Chapter Text
Kara startles awake, mind groggy, flailing as she tries to figure out what woke her. She looks around her small, cozy studio apartment overflowing with books and mismatching pieces of furniture. When she realizes she was only roused by the sound of Mike scurrying about her apartment, his nose buried deep in the morning newspaper as he busies himself getting ready for work, she collapses back into her blankets.
“Listen to this,” her boyfriend starts, not waiting for a response before continuing. Kara ruminates on the word boyfriend. Mike opposes the word, claiming that such labels are infantilizing and reductive. What was she supposed to call him? Her life partner? Her flame? Lover? Kara cringes internally and belatedly realizes that Mikes has continued reading an excerpt of an article about artificial intelligence putting an entire state department out of work somewhere in the Midwest.
Kara checks the bedside clock, “Aren’t you late?”
“Do you know what we’re seeing here?” Mike continues as he downs the rest of his coffee, “We’re seeing the end of western civilization as we know it!”
She yawns as she rustles herself out of bed, angling her stumbling footsteps toward the bathroom. She can still hear Mike’s voice echoing through the door as she diligently brushes her teeth. Spits. Washes her face.
When Kara emerges from the bathroom, Mike points at her phone charging on the bedside table, “You think that machine is your friend, but it’s not!”
He checks his apple watch and startles, “I’m late.”
Kara tosses him his jacket from where it hangs beside the door, “I’ll see you at lunch?”
“Sushi.”
“Sushi!” Kara enthuses, instantly waking up at the prospect of food.
As Mike leaves, Kara listens for his footsteps to fade before wandering over to her phone. Her heart jumps into her throat when she sees the little notification announcing she has a message on her discord app.
Natcity152:
Krypto is my dog. He loves National City as much as I do, although he likes to eat his pizza and bagels off the sidewalk. I prefer to buy mine from the bodega. Krypto is great at playing catch – was offered a try-out on the Metropolis farm team. But, incredibly enough, he chose to stay with me so he could spend eighteen hours a day sleeping on a green pillow nearly the size of my own bed.
Don’t you love National City in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a tin of newly-sharpened pencils if I could. Of course, on the other hand, our anonymity has its charms.
_________
“Does it count as cheating if you’ve never even met?” Kara asks as she checks to ensure the credit card terminal is connected to the iPad before straightening a stack of dinosaur stickers by the register.
There’s a clattering from the back of the store that sounds suspiciously like Nia knocking over a book display, “Kara. You can’t start a conversation at the middle until I’m solidly on my third coffee of the morning, ‘kay?”
“Online. Does it count as infidelity if I’m emotionally invested in someone online?” Kara clarifies as she moves onto unpacking a box of newly arrived books.
Kara rounds the counter, mindlessly humming an annoyingly upbeat song. “You’re in love.” Nia deadpans from somewhere in the back of the store.
“What?” Kara scoffs as she shelves the books, “I am not in love.”
She pauses and cocks her head, turns back in the direction of Nia’s voice, “Oh. Right. I’m in love with Mike.”
“I’m practically living with Mike,” Kara mutters absently as she chucks the now empty box behind the counter, losing herself in thought as she perches her hands on her hips.
“What does ‘invested’ mean?” Nia asks, voice dripping with incredulity, as she comes around the other side of the front counter. “Do you sext?”
Kara trips as her foot snags on the corner of the bookshop’s entryway carpet, “Sext?!”
“You know. Text your freaky little fantasies? Send nudes?”
Before Kara can stop the heat that races to her face, Nia plunges on, “Do you even know their name?”
“No.” Kara hesitates at Nia’s dubious look as she moves back behind the counter, “I don’t know, it started off with her wanting to keep things anonymous. And it just seemed so… I don’t know! Charming? It’s like having a mysterious pen pal and it’s all very… sweet.”
“Sweet?”
“Well.” Kara begins, busying herself with the display at the front of the shop, “We - well we talk. Share things about ourselves. Even the cringey, weird things. Like I know that she has a Samoyed named Krypto that detests getting his paws muddy and she loves the sound of heels clicking along the sidewalk in the fall afternoon as she walks to the smoothie stand down the street from her office.”
Nia blinked rapidly, “So you don’t even know who she is? What if she’s catfishing you?” She snagged a blue raspberry sucker from the jar on the counter - prompting Kara to grab the jar away, “She could be some creepy guy eating cheetos on a couch in his parents basement. She could-” Nia cuts off as the bell on the shop door jangles and Brainy enters the store, she lowers her voice, “she could be Brainy.”
“No! She couldn’t possibly be Brainy. She reads the Wall Street Journal!” Kara whispers urgently as Brainy ambles to the back office, mumbling something about a cronut and a “very angry goose”.
Kara bites her lip nervously as she watches Brainy reemerge from the office so intent on his phone that he misses the step leading down to the main shop floor. “Brainy. Are you online?”
“Isn’t everyone?” Brainy asks, looking up with a furrow to his brow.
“Online as in dating.” Nia clarifies.
“Oh. Certainly not. I find online dating is just another opportunity to horribly embarrass myself in front of women.” Brainy responds, craning his neck to watch Kara refill the lollipop jar before darting a hand in to pilfer a green apple sucker.
Everyone looks up when the shop bell jangles again as Alex sweeps into the shop with a paper bag from Kara’s favorite doughnut shop and a drink carrier full of coffee, “Good morning, what are we talking about?”
“Kara sexting a man with cheeto dust on his fingers,” Nia deadpans.
“Gross. I don’t want to know,” Alex breezes past the topic on her way to dropping off the treats next to the register.
“You’re my hero,” Kara squeals as she tears into the sugar dusted bag and Brainy grabs two coffees for himself. Nia drinks half of hers in one gulp.
“God, your walk over is the perfect amount of time for it to come to chugging temperature,” Nia sighs.
“You really shouldn’t chug coffee,” Brainy frowns before Nia shuts him up with a glare.
“I can’t stick around and chat today, I have an early work meeting. But you,” Alex pokes a finger in Kara’s face, “dinner. Tonight. Don’t forget.”
Kara rolls her eyes slightly, “Yes I know, Alex.”
“I mean it, Sam’s looking forward to meeting you,” Alex continues, backing toward the door without dropping the stern look on her face.
“Alex, I know!” Kara defends, “7pm. On the nose.”
“Good,” Alex relents as she turns to open the door, pausing just before leaving, “And Kara? No guys with cheeto fingers. Do better.”
With that, Kara walks to the door as it closes behind Alex and flips the ‘Closed’ sign to ‘Open’.
