Chapter Text
The clock hands seemed to be taking years to tick by. Kara kept glancing up to see how much time had passed by, but they seemed to almost never move. She sighed and leaned back in her chair, looking down at the papers in front of her. She had been filling out paperwork for a majority of the day. Her sister, Alex, was out on patrol with a few other officers around town while Kara was alone- save for Susan, the woman who worked dispatch most of the week.
Kara rubbed her eyes, words swimming around behind her eyelids. She hated filing arrest reports, but they had piled up and if she didn’t finish putting them in now Sheriff Henshaw would have her ass. So, with a sip of her lukewarm coffee, Kara got back to work.
It took a few more hours before someone finally came into the office. Kara looked up to see her sister striding into the bullpen, holding her Stetson by the brim. She never liked wearing her hat, thinking it looked goofy. Kara could understand her argument, feeling like the hat made her own head look too big. “How is it out on the battle field?” Kara asked with a large grin, happy to finally see a friendly face.
“Oh you know… Caught a few people speeding, helped an old lady across the street. The usual.” Alex returned the smile, walking over to her desk on the other side of the bullpen. “How’s the paperwork?” Alex asked as she pulled some items out of her desk, turning on her computer. “Terrible. Boring. Makes me want to jump out of the window.” Alex scoffed, looking up at her sister. “We’re on the first story. I think the bush outside of the window would be more dangerous than the actual fall.”
The two sisters bantered for a little while, before returning to their work. The time seemed to pass by a lot quicker once Kara had someone to properly talk to. Susan was a nice woman, but she was very focused on her work, and awkwardly far away. Kara would have had to yell to have a simple conversation with her.
Once the evening had rolled around, signaling the end of Kara’s shift, she started to pack up her things to go home. She was just about to stand and leave her desk when another officer walked in. Winn Schott had a wild look on his face, eyes wide and mouth ajar as he practically ran into the room. Kara paused, eyebrow raising as she watched her coworker. “You’ll never believe it!” Winn said as he bounced over to the two Danvers. The sisters exchanged looks, but awaited Winn’s news. “There’s a new science teacher in town, and she’s HOT.”
Alex simply sighed in disappointment, and turned back to her work. Kara, although surprised at the news that there was a new person in town, rolled her eyes and returned to slinging her work bag over her shoulder. “Why do you find that so exciting?” Kara asked off-handedly. “Because there’s not a whole ton of real estate in this town! The only attractive girls are either already taken, or my coworkers.” Kara wrinkled her nose, and glanced over to her sister, who was playfully frowning. “The fact that you just called us real estate is kind of insulting,” Alex said. Winn threw his hands up, defensively saying something back.
Kara simply called out her goodbye as the two officers bantered, holding her hat in one hand and her coffee in the other as she strolled out of the police station. She didn’t really think much about what Winn had said until she got into her car, tossing her bag and hat into the back. She questioned who in the world would want to move all the way to the West Alpine, Washington. The population wasn’t even 7,000, and Kara was pretty sure it wasn’t even on most maps. The people here were extremely cliquey, and would make it their business to go through everyone’s personal life. If Kara was completely honest, the town was rather toxic, and the only reason she stayed was because her work as an officer here would help her get a job in a bigger city.
As she drove her personal car up the winding road almost to the top of the mountain that West Alpine was built on, Kara’s mind wandered to something else, away from the new science teacher. She arrived to her cabin home, sighing as she grabbed her stuff and strolled inside. As soon as she opened the door, however, a big fluffy creature bodily slammed into her. Zeus, Kara’s golden retriever, barked and whimpered in excitement as he tried to jump up onto her. His entire body wiggled as his tail wagged like mad. Kara laughed, smiling to her companion as she set her stuff down on the nearest table, so that she could sit on the ground and give him all the hugs and pets he desired.
Kara lived alone, relatively deep in the woods, so she decided that she should get a dog to keep her company. Zeus was a good and loyal boy, and she loved him dearly. Kara didn’t stand up until Zeus had calmed down, getting up and brushing all his hair off of her uniform. She sighed softly, grabbing her work items and going into her home office to set her bag on her desk. Her night was rather uneventful, consisting of a simple dinner, a movie, and some more paperwork which went by quickly.
Kara was getting ready for bed when she heard her phone go off, indicating that she had a text. She opened it up to see that it was Alex who had texted her.
‘What time are you planning on being at the party next week? Want to come over before? We can get ready together.’
Kara huffed at the reminder of the town party. It wasn’t exactly an official ‘town party’, but most of the adults liked to get together every month in the field behind the most popular bar to drink and have fun. This month both Alex and Kara were off, so they had planned on going together, as well as Winn if he managed to get out of his shift. Kara texted her sister back, agreeing that they should hang out before the actual party. She personally didn’t mind going to smaller get-togethers with some of her friends in town, but this gathering was going to be full of the judgmental cliques that made West Alpine so toxic. The only reason she was actually going to this thing was because her absence was noticed for the past few months, and people were starting to pester her.
She lay in bed contemplating how the town gathering would go for a little while, but eventually fell asleep. When she woke up, early in the morning, she got ready and went to work. It was uneventful, as were the next few days. No one brought up the new science teacher, and Kara didn’t even think of her. It wasn’t until the day before the town party that, while Kara, Alex, and Winn were out to lunch that Winn brought the teacher back up.
“Do you think she’ll be there tomorrow?” He asked between large mouthfuls of sandwich. Kara looked up from her fries, scoffing and glancing to Alex. “Why, do you think you have a chance with her?” Alex asked with a grin. Winn got bright red, and slumping down a little. “You make it sound impossible for anyone to like me.” Alex laughed, but Kara reached forward and put her hand on Winn’s. “Hey, who knows, maybe she will find your dorkiness cute. Don’t listen to Alex, she just likes to be mean.” Winn gave Kara a small smile, and the conversation drifted elsewhere.
As the day progressed, Kara started to think more and more about the upcoming party, and wondered if the new resident really would show up. Would her coworkers have told her about the party? Was she even someone who was interested in partying? Maybe she was like some of the uptight people in town- the ones who frowned upon anything fun or rowdy, thinking it was a disturbance of the peace. Poor Susan in dispatch would probably get twenty calls tomorrow night about how the party was getting too loud, even though everyone tried to be respectful and as quiet as possible.
Meeting the new woman would be kind of nice, Kara figured. She didn’t have many friends outside of work, and it was always an adventure learning about someone. Life was getting kind of stale, so what if this woman made things exciting again? Kara thought about this for the rest of the day, creating an image of what she thought the new resident would be like. Right before Kara and Winn left for the night, walking through the parking lot, Kara asked Winn if he knew the new teachers name. He paused, making a face as he thought for a moment. “Uhm… I only heard her last name from some of the other teachers I was talking to the other day. Lewis? Larson? No, those aren’t it.” Winn scratched his chin for a moment before snapping his fingers. “Luthor! That’s her name.”
Kara attached the last name to the face she had created in her head. She didn’t feel like it fit very well, but she shrugged and thanked Winn before going to her car. That night, as she was watching some TV and cuddled with Zeus, she started to think of Ms. Luthor again. She envisioned them talking in the field behind the town’s bar, laughing and exchanging life stories. When Kara went to bed, she was making up a back story for the Luthor woman- whose face was kind of blurry, like Kara couldn’t focus on it for too long before looking away.
