Work Text:
Lena Luthor took a quick break from work to check social media, sighing as she scrolled through the different platforms on her phone. She hated Valentine’s Day. Well, okay, that wasn’t completely true. She hated that Valentine’s Day affected her as much as it did, with everyone posting pictures of gifts and kisses and significant others. She knew that a lot of it was performative, and she knew that posting pictures didn’t mean that everyone had amazing love lives, but she still felt a little empty as she saw person after person gush about whomever they were with. She hadn’t been in many relationships, but the ones she’d been in had not involved much social media posting, and a small part of her wanted someone she could be cute with online. Someone who was happy and proud to be with her, enough to be sweet to her in public.
Lena sighed and stood up, grabbing her coat and purse and walking out of the office.
“Jess, I’m going to get coffee or something. I’ll be back before my next meeting.” She slid her coat on as she approached her assistant’s desk, resting her purse on the corner. Jess stood.
“Ms. Luthor, I can have someone bring you coffee.”
Lena smiled. “It’s okay. I need the walk.” She picked her bag back up. “Are you and Chris doing anything tonight?” she asked, referring to Jess’ partner. Jess gave a shy smile.
“They have something planned, but won’t tell me what.” She smiled a little and looked down at her hands. Lena felt a warm glow; she and Jess didn’t talk about their personal lives very often, and it was kind of nice seeing Jess this genuinely happy.
“Make sure to leave early, then. You don’t want to keep them waiting.”
“Ms. Luthor, it’s okay, really--”
“No, I insist. I’ll leave early too if it’ll make you feel better.”
Jess hesitated, and Lena turned to leave.
“Thank you,” Jess called after her.
Lena turned and winked, then quickly walked to the elevator.
She texted Kara while she waited to order her coffee.
Hey, are you doing anything tonight?
No, Kara texted back.
Would you like to come over? I’m leaving early and don’t want to wallow alone this year.
Kara knew some of Lena’s romantic history, just enough to know how self-conscious Lena felt about being single. She texted back immediately, and Lena felt a little flutter in her stomach.
I would love to
Lena reached the front of the line, ordered her coffee, and moved to the other side of the counter to wait for her drink.
I’ll come over as soon as I get out of work? I can be to you around 6:30
Perfect.
Lena’s name was called, and she smiled at the barista as she took her drink. She hurried back to her office so she could get some work done, slowly sipping her drink as she walked past Jess.
“A package arrived for you, Ms. Luthor. I put it on your desk.”
“Thank you, Jess.”
Lena took off her coat and hung it up, then approached her desk, where the box was left. She opened it and took out a basket that contained a bottle of wine, a notebook, a calligraphy set, and Lena’s favorite chocolates.
Okay, what?
Lena realized there was a small card tucked into the basket, and she plucked it out and carefully opened it, eyebrows narrowing in confusion. It was written in professional script was Happy Valentine’s Day, Lena. <3, your secret admirer
Okay, but really, what?
She put the card back in the envelope and set it back inside the basket.
“Jess, who dropped this off?”
Jess appeared in the doorway.
“Someone from FedEx. I ran it through all our security devices and it passed every test. Why? Is there a problem?”
“No, no problem.”
Jess returned to her desk and Lena sat down, staring at the gift. What the hell? Who had sent her this? Only a handful of people knew she wanted to try lettering and calligraphy, which means either one of those people had sent it, or someone had reached out to one of those people asking for advice. But still--why?
Her phone dinged, signaling a new text. Kara had sent a screenshot of something Alex had posted about Maggie a minute ago.
They’re my OTP., Lena texted back. She loved Alex and Maggie, loved that they had welcomed here into their group, loved that they asked for advice, loved that they understood what it felt like to have complicated families. They had invited her to their upcoming wedding, and Lena had dragged Kara around for hours, trying to find something to wear. She finally decided on something because she had seen Kara’s eyes light up when she had walked out of the dressing room, and as much as she hated to admit it, she wanted to see Kara look at her like that again. She pushed down her feelings for Kara because she didn’t think she had a chance in hell with this girl--Kara was sunshine and daisies and spiked lemonade, while she was twilight and old books and tumblers of whiskey. But she had let herself warm up for a second when she saw Kara look at her like that, and had let herself feel sweet and beautiful and wanted.
And then she had gone home and drank a bottle of wine to try to forget it. She was Lena Luthor. She didn’t get a happily ever after.
She texted back and forth with Kara a few more times - details about the wedding (there was some issue with the caterer that Kara was trying to help with), and while she waited for Kara’s responses, she stared at the basket on her desk. She got up and found a device she created in college that was able to determine if something had been laced with certain poisons, and she used it to check the chocolate. It came back negative, and Lena sighed and popped the chocolate into her mouth.
