When Kara gets to the Tower one afternoon, she spots a large Tupperware container on the shared table in the middle of their break room. It’s full of cookies and cupcakes. But when Kara gets closer, she sees it: a large pink Post-It note that reads “Cookies are for the bake sale at Esme’s preschool. DO NOT EAT!”
Disappointed, Kara shrinks back from the container. She spends the afternoon distracted, thinking about baked treats, until Lena pulls her aside and asks her to go for a walk. The walk ends up being an excuse for Lena to buy Kara a coffee and three extra large cookies from the food truck at the edge of the park.
But then, it keeps happening.
Kara opens the communal fridge at the Tower a few days later and finds a couple of containers inside that are clearly labeled. One says “Nia’s lunch”, the other spells out that it contains an experimental energy gel that Brainy has been eating whenever he works overtime.
Kara frowns. This is a new development. And sure, maybe she has a bit of a history of eating whatever is available, at times raiding the fridge and eating everyone’s leftovers. She can’t help that there are moments when a fight leaves her exhausted and hangry. But to think that her friends are starting to leave passive-aggressive notes on their food to keep her away? It stings a little.
Kara doesn’t confront them. Instead, she simply observes as more and more Post-It notes appear, warning her to stay out of boxes of donuts or a selection of cheeses, and even leftover noodles now have names attached to them.
It makes Kara grumpy.
It’s about two weeks later when Kara returns to the Tower after a particularly grueling fight with a Dominator. After a quick medical check, Alex tells her she’s free to go and leaves her to her own devices in the med bay.
Kara is about to slide off the bed she’s been sitting on when Lena touches her elbow to get her attention.
“You look spent. Why don’t we find you a little snack and then I’ll take you home?”
“It’s fine,” Kara grumbles. “I have food at home.”
“I know you do. But you look like you’re about to pass out. Come on.”
Before Kara can protest, Lena has pulled her into the lunch room.
“Lena, I, there’s nothing here for me.”
“What do you mean? Of course there is. It’s a fridge full of food. Look!”
Kara throws her arms up in the air and lets them fall back down. “But none of it is mine! It’s Nia’s lunch, or Kelly’s donuts, or, or, cookies that are meant for some special event.”
Kara is about to turn around and head out when Lena opens the fridge and Kara sees that it’s full to the brim with all kinds of different food. There are at least three boxes of pizza, a couple of paper bags that she knows are from her favourite Chinese restaurant, and then she spots an entire shelf of pastries. But the thing that stands out most is that each item features a bright green Post-It note and they all say “Kara”.
And maybe it’s the day’s exhaustion finally catching up with her, or maybe it’s the knowledge that Lena has made sure that all of her favourite foods are here, but when she looks back at Lena, her vision is blurry with tears.
Despite the major breakthrough they made and the progress that followed, Kara found herself distracted. She wasn’t sure what it was about Lena that made her so fascinating all of a sudden, but her deep maroon lipstick that adorn her lips was all she could focus on.
Lena had just arrived from an important meeting regarding some international collaboration with the foundation. Kara could swear she’d listened carefully to her explanation, yet she couldn’t recall any of the details. Some reporter she was.
The lipstick really brought out her lips in a unique way. Kara always noticed Lena’s appearance, her beauty was nothing new, but there was something so enchanting and captivating in each shape she created with her those maroon coloured lips.
“Kara!” Lena’s loud voice finally broke her out of her daze.
“Mm what?” It was only then she realised Lena was speaking to her the entire time.
“Were you listening to a word I was saying?” There was a hint of frustration in her voice. Lena was leaning forward on the table they were working on in Lena’s private lab within her foundation. They decided the device was better off in her extremely well protected lab rather than anywhere in the tower where Nia on Brainy might walk in and discover their surprise early.
“I asked you if you finished with the biological reader board. I want to install the genetic calibration panel.” She repeated.
