Chapter 2
A few weeks later found the Superfriends having yet another of their game nights, this one being the very first one to be held at Lena’s apartment.
Naturally, Lena was terrified out of her wits.
Despite knowing that these people were genuinely her friends (even James Olsen, of all people, greeted her with a warm smile when he saw her) the brunette still found herself dashing all around her place, trying to make everything perfect. She would have completely reorganized her bookshelves (again) if Kara hadn’t flown in the window and physically pulled her down onto the couch for a bear hug and one-sided tickle fight.
Mercifully the blonde had to let her go in order to open the front door, revealing Maggie and Alex, and Lena’s anxiety over the whole thing decreased dramatically as time went on and the party was eventually joined by Winn and James.
Hours later had the usually quiet apartment filled with laughter and shrieks of joy as the group worked their way through various games until finally (for the sake of several egos) they were set aside so that they could all just sit and talk.
“Man, it has been too long since we all just hung out,” Winn sighed from his sideways perch on the armchair James had claimed as his.
“Hear hear,” James agreed as he raised his bottle in a small toast. “No crises, no deranged villains; just friends, alcohol-“
“And pizza!” Kara chimed in, taking a bite out of the slice in her hand.
“Haha, yes, and pizza,” the bald man nodded.
“So, anything new happening with anyone?” Winn asked.
“He asks as if everyone doesn’t see eachother every couple of hours,” Alex deadpanned from the couch before Maggie lightly slapped her from her spot next to her.
“Actually something did happen at work today in one of the labs,” Lena offered shyly.
“Oh! Do tell, person I haven’t seen since yesterday!” Winn exclaimed looking pointedly at Alex with a smirk.
“Well I was doing one of my weekly walkthroughs when I came upon one of our interns doing an small experiment with some impact gel we’re developing.”
“Impact gel?” Alex asked.
“Mhm, the idea is to eventually use it to line the inside of vehicles to decrease damage done by collisions, but it’s still got a ways to go. Anyway, so I’m walking by and I see this intern–his name is Greg Weston–haphazardly dumping some of the gel into a beaker before placing that over a Bunsen burner and igniting it. Now, the issue we’ve been having with the gel is that it has a rather low boiling point, with a tendency to expand quite rapidly when exposed to any heat over about 110˚ F. Something that is clearly stated in any notes concerning the product that everyone in that lab should have already read. Except apparently for this imbecile who is thankfully just smart enough to remember to wear his goggles and gloves,” Lena shook her head in bemusement.
“So what did you do?” James wondered, completely interested.
“Well, I did what any responsible adult would do,” the brunette replied coyly, taking a sip of her whiskey.
“Which was…” Maggie prompted.
“I put a glass window between me and the ‘experiment’ and filmed the whole thing on my phone,” she smirked.
“You didn’t!” Alex chuckled proudly.
“I did!”
“Law of the Internet proclaims: proof or it didn’t happen!” Winn crowed.
“Ask and ye shall receive,” the CEO retorted, pulling out her phone and linking it to her television so everyone could see from where they sat.
The TV blinks into life, showing first a gray waiting screen before transitioning to what is obviously the scene that Lena had described. Through a large glass plane (that they can somewhat see Lena’s reflection in) they see a lab table currently being ‘manned’ by an intern in a white coat who couldn’t be more than nineteen years old, smugly stirring the aforementioned gel in a beaker. The gang watched as he cranked the flame as big as it would go, completely unaware of his audience or of how massive a mess he was about to make.
In a split second the substance in the jar went from ‘chilled to explosive’ as Winn would later put it, expanding so quickly in all directly that it shattered the beaker and coated everything within a five-foot radius with clear slime, including the intern.
Watching it again in slowmo was made even more glorious by the fact that the man-boy never had a chance to stop smirking until it was all over.
After having a good laugh, the Superfriends watched the camera move to indicate that Lena had then walked into the lab to talk to the goo-covered lab tech.
“Having fun, Mr. Weston?” Lena asked coolly, still casually filming.
Weston used his gloved fingers to wipe the slime from his goggles, throwing a smirk the brunette’s way when he saw how hot she looked. “Absolutely, babe. It’s all a part of the science.”
“He did not,” Maggie gasped.
“Oh yes he did,” Winn said.
“Really?” On-screen Lena questioned. “I thought science was about careful experimentation, with controlled variables and attention to safety and details; such as the ones in the notes on this substance stating that it currently cannot handle high temperatures.”
“Well what kind of science doesn’t have a little danger, sweetie?” the man-boy cooed.
“The kind that should not be done by interns who look like they’ve barely left puberty,” she coolly stated.
“Just who the hell do you think you are, bitch?!" Weston snapped arrogantly, "Walking in here like you own the place and telling me how to do my job?!”
“I think I’m the bitch who actually does own the place, Mr. Weston, and as for your job, you can stop your worrying about me telling you how to do it, because you no longer have it.”
