Meaningful Looks
-Kara-
"What's she doing here?" Kara said confused as she sped over to the door not noticing Alex's call of "Wait Kara, dammit" but did catch the glasses that Winn threw at her. She quickly placed them on her face as she swept her hair up in a scrunchy, feeling that same pang of guilt she had for months she took a breath.
It really started when Batwoman had told her about Lena being in danger and the photo. Not being able to tell Lena her secret had made the hero think about it all the time. So far nothing had some of it, so she figured she was doing the right thing. Kara had never really had someone she'd wanted to tell so badly before and she felt her heart crush a little when she opened the door to Lena's face looking initially anxious and holding up a box full of cupcakes.
Kara's eyes connected with Lena's for the space of a few breaths where neither of them noticed the silence they were standing in. Thudding sounds came from the apartment behind her and Kara saw anxiety returned to the CEO's eyes. Lena started speaking quickly, "Hello Kara, I apologize for intruding. If this isn't a good time I can make sure to schedule something when it would be more-"
"Oh R- God, Don't be ridiculous Lena, you're welcome any time, day or night. Obviously, it's easier to see you if you come during the day because I'm awake, but you're definitely welcome at night, even if I'm sleeping or something. I would never mind if you're here, not at all. Not that you would want to be here at night or anything. I just want you to feel comfortable and…" Kara trailed off.
She then looked over her shoulder and whined, "Alex, what are you even good for? I'm rambling, and I thought you agreed to stop me whenever I was doing that in front of other people." Kara shook her head muttering about the uselessness of sisters while she gestured Lena inside, hoping she didn't notice her sister trying to covertly stash some of the takeout boxes in the fridge, hiding the sheer number Kara had just demolished. She was always so careful about everything.
"It's not my business what time of night you invite over strange women Kara." Alex yelled out over her shoulder.
"Hey Lena," Winn said absently having settled back down to his game in front of the TV.
"Not- eh." Kara tried responding to her sister. Working on finding a more coherent response that she could actually say in front of Lena. She wasn't strange, Lena was very interesting and smart and pretty and brought her cupcakes, all of which were points Kara thought she should explain to Alex. Lena looked down and smiled at Kara who was busy stumbling over a retort.
"Well, she is to me. You've never actually introduced us Kara," Alex said walking across the kitchen and with a glass of water and extending the other hand, her face holding a quick realization of recognition.
"You've been really busy all the time with Maggie, and the whole, you know? Kara said making a gesture over her belly. "Alex, this is Lena the most famous genius- bazillionaire -tech- CEO person in National City, obviously." Then turning toward Lena she gestured with her thumb over her shoulder at Alex, "Lena this is Alex, my sister. When Alex kept looking at her she added "and a special agent and science nerd or whatever. You know."
"Of course, I've heard so many stories about you I feel like I've lived them." Lena said. "Also, you're the woman that helped me at the L-Corp renaming ceremony. Thank you, by the way. You're really very impressive."
"Hey I was there too!" Winn yelled from the living room grumbling about no one having appreciation for the guy-in-the-van.
"Right, Ms. Luthor. It's good to finally meet you," Alex said introducing herself with a handshake. "That ceremony was a risky move out to do out in public. You're lucky Supergirl and my team were there."
Lena placed the cupcakes on the counter in front of Kara and shook Alex's hand. Kara could smell, chocolate and -caramel and debated whether or not she'd be able to keep talking with Lena if she put two in her mouth at once.
Lena replied, "Being me, waking up in the morning is a risk. Believe me, I calculate them carefully. If I didn't think I could put more net positive good out into the world, I would have liked nothing better than to sell off LuthorCorp piecemeal. Lex tainted what being a Luthor means, and I'm hoping renaming might allow L-Corp out from that shadow and do some real, meaningful good for the world, like Supergirl."
Winn walked over smiling at Lena, "So you're a Supergirl fan?" He asked with a wink, seeing Lena's face he added, "What you weren't done with your stump speech?"
Seeing Winn eye the cupcakes, Kara snatched them off of the counter and shot him a dirty look. She liked that Lena and Winn were friends now, but that did not entitle him to cupcakes that literally had her name on them. They'd started hanging out after Kara's had suggested Frozen for movie night. Groaning, the two of them decided to play Original Sin together. Kara watched for a while before getting bored. Kara's track record with smashing controllers wasn't great, so she couldn't exactly play in front of Lena. Lena noticing Kara looking bored and dejected, had offered that Winn come over and finish at her penthouse. The rest was history.
