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Cat liked to think of herself as progressive. She’d looked sexist pigs in the eyes as they belittled her work, ogled her ass, and suggested she run along and get the coffee, then gone on to best them all in the end. She made sure Carter knew that he could do all the things society tried to say were “only for girls,” and she monitored the shows he watched for messages she didn’t agree with (or, well, she had assistants do that; she was much too busy to keep up with every mediocre rugrat cartoon on television).
But when she got home from work after a long and grueling day and found a young blonde woman sitting at the security desk long occupied by two burly, dependable men, she couldn’t help but be skeptical. After all, she let her son live in this building. She published content that angered enough people to earn daily death threats. And now the sanctity of her home was going to be guarded by some girl in a pastel cardigan who looked like the type to apologize to drivers who cut her off in traffic.
With a deep breath, Cat strode across the lobby, heels clacking loudly with every step, before coming to stop in front of the security desk.
The new hire flashed her a dazzling smile, and Cat had to remind herself that a disarming smile didn’t actually disarm criminals.
“Hi, there!”
Well that sort of friendliness to a stranger simply would not do. “Is that how you greet everyone?”
The girl cocked her head to one side. “I’m sorry?” Right about that tendency to apologize, then. “Is there a problem?”
“I could be here to rob the building.”
Cat swore she saw a smile playing about the girl’s lips. “You could… Be a little odd for Cat Grant to steal from her own neighbors, but I guess you never know.”
Dammit. Of course she’d recognize Cat. New tactic. “Where is Anthony?”
“Some new jewelry store from what I hear.”
“And they found you, whomever you are, where exactly?” Cat’s eyes traveled down from the blonde hair pulled back in a tight ponytail that was surely leaving a kink in those wavy locks, all the way to a pair of ballet flats that were both hideous and impractical for chasing down would-be murderers.
“Kara. Kara Danvers. And Ms. Grant, I get that it must be a surprise to see a new face at this desk after nearly a decade with Anthony, but I assure you that I submitted a resume just like everyone else and got the job on my own merit.”
“That may be, Kiera, but I’d like to know if they ever saw you in person before they hired you.”
There was a definite smile curling up the corners of Kara’s mouth that time. “I’m stronger than I look.”
“Yes, yes, I’m sure you have a very stringent regiment of yoga and zumba, but—”
At that moment, one of Cat’s downstairs neighbors—she couldn’t recall his name—strolled in, a gym bag thrown over his shoulder and an easy grin on his face.
“Hey, Dave!” Kara waved happily at him.
“How’s the first day treatin’ ya, kid?”
“Just trying to make everyone feel safe with their new security guard. I guess I don’t exactly look the part.”
“Clearly they haven’t seen you in front of a heavy bag.” His booming laugh echoed along the marble tiles, and Cat let out a huff of annoyance.
Kara’s eyes flickered over to her, then back to Dave. She pulled herself up and out of the chair. “Hey, uh, can I borrow you for a second? I just need to prove a point.”
Dave shrugged and stepped forward.
In a flash of motion, Kara had him up and over her shoulder as she padded over to the elevators and placed him back on the ground as if he didn’t have a full head and probably a hundred pounds on her. She straightened up and arched an eyebrow at Cat—the kind of attitude Cat hadn’t gotten on a regular basis since her first year running CatCo. “That help ease some of your concerns?”
“We’ll see.” With one last good glare, Cat marched over to the elevators, tapping her toe impatiently as she waited for one to arrive.
---
Kara: You know how they say never to meet your idols?
Alex: What happened? Whose ass do I have to kick?
Kara: Not like that. Just…idk. I was so excited that I might get to meet Cat freakin Grant, but she’s kinda mean.
Alex: You did watch her talk show, didn’t you? She’s basically famous for being a snarky asshole
Kara: But that was for TV! This is in person
Alex: I’m sorry. I guess you can finally be done with that crush. Lasted what? A decade now? Longer?
Kara: ….
Alex: seriously?
Kara: Okay but she’s like so pretty, Alex
Alex: I give up on you.
Kara: I just have to prove to her that I’m not gonna let random strangers rob her apartment building.
