"Alex, please focus."
"Ok, alright, sorry." Alex shoved her cell into her back pocket and stepped forward closer to Kara. "Remind me again why you need my help? Cause you're not as bad as you think you are at picking out clothes… and you know I'm really not much help in the fashion department."
Kara shook the hangers in complaint as she held the two dresses out. "Because you're here." She whined. "Come on, I only have a couple hours before I'm supposed to meet Diana."
"They both look great and you look good in everything, which is just, ugh, so unfair by the way. So I'm sure whichever one you go with will be fine."
"I don't want to look fine. I want to look, I don't know, like, 'wow' or 'yowza'. So which one does that?" Kara asked again as she interchanged holding both dresses up to her. Alex threw her hands up in surrender and frowned deeply, her patience having worn out over an hour ago and two stores prior to this one. She pointed to the one on the right haphazardly and shrugged. "That one then." Kara looked at her with rankled frustration and growled in annoyance. "Agh! You don't care do you?"
"No, I really don't." Alex agreed smugly.
"You have been no help." She pulled her phone out and hit Lena's number walking backward towards the fitting room. She glared back at Alex who swatted her hands through the air in defeat and walked off back towards the bench she had been sitting on.
"Hello?"
"Lena, I'm sorry to bother you, but I need your help."
"Just a minute, Kara. No, the preliminary function of this device has the capacity to handle that output, lower the frequency and try again." Lena said distantly. Kara heard shuffling and then a door closed, before Lena's voice came back through less distracted. "Ok, sorry about that. What do you need?"
"Oh gosh, If this is a bad time…"
"Kara, I wouldn't have answered if I was too busy." Lena said patiently with a hint of brevity their interactions with each other was slowly taking on again. Kara smiled at the thought knowing they had come a long way to get back the friendship they had almost lost completely. "What's got you sounding so frazzled?"
Kara sucked in a deep breath willing her nerves of her pending date to settle so she could think clearly. "I'm meeting Diana tonight for dinner. It's the first real date we are going on, because apparently in her opinion lunch dates aren't real dates. She's taking me to this fancy Brazilian Steakhouse place that's somewhere uptown, and I can't seem to pick out a dress."
Lena sighed heavily on the other end. "Kara, I'm sure whatever you decide on will be perfect."
"That's the thing. How do I know which one is the perfect dress? The blue one is more comfortable, but not as formal, however the red one is more...um, revealing?" Her voice rising higher in question as she looked at the red one that basically screamed sex , which was the one Alex pointed to and the one the sales person swore by, but just the idea of wearing it out in public made Kara's stomach flip and swoop in nerves.
"Well it's kind of hard to judge when I have no idea what either looks like but based on what you just said…" a puff of air sounded through the phone causing Kara to flinch as she pulled the device away from her ear quickly, "the red one would be more date appropriate from the sound of it, but knowing you, I bet you're leaning towards the blue one."
"You're not wrong, but you're now the third person to suggest I go with red." Kara lamented.
"Third? Is Alex there or are you playing phone tag with the both of us?"
"The salesperson also recommended the red one. And yeah she's here, although I think she's contemplating a great escape as we speak. Nia—"
"Nia just wrapped up an interview with one of my R&D scientists and she's the only other person who'd be with you." She finished simply.
"Well I'd prefer you over the both of them, but you're busy changing the world, so…I compromised." Kara sing songed and Lena chuckled.
"I can still hear you, you know!" Alex shouted from the other side of the door.
"Huh what's that? You're paying for my dress and shoes?!" Kara called back towards her sister.
"I heard 'purse' too, Kara." Lena chimes in playfully from her end of the phone.
"Oh a purse too? Alex you're the best!"
"I'm done with both of you! Im going to walk around the store while you torture Lena. Lena, she's all yours.``
"Bye Alex!" Kara hollered back before Lena could respond.
"How about you send me pictures of the dresses and if you still aren't sure you can always borrow something of mine." Lena suggested once she was sure Alex would no longer be a disruption.
"Really?! Ok, ooh do you have a second? Cause I can just FaceTime you and you can see them both and I can make my decision now."
