Broken

Broken by K. Aten

“The realtor will meet you at one-thirty with the keys and codes for your condo. You can—”

“What if I want to reprogram the system myself?”

Jess continued speaking as if Lena hadn’t just interrupted her. “Change the code for the private elevator and main door once you get the initial security clearance. Or, rewrite the entire system. The realtor assured me that the top level was on a closed loop and solely under your control.”

Lena grunted, slightly annoyed that Jess knew her so well. But the bigger part of her was grateful to have such a competent assistant who was both, above reproach, and willing to move across the country when Lena wanted a fresh start for L-Corp HQ in National City.

“Ms. Arias is handling all the details for the official HQ move and she’s got a team working on the announcement ceremony. Jackson will meet with Mayor Conti in your absence, with the understanding that you’ll sit down with her once you’ve publicly announced your relocation. But for now, you’re completely off the grid until your hiatus is up.”

Doubt and guilt rose like bile in Lena’s throat. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“The move? Absolutely. The investors and board may grumble but this is the best time to make a fresh start and get out of the shadow of Lex’s atrocities.”

She really had to give Jess another raise, or a promotion, or both. Wise and supportive, Lena instinctually knew the truth of Jess’s words. But that wasn’t the real cause of her guilt. “No… I mean taking time off when the company as at such a pivotal moment. Is this the right thing to do?”

Jess sighed over the line and there was a pause. Perhaps she was frustrated at hearing the same question from Lena a hundred times, or maybe she was unsure how to proceed while being mindful of Lena’s role as her boss.

“Lena, as both assistant and friend, and as someone who has worked at L-Corp for ten years, this company is nothing without you.”

“But—”

“Let me finish, please.” Lena quieted. “Sure, we had big contracts when you father, and later brother, ran the business. But those contracts were phasing out because the world wants better technology. Green energy, efficient solutions, and empathy. The world wanted, no, needed, exactly what you brought on board. The only ones who were slow to accept the new direction were the very same who approved of Lex’s methods and ideology, who were secretly benefiting from the less than savory practices going on in back rooms. Those individuals are gone. So, if the captain of the ship needs to take time to process everything that’s happened over the past few months, I think it’s not only good, but necessary or the future of L-Corp. You’ll come back calmer, settled, and renewed for the future.”

Lena smiled, unseen in the empty waiting room. “You seem very sure of yourself.”

“Hello? I’m the executive assistant behind the most successful CEO under 30 the world has ever seen. You may be the captain, but I’m your First Mate.”

She couldn’t stop the laughter the bubbled forth at Jess’s statement. “I thought that was Sam?”

“Her? No way. She’s just your scruffy, over-paid, accountant.”

Lena’s beautiful and statuesque long-time friend was anything but scruffy, and certainly not overpaid. She was also a hell of a lot more than an accountant. “I’m going to tell her you said that.”

Jess gave an undignified snort. “I’m not scared of Ms. Arias. Speaking of, did you contact the therapist she recommended? Dr. Olsen came highly recommended as a trauma specialist and from what I understand, she’s taken on a quite few specialty clients in the past that require intense anonymity.”

“I’m in the waiting room as we speak. I got here early for my first appointment. It looks like there are two doctors operating out of this building, both specializing in trauma.”

“Good. How is security?”

“Initial check-in downstairs involving physical ID and facial recognition and fingerprint scan to match what I initially submitted. After that, I used my fingerprint to access an elevator that brought me upstairs to the waiting room.”

Jess hmm’d. “What about paperwork?”

“I was told that every patient must sign non-disclosure documents that prevent them from releasing the name of any other patient they see coming to or from the office. The outside is non-descript and the practice isn’t traditionally listed according to Sam. I’m as safe as I can be.”

“Good. I know you worry about the press getting wind of any sort of weakness, but it sounds like your privacy is as good as we can ask for.” Lena heard rustling over the line then Jess said, “It’s nearly noon so I’m going to hang up. Good lucky, and enjoy your time off, Boss. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Jess.” Lena ended the call and stared at her home screen. The public lock screen was a standard corporate image of the L-Corp logo. But the private screen was a very old picture of herself, Sam, and Sam’s now ten-year-old daughter, Ruby. Her best friend and Goddaughter, fitting really as they were the two people in Lena’s life closest to her heart. Sam joked that at the rate Lena’s personal and love life were going, she’d still be using the old picture of them long after Ruby was out of college. It was probably true. Lena hadn’t changed the image in years.

The time in the corner of her screen showed that she still had ten minutes left until her appointment, so she brought up a word game to pass the time. Anything was better than getting on the news sites, or worse yet, social media. Her absence over the past week had been noted and intensely speculated on, and Lena wanted a calm clear mind going into her first appointment with Dr. Olsen.

The elevator doors opened before she could guess so much as a single letter of the mystery word. Even though Lena knew the practice specialized in keeping their clients anonymous, she couldn’t help looking up to see who had just arrived.

