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The first time it happened, Kara was picking up her usual ten orders of potstickers, and they declined her card. The card wasn’t insufficient, they just refused to take it. They refused to take any payment at all. All they would say was that it was taken care of.
Then, it happened at Noonan’s. Again, the same cryptic answer. When the pizza place gave her the same answer, she bribed the teenage cashier with a hundred bucks to tell her what he knew.
The anxious teen shuffled back and forth as he described the “super hot business lady” who disappeared into the back with the manager for 15 minutes before leaving with five large pies and leaving extremely specific instructions for two people to never pay again - Kara Danvers and Supergirl. An NDA was signed by the manager, but the boy was exempt from the paperwork as he was underage.
Kara stopped his nervous ramblings and handed over the hundred dollars. She must have been a bit intense in her request. She backed off and tried a nice smile as she left with her pizza order.
Lena was waiting on her couch when she touched down on the small balcony. She looked very much at home amongst the soft blankets and pillows on the overstuffed, squishy sofa. Moments like these, Kara was so happy that she’d given her best friend a key.
“Hello, darling,” Lena said as she smiled at Kara, the smile that Kara never saw her give anyone else. Kara put the pizza down on the counter, hugging Lena in greeting and then super-speeding herself into comfy clothes for movie night.
“So I’ve noticed a pattern lately…” Kara said, and Lena smiled amusedly at her as she accepted the glass of wine Kara offered.
“And being the hard-hitting reporter you are, you simply had to dig in, so what did you find?” she leaned back comfortably and took a sip of her wine.
Lena’s heartbeat picked up, betraying her outer cool. Kara smiled sweetly, making Lena tense. She saw straight through the Danvers act by now. “Well, I concluded that, one ‘super hot businesswoman’ has decided to fund my Kryptonian eating habits indefinitely without telling me.”
Lena stared at her, cheeks flushed red. “You think I’m hot?”
Kara’s mind backtracked, wondering how she’d revealed herself this time. “Oh - no, no, no, that was the quote from the teenager behind the counter at the pizza place,” she rambled, then noticing Lena’s flinch of hurt, she backtracked again and then stood up, panicked, “Oh my god I didn’t mean it like that, of course I find you hot! You’re like the hottest woman alive, maybe dead too, I’m pretty sure I could tell even if I was blind -” she clamps her mouth shut with one hand, groaning with embarrassment.
On the bright side, Lena no longer looks sad…she doesn’t know what Lena looks like. Confused?
“This is not how this conversation was supposed to go,” Kara plops onto the couch, rubbing her temples.
Lena looks at her neutrally, but her pulse is all over the place. “Why don’t you tell me how you thought this was going to go?”
Kara listens for an accusation, but she doesn’t hear one. A legitimate question. She takes a breath and gathers her thoughts, making sure she isn’t going to muck up the next interaction as badly as the last.
“I wanted to talk about you giving me an open tab at not one but three restaurants,” Lena’s heart rate picks up aggressively.
“It’s not just three, is it?” Lena looks everywhere but at her eyes.
“Lena, how many?” Kara asked again, a hint of exasperation evident. Lena had the wherewithal to look sheepish.
“Five,” without superhearing, Kara wouldn’t have heard her at all.
“Five! Five?” Where are the other two?” Kara replied, curious.
“Paris, and Greece. I know you like gyros after you win a fight and you bring me croissants all the time so I figured I’d take the financial stress of it out of the equation…” Lena rambled quietly, nervous and knowing that the Super could hear her no matter what.
Kara stared at her, gaping like a fish. “Lena, it’s -”
“Please don’t say too much,” Lena says in a rush of desperation to not hear those words.
Kara stops, watching her counterpart carefully. The fragility she sees surprises her.
“Lena, you know I can be independent, right? That I don’t need the help?” Lena nods, her heart breaking inwardly as she waits for Kara to lay down the boundaries, the normal, supposedly healthy boundaries that she hates, always leaving her unfulfilled.
Kara nods, accepting Lena’s answer. “Okay. One last question, why this specifically? You have the money to do anything in the world that you want, why did you choose the food? I mean, I’m not complaining…” Lena’s head snaps up as Kara’s cheeks pinken.
“Really?” Kara nods.
“It’s a lot, but it’s also extremely nice. I just need to know why,” she swallows hard, standing her ground, looking very much like Kara Zor-El, no hint of the dorky Danvers to be seen.
Lena chews her lip, then finally drags her eyes to Kara’s, daring herself not to be distracted by them.
In the way that only Kara can make her, she begins to ramble, “It just makes you so happy, every time I tell you it’s my treat, and you can have as much as you want. You stop being self conscious and budgeting and just let yourself enjoy it and I just want that for you as much as possible…you have so much on your shoulders and I have so much extra money, it’s really quite obscene, just please let me take care of you for once,” she ends on an unexpected plea. She really hadn’t been planning on that.
It’s like the filter between her brain and mouth dissolved entirely, atomized in the wake of potentially disappointing Kara somehow.
Kara swallows again, but this time her lips hang open after, damp. “You like taking care of me, you want to,” it’s phrased as a statement, but it sounds like a question. A loaded one.
Lena’s been outed. She’s been seen for what she constantly is, too fucking much. She curses herself, Kara will want distance from her now, probably not want to go out with her so much -
“I’m sorry, just give me whatever boundaries you feel are appropriate, I’m obviously not the best judge…” Lena trails off, willing her mouth not to run on anymore. She gnaws her lip now, and it’s really good she sprung for the best lipstick money could buy or else her teeth would be deep maroon by now.
“Okay, boundaries, then,” Kara takes a moment to consider very seriously, seeing how much the conversation is affecting Lena. “I don’t want to have any, to be perfectly honest,” Kara doesn’t quite meet her eyes, hand reaching up to fiddle with glasses that aren’t there anymore.
“Take care of me, whatever you want to do,” Kara says, stunning Lena for the umpteenth time tonight.
“Really? I’m not,” she stops herself short, “It’s not too much?” she asks, needing to hear it again, and then maybe a million more times before she believes it.
