"Are you okay ?" Alex asks, threading her fingers in her sister's hair. "It's getting a bit long, do you want me to cut it ?"

Kara used to fiercely dislike people playing with her hair, but now that they're short, it's rather enjoyable, and she leans into the hand before nodding. "I had a hard week, but I'm okay now."

"I'll go get the clipper, and you can tell me what's going on."

"Nothing is going on really," Kara says in between two handfuls of organic cheetos, a leftover impact from Maggie's passage in their lives. "Except for global warming. And Snapper is being mean again."

"He's still giving you a hard time about James ?" Alex asks, returning with the clipper and motioning for Kara to move to the floor. "You know it's not your fault. But maybe you could ask Cat for help, she could set his head straight."

"It is kind of my fault Alex," Kara replies, leaning against her sister's legs. "My girlfriend left me for my best friend and they both moved to the other side of the country robbing Snapper of his favourite photographer in the process. It's got everything to do with me. And I can't really talk to Cat because the last time I asked for advice, she thought I meant I had a date and told me to wear blue before hanging up."

"Well blue is your colour," Alex jokes, lightly shoving her shoulder. Kara goes along with the movement even though it would take much much more than that for anyone to move her against her will. It's a habit she took a long time ago.

"I know that," she sighs, "but it's not the kind of advice I need right now. How can I prove myself to this jerk if he won't let me do it ? I can't spend the rest of my life interviewing old people and birds !"

"Then don't ask for his permission. Write that piece on LCorp you wanted to do and shove it in his face. Lena Luthor is your goddamn neighbour, you could even get an exclusive !"

"You think that would work ?" Kara asks, turning to look at Alex before letting herself be moved back to her previous position.

"I don't know. But if you never try, you'll never know. Now stop moving, or you'll be down one ear when I'm done with you."

Kara freeze, making herself as still as a century old statue as her sister works on her hair. Only her eyes are moving, following the mindless plot on the TV. "Could you do me a favour ?" she asks after a while.

"Go ahead," Alex says, turning the clipper off and brushing stray hair off of Kara's shoulders.

"Do you think you could look into someone for me ? Or use one of your connection to do it ?"

"Depends on who you need info on. And why."

"Veronica Sinclair," Kara says, not moving an inch for fear that if she so much as breathe, her hesitancy will show in her voice.

"The casino heiress ? Why ?"

"She's dating Lena and..."

"Kara no," Alex groans, "you've known the girl for less than a week."

"Kara yes," she replies in all seriousness. "I'd need to know if there's been any complaint filed against her by previous partners."

"Regarding what ?" Alex asks, though she already has an inkling as to what Kara is going to say.

"Domestic abuse. Or maybe restraining orders from her exes."

"You think...?"

"I kind of overheard a couple of things at Catco ?" Kara says tentatively. "And Lena looked uncomfortable when I saw them together, also when I talked to her afterward. Veronica kept on diminishing her, it was weird. There's something shady about their relationship. It's toxic, at the very least, I don't need to have interacted with them much to know that. And I'd like to get ahead of it, in case something happens."

"I'll see what I can do," Alex promises, because when it comes to her sister, she'll always do everything she can even if it's insane. "But this girl that you barely know is not your responsibility. Don't do anything stupid."

"Define stupid ?" Kara says, turning around with a taunting grin.

Alex rolls her eyes before ruffling her sister's pristine hair and using her head as leverage to get up. "Don't fall in love with her. Don't beat up her girlfriend."

"I'll see what I can do," Kara echoes.

"Maggie has been pestering me about drinks for weeks anyway," Alex says from the kitchen where she's grabbing wine glasses. "So I'll take her up on her offer and kill two birds with one stone."

"You don't have to see Maggie for that. I can find another source."

"Kelly is okay with me seeing her," Alex replies matter-of-factly, plopping back down on the couch.

"But are you okay with seeing her ?" Kara prompts gently when Alex hides herself behind her wine.

Alex shrugs, focusing on the television that now displays a weird cereal commercial. "She's been asking to see me everytime she's been in town for the past two years."

"And you've never taken her up on her offer."

"I'm happy, and I'm getting married. I can go out for drinks with my ex and use her for information," Alex replies with an air of finality.

"Alright," Kara says, well versed by now in the art of Alex Danvers and knowing when to push and when to back down. "But I won't be mad if you change your mind. And I'll be there for you if you do decide to go and it doesn't go well."

"I know that," Alex sighs, leaning into her sister, her glass of wine precariously balanced in one hand. "I promise I know that."

