NOTE: All rights in this work are hereby given to Greg Berlanti and the other folks at WB/DC/CW who own these characters.

* S * S *

Star City really wasn't a beautiful city, Kara Danvers thought as she walked toward its City Hall. During her first visit, she'd been too busy fighting Dominators to have gotten more than glimpses of the city Oliver Queen called home, but even those brief glimpses suggested a modern city, mostly built - or rebuilt, maybe, because a lot of the buildings looked new - on industry, choosing the efficient and effective over the beautiful.

Now, on her second visit, that impression was only reinforced as she strolled rather than flew through the city, absorbing the views like any tourist might. She was surprised to find that in some ways, it reminded her of Argo City.

She put that thought aside as she stepped into the lobby of City Hall. It was surprisingly easy to get to the top floor where the mayor's and city council's offices were, made even easier because whatever other differences there might be between this Earth and her own, the language was same in both written and oral form.

Kara stepped into the lobby of the mayor's office and approached the receptionist. Channeling every ounce of confidence she'd ever had, she smiled. "Hi. My name's Kara Danvers, and I'm here to see Oliver Queen."

The receptionist - a woman who appeared a few years older than herself with straight dark hair - checked the computer in front of her. "I don't see a Kara Danvers on his schedule."

"I'm a friend," Kara said, "and I'm only in town a little while."

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to make an appoint-"

"Kara?"

Kara turned toward the newcomer, smiling again when she recognized the newcomer. "Hi, Thea."

Thea stepped forward to hug her. "I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon. Is there a problem?"

"No, not like that," Kara said. "I just need to see Oliver for a minute, if that's okay."

Thea looked surprised for a moment, then turned to the receptionist. "He's not with anyone right now, is he?"

The receptionist's lips tightened. "No, ma'am."

"Go on in," Thea told Kara. "But don't leave without saying goodbye."

"I won't," Kara promised, and stepped through the frosted glass double doors.

The office before her had a wall of windows overlooking the city, and a sitting area off to the right. To the left, Oliver Queen sat behind a desk, his attention focused on something on his desk.

"What is it, Thea?"

Kara couldn't help smiling. "For starters, I'm not Thea."

He was on his feet and rounding his desk with reflexes even faster than she remembered, and for a moment, she thought he was going to attack her.

Equally quickly, his expression melted into a smile - at least as much a smile as she'd ever seen him have - and he was holding out his hands to her.

"Kara."

She ignored his outstretched hands, instead taking two quick steps forward to hug him. "I'm surprised there's so much security here."

"Ask Nate Heywood about it sometime," Oliver said, letting her go and taking a step back. "It's nothing to a super girl like you, but Star City isn't as safe as I'd like it to be. Yet."

Kara had to grin. "But you're working on it?"

"We're working on it," Oliver agreed, again with the hint of a smile. He sobered almost immediately. "Why are you here?"

"I need your help."

Something in Oliver shifted, and suddenly he wasn't the affable mayor of Star City. Instead, Kara faced the Green Arrow. "A problem on your Earth? I'll call Barry, and -"

"No," Kara said quickly. "No crisis. It's something else, something personal. Can we talk about it over dinner? I'd buy, but I don't think they'll take my credit card."

* S * S *

"Thanks, Henri," Oliver said as he held Kara's chair for her. It had been a long time since he'd come to Giuseppe's, but most of the staff hadn't changed.

"A pleasure to see you again, Mr. Mayor." Henri draped Kara's napkin in her lap, and offered her a menu while Oliver seated himself.

When Oliver had his own menu and he and Kara were alone at the table, he couldn't help smiling at the somewhat stunned expression she wore. He quirked an eyebrow in question, and she shook her head.

"I don't think mayors get this kind of treatment on my Earth."

Oliver chuckled. "It's not because I'm mayor. My family had money - my father made a lot of it, and I lost a lot of it, or got it tangled up in legal battles for a couple of years. But there's still plenty left to treat a pretty girl to a nice dinner."

It was something he hadn't done in years - not really. He'd brought Felicity to nice restaurants, of course, but she was just as happy with cheap take-out and a night in. He never had to impress her, and he'd never tried. The realization made him frown inside. Was he trying to impress Kara?

But she was speaking again, and he brought his attention back to her.

