Lena Luthor wasn't really reading her e-mails. No, she had done that earlier. She was just scrolling. She had a million things she would like to do but she couldn't focus. How could she when she just had another one of those impromptu lunches with her best friend, Kara Danvers.

While most people had to schedule an appointment (and wait a considerably long time before they even get a proper appointment) with the CEO of L-Corp, Kara was the only person who could barge in, unannounced, without the danger of Lena's secretary losing her job.

"I'm stressed. I'm hungry. Please tell me you haven't had lunch yet." Kara had said, a desperate look on her face.

Lena had, in fact, already eaten lunch. But she there was no way she could say no to her best friend when she looked like a hungry puppy.

"Let me get my car.", was Lena's only response. And it earned her a beaming smile from her best friend.

Ten minutes later, Kara had ordered two burgers, large fries, a large milkshake, and somehow still had room for a couple of orders of pot stickers. Lena had a salad.

Twenty minutes later, most of which were spent by Kara complaining about work and then somehow also eating her meal, Kara had insisted on paying for both their meals and was now staring hungrily at the nearby donut stand. Three minutes later, Kara was munching on a donut and had 5 more inside her paper bag. Lena ordered another bottle of water.

It had taken Lena a bit of getting used to, in the beginning, when she realized that her best friend could eat for 3 people and still have room for dessert (for four people). When she asked how Kara could do it, Kara just shrugged and said, "I must have good genes.", before continuing to destroy another round of pot stickers.

Lena had insisted on driving Kara back to Cat Co. after lunch, which Kara declined, saying she could do with a walk. And while all her body and soul wanted to go with Kara, Lena was a consummate professional and knew that she had a business to run too. There were literally thousands of people under her responsibility and she couldn't let her wants be ahead of her people's needs. Kara, on the other hand, did insist on walking Lena back to the parking lot where they left Lena's car. In the two minutes it took for them to walk back to Lena's car, Kara had managed to hook her arm around Lena's and didn't let go. It took all of Lena's considerable self-control not to blush, to ignore the thousand butterflies that had suddenly decided to fly around her stomach. It was almost painful when Kara let go of Lena's arm to say goodbye.

Thanks again for listening to me at lunch. I really like spending time with you. We should have a sleepover some time.

Lena smiled. Kara never forgot to text her after these lunches, or whenever they go out. It's one of her more endearing qualities.

Sleepover sounds like a great idea. Let me know when you are free so I can arrange my schedule.

It had been almost an hour since she got back from lunch and Lena was still feeling Kara wrapped around her arms. She tried to refocus and scanned her e-mails, hoping something would pop-up that would get her attention, but there was nothing there.

She was just about to give up and go home when she heard the familiar chime of an e-mail coming in. She would have ignored it, but she was desperate for something else to occupy her thoughts. One look at the e-mail and she knew her prayers have been answered.

Hey Lena Luthor.

I'll be in National City in a couple of days. I was wondering if you have time to meet. Dinner, maybe? I have attached my flight details and the hotel where I'll be staying at.

Let me know when you want to meet. I'll be in town for about a couple of weeks or so.

Lena opened the attachment and committed the flight details to her memory. She checked the hotel booking and was not surprised to find a reservation for a penthouse suite. She called her secretary in.

"Cancel all my appointments for Wednesday evening and all of Thursday."

"What about Ms. Danvers?"

"What about her?"

"Well, what if she walks in and looks for you?"

"Let her know where I am."

As soon as her secretary left, Lena wrote back.

Wednesday, 6pm. I'll have a car pick you up.

Lena knew she wouldn't receive any reply, so she closed her e-mail. After a few minutes, she found a stack of reports she had been dreading to review but decided she might as well start now.

Wednesday came and Lena found herself, for the first time in a long time, actually nervous. She was pacing inside her office, looking at herself in the mirror and second guessing her outfit choice for the nth time that day. She had not seen her roommate for almost 7 years and she suddenly had a million things she wanted to ask and a million more stories she wanted to tell.

"Hey you…"

"Kara!" Lena almost jumped at the sound of Kara's voice.

"Oh I'm sorry! I knocked but no one answered, and your secretary said you were in so I…whoa."

