Chapter Text
“I will need to vet any friends before you confirm they can follow you.”
“Mooom , that is so lame.”
“Those are my terms Carter. I’m sorry, but you aren’t like every other kid. It’s for your safety as well as mine” Cat noticed that seemed to placate her son somewhat.
“ Fine.” Carter huffed, though most of his annoyance seemed to have left. Kara clapped happily beside him.
“Yay, okay so let’s choose your handle.” Kara supplied while Carter started downloading the Instagram app. Kara chanced a look at his mother. Cat raised her eyebrow at her.
“Who knew goody-two shoes Keira would be the one to corrupt my son” she said without any real impact.
“Kara” Carter corrected her on autopilot, like it was something he did on a daily basis.
“Instagram is hardly a vice Ms Grant, besides, I want to be able to have another way to track your adventures in case you go and leave me again…I mean CatCo again” Kara corrected herself, looking back down to follow Carter’s screen.
“Hmmm.” Cat seemed to let it slide. “I told you its Cat now. You’re not my assistant anymore.” Cat replied nonchalantly. Yet more feeling slipped through then she could control. It sent Kara sitting on top of world, her lips stretching to a full grin, straining to contain the smile that wanted to be set free.
“Ok, I’ve set it up and put it on private. See mom?” He flashed his screen to face her, barely long enough for a real look. “Can you find and follow me Kara?” Carter showed her his screen with his Instagram name for her to find and request.
“What did I just say about vetting your friends!” Cat exclaimed. Carter rolled his eyes. “Give you an inch and you are already running a mile.” She continued her sarcastic remarks. Though she didn’t want to admit it, it was scary how fast her once anxious and mild-mannered son was growing up.
“Oh my goodness, do I get to be your first follower? I’m honored Carter!”
“Well you’re right Kara, besides everyone having an account, I’d like to be able to keep in touch with you too and see you whenever you post something…even if it is mostly food.”
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The memory flooded Kara upon seeing the rare and unexpected Instagram pic that Carter had just posted a few hours ago. Over the past two years, Carter had only ever posted a few pics of himself, some with Cat, some with his dad, a few with a friend or two, and the rest mainly photographs he took with of his travels with either one of his parents. Each one would’ve been debated with Cat, she imagined. Once she had reached the bottom of his Instagram, her thumb scrolled back to the top and failed to hesitate to press on the latest post and stare. This post seemed different to the others. It was like he was free. Even the caption seemed free of hovering eyes. It had made her smile at first.
The post was the first she had seen or heard of Cat since she stepped down as Press Secretary once Crisis had become known, a ramification of Lex Luthor holding office in the White House.
“You’ve been staring at that screen for 5 minutes already” Alex whined, grabbing the phone from her grasp. She reached forward to grab it back, but her reflexes seemed delayed.
“Oh!... Carter has really grown.” Alex faltered, a tinge of guilt lacing her statement. She handed back the cell to Kara. She now knew why Kara had grown quiet in the middle of the small friend group huddled around a booth in their favourite bar.
“Who’s Carter?” Kelly asked.
“Cat Grant’s son.” Nia replied. “May I see the photo, I never got to meet Carter , even though Cat would often mention him.”
“Sure” Kara supplied and turned the phone to face Nia, though most people would’ve been able to see it.
“Oh, wow. He has her nose and cheek-bone structure. Cat looks amazing. I wonder what she is doing now” Nia supplied as conversation fodder. Kara looked back down.
“Well, it looks like they are off travelling the world again. That picture is from the Archaeological Museum of Olympia, in Greece . Carter always loved mythology.” She said more as an aside.
“I didn’t realise that you were that close to Cat Grant!” Kelly seemed genuinely surprised. She continued “I mean I know James and Alex have told me of when you were her assistant for a few years, but you must be pretty close if you follow her son. She always struck me as someone who was quite private about family matters.” The look Alex gave her girlfriend, told her she had overstepped.