The next day, after going to the small town gym for an hour or two and then eating a late breakfast, Kara drove to Alex’s apartment. Alex lived almost in the center of the city, saying she preferred being around people, compared to Kara’s seclusion. Kara had brought a spare bag of clothing, talking with her sister and spending most of the day just sitting around. “So, are you actually going to talk to James tonight? I heard he’s only showing up because he heard you’re going to be there.” Alex grinned as Kara turned bright red. James Olsen was the town reporter and newpaper editor. Him and Kara had become friends when he interviewed her- She had rescued a family from a burning building a few years ago, when the fire department had been taking too long to get to the scene –and ever since then Alex has been bugging them to get together.
Yeah, James was sweet and not bad looking, but every time Kara tried to picture them together it felt wrong. Even with the attraction she felt between them, it felt like a bad connection. As if the only reason she was even bothering with the idea of getting together with James is because someone brought made her think about it. It felt like she just decided to have a ‘crush’ on him.
“I’ll talk to him, but just as friends,” Kara said to her sister, frowning a little, “It’s sweet that he’s coming to the party for me, though.” Alex shrugged, not pressing the matter further. The two of them eventually started to get ready. It didn’t take long for Kara to put her make up on- it was simply foundation and mascara –while Alex took a moment to put on dramatic winged eyeliner and a smoky eyeshadow. The party was a casual event, but Kara still wore something a little nicer. She put on dark maroon pants, a small black belt, and a dark blue polka dot shirt. She finished the outfit with some black tall Converse and a leather jacket, checking herself out in the mirror before leaving with Alex.
It was almost sundown when the two sisters arrived at the party. It was already in full swing, with a massive bonfire and lots of booze being sold from the bar. Kara and Alex strolled into the field, immediately being greeted by some of the other adults. Alex started speaking with a few of her friends, Kara glancing around the field. There were lots of people there, and she recognized all of them. There were no unfamiliar faces, so either the Luthor woman wasn’t there yet, or wasn’t going to be there at all.
As Kara was looking around, she noticed someone walking over to her. James smiled wide, two drinks already in his hand. “Kara! I haven’t seen you for a few days, how are you?” Kara returned the smile, adjusting her glasses as she walked a few steps to meet him. “I’m great! I’m sorry for not talking a whole ton. Work has been really busy, and Henshaw has been on my butt recently about paperwork.” The two chuckled together, before Kara glanced back down at the extra cup in James’ hand. “Oh, this is for you! I hope you don’t mind, I just assumed you’d like a drink.” Kara took the cup that was offered to her, politely smiling. She sipped the drink, happy to taste the absence of alcohol. She had work early in the morning, and didn’t want to have a hangover while on patrol.
“I have to be honest, I was a little worried I scared you off,” James said as he also took a big gulp of his drink. Kara furrowed her eyebrows, looking confused. “Just,” James paused, looking down at his cup, “I think I was a little forward, and pushed things a little too hard when we were out to dinner. I didn’t mean to pressure you into anything. I’m sorry if I came off pushy.”
The memory of a few nights ago flooded back into Kara’s mind. James and her had gone out to dinner one night. She thought of it as a friendly outing, but he thought of it as a date. When he started talking about getting into a relationship, Kara had quickly shut it down, paying for her half of the meal before running home. It was such an awkward situation that Kara had pushed the memory to the back of her brain.
“Oh, no, don’t worry about it. I just… I’m not really ready for a relationship right now. I’m kind of trying to focus on my career.” Kara felt her shoulders tensing as she spoke, nibbling her lip nervously. James waved it off, smiling wide as he always did. “Hey, don’t worry about it! I just feel like an idiot looking between the lines that weren’t there.” The two laughed a little, awkwardly pausing before James quickly changed subjects.
An hour or so passed with Kara simply hanging around James and Alex. Eventually Winn showed up, already holding a beer in his hand. He was visibly looking around, and Kara could have sworn she could smell his cologne a little stronger than normal. He wore a formal button up and jeans, nervously switching his drink from one hand to the other. “So, do you think your new crush is here yet?” Kara joked, bumping Winn with her shoulder. Winn glared at her for a moment before his eyes returned to the crowd again. “I just want to introduce myself tonight, that’s all,” He mumbled. Kara chuckled, but nodded. “I’ll let you know if I see anyone unfamiliar, so you can see if it’s her.”
If Kara had to be honest, she was also glancing around the party, occasionally taking a lap around the field to see if she couldn’t find the aloof newcomer. She didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary until it was well past dark, and the only light source was the main blazing campfire in the center of the field, as well as a few others dotted around. She was subconsciously scanning the party goers when she noticed a small clump of people towards the back. She raised her eyebrow, noticing that the group of men looked to be caging something in against the tree line that surrounded almost the entire field.
Kara set down her unfinished drink, silently leaving her small group to casually walk towards the clump. She knew that if someone noticed her too soon, they would run away- she was well known for being one of the town cops. Out of habit Kara put her long blond hair into a bun as she walked, preparing for something to happen.
Through a gap in the wall of men, she could see the town douche- Eric Matthews –speaking very drunkenly to someone. As Kara got closer, she could see the figure of a woman standing with her arms crossed, looking extremely uncomfortable. She couldn’t see exactly who the figure was, but it didn’t matter. It was obvious that Eric was heckling whoever it was, and she knew it was her duty as a cop and a woman to stop whatever was going on.
“Hey!” Kara barked out once she was close enough, her face hardening. Instantly most of the men in the group backed off and practically ran away. Kara’s eyes locked onto Eric, narrowing into a deathly glare as she stormed over. Eric turned to look at her frowning and haughtily tilting his head up. “What do you want, Rookie?” Eric growled. Kara felt her face glowing red with anger. Even though Kara has been an officer for over 4 years, Eric made it his personal vendetta to call Kara demeaning names. ‘Rookie’ was his favorite.
“I want you to stop heckling this young woman,” Kara ordered. She had yet to look at the woman who Eric was trying to sink his claws into, but she made it a point to walk between the two of them, crossing her arms over her chest. Eric looked angry, his face also reddening. “We’re just having a nice conversation. Isn’t that right?” Eric looked over Kara’s shoulder, but she didn’t follow his gaze. “It doesn’t look ‘nice’ to me… Having your friends surround a girl like she’s your prey isn’t very friendly.” Eric sneered, his fists clenching and the vein in his neck popping.
“How about you back off?” Was Eric’s only reply. He reached up and tried to push Kara’s shoulder, but all she did was deflect his hand, returning the shove to the center of his chest. Knocked off balance, Eric stumbled and fell backwards into the mud, on his ass. A few of his friends snickered, but stopped as soon as they received a death glare from him. He scrambled to stand up, puffing his chest out and trying to get into Kara’s face. Kara re-crossed her arms to put a barrier between the two of them, refusing to take a step back. She could feel Eric’s hot breath on her face as he yelled, “What the fuck is your problem?!”
