"Eliza?" Several bags in hand, Kara stepped into her first home on Earth and looked around in the darkness. She placed some of the luggage on the ground, flicking on a light. "Eliza!?" There was no response.
Checking the time on her phone, Lena said, "It's only 8:42. Does you foster mother go to bed this early?"
Eyes closed, Kara concentrated for a moment then shook her head. "No one's home. Close the door." As Lena did so, Kara pulled out her phone and made a call, "Hey, Alex, did you get in touch with Eliza?"
"I tried, but all I got was her voicemail. What's up?"
"She's not home."
"Oh, well, she had a conference this week. Maybe she's not back yet. Just relax and hang out. I'm sure Mom will be back soon. You two all right?"
Looking over at Lena, Kara smiled, hesitantly. "We're fine, thanks. If Eliza calls you before she calls me, let me know, okay?"
"Yeah, fine, fine. Just relax, okay? No one knows where you two are. Just enjoy Christmas in Midvale."
"Okay, thanks, Alex. Hey, if you hear anything—"
"I'll let you know. Now hang up and have fun showing your girlfriend around."
Eyes flicking back to Lena, Kara swallowed hard. "Bye, Alex."
"Later, Kara."
Disconnecting, Kara said, "Eliza hasn't checked in with Alex yet. She had a medical conference this week. We don't know when she'll be back."
Lena stiffened. "Should we be here? We could get a hotel."
"Oh, no. It's fine," Kara said. "This is my home. Mi casa es su casa. Eliza would want us to be here. It's fine, really."
"You're sure?"
"Why wouldn't it be? Eliza is like a mother to me."
Examining her hands for a moment, Lena smirked as she met Kara's gaze again. "Even at the best of times, my mother was a fan of calling ahead and making plans. I suppose our best of times was never the best. However, if you're sure your foster mother won't mind..."
"She'd be mad if we left," Kara assured as she turned on the hall light and picked up the bags again. "Follow me."
"Are you sure I can't help? I can carry my own bags, Kara."
Kara shook her head. "Oh, they don't weigh anything. I mean, literally, they feel like nothing to me. You want a piggyback ride? I can carry you too."
"I'll pass, but thank you."
"Okay, but you can take a raincheck. I fly Alex on my back all the time. She loves it."
"To each their own," Lena mumbled.
At the top of the stairs, Kara headed down the hallway until she toed open a door on her right. She entered the dark room leaving Lena to flick on the light behind her. Inside were two twin beds, one on the right side of the room and one on the left. Kara placed suitcases on each one.
"So, this is Alex's," Kara gestured, "and this one is mine. You get Alex's bed."
Looking at the science poster hanging over the one bed and the kitten on the screen door poster hanging over the other, Lena smiled. "Thanks for telling me. I wouldn't have been able to figure it out. So, what's the first order of business around here?" Lena placed her laptop bag on the bed that had been designated as hers for the trip.
Stomach growling, Kara smiled when Lena looked over at her. "Sorry."
"Don't apologize. You made do with the food we packed for the trip and barely whimpered when we passed those diners. I'm sure you're starving."
"I actually am. I just wanted to make sure you'd be safe, and stopping didn't seem safe. There is a great little diner in town, though."
"Lead on, Miss Danvers. I trust this is a greasy spoon with horrific food choices?"
"Oh, yeah, it's great," Kara said, beaming.
"Ugh. Tell me they at least serve a decent salad."
"No idea." Kara's smile never faltered.
"Small towns," Lena mumbled, rubbing at the back of her neck. Lifting her head, she smiled. "Take me to your diner."
"You're going to love it." Kara held out her hand.
Lena took the proffered hand. "Debatable...but the company will be good."
Pausing, Kara's smile grew as she nodded. "Yeah. Come one."
<><>
In Midvale, Pops' Diner was where all of the high school kids congregated on any given Friday or Saturday after a football game, or when they weren't at the movies. The burgers were thick, the cheese real, the fries a bit greasy, but that was part of their charm, and the extra-thick shakes lived up to their name. All of Pops' desserts were homemade, and he had a chocolate cake shake which was made with, you guessed it, a piece of chocolate cake. It was served with an extra-wide metal straw, but really, you just ate it with a spoon. It was nearly impossible to suck that decadent thickness through a straw unless you were some kind of alien or something.
As Kara and Lena entered Pops, the place was fairly busy. It was winter vacation, and both high school kids and those home from college were in attendance. Given the lack of much of anything else to do in Midvale, this location got a lot of traffic. While Kara unwound her scarf and smiled broadly at the familiar setting, Lena shoved gloves into her pocket and pushed up on her toes, trying to look over the excited, bouncing heads of locals for seating.
"Kara, that group is just paying their bill. It looks like that table is about to open."
As Lena took her hand, Kara held fast and shook her head. "What? No, this is a diner. You can't get a booth. Look, there are seats at the counter."
"There are what?"
With a smile, Kara took a few long strides and made her way to the counter, never letting go of Lena's hand. The other woman followed in her wake whether by choice or not. They each grabbed a stool, and Kara grinned even more broadly as she handed over a menu, plastic covered with only a front, back, and the two interior pages, and a bit sticky.
"This place is great. You're going to love it, Lena."
"Yes, the atmosphere is...unique." Lena peeled open her menu, an eyebrow arching at the motion.
"Everything is good, so you can't go wrong. Get whatever you want, my treat." Kara's smile never dimmed as she looked over a menu that had barely changed since she'd landed on this world, a familiar and steadying presence in her life.
Her eyes covering the same words as Kara's, Lena shuddered. "Ugh."
Kara looked up from the menu. "What's wrong?"
