Chapter Text
Kara Danvers prided herself on two things. Her ability to write under pressure and her ability to disappear before things got emotionally complicated.
Unfortunately, the second one had come back to bite her in the ass. Hard.
It had been two weeks since that night . Two weeks since she’d stumbled into a dimly lit bar after a disastrous date, met a stunning stranger with wicked green eyes and a smile that should’ve been illegal and woken up tangled in silk sheets with the taste of sin and regret on her lips.
She remembered the way Lena had leaned in across the bar, her voice low and smooth over the jazz music playing from the band in the background. How her fingers brushed Kara’s wrist as if testing a live wire. The city had blurred outside those high windows while Lena’s laughter had filled every inch of Kara’s brain.
Then she’d panicked and left in the middle of the night.
No note. No text. No ‘thanks for the mind-blowing experience, sorry I have commitment issues.’
Just one spectacular ghosting. And now, here she was, standing in line at Noonan’s Café at ten in the morning on a Wednesday, trying not to think about any of that.
The café smelled like roasted espresso beans and cinnamon. Her two favorite things and she was determined to focus on those instead of the embarrassing memory of sneaking out of someone’s penthouse barefoot, clutching her heels and dignity in equal measure.
The line moved forward, and so did her impending humiliation. If overthinking counted as cardio, she’d have an Olympic gold medal already. Kara shuffled with it, eyes glued to the pastry case.
“Next.” called the barista.
Kara stepped up to the counter, adjusting her glasses and pretending her heart wasn’t pounding from residual anxiety that came from existing in public. “Hi! Uh, one large latte, extra foam, please and a triple shot of caramel. Also make that for Kara Danvers.”
The barista smiled, scribbling her name on the cup. “Got it, Kara.”
She handed over a crumpled five-dollar bill and tried to smile back, deciding that, for once, life was quiet and manageable.
And then the bell above the door jingled .
Her body froze. Her brain screamed. Her soul attempted to evaporate . Not metaphorically. If sheer willpower could turn her into vapor, she’d already be seeping out of the air vent by now.
Because walking into the café with her hair tied back in a tight bun, coat perfectly tailored along with the expensive business suit she had on, that same confident stride was Lena Luthor.
The woman Kara had left in bed.
The woman whose sheets she’d creased, whose name she’d moaned, whose phone number she absolutely did not have because she’d bolted like a coward.
For a split second, Kara thought maybe she was hallucinating. Maybe caffeine withdrawal had taken on human form. But no. Lena was real, every detail razor-sharp and unfairly gorgeous. She was scrolling through her phone, giving the barista a polite nod as she moved to the back of the line, the morning sun catching on her dark hair like a halo of fire.
“Oh no.” Kara whispered, panic rising in her throat.
“Oh no, what?” Alex asked from behind her, holding two to-go mugs. One for her, the other for Sam and wearing that big-sister expression that meant I can smell your secrets from a mile away .
Kara didn’t answer. She just ducked.
“What are you doing?” Alex hissed, startled, as Kara crouched down beside the pastry counter like a fugitive. She blinked at her sister, momentarily thrown off. “Kara? What—why are you crouching? Did you drop something?”
“Yeah. My dignity.” Kara tried to make herself smaller and peeked around Alex’s legs.
“Huh? Oh Kara for gods sake! You look ridiculous right now.” Alex tried to move but Kara had a strong grip on her.
“Shh!” Kara hissed, frantically tugging Alex’s jacket to pull her closer. “She’s here!”
“Who?”
“The—the woman!” Kara flailed vaguely toward the door, her elbow nearly knocking over a jar of biscotti. “The woman from that night!”
Alex blinked, then realization dawned. “ The woman? The one you wouldn’t tell me about? The one you said was—what was the word?... ‘life-ruiningly beautiful’?”
Kara groaned, pressing her face into her hands. “Could you not say that so loud?”
“Could you not use me as cover?” Alex muttered, trying to pry her sister off her. “Jesus, are you hiding behind me?”
“Yes!”
“Kara-”
“Alex, please!”
Before Alex could protest again, the barista called out brightly. “Large latte for Kara Danvers!”
Lena’s head snapped up from her phone. Her eyes. Bright green, focused, calculating swept the room and landed squarely on Kara, who was half-crouched, half-standing behind her sister like a guilty child in a game of hide-and-seek.
The café noise dulled to a hush, like someone had hit mute on the universe. Steam curled from the espresso machine, a soft hiss that seemed to echo the pulse pounding in Kara’s ears. Lena stood framed by sunlight, one brow lifted, lips curving like she’d just found the punchline to a joke Kara didn’t know she was part of.
Their eyes met.
And just like that, Kara wished the earth would open up and swallow her whole.
Lena’s lips curved into a slow, oh so very slow smile. The kind of smile that knew exactly what it did to people. She took a measured step closer, heels clicking softly against the tile, eyes never leaving Kara’s.
“Fancy seeing you again.” Lena said smoothly, voice velvet-wrapped steel.
Kara’s mouth went dry. Her brain went static. “H-hi. Um. Latte. Mine.” She reached out blindly and grabbed the cup like it was a lifeline, holding it in front of her face as if caffeine could double as a force field.
