Chapter 2
An hour had passed since Rick attacked and the concealed sun had melted beneath the horizon. The stormy clouds were even more ominous now in the darkness, as thick snow cascading down the glass. Moments like this, contained somewhere outside of space and time, Kara felt like she was in her own universe. The only people on Earth existed between the walls of the terminal. Normally that might make her feel claustrophobic, but she felt a strange sort of zen here. Even with a clearly shaken up CEO and a somewhat jarring cacophony of whining toddlers.
Judging by the general calmness of the public within the airport, no one was aware of the incident earlier. Kara was extremely glad. Mass hysteria in a borderline contained space wouldn’t end well. Luckily, there were also fewer people around than there’d been earlier. Some must have found a way through the storm before it got too bad. Scanning the space, Kara could tell that there were still a hundred or so passengers stranded though. It was going to be a long night…
“Do you feel ready to eat something?” Kara asked the woman sitting beside her. Having spent more than enough time in the executive lounge, the pair were sitting in the waiting room now, people watching as the Luthor quietly processed what had happened. The superhero had managed to discreetly update Alex via text too. The older Danvers was relieved that Kara had foiled the attempt successfully.
Lena was leaning down with her forearms resting on her thighs as she stared out into the waiting room. She looked up as Kara spoke to her but didn’t respond. Her brow had been furrowed as if she was lost in deep thought for the past hour.
“It’s alright if not. I just think it might make you feel better to have some something.”
With a soft sigh, Lena nodded, sitting up. “Probably a good idea.” She seemed to brighten slightly as she met Kara’s eye. “I can’t say I have fast food much. Mind showing me the ropes?”
Kara grinned devilishly. “I thought you’d never ask.”
The budding reporter chuckled as she took in Lena’s wide eyes at the spread of food before them. Covering two separate tables, there were pizzas, noodles, various burgers, fries, quesadillas, and what looked to be some kind of Korean BBQ dish. Not to mention the various milkshakes.
“Kara, there’s no way we can eat all this.”
“You told me you don’t have fast food much. This way you can try everything!” Kara’s bright smile appeared to soften Lena’s concerns a little. “Also, if there’s anything we don’t touch, we’ll see if anyone else wants it. Nothing will go to waste, don’t worry.”
Lena nodded, seemingly supposing that would work. Her eyes danced across the array of dishes, still looking a tad overwhelmed. “This must have cost a fortune. I’ll be sure to get my assistant to reimburse you for all of this when we’re back in civilisation.”
Kara shook her head, mouth still full of food. Swallowing, she said, “It’s okay. I often eat a lot. Alex says I have three stomachs.”
“Alex?”
“Oh, my sister. She’s the one who called earlier.”
Lena hummed, nodding as she negotiated noodles with her chopsticks. She’d gone straight for the tofu chow-mein. “What’s she like?”
“Alex is great. She went to medical school, but she works for the FBI now. She’s quite a badass.”
Lena raised her eyebrows with a smile. “The best kind of woman.”
“Agreed.” Kara nodded. “She’s been a little different lately actually. She’s in a new relationship and I haven’t seen her like this before.”
“Oh really? Has she changed for better or worse?” Lena asked with interest.
“Better for sure. But she’s sort of shy about it. Which isn’t like her at all. It’s her first really serious relationship and I think she’s scared to mess it up.” Kara smiled fondly to herself as she recalled Alex’s initial panic over her feelings for the detective and her relief when Maggie eventually reciprocated her feelings. They didn’t talk about the part in the middle…
Lena nodded. “That’s understandable. Do you like the person she’s dating?” Kara noticed that Lena was following suit and avoiding the person’s pronouns rather than making assumptions. Something about that made her smile.
“Yeah. I think Alex finally feels comfortable being herself so I’m really happy for her.”
A comfortable silence elapsed as they ate. Lena took a tentative bite of the Korean BBQ dish. A moment later, her face lit up and she rushed to get more. Kara watched the series of events, smiling smugly. She knew it would be a hit.
“I can’t imagine being so close to a sibling. I’m sure you’re quite aware of how fractured my relationship is with my brother.”
“I try not to read tabloids. They only tell one side of the story.”
Their eyes met then, with a fond sense of understanding. Kara was relieved by how much the CEO had calmed down since the attack, chatting comfortably now as they ate. Kara had a distinct feeling that she was getting to see a side of Lena Luthor that not many people saw, and she was grateful for it.