Finger running along the yellowed plastic covering the words trapped below, Lena replied, "Listen to this. They have something here called the KD Special. It's two one-pound burger patties with double cheese and three slices of bacon on each patty. It comes with a double serving of chili cheese fries and a...Am I reading this wrong? It says a chocolate cake shake. I wonder what that means." Snapping the menu shut, Lena turned her head to Kara. "All it's missing is a defibrillator for the imminent cardiac arrest it no doubt includes."
"It comes with a vegetable."
"Where?" Lena asked opening her menu again.
Kara pointed. "There, see? It comes with a pickle."
"Oh, good Lord." Closing the menu again, she raised one eyebrow at the other woman. "Kara, drowning something in salt, sugar, and vinegar would not count even if a cucumber were a vegetable."
"But...what?" Kara shook her head. "Cucumbers are vegetables."
"No, they're not, Kara. Cucumbers are fruits."
Frowning, Kara shook her head. "No."
"Kara." Laying a hand on Kara's arm, Lena said, "Trust me. I actually have to worry about what I eat. A cucumber is a pepo, like a melon. It's a botanical berry."
With a quick intake of air between her teeth, Kara turned on the stool as her shoulders curled in on her body. Her brows furrowed. "I feel like everything I know is a lie. How could food betray me?"
"Kara, food hasn't betrayed you. It's a misnomer, that's all. People tend to lump all non-sweet agricultural products under the umbrella of vegetables. After all, they think corn is a vegetable." When Kara's head whipped around sharply to look at her, Lena quickly added, "Which it is, of course."
"It's all a lie," Kara said dramatically. "Are doughnuts a lie?"
"No, doughnuts are not a lie. Doughnuts would never lie to you, Kara."
"What about that?" Kara pointed to something under a raised glass display case. "Is that pie a lie? I love Pops' pie."
With a little smile, Lena sighed. "No, Kara the pie is not a lie. The pie loves you too and would never lie to you."
"What about the cake." Kara's hand shifted to a triple chocolate cake on display. "Is the cake a lie?"
"No, Kara, the cake is not a...wait a minute." Lena's smile spread across her face. "Are you actually upset, or are you just making an elaborate ruse to reach a video game reference and make me smile?"
Elbow on the counter and cheek resting against the palm of her hand, Kara smiled back. "It worked, didn't it? I'd call that a worthy and attainable goal."
Picking up her menu, Lena threatened Kara with it but didn't strike. Kara laughed and shied away.
"I should let you have it."
"Oh, promises promises," Kara countered.
"Are you girls ready to order?" The waitress was middle-aged. She wore jeans, a button-down pink plaid shirt, and enough blue eyeshadow to make it questionable as to how she managed to open her eyes.
Clearing her throat, Lena turned toward the newcomer and straightened, immediately regaining her Luthor composure. "Have you a salad?"
"Sure thing," the waitress said clicking her pen on the counter and holding it above the pad. "What kind of meat you want on that, sweetie pie?"
"None, thank you."
"No meat."
"That's right."
The waitress blinked several times at Lena. "You sure about that? Like I tell my kids, you don't eat right now, you'll be hungry later."
"Oh, Lena just likes fruit on her salad," Kara added with a grin.
"You want a fruit salad?" The waitress asked.
"Kara," Lena warned between gritted teeth. "No, thank you. Just a salad, please. Lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, mushrooms if you have them. Oh, do you have kale?"
Off to the side, Kara put her head down and made a retching noise.
"Is she all right?" The waitress asked.
"Temporarily," Lena replied warningly.
"Eloise, you can worry about other customers," a man said as he walked up behind Kara and Lena. "I've got these two."
Kara turned on her stool, taking in the man who stood there as a broad smile burst across her face. "Pops!"
Pops, the owner of Pops' Diner, was maybe sixty. He was about 6'4" with curly, gray hair on his head and a long mustache that reached his chin and still retained the jet blackness it had in his youth. His skin was a dark brown and his eyes a shade darker, though they lit up as he took in the young woman before him. He had broad shoulders and a big belly, a massive person with lines across his face, etched from obvious smiles. His t-shirt was as white as his apron was under its stains. He wore one of those white paper hats that looked like it jumped out of the 1950s.
"Hey, KD. Welcome back, kid. Come for your special?"
Kara launched herself off of her stool and into the man's arms. He stumbled back a half-step but held his own as he embraced her.
Lena watched them for a moment before opening the menu, looking at the special that had so horrified her before, and then dropping it back on the counter with a muttered, "Of course."
As Kara stepped back, she said, "Pops, I want to introduce you to someone."
Lena stood, holding out her hand and smiling gently.
"Pops, this is Lena my—"
"Heck, I know who she is," Pops said. "You're pretty famous in the papers down here."
Lena stiffened. "Oh, well I—" Suddenly she found herself pulled into the man and engulfed in a hug. She was lifted off the ground for several seconds, even feeling the release of her back popping before she was placed on the ground again, though he kept one arm over her shoulder. When she'd had a moment to regain herself, she said, "Ah, good things then."
"Only the best," Pops said as he put his other arm over Kara's shoulder. "Congratulations to you two on the engagement. Eliza must be thrilled, Kara." With a quick pull of his arms, he yanked both Lena and an unprepared Kara in for a group hug.
Pressed against the man, her face scant inches from Kara's, Lena hissed out, "Engagement?"
"I...I...I don't know," Kara whispered back.
"Why did he say that?" Lena whispered.
"I don't know," Kara repeated in a whisper.
"Did you do this?"
Kara widened her eyes. "When? I've been with you. I'm always with you. Also, why? Do you think I like having you pissed off at me?"
"Well, if you do, you should be overjoyed because—"
Pops pushed the girls back. "Hey, let me get you lovebirds some food. You want your special, KD?"
"Uh, yes, please. I'm really hungry."
