Cat's nails bit into the armrests of her chair as the aria started, the first notes sounding their delightful warning, the dark resonance of the cello already sending shivers down her spine even before the voice joined in. Three measures, she counted them out in her head, three measures and then…

"L'amour est un oiseau rebelle

que nul ne peut apprivoiser…"

The mezzo-soprano voice filled her ears as her eyes left the stage, drifting down to take in the sight of the girl at her feet, tucked against the side of Cat's leg, her head resting lightly on Cat's thigh. They were in Cat's personal box, carefully picked to provide at once a full view of the stage, perfect acoustical resonance, and, most importantly, complete privacy. While Cat could see out, could see everything, no one could see in. Which meant that tonight, Kara was all hers. That tonight, right here, right now, Cat could do whatever she wanted with the girl, and Kara would let her.

Cat's right hand left the armrest, her fingers grazing along Kara's face and she smiled as Kara lifted her head from Cat's leg to stare up at her, eyes open and trusting. And for just for a moment Cat's touch was almost gentle, her fingers caressing Kara's hair with careful, soft movements, a clear promise that Kara was hers to care for, hers to protect… that for tonight Kara didn't need to be the hero, didn't need to be anything, because Cat would be that anything and everything for her.

And so Cat's touch was gentle, softer with Kara than she would ever allow herself to be with anyone else, than she had ever been with any of her other lovers. It was gentle because the blinding smile she received in return, it ghosted across Cat's skin, sinking into her pores and surging through her veins in a way that she knew meant that she was already lost to this girl. Lost even as she was the one in control, even as she was still fully clothed, while Kara was naked, bare except for the metal collar around her throat.

Lost, because Kara was hers, and that was not a responsibility or a gift that Cat would ever take lightly.

But the tender exchange lasted only for a moment, a few short seconds, because in the next instant Kara's eyes had darkened, the music and Cat's touch working together to evoke the intended response, and seeing that desire, that need, it was more than Cat could ever hope to resist. Part of her knew that this was a trick, the intensity of the feelings the music called to the surface, the way the singers lilting voice moved through her, but with how strongly Kara responded to the sound, her heightened senses catching every note, it hardly mattered.

Cat had long ago discovered that Kara sometimes had trouble letting go, that, even with Cat to guide her, her senses would still pick up things so far away, distracting her even as she so desperately wanted to focus on the present. At first that had worried Cat. She hadn't been upset with the girl, as if she could ever be upset with Kara for any of the many qualities that made her so exceptional, but she had seen how Kara reacted herself, drawing back, angry that she couldn't give more. Cat had seen how much it had hurt Kara, how she struggled with wanting to surrender completely for once in her life, but was helplessly unable to do so. And for as much as Kara had wanted that, Cat had wanted that for her as well. Cat had wanted to give that to Kara, to take away that burden. She had wanted, still wanted, to be enough so that Kara could feel completely safe, completely at ease when she was in Cat's arms.

And when Cat wanted something, she got it, because she was Cat Grant and nothing, nothing, could stand in her way, especially not when the prize was as precious as her Kara.

The collar had come first, the first item Cat had purchased in her own need to set Kara free. And perhaps it was a bit tighter than would be safe with a human, but with Kara the metal edges ensured that every breath was met with the resistance, the tactile reminder that she was there, in the moment, the touch a clear, stable sensation to keep her from drifting away. It had seemed a small thing, but the first time Cat had closed the collar around Kara's throat, stepping back to let Kara run her own hands experimentally over the material, to adjust to the feel of it around her neck, Cat had seen the way Kara's shoulders had relaxed, and when she had allowed herself to step forward once again and touch the girl, she had felt the gratitude and relief in every tremor and unhindered cry that had followed.

That night had been beautiful and intoxicating, even as it had also made Cat want so much more, and had made her determined to do whatever it took to bring that 'more' forth.

Scent had come next, and Cat had spent several weeks sleeping with various scarfs held tightly against her chest to cover them in her smell. Kara had broken the first bindings they had used, her face flushing afterwards in shame and disappointment at her self-perceived failure, but even though the soft material they now turned to was far weaker than the various ropes or metal chains Cat had tried early on, the girl hadn't broken a single one since Cat had started covering them in her scent, because even in Cat's bed, with Cat's presence all around them already, Kara could tell the exact placement, and she could almost feel Cat's grip in the cloth fastened around her wrists or ankles.

Sight had been a bit harder to manage and Cat had struggled with it for a time, knowing that sometimes Kara would be looking through her, through the roof, and up into the stars when Cat made her come. But all of that had changed in that one moment when Kara had shyly offered up the information that she couldn't see through lead. It was a revelation that had shot straight to Cat's heart because it was one simple fact, one small truth about Kara's alien nature, but it was so much more than physical. It was more because it had been the first time that Kara had shared a weakness, shared a flaw that could truly harm her in any way.