“Yeah, well…working that close to her, we …” Kara changed tact, besides J'onn and Alex, this new friend group wouldn’t quite understand the complexity, not having witnessed it firsthand. “she can surprise you if you’re lucky enough to get close to her”.
“She has always struck me as a fierce woman... and witty. I remember watching her talk show when I was younger.” Iris said with a hint of admiration.
“Yeah, she really is” Kara breathed out, a little melancholy seeping through.
“How old is Carter now? He must…” Nia was cut short.
“Sixteen” Kara and Alex answered at the same time. They exchanged a look no one in the group could quite decipher. Alex had only met Carter a handful of times, but it didn’t take long to see how great a kid he was, nor how much Kara doted on him.
“He’ll be turning seventeen in 3 months”. Kara supplied, before taking a sip of her drink, her hands itching to look at the post on her phone that had gone dark.
Kara’s mood had gone dark, and seeing the others starting to sense it, Alex changed the subject.
“How bout another round? Maybe some shots. Anyone?” Alex offered more as a statement. Iris and Nia put their hands up.
“Let me help you with that.” Barry stood up ready to follow.
“No. Barry. Sit. My treat for you newbies… Kara will help.” Alex tilted her head towards the bar for her to follow.
They walked to the bar in silence. Alex ordered two extra ‘special’ shots placing them in front of Kara. By the time the Jägermeister shot she ordered for herself was placed in front of her, Kara had already downed both of hers. It must be bad. Not as bad as the second time Cat and Carter had left…but to know that her sister was still not over the mercurial media queen, was both enlightening and worrisome. “You ok?”
“Yeah, I’m good. Thanks for the drinks.” Kara started to grab a few of the drinks for group. Alex squeezed her shoulder. “I’m good. I promise Alex.” She headed back to the booth.
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Waking up with a slight hangover, Kara rolled over to her bedside table and grabbed her phone from the wireless charger. Automatically placing her fingerprint, the cell opened to Carter’s post, not having looked at her phone since last night. It still made her smile, seeing both so happy. Cat looked so unencumbered. She re-read the caption:
‘Perks of being a Grant. Private tour of the Museum of Olympia with Mom and co @ChloeG @luce_law. Good to have another photographer in the fam. #mythologyismyjam’
She didn’t notice it before. It couldn’t be. Curiosity creeping, she clicked on the @luce_law handle, and lo and behold the profile picture was none other than Lucy Lane. Her eyes lit up with excitement, she hadn’t seen Lucy in so long. Noticing it was a private account, she pressed ‘follow’. Going back to Carter’s feed, she went and clicked on @ChloeG. It was another private account. The profile pic focused on a thick mane, a glorious fusion of brown and blonde hair, her face from the nose upwards obscured by a floppy, wide-brimmed felt fedora. Kara’s brows knit together, the lines deepening as she re-read the perplexing bio description: ‘Insert self-deprecating stuff about myself disguised as pretentious witticisms here’.
Perplexed, she tapped back once again. Carter’s post had more comments underneath than yesterday.
@joshbaudinthe3rd: ‘Cool bro, been ages since we’ve hung out.’
@princeofcatan: ‘coming your way on Tuesday, I’ll ask my mom if we can meet up @joshbaudinthe3rd’
@luce_law: ‘I can’t decide if your mom’s smile was for you or the impressive statue of Perseus 😉’
@princeofcatan: ‘gross.’
@LoisLaneOfficial:‘@princeofcatan @Luce_Law Nice pic Carter. Don’t mind my sis. Troublemaker with a capital T. BTW...haven’t lost your touch @ChloeG’
@ChloeG: ‘Thanks @LoisLaneOfficial. I had some pretty awesome muses. @princeofcatan @luce_law’
Kara’s low-key snooping was effectively terminated with the sound of her front door opening and closing, the distinct screech of her name coming from Alex followed by the sweet aroma of chocolate croissants.