"We had potstickers and pizza last time, can we please order something else?" Lena begs Kara, she is really getting tired of dragging herself out of bed even earlier than she already has to, to go to the gym because of all of the extra calories she consumes when she is with Kara, unable to say no when Kara shows up with bags of takeout and a beaming grin.
Kara, of course, gives in to Lena, never one to turn down a request from her favourite person, even if does mean she has to give up her potstickers, something she wouldn't do for anyone else. "Uh, you're no fun. I suppose we can, just this once."
"Great, there's a new French restaurant across town that an old acquaintance of mine owns and I'm sure he'll be willing to set up a delivery for us as a favour." Lena follows Kara into the elevator, leaning against the rail at the back as it begins to move.
"Really? The one a couple of blocks away from that great doughnut place?" Kara asks and Lena nods with a fond smile. "Alex is going to be so jealous, apparently she and Kelly have been trying to get a reservation since it opened. I can't wait to rub it in her face the same way she did when she tried that Chinese restaurant without me and refused to tell me how good their dumplings were."
Lena laughs at the silly woman's antics. "I'll give him a call when we get upstairs then, darling."
Kara blushes at the pet name, she's still getting used to it, after all, it has been less than a month since their very hesitant conversation where they both confessed to having feelings that definitely don't fall into the platonic category. The little nickname Lena started calling her almost immediately after that talk was definitely a pleasant surprise and she's not going to complain about it.
"I got a bottle of that wine you like, maybe we could open it with dinner." Now it's Lena's turn to blush. She loves the little things that Kara has been doing to show her that she cares, like putting on a documentary at night because she knows Lena loves them or keeping her favourite snacks stocked up in her cupboards for when she stays over.
"I think that would be lovely." The elevator dings as they reach their desired floor and they are greeted by the sound of trickling water like someone left a tap on.
"Am I hearing things?"
"No, I hear it too," Lena glances at Kara worriedly when she realizes that the sound is coming from Kara's loft.
She watches as Kara clues into the sound too and quickly fishes her keys out of her bag, and in her rush to open the door, slams it open so hard it ends up smacking into the wall behind it hard.
And just like that, the pair find themselves standing in three inches of water. A pipe hangs down from the once-intact ceiling and is spouting water down over the top of Kara's coffee table, filling the loft the way one fills a kiddie pool with a hosepipe.
"I think it's safe to say I'm not going to be renewing my lease next month." Kara stares at the damage, calculating how much stuff she is going to have to replace and thanking every star in the sky that she keeps all of the most important and sentimental items in her cabinet, far from the water's reach.
"I'm so sorry Kara." Lena doesn't know what to do, she simply places her hand on Kara's arm softly, the only way she knows how to comfort Kara in this horrible moment.
"Would you mind helping me pack up some of my stuff that isn't destroyed? I need to call my landlord." Kara looks a little overwhelmed with the whole situation and now that she has an idea of what Kara wants, Lena jumps into action, releasing her grip on Kara's arm and moving quickly to get started on the task she's been given.
"Ok, I'll start packing up then, you make the call and then we'll go to my place." Lena doesn't wait for a response, she simply wades her way into the bedroom, trying her best to avoid the spray of the pipe but ultimately failing.
She quickly finds a duffle bag and a couple of tote bags that are mostly still dry except for a few stray drops here and there, filling them with clothes she knows Kara will need in the near future, saving room for anything of importance that she knows Kara wouldn't want to lose.
She can hear Kara's voice grow louder and more frustrated the longer she is on the phone before it abruptly stops, and she comes wading in with a few trash bags in hand. "My landlord sucks. He basically just said that he'll send someone to fix the pipe but sorry about the place, It's probably not going to be liveable for weeks, oh and sorry about your stuff, that's a bummer."
Kara opens her drawers and pretty much just tips them into the trash bags. "This is not how I expected this evening to go, I'm sorry."
"You don't have to be sorry about anything, it's not your fault. Let's just hurry up and get as much of your stuff safe as we can before the water rises any more." It doesn't take them long to shove everything they can into the trash bags and out into the mostly dry hallway, although the water is making its way out there now too. The freezing water sloshing at their ankles is definitely a good motivator to get it all done as quickly as they can though.