Lena’s gaze swept down briefly. The glasses, the flushed cheeks, the hands gripping the latte like it held state secrets and when her eyes lifted again, amusement shimmered there.
Alex raised an eyebrow, clearly thrilled by this turn of events. “So she is the one you ghosted?”
Kara nearly choked on air. “ALEX!”
Alex pressed a hand dramatically to her chest. “Hold on. You ghosted Lena Luthor? Kara, do you realize that’s basically a criminal offense in National City? Half the city’s tech sector would sell their souls for five minutes of her attention.”
Kara whimpered. “Please stop talking.”
“I’m just saying.” Alex continued with mock sincerity. “When people say ‘shoot for the stars,’ they don’t mean sleep with one and then run away before the sun comes up.”
Lena’s smirk deepened, a small dimple appearing just at the corner of her mouth. “Ghosted, hmm? That explains why you vanished before sunrise.”
Kara sputtered, cheeks blazing. “I—I didn’t vanish! I—uh—had to feed my cat.”
“You don’t have a cat.” Alex said helpfully, sipping her coffee like she was watching premium entertainment.
“I could have one! ” Kara hissed.
Lena chuckled. A low, warm sound that curled through Kara’s chest like smoke. “Relax, Kara. I’m not angry.”
“You’re not?”
“Disappointed, maybe.” Lena said, leaning just a bit closer, her perfume brushing Kara’s senses, subtle jasmine and something darker, intoxicating. “But I can’t say I didn’t enjoy our night together.”
Kara’s brain promptly blue-screened. “Oh. Uh. Good. That’s… good. Great, actually. Really great.”
Lena’s grin turned feline. “Tell you what, you can make it up to me. Coffee. Tomorrow morning. Here.”
Alex snorted. “Looks like someone’s getting a second chance.” Kara elbowed her, mortified. “Ow!”
Lena pulled a silver business card from her coat pocket. L-Corp embossed in delicate lettering and slipped it into Kara’s trembling hand. Her fingers brushed Kara’s just long enough to make her heart race.
“Don’t run this time.” Lena murmured, her tone teasing but threaded with something almost tender. Then she reached out and tilted Kara’s chin upward with a single finger. “You have a terrible poker face.” She said softly, eyes glinting with mischief. “I can practically hear you thinking about it.”
Kara’s pulse stumbled. “Th-thinking about what?”
“Running.” Lena replied, leaning in like she was going to whisper a secret into Kara’s ear. “Or kissing me again. Possibly both.” She moved to place a feather light kiss to the skin of her neck, flustering Kara even more.
And before Kara could summon an answer, Lena was already walking away, heels clicking, leaving the scent of flirtatious chaos in her wake. Then she was gone, the doorbell chiming behind her as she disappeared into the crisp morning air.
Kara stared after her, heart hammering, face flushed, Alex trying not to laugh and failing miserably.
Finally, Kara managed to find her voice again and whispered. “Do you think it’s too early to die of embarrassment?”
Alex patted her shoulder, grinning. “Only if you skip your coffee date first.”
Kara groaned, burying her face in her hands. “I can’t believe that just happened.”
“Oh, you’re definitely going.” Alex said, far too gleeful for Kara’s liking. “I’m buying popcorn and following from a safe distance.”
“You wouldn’t.”
Alex smirked. “Wouldn’t I?”
Kara shot her a glare that had all the ferocity of a sleepy puppy before looking down at the sleek silver card in her hand. L-Corp. The letters gleamed like they were alive, catching the sunlight that streamed through the café’s front window. Elegant, precise, and completely out of her league.
“She really asked me out.” Kara muttered, more to herself than to Alex. “Like, actually asked me out. After that. ”
“Seems like she’s giving you a chance to redeem yourself and she must really like you.” Alex teased. “Don’t blow it this time.”
Kara sighed and slipped the card into her jacket pocket as though it were something fragile. “You make it sound like I have a choice.”
“You don’t.” Alex said cheerfully. “You really don’t. Not if you want to get the girl of your dreams.”
They headed toward the door, the soft winter air greeting them as the bell chimed above.
Across the street, Lena stood beside a black car, talking quietly to her driver. She must have felt Kara’s eyes because she turned, her gaze meeting Kara’s. For a long, breathless second, the world narrowed to that look. Then Lena’s lips curved into a smile.
Not a smirk this time. Something smaller. Softer. A private thing meant just for Kara.
Kara’s heart tripped over itself all over again. She blinked and Lena was already sliding into the car, the door closing with a quiet thud before it pulled away into traffic.
Alex nudged her. “Still want to die of embarrassment?”
Kara exhaled slowly, the corners of her mouth lifting despite everything. “Maybe later. I’ve got a coffee date to survive first.”
Alex chuckled again before turning to her sister with that cheeky smirk she’d been wearing plastered all over her face. “Oh, by the way, did I ever mention my girlfriend Sam happens to be Lena’s best friend?”
Kara stopped walking, eyes widening in horror. “You’re kidding.”
Alex smirked. “Nope. Small world, huh?”
Kara groaned, dragging a hand down her face. “Oh my God. I’m doomed.”
Alex grinned. “Not the bad kind of doomed, though.”
A reluctant smile tugged at Kara’s lips. “Yeah.” she murmured. “The good kind.”