Chapter Text
Lena woke up to an empty and cold bed. The sun was barely rising. She frowned and looked around. Kara wasn’t in the bathroom. Lena slung her legs on the side of her bed and got up. She wrapped herself in her dark green silk dressing gown and exited the bedroom. She found Kara right away, sitting on the couch with Lena’s laptop on her lap. From what Lena could see she was watching a video on youtube. Her normal hearing should have picked up on the door opening but since she hadn’t moved, Lena deduced she was wearing earbuds.
“Darling?”
Kara jumped slightly and unplugged the earbud from her left ear as she turned around to look at Lena.
“Hi.” She said happily.
She proceeded to take off the second earbud and close the laptop that she put on the coffee table along with the earbuds. As she straightened up and leaned back on the couch, Lena bent over, slid her arms around Kara’s neck and kissed her cheek. Kara smiled. When Lena pulled back a little to look at her, Kara tilted her head backwards and pressed her lips in a kissing motion. Lena leaned in and kissed her on the lips this time.
“Come sit with me?” Kara asked.
Lena rounded the couch and snuggled immediately into Kara’s opened arms.
“Why did you get up?” Lena asked.
“I woke up around five because I needed to use the bathroom and when I was done I wasn’t sleepy anymore. I still tried to come back to bed, I even snuggled against you and you sort of purred in your sleep. Which was honestly the sweetest thing. But after half an hour, I still couldn’t sleep so I gave up and got up.”
Lena studied her carefully, looking for a trace of concealed discomfort. As she found none she asked.
“How are you feeling?”
“Good.”
“Did you rest well enough?”
“Yes. I’ll probably be sleepy a little earlier than usual later in the day from lack of sufficient sleep, but I rested. I was so relaxed last night after our fantastic time together that I slept soundly until I opened my eyes.”
Lena smiled at the memory of the time they’d shared the night before.
“Last night really was fantastic for me. I mean, you were so passionate, so sensual, I'm losing my mind again simply remembering how intensely you held me. But how was it for you?”
“Like I said, fantastic. I was able to feel you, smell your perfume…taste you.” She added with a whimsical smile. “As I traced every inch of you I reconnected with you almost as if my powers were back. And that was perfect because you were there in my arms and I felt all of it, all of you!”
“So, all good?” Lena checked.
“I just told you. It was perfect. I mean it. Last night we made love. It was passionate, and intense and it meant so much because it was love. Pure and unadulterated love.”
Lena’s heart beat so fast it probably skipped three beats. She leaned in and kissed Kara with all the love she could muster. Kara reacted in kind. She wrapped her arms tightly around Lena’s back and deepened the kiss. Like it often happened when they kissed, the world dissolved around them. Minutes passed and the kiss got more intense. One of Kara’s hands slid across Lena’s back, gripped her butt cheek possessively before sliding on her thigh. Lena moaned when Kara sensually but firmly pulled her thigh up against her side. They were brutally brought back to reality when Kara’s alarm went off in the bedroom.
They groaned at the interruption and it made them chuckle. Time to get ready. Kara pulled off slowly, pecking Lena’s lips with feather-light kisses.
“Hold that thought for tonight after the restaurant.” She said.
She pecked Lena’s lips a few more times, then detangled herself from the embrace and ran in the bedroom to turn the alarm off. Lena sighed half contentedly, half frustrated at having been interrupted and lay on the couch.
“Will you join me for breakfast?” Kara asked as she came back to the living room. “I have a lot to tell you about yesterday.”
Lena looked up lazily. Kara looked kind of serious and Lena forgot about being lazy and got up. Through breakfast and as she was taking a shower, Kara recounted everything she hadn't been able to tell Lena yet. Her power surges (Lena was moved to know Kara’s powers were reactivating for her specifically), Cat’s reason for making an entrance at Catco, she avoided mentioning Lex because this was a discussion that required a lot more time than she currently had, but concluded with what was happening with William.
“I can tell you one thing,” Lena said, “This guy won’t know what hit him.”
“Well, Andrea seemed pretty pissed.”
“I bet she was more than that. He doesn’t know what monster he just unleashed on himself. Remember when I told you she was asking if he’d been harassing you?”
“Yeah.”
“Andrea had decided to not renew his contract because his articles were lackluster and he’s an expensive employee. She told me she’d be all the happier to let go of him if, to top it all off, he was harassing you. So he was losing his job anyway. But now that she has confirmation that he’s a douche, and that he is questioning her integrity, he’s done for.”
“Technically, he was questioning my integrity.” Kara said as she pulled her top down.
“He accused you of sleeping with her to get promoted, her integrity is also at stake. Andrea can be incredibly kind, but she’s also ruthless. She’s going to destroy him for this. Not only is he leaving Catco, but she’s going to blacklist him everywhere she can. She’s no Cat Grant in the media world but Andrea still has a lot of contacts and cards up her sleeve. He’d better pack and go back to Europe because I don’t see him working as a reporter here anytime soon.”
“You really think she’d do that?”
“Kara, when she took over Catco she reworked all your contracts so none of you could quit and go work for any competitors in the city. She made a power move before she even knew any of you. How do you think she will react when this guy is basically spreading a defamatory rumor about her?”
“Yeah… In this case I guess she’s gonna be mean.”
“Savage is more like it.”
“I’ll let you know how that unfolds. Oh, by the way, what did Andrea want from you yesterday?”
“Oh, that.” Lena chuckled. “She wants to feature me in the next special issue.”
“I promised her I would be in it too. Supergirl I mean. Which reminds me I should call her soon as Supergirl to set a date and a theme.”
“I haven’t yet agreed to be in it.” Lena reminded her. “I’m not working for LuthorCorp anymore, and while what I do now is important, it’s also very much a secret. At least as long as we’re afraid to catch Lex’s attention. This secrecy became blatantly obvious last night with Cat.”