Kara’s eyes scrape over Lena’s form slowly, like she’s seeing her for the first time. “What would you give me, if there were no restrictions, no limitations?” Lena holds her breath as everything she’s convinced herself she couldn’t buy Kara flashes through her mind.
“Everything. I’d give you everything,” she says breathlessly. Kara’s eyes darken, and she steps closer.
“Specifics,” Kara says, this time lowly and so close that Lena can feel the breath on her ear.
Lena feels a rush of confidence at Kara’s reaction, “I’d dress you in the finest things that make you want to never take them off. That includes your supersuit, I’d dress you like the Kryptonian royalty you are, not an Earth cartoon. Something with pants and anti-Kryptonite armor for starters,” she scoffed at the thought of the rags they’d put her in.
Kara raised her eyebrows challengingly, “Oh, so it’s the royal aspect you like.” She says it with humor in her voice, like she knows the answer already. Like she’s just realized the answer, and doesn’t like the result.
Lena scowls, “Of course not, if anything, I would have spoiled you more as Kara Danvers, since I thought that she couldn’t just take a day trip to Paris for croissants at will.” She winces at the slip, revealing too much, always too much of her mind bared to Kara.
“And what about Supergirl?” Kara asked, her eyes so neutral that Lena felt the absence of Kara’s usually emotional existence in the room.
“I protect her whenever I can, but it’s been a love-hate relationship, you know that,” she grimaced. “She doesn’t accept help the way Kara does. I still help, but it’s not the same. But as soon as the suit is off, you let me feed you and tuck you into bed, so I’ll always resent the suit a bit. Also I’m buying you a new mattress and a bigger TV.”
Kara’s eyes seemed to darken, and Lena had no idea whether that was good or bad, but she certainly found a new aspect of Kara to be obsessed with, whatever this side of her was.
Maybe this was Kara Zor-El after all.
“We can go shopping tomorrow, if you want,” Kara says, less confidently this time, her hand nervously tracing the blonde hairs at the nape of her neck.
Lena holds her breath for a beat, again not believing quite where this conversation has arrived at. This can’t be real, Kara can’t be this good.
“After brunch sounds perfect,” Lena hears herself say on autopilot, automatically scheduling it into their plans. At least some part of her brain is still functioning.
____________________________________________________________________________
The Next Day:
Lena is freaking out. Again. Kara is walking towards her, and usually that means a rush of dopamine, but for today, it’s pure anxiety. Surely Kara would want to forget the whole thing, or had changed her mind last night after she left.
Or maybe she’ll let Lena take her shopping, and then be overwhelmed completely and re-evaluate their friendship.
Lena shakes her head minutely, trying to clear it. She’s spiraling and she hasn’t even said hello yet.
“Lena?” Kara’s smile drops as she gets closer, noticing Lena’s expression.
“Hey Kara!” she says, and it doesn’t sound right, it sounds manic or something, uncomfortable.
Kara sits down, eyes wide, assessing. Not even a full sentence in and she’s bombing this.
“Are you okay?” Kara leans across the table, speaking quietly and taking one of Lena’s hands to stop it from fiddling nervously with her silverware.
Lena nods, “Yeah, just feeling a bit out of sorts, sorry.” She tries to sound more normal. She’s pretty sure that she fails.
“Ohhhh, you’re anxious about our conversation last night, aren’t you?” Kara says, as if she’d simply not thought of the possibility before. Her blue eyes dawn with understanding.
Lena tries to shake her head but Kara raises an eyebrow, daring her to stick with the lie, and Lena allows a tiny, singular nod of assent instead.
The server visits briefly, leaving them with menus and water, which Kara thanks her for.
“You know I’m not going to stop being friends with you if you spend too much money on me, right? I don’t know what kind of experiences you’ve had in the past, but you’re never too much for me, Le,” Lena stares at Kara.
How on earth does she always know what Lena is thinking? Are her facial expression that telling? Do Kryptonians have some sort of telepathic powers? Definitely not, she rules out easily, but it is eerie sometimes how Kara can hear everything she doesn’t say out loud.
“Thank you,” Lena says, letting herself relax into Kara’s presence, squeezing her hand lightly before turning to the menu.
Kara lets her rest in the silence until the server arrives again.
“Mimosas please to start, two orders of the french toast, three eggs benedict, one order of hashbrowns with cheese, and six cinnamon buns,” the server stares at Kara, but begins writing hurriedly.
“What are you getting, Lena?” the server makes a sound of muffled surprise, but since Kara came out to the world, she has the freedom to order as much as she should actually eat for a single meal without risking her secret identity.
Lena orders the first thing she sees. It doesn’t matter, Kara will insist on giving her a bit of nearly everything she ordered.
Lena preens when the mimosas arrive. Kara loves champagne but never drinks it because she says it always seems like a waste on her since human alcohol doesn’t affect her.
“We should have champagne more often,” Kara says, her cheeks slightly pink in the warm light of the cafe, and Lena has never agreed to anything so fast.
“Anything for you, darling,” she responds, sounding very much more like herself than she had a moment before.
Kara beams at her, taking her hand again across the table, and suddenly she’s wondering why she was nervous at all.
____________________________________________________________________________
After Brunch:
“So where do you, you know, shop at?” Lena asks awkwardly as they stand outside the restaurant, wondering where to go next.
Kara shrugs. “Mostly thrift stores, actually. I thought maybe,” she pauses, and Lena gets the feeling she isn’t the only nervous one now. Out of character, but she’ll have to dig into that later.
“You thought?” Lena prods, squeezing Kara’s fingers reassuringly between her own, braver now that she’s not alone in her anxiety. Funny how that works.
“I thought maybe you could show me where you shop instead, your clothes are just so much nicer than mine,” Lena’s not used to hearing statements like this without a jealous or bitter tone accompanying it, but the way Kara says it, it’s reverent.
Kara’s other hand reaches out to tug at the hem of Lena’s “casual” sweater that cost more than Kara made in two months, not that she needed to know that.
