Author's Note: I cannot express enough how nice it is to have two couples on the same show at the same time that I ship super hard. TBH, I don't know if that's ever happened, and it's THE BEST. I have double the chances each episode to have content from a ship I love and AHH it hasn't disappointed yet.
There hasn't been any Kara/William physical interaction yet, but William has definitely mentioned her, which I appreciate. That being said, I kind of do wish that Kara had been around to help pick William up after Lex's acquittal, because I think he really needed her.
Hence, this fanfiction. Enjoy!
"Hey."
William glanced up from his tablet, but there was no relieved jolting-to-the-feet like there had been the last time Kara had found him at his desk long after hours. Instead, he offered her a polite, routine smile and looked back down at his device.
"What're you working on?" Kara asked, stepping further into the office and resting her hands on the front edge of William's desk. "I thought you would have been home, getting some rest."
"I've got a lot of follow-ups to do on Lex's court case," William replied, though his fingers weren't moving on his keyboard anymore. "If anything, today proved that we need to keep a closer eye on him than ever. Every movement, every action…"
He broke off, clenching his fists on top of the desk.
"Will, I get it," Kara sighed. "I'm just as upset as you are that-"
"I'm not upset, Kara," William snapped, standing up. "I'm- I'm- I'm furious. And I'm horrified that we- we- that we live in a world where a monster like Lex Luthor gets to go free after hurting so many people and trying to hurt so many more! That- that after all the work and research we've done, it came down to absolutely nothing, it just- it-"
He turned around and drove his fist into the wall behind him. Kara flinched at the pain that creased his face, but couldn't help a surge of fondness. She could remember quite a few times doing the same thing herself when her frustration got too much, though her punching a wall usually led to a hole the size of a watermelon and a lot of broken plaster.
"Let me see," she urged, holding out her palm. Looking like a reprimanded seven year old, William reluctantly put his hand into hers. Kara inspected his knuckles, the first two of which were red and split. "You're gonna need to ice this. At least you hit with the right part of your hand."
"Writing isn't all I do," William said with a small smile.
Kara smiled back and, before she could stop herself, pressed a quick kiss to his knuckles. William's arm jolted slightly and Kara was surprised at the warmth that spread through her at the contact she'd initiated. "Sorry," she mumbled, quickly letting go of his hand.
William swallowed and tucked his hand into his pocket. "I'm sorry," he said. "Punching the wall was maybe not the most effective way to express how I'm feeling."
Kara shrugged, not entirely sure she agreed.
"I just don't see how the jury could acquit him." William sank into his chair, unable to stay off of the top of Lex's trial for long. "And on the plea of a 'lack of hard evidence' of all things. The legal system has found people found guilty for much less evidence than what the prosecution provided."
"It's because he's a rich, powerful white man," Kara said, leaning against the desk and rubbing her thumb against a rough patch in the wood varnish. "Change any one of those elements and his chances of acquittal shrink monumentally."
"I hate systemic corruption," William muttered, rubbing at his temples.
"Don't we all," Kara related. She walked around to William's side of the desk and rested her hands on his shoulders, starting to rub out the knots in his neck. "Let me know if I'm hurting you, okay? I've been told I have… strong hands."
William hummed, putting his head down on his crossed arms. "No, that feels... really nice. Thank you."
"Oh, I brought you something," Kara remembered after a moment. She lifted one of the hands from his back and reached into her purse, pulling out a container and setting it beside his right elbow. "I didn't make them; you're definitely the baker in this duo. But I, um, I know they're kind of your comfort food so I picked some up at Noonans this morning just in case today went… badly."
William lazily lifted his head and a smile bloomed across his face at the sight of four scones squished into Kara's tupperware container. "You didn't have to do that, Kara," he murmured, opening the lid and pulling a scone out before offering one to her.
Kara, who was always hungry and down for treats, selected a scone took a bite. "You prevent me from having low blood sugar like four-plus times a week," she reminded him, mouth full, "and you can always tell when I need a baked good pick-me-up. This is honestly the least I can do."
"Well, thank you," William relented, biting into the scone. "They're quite good."
"Nothing beats Noonans," Kara agreed. "Other than you, obviously."
William raised an eyebrow.
"I mean, your baked goods," Kara clarified quickly, blushing. "Your baked goods beat Noonans' food. You as a person- anyone as a person- that's a whole other thing."
"Gotcha." He took another bite of scone, catching the crumbs that fell with his free hand.
Kara leaned over his shoulder, peering at the screen of his tablet. It appeared that he was transcribing Lex's address to the public post-release word for word, likely for quotes and further reference and analysis. "I'm sure Andrea doesn't expect you to do this tonight," she told him hesitantly, not wanting to upset him now that he seemed calmer. "You've had a crazy long day."