"That should be everything important out, everything else should be replaceable but hopefully it will be alright until they can shut off the water and we can come back."
"I texted Jess when you were talking to your Jackass of a landlord, she has sent a couple of guys from L-Corp who usually handle deliveries with their van, they're waiting downstairs so let's start moving it all into the elevator and then they can handle it from there, I told them to take it to my place. I hope that's ok."
Kara pulls Lena to her tightly, pressing her face into her neck and taking a deep breath in, breathing in her comforting scent of expensive perfume. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Well, the feeling is mutual. There are not many people I'd wade through water in Louboutin's for." Lena strokes her hair comfortingly as she holds her for a minute.
Kara takes one last deep breath before pulling back to begin moving her stuff into the elevator, stacking it all up so she wouldn't have to make as many trips.
Once they get downstairs to the lobby, they are greeted by a couple of guys in L-Corp polos. "Hello gentlemen, thank you for working late, I understand that this is short notice and not exactly in your job descriptions."
"No worries, Ms Luthor, we understand that things happen at inopportune times, is this everything here?" Kara can see how much the two men respect Lena and it makes her heart warm, knowing that more and more people are seeing how good of a person she is without her even having to try.
"There's some more upstairs, third floor. I think it will take another trip." Kara tries to help but is ushered away.
"We'll take care of this ma'am, don't worry."
Lena guides them outside and finds her car and driver waiting just as she had expected. "Come on darling, let's get back to my place and into some dry clothes."
Kara follows Lena to the car, climbing in when she opens the door for her. Lena slides in beside her, dropping her hand atop of Kara's on the seat between them. They sit in silence as Lena's driver takes them across town, pulling up in front of Lena's building sometime later.
Kara feels the loss when Lena takes back her hand to open the car door. It feels like mere seconds since they were in Kara's flooded loft and now they are standing in Lena's perfect, temperature-controlled penthouse, her mind buzzing with worries and anxieties so loud that she can hardly focus on anything going on around her.
"Why don't you go take a shower and get some dry clothes on while I order us some food?" Lena turns to Kara as they kick off their shoes, placing them on the shoe rack beside the door. They drip slowly onto the hardwood floor beneath them but neither woman has it in them to care, although there is a tinge of guilt in Kara's chest when she sees how Lena's little toes have turned bright red from the cold.
Kara smiles gently at Lena in confirmation then heads to Lena's ensuite to go shower. Lena makes a hasty phone call to her friend, setting up a delivery for as many meals she could think of that she thinks Kara might like to try and promises to catch up with them soon as well as come and visit the restaurant in person, "Perhaps next week, thank you, my friend. Bye."
She makes her way into her bedroom, fishing out some clothes for herself and Kara, setting her MIT sweatshirt on the top of Kara's pile, and the stolen National City University sweatshirt on top of hers. "Darling?"
"Yeah?" Kara replies through the door.
"I've left some clothes for you on the bed, let me know when you're done."
"Ok, thank you."
Lena feels a little bad that she's happy Kara is going to be staying with her tonight, after all, who in their right mind is happy that someone's entire home got flooded? She is then distracted as she is notified that the L-Corp guys are here with Kara's stuff so she sets her mind to that instead, simply telling them to leave it in the living room to be sorted by Kara and herself, they have done plenty and will be rewarded for it in terms of promotions or pay raises, whichever they would prefer.
Once they have both showered and food has arrived, they take refuge on the couch, snuggling under a shared blanket as they have an old rerun of a sitcom they've both seen a million times plays in the background.
"I'll start looking for a new place first thing in the morning, hopefully, one that has well-maintained water pipes," Kara says between bites of her dinner.
"Well, there's no rush Darling, I'm not suggesting we move in together after only a month of dating, but I am offering for you to stay as long as you need to and if that takes more than a few weeks then I'm more than ok with it." Lena rambles a little bit, not wanting to sound desperate but enjoying Kara's company and wanting her to stay. "All I'm saying is that you don't need to feel pressured to find a new place right away, you have time to breathe."
"I have the best girlfriend on the planet." Kara smiles brightly. "I know you love your monochrome but I'm going to put so many colours in this place while I'm here, you'd think it's the place to hang a technicolour dream coat."
