kara, the wood." Winn points and Kara looks down to where the wood has snapped in her hand from the pressure of the nail. James moves to grab another board as J'onn looks down at her in his best disappointed dad face that Kara vehemently hates.
"You and Lena are great huh?" J'onn asks with a knowing nod of his head.
Rolling her eyes, Kara mutters, "I hate this universe."
Did you like it? Did you hate it? Let me know what you all think in the reviews!
Until next week folks!