“Do you still speak to him?” Kara asked after a long moment. She regretted it as soon as she saw Lena’s expression fall.
“I trust this is all off the record?”
“Of course! I’m sorry, Lena. We don’t have to talk about any of this if you’re not comfortable.”
“No, it’s okay.” Lena waved her hand to dismiss her concerns. “There’s not much to say. I haven’t said a word to him since he hurt all those people. It sickens me to think that we share a surname.”
Lena had put down her knife and fork and Kara couldn’t help but reach out to rest her hand on one of the CEO’s. At first, she seemed surprised by the touch but soon turned her hand around and squeezed Kara’s hand once before retracting it. Respecting her boundaries, Kara didn’t touch her again for the rest of the meal, but listened attentively as Lena told her stories about her childhood with Lex. About the man he was before. She told Kara about treehouses and chess and feeling warmth in a house built of ice. Kara couldn’t imagine how hard his betrayal must have been. The fact that the Luthor was not only functioning but was actively kind to people was a marvel. Many people had chosen a life of bitterness over less.
A woman of her word, Kara took the untouched pizza and noodle boxes around to the stranded passengers. A couple of families were happy to accept the dishes, excitedly tucking into the unexpected freebie. Feeling eyes boring into her back, Kara glanced over and caught the tender expression from the Luthor. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach and Kara shot her a mega-watt smile back.
As seven turned to eight, the airport staff resignedly accepted that everyone would be settling in for the night and handed out blankets and pillows. Recalling the plethora of sofas and armchairs in the executive lounge, Lena had spoken with the staff, convincing them to offer the space to families in need. Neither woman could bear to see any more toddlers or babies fast asleep on their parent’s laps. With metal chairs as far as the eye could see, the variety of vending machines were the only real saving grace of the departures lounge. At least Kara could stay stocked up on chocolate.
While helping stranded passengers get comfortable, Kara had received another text from Alex. Her sister had reassured her that Rick was definitely the culprit behind the death threats. The DEO had finally managed to break the encryption and track the IP address, connecting Rick with the messages. It turned out that his sister had been one of the victims of Lex’s attacks and the grieving man had been plotting his revenge for years. The only silver lining was that at least he’d been working alone.
Using her super hearing, Kara listened as a phone call from the police explained the same to Lena. This meant that they could at least relax now and just had to focus on getting through the long night. After the afternoon they’d had however, Kara was reluctant to stray too far from the Luthor. Humans were terrifyingly fragile.
As Kara rejoined her new friend, Lena gave her a soft smile and they stood beside one another staring out at the busy scene. When their shoulders bumped together, neither woman moved away.
Watching as a woman wheeled her luggage over to the food court, Kara’s eyes sparkled with a new idea. “If you thought the fast-food buffet was fun, then I have a surprise for you.”
“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?” Lena smirked. Ever since the phone call, the Luthor had seemed much lighter, and she was smiling properly again now. Not to take too much credit, but Kara also felt like she’d known exactly when to press and allow Lena to express her feelings about the attack, and when to give her space. Clearly her instincts had paid off and Lena was in a much better place.
“I think you’ll like this. But we’ve gotta be discreet or the staff may yell at us,” Kara said cryptically.
“Are you propositioning me?” Lena raised a curious eyebrow.
Kara’s mouth opened and closed a few times, her cheeks growing crimson. She genuinely wasn’t – but then Lena didn’t sound particularly outraged by the idea? That observation alone was enough to fry Kara’s brain. She had no idea what to say next. Luckily, her mouth decided to speak before her brain decided to catch up.
“Lena, in any other circumstance…” She began, immediately startled by her own candour. If Alex was here, she’d be grabbing popcorn.
“In any other circumstance?” Lena inquired slowly, looking equally as surprised by the turn of events.
Kara swallowed, composing her thoughts. “I meant to say… I would - I would be extremely lucky to date you, and any – anything that came with that…” She began, trying not to choke. God, this was going terribly. “But you were betrayed by someone you trusted tonight. I would never take advantage of that and proposition you! Do you really think I would?” She couldn’t help but sound hurt at the end.
Lena took a breath, staring at the woman who’d quite literally saved her life earlier and been nothing but delightful since. “Please take a breath,” she said, and reached out and grabbed Kara’s forearm gently, comforting. “I’m just teasing you. I don’t think you would. Especially given the events that transpired earlier.” She watched as Kara finally exhaled properly, looking somewhat embarrassed now. “I would like to talk about the any other circumstances though?” She smirked.