_________
supergirl:
i know our messaging is sporadic, but i always like to start my notes to you like we’re in the middle of a conversation. i pretend that we’re old friends as opposed to what we actually are – people who don’t know each other’s names that met on a mutual discord server and bonded over our shared love of the glazed donuts from noonan’s. ‘what will natcity152 say today?’ i wonder. i check my phone for the notification. wait impatiently for the soft doodoop the app makes when there’s a new dm. i hear nothing, not even the sound of the streets of national city. and then i hear it. i have a message! from you!
__________
“The electrical contractor called, he hit a deer last night. Afraid it totaled his work truck,” Lena’s vaguely aware of Lex droning on in the background as she takes in the harbor in the late morning sun.
They’ve taken her personal sailboat out - well, more accurately, Lex has commandeered her day off - with Ruby and Sam. It was meant to be a fun, relaxing morning, but Lex invited their father at the last minute and now she’s being tortured with a work meeting poorly disguised as a family outing. Lena knocks back the rest of her champagne and reaches for another oyster as Lex babbles on about construction workers peeing off roofs and possible lawsuits.
Sam shoots her a meaningful look, and at least she has someone here to commiserate with her.
When Lex pauses in his lecture and looks over at her expectantly, Lena scrambles, “That sounds great.” She forces a smile, but when Lex just cocks his head in confusion, she tries again, “Will the electrician be in on Monday?”
“Lex just told you,” Lionel cuts in gruffly, “he won’t be making it in until midweek.”
Lena drops the smile and looks out into the water where Ruby and Krypto are swimming beside the anchored boat. She sighs and says in a dry tone, “Well, father, I hear nothing. Not a sound on the city streets. Or something like that.” She waves lazily with her hand as she loses interest in her own attempt at sarcasm.
Sam shoots her an incredulous look at her obvious disinterest in shop talk and grabs Lena's empty glass for Lex to refill.
Lex, completely missing her tone, moves from his lounged position to refill and hand back her glass as he furrows his brow, “You’re rather distracted, Lena.” Then, in perhaps the biggest misunderstanding of the year, he adds with a twinkle in his eye, “Did you and Andrea get engaged?”
A poorly timed sip has Lena choking on her fresh glass of champagne, “Engaged? Are you crazy?”
“I thought you liked Andrea?” Sam asks, playfully tickling at Lena’s feet propped in her lap.
Lena readjusts and pulls her feet back underneath her to sit up straighter. “I love Andrea,” she defends, then tries for enthusiasm, “Andrea’s great. Andrea makes coffee nervous.”
The knowing look Sam shoots her way has Lena turning back to Lex before she can try to unpack that, “Are we still on schedule?”
“We open two weeks before Thanksgiving,” Lex nods as he shoves a caviar adorned cracker into his mouth.
“I suppose we should announce ourselves to the neighborhood. Tell people we’re coming,” Lionel muses as he grabs a handful of cocktail peanuts.
“We’re talking about the Upper West Side of National City, here,” Lena says skeptically, “The minute they hear, they’ll be lining up -”
“To picket the big bad chain store that destroys everything they hold dear, yes we know Lena.” Lex interjects as he drapes his arm across the back of the bench he’s sprawled on. He’s the picture of calm and collected in his all-white ensemble and boat shoes. She tries not to chaff at his apparent lack of worry.
“You’ll seduce them in the end,” Lionel states in an authoritative tone that leaves no room for failure, the sun glaring harshly off his bald head, “with your square footage and deep armchairs and swift checkout lines. Not to mention your discounts and the -”
“- cappuccino.” Lena and Lex both supply in unison. Lena’s glad her sunglasses are firmly in place to hide the eye roll she gives Lex when he waggles his eyebrows at her conspiratorially.
“They hate us in the beginning, but we get them in the end,” Lex shrugs and tilts his face up toward the sun. Lena hopes he gets a sunburn as she pulls her cover up tighter to protect her own pale, sensitive skin.
“Well,” Lena purses her lips, “in the meantime, I should just put up a sign -- ‘Coming Soon, a Luthor Books Superstore and The End of Western Civilization As We Know It.”
Lionel inclines his head, as if thinking it a good idea, and Lena wonders if her father and brother have grown immune to her sarcasm or if they’re just recklessly ignoring it.
“Your brother is getting married again,” Lionel offers, effectively bringing the work meeting portion of the morning to a close and beginning the portion where he submits Lena to her own personal hell.
Lena pushes her sunglasses to the top of her head and sits up even more, shooting a glare her brother's way, “To Mercy I presume?”
Lex reveals a smile that belongs in a toothpaste commercial. The same smile that likely won him his now third wife, “Yes, of course to Mercy.”
Lena shoots a pleading look in Sam’s direction that’s begging the other woman to drown her in the ocean. Sam just shoots her back a pitying look that is decidedly unhelpful. Lena takes a steadying breath, “You mean Mercy Graves? The same Mercy Graves who happens to be my ex?”
“Yes, I suppose the same one,” Lex offers as he pops a grape gamely into his mouth, his smile never faltering.
“I for one think he’s a damn fool,” Lionel declares, having the good sense to avoid looking directly at Lena’s glare.
“Oh, well, great then.” Lena shrugs, fighting to stop herself from embellishing her disbelieving tone with dramatic hand waving, “Congratulations, Lex. Can I ask why?”
“Who knows?” Lex runs a hand through his auburn waves. Lena has to force a smile or else she’ll have a psychological breakdown just thinking about her brother marrying another one of her crazy exes. “Why does anyone get married?” Lex asks rhetorically.
“Love.” Lena deadpans.
“Maybe!” Lex shrugs and laughs, as if Lena were ridiculous for suggesting he loved the woman he was going to marry.
Lena only manages to internalize her screaming by imagining very detailed scenarios in which she throws her brother overboard. Lena feels Sam’s hand discreetly find its way to her shoulder and give a comforting squeeze.
Lionel, as if suddenly realizing that talking about work was safer terrain, clears his throat and states, “I have a very sad announcement to make.” Lena redirects her attention back to her father as he continues, “City Books on 23rd street is going under.”
He doesn’t even attempt to hide the smile at the corner of his mouth as he says it, and Lex outright gives a hoot of delight as Lena rolls her eyes again, put off by the boyish display of glee.
“Another independent bookstore gored on the end of Lena’s rather sharp Lou Boutains,” Lex crows mirthfully. Lena purses her lips and readjusts her grip on her nearly empty champagne glass.
She gives Sam a look of distaste at the tacky display and looks out over the water disinterestedly, “I’ll be buying their entire stock. Architecture, National City history. For the new store, of course.”
“How much are you paying?” Lionel asks, as he takes a sip of whiskey from his tumbler.