"Of course, you are." Pops rubbed Kara's head. "You know, this little thing worked for me the summer after she turned sixteen. She's a skinny thing, but she could carry a bag of potatoes on each shoulder, and not those little bags. I mean the big kitchen bags. She's a strong one. A free meal came with the job, but she was always still hungry. We had to create the KD Special to get this skinny little girl fed. She still eats like that, huh?"
Lena sighed. "She does."
"What about you, future Mrs. KD? What will you have?"
"Future Mrs..." Lena sat on her stool working her jaw back and forth. "Just a salad, please."
"No meat," Kara added.
"No meat?" Pops asked.
"She doesn't ah..." Kara nodded. "And bring her a coffee, black."
"Really?" Pops eyed Lena for a moment, then smiled at Kara. "It must be love, KD."
Kara looked at Lena who had turned her back on them, then smiled shyly at Pops.
"Well, I'll put your order in. You want the straw in your shake?"
"Please."
"You got it."
Sliding onto the stool next to Lena, Kara sat quietly for about two minutes before she said, "I don't know why he thought that. I never said anything like that to anyone, Lena. You have to believe me."
"I do."
"I would never...You do?"
Reaching out without looking over, Lena squeezed Kara's forearm. "I trust you, Kara. It's just been a harrowing week."
When Lena tried to pull her hand back, Kara placed hers on top. "You trust me?"
Lena nodded. "I do. I apologize for snapping at you. That was uncalled for. I just...that took me unprepared."
"Yeah, me too," Kara agreed. "Small towns, you know?"
"Not really. I suppose I'll find out."
Kara smiled. "People are nice here. Well, some are jerks, but mainly people are nice. I guess people are just people. It will be fine."
Smiling back at Kara, Lena replied, "It's already been a warmer welcome than I'm used to receiving. I like it. I'll be sold if we can just get some kale here and maybe some organic vegetables."
"You mean fruit?"
As Kara grinned at her, Lena smiled back saying, "You're lucky you're cute, Miss Danvers."
"I'm cute?"
"I..."
"Here's your coffee," the waitress said, sliding it in front of Lena.
"Thank you," Lena replied, turning and giving the beverage her full attention.
Her hand on Lena's back, Kara said, "We'll straighten this out."
"Uh, Pops said for you girls to pick out a dessert to go, on the house."
"A dessert?" Kara asked.
The waitress nodded as she gestured at the triple chocolate cake on display. "He said you'd probably want the cake, but anything you wanted, just let us know, and we'd box it up, cake or pie. He said it was a little congrats on your engagement, so congrats." With a smile and a wink, she walked away.
Eyeing the cake, Kara's smile grew. "Well, we'll straighten this out eventually."
<><>
Kara woke the next morning expecting to see Lena still asleep in the other bed. Not only was the other bed empty, but it had been made. Grabbing her cellphone, Kara checked the time, eyebrows rising sharply when she saw it was just after 10:00 AM. Yawning and stretching, she rose from her bed and shook the last of the cobwebs from her brain that was still partially sleep muddled. She made her way down the hallway to the restroom, freshening up for the morning before making her way downstairs.
The smell of maple syrup, and the sound of a fork scraping on a plate led Kara to the kitchen. With a mischievous smile, she pushed open the door and said, "Good morning future Mrs. KD. What's for—?" As Lena and Eliza both turned to look at her from their places around the kitchen island, forks and coffee cups in hand, Kara froze, and the smile slid from her face.
"Kara, sweetie!" Eliza rose having found the smile that Kara lost as she made her way to Kara and wrapped her in a loving embrace. She gave a little hum of happiness as she squeezed and rocked slightly, holding Kara close to her. "Oh, how did you sleep?"
"Uh..." Kara hugged her back before stepping away. "Fine, good, fine. Great, I slept great." Kara smiled again. "You're home."
"I live here."
"Right." Rubbing the back of her neck, Kara added, "You weren't here last night."
"I was at a conference. It got out late, so I decided to wait until this morning to leave. You know me. I'm an early riser. It was just a two-hour drive, but still, I hate driving at night."
Kara nodded. "We tried calling you. Alex and I both tried calling you."
"Oh, sorry about that. I was videoing one of the displays, and one of the other doctors bumped me rather soundly. It knocked my cellphone out of my hand, and it landed in an aqueous solution that was part of the display. Actually, it was fascinating, Kara. This methodology is being used to transport a cell population across an immiscible barrier and into the aqueous barrier. Via immunocapture, they can attach magnetically-responsive particles—"
"Eliza?"
"Hmmmm?"
"What happened to your cellphone?" Kara asked.
"Oh, it's fragged. I called my insurance, and they're sending me a new one. Did you girls see a package when you got here? It might already be here. They had to send it to the address on file."
"Um...I didn't notice," Kara said looking over at Lena.
"There was something on the front steps when we arrived," Lena said. "It was a small box. I placed it on the table by the front door. I apologize, Dr. Danvers. It totally slipped my mind this morning."
"Oh, that's all right, Lena," Eliza said with a gentle smile. "Again, it's Eliza. I'm going to go and see if it's my phone. Kara, pancakes and bacon are warming in the oven for you. Enjoy."
As Eliza left, Kara turned back to Lena. "Are you all right?"
Lena took a sip of her coffee. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"
"I mean..." Heading to the oven, Kara took out the platter of pancakes and the plate of bacon. "Did you want any more to eat?"
"No, I'm full."
"Did Eliza eat?"
Lena nodded. "The rest is yours."
"Mmmm." Kara put her food on the stovetop and turned off the oven. Heading to the fridge, she opened it up and peered inside. "I just wanted to make sure everything was okay with you and Eliza."
"Butter and syrup are on the island here if you're looking for them."