Responding to the question Kara thought was both annoying and inappropriate, Lena said, "Off the record, because it's a little embarrassing," Then glanced at Kara whose mouth turned down in response. "But she's kind of the reason I moved to National City in the first place. I saw her make her first public save of that plane on the news and I thought, well, it's silly what I thought, but I'm sure I'm not their first person she's inspired."
Kara beamed at Lena, maybe a little too brightly because Lena responded by raising a quizzical eyebrow. "I take it you're a fan too." Lena guessed, "Am I going to find a closet full of merch if I look around here?"
"I- wa- no. Supergirl- she's great. I'm- friends with Supergirl, you know. Really close -good friends and all and I just like when my friends like each other. -Batwoman!" she burst out, "Batwoman is really cool. Your girlfriend like's her right Alex?" Alex glared at her for a moment, jaw clenched.
Kara grabbed a cupcake, eating half of it in one bite so the chewing would give her time to remember more words and how to put them together into sentences. Instead her brain supplied, But, like, Lena shouldn't buy Batwoman merch, that wouldn't match her -um skin very well. What if she likes her more than Supergirl now? She knows her from school and they might be friends, or like friends. Lena's voice broke her from her rumination.
"If I didn't know you flew straight as an arrow, Kara, I'd say you had a little crush on National City's own Maiden of Might," Lena said teasingly. "Not that I'd blame you, have you seen her biceps? I would empty a couple of my bank vaults to design a suit for her, you know with a less-is-more motif." Lena said gesturing down at her body and winking expectedly at Alex hoping a little queer bonding might win her over. But Alex just sat brow furrowed watching Kara who had just put an entire cupcake in her mouth choking a little when she swallowed, eyes widening.
Winn then busted out laughing, wiping tears from his eyes and doubling over every time he looked at Kara. Who had now finished swallowing and was blushing deeply and trying to stammer out a response, alternating between adamant professions of friendship for Supergirl and partial sentences about directions Kara could fly.
Lena watching Kara with sympathetic amusement. She walked over to open the fridge reaching for a water, pausing to take stock of the contents, she said to Alex warmly, "I heard you were eating for two, congratulations."
Alex responded with a proud goofy smile and touched her stomach.
"Don't mind me darling," Lena said handling the bottle Kara. "I'm only teasing. I had a roommate in boarding school that had an obsession with Superman, literally had a second closet just for all of her Superman stuff. Eh- not exactly my thing."
"Luthors," Winn said sarcastically, "never able to appreciate a high-quality Super. I mean that thing he does with his cape-."
"Yes, Schlott," Lena said with cool reproach. "We are all fully aware of your super-crush on the Man-of-Steel. I'm going to ask Supergirl to x-ray your apartment. See where you're hiding those action figures of him that I know for a fact have to be in there. You have Green Lantern and Aqua Man on your shelf, but no Superman. Suspicious." Lena finished dramatically with a raised an eyebrow. Kara turned her head looking at Winn curious. She wasn't sure if that counted as an abuse of her powers. It would be hilarious to find, out and it would make Lena happy, all good things, so it was probably fine.
"What about you!?" Winn retorted. "Last weekend, I distinctly remember you trying to hide a bag from SuperSuits under your couch. Sporting some Batwoman underwear under that Armani suit?"
"I got over my goth phase in college thank you." Lena said in a dignified tone masking a smile, "If you must know. I am personally team Supergirl. As much as people like to shoot at me, I've had rescues from a few different heroes. But every girl needs to have her favorite I suppose."
Kara's mind blazed with an urgent need to speed into her suit, and asked super casually, "So do you have any Supergirl merch then?"
Lena laughed coloring lightly, "I might have bought some lucky unmentionables a while ago. You know just supporting the market for sales in female hero merchandise. Um, did you know it's not actually an S, it's from her family crest apparently."
"You don't say," Kara murmured. Unable to process that information in front of her sister, she desperately searched for a way to change the subject. Remembering something Lena said that had bothered her she said, "Lena, you don't have to worry about me using you for quotes. I take assignments from CatCo when Snapper asks me to but if you don't want to do an interview or if you don't want it to be me, it wouldn't affect our friendship. I mean obviously, you're my best friend. Anything you say to me when I don't have a notepad and tape recorder out is 100% just us, always. If you're uncomfortable with me interviewing you for things. I can ask Snapper to assign them to someone else. Carly or maybe Jessica, they're really good, I just really like-"
Lena cut her off, "No darling, obviously I'd like to have more reasons to see you. And thank you. I'm not used to having friends who aren't trying to get the upper hand, you know? Being around a bright ray of sunshine might take me a while to get use to, " she heard Alex clearing her throat with a laugh, "but I'll adjust," she finished putting her hand under Kara's cheek to get her to meet her eyes.