“The necessary costs. Whatever it is, I’m sure it won’t cost as much as the legal hassle of Lex’s next impending divorce,” she says it blithely enough that Lex doesn’t realize she’s insulted him until she’s already pressing on, “We’re also going to install a section on West Side Writers-”
“-as a sop to the neighborhood,” Lex finishes, having quickly recovered from the previous ding to his ego.
“Perfect,” Lionel decides, “It’ll keep those West Side liberal-nut pseudo-intellectual bleeding hearts-”
“Readers, father. They’re called readers,” Lena supplies, massaging her temple.
“Don’t do that, Lena. Don’t romanticize them.” Lionel tuts before turning his attention back to Lex, “It’ll keep them from jumping down your throat. What’s the competition?”
Lex hesitates a little and shoots a quick glance in Lena’s direction. She scoffs because of course Lex didn’t read the local profile she’d sent him on Friday. She rattles off by memory, “One mystery store. Sleuth, on 86th and Amsterdam. And a children’s bookstore. The Danver’s Bookmark. It’s been there forever.”
At the name, Sam startles a little and shoots Lena a look that she can’t quite decipher.
“Well,” Lionel says definitively, “too bad for them.”
__________
It’s on the deck of Lex’s yacht back in the marina that Lena finds herself sipping sparkling water and nibbling on the corner of a finger sandwich. She’s perched comfortably on a plush couch watching as Lex busies himself polishing the brass and whistlings of her sailboat down in the slip next to the yacht. He animatedly instructs an attentive Ruby as Krypto sniffs at her heels. Lena’s attention catches briefly on Sam as she approaches with a platter of vegetables and various dips pilfered from the onboard wet bar, before looking back down in time to see Ruby spill a pale of water all over Lex.
“You know, for all that Lex would never be caught dead polishing a doorknob in his own home, he decidedly has no problem rubbing down every metal facet of a sailboat,” Lena muses as Lex playfully starts to splash Ruby back. Sam just hums in agreement as she deposits her food offering on the coffee table and takes the seat next to Lena.
“Boat people are the worst,” Lena concludes.
“Technically, it’s your boat,” Sam points out as she bites into a carrot.
Lena concedes the point by covering a piece of broccoli in dip and popping it into her mouth. Sam continues, “Why do you even keep the thing? I’m pretty sure I take it out of the marina more regularly than you.”
Lena looks down to where Ruby is full-body laughing at Lex, whose legs are sticking up from where he’s laying on his back on the bottom of the sailboat, Krypto licking eagerly at his face. Ruby’s radiant smile pulls a mirrored smile to Lena’s own face, “Clout.”
Sam follows Lena’s gaze to where her own daughter is enjoying herself in the late morning sun, “Sure,” she confirms softly, “clout.”
Lena turns to face Sam fully and pulls a serious face, “They revoke your rich kid privileges if you don’t have at least one boat.”
“Yeah, that makes sense,” Sam nods, playing along to the obvious snark.
There’s a long comfortable pause as they both listen to the squeals of delight coming from the docks, then Sam leans in with a conspiratorial smirk on her face that has Lena preparing for an inquisition.
“So,” Sam starts, “what’s up with you?”
Lena furrows her brow, “Up with me? Why does there have to be something up with me?”
Sam gives her a look of only mild exasperation, “Please. The woman who’s a certified workaholic and whose vocabulary doesn’t even include the words ‘vacation’, ‘holiday’, or ‘sick’ suddenly doesn’t want to talk business when she has three corporate colleagues trapped on a boat?”
Lena crosses her arms, “It was supposed to be a day off.”
“Oh!” Sam leans back, her eyebrows raised, “so you do understand the meaning?”
Lena just scoffs as she goes back to sipping at her water.
“Come on, Lena. What’s going on with you?”
“I can’t even begin to answer your question as I don’t pretend to take your meaning.” Lena clips haughtily.
“Sorry, did Lillian die recently? Because I swear I just heard her dusty ass spirit vomit out of your mouth,” Sam huffs then mumbles into her drink, “‘take my meaning’ my ass.”
“Why don’t you start by explaining to me why you think something’s ‘going on’,” Lena doesn’t hold back from using air quotes.
“Well, for starters,” Sam straightens up, “you took the day off. Which was a categorically huge revelation in and of itself-” (“It’s a weekend, Samantha.”) “-not to mention I’ve caught you humming to yourself three times in the last week. And you’ve been smiling. At interns! It’s actually starting to freak them out a little!”
“That hardly counts as something being up,” Lena begins to argue, but Sam pushes on.
“If I didn’t know any better, Lena, I’d say you had a crush.”
Sam lets it drop between them casually and Lena suddenly goes very still. Her thoughts certainly don’t turn to her DMs with a certain anonymous Discord user.
“But that can’t possibly be it,” Sam continues, her words pointed with intent, as if trying to smoke an animal out of hiding.
Lena opens her mouth to respond, but the sound of Krypto barking loudly on the dock distracts both women. Lena slips her sunglasses down her nose to get a better look at none other than Mercy Graves sweeping in to give Lex an exaggerated kiss as Krypto keeps up an aggressive display of barking. When Mercy and Lex part, he says a few words and indicates to the yacht. Mercy looks up to the deck where Lena and Sam sit, sending a wave Lena’s way.
Lena does not wave back.
“Wanna talk about that?” Sam asks, a grimace on her face at the display.
Lena slips her sunglasses back up her nose as she settles back on the couch, “Resoundingly, no.”
A few moments later, the tell-tale sound of clicking heels announces Mercy’s arrival on deck.
“Lena, darling,” comes the husky tone of Mercy’s voice and Lena barely stifles a groan of despair before sitting upright in her seat.
“Mercy. Long time,” she forces a smile on her face but resolves on talking as little as possible to the approaching woman.
“It has, indeed.” Mercy stands directly in front of Lena, blocking the glare of the high sun, all but ignoring Sam’s presence. “Come, give me a kiss, we’re practically family now.”
“I’d rather not.” Lena offers in a forced polite tone, smiling up at Mercy’s face.
“Oh come on, Lena. We can be friends.”
“I don’t think being my ‘friend’ was ever on your agenda, Mercy.”
Mercy sighs almost wistfully, “No, what I had planned for us was much more fun.”
Lena scoffs and doesn’t have enough time to react when Mercy bends down and presses a far too presumptuous kiss in a spot far too close to the corner of Lena’s mouth. Lena’s proud of herself for only recoiling slightly and not giving Mercy the satisfaction of seeing her squirm.
Sam clears her throat and Mercy straightens back up, as if realizing for the first time there’s another woman onboard who is absolutely staring daggers at her. Before Mercy can acknowledge her presence though, Lex’s booming voice has everyone turning to where he emerges on deck with Ruby and Krypto in tow.
