Chapter 14
"Are you ready?" Kara peeked her head into Lena's office.
"Yes. I actually wrapped things up five minutes ago." Lena grabbed her purse and coat and walked over to the door.
"Look at you, I think this might be the first time you're leaving on time." Kara chided. "I'm impressed." She turned to look at Jesse from behind the doorway. "Mark it down Jesse, cause I doubt it'll ever happen again."
"Hey! I'll have you know I've left on time in the past." Lena elbowed Kara as she walked past her. "Admittedly it was before I was in charge of a multi billion dollar company…"
"I stand corrected." Kara said laughing.
"Come on, let's go." Lena rolled her eyes and locked the office doors behind her. She had grown used to the new normal of being picked up by Kara in the evenings and started looking forward to seeing the hour tick to five. They had spent the majority of the week spending the evenings playing board games, watching movies and eating in. Kara had tried her best not to let the evenings feel like she was on guard duty and for the most part Lena didn't even think about it. So much of her time usually consisted of work that doing anything of leisure had always felt out of place and foreign to her so it was a nice distraction. She forgot how much she had missed the easiness of Kara's company and they had certainly found a new way of enjoying each other's company that far exceeded their past friendship.
"Here's the paperwork you asked for Ms. Luthor." Jesse handed her a thick envelope.
"Thank you, Jesse. I'll see you later tonight!" Kara smiled and waved at Jesse. Tonight was the night of the art Gala, so there was a bit of excitement in the air as Lena pulled her down the hallway by her elbow. "Ooh hey, what's the rush?"
"Nothing, I just want to get home." Lena said absently.
Kara pulled up to a stop and stared at her causing Lena to look around her for some anomaly. "What, did you hear something?"
"No, you just aren't normally this eager about something that doesn't involve the scientific method. I thought you hated these sort of events; forced schmoozing and rich clingy men."
Lena scoffed lightly and pulled her into the elevator. As the doors closed she grabbed Kara by the nape of her neck and kissed her passionately. Kara smiled into the kiss and wrapped her arms around her. Lena looked up at her, "Not when I know you'll be my plus one. I'm sort of looking forward to seeing how you'll react to one of those 'rich clingy men'." Kara's eyes flared a bit and she held Lena slightly tighter. Lena smiled at having achieved the effect she wanted from her.
"You're baiting me." Kara said calmly. "You'll have to do better than that if you're trying to see what I look like jealous."
Lena ran her hands up Kara's chest slowly and pushed her away softly. "It's not jealousy I'm after."
"Then what?"
"Now if I told you, it's highly likely it won't happen, and what fun would that be?" Lena said playfully. Kara took her in contemplatively. The elevator doors slid open and Lena chuckled lightly as she walked out leaving Kara to follow behind.
"You're excited." Kara said almost as a question.
"Are you not?" Lena asked, tugging Kara along by her hand.
"I guess I've just been more worried about Lex and Andrea lately I haven't really had time to think about tonight." Kara commented. Lena's face fell slightly. She had been looking forward to tonight being a more official date than most of the time they have spent together lately, stealing kisses and glances was fun, playing games indoors was amusing and entertaining, but tonight meant more to her than just another Gala.
Kara saw her fallen expression and smiled reassuringly stroking her hand with her thumb. "I didn't mean it like that, I'm excited about tonight too. I even bought a new dress." Lena looked up at her and her face rose quizzically and she couldn't hide the smile that crept over her face. "Sorry I wasn't trying to diminish it."
"Well, good. Now get me home so I can get ready." Kara smiled and picked Lena up and started to rise off the ground. "What? No! Not like this!" Lena clutched Kara's neck desperately causing Kara to laugh.
"Are you sure? We could get there much faster this way." Kara raised her eyebrow and slowly ascended a bit higher, enjoying herself a little too much as she watched Lena.
"You're teasing me now? You'll regret that later tonight when we are in bed." Kara faltered in the air and came down harder than she had intended a blush washing over her face at the insinuation. Lena smiled crookedly as she slowly released herself from Kara's grip, being intentional not to break contact with her body as she put her feet back on solid ground. "That's better." Lena whispered.
Lena couldn't shake the smile from her face on the way home, having made Kara so flustered by her comment that she had stammered her way to the car and buried her face in her hand most of the way there. She found it fascinating how easy it was to unravel her when the flip side of that coin Kara could break the sound barrier with her fist. She typically exuded confidence, their last several encounters left Lena more than aroused and that was largely due to Kara's advances. They hadn't really done much in the last several days after they admitted to being in love and she wondered if that played a role in the sudden cool down. Not that it bothered Lena, she was grateful to let that be sidelined for the chance to fall back into a new pattern of normal between them. They were more relaxed and affectionate towards one another now and she found she could make Kara blush with a simple smile or touch and it was her new favorite thing to do when in her presence.