"So what do I do?" William returned. "Go home to a silent apartment and still focus singularly on is my failure to bring Lex to justice? I might as well make something productive out of it."
"William, today was not your fault," Kara protested, hands falling from his back.
"If I'd just-"
"No!" She glared hard at him. "No. Under no uncertain terms, okay? Lex is a- a manipulative, evil-minded, scary brilliant jerk. No one could have foreseen that he'd somehow appeal to the jury's self-centeredness. You wrote an- an amazing exposé, William."
"You could have done better," William said softly, putting his half eaten scone back in the container like his appetite had suddenly died. "The article you wrote when Ben Lockwood was trying to corrupt this city literally changed the world and inspired so many people. Including me."
Kara eyed him sadly, wishing there was something she could say that would make this all better. But she couldn't argue with the facts. William's exposé had been revolutionary, even Andrea had acknowledged that. But it hadn't led to Lex's capture, which had been the whole point.
"You know what you need?" she said, changing the subject. "A day off. A day to- to forget about all the crummy parts of our world and remember why it's worth fighting to make it a better place." She could feel herself starting to get a little aggressive with her frustration on his behalf and tried to reel it in a bit. "You deserve that. At least that."
William looked up at her, gaze soft. "One problem with that plan," he said. "In order for me to remember why the world's worth fighting for, I'd need to you with me, and we can't possibly expect Andrea to let go of her best reporter in a time like this."
Kara's cheeks flamed and she was just barely able to stop herself from choking on a scone crumb that went down the wrong pipe.
"Too much?" William asked awkwardly, his own face reddening. "Sorry. I, uh… seem to have a habit of overdoing it."
"You're not overdoing it," Kara blurted. "Neither of us are. I mean- I shouldn't feel like I'm overstepping if I- I kiss your hand, and you shouldn't feel like you're making me uncomfortable saying something so- so impossibly sweet like that, however untrue it may be. So… it's okay. Really. And-" She gritted her teeth, knowing that saying this next bit would probably come back to bite her. "And if you take a day off, then I will spend it with you. Screw Andrea."
William raised his eyebrows. "Then I take it we both caught a nasty cold," he said, smirking slightly. "Probably passed it to each other, honestly, with all this time we've been spending reporting together."
"And we just won't be able to go into work tomorrow," Kara agreed, shaking her head with mock-gravity. "Lucky Lex Luthor gets one day off the radar."
The smile faded from William's face and he sat back in his chair. "No," he sighed. "No, you know we can't. We need to keep a handle on the Lex situation, now more than ever."
Their plan suddenly had a million holes, and Kara nodded her reluctant agreement, sitting on the edge of William's desk. Now that she'd teased herself with a day off with the guy she was starting to really like, the idea of going in to work tomorrow felt absurdly tedious. But she knew William was right; they had a responsibility to the readers of CatCo to keep them informed… and to National City itself to make sure Lex wasn't able to hurt anyone else.
"But you know what we can do?" William spoke up, getting to his feet. "Dinner. Tomorrow night. As much as I enjoyed pool and beers, I'd like to try a… not casual date. And… it'd be something to look forward to, if it's something you'd like, too."
"Yeah," Kara agreed, biting her lip happily. "I'd love that."
"Thank you," William said after a moment, reaching out and resting his hand on her arm. "For the scones. And the sunshine."
Kara frowned bemusedly, glancing out the window. The view was lovely, the glowing grid of National City stretched out far into the distance, but… "The sun set hours ago, William."
"A different kind of sunshine," he corrected, giving her a deliberate look. "The best kind. The Kara Danvers kind."
Kara found herself blushing again and looked away, eyes landing on a clock on the wall. "It's getting late," she said. "I should probably leave you to your work."
William nodded and sat back down again, letting out a heavy sigh as his gaze fell on Lex Luthor's smug recorded expression.
"Don't stay here all night, William," Kara implored him gently, before adding a little more incentive. "If you do, I will know, and I won't go to dinner with you. So…"
"Well then, I'd better head home right now to make sure that doesn't happen," William joked, but legitimately started grabbing his things to pack up and go home. "You're right, though- It'll do me good to get some rest."
Kara almost blurting out something about the girlfriend always being right, but she held it in. They weren't quite at that point, yet.
But maybe they would be soon.
Author's Note: What a wonderful evening. Under the excuse of "getting them in character" I had to frequently pause my writing to rewatch all the best Kara/William scenes from Season 5, which was just… *chefs kiss* They are so precious it makes my heart figuratively implode.
Oh! On a slightly different note, I wanna do a multi chap fic with these two cupcakes. Anyone have any ideas? Knowing me it'll probably be some kidnapping something or other but ideas would be lovely (I'm looking at you InfiniteGalaxiez, 'cause I know you got a brain for this kinda thing ;).