“Well then!” Lex claps his hands together as he sidles up to Mercy’s side. Lena fights the urge to gag, “All my favorite women in one spot. I think this calls for more champagne and then lunch at Novello’s!”
Lena feels a small part of her soul leave her body at the thought of spending an entire meal with both Lex and Mercy.
“Actually,” Sam interrupts, an apologetic look on her face as she stands, “I have to go into the office this afternoon and Lena promised to take Ruby shopping today. We should probably be going.”
Over Lex’s shoulder, Ruby furrows her brow in confusion, but doesn’t say anything.
Sam subtly shoots Lena a meaningful look and Lena abruptly gets to her own feet, “Yes, absolutely. Are you ready to go, Ruby?”
Ruby looks between the two women as she bends to scratch Krypto behind the ears. She just shrugs, likely sensing she’s about to get the leeway to buy out an entire mall, “Yeah, I’m ready. Can we hit Cordova street today, Lena?”
Lena really could buy both Sam and Ruby a mall each with how grateful she is to have friends who are willing and able to get her out of her shitty family drama.
“Of course, whatever you want, Rubes.”
__________
It’s only a few hours later that Lena allows herself to be pulled into, coincidentally, The Danvers Bookmark by Ruby - purely for the sake of professional curiosity, and not at all because she’s a pushover.
Obviously.
Lena wanders over to the back of the store where a young woman with a wizard’s hat crushed over dark brown hair reads to a captivated audience. It’s a story about a princess born immune to the effects of gravity. Lena spots a sign announcing “Family Story Time 12:30pm”. A quick scan around the store confirms that most of the parents are either sitting with their child or standing very close by instead of milling around the bookstore.
What a missed sales opportunity.
Turning her attention to a glass bookcase with a sign proclaiming “Rare Editions”, Lena grabs a book at random and opens the cover.
“You know, all of the illustrations are hand-tipped by the artist,” a bright voice says from over Lena’s shoulder as she inspects the ornate borders on the page of a first edition story book.
“Oh, is that why it costs so much?” Lena replies sarcastically, arching an eyebrow without looking up.
“No,” the voice sounds a little perplexed, “that’s why it’s worth so much.”
At that, Lena turns around to be confronted with what she can only describe as the personification of sunshine - replete with a soft, pastel sweater and a warm smile directed right at Lena. Whatever snide retort she had at the ready dies on her tongue. In fact, Lena’s mouth suddenly feels very dry as she meekly returns her smile and tries not to notice how some unruly organ or other flutters at the brightness of the woman’s blue eyes, or how tall the other woman is despite Lena’s six inch pumps.
Lena’s mouth opens, ready to say something without consulting her brain first, “Oh. Right, that’s.” She pauses to clear her throat, “That’s what I meant.” She kicks herself for her ineloquence and tucks the book into the branded reusable bag given to her upon entering the bookstore.
“Is this your first time in the shop? I don’t recognize you,” the woman continues warmly as she sticks a pencil into the messy bun of blonde hair twisted atop her head.
But before Lena can respond, a small red-headed boy appears by the other woman’s knees and tugs on the leg of her grey trousers, “Excuse me, where’s the bathroom?”
The woman shoots Lena a quick apologetic smile before crouching down to eye level with the boy and explaining the way to the public restrooms at the back of the store. The conversation strays to something about a stuffed kangaroo in a birthday hat and, as the woman gives the boy a high five, Lena diverts her attention lest any other organs decide to do anymore embarrassing acrobatics in her chest. She waits patiently for the display to be over and the woman to return to their conversation.
The woman stands back up to give Lena her full attention again.
Lena thinks that’s worse.
“My goddaughter wanted to stop in as we were passing by,” Lena explains, her eyes instinctively sweeping the store until she spots Ruby in the young adult section. She sighs, pleased that her mouth seems to have stopped misbehaving. Then, inexplicably, she blurts out, “Can I ask who you are?”
And then, as if the universe were set on some sort of divine mission to destroy Lena’s useless heart, the woman’s smile gets even brighter and more genuine as she pushes her glasses back up her nose before shooting out her hand for a handshake, “I’m Kara Danvers.”
Lena’s sure some very gay part of her dies when she slips her hand into the very warm, very strong grasp of the woman across from her. She’s certain another part of her dies when the name registers in her brain, “Danvers? Is this your store?”
The woman - Kara - nods happily, “Name’s on the building and everything.” Lena scrambles to recompose her entire being and offers a polite “Lena.” in response.
“Well Lena, can I check you out?” Kara offers, gesturing at Lena.
To her horror, Lena feels heat rush to her cheeks at the double meaning and Kara is quick to notice, “Oh! No, I, ha, I didn’t mean. Check you out -” she fumbles a little as she reaches up to adjust her glasses again, “Not that you aren’t- I mean, I meant check out your books.” Kara shakes her head and looks down at her feet as she huffs out an embarrassed laugh.
Christ on a bike, Lena thinks as she has to stomp down particularly hard on a wave of endearment that swells within her. She offers another polite smile and moves toward the register to save Kara from further explanation. Ruby ambles over, adding a small pile of books to Lena’s own stack, as Lena flicks her eyes between the card reader and the black credit card with Lena K Luthor very clearly imprinted across the bottom.
“Do you take cash?” Lena asks, already pulling out bills.
“What?” Ruby starts, as Lena cuts a glance her way. “It’s not like your AmEx will decline.”
“I just remembered I needed change for... laundry,” Lena casts a meaningful look at Ruby, hoping she’ll play along.
“You don’t do lau- ouch!” Ruby cuts off when Lena takes a calculated step onto Ruby’s toes.
“Why don’t you go get a hot dog from the vendor on the corner and I’ll meet you there when I’m done here,” Lena implores with a glare and a twenty for Ruby.
Lena Luthor is not above bribing her way into the hearts of children. Sue her.
Ruby stares back at Lena in challenge before giving an eye roll uncomfortably similar to Lena’s own and huffing away.
When Lena turns back to Kara, there’s a confused crinkle between Kara’s brows that smooths away as she sets about ringing up the total.
As Kara packs away the first edition storybook that Lena had been holding. She sighs with a reserved smile, “See? This is why we won’t be put out of business by Luthor Books. Because people like you appreciate the true value of a book, not bargain bins.”
Lena fights to keep a smile on her face as the taste in her mouth turns sour.
To Lena’s great distress, Kara continues on without any prompting, “You know, I’ve been in business forever. I helped my mom here in this very shop by the time I was six. She was never just selling books, you know? She was helping people - little kids - become who they were gonna be. Because when you read a book as a kid, it becomes a part of you in a way nothing else you ever read does.”