Of course they had talked before, shared so many secrets, so many dreams, but nothing that had passed between them could ever have tipped the physical power balance in Cat's favor, not really. Whatever bindings they used, whatever commands Cat gave, there was always the understanding that none of it would be effective if Kara didn't let it. But this, this whisper of a fragility, it was an offer that Cat knew Kara had never given to anyone else. It was the promise that Kara wanted, needed, Cat, an admission that she trusted Cat enough to offer herself without restriction or restraint.

And that kind of trust, it could be a very powerful thing. For Cat it meant that she had that power, that she had something, someone, to treasure, and for Kara… for Kara it meant even more, because for Kara it meant that she had someone who would willingly take everything she had, every strength, every weakness, every pain and joy and love. For Kara, having someone that she could trust that completely, that implicitly, it meant that she had someone who could accept all of her and who would want her without end.

It was a trust that Cat had craved, that she had taken, and that had manifest in a tangible form a few days later when the blindfold had arrived.

It wasn't a normal blindfold, not that it would have been normal even if Kara had been human, but because Kara wasn't, it was just that much extra. Sometimes it might be hard for other people to see Cat's care, to read how important Kara was to her, but Cat made sure with everything she did that Kara had never had that problem. That emotion was there every time Cat looked at her with pride or possessive longing, every time Cat's fingers curled around her body, and every time Cat brought out something new, and Kara could tell that it had been made just for her, no one but her. And so even if Kara had been human it would have been special, unique, but Kara wasn't human, and the blindfold reflected that, reflected her.

The device, in this case, was more of a mask, a thin strip of lead coated in silver that had been carefully shaped to follow the contours of her face, to cut off her vision, even as it molded to her body hiding nothing away from Cat. The message in the gift had been clear, the blindfold might lock away Kara's sight, but instead of blinding her, it only made her more aware of Cat's touch, more receptive to every brush of fingers over her skin, to every caress of lips and teeth and want. And it also said something else, that Cat needed her just as much as Kara needed Cat, that Cat was so enthralled by the sight, the sensation of Kara, that she couldn't stand for anything to block her view.

Which brought them to sound.

That was what tonight was about, and it was why Cat had picked this opera, Carmen, for the experience. And yes, maybe it was a trick, but in the end it didn't matter that she understood how Bizet used the musical genre of orientalism to further his aim, that it was a classical western interpretation of the 'exotic,' and that it wasn't really an accurate representation of the various cultures it claimed to depict. It didn't matter, because that knowledge couldn't change the fact that the music was sensual, the chromaticism evoking uncontrolled passion just begging to be released. And while normally, with these sense experiments, Cat tried to draw Kara's focus to her, and her alone, tonight was different, because the acoustics of this particular box meant that Kara was completely engulfed in the sound, overwhelmed by it in a way that went far beyond Cat's own experience of the music.

Thus far during the evening Cat had, for the most part, appeared to ignore Kara, not allowing herself to touch or stroke, and that had been intentional, because she hadn't wanted to provide too many stimuli to distract the girl. It had been hard, especially when Kara had started to shiver, something Cat could feel through the one point of contact that she had granted, the head resting against her thigh, but she had resisted. She wanted to give the music time to build up, to work its magic, so that when Cat took her, later in the performance, Kara would understand what this was really about.

Because so far everything had been about limiting Kara's senses, drawing her back to focus on one small thing, the feel of the collar around her neck, Cat's scent on the bindings, or even the complete removal of her sight. But this, tonight? Tonight was about showing Kara that maybe she didn't need to draw herself in to surrender, to be free. Maybe she didn't need to hold herself back, because what the music was doing to her now, it was because Kara could hear it in a way that no human could ever hope to copy. It was because Kara was stretching her senses, expanding them, and they were consuming her, but instead of pulling her away from Cat, as Kara always felt they did, this time they were making her more receptive to what would come next.

This time, when Cat took her, Kara wouldn't have to try to be human, to stay human so that she could stay focused on Cat. No this time she could be herself, completely herself. This time it wouldn't be a limited body that she gave, but the full experience of a soul that was both human and alien and everything in between.

But it wasn't there yet, not quite. They were still in the first act and there were three more full acts to follow, not to mention an intermission, and so Cat wouldn't take her so soon. Not when there was one more sense that she hadn't considered yet tonight, one more sense to claim. And she would claim it, as she had claimed all the others, as she was claiming Kara piece by piece. It was the step that had to come first, the step that would allow Kara to further connect the meaning of the sound to the act, the desire. One more step to fully imprint the connection into the girl's mind.

And so, changing her grip from gentle to controlling, twining her fingers into Kara's hair, Cat pulled her forwards, smiling as Kara so easily and willingly gave in without thought.

"Taste, Kara," she whispered, her voice, and then her moans, mingling with the music as Kara moved to follow her command.

"Love is a rebellious bird

that no one can tame…"

And it was a lie, the music. It was a lie because love could be tamed, Kara could be tamed, but only by Cat, and only because Cat had surrendered first and given the girl her heart.

The End