"Hey!" Lucy grinned at Kara through the small opening the blonde allowed. "Um. Are you gonna let me in?"
"Lucy!" Kara threw the door open, and threw herself on her friend. "You're here!"
"And I bring sustenance!" Lucy brandished grocery bags. "Maybe you ARE right, Ms. Grant isn't as bad as she pretends to be. She told me not to go to the office until I visit 'Kiera', and I quote, 'to make sure she's not a liability and trying to sue us', and then told me to use whatever money to buy you what you need because 'she probably lives in a hovel'."
"Ms. Grant is nice… in her own way." Kara felt a twinge of irritation. The CEO of Catco tested Kara daily, though.
"I'm going to cook you the best breakfast ever. But… I don't want to get my work clothes dirty so can I borrow something?" Lucy looked down at herself. She was in a nice pantsuit paired with killer high-heels that Kara just did not understand people wearing on a daily basis. Lucy did look good, however.
"Yeah, follow me."
Lucy slipped out of her heels and left the grocery bags on the kitchen counter, before following Kara into the bedroom.
"Um… do you mind these? They're clean, I swear, but I don't have anything else casual." Kara picked up a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt that were in a pile on a chair in her room.
"We all have the 'chair-hanger' at home, don't worry." Lucy was already unbuttoning her shirt. "Wanna get cleaned up? Sorry, I think I woke you up."
"For breakfast, so that's forgivable." Kara smirked and gave a wave. "I'm going to take a quick shower. You're the best, Luce!"
Kara was still in the shower when Lucy heard a knocking at the door.
"I'll get it!" Lucy quickly slipped into the t-shirt Kara had provided her and got to the door in her bare feet. Opening the front door revealed a bespectacled woman, blinking at her owlishly.
"Oh. Um. Sorry, is this…" Alex panicked a bit, hoping she got the right door. But it was right across from her apartment, how could she get it wrong? She did go and grab coffee first, and a sticky bun from Noonan's since she knew Kara liked those, so maybe she had gotten turned around? Maybe she had been so wrapped up in what she was going to say to Kara to maybe smooth over the whole trying-to-kiss-her debacle, that she lost her way?
"Are you looking for Kara?" Lucy beamed at the nervous woman. This must be the neighbour that Kelly was talking about! And really, Kara seemed to know how to pick them this time around. Even in just jeans and a flannel shirt, this neighbour was incredibly good-looking.
"Oh. Yes. Um. Hi." Alex was down to monosyllabic answers. "I'm, uh, Alex. Her neighbour across the way."
"Hello neighbour across the way. I'm Lucy." The clunky thick glasses on Alex's face just made her all the more adorable to Lucy. "She's in the shower at the moment, if you want to come in, we're just making breakfast."
Alex's eyes did a once over of Lucy, noting the bigger than usual clothes on Lucy and assuming correctly they were Kara's. The smile didn't leave her face, but Alex's eyes didn't shine quite as brightly.
"No, it's okay, I'm sorry for disturbing you two, I just wanted to check in on her because of the head injury..." Alex took another peek into the house, then held out her drinks and the sticky bun. "But I see she's fine with you. Oh, breakfast isn't complete without some caffeine and I have just the thing. The latte is for Kara and watch out, the coffee's still hot."
"Right, you're a doctor." Lucy checked another box in her 'good enough for Kara?' checklist. This girl was smart AND successful. She did a quick calculation on the number of beverages in Alex's hands and realized there wasn't enough for three people. "Oh no, that coffee's yours-"
"No, no, my treat. Didn't know she had a guest over, and don't worry, I didn't drink from it yet in case you're scared of 'cooties'." Alex smiled. "But the sticky bun is definitely hers. The staff at Noonan's told me to make that clear. I heard something about super-powered pout and I didn't want to mess with something like that."
"I'm sure your cooties are fine. And I know why Kara likes you so much, you charmer you, bringing her sticky buns. Might even steal my title of Kara's favourite person." Lucy chuckled and accepted the coffee and bun. "Thank you, Alex."