At first glance, she noticed the casual work clothes, chinos, a button down, and smart shoes. But as her gaze rose, so too did the heat in her cheeks. Intense blue eyes were hidden behind modern dark frames. The navy shirt didn’t do much to hide the muscular shoulders and arms, and Lena found herself disarmed by the sunny smile.

“Hi!”

Lena answered cautiously. “Hello.”

The woman abruptly swallowed. “Oh, sorry. I bet we’re not supposed to interact or anything. It’s just that you surprised me since I’ve been coming to these weekly appointments for the past six months and never saw anyone else in the waiting room. Odd really.”

The nervous ramble was as cute as the woman speaking and Lena was charmed. “It’s fine. After all, our identities are well protected here, right?”

The blonde’s eyes widened, and she tilted her head one way, then the other. Looking very much like the golden retriever her personality seemed to embody. “Uh, sure, Right, I mean.” She approached and held out a hand. “I’m Kara.”

Lena stood and clasped with her. Kara’s handshake was warm, without being sweaty. It was also equal parts firm and soft like leather covered steel. Unique and Lena had shaken many, many hands. “Lena.”

They both took seats in the available lounge chairs. Lena’s posture was upright, prim almost. But then she’d had decades of public decorum drilled into her by Lillian and later the boarding school instructors. Kara though, she sprawled sideways with her back against one side of the chair and her feet hanging over the other. Lena smiled to see the casual disregard of public decency. She was also secretly tickled by the sushi socks showing between the hem of Kara’s pants and the tops of her shoes.

“You must be here to see Kelly.” A look came over her face and she backtracked. “Oh shoot, I’m not allowed to talk about that, am I?”

Lena snickered. “I don’t know, are you? I don’t remember that being one of the rules. I think it’s more geared toward making sure our attendance in the sessions remain private. And yes, my appointment is with Dr. Olsen. Do you know her?”

Kara perked up, if that were ever possible. “Oh yes, she’s the best!”

Lena raised a single eyebrow. “And yet you’re here to see…” She looked around, unable to remember the other doctor’s name in the practice.

“Dr. Xixtim. They’re also really good with certain kinds of trauma. Anyway, Kelly is my sister-in-law so it would be a conflict of interest to have her as my therapist.”

“I see. This is my first appointment, and she came highly recommended, so I’ll take your positive approval as a good sign.” Lena glanced at her phone again. Five minutes until her appointment. She sighed. Kara’s phone buzzed and she pulled it from her pocket. Lena took the opportunity to discretely watch from her own seat.

Kara was a mystery, an enigma. As someone who was trained from a young age to wear a public mask, Lena knew all the signs that indicated the same in others. On one hand, Kara came across as positive, upbeat, and generally happy go lucky. From her smile, to her posture while relaxing in the chair, everything indicated she didn’t have a care in the world. But the very moment Kara mentioned her therapist specialized in a different kind of trauma, something darker and world-weary shone through like a beacon.

Barring all that, Lena knew without a doubt that a place like this with their intense security and expensive sessions wasn’t for the average person. It wasn’t a place covered by most insurance policies and yet, there was zero indication that Kara was part of the financial elite. Nothing about her screamed ‘designer brands’ and Lena chewed her lip in puzzlement. Who was Kara?

Before Lena could delve further into the mystery, Dr. Olsen’s door opened, and an attractive woman stepped into the waiting room. Lena stood as the woman noticed Kara in the chair. “Oh, hey there. I forgot that you had a standing appointment at this time when I let them book Ms—Lena. I hope it’s okay?”

Kara immediately stopped staring at the phone and her face lost that pensive look. She smiled up at Lena and gave her a blatant wink. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about Lena. We’re gonna be fast friends. I can tell.” Dr. Olsen’s consideration of Kara’s privacy over her own client was even more curious. Something to ponder later, if she decided to stick with this therapist.

Kelly held out her hand and Lena shook it, noting how very different it was from Kara’s. “And you must be Lena. It’s very nice to meet you. Please step inside. Is there anything you need? Water, coffee, tea? If so, I can send downstairs to reception for it.”

With one final glance at the buff blonde in the chair, Lena turned to follow Kelly into the office. “I’m good. But thank you for the offer, Dr. Olsen.”

“Please, it’s Kelly within this office.” With that, Kelly shut the door and Lena took a seat.

Lena arrived nearly a half hour early the next week. Without any responsibilities, she wandered aimlessly throughout the day so decided to just head to her appointment. Much to her surprise, Kara was already in the waiting room staring at her phone, knee jiggling anxiously based on her expression.

She was dressed nearly the same as before with the addition of a sweater, and Lena idly wondered what the other woman did for work. Of course, Lena herself wasn’t exactly dressed to represent her own career. She’d been wearing clothes she hadn’t even considered since university, dressing down in jeans, soft sweaters, and hoodies. She’d also stopped straightening her hair and wore her glasses instead of contacts. So far it seemed to be working. Not one person had recognized her since relocating to National City. Which was sort of the point, she supposed.

