Chapter 11: "Sleep over"

Two knocks were all it took for Lena to start hearing movement from the other side of the door. A crash and a few groans later, the door opened, revealing the reporter with a grimace on her face which was quickly replaced by a smile when she found Lena standing in front of her, the blonde quickly stepped aside so that the black-haired woman could come inside.

"Lena! For a moment I thought you had reconsidered and run away from me, I was starting to feel lonely, did something happen?" - The blonde asked while her friend help her get to the couch.

"I'm sorry darling, I had to make a quick stop at CatCo to pick up some things and it gave me the opportunity to talk to James, I told him that I would be taking a few days off ... it took me longer than expected, but surely you found something to entertain yourself while I was gone" - the brunette let the last part out with a tone of jealousy, which was barely noticeable but very present.

"Oh!... and... mmm... what did James said?" - the blonde kept gesturing with her hands as she spoke, there was something about this topic that made her stomach feel weird, but not bad weird, just... weird.

"Well... I told him about what happened, and I apologized for stood him up, but the truth is, he didn't take it so well, it may sound strange to you but I think he's jealous... he even ended our talk saying that at some point I would regret making you... mmm... my priority... I really don't understand what's happening with him, he never behaved this way, but if things continue like this, I don't think I can tolerate it for much longer"- Lena said while she searched for something to drink.

"What an ass..." - the words came out of her mouth without really processing what she had said - "I'm sorry... I didn't mean... sorry for saying that, but he really behaved like one with you... to tell you the truth James was always very understanding and sweet , but there are times when I don't recognize him either, it's like he doesn't listen to reasons... when that happens the best thing is to leave him alone ".

"Don't worry Kara, he really behaved like an idiot and besides, there's little I enjoy more than the fact of listening to you say something inappropriate"... - the brunette said with a playful smile and one of her eyebrows raised.

It wasn't, by any means, the first time she saw Lena making that gesture, but every time she did, she couldn't help but feel a heat spread through her entire body, she was sure her cheeks were flushed. If she didn't want Lena to notice it, she had to change subjects immediately and, she definitely, had to break this glance challenge that was happening, luckily the distance between the couch and the kitchen would hide her blush.

"So… how about we order something to eat, I'm a little hungry, we could have some pizza and watch something on Netflix?" – fortunately, Lena hadn't noticed how nervous she was, so she continued with her plans.

"Sure! I would never say no to pizza, besides…with everything that happened today I didn't realize how hungry I am, you stay there, I'll make the call, 2 pepperoni and one vegetarian sounds good? "- while she spoke, the brunette was already with her phone in hand ready to make the call.

The fact that Lena was aware of her appetite made her heart feel warmer, her friend always knew what she needed, she was always helping others without asking for anything in return. Every time she thought about everything Lena did for her she couldn't help but to think about how she was still hiding her identity from her, how she was allowing more and more time pass and what would happen if she found out now, after 4 years of friendship... when she noticed the brunette approaching, she decided to leave these thoughts for later, the only thing that mattered now was trying to have a good time together, after all the CEO had left her company aside to take care of her.

"Sure! Sounds perfect!" - The blonde replied with a bright smile on her face.

And there it was again, that smile, that bright and beautiful smile that made her heart skip a beat every time it was directed at her... that smile that when it was absent in her day made everything feel heavier, more unbearable. Truth is, that from the first moment her gaze met Kara's in her office, something had awakened in her, from the beginning she couldn't help the need to see that face at least once more, luckily for her it didn't take long until the blonde came back to her office.

Something had definitely awakened, no matter how hard she tried to deny it, no matter how many times her mother told her that her feelings weren't right. For years she tried to disguise it as friendship, as admiration for the person Kara was, but deep down she always knew there was something else, and she confirm it with Kayla's arrival to the reporter's life. Even when she was with James, there was always this voice in the back of her mind, something which told her that their relationship wasn't right, that she didn't need to be with him, but every time these feelings surfaced, she put them back into small boxes and her doubts disappeared.

But, then again, the same thing always happened to her, Kara would compliment her, or smile at her, or hugged her, and all the contents inside the boxes would surface again, and today... today that she almost lost her forever, she realized that she no longer wanted to avoid her feelings. For now she would stop rejecting them, for now she wouldn't tell her friend what she felt, for now she would devote herself to make Kara see how important she was to her, for now… she would just settle with having her by her side… even if only as a friend.

Just when her thoughts were beginning to overwhelm her, the doorbell of the apartment rang making her jump, when she realized Kara was trying to get up, she immediately held the blonde's arm to prevent her from moving.

"I'll take care of it, you stay still, you have to rest, remember?" - she said while lightly caressing the blonde's shoulder.

Noticing Lena's soft touch on her shoulder and before really thinking about it, the blonde brought her own hand over the brunette's, when she looked into her eyes, she could see a note of sadness in them which was soon replaced by that vibrant look she was familiar with.

She knew she was blushing, she could feel it, but she also saw how the brunette's skin tone also changed to a more reddish one, curiosity took over her and she looked at the black-haired woman with even more intensity, she wanted to see how red her friend could get , she wanted to see if Lena also felt that warmth, she needed to confirm what was happening. For a moment, she could see her friend approaching slightly, but before anything happened, the doorbell rang again, forcing them out of their bubble.

