Kara had been having a pretty great morning. How could it have been anything but on a day when Cat had all but floated out of her elevator? She hadn't even insulted her coffee! And it was the same today as it had been almost every other day Kara had bought it to her in the past two and a half years.
Her day had already been going pretty well before she'd come into work, but that had been the cherry on top.
She had woken up before her alarm, feeling energised. Which probably had something to do with how delightfully normal her weekend had been.
As Supergirl her weekend had been a quiet one. None of the situations she had helped out with had been of the life threatening, city destroying kind. Just the help kittens out of trees and shut up a few bullies kind.
As Kara Danvers it had been similarly relaxed. There were no calls from Cat demanding something be ready for Monday. Not that she'd been expecting one, knowing Carter was going to be his mother for the weekend. She'd finally had a chance to get into some painting. She'd even had a chance to go out on a date. Her first since Adam had left town and Cat had started treating her- well not normally, she was far too fascinated in Kara's perceived interest in James for her behaviour to fall under normal, but certainly closer to normal than she had been.
The date itself had been nice. Perhaps not as amazing as she'd pictured in her head, but certainly one of the better dates Kara had ever been on. She was fully prepared to admit that the reason the date could only be called nice, rather than some other more colourful adjective, was entirely her fault.
Kayleen was the kind of woman who commanded attention when she entered a space. It was in the way she stood, like she could make whatever she was wearing into a designer style. It was in the way she spoke to people, hands moving animatedly, with a wide smile drawing you in. Making you want to hear what she was talking about so passionately.
And she always seemed to speak passionately. No matter the subject. She had an opinion and she would make sure her side of the story was heard, but she was never overbearing. Always quick with a witty remark to keep things moving.
There was something about it all that reminded Kara of how Cat could get when the rest of the office had gone home. After the work they'd stayed behind to complete had started to dwindle, and the decanter of whiskey on the bar had similarly decreased in volume. There was a difference in that Kayleen smiled more. Not that Cat didn't smile. Just that it would never get quite as wide as Kayleen's unless she was talking about Carter.
There were in fact a number of similarities between Kayleen and Cat beyond that way of talking.
None of which had crossed Kara's mind when they had first met at the awards show. Nor had they surfaced during the week, as they had exchanged a few brief but playful text messages. No. It wasn't until after Kara had accepted Kayleen's dinner invitation that Kara had started to consider the similarities.
She had been thinking about what to wear, wishing she could call Alex to help her, when it had crossed her mind that Kayleen, like Cat, had a taste for fashion. Both of them always dressed to impress. A by-product of their positions Kara supposed. They were both considered high-flyers in the media.
It made choosing an outfit easier. Narrowing down her options to outfits that would meet Cat's approval for work functions. Then eliminating the darker shades of blue, and a single red dress, to avoid colouring that looked too much like Supergirl.
In the end she chose shoulderless black number with a floral print that cut off just above her knee. Something that Alex had no doubt slipped onto her hanger without her noticing, because it wasn't quite the kind of thing she would bought herself. It left just a little bit more skin showing than Kara usually preferred. But otherwise it was close enough to her normal style that she didn't feel like something she wasn't when she was wearing it. And it was for a date. A little extra skin wouldn't be the worst thing.
The problem was that once she consciously compared Kayleen to Cat she had started to notice other things as well.
Things like Kayleen had been wearing the same perfume Cat would wear to the office.
And that the restaurant Kayleen had chosen was one of the few Cat would use for her first dates, depending on who she was with, and how much she wanted to impress or intimidate them. Kara knew because she had, had to make reservations in Cat's name for a number of them.
This particular one was used more for dates Cat wanted to make feel impressed but comfortable in. Kara couldn't escape the idea that Kayleen had chosen it for a similar purpose.
There was the way both women seemed to enjoy their meat rare. The way they held their knives. The way they looked so intently at Kara when she spoke. Though Kayleen's eyes didn't hold the added weight of shared experiences and shared knowledge.