Alex: good luck with that
---
For weeks, Kara made a point of getting to know each and every one of the residents. There was Paul who got delivery from the Thai place every Tuesday and Friday night. Krystal whose girlfriend was always to be let up without needing to be signed in every time. Marco whose father was never to be let up, no matter how much he insisted. Juan who liked to talk about his research with Kara once he found out that she knew more than a little bit about engineering—not that she had an Earth degree in it. Lamar who’d started ordering an extra dessert for Kara ever since he heard her stomach let out an ungodly growl when he walked by with a pint of ice cream from the little market down the block. The handful of kids who liked to come to her with homework questions once word got around that she was both smart enough to know the answers and nice enough not to shoo them away. Mrs. Evanston and her cat Victoria who had taken a liking to Kara while they waited in the lobby for the rain to stop. Kelly with the handsome older brother who sometimes seemed like he was flirting with Kara, though Kelly had whispered to Kara about a girlfriend still living back on the East Coast. Meghan and her younger sister Maddie who held hands as they trotted behind their parents. And Kara’s favorite resident, Carter, who’d sometimes send a shy wave in her direction as he was led up to the penthouse apartment with his nanny.
With every resident there was a story to be heard, a lesson to be learned, and Kara made it a point to listen to them all.
It earned her glowing commendations on her performance review at the end of the first month, as well as extra sweets and, sometimes, whole pizzas from tenants in exchange for homework help or a friendly ear or, one time, a bit of discretion when Zach slipped in five minutes after his curfew, glancing back out the door where a curly-haired boy was waiting to blow a kiss to him and wave goodbye.
Even the surlier residents began to grow friendly—at least around Kara. It was just a matter of finding what worked. Sometimes it was as simple as asking after Mrs. Evanston’s cat when she’d been to the vet. Other times it meant working out a deal so that UPS would carry heavy packages up to Karl’s door instead of leaving them at the mail drop while he was still using a cane. Everyone had something.
But what Kara took the most pride in was watching as Carter slowly but surely came out of his shell around her.
For the first week, he completely avoided her, slinking around the desk under the cover of his nanny’s side, hidden amongst her oversized bags.
During the second week, he seemed to be assessing her, taking in this new person that had become a kind of tangential presence in his life.
It was on the third week of smiling and waving at him and Hannah, his nanny, that Kara got her first shy smile in return, and she had to fight not to squeal at the adorable dimples and the lock of sandy blonde hair that fell down into his eyes.
During the fourth week, when Hannah had to go get a package, he introduced himself, holding out his small hand and looking far more serious than a kid his age had any right to look. But Kara was more than happy to take him as seriously as he wanted to be taken, so she shook his hand and introduced herself right back. From then on, things changed.
When Carter would get home from school, he’d let slip a fact or two he learned that day before growing shy once more and nearly dashing to the elevators. From those little tidbits, Kara started to piece together a picture of a life. There was the love of dinosaurs that reminded Kara of her own childhood fascination with Earth animals, especially those that had disappeared and remained only in fossils and imaginative drawings. Over the course of a few days, she learned of his frustrations with a certain history teacher and the tedious process of memorizing dates that Kara could definitely commiserate with. One trip home the day after the school art show revealed a trove of paintings and sketches that showed the seeds of real talent—something Kara told Carter, only to watch his cheeks flush a bright pink as he stammered out a, “Thank you,” before tripping over his feet and refusing to look at her for two whole days.
Eventually the facts turned into excited ramblings, which turned into real conversations while Hannah stood to the side, looking suitably impressed by the stranger who’d managed to become one of Carter’s favorite people in two, minute-long increments a day. And by the time Carter had found a couple sketches of planets Kara had done during a particularly slow day, she was officially been bumped up to hero status in his book.
All of which was to say, Kara did her job well. She was friendly to the residents. She kept the building safe. She remembered little requests people had made and tried her best to honor them. And in return, the residents liked her, and her bosses switched her from a probationary to a permanent employee.
But one stubborn thorn in designer duds remained in Kara’s side: Cat Grant.
No matter what tone of voice Kara used to say hi to her, no matter how many times she asked if there was something she could be doing differently, no matter how often she wished her a good day at work, she couldn’t get the woman to like her. And sure, half of the days she was already on the phone barking orders when she left (and sometimes again when she got home), but Kara was determined to get herself a damn smile in return one day.