“Right. Umm,” she took a look at her barely finished board. “Give me a few more seconds.” She mustered a weak smile before returning back to her work. She may have used some superspeed to finish the rest of it in record time.
“Thank you. You okay?” Lena asked once Kara handed her the board.
“Yeah, just tired.” She lied. She felt like ‘I feel like the shape of your lips are the most beautiful piece of art I have ever seen in my life, and I can’t stop staring at them’ could come across as a bit weird.
“Then how about we stop here for today? You can go home and get some rest.” She suggested.
“Yeah. That’s not a bad idea. Do you want to come over for a movie night?” Kara couldn’t help, but ask.
“Shouldn’t you go to bed and rest?” Lena raised an eyebrow.
“No, yeah. You’re probably right.” She mumbled. “Goodnight Lena.”
Lena smiled at her before walking over. “Goodnight Kara.” She said, kissing her quickly on the cheek before walking out.
Kara stood there a moment longer than necessary.
She was very disappointed not to find any remaining maroon on her face later on when she got home. She wasn’t even sure why.
When Kara lands on Lena’s balcony at L-Corp, she’s here on a mission.
“Miss Luthor.”
Lena whirls around at her desk, clearly surprised by the visit.
“Supergirl. I wasn’t expecting you. Is there a problem?”
Kara stalks into her office, hands on her hips.
“Yes, I mean, no, not a problem, per se.”
“But?” Lena prompts, picking up on Kara’s frantic energy.
“I was meeting with the mayor this morning,” Kara starts, thinking back to being summoned by city officials to talk about the damage to some waterfront buildings that happened in the wake of Kara fighting off the latest rogue alien who attacked the city.
“Oh. Well, that’s unpleasant,” Lena quips. “He’s a useless sack of flesh in ill-fitting suits, at least as far as I’m concerned.”
“Um, I mean. Yes. But, that’s not why I’m here.”
Lena sits back down at her desk and motions for Kara to take one of the chairs across from her and waits for her to get to the point.
“Right, so, he said that you paid for the damage to the two office buildings by the pier.”
A small smile settles on Lena’s face. “I did.”
The confirmation makes Kara feel jittery. Why would Lena do that? It’s not like she was involved in the fight. It’s not her responsibility!
“Why?”
“Why did I pay for it? Because I can, Supergirl. My family has more money than they know what to do with. I figured it’s only fair to use some of it for good.”
Kara huffs. She doesn’t quite know how to argue with that, but it still feels wrong for Lena to pay for the damage Kara left behind.
Lena seems to sense Kara’s discomfort. The teasing smirk on her face softens into an understanding smile.
“You do so much for this city. You put yourself on the line every day. I have the resources to help, and it won’t even make a noticeable dent in my bank account. Let me take care of this, okay?”
Kara shifts around on her chair, still a little unsure about this arrangement.
“Okay, but, you have to let me make it up to you somehow.”
At that, Lena nods. “Let me steal a couple of your french fries tomorrow at lunch and we’re even.”
Kara can hear the finality in Lena’s tone. It’s not unfriendly, but it’s clear that Lena won’t be deterred.
“Fine. Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow then?”
Lena nods again and grins.
It’s not until Kara has launched herself into the skies above National City that it clicks. Lena has lunch plans with Kara Danvers tomorrow, not with Supergirl.
Lena knows.
Shocked and distracted, Kara crashes into a billboard. She wonders if Lena will pay for that, too.
Rewatching Arcane and I’ll never get over the fact that there is no indication that Caitlyn returns to Piltover to get paperwork to break Vi out, doubled with the fact that Jayce clearly had no idea she had done so, which means while she’s still healing from the bomb attack she ran away from home, impersonated an officer (dressing as an enforcer despite being freshly fired) and brought paperwork with her with the intent of forgery originally just to hopefully get a name from a prisoner because she was obsessively overconfident of the fact she’s a better detective than anyone else. Absolutely tickles me.
“My crimes are justified because I’m right.” This woman is insane.