Lena chuckles as she looks over at Kara with a fond smile. "Has anyone ever told you that you're a nerd? And I don't mind if you add colour in here but if you touch my office then I will go into your research notes for that case you're working on and highlight one random word on one random page just to confuse you and I'll never tell you which word I highlighted since you never remember why you highlighted things the day after you do it."
"That seems like a harsh reaction." Kara stares at her, mock frightened. "I'm terrified."
They both burst into laughter before Kara turns serious all of a sudden, "But if you ever do that, I will tell Jess that you like gummy bears. We both know that you would start finding them on your desk every day and you'll be inundated with gummy bears for the rest of your life."
Lena looks at her, eyebrows raised in surprise. "I didn't think you had it in you, Danvers, you have a sexy mean streak."
"Of course I do, there's nothing sexier than threats that involve gummy bears." Kara wiggles her eyebrows at Lena.
She expects Lena to laugh but instead, she simply looks at her with an unreadable expression.
"What's that look for? Do I have something on my face?" Kara tilts her head in confusion, reminding Lena of a golden retriever puppy.
"No, I'm just thinking about how after everything, I somehow ended up with the most sunshiney person on the planet despite being followed by a dark cloud for most of my life."
Kara's eyes glisten the most beautiful blue as tears form but don't fall. "I think that we balance each other out. I help you find the good in the bad and you make sure I deal with my bad instead of just burying it away until it festers and eats me up inside. It's a win-win really. Plus, we're both super-duper hot."
"Oh, definitely, we're the hottest. And I like to think that we were destined to meet, to be in each other's lives in some way. It's what scared me from telling you how I felt for so long, I didn't want to potentially scare you off and have you leave. I don't think I could cope without you in my life at this point."
"Honestly, I don't think I could cope either, the last two years with you have been incredible. Plus, we've practically been dating for this whole time anyway, even if it is only official for about a month. We've been having one on one dates weekly since we met."
Lena ducks her head in embarrassment before leaning in and whispering. "Don't tell anyone but I used to sit across from you and imagine what it would be like if we actually did start seeing each other."
"Don't tell anyone but I did too," Kara whispers back.
They sit in the moment, gazing into each other's eyes and enjoying the comfortable silence and they both share a single thought.
Today sucked but this is nice.
Lena wakes up with a mouthful of blonde hair. Her arm is wrapped tightly around Kara's waist and her face is tucked into the back of her neck, her nose squished against her skin. She breathes deeply, inhaling her scent, even if it is a little different since she used her shower gel instead of her own, it's still uniquely Kara.
She shifts a little, untucking her hips from around Kara's backside so she can lean up onto one elbow and take in her girlfriend. She has a pillow wrapped tightly in her own arms and has tucked herself into Lena neatly. Every inch of their bodies was touching before Lena moved.
She could get used to this. She knows that it is much too soon to officially move in together and Kara would likely run the other way if she even tried to offer. Hell, she would jump out the window and somehow fly away.
That doesn't mean that she can't get Kara to…prolong…her stay. If she makes it nice enough to stay with her, she might be able to convince her to drag her feet on looking for a new apartment. Damn, she really is a genius.
Lena starts with breakfast, Kara's favourite meal of the day. She turns on some music, double-checking that the volume isn't set too loud, so she doesn't disturb Kara, and begins to twirl about the kitchen. Purposefully grabbing ingredients to make her girlfriend a meal she won't be forgetting any time soon. She is going to blow her mind with how good this will be. She's never felt so confident.
Her mind was definitely blown but not in the way Lena had hoped. She burnt the pancakes, and the bacon…and she dropped the eggs before she could even try cooking them. She didn't even have time to hide the evidence before Kara was staggering out of the bedroom in search of her cuddle buddy.
She doesn't utter a word, just takes in the scene before her.
Lena waits for a response, unsure of whether or not she wants to laugh or cry. Kara makes the choice for her when she begins to giggle. "I thought I was a bad cook, but you really take the cake." Lena joins her. "And it won't be a good cake since neither of us can work a kitchen."
Their giggles turn to full-blown belly laughs that reignite every time they look at the poor attempt at pancakes.
When Lena manages to control herself she finally speaks. "Shall we go to Noonan's for breakfast, or shall we try that new diner a couple of blocks away?"
