Kara had cursed the completely innocent piece of string that dangled loosely from her pinkie finger since the day that she had first learned what it meant. There had been nearly a week's worth of study dedicated to it in school when Kara was on Krypton. It was a simple concept, though. The 'Red String of Fate' was a plain piece of red string, no thicker than the average piece of embroidery thread that connected a Kryptonian to their soulmate, the person that was destined to be there for them, their whole lives long. However, Kara's was just a bit different from anyone else that she knew. Hers didn't lead anywhere, it had just dragged the floor until one day she had picked it up and tied it off into a bow.
The truly amazing part was how it seemed to shrink down and sink into Kara's skin. It molded to er perfectly. It wasn't even palpable on her skin, more like a tattoo than anything. No matter the scientists in her family, and no matter the historian's that they went to, looking for answers, no one on Krypton had ever heard of something like this ever having happened before. It was frustrating, Kara wanted to fight this, she knew that there was something wrong with her, and that she was the only person to apparently not have soulmate in the history of Krypton.
It wasn't easy for Kara to adjust to her new reality. Every single Kryptonian who lived past the age of ten had a string...except for Kara. Here she was at all of thirteen and trying to process that she was probably going to be alone for the rest of her life.
Scant months later, Kara thought that maybe she understood why her string was the way that it was. She had spent the past few years asleep in a pod after Krypton had exploded. Her cousin was a full grown man now, his hands as blank as the day that he was born. Kara was more sad and more heartbroken than she had ever been in her life. For a while she was able to forget about the Red String of Fate.
As an adult, Kara saw humans find love. They didn't have to have strings leading them where they were meant to go. Humans forged their own paths and Kara came to love that about them. It took a while to love them, though. These people were foreign to Kara. She didn't understand their culture and all that they did. It was confusing and hard and too much for a teenage girl who had just lost everything.
Kara knew from the beginning that she liked both boys and girls. It had confused her to no end that this wasn't a widely accepted practice on Earth. She owed so much to Alex Danvers for explaining these things to her. It had saved her half a million times.
"Cat! When did you get back from Washington?!" Kara asked when she bumped into her former boss at an L-Corp function that she was attending with her friend Lena Luthor.
"I've been back almost a month now, but I'm just relaxing with Carter for now. I'm not ready to take the reigns back from Mr.Olsen just yet. What is this I've heard about you not working for me anymore?" Cat sounds confused and a little sad.
"Snapper and I... We had a disagreement when it came to an ethical issue that we just couldn't get past. I've been focusing on my art for a while now and trying to get back in touch with myself. I haven't been in a good headspace for a while now." Kara does her best to explain in a polite way. She's still holding on to a lot of anger about it.
"I... will have a word with him and make a final decision. You know that I have the utmost faith in you. I had never imagined he would fire you after I specifically placed you on his team." Cat's voice is half conversational and half in a low growl.
"Thank you, Cat. I had never suspected that you might actually let me... Thank you so much, Ms.Grant." Kara hugged Cat on impulse, her strong arms surprising Cat. Even more surprising was that Cat didn't really mind.
"You're welcome, Kiera, but don't stop calling me Cat just yet. I was just starting to get used to to hearing it come from you." Cat says with a half smile.
"Even if you don't decide to hire me back, we need to see each other more often. I had gotten used to you bossing me around on a regular basis. You're pretty good for me, you know." Kara feels emboldened enough to risk the joke.
"Watch yourself there, Ms.Danvers." Cat's eyebrows shot up, but her surprised grin set Kara at ease. She took Kara's hand and squeezed it goodbye. "You're right though. I went too long without a proper coffee this time around."
Cat's wink as she went to catch up to Lena stole Kara's breath away.
"That seemed...cozy." Maggie said suggestively. Kara's mouth was too dry to respond.
-----/////-----
Cat had seen Kara's tattoo before and never really questioned it. She assumed that even a goody-goody like Kara Danvers had to have a drunken college mistake or two. It had made a lot less sense when Kara had been her main suspect for Supergirl. Supergirl was bulletproof and therefore also probably tattoo-proof.
The most confusing thing though, was probably how a tattoo could possibly be contagious. That literally didn't make any sense to her. She was kind of worried actually and really confused.
"Kara, would you like to meet up for lunch? We really need to discuss something." Cat left her a voicemail and returned her attention to the saves that Supergirl was making.
-----/////-----
"Is everything okay, Ms.Grant? You sounded really concerned on the phone. Is this about me getting my job back, because Snapper yelled enough at me that you don't need to, I swear." Kara rambled as she took a seat.
"No Kara, this is a little bit different. Can I see your hand for a moment?" Cat extends her own and Kara could tell by her tone that this was a command as opposed to a request.
Cat looks closely at Kara's pinkie decoration, the hand that bore her matching mark hidden safely in her lap.
"How long have you had this?" Cat asked.
"A pretty long time actually." Kara says unused to having the tattoo pointed out and wondering what Cat's point was.
"Did you get it done somewhere around here? In National City?" Cat continued, sounding a bit more like an interrogator than a friend having a conversation.
"No, it was back in Midvale, a local place." Kara lied a bit more smoothly this time; it was one of the more common stories that she was forced to tell.
"Right. Well, have you ever heard of getting a sleep tattoo or developing one overnight out of nowhere when you're completely sober?" Cat's warming up now, building up to a crescendo.
"Uhm... no, Cat if you were to tell me what's going on I'm sure that I would be able to help you a lot more easily." Kara finally protests her eyes hardening.
Instead of responding, Cat lays the tattooed hand out flat for Kara to see, no explanation required. Kara's shocked look of understanding didn't surprise Cat at all, though the suspense of getting an answer was killing her.
"Oh, God, we're connected. I mean, I always knew that we had a special kind of bond and that you were an important person in my life but this...I didn't know that it was possible. I had stopped hoping." Kara mutters to herself, one finger tracing lightly over the mark on Cat's finger, a perfect replica of her own.
"What does it mean, Kara? I demand an explanation." Cat puts her foot down.
"We're soulmates, Cat. Tied together by the red string of fate under the red sun of Rao." Kara says and when the words have left her mouth Cat can still hiear the power in them.
"This day just keeps getting better and better." Cat groans, but the sheepish smile that she gives Kara makes it all better.
"There are worse things than being my soulmate." Kara says, venom lacing her tone.
"I'm sorry... I'm just processing all of this.We've worked together for years. Why did this just happen?" Cat questions.
"We were only just now in a headspace where we were both prepared to deal with it." Kara answers.
"That makes sense but I have a lot more questions so you had better make yourself comfortable." Cat warns.
"I'm okay with that. Bring it on." Kara smiles softly, rearranging everything that she has ever known to suit this new information. She really didn't mind at all...
