Chapter 4

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Kara is flying as fast as she can, not even being distracted by the exceptional beauty of today's skies. After holding back for so long even a second of further delay seems preposterous.

It's still daytime in USA but already evening in Europe. That's probably a good thing, because as soon as she reaches Paris she becomes so restless that staying hidden from people is taking her an effort.

Happily, darkness helps her stay unnoticed.

Searching through the city from a bird's eye view she soon finds the needed street and place.

Bearing in mind those arrangements Cat usually made for her business trips, Kara presumed the place of stay she choose this time would be a deluxe suite at some famous five-star hotel. But it turns out she's wrong. She finds herself looking at the low-rise building that presumably consists of several spacious apartments. In spite of being situated not far from the center of Paris and surely having an expensive rental cost, the building is situated at the quiet street, and its ivy-covered walls make it look rather cozy than posh.

Kara lands on the roof of the house across the street, closes her eyes and allows herself to feel.

The familiar heartbeat appears in her ears right away and invades her mind, and it's deafening, mesmerizing and soothing at the same time. With each second of listening to Cat Grant's pulse Kara realizes how strongly she's been missing this precious sound.

The heartbeat tells her that Cat is in the particular room at the upper floor. She opens her eyes checking the street for potential spectators; finding none, she flies to the back side of the building and hovers over a small balcony peeking inside through the opened door.

She notices Cat at first glance. That makes the Kryptonian so utterly nervous that her own heart is in her mouth instantly.

The woman is leaning on the table with her back turned to Kara. She's sipping some wine from a glass, looking at something on the wall - a tapestry, Kara realizes.

Cat's wearing a charming purple dress with elbow length sleeves that makes her look extremely feminine. Her hair got a bit longer and they are curled slightly, as usual. If Kara wasn't so agitated now, her hormones would rage at the sight, she's sure of that.

She lingers for several moments.

Suddenly the thought that Cat might be not alone here comes to her mind. After some hesitation the girl uses her x-ray vision to check the apartment. To her relief, the only person she finds is Carter who's sleeping soundly in the one of the distant rooms. Smiling fleetingly at the sight of the boy, Kara returns her attention to her main source of attraction.

She flies a bit closer.

As if she's sensing her proximity, Cat turns abruptly and looks straight at Kara, her eyes widen, lips parted.

They freeze.

Kara wants to say something, anything, but for some reason she can't utter a sound. She has so many things to say, but finally facing the person who's occupying most of her thoughts makes her speechless.

For several long moments the women keep staring at each other. Something flashes in Cat's eyes, some emotion that Kara can't quite define. Whatever it is, her former boss masks it perfectly well, putting the glass on the table and approaching her slowly with an inscrutable face.

"You came." she says finally in a soft voice.

"I did." Kara manages to reply quietly. Even though you didn't want me to, she doesn't add, but Cat seem to catch it anyway. Her lips twitch as if she wants to say something, but then she changes her mind, saying instead:

"Do me a favor and get down here. Paris is not National City where everyone is used to you, and this place isn't my penthouse hidden from prying eyes."

"You're right." Kara lands by Cat's side gracefully with a soft thud. They are silent again.

"I'd presume it's a friendly visit, but you're awfully short-spoken today, Supergirl. Did anything happen?" Is it just her imagination, or does Cat really sound concerned?

"No, not really-" Kara starts but shakes her head: "Or, rather, yes, something did happen. I mean, a lot. A lot has happened. And.. In the end I'm here to tell you some things," she finishes lamely. Oh, no, she's rambling. How surprising. Damn it.

"Then by all means, start already," Cat quips. "Your silence manages to make me uncomfortable."

Rao, how she missed those biting comments.

"..Okay."

Kara takes a deep breath, and suddenly that makes her feel more confident. This will be her share of heroic deeds for today. Telling the truth to Cat Grant should be easier than fighting some poisonous alien, right?

Right?

Anyway, she came here for certain reasons, and there's no way back.

She stands up straighter widening her shoulders.

"First of all.. I came to apologize."

"Oh? And what might it be for?" Cat looks curious.

"For several things, actually." Kara pauses. "I.. had a talk today with a person whom I love dearly. This person is my closest family, they support me the most, helping me out whenever I need it and always being there for my sake." she clears her throat. "I kept some very important thing from her, and it hurt her greatly. I never intended to bring her pain or show disrespect; I just tried to shield us both from the possible difficulties, hoping to resolve the problem myself."

She glances at Cat; Cat is listening intently.

