CHAPTER TWENTY THREE: 'See Both Sides Of The Coin'

"HEY, LENA. PICK UP YOUR PHONE. I'm worried and I don't know if it's safe for me to pop by your apartment."

Lena clicked the voicemail button again.

"Lena, I swear to god—"

Beep.

"I'm coming to your place right now."

Beep.

The vampire sighed heavily, as she lounged on the loveseat, and stared at the ceiling of her room.

It's almost been a week since Kara walked out the door. Days of no returned calls, texts or even emails from Kara and Lena felt so… empty.

Was it a break up? Lena was sure it felt like one. Wether Kara was acknowledging her need for 'space' or, not wanting to have anything to do with Lena because she was a lying hypocrite; she did not know.

The whole dating thing was new to Lena. She'd never done this before; be so emotionally invested with another person. Let alone have those feelings returned.

It was the classic case of taking what you had for granted. And Lena hated it. She'd stay at her apartment, just staring blankly at the ceiling or listening to music.

Lex would come by for a few afternoons to boast about his newborns and new plans, and Lena would report about said newborns and new plans to the DEO, obediently.

She never knew how much of an impact Kara made onto her life, until she left.

No more goodmorning or goodnight texts to look forward to, which always had a trail of emojis following them.

No more Thursday lunch dates, with Kara talking with her mouth full.

No sight of the girl fidgeting with her glasses, or the sound of a notepad being flicked through, or the rough scribbling of pen onto paper.

No more Kara Danvers.

"Um, hello!? Do you not have a phone anymore?" Sam said as she bursted into the room.

Lena, unsurprised as she already heard her storming up to the apartment the minute she parked her car outside her building; continued to gaze at the ceiling.

"What do you want, Sam?" Lena mumbled, her eyes never leaving the stars above her.

"Well, I'm glad you're still alive!" Sam winced, "kinda, I don't know, are you alive?" She questioned Lena's biology.

The vampire rolled her eyes and sat up. "Yes, I'm alive. Anything else?"

"Well, I've tried calling. Ruby's play is tonight and I wanted to make sure you'll be there as you said." Lena folded her arms, and Sam already knew it had something to do with Kara. "For her." Sam added. "Ruby, I mean. Well, Kara will be there but—"

"I'll be there." Lena concluded. "For Ruby."

Sam smiled brightly, "Thank you."

There was a moment of silence and it was then, that Sam took in the fairy lights and stars. "What's with the empty mason jars?"

"They had fireflies in them." Lena explained.

"One of Kara's doings?"

Lena nodded, her expression cold and distant.

"What happened this time?" Sam asked.

"Well, I can't tell her the truth, so it costed me my relationship with her and now, I'm wallowing." Lena paused, "have you gotten in touch with Alex?"

"No, why?"

"Because I want to clear things with Kara. Tell her everything." Lena stepped closer to Sam, "I can't lose her, Sam."

"I know." Sam spoke softly. "Come here." Sam had her arms outstretched for a hug, to which lean accepted immediately, "I'm so sorry, Lena. You have so much on your plate." Sam spoke soothingly, rubbing small circles around Lena's back.

"What if she doesn't believe us? What if she hates me forever? Thinks I'm some monster?"

"She'll come around to accept it."

"You can't promise me something you don't know will happen."

"You're right, I can't." Sam sighed, "but I also know Kara. And Kara is the most understanding person I know. If it makes you feel any better, I'll call Alex right now."

Lena nodded, while Sam took her phone out to call the redhead.

"Hello?"

"Dammit, Danvers. What's with you and Lena not answering your phones?"

"Well excuse me, I'm currently trying to track down a three thousand year old serial killer who just so happens to be a vampire. And said vampire is related to the girl that my sister is dating." Sam can envision Alex waving her hands around. "Was." Alex added, and Lena looked away.

"So please, my sincerest apologies for not being able to answer my phone." She said sarcastically.

Sam completely missed the sarcasm. "Well apology totally not accepted!" Lena rolled her eyes. "Kara and Lena aren't—"

"I know." Alex sighed over the phone. "I was with her over the weekend." It sounded like she wanted to say something else, but Alex held her tongue.

"Well you know that you guys have to tell her." Sam said, putting her on speaker even though Lena could hear her just fine. "For the sake of their relationship." Alex narrowed her eyes at that over the phone. "And, for Kara's sake." Sam added.

"I know. I've been planning to tell her, but I can't exactly do that with Lex's army eavesdropping."