Lena had always dressed for function, for the roles she had to fill. And then Kara borrowed one of her sweaters and complained that it wasn’t nearly as soft as her own and suddenly Lena found herself with a collection of the softest fabrics she could find, all so Kara would make that little groan of pleasure when she touched the fabric as they cuddled on movie night.
And if Kara stole one or two sweaters and wore them proudly to their sleepovers, leaving one of her old NCU sweatshirts in its place in Lena’s drawer…well maybe they just weren’t ready to talk about that yet.
“Oh darling, if you’re going to let me buy you designer clothes, my usual just isn’t good enough,” she tuts to herself, mind racing.
Kara’s eyebrows are raised sky high as Lena whips out her phone, holding one finger up in apology for the interruption. “This is Lena Luthor, I’m calling a favor,”
There’s a tone on the other line, followed by a warm, extremely excited greeting.
“Yes, thank you. I’d like to come by right now if possible. No, as much as I appreciate her work, I need one of the partners today. Preferably Elle, I’m willing to pay the rush consultation fee. It’s for a friend,” there’s a pause, and though Lena probably can’t hear the sound in the background, she can, and it sounds like an entire store of people are scrambling as the person on the phone responds very calmly in the affirmative.
Ten minutes later, they arrive at an upscale store with a closed sign across the door. Odd for a saturday, but maybe that’s why Lena had to call in a favor?
Lena gets out of the car behind Kara, taking her hand and stepping lightly down on the sidewalk.
The moment Lena approaches the door, they fly open, and attendants rush towards them to take their jackets and offer them flutes of champagne.
Kara raises an eyebrow but seems mostly amused so far. Lena tries to take it as a good sign and not overthink it too much.
She’s not freaking out yet, so far so good.
“Lena!” Elle appears from the back, dressed in her usual immaculate pink style.
The two women kiss each other's cheeks in greeting, and Kara suddenly doesn’t look very happy at all. Lena steps back to take Kara’s hand and pull her forward.
“Elle, this Kara Zor-El,” she says, pride coloring her tone. “Kara, Elle is my lawyer usually, but she owns this magnificent fashion consulting business on the side.” Kara looks less upset now, but still not as confident as before.
Elle offers a warm hug to Kara, alleviating some of the tension in the way that only pure sunshine personalities can.
“Well Miss Zor-El, you must be pretty spectacular for Lena to call in her favor. She’s had that in her back pocket since she snuck into her mother’s lab to resize my husband’s wedding ring hours before the ceremony,” suddenly Kara beams back at Elle, and her stiffness evaporates, leaving only her usual relaxed appearance.
“Please, call me Kara. I’m happy to meet another of Lena’s friends. She must really like you if she was willing to face Lillian’s wrath on your behalf,” she winks at Lena, who blushes slightly.
The moment doesn’t go unnoticed by Elle, whose eyes sparkle with amusement.
“As if I would allow myself to be caught,” Lena responds, rolling her eyes in jest.
After introductions, they’re led to the showroom.
“Now, where to start…” Elle hums, looking Kara up and down. Kara fidgets under her gaze, but doesn’t seem overly uncomfortable. Lena squeezes her hand reassuringly.
“Do you prefer a more masculine or feminine style? Or a blend?” Kara gapes at her slightly, looking down to Lena with a question she doesn’t know how to ask.
Lena pats her arm, taking the lead as she knows Kara needs.
“Maybe a blend to start? More pants and button downs than dresses or skirts, for practicality, but I want to see options for other things as well. She needs everything, from pajamas to formal wear, shoes too. No stilettos, she hates those, and everything needs to be the softest materials you can possibly acquire. Big pockets, even on skirts or dresses, and everything needs to be functional for not flashing the general public in case she needs to, you know, take off,” Lena mimics Kara’s up up and away motion in explanation.
Kara smiles at Elle, nodding, and Lena feels as if she’s made the correct decision.
“Oh, and some matching jewelry, maybe sapphires, or anything that matches her eyes, you know gems better than I do,” she shrugs.
Elle squeals excitedly. “Oh Lena, if only you’d let me dress you like this too. You know how I love carte blanche approval. I could coordinate outfits for you two that would make Brangelina weep with envy,” she’s already flicking through color samples, pulling out shades of blue and comparing them to Kara’s skin tone.
Kara’s eyes flash with mischief. Oh no. Elle has mistaken them for a couple and whatever joke Kara is about to make is going to send Lena spiraling again.
It’s never a mean joke, just teasing, but it’s never what she expects.
“I don’t know, babe, maybe she’s right,” Kara muses, and Lena can’t control the full flush covering her cheeks at the term of endearment. Where is she going with this?
Elle pauses to listen to Kara too, a happy smirk on her face, obviously finding the situation funny.
“You did call in your favor after all, might as well make the most of it, spoil yourself too,” she winks, and Lena tries to find an excuse to say no. She has plenty of clothes.
She begins to shake her head no, but Kara looks at her with big puppy dog eyes and that ridiculous pout that definitely should not work -
“Okay,” Lena sighs, “You can put the pout away, you know that thing is lethal.”
Kara happy dances in place, and Elle looks at them like she’s the cat who got the cream.
“I get to dress Supercorp,” she says giddily. It only takes a beat before she’s rushing around, grabbing samples of fabrics and measuring tape.
Lena tries her best to ignore the obvious ship name, hoping to not be flushed red sometime in the foreseeable future.
____________________________________________________________________________
Kara could hear the sounds of Alex rummaging around in her apartment before she got to the door.
Not totally out of the ordinary, but not expected today. Weird.
“Hey Alex -” her voice dies as she opens the door and looks around the apartment, where everything that Lena has bought her in the past month is sitting out in her living room.
Alex is carrying an armful of shoes, which she dumps unceremoniously on the couch next to her other new clothes.
“What are you doing with my stuff?!” Kara yells, instantly mad as she views her treasured items so carelessly thrown about.
“What are you doing with, at my last calculation, fifty thousand dollars worth of designer clothes, and don't you tell me you thrifted it all! This is all brand new!” Alex is in full investigation mode and Kara is not having it.