If Kara is surprised to bump into Lena in the hallway, it's not because she overheard her talking about her date, the walls are thin, it's not her fault ; but merely because she hasn't seen her in a few days and was just beginning to casually wonder if now would be too late to bring her housewarming cookies just to see her. Her neighbour leaves early, and comes home late, and since their second night on the roof, she hasn't seen her there at all. She doesn't have much time to ponder about cookies and inhuman working hours because Lena looks absolutely devastated, half a second away from crying, her face crumpled like it's trying to hold itself together but knows any effort will be in vain.

"Are you okay ?" Kara asks before she can stop herself.

Lena looks at her like a startled deer and Kara realises she probably didn't hear her coming. It's not that she meant to sneak up on her, but half floating all the time to avoid breaking the floor means she has a tendency to move around very quietly.

"Alright, that's a stupid question," she tries again. "What's wrong ?"

"Im okay," Lena replies with a small heartbroken voice.

"And I'm Queen Elizabeth. Can I do anything for you ?"

"It's stupid," Lena sighs, sagging against the wall. "I was just very excited about this date and my girlfriend cancelled on me." She stops abruptly, seemingly surprised by the honesty of her own words. She looks mildly terrified for a second, but she keeps talking nonetheless. "We've been fighting. Not about what she said to you. We just fight. Like normal couples. Couples fight a lot."

Kara wants to argue that couples don't fight that much ; Alex and Kelly don't fight at all, Alex and Maggie were perfectly happy until they weren't. But she thinks about Lucy and how things were near the end, and she decides to shut up instead.

"I'm just worried," Lena says. "But it's okay. I'll go read a book. Have a quiet day. Or maybe I'll got to the office. Be productive."

"You're not going to go to the office on a Saturday !" Kara exclaims absolutely revolted. "Come with me instead," she adds before she has time to decide if it's a good idea, "I have the perfect activity to change your mind."

"I wouldn't want to impose on you," Lena says shrinking on herself in a way that Kara finds unacceptable.

"I offered," she replies with her best smile. "And I was on my way there anyway."

"Well if you're sure you don't mind," Lena says letting the end of her sentence disappear in a vague hand gesture.

"I don't, not at all."

"Where are we going ?" Lena asks after a second, her reluctance at being even more of a burden clear in the way she doesn't quite dare to make herself heard.

"What's your opinion on surprises ?" Kara asks in lieu of a reply.

"I'm not very good with them to be honest," Lena says almost inaudibly.

"Then we're going to the animal shelter. I volunteer there from times to times. Is that okay with you ?"

"Will there be dogs ?" Lena asks, the hint of a smile finally making its way to her lips.

"We can even walk them," Kara answers with a wide grin. "Are we good to go or do you need to grab anything ?"

Lena doesn't answer, only stares intently at her door with a furrowed brow before she shakes her head to herself. "I'm good," she says in a voice that contradicts her very words.

"You sure ?"

"Positive."

Lena walks past her in a breeze and makes her way to the elevator. Kara doesn't usually take the elevator, it's old and cramped and overall worrying ; but she doesn't dare to question her willingness to follow without a second thought when Lena steps inside of it. She focuses on her breathing like Eliza taught her when she first landed on Earth, the ride is short, and she'll be alright. In and out, in and out. She's so focused on herself that she doesn't notice that Lena looks ready to implode until they're out of the elevator and halfway through the hall.

"Are you sure you're okay ?" she asks, stopping Lena with a featherlight hand on her elbow.

Lena looks genuinely surprised by her question, which leads Kara to wonder if it's something that people don't bother with asking her often ; her heart breaks a little at the implications.

"I'm fine," she answers in a way that sounds too much like an automatism to truly be what she means.

"It's okay if you don't want to go. I'd understand if you want to be alone."

"No. No," Lena cuts hurriedly, "I do want to go. It's just..."

Once again, she lets her sentence trail off in favour of a dismissive gesture.

"Just what ?" Kara prompts gently.

"I need to go back upstairs for a minute, just to check something, it's stupid, but I really need to do it," Lena says, her words bumping against each other with the speed of her speech.

"It's not stupid if it matters to you. Do you want me to come with you ?"

"I'd rather go alone if that's okay," Lena mumbles, her eyes fixated on her shoes.

"I'll wait right here," Kara replies with a smile, motioning to the poorly lit hallway.