Kara glared at him. “I want you to leave this woman alone. She wants nothing to do with you… In fact, I think it’s time for you to leave.” Her jaw clenched as Eric stared angrily at her. He was visibly contemplating if he should attempt to strike her. Kara was watching his face carefully, and was grateful to see him back down, taking a step away. “Whatever…” He spat on the ground before turning away, gesturing for his friends to follow him. Kara didn’t relax until she was sure Eric wouldn’t change his mind, dropping her arms and relaxing her shoulders.
Kara turned around to look at the woman she had defended, momentarily freezing when she realized she didn’t recognize her. The woman’s hair was as dark as the night, and her eyes were ice green. She had a square jaw and long pointed nose, with full, crimson colored lips, and a posture that emitted authority. She was… Beautiful. Almost goddess like. Kara could have stared at her for hours and wouldn’t have found one single flaw.
“Uh…” Kara mumbled, her jaw slightly ajar. The woman stared at her in confusion, perfect eyebrows furrowing as her lips were pulled thin. It took Kara a moment to blink and snap out of her daze, visibly jumping to attention. “Uhm. Oh. Are you okay? Eric didn’t try anything, did he?” The confidence that she felt while talking to Eric quickly deflated, replace with awkward anxiety. She realized that Winn had been right; this woman was the most attractive person she had ever seen.
“No, he didn’t. He was just drunk, and being pushy. I’m okay, thank you,” Ms. Luthor said, shifting her weight from foot to foot. Her voice was as soft as velvet as she spoke; it almost made Kara melt. She held eye contact, not nearly as flustered as Kara was. The two of them were silent for multiple heart beats before Ms. Luthor said, “I didn’t catch your name?” Her head tilted adorably, and Kara gave an embarrassed laugh. “I’m Officer Danvers… But you can just call me Kara.” She stiffly held out her hand to the woman, who gently took it. “I’m Lena. Lena Luthor. Thank you, by the way. Honestly, I was starting to get worried I would really have to make a scene to get away from that guy.”
Lena… What a beautiful name… The image of ‘Ms. Luthor’ had shattered in Kara’s mind, replaced with the wonderful face of Lena. Her polite smile made her eyes sparkle, and Kara found herself wondering what her laugh sounded like. “You don’t have to worry too much about Eric. He’s a huge jerk, and I wouldn’t trust any opened drink he gave to you, but as long as someone’s with you when he’s around he won’t do anything.” Lena’s eyebrows furrowed, glancing off in the direction Eric had gone. “That’s good information to have. I’ll keep that in mind, then.”
There was a long pause were Kara didn’t know what to say. The two women stood silently for a moment before finally Kara thought of a question. “So you’re new to West Alpine? Where were you from before?” She smiled, putting her hands in her pocket. “I moved here from Southern California, but I was born in a city called Metropolis.” Kara nodded along as Lena spoke. A million questions flooded into her mind just from that one sentence, and she had to remind herself not to bombard Lena with them all at once. There was time to get to know her.
“Did you move here with family?” Kara asked. Lena shook her head, the firelight catching her long hair at just the right angle so glints of orange streaked beautifully through it. “I came alone. I’m not exactly in touch with my family… But that’s another story for another time.” Lena politely smiled, and started to look around a little more. She was alone? So that meant she was single. The thought reminded Kara that she had promised to try and match Lena with Winn.
“If you’d like, I can introduce you to some of my friends? They’re all very interested to meet you.” Kara took a step back, and gestured to the general direction that she came from. Lena hugged herself, shifting uncomfortably. “I don’t mean to be rude, but after the encounter earlier I’m a little done with socializing. Thank you for the invitation, though.” Kara felt a little disappointed, but understood her desire to leave. “Well then let me escort you to your car. I don’t want Eric trying to bother you again.” Lena smiled gratefully, allowing Kara to walk besides her along the edge of the field, to the parking lot.
“West Alpine is a very comfortable town. I hope everyone is treating you well,” Kara said as they walked. “Everyone has been very nice. My students have been the most welcoming, honestly.” The comment reminded Kara that Lena was a science teacher at the local high school. “That’s good to hear. I know teenagers can be kind of ruthless sometimes. What grade do you teach?” The two of them reached the street, and Lena guided them down, away from the bar. “I teach chemistry, so most of my students are Seniors.”
The women reached a sporty black car, Lena searching the small bag that hung over her shoulder for her keys. “Thank you for everything, Officer Danvers. I hope to see you soon.” Lena smiled a genuine smile, and for a moment that’s all Kara could focus on. Her teeth were perfect, and it made her entire face light up. She looked impossibly more beautiful and elegant, like a drawing of Aphrodite.
Lena offered her hand once more, which Kara grabbed a little too quickly. “Of course, as do I. Stay safe.” Kara backed away, but didn’t turn around until Lena was in her car, and pulling away. She slowly walked backwards until she saw the black car turn onto a road and disappear.
When Kara returned to the party, the first person to question where she had been was Alex. Her sister looked worried, eyebrows furrowed. “I just met the new teacher,” Kara said simply. As expected, Winn’s head snapped up. “You what?! Where is she?” He frantically started to look around, trying to find her. Kara scoffed, seeing how desperate he looked. “She went home, Winn… Eric Matthews cornered her, so I scared him away, and she left.” Winn looked comically sad, like a puppy who just got scolded. “And you didn’t introduce me?” He whimpered. Kara put her hands up defensively. “I tried, but she was uncomfortable, and wanted to leave! Next time I see her, and you’re nearby, I promise to bring her to you.”
“Did you manage to catch her name?” James asked. He had Kara’s forgotten drink in his hand, and when he handed it to her she looked down at it, uninterested in the lukewarm liquid. Everyone seemed very excited, visibly leaning in as they awaited Kara’s reply. “Her name is Lena… Lena Luthor.”
**********
Kara didn’t see Lena for another week and a half. It was a weekend, and Kara was on her lunch break. Normally when she was on patrol, Kara would simply eat in her cruiser, or drive back to the station. That day, however, she decided to treat herself to some diner food. She had missed the sporty black car in the parking lot as she parked in front of the restaurant, nor did she notice Lena when she first walked in. Kara removed her hat, and went straight for the diner counter, taking a seat on the vibrant stool. Straight away the usual waitress- Eleanor –walked up to her and set a mug in front of her.
“Afternoon, Officer. How’s your shift going?” She took the pot of coffee that seemed to always be in her hand and poured a generous amount into Kara’s cup. “Rather eventful, actually. Six speeding tickets, and some trespassing teenagers,” Kara replied with her bubbly smile. “Huh, you don’t say… Do you know what you want? The usual?” Eleanor was already writing down Kara’s order. “Only if you let me pay for it this time,” Kara replied, frowning when the waitress laughed.
Eleanor gestured to the diner full of people. “Does it look like one free meal will put us out of business, sweetie? It’s on the house; like it or not.” Kara smiled gratefully, watching Eleanor walk away to tell the cook her order. She sat silently for a moment, bouncing her hat on her knee as she mixed a little bit of creamer and an obscene amount of sugar into her coffee. She blew on the steaming beverage before taking a careful sip, casually glancing at the people around her.