"Um, my pleasure." Alex fidgeted anxiously and fiddled with her glasses. She had to admit, Lucy was beautiful and seemed really nice, but was also super intimidating. Meanwhile, Lucy was checking off another couple of boxes in her head, labelled 'nice', 'funny', and 'generous'.
"You sure you won't stay?"
Just as she said that, Alex's phone pinged. The doctor excused herself, to read her message. Whatever was on the screen must have not been good, because Alex's face set into a look that Lucy was very familiar with, one that only a soldier should have.
"I've suddenly got an emergency at work, don't wanna impose on your time together." Alex jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "But it was really nice meeting you, Lucy."
"You too, Alex." Lucy was also impressed with how polite Alex was and made a note to really push Kara in the right direction. Alex's direction.
By the time Kara was out of the shower, Lucy was already sipping on her black coffee and had the eggs and bacon plated and ready to go, and was just breaking out a container full of pre-cut fruit.
"Mmm… Is that coffee? From Noonan's?" Kara perked up, looking around for her sticky bun.
"You're in luck, your hot new neighbour knew to bring your sticky bun with your latte." Lucy pointed to the drink and the pastry on the counter.
"Alex came by?" Kara's stomach fluttered and she fumbled the bag carrying the sticky bun. Good thing she hadn't reached for the latte first.
"Yes, you dork." Lucy chuckled. "By the way, good choice! She passes the Lucy Test!"
"Or bad choice," Kara groaned in both frustration and ecstasy as she bit into the sticky bun. "She tried to kiss me last night."
"Nice!" Lucy held up her hand for a high five.
"No, no high-five, Luce. She's dating Laurel Lee! She tried to kiss me!"
"That scoundrel!" Lucy gasped dramatically. "Boo. She seemed perfect! Smart, funny, nice, and successful. Also, really good-looking, you lucked out!"
"Except she's cheating!"
"Maybe they have one of those open relationships…" Lucy could see the possibility of Alex being good for Kara, drying up like water in the desert.
"No, after she asked to kiss me and I said no, she told me not to tell Laurel." Kara felt kind of disillusioned by her neighbour. She had seemed so… good, before. But she was still so nice!
"Oh god." Lucy looked at her coffee in horror. "She won me over with free coffee! What a monster!"
Lucy glared at her coffee like it had personally offended her, then guiltily, started drinking again.
"Waste not want not." Lucy grinned at Kara sheepishly. "But it's going to be kind of strange, what with you and her being neighbours. But wow, she is such a good wolf in sheep's clothing. Even though I know she's a wolf, I still think she's kind of… really awesome. But that could be the coffee talking."
"It might be the latte and the sticky bun's influence, too, because I totally still have a big fat crush on her. And I still think she's sooo nice." Kara said miserably. They sat down to their breakfast, still cradling their caffeine and pondering the unfairness of the whole situation.
"Maybe it's just a huge misunderstanding." Lucy piped up. "I mean, are you sure? You should totally ask her and see what she says."
"I don't know…"
"Well, what do you have to lose? At least you can clear the air, I feel like it's going to be kind of awkward." Lucy dug into her eggs and bacon. "I still feel like this might be a misunderstanding because my gut is telling me that this one is a winner. And your instincts might be bad, but mine are on point. Remember your ex?"
"She wasn't that bad..." Kara started weakly, which prompted Lucy to erupt.
"The-Bitch-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named took over your apartment and locked you OUT just because you forgot that she didn't want parsley in her spaghetti sauce. This was your ex, this wasn't even a recent girlfriend. She basically squatted in your house, ate all your food for months, and if Kelly hadn't come and thrown her out, you would still be sleeping on my couch." Lucy shook her head in pity.
"My ex is really scary." Kara said quietly. That had not been a good relationship at all.
"Alright, let's not think about your ex." Lucy took out her phone. "Since Laurel Lee is a public figure, maybe we can see if there's a wiki page on her."