"What's that like?" she asked. "I mean, I'm a reporter, I can run off whenever - mostly - as long as I come back with a story. But being mayor…"

She trailed off as Henri returned with a bottle of wine. Oliver barely glanced at the label - whatever it was, it would be expensive and presumably good - before he nodded. Deftly, Henri opened the bottle and poured a taste for him.

Oliver sipped the wine, confirmed it hadn't gone bad in the bottle, and looked up at Henri. "Excellent, thank you."

When Henri had poured the wine, taken their orders, and departed again, Oliver looked at Kara.

"You're right, being mayor doesn't offer the kind of freedom your job does," he said. "But Star City needs a mayor who's not afraid of the criminal elements in the city."

Kara's lips twitched, and after a moment, she gave up the struggle and just laughed. "Criminal elements? Definitely political talk."

"You'd rather I said bad guys?"

"If the shoe fits." Kara's eyes were sparkling as she took a sip of wine, and Oliver hadn't felt this good, this light, in years.

"I suppose," he conceded. Then, "Why are you here, exactly?"

She dimmed, and wouldn't look up as she said, "Remember I said my Earth could use an Oliver Queen?"

"Not as much as this Earth could use a Supergirl. Go on." But she didn't speak, and after a few long moments, he said, "Surely you don't want me to run for mayor?"

"No, not that." But she smiled, at least a little, and she was talking again, even if she fiddled with her glass rather than look at him. "It's just -"

"Just what?" Oliver prompted quietly.

Kara took a breath. "I need someone I can trust, who knows the truth about me, and -" she looked up at him defiantly, almost challenging - "and who won't laugh when I tell him why I'm here."

Oliver met her gaze. "I promise I won't."

* S * S *

Kara felt the weight of Oliver's promise, and found herself almost squirming in her chair. She could be out of here and back on her Earth before Oliver could blink, let alone follow her - but that would be wrong for so many reasons.

Finally, she met his gaze once again. "I need someone to teach me how to have sex."

That had blindsided him, but he didn't laugh. He didn't even smile. "I'm told the internet is for porn…"

"Oh, Rao, you have that musical, too?"

"'Fraid so."

"I'm sorry. But still - the internet doesn't know how to deal with anything like me," she said. "I'm stronger and faster than Earthlings on either your Earth or mine. And that applies to all my muscles."

"Of course it does," Oliver began. She saw the moment he got it. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh."

Kara wasn't certain whether the server's arrival with their meals was a relief or a curse. Either way, she took a bite of her chicken marsala and was not surprised when the taste was, for lack of a better word, exquisite. Oddly, she gave thanks that she wasn't a food critic. She'd hate to have to find words to describe the meal.

When she looked up again, Oliver was regarding her in that steady, assessing way he had. "There's someone you're interested in."

His perception shouldn't have surprised her, not after everything Barry had told her about him and her own observations during her last visit to this Earth. There was one detail he had wrong, though, and she corrected him immediately.

"There was. We broke it off before it got that far. But ever since, I've been thinking, and wondering how it could go wrong if -" she broke off, uncertain how to finish that sentence, and took another bite of chicken.

"Why come to me?" Oliver asked.

"Because of all the Earthlings on both our Earths who know the truth about me, you're the one I trust the most."

He stared at her without speaking, and she hurried on.

"On my Earth, there's my adoptive sister and mother. One's like my brother. And there's the guy I broke it off with…"

"Asking him could be awkward," Oliver acknowledged.

"On this Earth, there's you, Diggle, Barry, and Cisco. Cisco - I don't really trust him, yet. Diggle's married. Barry's like my brother and he's with Iris."

"Sounds like you've thought this through." Oliver sounded approving, so she continued.

"Of the Legends, I couldn't trust Mick with this, and Ray reminds me too much of my cousin. Professor Stein's married and Jax is … well, Jax. Of your proteges, Curtis is married, Wild Dog - just no." Kara broke off when she realized he was struggling to contain his laughter.

"What?"

"In your process of elimination, I was the one you couldn't eliminate."

Kara felt the blush heating her cheeks even as stared at him. "No. No, it wasn't like that at all. You were the first one I thought of, and when I wondered why it was you, then -"

But Oliver was holding up his hands in a placating gesture. "Kara - it's okay, Kara. Whatever your reasons, I'm flattered."

"But?"

"But what?" Oliver looked genuinely confused.

"That sounded like there's a but after it."

Oliver smiled. "No buts. I'm flattered, and I'll help."