Angelo's was a modest yet favourable bar not that far from Kara's apartment building. She didn't usually come here to drink, preferring a more alien friendly environment, but she knew this place had a great reputation. She'd even had a few of her blind dates here on occasion, which brought up painful memories. Back then she was this awkward shy and geeky young woman before she revealed herself as Supergirl. She'd changed a lot since then but that didn't stop the butterflies in her stomach making her tense and nauseous.

Kara stood outside the building nervously waiting in the street, the doorman casting a glance at her every so often. She'd arrived ten minutes early, which she was now regretting as she hesitated before the entrance giving people a polite nod as they walked past her. After her talk with Lena she decided to be brave and jump into this date headfirst. She went home, looked through her clothes and then made an emergency shopping spree to pick out a more suitable outfit. She didn't pick anything fancy, a red dress with long sleeves almost a size too small for her so it wrapped around her slim figure, black heels on her feet, her blonde hair pulled behind her ears and hastily braided, her glasses cleaned to almost sparkling, a white coat and handbag finishing the look of a woman feeling very uncomfortable. She stood there feeling very exposed, her costume left at her apartment unable to fit under the clothes, especially not with a dress that ended halfway down her thighs. She kept adjusting it, feeling like it was crushing her. Or maybe that was the tightening in her chest as panic crept up her spine.

This is a mistake she told herself, prying her eyes from the doorway she was too afraid to walk through. He might not even be here. She checked her watch. Nine minutes early. If he's not here I should just go home. Or maybe I should ask the doorman if he's seen him. She locked eyes with the man on the door who stared back blankly. Okay, that's intimidating. Best not talk to him. What would I even say? What am I doing here? I should never have listened to either of my friends!

Just as she started pacing on the spot, Kara turned around and realised she was being watched by a young man in short black hair with grey eyes dressed in a tailor cut blue suit and tie, a black shirt complimenting the polished shoes he was wearing. He had a grey coat over his shoulders to ward off the chill. She froze when she realised he was there, embarrassment flushing her cheeks. "Hi" Jake greeted, a warm smile welcoming her.

"Hi" she replied, trying really hard not to let her nerves turn her voice squeaky. She looked at her watch, five minutes to eight. "You're early" she said.

"So are you" he observed. They both broke into chuckles before standing awkwardly in front of each other. "I like your dress" he said after a moment of nervous silence.

"Oh this old thing" Kara said, putting on a fake laugh as she looked down at her outfit. "This is just something I found in my wardrobe" she lied waving her hand. Jake nodded, his eyes drawn to the brand new label currently hanging out of her sleeve. She whipped her hand behind her when she saw it, hiding her terror behind a smile.

He smiled more effortlessly, reaching into his suit jacket to show her his label still attached to his outfit. "I guess we both wanted to impress on this date" he said, awkwardly shuffling on his feet. "I guess if tonight doesn't go well we'll both be returning this stuff."

Kara knew the joke wasn't that funny, but she couldn't stop herself from bursting into a loud chortle that ended in a snort. She covered her mouth immediately after, mortified by the display as they found several people looking in their direction. "Sorry" she said quietly, still giggling from nerves.

Jake didn't say anything. Instead he looked inside the bar and held out his arm. "Well, now we're here, shall we?" he asked. Kara took his arm, clinging to him as he led the way off the street and past the doorman who she couldn't bring herself to look in the eye.

On the opposite side of the city several floors higher sat a much more exclusive and exuberant restaurant called the Gratis Royal, a place for the sophisticated clientele to wine and dine. Visitors include politicians, business owners, government officials, council members or anyone who is able to afford the exotic menu. The Chateau Bleu 1976 currently being poured into Lena Luthor's glass cost more than the waiter's annual salary, for example. The young woman thanked the polite young man holding the bottle before admiring the liquid, her gaze drifting over the table to her companion who selected it. "Quite expensive" she noted.

"Worth every penny" Maxwell assured her, toasting their glasses before taking a sip.

Their white loincloth table sat in the centre of the grand ballroom with large windows overlooking the National City skyline at night fell over the city. Street lights illuminated the buildings outside while inside was lit up brightly to show the cleanliness of the walls and floor and ceiling and furniture. A piano sang in the corner of the room as a man in tails played its keys exquisitely, the music carrying all around the open space where diners sat and conversed between feasting on the delicious meals served by the waiting staff in white. Lena sat upright in her seat, posed and proper just like her mother drilled into her when she was a child, her black sequined dress showing her elegance as emerald green earrings hung from her lobes, her green and blue eyes scanning the faces of the city's influential and powerful. Maxwell for his part wore a tailor cut red suit with dark purple lining, his white hair combed back as his own green eyes remained fixed on her.