Kara comes closer, pecking her on the lips a few times in quick succession. "Thank you for trying to make breakfast, I really appreciate the gesture. Let's try that new diner."
Lena really wants to count it as a win, but her plan didn't work, Kara can go to a diner any day she wants to, so she definitely isn't going to stay for Lena's cooking. Luthors are nothing if not persistent though and if she comes up with another plan over a shared stack of waffles, well, who could blame her?
"I'll give Alex a call later so she can help gather the troops to go to my place and sort through the stuff that we left, hopefully, some of it is salvageable, the rest will have to be thrown out."
"I can hire someone to do that you know?" Lena raises her eyebrow at her, but it isn't intimidating as it is paired with a cute little quirk of her lips.
Kara raises an eyebrow right back at her, "you do know that you don't have to hire people to do everything you don't feel like doing?"
"Well, technically I'd be hiring people to do a job you don't want to do so it would be completely selfless," Lena smirks as Kara shakes her head at her fondly.
"It is way too early to be debating with you, but I will have you know that you look very hot when you raise your eyebrow like that."
She does it again teasingly. "I don't know what you're talking about, Ms Danvers, I would never do anything of the sort."
Kara plays right along with her. "Oh right, my bad. It must have just been a trick of the light."
Lena nods her head surely, "Absolutely, it was, and I am willing to meet you halfway since you look very pretty today, the others and I will help you go through your remaining things, and I will hire people to dispose of the excess."
Kara blushes at the compliment. "I accept your proposal under one condition."
Lena is intrigued but her best guess is that she is going to bargain for potstickers.
"Sam told me that you once gave her a shoulder massage back in college and that she has never had one as good since and I want to put that to the test myself."
That is not even close to what she had been expecting. When had Sam even told Kara that? She hasn't been in the city since they started dating and she can't imagine why that topic would have even come up in a conversation. "Deal but you also have to tell me what else you and Sam have been saying about me."
Kara gives her a devilish grin. "Wouldn't you like to know? That's between me and Sam."
Lena takes in her girlfriend's expression, she is going to get the answer out of her if it kills her, but her heavenly massages could be a useful tool in her operation to make Kara stay so she will drop it for now.
They finish up with their food and order extra sandwiches and pastries for themselves and the group for later, after all the only payment their friends will ever be willing to take is the edible kind, their assholes of friends are too selfless for their own good.
Kara headed to her old place a couple of hours before everyone else was meant to arrive and Lena had been called to the office for some emergency meeting with some other big wig. She had tried to put it off, but Kara didn't want her to put her company at risk just to come with her and help with something she already has covered. Lena had left but promised to join her as soon as she possibly could, and she would bring the food they ordered earlier.
As she approaches her building she now wishes that Lena had managed to get out of the meeting, consequences be damned. There is a notice across the main door.
Condemned.
"Oh well isn't that just grand?" She mutters sarcastically under her breath.
She wastes no time trying to call her landlord, but it just goes straight to voicemail. She tries another two times, her heart pounding from anxiety. What is she going to do if she can't get the rest of her stuff out? There are still sentimental items in there and she was hoping that her expensive paints would be safe since they're in a sealed plastic storage bin in her closet, but it isn't looking like she can get anywhere near her loft.
She doesn't get anywhere close to getting in touch with the jerk, so she shoots an email to her landlord and presses him to please call her back as soon as he gets the chance.
Next, she moves on to Alex. Luckily at least someone feels like picking up their phone today.
"Hey sis, what's up? Do you need us to bring something?"
Kara feels some comfort from hearing her sister's voice, Alex has always been a stable constant in her life and makes her much more grounded.
"No, we're not going to be sorting the place today or maybe ever." Kara's voice is practically void of emotion, just monotone, her emotions choked up in her chest, balling up and suffocating her from the inside out.
"What do you mean? Why not?" Alex sounds worried.
"I just got to my building and the whole place is condemned, there's a notice on the door saying that the whole building is a health and safety risk, so nobody is allowed inside, and the doors are chained shut."
Alex sighs heavily through the door. "I guess there was a lot more wrong with the building than a bust pipe. Did you call your landlord to find out about getting your stuff?"