"I... mmm... I have to... go open... I'll... I'll be right back" - her hands didn't stop shaking. What the hell had that been, why was Kara looking at her so intensely, her gaze had been so piercing that for a moment her body began to move by its own, searching for her friend's lips, luckily the doorbell rang and she was able to escape.

After returning with the pizzas and putting them on the coffee table, she decided that if she wanted to survive the night she would need some wine in her system, so after leaving a glass of water for Kara, she went back to the kitchen and from the cupboard she took out a glass and a wine that she knew Kara had saved for their dinners, she returned and sat in one of the smaller armchairs, ready to open the bottle, but before she could do anything, Kara was calling her attention.

"It's not fair ... why just one glass? Besides, what are you doing sitting there? Come here, there's room for both of us and I could use some warmth… " - the blonde remarked with a mischievous smile on her face, feeling how a boost of confidence took over her usually shy persona.

The first thing she noticed was the pout on the blonde's lips, when she saw it she was almost convinced to give her the entire bottle of wine as long as she stopped doing it, but then... then she saw that look and the smile, one she had never seen in the blonde, a confident almost smug smile, one that made a warm feeling run through her entire spine. That's when it hit her, if she was attracted to Kara's clumsy side, then this cheeky demeanor would be the death of her. She feared her own tone would betray her, so before answering she cleared her voice.

"Sure, I mean… no, you can't drink wine, you're on antibiotics Kara, we can't risk it. As for the sitting suggestion, I'm only complying because you're sick"

"Okay, but for the record, I'm not going to let you finish the bottle by yourself, at some point, when I recover we will share a toast together, as for the seat I don't understand why you would sit away, we always cuddled on the couch, and I know from a very good source that you love to curl up next to me, something to do with my strong, strong biceps... " - the blonde wasn't sure where all this confidence came from but before it dissipated she had to use it to learn why was the brunette acting all flustered, she needed to keep pushing her. Until now it seemed to be working, every time she said something and looked at her with intensity, her friend changed her expression and her eyes seemed to shine even more than before, even her pupils were dilated.

Not this again ... this couldn't be happening, who was this woman and what had she done with her best friend?, The brunette was always a very composed person, only her mother had sometimes managed to make her lose her calm, but she was never affected by anyone else, not even Jack. He was sweet, but she was the one who took the decisions in their relationship, but then again, Kara had managed to break her composure in less than ... an hour? Before answering, she emptied her glass in one go, she could see out of the corner of her eye that Kara had her gaze still fixed on her.

"If I sit with you on the couch, it's only because if I don't, you'll look at me all night with those hurt puppy eyes, it's not because I want darling... it's because you do..." - perfect, the wine had done its job and she was able to respond with her characteristic composed tone. Hopefully, the blonde hadn't noticed her emotional instability.

"Aham..." - was all the blonde said as she brought a slice of pizza to her mouth, moistening her lips before doing so.

The gesture didn't go unnoticed by the brunette who followed the scene with her eyes, the motion almost causing a short circuit in her brain... she needed to find something to distract herself so, she took the remote control and put Netflix on.

"What do you want to watch? Something romantic? Action?" – the brunette was suddenly very aware of how close Kara was now that they were both in the same couch, she went through the options without taking her eyes off the TV while with her free hand she grabbed a slice of pizza.

"I'm in the mood for a rom-com, there's one that I haven't watch yet, it's about a CEO and an employee who pretends to be her partner before her family and they end up falling in love... seems... entertaining" - the blonde mentioned while grabbing a second slice of pizza.

Lena took a deep breath and nodded, while the movie started playing, she took another large sip from her glass.

The movie turned out to be very funny and extremely romantic, luckily for the brunette, Kara had fallen asleep at half of it, so she had basically missed the most romantic part, the CEO felt relieved by this, after all she couldn't avoid imagining herself living the same situation with her friend as the movie went by.

When the movie ended, Lena rose herself gently, she didn't want to wake Kara up. The blonde had her head resting on the brunette's shoulder so she replaced her shoulder with a cushion and started cleaning the mess they had made while eating. When she grabbed the pizza boxes she noticed there was an entire pizza left untouched, Kara had eaten only four portions and even left half of the fourth, which was extremely rare, but Lena didn't make a big deal out of it, maybe the medications were making her lose her appetite.

Once everything was clean, she looked for her bag and went to the bathroom to put her pajamas on, that's when she realized they would be sharing the bed, suddenly her lungs ran out of air, she had chosen a bad day to acknowledge her feelings and now she couldn't control them, just thinking about her and Kara in the same bed made her head spin. She took a few minutes to compose herself, nothing was going to happen, they would only sleep and after a few hours they would be on opposite sides of the room again, she only had to get through the night. She repeated the same phrases over and over again like a mantra until she felt safe enough to get out of the bathroom and face Kara.

She went to the couch where Kara was still asleep, her face completely relaxed. The brunette felt sorry to wake her, but the blonde was undoubtedly going to be more comfortable in her bed, so she approached her slowly, sat next to her and caressed her cheek lightly, whispering to wake her up.