"Perhaps, but you'll have to make it up to me with pizza and B-movies."
"You sure? Because even though you said so earlier. I know for a fact I interrupted something and I don't want to burden you —"
"Well yes, I was kind of in the middle of supervising a stress test but Brainy's here now, who I hired in the first place to alleviate the need for me to be here. I just have a bad habit of showing up anyways. But it's not about that, it's about me making time for what matters the most to me."
"Well you know I'm a sucker for a good terrible movie so you got a deal!" She tapped on her phone and Lena's face came into view. "Hi!"
"hi." Lena sighed and smiled at Kara. Kara smiled brightly back, turning quickly in the dressing room to place the two dresses on the hooks and propped her phone up on the stool angling it slightly up so it could still capture her face and torso.
"This actually works out perfectly and saves me time!" She stepped aside so Lena could have a better view of the two dresses. "Which one should I try on first?"
"Blue first." Lena said.
"Ok!" Kara started to unbutton her shirt.
"Oh god." Lena said through the phone. "Kara can't you like— I don't know— speed dress…or do you have every intention of stripping in front of me right now?"
"Oh. Gosh!" Kara felt her face flush as she started to button her shirt back up. "Sorry I'm used to changing in the DEO locker room and didn't even think." She looked around the small room assessing it with a critical eye and laughed.
"What's so funny?"
"It's just, you know I've never speed dressed in a fitting room before. Not a lot of space to maneuver around in top speed, ya know… and yet Clark claims to do it in telephone booths…" Kara rolled her eyes contemptuously. "I find it hard to believe."
"Kara, as riveting as this conversation is, I really have to get back to work at some point today."
"Right, sorry. Let me just take these off real fast." Kara removed her glasses and let down her hair. "Here I go."
In an instant Kara was out of her clothes and in the blue dress. It was shorter of the two, falling to knee length and had a subtle shimmer to it when she twisted right and left. The neckline was v-shaped and was modest and Lena could see how well it accentuated Kara's cerulean eyes even despite a screen and poor lighting as external buffers.
Lena nodded her head in approval. "I like that one. It's similar to some other dresses I've seen you wear. Plus you obviously can't go wrong with blue." Lena smirked.
Kara looked down at the dress and smoothed down the hem as she assessed herself. "Yeah… I do like the length of this one, it's not too far off from the length of the skirt on my other suit. But don't you think it might be a tad too casual?"
"I hardly think Diana is the type of person to care what you're wearing, so long as it's you she's taking out. You're the prize Kara, the dress is just wrapping."
"Annnnd…" Kara drawled as she pointed goofily at Lena. "that was officially the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me."
"That seems like a stretch and if not Diana had better make up for it." Lena responded.
"Why when you do it so well already?" Kara countered cheekily.
Lena smiled sarcastically at that and gestured a forward motion with her hands. "Ok, next one."
"Yep. Oh hang on a sec Alex is calling me. Stay on the line, I'll be right back."
Lena took a breath and let it out slowly. She held her phone up waiting for Kara to return and in the interim did her best to control her breathing. This was fine, she had prepared herself for it. Kara's date with Diana tonight wasn't news, and at least in that regard she had time to…adjust.
The door to the lab opened and Brainy stuck his head through tentatively. "We are ready for the next round of testing, do you want us to proceed or would you prefer us to wait for you?"
"At this stage there's not much more I can do other than observe. I'll be in shortly, let me finish up here with Kara first."
"Very well." Brainy retreated back into the lab. She was grateful for Brainy. He signed on to her team without hesitation and with him on board she had been considerably less stressed. As great as her scientists were they didn't hold a candle to the Coluan and she compensated him greatly for it.
Lena waited a minute longer and started to contemplate hanging up and texting Kara to call her back when Kara's face filled the screen again.
"Sorry, Alex is basically one more dress away from me being abandoned in favor of dealing with a raging Gordanian which is just rude on so many levels."
Lena chuckled. "You dragged your leather and jeans wearing sister to a dress shop, I'm inclined to side with her."
"Thank you!" Lena heard Alex's muffled exclamation coming from where she most likely was standing outside the dressing room as she waited for Kara to wrap up.