That’s when her eye caught on Lena. She was sitting alone, reading what seemed to be a science magazine. She casually reached down for the fork on the plate in front of her, not even looking as she carefully stabbed a few pieces of lettuce from the salad she was eating. For a moment Kara wanted to get up to go greet her, but stopped when she assumed that she was busy, or wanted to be left alone. She stayed sitting on her stool, nibbling on her lip as she fought the urge to keep glancing at Lena. To keep herself busy, Kara pulled out her phone and started to browse social media.
After a few minutes Kara received her lunch, thanking Eleanor by forcing a twenty-dollar bill into her hand before turning her attention to the food; a massive double patty burger with all the toppings, and extra fries. She grabbed some ketchup and liberally squirted it on her burger and to the side for her fries. She took a huge bite of her food, holding it with both hands. She couldn’t help but moan through her mouthful of juicy beef, giving an approving nod to Eleanor when she glanced over at her. She practically devoured her burger in a few bites, so caught up in the flavors that she didn’t notice Lena Luthor looking over at her.
Kara was working on her fries when she noticed someone walk up next to her. She froze, mid bite into a fry when her eyes met Lena’s. She quickly sat up straight, and covered her mouth with a hand as she said, “Good afternoon, Ms. Luthor.” Lena smiled to her, looking very amused. “Good afternoon. Are you enjoying your lunch?” Kara frantically chewed her food, swallowing as she nodded. “The Diner is my favorite place to eat. They have the best burgers.” Lena glanced down at the few drips of grease that were the only remnants of Kara’s sandwich on the plate, chuckling. “I can see that.”
Lena visibly paused, her eyes glancing all over Kara’s face. “Is there something I can help you with?” Kara glanced around the diner to see if anyone was giving Lena funny looks. A few people quickly glanced away, but none of them looked hostile. “Well, I just wanted to apologize for being so rude when we first met.” Kara looked confused, eyebrows furrowing as she looked back to Lena. Rude? She wasn’t rude at all! “I felt like I practically ran away, and I just wanted to let you know I wasn’t running from you.” Kara’s eyes widened, and she put her hands out in front of her. “I didn’t think that at all! I know you were stressed out about what happened, and I completely understand why you left. I would have done the same thing if some creep cornered me like that.”
Lena smiled sweetly, nodding her thanks. “It was very nice of you to help me.” Kara returned the smile. “Of course, it wasn’t a problem at all. If you’d like, I can give you my card, to make you feel more comfortable. It has my personal phone number on it, so if you ever need help, you can get in touch with me straight away.” Kara fumbled around in her back pocket, grabbing her wallet and pulling out a plain white business card with the sheriff’s star logo on the back of it. “That would be wonderful, thank you,” Lena took the card, slipping it into her pocket.
“Well, I’ll leave you to enjoy the rest of your lunch. Stay safe out there, Officer Danvers.” Lena turned and started to walk away. Kara quickly turned in her stool and called out, “You can call me Kara, you know.” Lena looked behind her, her dark hair falling off her shoulder onto her back. She smiled sweetly and nodded, but didn’t repeat the name. Instead she turned and walked out of the restaurant. Kara watched the door of the diner for a long minute before turning around and returning to her beloved fries.
Eleanor walked over to Kara as she ate, also looking off to where Lena had left. “Is that the new woman in town?” A frown turned her face sour. “She looks like trouble.” Kara stared at Eleanor for a moment, also frowning. “I think she’s sweet… This town doesn’t deserve her.” Before Eleanor could reply, Kara stood up and walked out of the diner. She put her Stetson on, the emotional high she had only a few moments ago completely ruined now.
**********
Kara didn’t hear from Lena for another five days. It was Thursday, around 3 in the afternoon when Kara heard her phone vibrate in its holster on her utility belt. She was sitting in her usual speed trap, but today was extremely slow and boring. There was no chatter on the radio, no cars driving past, and no good music playing on the radio. At first Kara almost ignored her phone, figuring it was just Alex complaining that her patrol was also going slow, even though she had complained about it two hours before. However, something nagged Kara in the back of her mind to check the text.
‘Hello. This is Lena Luthor. Is this Officer Danvers?’
Kara scoffed at the formalness of the text. Her first instinct was to correct Lena on the use of ‘Officer Danvers’, but decided that it would be rude to correct her straight away.
‘Yup, you’ve got the right officer! How are you, Ms. Luthor?’
There was about a thirty-minute pause, and Kara was just about to put her phone away when it finally buzzed with a text again.
‘I’m well. Just finishing up some grading. How are you? Figured I’d ask if you knew of any fun activities to do around here.’
For a moment Kara was going to wait for a little bit before responding, not wanting to show that she was practically watching her phone, waiting for it to go off. Her willpower quickly died, however, replying within a minute.
‘Just on patrol. It’s boring, no one is breaking the law today.
As for fun things, I’m afraid the list is very short. We have the beach, although the water is freezing cold and it’s very hard to get down to. There’s the library, if you enjoy to read. We have a one screen movie theater, which has some good films to choose from. The only other thing I can think of is the museum at the very top of the mountain. If you like plants, they have a solarium that’s beautiful on sunny days.’
Kara set her phone down on the seat next to her, softly sighing as she looked up at the tree line across the road she was watching. Right as Kara heard her phone buzz, the radio in her car came to life. “Unit 38, do you copy? Over.” Susan’s voice crackled through. That unit number was Kara’s number, so she quickly pulled her mic closer to her mouth. “This is Danvers. I copy, over.” She replied, glancing back down to her phone. “There’s a report of a noise complaint in your area. Caller says it sounds like two people fighting, over.” Kara sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. She requested the address from Susan, flipping on her lights and sirens as she was told where it was. Kara straight away knew who the complaint was about. Sean Afton and Rachel Lexa were neighbors, and they absolutely hated each other. At least once a month they got into screaming fights over property lines, or trash cans being out for too long, or the others lawn being unkempt.
It didn’t take long for Kara to get to the scene, and sure enough she could hear the screaming over her siren- which she turned off as soon as she pulled up, as well as her lights. The yelling didn’t stop as Kara got out of her cruiser. If anything it got louder, Sean blaming Rachel for the cops being called. Kara walked up to the fighting neighbors, a deeply unamused look on her face. She stopped a few feet away from them, hooking her thumbs into her utility belt and popping her hip out.
Kara cleared her throat, but the yelling didn’t stop. She frowned, glaring, her patience already being tested. She was missing a phone conversation with a new friend for this bull crap. “Hey!” Kara yelled over the neighbors, who instantly stopped yelling. “What in the world is the problem now, you two?!” Kara looked between the two adults, feeling like she was a teacher trying to break up a fight between two toddlers. Sean and Rachel looked from Kara, to each other, and then back to Kara.
All of a sudden both of them started talking frantically at the same time. “This bitch won’t stop parking so close to my house,” Sean yelled. “This back of dicks threatened to key my car and smash in my windows,” Rachel tried to yell above Sean. Kara quickly shut both of them up by waving her hands in front of them. “One at a time! I can’t listen to you both when you’re talking over each other.” Kara turned to Rachel first, asking her to repeat herself.
