Lena draws Kara into a deep hug, pulling her so close she thought Lena was trying to fuse their flesh together. She feels Lena turn her head and place a couple of quick, chaste kisses to the side of her head.
"I'm really sorry, Darling." She finally pulls back so that she can see Kara's face. She's wearing heels whilst Kara is wearing flats, so she stands a couple of inches taller than the blonde. "You're really having a bad time of it, aren't you?"
Kara grips onto Lena's arms, that are around her waist, not wanting to let her go. "Tell me about it."
Lena leads them to the couch, pulling Kara down right next to her so that they are still pressed to one another. "Is there anything I can do to make this easier for you?"
"I don't really think so, just keep doing what you're already doing." The way Kara looks at Lena makes her heart beat faster, like she is something precious and something to be revered. She can see the gratitude but more importantly, she can see how much Kara just simply enjoys being in her presence. She's never felt like that before.
"I'll still do some digging and see what I can find about your old building and the landlord. Surely there has to be a way to get your belongings out." Kara begins to shake her head at her suggestion.
"I can't let you do that, you've already done so much for me."
Lena gives her a tender smile. "I would do it a thousand times over, let me help you."
They are still holding onto each other, but Lena takes the next step by pulling Kara's leg over her own, so she is even closer, practically sitting on her lap.
"How did a nobody reporter like me somehow manage to get someone as beautiful, kind and successful as you?" Kara leans closer to Lena, if that is even possible.
Lena shakes her head vehemently. "I'm the lucky one, you've never been a nobody. You're one of the most special people on this planet."
They rest their foreheads together, breathing the same air for a second before connecting their lips in a deep, meaningful kiss.
"As much as I would love to spend all day kissing you, we'll have to rain check, we still have to set up for game night." Kara sighs as Lena pulls away.
"Fine, but I want to record to show that I am stopping under protest." Kara rests her forehead on Lena's shoulder as she whines.
Lena nods as seriously as she can muster in the moment. "Noted." She stands up and pulls Kara with her. "Now, let's get a move on."
They spend the next couple of hours setting up for game night, trying to figure out the best options for games since a lot of them got left in Kara's loft. In the end Lena rang Jess to pick up a few for them, not minding the annoyed look on her face when she arrived with them.
"Thank you, Jess."
Jess huffed at her. "I need a raise."
Lena's shoulders shake with the effort not to laugh at how done Jess is with her antics since she started dating Lena, her job has practically just turned into doing stuff that would make Lena look good to Kara, like ordering food and making reservations for dates.
"Will an invite to game night be a good consolation?"
Jess stares at her for a second. The past month is as much as she has ever gotten to know Lena through planning her private life for the first time. She had done a few bits and pieces here and there but since Kara and Lena started dating it has just been blown out of proportion.
"Is that a serious offer Ms Luthor?"
Kara hears Jess' voice and comes up behind Lena so she can come say hi. "Jess, what are you doing here? How have you been?"
Jess can't help but smile back at the ever-bright shining face of Kara Danvers. "Just dropping off Ms Luthor's request. I have been quite well, yourself?"
"I'm good, apart from the whole flooded apartment and losing the majority of my stuff thing that's going on. We're having a game night though, so you're welcome to join, especially since you're already here.
"Oh no, is there anything I can do to help with your apartment? Make a few calls perhaps?" Jess shoots Lena a look, knowing that she has contacts that could help.
"No, I think I will just have to cut my losses at this point, I'm just lucky that this one is letting me stay a while whilst I find a new place." Kara ushers her inside, not allowing her to linger in the doorway as Lena had.
Jess finds herself being prodded to the kitchen bar and sits on one of the stools. "You have to stay now, after all I did drag you all the way across town to bring board games, it's only right that we torture you by making you play them too." Lena smirks devilishly.
Jess totally glosses over the teasing. "So, you're living together."
"Yes."
"Temporarily."
They answer together, Lena's answer much more definitive, which Jess takes note of. Kara clears her throat awkwardly. "Technically, yes but I will start looking for a place soon. We agreed that it's way too early in our relationship to officially move in together. That's something we will revisit further down the road."
Jess nods her head and hums slightly. "May I speak freely?" She directs the question to Lena.
"Of course."
"I don't see a problem if you did want to move in together right away, it's not a normal one month old relationship, you've been attached at the hip for the past two years. Plus, with the way you act towards each other you started dating a long time ago, minus the…eh…extras."
Kara flushes bright red, but she has to admit that Jess does have a point. It isn't like they didn't know each other before they started dating, they practically know everything about each other.
Lena looks astounded that Jess said what she did, that is very much not what she was expecting when she asked to speak freely. "I understand that point of view." She very much agrees with it.
"Right, so the others shouldn't be too long now. Shall we get the food ready?" Kara doesn't want to have the conversation about her living arrangements and their relationship in front company as their conversations often get much deeper to topics that she is much more private about.
Lena is a little bit disappointed that Kara doesn't seem to have anything to say in the matter, however she also knows that just because she would like them to officially live together, Kara may not feel ready for that.
"You get the sandwiches and I'll get the pastries?"
Kara agrees quickly, shushing Jess when she offers to help and banishing her out of the kitchen and to the couch in the living room so she can choose one of the games that they can all get started on.
"I don't know why you would take me to the kitchen when I first got here if you were just going to kick me out anyway." Jess complains as she watches them sort the food.