Feeling Kara's face relax into her hand, she saw Alex raise an eyebrow and Lena, glancing at sister pull her hand back quickly and looked over at the empty box of cupcakes. "Those were supposed to be apology cupcakes. You kept inviting me over to your place and I couldn't make it work last week for movie night. I keep telling you if we do it at my place you could just stay over. I- I mean there are three guest rooms, you could pick one and put Kara things in it." she said, glancing again at Alex. "And, um, I still want that painting you showed me for the living room."
"Hey why don't I get a room?" Winn complained.
Ignoring him Lena changed the subject, "So, I was in the neighborhood today and figured I could swindle my way into your heart again if I told you that those had marshmallows in the middle."
Kara took Lena by the hand and brought her to display before her sister. "You see Alex! Lena is a shining example of appropriate behavior." Kara said gesturing toward Lena's many attributes she continued, "This is how a good friend looks, and talks, and smiles, and walks, and brings one's friends delicious treats." Laughing Lena struck a pose and walked across the room like a catwalk. Winn and Kara whooped watching excitedly while Alex jeered at Kara for being ungrateful.
Kara was distracted by Lena moving in new and unexpected ways and stared at various different parts of Lena that were not her face. Watching she asked absently "Are you naturally really good at that or did someone teach you?"
Lena dropped her hip and gave a serious model expression, then giggled, "No my girlfriend in Metropolis taught me. She had this thing with her hip that she did that I can never get right."
"Your hips look great, I mean you do good things with them, the right things. -Eh -um, sounds like you had fun with her, do you think you guys might get back together?" A little part of Kara wanted to slam lead in her ears and not know the answer.
Seeing her expression, Alex looked at her with one of those sister-looks that said why-are-you-acting-so-weird-and-nervous? Kara respond with the combination of a glance at Lena and a shrug with her look own look flashing 3 expressions meaning well-look-at-her-she-is-very-impressive-and-very-pretty-and-you-better-be-nice-Alex!
Not sure how to take the exchange happening in front of her, Lena ignored it and answered "No, that was years ago. When I left Metropolis I was with a girl named Jill. But we were both more likely to get married to our work than each other. She wanted me to choose between moving here with L-Corp or being with her, and well obviously I'm here."
Listening to Lena's story caused an odd jumble off feelings in her belly, like shooting up and coming out into a barrel roll before dodging some annoying goose in the sky. Alex had stopped paying attention to Lena at all and was just staring at Kara which Kara thought was incredibly rude.
Alex brought Lena a drink and asked Kara with an I-need-to-talk-with-you-right-now look before walking over to the sink and starting to rewash some dishes.
Kara, assuring Lena and Winn that she'd be back in a jiffy, joined Alex who gestured toward a mirror over the sink and asked under her breath, "Kara what are you doing?"
Frustrated that Alex was allowed to talk out loud and Kara wasn't. Kara glance-spoke into the mirror You are being stupid and cutting into my Lena-time and tried to walk back. Alex pulled her back by the arm and Kara glance-answered, What? she's my friend.
Alex whispered "Kara that is Lena Luthor. I know you spent a little time with her, but I didn't realize you guys were close. Kara this is a bad idea. If she finds out, you are going to have kryptonite oozing out of your eyeballs."
Kara could barely fathom a response to that in actual words, so she settled on covering all of what she was thinking with the hostile glare she used to give Alex when she would borrow her jeans and her enormous butt would stretch them out.
With a softer expression Alex put her hand on Kara's shoulder in apology, silently letting her know it was a sister thing and she was worried.
Kara sniffed at that and, not wanting Lena to feel awkward or talk with Winn anymore about embarrassing things, ran in her direction crying that her sister was a bully and was angry at Kara for eating all of the cupcakes even though Lena brought them for her. Momentum carrying her run forward, she accidentally-on-purpose, tackled Lena into the couch behind her and they fell down together giggling.
Winn yelled at them to watch out, protectively clutching at the bag of Doritos he had rescued by snatching it from the table.
Kara decided that since they were all on the couch, that meant that they might as well make it a movie night. Winn groaned, wanting to play against Lena on some nerd game.
Remembering a reference Lena had made once she confidently went with A New Hope and wondered if, once Winn left, they might switch to Project Runway so Lena could show her how to do the hip thing.
Alex, ditching out on movie night again, yelled out that she was late to see Maggie and waved at the couch shaking her head.