She trails off as she spaces out and Lena has to clear her throat twice as she resists a strange, new, very horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. After an uncomfortably long pause, Kara shakes back into herself and sets the bag on the counter sheepishly, “Sorry, I think I made it all the way to Mars for a second there.”
“I’m sure,” Lena tries to keep her tone even, “well, you’ve made me feel very…” Horrible. Perfidious. Reprehensible. Her brain supplies many unhelpful adjectives.
“Welcome. As a customer.” Lena settles on. She tries to keep her voice from wavering as she passes over the appropriate amount of bills.
“I hope to see you again, Lena.” Kara continues as she pushes over the shopping bag.
“I’m sure you will,” Lena offers as she accepts the bag and heads to leave the store.
Outside, Lena feels her smile slip into a scowl and she makes her way to where Ruby sits on a bench, two hot dogs in and mustard on her chin.
“No talking about it,” Lena cuts Ruby off as soon as she opens her mouth.
There’s a beat of silence. Then, “The lady in the bookstore sure was pretty.”
“That sounds suspiciously like talking about it,” Lena turns on her heel and briskly starts to walk away.
“Big shame you’re going to put her out of business,” Ruby says with far too much cheek for someone busy shoving the rest of a hot dog into their mouth.
Lena ignores her.
__________
Natcity152:
My brother is getting married again. For the last two years he’s been dating a woman hellbent on making my life as uncomfortable as possible. Sometimes I wonder if he’s conspiring with her.
–
supergirl:
once i read a story about a butterfly on the subway. and today! i saw one! i couldn’t believe it! it got on at 42nd and rode all the way to 59th where i assume it got off to go to bloomingdale’s to buy a hat that will turn out to be a mistake. as almost all hats are.
–
Natcity152:
Did you know Luigi’s online pizza ordering has an unnecessarily specific amount of customization. For example, I could order a pizza with no sauce, no cheese, and beef on just the left side.
–
supergirl:
i guess ive read pride and prejudice about a dozen times. and everytime i read it im always completely taken by elizabeth and mr darcys character development. going from initial animosity to an understanding of each other through self-reflection. but the truth is… whenever i think about my favorite book i always think about the books i read when i was a kid.
Natcity152: Did you ever read Homer Price? My all-time favorite children’s book. There’s a doughnut machine in it that won’t stop making doughnuts, they just keep coming down the chute like clock work.
supergirl: have you been to greenbush? there’s a donut machine right in the window that makes 110 dozen donuts an hour!
__________
“I had it,” Brainy states as he pulls to a stop directly in front of Nia next to the YA Fantasy section of the shop.
“What?” Nia straightens from where she was arranging a few handwritten recommendation cards. She pauses at the somewhat shellshocked look on Brainy’s face.
“The coup de foudre. I never had one. I didn’t believe in them, but it just happened to me.”
“What, like right now?” Nia looks confusedly behind her for the culprit of said revelation.
Alex pokes her head around the end of a bookshelf, bagel stuffed into her mouth, “Is that the thing where you get cold suddenly, bang, no explanation?”
“No,” Nia peeks around where Brainy is obstructing her view to Alex, “that’s the coup de vieux.”
Alex bobs her head in understanding, “Had that.”
Brainy cranes his neck around to address Alex standing behind him, “Coup de foudre is where you get love suddenly, bang, no explanation.”
Alex bobs her head again as she begins to turn away from the conversation, “Had that too.”
“I don’t know her name of anything about her. I may never see her again.” Brainy gulps.
“And if you ever do meet her, you’ll find out all the terrible details, and that will be that. She’ll turn out to have pictures of the Virgin Mary all over her apartment and a picture of Jesus above her bed,” Nia brushes past Brainy on the way to the register.
Brainy gulps and stumbles after her, “I’m afraid I may not care.”
Kara emerges from the back room balancing two boxes of books on top of each other, “Could someone help me with this?”
Alex rushes forward to help Kara set the boxes on the counter as Nia supplies, “Brainy had a coup de foudre.”
“You know most normal people just call it ‘love at first sight’,” Alex mumbles as she spares an exasperated look for the room.
“Nia is making a joke of it,” Brainy says quietly.
“Don’t let her,” Kara waves, half her mind focused on unloading the boxes, “I believe in this! I completely believe in this. It happened to Madame Bovarey. At least six times.”
“And she was wrong every time,” Nia provides, arms crossed.
“Yes!” Kara put her hands on her hips, inspecting her work with a contented exhale, before turning her full attention to Brainy, ”who was she?”
“He doesn’t know,” Nia supplies.
“She was standing outside my building with the police and reporters,” Brainy adds.
“Woah,” Kara makes a time-out motion with her hands, “sorry, what police?”
“Someone died.” Brainy does not offer more by way of explanation.
Kara blanks. “Who?” Nia prods.
“I don’t know that either. A woman died on the rooftop. They haven’t caught her killer.”
“They’re calling him the rooftop killer,” Alex says as she goes about breaking down the empty cardboard boxes.
“A murderer.” Kara mumbles as she leans against the counter. “That’s so sad. But you fell in love! That’s good news!”
Brainy gulps again and shifts his weight, “Oh. One other thing I saw on my walk to work today.”
Kara straightens and Brainy clears his throat, “A Luthor Books is opening. Just a few blocks away.”
Nia drops her head into her hands and says flatly, “Quel nightmare.”
__________
“It has nothing to do with us,” Kara eyes the looming Luthor Books from her perch at the corner deli across the street. She takes a bite of her roast beef sandwich, her mouth full. “It’s big. It’s impersonal. Overstocked and full of ignorant people.”
“They discount,” Alex picks the tomato off her egg salad sandwich.
Kara takes a sip from her coke, “But they don’t provide any services. We do!”
Alex remains quiet.
“So really,” Kara continues, shoving some salt and vinegar chips into her mouth, “it’s a good development. You know how in the flower district they have all those shops in a row so you can find whatever you’re looking for? Well. This is going to be the book district! If they don’t have it, we do!”
“And vice versa,” Alex mumbles into her coffee.
__________
supergirl:
sometimes i wonder about my life. i live a small life. well not a small life but… contained? and sometimes i wonder if i do it bc i love it? or bc i think what i do is an incredibly noble thing? bc i believe im a lone reed standing tall in the corrupt sands of commerce? or do i do it bc i haven’t been brave. so much of what i see reminds me of something ive read in a book when really shouldn’t it be the other way around?
supergirl:
im not looking for an answer. not really. just sending a question out into the void. so. goodnight dear void.
__________
“Guess. Just guess who I saw on the subway today,” Mike says as he bursts through the door to Kara’s apartment.
“Who?” Kara says as she tries to keep her balance while pulling on a new pair of brown leather loafers. “I swear. My right foot is bigger than my left,” she mumbles under her breath as her foot finally slides into the shoe.
