Over the next three weeks, Kara did everything in her power to resist Lena's charm and innocent requests for companionship. She was avoiding with careful intention, knowing full well that if she gave in and agreed to spend more than a few minutes with Lena, she would fall all over again (just as she had every day they were a couple). Instead of giving in, she refrained from contact, except to discuss how Alura was doing. Their conversations were civil but short, with Kara declining to remain on the phone with Lena for more than two or three minutes at a time.
Finally, Lena hit her breaking point.
"I'm going to therapy," she blurted into the receiver, before subconsciously holding her breath as she waited for Kara's judgment.
"Okay…" the hero said softly. "That's… That's good?"
Confused as to why Lena was sharing this information, the Kryptonian unintentionally sounded apprehensive and skeptical.
"You don't think I'm—" Lena started, but Kara immediately cut her off, realizing the impression she'd just given with her tone.
"No, no, it's great! Great. I'm sorry. I'm just wondering why you'd share that with me, of all people."
Again, Lena found herself subconsciously holding her breath.
It took her a long while to say, "Do you even care?"
"Lena…"
The pained, quiet, shallow breath that Lena drew (and Kara heard clearly) made the hero's heart ache.
"You don't," Lena breathed. "You're over me, aren't you?"
"Lena, I—"
"I'm sorry. You're right. I shouldn't have told you."
"Wait! Lena… I didn't say that!"
"I'm gonna go. Tell the kid goodnight and I love her, okay?"
"Lena."
"Goodnight, Kara."
As soon as she heard the click of the call ending, the hero wanted to throw her head through the wall. Lena wanted her to know she was getting help. But why? Surely, it couldn't mean that she still cared… still wanted her. But then, why else would she end the call so abruptly? Why have that reaction?
Heart banging around like a sledgehammer in her chest, Kara leaned her back against the wall, sunk to the floor, and hung her head in her hands.
"No," she mumbled. "I can't. I can't. This isn't happening. This isn't real. She can't—"
"Mom?" Alura interrupted her. "What's wrong?"
Instantly, Kara's head snapped up as her eyes found her daughter's piercing gaze.
"Nothing, baby. I—" she tried to lie, but as soon as the words started to come out, she regretted them. "Okay. Sit with me, and I'll explain?"
Alura, looking relieved by her mother's willingness to share openly, plopped down beside her on the floor, mirroring Kara's position by leaning up against the wall.
"For a long time, Lena wanted nothing to do with me, right? She was angry?"
"Yeah…"
"And even when she came back into our lives… even when she started to heal a little bit from the pain that I caused her… she acted like she didn't want to get back together."
"But you wanted to, right?"
"Right. But sometimes, when something is so far out of reach that it hurts to grab for it, you have to let it go."
"What do you mean?"
"I'll always love Lena, baby. You know that. But… I had to let her go. When I realized – when I thought – that she was over me, and that we were never going to get back together romantically, I had to move on."
"Wait… Are you seeing someone else?!" Alura cried, muscles tensing.
Kara could hear her daughter's heart begin to race, so she put her hand on the girl's shoulder as she assured her, "No, honey. But—"
"But what?!"
"But I let her go. And now… when I just talked to her… she said something to me that made me think maybe she still wants to get back together. And I don't know how to feel or what to do. I know that's really complicated and might be hard to understand, but I want to be honest with you about what's going on. But more than anything… I need you to know that we both love you and always will. And whatever happens between me and Lena won't change that. I promise you that. Do you hear me?"
"Yes, Mama."
"Good girl. Do you have any questions?"
After a thoughtful pause, Alura asked, "If you love her, why not be with her?"
"It's not really that simple. Like I said, hun… sometimes love isn't quite enough to make a relationship work. Sometimes it's just not a good fit."
"But it was a good fit! It is a good fit!"
"Honey…"
"I just want you two back together," Alura whimpered, starting to cry.
Eyes going wide at Alura's lack of anger and intense display of sadness, Kara hugged her daughter tightly and whispered, "I know, baby. But we love you very much, and you're gonna be okay, no matter what. I promise. Okay?"
"Okay…"
"I love you."
"I love you too, Mom."
Alura continued to cry, and her mother continued to hold her tightly against her chest for a long while before asking softly, "Do you want to talk about your powers?"
Instantly, the girl looked up, staring at her mother in disbelief.
"Really…?"
"Yes. You're ready, and it's time you get some answers to your questions."
"Okay. First question… When do I get a super suit like yours?"
Kara laughed and began to answer, "Well…"
~!~!~
CatCo was busy the next day, mostly keeping Kara from thinking about Lena, at least for a little while. Work distracted her for a few hours before something else stepped in to grab her attention.
"Oh, my Gosh…" a voice said softly, coming from behind Kara as she slumped over her desk, working hard on her next article.
"Uh… Hi?" Kara said, looking up as she tried to blink away her confusion.
"Are you… Are you Kara Danvers?"
"Um… Yeah? Why?"
"Oh, wow! I can't believe it's you!"
Blinking a few more times as she stared in disbelief, the reporter replied, "Er…. Why not?"