“Lena!” Kara exclaimed, her face once again growing crimson. Lena chuckled loudly. “Do you want to see the surprise or not?”
“A stack of luggage trolleys. You brought me to see the airport’s luggage trolleys?” Lena asked, bemused.
Kara had indeed brought Lena Luthor, CEO of LuthorCorp, to see National City Airport’s collection of luggage trolleys. But it wasn’t the trolleys themselves she wanted to show the Luthor. It was what could be done with them.
“Hop on,” Kara said with a grin.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
With only slightly more convincing, and several assurances this was definitely safe (mostly), Lena followed Kara’s instructions. The Luthor gave Kara one more suspicious glare before crossing her legs and leaning back against the arms of the trolley.
“Me and Alex used to do this as teens whenever we had to fly cross county. It’s really fun, I promise.”
With no further warning, Kara took off running, pushing the trolley at a decent speed as Lena held on for dear life. Once she’d gotten over the initial nervousness, Lena seemed to realise that this was in fact quite fun. The wind whipped through her dark hair as they sailed down the wide, empty corridor before them. Kara’s gleeful laughing soon grew infectious, and Lena laughed loudly. Once they’d picked up enough speed, Kara jumped onto the back of the trolley, enjoyed the ride just as much as Lena. Soon enough, they reached the end of the long corridor and Kara slowed the trolley down carefully. Moving round, she grinned at Lena proudly.
“Did you enjoy that?”
“That was a lot more fun than I expected. Can we go again? I’ll push you.”
Kara laughed and nodded. So that was how they spent the next half an hour. While seemingly impressed, Lena also expressed how baffled she was by Kara’s stamina. The hero had done eight-to-ten trips pushing her without so much as getting out of breath. Despite her extensive regular gym routine, Lena was complaining of a stitch by the third time. It didn’t stop her trying again though, this time running in socks as it was easier than her heeled boots.
The Luthor laughed delightedly as she ran as fast as she could before jumping on the back of the trolley. Kara cheered as it swept down the hall at a high speed. It was all going immaculately until the rattling metal vehicle suddenly jeered to the left and begun careening towards a metal barrier.
Neither Lena nor Kara had the time to try and stop it and with a loud crash, Kara went flying from the base. She landed on her back with a thud and briefly had to catch her breath, winded. Lena was on her in a beat. The woman dropped down above the superhero, hands either side of her head.
“Are you alright?” she asked, worry consuming her features.
She received a soft nod in response. Closer than they’d ever been before, Kara took in her face for a moment. Despite hours having passed, the woman’s deep red lipstick was perfectly intact. Her long dark eyelashes framed glittering jade eyes that Kara could picture herself getting lost in. The woman’s cheekbones were just pronounced enough to highlight her delicate features. Looking closely, Kara noticed she had a soft underbite. Staring at Lena’s mouth was the biggest mistake because now, Kara couldn’t look away.
Time stood still. Sensing the mood shift between them, Kara could see that the Luthor was also looking at her lips. Heart racing, the hero just had to tilt her head up a little more and then –
“Hey!” Someone called, startling both women. “You can’t be in here!” They jolted apart, eyes darting towards the direction of the noise to see an airport security guard standing at the far end of the corridor.
Jumping up, Kara grabbed Lena’s hand and said, “Quick, run!” Lena rolled her eyes but grinned, running with her terrible influence. They only slowed down to grab Lena’s abandoned boots off the floor.
A few pairs of eyes glanced up at them as they appeared back in the departures waiting room, trying to contain their laughter as they caught their breaths. With a slight blush, Lena slipped her boots back on, Kara offering her arm for balance as she did so.
The Kryptonian beamed at the slightly dishevelled Luthor. This was easily turning into one of her favourite nights ever.
A couple of hours had passed, and many people were settling down now to try and get some sleep. Kara and Lena had found a quiet corner of the departures lounge and were softly chatting as they munched on chocolate. Now very familiar with the vending machine, Kara had picked a few different options for the pair to nibble on. Earlier on, Lena’s assistant had called and the Luthor had had to update her on the delays. Kara had noticed the disappointment in the woman’s voice as she instructed ‘Jess’ to reschedule the morning conference. Kara hadn’t meant to eavesdrop this time but, in her defence, Lena hadn’t moved away at all to accept the call. The conference would be in a week’s time now and the businesswoman would be hiring more extensive security beforehand.
“I’m sorry you have to do all that,” Kara said after she hung up. “It shouldn’t have to be like that.”