"Thanks." Emerging with a carton of orange juice, Kara sloshed it around, her brows furrowing. "Okay, we're going to have to make a grocery store run today. Eliza isn't stocked for feeding me."
"Is Midvale?"
Grabbing a large glass, Kara filled it and left the cartoon on the counter. "Fair point." She grabbed a fork and knife, holding them in the same hand as her glass and managing to carry both plates in the other hand as she moved next to Lena at the kitchen island.
"You could have made two trips you know."
"I could have, but I don't have to." Cutting up butter, Kara began to pile pats between her pancakes. "So, the discussion with Eliza went okay?"
"It was very illuminating."
Kara paused. "What does that mean?"
"Nothing sinister. I didn't know she was home, and she thought you and Alex had come to visit. Apparently, Alex left a vague, 'Mom call me when you get this' message on the home answering machine which Eliza didn't do when she saw the car outside this morning. She assumed she'd just talk to you both. We definitely startled each other this morning. She recognized me from some photos somewhere, which I think is good because she's been quite pleasant. She's also been on a bit of a scientist high from her conference, and we've talked about that a lot."
"Yeah, sorry. Eliza gets a bit...sciency. You should hear her and Alex go off sometimes. It's..." Kara smiled as she spread butter on her pancakes. "I hope it was okay for you."
"Kara, darling, you forget that I grew up with a mother who was a doctor. This is nothing new to me."
"Oh, right. So this feels homey?"
Lena laughed, taking another sip of her coffee. "Oh, not at all. Eliza is lovely. I didn't grow up with a mother who was lovely. That part feels...alien," Lena added with a finger gun and a wink at Kara.
Kara laughed as she made some quick cuts to her pancakes. "Yeah, Eliza is fantastic, but she can be smothering. She just..." After a moment's concentration, Kara shook her head. "Okay, she's talking to some customer service person about her new cellphone I think. She called the guy sweetheart. That's Eliza. She didn't smother you, did she?"
"Even if she did, I'd have no complaints. Kara, in the mother competition, you have nothing about which to worry. Yours didn't kidnap my friends or me threaten me, or torture me. There were no mad schemes or attempted genocide. If we're judging here, yours is the clear winner."
Drowning her pancakes in syrup, Kara's grin was a bit lopsided. "Ah, right. I wasn't thinking of it as a competition, but I guess it wouldn't really be fair, would it?"
"Yes, my mother does set the bar a bit low, doesn't she?"
"An ant couldn't limbo under it." Realizing what she said, Kara looked up, clearly startled by her own admission.
An eyebrow raised, Lena held Kara's gaze for several moments before grabbing Kara's arm and bursting out in laughter. Lena was still giggling, her head against Kara's shoulder when Eliza walked back into the kitchen moments later.
"What's so funny?" Eliza asked.
Hiding her smile in her coffee cup, Lena took a sip and said, "My mother. What else?"
"Ah..." Eyebrows raised, Eliza met Kara's gaze.
"This one has an odd sense of humor, Eliza."
"That's a given if she puts up with you." Eliza took up her station on the other side of the island. "Well, my contacts are all lost. My sim card is fried. I need you girls to put your numbers in my phone today, and I do mean both of you, Lena. Kara, I need Alex's number and Maggie's too. Oh, I also need..."
As Eliza's gaze fell on her, Lena finished the last of her coffee and rose casually. "Well, I'm done with breakfast. Dr. Danvers—"
"Eliza."
"Sorry, Eliza, what should I do with my dishes? Do you—?"
"Just put them in the sink dear."
"Are you sure because—?"
"In the sink," Eliza repeated.
When Lena looked at her hesitantly, Kara said, "Don't make her use her mom voice, Lena."
"Mom voice?" Lena tilted her head to the side. "Is that the one she uses when she's creating videos demanding the obedience of the citizens of the city?"
Head shifting forward, Eliza asked, "Excuse me?"
"Just her sense of humor again," Kara explained. "You'll get used to it."
Placing her dishes in the sink, Lena asked, "Mind if I grab a shower and get ready for the day?"
"Towels are in the linen closet across from your room," Eliza said. "Do you need anything else?"
"I should be all set, but I'll be sure to ask if I do. Thank you, Eliza. Kara, I'll grab a towel for you and leave it on your bed."
Eliza smiled as Lena left the room, but wheeled on Kara moments later. Her face was pinched and angry, and a finger pointed as her voice hissed, out, "I'm upset with you, young lady."
"What? What did I do?"
"Oh, you..." Eliza made a grumbly noise as she rose and grabbed a newspaper from the counter. Unfurling it, she dropped it next to Kara on the island and jabbed at it as she spoke. "Why did I have to find this out from rumors and in the news? Why didn't you tell me?"
Blinking, Kara leaned down and examined the paper. She flipped it open so she could see the full page spread. There were headshots of both Lena and her, and the headline boldly proclaimed 'Engagement of Midvale Locale Turned Investigative Journalist and Eccentric CEO Billionaire'. The story below told of their secret tryst that had gone on for more than a year, covert lunch dates under the guise of interviews, Kara's all-access pass to the CEO at L-Corp, their late night dinners at Lena's that had...
"Continued on page fourteen," Kara said opening the paper to the rest of the story.
...led to overnight stays, and finally, Lena buying Catco as an engagement present for Kara. The article eventually posited that not even the Girl of Steel, who seemed to be a leading contender for Miss Luthor's affections, had been able to edge out Midvale's own hometown sweetheart.
Blinking repeatedly, Kara read and said, "Congratulations to you both, Kara and Lena. Have you set a date?" Eyes wide she repeated, "Have you set a date?" Looking up, she said, "Uh...Uh...Eliza?"
"Well, have you?"
"What? No!"
