It really wasn't very late, but the sun had set and that meant it was cold outside. After spending all day in the office, stuck between conference calls and endless paperwork, Lena really wanted some fresh air. So she sent her driver home, slipped into a pair of flat shoes she kept in the office for emergencies, and walked towards her apartment. Alone.

The streets of National City should have been safer with Supergirl and her allied hero-friends around, but sometimes their presence just encouraged villains to act and sometimes people were just so desperate that they broke the law to try and survive.

Instead of paying attention to her surroundings, Lena was busy worrying about an anomaly in some paperwork from earlier that day. She was in a well-lit area, with shops and offices providing a sense of security, but it wasn't a route she usually took on foot.

"Hand over your purse," a hooded figure told her as he stepped out from a side-street.

Lena stared at him in surprise. His clothes were ripped and worn, but the knife in his hand looked sharp. She looked around to see if anyone had noticed him, but the few other people on the street were lost in their own thoughts, or talking on their cellphones.

"No," she told him.

After the number of assassination attempts she had survived, from people with more dangerous weapons than a single knife, she wasn't afraid. The man grabbed for her bag anyway, but Lena held onto it.

"Hey!" she felt his knife slice through the sleeve of her jacket and lost her grip on the bag in surprise.

He took off running, gripping his prize close to his chest. Lena stared after him for a second before following him.

It probably wasn't the smartest move to make, but all Lena could think was that her phone and keys were in the bag and how else was she supposed to get home or call for help. She followed him for two blocks before he started to get further away and the reality of the situation stopped her. Taking a look around, Lena tried to work out the nearest way back to LCorp. From there she could call the police and arrange for a locksmith to get her a new front door key.

"Good evening."

Lena looked up as a shadow fell over her, cast from the streetlamps.

"Supergirl."

"I believe this belongs to you," the girl of steel held out Lena's stolen bag.

"Thank you," Lena took it, not bothering to check whether her belongings were still inside.

"I nearly thought I was going to have to rescue you as well as the bag."

"Oh no, how long were you watching?" Lena covered her face with her hands, feeling embarrassed.

Supergirl came to stand on the pavement in front of her, "just as he started running. I would have stopped him then, but I thought you might prefer handling it on your own without an alien interfering."

Lena blushed, the words she'd spoken to the Kryptonian earlier in the day coming back to her.

"Not that I wouldn't help you, if you were really in trouble," Supergirl quickly added, "I just thought you wanted to handle it yourself. If you could."

"Well as you saw, I failed. It was stupid, he had a knife and I don't know what I was thinking..."

"A knife? Are you hurt?" Supergirl moved closer, scanning Lena with her x-ray vision to check for injuries.

Lena held up her sleeve, "just my jacket sleeve, nothing important. I refused to hand over my bag and there was a bit of a struggle."

"Thank goodness. Would you like me to walk you home? It's getting late and..."

"And I'm a poor, defenceless human?" she raised an eyebrow, only half-serious.

"No.. not..."

Lena laughed, "tonight I was. I'm sorry for what I said earlier."

Supergirl had dropped by LCorp when Lena was feeling completely stressed out. She'd come to let her know that the latest assassin had given up the name of their employer, and that she'd be sure to keep an eye out for any more trouble.

Lena had just been dealing with a boardroom full of people who did not want her running the company, who resented her planned changes even though they would improve the public's perception of LCorp, and who had tried to explain to her why their way was better. On top of that, some of the recent assassins sent after her had been aliens.

Supergirl shrugged, "they were just words. Everyone has bad days."

"Yeah, but most people get a few good ones to balance it all out. This is, what, the fourth - no fifth - time you've saved me this month. I've only been in National City a short while and trouble seems to find me."

"Well this wasn't saving your life," Kara pointed to the bag, "and it takes a while to settle into a new place."

"I'm seriously considering packing up and moving back. Tell me, is there anyone else you have to keep saving on such a regular basis?"

Supergirl smiled, "your situation is rather... unique, but think of it this way - there's a reason people are trying to kill you. I read the CatCo article, you could do some real good if you stay here."

"It would be just as easy to work away from National City."

"But don't you have friends here?"

Lena smiled, "one."

"Well then, that's one reason to stay."

"Do you always have to be so nice? Is that part of some Superhero code?"

"Hey there are plenty of nice people who aren't Superheroes."

"I think I can count on one hand the number of nice people I know, and still have fingers left over."

"That's awful."

"Well there's a big difference between people wanting to be friends with Supergirl, and wanting to be friends with the sister of Lex Luthor. There's also a big difference in attitudes towards those names."

"You'll change that, I have faith in you."

Tilting her head, Lena studied the Kryptonian, who was suddenly looking a little embarrassed. It kind of reminded her of the way Kara got nervous after complimenting her. That helped her make a decision. She held out a hand.

"Shall we start again? Put our families enmity to one side and try to work together?"

Supergirl smiled, eagerly reaching out a hand, "friends?"

"Friends," Lena agreed.

"So now you have two reasons to stay."

Lena rolled her eyes, "you sound just like Kara."

"Who?"

"Kara Danvers, a reporter at CatCo."

"Oh yes, I know her."

"Well with the two of you as my friends I'm sure I'm in good hands."

Supergirl nodded, before picking up on an emergency elsewhere. She made her apologies before flying off, leaving Lena to walk home alone.

Later that evening, Lena sat on her sofa enjoying a large glass of wine. Her phone pinged and she smiled when she saw the text from Kara.

Going bowling with some friends tomorrow night, do you want to come?

Lena typed out a reply in the affirmative, then added another line letting her know to add another count to the tally of Supergirl saving her life.

Are you okay?

Yes. Random mugging, no injuries. Supergirl rescued my bag.

She continued texting with Kara for nearly half an hour. There was something so sweet about the other woman. Lena couldn't believe how lucky she was to find such a great new friend. As she looked at the little heart-eyed smiley face emoji (Kara's reaction to her suggestion about getting some potstickers on the way to bowling), she reminded herself to be careful. Just because Kara put two little x's at the end of every message, sometimes a little emoji heart (again, mostly when the conversation turned to food), it didn't have to mean anything. She was letting herself get carried away, starting to have feelings for a woman who only wanted to be her friend.

Lena stared at Kara's profile pic on the chat, letting herself wonder what it would be like to date someone like Kara Danvers.