Lena had set up several meetings for that day, mainly to distract herself. She knew she came across as cold sometimes, and that her stony face as coworkers and investors discussed plans for the day wasn’t helping anything, but she didn’t care. At five, she packed up and left her office.
“I’m taking off, Jess. Please go enjoy your evening,” she said pointedly as she left. Jess nodded and Lena smiled at her.
When Lena got home, there was another package waiting for her. Three, actually. She stared at them before picking them up. Was someone trying to get information? Were any of these bugged? Was this all part of some elaborate prank?
She put the boxes on the coffee table along with the basket she’d received at work, and poured herself a large glass of water, doing some deep breathing as she sipped. This had to be a joke, right? Someone thought it would be fun to mess with tough Lena Luthor. She sighed and sat down in front of everything. Memories she’d pushed down deep inside her made their way to the surface as she unpacked each gift.
She took the chocolates out of the basket and ate one before putting the box on the table, along with the wine.
She was seven and had spent a week making Valentines for everyone in her class. A lot of kids gave out store-bought ones and then made special ones for their friends, so Lena figured she would make everyone a special one so they would like her. They still treated her like an outsider and looked at her funny because she liked learning.
Everyone decorated a paper bag with their name on it, and the bags were displayed at the back of the class. The teacher had them take turns going back and dropping their Valentines, which made for a bunch of very excited and inattentive seven year olds. After lunch everyone was allowed to get their bags, along with some snacks the parents had brought in. Lena sat by herself in her favorite spot in the room, the reading nook, eating a heart shaped cookies and picking Valentines out of her bag and reading them. All store bought, but that was okay--
“Did you see that weirdo Lena Luthor made Valentines for everyone?” Lena dropped her cookie. Someone was standing on the other side of the reading nook.
“Yeah, she’s such a freak. Doesn’t she know no one likes her?”
Lena quietly put all her Valentines back in her bag, along with the rest of her cookie. She waited until the other two kids left, then slowly returned to her seat. She spent the rest of the day in silence, only smiling a little when the teacher returned book reports, a giant red A on hers.
When she left the classroom at the end of the day, she dropped her bag of Valentines in the trash, trying to pretend she didn’t also see a bunch of the Valentines she had made also sitting in the trash can.
She pulled out the calligraphy set and notebook, running her hand over the cover. There was a small paw print etched in the center. No, wait. Not a paw print. A claw print.
She was twelve, and her mother had sent her and Lex to a science camp, both as an attempt to make her children as smart as possible and as a way to keep them out of the house for a few weeks. Lena had befriended a girl named Maddie, a smart girl with a sarcastic sense of humor and a sweet smile. At the end of camp, they had made plans to hang out over the summer, and they spent another few weeks with each other, going to libraries and museums and parks, laughing and learning together. Lena had realized she had a crush pretty early into their friendship, but didn’t have the courage to say anything until they were at the library one day. They had both checked out some science books and were sitting on the steps, waiting for Maddie’s mom to pick them up. They watched a couple of teenage couples walk out of the library and across the street, and Maddie had said something about one of the boys looking like someone that had been at camp. One of the guys she had thought was kind of cute. Lena was silent for a second, then cautiously said she thought she had liked someone at the camp, too. Maddie quickly turned to Lena.
“Who? You have to tell me.”
“Okay, but you can’t make fun of me.”
Maddie lifted her pinkie and Lena hooked her own through it. She took a deep breath.
“You.”
“Me what?”
“You’re the one I--I think I have a crush on.”
Maddie looked confused. “But you said that other guy was cute.”
“I know. I think I might like girls, too.”
“Oh.”
The word dropped like a stone into a pond, Lena’s stomach moving like ripples. Maddie didn’t say anything for the rest of the time they waited. Lena kept nervously looking over at her once they were in their mom’s car, but Maddie kept her eyes straight ahead.
Later that week, Lena asked Lillian if Maddie could come over to finish the experiment they had been working on. Lillian looked at her and said Maddie’s mother had called and didn’t want Maddie hanging out with Lena anymore. It was the first and only time Lena had ever seen sympathy in her mother’s eyes.
She opened one of the packages that had arrived at her apartment. Custom-made leather bookmarks, each stamped with a different astrological sign. On the small card, in the same script as the other card: To my favorite nerd. <3, your secret admirer
She was fifteen and at the top of her class. She spent a lot of time studying and had gotten used to spending most of her time alone. She had a few friends she hung out with occasionally, but preferred to be alone in her room or at the library. She was online one night when her instant messenger dinged. The screenname had the last name of the guy she had a crush on, and she talked to him eagerly for hours, past midnight. She slipped, letting her guard down, telling him that she still thought she was bi and that she was worried about her family. He asked her to prom, and she said yes. She went to bed with a smile on her face,
The next day she was talking to one of her friends about it, and her friend had looked at her, confused.