"Is this where you bring all your dinner guests?" Lena asked him, finally returning her gaze to him bringing her glass to her lips, her lipstick smearing the crystal clear glass.

He smiled at her. "Only those who deserve special attention" he replied, setting his glass down to pick up his menu. "I must admit, I was surprised to get your call" he confessed. "I was expecting to have to persuade you over the course of a few days."

"Well, I try not to be predictable" she said, looking down at her own copy of tonight's specials. All made by one of the finest chef's in the country. "I guess you could say I found myself at a loose end" she claimed.

"And here's me hoping you just liked my company" he chuckled.

"By that, do you mean TITAN Industries or yourself?" she smirked. He raised a curious eyebrow. She lowered her eyes, the smile still on her face. "I haven't change my mind about the project, just so we understand each other" she clarified.

"Then why are we here, miss Luthor?" he asked.

She didn't answer, her eyes meeting his across the table. They were interrupted by a waiter asking if they'd like to order. Maxwell requested his usual. Lena pondered a while longer and decided to give the man's wallet a little hint of her expensive tastes. The man never objected, his expression showing nothing but intrigue.

The tension between Kara and Jake didn't get any easier inside Angelo's bar. After walking inside the pair found and empty table after ordering some drinks from the counter. Jake was gentlemanly enough to take Kara's coat and help her into her seat before retrieving their drinks and joining her. She sat nursing her bottle while she tried to get over her embarrassment from outside while Jake fidgeted in his seat unsure what to say. When they finally did say something, it was at the same time and they ended up talking over each other, which just made the awkwardness worse.

Eventually it was Kara who managed to get the conversation going by asking some questions, trying not to make it sound like an interview. "So where are you from?" she asked, picking up on the accent she missed when they first met.

"London" he replied, putting his drink down on the table. "Moved around a lot but eventually set roots there."

"So what brought you to National City?"

He shrugged. "I've been travelling a lot recently, stayed in a few places. This is my most recent visit to this city. I guess it keeps drawing me back."

Kara nodded, feeling proud about her city. "You said you worked at L-Corp?"

"For a while, when I considered staying for a while, but…I had to move on. It just wasn't a good fit and I had personal stuff getting in the way."

"You know, my friend Lena is the CEO there" she mentioned, leaning on the table with her elbows, her dress chaffing the second she moved anything. She tried to ignore it.

"You're friends with Lena Luthor?" he said surprised. "How did that happen?"

"Oh, that's a long and complicated story" she said. But then she corrected and explained "it's not actually. I did a piece on her for Cacto and we hit it off. Not that long or complicated."

"Well, I never got the opportunity to meet her" he said. "I was just an engineer in her R&D department. I needed the work. But from what I gathered she's a great boss compared to her predecessor."

"Yeah well she's nothing like Lex Luthor" she muttered, suppressing the growl in her tone.

He took another sip of his drink and asked her "what about you? How long have you been a reporter?"

"Me? Oh, about…I guess four years. I was Cat Grant's personal assistant before then, which was…crazy" she laughed, fond memories flooding her brain. "But reporting's all I wanted to do. It's my dream."

"That's nice" he smiled.

She smiled back, shifting uncomfortably in her seat before asking him "have you always wanted to be an engineer?"

He pondered the question, shifting in his seat just as awkwardly before answering "I just sort of fell into it. My dad used to run a garage so I'd help him fix engines after school. After college I took an apprenticeship at a factory and got good and building things. I wouldn't call it a lucrative career but it's served me well so far."

Their conversation became stilted when the pair were interrupted by a commotion as one of the customers stumbled off his chair. Once the distraction faded they sat in silence nervously looking at each other. Kara was the most uncomfortable, her dress starting to prove and issue as she tried to sit normally without breaking any of the stitching. With her natural strength one false twist in this tight outfit and the seams would break open, and then the nightmare of her sitting in this bar in her underwear would come true. "Are you okay?" Jake asked her, noticing her discomfort.

"I'm fine" she bluffed, taking a big gulp of her drink before swallowing it, her heart pounding in her ears. "I'm sorry, it's just…been a while since I've done this" she admitted.

"This, as in…"

"Dating. My last relationship was…" she trailed off, her gut clenching recalling how her last relationship ended. She wasn't ready to relive that heartbreak, not tonight.

"If it helps, I haven't really been great at the whole dating thing either" Jake told her. "Though I'll admit, getting drenched in coffee wasn't the worst first impression I've ever received" he laughed.

"Really?"

"Really. I mean, it could've been a car you hit me with."

"What?" Kara gasped. "Are you saying someone hit you with a car?"

"Pretty much" he nodded, a smile forming on his face. He could tell Kara was interested so he explained "so I'm driving my bike down this road and I pull into this junction. And then this pink sport car, bright pick, comes around the bend in the opposite direction and straight at me. I see it at the last minute after hearing the brakes, stop dead in its tracks on instinct and it collides straight into me. Fortunately it braked hard enough to just knock me over leaving just a small dent in my bodywork."