"The play."

"What?"

"What?" Lena and Alex said in unison.

"She'll be there at the play. We can tell her. At. The. Play."

"Absolutely not." Lena said quickly. "Seriously, Sam?" Sam gave her a what? look. "Christ, we literally just said Lex's vampires are scattered across the city."

"Well, why would any of them want to come to a school play?"

"I don't know Sam." Lena said dumbly. "Maybe because, I'm going." The vampire emphasised the last two words. "I know Lex is keeping tabs on me."

"Guys!" Sam and Lena both looked at the phone. "Jesus Christ." Alex muttered, "look, I requested Hank to allow me to bring Kara into the DEO. Our location is off the charts so there won't be any eavesdropping."

"When?"

"Soon."

Lena growled at that. "Soon, can be three hours, a week, a month, Alex." The vampire said in between gritted teeth. "When, is soon?" She demanded. Lena felt her veins boil. Perhaps Kara knowing allowed her to understand the extent of the protection needed for her.

Alex stayed quiet. "Lena, it's crazy over here—"

"For fuck's sake." Lena muttered angrily, before she grabbed her coat hanging from the coat hanger and left her apartment.

"Well." Sam huffed.

"Well?! Go after her, Sam!" Alex ordered.

"Right, on it." Sam hung up the phone and rushed out the door to track her friend.

Kara typed away at her laptop, chewing her fingernails whenever she had writers block.

She was so engrossed in her report— her personal report— which shouldn't be anywhere near CatCo and yet, here she was working on it.

She'd consider what Maggie had said to her during their game night. To talk to Alex about it. Confront her. Demand for answers like she should have before she found herself here.

Here, being in the midst of a potential break up. Or giving space? At this point, she wasn't sure who needed the space. But it was safe to say that Kara most definitely needed it to think.

"Ponytail!" Kara jumped at her newest nickname, other than Kiera. (God, she never knew how much she actually missed Cat calling her that instead.)

"Yes, sir?"

"Report. I said it was due by today. Where is it?" Snapper asked without looking up from a draft report he was reading, the glasses almost falling off the end of his nose.

(Kara resisted the urge to push it up for him. She learnt not too after the first time she did it for Cat; seemingly to forget the idea of professionalism and personal space.)

"Uh," Kara stammered. "T-the report on the—"

"Maxwell Lord? His illegal activity on running human test subjects?" Snapper asked as if it was like saying, 'the sky is blue.'

"Right." Kara breathed out. She shuffled through the folders in her drawers, and the neatly stacked piles of papers on her desk, knowing damn well that she'd forgot them at home.

"It's… not on my person right now." She said defeatedly.

"Not on your person?" Snapper asked, his face already growing red, as if steam would blow out of his ears. He inhaled and exhaled as if it were a mantra.

Then Kara remembered. Lena's doing.

"Blondie, I give you the story of the month and what do you do?" Snapper asked rhetorically. "You simply leave it at home, as if it were your lunch."

Kara shrinked in size, she hated being lectured. "Is this job not important to you, Danvers?" Snapper asked. "Cause it seems to me that you'd rather be doing your own little stories." He gestured to Kara's opened laptop, revealing her information on the annual deaths. "Than your job."

Kara looked at her shoes shamefully.

"Pack your things."

"Mr. Carr—"

"Save it."

A throat cleared at the front door of her office. All eyes were placed upon Cat Grant.

"Kiera." She said, her tone recognisably disappointed. "My office."

"Too late." Snapper said, "she's off the hook." He waved his hand. "She's lucky I'm not screaming it out from the rooftops." He muttered.

"She's off the hook when I say she is, Carr." Cat challenged with narrowed eyes.

"I don't remember you being her boss anymore." Snapper bit back, while Kara awkwardly stood in the middle of her office, unsure whether to follow Cat or to pack her things. (She so desperately wanted to follow Cat.)

"I believe that without me, Carr; you wouldn't even have a job here. Now, be gone." Cat looked at Kara with the all too familiar look of disappointment in her green eyes. Green eyes that were a shade lighter than her favourite.

Snapper left the office without another word, but shot Kara a glare.

"Perhaps, your office will do." Cat said, walking into the room. "Hmm." She thought, stopping abruptly, "I changed my mind, I'm feeling claustrophobic."

And so, Kara and her former boss sat on Cat's couch, facing one another. Cat held a cup of tea to her lips, her narrowed eyes never leaving Kara's.