"She's back already?"
"I rather torture you two than myself."
"Ok! Ok! Last dress and we will get lunch!" Kara hollered back, her eyes looking out over the phone toward the direction of Alex's voice.
With that Kara sat her phone back down, propping it up where Lena had a good full body view and before Lena had a chance to prepare herself she was looking at Kara in the red dress.
"Alright. What do you think?" Kara asked.
Having a device between them that could only pickup sounds the mic was capable of was now a blessing because Kara was unaware of the heart stopping reaction Lena was having. The satin ruby red dress hugged every single inch of Kara's body in a way that screamed sexy and Lena was having trouble using her brain to speak words. All she could think of was what it would feel like between her fingers. How it made her eyes follow the curve of Kara's neck down to below her collarbone where the swells of her breasts were just visible but still modestly hidden and Lena couldn't breathe. She couldn't think beyond the two words swirling incescently through her brain. So beautiful. So beautiful. So beautiful. Which is probably why the words that tumbled out of her mouth were just that and spoken with so much veneration that it caused Kara's eyes to snap to the phone and her fingers to stop fidgeting with the straps of the dress.
"Really? You think so? So definitely this one then?" Kara asked.
Lena forced her eyes to stay focused on Kara's face and not the faint outline of abs that could be seen each time Kara twisted slightly right and left as she also looked at herself through the mirror.
Lena cleared her throat and forced her brain into a jump start. As much as it pained her to say, she found herself voicing "Kara, If Diana's jaw doesn't drop when she first sees you she's blind."
Kara bit her lip and a small squeak of excitement escaped her lips before she bounced on her toes and then in a flash she was back in her blue jeans and sweater, her hair tied up in a messy bun and glasses firmly in place. She gathered up the red dress in her hands and her phone.
"Thank you Lena."
"Happy to help. I have to go now though."
"Of course. Thank you for taking the time."
"Always."
"Let's plan that movie night for tomorrow since tonight I've got a hot date!" Kara wiggled her eyebrows and Lena forced out a chuckle.
"Goodbye Kara, enjoy your night."
Kara finished with the last bit of her braid when the doorbell rang, sending her nerves suddenly into a mild panic. She gave herself one more quick once over. The dress really was beautiful and with her hair up in its current soft braid that loosely framed her face, and her make-up soft with a shade of lipstick that nearly matched the color of her lips, she looked like royalty.
There was no real reason for the sheer amount of nervous pent up energy that coursed through her veins. They had met on three separate occasions for lunch prior to tonight. During those lunches she got to know a little bit more about Diana each time. Like the way she tucked her hair behind her ear and looked down slightly when any compliment was sent her way. Or how a small dimple would appear on her right cheek when she smiled which seemed to be quite often whenever Kara rambled. Or how she would use touch to show affection, often lightly grazing her hand as they walked or squeezing her arm when she laughed.
Each new thing Kara learned made her curious about what the next thing would be and suddenly the panic she had initially transitioned to excitement and so she took a deep breath and steeled herself before quickly making her way to the door. She pulled it open to find Diana and wide smiles swept across both their faces simultaneously.
Diana's eyes instantly and quickly took in the sight in front of her and her eyebrows raised in appreciation. "Kara, you look absolutely stunning." She leaned forward slightly and brushed her lips in a wisp of a kiss on Kara's cheek in greeting. The touch made Kara pull her lips between her teeth shyly before stammering her own appreciation of Diana's appearance.
Diana held out a single red rose. "I know it's cliche to offer a rose on a first date, but red roses symbolize romance, love, respect, beauty, courage, passion and sincerity, and you encompass each one so wholly that I couldn't resist."
"Ok, as far as first dates go, you've just surpassed every one of mine with that explanation." Kara said in awe as she accepted the rose and gestured for Diana to step inside. She walked over to her kitchen island and pulled out a small vase from her cabinet, filling it with water before placing the rose into it.