“What did you say the screen name was?” Lena repeated it. “Yeah, that’s not his screenname.”
Lena’s stomach dropped. She refused to look at anyone for the rest of the day, and on prom day, she skipped school and spent the day in her family's library, reading Harry Potter.
She opened the next package. Bubble bath and a scented candle. Treat yourself. <3, your secret admirer
She was nineteen at MIT and loved being around like-minded people. She had been flirting with a girl on her floor, Katie, and finally drunkenly made out with her. They’d been hanging out a lot, and one night Lena pulled Katie on top of her and they spent the night together. They spent several nights together, and then Katie became less responsive. She would ebb and flow like that, sleeping with Lena and then sleeping with other women. Lena saw Katie out to dinner with another girl, and Lena told herself she was fine with it. She still likes you, she told herself. At least she still wants to sleep with you. It’s kay. You lost your virginity to someone smart and soft and gorgeous and sweet. It’s okay.
She opened the last package. A blanket? To keep you warm on those late nights at work. <3 your secret admirer
Rapid fire memories now: birthdays she spent by herself, all the other dances she went to alone in middle school and high school, the mornings she woke up alone in college.
She took another sip of water and sat back on the couch, closing her eyes, trying to think of something else. Work? No. The book she had just finished? No. Kara Danvers?
Kara Danvers.
Kara Danvers bringing her coffee every Thursday afternoon so they could catch up for a few minutes. Kara coming over for dinner, providing commentary and stories while Lena cooked.
Kara buying her a 5,000 piece puzzle of England because she knew Lena loved England and puzzles. They spent months working on it, sometimes ten or fifteen minutes at a time, sometimes hours.
Kara insisting on slumber parties, because she missed having them and because Lena hadn’t been to many as a kid. Alex and Maggie and Winn would join them and everyone would have wine and snacks and sing karaoke, and sometimes Lena would wake up in the middle of the night and find Kara curled around her.
Kara Danvers falling asleep on her couch when they watched movies, head on Lena’s shoulder. Her hair smelled like lemons and cucumber.
Lena felt tears prick her eyes.
There was a knock at the door. Lena sat up, startled. She stood and went to answer it, wiping her eyes as she went.
“Kara!”
“Hi, I know I’m a little early, but I finished up work earlier than I usually do, and--” Kara’s voice trailed off. “What’s wrong?” She put down the thing she was holding and walked over to Lena and put her hands on Lena’s shoulders. Lena shook her head.
“It’s nothing.”
“Lena. Please.” Kara looked into Lena’s eyes and Lena felt her stomach flutter.
“Okay.” She sighed. “I’ve been getting these packages all day, and they’re kind of freaking me out. And they’re bringing up all these awful memories, and I just don’t know why someone would prank me like this, you know? I know a lot of people don’t like me but this seems a bit extreme--”
“What kind of packages?” Kara asked quietly.
Lena walked to the coffee table and motioned for Kara to follow her. She sat and gestured at the gifts on the table.
“Oh.” Kara stood and walked back to the doorway, picking up the thing she had put down when she got there. It was a wrapped gift, which she handed to Lena. Lena looked at her, questioning, and silently opened it. A book. She opened to the title page and saw To Lena, my perfect pearl. Love, your secret admirer, aka Kara
Lena’s eyes snapped up to Kara’s face.
“Not a prank,” Kara said quietly.
“What?”
Lena looked down at the book in her lap, then back to Kara’s face, then back to the book, then back at Kara.
“What?!”
“I was trying to think of a cute way to tell you I liked you, and I remember you saying you’d never really had a special Valentine’s Day, so I thought maybe this would be a good idea.”
Lena blinked, then stood and began pacing, one hand on her forehead. She was silent for several moments as she paced. Finally she blurted out, “You...you what?”
“I like you.” Kara’s voice was getting quieter and quieter. She anxiously watched as Lena stopped pacing and returned to the couch. She sat down, then immediately stood again and went to the kitchen to get a corkscrew, two wine glasses, and a second bottle of wine. She sat down again and silently opened the first bottle.
“Did I do something wrong?” Kara’s voice was almost a whisper now. Lena handed Kara a glass of wine, then took a large sip of her own.
“No, Kara, not at all. All of this is very, very sweet.”
“I tried to pick out things you like,” Kara offered. Lena looked over at her, then moved closer on the couch so their legs were touching.
“Everything is lovely, Kara, really.” Lena look another long sip of wine and then refilled her glass. “It’s just...I’m not used to this.”