---
Much as she embraced innovation and change at work, Cat valued the stability of her home life. She liked knowing that she would come home to find Hannah, who had been with her for five whole years, watching over her son. She liked knowing that her closet shelves and her desk drawers and her kitchen cabinets would all be organized in the way she found most efficient and aesthetically pleasing. She liked knowing that several bottles of her favorite wine could be found lined up side-by-side in the wine fridge just waiting for her to need them.
The new hire at the security desk was anything but predictable.
Some days Cat was greeted with an exuberant wave and offers to help with the door. Others she found herself on the receiving end of a small, silent smile. Twice she got a gruff, monosyllabic, “Hey.”
And what made it even worse was the fact that no one else seemed to be on Cat’s side of the issue. Not Jessica and Charlotte, who could normally be counted on to agree with Cat about, say, the need for the tacky “holiday tree” in the lobby to disappear overnight. Not Mitch, who typically caved under the pressure of a small smile that could be misconstrued as flirtatious. Not even Mrs. Evanston, who had never once met someone she liked.
Instead day after day, night after night, any number of the residents of 1805 Parkview Drive could be found laughing and chatting and generally enjoying the company of that damn woman. Cat chalked it up to bad judgment and the tendency to be won over all too easily by a pretty face and a ready smile.
At least, she did until the day she got home early from work and found her own son—her beautiful, brilliant boy who shied away from most strangers—leaning into Kara’s side and pointing at something on her desk and talking with animated gestures in a way Cat rarely saw anyone besides herself and Hannah experience.
“Carter?”
Carter looked up and waved happily at Cat. “Hi, Mom! Want to come see this book? And look! Kara’s drawing the dinosaurs even better than the book did.”
“It’s almost as if Kiera doesn’t have another job she should be doing.” Cat shot a pointed glare in Kara’s direction, even as she kept her voice light for Carter’s sake.
Before Kara could account for herself, Carter had piped up again. “It’s Kara. Like in that book you got me from Dublin.”
Cat let out a noncommittal little hum. “Well, let’s let Kara get back to her work, hmm?” She swore she saw the woman’s cheeks blush a faint pink.
“It’s really not any trouble, Ms. Grant.” Kara shrugged. “He’s a great kid, and he always make sure to wait until the post-workday rush is over.”
Cat’s eyebrows shot up. “So this is a regular occurrence?”
Carter ducked his head down, suddenly looking guilty. This time Kara was the one to jump in on her son’s behalf. “He just stops by to tell me about his day when he and Hannah get home from school. Sometimes he’ll bring his homework down if he has questions.”
“Kara’s so smart, Mom,” Carter added, nodding fervently.
“Maintenance is here to fix that jammed lock in your apartment, and since it was noisy up there, I told Hannah I’d be happy to have Carter down here with me while she stayed upstairs with maintenance.”
Cat hated how reasonable it all sounded. Hated how happy her son looked. Hated how Kara just seemed to know intuitively how to interact with him. Hated how much it made her almost like Kara.
“Well since Kara’s at work, why don’t you and I go get ice cream while maintenance finishes up? We’ll celebrate your A on that history test now that my big meeting is over.”
Carter glanced over at Kara, then back to his mom. “Can we bring something back for Kara?”
“I’m fine,” Kara insisted at the same time that Cat said, “I’m sure she’s fine.”
“But ice cream is your second favorite food!”
There was no mistaking the definitive flush of Kara’s cheeks that time. “I should, uh, save my appetite for dinner.”
Before Carter could protest further, Cat led him towards the door, listening as he chattered on about everything he and Kara had done that evening.
When they returned, Carter was clutching a large chocolate brownie shake in a to-go cup because apparently Cat couldn’t say no to those big blue eyes and the insistence that Kara would probably be “really hungry,” and shouldn’t he say thank you for all the homework help?
Kara’s whole face lit up at the sight, and Cat’s heart skipped a beat. She shook herself out of it and hurried Carter along to the elevators.