“Hello, Kara.”

Kara appeared almost startled as she locked her phone and spun her gaze toward the elevator. “Lena, hi! I was hoping you’d be back. I guess you must have liked Kelly then.”

She nodded as she sat down, smiling in spite of herself. “I did. She’s very wise and has a lot of insight.”

Kara nodded exuberantly. “Good, good.”

She fiddled with the sleeves of her cardigan and Lena waited. She learned to read people from a young age and knew without a doubt that Kara was one of those people who chattered, who thrived in social conversation. Lena wasn’t one of those people and mentally prepared herself for the onslaught.

“So, uh, did you see the news this morning? Can you believe it?”

Lena most certainly had read the news, despite Sam telling her not to. The story had officially broken that L-Corp and Lena Luthor were relocating to National City. She assumed that was what Kara was talking about. “I did, actually.” She paused and added, “I suppose it makes sense given the history of the company.”

“Wait, what? I’m talking about the whale that came to a boat captain to help her calf. It was tangled in a fishing net. The captain followed the distressed whale and was able to cut the baby free. There is video footage of the mother and calf swimming circles around the boat before swimming out to sea.”

The complete and utter opposite of what Lena was imagining forced her to do a mental reset. “Oh. Um, I didn’t see that. I actually love stories like that.” And she did.

“Here, I saved the video.”

Kara pulled the nondescript cell phone back out of her pocket. It wasn’t a brand that Lena recognized, certainly not one of the popular L-Corp models that had taken over the market a few years back. The lock screen was none other than Supergirl’s logo.

Lena smirked. “A big fan, I see.”

Interestingly, Kara’s cheeks darkened. “No, uh, my fam—, yeah. Sure. Anyway, here. Let me bring it up.” She unlocked the phone with both fingerprint and a long string of digits as her password. Even Lena’s own phone didn’t have that amount of security. Curious. The home screen appeared to be much more personal. It showed an image of Kara standing between a brunette around the same age and an older blonde. Her family maybe?

Kara navigated to her camera file and brought up the video. It started shortly after the blue whale began interacting with the crew in order to get their attention and continued to the end as mother and calf swam into the sunset. It really was awe-inspiring. Lena gave Kara a smile. “That’s such a beautiful moment. Thank you for sharing.”

The video abruptly switched to the next saved one, which happened to be popular clip of a very wet Supergirl lifting a leaking tanker clear of the bay and welding a quick patch with her heat vision while holding the ship steady above her head. Once the rent was sealed, lowered it back into the water. Lena read the article about the incident the previous week. Apparently Supergirl dove into the water right before that to temporarily seal the crack so she could safely initiate the repair. It was quite the engineering feat, at least from Lena’s perspective.

Kara made a noise and abruptly closed out the video and locked her phone. “Ugh, sorry about that.”

Lena snickered. “You really are a fan.” She said this as if she herself wasn’t massively enamored with the fairer and more favorable counterpart to the big blue boy scout located in Metropolis. A blush crept up Kara’s cheeks and Lena felt bad about teasing her. She placed a hand on Kara’s forearm to reassure before saying, “It’s okay. I’m a huge fangirl myself. I think it’s amazing that she has all this power and chooses to help the people of Earth rather than something less empathetic like rule it.”

“Yeah. That’s what I—that is, that’s a good take on it. I agree.” Kara closed her mouth and gave Lena an uncomfortable smile.

Lena wondered what the normally loquacious woman was going to say. She shrugged, and said, “I guess I just wish the people I grew up with were more like that instead of,” she paused, and threw caution into the wind. “Instead of megalomaniac criminals.”

Kara winced and met Lena’s gaze in understanding. “I feel you. I’ve learned some stuff about my own birth parents that was pretty hard to swallow.”

That piqued Lena’s interest. “Oh, I’m adopted too!”

“Really?”

“Yeah. My mum died when I was four and I was taken in by the L—my current family.” She chose to amend her statement at the last second. While privacy was guaranteed outside the building, she’d grown rather fond of kara in the short time they’d been acquainted, and she didn’t want to drop the Luthor bomb on her. It wasn’t a great feeling when someone learned your last name and suddenly, they couldn’t get away fast enough. Lena also didn’t date any more for the same reason. Her family truly sucked. Thanks, Lex.

“Oh, I’m sorry that happened to you. Were they not nice?” At Lena’s confused look, Kara elaborated. “Your adoptive family.”

The snort was undignified. Certainly nothing Lillian would have ever allowed in public when Lena was a child. But then, Lillian wasn’t around anymore, and nobody would recognize Lena at the moment. “Evil incarnate.”

Kara’s eyes widened. “Uh.”