"You better not have. I can't believe I had to read this in the newspaper, Kara. Did Alex know about all of this? I swear that sister of yours—"
"Eliza, no. Alex didn't...Wait, this isn't what you think." Holding up the paper, she said, "This isn't accurate."
"Well, I know that."
Sighing, Kara leaned back and nodded. "You talked to Lena?"
"I did. She's a lovely girl and definitely not eccentric. She was a bit cagey when I asked her about the purchase of Catco. She gave me half-answers and then changed the subject. What happened there?"
"Nothing. What?"
Eliza pointed again, wiggling her finger around. "That girl is very good at evading questions."
"She's a CEO. She has to be."
"Yes, but I'm a mother. I have to be better at getting answers. I only let her avoid my inquiry because she's a guest. You, Kara, are not a guest. So, tell me the story behind the purchase and sale of Catco. Is it an engagement present?"
Mouth full of pancakes, Kara shook her head rapidly while chewing.
"Take normal bites, Kara. Tell me the story."
Swallowing, Kara took several sips of her drink. "Sorry. Okay, so there's this guy, Morgan Edge, who's a complete scumbag. Actually, calling him a scumbag gives scumbags a bad name. He was going to buy Catco and use it to control the press, so he could literally buy himself good press."
"That's awful!"
"That's Edge," Kara agreed. "Lena sort of knows him. He knew her brother Lex. I don't think they got along, but they knew each other kind of like rich people do. I asked Lena to talk to Edge and try and persuade him to not buy Catco. She told me he wouldn't listen to her, but she agreed to try. Well, she tried."
Eliza waited while Kara shoved another forkful of pancakes into her mouth. "And?"
"Hungry," Kara mumbled. She swallowed. "Lena was right. Edge wouldn't listen. Lena is usually right about business. When I went to talk to Lena about it again, Lena told me she bought Catco." Kara paused, not eating just holding Eliza's gaze.
"Because?"
Kara made a noncommittal noise.
"Kara, use your words."
"Promise you won't laugh?"
Squeezing Kara's forearm, Eliza replied, "Sweetheart, when have I ever laughed at you?"
Kara started counting things off on her fingers. "When I thought that clowns were a race of people, a subspecies of humans. When Alex tricked me into thinking that chickpea was actually chick pee, that it was made with baby chicken urine, and I spewed hummus all over the cabinets when I found out what it was made with. How about when I told Jeremiah that another one of the teachers in our school was pregnant, and he said, 'Oh, they must be putting it in the water cooler', and then when Alex tried to drink from the water cooler I knocked the paper cup from her hand and—"
"Okay, okay, Kara." Eliza smiled. "So, sometimes I chuckled a little bit when you were getting acclimated, but from our perspective, things were a bit amusing especially the water cooler one. You have to understand how odd that seemed to us humans."
"Well, not to a Kryptonian. When I went to health class and found out how you..." Kara's eyes widened, and she shook her head. "That was the most educational class I took in all of high school. That was not how it was done on Krypton."
"I know, sweetheart. I apologize for making you uncomfortable. Forgive me?"
Kara shrugged. "It's fine, Eliza. You did so much more to make me feel at home and loved than anything else. I'm grateful for everything you've done for me. I'm grateful for you."
"I'm grateful for you too. So, why did Lena buy Catco?"
"You are not easily distracted."
"I'm a mother. Answer my question."
"Yes, ma'am." Kara stabbed a piece of pancake but didn't take a bite. "She said she wanted to be a little bit more like Supergirl in her own way."
"Oh, well that's..." Pursing her lips, Eliza considered before adding, "But she knows who you are. We spoke this morning, and she knows who you are. She brought it up first."
Kara nodded. "I only told her about a week ago."
"Oh. You've been dating all this time, and you only just told her? How'd she take that?"
Adjusting nonexistent glasses, Kara, fiddled with the newspaper again. "Did you and Lena talk about this article this morning?"
"Briefly?"
"And?"
"She wasn't thrilled about it."
Kara nodded. "What did she say, exactly?"
"Well, she said that Catco had provided an accurate portrayal of your relationship and that this article had various and sundry errata and at least two solecisms which she had noted. She said they should fire their editor."
Kara waited, but when nothing else followed she asked, "Anything else?"
"No, that was... oh, yes. She said she hated that picture."
"The picture?" Kara looked at the picture of Lena and her, walking hand and hand after the press conference three days ago. Lena's head was bent toward Kara's shoulder, and Kara was smiling slightly. "Oh... I kind of like it."
"Not that one. The picture of her on the front page," Eliza corrected.
Kara flipped over the newspaper back to the front page. There were Kara's and Lena's headshots. Kara's was from the Catco webpage. Lena's showed her in a black V-neck blouse. Her hair was up in a neat bun, and her makeup was a bit stern. She wore her dramatic wine lipstick. The picture stared out from the page almost in challenge.
Smiling, Kara asked, "What's wrong with the picture?"
Eliza shrugged. "I doubt the girl takes a bad picture. She's stunning, but she said that one was boardroom assertive, not engagement photo appropriate."
Thumping the paper to the island with perhaps a bit too much force, Kara asked, "Wait, Lena's complaint was that her photo wasn't 'engagement photo appropriate'? She didn't say anything else?"
"Just what I told you. Why?"
"Well, it's just... How long did you and Lena talk?"
Looking at the clock over the stove, Eliza replied, "Oh, maybe an hour or so. I'm afraid I monopolized the conversation talking about my research, but she seemed honestly eager to learn about it. She talked about her company's research too. She may run the company, but she's an engineer first, you know."
"Oh, I know."
"L-Corp is coming to the market with a new stethoscope that works with a smartphone app. It transmits data real time, so the physician can see results in the palm of their hand. It's very exciting."
Shoveling pancakes into her mouth, Kara nodded.