Lena was suddenly aware of her best friend's eyes on her.

"Lena…you look absolutely stunning." Kara said, almost breathlessly.

"You really think so?" Lena felt the start of something warm creep up on her cheeks.

"Have you seen you? I mean…. don't get me wrong, you are always just perfect, but tonight…that blouse, and that skirt…and your hair…and just everything…", Kara was stammering, which made Lena blush even harder. Kara was irresistible when she becomes this stammering, blushing, puppy.

"Thank you, Kara. That means a lot to me." And Lena meant every word.

Lena noticed that Kara was picking up some of the baubles around her office and was playing with them. "Soooo…who's the lucky guy?"

Lena shook her head.

"Girl. And it's not a date. She was my college roommate and I haven't seen her in a very long time."

"It's not a date, but you are dressing up for her?", Kara asked, her face, suddenly curious and guarded at the same time.

"When you meet her-and you will-you will understand." Lena smiled what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "What brings you here, by the way?"

"Oh, I kind of wanted to grab dinner with you, but I can see you're busy." Kara teased.

"Please. It's not a date, Kara Danvers." Lena rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Oh no, she said my full name."

"Idiot.

"No, you." They both smiled.

With one final look at the mirror, Lena turned to her best friend, "Would you like to walk me to my car."

Kara grinned, bowed and offered her arm. "Of course, my lady."

Lena laughed but took Kara's arm anyways and for the briefest of moments, Lena wished she could stay like that forever.

"I thought you were gonna have dinner with Lena." Alex Danvers asked as she opened the door for her sister. She found a pouting Kara standing at her doorway, carrying a couple of boxes of pizza and what smelled like buffalo wings, looking utterly defeated.

"I wanted to, but she had plans." Kara answered as she entered her sister's apartment. She placed the pizza and the wings on the coffee table, sat on the floor and began eating.

"And you didn't check in with her beforehand?" Alex carried a couple of wineglasses and poured one for her and her sister.

"I never had to. But she's on a not-date date with her old college roommate that I have never heard of until today."

"And you're jealous…" It wasn't a question. Alex knew her sister well enough to know that she wouldn't mope around like this just because a friend cancelled dinner on her to go out on a date.

"Of course I am! What if she replaces me as her best friend?" Kara, if it was even possible, looked even more defeated than before.

"Is that really why you're jealous?"

"I'm not sure I know what you mean." Kara said, raising her head slightly to look at her sister.

Alex was debating whether to tell her sister the truth that, for some reason, Kara couldn't see. But she decided that there are some things that we all must figure out on our own. This was one of those things.

"It's nothing. Let's just watch a movie."

Lena Luthor was seated at a corner booth at Antonio's. The place was packed even for a Wednesday night, but reservations were never a problem when you're a Luthor. It was one of the few perks that came with her name that she enjoyed.

I should take Kara here to make up for tonight. She had looked so excited to have dinner with me earlier and- Okay, let's try not think about her tonight…or her sparkling blue eyes…and the way she practically glows when the sun hits her just right….okay stop.

She had arrived 5 minutes early and was seated immediately. She asked for a glass of red wine and just as her wine arrived, she heard the all too familiar-

"Hey Lena Luthor."

Lena knew that voice. She knew the quality and the lilt of that voice. Nostalgia suddenly hit her hard and for a few precious moments, she felt like she was back in her old college room. She turned around and smiled.

"Taja!" Lena almost squealed as she went in for a hug.

"Oh wow, Lena Luthor, you look good.", her roommate remarked after detaching herself from Lena.

"And you…" Lena began, but the other girl cut her off.

"I swear if you even think about complimenting me, I will walk away."

"I was gonna say you're still small."

"Okay, that's fair."