“You’re right…I hate that for you. You’re saving the world every day and you can’t tell anyone. When you were still part of the family company, you could at least show the world you were actively working with Supergirl.”
Lena nodded.
“I guess it would be easier if Supergirl was superheroing,” Kara added “but currently saying you’re working with Supergirl makes no sense at all outside our little group. We have to come up with a story, something you can tell the world.”
“I know. What’s crazy is that before last night, it didn’t even occur to me that I would need a story. Andrea knows what I do, and she also knows it’s a secret so no problem there. But speaking with Cat highlighted the problem.”
“How did it not occur to us sooner that you needed a story?”
“Because I haven’t had any public life for half a year now, since the moment you were sent to the phantom zone. I left LuthorCorp soon after and started working with the group right away and have stayed in this bubble since. I met your other superfriends, and was made aware of the Legends but these people are an extension of our supergroup. Cat was the first outsider I had to talk to.”
Lena paused. Kara sighed as she finished tying the shoelaces on her ankle boots.
“We’ll come up with something. Let the world know how awesome you and your work are. Now, how do I look?”
Lena studied her, even going as far as to circle around Kara to study her closely on every angle.
“These pants are a little tight now, but it makes your ass look amazing.”
Kara grinned.
“It’s good that we bought new jeans, all my old ones do feel a little tight now that I’m more muscular.”
“Are you still comfortable though? I’m sorry I forgot to go to the Loft to bring you your new stuff.”
“Hey it's ok you had a busy day. And yes, I can still move just fine. But I feel the jeans are a little more snug.”
“They do hug you in all the right places.” Lena added dreamily.
Kara chuckled as she shook her head affectionately.
____
Kara had just sat back down at her desk with her lunch when her phone rang. Barry’s smiling face appeared on screen and Kara beamed.
“Hi Barry!” She said enthusiastically.
“Hi Kara. I hope I’m not disturbing you during work.”
“It’s lunch time, you couldn’t have chosen a better moment.”
“Cool. How are you?”
“Good. A little cold so I’m having lunch at my desk. How are you?”
“Also good. And not too busy lately which is nice. That’s actually why I’m calling you. Iris and I can come tomorrow for karaoke night.”
“Ooohhh that’s amazing!! Will you be staying the night as well?”
“Only if it’s not too much trouble for you and Lena.”
“It’s no trouble at all, I wouldn’t have suggested it otherwise. I’m so happy!”
“Me too! Iris is also very excited to see you and to meet Lena.”
“I’m excited to see her too. Lena’s gonna be happy to see you both. I’ll text you the address so we can meet at Lena’s to drop off your bags before we go to the bar.”
“Alright. I can’t wait.”
“Me neither.”
After they hung up, Kara called Lena.
“Wait. They’re staying over?!” Lena exclaimed when Kara told her everything.
“You said it was ok when I sent the message to Barry.” Kara reminded her
“Yeah, but I’d forgotten. We need to deep clean the apartment tomorrow.”
“Ok, like we do every week.”
“When it’s just us it’s one thing, when we have guests it needs to be much cleaner.”
“Ooookaaaayy. Still, no need to get stressed, we’ll do it.”
“We also need to go grocery shopping! We can’t have guests with half empty cupboards.”
“We’ll do that too.”
“I’m not sure we’ll have time to do everything. I’ll probably need to hire people to clean the house today.” Lena said at twice her normal speed.
“Lena!” Kara exclaimed. Lena stopped talking. “We’ll do it all tomorrow. I promise we’ll have time.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, baby. Relax.”
“I don’t have guests shower towels.” Lena blurted out. “I need to buy a set. Or maybe two”
Oh Rao, she's panicking, Kara thought. “Lena, you have spare shower towels.”
“They’re ours. I need another set for guests. Or maybe two sets to give them a choice.” Lena said quickly. “What color should I get?”
“I don’t know…sky blue?” Kara suggested, knowing it was a mistake the moment the words left her mouth.
“They wouldn’t match anything in the apartment.”
“Ok, I sort of expected that…then…hum…choose whatever color matches the apartment?”
“This is not very helpful.” Lena retorted. “See, we won’t have time to do it all, it just keeps piling up and…”
“Lena, love! Why are you spiraling?”
“I’m not spiraling, I’m statting facts and you’re not helping.”
“Ok. Ok. Can you do something for me?”
“Anything.”
“Breathe.”
Lena paused and did as she was told.
“Sweety, if having Barry and Iris staying with us is too much, I can tell Barry and they’ll simply go home after the night out.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, we’ve invited them now it’s too late. Now we need a plan to make it work.”
“Alright…um…Are you busy this afternoon?” Kara asked.
“Not particularly, no. Why?”
“How about you make a list with everything we need for the guests and go shopping?”
“By myself?”
“Do you prefer to shop online?”
“No I…I was hoping we could go together.”
“I have a lot of work today, I can’t leave earlier than scheduled. How about you ask my parents to join you? I think my mom is only teaching one class this afternoon. I’m sure they’d love to help any way they can.”
“I guess I could ask them. We’ve never had them for dinner in my apartment, isn’t it rude to ask them for help when we’re hosting other people?”
“We invited them to stay over for dinner a while ago when they brought my phone I had forgotten at the Tower, but they refused.”
“You were yawning so hard you made your eyes water when we asked them. They refused because they knew you needed rest.”
“If you want to go shopping with them, leave my parents to me, and we’ll deal with politeness later.”
“I don’t want to hurt their feelings but I’d like to have them tag along.”
“Ok, you make your list, I’ll call them. I’m sure they’ll be on board when you ask them.”
“Alright.”
“Lena, one more thing. We’re only hosting Barry and Iris for one night, they won’t need more than one set of towels. When you make your list, don’t write 2 sets. One will do.”