Her gob smacked reaction made Lena rethink her statement. “Actually, that’s not true. My father was… difficult. I could tell he really loved me, but he was also demanding, absent a lot, and had a problem with whisky. My mother never really got close, and I didn’t find out why until recently.” She took a deep breath, still reeling from that particular revelation.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me.”

“No, I’ve come to terms with it. It seems that I was a product of my father’s infidelity and when my birth mum died, he brought me to live with his family. I can only imagine what was going through my adoptive mother’s mind. It’s no wonder she seemed to hate me and doted on my brother.”

Kara shifted and tentatively reached out to rest her fingers on Lena’s wrist. “How was your brother? I’ll admit that my sister loathed me for the first year or so. She’d been an only child when I came along. But a few things happened that really brought us together and she’s been my best friend since. My rock.”

Lena was a bit jealous of that, wishing Lex could have been her rock too. She thought of how to answer Kara’s question. Most people would simply call Lex a monster and move on. And to be fair, the man sitting in Iron Heights certainly was. But that wasn’t the only version of Lex she knew.

“He was my everything when I first came to live with them. He protected me, taught me to play chess, and so much more. We’d sneak into the kitchen and steal food when my mother would limit how much I ate so I didn’t swell up like one of those girls.” Kara’s face darkened when Lena mimicked Lillian’s familiar comment. “He protected me from father’s rage and was my only ally for a long time.”

“What happened?”

Lena shrugged and looked down, playing with the sleeves of her sweater. “He changed. With him taking over at the family company and me being away at boarding school for a number of years, I feel like he just slipped away. Until the day he began speaking of the unspeakable and I realized the boy who taught me to love and respect myself had become a monster of a man.”

A sigh met her announcement and when she looked up, she saw that same darkness in Kara’s eyes that she’d only seen for a split second at their first meeting.

“Are you okay?”

Kara swallowed. “Yeah, it’s just that you reminded me of something. My, uh, my entire family and everyone else died when I was thirteen. Well, everyone but my cousin who was still a baby. He, uh, got adopted by a really nice family.”

 It was an odd comment. It sounded like a genocide or natural disaster and Lena wondered why something of that nature wouldn’t have made the news. A thought popped into Lena’s head, and she narrowed her eyes to really look at Kara. She knew there were a lot of alien refugees on the planet. Despite appearing human, it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that Kara had come to Earth the same way. Her thoughts suddenly caught up with the conversation.

“Wait, the family that adopted your baby cousin wasn’t the same one who adopted you?”

“No, it’s… complicated.” Her eyes pleaded with Lena and she let it go.

“I understand. Some things need to remain confidential. Share what you’re comfortable with, Kara.”

Kara nodded and continued. “Anyway, I found out years later that my birth family had done some pretty terrible stuff. They worked on engineering a machine capable of genocide and it really threw me, you know?” Those expressive blue eyes met Lena’s gaze and the heartbreak was both obvious and familiar.

“Yeah, I do.”

“Not only that by my long-lost aunt who had been sentenced to prison for crimes against our people by her own sister, my mother, returned and found me a few years ago.”

“That’s good, right? Was she happy to see you?”

Kara grimaced. “She was only here to sow more chaos. Her husband attacked me and tried to kill a lot of other people. And my aunt… she attacked one of my friends and was killed by my sister in self-defense.”

Lena sucked in a breath. “Jesus, that’s awful!” Lena couldn’t imagine that kind of betrayal on so many different levels. It made her own family seem tame in comparison. Operating more on instinct than anything else, Lena abruptly pulled Kara into a hug. “I’m so sorry you had to go through such darkness, macushla. Nobody deserves that.”

Kara shrugged but leaned into the hug. She whispered, “Sometimes I wonder why I’m even here. Why was I spared when so many others weren’t? It’s something I’ve thought about a lot in the years since I came here.”

It was in that moment that Lena began to understand why this delightful woman was in trauma therapy, but that only scratched the surface on who she was. Lena definitely wasn’t about to pry though. She had her own secrets to keep.

She held the embrace until Kara pulled away, wiping escaped tears from her cheeks. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to drop such a heavy thing on you.”

“Nonsense. We’re obviously both here for a reason. I can tell you with certainty, that I had the same thoughts after I watched my mum drown and didn’t even move to help. I just stood there frozen and useless.”

“Didn’t you say you were only four?”

Lena gave he a wry smile. “Survivor’s guilt doesn’t care who you are or about the circumstances. I’ve been working on that one for a long time.”

“Survivor’s guilt. I’ve been so busy emotionally dealing with all the stuff that’s happened recently, I haven’t really gone into the stuff from my deeper past. Some days I feel like I don’t even have the space to breathe before another horrifying thing happens and that old grief gets lost in the shuffle. Maybe I should ask doc what they think.”

Lena patted her knee. “It certainly can’t hurt.” Curiosity clawed at the back of Lena’s mind. Who was this woman?