---
It wasn’t as if Cat became truly friendly after that, but when Kara said hello in the mornings, Cat would nod back at her. Twice Kara even got a little wave, although one time, she could admit, Cat might have been pushing a lock of hair out of her face. Still, progress was progress. And Cat hadn’t banned Carter from coming to see Kara after school, which was nice. The press had only managed to get something like two or three photos of him since his birth, so Kara had to assume Cat was hyper-protective of him, which meant…well, at least she didn’t think Kara was some sort of secret murderer. Or tabloid reporter wannabe.
Every so often Carter would talk about his mom during their afterschool chats. In between cool facts he’d learned in science class, he’d drop in a line about how bad Cat’s day had been or how happy she was about some new source for a story—happy enough to send Hannah home early and cook him pancakes for dinner, and on a weekday no less. It was sad and pathetic—Alex told her so repeatedly—but Kara felt like she was getting closer and closer to Cat with every little fact and story she heard. And fine, okay, maybe the woman herself wasn’t exactly sharing with Kara or doing more than nodding, but it was a side of her that almost no one else got to see. And in Kara’s book, that was pretty darn cool.
It was thanks to Carter’s ramblings that Kara knew about an important meeting Cat was having with potential investors—the kind of meeting that sounded like it could secure the Tribune’s future if it went well, or…well, maybe it was best not to dwell on that side of the possible outcomes. So when Cat didn’t even deign to look up from her phone the night before, Kara didn’t take it personally. And the next morning she had a skim latte waiting—warmed up at the last second with just a tiny burst of heat vision that she was fairly certain wouldn’t have any long-term adverse health risks.
“If you want to keep your job, those estimates had better be on my desk before I arrive.” Cat’s voice echoed off the tile as she strode out of the elevator and threw her phone into her bag with an angry huff.
Kara could practically feel the stress radiating off Cat in waves, and there were tiny little frown lines creasing Cat’s forehead, and her lips were pursed in a way that screamed, “Do not talk to me.” But Kara couldn’t quite focus on any of that. Not when Cat was wearing that dress. Not when Kara could follow all the lines of lithe muscle and gently sloping curves beneath the clingy fabric. Not when there was a zipper running down the whole length of the dress, practically begging to be lowered inch by agonizing inch by hands that would know how to appreciate everything they uncovered.
Kara let out a squeak as she forced her increasingly inappropriate thoughts to grind to a halt.
That drew Cat’s attention to her, and Kara felt like Cat might have some kind of laser vision herself. She arched one perfectly sculpted eyebrow, and Kara’s heart beat in triple time.
Kara stammered for a few torturous seconds before blurting out, “You look really good. I mean nice. Your outfit. I mean, also your hair and your shoes and, uh, you.”
For half a second, the tension eased out of Cat’s frame, and she almost seemed to preen a little. At least until she glanced outside to where the rain was coming down in sheets.
“I have an umbrella!” Kara cringed; her voice seemed far too loud for such an early hour and such an empty lobby. “I just meant that I could walk you to your car. If you want.”
Cat paused, tapping a foot against the ground. “I suppose you could abandon your post for a few moments.”
Kara sent a beaming smile Cat’s way as she stood and grabbed her umbrella and the coffee cup. “I, uh, I also got you a latte.” Watching as Cat’s eyebrows drew together, Kara added, “Carter might have let slip that you have an important meeting today. No details!” Not quite true, but she wasn’t about to throw the kid under the bus. “But he said you’ve been really stressed.” Kara shrugged her shoulders. “I thought you could use a little pick-me-up.”
Despite not looking completely certain, Cat reached out a hand and took the cup, giving it a little sniff before taking a dainty sip. For one unguarded moment, her eyes fluttered shut as she let out a contented hum that Kara knew would be playing and replaying in her mind all day. Maybe for the rest of forever.
“My assistants could learn a thing or two about proper latte temperatures from you.”
Kara wasn’t sure if it was a compliment or just a dig at Cat’s assistants, but she thanked her anyway. “You ready to brave the elements?”
“As I’ll ever be,” Cat sighed.
---
“Mom, did you know that Kara finished college in just two years? Do you think I could do that?”
“Mom, look at this drawing Kara made me! It’s got all my favorite dinosaurs in it, and they’re even to scale.”
“Today, these guys tried to come into the building, but Kara didn’t recognize them, so she hid me under her desk and then made them leave when they wouldn’t sign in.”
“I tried a potsticker for the first time today. They’re not that good, but Kara loves them.”