"Also, did you know that Lena gained full rights to Biomax after Jack Spheer's unfortunate passing?"
Mouth full, Kara mumbled her startled question.
"Oh, you probably knew that already. Of course, the product isn't close to market-ready, but Lena's doing work with quantum dots and using ultrasonic waves to guide nanoparticles. They're building devices from a single strand of DNA. It's in the early stages, but so far, they've been able to get the robots to recognize a dozen different types of cancer cells. Of course, programming swarm behavior is the trick."
Kara shuddered. "Swarm behavior." She pushed her plate away. "Did Lena talk to you about working with her?"
"Oh, no. We were just chit-chatting, scientist to scientist. It's like Alex and I get. You know how that is."
"I do."
Smiling and squeezing Kara's forearm again, Eliza said, "It will be so nice to have another scientist in the family. Not that I'm not happy just for you, Kara, but... I approve."
"Yeah, Eliza, about Lena—"
The phone rang in the living room, and Eliza rose. "Hold that thought, sweetheart. I've got to do this the old fashioned way until I get my cellphone working again. I'll be right back."
As Eliza left, Kara stared down at the newspaper. After a few moments of staring, she stepped onto the back deck and pulled out her cellphone. The morning air was crisp in December, and there was a light dusting of snow on the ground. Her breath puffed out as she dialed, immune to this level of cold.
"Morning, Kara," Alex said across the line. "Did you hear from Mom yet? She hasn't called me."
Scratching at the back of her neck, Kara shuffled her bare feet through the snow. "Yeah, she's here, Alex."
"Oh, good. You all set?"
"Actually, I need some advice. You see, Eliza and Lena were talking this morning and—"
"Oh, no. Kara, what happened? Is Mom giving her a hard time? Do you want me to talk to her?"
"No, that's not the problem. Eliza loves Lena. She's treating her like... family."
"Well, that's good. So, what's the problem?"
"She's treating her like family."
"Yeah, I heard you the first time, Kara. What's the problem?"
Kara sighed. "Where are you, Alex?"
"Work. Where should I be?"
"Can you get a copy of the Midvale Press from two days ago?"
"Ummm, online. What's up?"
"Pull up a digital copy, and let me know when you know what's going on."
"Okay, hold up. Let me put you on speaker since I'm doing this one-handed." There was a shifting around, a few moments of silence. In the background, there was a clicking of keys on a keyboard. "Okay, so what am I...? Oh, my God. Kara, I didn't do this."
"I didn't think you did."
"Mom saw this?"
Leaning against the rail on the porch, Kara replied, "She asked if we'd set a date yet."
Alex laughed nervously. "You told her it was a mistake, right? You set her straight?"
"Well..."
"Kara!"
"Don't yell at me! I'm under a lot of stress here! I didn't even finish my breakfast!"
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." Alex verbally backpedaled. "Does Lena know yet?"
"That's why I'm calling you, Alex. Lena and Eliza talked for about an hour this morning while I slept in. Apparently, Lena's biggest complaint was that she didn't like the engagement photo they used for her."
For several beats, Alex said nothing. "Lena didn't correct Mom?"
"Yup." Kara made the P pop when she spoke. "So, what do I do?"
"Well... huh. That's interesting. You didn't talk to Lena about this yet?"
"She's showering. I just talked to Eliza about it." Shuffling around on the deck again, Kara stopped and squatted down, using a finger to make swirls in the snow. "You think I should just ask Lena why she didn't explain this to Eliza?"
"I guess. I mean... I guess."
"So, you're as clueless as I am."
"Kara, there's really no precedent for taking the girl home that you're pretending to date and your foster mother thinking you're engaged, so the girl just... goes with it. Also, you're an extra-terrestrial."
"Alex, the PC friendly term is terrestrially challenged."
Over the line, Alex sighed. "I'll have the DEO update our manuals and let HR know. We wouldn't want to offend any of the terrestrially challenged."
Kara grinned. "Thanks. So, I should talk to Lena?"
"Yeah, just ask her, Kar. She must have had a reason, right? Why wouldn't she tell Mom?"
"I... I don't know," Kara admitted.
"Was she uncomfortable around her?"
"They seemed fine together. Lena said Eliza was lovely. They were being science nerds together. Eliza was upset I didn't tell her about my relationship with Lena, but she's thrilled to welcome her to the family. She's getting another scientist in the family."
"Wow. Okay then maybe... huh."
"Huh? What huh? Why did you say huh? What's going on?"
"You should finish your breakfast. You're cranky right now."
"Alex, tell me already."
"Hangry," Alex mumbled. "Well, I was thinking maybe she didn't tell Mom it wasn't true because she was okay with pretending."
"Why would she be okay with it?"
"Kara, I keep telling you this. Lena likes you."
Standing up suddenly, her doodles lost as her foot kicked out and tossed powder all about, Kara said, "Lena likes me?"
"Yes, genius. Lena likes you. So, go ask the girl who likes you, and not as just a friend, why she didn't correct Mom about the engagement mix up. Got it?"
"Uh yeah. Got it. Hey, thanks, Alex."
"No problem, Kar. You need anything else, just call me, all right?"
"I will. Love you. Later."
"Love you too. Bye."
<><>
Wearing her bathrobe, a towel wrapped around her head, Lena was freshened up for the day as she opened the bathroom door to a newspaper shoved in her face.
"What do you mean, you don't like this for an engagement photo?"
"Aaahhhh!" Hand to her chest, Lena dropped her bathroom bag as she staggered backward.
"You okay?" Kara asked.
"What the fuck are you doing lurking outside the bathroom!?"
"I wasn't lurking. I was... I was..."
"Lurking!" Grabbing her bag from the floor, Lena strode past Kara and made her way to their shared bedroom with Kara hot on her heel.