Kelly’s door opened and she stuck her head out to see Lena and Kara in the waiting area. “Hi Lena. I’m ready for you now.” She glanced at the other doctor’s door then smiled at Kara. “Looks like Dr. Xixtim is running late. Sorry about that.”

“That’s okay. Lena and I were just catching up.”

“Wonderful. And Alex and I will see you tonight for dinner, right?”

“Barring the usual emergencies, sure.”

Usual emergencies? Was Kara a doctor or first responder? Lena glanced at Kara’s arms for no less than the hundredth time since their first meeting the previous week. Those button downs and cardigans hid nothing. Damn her gay heart. She was so focused on ogling but not ogling, that Lena missed Kelly retreating back into her office.

“Bye, Lena. I’ll see you next week, same time same bat channel.”

Laughter burst from Lena’s lips. “Dork.” Kara just grinned and shrugged, as if to say ‘so what’, then Lena turned and pushed her way into the office, calling out, “see you then,” as she went.

Lena’s weeks continued in much the same vein as she and Kara fell into a strange sort of friendship. As time went on, they both got to their appointments earlier and earlier. Neither offering to meet outside the waiting room. Just, accepting their time for what it was. Kara started bringing her the ‘best coffee in National City, Lena, how have you never had this before’ after they began sharing their likes and dislikes when it came to food and drink.

Kara for her part never me a sweet she didn’t love. But apparently kale was an enemy of the highest order and should be treated like the obnoxious weed it was.

Kelly never brought up Lena’s time spent with Kara in the waiting room, despite the oddness of it all. But both Sam and Jess had mentioned Lena’s overall changing attitude and light heart over the past few months. She told them the therapy was really helping but secretly wondered if it had just as much to do with her new friendship.

Despite having nothing to do other than her weekly therapy appointments, Lena’s days had taken on a routine of sorts. Mondays she walked to the large waterfront park near her condo and would spend the morning wandering until she inevitably sat down to play chess at the public tables.

She had a great time talking to players from all walks of life. Some of the older ones were surprised at her skill but still tipped their hat after laying down their own kings. She was undefeated and pretty proud of the fact that the skill came back so easily. It had been years since she had anyone to play with.

Tuesdays she walked to a nearby bookstore to purchase a new book to read that day. Wednesdays were her ‘woeful’ days according to Sam. Lena worked out, did some basic chores around the house because she hadn’t gotten around to hiring a cleaning service yet, and had a video call with Sam and Jess. Thursdays were for therapy. Despite the bright light in her life that was Kara, Lena often woke early and stressed in the hours leading to her arrival at the therapy office. Then she’d make copious amounts of tea and contemplate all the words said before and after therapy, staying awake well into the evening.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were usually spent finding new places to eat or staying home to sketch up new ideas and inventions. Lena often missed her time in the R&D labs when she found herself thrust into the CEO spotlight. She had told Sam on more than one occasion that creation was cathartic.

Despite all the changes in her life, and her new incognito lifestyle while on her hiatus, Lena was still lonely in her new city. But she knew it was due to circumstance and self-isolation more than anything else. It was nice being lonely not as a Luthor or because she was a Luthor for once. The Luthor loneliness was a different, darker emotion.

But ten weeks into her new routine, everything screeched to a halt. Kara was in her park. Kara was sitting at one of the chess tables chatting away with an old man, casually playing chess as though she’d been doing it for years.

At first, Lena thought maybe she should back away and return later. She was easily twenty yards away and could escape without being seen if she wanted. After all, it seemed taboo to meet with another highly private client outside off the therapist office. But Kara’s head jerked up and she met Lena’s startled gaze from across the distance. Lena had no choice but to smile and keep walking in their direction.

Kara said something to Old Jim, which was what Lena knew he liked to be called, before jumping up and meeting Lena halfway. “Lena, hi! Golly, I can’t believe you’re here.” Kara frowned. “Wait, are we allowed to talk to each other,” She lowered her voice and added, “You know, out of the clinic?”

Lena snickered and covered her smile. “I think it’s fine as long as we obey the rules, right?” She followed as Kara led the way back to the stone chess table she’d been playing at.

“Lena, this is Old Jim. It’s what he likes to be called, I promise. Jim, this is my good friend Lena.”

Jim guffawed at Kara’s introduction. “Oh, Miss Kara. I know Miss Lena pretty well since I let her beat me at chess every Monday.”

Kara seemed at a loss for words so Lena glanced down at the board. Her friend was less than six moves away from putting Jim’s king in check. “Is she at least giving you a run for your money, Jim?”

He snorted. “Give me a run for my money? She’s already beat me three times and on her way to the fourth.”

“That good, huh?” Lena looked at Kara, who grew bashful.

“I’m not that good. I just like playing and none of my friends do. I only just found out this place existed when I was in the area earlier today research a story about the massive waterfront cleanup effort initiated by Mayor Conti.”