“Why is it any of your business? What gives you the right to dig through my drawers like I’ve done something wrong?” she spits back, hands clenched at her sides.
It’s just stuff, none of it is probably hurt, but she hates seeing it all treated like this. Every item was a gift, something picked out carefully by Lena’s hands and appraised for if she thought it was worthy of Kara.
She didn’t have to earn this. All her life she believed she needed to rise to the occasion, to make herself worthy of even just being alive. It’s why she became Supergirl. She had to prove to herself, and maybe the world too, that she deserved to survive the destruction of her planet.
Otherwise, she was just a mistake, not even able to fulfill the purpose given to her by her parents when she emerged over a decade too late to help raise Kal the way she was meant to.
But now, there’s someone who values just her, not flinching away from either side of her personality, human or Kryptonian and believing both are deserving just by merit of existing.
To be honest, she even ran it by her therapist, and they both agreed that as long as Lena and her relationship was 100% what they wanted, it was fine.
And even though she doesn’t know exactly what they are, she knows Lena enjoys having no boundaries in their generosity to each other as much as Kara does.
So Alex can shove it.
“I’m your sister, Kara, I’m supposed to protect you,” she goes to the old fallback.
“What are you protecting me from? Designer sneakers?” Kara waves one of the shoes from the pile around.
“You don’t have this kind of money. No one we know has this kind of money! Except -”
She stops, eyes wide.
“Kara! You did NOT let Lena buy you all this!” she gestures around the room.
“That wasn’t a question,” Kara snarks back, arms crossed defensively.
“Okay, how about this then. What are you going to do to make this right?” Alex demands, fishing out her phone to pull up a spreadsheet with the items and costs, totaling far less than the actual cost. Elle’s taste isn’t exactly cheap, and everything was tailored to her specifically, or altered so she and Lena could coordinate more easily.
“Well obviously I’m going to wear it. It would be wrong not to,” Kara exclaims exasperatedly.
“This is beyond inappropriate, you have to send it back, and then pay her back. This is wrong, and you should know it,” Alex mimics her frustration back at her. “I can’t believe you let it go on this long!”
I frown at her, not really understanding, tears gathering in my eyes. What is she talking about? Is she opposed to the match?
“It’s only been a month! I was going to tell you at game night,” this time it’s Alex who looks confused.
“What were you going to tell me, exactly?” Alex asks, and they both deflate. They’ve been here before, in this type of situation. Usually if they both feel this confused, the whole thing can be chalked up to Kryptonian-Human translation errors. They have to backtrack.
It feels like the first year Kara spent in the Danvers household all over again, constantly having blow-up arguments that could have all been resolved if not for one miscommunication or another on either side.
It’s hard being an alien sometimes.
“I was going to tell you that Lena asked me out,” Kara grins at Alex now sheepishly.
Alex rubs her forehead. “Okay, first congrats, but how did we get from that as Point A all the way over here to Point Z, you owning a closet full of clothes worth the equivalent of two of my cars?”
Kara shrugs. “Humans like to woo people too…I will admit this is the first time I’ve gotten to be on the receiving end,” Alex hears the “too”. Kara doesn’t talk about Kryptonian customs often. Alex fought against it for so long out of petty teen angst that now Kara still doesn’t. A major regret on her part.
“What would all this have meant in your first home?” Alex’s voice softens, trying to be a good big sister now, not the guard dog she’s used to being.
“I don’t - Just tell me what it means here,” Kara responds, nervous, evasive.
Alex feels so bad now. “I’m sorry Kara, I may have pre-judged harshly. I don’t know Lena’s reasons, I just assumed the worst, which on earth is pity or manipulation. There’s a line for what’s a healthy gift or not, and the line is somewhere before ten thousand dollars, generally.”
Kara frowns. “Pity,” the word tastes like ash in her mouth. “But she said she just likes to take care of me,” Alex looks pitying now.
“Oh honey, she could be telling the truth, I just think you should find out before this goes any further,” Alex says, and Kara nods slightly at that, fear deep in her gut now.
What if she was wrong, about everything?
____________________________________________________________________________
Lena’s used to be nervous for movie nights at Kara’s, but she’s definitely not used to a nervous Kara, much less a sad one.
The clothes are still all over the living room when Lena arrives, and Kara is sitting in the middle of them, looking despondent.
The words of greeting turn to ash in Lena’s mouth.
“You want to return them,” she says, sadness tinging her every syllable.
She’s walked into this scene before. She’s had it all play out before, except Veronica wasn’t nearly as important to her as Kara, even if she’d supposedly been in love with her at the time.
It had also happened with Sam, but that one ended sappily, with new boundaries and a strengthened friendship.
This hurt worse. So much worse. She hadn’t been so extravagant with either of the last examples, why did she think that Kara’s comfort would last under the influence of her absurd need to provide.
Kara’s eyes meet hers, and they both look devastated. Oh no.
Kara isn’t going to end this with new boundaries and a stronger friendship.
“Alex said you pity me,” and the world crashes around Lena, but not in the way she expected at all.
She immediately goes into correction mode, her sadness vanishing in a strong need to comfort her best friend, who was undoubtedly hurting.
“Oh darling no, no, no, never. I know I’m not normal when I act like this, people always take it wrong, don’t want anything to do with me when I relax and act how I want to, it’s always too much - I’m just too much - after a while but I understand if you need me to back off, but I swear on Lucille Ball’s grave it’s never been anything other than genuine. I love taking care of you, and honestly how do you pity someone you practically worship anyways? I’ve never understood that perspective,” she rushes the words out before she can lose her nerve.
She’s not a religious woman, but Lucille was one of the sacred women of Sci-Fi. She was the reason Star Trek ever got a chance to air, triggering a new age in modern media, even if Majel Barrett got shafted and stuck in mini-skirt for the reboot of the Pike Pilot - but she digresses.
Now isn’t the time to debate whether swearing on Lucille Ball’s grave is justified. She might be losing her best friend, her Kara, but her mind is spiraling, grasping onto any thought that will stick for a moment to delay the inevitable pain.