"Oh my god!" Kara gasped, hooking on every word. "Were you okay?"

"I was fine. Leather jacket is better than body armour. But next thing I know the driver comes storming around the car and starts screaming at me about damaging her bloody bonnet! Now I'm trying to explain to this woman how she was clearly legally blind for pulling out without signalling but she just kept ripping into me about how I was obviously an irresponsible driver."

Kara listened and was laughing, watching the man become animated as he told this story about how the two of them went back and forth. "So what happened?"

"Nothing. I picked up my bike and told her to get her eyes checked. She told me to get some driving lessons before speeding off again."

"What, just like that?"

"I ended up meeting a friend for drinks with his girlfriend's later. Unfortunately that's when I came to discover one of them was the same driver who hit me."

"And you became friends?"

"Oh hell no, we couldn't stand each other" he scoffed, chuckling to himself. "So as far as first meetings go, at least you apologised."

"Yeah" she chuckled. "But thinking back on it, you were clearly in my way where I couldn't see you."

"I beg to differ" he argued warmly. "But I'll put it down to you being distracted by lack of sleep. Fortunately I'm familiar with the condition."

"Oh yeah? So what keeps you up at night?"

"Oh a great many things" he replied with a wink. Kara laughed as she took his offer to clink bottles taking another drink. It was finally feeling like the tension had passed.

Meanwhile, Lena was also laughed as Maxwell relayed one of his more interesting negotiations with a civil servant. "So after almost three hours of smoozing with the mayor, he turned to me and tells me under his breath "I hear you're a man who seeks to satisfy many of his clients. If I am to agree to this proposal, is there anything you can offer me in return?" and now I'm sitting here, aware he's researched my…ahem…newsworthy exploits, thinking "does he want a bribe or is he expecting me to seduce him?""

Lena was balling in the restaurant, shamelessly acting unladylike. She got a few stares and disapproving looks from nearby but she didn't care. Maxwell had her in stitches. "So what did you say?"

"Well, I turned back to the mayor and I took his hand like this." he demonstrated by placing his hand atop Lena's squeezing it affectionately, locking eyes with her as he continued. "I looked him in the eye and told him "Mr Mayor, I am sure we can find something that satisfies both of us."" the two of them held their gaze for a moment before breaking into another laugh. Maxwell removed his hand sitting back in his chair finishing "luckily for me I didn't have to turn him into one of my conquests, though I would've loved the headlines if I did. No, he had so much to drink the man forgot he'd left his mistress waiting at the bar until he saw her chatting to one of the bartenders. Then he flew into a jealous rage and made a nuisance of himself. Ultimately I was able to make a deal with his replacement."

Lena shook her head, returning to the incredible food sitting on her plate. She made a note to send her compliments to the chef before she left. She hadn't tasted anything so delicious since her trip to Italy. "So is this what you do? Go from restaurant to restaurant charming mayors and politicians alike to get what you want?"

"I'd like to think there's more to what I do than that" he said, finishing up his plate and dabbing his mouth. "But I hate to admit, being the CEO of a corporation like mine leaves little room to be hands on. Most of my time is spent in board rooms or offices filing invoices and drafting trade agreements. I'm sure you can attest."

"I can" she nodded, sighing wistfully at the road that brought her here. Of course she fell into the family business feet first. Maxwell was famous for starting from the ground up, working his way up the ladder before reaching the top spot.

"How do you manage it?" he asked her. "Run a company and still make time to try and change the world?"

"I have a lot of help" she explained. "I have people I can rely on. Some have betrayed me in the past, but I've learnt to hold onto those who are loyal."

He listened, his gaze dropping a little. "Must be nice having people to depend on. In my experience, the only reliable person you can trust is yourself. I don't like leaving things to chance."

"I used to think like that" she told him sadly. "It's a lonely way to live."

"Why do you think I'm in the tabloids so much" he chuckled, running his finger along the rim of his glass. "I'm not wanting for companionship. But I will confess, true beauty is fleeting. None of my cohorts before have met the standards I'd consider…perfect." He lifted his gaze to Lena, genuine affection in his gaze as he stared at her. "If you don't mind me asking, is there anyone in your life you'd consider a companion."

Lena dropped her gaze, blushing under his. "Romantic entanglements don't come easy for me" she confessed, bringing her eyes back to gaze into his. After a moment of silence she dropped her cutlery onto her empty plate and leant forward on her elbows. "Is this where you intend to make me one of your conquests?"