Lena darts back to the elevator and Kara is left alone, wondering what is important enough to leave Lena in such distress. It's only when she hears her counting over and over again that she realises her ears followed her of their own volition. Horrified by the inadvertent breach of privacy, she wills herself to focus on something else, anything else, and only relaxes when all she can hear is the crackling of electricity in wires some twenty blocks away.

Lena is quite the sight. A dangerous one, because it makes Kara feel peculiar things, but a sight nonetheless. She's sitting cross-legged on the floor, laughing, with as many puppies as ones laps can fit, and then some. She's petting them, learning their names, and looks so otherworldly adorable that Kara doesn't even mind that she's been deserted by her usual companions. There is one in particular that keeps on coming back and which she herself doesn't want to let go of. It's a white and brown pit bull with a heart shaped nose, a little older than your typical pup but it doesn't matter because Kara abides to the intergalactic law stating that all dogs are puppies, and this one is adorable.

She sneaks a picture, for no reason at all.

"Which one do you want to walk ?" she asks when one of the workers hands her two leashes.

"Can we really do that ?" Lena asks in disbelief.

"Of course we can !" Kara exclaims, not bothering to contain her excitement. "That's the whole point of coming here. They get to stretch their cute little legs and we get to spend time with adorable puppies."

"Can I walk this one ?" Lena asks, unsurprisingly pointing to the pit bull.

"Excellent choice," Kara replies, swiftly catching a brown labrador mid-run. "And I'll walk this one."

"Did you ever have any pets ?" Kara asks as they walk, or more exactly, strut with their puppies, down the street towards the park.

Lena misses a step, nearly tumbling over the dog and only owing her swift recovery to Kara who grabs her elbow before she can really topple forward. She doesn't answer immediately, and instead resumes her walking like nothing happened even though Kara can feel she inadvertently asked a loaded question. "I had a dog," she finally answers when they approach the park and Kara holds the gate open for her. "A massive Irish Wolfhound. At least it was massive to me, I was four. I think they put him down after my mum passed away. I don't even remember his name. Sean maybe, or Seamus."

"Oh," Kara says eloquently, unsure of the type of answer this confession calls for.

"I'm adopted," Lena adds as an explanation, her tone neutral and clearly practiced, the time she took to teach herself how to not feel too much clearly seeping through despite her best efforts.

"I'm adopted too," Kara confesses. "At thirteen. And I had a cat. Streaky. Found her in a dumpster behind my school. She was alone and scared, like me, so I kept her. I towed her around in my backpack for a while until my adoptive mother found out. She wasn't even mad, just weirdly happy that I could relate to another living being."

"I had a fish for a while, at my new home, with the Luthors. But I'm pretty sure my mother poisoned it."

"That's terrible," Kara says, surprised that she even managed to form words with the way her mouth twists in disgust.

"Well it was a rather efficient way to teach me good manners," Lena shrugs.

"Still terrible."

"I'm sorry," Lena says looking down at her shoes, "that's not a very pleasant conversation"

"Not all topics have to be pleasant to be conversation worthy. That's how you get to know someone, by discussing the good and the bad."

"You want to get to know me ?" Lena asks, bewildered.

"Of course I want too !" Kara says, the opposite seeming quite ludicrous to her. "It's important to know your neighbours," she adds with a smirk, "who else is going to call you when there's a leak in your apartment and you're on holidays ?"

"Yes," Lena answers flatly, "you're right. We're neighbours, we should know each other."

"But I also want to get to know you as a friend," Kara continues softly, dropping her mocking tone, "because you look like a great person."

A moment passes, a silence filled to the brim with thousands of words. "You seem great too," Lena whispers eventually, a shy smile lighting her face. "I'd like to be your friend."

"So what's your favourite colour ?"

Lena laughs, unabashedly, in a way that surprises both Kara and herself and causes the puppies to startle. "Is knowing this a friendship requirement that I didn't know of ?"

"It is," Kara answers seriously.

"Blue," Lena answers, coming to a stop in front of a bench and taking residence on it, like talking about colours is the kind of conversation that requires to be sitting down. "Well I also really like deep purple, and deep red, but my favourite is blue. What about you ?"

"I don't really have a favourite colour."

"You don't ?" Lena asks, bringing a hand to her chest in mock offense. "It's a bit unfair to ask me such a serious question when you can't answer it yourself."

Kara shrugs. "It would be unfair to the other colours to only choose one."

"Ooh, so you're that kind of person ?" Lena says with a teasing smile.