"Well, what did you mean?" Kara asked.
Dropping her bag on the bed and unwrapping her hair, Lena began to towel it off as she crooned her neck to examine the image again. "What do you mean? I look dour in that photo. Don't you think?"
"Oh, I don't know about dour." Kara pulled the photo back to her, eyeing it again. "Maybe you look a little bit... terse."
"Terse?" Shaking her hair, Lena laughed melodically. "Kara, I'm pretty sure the name of that color of lipstick is 'hostile takeover number five.' Why do you care if I don't like the photo? What's the big deal?"
"No, it's not that. It's that..." Going back to the doorway, Kara stuck her head out and looked up and down the hallway before closing the door and walking back to Lena. She shook the paper. "All you said to Eliza was that you didn't like the photo. What about everything else?"
"Why did you look out there?"
"To make sure Eliza couldn't hear us."
Arms crossed, Lena said, "You're Supergirl. Can you really not tell where your foster mother is right now?"
"Oh, right. Sorry, acting human around you is kind of a habit when I'm not thinking about it." Tilting her head slightly, Kara said, "Okay, she's in the kitchen. Oh, she's mixing something. Oh, she's baking!"
"Didn't you just eat breakfast?"
"And?"
"Right, what am I thinking? Look, Kara I..." Brows furrowed, Lena held one finger point down and twirled it. "Turn around."
"Why are you going to get naked?" Kara asked as she turned around.
"Do you want me to?" Lena asked with a lifted brow.
Looking over her shoulder, Kara's eyes widened.
"I... sorry about that." Lena managed to look sheepish. "I'll try to be less... me, but, yeah, sometimes I can be a little bit flirty."
As she heard the other woman walk a few steps away, Kara whispered, "I hadn't noticed."
After putting Kara's hair into a ponytail, Lena said, "Turn around, please?"
Gingerly, Kara turned.
Pulling Kara's glasses from where they hung on her robe and placing them on the blonde's face, Lena said, "Don't worry, Kara. If I get naked around you... Sorry. Nervous habit... and not nervous habit. I will work on that. Anyway, that's better. You look like you now."
"Who did I look like before?"
"Like Supergirl sort of."
"Aren't you the one who just admonished me for not acting like Supergirl?"
"Yes, but Luthors are hypocrites," Lena admitted. "Seeing Supergirl in ice cream cone covered pajamas was completely destroying my train of thought. So, what were we discussing before I derailed us?"
"I... I have no idea," Kara admitted.
"The newspaper?"
Looking at the paper in her hand, Kara said, "Oh, yeah! Thanks. So, why didn't you tell Eliza that we weren't really engaged?"
Shrugging, Lena replied, "Why didn't you tell Pops that we weren't really engaged?"
"Uh, free cake?"
"Okay, free breakfast?" Lena said matching Kara's inflection. "Come on, Kara, why?"
"I don't know. It was awkward. He was really happy for us. I never really had a lot of luck dating. I kissed a few guys, broke their noses... accidentally," Kara added at Lena's clear look of concern. "My control is much, much better now than when I was newer to Earth."
Lena nodded.
"It was nice to be seen as normal and be..."
"Accepted, respected, maybe even liked?" As Kara's mouth slowly opened to hang agape, Lena nodded. "I think I could teach you lessons in this one, Miss Danvers. I was always the youngest and brightest and richest of my peers, and I was always reminded by my family that a Luthor had none. I grew up lacking in nothing that I wanted and everything that I needed, and let me tell you, that alters you on a molecular level. I lost my father just a few years after he found me and was left with a mother that didn't hesitate to make it clear to me that even my best efforts left me little more than a walking inefficacy."
Kara stared, awkward at this open outpouring of honesty. They had certainly each shared their grains of truth between glasses of wine, slices of pizza, and episodes of Kara's favorite sitcom that she 'couldn't believe Lena hadn't ever seen'. Still, this sort of reveal was uncommon for them and was usually preceded by a loved one's death or arrest for Lena.
Perhaps sensing the unease, Lena shifted and held herself more like a familiar Luthor. A touch of a smirk curled her lips, and she said, "You know, there was a time there I thought perhaps I'd broken the family alliteration trend. Mother spent so much time saying, 'Well, that's a disappointment' to me, I thought Disappointment might actually be my name."
"Lena." Hand around her abdomen, Kara laughed despite the subject. It seemed to release some of the strain from the room like air out of an over-pressurized balloon. "You're amazing, you know?"
"Ah, out of the mouths of aliens," Lena quipped.
"From an honest friend."
Lena started to speak and stopped twice before saying, "I'm not good at relationships. I don't know how to love."
"Well, sure you are," Kara responded, still smiling. "Why you—"
"No, I'm not. My birth mother is more a concept than a memory. Lionel was a good man. I thought he was a good man but... He was good to me, but he's been gone so long. Lex loved me, but he was off to college just years after my adoption, and then he took over the business. He started slipping, and I should have recognized it but..." She wiped her palms across her bathrobe, up and down, a search for physical sensation over emotional. "I graduated and would have done anything not to go back to that house with Mother. I jumped on the opportunity to work with Jack. His project was brilliant, and so was he. Then...he loved me. He didn't love me like familial obligation. He didn't love me like a memory while he stared across the Metropolis skyline looking for something, someone, an obsession I could never understand. He didn't love me only after uttering an exhausted 'of course' before it. He just...loved me. He loved me, and I thought that was the first step in loving him back, that if he led I'd follow, and he was so good, Kara, so amazingly good, and I cared for him so deeply. Anyone else would have loved him just as much as he loved me." Lena paused almost begging with her eyes for Kara to interrupt, but when the other woman only stared, Lena said, "And then I killed him. I killed him because though Luthors might not know how to love; we definitely know how to hurt people who get too close to us. Maybe there's a lesson in that for you, Kara."