“To what? Gifts? Surprises?”
“Any of it. Someone being nice to me. Someone being thoughtful. Someone knowing me well enough to send me gifts.”
Lena sighed, then turned to Kara. Kara’s eyes were wide and blue and bright, her hair fell in gorgeous ringlets that Lena knew meant she had spent a lot of time on her hair, which meant she wanted to look good for Lena.
“If I tell you everything, you can’t be overly sympathetic or pitying or anything. This is my life, not the plot of a movie, okay?”
“Okay.”
And Lena finally began to talk, finally began to release some of the stress she had been feeling all day. She went over everything: her failed attempts at friendship, crushes who got freaked out or made fun of her, the teasing and pranks, the loneliness, her family. Kara asked questions and Lena felt lighter and lighter as she talked. By the time she finished, her head was on Kara’s shoulder, Kara’s fingers in her hair, one empty bottle of wine on the table, the second open and halfway full.
“So your gifts today. I'm sure most people would have thought they were romanic immediately, but my brain just assumed it was all a prank.”
“Lena, I’m so sorry. I should have just talked to you instead of planning something.”
“Really, Kara. It’s okay.” Lena sat up so she could look Kara in the eye. “You didn’t know. And the gifts were all quite thoughtful.” She paused. “Though you could have sent donuts and I would have known it was you immediately and not spent the day freaking out.”
Kara smacked her forehead. “Donuts! Of course!”
Lena laughed, and Kara smiled gratefully.
“Lena-”
“Don’t you dare apologize again.”
“Okay, okay.”
“Why don’t you tell me why you picked all those things out?”
Lena picked up the wine and refilled her glass. Kara reached her glass out so Lena could fill hers, too.
“Well.” Kara sat back and pulled Lena into her, arm around Lena’s waist, Lena snuggling into Kara. “The wine and chocolates because I know you love them and that they’re the only indulgences you allow yourself.”
“Mmm,” Lena agreed, closing her eyes, her head tucked into Kara’s shoulder. It was okay. Everything was okay. No pranks, no jokes, no harassment. Just Kara. Her favorite. She could breathe now.
“The calligraphy stuff because you said once you wanted to try it because if you ever got married you wanted to do your own invitations and place cards, just to show that you can be creative as well as smart.”
“Oh god, I can’t believe you remember that.”
Kara kissed the top of Lena’s head. “I remember everything you tell me. The notebook has the claw print because you told me your Patronus would be a--”
“Panther,” Lena said it at the same time. She squeezed Kara’s knee. She sat up again and turned so she could drape her legs over Kara’s lap and push Kara’s hair behind her ear.
“The bookmarks because you’re the smartest person I know, and the signs because I know you love finding patterns in things. Bubble bath because you work a lot and I thought you would enjoy a night of reading? Also I really like bubble baths, so if you ever need company I’d be happy to join you.”
Lena smirked, amused.
“Kara Danvers, are you hitting on me?”
Kara flushed. “I’m trying to.”
Lena kissed Kara lightly on the cheek. Kara looked at her, glanced down at her lips, and Lena nodded.
“Whenever you want,” she whispered.
Kara leaned in and softly kissed her. Lena’s hands went into Kara’s hair, and she marveled at how sweet Kara tasted. She hadn’t realized it was possible for someone to taste genuine and soft and lovely, but Kara’s kisses tasted just like all of Lena’s favorite things about Kara. After several minutes, Lena sat back a little so she could look at Kara, whose cheeks were red. She was clearly trying not to smile too much, which caused Lena’s stomach to flutter. She had made someone smile like that. Someone wanted to kiss her and talk to her and hell this was terrifying, but she kind of liked it.
“New Patronus memory,” she said quietly. Kara grinned and laced her fingers through Lena’s, then continued talking.
“The blanket because you stay late at work a lot, and your office can get cold, and you might need something to keep you warm.” She paused. “Besides me.”
Lena laughed. “Smooth, Danvers.” She slid her hand into Kara’s hair again, and then kissed her, feeling Kara’s mouth widen into a smile. Lena kissed Kara for a minute, then sat back and sipped her wine. Kara mirrored her, still smiling. She looked at Lena.
“Happy Valentine’s Day,” she said softly.
Lena waited a few seconds before responding.
“You really like me?”
She knew Kara wouldn’t lie to her. She knew Kara wouldn’t joke about this or be part of some sort of elaborate joke. But part of Lena couldn’t believe that someone this good and bright and wonderful could actually like her back.
“I really, really, really do,” Kara replied, “and I was hoping I could take you on a date this week.”
“Okay.” Lena’s voice was basically a whisper at this point, slightly shocked and slightly disbelieving.
Kara grinned. “Okay.”