Chapter 6
Things ran smoothly for days and Supergirl had nothing massive to deal with beyond a couple of rogue aliens. The two became comfortable with one another, and the tabloids picked up on what was going on between the pair of them. Even people at the office had stopped giving Kara strange looks every time she walked in.
The wedding was fast approaching and Cat had dragged Kara to her favourite store on a Friday afternoon to find the young woman a dress for the occasion. It had been an hour and Kara had already tried on a dozen dresses, none of which satisfied Cat, before she slipped a simple blue bodycon over her shoulders before realizing the zipper was stuck.
“Cat!” Kara called out warily, jumping as the blonde poked her head around the curtain curiously. “Can you help? The zipper’s stuck.”
Pursing her lips, Cat stepped up behind her and tugged gently on the fastening until it drew up and pulled the fabric closed. Up on her tiptoes, she placed her hands on each of Kara’s shoulders to catch sight of the girl in the mirror and smiled broadly, blinking away tears that threatened to fall as she observed the magnificent of the sight in front of her. She couldn’t believe how she’d fallen in love so irrevocably with this girl despite her very best efforts.
“It’s perfect, Kara.” Cat uttered genuinely before returning to her snappy self. “Aren’t you glad I didn’t let you walk out with that first one now? Honestly, Kara, you’re a beautiful girl and you hide it away behind dreadful fashion sense, I don’t want to imagine what you would’ve got for yourself! Bridget, we’ll take this one!“
Cat easily pulled down the zip before stepping out of the cubicle to settle the bill while Kara got changed.
Only five minutes, they were leaving the shop when Kara heard a loud bang only a few streets and cast a worried look towards Cat. Without a second thought, she rushed into a nearby alley and tore off her civilian clothing before bolting towards the source of the noise. Praying it was earthly, she caught sight of the town hall with a massive hole blown through the side of it and rushed to the cause of the damage as people ran away in the opposite direction. The damage was already done, for the most part, she simply blew out a few flames and made sure the building was completely evacuated when the DEO pulled up in their cars and Alex ran across to Kara eagerly to check she was okay.
As imminent threat seemed unlikely, Kara allowed herself to breathe as she let the DEO take over and do their jobs. It was only when she cast her eyes up that she caught sight of a terrified Cat and hurried over to her, taking a tight hold of her.
“We need to get out of here before the reporters arrive. Do you trust me?“ The way Cat wordlessly buried her face deeper in Kara’s chest was answer enough as Supergirl took off and flew the pair of them back to Cat’s apartment. Landing on the balcony, she quickly guided Cat inside before releasing her hold and holding the woman at arms’ length. “Are you okay? Cat, please, are you alright?“
Nodding unconvincingly, Cat fought back tears and steeled her expression in an attempt to maintain her image though Kara wasn’t going to fall for it. Taking the smaller woman back in her arms, she bit her lip guiltily for causing Cat such distress though she couldn’t help but relax into the feeling of Cat’s arms wrapped so tightly around her beneath the cape. Despite her reluctance to tell Cat the truth of her identity, Kara couldn’t be happier that she knew now…it had brought them so much closer together.
She knew that the more people that knew, the riskier her entire life became, but she always had J’onn to protect her identity if worse came to worst.
“You should be leaving for Games Night soon, shouldn’t you.” Cat’s tone was resounding and verging on upset as she stepped away from Kara and plastered a fake smile on her face. “Dinner, tomorrow night if you’re free?”
“I’ll call Wynn and let him know I can’t make it, you need me here. They’ll understand.” Kara answered easily as she quickly changed back into ‘Kara’ clothes.
“I wouldn’t want to take anymore of your personal time, I already use up enough of it.” Cat tried to hide the bitterness in her tone but failed miserably, Ever since they’d started the fake relationship, neither of them had been very good at pretending ironically. “There’s nowhere I would rather spend my evening, Cat.”
Another thing that had been noticed, especially at work, was that ‘Kiera’ and ‘Miss Grant’ were rarely used anymore. Neither of them could imagine going back to the way things used to be, nor did either of them want to.
The evening was just like any other - Carter got home from school at just after four, they watched a little TV, Cat got some work done, they sat down to dinner and afterward Carter headed off to do his homework before he turned in for the night. It was only about 9:30 when Kara poked her head around his bedroom to find him already in it, scrolling on his phone. She settled on the bed beside him and smiled towards him.