Lucy researched the fashionista, bringing up pictures of her with various dates-both men and women-to various events, but nothing that says she was exclusively dating anyone.
"See? That's not bad, right?" Lucy brandished her phone. "Laurel's dating around!"
"You missed this article," Kara said glumly, tapping on a link that brought up a blurry picture of Laurel, tugging a woman into the entrance of a club. You couldn't see the woman's face, but there was a good shot of her back, and her beautiful auburn hair. It could definitely be Dr. Danvers.
"Well, they could be just friends!" Lucy tried.
Kara gave Lucy a weak smile, knowing her friend was trying to help, but just not up to being disappointed again.
"Come on, at least clear the air with her so it's not awkward. I mean, she does live right across from you and you might bump into her sometimes."
"Yeah, you're right."
When Lucy finally left, Kara let out a deep breath. She procrastinated, tidying and cleaning up her little apartment for the whole day, before she couldn't stand it anymore and texted Alex.
'Hey, want to go grab some food later? I know this great souvlaki place.'
It wasn't until a few hours later that Alex messaged back.
'Sorry this is late, just had a rush of things to do at the lab, deadlines to meet. Will msg you when i'm back and we can grab a bite!'
Kara had smiled at that message, still feeling quite taken with Alex. Despite the awkwardness, Alex seemed like she was serious about the 'trying to be friends' part.
'Just message me when work isn't as busy. My treat!' Kara followed up that message with a ton of food emojis and a smiley, winky face.
"Oh, nononono…" Kara's fingers had a mind of their own, pressing the kissy face on her most-used emojis line and then immediately pressing send. She threw her phone away from herself in mortification, to the other end of her couch. But within a minute, her phone buzzed with a message.
Kara approached her phone with trepidation, picking it up with a wince.
'Holding you to that.' Alex's reply had a thumbs up emoji attached and that was it. Kara was both happy but disappointed that Alex didn't comment on her last emoji. The next few days, Kara tried to bump into her hot, but problematic neighbour, but it seemed like her neighbour hadn't come home at all. Kara had then spent time lazing about the house, talking to Ma and Pa Kent, and fielding texts from her friends. And also thinking about what she would say to Alex. Kara also channel surfed a lot and caught the breaking news on the earthquake in Italy.
Kara's attention was trained on that event, and she was happy to see some of the supers were helping out with earthquake relief in Italy. Kara spent most of her time glued to the TV, trying to catch a glimpse of her favourite superhero. While other heroes like Superwoman and the Green Lantern stopped to give quick interviews, Shadow Agent never made an appearance. Superwoman confirmed her fellow hero's attendance, but the media never got clear, visual proof. Any photos or videos were always of a blurry figure far away, or jumping around rubble; it was basically like trying to film a ghost. There were plenty of eye witness accounts, but nothing in black and white.
Kara sent some money via text message to an earthquake relief charity for Italy, then watched the news until she got tired and had to sleep again. But beyond watching the news and resting, Kara didn't do much during her time off. It seemed like her stay indoors would be uneventful, and she would be back to work in no time.
"Hello."
"Bwahhh!" Before Kara's cup could fall from the balcony and shatter into a million pieces on the ground below, Superwoman had caught it.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Superwoman landed lightly on the balcony next to Kara, all smiles and silky hair, and looking just perfect. She handed Kara back her cup. "Just in the neighbourhood and wanted to see if you were okay."
"I'm just getting some fresh air. Um. Thanks for getting my cup." Kara smiled at Superwoman.
"What are you up to?" Superwoman nodded at Kara's phone in her hand. "Sorry, I shouldn't have dropped by unannounced."
"Oh, no, it's okay." Kara locked her phone, flushing lightly in embarrassment. She had been google-ing Alex and reading the doctor's scientific papers published online. Kara didn't understand a lot of the scientific jargon, but what she did understand from all of it was that Dr. Alexandra Danvers was a highly-respected pioneer in her field and published ground-breaking papers. She was considered a bit eccentric, yes, but was still highly-respected.