"You saved my life." Kara took one quick shuffling step closer to Lena. "You'd never hurt me."
"You're a lot more durable than Jack, so good news for you." Lena's smile was forced and floated an inch above painful memories. "Luthors have a hard time killing Supers even when we try very, very hard, Kara."
"You know you're not—"
"I know."
"You wouldn't hurt me."
"I never thought I'd hurt Jack."
"Beth—"
"I know." Eyes closed, Lena nodded. "I know."
Dropping the newspaper she'd forgotten she was still holding, Kara pulled Lena into her arms. "But do you believe?"
Curled into Kara, her head against the other woman's shoulder, Lena said, "In daylight, when my mind is busy with meetings or a breakthrough, when the voices of responsibility drown out the voices of guilt... almost... almost."
"Well, I believe in you." Kara squeezed just the tiniest bit tighter. "I have enough faith for both of us to share."
"Promise?"
"Always."
Lena exhaled raggedly and allowed herself several moments of comfort before pushing away. "Wow. Don't know where that came from. This past week has been a rough one."
As Lena picked up her discarded towel, Kara grabbed the newspaper and slapped it against her thigh. "It sure has. I should probably go shower too. You smell incredible." Pinned between her own confession and Lena's gaze, Kara amended, "I mean, you smell showered which is an incredible... I probably stink."
Biting her lower lip, Lena studied Kara for several moments. Surprisingly, she relaxed her face, rubbing her hair with the towel again and nonchalantly said, "It was a long trip. I'm sure you'd enjoy a shower."
"Yes, that. I'm just going to..." Kara hooked a thumb toward the door as she took several large steps in that direction.
"Oh, and Kara?" When the other woman turned back toward her, Lena grinned. "You smell incredible too. I was close enough to be quite certain."
"Heh." Kara's laugh was nervous as she rubbed the back of her neck. Bobbing her head, she turned and stepped a bit too wide, connecting with the closed door. "I should open that," she murmured to no one in particular as she stepped back, pulling the door open and making her way into the hallway, pulling the door closed behind her.
Her back to the closed door, Kara sighed heavily. They hadn't made any progress in their discussion. All they'd managed to do was agitate matters and each other a bit. Lena's home with three levels and five bedrooms had provided them with ample space to avoid each other when necessary. The close quarters of sharing a room were already stirring up matters at a volatile time.
Sighing, Kara pushed off the door and headed down the hallway before stopping and saying, "Duh, clothes," and turning back the way she came. Hand on the doorknob, Kara popped open the door as she said, "Hey, Lena, I forgot clothes and my towel. I was about to be running around the house—"
When a Kryptonian moved quickly, super quickly, it was like the world around them almost froze. Sometimes super-speed was little more than an instinct. There were occasions in Kara's life when her survival depended on this being a reaction and not an action. So, when Kara walked in on her best friend with a robe halfway down, Lena's back to her, Kara didn't consciously speed up. Kara didn't choose to make that moment pause with crystal clarity, make every curl of Lena's damp hair stand out against alabaster skin. It wasn't Kara's fault that she noted a constellation of freckles on Lena's left shoulder, the other woman's shoulder blades pressed sharply out trapped mid-motion and a hint of vertebrae peeking between curls of hair. Muscles in Lena's back and arms, not overly developed but fine and taut were captured artistically in moment and memory. Kara couldn't even be blamed for her thoughts. After all, she was only... erm... human?
Time resumed as Kara slowed, and Lena tossed the Bathrobe back over her shoulders.
"Sorry! Sorry!" Kara spun away, sputtering. "I didn't... I mean... Sorry." She studied her fumbling hands with a quiet intensity, jumping when a hand touched her elbow.
"You all right, Kara?"
"I didn't see anything."
"Huh...your loss." There was a moment of shuffling, and then Lena appeared holding Kara's towel that had been hanging from the foot of the bed. "Is this what you needed?"
"Thanks." Taking the towel, Kara sidled up to the dresser. "I need clothes too."
"Probably."
Her gaze going back and forth between the piece of furniture and Lena who continued to watch her with interest, Kara wiggled the top sticky dresser drawer until, with a tug, she pulled the front of the drawer off.
"Oh, Rao."
"You sure you're all right?"
Holding the drawer front out by the knob, Kara said, "Sometimes it sticks."
"Not anymore. Hold on." Pulling out socks and underclothes from the top drawer, Lena handed them off to Kara who shuffled about with the newspaper and piece of wood to take them. Then she carefully opened the next two drawers to remove a t-shirt and a pair of jeans in order. "You need anything else?"
"Is my dignity in there?"
Lena smiled. "I'll look around for it while you're in the bathroom. If we can't find it, you're welcome to borrow a cup of mine. I pack it with my pride. Luthors always have plenty of both on hand."
"You're the best."
As Kara made her way to the door again, Lena said, "Hey Kara, if you happen to find my humility lying around... Oh, what am I saying. I lost that in the adoption."
Smiling and feeling much less self-conscious, Kara replied, "Do you have a reason to feel humble, Miss Luthor?"
"None comes to mind." Lena smiled.
"Is it hard being perfect?"
"You tell me, Supergirl."
As she felt the heat rising in the back of her neck, Kara nodded slightly and gestured toward the door with the desk drawer still in hand. "I'm just going to..."
"Let me help you," Lena said taking the drawer front from Kara's hand.
"Thanks," Kara said ducking her head and leaving the room with a bit of haste before she could do any more damage either physically or verbally. She didn't turn to look back as she made her way down the hallway and into the bathroom, but she could have sworn she felt the power of Lena's gaze on her back the whole way. Kryptonian heat vision had nothing on it.