Lena suddenly felt dizzy and her ears roared with the beginning of panic. “Story?”

“Yeah. I’m a reporter for Catco Media. I guess we never discussed what we do, huh?”

She swallowed. “No. We didn’t.”

They stared at one another, both aware that some of that previously private information had suddenly come to light. Neither knowing what to do or how to move forward comfortably.

Their silence was broken by the thunk of one of the chess pieces. Lena turned her head to see that Jim had knocked over his own king. “You know what? I can already see where this game is going. I think I’ll bow out now and save the humiliation of another loss.”

Kara glanced back and forth between him and Lena. “Oh. It sounds like you have a standing game with Lena anyway. I should go and let you two play.”

“Better yet, why don’t you and your friend play. I’m going to move to another table today.”

Lena looked at him, concerned that she’d done something wrong. “Are you sure?”

He chuckled and used his cane to stand. “I’m positive. Pretty as the view is from this side of the table, I’m tired of losing to you both. I think you two would be well matched.” Then with a wink, Old Jim turned and shuffled away.

“I feel bad that I scared him off.”

Lena gave Kara’s hand a brief squeeze. “I’ve been coming here to play for months now. He wouldn’t have given up the table if he didn’t want to. And he’s right, I am undefeated so he probably is tired of losing against me.” Lena looked down at the half-set board, different captured pieces clustered around the edge with the lonely black king recumbent near one side. She gestured at the board. “It seems I’ve lost my partner. Would you care to play?”

Kara swallowed and looked around. “Uh,”

“You don’t have to, Kara. I understand if you’re not comfortable interacting outside of our safe space. Or if you don’t have time right now.”

She seemed to give it thought before smiling and taking a seat. “I’d love to play. And full disclosure, I know it seems weird because we’ve only known each other a few months, but I feel like you’re one of my safe spaces.”

The words hit Lena in her gut. The fact that someone who didn’t even know her last name would match her depth of emotion, it filled her soul more than anything else Lena had experience as of late. And she wasn’t ashamed to make her own admission. “I have to tell you that I feel the same way. Isn’t it strange?”

They set up the board as Lena spoke. Kara had resumed her previous place on the white side so made the first move. “I suppose some would consider it odd, but I’ve always been a believer in fate, or kismet. A very odd notion considering I was raised with a very scientific mindset until I was taken in by my adoptive family.”

The admission piqued Lena’s curiosity but she shoved it down again. Now wasn’t the time to pry into their respective pasts. Lena moved her bishop and asked, “Why do you think that is?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’ve seen a lot of things that make me wonder.”

“About?”

“Oh, everything I guess.” Kara moved her knight to take one of Lena’s pawns. She glanced up to meet Lena’s gaze then back to the board. “Given where we met, I think I can safely assume we’ve both seen and been touched by darkness, heartache, and grief. But there is something about this world and all the lives in it that continues to inspire me. To leave me with hope.”

“I know you mentioned your struggle weeks ago. We’ve both got survivor’s guilt born of the past that shaped us. I find it admirable that you retain such core of light despite it all.”

Kara made another move following Lena’s. “While I do doubt my existence at times, I can’t help thinking there is good out there waiting for us all. I was really struggling with a few things that occurred over the course of this year, then I met you and made this amazing new friend and things don’t seem so bad.”

Lena smiled up at her. “Yeah. We don’t even know each other very well in the grand scheme of things but I’d have to agree. When I arrived in National City I was a wreck and ready for a much-needed hiatus. But after only a few months, I’ve already got one friend and I’ve started putting down roots, building a life here.”

Every word she said was true, but Lena couldn’t help but think there was a metaphorical axe hanging over their friendship. After all, she had a press conference scheduled in less than two weeks that would officially announce her residency in the city and her subsequent return to the helm of L-Corp. Sam was a dear for stepping in but Lena couldn’t keep running away forever. It was time. Unfortunately, despite Kara not knowing who she was now, her very public appearance in all the local news sites was sure to put the puzzle pieces into place as to Lena’s identity. Then she’d be another Luthor like the rest.

“Check.”

Lena was startled from her thoughts by Kara’s last move. “Son of a— I didn’t even see that. It’s rare anyone puts me in check! My head is obviously in the clouds today.”

Kara snickered. “My head is always in the clouds. And from what Jim said, you clearly need someone to challenge you so your ego doesn’t grow.”

“One’s ego should be directly proportional to their skill. No more, no less. Check.”

“Shoot!” Kara studied the board, chin in hand and elbow resting on her knee. She looked like a smaller, prettier version of Rodin’s The Thinker.

Lena wracked her brain on how to prepare Kara for the inevitable news of who she was, while not outright giving away her identity. She finally worked up the nerve a few moves later. “Kara, this new friendship has really meant the world to me. But I want to give you a heads up about an announcement coming in a few weeks, and I’ll understand if you don’t—”

Her moment was interrupted by a yell. “Look out!”