Kara goes on. "So in the end she found out anyway.. and I was shocked to know how hurtful my decision was to keep things hidden from her. And how wrong I was to act like that despite being sure that's for the best."

She braces herself. "And.. after we discussed it.. I realized she wasn't the only one with whom I made such mistake."

She looks at the blonde's face, gazing into attentive green eyes with utmost sincerity.

"That's why I came to tell you my name, Cat."

The woman's eyes widen and her heartbeat which Kara hears in the background quickens immediately.

"I'm Supergirl, the hero of National City. You branded me yourself and helped me gain this title. But my real name is Kara Zor-El, and I'm the Last Daughter of Krypton."

Cat gasps realizing without a doubt what should follow, but doesn't interrupt Kara's speech.

"..And, as you certainly are aware of, I also happen to be Kara Danvers, your former assistant and your current reporter."

There. She said it.

Words start flowing out of her like water after that. "I know you figured out my identity long time ago. And for some reasons I kept denying it. And I realized just recently how utterly wrong I was refusing to confide in you.. Even though I wanted to. Even though we became.. close enough for that. And now-," she continues swallowing a lump in her throat, "now we have this distance between us, and it hurts, and I know this is mainly my fault. When we were saying goodbye and you tried to know my name again, I absolutely shouldn't let you go away without confirming who I am. I was an idiot. But, please, you should know I never meant to hurt you. I trust you wholeheartedly."

"..Do you now?" Cat's trying to sound nonchalant but her voice is thick with emotions.

"I do, Cat. You knew me both as Kara and Supergirl, but those were just the parts of my personality. And I always wanted you to know.. the real me. However, when you threatened to fire me if I turned out to be Supergirl, I denied it to avoid losing the part of myself, losing you and CatCo.. losing everything that makes me feel sane. But we've come a long way since that time." Kara looks at her meaning every word. "And after a while, after.. things happened, I felt you understood how important it was for me to stay both Kara Danvers and your assistant. I knew that you'd keep my secret and wouldn't make me leave CatCo. I realized that long before you proved it. But.. in my head, it was easier to keep denying, to keep you out of being further involved into my possible troubles. And to keep away the chance of you knowing something that could hurt you."

Kara drops her head. "Instead I hurt you myself. Maybe you weren't as affected by my actions as my sister was, but still I did absolutely the same thing to both of you. And.. I'm sorry for seeming not to trust you enough." she swallows nervously. "Besides, I also never apologized properly for- for what I did to you when my brain was altered. I'm so deeply sorry for that, too."

Silence surrounds them after that.

"..Well," she hears at last. "That definitely was refreshing. Thank you for sharing this with me. I appreciate it. To be honest, I thought you'd never tell and we'd have to keep playing this game of yours until the end of time."

"..You would do that?" Kara looks at her guilelessly with her baby blue eyes.

"Hm.." the woman shrugs her shoulders. "At the very least, I would try to. But, frankly speaking, I wouldn't guarantee the result because it was starting to be.. quite upsetting." the blonde looks up at her with softened eyes, the corners of her mouth up. "But, to be fair, I wasn't always acting proper to you, either. Some of the past.. decisions of mine.. might have not been the best ones. I understood it later but never apologized, either. But I do now."

This time it's the girl who can't help but ask hopefully: "Do you really mean it?"

"I do," the woman confirms. "And you are forgiven for everything.. Kara."

Hearing these words along with her name trigger a chemical reaction inside her brain. Acting on instinct, the Kryptonian moves to Cat's side immediately and embraces her tightly.

"You're forgiven too, Miss Grant," she whispers. "Long ago."

Their bodies are pressed to each other. Hugging Cat feels like a drug. Her scent, her breath, the warmth of her body against Kara's hands, her heart beating so fast - all of it makes the girl feel ecstatic, alive, whole.

And the most mind-blowing thing is that Cat who's not exactly the most tactile person - Cat is hugging her back just as tightly.

Kara knows that it's not all she would like to tell the woman tonight. But she isn't able to let go of her yet. So instead of releasing Cat she squeezes her even harder, still being gentle at the same time, wishing to engrave this moment in her alien memory forever.

But it's time to stop being a coward, and she moves away reluctantly.

"I should admit, your Sunny Danvers super-hugs are getting better over time." Cat remarks after clearing her throat.

"W-well.." her voice suddenly gets hoarse. "It's good to hear. Although it might be the last hug you allow me after learning.. what I have to say next."

Cat's poker face is immaculate, as usual, but her eyes darken. "Full of confessions today, aren't you, Kara." she murmurs leaning on the balcony railing and facing the empty street. "Out with it, then."