“Kara said she knows this girl at the planetarium if I ever wanted free tickets. I didn’t tell her you already know people because she seemed really excited. Maybe we could all go together some day.”
Every day when she got home from work, Cat was treated to a mini monologue about what she had come to think of as the Carter and Kara Afternoon Show. At some point, Cat realized, she’d stopped thinking of Kara as a strange new (disruptive) presence in her life and started to accept her as a person who made her son very happy and who sometimes made Cat think back on the years she and Olivia had spent together at Radcliffe before burgeoning careers and threats of bad publicity dragged them in very different directions.
So when, over dinner and apropos of absolutely nothing, Carter mentioned that Kara looked like she’d been crying and that her foster sister—and oh, that was something different—dropped by with potstickers to make her feel better, Cat wasn’t completely shocked to realize she felt badly for the girl. Wanted to make it better, if only for a few minutes. After all, she had gotten Cat a latte exactly to her specifications and been rather chivalrous in offering to walk her to the car in the pouring rain. It would simply be…paying her back. Nothing more.
“You know,” Cat mused, tapping her finger against her side of her glass, “Hannah mentioned that she was making lasagna tomorrow and would need extra room in the freezer. Rather than making ourselves sick trying to finish two whole pints of ice cream tonight, why don’t you bring one down to your friend?”
“Ooh, can I take her the double chocolate fudge? I bet it would totally cheer her up!”
It was Cat’s favorite flavor. She waved her fingers through the air and shrugged. “Whatever you want. We’ll probably need to throw out the cartons that are leftover anyway.”
“Cool! I’ll be right back!”
---
Over the next several weeks, something strange started happening: Carter began showing up for a second time later in the evening bearing little gifts—almost exclusively Kara’s favorite foods—and insisting that his mom had been the one to make the suggestion. At first Kara didn’t believe that for a second. But then the gifts started being paired with rationales that were all Cat Grant, and that made her wonder.
A cup of tea would be paired with Carter’s shrugged shoulders and: “My mom said you looked like you were getting sick, and she doesn’t like germs.”
A slice of decadent cheesecake came with: “My mom says cheesecake has too many empty calories to be acceptable, but I don’t have to worry about that. I guess you don’t either.”
A plate of lasagna came with a side of Carter’s little giggle as he relayed Cat’s “My god, I could hear her stomach growling from the penthouse. We may as well feed her if we want to get any work done tonight.”
When Kara told Alex about the little gifts, Alex said that Cat was flirting. No matter how many times Kara explained that, no, the gifts came from Carter, and Cat was just trying to make sure she stayed quiet and healthy, Alex insisted. After several refutations, she finally gave up with a shake of her head and a muttered, “Useless bisexual,” under her breath.
But then one day, the gift came from Cat’s own hands. A pumpkin spice latte with extra whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon over top—Kara’s all-time favorite order—delivered on the day Kara had to work a double shift to cover for the night guard whose wife had gone into labor early that morning.
When Cat strode through the door, Kara brought a hand up to wave, assuming Cat would be in as much of a hurry to get home to Carter as she always was. But that time Cat stopped right in front of Kara’s desk, sliding the Noonan’s cup across the wood to rest in front of her.
Kara inhaled deeply, soaking in the blend of spices that made her think of crisp fall weather and crunchy leaves and soft sweaters. “Thank you. You didn’t have to—”
“Can’t have you falling asleep on us overnight.”
Kara’s lips twitched. “Well, it was very nice of you.”
But Cat was already walking away.
---
The next day, Cat came home from work to find a substitute security guard at the front desk and a dejected-looking Carter in the apartment. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”
“Kara has to work the night shift for two whole weeks.”
“Oh?” She supposed Carlos was probably taking the family leave she’d helped pressure the management company into providing for all the staff after finding her favorite maintenance worker back at work only a day after her wife had given birth. Still, surely they couldn’t make Kara work double shifts every single day for two weeks… No human could survive that.
“Kara said it’s easier to get someone to cover during the day.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
“That means she’s gonna be starting after my bedtime and gone before I leave for school.”
Even though he was, in general, rather even-tempered, Cat could see the beginnings of a pout forming on his face. “It’s only for two weeks.”