As she drove on her thoughts continued to linger on Kara, the more she understood of her the more vulnerable she saw Supergirl. She was no longer this god-like figure that lived above the rest of the world in her eyes any more, but this adorable bumbling nerd who could literally move mountains. It made her heart swell with more love than she ever thought she could possess and a new fear at how easy it all could be taken away. She had a much clearer understanding of Alex and why she was so overprotective of her little sister and the overwhelming need to guard her from people like Lex. She glanced over at Kara, still blushing lightly, the sunset putting a gentle pink and purple hue across her face as she stared out the window absently.
"You're so beautiful." Lena said softly unable to keep it to herself. Kara's blush deepend as she looked over at Lena with a gentle smile on her face. Lena returned her smile and put her attention back on the road until they arrived at her apartment. Alex was waiting by the front door and Lena looked back at Kara a bit confused. "It's only for a minute so I can get ready myself, then I'll be back. Thank you Alex, I shouldn't be too long."
Alex waved her off and crossed her arms. "Go on, I don't have anywhere important I have to be anytime soon."
Lena looked back at Kara and they shared a brief look before Kara turned and went back out.
"Something is going on between you two isn't there?" Alex asked as Lena opened the door.
"What makes you think that?" Lena asked reservedly.
Alex rolled her eyes. "I don't live under a rock, I've seen the way you and Kara look at each other, it's changed. And I hardly see her anymore. So out with it."
"It's not my place to say anything, if you want answers you should be asking her not me." Lena deflected. She dropped her things haphazardly on the counter and made her way to her room to get ready, not wanting to give Alex a chance to protest. She shut her door and heaved a sigh before recollecting herself. She didn't want to have that conversation without Kara present.
She began removing her clothes not wanting to waste much time changing, she had already set out the dress she planned to wear for the evening. She spent the better part of the next half hour fixing her hair, makeup and accessories before she put the dress on. It was a newer dress, one that she knew would catch certain pair of sapphire eyes, the long flowing lines rested easily on her figure, the slit down the side of her leg offered just the right amount of tease she had hoped for and after assessing herself in the mirror, satisfied with her appearance, she made her way back to the living room.
Alex was sitting down on the sofa helping herself to a glass of wine and she almost choked on the sip she had just taken when she saw Lena enter the room. "Damn it!" She said as some of the wine still managed to spill on her pants. "Give a gal a warning when you enter a room dressed to kill."
Lena smiled and crossed her arms. "That's the reaction I was counting on, but I wasn't expecting it from you." Lena twisted around and showed off all her angles and Alex nodded her approval and Lena thought she saw a small blush form on her cheeks as Alex's lips curled inward into her teeth.
She was about to join her with a glass of wine when her breath caught in her throat. Kara stood in her doorway with an expression on her face that made Lena nearly weak in the knees. Her hair was up in a delicate braided bun with long wisps of hair flowing down her face framing her glasses. The dress she had on was stunning, and every part of Lena's body suddenly ached to touch the delicate fabric. It was an A-line midnight blue silk that hugged her figure before flowing out easily, just barely skimming the floor, the neckline was modest but still teased the curve of her breasts.
"My God, Kara, you look… incredible." Lena took a step closer feeling her face grow hot as Kara looked at her with an intensity that sent her heart into a frenzy.
"Look at you, I'm -I'm…" Kara shook her head as she closed the gap between them, grabbing her hand and twirling her around softly to take her in. "I'm speechless." Lena smiled as she completed the circle and rested her hand softly on Kara's chest. Their heads gravitated slowly towards each other lost in the moment.
"A-Ahem."
Lena paused, her nose barely touching Kara's as she bit her lip and pulled back, she and Kara shared a small amused smile before she turned her shoulder slightly and rolled her eyes at Alex. Kara clicked her tongue and gave Alex a mock death stare.
"So were you planning on telling me about you two or were you just waiting for a moment like this to try and blind side me?" Alex asked with a raised eyebrow.
Kara smiled and looked at Lena before putting her attention back to Alex. "Alex, Lena and I are, we agreed that, you see we both…" Lena linked Kara's hand with her own and kissed her cheek. "You're cute when you get flustered." Kara blushed and laughed nervously.