"Am I fired?" Kara asked, after what seemed to be an eternity of waiting in silence; fidgeting with the hem of her dress under Cat's hawk like gaze.

"I don't know. Are you?" Cat quipped.

Kara groaned at Cat's antiques. "I really, don't have time for this Miss Grant."

"Okay. Then you can leave my office and pack your things, Kiera." Cat said absentmindedly, her focus just on her tea.

Kara's face scrunched stubbornly before she remained seated, huffing out a puff.

Cat smirked at the girl's defeat. "What's going on?" She asked now serious, "it's been months since you've become a reporter and I've only seen your name on the byline for one article. One."

"That's because—!"

"Kiera." Cat snapped, "you're twenty three, act like one. Talk to me, professionally."

"Sorry." Kara mumbled. "Snapper just doesn't give me a chance."

"He's given you one alright." Cat nodded, "dare I say it, he's actually nice to you."

Kara rolled her eyes, "he throws out all my drafts! So, not true."

Cat raised her brow and looked over Kara's shoulder, through her glass office. There on the other side, was Snapper biting off a poor intern's head. The next thing they knew, a bunch of papers flew out of the interns hands as Snapper discarded them over his shoulder before he stormed off.

"Okay, maybe." Kara settled on. "I just—"

"What?" Cat asked, expecting a good excuse. "I do not pay you to write fairy tales, Keira. Nor, did I let you off as my assistant to explore your career as an aspiring reporter.

If that's not what you want then by all means, come back and be my assistant." Cat said. "You're much better than— Steve?" Cat said the name more like a question.

"Steve?" Kara asked, "your new assistant is a girl and her name is Eve." Kara corrected, knowing this information because she was the one who interviewed her own replacement.

"I don't know, I lost track after firing the other three."

"Other three?" The blonde asked incredulously. She shook her head, as if she didn't even want to hear Cat explain what had happened. "You know what? I don't want to know."

Cat just hummed unimpressively and shrugged her shoulders.

"I just have a lot on my plate." Kara said.

"Continue."

"I—" Kara stopped herself, because this moment was the moment where all lines between boss— former boss and employee were about to be crossed. She stood up from the couch."It's—"

"Speak."

"My love life." Kara rushed out, and began pacing. "Blew up in my face. Well, I don't know where it leaves us. It's quite confusing because she's all, 'give me space' and the next she's like, 'no don't go' and now I'm the one who needs space; because she's lying to me. Well, everyone is." The girl rambelled.

"Are you sure?"

"What?" Kara stopped and faced her former boss.

"That everyone is lying to you."

"Well, yeah." Kara said, sitting down again. "Obviously." She added, stopping herself from saying aliens don't exist.

"Perhaps they have a reason to." Cat said. "The three main reasons for lying; self gain, denial and protection. For themselves or others."

"So you think they're all lying to me because of one of those reasons?"

"One, or both, or all." Cat said. "Or maybe," the CEO paused, "you're also lying to yourself."

"What?" Kara said, laughing at the idea. "No," she shook her head, her laughter still ringing out, "no I'm— I'm one hundred percent sure—"

"What's the first thing about being a reporter, Kiera?"

"Always start the article with capital letters?" Kara offered lamely.

"Never be biased." Cat said seriously. "That applies to whatever roadblock you have with your love life, or your personal life, or your non existent social life." Kara furrowed her brows at that. "See both sides of the coin. Have an opened mind to why things are happening. Even if you don't like it."

The reporter fidgeted with her glasses as a comfortable silence enveloped the two.

She had been quite stubborn and adamant on ignoring the chances of considering the existence of the DEO.

What they do, what potential life beyond earth that could actually exist. The supernatural and their capabilities of living amongst humans and—

"Oh my god." Kara stood up abruptly from the couch, Cat unsurprised as if she knew the epiphany was her response. "I have to go."

"Don't forget to—"

"Clean out my desk?" Kara said, already opening her office door. Cat looked at Kara as if she had offended her.

"See both sides of the coin, Kiera." Cat deadpanned. "Christ." She muttered, wondering how on earth Kara survived until twenty three.

"Right." The reporter said, feeling daft. "I'm not fir—"

"You're close to being fired." Cat threatened. "Snapper doesn't let you off, I do." Kara smiled at that, knowing she was Cat's favourite (even though the CEO wouldn't admit it) and she wasn't going to fire her anytime soon.

"Now, scram." The older blonde rolled her eyes, circling her desk as Kara left the building, hugging her laptop tightly to her chest.