“He’s threatening to key my car, and take a baseball bat to my windows for no reason- “Rachel, who was still talking loudly, was cut off by Sean. “It’s not for no reason! You keep parking too close to my house! I told you to park on the other side of the driveway!” Kara clapped her hands once, to get the two’s attention. “Hey, I said stop talking over each other! Mr. Afton, I have told you this once before, and I will tell you again; you cannot dictate where Ms. Lexa parks on her own property. Furthermore, you’re also not allowed to make threats like that. If you key or smash her property, you will be taken to jail.” Kara felt like she was explaining this to a two-year-old. Sean looked like a two-year-old to be fair, his mouth slightly ajar and his eyes wide as he stared at Kara.
Sean opened his mouth to speak, but Rachel was already talking over him. “See? I told you I have every right to park wherever I want, you dumbass.” Mr. Afton’s face got bright red, and if looks could kill Rachel Lexa would have dropped dead. Kara could tell what was going to happen before Rachel did. Sean’s arm reeled back right as Kara grabbed Rachel and pulled her out of the way. Sean’s fist swung right where Rachel had been. Instead of his fist stopping where Rachel once was, it over extended and smashed straight into Kara’s nose.
Already knowing he screwed up, Sean Afton turned on his heels and sprinted down the sidewalk. Kara’s nose gushed blood, but she didn’t have time to stop and notice, already sprinting after Sean. She would have caught him within seconds had he not veered into the woods next to his home right before she was about to grab him. Kara followed him, leaping over logs and roots. She knew all she had to do was wait for Sean to get tired, and then she would have him. She was trained to run through rough terrain, and she had more stamina than the older gentleman.
Within five minutes Sean was huffing and puffing, so Kara took that moment to push herself to go faster, grabbing the back of his shirt and whipping him around. Both of them slammed into the ground, dirt and leaves flying everywhere. Sean tried to scramble away, but before he could even roll over onto his back Kara was on top of him, pinning him on his stomach. She yanked his arms behind his back, scrambling for her cuffs in her belt.
Both of them were panting heavily, and Kara couldn’t breathe through her nose- which was still dripping blood, although not as much as it was a few minutes ago. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hit you, I swear officer!” Sean Afton was yelling. Kara was so angry that she didn’t even give the typical ‘you fucked up’ speech. Instead she just hastily lifted him up by his arms, and started to lead him out of the woods. He tried to physically get away for a moment, but as soon as he realized that both Kara and the cuffs were too strong for him, he resorted to yelling once again.
“Hey! You never read me my rights! This arrest is unjust! Let me go, or I’ll sue your ass!” They walked out of the woods, Kara trying to wipe the crusty blood off of the front of her face- unfortunately a lot of it had gotten onto the front of her uniform. “I don’t have to read you your Maranda Rights unless I’m questioning you, Mr. Afton. I’m arresting you for assault and evading arrest, not asking you about a robbery I think you’re involved in.” Kara was trying her best to keep her temper in check. She was in pain, both from getting punched in the nose and slamming into the ground, and she was tired.
All Kara wanted to do was get this arrest over with, get cleaned up, and then go home. It was almost the end of her shift, and she planned on this being the last thing she was going to do for work that day.
Sean Afton continued to yell, even as Kara put him in the back of her car. She closed the door as Sean was screaming, walking over to Rachel, who was still waiting outside for them. “You look like hell,” Rachel said, looking at Kara’s dirt and blood stained uniform. Kara didn’t respond, still breathing a little heavily. “Do you have any more concerns, ma’am?” She asked out of politeness. Rachel quickly shook her head, gathering herself and walking back into her home.
Kara went back to her car, going to the trunk to pull out some sanitary wipes she kept in there. She cleaned up her face as best she could, but the uniform was a lost cause. She’d have to give it to Susan to take to the dry cleaners. Luckily she always kept a pair of extra clothing in her locker for this exact purpose.
Sean was still yelling and kicking, but it only took about ten minutes for him to realize he was going to jail no matter how big of a fit he threw. Once he was quiet, Kara got on the radio and told Susan that she was coming in with an arrest. It didn’t take much longer to get into the station, and by then Mr. Afton was calm, allowing Kara to lead him into the building. Susan was there, waiting for them with the paperwork all ready. When she saw the blood all over Kara’s uniform, she gave her a confused look, but Kara simply shook her head, leading Sean to her desk so they could fill out all the forms.
By the time they got everything finished, and Sean was put in the holding cell to await transfer to a prison a few hours away, it was well past 5PM. Kara had changed into her extra clothing- a simple pair of jeans and grey hoodie –and didn’t even bother making sure no one needed her before she left. As soon as Sean’s cell was locked, and the paperwork was put in the right file, Kara was storming out of the station. She could feel her pent up anger and frustration boiling up to the point where tears were welling in her eyes. She took a moment to grab her personal items from her cruiser before slumping into her own car.
Her knuckles were pale white as she gripped her steering wheel, pulling away from the police station, driving her usual route up the mountain to her home. Kara loved her job, she got to work with her sister and close friend, but it was moments like this where she couldn’t help but question her career choices. She should have gone into journalism like James. Then she wouldn’t be getting punched in the nose and have to wrestle a man child in the dirt.
Once home, Kara grabbed her stuff and huffed, shuffling into the front room. Zeus seemed to be able to read her body language. At first he had run up to her like always, but as soon as he saw how upset he was, he slid to a stop. His wagging tail slowed, and his head dipped a little as Kara threw her keys into the key dish next to the door. She looked at her loyal companion for a long moment before slumping against the door, sliding down to the floor so that Zeus could come sit on her lap like a small toddler.
Kara hugged onto Zeus for a while, her fingers curling in his soft fur while she buried her face into his side. He sat there like a good dog, tail slowly wagging against the hardwood floor, not moving until Kara pulled away. She gave him a kiss on the head before getting up, walking to her kitchen to grab a glass of water.
She felt her phone buzz in her pocket, suddenly reminded her that Lena had texted her over three hours ago. She was so busy that she had forgotten to respond. Kara pulled out her phone to see the most recent text wasn’t from Lena, but instead from Alex. Her sister was questioning her about what happened with Sean Afton. Kara frowned, not wanting to retell the story just yet. Even after her cuddle therapy session with Zeus, she was still frustrated. So instead, she looked to see what Lena had texted her. There was the first text, and then about an hour later she had sent a second.
‘A Solarium? Like a green house? That sounds promising. Tomorrow afternoon is supposed to be the sunniest day of the week. If you’re free, maybe we could go to the museum together. If you want, of course. Don’t feel pressured to go. I don’t want to force you into anything.’
‘I hope your silence is because you’re busy pulling people over, and not because there was a bank robbery or something.’
Kara smiled at the most recent text, quickly typing out a response;
‘Sorry, I was responding to a call. Had to make an arrest. As for tomorrow, I’m free. I assume you have class? Let me know what time is convenient for you.’
She took her phone up to her bedroom, but didn’t sit there to wait for Lena to respond. Instead, she went into her bathroom to look into the mirror for the first time since she woke up that morning. The bridge of her nose had a deep red mark on it, and Kara knew that in the morning there was going to be a pretty nasty bruise. There was still some dried blood on edges of her nose, crusted over and starting to flake off. Her entire left arm was covered in dirt and small scratches from her tackle in the woods, as well. She sighed, feeling sore and tired.
Kara turned her shower onto cold, stripping down and quickly jumping into the ice cold stream. She gasped and tensed up, wanting nothing more than to take a warm bath. However, the cold water would help with her bruises and sore muscles, so she put up with the freezing water for as long as she could.