Lena looked up in time to see a frisbee flying straight for her head. The bright blue image came at her, her mind slowing and obsessing over the approach with no ability to move out of the way. Lena knew without a doubt it was going to hurt. A lot. Then Kara finished moving her piece and reached up to pluck it out of the air less than an inch from Lena’s nose. Lena sucked in a breath, not quite panicking at the close call as a couple of kids ran up and took the frisbee from Kara’s grip.

“Thanks, lady.”

“No problem. But you may want to mover farther away from the social zone when you toss that around.”

Two heads bobbed in unison as the kids chorused, “We will,” before running off.

Kara turned back to Lena. “It’s okay, you’re safe now.”

For her part, Lena gasped and put her hands on either side of the table to ground herself. Unable to believe what just happened. “Jesus. Your reflexes are amazing. If you hadn’t been here…” She trailed off, unwilling to think of the consequences. After facing multiple assassination attempts over the past few years alone, Lena thought she’d become jaded to danger. Clearly she was wrong. Her hand shook as she moved her next piece.

Kara’s warm grip prevented Lena from retreating the appendage back to her side of the table. “Lena, take a deep breath. Take a moment.”

She tried to shake off the feeling. “I’m fine. I’ve faced worse.”

Kara frowned. “I know, but that doesn’t mean selfcare isn’t important.”

“Believe me,” Lena scoffed, “I’ve spent the past few months doing nothing else. But this was just some random frisbee. No purposeful attack.”

“Maybe not, but fear is fear. Sure, some is larger or blacker than others, but our response is the same.”

“Response?” Lena held her finger atop one of her pawns, contemplating her next move. But she took a moment to glance up at Kara. Her friend appeared deep in thought. The intermittent sun chose that very moment to break through the clouds to bath Kara in a ray of light, panting her with an angelic halo. The same three words looped over and over through Lena’s head. She is beautiful. She is beautiful. She is beautiful.

Kara met Lena’s intense gaze with one of her own. “Fear is like water, creeping in through the cracks of our psyche and freezing in the depths of our pain when we try to push it out too soon, or before we’ve fully understood it. And for those of us who are broken,” She nodded in Lena’s direction, including both of them in the statement, “That ice will only split us apart further. Edges crumble and wash away, and everything grows dark.”

They were the deepest and truest words she’d ever spoken to Lena and Lena hung on them. “What can we do?”

“Accept the fear. Let it in, study it, and warm it with understanding, then let it out again. The fear only controls us if we let it.”

Lena released the pawn and moved her rook instead. “That’s easier said than done.”

“Oh, I know it. But Kelly has told me often enough that we can’t control the actions of others, only our reactions. I spend much of my life facing fear and reacting. Her advice made a lot of sense and I’ve since learned many ways to cope with it all.”

Kara took another pawn and Lena smiled. “You know, you’re not just a pretty face after all. You’re pretty wise and clearly intelligent beneath all that brawn.” She knew it was foolish to flirt so blatantly when it would all wash away in a few weeks, but Lena couldn’t resist the magnetic pull of Kara any longer.

“So, you think I’m pretty huh?”

Lena’s cheeks grew warm and she huffed. “I do. Are you going to make me regret my words?”

Kara winked at her as she moved her queen. “Never. Instead, I’ll admit that I feel the same about you.”

Warmth blossomed in Lena’s chest and she laughed. “I can assure you that there is zero brawn to be found on this side of the table.”

“Maybe not, but there is plenty of beauty and I suspect you are too often underestimated. But—”

Kara paused and Lena took her eyes off the board only to be caught in that electric gaze. “But?” She asked.

“But, I see you… Lena Luthor. I’m honored that I’ve gotten to call you a friend.”

“Oh.” Lena sucked in a breath. “You know who I am.”

Kara’s eyes twinkled. “I do.”

“And you don’t care?”

Kara leaned across the table slightly until their faces were only inches apart. “I’ve grown to care a lot, actually.” She paused then, as if to ascertain Lena’s reaction.

The statement could certainly be taken in a multitude of ways but Lena was no fool. In fact, she was a certified genius and definitely didn’t miss the way Kara stared at Lena’s lips for perhaps a moment longer than a mere friend would. For the first time in a long time, Lena let herself hope. “I, I don’t know what to say.”

Kara nervously adjusted her glasses. “You don’t have to say anything. I’m just being honest and letting you know where I stand.”

“Well, in the spirit of honesty, I suppose that I can admit I’ve had a bit of a crush on you since you rushed into that waiting room months ago.”

“Really?” Kara’s eyes lit up as if she never considered the possibility that Lena could like her back.

“Absolutely. And since we’re being so honest and throwing all our precious secrets into the wind, would you like to have dinner with me?”