"Because you're CatCo's best reporter! No, you're National City's best reporter! I love your work!"
Eyes suddenly wide, Kara asked, "Really?"
"Oh, of course! Your last article was my favorite. Always passionate and enthusiastic, but also fair and just in your reporting. It's truly admirable."
"Well… Thank you. Thank you very much. Really. That's… quite flattering."
"Can I buy you lunch?!"
Eyes wider still, Kara gaped, "I mean… I'll go to lunch with you, but you don't have to buy. I can pay for my own—"
"No, no! I insist."
"Um… Okay. Well… Are you going to tell me your name?"
"Oh, Gosh! I'm sorry! I'm Nia."
Finally, the hero smiled.
"Nia… That's a pretty name. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"I can't wait to ask you everything!" Nia exclaimed. "I've always wanted to—Oh, wait! I forgot! I should tell you what I'm doing here. I'm the new intern!"
Raising an eyebrow, Kara looked the woman over from head to toe. She was young, but maturely and professionally dressed. Not to mention exceptionally attractive.
"Welcome to CatCo, then," the reported offered with a smile. "Always great to have interns learning the ropes. Hopefully you like it here and stay on."
"Oh, I'm sure I will! The famous Kara Danvers works here!"
Laughing and shaking her head, Kara rose from her desk and said, "I'm not that special."
The irony of this was almost painful, but Kara refrained from saying anything else. Anyway, to her, it was true. As a reporter, she didn't feel special at all, and the fact that this intern even knew her name was surprising to her. Still, she was flattered and grateful to have a 'fan,' so to speak. It didn't hurt that she was cute, either.
Kara scolded herself for the thought and grabbed her purse before turning back to the intern and asking, "Lunch?"
"Absolutely!"
The two chatted over lunch, and Kara found herself enthralled by the woman's charisma.
"Your laugh is infectious," she said, chuckling and taking a sip of her water.
"And your smile is quite stunning."
Kara blinked. Had this young woman really just… complimented her smile? She wasn't sure she'd heard right. In fact, she was tempted to stick her finger in her ear and wiggle it around to clear out anything that might be clogging her hearing.
"T-Thank you," she stammered, at a loss for any other words.
Yours is pretty too, she thought, but thankfully, her decision-making tree landed on not saying this out loud. (Mostly 'thankfully' because she knew it wouldn't have come out as clear and sweet and she was thinking it.)
"Oh, Gosh," Nia said suddenly, glancing at her watch. "We should get back. It's almost 1 o'clock."
"Oh! Yeah. Let's go before we get in trouble."
"Thanks for having lunch with me and tolerating my incessant fangirling. I know I came on a little strong…" the woman told her, after she'd payed the bill (despite much protesting by CatCo's main reporter).
"No, it was great! Thank you for buying. That was very sweet of you."
"It was absolutely my pleasure."
~!~!~
After that, Kara found herself feeling brighter and more upbeat than usual each time she arrived at CatCo. Nia continued to fawn over her, which partly made Kara uncomfortable and partly flattered her to no end. By the following Friday, Kara finally had the realization that the two of them had had lunch together nearly every workday for the past two weeks.
"Nia," Kara sighed, looking across the table at the woman, who had just proclaimed her admiration for probably the thousandth time that day. "I'm just me, okay? Just Kara. You don't have to treat me like a celebrity."
"But you're—"
"Please. Just Kara. And I'd like to think we're becoming friends…"
"Wait, really?" Nia gaped, shocked to hear her idol referring to her a friend. "You're not just hanging out with me because I kind of worship you?"
"Of course not!" the reporter exclaimed. "Nia, that's a horrible thing to think of me. I don't care if you think I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread or not. I'm just enjoying spending time with you and getting to know you. It's been really nice. I hope you feel that way too…"
Nia nearly dropped her fork on the table as she stared at the blonde.
"Kara, of course I feel that way. I'm not just enjoying our time because you're my hero."
Kara flinched at the word 'hero' and instantly blushed.
"I'm enjoying our time together because you're you," the brunette elaborated.
The reporter looked down and mumbled a quiet, "Thank you, Nia. That means a lot. It's good to have someone like you as a friend."
There was a long pause as Kara processed what had been said before she looked up at Nia, only to find the woman staring at her with a look of what seemed to be adoration.
"Nia, I—" she started.
"Do you want to get pizza tomorrow night?" the intern interrupted.
Blinking away her confusion, the Kryptonian replied, "I… Yeah. That would be really nice, actually. But you have to let me pay."
"Of course not! My idea, my invitation, my treat!"
Shaking her head, Kara asserted, "If I go, I'm buying."
"Alright, alright," Nia laughed, rolling her eyes. "Just this time."
"Great! Then I'll meet you there around… five-thirty?"
"Absolutely! Now, let's get back to the office before we're late again. That didn't go over well last time."
Kara laughed and shrugged her shoulders, "Oh, well. But yeah, you're right. Let's head back."
The two left the café smiling and continued to converse all the way back to CatCo.