“I shouldn’t give them a choice?”
“Even five star hotels don’t give a choice of towels.” Kara said with a smile.
“You’re not wrong…”
“So can I trust that you won’t go crazy when you go shopping?”
“I don’t get crazy when I shop.”
“Our recent shopping sessions contradict this statement, love.”
Lena let out a bunch of incomprehensible sounds that imitated Kara’s sentence in a mocking way.
“Alright, I’ll be good.”
“Great. I need to go, talk to you later, ok?”
“Ok.”
“Can’t wait for us to go to the restaurant tonight.”
“Me too darling.”
“I’ll meet you at the Penthouse later, ok?”
“Alright. See you later. I love you.”
“I love you too.” Kara answered.
Kara hung up, took a breath and stared at her phone for a second. They would need to have a serious discussion about Lena’s stress response to having guests at the penthouse. But that was a problem for later. She pressed a few keys on the screen and put the phone against her ear.
“Hi mom. Can I disturb you for a sec? Great. Listen, I need a favor.”
____
Kara and Andrea hadn’t crossed paths all day, Andrea had been too busy to walk back and forth in the bullpen. She’d sent Kara her feedback on her article and Kara had sent her the revised version. Around five o’clock, Andrea called her into her office.
“I just wanted to let you know that our complaints about William have been submitted. He was ordered to not address you until further notice. If he does, please let me know. A person from HR has been asking around for witnesses. They might call you in at one point for further information.”
“Alright. Thank you for letting me know. Oh by the way, I managed to talk to Supergirl. She will stand by her promise to be featured in the special fall issue. She’s unavailable for a few days, but she’ll call you either on Monday or Tuesday to make arrangements.”
“That’s fantastic news. I can’t wait to hear from her.”
“She seemed excited too.” It wasn’t even a lie, they’d discussed the possible types of interviews this morning during a staff meeting and Kara had a few ideas. Andrea would have to review and approve the list that had been submitted to her, but there was room for something interesting. Kara wasn’t usually excited for Supergirl interviews but she was fairly sure Andrea would agree to her terms and they could work together nicely.
“Do you know if Supergirl would allow us to take pictures of her this time? And also maybe film her? I took a quick look at the list of ideas you all submitted to me earlier, and there are some interesting video and photoshoot ideas in there.”
“I’m not sure about videos, you’ll have to ask her. I don’t think she’ll be opposed to a photoshoot as long as it’s respectful of her values. What do you have in mind?”
“Nothing specific yet, but as you know we usually work with fashion brands for our photoshoots, I’m sure they’d all come running to design a suit for Supergirl. Not an actual suit, just something she could wear for the photoshoot.”
“Hm…I think if you want to ask her that, you need to show her designs.”
“That’s a good idea. Any suggestions? Or things that should be avoided?”
“Don’t let the designers draw something too out there. Keep the designs simple.”
“Alright. Thank you. I’ll review the ideas before Monday and make my own list of things I’d like to ask her. And I’ll put some designers to work so hopefully when she calls I can show her costume designs.”
Kara smiled and nodded.
____
“So how did my mom and dad do in the store with you?” Kara asked Lena.
They were getting ready for their date night at the restaurant. Kara was getting dressed in the bedroom and Lena was doing her makeup in the adjacent bathroom.
“Eliza was very helpful. She also made sure I’d stick to my promise to only buy one set. Zor-El was ecstatic. He loved the idea of having guests specific towels and bedsheets. The apple didn’t fall too far from the tree though, he kept gravitating towards everything blue.”
Kara grinned. “Maybe that’s a sign that you need to add colors in here.”
“Hmhm.” Lena answered. She paused for a few seconds “Sorry, I couldn’t move, or I would have pulled my eye out with the mascara. I’m not opposed to colors, or specifically blue, but this would take a lot more thought than I had time for.”
“The apartment is mostly white and beige, wouldn’t any colors work here?”
“My sweet Darling, you still have so much to learn about colors and interior design.” Lena said as she came out of the bathroom.
Kara made a bunch of sounds imitating Lena’s speech. She was ready to fight Lena on this when she caught sight of her. Lena was wearing an off-shoulder top and a pencil skirt with a small knee slit. Kara’s lips parted in amazement, her eyes traveling down the column of Lena’s neck, following the tantalizing freckles that had so often blurred Kara’s mind so much she would lose her train of thoughts. She looked dreamily further down, past Lena’s exposed collarbone and into her equally exposed cleavage. She forced her eyes to travel back up to meet Lena’s and she smiled, ignoring Lena’s smirk.
“Baby you look stunning!” She said, sounding out of breath.
“Thank you. Does the outfit live up to your expectations?”
“You’ve exceeded my expectations.” Kara replied, eyeing her girlfriend appreciatively. Her eyes had traveled down Lena’s curves again
“You look amazing as well.” Lena commented.
Kara was wearing a button up shirt and tight pants like she used to wear at Catco. Knowing how much Lena loved the sight, Kara had left a few buttons unfastened, just enough to reveal her collarbones. She smiled at the compliment.
“What’s in the guest-set then?” Kara asked after a pause
“A shower towel, a smaller towel for hair and a washcloth.”
“Why are there two bags in the guest room?”
“Because that wasn’t the only thing on the list. I bought a towel for the bathroom to dry their hands, a bath mat, bed sheets, as you know, and pillow cases. I also bought hand soap refills for that bathroom.”
Kara put her hand around Lena’s hips. She felt like now was the time to discuss Lena’s stress over having Barry and Iris over.
“Baby, can I ask why having all of this for our guests was such a huge deal?”
“I was taught to be the perfect host and the specific sheets and towels are part of that.”
“Alright, I get that, I’d already come to this conclusion actually. What I’m really asking is why knowing they’d be here sent you straight into panic mode.”