"I thought you were in Italy?"
"Oh, you saw that, right?" Superwoman shrugged. "We help out where we can. I'm not a medic, and I have issues with people asking me to rebuild their house for them, that's a job for someone else."
"Oh."
Superwoman smiled wryly. "Yes, Superwoman has her selfish moments. But Superwoman is also not an engineer and cannot build you a structurally sound dwelling. Also, I can deal with big things, like for example, lifting a building in the air. But were the building to crumble, it would be hard for me to hold it together. Now Green Lantern is the person to go to for clean-up efforts. I also pick and choose my projects. I'll probably be back there to help clear out some of the devastation, but I don't like being used by companies to save money on labour."
Kara nodded. It must be hard sometimes, balancing what to do. These were beings with god-like powers, but were absolutely not gods. They were flawed and they could not be everywhere at once.
"You don't mind some company, right?" Superwoman asked, suddenly wary of being a nuisance.
"No," Kara smiled. "I'm grateful for it. Do you… do you want some coffee?"
"Sure." Superwoman followed Kara into the apartment, her cape swishing impressively around her. Kara put the kettle on and readied her french press in a daze, wondering when her life had gotten to the point where superheroes came calling.
"How are you doing?" Superwoman asked casually, leaning against the counter. She was wincing, looking at the mottled splotches of bruising around Kara's throat as the blonde scooped ground coffee into the French press. "Wish I had healing powers, that must suck."
Kara touched her throat self-consciously. She had thought it was getting better but apparently not.
"It doesn't hurt that much anymore." Kara tried to laugh it off but had to stop halfway before she started a coughing fit.
"Why are you in the neighbourhood? I thought you were mainly stationed in Metropolis." Kara thought back nervously to how Cat had once said that Superwoman was like a magnet for trouble. Every supervillain worth their salt wanted to get rid of Superwoman either for the bragging rights or to further their own plans or more often than not, both reasons were good enough encouragement to take a swing at the Woman of Steel.
"Visiting you." Superwoman shrugged. "And hoping to bump into Shadow Agent when she gets back from Italy. She stayed behind to see if there was anything she could help with. But she's away, so you're stuck with me."
Kara laughed at the sly smile on Superwoman's lips.
"You guys are pretty close, huh?"
"She's the only other Kryptonian alive and her family has been in my family guard for generations." Superwoman shrugged. She reached around Kara and picked up the kettle, which was just beginning to whistle, and poured the water into the press. When the coffee was ready and made up to both of their specifications, the two naturally moved back to the balcony. Kara had bought a little cast-iron table with matching chairs off the internet so she could have a place to relax. She used it very little because by the time she got home, it was just about getting dark and sitting alone outside as the sun set reminded her of how alone she was in National City.
"This is nice." Superwoman grinned at Kara, "This is really nice."
"Sitting on a balcony?"
Superwoman winked at Kara. "With wonderful company, of course."
"You say that to all the girls." Kara shot Superwoman a playful glare over her cup of coffee.
"All lies!" Superwoman grins. "You're the only one for me!"
Kara laughed, relaxing a bit. This was the same Superwoman from last night who made jokes and told her funny stories about Shadow Agent.
"Oh, Superwoman. You're right. Who could resist your… bulging muscles, and your unbelievable beauty?" Kara fluttered her eyelashes, playing along.
"Ahem." Superwoman stretched and held the stretch in a flex so her biceps bulged impressively. "You may touch them if you want."
Kara burst out laughing, her coffee sloshing dangerously in her cup. "Now I know why everyone falls for you."
"But also hates me at the same time." Superwoman said in a self-deprecating manner.
Superwoman was known for her flirtatious nature and have had more than a few scorned women and men in her wake. One of the scorned men, Dan Dearden, was actually quite a notorious admirer of Superwoman's and had even stolen artifacts to imbue himself with powers similar to to the Woman of Steel. After that, he had named himself Superman and tried to convince Superwoman they were meant to be together. That, of course, hadn't ended well, when Superwoman spurned him again, then defeated him when he tried to beat her to submission.