“But I have my science fair project due next Friday, and Kara said she would help me!”
“Carter.” There was the barest hint of a warning in Cat’s voice, but she watched as Carter instinctively seemed to step back into himself.
“I was just excited to show her.” He dragged his toes along the thick carpet that covered the living room floor. “That’s all.”
“Maybe you can work something out and still show her.”
“Like maybe she could come over for dinner?”
Every so often Cat hated how much Carter seemed to have learned from her about business tactics and negotiation skills. “Well…”
“Please, Mom, please?”
“We’ll see.”
Carter’s shoulders drooped. “Okay.”
“Remember, she’s going to be staying awake all night. She might want to go home and sleep.”
“I guess.”
“I promise, we’ll at least make sure that you keep your project ready to show her when she’s back working her normal shift.”
That seemed to placate him for the moment, so Cat seized on the reprieve to send Carter off to get his teeth brushed and his face washed before bed.
Only once she’d gotten Carter all tucked in and had finished two chapters of his current nighttime reading book with him, she found that she was still restless. She caught up on emails. She read a chapter of the latest Pulitzer Prize winner her mother had sent her with a passive aggressive note about reading something longer than a tweet for a change of pace. She took a hot shower with essential oils that were meant to be relaxing. But still, sleep would not come. Every time she closed her eyes, she pictured Kara—Kara, who spent her day chatting happily with the residents as they came and went—sitting all alone as everyone else slept soundly upstairs.
With a grumble of annoyance at her own thoughtfulness, Cat pulled herself out of bed and found her worn Radcliffe sweatshirt that hadn’t been seen in public since the year or two after her graduation. She forced herself to pull on a pair of workout leggings in case she ran into anyone she knew; it wouldn’t do to be seen in pajama pants. She didn’t dwell on why she didn’t quite count Kara in the group of people who could never see her looking so vulnerable, looking like a woman who slept and probably also had lazy Sunday morning breakfasts and watched the occasional shitty movie and took hot baths after a long day at work.
Once she checked to make sure that Carter was sound asleep and left a note on her door in case he came looking for her, Cat padded over to the elevator and called for the car. She spent the whole ride to the lobby wondering what the hell she was doing, but when the doors dinged open to signal her arrival, she watched Kara’s face split into a bright grin at the sight of her, and suddenly it was all worth it.
“Ms. Grant!”
“It’s after midnight, and I’m in pajamas. I think you can call me Cat.”
“Cat,” Kara repeated, looking delighted by the sound of it. “What has you up so late?”
Cat’s brain, normally so quick to come up with answers, and lies when the answers were lacking, suddenly ground to a halt. There were no little fibs waiting on the tip of her tongue. No breezy dismissals to make the question all but irrelevant. All she could think of was the truth. “I thought you might be lonely overnight.”
“Oh. Wow, uh, yeah, I mean, kinda. That’s so nice of you to think of me.”
Cat waved it away with a flick of her wrist. “I couldn’t sleep anyway.”
“I get that.”
“Even after such long days here?”
“It’s been an issue ever since I moved in with the Danvers.”
“Oh?”
“My foster family. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great people! I just, sometimes sleeping is hard.” Cat watched as some darker emotion flickered across Kara’s features before disappearing again. “I used to try painting or watching, er, well, to be honest, watching tapes of your old talk show,” Kara admitted with a laugh as she rubbed her hand across the back of her neck. “Later on I switched to going out on the roof and looking up at the stars. At least that felt like the kind of think you could only do at night, so it was almost like there was a good reason for still being awake.”
Cat nodded in understanding. Every so often she’d go sit in Carter’s room and watch the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest as he slept until she was tired and calm enough to manage an hour or two of rest in her own room. Not that she was about to tell Kara about those nights. “How have you been passing the time?” she asked instead.
Kara spun around and plucked a copy of the Sunday issue of the Tribune up off her desk, motioning to the half-completed crossword puzzle. To the side, Cat could see an already completed jumble and Sudoku. “I guess it’d be cheating to ask your help on a few of these?”
“I might be rather hands on as an editor, but I’ll have you know I don’t actually memorize every question and answer in the games section each week.”
Kara’s cheeks flushed a faint shade of pink that looked unfairly attractive as she ducked her head. “Oh. Right. Of course.”