The shower only lasted about ten minutes before Kara had to jump out, teeth chattering as she shivered. She wrapped herself in a towel, carefully drying her hair with a separate towel before walking back out into her bedroom. By then Lena had texted back twice.
‘An arrest? Sounds exciting. I hope they didn’t give you too much trouble.’
‘The school day ends at 2:30. I can meet you at the museum, or we can meet somewhere else and carpool there? It’s up to you.’
Kara responded in two different texts as well.
‘He was a loud mouth, and he did try running, but everything worked out in the end.’
‘I can pick you up from work. We can make an evening out of it, if you’d like. The museum, and maybe some dinner at the diner?’
For the rest of the night, until Lena said she had to go to bed due to work in the morning, the two of them texted about their plans. Lena agreed that getting dinner would be nice, but instead of going to a public space, they could return to her place for a meal. By the time Kara decided to go to bed, enjoying the fact that she didn’t have to go to work early that morning, she was grinning and thinking about what tomorrow would bring.
********
Kara tapped her thumbs against a steering wheel as she sat at a red light. She was on her way to pick up Lena from her work place, although she had left a few minutes early. By ‘few minutes’, she was actually twenty minutes early. As Kara pulled into the school parking lot, she looked for Lena’s sporty car, parking a few spaces away from it. She nervously checked her phone, making sure Lena hadn’t texted her on the drive over.
She casually scanned the school, her hands absentmindedly picking at a loose string on the arm rest. Kara was nervous to meet Lena, wanting to make a good first impression. She had only talked to her properly twice- in person –so this was the first time they would have an actual conversation that didn’t last five minutes. Kara wanted Lena to be comfortable, and have someone she was able to talk to. She knew it wasn’t easy making friends in a small town, because so many people were trying to simply get information to judge you on, and tell others about. Kara, on the other hand, genuinely wanted to be friends.
As she watched the school, Kara could hear the final bell go off, and see the kids pour out of the building. It took another ten minutes before she could see the teacher leaving, all of them exiting in groups, talking and laughing. Lena was easy to spot, not just because of her dark hair and crimson lipstick, but also because she was completely alone. She carried a large, heavy looking back on her shoulder, crossing through the parking lot with a slight frown.
Kara quickly got out of her car, and started to walk over to Lena, who didn’t notice her until Kara called out her name. “Good afternoon, Ms. Luthor.” Lena looked up, and smiled. Kara could tell it wasn’t her real, genuine smile, because it didn’t reach her eyes. “Is everything okay?” Kara asked, meeting Lena between two cars. “Yes, of course. Just a busy day, is all.” She did look tired, Kara noticed. Her eyes were a little red, and there was a slump to her shoulders. “If you’re tired, we don’t have to do this today. Maybe some other time?” Kara offered, taking a step backwards. Lena’s eyes widened and she immediately started shaking her head, taking a step forward.
“No, it’s okay. Please, I’ve been looking forward to this trip all day. I’ll be okay, please don’t worry about me… It’ll be nice to have someone to properly talk to.” Kara almost didn’t hear the last part, because Lena mumbled it under her breath. She frowned for a moment, but decided to not push. Instead, she reached forward, and wordlessly slipped the bag off of Lena’s shoulder, and put it on her own. “Well if you think you’ve got enough energy, I’m more than happy to continue. Shall we?” Kara smiled her usual bubbly smile, turning and leading the way to Lena’s car.
Once the bag was in Lena’s trunk, and both of the women were in Kara’s car, they were off. Kara got them through the after school traffic, and started to drive up the mountain. The museum was at the very top, a few miles above Kara’s cabin, and had a beautiful view of the entire town down below it.
As Kara drove, she noticed that Lena kept glancing over at her. She realized that she could probably tell that there was a thick amount of make-up caked onto her nose to hide the ugly yellowing bruise that Sean Afton had given her the night before. “So is being a cop dangerous in this town?” Lena asked, once again glancing over to Kara’s face. Kara chuckled nervously, trying to fight the urge to touch her nose. “Not really. It’s honestly just dealing with a lot of drunk or angry people. I’ve never had to draw my gun, honestly, and it’s rare that I make any arrests.”
“But you did last night?” Lena questioned, tilting her head a little. Kara slowly nodded, trying to decide if she should give Lena all the details or not. To be honest she was a little embarrassed about what happened. It’s not every day that you hear someone got punched by accident, when it could have been easily avoided. “Yeah. These two residents, who have the cops called on them at least once a month, were fighting yesterday. One of them threw a punch, but ended up hitting me. Had to chase him for a bit before I was able to arrest him.”
Lena’s eyes were wide, now fully focusing on the caked on make-up on Kara’s face. “Are you okay? I don’t think I’d be able to chase someone after getting punched- although I guess adrenaline is one hell of a thing.” She sat back in her seat, looking ahead of the car as Kara waved her off, saying she was perfectly fine. The two of them went quiet for a moment before Kara could think of something to ask.
“So were your students keeping you busy today? Did they give you some trouble or something?” Lena frowned and sighed, adjusting herself in the seat. “No, my students were well behaved as always… It’s just a little difficult sometimes, because I might not have all the tools or knowledge about the school, so I’m just a little lost.” Lena paused, and Kara was about to ask her if the other teachers were the ones giving her the problems. Lena spoke before she could ask, however, adding, “But I’m okay. I’ll get the hang of things; it just might take me a few more weeks. I really do enjoy the job, don’t get me wrong.”
Kara gently hummed, listening to Lena quickly add the last part. She seemed rather prideful, and like she frowned upon someone offering her help. She obviously wanted to prove either to herself or others that she was strong and capable of doing things by herself. She kind of reminded Kara of her sister, although she knew better than to say that out loud.
“So you moved her from Southern California, you were born in Metropolis, and you had no family that came along with you… Do you have any more interesting facts about yourself?” Kara softly smiled, glancing to Lena. They were almost to the top of the mountain, but she didn’t want to be sitting in awkward silence. Lena casually shrugged, visibly thinking for a moment. “What would you like to know?”
“Well, you seem like a smart woman, and you’re a chemistry teacher so… Where did you go to school?” Kara didn’t know many women- and even men -who had a degree higher than a four-year degree. Most people in West Alpine tended to go into jobs with manual labor, or careers that only involved trade school. The town was a fishing town, so most of the male population went into that business. The women would run the small family businesses, or go into teaching younger students such as middle or elementary school. The high school teachers are mainly the only people- that Kara knows of –who have higher degrees.
“If you mean to ask me where I went to college, I went to the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth… Better known as Trinity College, near Dublin,” Lena answered simply. Kara had to take a moment to process exactly what Lena had just said. “Dublin… As in Ireland?!” She had to remind herself to keep her eyes on the road, glancing between Lena and where they were going. Lena laughed at Kara’s bewildered face, amusedly grinning. She nodded, and laughed even harder as Kara’s jaw dropped. Her laugh was beautiful, and Kara felt a satisfied feeling settling in her chest. It felt good to make her smile and laugh, and Kara found herself hoping that she never stopped.