Kara's emotional walls break and her voice cracks as she talks. "I can't get through, it doesn't even ring just goes right to voicemail, so he has either switched his phone off or blocked me. Luckily I got the majority of the important stuff out yesterday, I have all of my documents and paperwork, but I still have a bunch of things inside that I don't want to lose, like the teddy bear that Eliza got me when I first moved in with you guys."
"Ok we'll handle it, and we will figure it all out, I promise. I'll let everyone know that they don't need to come anymore. Why don't you come over to my place, I've missed you anyway plus I have pie in the fridge?"
Kara sniffs loudly, causing Alex to wince on the other end of the phone. "I'm already on my way Dummy. I started walking as soon as I had you on the phone, I'll be there in like thirty minutes. Get the pie ready."
Alex doesn't even have a chance to respond before Kara has ended the call. "That girl will be the death of me." She mutters, "and if I find who is responsible for hurting her, it will be the death of them."
Kara quite enjoys the walk to Alex's place, the fresh air clearing her thoughts nicely, the wind practically blowing all of her cares away. She contemplates all the worst things that could possibly happen if she can't get in touch with her landlord but finds reasonable solutions for all of them, she knows she will be alright.
Now she's just hungry for pie.
Alex is ready and waiting for her when she lets herself into her sister's apartment.
"Hey! That better be rhubarb, or I am going to be very annoyed at you."
Alex rolls her eyes. "Ok, so first, hi, Alex, how are you, my favourite person on the planet? And secondly, it's obviously rhubarb, this isn't amateur hour."
Kara ignores her sister's whining tone. "Hello, Alex, how are you? Now pass me my pie."
Alex passes her a plate with a huff. They sit on opposite ends of the couch, leaning against the sides so they are facing each other.
"So, do you have a plan?"
Kara tilts her head in confusion. "For getting my stuff back? Not really, just keep trying to get into contact with the rotten pickle man, I guess."
Alex shakes her head at her sister's lame attempt at insulting her landlord. "What I meant was, where are you planning on staying now? You know my door is always open if you need it?"
Kara stretches her legs out across the couch, invading Alex's personal space as she shovels more pie into her mouth.
"I'm good for now, Lena is letting me stay with her until I find a new place but don't worry we're not rushing into things, we have both had the conversation where we agreed that it is temporary. Plus, I wouldn't move in with you unless I was like desperate-desperate."
Alex shoves Kara's feet away from her. "I wasn't going to say anything."
Kara points her fork at her, the accusation already on her lips. "Like hell, you weren't. I'm still waiting for the lesbian stereotype joke."
"I absolutely wouldn't do that because you're annoying when I do that." Alex begins to mimic Kara in an overly high-pitched voice. "The gay jokes don't work Alex, I'm pansexual."
"You're in a mean mood today, it's a good job we aren't actually sorting through my stuff today, you'd throw out all my belongings whether it was destroyed or not because you don't have a heart, so you don't care for sentimentality."
Alex looks back at her, a feigned outraged look across her face. "I would only do that to half of your stuff, I'm not a complete monster like you're making me out to be." Kara looks positively unamused by her antics. "All jokes aside though, sis, I know this sucks, but we'll all help you out as much as we can and whilst we can't replace everything in your old place, we can make more memories and get you more sentimental knickknacks to put on your shelves. I'm not going to pretend to be sad about that awful ratty throw blanket that blinds my eyes with its stupid ugly pattern."
Kara suddenly looks very pleased with herself, and Alex has a sense of dread flow right through her.
"Kara I need you to be honest with me. Where is the blanket?"
Kara gives her the biggest, sweetest grin as she puffs out her chest in pride. "It's across the back of Lena's couch. She is such a sweetheart and packed it for me last night. She even left it out on the balcony overnight to dry. You should've seen how proud of herself she was when she presented it to me this morning before we went out for breakfast, she's just the sweetest."
The way Kara describes Lena is always funny to Alex, Lena spends so much time building up her badass CEO persona and then Kara strolls in and tells everyone how sweet and Kind she is and how much of a teddy bear she is. "I feel like you got derailed a little bit there, one second you were rubbing it in about your stupid blanket and the next you're gushing about your better half."
Kara at least has the decency to look a little bit embarrassed. "I can't help it. She's amazing and she is being so supportive with everything going on, hell she even waded through water in her fancy heels to save my old blanket just because she knows how much I like it. I really care for her."