"Alright," Kara says, raising her hands in surrender, "alright. Today, my favourite colour is green," she confesses, surreptitiously looking from Lena's green plaid shirt to her clear green eyes. "Ask me again some other time, and it will be different."

Truth is, Kara's favourite colour switches everyday. Sometimes it's the colour of the sky, sometimes the colour of Alex's hair ; she has a feeling however that green is going to be her favourite for the foreseeable future.

"Green ?" Lena echoes, this single word stuck halfway between a statement and a question.

"Is that surprising ?"

"I've been told it's my colour," Lena replies, arching an enticing eyebrow.

"Oh it is," Kara mumbles to herself, a bit louder than she intended to.

A light blush spreads on Lena's cheek when she catches her looking at her ; but to be fair, Kara only caught her because she was starring too.

"What's your favourite food ?" Kara asks to cover up her own blushing.

Lena chuckles, the sound drawing the attention of the two sleepy dogs ; Kara would even swear they're smiling. "Are you asking me that because you're hungry ? Because I can see you eyeing that hotdog cart."

"Well yeah," Kara answers with a small laugh of her own, "but I also genuinely want to know, that's a friend thing."

"Sushi. Or roasted lamb, depending on the weather. And I eat an awful lot of porridge."

"So hotdog won't cut it ?"

"If I'm being honest with you," Lena mumbles, averting her eyes, "I've never had a hotdog before."

"You never what ?!" Kara shouts, so offended that one could believe Lena just insulted her ancestors. "What planet are you from ?" she asks, fully aware of the irony of her question. "Even aliens have tried hotdogs, that's like America 101 !"

"Well I'm Irish so…" Lena says, purposefully leaning heavily on her accent in a way that has Kara stumbling when she darts up from the bench.

"That's no excuse," she replies firmly. "I'm getting you one right now."

Time has been known for playing tricks on Kara ; slowing down when she desperately wants to escape a situation, flashing by when she wishes she had all the hours in the world to enjoy it. The rest of the day passes by in a blur and Kara is left running after it, scrambling for precious seconds of puppies, stories, laughter and that special glint in Lena's eyes when the sun hits them just right. They take another walk around the park, Lena insisting on buying her ice cream twice, sitting down when the pups decide to take random naps, running after them when they decide to chase a duck. Well Kara runs after them, Lena just falls on the grass, doubling over in laughter when her new friend nearly tumbles head first into the lake. Overall, Kara thinks that she achieved her goal of distracting Lena from her missed date.

Much too quickly for either of their liking, the afternoon draw to a close and they have to make their way back to the shelter. Kara scoops a puppy in each arm and hopes Lena ogling her biceps isn't a figment of her imagination. The farther they get from the park, the less chatty Lena gets. By the time they have dropped the pups at the shelter, she's not talking at all anymore. Kara talks about Streaky again, in the hopes of getting Lena to open up about her own childhood. When she realises this isn't a good nor respectful idea, she switches to musing aloud about dinner. At several points, it looks like Lena is about to talk, but no words make it past her lips.

Something in her eyes prevents Kara from asking her if she's okay, and it's clear that Lena is grateful for that. They make it back to their building and take the elevator ; Kara holds her breath for the entirety of the ride up, and, in the eyes of someone who's known her for less than a week, Lena looks like she's trying to get rid off the whole spectrum of human emotions. Her features are fixed in a deep concentrating frown, her eyes are miles and miles away. Kara would say she's almost successful. Almost, because when they reached her apartment, Lena turns towards her and blurts : "Would you like to come in for a drink ?"

The question startles Kara, but she answers positively quicker than she'd ever admit, and follows Lena, and her frown, inside of the apartment.

Something strange radiates from Lena's home and it takes Kara both her enhanced vision and a full minute to figure what it is ; though the place is fully furnished and somewhat cosy, it looks still, with not so much as a cup abandoned on a counter. Nothing is out of place, and if she didn't personally know that someone lives here, she would believe it to be one of these fake apartment built for photo shoots. Lena even moves around the space in a peculiar manner, unsure of if she belongs in her own home. She's still getting used to the place, and it's her strange cautiousness that prevents Kara from immediately plopping down on the comfortable looking couch, like she would have anywhere else.

"Do you want something to drink ?" Lena asks, bent down in the fridge. "Wait," she adds straightening up and blushing, "wrong question. I invited you in for a drink, of course you want to something to drink."

"I'm okay with whatever you'll have yourself," Kara shrugs, torn between exploring the room and looking at Lena.

"Do you like beer ?"