She’s fucked over their relationship before by not saying enough when it mattered. She’s trying so hard to not make the same mistake.
Kara’s eyes harden as she looks at Lena, her cheeks flushing and in a way that makes Lena’s gut feel like a brick, not the usual butterflies from bashfulness-caused pink.
Kara’s mad, or at least miffed, and barely restraining it. Lena’s fucked up again, she panics inwardly. Oh no.
“So you’ve done this with other people?” Kara is masking how mad she is by making it sound like a question instead of an accusation.
She’s too emotional to mask it well, Lena can see the electric blue Kara’s eyes turn when she’s furious even from this distance.
She doesn’t like being so far from Kara.
She takes a step closer, but stops at the warning in Kara’s eyes.
Honesty. This isn’t the time to gloss things over. She needs to lay it all out on the table or she’ll likely never get to be Kara’s person again.
“Veronica and Sam. Veronica left everything I’d ever given her dumped in a box with a note that said I didn’t respect her and didn’t have a girlfriend anymore. She changed her number and didn’t speak to me for ten years. That one hurt,” she swallows hard, urging herself to continue. This is too important, “Sam just told me to return her birthday gift and gave me a price limit on what I’m allowed to purchase for her or Ruby,” Lena summarizes quickly. The next words aren’t planned, “I’d prefer if you took Sam’s route rather than Veronica’s, I don’t want to lose you. Please.”
Kara is beside her in an instant, and Lena gasps at the contact of Kara’s arms around her.
“Le, I could never do that to you, with or without all this.I think we need to talk about whatever this means, before we misunderstand each other more,” Kara says, and this time her voice is soft, and her eyes tired and heavy.
Lena assents, sighing as she sinks into the couch, and into the Kryptonian’s side.
“What do you want to know,” Lena asks, and it feels desperate, like she might tell Kara anything, not just what’s related to their situation.
The TV looms before them, mocking them with movies they might have watched if things had gone differently.
“Honestly, I’m not sure. This isn’t something I’ve ever encountered before. On Krypton, it would have all made sense,” Lena holds her breath, silently tugging Kara to the floor (the couch is still covered in clothes and she’d rather not sit amongst it all right now) and taking her hand, their fingers interlocking on instinct.
Okay, so maybe things aren’t totally broken yet. There’s hope.
Kara exhales a shuddery breath. “I’ve spent years training myself to not react to things in the Kryptonian way, but it’s hard, Le. I was raised with absurdly different ideas of such simple things, like table manners or appropriate compliments, how to make friends, or court someone -” it’s obvious she didn’t mean to say the last one, judging by the pink on her cheeks.
Smart as she is, Lena can’t understand where this is going, how it all relates.
“What would this type of gift giving mean on Krypton?” she asks softly, and Kara avoids her eyes as she continues.
“The hierarchy on Krypton was very defined. You always knew where you stood in society. If two people wanted to start a relationship, it was on the greater of the two houses to begin the wooing process. The greater the house, the greater the wooing. Eventually, they’d either dissolve the bond with a contractual parting or proceed to marital discussions under the observation of a judge like my mother,” Lena flushes steadily redder as Kara explains.
Oh. Oh.
Lena raises her free hand to her mouth, covering the slight tremble of her lip. Kara looks at her now, and she looks just as embarrassed as Lena feels.
“I know you didn’t intend any of that but it felt so much like what I’d daydreamed about as a kid, what I imagined the future to be like, I just didn’t want to lose that. I’d given up hope of ever having a Kryptonian style romance when Alex first explained the differences to me,” Kara admits, and it’s obvious she’s worried about the backlash.
“Oh Kara, if I’d known -” Lena starts, not sure what the next words out of her mouth would have been if she wasn’t interrupted.
“I know, I know, you wouldn’t have done it,” Kara bites her lip anxiously. “Alex was here when I got here today. She dragged everything you’ve given me out here and confronted me. I was so mad, but then she said that all of this was because you pity me and I have to give it back to retain my dignity or something like that, and I know now that’s not why, but I also feel guilty because I’ve been selfishly letting it go on knowing it doesn’t mean what I wish it did,” he rants, and Lena’s heart breaks on her behalf.
“Kara,” Lena starts again, pulling her hand from Kara’s death grip slowly and bringing her hands to the blonde’s face, framing the beautiful blue eyes so they can’t look anywhere but back at her.
“If I had known, then I would have done it anyway. I want to give you everything. You deserve everything you dreamt of, even as a child. If I’d thought I could have even a tiny chance at you wanting to be with me, in any capacity, I would have taken it.”
Kara isn’t breathing. Lena isn’t strictly sure if she has to, honestly.
Lena should be freaking out, spiraling, but she’s not. Kara’s in pain, there’s no time for her own worries.
“You would do that for me?” she asks, breathy.
Lena looks at her chastisingly, “You should know by now I have no boundaries for what I’m willing to do for you. Courting you isn’t exactly a favor, either. I’m getting everything I ever wanted all at once. It’s practically selfish.”
Kara’s eyes are wider than Lena has ever seen. She drops her hands, fiddling with her nails nervously now. There’s the anxiety she was missing.
“Le,” Kara says, and the reverent tone of voice makes Lena’s stomach fill with butterflies.
“Yes?” she squeaks back.
Kara grins, the last of her upset being replaced by excitement. For what, Lena’s not completely sure of.
“So if I were to put all of this back where it belongs in my room and pretend that it was never wrongfully taken in the first place…”
Lena grins. “I would like that. In fact, I’d say it warrants putting on one of those outfits and letting me take you out for dinner,” her eyes blaze with hope, and Kara echoes it.
“And if I were to tell you about the rest of the courting rituals while we’re at dinner…” Kara asks, trailing off again.
“Then I would have to order some of your favorite champagne to go with dessert because I have a feeling we won’t want to leave for a while. I have a lot of questions.”
____________________________________________________________________________
Lena Luthor was normally a composed individual. People feared her, even. To be fair, a lot of people, and with good reason.