“Because we have so little time to prepare.”
“Prepare? but…Oh! You mean prepare ourselves, or rather yourself to have people in your house.”
Lena didn’t correct her. Obviously the penthouse was also Kara’s home now, just as much as the Loft was Lena’s home, but so far, decisions about each place were still made by the owner, or the one who payed the rent.
“Not just people, basically strangers.”
“Love, if that makes you feel uncomfortable, why didn’t you tell me you didn’t want them to stay after karaoke night?”
“Because we have a spare room and they live far away, it would have been impolite not to have offered them to stay, despite one of them having superspeed to go back home. I don’t mind them staying, they’re your friends, and Barry seems very nice, but I was too busy focusing on you and Cat and I forgot I’d never had guests here and I wouldn’t have time to prepare for them.”
“I can lend them the Loft for the night.”
“It’s too late now, I bought all of this for the bed here…And I don’t want them to be at the Loft. They agreed to stay with us. I’ll be fine, I’m just in uncharted territory and panicking a little.”
“Let me give you a hug, maybe it’ll help you relax.”
Lena put her arms around Kara’s neck and leaned her forehead against Kara’s cheek. Kara wrapped her arms around her.
“Lena, I’m saying this again and I mean it, if it’s too much for you, we’ll return what you bought, and they can definitely sleep at the Loft. Or I can even tell Barry something came up and they can’t stay. I wanted this night to be fun, I don’t want you agonising over it simply to please me.”
“As weird as it may seem, I want them over. Yes I’m panicking, but I never had guests here and I’d love to be able to host for once. And I know we’re not children, but I was never allowed to have people over when growing up, except for that one time when I invited Andrea for a weekend when neither Lillian or Lex were home.”
“Are you sure you want them here?”
“Positive.”
“Ok then. We should probably head out, we don’t wanna miss the reservation.”
“It can wait. I need more hugging.”
Kara smiled against her temple and tightened her embrace.
_____
Lena woke up to the smell of coffee. She inhaled deeply and hummed as she exhaled. She started stirring, then she stretched and put her arms under her pillow. After a few seconds, she felt the mattress dip under a weight and all of a sudden a pair of lips caressed her cheek. Lena smiled.
“Good morning Beautiful.” Kara said in her ear and Lena smiled sleepily wider.
Kara kissed her cheek a few times before she kissed her jaw and finally she caressed Lena’s neck with the tip of her lips. Lena had goosebumps and shuddered from head to toe. Kara did it again, and Lena chuckled at the sensation. Despite the tickling feeling, she felt instantly warmer. She slowly opened her eyes. At first she only saw a blur of colors, but soon Kara came into focus. She was sitting at the edge of the bed, and arm over Lena’s hip supporting her weight. Bathed in sunlight, she seemed to glow. Her eyes were so blue, she looked ethereal. Lena smiled at her and Kara smiled back.
They stared at each other in silence for a solid minute and when Lena felt sufficiently awake she stretched her arms in front of her to invite Kara closer. Kara leaned in, a smile still stretching her lips until she was inches from Lena’s face and closed the remaining distance between their lips. The kiss started soft but quickly grew in intensity.
“Lay on top of me” Lena whispered between their lips and Kara obliged. Lena wrapped her arms around Kara’s neck right away and tangled her hands into Kara’s golden locks, exactly like she’d done the night before right after they’d returned from the restaurant. Kara had been really keen to pull up Lena’s pencil skirt as she sensually caressed Lena’s thigh. Something Lena had fantasized about for years. Kara had taken her sweet time and by the time they lay in bed and Lena was tangling her hands in Kara’s hair, Lena had objectively lost all remaining sanity.
“Why aren’t you still in bed?” Lena complained through the kiss.
Kara continued to kiss her for a few seconds before she pulled back to be able to answer
“I woke up half an hour ago. I was bored so I made breakfast. You’ve got a pile of pancakes waiting for you and coffee.”
“What about you?”
“I’ve got my own bigger pile.”
“Two piles of…” Lena trailed off. “How did you have time to make two piles of pancakes in only half an hour?”
Kara raised her eyebrows and slightly tilted her head to the side. She had an enigmatic smile on her lips. Lena knew Kara was trying to tell her something but she didn’t know what. The light shifted and Kara’s golden hair seemed to glow. And just like that Lena connected the dots.
“Your powers are back!” She said happily.
Kara nodded. Lena broke into a huge smile.
“You know what that means?” Kara asked.
“Tell me.”
“I’ll deal with the chores in no time and we can spend the rest of the day cuddling.”
“I like the idea. But what it also means is that you can come back under the sheets and I can finally focus on you knowing how intensely you’ll feel my touch.”
Kara grinned.
“So, what are you waiting for?” Lena asked. She raised a tantalizing eyebrow and Kara chuckled. She bit her lip and straightened up only to toss her t-shirt across the room.
____
“Um baby I need to talk to you.” Kara said in the afternoon.
“That sounds serious.” Lena replied.
“It kind of is…I don't want to be a killjoy and ruin this perfect weekend so far, but since Barry is coming over and I plan to mention it, I have to tell you something Cat said to me.”
“Should I worry?”
“Nothing to be worried about, but it's worth mentioning.”
“Alright. Go ahead.” Lena said.
“Cat and Ms Marsden have been keeping tabs on Lex.”
“I remember. But you said nothing to worry about so I’m assuming he didn’t do anything nefarious yet?”
“We don’t actually know. They have been keeping a close eye on him and his LuthorCorp activities, and it appears that he is very, very quiet. He has been since his trial.”
“What do you mean by quiet?”
“I mean that he seems to be living the life of a very discreet CEO. No extravagant galas or award ceremonies. He hasn’t been seen outside of work activities, and even in that field he is apparently just managing his business like an honest citizen.”
“He’s good at hiding in plain sight, you know it.” Lena said.