"Kara, you've been in love with her for a long time, you may have only been officially together for a few weeks, but you've been best friends for almost two years."
Kara's cheeks flush. "I know but I don't want to chase her off, I can't start living with her and tell her how in love with her I am after a month."
Alex shakes her head at her words. "I don't think you could chase her off if you tried, plus I may have had a little heart-to-heart with her a few months ago when we got drunk together where she told me she loves you so you're definitely not alone in your feelings."
Kara beams at Alex like a love-drunk idiot. "She really said that?"
"Yes, and speak of the devil, have you let her know that we aren't moving your crap today?" She gets her answer when Kara scrambles for her phone, frantically typing away. Alex watches as Kara stares at the screen and stares in disbelief as she gets a text notification not thirty seconds after she sent her own message.
"She's still at the office, she says that since we got a bunch of food for the group we out to have an impromptu game night to brighten my spirits. What do you say?"
Alex is still reeling as she observes Kara sending back a response, adding way too many red heart emojis after her message. "Does she always respond to your texts that fast?"
"What do you mean? She's always been a quick responder, she doesn't like her messages to build up."
Alex kicks Kara playfully. "With all due respect, that woman has left me on read for a week straight before so no she does not, she is just whipped for a certain blonde puppy dog."
Kara practically glows with the newfound knowledge she has collected. "Awesome."
"Alright, I'm tired of seeing you be head over heels, I need a break before we get together later. I'll tell everyone to come over at like, seven."
Kara gathers her things, kissing Alex on the cheek before she leaves. "Love you, sis, I'll see you tonight and if you get chilly later I'll be sure to lend you my blanket!"
Lena draws Kara into a deep hug, pulling her so close she thinks that Lena is trying to fuse their flesh together. She feels Lena turn her head and place a couple of quick, chaste kisses to the side of her face.
"I'm really sorry, Darling." She finally pulls back so that she can see Kara's face. She's wearing heels whilst Kara is wearing flats, so she stands a couple of inches taller than the blonde. "You're really having a bad time of it, aren't you?"
Kara grips onto Lena's arms that are around her waist, not wanting to let her go. "That feels like an understatement."
Lena leads them to the couch, pulling Kara down right next to her so that they are still pressed to one another. "Is there anything I can do to make this easier for you?"
"I don't really think so, just keep doing what you're already doing." The way Kara looks at Lena makes her heart beat faster like she is something precious and something to be revered. She can see the gratitude but more importantly, she can see how much Kara just simply enjoys being in her presence. She's never felt like that before.
"I'll still do some digging and see what I can find about your old building and the landlord. Surely there has to be a way to get your belongings out." Kara begins to shake her head at her suggestion.
"I can't let you do that, you've already done so much for me."
Lena gives her a tender smile. "I would do it a thousand times over, let me help you."
They are still holding onto each other, but Lena takes the next step by pulling Kara's leg over her own, so she is even closer, practically sitting on her lap.
"How did a nobody reporter like me somehow manage to get someone as beautiful, kind and successful as you?" Kara leans closer to Lena if that is even possible.
Lena shakes her head vehemently. "I'm the lucky one, you've never been a nobody. You're one of the most special people on this planet."
They rest their foreheads together, breathing the same air for a second before connecting their lips in a deep, meaningful kiss.
"As much as I would love to spend all day kissing you, we'll have to rain check, we still have to set up for game night." Lena pulls away which makes Kara sigh.
"Fine, but I want to record to show that I am stopping under protest." Kara rests her forehead on Lena's shoulder as she whines.
Lena nods as seriously as she can muster in the moment. "Noted." She stands up and pulls Kara with her. "Now, let's get a move on."
They spend the next couple of hours setting up for game night, trying to figure out the best options for games since a lot of them got left in Kara's loft. In the end, Lena calls Jess to pick up a few games for them, not minding the annoyed look on her assistant's face when she arrived with them.
"Thank you, Jess."
Jess huffed at her. "I need a raise."
Lena's shoulders shake with the effort not to laugh at how done Jess is with her antics since she started dating Kara, her job has practically just turned into doing stuff that would make Lena look good to Kara, like ordering food and making reservations for dates.
