We're Working On It
Kara’s knee bounces as she continuously glances toward the elevator. It’s almost 11:30 a.m. and Lena should be back soon. She chews on the end of her pen, her teeth crushing through the thin plastic easily. Another look at the clock shows only a minute has passed. A small sigh escapes from Kara’s lips.
“Kara? Everything good?” Nia walks over to her desk. Kara pulls the wrecked pen from her teeth and throws it in the bin beside her.
“Just waiting for Lena to get back from her breakfast meeting.” Kara’s leg continues to bounce under the desk. “She’s supposed to come back around lunch.” Nia nods, glancing at the clock.
“Are you planning to talk to her?”
“Yes,” Kara answers. “Wait, can I ask you something?” Nia shrugs. “If someone tells you that their meeting is actually for business instead of pleasure, what does that mean? Does it make a difference if they are your ex?”
“Well, Kara. I would think that –” Nia finally begins to speak, but gets interrupted by the elevator doors sliding open to reveal Lena. Heart thumping in her chest, Kara watches as Lena starts making her way to her office across the room. When she passes Kara and Nia, she barely acknowledges them. Kara frowns. Is Lena Luthor…crying? Immediately, Kara stands and hurries after Lena, leaving Nia near her desk looking confused.
“Lena?” Kara enters the office, closing the door, before glancing at Lena. The raven-haired woman barely looks at her while she settles behind the large desk. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Kara,” Lena says, but her voice shakes. Kara takes a step closer, unsure of what she can do to comfort the woman in front of her. There’s a sadness in her eyes that swallows the typical spark in the green. Every muscle in her body aches to reach out to her former girlfriend and comfort her by wrapping her arms around her tight. Kara bites her lip and Lena’s eyes catch the movement before flicking back to her blue ones. “You need to talk to me, right?”
“Y-yes,” Kara begins. “But I can come back later if you need a moment.” Lena hesitates.
“Would you mind coming back, Kara? I just need to sort out something.”
“Of course, Ms. Luthor.” Kara begins backing out of Lena’s office. She wants to stay, and help Lena with what she needs to figure out, but she doesn’t have the right to do so. She’s not Lena’s girlfriend anymore. It’s too late for that, Lena has made that quite clear. Lena has moved on, maybe it’s time Kara does the same. Kara walks out of Lena’s, beelining for the bathroom. She needs to splash some water on her face. As the cool water hits her face, Kara lets out a small sigh. The thought of her moving on seems impossible, she can’t see herself with anyone but Lena Luthor. She closes her eyes for a moment.
“Kara…” She opens her eyes, glancing around. Lena isn’t near her. Maybe she imagined her voice in her head. She dries her face before putting her glasses back on. She exits the bathroom, almost bumping into another coworker of hers. She smiles politely, making her way to her desk. “Kara?” Her head snaps up, expecting Lena to be in front of her. She’s not. Kara glances towards Lena’s office, shocked to see Lena staring directly at her. Kara cocks her head, questioning. Lena nods.
“Lena? What’s wrong?” Kara peeks her head into the rave-haired woman’s office. Lena gestures to her to come inside and close the door. Without a word, Lena reaches under the desk, pressing a familiar button. As expected, the bookshelf to the right of the desk pops forward. Kara’s stomach flips in a mixture of confusion and anticipation of what’s to happen. Lena disappears into the room. When Kara doesn’t immediately follow, her head pops back out, a quizzical look on her face.
“Are you coming, Kara?” Heart in her throat, she nods and then follows Lena into the secret room. Seeing Lena sit on the bed and pat the space next to her, Kara experiences a flashback to when she and Cat engaged in some inappropriate activity back here. A blush begins creeping up into Kara’s cheeks, but she sits next to Lena anyway. Palms sweating, heart thumping, mouth dry, Kara fiddles with the edge of her skirt, unable to look at Lena.
“Lena, I’m not sure why I’m here?” Kara realizes too late that she failed to call Lena by her last name as an employee should. Especially when speaking to her boss.
“Kara…” Lena says softly, causing Kara to look at her. She’s met with piercing green, searching her face for something. Lena clears her throat. “I need to tell you something.” Suddenly, Kara notices the tiredness evident on Lena’s face. Her hair isn’t as glossy as it usually is, and her eyes are sunken in with dark circles hanging underneath.
“Is everything okay, Lena?” Kara asks, worriedly. She forgets about their awkward history for a moment, taking Lena’s hands. They’re warm and soft, fitting perfectly with Kara’s.
“I’m in trouble, Kara. It’s going to ruin me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Do you remember when Andrea said she knew everything about me? And she threatened to expose it if I didn’t help her with Myriad?” Kara nods, the memory extremely clear like it happened yesterday. “Well, someone tried to release it a few days ago. Luckily my PR team caught it and managed to take it down before it became public knowledge.” Lena lets out a shaky breath.
“It’s okay, Lena. It’ll be okay.” Kara doesn’t know the details, nor does she want to overstep and ask, but she knows in her heart that Lena will manage to overcome this obstacle. Her mind races with thoughts about what the information could be. Lena always seems so calm and collected, never making mistakes. It doesn’t matter to her what the information could be, she’d love Lena unconditionally.
“I’m adopted.” Kara’s eyebrows furrow.
“I’m sorry?”
“I’m adopted, Kara,” Lena reiterates, removing her hands from Kara’s. She rubs the back of her neck anxiously, heat rising in her cheeks. Kara takes a second to digest the information.
“I don’t think I understand, Lena. You think the world finding out you are adopted will ruin you?”
“Yes. Since I’m not a true Luthor, I could lose everything. Everything I worked so hard for.” Lena stifles a sob, covering her face with her hands. “I owe you an apology.”
“No, you don’t.” Kara shakes her head.
“Yes, I do. You kept your identity from me. In the same way, I kept some portion of my true identity from you. I’m sorry, Kara. Truly.” Kara’s mind reels. She isn’t sure what to think right now. She needs time to comprehend what Lena just divulged. But she should stay with Lena, and help her through the mess that someone created.
“Do you think it was Andrea?” Lena shakes her head, tears starting to stream down her face. “Do you want me to call Alex and Winn? They could probably figure out who found out and released it. Before it comes out.”
“I-I don’t know,” Lena says sullenly. Hesitantly, Kara begins rubbing small circles on Lena’s back, trying to soothe the CEO. The two women sit in silence for a while, Kara continuously rubbing Lena’s back.
“I have an idea, Lena.” Kara waits for Lena to wipe her eyes. “You should announce it publicly. Come out ahead of it and beat the person. That way, you control the media. Use CatCo to your advantage.” Lena just stares at Kara. For a moment, she wonders if this was the wrong thing to suggest. But then, Lena’s lips curl into a small smile.
“That’s a great idea, Kara.” Before she can reply, Lena has shifted, her body now facing Kara fully instead of sitting next to each other. Kara feels her heartbeat speed up as Lena’s eyes look at her lips. Instinctively, her lower lip becomes trapped between her teeth. Lena leans forward hesitantly. “Can I kiss you, Kara Danvers?” Kara doesn’t answer. Instead, she captures Lena’s soft lips. Oh, Rao.