“Why in the world did you go all the way to Dublin for school?” Kara asked in awe. “To put it simply, my family is very prestigious, and wanted me to get a degree in science. Personally, I wanted to get a degree in history- specifically Russian history –but my mother convinced me to start off with a degree in chemistry.” Lena said it as if it was the most casual thing in the world. Meanwhile, Kara never got any education above high school. She did go to the police training academy, but that was simply just a couple months of classes with Henshaw, and a lot of physical tests.
The conversation ended as Kara pulled up to the museum. Lena leaned forward in her seat, looking at the large building, smiling wide when she saw the large glass dome roof that was visible in the back of the museum. Kara parked the car, and both of them got out. Lena stretched her arms over her head and arched her back a little, making a small noise as she looked up at the sunny sky. Kara glanced around the parking lot, seeing it was almost completely empty. There were maybe six cars in the entire area.
Before walking into the museum, Kara heard Lena softly gasp, turning to see her walking towards the edge of the parking lot. There was a fence and a steep drop off, but right where you could see the town below, the fence got a little lower, so you could look out at the view. Kara grinned, following Lena over to the edge of the drop off. “Your town is so beautiful,” Lena mumbled softly, green eyes darting all over the small clump of buildings. The trees were a massive blanket of green, and yellow, and red- it was almost fall, and things were starting to cool down, so the trees were starting to turn colors. “It’s your town as well,” Kara pointed out.
Lena looked at Kara, making eye contact for a long moment. She looked like she disagreed, but didn’t say anything. Instead, she turned around to look at the museum. “Shall we?” She asked, gesturing for Kara to lead the way. Kara grinned and nodded, taking Lena into the large building.
There was a bored looking woman sitting at the front desk, typing away on her computer. At first she didn’t notice that someone had walked into the building, until Kara called out a sweet greeting. The middle aged woman suddenly looked up, her face breaking out into a smile upon seeing Kara. “Officer Danvers! It’s wonderful to see you! I wasn’t expecting to ever see you here. How are you doing, sweetie?” Kara recognized the woman, taking a moment to remember that her name was Valerie… Something. She honestly couldn’t remember her last name.
“I’m doing well, how are you?” Kara realized her voice had gotten a little higher, and she was smiling a little too wide. Valerie didn’t seem to notice, too busy talking about how boring her day has been. “You’re honestly the first person I’ve seen in at least two hours. There’s a few families that came in, but they’ve taken their time coming back out.” Kara didn’t want to be rude and point out that the families had every right to be taking their time, so instead she just smiled and agreed, laughing a little bit.
In that moment, Valerie noticed Lena standing awkwardly in back of Kara. She looked to be visibly trying to figure out who she was, before a light bulb went off in her head. “Oh my, you must be the new woman who recently moved into town! I’ve been meaning to find you and meet you. I’m Valerie Bofert- “Oh, so that’s her name” –I help run the West Alpine History and Botanical Museum.” Valerie extended her hand to Lena, who politely shook it. “I’m Lena Luthor. Lovely to meet you.” There was that fake, forced smile again, Kara noticed. She could see the stress in the lines of her face as she made herself grin, awkwardly glancing to Kara. Her eyes seemed to be screaming for assistance.
“Maybe you two can catch up some other time, Mrs. Bofert. I’m currently showing Lena around the town. Figured I’d take her to the best place first.” Kara added that last bit of flattery, so that Valerie wouldn’t take her words as an insult. Valerie took the bait, laughing and agreeing as she sat back down. “Two tickets, then? Go on right through, Officer, no need to pay.” Kara frowned, having already started to reach for her wallet in her back pocket. “Oh, no, please. How much are the tickets? I’d like to pay.”
Valerie didn’t listen, waving her off. She said it was no problem, and that she earned her tickets by simply protecting the town. Kara felt a rush of frustration, still frowning. She sighed and begrudgingly put her wallet back into her pocket. She forced herself to smile, and thank Valerie before guiding Lena into the museum. She practically got everything she had for free, all because she ‘risked her life’ for the town. In reality, she hadn’t really done anything meaningful for the town. She arrested a few people, and broke up many fights, but otherwise her life was never in danger. It was incredibly frustrating getting special treatment, when there were others who deserved that treatment much more.
“I really wish people allowed me to pay for things,” Kara found herself mumbling under her breath as she lead Lena into the exhibits of the museum. If Lena had heard her, she showed no sign. Instead, she changed the subject after a moment. They had walked into the dinosaur section first- as most museums started with. “My brother loved the story of the dinosaur’s as a child. His favorite was a velociraptor. Although he was kind of disappointed later on in life when he learned that they didn’t actually look how they did in Jurassic Park.” Kara chuckled at the fact, looking around at the displays.
“So you have a brother?” Kara asked, glancing from Lena to the picture of a weird bird looking creature. “He’s my half-brother, but yes. We have different fathers. He inherited my family’s company, although many people think he’s running it very poorly.” Lena read a description on a plaque as she spoke absentmindedly. When she was finished, she looked up at Kara. “Do you have any siblings? Any family here at all?” She moved to stand next to Kara, looking at a large skeleton of a dinosaur.
“Well, I was actually adopted when I was thirteen. I have a sister, her name is Alex, and my mother. After my father died, though, she moved to a different city. So now it’s just me and Alex. We’re both police officers, actually.” The two of them walked on, into the early beginnings of man. There was a large display that had a cave man and woman, with a fake fire in the middle. “Were you in the foster system your whole life?” Lena asked gently, visibly unsure if she should bring Kara’s birth parents up. Kara felt completely comfortable talking about her old family. It all happened a long time ago.
“I was actually with my birth family up until the end. There was an explosion one day, and they were caught in it. I was out with my cousin when it happened, and shortly after that the Danvers family took me in.” Kara was speaking without looking at Lena, but when she turned around she saw Lena making a shocked, almost horrified look on her face. “Oh, shoot, I am so sorry! That was a lot of over sharing, I didn’t mean to just dump that all on you. I didn’t mean to scar you,” Kara scrambled, her face bright red in embarrassment. She was so used to just casually talking about her dead parents that she forgot that some people think it’s weird to casually talk like that.
As Kara struggled to find her words, certain that she just blew her chances of ever becoming friends with Lena. Lena, however, suddenly started to laugh. Kara paused in her rambling apologies, freezing as she watched Lena bend forward, practically cackling. “No, please don’t apologize, you’re perfectly okay. I’m laughing because for a moment I just thought, ‘oh, finally, someone who’s family is almost as messed up as mine’!” Lena laughed a little more, but slowly subsided into giggling. Kara wanted to question her meaning, but decided that now was not the time to talk about messy family lives.
She chuckled along with Lena before the two of them moved on. They explored the museum, the mood light and almost relaxed as they spoke. Kara could practically feel their connection starting to grow. Lena was no longer a stranger, but now an acquaintance. It made her happy, knowing that she could finally, properly, help someone out for once.
The exhibits were beautiful and very wonderful to look at. There was a shift in the topic that went from history to plants. Lena was reading some scientific gibberish about the breeding of plants and seemed to completely understand it. Kara, on the other hand, had to search in the back of her mind to remember what little she learned about plants in high school. She vaguely remembered the Punnett square, and how some dude figured out genes all because of flowered plants.