“Yes. But while it didn’t surprise me that Clark and Lois found nothing to put him back in jail, here we’re talking about the former queen of media and the former president. They have other means to research information. AND, it’s not like him to not be in the spotlight at all.”
“Which means that if he’s doing something, he is hiding extremely well.” Lena concluded. “I’m not surprised though. Like I said, he always excelled at that.”
“I know.”
“So what’s the plan?”
“There's no plan so far. At least, not a clear cut plan to take him down. But what I have in mind is a global team up. The legends said they would help with Lex. Since Barry is coming tonight, I’m going to ask him too if he’d be willing to participate in anything we decide to do. Clark and Lois would be more than willing to do their part as journalists if we need them but that could be counterproductive for Catco. Which reminds me. Cat wanted me to ask you if you think Andrea could be trusted and included in this loop should we decide to do anything.”
“Andrea doesn’t have powers anymore. How does Cat know about Acrata’s powers anyway?”
“She doesn’t. At least I don’t think she does. I’m sorry I meant as Catco’s Editor in Chief. Do you think Andrea could work with us to publish the story?”
“Oh, right. I’m sure she’d love to have an exclusive.”
“But can we trust her to go for the truth and not the clicks and gossips? She’s doing better in this field but she’s relapsing from time to time.”
“She won’t, not with Lex. She already had her relapse about him and clicks. She tried to interview me under a false pretext during his trial.” Lena explained
“She did what, now?” Kara asked, her tone turning menacing.
“Easy Darling. The relapse was short lived. When I realized what she was doing I told her to get lost. After that, she came here and apologized. She also promised she would behave and help me stop him with the magazine when the time was right. She’s been on her best behavior since.”
“Okay…So we trust her?”
“Yes we do.”
Kara nodded and asked
“So, Andrea lost her powers after we defeated Leviathan?”
“Yes, the power of the necklace wore off soon after.”
“It makes sense. How does she feel about this?”
“She’s relieved from a horrible burden. She didn’t have her powers for too long in this reality, but she told me she didn’t feel well having them, like there was this weight on her shoulders. And the medallion was a constant reminder that she’d broken our friendship.”
Lena paused as Kara nodded again. Lena studied her girlfriend for a second before she added
“Thank you by the way for accepting my history with Andrea.”
“Baby please, we’d agreed to not mention it again. I’m accepting it, but I’d rather not be reminded that my boss saw you naked once upon a time.”
“Still, thank you for trusting me and for accepting that I’m friends with her.”
“It would be harder if you two had actually dated as adults, but considering what you two had was a short lived fling when you were seventeen, it’s fine. But please let’s change subjects.”
“Of course.” Lena paused for a few seconds. “Back to Lex. Do you think we need everyone on board?” Lena asked.
“I think it won’t hurt to bring more minds together. Lex knows our team, he might be able to see us coming even before we set into motion.”
“I hate it, but you’re right…Maybe we aren’t enough to counter his and Lillian’s evil minds.” Lena deplored.
“How much do you think she’s involved in his schemes?”
“As much as she can without making him feel smothered by her. He recognizes her worth in an evil plan, but sometimes when she tries to interfere too much it hurts his pride and he becomes even more unstable than he usually is.”
“Maybe we could use this somehow…”
“Darling, neither are easily manipulated.”
“I know that. Still, this is useful information. But that’s a problem for later.”
“I have a concern though. While the global super team-up sounds great, what exactly are we aiming for here for Lex? Prison? Exile in space?...... Death?”
“You know me well enough to know that I would never be planning to kill someone, not even him. That said, I know for a fact that prison might not be a solution either considering his track record.”
“So, exile?” Lena asked
“I don’t know. And I’m not sure this is my decision to make.”
“Whose then? Mine?”
“Maybe not. But your opinion counts more than anyone else’s.”
“No it doesn’t. The last time I made a decision about him, I loaded a gun and shot him in the chest. I won’t put myself in a similar position again.”
“You’re not alone this time. All of us together will find a different solution. Preferably a harmless but more permanent one.”
“Then, we’ll have Lillian to worry about.”
“Unless we take them both down at the same time…” Kara said. “If we manage, that is. Right now, we’re building the team, then, we’ll see.”
“Are you going to contact your friend Kate as well?”
“I thought about it, but I don’t know her team or what they’re capable of. I don’t want to involve them unless we have to. But enough about that. Tonight is about fun.”
“Tonight I get to listen to my girl serenade me”
“Exactly!”
____
Lena was nervously rearranging the throw pillows on the sofa for the upteenth time. She couldn’t help herself, she had to add some last minute perfection. Barry and Iris were downstairs, Kara had gone to meet them at the door. They would be there any minute now. No sooner had she thought this that she heard the key turn in the lock. Lena straightened up, readjusted her top to make sure she looked ok and prepared a smile.
“And there she is.” Kara said triomphantly as she caught sight of Lena “Come in guys.” She moved aside to let them in.
Barry smiled brightly at Lena and stepped forward. Lena imitated him. He was easy to smile back to. Like Kara’s, his smile was contagious. Lena and Iris smiled at each other more timidly as they were introduced.
“Welcome.” Lena said, warmly.
“This is a beautiful apartment you got there.” Iris commented looking around.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you for inviting us over.” Barry said.
“My pleasure.”
“We’d considered inviting you over to the Loft, to have a proper sleepover, but we thought you’d be more comfortable here in a nice bed than on my couch.” Kara added with a smile.
Barry smiled mischievously and said “You missed the opportunity to tell us ‘On my couch you’re welcome to crash’.” he sang the last part.
Iris and Lena looked quizzically at him, but Kara beamed.
“And if you ever need a hand” Kara sang in turn.
“I’ll be there in a flash.” Barry concluded. He and Kara beamed at each other, scrunching their noses happily.