"But enough about me, what about the beautiful Kara Zorel?" Superwoman waggled her eyebrows. "Is there someone in her life?"
Kara took a bit too long to answer, and a grin on Superwoman's face made Kara scramble to answer.
"Yes! I mean, no! No, no, no, no, no, no. No. Nobody. Nobody at all." Kara winced as the grin on Superwoman's face grew wider.
"WHO. And if you lie to me, I'll know. That's one of my super-powers!" Superwoman demanded.
"That's a lie." Kara narrowed her eyes at Superwoman. "You totally told Lois Lane all your powers and she wrote it up in her article about you."
"Curse you, Lois." Superwoman clenched her fist and shook it lightly in the air with a grimace. "Alright, but seriously, I'm great at keeping secrets."
"You TOLD LOIS LANE all of your powers." Kara enunciated slowly. "Then you gave her permission to publish it all."
"Not my finest moment."
"No."
"But you know, I couldn't help it. And Lois, wow, she's just my type." Superwoman sighed wistfully. "She's like, super sharp. Keeps me on my toes."
Kara rolled her eyes playfully. "It's because she's out of reach."
"That could be it." Superwoman shrugged, then that mischievous smile spread across her face. "But we were talking about your love life."
"We were not."
"What if I guess?" Superwoman took a sip of her coffee. "Hmmmm… is this person grumpy all the time?"
Kara actually gave it serious thought, thinking of Alex's smirk. And for some reason, Shadow Agent came to mind, too, that secretive smile that would appear on her lips. "No, she's never grumpy-"
Kara's mouth clamped shut at the sound of Superwoman's chuckle.
"Oh, she, eh? She's probably only smiling for you all the time." Superwoman grinned. "That dog! When I asked her, she wouldn't tell me!"
"How did you even guess?" Kara was horrified.
"Shadow Agent's never been so invested in a human." Superwoman slapped the table triumphantly. "I knew it! I'm so happy for you guys!"
"Shadow Agent?" Kara blinked, surprised. She had been thinking about Alex, really. Sure she had a superhero crush on Shadow Agent… but that was strictly in the realm of fantasy and Alex, Alex was very much, very achingly in her realm of reality. "No, we're not dating!"
"Oh, my mistake. But you would like to?" The rate of Superwoman's questions was making Kara's head spin but she thought about this question seriously. Alex was obviously unavailable, and possibly might be a horrible cheater… but Shadow Agent was a hero. And Kara liked Shadow Agent. But dating a superhero, though great fantasy fodder, was just that. The stuff of fantasies.
"You don't have to answer." Superwoman sipped her coffee again, a twinkle in her eyes. "Leave it to me, I can set you guys up."
"No, Superwoman-"
"No, trust me." Superwoman took both of Kara's hands in hers, eyes shining. "This will be so good for her. Since coming to Earth, I don't think she has a life outside of her superhero gig."
There was suddenly a tinny ringing sound and Superwoman pressed a button on her belt.
"Go for Superwoman." Superwoman pointed to her ear, indicating that she had an earpiece in, smiling at Kara apologetically. Her smile suddenly fell, a troubled look crossing her face. "What? Geez, can the bad guys ever give us a break? I'm on my way."
"Is everything ok?"
"Don't worry, everything will be fine." Superwoman's smile was stressed. "Thank you for the coffee, but seems like I'm needed here."
"Here? So is Shadow Agent on the scene, too?" Kara asked, a little too eagerly. It hit her only when she saw Superwoman wince at the other hero's name. "Is something wrong? Is Shadow Agent okay?"
"She'll be fine. But it's… I'll see you later." Superwoman got up from her seat, gave Kara a jaunty wave before flying off. As soon as Superwoman had disappeared into the distance, Kara was inside, frantically flipping to a news channel. Shadow Agent had been in Italy! Was she back already?