She was known to be a shark in the boardroom, a force to be reckoned with. She had a reputation.
All that flew out the window any time a certain Super flew in. Kara relished it.
It didn’t help that the Kryptonian in question had begun appearing at missions in a variety of supersuits, all providing 360 protection and advanced shields against kryptonite. The sight of Kara dressed head to toe in her own designs did something to her, not just something she’d purchased, but something she’d created from the idea to execution.
Alex asked questions but didn’t receive any satisfactory answers.
Lena saw the frustration first hand.
____________________________________________________________________________
Game Night, Last Week:
“Kara, what are you wearing?” Sam asked, placing her wine down on the counter to circle Kara.
“What do you mean? It’s just jeans and a shirt?" Kara replied, confused. Lena flushed in the background, knowing where this was going.
Sam narrowed her eyes. “Uh-huh, and where did you get this extremely casual ensemble?”
Kara flushed now and shrugged. “The store probably, I don’t know,” she spluttered, shrugging gratuitously, revealing her obvious nervousness.
Sam smirked, knowing she’d won now. She observed Lena squirming in her seat and her look went from smug to victorious.
“Lena bought Kara a ten thousand dollar outfit!” she shrieks despite Lena’s nonverbal pleas for silence.
That immediately attracts the attention of the others, who’d been busy debating the merits of Sims vs. Stardew. They watch with rapt attention, curious.
“WHAT?” Alex shrieks, her mouth a perfect “o” of surprise. She doesn’t sound mad though. Just shocked and extremely confused.
Lena shrugs, antsy with everyone in the room’s eyes on her now. Alex seems a split second away from an aneurysm.
Sam shouts, “Those shoes are custom made!”
Alex looks between the two of them, trying to figure out what exactly she should be mad about, if anything. Her instincts tell her yes, but more evidence is needed as to what.
“Kara likes soft fabrics,” she feigns composure, examining her nails.
Sam smirks, “So what, you had the softest shirts and shoes and pants possible handmade for her? Seems logical.”
Lena sends her a glare that would silence most people. Unfortunately Sam is immune to her glares unlike the vast majority of humanity.
“Fine, so it was expensive, it was worth it,” Lena says, crossing her legs imperiously and taking a sip of her wine.
“Why, exactly was it worth it,” Alex asks, several steps beyond being confused at this point.
Kara steps in then, sensing Lena’s mounting panic. “Guys, back off Lena. She did something nice, and they are literally the softest shirts I’ve ever touched in my life so leave her be,” she moves as she talks until she’s positioned beside Lena, but slightly in front of her.
Lena can feel the horrible blush in her cheeks. She must look like she has a fever by this point.
Alex tilts her head, looking at them like she does puzzles. Or suspects.
They both see it when the lightbulb goes off. “Sugar daddy,” she gasps accusatively, pointing a finger at Lena.
Kara gasps too, offended.
“She is not -” and then she freezes, staring back at Lena momentarily with her own question in her eyes. Lena’s heartbeat is through the roof.
“Actually,” Kara says, thoughtfully, again, not upset.
The room pauses in shock. Where’s bashful Kara now?
“Kara, I am not -!” Lena chastises, not able to find any words to defend herself.
Kara grins at her now, and there it is, Kara Zor-El, back in action, eyes dark and stature confident. Lena halts, looking anywhere but at Lena. Or anyone else, really. The ceiling is suddenly very interesting, in fact. “You do technically fit the definition,” Winn says sagely in the background, obviously enjoying the show.
“Does this mean I have to call you daddy now?” Lena’s eyes snap back to Kara in shock as Winn guffaws in the background nearly wheezing with laughter, and James makes a strangled sounding noise. Alex looks like she might vomit. Everyone else just wears expressions of surprise or humor, but not quite as dramatic.
Kelly looks completely unsurprised, to be fair, just casually sipping her wine and patting Alex’s arm comfortingly.
“What the fuck is going on!” Alex shrieks, and unlike Kara, she most definitely is upset.
“Come on Alex, you can’t be that surprised. I mean, other than Kara suddenly knowing how to flirt, that did come out of left field,” Winn grins at Kara, shooting her a double thumbs-up, which she returns immediately.
Alex splutters.
“My sister is Lena Luthor’s sugar baby, and you’re not surprised?” Her voice goes up an octave on the last word.
Winn shrugs. Alex looks to Kelly, who also shrugs, happy to let Alex spiral for a while longer before stepping in to calm her down.
“You know that’s not normal, right?” The judgment in James’s voice is evident. Alex seems to echo the sentiment.
“I need to go,” Lena says suddenly, remembering that she’s the butt of this joke, hurt filling her as Kara joins in on the ribbing. She shouldn’t be this upset but it’s just so overwhelming and embarrassing and she feels every bit the Luthor she unfortunately is, can never seem to shake.
She’s out the door before Kara realizes what’s happening. Lena flinches as she hears Kara’s voice raise inside, no happiness left in it.
She’s already moving away, unable to hear the specifics, not wanting to. She wipes angry tears from her eyes, beyond upset at herself for allowing this to happen. Everything’s ruined again.
The elevator settles on the ground floor and she puts on her best boardroom face before the doors slide open.
When she steps out of the elevator, Kara is already waiting for her in the lobby with big sad eyes, probably having super sped down the stairs after her.
“It’s okay, Kara, I know what you’re going to say, you can return my credit card at lunch tomorrow if you want,” Lena swallows, trying desperately to not betray her heartbreak.
Kara frowns now, her expression shifting to one of hurt for a moment. “That is not what I was going to say, first of all. It’s starting to seem like you’re really bad at guessing. Second, do you want me to return it? I really liked how things were going, and you seemed to too, I’m really sorry about Alex and James, Kelly was chewing them out after I did, and I totally understand if you want to be alone now and I’ll even return some of the stuff to the stores if you want, not the shirts obviously, since I know they’re not returnable, and I really really don’t want to, honestly,” Kara rambles until she realizes how long she’s been talking.