“I cannot believe. I saw Cat Grant,” Mike continues, dumbstruck as he absently lands a kiss on Kara’s cheek.
“I thought she was in D.C.?”
“Maybe! Maybe she’s in D.C., but today she was in National City. The most ground breaking editor for the Metropolis Times - the reclusive enigma that is Cat Grant - here in National City. She might even be living down the street!” Mike paces the room as he scratches at his chin.
Kara pulls her wool coat over her sweater, and thinks about the likelihood of the renowned Cat Grant living in the rent controlled side of town.
“Where did you see her?”
“I was on the subway,” Mike begins, his eyes glazing over at the memory, “reading The Nat when, at 72nd, a man playing a clarinet got on. I was, of course, the only person who looked over and then, just as I was going back to this article linking at least three murders to recent showings of the 1984 movie Gremlins, I saw her.”
Mike’s eyes clear as he looks to Kara and grabs her by the shoulders, reverently saying, “Cat Grant. Directly across from me, doing the Tribune crossword. In. Pen.”
“How’d you know it was her?” Kara asks, a little bemused.
“I carry around the newspaper clip with the picture of her accepting her first Pulitzer in my wallet,” Mike says, as if it explained everything.
Kara just continues to stare at him blankly.
“What?” Mike asks defensively.
“She won that Pulitzer over two decades ago.”
“It’s the last known picture of her, Kara,” which honestly creates more questions than answers.
“She got off at 78th,” Mike continues, dropping his hands from Kara’s shoulders and walking to the window, “so I followed her.”
Instead of interrupting with more questions, Kara decides it’s best to let this play out as she turns to grab her wallet off the dining table.
“She stopped at Gotham Bagels,” Kara scrunches her nose at that, “Onion bagel, cream cheese. Latte with a twist of lemon. Sweet n’ low.”
Kara turns to see Mike with the faraway look again. She sighs, amused, and plops down in the armchair next to the door, prepared to wait the reverie out.
“She dropped the crossword into the bin. Which I rescued!” he starts as he shoves his hand deep into his pocket to retrieve a crumpled piece of dirty newspaper. He quickly walks over to the coat closet and Kara tracks his movement, wry smile on her lips, as he pulls an empty picture frame from the top shelf.
“Then she stopped at the sporting goods store on 79th and Howard. She bought tube socks. Six pairs for $12.99.” He walks over to the table and smooths the crossword puzzle into the frame.
“Cat Grant and tube socks,” Kara muses, mostly to herself.
“I don’t want to dwell on it,” Mike replies anyway, setting the frame proudly upright on the dining table, “and then I lost her.”
__________
At dinner, as Kara consumes far more potstickers than should be possible, Mike continues.
“What I was thinking as I was following her, is that eventually I’d find the courage to say hello. I mean, obviously not in a weird fan cult way. But in a casual ‘hey, hello, how are you’ ‘ever consider trading up in the sock department?’ And who knows? Maybe she’s read some of my work and we’d become friends and someday I’d introduce you to her - since you know, she loves children’s literature, she has that entire elegy to the Wizard of Oz in her editorial on prison reform. And then maybe she’d come out of hiding to help save the store.”
Kara freezes with a potsticker halfway to her mouth, “What do you mean?”
“From Luthor books,” Mike explains, “you know. In case things get ugly. She could really help rally support-”
“It won’t get to that,” Kara says, setting her chopsticks back down, “the store is fine.”
__________
As Kara swipes her metrocard and walks through the turnstiles of the station, she turns around to Mike, “I don’t even know why you said that.”
Mike distractedly pats at his corduroy jacket looking for his card, “Neither do I. It’s like it just spilled out of my mouth totally unprompted.”
Kara checks around her before quickly passing her card over to Mike and definitively saying, “There’s enough business to go around.”
__________
“I mean, we’re fine,” Kara knocks on the door to Sam’s flat.
“You’re more than fine,” Mike implores, “you’re absolutely fine.”
“We’re fine,” Kara repeats for good measure, nodding her head to herself.
Alex answers the door to Sam’s apartment, “Hey! I’m glad you and Mike could make it, Ruby is obnoxiously excited to meet you.”
“I wouldn’t miss a birthday! Where should I put the gifts?” Kara lifts the small party bag in her hand.
Alex hitches her thumb over her shoulder toward a table laden with punch and gifts.
Before Alex can say more, Mike interjects, “Guess who I saw on the subway today? Cat Grant.”
“I thought she was in D.C.?”
Kara rolls her eyes affectionately as she heads toward the gift table.
__________
Sam intercepts Kara on her way to dropping her coat off in the guest room, “Kara! Thanks for coming tonight.”
Kara opens her arms for the incoming hug. As she pulls away from Sam she says, “Thanks for having me!”
“When Ruby found out Alex had a sister, she could not stop asking Alex questions about you and what it’s like to have a sister,” Sam waves her hand in the air, the et cetera implied. “Speaking of,” Sam turns over her shoulder and calls to a group of preteens playing Super Smash Bros. on the TV, “Ruby, come say hello to your new guest!”
The young girl in question mutters something quiet to the group as she pauses the game. Kara instantly recognizes her and a happy smile breaks over her face.
“Hey, I know you,” Kara says familiarly, reaching a hand out to shake Ruby’s. Sam gives Kara a confused look.
“You’re the lady from the bookstore,” Ruby says, realization dawning. She eyes Kara suspiciously as she shakes hands with her, “wait, why are you here?”
“I’m Alex’s sister Kara.”
“Alex’s sister Kara!” Ruby parrots excitedly.
“Bookstore?” Sam asks, looking at Kara.
“My bookstore? The Danvers Bookmark?” Kara reminds Sam, tilting her head.
Kara swears she sees the moment something clicks into place on Sam’s face, but before she can ask, Ruby explains, “Lena and I stopped at a bookshop the other weekend and it was Kara’s shop.”
“You and Lena, huh?” Sam quirks an eyebrow at Ruby before shooting a glance at Kara with a calculating look. “Well,” she continues, casting a look somewhere behind Kara, “Lena’s around here somewhere if you’d like to say hello?”
Kara turns to follow Sam’s gaze and spots a familiar brunette woman that she instinctively knows is Lena on the other side of the room. Her back is to her as a bartender pours a glass of white wine from the wet bar. Kara is too distracted by the sound of her blood rushing in her ears to even make a mental quip about rich people and staffed bars at children’s birthday parties.
“Really? I should,” Kara starts - still looking over her shoulder - but cuts off when Lena turns around and they immediately lock eyes and wow, are those eyes grey or green? Blue? She still can’t tell. Adrenaline spikes in Kara’s chest and she whips back around to a pitying look on Sam’s face and a smug look on Ruby’s.