Diana smiled as she followed Kara to the counter and sat on the stool. Kara tried to keep her eye from following the movement of Diana's thighs as she crossed one leg over the other, her black chiffon pants flowed like a skirt but offered movement that the latter couldn't afford. Kara moved her gaze upward where a gold top dipped low exposing Diana's chest and cleavage offering a tantalizing view as well and seemed to make Kara blush uncontrollably before Kara became very interested in straightening and arranging the single rose within the vase.
Diana's small curve of lips and glimmer in her eyes told Kara she was caught and she suddenly felt very out of her depth on how to proceed. No one had ever made her this flustered before. Well no one besides Lena, but that was different because Lena was different. Their relationship was nothing like this. The tension and the dynamic were there because of years of history between them. Not because of attraction. Lena was attractive though, Kara thought. More so in some ways, if she really put her mind to it. Like how— wait. Kara stopped herself from digressing too far into that train of thought. She realized with a start that she was getting distracted and letting her mind wander when a very beautiful Amazonian was sitting on her barstool giving her undivided attention. She needed to focus.
"I hope that's not true, but I'm glad to know you think so." Diana twisted one of her gold bracelets around her wrist absently, her gaze drifting into a mid space as if reflecting on a distant memory. "Truth be told I'm a bit nervous. I haven't really actively seen anyone for a long time. So this all feels very bizarre in a way."
Kara suddenly felt a swell of affection and her own nerves seemed to calm tremendously at the confession. "I think I know what you mean. My last long lasting relationship ended with him being sent into outer space, so I tend to have an opinion of myself that I'm bad luck." She offered jokingly.
Diana laughed lightly at that and rested her hands in her lap looking visibly more relaxed. Kara mentally patted herself on the back for having put both of them at ease. "I doubt that, but I appreciate the sentiment nonetheless." Diana countered. She eyed the rose and raised slowly from her position at the counter. "If everything is now in order should we make our way out?"
Kara nodded quickly. "Yes, let me just get the rest of my things."
The restaurant was even fancier than Kara had imagined it. They were seated in the middle of a wine room, secluded from the rest of the patrons, which offered a great amount of privacy. Diana selected a bottle of wine from which the waiter poured two glasses of then hastily made his retreat.
"I have to admit I've never been here before." Kara said conversationally as she placed her napkin over her knee and took a small sip of her wine.
"It's a unique experience." Diana shared. She pointed to two circular red discs on the table that Kara had mistaken for coasters. "There is a red side and a green side to each of these. When you are ready to eat simply turn it to the green side and the waiters will come with different cuts of meat continuously until you are ready to rest at which point you just turn it back to the red side. Occasionally they will walk around with desserts as well, but it's all primarily meat. If you'd like to order some sides we can do that first or we can just flip the cards over and begin." Diana said with a twinkle in her eye.
Kara's eyes widened. "You mean this is like a high end version of an all you can eat buffet?"
Diana laughed and nodded happily in answer. "Yes, something like that."
"This is a dream come true, only I never knew about it to dream about it, but now that I know it totally is!" Kara reached over and flipped hers to the green side.
"I love when you ramble, it's so endearingly infectious." Diana flipped her card as well.
"You are a rarity then. Most people find that particular quality of mine rather annoying." Kara smiled when a waiter came by and she nodded when he offered his selection of meat.
"Well, I'd like to think I'm not like most people." Diana said with a small glint in her eye and quirk of her lips. She also accepted a portion from the waiter before they were left alone again.
"No, you most certainly aren't. You don't apologize for who you are either, which is incredibly brave." Kara said appreciatively. She found she envied that quality of Diana's.
"Mmmm." Diana mused quietly. "Why would anyone apologize for being themselves?"
"Confidence and self-esteem play a heavy role in how brave a person can be when looking in a mirror. If either are unbalanced it can alter how a person perceives themselves." Kara said all too knowingly.
"You are very insightful when you choose to be."
"I've learned hard lessons that made me see perspectives others haven't. Whether that makes me the lucky one or them has yet to be determined… I suppose both have their merits." Kara added as she took her first bite. She rolled her eyes and fought off the moan desperate to escape her lips.