"Blech! No, I don't need to hear it. Thank you for clarifying what I had figured was going on for weeks now." Alex started walking towards the door and stopped as she passed Kara. "It's about damn time you two." She winked at Lena and gave Kara a hug. "You look amazing. Dresses always looked better on you than me." She turned her attention to Lena and looked at her sternly, "Have her home by midnight." Alex smiled mischievously and shook her head at Kara who looked like she had just been blindsided by the news, and made her way to the door. "Love you sis, y'all have fun turning heads tonight."
"Bye Alex, let's do dinner soon, you and Kelly both." Kara smiled and pulled Lena's waist closer to her in a gentle embrace. Alex's smile faltered and she shook her head, "um, yeah sure… see ya." She closed the door quickly behind her as she made her way out.
"That was weird." Kara said more to herself than to Lena. She blinked and directed her full attention to the beauty in front of her and sighed contentedly. "You ready?"
"Almost." Lena said softly rising on her toes to meet Kara's lips. She traced Kara's arm up to her neck then traced her jaw with her fingers feeling the small movements it made as Kara matched her kisses, deepening them. Lena pulled away slowly and looked up at the deep blue penetrating eyes. "We got interrupted earlier and I'll be damned if I don't kiss you before we leave." Kara was breathless, her lips still parted. "Now I'm ready." She kissed her briefly one last time before making her way to the door.
The gala was bigger than Kara had anticipated, there were spotlights and news crews covering the event as well as a few celebrities who were just beginning to make an appearance on a red carpet that had been roped off. Flashes of white lights kept lighting up the growing darkness of the night and a low roar of ambient chatter filled the air. Kara swallowed nervously as she exited the vehicle grabbing Lena's hand for a bit of support as she stood. Lena was poised and smiling for cameras that were already flashing wildly in their direction.
"Ms. Luthor, will you comment on the new direction you've taken your company over the last few months?" A faceless reporter shouted out above the noise.
"Ms. Luthor" started to become a frequent sound as they started walking down the red carpet as more and more reporters noticed her arrival.
"Any comments on the benefit?"
"Can we have a moment of your time?"
"What dress are you wearing?"
"Stop for a picture."
Lena smiled and said a few words here and there, offering small anecdotal comments which made some of the reporters laugh. Kara offered gentle smiles as she watched Lena in her element and tried to keep pace with her as they continued forward through the crowd. As Lena continued to walk down the small aisle bustling with other invitees, she tucked Kara's hand into the crook of her arm and held it there as she made her way through, squeezing her hand lightly with her other.
"It's a bit overwhelming." Kara said leaning close to her ear so she could hear her better. She looked at Lena and smiled. "I forget how big of a deal you are."
"I think they are more interested in you." Lena said laughing softly. Kara looked back at her confused and Lena pulled to a stop and looked over Kara's shoulder at the reporters. "For someone with super hearing you sure are deaf." Kara saw the reporters snapping pictures and instantly began clamoring for her attention. Since the crisis they had never been seen together before publicly. The realization suddenly made her feel slightly insecure, they had so much shared history before that being seen together wasn't even questioned.
"Kara Danvers! Are you two friends?"
"What's Lena like outside of her office?"
"How long have y'all known each other?"
"Is there something going on between you two?"
Kara stammered a bit and Lena chuckled lightly and stepped in front of her. "Thank you all for your interest, I'm so happy you all came out this evening. Now if you'll excuse us we are quite anxious to get inside." She pulled Kara towards her by the waist and gently guided her inside by the small of her back.
"That wasn't so bad…" Lena said as they made their way to the center of the room.
Kara smiled and nudged Lena slightly as they walked, arms still linked together. "Reminds me of old times, but this is the first I've been on the receiving end of reporters and their questions."
Kara finally noticed the grandeur of the gala. The room was filled with more people than she had expected, towards the end of the large hall a small raised platform had a band playing gentle jazz music to get the evening started. The walls were filled with art and there were podiums displaying sculptures of all kinds. Most of it was modern, but a few artifacts and other museum quality pieces were also on display, roped off from the crowds some even garnering their own security.
They walked through the open hall and each grabbed a glass of champagne. "To a memorable night, with a very memorable date."
Kara smiled and clinked her glass and took a sip. "So as your plus one, what sort of expectations should I have for this event?"