"This one is actually pretty hard to confess," Kara keeps staring at her hands for several moments. "So I have to start from afar." she sighs. "Before leaving CatCo, you gave me a job as a reporter and opened up new horizons for me. I was really grateful and thrilled. Because, most importantly, you admitted that you valued me and believed in me - both in Kara Danvers and Supergirl. And I.. I thought it was enough for me to.. well, dive, as you call it." she pauses. "But time kept passing by, and instead of being excited about each new thing in my life I kept feeling.. that something was missing. Something that couldn't ever be replaced."

Kara bites her lip. "And soon- soon I realized it was you." she looks at the blonde's face passionately. "I missed you, Cat. I missed you so terribly that absolutely nothing else mattered."

Cat is listening to her words eagerly, her lips parted, her eyes full of incomprehensible emotions again.

So Kara goes on: "..And all this time I kept thinking of you, wanting to come, wishing to check on you. But I understood that was selfish of me - you even told me specifically that you didn't want any distractions from whatever you're doing now. Still, not being able to see you.. to be close to you anymore.. it hurt, Cat." She gulps. "And I couldn't fight it any longer. That's why I want you to know how I feel."

Cat is speechless, watching her in amazement.

So Kara braces up and finishes: "I'm in love with you, Cat Grant. I've been for a long time. That's what I wanted to tell you."

Moments pass. With each new second of not hearing any reply from the woman Kara desperately wants to bolt, to fly away somewhere, anywhere. But she won't. She will be brave until the end.

So she adds, summoning up every last bit of her courage: "I'm sorry I make you feel uncomfortable. And if you tell me to leave.. I will. I'll leave and won't ever bother you anymore. But I couldn't give up on my feelings without letting you know of them. I'm in love with you, hopelessly, fully, with all your strengths and weaknesses. You make me feel myself. And I'm not ashamed of that."

"..Supergirl.." Cat starts at last, and Kara mentally prepares herself to the rejection. "I thought you already knew how bad you're at hiding important things."

Kara is taken aback. "W-well, that's true, but.. What exactly do you mean?"

The blonde hums. "I mean that your feelings weren't completely.. subtle." seeing Kara's eyes widen in shock, she continues: "I'm a high-class reporter, Kara. That makes me more observant than the majority of other people. When.. you were bidding good-bye to me at CatCo's balcony, I noticed how you were looking at my lips." she pauses. "and before that, I kept noticing many other signs of you being attracted to me. Maybe even before you realized it yourself."

Hearing that makes Kara blush as red as a tomato, not expecting such a turn of events.

Cat goes on: "It would be reasonable just to brush it off, no offence intended. As you know, I'm twice older than you. You being a superhero doesn't help, either. But, truth to be told, your feelings made me.. elated. You already are a goddess - kind, strong, beautiful, carrying the history of another civilization on your shoulders. And having you near me all that time, so eager to please, so hard-working, big-hearted and incredibly cute - that made me.. develop certain feelings for you, myself."

Kara is dumbstruck, trying to comprehend what's happening. She cannot believe her ears. Is this her imagination? It has to be another dream, right..?

She's afraid of doing anything, saying anything that makes it all go away. She even fears to breathe. So she keeps listening.

"What I said in that message, Kara.. You got it wrong. When I was mentioning distractions, I didn't mean not wanting to have you here. I meant I would be a distraction for you. From your new life, from all the things you can achieve, from all the vivacious millenials you can fall in love with. An aging cynical woman is hardly the best choice for you. Even if she's the Queen of All Media, brilliant and unique." she looks challengingly at Kara, but there's sadness in her eyes.

"Cat.." the alien speaks heatedly finding her voice at last. "The only reason that could stop me is you not wanting me. Everything else doesn't matter to me, whatever it is!"

"Well. I suspected you'd react like that," Cat answers. "Anyway, you deserved a chance to make a better choice. That's why I haven't encouraged you to get by my side. Knowing how eager you are to fulfill my every desire, I had no doubt you would be here in a second I called. So.. By not doing this I gave you an opportunity to choose." she pauses. "So that if you ever decided to find me in the end, it would be by your own will, and you wished for that badly enough to resist my instructions." The woman shakes her head and chuckles. "And now you are really here out of the blue, and you managed to catch me completely off-guard, even though I hoped you'd come one day."

"You- you hoped?"

The blonde rolls her eyes. "For God's sake, Kara. You were on my mind more often than I thought of CatCo." she pauses and adds softly. "I missed you, too."