On top of all that was the fact that Kayleen also had two children. Her prides and joy. A twenty one year old off at university in England and a seventeen year old that split their time between staying with Kayleen and staying with her ex-husband.
Which had just been another reminder of the fact that Kayleen was much closer to Cat's age than Kara's. Possibly even older. Kayleen was a beautiful woman but her face showed more signs of age than Cat's. The lines around her eyes a little deeper, and a few silvery strands peeking out amongst her dark locks.
When Kayleen had ordered a martini to the exact same specifications as Cat it had been the final strike to ignite the spark of realisation.
Kara wasn't there because she wanted to be with Kayleen. She was there because she wanted to be with Cat.
It had only been the fact that banging her head on the table would come out worse for the table than it would for her that stopped Kara from doing exactly that. She had thought she was finally getting over her innocent little crush on Cat. James had started to look almost as appealing as Cat had been making him out to be. Then Kayleen had shown up. A version of Cat didn't have the obstacle of a boss/employee relationship. A version of Cat that wanted to take Kara on a date.
Kara really should have just stuck to the plan of making a move on James.
Before that moment in the restaurant Kara would have characterized her crush as little more than being inspired by the other womans success, and enraptured by her confidence. But afterwards, when she had found herself faced with someone of comparable success, and confidence, it had become clear. Her crush had a lot more to do with Cat being Cat, than it had to do with Cat being Miss Grant, Queen Of All Media.
If Kayleen had noticed the way Kara became less and less engaged over the course of their date she was kind enough not to say anything about it.
At the end of the night Kara had walked Kayleen back to her hotel, which was only the next block over from the restaurant, and made a show of hailing a cab to take her home to keep Kayleen from fussing about a young woman walking alone through the city at night. Just as a cab pulled up Kayleen had pulled Kara close and kissed her, chastely on the lips. That she had been caught by surprised and maneuvered so easily by a human, clued Kara into just how preoccupied she'd been behaving.
"I just wanted to try it once before you went after whoever it is that's gotten in that pretty head of yours." Was what Kayleen had said smirking over her shoulder before she had entered the lobby of her hotel. Leaving Kara standing on the street gaping.
The cabbie had honked his horn to hurry her along after a few moments. Shock was the only reason Kara got into the cab and told the driver her address. She'd heard him mutter testily about getting space-cadet fare but hadn't had anything to say in her own defence.
Kara had gone to bed that night with her head spinning with thoughts of Cat.
Things like that little wiggle she did when Kara had read her own article to her. Things like how she would put on two pairs of glasses when she got involved in her writing. Things like how she'd talk to herself in her elevator.
Eventually Kara had fallen asleep imagining what differences there might have been if the kiss that evening had come from Cat instead of Kayleen.
Just accepting the fact that she had fallen for Cat had taken so much weight off of Kara's shoulders. Sure it opened up a whole new world of questions and troubles. The gaps in their age and in their social standing. Whether or not Cat even liked Kara. Whether or not she could make a move to find out without getting fired. But when Cat had stepped out of the elevator that morning, with that rare glimpse of softness in her eyes and a spring in her step, none of those things had mattered. It was just nice to be able to bask in the warmth without trying to make herself feel bad for it.
When she had returned to the office after stepping out to get the layouts Cat had requested, (not snappily demanded but actually requested!) and been faced with the same look Cat usually wore right before she fired an entire department Kara froze.
Or rather she had seized up. With one glare Cat managed to make it feel as if Kara's chest was being compressed by a kryptonite vice and the sensation brought her to a grinding halt. Before she could gather herself to ask what was wrong Cat had turned her laptop to face Kara and her entire focus had become the somewhat grainy picture of Kayleen kissing Kara in front of her hotel.