"Well, I have an opening speech I must give in about...15 minutes." She said checking her watch. "After that we can eat, at one of those booths back in the corner preferably. I'm sure there will be plenty of schmoozing you'll have to endure or you can walk around and enjoy the art, but for the most part I don't expect you to stray too far away from me." Lena said as she stared up at Kara's blushing face.
"That shouldn't be a problem." Kara whispered as she raised her free hand up to Lena's waist pulling her in a bit closer.
"Or we could just skip the whole thing and go straight back to my place…" Lena said tauntingly.
"Hmmm, Tempting…" Kara leaned forward and the intercom above them buzzed.
"Lena Luthor… if you could make your way up to the stage please. Ms. Luthor to the stage." The intercom buzzed a few more times before a soft metallic click came from the announcer, turning it off.
Lena groaned and pulled herself away "That's my cue…they're early."
"I'll be right behind you." Kara smiled and followed close behind as Lena made her way to the center of the room. Kara stopped near the front of the stage while Lena continued up the platform to the podium where a microphone was waiting for her. She looked down at where Kara stood and then adjusted the microphone slightly. A man next to her placed his hand on the upper part of her back and whispered something in her ear before handing Lena a small sheet of paper. She nodded and smiled politely.
A pattering of applause began as people began to shift their focus to the center of the room. "Good Evening ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for joining me in celebrating this wonderful fundraiser to help raise awareness to the needs of the children's hospital by way of this art gala, featured here tonight are some of pieces from our very own esteemed local artist James Jackson as well as Tamara Scott and Sabrina Hartfield. I'd like to thank National City's Museum of Natural Science for partnering with us as well and providing some fascinating artifacts that are on display through the main hall. While I hope you all enjoy your evening, as I know I will," her eyes drifted down to Kara, "Please let's remember why we are here tonight." She looked down at the piece of paper she had been given. "Any donations you'd like to make please direct them to the LCorp foundation for Children. Thank you."
More applause sounded as she announced the band to the stage and she made her way off the stage. A group of men and women circled her clamoring for a bit of her attention and Kara watched as Lena smiled hugged and took pictures with a few of them. Then Lena turned, her back facing Kara and she knelt dune in the crowd of people. Kara made her way over to her curious as to what drew Lena's attention. A small girl maybe 5 or 6 was whispering something in her ear but before Kara could listen they had parted and a large beautiful smile took over Lena's face as she leaned in and hugged the little girl. "You just made my night even better. Although I think the real princess here tonight is you, my dress doesn't have all the pretty flowers yours does and…" Lena touched her head and looked at the girl disappointedly, "nope I also don't have a tiara."
The little girl giggled and hopped as she pointed to herself excitedly. "I do, I do!" Lena laughed and shook her head. "See! You're the real princess!" The little girl stood a bit taller and another innocent giggle rolled from her little voice. "Well I still think you're the prettiest lady I ever saw."
"And you're the kindest princess." Lena countered the little one. She stood up from her crouched position and the father of the small child smiled. "Thank you, she's been clamoring to meet you since you walked in."
"Well you and your wife have a beautiful girl you should be proud." Lena said happily.
"Thank you, my wife passed away last year, but I try and do what I can to make her feel like the princess she is." He said as he smiled down at his daughter who giggled again as she hugged his leg.
"You have a very special daddy." Lena said. She saw Kara approach her from the side and the little girl gasped out loud.
"You look like Supergirl!" She beamed. Light laughter arose around them from a few people who had overheard the little girl's outburst. Kara smiled down at her and winked, she knelt down and whispered. "You are a very smart little girl. Let's keep it between us though ok, I'm in disguise!" The little girl nodded enthusiastically. Kara noticed the necklace the little girl was wearing had her family crest on it and smiled. The father laughed lightly and shook his head. "I'm sorry, she has a very active imagination."
"She's perfect." Kara smiled back as she stood again. Lena put her arm around Kara's waist and Kara's. "If you'll excuse us we are going to walk around and enjoy some of the art."
"Of course. Thank you both. You really made my daughter's night." He grabbed his daughter's hand and they walked away. Kara overheard the little girl saying to her father, "but it was her! She's the one who saved mommy from the car crash before she got sick."
"That wasn't Supergirl sweetie."
"But I was there! I saw her! She held me until you came."
Kara's heart raced at the interchange. She held lots of children in similar situations, she had never interacted with them again, never having crossed paths a second time in a City as large as National city. "What is it?" Lena asked curiously. "You have that look in your eyes, what did you hear?"
"I had rescued her and her mother from a car crash in the past, I held her like I do most children until help came, that's how she recognized me."