She reaches to push her glasses back up her nose, “I, uhm. I should go say hey.” She hitches her thumb over her shoulder and turns to leave before Sam or Ruby can say anything. Snapping her fingers, she spins back around, “Oh! And Happy Birthday, Ruby!”
Lena is still standing frozen next to the bar when Kara approaches. “Hi,” Kara says kind of lamely. The bartender looks at Kara expectantly, “Gin and tonic, please. Lemon twist.”
When Kara turns back to Lena, the other woman seems to unfreeze and offers a quiet, “Hello.”
“Do you remember me? From the bookstore?”
“Of course I remember you,” Lena replies, not unkindly, but perhaps a little distantly.
Kara shuffles her feet, “My sister Alex is dating Sam. She invited me. Well I guess Sam did. Likely because Ruby wanted her to. I think.” Kara tilts her head as she considers this.
“Well I should get this back to my date,” Lena interrupts Kara’s rambling, which puts Kara off a little because did Lena just say date? But then, Kara has a date too. Well a boyfriend, actually.
And then Kara realizes Lena is moving away from her and that won’t do. “It’s Lena right?” Kara rushes out, trying to prolong the conversation.
“And you’re Kara Danvers,” Lena inclines her head as she excuses herself, moving away from Kara and out of the room.
__________
“James!” Kara squeals as she’s enveloped in a crushing bear hug, “it’s been so long! I heard the news about your book getting published. Congratulations!!”
It’s two G&T’s and one clamorous rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ later and boy is Kara relieved to see another familiar face in the crowd. The birthday party feels more like a work party with how many industry contacts she’s bumped into in the last two hours. She’s done far more “schmooze and network” than she expected at a kid’s party. Maybe she’ll get a chance to sneak off and join the Super Smash tournament Ruby is having with her friends.
“Thanks. Honestly, it’s all because of Sam,” James deflects as he beams down at Kara.
“What?” Kara swats at his chest, “you had to do all the writing.”
“I mean it!” James continues as he takes a sip of his drink, “if Sam hadn’t set me up with my editor Andrea, I don’t think anyone would have picked up my book.”
“Pfft, well,” Kara waves her hand, “I’m sure it would’ve gotten picked up eventually. But I’m glad it happened so quickly!”
“Speaking of Andrea, thanks for being so cool earlier. It must’ve been awkward, but I appreciate you being chill.”
Kara, not for the first time that night, cocks her head in confusion, “Earlier...”
“Yeah, when you ran into Lena Luthor at the bar.” James explains, a reflection of her own confusion on his face. “She and Andrea have been dating for a while and it could’ve made for an awkward evening if you’d gotten into it with Lena. Especially at a kid’s birthday party.” James chuckles at the thought and shoves a hand deep into his pocket.
“Luthor. As in-”
“Luthor Books,” James finishes for her.
As Kara opens her mouth to respond, Alex appears at James’ shoulder, “Kara, hey. Can you help cut the birthday cake? I’d do it but Sam can’t find the cake plates anywhere and I’ve been told to refill the punch bowl.”
Kara blinks absently at Alex and turns to look over at the cake table. Her eyes instantly zero in on none other than Lena Luthor removing blown out candles from the cake.
Kara turns back to James - who had followed Kara’s gaze and opened his mouth in protest - before forcing a sweet smile at Alex, “Of course.”
Kara turns abruptly before James can get a word out and marches her way over to where Lena stands next to the cake.
“Luthor?” Kara cuts as she stomps up to Lena, “your last name is Luthor?”
Lena spares her a quick glance, entirely nonplussed, “Name’s on a building and everything.”
Kara sputters at hearing her own words repeated back to her, “You were spying on me weren’t you?”
A barely audible sigh escapes Lena’s lips as she pulls the final birthday candle from the cake and looks around for a suitable place to stow them, “Why would I be spying on you?”
“Because I’m your competition. Which you clearly know!”
“Look,” Lena continues distractedly as she peeks below the table, “the reason I was in your store is because I was spending the afternoon with Ruby. I like to buy her things in exchange for her love and adoration because that’s who I am as a person. There’s only one bookshop in the neighborhood, although that will not always be the case” - she shoots a pointed look at Kara - “and it happened to be yours.”
Lena pulls a garbage can from beneath the table and Kara lets out a short gasp, “Don’t you dare throw those candles away.”
Lena cocks an eyebrow at Kara, hand hovering over the bin.
“You can reuse those candles for next year!” Kara protests.
“They’re covered in frosting,” comes Lena’s deadpan response.
“So rinse them off!”
Lena maintains perfect eye contact as she slowly opens her hand, dropping all of the birthday candles into the bin.
Kara gasps again and peers into the garbage can, weighing the merits of reaching in and rescuing them.
“You have a charming little bookshop,” Lena continues as she uses a napkin to wipe leftover frosting from her palm, “you probably sell - what? - $450,000 worth of books a year?”
Kara looks up from the garbage can with a huff and shoves it back under the table. She props her hands on her hips, “How do you know that?”
Lena waves a nonchalant hand, “I’m in the book business.”
“No,” Kara says, taking a step toward Lena, “I’m in the book business.”
“Oh, I see,” Lena purses her lips and crosses her arms. Kara reaches over to pick up the cake knife and begin cutting the cake so she can avoid the icy set to Lena’s glare, “and I’m Costco. Only instead of two five-gallon jugs of olive oil for $16.99 that you can’t even fit in your kitchen pantry, I’m selling cheap books. Me. A spy. Oh absolutely.” Lena scoffs and turns to leave, unimpressed.
Just as quickly, she spins back around, the iciness dripping into the tone of her voice as she steps closer to Kara, “And I managed to get my hands on the highly confidential sales figures of a bookstore so inconsequential yet somehow so full of its own virtue that I was driven with the paranoid need to run over, afraid it would drive me and my multimillion company out of business.”
Kara turns toward Lena, her grip subconsciously tightening on the cake knife, and opens her mouth but finds she has no words.
“What?” Lena says impatiently then flicks her eyes down to the knife in Kara’s hand, now coincidentally pointing directly at her navel.
“Hi, how are you? Mike Matthews,” comes a voice over Kara’s right shoulder that startles her back into herself. Lena shakes her head and blinks slowly as she takes in Mike’s extended hand before her.
“Lena Luthor,” she offers with a forced smile and decidedly does not take Mike’s hand.
“Lena - Lena Luthor?” Mike nervously glances between Lena and Kara. His eyes go wide when he notices the knife in Kara’s hand and quickly, but calmly, pries it away from her and sets it on the table, “CEO of arguably the worst thing in the book industry since the Thor decision, enemy of the mid-list novel, saboteur of independent bookstores everywhere.” Kara can tell Mike is getting himself worked up for a diatribe.