"Will an invite to game night be a good consolation?"
Jess stares at her for a second. The past month is as much as she has ever gotten to know Lena through planning her private life for the first time. She had done a few bits and pieces here and there but since Kara and Lena started dating it has just been blown out of proportion. "Is that a serious offer, Ms Luthor?"
Kara hears Jess' voice and comes up behind Lena so she can come to say hi. "Jess, what are you doing here? How have you been?"
Jess can't help but smile back at the ever-bright shining face of Kara Danvers. "Just dropping off Ms Luthor's request. I have been quite well, yourself?"
"I'm good, apart from the whole flooded apartment and losing the majority of my stuff thing that's going on. We're having a game night though, so you're welcome to join, especially since you're already here."
"Oh no, is there anything I can do to help with your apartment? Make a few calls perhaps?" Jess shoots Lena a look, knowing that she has plenty of contacts that could help.
"No, I think I will just have to cut my losses at this point, I'm just lucky that this one is letting me stay a while whilst I find a new place." Kara ushers her inside, not allowing her to linger in the doorway as Lena had.
Jess finds herself being prodded to the kitchen bar and sits on one of the stools. "You have to stay now, after all, I did drag you all the way across town to bring board games, it's only right that we torture you by making you play them too," Lena smirks devilishly.
Jess totally glosses over the teasing. "So, you're living together."
"Yes."
"Temporarily."
They answer together, Lena's answer much more definitive, which Jess takes note of. Kara clears her throat awkwardly. "Technically, yes but I will start looking for a place soon. We agreed that it's way too early in our relationship to officially move in together. That's something we will revisit further down the road."
Jess nods her head and hums slightly. "May I speak freely?" She directs the question to Lena.
"Of course."
"I don't see a problem if you do want to move in together right away, it's not a normal one-month-old relationship, you've been attached at the hip for the past two years. Plus, with the way you act towards each other, you started dating a long time ago, minus the…eh…extras."
Kara flushes bright red, but she has to admit that Jess does have a point. It isn't like they didn't know each other before they started dating, they practically know everything about each other.
Lena looks astounded that Jess said what she did, which is very much not what she was expecting when she asked to speak freely. "I understand that point of view." She very much agrees with it.
"Right, so the others shouldn't be too long now. Shall we get the food ready?" Kara doesn't want to have the conversation about her living arrangements and their relationship in front of company as their conversations often get much deeper into topics that she is much more private about.
Lena is a little bit disappointed that Kara doesn't seem to have anything to say in the matter, however, she also knows that just because she would like them to officially live together, Kara may not feel ready for that.
"You get the sandwiches and I'll get the pastries?"
Kara agrees quickly, shushing Jess when she offers to help and banishing her out of the kitchen and to the couch in the living room so she can choose one of the games that they can all get started on.
"I don't know why you would take me to the kitchen when I first got here if you were just going to kick me out anyway," Jess complains as she watches them sort the food.
Kara snickers, loving this side of Jess. She gets the feeling that if she weren't here Jess wouldn't have the balls to speak as freely as she is, she is a very professional woman and still sometimes struggles to call Lena by her first name as she had requested on their first day of working together.
"Stop complaining, you deserve a break much more than me. I swear that at times your job is ten times harder than mine." Lena mutters. She didn't fully understand how much assistants really do until Kara had explained to her how much they actually do behind the scenes after a quiet night in.
"I hardly think—"
Kara interrupts her. "We both know it's true and as a former assistant I will be forced to fight for the honour of assistants everywhere if you try to deny it."
Jess stares at her, unsure of how to process the absurdity of her statement. "Lena genuinely does do more than me and my job isn't as hard as you would think, Lena is a great boss."
Kara thinks over her response for a second. "And here I thought Lena would be as big of a diva as Ms Grant."
Jess snorts at that in an entirely unladylike way. "Believe me, there are times."
They both laugh as Lena stares at them, outraged. "Hey!"
Before any of them had time to talk again, there is a knock on the door, which is entirely unnecessary as it immediately swings open as Alex decides to just simply let herself in.
"I have arrived."
Lena quirks a brow. "I see that, just like I saw how you strolled in like you own the place."
"My sister lives here now Luthor, you better get used to it because that means that I am going to walk right on in and steal food and alcohol from your kitchen whenever I want, we are practically sisters-in-law now."