“Did you just make that up?” Iris asked.
“We did make up that song, but it was a long time ago.” Kara supplied.
“Remember when Music Meister had trapped us in a musical?” Barry asked.
“Yes.”
“Oh my, you two really have complicated lives.” Lena commented.
Kara and Barry nodded and exchanged a smile before Barry continued
“Remember, I told you we had to come up with an original song on the spot to conclude the story. This was part of the song.”
“I wanna know the full story and the full song.” Lena said
“Sure thing.” Kara replied. “Let’s show Barry and Iris their room and then we’ll tell you everything.”
Kara let Lena be the host she’d always wanted to be and listened as Lena showed everything to their guests. Kara felt a warm feeling in her chest when Iris thanked Lena again for inviting them to her apartment and commented that their bedroom looked cosy. Lena lit up and turned a giddy look towards Kara when their guests weren’t looking.
After that, Barry and Kara explained the Superfriend song and in what context it came to be. Iris knew about the overall adventure of course, she’d even helped rescue Barry, but he’d never told her everything about the corny song he and Kara had invented to make the plot of that magical world move forward. Lena didn’t seem to have liked Mon-El's implication in this story but she focused on the song and on Kara’s beautiful voice as she and Barry sang some verses of it together.
They left for AL’s bar, with Kara and Barry still humming “I’m your superfriend”. Barry seemed really happy that Kara had her powers back (which she’d told him earlier on the way up to the apartment), and was beaming when he said “told you you would be super again in no time.” Kara beamed at him. They hadn’t seen each other too long ago, only a few days in fact, but her night at the Fortress and then on the Waverider seemed like months ago.
The bar was already half full when they arrived but Kara had called AL in the afternoon so he’d keep them good seats near the stage. He was happy to see Kara and happy that she’d brought new friends.
“Do the people who work here know who you are?” Iris whispered to Kara when they were seated.
“No. They know I’m an alien, that's all.”
“Do they?” Lena asked.
“They figured it out because of how much I eat or what I order. There are things here that aren’t safe for humans to consume.”
Lena gave her a worried look.
“It’s fine. No one asks questions here. You know we’ve been coming here for years. It’s perfectly safe.”
Lena nodded.
“What’s unsafe for humans to consume?” Barry asked, looking at his menu. “And why unsafe?”
“Nothing’s on the menu. You have to ask at the bar for the alien menu. Unsafe because it’s incompatible with the human digestion system. Nothing lethal obviously. My friend Winn once tried something out of my plate before I was able to warn him. He spent the next hour in the toilets.”
They all grimaced around the table.
“Was he ok though?” Barry asked.
“Yes, M’gann, J’onn’s Martian friend who used to work here, gave him a cure, they have plenty hidden somewhere because they know humans are tempted to taste exotic stuff.”
“Ok, so what do you recommend for us?”
Kara asked Iris a few specific questions and oriented her to a few things. She did the same with Lena and then turned to Barry.
“I recommend the whole menu for you and I. Like I said, small portions. And since we have a big appetite…”
“Sounds good.” Barry said. “Let’s go order so we can add our names to the karaoke list.”
“Oh boy.” Iris said. “Are you that eager to go on stage, sweety?”
“Yeah! It’s been so long since Kara and I have sung together, I can’t wait to start!” He said, smiling from ear to ear.
“When it comes to buddies, pal, you’re the best!” Kara sang as she got up. She and Barry exchanged a megawatt smile as they walked towards the bar.
“They’re sweet, aren’t they?” Iris said dreamily, looking at them.
“They are.” Lena agreed. “They radiate the same kind of joy I think.”
“They do. They’ve both been through so much individually and as a team, it’s heartwarming to see them smile like that. Especially when they’re together. That said, brace yourself, because karaoke night is something they’ve talked about a lot but have never been able to make happen until tonight. They’re going to be adorable and insufferable.”
“I have no doubt about that.” Lena added.
Five minutes later, Lena and Iris had learned the basics about each other while their other halves were still glued to the file with the karaoke songs. A few people went on stage. The first person sang their song really well, the second one not so much but had a lot of fun doing so.”
“Look at them so focused.” Iris nodded towards Kara and Barry. She grabbed her phone in her purse and snapped a quick picture. “They can’t decide what songs they’re going to sing.”
“Too many choices. Kara promised me a solo song. Do you think Barry will sing solo too ?”
“Oh, good question. I think Barry will choose duets, he gets a bit self conscious and shy if he has to sing by himself in front of a crowd. What kind of solo did Kara promise you?”
“A love song.”
“Aww this is sweet.”
Barry and Kara came back to the table soon after, their arms full of food while a waitress Kara had seen many times, carried their drinks and Iris and Lena’s order. Their table wasn’t enough to put all the food so the waitress fetched another with her free hand and put the extra table next to theirs with no effort at all. Kara and Barry put down their huge order with a lot of care, sat down, and again, they grinned. At their food first, then at each other.
“Smile for me guys.” Iris called and they looked up at her with huge smiles as she took another picture.
Kara grabbed her own phone and snapped a few selfies of their little group, then proceeded to take selfies with Barry, Iris and Lena separately. Iris offered to take pictures of her and Lena, so Kara handed her her phone.
After their little photoshoot, they started eating. The superfriends made quick work of their multiple dishes and even finished what their partners were too full to eat. People had come and gone on stage, some talented singers, others just here for the giggles. Soon, Kara and Barry got up for their first duet. They had refused to say what they would be singing in order to surprise their companions.
“Is your phone ready?” Iris asked Lena. “We’re filming this from every angle.”
“Yes, I’m ready.” Lena said, showing her phone.