“Wha–shit,” Greg took his smeared goggles off and finally got a good look at who he was talking to. “Ms. Luthor-I-I-“
“I will not have my employees put in danger by idiots whose idea of fun is carelessly messing about with things they don’t understand. The impact gel is fortunately rather benign but many things in these labs are not, and I will not tolerate them being handle by such an irresponsible person, such as yourself. And on top of that I’ve already had multiple reports of you doing similar things in the three weeks since you’ve arrived at L-Corp.”
Weston looked like he was near tears. “Bu-bu-but-“
Lena kept on without losing a single beat, “So thank you very much for your brief time here at L-Corp, but you have officially overstayed your welcome. Please collect your things, and leave your ID card at the security desk on your way out. We will not be providing a letter of recommendation, so please do not ask.”
With that, the video cut off and icons for other videos on Lena’s phone popped up on the screen.
James whistled. “Damn girl, you don’t mess around.”
Lena blushed into her glass. “I care deeply about lab safety, and like I said in the video there are many substances in the lab that could some serious damage if mistreated…was I too harsh?”
“No,” Kara jumped in quickly, “No, definitely not! You run a serious lab with-with serious work and it should all be taken very...very...“
“Seriously?” Alex chimed in with a smirk.
“Yes! Exactly!”
“Honestly, I’m impressed you didn’t get on him for those ‘babe’ and ‘sweetie’ comments,” Maggie noted. “If one of the techs at the NCPD pulled that crap on me, I would’ve decked them.”
“Yes, well,” Lena cleared her throat, “As the CEO of a major company I can’t just go around punching people all willy-nilly.”
“Why not, James does?” Winn asked, hooking his thumb at the man in question.
“Hey-…yeah, no, that’s fair,” he chuckled good-naturedly as they all had a laugh.
“Hey, you still have it!” Maggie exclaimed, pointing at something on the television screen.
“Have what?” Kara asked as Lena paled and Alex began to cackle.
“Oh my god, Lena you have to play it!” she goaded.
““Play what?”” Winn and Kara asked simultaneously.
“”Play it!”” Sanvers crowed.
“”WHAT?!””
Taking pity on the poor girl, James calmly said, “Luthor, your life will be infinitely simpler if you just do as Alex says. Trust me, I know.”
Seeing no other option, Lena pulled up the video of Kara talking in her sleep and hit play.
When the video finished playing, there were a few moments of silence, before nearly the entire room burst into laughter.
“Oh-oh my god!” James bellowed as he held his stomach.
“Power-powerhouse of the cell!” Winn cried as he fell to the floor.
“Dear Rao, kill me now,” Kara moaned as she buried her face in her hands.
“Aw sweetheart, I’m sorry, but it is a little funny,” Lena chuckled as she gave the blonde a side hug and a small kiss to the temple. “Forgive me?”
The Kryptonian pulled up and gave her a warm smile. “There’s nothing to forgive, love.”
Lena beamed as Maggie and Alex cackled on their end of the couch.
“Holy crap, it was even better the second time!” Alex howled.
“Right?!” Maggie agreed.
“Wait-second time? You two have seen this before?” Kara wondered, confused.
Getting herself back under control, Alex wiped the tears from her eyes and said, “Yeah, Lena showed us a few weeks ago when she was–mmph!” Maggie slapped her hand over Alex’s mouth, but it was too late.
“When she was what? What happened?” Kara asked, turning worried eyes to Lena.
“Nothing bad, I swear!” Lena claimed, though she was beginning to turn red. “I was just being silly!”
Still, a crinkled formed between the blonde’s eyebrows as she tried to recall anything that may have happened a few weeks ago. Nothing significant really jumped out at her except…
“…Waffles…” She murmured.
“What?”
“I talked about waffles in the video,” Kara said, more to herself than anyone else. “And the only time I had waffles recently was after that fight that blew my powers…Lena?”
Lena swallowed. “Yes, Kara?”
“When did you take that video?”
“…The morning after that fight. I’m sorry, I should of asked permission but–“
“No, no! It’s fine. I don’t care about that, it’s just…you said that was from the morning after?”
“…Uh huh.”
“You hadn’t left for work yet,” Kara stated, getting up and slowly beginning to pace around the room.
Lena shook her head.
“Alex and Maggie said they saw it, which means you saw them, probably after your meeting but before you came back. You said you were being ‘silly’, which for you means you were ‘freaking out’,” Kara deduced. “Something freaked you out so you went to talk to them about it. You talked to them instead of me because…because I was the one freaking you out...”
“Kara…” Lena pleaded but the blonde was on a roll.
“But it couldn’t have been the sleep-talking because you obviously knew, otherwise you wouldn’t have filmed it to begin with, so it must have been something I said. But I didn’t say anything really weird except–“
Kara stopped dead in her tracks and her eyes went wide.
“Kara?” Alex ventured.
“The video was from that morning…”
“Little Danvers?”
“Oh. My. Rao!” the blonde buried her face in her hands.
“Can someone please explain to those of us in the peanut gallery what is happening right now?!” Winn cried.