“But I’d be happy to help.”
“Really?”
And just like that, Cat found herself perched on the side of the desk as Kara called out clues and they worked through the rest of the puzzle together.
Somehow that turned into Cat’s showing up the next night with a stack of back issues for Kara to keep busy.
Which turned into night after night spent doing crossword puzzles together.
And somehow certain answers lent themselves well to stories, which opened the door to the kinds of honest, emotionally vulnerable conversations typically reserved for late nights in dorm rooms and bars or the hazy, early morning hours spent tangled in the sheets with a lover.
If Cat had to add an extra cup of coffee to her morning routine to make up for the lack of sleep, well, so be it.
---
Everything had been going so well. Even better than the week when Cat started waving back at Kara. And the week when she started sending food down to Kara. Because suddenly she herself was the one sitting down at the desk with Kara. Doing crossword puzzles with her. Spending whole, glorious hours with her. Opening up to her.
So of course Kara would have to go and ruin it. Because of course she couldn’t just let good things be good.
But it had really seemed like Cat wasn’t going to be making an appearance. Midnight came and went, and still no Cat. Kara tried not to be disappointed. She finished a crossword all on her own, only looking up two answers about some hockey player and an actor from a 1960s movie. She sketched out a few more dinosaurs, figuring Carter would want to know what she’d been up to on her long nights, and she wasn’t sure how he’d feel if she admitted that she’d spent every night falling harder and harder for his mom (though she suspected he already knew that she had a little crush). But when she was already drawing, it was so easy to just let the pencil go, take on a life of its own. And if the pencil wanted to draw Cat’s face from several angles, well, who was she to deny her muses such a beautiful model?
Only it turned out Cat wasn’t skipping her nightly visit. As she’d learn later, Cat had a call with potential partners in Tokyo. But Kara, having long since given up hope, didn’t think to shove her scraps of paper away when she heard the faint ding of the elevator, assuming enough time had elapsed for her to already be catching the early morning runners.
By the time she’d realized it was Cat leaning over her shoulder, it was too late, and one of her drawings had been plucked up off her desk.
There was nothing to say. Any apologies would sound like an admission of guilt. Excuses were no better. Attempts to change the topic would probably go over just as well as they had back on Cat’s talk show. So instead Kara sat in silence, feeling her heart hammering in her chest as her stomach clenched uncomfortably.
She could hear Cat’s racing heart and her uneven breathing as she spun on her heel and walked back over to the elevator, drawing still clutched in her hand.
Kara didn’t see Cat for two whole days.
She wondered what Cat was going to do when she went back to working the regular shift. Would she go back to ignoring her? Try to leave before she got there in the mornings? Ask the building managers to assign her to night duty permanently?
On Kara’s last day working the night shift, Cat showed up again, still dressed in an Armani suit that looked more like armor than anything.
“Why were you drawing me?” Cat demanded.
“Um, would you believe me if I said it just sort of happened?”
“These are…gorgeous. And very flattering.”
“They don’t show anything that isn’t already there.”
“That!” Cat pointed a finger at Kara. “What is that about?”
“What do you mean?”
“The compliments! And the caring about what I think and how I’m doing. And knowing things about me. And walking me to my car. And—and drawing me!”
Kara let out a long exhale. “Are you really going to make me say it? It’s pretty obvious you already know.”
“Yes, Kara, I’m really going to need for you to make this abundantly clear because—”
“I like you, Cat. You are smart and stunning and, when you don’t think anyone’s paying too much attention, you’re very considerate and generous with your time. You—”
Only Kara didn’t have a chance to continue listing all the things she liked about Cat. Because Cat’s lips were muffling her words as she pressed a soft kiss to Kara’s lips. And then one kiss turned into another, which turned into another and another until Kara had Cat wrapped in her arms and settled on her lap.
Eventually, when the bounds of propriety began disappearing in the rearview mirror, Kara forced herself to pull back, leaning her forehead against Cat’s. “So all that food you made your dear son bring down to me… That your way of saying you like me?”
“Oh hush.” But it lacked any bite, and by the time Cat was leaning back in for another kiss, Kara had already forgotten anything else she might want to tease Cat about. It would come back to her later. There would be plenty of time for that.