Lena shook her head and scowled lightly under her breath. Kara chuckled and nudged her. "What was that?"
"Figures a child recognized you, but I was blind to it for years." Lena said half heartedly.
"Well, to be fair, it's a much harder pill to swallow for an adult than a child, especially since we were friends and I actively tried to derail you." Kara offered.
"Says the girl who said she flew here on a bus and I didn't bat an eye…" Lena said. They stared at each other for a moment and burst into laughter.
As they walked further down the hall one piece in particular caught her eye as they were walking past it and she gasped out loud. It was Rama Khan's staff.
"That's—" Kara stopped and stared at it disbelieving. "Lena I don't understand what's it doing here? I thought Rama Khan had it with him when Brainy captured him along with the other immortals."
Lena looked at the artifact in disbelief. "I wasn't in charge of what art and artifacts would be on display tonight. This has to be from someone's private collection, but how would they have gotten it into their possession?"
"Well well well, what do we have here? It seems you two have become much more friendly since I last saw you dear. How disappointing."
Lena turned at the sound of her mother's voice and Kara sensed the tension swelling up within her shoulders. Lillian Luthor was standing just behind Lena holding a glass of champagne and wearing a very tense smile. She had a way of looking at Lena through hooded eyes that made Kara think she could shoot lasers out of them based on sheer will if it were possible. Kara took a step forward and Lena put her hand out behind her stopping her from advancing any further. Lillian knew of Kara's origins thanks to Lex and she was just as much of a threat to her as if Lex himself were here. If this encounter were to escalate it would be because of the two of them.
"Hello mother. You look as lovely as ever." Lena said in disdain, her eyes betraying her otherwise flawless attempt at sounding cordial.
"Still choosing the company of aliens rather than your own kind. After everything Lex did to ensure your memories, all the work you two put into making this world a better place together. I'm disappointed in you." Lillian drawled the slant of a smile never quite leaving her face.
"Oh mother, I've lived under your disappointment my whole life, what makes you think at this moment I give a damn? Now what are you doing here?" Lena snapped back. Kara heard her heart rate go up. As much as she claimed she didn't care, Kara knew how her mother affected her. It made her own hackles raise defensively and she clenched her jaw and fists, but Lena had stood between them for a reason and Kara gritted her teeth, allowing her to navigate the conversation. Lena was everything that was good in this world and Lillian seemed to make it her personal mission in life to make her question it. She was a poor excuse of a person let alone a mother and Lena deserved more. Lillian directed her attention to Kara briefly and they both shared an intense glare towards one another for a moment before Lillian shifted her eyes to the gala.
"I needed to protect my investments, this one is of particular value to me. I wouldn't want to see it get into the wrong hands." Lillian said eyeing Kara threateningly as she moved around to stand next to the staff.
"How did you come to possess it?" Lena asked.
"I should think that to be rather obvious." A deep voice bellowed behind them. Kara felt a cold chill wash over her as she slowly turned around.
Rama Khan.
This time Lena didn't protest when Kara stepped in front of her defensively. Kara took stock of the situation that was unfolding rapidly as she tried to assess her options. Lex and Lillian tended to hold vital information close to the chest until the opportune moment when it benefited them the most. Kara's secret was no exception, they could've outed her as supergirl this whole time, but chose to play the long game instead. Given Rama Khan's unique abilities she found it very unlikely he knew, that wouldn't bode well for either of them. The advantage laid squarely in their favor if he relied on them for as much information as they could control. At least that was what Kara was banking on at this moment. He was out of the containment tube, which meant his comrades were out as well. Lex had to be here. Kara looked around the room, but saw no sign of him.
"Well this is a bit dramatic, even for you mother. What do you intend to do here? All these guests are expecting a fundraiser. Are you going to unleash your muscle here on all these unsuspecting people?" Lena asked, her voice laced with loathing and Kara was amazed she still managed to keep from drawing any attention from the growing crowd of people that were continuing to funnel into the hall.
Lillian took a slow sip of champagne and studied it amusedly. "I'm not a brute darling. He's here because I promised him his staff and to test his… allegiances."
"What have you done?" Lena looked at Rama Khan with a new sense of dread. He stood uncharacteristically still since he first spoke, his eyes fixated on Lillian.
"Oh not I, Lex. A rather fun experiment we worked out together since obtaining the containment tube. With my connections to Cadmus and his unique skills we were able to release them from their prison, but not before altering their free will just a smidge. After all…" Lillian glared at Kara "aliens can't be trusted."