"I'd be a fool not too, it would ruin my aesthetic."

Lena looks mildly surprised by her answer, but after a short second during which she doesn't breathe at all, her gaze stuck on Kara's figure, she honest to Rao snorts in delight and Kara mentally pats herself on the back.

"Guinness ?" Lena asks with a small smile, already extracting two of these from her fridge, her whole demeanour more relaxed.

"Of course."

"You can sit you know," Lena says, rounding the kitchen table towards the couch.

"Should I take off my shoes first ?"

"No, it's okay," Lena replies with a grimace she immediately schools.

"I don't mind taking them off," Kara says, already crouching to do so. "You look like you'd like it better that way."

"Sometimes I don't like touching the floor of people I don't know," Lena mumbles, averting her eyes. "So I wouldn't force you to take your shoes off if you don't want to."

"Well I don't mind," Kara replies, stepping out of her dark blue sneakers and making her way to the couch.

"Sorry," Lena says, looking at her beer can like it holds the secrets to life and the universe. "It's silly."

"It's not silly if it matters to you," Kara scolds. "I'll tell you something. Sometimes, I don't like the smell of other people's fridges."

"You don't...?" Lena asks cautiously.

"I think they stink, and I have a sensitive nose" Kara says, taking a swig of her beer. "When you'll come at my place, you'll be able to keep your shoes on. I wouldn't force you to do something that makes you uncomfortable."

For a moment, Kara fears that she's overdone it with her confession, but Lena's smile is so grateful that the thought dies as soon as it arises.

The light coming in through the blinds draws an intricate pattern on Lena's face, fracturing it between shadows and a pale glow. The pattern changes everytime she moves ; when she switches position and brings her legs under her, when she takes a sip of her beer, tipping her head farther and farther back, exposing her alluring neck, when she launches in an animated story about her first drink, at twelve, in boarding school.

"It wasn't even that heavy of a beer," she laughs with no hint of embarrassment. "But I was pint sized at that time and it knocked me out completely. I woke up with a killer headache, alone in the garden shed and received the scolding of a lifetime. I didn't touch so much as apple cider again until I was eighteen and fully grown. Now I've become quite good at handling my drinks, but I still get a fantom headache when I see that particular brand of beer."

"Rhum does the same for me," Kara says with a sympathetic smile, forbidding herself from following it with a pat on the arm as she isn't sure where Lena situates herself on the scale of touch.

"Rhum ?" Lena repeats with an incredulous look, "you started strong."

"It was last year actually," Kara says with a sheepish laugh. "I'd drank before." But can't actually get drunk on human alcohol. "But I'd never tried hard liquor, and well, let's say my boss sent me home the next day because I was zombified. Completely out of it except for primary bodily function, though I couldn't exactly see clearly through the headache. So I'm sticking to beer now."

Lena laughs so hard that she snorts beer through her nose in a way that should be unattractive but isn't.

The door bangs open.

The noise startles Kara enough that she crushes the can, sending liquid and foam everywhere, including the ceiling. When she turns and meets the eyes of the newcomer, she wishes she'd been more aware of her surrounding, if only so she could have prepared herself to come face to face with Veronica Sinclair again.

"Having fun, are we ?" Lena's girlfriend drawls. "How nice of you, Miss Danvers, to be keeping my girlfriend company," she adds, in a bone chilling tone that suggest only pretend politeness is keeping her from murdering her on the spot.

"Would you like a beer, Miss Sinclair ?" Kara asks though she shouldn't, raising from the couch to position herself between Lena and Veronica, though, again, she shouldn't.

"No, I don't. Would you mind leaving us Miss Danvers ?"

Kara turns towards Lena, waiting for the confirmation that she does want her gone, refusing to move an inch unless she assures her she'll be alright. Lena is still as a statue, her face a perfect mask, only missing the smile that would make her akin to a marble Venus. Her eyes are set onward, fixed somewhere above Veronica's left shoulder, and in her hands, the beer can is shaking almost imperceptibly.

"Please go," she mouths to Kara, her eyes flickering towards her so quickly that Kara would have missed it if it weren't for her alienness.

"I'm just next door," she mouths back. If you need me. If you need rescuing. If I can do anything for you. She doesn't add any of this, too much of a stranger to this situation to risk making it worse. Instead, she gathers her shoes and slips out of the apartment, almost shoulder checking Veronica on her way out. No shouting emanates from behind the door, but Kara as the deep and clear feeling that Veronica Sinclair isn't someone who needs to raise her voice to be heard.