Kara's brain short circuited. Words exited her mouth without her permission and Cat stopped them for her with words of her own. Cold, hard, angry words by the tone but none of them quite filtered through. Not when Kara's still rebooting brain was occupied with the words floating tauntingly on the screen that appeared when Kara tried to banish the image.
"You can't believe it? How do you think I feel getting scooped on a story about my assistant?"
Finally Cat's words broke through the filter becoming more than just tone and noise, but they sounded wrong. Like Cat wanted to be saying something else. She was glaring at Kara in a way that was more menacing than she did when Adam left because she got scooped? It just didn't feel right.
The story was the kind that would fizzle out the moment Kim Kardashian made some eye-roller of a post on social media. Getting scooped on it shouldn't be that big of a deal. Particularly when Cat is no doubt fully aware that she controls any exclusive Kara might give on the matter, and therefore holds the trump card. So why would she be angry?
Could it be because Cat has been putting so much effort into pushing her towards James and Kara disregarded it and went out with someone else? That might make sense if Kara could understand why Cat had so determinedly pushing her towards James to begin with. Really why would she be angry? Or perhaps hurt would be the better word. Cat almost always hides behind anger when she's hurt. But why would it hurt Cat to see her go out with someone? Unless. Unless maybe Cat cared for Kara. More than as just her assistant.
Her eyes flickered to Cat's and by Rao she wished she could have drawn on some of that Supergirl bravado because the power behind that stare has her shrinking in on herself. Kara isn't sure she could have stood up to that look even in full Supergirl regalia.
She just barely managed to keep her composure enough to try and explain. To try and defend herself. Once again Cat had silenced her by speaking instead. Suddenly Kara was being dismissed from the office. Work being demanded not requested. She barely ground out a "yes Miss Grant" before she left the office to do as she had been told.
Rationally Kara knew the events that had occurred that had turned her morning upside down. That didn't mean she understood why.
Ok so she'd been on a date last night. Ok some jerk with a camera had managed to get a shot of the end of the date and figured it was news worthy. Ok if Kara went on a newsworthy date Cat clearly would have liked to know about it. All of those facts were clear but to Kara none of those things felt like they should have added to the response she had just endured. Not unless she was missing something on Cat's side of the equation.
"Hey Supergirl we could use a hand over here, are you free or are you busy sweeping a woman off her feet?"
Lucy's teasing voice in her ear piece is simultaneously a welcome distraction and a brand new torture. Of course Lucy has seen the news about her date. Her course changes from the elevator to the ground floor and coffee, to the staircase and her super-changing-spot.
"It was one date Luce, we're not having a second so just leave it alone and tell me what you need a hand with."
There is a brief moment where all Kara can hear is the subtle crackling of the open line and then.
"WHAT DATE?!"
Kara is really glad she's already entered the stairwell because she can't help the full bodied cringe at the high pitched squeal Lucy just made, directly into her ear.
"What do you mean what date, it's all over the news" she grouses. She shakes her head in the half hope it will help clear the ringing in her readjusting ears.
"You took Cat on a date," Lucy asks, just barely bringing her pitch down to an acceptable level for talking on a comm system.
"WHAT?!" Kara almost falls over pulling on her Supergirl boots. "Of course not, on what planet would Cat Grant go out with me?"
"Uh this one." Kara shakes her head disbelievingly. "Hang on if you weren't out with Cat who were you out with?"
"Maybe we can discuss this after Supergirl catches the alien gorilla wreaking havoc at the docks," Vasquez cuts in dryly.
"Right, right, just make sure I remember to get Cat a latte later, she's already mad enough about my date, if I come back without her coffee she might eviscerate me."
"I want to hear all about this date of yours, and when you switched from Miss Grant to Cat," Lucy says her voice slipping into her more serious Major Lane tone. "But about this gorilla. We think it's targeting a cargo ship arriving from Australia. No word yet on the cargo."
"I'm arriving at the docks now. I can see the target. I guess this will be a quick one."