Taja was slightly shorter than Lena but the way she held herself, you would think she was taller. She thought her roommate had always had this air of grace and majesty about her, like she's some royalty. People looked at Taja as some arrogant, self-important, rich kid, when Lena knew she was anything but that. It didn't help that Taja had always acted cold and aloof to most people, but Lena knew better. Her friend was deeply private, but she had spent enough time with her roommate to know how warm, caring, and kind she really was. Above all else, she was extremely loyal and had always stood up for Lena even when things were getting tough…kind of like Kara…

Unlike Kara though, Taja had shoulder length, jet black hair-darker even than Lena's-and amethyst eyes that looked like it was boring into your soul. She also seemed like she was always amused at something. And although her frame was small, Lena knew from experience how deceptively strong her friend can be.

The waiter arrived to give them the menu but Taja politely declined. Lena smiled. She knew what was coming but said nothing.

"Scotch, neat. Steak, as rare as possible, and I will give you a sizeable tip if you make sure that my hands are never without Scotch for the duration of the evening. My friend-", Taja gestured towards Lena, "-will have the Niçoise, and another glass of red when she's done with that."

The waiter simply bowed and left.

"Did I do that right?" Taja asked.

"Just like old times…but I believe you owe me an explanation." Lena began.

Taja smiled, sheepishly. "I do. And I will explain things, in time, complete with apologies and all that. But for tonight, let's pretend I did not go MIA on you for 7 years and tell me all about her…"

"What are you talking about?" Lena asked, suddenly confused.

"You had that longing look on your face just before I said 'Hi', and I'm pretty sure it wasn't for me." Lena noted Taja's knowing smirk.

"Why do you assume that I was thinking about a girl?"

Taja answered with a look and Lena knew better than to ask again. She sighed in defeat.

"She's…a friend. Nothing more. And she's straight, hence the 'longing' part."

"I see. Will I get to meet her?"

"I'm almost afraid you would. You will like her, I think. But enough about me…"

"No. Never enough about you.", her friend cut her off, "I want to know all that has happened since graduation, spare no details."

The rest of the night was spent mostly with Lena talking and Taja listening. It was as if nothing has changed.

Ever since they met, Taja had always assumed the role of listener. She knew how to make people talk and open up, while saying almost nothing about herself.

She was the first real friend Lena had that her mother and brother did not object to. How could they? As soon as Lena mentioned her to them, they had sent their private investigators. Lena soon learned what Taja didn't bother to tell her, because Lena didn't actually want to know.
Taja Cunningham was the sole heir to the Cunningham estate. 'Very old money', her mother had referred to Taja's estate. Their entire fortune was invested in several different industries so that if Taja even thought about pulling out of any one of those, that industry would almost certainly collapse. They had no specific business of their own which is how she had managed to live in near perfect anonymity. All she had were investments, and it has worked quite well for her.

Lena had confessed about knowing all of this, and about what her mother and brother had done, to Taja, bracing for their first real fight. To her surprise, Taja just shrugged and said she didn't mind. "At least I don't have to hide it anymore. I hate keeping secrets from you." But Lena understood Taja's need for privacy and resolved to keep her secrets, which she did.

Taja paid for dinner, despite Lena's protests.

"I have a few properties to look at tomorrow morning after which I should be able to drop by your office to talk to you about a few things." Taja said as they were getting ready to go. "Are you free tomorrow?"

Lena noticed Taja was using her guarded voice, which she mostly used when things were about business. She had only heard her use this voice when speaking to her lawyers, financial advisers and her butler/bodyguard/driver/personal assistant.

"I will be in the office all day tomorrow," Lena responded, and then, almost as an afterthought, adding, "…except perhaps lunch."

Taja just stared at her for a few seconds and shrugged, "I'll make sure to call before coming."

Lena's car arrived first and she hugged her friend before leaving. "It was really good seeing you again."

Lena felt, more than heard, her friend hum in agreement.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Lena Luthor."

The penthouse suite was dark, not that she needed any light, she could see just fine. From the balcony she could see most of National City. If she focused hard enough, she could almost see a faint thread, red and long, flying out in the wind. She couldn't see where the other end of the thread landed, but it was close by.

She was not sure how long she had been standing there, when a tall figure appeared quietly behind her.

The figure smelled of blood and sex and sweat.

"Are you sure she's here, Master?"

"Have I ever been wrong?"

She felt the figure bow and just as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone.

She took her flask and drank from it. She would need the strength for tomorrow.

A/N: Updates coming in a few hours.