Chapter Text
They barely see each other anymore.
Kara loitered next to Winn’s desk, her gaze straying again and again to Cat as she half listened to her best friend babble about Max Lord’s latest exploits, watching the older woman with her new assistant. Cat was smiling, and the girl seemed so relaxed, not even remotely terrified, so at ease with Cat that Kara kind of wanted to hit something. She’d been replaced, apparently effortlessly and with a more desirable model, and even though Kara had chosen Amy to be Cat’s assistant, she suddenly resented the hell out of the girl.
“You just… broke my phone,” Winn murmured.
Tearing her gaze away from the CEO, Kara focused on her best friend before her gaze skittered down to the mangled plastic under her hand. “Uh… sorry.”
“You okay?”
“Fine,” Kara sighed, but she glanced back up at Cat, her chest aching as Cat chuckled and Amy smiled.
Winn followed her line of sight. “Amy seems to be working out well.”
“Yeah,” Kara said despondently. “Go Amy.”
“Are you jealous?” Winn frowned and looked up at her, almost as puzzled by her behavior as Kara was. “Do you have some kind of weird Stockholm Syndrome going on where you miss your evil captor?”
“What? No,” Kara huffed, dredging up the energy to pretend to be exasperated by such a thought. “That’s ridiculous. I mean, why would I be jealous of Cat’s assistant? I escaped that, remember?”
“You are. You’re jealous…” Winn sing-songed.
Kara smacked him in the shoulder and he nearly tipped over backwards in his chair.
“Ow!” he protested, rubbing the spot where he’d been struck.
“Consider yourself lucky,” Kara told him with a smirk. “I could have knocked you clean through the wall.”
The commotion was loud enough to draw Cat’s attention. She glanced their way, her gaze lingering on Kara for an intense moment before she reluctantly went back to the task at hand. Kara didn’t miss the brief flicker of a sad smile on the older woman’s lips, the sight causing an ache in her chest she couldn’t define.
Winn scowled. “Jeez, you woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.” His scowl morphed into another frown as Kara simply walked away.
****
As usual, the rest of CatCo was clearing out quickly on a Friday night and Kara had been about to do the same when she spied Cat working away in her office, alone, a pair of glasses perched on the end of her nose. No doubt she would be there for several more hours, shaping the national conversation in some form or another. Kara wondered what the topic was this time. She used to always know.
They hadn’t spoken much in the weeks since Kara’s promotion and the slow exit of Cat Grant from her everyday life had begun. Absently, Kara wondered if Cat’s bar was stocked. If her M&M jar was full. It wasn’t her job to check anymore, to cater to the CEO’s whims and mercurial moods, but Kara found she missed taking care of her. There were a lot of things she missed about Cat Grant.
Drawing back her shoulders a little, Kara made a decision, threading her way through the exiting crowd and heading to Cat’s office. She didn’t have a plan, only a strange, reckless need to end the growing distance between them. Cat was pulling away from her again, and this time, Kara wasn’t going to let it happen. Not after Myriad. Not after all they’d been through.
Amy offered Kara a quick smile as she bundled up her belongings. “Goodnight, Ms. Grant,” she called out. “Have a nice weekend.”
Cat flicked her wrist distractedly in a dismissive wave and Kara grinned, just a tiny bit, as the assistant gave her an exasperated eyeroll and left for the weekend.
Kara lingered in the doorway, waiting to be noticed, waiting to be invited back into Cat’s kingdom. She was prepared to stand there all night if need be.
After a few minutes, Cat glanced up and did a double take when she saw Kara standing there, the bullpen now largely empty behind her.
Kara swallowed, a jolt of heat spreading through her as their gazes met. “Hi.”
Cat slipped her glasses off and eyed her uncertainly. “Everything all right?”
“Fine,” Kara promised quickly, not wanting to worry her. “I just…” She hesitated, weighing her options as she risked one step inside Cat’s office. “I just…”
Slowly, Cat stood and sauntered closer, pursing her lips in amusement. “You just…?” she prompted.