Kara lets out a shuddering breath. "Cat," she wants to be absolutely sure. "That.. that means you are not rejecting me?"

"Oh, my dear girl," Cat exhales placing her hand at Kara's cheek, her mask finally dropped, those gorgeous green eyes are looking at Kara with warmth and affection. "I am only human, and despite being the mightiest person in National City even I'm not strong-willed enough to reject you."

And that's all it takes for Kara to stop holding back.

She cups Cat's face with both hands gently, giving the woman she loves a tender but passionate kiss.

And oh, how breathtaking it is.

It seems like both of them are putting into this kiss all the pent-up emotions, all the fears, all the desires that have been piling up until this very moment.

Kara never felt so wanted, so loved. And she craves to make the blonde feel the same way. When they have to pull away due to the lack of oxygen, she can't keep her hands off the woman. She's nuzzling Cat's hair, marveling at its softness. She's peppering Cat's neck with affectionate kisses. She's hugging her petite body trying to show all the feelings that Cat awakens inside her.

And Cat reacts wonderfully - panting, whimpering, clinging to her with all her might. And Kara knows for sure that all the relationships she had before are absolutely nothing in comparison with a single moment spent in Cat Grant's embrace.

"Don't you ever dare to leave me, Kara." the blonde says hoarsely at last. "We still have to learn many things of each other, and not all of them will be pleasant. But you managed to worm your way into my heart, and I'm not sure I could ever share my life with anyone but you."

"Believe me, I won't." Kara says confidently. She is absolutely earnest. "You make me feel like no one has ever managed before. I want to be with you. And I don't intend to ever let you go, Cat."

"Hmm.. Good." the woman smiles cockily.

"By the way, I haven't asked you yet why are you here! I thought you'd be creating a new branch of CatCo somewhere, but you don't seem to be doing that."

"Well. I'm.. writing memoirs, since you're wondering." Cat intends to sound haughtily, but Kara can see the pang of insecurity at her face.

"Oh. Memoirs?" Kara is genuinely surprised. "So you decided to.. leave business?"

"Don't be overdramatic, Kara." Cat rolls her eyes. "I just needed a change of pace, so I've been traveling. But I am planning to return to NC soon; to my surprise, I miss home, besides, Carter's vacation is almost over. And I'll be back to CatCo someday, of course. I'm not that old yet to say farewell to everything I created."

"You are not old at all." Kara smiles and gives her a peck on her lips. "And I have no doubt your memoirs will be absolutely epic! You gained so much through your own efforts, your life is filled with so many important moments and interesting people. I'm sure the book will be a bestseller as soon as it hits the shelves!"

The woman relaxes visibly under her touch. "Hmm.. I can see right through you, Supergirl," she teases. "You just want to be mentioned in my memoirs that much, don't you?"

Kara becomes serious. "Not necessarily," she says quietly. "I just want to be in your life. As much as you let me."

Cat is silent, but she strokes Kara's hair tenderly, and her warm gaze tells the girl everything she wants to know.

They stay in each other's hands for a while enjoying the light breeze that blows on them softly.

"Cat."

"Yes?"

"Do you know the reason why I finally came to you?"

"..I believe you just told me everything about it, darling." Cat furrows her brows.

"That's not what I meant." Kara corrects herself. "I told you all the reasons why I wished - and wish - to be here with you. But you still don't know what was the first push that finally made me find the guts to come."

"And what might that be? Enlighten me, Kara."

Young Kryptonian can't help but grin unabashedly: "Lucy Lane got me drunk."

Cat stares at her stunned and at loss for words for several moments. In the end she drops her poker face and laughs heartily. Hearing it sets Kara's own heart aflutter, and she quickly decides it's the most beautiful sound in the whole universe. Besides, Cat's laugh is absolutely contagious, so Kara joins her and giggles happily.

"Well then.. Remind me to thank Baby Lane for this dubious action when I come home."

"Home," she repeats dreamily, embracing Cat from behind. "Of course."

Cat leans on her, putting her hands above Kara's.

They both are standing relaxed, looking at the sparkling lights on the Eiffel Tower. Kara vows to herself to bring Alex, Lucy and Maggie here. They so deserve it. Actually, after all they did for her they deserve to be taken to space and back, but before performing that Kara decides to start with a simple girls get-together in some Paris cabaret.

Kara smiles, hearing the faint music in the distance.

This day started so horribly but turned out so special by the end.

This is the first day of many following when Kara Zor-El Danvers and Cat Grant, her beloved, feel absolutely, utterly happy.

The end