Lena is chewing her lip again. Why is it that Kara brings out all the bits of her that she’s trained herself out of?
“Can I buy you an apartment?” she says, and good lord, where the hell did that come from.
Kara stares at her now. If her fate wasn’t sealed before, it probably is now. That’s got to be an insane offer, even by their weird relationship standards.
And then Kara is hugging her, and Lena has never felt so warm. Her feet are actually off the ground as Kara hovers midair, her strong arms wrapped around her.
“Kelly will lock up, let me fly us back to your place and we can order takeout and look through listings,” she’s practically vibrating with energy as she waits for Lena’s permission.
Fifteen minutes later (Kara seemed to want to enjoy the night air a bit, carrying Lena in her arms bridal style at a bit more slow of a pace than normal) Lena found herself on her couch, already pulling out her laptop to look up listings.
Kara was in the kitchen, raiding her cabinets for wine, a bottle for Lena and a bottle of the nice alien wine for herself. A second later she heard the familiar sounds of Kara reading out their absurdly long usual Chinese food order.
Lena hummed happily to herself, still not quite believing what was happening, but refusing to do anything to sabotage the sheer happiness of the moment.
Kara accepted her.
The thought played over and over in her head, feeling brighter and warmer every time. Kara liked her, even when she wasn’t holding herself back or trying to mask. It didn’t make sense, but it didn’t have to.
For once, Lena was truly happy, and she wanted that to last as long as possible.
____________________________________________________________________________
Lena was sweating nervously in her seat as she waited for the sounds of Kara’s arrival.
Today is the day, and Kara doesn’t know it yet. Lena looks down at her list again, going through the plan in her mind.
Gifts.
Exchanging of intentions. (Apparently the conversation they’d had after the “Alex Incident” counted.
Hand-feeding of a homemade meal hosted in the home of the one proposing.
A ritual to close themselves off from all others, unless they choose to dissolve the union.
The hand-making of a bracelet meant to be worn after the acceptance (this step can take place at any time in the year following the meal.)
Presenting the bracelet to the family of the beloved to be blessed.
Shared feast.
Exchanging of bracelets, marriage. Feast.
Lena can’t really look at the last step too much without feeling giddy.
Honestly, she may have had more luck dating if Earth worked the way Krypton did.
Kara bursts in the front door, her nose in the air, sniffing the air. “Something smells amazing,” she says before stooping to wrap Lena in her arms. “Did you order in from somewhere new?” she asks, and Lena shakes her head.
Kara, undoubtedly impatient to eat, pulls her by the hand to the kitchen.
She stops when she sees the table, set with two plates and two flutes of Kara’s favorite champagne. Lena swears she uses superspeed with how quickly she looks between Lena and the table.
Lena flushes red, sheepish.
When she finally has the guts to look at Kara, she’s staring back at her, blue eyes welling with tears.
“You cooked for me?” she asks in a watery voice.
Lena nods, moving to uncover the serving dish (more like a platter, she was cooking for a Kryptonian after all) and reveal the carefully crafted meal.
Kara seemed to snap back into reality, because she excitedly squeals and zooms into her seat, suddenly sitting primly, hands in her lap, eyes gazing adoringly at Lena.
“I figured that I would feed you the first plate for the custom and then let you eat everything else at your normal speed if that’s alright? We might be here for hours otherwise, but if it doesn’t satisfy the ritual, then I’m happy to do it anyways,” she waits for Kara’s answer as she carefully moves a tenderloin steak onto Kara’s plate, followed by a lobster tail and a healthy portion of mashed potatoes. There are even rolls. She had to watch a lot of Gordon Ramsay to get this all correct.
She might have had to take the whole day off to work on it, but it was worth it for the look in Kara’s eyes as she replies, “That’s perfect, so thoughtful.” She still seems too stunned for conversation.
Lena sits close to Kara, preparing her first bite of lobster. Kara moans in ecstasy when the meat hits her palate, and Lena preens.
They’ve fed each other bites of things before but never like this. Never so…intimate. Lena almost drops her fork when she feels Kara’s hand on her thigh, caressing lovingly. There’s a heavy look between them as Lena feeds her the next bite.
They don’t talk much at all until after the last bite of the almond cake slice. If Lena chose the flavor after staring at the last item on the list too long, so be it. Wedding cake is delicious, it shouldn’t be reserved for only one type of occasion.
“Le,” Kara says warmly, and Lena wonders if she’s ever heard the Kryptonian so soft.
Apparently she’s done this right, and her heart soars.
Kara leans over, and for a moment, Lena thinks she’s going to finally get a kiss before Kara pulls her out of her chair and pulls her onto her lap instead.
Kara doesn’t use superspeed to serve Lena a portion of lobster, cutting the bite with great care. This isn’t a part of the ritual, according to her meticulously kept notes.
This is just because Kara wants to.
“Le, you’re so perfect,” Kara says.
____________________________________________________________________________
Lena’s real estate agent had never been so thrilled. Usually Lena’s requests were for functionality alone, security and privacy paramount, and always located as close to whatever office she had at the time.
They always provided her with perfectly suitable living spaces, if a bit more luxurious than she intended, but limiting sniper angles was a legitimate concern, so penthouse apartments tended to be a good option…as long as she also bought every apartment with a view of her balcony and windows.
The only luxury she required, really, was an Nth metal balcony, which she had built after the fact anyways.
She was an excellent customer, if a boring one.
Not today though.
Today, she was shopping like a billionaire.
“Full spa, enormous floor to ceiling windows - I’m serious, the views have to be outstanding, full wraparound balcony built of Nth metal,” a pause as she listened to the agent on the line. “Yes, that will have to custom anywhere we look at, but I already have a contractor, you’ll just have to coordinate -”
It went on like that for a while as Kara lay happily on the couch, her head in Lena’s lap as Lena uses the hand not holding her cell phone to comb through Kara’s hair.
Kara’s chest rumbles softly, almost like a purr, and Lena has to stop herself from reacting so Kara won’t stop whatever she’s doing. Lena needs more time to gather information.