Kara abruptly frowned and she sighed before looking down at the board. To anyone else, it would appear as though she were contemplating her next move but Lena knew it had more to do with her question than anything else. Well, perhaps Kara was contemplating her next move, but not one made on a chess board.

Their gazes finally met again and Kara swallowed. “I’d say that depends.”

Lena lifted a single dark eyebrow. “On?”

“Lena, not all our secrets have been spilled. There are moves remaining on the board.”

She tilted her head at the statement, attempting to puzzle out exactly what Kara was referring too. They’d gone well beyond the chess game into the territory of real life. “What moves are left that would make me reconsider?”

“You don’t know who I am.”

Another puzzling statement. Sure, Kara had always been an enigma, a conundrum for the ages. But she was still lively, intelligent, hopeful, full of laughter and empathy, and an all-around beautiful soul. What did it matter who she was? “Should I care? Will I care?”

Kara shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe?”

“You don’t have to tell me. I’ll respect that we don’t owe each other our secrets.”

“I know. But this one is important, and something that needs to be brought to light before I can enter anything deeper than a friendship with anyone.”

Lena gave her a gentle smile. “I can be patient. Nothing needs to come out right now. Take in your fear, don’t let it freeze in the cracks, right?”

Kara smirked back. “Right. I—” An explosion sounded somewhere in the distance and a plume of smoke rose on the horizon.

Lena had just moved another piece and she jumped in shock. “Wow! That sounded bad. At least it wasn’t close to us.” She was surprised to find that Kara didn’t move. Instead, she appeared to be listening, but to what, Lena couldn’t tell. “Kara?”

Kara abruptly stood, and Lena stood as well. “I’m sorry, but I have to go.”

“Go?” The statement didn’t make much sense. Where in the world would Kara need to go to, unless it had to do with her job. “Is this a reporter thing?”

The other woman paused for just a second, before shaking her head. Then, after a quick glance around to verify they were currently alone in the sculpture garden, Kara blurred in place. The change was too fast for Lena to see, but the space where her friend once stood was suddenly taken up by none other than National City’s resident superhero.

“Supergirl.” Lena breathed out in awe. Then she ruefully shook her head. “Now I just feel stupid. So much for asking you out.”

“Why do you say that?”

Lena snorted and waved in Kara’s direction. “Are you kidding me? You’re clearly out of my league. Hell, everyone’s league.”

Pale eyebrows lifted in surprise. “So, it doesn’t bother you?”

“Didn’t I already admit that I was a huge fan? That’s pretty embarrassing in retrospect. And a lot of stuff makes sense now.”

Kara stepped around the table and grasped Lena’s hands. “Would it help to admit that I’ve followed your career for the past few years and I’m also a huge fan?”

Lena’s mouth gaped open in a very un-Luthor like manner as she struggled to control her shock. Her head spun at all the revelations of the past few minutes. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Say yes.”

“Yes?”

“To the date, of course.”

Lena snickered. “You mean the date I asked you on?”

Kara smiled. “Good point. I suppose the yes is mine to share then.” She leaned closer until their lips nearly ghosted together, and whispered, “Yes.”

And Lena knew that Kara was daring her, offering to let Lena cover the smallest fraction of distance to conquer her own fear. She couldn’t say no to that. Lena moved forward that last little bit and caressed Kara’s lips with her own. It was soft and slow. The kiss suddenly grew deeper as it escalated. When Kara’s teeth grazed Lena’s bottom lip, it felt like a promise and she struggled to stifle a moan.

She rocked back when Kara pulled away. “Wow.”

“I agree.” Kara’s glaze moved to the horizon again, then returned to Lena

She sighed, understanding that dating a superhero was sure to be an interesting experience. Hard, frustrating, sad, and scary, but if it was Kara, it would be worth it. “I know, you have to go.”

Kara tilted her head again. “I do. The fire department has it handled, but I want to make sure the building is stable.”

“I understand.”

“Do you?” The question held weight. It was as through Kara looked deep into Lena’s soul. Her gaze quietly asked if Lena would be there through the hard times, those times when one or both of them felt broken. If she could accept the fear and let it out again in order to move forward.

Lena gave her another quick kiss and squeezed her hands. “I do. Now, go save the day, Supergirl.”

Kara’s smile was brighter than the sun as she leaped into the air, then just as quickly she returned to stand in front of Lena. Lena gazed at her in shock. “What—”

With careful grace, Kara reached over to make her last move, announcing “Checkmate” before leaping into the air again and flying across the city in a blur of red and blue.

Lena looked down at the board, then flipped her king onto the side out of sheer annoyance. “Shit.”

The good thing about hope is that with it, Lena knew there would be other games. She knew that Kara would return and that she didn’t care about Lena’s last name. Hope was a glue, binding together their broken pieces and letting them come together as one. And for the first time in what felt like forever, Lena wasn’t lonely any more.

She quickly reset the board for the next players to come along and wandered back out of the park smiling to herself. She’d win the next one.