Kara and Barry were so giddy on stage with their mics in hand. Lena took a picture of them before she switched to camera mode. The first notes started playing, and Lena vaguely remembered this song from a long time ago. Iris chuckled silently as she recognized the song. Kara and Barry beamed at each other, lifted the mics close to their lips and sang
Make way for Prince Ali! Say hey! It's Prince Ali!
Kara lowered her mic. Lena guessed she and Barry would sing in turn and Barry was going first.
Hey, clear the way in the old bazaar
Hey, you! Let us through, it's a bright new star
Oh, come be the first on your block to meet his eye
Make way, here he comes, ring bells, bang the drums!
Oh, you're gonna love this guy!
Both raised their mics for the chorus
Prince Ali! Fabulous he!
Ali Ababwa
Genuflect, show some respect
Down on one knee!
Now, try your best to stay calm
Brush up your sunday salaam
Come and meet his spectacular coterie
Prince Ali! Mighty is he!
Ali Ababwa
Strong as ten regular men, definitely!
Both Kara and Barry flexed their biceps as they sang this sentence, making the audience smile. No one in the audience realized this sentence was a very accurate one to sing for Kara, but Lena loved it. Barry lowered his mic this time to let Kara have this line
He faced the galloping hordes
Kara made a funny voice and the audience chuckled
A hundred bad guys with swords
Who sent those goons to their lords?
Barry too made a funny voice, the audience chuckled again
Why, Prince Ali! They sang in unison
They continued singing, making voices and miming whenever they could. The audience was invested and seemed to have fun as most people were singing along. As Barry and Kara prepared for the finale of the song, the audience was practically vibrating with anticipation. As Barry and Kara sang Prince Ali! Amorous he! Ali Ababwa” people started clapping and those who knew the song by heart, merrily yelled the lines along. They let Barry and Kara sing the difficult part but all yelled Make way for Prince Aaaaliiii! To conclude the song in an ecstatic cacophony.
Everyone applauded and cheered. Lena and Iris stopped recording and joined the crowd in the round of applause. Kara and Barry were beaming. They were heading off the stage when a woman yelled “Please sing ‘A whole new world’!”
Kara smiled and raised by the mic to her lips
“We’re not a couple.” She said.
“Who cares?! You have beautiful voices.” Someone else said in a loud voice.
“Yeah!” More people exclaimed.
“Please sing it!” Someone else added.
“We don’t even know if AL has the song in his repertory.” Kara added into her mic.
Everyone turned towards AL who was standing behind the bar. He was already looking into his repertory and raised a triumphant thumb in the air.
The crowd started cheering and some people started chanting “A whole new world, A whole new world”
Barry and Kara looked disbelievingly at the crowd. They exchanged a look, a few words no one was able to hear, and smiled at each other before they smiled at the crowd.
“Ok let’s do this.” Kara concluded as she was waving at AL
The audience cheered louder. They all fell silent as soon as the first notes started. Iris and Lena were already filming.
Barry took Aladdin’s lines. Now he was singing a more “serious” song, his voice was all the more beautiful. Kara’s eyes found Lena’s in the crowd and she winked. Lena answered with a smile. Lena bit her lip when Kara started singing. She’d first heard Kara sing this song long ago when Kara had convinced her to watch the movie together during one of their movie nights. Kara singing this song hadn’t started her crush on Kara, but hearing her singing it had definitely made Lena’s crush worse. It wasn’t Lena’s only memory with this song. Kara had sung this song to her again recently. The difference was that she’d sung it tenderly into her ear with her arms wrapped around her middle. Being together did feel like a whole new world.
Kara and Barry’s duet was sweet and their harmonies beautiful. When the song ended, the audience applauded and cheered loudly once again. The super friends came back to the table beaming with happiness. It didn’t seem possible but their smiles widened again when Lena and Iris complimented them. Barry sat down next to Iris and kissed her cheek, Kara grabbed Lena’s hand and kissed the back of it. The night was still very young and Lena was already loving seeing Kara so happy, especially after the last few weeks.
A few people went on and off stage. Meanwhile, Barry, Iris, Kara and Lena were exchanging stories and getting to know each other a little better. Kara learned things she didn't know about Barry and Iris. It felt so normal to be doing this; spending their Saturday night in her favorite dive bar with friends. Kara loved it. What she loved even more was seeing Lena enjoy herself. She and Barry were talking science so passionately he had switched chairs with Iris to be closer to Lena. Kara wasn’t paying too much attention to what they were saying, but from the few words she’d caught, her girlfriend and her friend were this close to revolutionising science in some way. She caught Iris’ glance and they exchanged a fond look. She too had been looking at Lena and Barry. She leaned in to speak closer to Kara’s ear
“They’re so passionate, it’s beautiful to watch.”
Kara nodded her approval. She leaned in near Iris’s ear “Lena is so beautiful when she has this passionate gleam in her eyes.”
“So is Barry.” Iris whispered.
“What are you guys whispering about?” Barry asked all of a sudden.
“We’re talking about you two and how handsome our respective partners look right now.” Iris answered.
Barry’s cheeks dusted pink as he bashfully looked down. Lena’s eyes found Kara’s enigmatic look. They exchanged the tiniest of smirks before Kara winked. Lena’s smile widened. Kara straightened up in her seat and stood up.
“Going somewhere?” Lena asked.
“Yes.” Kara replied as if this simple answer had brought any further information. She looked straight into Lena’s eyes for a few seconds then headed towards the bar.
The others exchanged confused looks. They tried to locate Kara, but with so many people in the bar it was difficult to see her. She emerged on stage a minute later with a mic and a smile. Lena’s eyes widened. She had a feeling she knew where this was going.
“I’d like to sing this song to my girlfriend. Baby, I promised you a serenade, I hope you’ll like it.” Her eyes found Lena’s in the crowd. “Roll the song, AL.”
Lena recognised the song instantly. She couldn’t believe Kara had remembered after all this time.