When Lena is done, the realtor swears to find a place that would make the Ritz look like a cheap condo.
Kara opens her eyes lazily and rolls over halfway to look at Lena more easily. “We should live together,” she says, as if it’s the most natural thing in the world, and not the most incredible thing Lena has ever heard.
“Why?” Lena rasps, her voice so quiet that without superhearing it might not have been audible. Every bit of moisture in her mouth has seemed to evaporate simultaneously.
Kara licks her lip, eyes tracing up and down Lena’s face in unmasked admiration.
“You constantly underestimate how much I enjoy being with you,” Kara says, sitting up slowly and pulling Lena into her lap instead, so Lena is straddling her, making the brunette gasp as Kara settles her hands on Lena’s thighs appreciatively.
Lena has all the time in the world to refuse the new closeness, but Kara knows that she won’t, that she wants anything Kara will give her. She knows her face is broadcasting all of that want loud and clear, and she can’t be arsed to school her features.
She has more interesting things to worry about, like the spicy scent of Kara’s cologne mixing with the honeyed scent of her hair. Lena would know, she had both of those custom made especially for Kara. Only the best for her, after all. God, Lena had it bad.
“We can live anywhere, I can fly you to work every day, or you could work out of the office only a couple days a week and have a lab at home for your R&D days…We could have a house, with a yard and a dog and everything. I don’t really want the palace you described on the phone if I have to wake up every day alone in it,” she says softly, and I know she must have thought about this a lot. She’s not rambling. She’s making a case.
She’s also not playing fair. She knows Lena can’t resist giving her what she wants, even if it wasn’t exactly what she would have dreamed for herself, if she’s been creative enough to think it up herself.
Creativity wasn’t her strong point. Planning was, and that part of her brain started to fire off rapidly,
“I need to call the realtor again, we need to adjust the search parameters to include everywhere,” she said breathlessly, Kara beaming at her easy acceptance and goodness, there’s nothing better than causing that radiance.
____________________________________________________________________________
If Lena thought the realtor was excited before, he was ecstatic now.
Kara echoed the sentiment, bouncing happily in her new bright blue sneakers, radiating sheer energy that was undoubtedly infectious.
“I think you’ll be pleased with how it came out,” he gestures to the house. “The doors are already unlocked for you, let me know if we need to make any alterations.” By now, he knows Lena’s process and dutifully shakes her hand and leaves, nothing else said while she goes in to explore alone. She never needs a guide, since her eidetic memory provides the house blueprint to her perfectly after viewing the information once.
“Ready?” Kara says happily, and Lena nods. Kara hovers a foot off the ground, the realtor staring at her in amazement as she super speeds around Lena, suddenly lifting her bridal style into her arms and speeding them over the threshold as Lena laughs in surprise.
Kara sets her down gently once the door is closed behind her but keeps a hand on Lena’s waist. The touches have only increased lately, and Lena relishes it, strange as it may be. She’s never had someone be so genuinely and constantly affectionate.
“Wow,” Kara says, looking around the entranceway. Lena finally drags her eyes off of Kara and looks around for herself.
The house is just right. He’d done it again.
It was only an hour away from National City, so their friends could still visit often, but the altered historical house was set apart from civilization in a way that Lena found herself really liking. There was a sprawling garden outside the oddly shaped, rounded windows. There were stained glass triangles composed of dozens of shades of orangish yellow, surrounding the largest center window, making it resemble a beautifully done glowing sun.
It bathed the room in warm light, echoing the feeling of the inside of the house.
The central room was open, the ceilings three stories above them, with matching stained glass forming a skylight.
Tall bookshelves towered welcomingly against the walls, feeling very much like a beauty and the beast style library with a tall rolling ladder available. The main difference being that everything here was bright and alive.
There were plants hanging from the underside of the tall staircase leading up to a small platform and set of double-doors that would lead to the requested balcony.
The kitchen was enormous, with a custom walk-in fridge and pantry (all stocked to her specifications, of course), and a giant white marble island with barstools on the side facing the living area.
The sectional was plush and set up for game nights, movie nights, anything and everything that Kara wanted to invite here, to fill their house with family and warmth.
Their house.
“I love you,” Lena blurts out, and Kara pulls her close again, not hesitating for a moment.
Her hands rest heavily on Lena’s waist as they have so many times just this week.
They don’t feel any lighter than they did any of those times. She can feel every infinitesimal press of Kara’s hands against her.
“I love you too, Daddy,” and then she fucking winks, and a nervous giggle bubbles out of Lena unbidden.
“Kara -” She starts to roll her eyes at Kara but is cut off with a kiss.
Not just any fucking kiss, Lena thinks to herself. This isn’t the shy Kara Danvers she met years ago, or the icon who’s saved her life time and time again. This is Kara Zor-El, no walls left between them, finally allowed to have everything she wants. Everything Lena can give her.
Lena lets herself be devoured, melting into Kara’s ministrations as she moves from Lena’s mouth to her neck, apparently intent on marking her up for all to see. This Kara is possessive. Worshipful, even, moaning as if the taste of Lena is the only thing that matters in the universe.
Lena thought getting to take care of Kara was fulfilling, but having equal return? Seeing the adoration in Kara’s eyes? The hunger? It’s everything.
Kara moves like a woman possessed, backing her into the couch, their couch, Lena amends mentally, taking complete control.
There’s a weird balance now that Lena never imagined possible. She had to maintain control in every aspect of her life, and Kara was offering her the ability to let go for a bit.
Kara had always known that’s what she needed, didn’t she? It’s what Kara needed too, but not in the same ways.
She needed to not worry about all the human trivialities, so she could allow herself to be Kryptonian, even if she still had to take up the mantle of humanity in the public eye.
Here, they can both be themselves. No more walls. Lena can be soft, unguarded, every bit as loving and affectionate as she wants to be. When Kara looks at her, Lena knows she sees what no one else is allowed to.
Here, in their home, with only Lena to look at her, Kara was allowed to be herself too, every bit the Kryptonian goddess contained in her multitudes.
And Lena never wanted to look away.