Eventually, Kara and Lena got to the part that Kara was looking most forward to; the solarium. There were glass double doors that lead into the large glass building. The scent of hundreds of flowers filled the air. Kara couldn’t help but take a deep breath as she walked into the green house. There were chairs and tables placed around the area, but Lena didn’t seem interested in sitting. Instead she looked around in awe, spinning slowly as she walked forward, her jaw ajar slightly. “It’s beautiful here,” Lena said almost in a whisper.
Kara watched Lena for a moment, grinning. Once again, satisfaction sat in her chest as she watched Lena smile. It felt incredibly rewarding seeing that sparkle in her eyes, and the laughter in her face. Kara had to physically remind herself to look away from Lena, turning her gaze onto the beautiful forest of green around them.
They walked down the winding pathway, stopping to read all the plaques and information about the plants. When they were in the center of the green house, Lena sat down on the little stone bench that was placed so you could look at the massive tree in the center of the room. She tilted her head upwards to look up into the leaves. She wasn’t physically smiling, but Kara could see the joy in her face still.
The sun was at the perfect angle, and the clouds in the sky were in the best location, so that as Kara walked over to Lena, she could see the sun beams cascading down over her. Her raven colored hair caught the light just right, so it made it almost glow. Her pale skin was radiant, and her sharp features seemed to be heightened. She looked like a goddess, elegantly sitting on the bench, an almost invisible grin tugging at her crimson lips.
Kara sat carefully next to Lena, the two of them silent as they looked around. They sat like that for almost an hour, simply taking in the beauty of the solarium. Eventually, however, Kara started to notice that it was getting dark. She checked her watch and saw that it was almost 5PM. She glanced up at the sky to see the light fluffy clouds that were once there were now starting to become thick and grey. “If you’re ready, we should probably get going,” Kara spoke softly.
Lena glanced up at the sky as well, frowning seeing the rain clouds. “I believe you’re right… If you take me back to the school, you can follow me to my apartment for dinner?” Kara smiled and nodded, standing up from the bench. They started talking about their plans for the rest of the night, Kara offering to stop by the store so she could get dessert or something to add to the meal. Lena politely declined, saying she had everything they needed, and that if Kara really wanted to help, she could help her with cooking the meal. Satisfied, they returned to the school where Lena’s sporty black car still sat.
The drive to Lena’s apartment was simple; she lived in the same area as Alex, although not in the same apartment. She lived in a nicer building, which Kara knew was full of the wealthier business owners of the town, who had yet to marry or have kids. She silently questioned how a teacher could afford an apartment in this complex, but knew it would be extremely rude to ask.
Lena lead Kara up to almost the top floor of the five story building, and took her to the end of the hallway where she unlocked her apartment. The furnishing was sparse, but what Lena did have looked very expensive and beautiful. One length of the apartment was all glass, showing a beautiful view of the river that cut along the back of West Alpine. As Kara looked around, she could see that the apartment was very clean, and there weren’t many personal items.
“Oh, so when you said you moved here alone, you really did mean alone… No pets or anything?” Kara was led by Lena into the living room. The entire space was very open floor. There was a sophisticated loft that looked to be Lena’s bedroom, and two doors that Kara assumed was the bathroom and either an office or spare bedroom.
Lena turned to look at Kara, giving a slight shrug. “I’m not exactly in the position to be owning a pet right now. Not that I really want one. I’m not a very big animal person. They’re adorable, don’t get me wrong, but I have control issues.” Kara hummed a chuckle, nodding her head in understanding. It didn’t surprise her that Lena liked to have things neat and orderly. Simply in the way she held herself, she looked like she was constantly in control. Almost like a professional business woman.
“Well I have a golden retriever named Zeus. He’s just a big fluffy goofball. Maybe next time I see you, you can meet him.” The last part was a little bit of a test, to see how Lena would react to the mention of seeing Kara again. To Kara’s relief, she looked happy, almost excited. “I’d enjoy that. He sounds like a beautiful dog, goofball or not.”
Lena lead Kara into the kitchen, which was just as spotless as the rest of the large apartment. She grabbed a tablet that was sitting on the counter, and started to look something up. “Would you like some wine while we cook?” Lena asked politely, noticing Kara’s glances to a large wine rack against a wall. “If it’s not too much to ask,” Kara replied softly, grinning a little. Lena waved her hand casually, walking over to the many bottles of booze. “Do you like white or red?” She asked, her hand hovering over the bottles as she was choosing. “I prefer a sweet white, if you have it?” Kara leaned against the counter, watching Lena.
Once a bottle of white was chosen, the name sounding expensive and French, Lena poured them each a glass before returning to the tablet she was scrolling through. Kara realized she was looking at recipes. “So when we first met, you mentioned you had some friends?” Lena didn’t look up from her scrolling as she took a sip of wine. Kara also took a sip, slightly grinning at the sweet fruity blend that spread across her tongue.
With a guilty pang, Kara realized that she once again forgot to tell Winn that she was meeting with Lena, and how she had promised to get them to meet. “Uhm, yeah. My sister, and our other coworker Winn are both very interested in meeting you. Also our friend James. He’s a reporter for the West Alpine Press.” Lena frowned at the mention of a reporter, but the distasteful look was gone as soon as it appeared. “They sound like a lovely bunch.”
Out of obligation, Kara was about to talk about Winn, and how nice of a guy he was. If he was serious about trying to get with Lena, she wanted her to have a good image of him in her mind. However, right as she started to speak, a ringtone chimed through the apartment. Kara recognized the tone as her sister calling her. She quickly pulled out her phone, sheepishly looking up at Lena. “Excuse me,” Kara said as she swiped to answer the call, walking to the living room.
“Hey, Alex. What’s up?” Kara felt a bad feeling in her stomach, knowing that Alex was probably calling to ask for her help with work. “Kara, I want to start off by saying that I love you, and you’re the best sister ever, and- “Kara sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “What do you need me to do?” She asked in a dull voice, frowning. “So long story short, there’s a deer stuck in a hole right by the river, and we could really use your help getting it out. It’s just me and Winn out here. Could you lend us a hand?”
Kara tried to keep her irritation out of her voice. “Fine. Where exactly are you guys?” She gritted her teeth, listening to the direction Alex was giving her. This was NOT what she had signed up to do when she joined the police force. Granted, she did feel bad for the deer, and understood that it didn’t ask to get stuck in a hole. Once Alex was done talking, and Kara hung up, she walked back over to Lena, who had paused in her scrolling to watch Kara.
“I’m so sorry to do this, but Alex and Winn need my help with something. I don’t want to drag you along, so maybe we can continue this some other night?” She was disappointed that their time had been cut short, and the frown on Lena’s face made her all the more upset. “Yeah, no problem. Let me know when your next day off is. Maybe we can do something fun like this again.” Kara smiled wide. She thought today was fun? That was a massive success in her book.
“Yeah, of course. I’ll let you know… And I’ll text you later tonight, maybe?” Lena lead Kara to her apartment door, nodding at the suggestion. “Yeah, I would like that.” Kara stepped out, but turned to look at Lena. She offered her hand, which Lena took gently, holding eye contact with Kara. “Be safe, Officer Danvers.” With that, she stepped back into her apartment, and closed the door.