"-Agent seems to be struggling!" On the TV, there was a blurry, jumpy shot of a man in some kind of suit with a glowing orb in the middle of his chest. The suited man was raining his glowing fists down on Shadow Agent, or what Kara could see of Shadow Agent as a smashed car blocked the view of the hero on the ground. A few police officers in tactical gear were trying to draw off the man-Kara dimly registered that the newscaster was calling the villain, Reactron-by shooting at him, but all that accomplished was making Reactron angrier.
"Seems like he has a-a kinetic shield of some sort so the bullets are just bouncing off!" The reporter was giving a blow by blow of the action and background information of Reactron. "This is one of the villains that has fought Superwoman to a standstill! It doesn't seem like our hero is doing much better here-"
Shadow Agent's hand shot up, scrabbling at the front of Reatron's suit and finally grabbing purchase on one of the parts of Reactron's suit, ripping it off. The glow from Reactron's fists was suddenly snuffed out, but that didn't slow him down. Neither did the fact that Shadow Agent might have ripped out something important from his suit because it seemed to be leaking, the air distorting around the breach in his suit. Reactron didn't notice any of that because he seemed intent on slowly strangling the life out of Super Agent.
"Someone help her!" The reporter on the scene was heard screaming. Kara didn't know it, but tears had started streaming from her eyes as Super Agent struggled valiantly. Even with the blurry video, Kara could see that Shadow Agent's movements were getting sluggish. Out of nowhere, a blur of blue and red suddenly crashed into the villain, sending him flying off into the distance. Superwoman stood there, cape fluttering around her and wincing in pain.
"Superwoman!" The reporter called out to her. The Hero of Metropolis gave a stately wave, then knelt down to check on Shadow Agent. The dark-suited hero brushed away Superwoman's helping hand irritably and the footage cut out.
"There seems to be an interruption on the live feed, but it appears that our very own Shadow Agent will be okay, thanks to Superwoman." The newscaster had a worried look on her attractive face. "Reactron is quite a powerful rogue to face, as some people have hypothesized that his presence seems to be a problem for Kryptonian physiology. Scientists have theorized that Reactron may be emitting some sort of harmful radiation-"
Kara had zoned out by then, finally moving backwards to her couch so she could sit there and will her heart to stop racing. She couldn't deny that she was deeply concerned about Shadow Agent's injuries, and was worried if she was recovering-
"Kara!" Her windows rattled at the sudden appearance of Superwoman and Shadow Agent. Superwoman was supporting Shadow Agent as the masked superhero leaned heavily on her friend. "Help!"
Kara was out on the balcony on Shadow Agent's other side, tucking herself under Shadow Agent's arm and sharing the weight.
"Oh, no, Kara I got this." Superwoman grinned. Kara blushed and tried to move away but Shadow Agent kept a loose hold on her, so Kara stayed where she was.
"Could you watch her for a bit? I have to go track Reactron down."
"I'm… fine." Shadow Agent slurred. "And you can't… go by yourself."
"Reactron's heart core emits radiation that weakens us. Shadow Agent here must have decided to really cowboy it-"
"-had to." Shadow Agent grunted. "Was… going for… a hostage."
"She needs sunlight." Superwoman continued on, ignoring Shadow Agent.
Well, I got her for now," Kara snaked an arm around Shadow Agent's waist. "Superwoman, could you move my arm chair out here? It reclines, so she can just lay on it…"
Making sure that Kara could support Shadow Agent's weight, Superwoman sped to the living room and brought out the armchair, setting it up gently and laying the back down before bodily picking up Shadow Agent and depositing her on it.
"Now we just have to take off her clothes for optimal sunlight absorption-"
"Get away from me." Shadow Agent growled.
"Come on, this is your chance to impress Kara!" Superwoman tugged at the neck of Shadow Agent's suit. Shadow Agent's eyes darted to look over at a mortified Kara, who quickly turned around.