Hell with it, Kara decided. Carpe Diem as Cat had recently suggested. “I’ve missed you.”
Cat went still, drawing in a slow, uneven breath at the admission. “Oh,” she said quietly, but she seemed pleased if not a little surprised. “I didn’t realize you were a glutton for punishment, Kara.”
Kara snorted softly, still experiencing a thrill at hearing Cat say her name properly. No one else spoke her name like that, like they were savoring the sound of it, the feel of it on their tongue. “How are you?”
Something in Cat’s eyes softened at the question. “I’m fine.”
“Carter?”
“He’s well, thank you.”
It was all so polite. So professional. So painfully not them.
They stared at each other a moment, the silence awkward and uncomfortable.
“Amy working out okay?”
“She’s not you,” Cat admitted, startling Kara with her honesty, “but as much as it pains me to admit it, you made a good choice.” Cat regarded her, looking like she was debating what she wanted to say next.
“What?” Kara urged softly, stepping closer, hoping to coax whatever it was out of her.
Cat swallowed, her gaze shifting to the windows as she rolled her eyes slightly. “I… suppose… I might, actually... miss you, too. A little.”
A rush of giddiness made Kara smile. “She’s taking good care of you?”
“That was never your actual job, you know.” Cat looked back at her again, one eyebrow arched almost as much as her tone.
“No, but it was the best part of it.”
Cat’s gaze was intense as it held hers, trying to figure out Kara’s angle, what was motivating this unexpected visit.
“Your new role…” Cat said, carefully, “you’re enjoying it?”
Kara nodded. It was the truth, her new position was proving to be very rewarding, but there was one thing, one person, missing. “I am. Thank you again for the opportunity.”
“You earned it, Kara. I should have done it a long time ago.”
They fell into an uneasy silence again, and Kara hated it, hated this strange, unwelcome tension that had settled between them since…
Since she’d started dating James.
Kara blinked with the epiphany, her stomach going into a freefall at the thought. Surely that wasn’t the reason for their estrangement. Cat had encouraged her to date James, and before that she’d pushed her toward Adam. Why would she do that unless… unless…
Drawing in a ragged breath as subtly as possible, Kara stood a little straighter, a flicker of hope igniting in her chest.
“I don’t know if you heard,” she said slowly, testing the waters. “James and I…”
Cat’s features went politely blank. “Yes, I heard my Lighthouse Technique proved to be a success.”
Kara winced. “It did,” she admitted. “But…”
Something flickered over Cat’s features, some emotion that came and went so quickly Kara couldn’t identify it. “But?”
“I don’t think his ship was meant to stay docked in my port.” Her tone was wry.
“Oh?” Cat came closer still, her perfume intoxicating as it filled Kara’s next breath.
“We… we broke up. We’re better as friends.”
“I see. I’m sorry to hear that.”
Cat didn’t seem the least bit sorry, and with the way she was looking at her now, Kara decided she wasn’t, either. Her heart jackknifed in her chest before slamming against her ribs as tiny silver spots danced in her vision. She had to remind herself to breathe.
“Do you… want to grab a drink? Or maybe even dinner?” Kara blurted, realizing too late how the request sounded, but she didn’t try to take it back when Cat seemed to honestly consider the invitation.
“Dinner would be... acceptable.”
Kara’s throat went dry. Suddenly her invitation felt like something more than old colleagues catching up. Suddenly she wanted it to be more. “Seven?” She couldn’t believe how even her voice sounded, how casual.
“Seven it is... Kara,” Cat said her name again with a smile that was equal parts intrigue and seduction before she pivoted on her heel and returned to her desk.
Swallowing roughly, Kara turned and wandered away, dazed, wondering if she’d not only just asked Cat Grant out on a date, but if Cat had actually agreed to one.