Kara walks right up to Alex and points a finger at her. "Absolutely not, Alexandra." Her tone is sharp, stinging. "This is Lena's home and you do not get to barge in here whenever you feel like it and the fact that you thought that any of this would fly is ludicrous."
"Kara, I-" She gets cut off.
"No, you will apologise to Lena for barging in and from now on, all visits will be planned, and you will be physically let in by myself or Lena otherwise you don't come in at all. Understood?"
Alex stammers, having never had Kara direct this tone of voice at her. "I…yes."
Kara clears her throat when Alex doesn't continue.
In barely a whisper she takes the cue. "Sorry, Lena."
Once she apologises it's like a switch has been flipped, Kara's serious tone and stern expression are replaced by her signature dopey grin. "Great, what time are the others coming?"
They are all left speechless. Nobody had any clue of how intimidating Kara, the human embodiment of a golden retriever, could really be. It's kind of frightening, but Lena also notes that is it very hot.
"Uh…Soon. Nia text me that she was on her way when I was downstairs." Alex replies, a little grumpy from being told off.
Kara waltzes back over to Lena, helping her finish up with the food so they could all go sit down together.
"Do you want red or white?"
Lena watches Kara hold up one of each bottle, so she steps forward taking both from her. "Absolutely both."
"Nice choice," Alex calls from beside Jess. "Would be better if we had a charcuterie board to go with it."
Kara sighs. "Yeah, it would."
Lena's ears perk up, always listening in for the moments when she can be Kara's hero, besides she is falling behind on her mission to keep Kara living with her. "I can—"
"No, you won't. I will just run to the store really quick. I'll probably only be gone thirty minutes." Kara interrupts Lena, making her wonder if she is a mind reader.
Jess stands, wiping her hands on her pants, visibly uncomfortable. "I think it would be best if I go."
"Oh, you want to come with me? Cool, let's go." Kara gives Lena a chaste kiss and grabs her purse, hooking her arm around Jess' own as she makes her swift exit.
Alex and Lena share a look once the door shut. "That was weird right?"
"I don't think I've ever seen Jess so uncomfortable."
Alex snickers. "Who wouldn't be uncomfortable going grocery shopping with their boss' girlfriend, Lena?"
They stare at each other for a second, unsure of what to do now. "Should we have a drink?"
"God, yes."
Lena pours them both large glasses of wine, placing them on the coffee table and sitting on the couch, the opposite end from Alex.
They sit in silence for a minute, they have been friends for over a year themselves, but this is the first time they've been alone since Kara and Lena started dating.
Alex takes a long sip of her wine and then turns to Lena. "I'm kind of glad that Kara left with Jess for a little while because there is something I want to talk to you about."
Lena looks confused, what could Alex possibly need to say? "Alright."
"I don't think the burst pipe in Kara's place was an accident."
Now Lena is even more confused. "Why would someone purposely burst a pipe in someone's apartment?"
"Kara's not just someone, she's a kickass reporter who is constantly airing the dirty laundry of bad guys who definitely don't appreciate it. Including the government."
Lena's eyebrows shoot up. "You think the government is after Kara? How in the world did you get to that conclusion?"
The air is thick around them, full of worry and confusion.
"I work for the FBI, do you really think I wouldn't search up her scum of a landlord after he left her in the lurch?"
There is a lump in Lena's throat and no matter how hard she tries to swallow it, it just comes back with a vengeance. "What did you find?"
"Nothing."
"So, it's all good then?"
Alex shakes her head harshly. "Just the opposite, I couldn't find anything because his file is sealed. There is no reason that a normal guy would have his file sealed by the government unless something major is going on."
Lena rubs her temples harshly, pressing her fingers into the skin as harshly as she can, as though she could just physically push the information into her brain so she can process it faster.
"If that is true and it is on purpose, why would they flood her apartment?"
Alex leans back, thinking for a moment. "Three reasons come to mind. One is that they wanted to destroy some information that she has. Another would be to hide evidence of them snooping. And the final reason would be to send her a message to stop whatever it is they think she is doing."
"Shit."
"Shit indeed."
They pick up their glasses simultaneously, downing the rest of the liquid in one hefty gulp.