Lena nodded. “Ever since Lex, my surname has always put me at risk. And then with the new direction I’m taking the company…”
Kara looked at her sympathetically. “I’m a firm believer that things will change. That if we keep doing the right thing, good will prevail.”
“You seem very confident in that.”
“We have to be, don’t we? Otherwise, what’s the point trying to change anything?”
Lena hummed. “A fair point.” Her eyes met Kara’s for a long moment, observing. “I suppose you’re a lot more optimistic than me. I’d like to be able to only see the good in people. I’m just not sure if I can.”
“I think that’s reasonable considering what you’ve been through.” Looking closely, Kara realised that Lena had several discreet piercings in her eye lobe. So small, they were almost invisible. She had a feeling the woman had more surprises.
“Is that why you want to be a reporter? To change things?”
Kara settled back in her seat, twisting a little to better face Lena. Feeling the claw of her hair clip digging into the back of her head, Kara reached up to remove it. She ran her fingers through her stiff hair a couple of times to help it settle afterwards. As she glanced up again, she caught Lena staring and smiled. The Luthor nonchalantly looked away, but she could see a gently crimson rising on her cheeks. It made Kara’s heart ache fondly.
“That’s partly the reason,” Kara began, responding to her question. She’d tucked her loose hair behind her ears now, feeling its familiar warmth against the back of her neck. “The main reason is that I think everyone deserves a voice. Too often, we only hear a select few voices dominate our society and that needs to change. I want to report on things that everyone else is overlooking. Highlight discrimination and give people a platform to tell their own story. The aliens we have in National City, our friends, and our neighbours, are from thousands of different planets. Thousands. And yet we know nothing about them. The things we could learn if we just gave people a chance, you know? It frustrates me to no end. That is why I want to be a reporter.”
“You’re quite a force to be reckoned with, Kara Danvers.” Lena was looking at her like she was some kind of enigma and Kara couldn’t help but squirm under her intense gaze. She wasn’t used to getting such direct praise. Not as Kara at least. Supergirl got praise on a daily basis. Heck, at the start, it had been hard to feel enough with the cape off. Kara was just a shy assistant who had big dreams and a higher achieving sister. Supergirl was well, a god. For the first time ever, she might have met someone who would still prefer Kara.
She stared at the Luthor, at her warm eyes and her soft, contented smile, and felt a now familiar calmness flow through her body. It was a feeling Lena had been eliciting from her all evening. A near stranger that somehow felt like home. “I think people couldn’t really be more wrong about you, Lena Luthor.”
Kara wasn’t sure who leaned in first but suddenly their lips were connected. Kara closed her eyes and rose her hand to softly cradle the Luthor’s cheek. Lena pulled her closer as they kissed, before accidentally exhaling with a soft moan that sent shockwaves down Kara’s body. When they finally parted both women were breathing heavily. Kara gently knocked their foreheads together as she smiled, her thumb still stroking Lena’s cheekbone.
“That was one hell of a kiss,” Lena chuckled softly as they properly moved away. Her eyes were bright and piercing.
“Definitely the best first kiss I’ve ever had,” Kara responded. It was already replaying in a loop in her head, sending feelings through her body that were definitely not appropriate for the setting they were in.
“First implies there’ll be more.”
“I don’t know about you, but I really hope there’s more. My god, Lena.”
The Luthor chuckled adorably, and Kara wanted nothing more than to kiss her smile. So, she did.
The rest of the night went off without a hitch as both women curled up against one another beneath a thick blanket. Between the upright seats and the slightly embarrassing level of adrenaline running around Kara’s body, she didn’t sleep very well. But with her forehead against Lena’s neck and their fingers warmly interlocked, she wasn’t exactly complaining.
As dawn broke, so did the storm, and the airport burst back into action. While extensively delayed still, flights started appearing on the departures board, and blankets and pillows were gradually put away. Despite the early hour, most people were awake now, nursing coffees as they chatted tiredly to their family members.
Even with smudged makeup and deep bags under her eyes, Lena looked just as beautiful as the night before. Seeming to remember the evening’s events at the same time Kara did, the Luthor gave her a bright smile.
“Good morning, Kara.”
Kara grinned back. “Good morning, Lena.”
Rubbing sleep from her eyes, Lena looked at her fondly. “You know, with you there, I don’t think National City is going to be that bad after all.”
Kara reached up and tucked an errant strand of dark hair behind Lena’s ear. “I think National City is about to get a whole lot better for me too.”