“Tell me,” Mike continues, he puts his arm around Kara’s shoulders and Lena tracks the motion, “how do you sleep at night?”
And from seemingly nowhere, a tall brunette woman with full lips and the air of an aristocrat appears beside Lena and offers haughtily, “I use this lovely little over-the-counter. Unisom? Just half a tab and I wake up without even the slightest hangover.”
The woman snakes an arm around Lena's waist. Kara decides she doesn’t like her.
“You’re Mike Matthews,” the woman says in less of a question and more of a statement.
“Yes,” Mike begins to pull Kara away from the table, “and we are leavi-”
“Your last piece in the Independent, the one about Bill Barr? Was brilliant,” the woman continues and Mike spins right back around, Kara in tow.
“Andrea Rojas, Rojas Books” the woman introduces herself, which just leaves Kara wondering how rich people can have all that money and no panache. Rojas Books. Luthor Books. Kara scoffs internally.
“Lena,” Andrea continues, “this man is the greatest living expert on the Shah of Iran-”
“And this is Kara Danvers,” Lena introduces and Kara has to consciously keep her face in a scowl when she hears her name out of Lena’s mouth.
“You liked my piece?” Mike straightens his knit tie, “I’m - I’m flattered.”
Kara shoots him a look, and he clears his throat before looking back to Andrea, “You write these things and you don’t hear any feedback from anyone and before you know it the week has passed and you think ‘I’m a failure, my writing is a failure, I have no talent’.”
Lena looks Kara dead in the eye and knowingly cocks her eyebrow. Kara begins to wonder if Lena has any other facial expressions.
“You know, I never understood how there was so much political turmoil during the Shah's reign when, I mean, there was only one political party,” Andrea offers.
The conversation grinds to a halt and Mike opens and closes his mouth a few times - not entirely unlike a fish - while Andrea smiles back at him.
Kara looks back over to Lena and raises an eyebrow of her own.
“Darling,” Lena interjects as she places a hand to Andrea’s elbow, “let’s go help Sam find those cake plates.”
“I’m glad to have finally met you,” Andrea says to Mike as Lena pulls her in the direction of the door, “we’ll talk. Have you ever considered doing a book?”
Kara herself has to grab a hold of Mike’s arm when he takes a step to follow them, “Oh sure, I’ve thought about it. Something really relevant for today like the Taiping Rebellion in 19th century China.”
And when Lena and Andrea are out of sight Kara gives Mike a look.
“What?” Mike asks.
Kara goes back to cutting the cake.
__________
“So. When were you planning on telling me you’re sleeping with the enemy?” Kara asks Alex the next day at lunch. The icy tone she takes is, perhaps, slightly undermined by the oversized bite she takes from her pastrami sandwich.
“Sorry?” Alex frees her plastic spoon from its packaging and digs into a matzo ball.
“Luthor Books. Sam.” Kara mumbles around a full mouth.
Alex gives Kara an exasperated look, “Ok. First of all, Sam is the head of Luthor Corp’s R&D branch. That’s hardly public enemy number one.”
Kara puts down her sandwich and adopts a stern expression, “She’s one degree of separation away from the enemy. Two at best. And you very well know that, Alex.”
In lieu of an answer, Alex slurps broth from her spoon.
A thought occurs to Kara, “Had you met Lena before last night?”
A guilty look flashes across Alex’s face and Kara hardens hers, “Wait. Did you know Lena was going to be at the party?”
“Look. Lena is Ruby’s godmother. Of course she was going to be there!” Alex cracks open her soda, “to be quite honest, I saw you talking to her at the bar and assumed you two were good.”
Kara scoffs at the thought.
“Honestly, Kara.” Alex continues, ensuring she has Kara’s full attention before continuing, “Lena’s not that bad. You might actually find you two have a lot in common. Plus, she’s cute. And definitely your type.”
Kara sputters indignantly, opening her bag of funyuns, “Please, Alex. I do not have a type. And if I did, it would definitely not be Lena Luthor.”
Kara picks her sandwich back up and adds, almost as an afterthought, “Besides. I’m seeing Mike.”
Alex frowns, clearly having forgotten, “Oh yeah.” She reaches over and steals Kara’s pickle.
“And!” Kara catches a second wind, “I could never be with someone who owns two vacation homes in the Hamptons.”
“What can I say, Kara.” Alex sighs, “we don’t always choose who we fall in love with.”
Kara mentally stomps the brakes on the conversation at that.
Love?
She wants to keep the scowl on her face, she really does. But Kara can already feel the facade melting from her shoulders.
“Do you,” Kara starts, a smile already tugging at the corner of her mouth, “do you love Sam?”
Alex shoots Kara another exasperated look and rolls her eyes, “Yes, you ding dong. How can I not? She’s kind and caring. She has the coolest kid.”
Kara can’t argue there. Ruby beat Kara in Mario Kart twelve times last night.
“Her nose does this adorable scrunch when she laughs,” Alex continues, really picking up steam, “She goes to bed by nine o’clock every night. She has the most brilliant mind, but knows how to make you feel special, like what you have to say actually matters. But at the end of the day,” Alex pauses and gives Kara a vulnerable look, “she just feels like home. They feel like home.”
“Aw,” Kara clicks her tongue, all pretension of anger gone, “that’s so romantic.”
“It’s disgusting,” Alex agrees as she goes in for her last matzo ball.
“Yeah,” Kara nods her head emphatically, “and absolutely adorable.”
Alex kicks Kara’s shin under the table.
“So when you get married-”
Alex groans.
“What? It’s not that far of a stretch. If you thought you were girlfriends after holding her hand once…” Kara trails off.
“Shut up.”
__________
Natcity157:
Do you ever fear you’ve become the worst version of yourself? That a Pandora’s box of all your secret, hateful parts – your arrogance, your spite, your condescension – has sprung open. Someone provokes you and, instead of smiling and moving on, you turn around and burn them with your anger. You unleash your inner Miss Nasty on them.
Natcity157:
I’m sure you probably have no idea what I’m talking about..
supergirl:
no! i know what you mean and im completely jealous! what happens to me when i get angry is that i get tongue-tied. my mind goes blank. then i spend all night tossing and turning trying to think of what i should have said.
Natcity157:
Wouldn’t it be nice if I could loan you all of my vitriol and then I would never behave badly and you could behave badly all the time and then we’d both be happy? On the other hand, I feel I must warn you. When you finally have the pleasure of saying the thing you mean to say exactly when you want to say it, regret inevitably follows.
Natcity157:
Do you think we should meet?