"Don't worry, if you have to take off your clothes, I-I can just stay indoors-"
"My suit is an intelligent material that allows for full body exposure to sunlight through microscopic holes." Shadow Agent lay back, eyes closed. "I don't need to take my clothes off."
"She's trying to tell you she's practically naked all the time." Superwoman stage-whispered. "If you look closely, you could see-"
"Don't make me get up and punch you into the sun." Shadow Agent said without opening her eyes.
"I'd come back super-powered and then we'll really throw down." Superwoman joked. "Just soak up some sun, I'll be back before you know it!"
"I'm serious," Shadow Agent's eyes were open now and she was struggling to get up. "Just clean up. Don't… be a hero."
"You just don't wanna get shown up after having your ass handed to you." Superwoman joked. Shadow Agent raised her fist in warning and Superwoman immediately put up her hands. "Just rest! This is an order from the GREAT SCION OF EL."
"You idiot." Shadow Agent leaned back, groaning. She was in no shape to stop Superwoman as the hero flew away, back in the direction of the action.
"Just rest and, um, if you have to take off your suit-"
"No, Kara, it's fine." Shadow Agent leaned back again. "I just need to rest a bit. The radiation from Reactron and the concussive blasts are difficult to deal with together."
"But, you're a Kryptonian-"
"With our strengths and weaknesses. We're not totally invulnerable." Shadow Agent opened an eye and gestured to one of the iron-cast chairs. "Please, sit. I feel bad, commandeering your armchair."
Kara took a seat, looking over at Shadow Agent anxiously. "Is there anything I can do? I have coffee, Superwoman and I were drinking when she left-" Kara glanced at her watch, "-wow, it hasn't even been half-an-hour since."
"She was here?" Shadow Agent pushed herself up to a sitting position, suddenly looking furious.
"Um. Yes?" Kara blinked in confusion. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Was she hitting on you?" Shadow Agent asked seriously. "Was she bothering you? Do you need me to tell her to stop?"
"No, we were just having coffee." Kara laughed, surprised and a bit pleased that Shadow Agent would ever think there was anything going on. "And Superwoman would-"
"-go for every beautiful girl she can." Shadow Agent deadpanned. "And you are definitely beautiful."
Kara couldn't stop blushing. It was different when her and Superwoman were joking around, but Shadow Agent was looking at her with such an intense expression on her face.
"I'm sorry." The superhero apologized.
"For what?"
Shadow Agent turned her head away. "For making you feel uncomfortable. It's none of my business who you like. It's just… you know. I don't know. Forget what I said."
"No, it's… it's fine." Kara chewed on her lower lip, then suddenly blurted out her question. "Do you like me?"
"Um." Shadow Agent looked taken off-guard. "Well. Yeah… like, um. You're a good person. Like a good friend. But it's-I'm… well. Yeah. You're pretty cool."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
There was a long awkward silence.
"Oh my god, just ask her out already!" Someone shouted from a distance.
"What-" They looked around until Shadow Agent caught sight of the shouter a few roofs over.
"You asshole!" Shadow Agent was up out of her chair, shouting at the person. Kara had to squint to pick out the sight of a fluttering red cape that was distinctly Superwoman. "I thought you left!"
"I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU GUYS SOME SPACE! KARA! Go for it! I believe in you!" Superwoman could be heard from a distance.
"What the hell is going on?" Shadow Agent looked tense and stressed.
"Superwoman!" Kara was shouting at the superhero across the way, desperately wanting the Hero of Metropolis to just shut up. "STOP!"
"OH, DO YOU GUYS WANNA BE ALONE?!"
"OH MY GOD, SUPERWOMAN, I WILL KILL YOU!" Shadow Agent shook her fist at the figure in the distance, finally catching on.
"Oh my god." Kara had her face in her hands, could feel that her face was hot and she probably looked like a tomato. "Superwoman…"
"I'm sorry about her. She has no tact-"
"ASK HER OUT OR ELSE I'LL TELL BATMAN!" Superwoman hollered from across the way.