"Darling wake up... the movie is over, it's time to rest" - when she saw Kara opening her eyes lazily, she gave a little step back, Kara looked so cute and comfy and beautiful, but she didn't want to continue tempting fate, she had to stay focused if she was going to survive this.

"Lena? ... are you still here?" The blonde said while she rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands.

"Of course I am, I told you I'll be staying for a few days, let me take you to bed" - the brunette stood up extending her arm for Kara to take.

"Right, I forgot, anyway… may be you should ask me on a date first…" - the blonde said with a chuckle while quirking one of her eyebrows, she then took Lena's arm, wincing as she stepped on her leg, making her body lean even more on the brunette's body.

Oh God… the CEO cheeks went completely red - "Easy there, remember to go slow, once you're in bed I will give you a painkiller so you can sleep well" - they slowly made their way to the bed, luckily Kara's apartment was relatively small so it didn't take long for them to arrive.

"Ok, I'll leave you so you can change your clothes. If you want, tell me where your pajamas are and I'll reach them" - the brunette remarked as she looked to see if Kara was still awake or had fallen asleep.

"Mmm... Lena? could you help me? I just... (yawn) I think I would end up putting something backwards ... the clothes are in the first drawer over there" - Kara spoke with her eyes closed, gesturing with her head as if to indicate the direction, while her body leaned forward slightly.

Lena immediately took her by the shoulders and after a big sigh began to remove the blonde's sweater, while the blonde was still with her arms up, she decided to also remove her shirt, then she turned to search the drawer which contained the pajamas and grabbed a long shirt and shorts worn by use. When she faced Kara again, her jaw dropped to the floor, her mouth went dry all of the sudden. The blonde had her hands still up and just like that, the brunette found something she never imagined seeing in her friend. Abs... abs so marked and defined that all Lena could think was how she wished she could run her fingers through them. And yes, Lena had noticed Kara's arms, the flex of her biceps, the width of her shoulders, but for someone who eats what Kara eats every day, along with her clumsy attitude, she never imagined that the blonde could have abs... strong and perfect abs.

Seeing no response from Lena, Kara opened one of her eyes to find an astonished Lena Luthor looking straight at her abdomen, she was definitely drowsy but it was obvious what was happening, Lena had never seen her without clothes and if her open mouth was telling enough, she was enjoying the view.

"See something you like or are you just surprise?" - The blonde analyzed with her gaze fixed on Lena's eyes, now completely awake - "I know that for someone who ingests food like me is not usual but what can I say, I have good genetics" - at the end she winked at the black-haired woman who was still dumbfounded looking at her abdomen.

Dammit! What is happening, when I had everything under control this happens? Her thoughts were a mess, her mind running faster than ever.Since she was a teenager she had been fascinated by people with toned bodies, but this just didn't make sense anymore, how could Kara have the whole package? she not only would have to survive to her smile… her eyes, now she also had to endure knowing that underneath those shirts were the most perfect abs anyone could have? Fuck ...

"What? Sorry I wasn't... ok, there's no need to deny it anymore... yes, I was looking at your abs, but it's not what you think, I mean, I was looking but not in a sensual way or anything ... I just don't understand how you have those while eating like a sumo wrestler... is unfair" - oh my God, this isn't happening ... in a sensual way? What the hell is wrong with you Lena - The CEO scolded herself.

"As I said, good genetics, now I don't want to interrupt your appreciation but do you think you could give me my shirt? It's starting to get cold..." - Kara said with a victorious smile on her face.

"Oh! Sorry... here…" - Lena handed the shirt to her friend, the blonde took it and put it on herself. Lena then helped her with her pants, delicately removing the one the blonde had to avoid rubbing her wound and putting the shorts she had taken out of the drawer, she managed to do it successfully by focusing on not hurting the blonde, only getting lost for a few seconds, in her long, long and toned legs.

Once dressed, they both laid on the bed wishing good night to each other, Lena forcing the reporter to promise her that if something happened, she would wake her up without hesitation, the blonde nodded at her friend's request, and after a few minutes they were both asleep.

Lena woke up a couple of hours later by a slight touch on her back, a soft touch that ran the entire length of her back, one which slowly turned towards her abdomen. She could feel a shaky breath near her ear, everything felt so good, so soft, so considerate. She decided to open her eyes and in the moment she did, she was met by intense blue eyes staring at her, a sigh was caught in her throat, she wanted to move her hand and touch the blonde's cheek, but when she was about to do it a piercing scream escaped her companion, a second later she found herself sitting on the bed, looking to the sides in search of the blonde to find her next to her with a winced of pain and tears rolling down her face, she was covered in sweat.

Lena took one of her hands to the blonde's forehead, she was burning. She began to shake her from her shoulders to wake her up but when she didn't get any response from the blonde, she desperately took the glass of water she had left on her nightstand and poured it directly into the reporter's face, less than a second later Kara sat up abruptly looking at Lena with a lost look on her face, breathing heavily. After a couple of minutes, she uttered a few words.

"What the hell Lee… did you just throw water on my face?...

Sorry for the long wait…