Kara snickers, loving this side of Jess. She gets the feeling that if she weren't here Jess wouldn't have the balls to speak as freely as she is, she is a very professional woman and still sometimes struggles to call Lena by her first name as she had requested on their first day of working together.
"Stop complaining, you deserve a break much more than me. I swear that at times your job is ten times harder than mine." Lena mutters. She didn't fully understand how much assistants really do until Kara had explained to her how much they actually do behind the scenes after a quiet night in.
"I hardly think- "
Kara interrupts her. "We both know it's true and as a former assistant I will be forced to fight for the honour of assistants everywhere if you try to deny it."
Jess stares at her, unsure of how to process the absurdity of her statement. "Lena genuinely does do more than me and my job isn't as hard as you would think, Lena is a great boss."
Kara thinks over her response for a second. "And here I thought Lena would be as big of a diva as Ms Grant."
Jess snorts at that in an entirely unladylike way. "Believe me, there's times."
They both laugh as Lena stares at them, outraged. "Hey!"
Before any of them had time to talk again, there is a knock on the door, which is entirely unnecessary as it immediately swings open as Alex decides to just simply let herself in.
"I have arrived."
Lena quirks a brow. "I see that, just like I saw how you strolled in like you own the place."
"My sister lives here now Luthor, you better get used to it because that means that I am going to walk right on in and steal food and alcohol from your kitchen whenever I want, we are practically sisters-in-law now."
Kara walks right up to Alex and points a finger at her. "Absolutely not, Alexandra." Her tone is sharp, stinging. "This is Lena's home and you do not get to barge in here whenever you feel like it and the fact that you thought that any of this would fly is ludicrous."
"Kara, I-" She gets cut off.
"No, you will apologise to Lena for barging in and from now on, all visits will be planned, and you will be physically let in by myself or Lena otherwise you don't come in at all. Understood?"
Alex stammers, having never had Kara direct this tone of voice at her. "I…yes."
Kara clears her throat when Alex doesn't continue.
In barely a whisper she takes the cue. "Sorry, Lena."
Once she apologises it's like a switch has been flipped, Kara's serious tone and stern expression is replaced by her signature dopey grin. "Great, what time are the others coming?"
They are all left speechless. Nobody had any clue of how intimidating Kara, the human embodiment of a golden retriever, could really be. It's kind of frightening, but Lena also notes that is it very hot.
"Uh…Soon. Nia text me that she was on her way when I was downstairs." Alex replies, a little grumpy from being told off.
Kara waltzes back over to Lena, helping her finish up with the food so they could all go sit down together.
"Do you want red or white?"
Lena watches Kara hold up one of each bottle, so she steps forward taking both from her. "Absolutely both."
"Nice choice." Alex calls from beside Jess. "Would be better if we had a charcuterie board to go with it."
Kara sighs. "Yeah, it would."
Lena's ears perk up, always listening in for the moments where she can be Kara's hero, besides she is falling behind on her mission to keep Kara living with her. "I can-"
"No, you won't. I will just run to the store really quick. I'll probably only be gone thirty minutes." Kara interrupts Lena, making her wonder if she is a mind reader.
Jess stands, wiping her hands on her pants, visibly uncomfortable. "I think it would be best if I go."
"Oh, you want to come with? Cool, let's go." Kara gives Lena a chaste kiss and grabs her purse, hooking her arm around Jess' own as she makes her swift exit.
Alex and Lena share a look once the door shut. "That was weird right?"
"I don't think I've ever seen Jess so uncomfortable."
Alex snickers. "Who wouldn't be uncomfortable going grocery shopping with their boss' girlfriend, Lena?"
They stare at each other for a second, unsure of what to do now. "Should we have a drink?"
"God, yes."
Lena pours them both large glasses of wine, placing them on the coffee table and sitting on the couch, the opposite end from Alex.
They sit in silence for a minute, they have been friends for over a year themselves, but this is the first time they've been alone since Kara and Lena started dating.
Alex takes a long sip of her wine then turns to Lena. "I'm kind of glad that Kara left with Jess for a little while because there is something I want to talk to you about."
Lena looks confused, what could Alex possibly need to say. "Alright."
"I don't think the burst pipe in Kara's place was an accident."
Now Lena is even more confused. "Why would someone purposely burst a pipe in someone's apartment?"
"Kara's not just someone, she's a kickass reporter who is constantly airing the dirty laundry of bad guys who definitely don't appreciate it. Including the government."
Lena's eyebrows shoot up. "You think the government is after Kara? How in the world did you get to that conclusion?"
The air is thick around them, full of worry and confusion.
"I work for the FBI, do you really think I wouldn't search up her scum of a landlord after he left her in the lurch?"
There is a lump in Lena's throat and no matter how hard she tries to swallow it, it just comes back with a vengeance. "What did you find?"
"Nothing."
"So, it's all good then?"
Alex shakes her head harshly. "Just the opposite, I couldn't find anything because his file is sealed. There is no reason that a normal guy would have his file sealed by the government unless something major is going on."
Lena rubs her temples harshly, pressing her fingers into the skin as harshly as she can, as though she could just physically push the information into her brain so she can process it faster.
"If that is true and it is on purpose, why would they flood her apartment?"
Alex leans back, thinking for a moment. "Three reasons come to mind. One is that the wanted to destroy some information that she has. Another would be to hide evidence of them snooping. And the final reason would be to send her a message to stop whatever it is they think she is doing."
"Shit."
"Shit indeed."
They pick up their glasses simultaneously, downing the rest of the liquid in one hefty gulp.