"Indeed. You and your cousin have faced unfathomable loss. Though it can be argued you feel that loss much more acutely than him." Diana said softly in understanding. "That definitely affords you a perspective rarely seen by others, but at what cost?" She asked subtly not wanting to bring down the mood during dinner, but also enjoying a conversation with someone that wasn't surface level banter either. Kara had a way of doing that. Starting conversations that were meant to be light, but could also hold so much depth of meaning and so few people these days could hold her interest in that way. She found it intoxicating and couldn't get enough of it. "Whereas most people can skirt through life in naïveté and be fine they are also dead to a world that could be filled with so much color had they the sense to see it. It's those of us that live on the edge of empathy and compassion, whether they've experienced loss or try their best to understand it, that truly see the world for its potential and by extension themselves."
"And I'm the insightful one?" Kara asks playfully, throwing the compliment back.
Diana hums lowly and Kara is struck by how much more attractive it made the woman sitting across from her. They ate silently for a while after that, offering up comments on the food and talking lightly amongst themselves. The conversation was lighter and flowed effortlessly and Kara was already thinking of ways to make the night last a little longer. Before long desserts were being offered and Kara was delightfully amused at how enthusiastic Diana was when ice cream was served.
"Do you have a soft spot for ice cream, Diana?" Kara asked as she accepted a plate of strawberry cheesecake.
"Oh yes. It was one of the first things I tried when I came to the world of man." Diana's face lit up as she excitedly explained. "Steve introduced it to me. He said to me "you haven't truly lived until you've had ice cream." She tried unsuccessfully to mimic Steve's baritone voice which only made Kara chuckle as she listened. "He started by having me try the basics, vanilla and chocolate respectively. Then each Friday after that we would go out again and I'd get to try a new flavor until he was sure I had found one I liked the best." She smiles softly at the memory.
Kara couldn't help the gentle smile she had as well as she watched. "Well now I have to know."
Diana bit her lip before taking a bite out of her sorbet. "I honestly still don't have a particular favorite. I like them all, but I do have a soft spot for vanilla and chocolate if only because of the memories tied to that first experience." Diana shrugged.
"As an ice cream aficionado, I feel like I can't accept that rather diplomatic answer and must insist on one." Kara teased.
Diana grumbled in complaint as she looked at Kara clearly torn on how to answer. "Hmmm. Very well, if I had to choose… Mint Chocolate chip."
Kara laughed. "You said it like it pains you."
"Choosing only one is a crime." Diana whined, but Kara saw the subtle upward curve of her lip that implied she was just as amused with herself as Kara was with her. "Alright then, your turn. Which is yours?"
Kara shook her head and bit into her cheesecake with a mischievous look in her eyes. "Oh no I couldn't choose, hence the cheesecake." Kara smiled a toothy smile, her cheeks still slightly puffed out with cheesecake and Diana straightened and gave her a withering stare.
"Oh now that was a dirty little trick Ms. Danvers." She said in a sultry voice. Kara swallowed her mouthful and did her best to ignore how that made her stomach flip. Between the low cadence of her voice and how the words 'Ms Danvers' rolled off Diana's tongue, it was a miracle Kara didn't choke.
She raised her hands, her fork still held in her right between her index and middle fingers. "Ok, you're right. It's only fair. So if I had to choose… I guess my answer would have to be cookies and cream." Kara said proudly.
Diana's eyes lit up at that and she perked up. "Oh yes, I'd like to rescind my answer and change it to that as well."
Kara shook her head. "No, no take backs!"
"That wasn't a predetermined and agreed to rule. So it is within my rights to rescind and change if I so desire."
Kara gave her a look and shook her fork at her pointedly "Don't get all lawyer sounding with me. That is an implied rule. Obviously once the decision has been made there are no allowances."
They both stared at each other in a silent standoff, before they both burst into laughter. Kara wiped her mouth gingerly with her napkin before placing it back in her lap. "I have to say I've really enjoyed this."
Diana gave her a tender and affectionate look. "Me too. I hope we can make it more of a habit in the future."
"I'd like that very much." Kara said happily. "No take backs." She added cheekily.
Diana stared at Kara momentarily, her eyes finding Kara's and holding them. "I'm finding out very quickly, that would be an impossible feat."