"CAN YOU JUST STAY OUT OF MY BUSINESS?!" Shadow Agent snapped. The Kryptonians' voices were shaking the windows of Korra's apartment.
"Shhh, girls. Come on. Please don't break my windows." Kara begged. Suddenly something else occurred to her and she pressed against Shadow Agent's shoulders, trying to get her to calm down. "And please please please please don't let my neighbour hear you. I would die."
"Which neighbour? You don't like your neighbour?" Shadow Agent's sharp gaze was on her, and she looked slightly wounded.
"Um, no, I like her just fine. I just don't want her to think I'm just this crazy girl with two superheroes screaming at each other across city blocks." Kara could feel dread in the pit of her stomach. It would be hard to explain and she would just feel awkward talking about Alex with Shadow Agent… or vice versa.
"Don't worry, your neighbour's not home." At Kara's questioning gaze, Shadow Agent tapped the side of her masked face. "X-ray vision. Quick glance and I could see she wasn't there."
"I'm just saying…" Superwoman had flown back to the balcony. "You guys seem to like each other so you might as well date."
"Superwoman…" Shadow Agent and Kara looked like they were mirrors, both with their faces in their hands.
"Did you just fly off to set this up?" Kara asked suspiciously.
"Che," Superwoman crossed her arms. "Duh. Of course I did. I'm not going to fly off to face Reactron alone. He kicked my ass last time, too. So I've set you guys up. Just figure out a time and place and go for your first date!"
"You can't just say that!" Shadow Agent hissed, after taking a few seconds to regain her composure. "Kara is already dating someone else, so-"
"I'm not dating anyone." Kara corrected Shadow Agent immediately.
"What?" Shadow Agent seemed confused. "No, you are."
"No, I'm not." Kara shook her head emphatically. "Really, I'm not."
But…" Shadow Agent floundered. "But."
"I'm not dating anybody." Kara repeated again, this time more forcefully. She was not going to lose this opportunity! "So… so if you're interested. We should. Go out! We should go out on a date!"
Shadow Agent stared at Kara, her mouth hanging open. Even with only the little bit of her face showing behind that mask, Superwoman and Kara could both see that Shadow Agent had turned bright red.
"But. Um."
Kara's palms were sweating from how nervous she felt. She had basically asked out a superhero! Well, she had actually asked out a superhero. And said superhero was taking a while to answer and Kara was feeling all the sudden courage she had felt before running away from her. Who was she and what had possessed Kara to do this? Shadow Agent was the Hero of National City, a traveler from the stars, a close friend of Superwoman, and Kara wasn't anything but human-
"Just say yes! Geez!" Superwoman bumped Shadow Agent with her shoulder, scowling at her friend. "What's wrong with you? She's single, you're ready to mingle. Do it! You like her, you told me!"
It was Kara's turn to blush bright red now.
"Yeah. Um." Shadow Agent had a shy smile pulling at a corner of her lips. "Yeah. I do like you."
Superwoman elbowed Shadow Agent hard in the ribs, a huge grin on her face. Shadow Agent pushed back, but was still smiling bashfully.
"Oh."
"And well, I'd love to go out with you. That is. If-If you want to still." Shadow Agent's eyes looked so hopeful. "Go out with me."
"Well, of course I would." Kara positively beamed. As Superwoman started rattling off date ideas and thumping Shadow Agent on the back in congratulations, Kara's mind wandered a bit to her neighbour. Remembered how she and Alex had sat on the couch watching Homeward Bound and how Alex had looked down at Kara with such a soft expression on her face.
"Kara? Maybe I could see you tomorrow? I could bring dinner."
Kara shook out of her reverie and smiled brightly at Shadow Agent. The superhero was nice, funny, and caring. And she genuinely liked Shadow Agent, she just never knew this was a possibility. It had purely been in the realm of fantasy for Kara. But now, with a look on Shadow Agent's masked face that reminded the blonde so much of Alex, maybe she could embrace this reality.
"Sure."