"Oh I think you'd be too smart to fall for any of my charms" he smiled, leaning forward to join her. "But I will admit, you have had me captivated ever since I first read about you taking over your family's company. I've followed your work, and what you've done is nothing short of remarkable. Someone that remarkable deserves someone who can offer more than what I have."

She analysed the man, forming her own private audit of his qualities. "There's nothing wrong with what you have to offer Mr Davies" she told him. "What you have done is just as remarkable. Helping people to get their lives back…"

"It's not changing the world" he argued.

"Isn't it? You're making people's lives better. Your company, what it brings, it has changed the world. Which in my book makes you just as remarkable" she said.

Maxwell smiled, picking up his glass and proposing a toast. "To remarkable people?"

Lena picked up her glass and countered "to changing the world."

Once the tension was broken, conversation between the two of them was much easier. Kara was able to loosen up a little as she discussed her experiences in National City with Jake, who also shared a little about his travels around the world. It felt nice to be able to talk to someone new, that feeling of getting to know someone giving her goose bumps. Jake seemed at ease too. "So do you have any family?"

"I have a sister" she replied. "Her name's Alex. She's part of the reason I was able to get on this date tonight."

"Really? I assumed she'd try to talk you out of it" he said.

"The opposite actually" she laughed. "She thinks I need to get out more."

"She sounds like a friend of mine" he said, relaxing in his chair. "He would say to me "get off your ass and stop moping. Find someone to take out every once in a while, even if have to pay for It."" he saw Kara's expression and said apologetically "he has a different concept of what constitutes a relationship, and a different attitude to sex in general."

Kara blushed, now understanding his relief when she explained she wasn't trying to get him into her bedroom after first meeting. "For the record, I'm not that kind of woman?"

"What kind of woman?"

"One who'd…you know…pay for sex."

"Hm, good to know. My friend would be disappointed" he said. They chuckled, after which he asked her "what about your friends?"

"I don't think any of them would pay for sex either" she replied, making him laugh.

"Do you think they'd approve of you dating a stranger?"

"Considering Lena practically dared me to go on this date, I'd assume yes" she smiled. "Jon would be protective. Nia would tell me to be careful. And then James, he'd…" she paused changing the topic. "Would your friends approve of you asking out the girl who spilt coffee on you?"

"Hard to say" he replied. "Most of them are still in the UK. The few I have in the states, we're not really speaking at the moment. Except for Mike. But I don't think you're ready to meet him."

Kara nodded, feeling bad about hearing how alone he was. She was about to offer some words of encouragement when she noticed the silver ring on his ring. Seeing it made the woman pause, alarm bells ringing in her head as she felt something register in the back of her mind. It was engraved, a pattern running around the outside. Looking at it made her think about the engagement ring from the memorial, the memory bringing tears to her eyes. She wiped them quickly before they overwhelmed her. Jake asked her what was wrong. "Nothing" she said, still staring at the ring. "Is that an engagement ring?" she suddenly asked, looking up to watch his expression.

She watched it look down at his hand and immediately turn pale, hiding the ring as his face hardened. "It's nothing" he told her, his voice a few tones lower.

Alarm bells continued to ring as Kara pressed him on it. "Is there something I should know about?" she asked him.

"What are you talking about?"

"Is that an engagement ring?" she asked again, watching him shift under her gaze. "Is there someone else? Do you already have a…"

"Stop!" he growled, crossing his arms and taking a deep breath. "I don't want to talk about it" he said.

Kara stared at him, so many questions waiting to spring from her mouth. But each seemed to be answered by his face, by his posture, by the guilty look in his eyes. She closed her mouth, fury building in her gut. How could she have been so stupid? She was about to start shouting at him when her hearing picked up something over the drone of the bar.

She turned her head and focused on it, past her thudding heart beat and muted chatter of the city until she heard alarms and shouting and a security officer shouting into his radio "We're under attack. Armed response requested at the docks. They're going after the reactor! Send back-up!" the voice was cut off by the familiar sound of someone's heat vision cutting him down.

She stood up abruptly from the table, grabbing her coat and storm towards the door. "Where are you going?" Jake asked her.

"I have to go" she replied, taking long strides past the doorman. When she stepped outside her dress finally ripped as the fabric split apart. She looked at it and held back a scream. She could return it now.

Jake ran outside after her, grabbing her by the arm. "Wait, can we just hold on a moment."

"I don't know what game you are trying to play here" she spat, whirling on him as she pulled her coat on. "But I will not play any part of it. Go back to your girlfriend…fiancé, whatever she is and stay away from me!"

Jake glanced at his ring as she stormed off, running after her shouting "it's not like that! It's not what you think!"

"Leave me alone Jake White!" she called over her shoulder, anger spurring her faster until she ducked down a dark alley. The second she was out of sight she pulled off her heels and sprang into the air racing back to her apartment to change. The dress didn't survive the trip.