“I said the first ‘I love you’ in my sleep and freaked my girlfriend out!” Kara whined from behind her hands.
James snorted and had to cover his mouth.
“It’s not funny, James!” Kara exclaimed.
“I did not freak out!” Lena stated.
“You so freaked out,” Alex deadpanned.
“Literally, you were crying on Danvers’ shoulder because you thought she didn’t mean it,” Maggie nonchalantly added.
“WHAT?!” the blonde cried.
“MAGGIE!” Lena shrieked.
“This is better than cable,” Winn gasped as he munched on some popcorn.
“Agreed,” said James as he snagged a handful.
“You thought I didn’t mean it?” Kara asked, turning sad eyes to Lena.
Lena felt like she’d just kicked a puppy.
“Well-I-you were asleep! Half of what was coming out of your mouth was nonsense, why should–“ she swallowed down the lump in her throat, “–why should that have been any different?”
“Lena,” Kara looked absolutely heartbroken. “You…I-I am so sorry!”
“Wha-You’re sorry?! Kara no!” Lena finally stood up and dashed in front of Kara, grabbing her hands pleadingly. “Darling, you have nothing to apologize for!”
“I made you cry, Lena,” the blonde lamented, near to tears herself. “I made you think I didn’t mean it and I hurt you! That is not okay!”
“Kara Zor-El Danvers, you did not hurt me! I just did what I always do when faced with something…-I overthought it and freaked myself out, that is not on you!” Lena stated fiercely. “If anyone should be sorry it’s me for doubting, even for a second, that your feelings for me were anything but genuine.”
Kara tried to speak, “But if I had done a better job of showi–“
“Do not finish that sentence. Your sister was right; you show me how much you care for me in more ways than I can count,” the brunette shot a quick nod of gratitude to Alex before bowing her head, “I was just too…too scared to see them for what they were. What they meant.”
“Scared? Wha–why would you be…oh Lena,” Kara freed one of her hands and used it to cup Lena’s face, tilting it gently back up.
“I…I know it’s hard for you to take things like this–friends, family, love–at face value and not just some-some ploy as part of an endgame; but I promis–no, I swear to you– that your friends? My feelings? They are not an act. They are real. They’re as real as the ground beneath your feet and the stars hanging in the sky. And they’re not going away anytime soon. Do you know that?”
The brunette smiled sadly, with watery eyes, and said, “Of course I know that, Kara. That’s why I was so terrified,” a tear finally escaped, though the blonde was quick to catch it. “I…I just…couldn’t figure out what I’d done to deserve such-such wonderful…you welcomed me in faster than anyone else has since Lex went-and even after what my-what Lillian did to you and tried to do to this city, you all still–“ the dam finally broke and Lena all but collapsed into her Kryptonian’s arms.
“That was not on you, do you understand? None of it,” Kara asserted as she tucked Lena’s head under her chin and held her with as much might as she dared.
“You didn’t choose to be a part of that family,” Alex spoke, rising from her seat and crossing to rub her hand across Lena’s back, “But we chose you to be a part of ours.”
“And that means you’re stuck with us, Little Luthor,” Maggie added, joining Alex.
“For better or worse,” James said.
“Good times and bad,” called Winn.
“Now and forever,” Kara ended, pressing a chaste kiss to the crown of her head.
Lena sniffled for a few moments more, before letting out a wet chuckling and asking, “Did you all just propose to me?”
“Pft-no!” Winn snorted.
“We’ll leave that one to Little Danvers,” Maggie snarked, causing Kara to dissolve into splutters.
Still Lena burrowed deeper into the Kryptonian and mumbled, “That sounds too good to be true.”
Kara tightened her grip and mumbled right back, “The truth can be good…if you would have me?”
Lena pulled back just enough to look the blonde in the eye, just staring in wonder for endless moments before laying the gentlest of kisses on her lips and whispering, “Someday.”
Eyes closed but smiling beaming, Kara whispered right back, “Someday.”
The pair of them stood there, foreheads leaning together, until Winn broke the moment by asking, “What’s that video of you and Kara in your office about? And-and why is Kara’s cape sticking out of her pants?”
Kara tensed up where she stood.
“You have a video of the night I flew to your office drunk?!” she screeched, causing Alex to cackle
“…My office cameras caught everything and I couldn’t bear to just erase all of it,” Lena mumbled embarrassedly.
“You have cameras in your own office?” Maggie asked.
“On a separate and secure network, yes,” Lena shrugged, “It’s for security reasons and the film is secured with a password that will cause it to be deleted if it’s entered incorrectly, so her secret is safe.”
“So what I’m hearing here is that you have video of Kara “cardigan wearing” Danvers being completely shit-faced?” James asked with a grin.
“What do my clothes have to do with it?!”
“You gotta play it! When was this? What did she say? How did she get to your office?!” Winn asked rapidly.
“That’s actually a really funny story–“ Lena began.
“And with that, I’m going back under the couch.”
“Kara, no.”
“Kara, yes!”