I'll be your dream, I'll be your wish, I'll be your fantasy
I'll be your hope, I'll be your love, be everything that you need
I love you more with every breath truly, madly, deeply do
I will be strong, I will be faithful 'cause I'm counting on
A new beginnin'
A reason for livin'
A deeper meaning, yeah
Well, I wanna stand with you on a mountain
I wanna bathe with you in the sea
I wanna lay like this forever
Until the sky falls down on me
Kara’s sweet voice was perfect for this song. Lena bit her lip. She’d offhandedly mentioned Savage Garden during one of their lunches in her L-Corp office once upon a time and here Kara was, several years later, serenading her with one of the songs Lena would definitely have put on her top ten when she was a teen. Lena savored every line and every inflection of Kara’s voice as she sang one of her favorite songs to her.
The song ended way too early for Lena’s taste. The crowd cheered and applauded as Kara went off stage and made her way back to the table. Most people turned around to look where Kara was going and who she would be meeting but Lena didn’t care and barely noticed. She stood up to meet Kara before she sat back down. Kara put her hands on Lena’s waist and waited. Lena caressed her neck and pulled her in. When their lips met, the crowd went “aaawww”. Some people cheered too. When the kiss ended Kara leaned her forehead against Lena’s. There were still some people cheering in the distance.
They sat down and Iris and Barry both told them they were sweet. Barry waited until Lena and Iris went to the bathroom to sit back next to Kara to add something that had been on his mind all night.
“You’re radiating with joy when you're with her. You looked happy with Mon-El, but Lena makes you smile brighter than I’ve ever seen you smile. And your eyes when you look at her…they shine with so much love.”
“I loved Mon-El, but it’s nothing compared to how much I love Lena. You’re right, I radiate with joy when she’s around. I lost so much time not being completely myself with her, but now that I am, and that we’re together, I almost can’t remember what it was like to feel so deeply.”
“I’m happy for you. It reminds me of the way I feel about Iris.”
“How long did it take you to know she was the one?” Kara asked.
“I think I always knew. Even before we started dating. Why do you ask?”
“Because this is exactly how I feel about Lena.”
“Wait…Are you trying to tell me something? Like…are you making plans for the future?”
“Not yet. But I know I can't imagine my life without her. Again, I’m not making any plans, but who knows…maybe someday soon, I’ll ask you to sing while we walk down the aisle.”
“It’ll be my honor when the time comes.” Barry replied with a huge smile and watery eyes.
By the time their girls came back, they were already talking about something else.
It was getting a little late and Kara and Barry were debating how soon they’d be going on stage for the last time, when people started cheering. The waitress who’d brought their drinks was called on stage by one of her friends and AL let her take a break and join. She was a blue-skinned, muscular woman with dark hair in a bob haircut, ember eyes, pointy ears and horns. Every head turned toward her when she climbed on stage.
She was objectively good looking and charismatic, but there was something different about her. Like an aura. Or perhaps she was simply exuding confidence and it looked like this. The waitress had started mesmerizing the audience because she was beautiful and conquered them all with her amazing voice. The room erupted into applause when she was done.
“Do you still want to go on stage after that performance?” Iris teased.
“Uh, Duh!” Barry and Kara answered.
“Can you outshine her, though?” Lena teased further.
“Who cares about outshining?!” Kara said. “We just want to goof around together.”
“What she said.” Barry added.
“Also, baby, please do not underestimate us before we’ve given all we got.” Kara added. “We could outshine her if we wanted to.”
Barry gave her a quizzical look but decided against commenting.
“Oohh.” Iris commented. “That’s interesting, I’d never seen you in a competitive mood before.”
Lena smiled at their enthusiasm but was also pleased that her little tease had worked on her girlfriend. A competitive Kara was a healthy and happy Kara and she hadn’t seen this in a while. Not to mention that she secretly wanted Kara to shine brighter than the sun for everyone to see.
“Darling, I’d like to see you outshine this person. If you can, that is.”
Her tone was playful. Barry and Iris exchanged an amused look before they turned towards Kara whose eyes had narrowed.
“Is this a challenge?” She asked Lena.
Lena shrugged and smirked. Kara narrowed her eyes at her again and she fought a smile. She turned towards Barry.
“Are you with me?”
“Yeah!” Barry said with great enthusiasm. “Let’s do this!”
“When are you going on stage next time?” Lena asked
“Now.” Kara answered as she was waving at AL and he nodded. “Come on Barry, let’s go.”
They got up and almost ran towards the stage. Iris and Lena shook their heads affectionately and looked at each other.
As soon as Lena heard the first chords she knew what song this was. Kara and Barry grinned at each other and he raised the mic to his lips to start singing
Just a small town girl
Livin' in a lonely world
She took the midnight train going anywhere
Kara raised the mic to her lips
Just a city boy
Born and raised in South Detroit
He took the midnight train going anywhere
They took turns with the lyrics and sometimes harmonized to everyone’s delight but Kara having the wider voice range took the belting parts. Lena had never heard Kara’s voice like this and she was both moved and more in love with her girlfriend. They too were mesmerizing the audience and when Kara took the higher notes for the last "streetlights, people” everyone started applauding and screaming.
Iris and Lena stopped their cameras and applauded with everyone else. “Woohoo!” Iris screamed. Lena hadn’t had enough beer to be cheering this loud, she wasn’t in a screaming mood. She still got up to welcome Kara with open arms. Kara picked her up in her enthusiasm and kissed her.
“You two really gave all you had for your last song.” Iris complimented.
“You both have such beautiful voices. Even more so when you sing together.” Lena complimented in turn. “You really made an impression tonight.”
Kara and Barry had a huge grin on their faces for minutes after that. They were still in an elated mood when they all returned to the penthouse. Their joy was contagious and Iris and Lena went to sleep as euphoric as their companions were.