“Do you love her?” He asked casually as he locked his phone and dropped it onto the bedside cabinet, no catching Kara’s bewildered expression. “Mom, I mean. Because I don’t want her to get hurt, not after how bad things were after she kicked my Dad out.”
“Carter…your Mom explained to you that this is all just to keep your Dad quiet at the wedding, right?” She reasoned, knowing full well that Cat had explained it to him more than once.
“I know that’s what she’s telling everyone. I also know that you hug and kiss and look at each other like you’re in love even when there’s no one else in the room. I know that you stay here almost every night when you have a perfectly good apartment and nobody would ever question that, and I know that the way you look at her is the way people look at each other in old movies.” Carter kept his voice low and even as he stared at his ceiling. “I know you’re not going to tell her, I don’t expect you to. But she isn’t here listening, and I just want to know if you truly have her best interests at heart.”
“Carter, your Mom will always be my first priority along with my sister and you, okay bud?” Kara answered, careful to avoid the question in the belief that if she stopped herself saying it out loud, it would be a little easier to stop thinking it. She hadn’t been paying attention or she would’ve noticed that Cat’s heartbeat was just a little louder than it ought to be, as she stood just outside the door. “I’ll send her in to say goodnight.”
Tousling his hair affectionately, she stood and left the room to find Cat coming down the hallway towards her.
It wasn’t too long before they turned in for the night though Kara received a call at almost midnight saying she was needed at the DEO. Placing a kiss in Cat’s hair, she told her to go back to sleep and promised she’d be back soon.
“Hey Alex, what’s going on?” Kara asked as she arrived at the DEO, curious as to what had called her from her bed.
“We’ve got an alien, unidentified as of yet. We’re holding him in the cells and Wynn won’t be able to get any real work done until after he’s slept a bit, but we just thought we’d bring you up to speed. We found him in his natural form so if we show you photographs, we thought perhaps you’d be able to identify for us.” Alex spieled easily as the two of them made their way to the desks where Alex drew up a large scale image of the being. “Any ideas?”
“Not a clue. The universe is a really big place, Alex. And you said you’ve got Wynn on the case. If he’s in holding, and he’s not posing a direct threat to anybody then why exactly did you call me in?” Kara was tense and exhausted, and she didn’t want to be dragged away from Cat unnecessarily.
“You don’t normally mind…what’s going on, Kara? Where were you when I called?” Alex inquired concernedly, observing her sister’s eagerness get away. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“I was at Cat’s, okay? She’s not having the best day so I don’t want to leave her any longer than necessary.” Kara began, noticing the arch of Alex’s eyebrow and stopping her in her tracks. “It isn’t like that, Alex. She was there, earlier, and she’s not been there - not in person…not since she found out about Kara being Supergirl. It’s just shaken her a little bit so I’m staying at hers tonight. It’s no biggie!”
“Then why’ve you got that sad puppy look in your eyes like you worship the ground she works on?“ Alex narrowed her eyes as it clicked. “You’re in love with her, aren’t you! Oh my God, Kara, this is the worst idea you’ve ever had…like ever, which is saying something considering your life choices. You cannot fall in love with your boss and then engage in a fake relationship with her, are you crazy?!”
“Alex, don’t jump to conclusions. Everything’s fine. Now, if you don’t need anything more from me, I’ll be going! I’ll see you tomorrow, sis!” Kara finished abruptly as she flew straight out and back to Cat’s apartment, slipping quietly inside and edging towards the master bedroom as quietly as possible, only to find anything but silence there.
Cat was thrashing around the bed frantically, whimpering and whispering in her sleep. Impulsively, Kara sped across the room and kneeled before reaching for Cat’s cheek and holding her still and she tried to wake her carefully. The blonde’s eyes snapped open with fear in them as she met Kara’s gaze.
“I woke up and you weren’t here.” Cat stated bitterly, swiping Kara’s hand away as she rolled over in bed.
“I’m sorry Cat, my sister called and I thought it must be urgent for her to be calling so late. I came back as soon as I could.” Kara apologized, weakened resolve as she saw the way sh had upset Cat with her absence. “Shall I go home?”
“No!” Cat replied urgently, almost scared. “Just get in bed.”
Cautiously, Kara changed before slipping under the duvet and stuck close to the outside edge as Cat rolled to face outward. Without a word, Cat reached out behind her and grabbed Kara’s arm, pulling it to sit across her midriff as Kara shifted towards the middle of the bed and wrapped Cat in her hold protectively.