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Kalex Week Day 2: Meta-General
I own nothing.
“Kara! Where’s the-”
“Top shelf, second cabinet on the left!”
“I already-”
“Behind the extra cups!”
“Found it!” Alex pulled out the hidden box of cookies. Despite being an adult, she sat crossed legged on the counter and opened them. Eating a few of the cookies and basking in her enjoyment of the one sweet her alien would not touch, she looked back at the cabinet in question. “Hey Kar?”
“Yeah?” Kara drifted into the kitchen, stack of folded towels in hand.
“Why do we have so many spare cups?” Alex was pretty certain that the only time they ever got into that particular cabinet was to hide extra treats.
Kara blinked at the question. “I don’t know.” Every single person who came over to their apartment had their preferred mug and glass. Those were kept in the cabinet closest to the sink where everyone knew to find it.
“Maybe we should box them up and take them over to the donation center?” Alex suggested.
“Did we even buy any of them?” Kara floated up to look at the cups in question. “Oh…um…”
“What is it?” Alex craned her neck to try and see what it was her wife was seeing.
“Do we really collect a different mug every time we go somewhere?” Kara began emptying the cabinet.
“I don’t think so?” Alex put her snack aside and got off the counter. She set the assorted array of cups down in no particular order as Kara handed them to her. As the pile grew, she felt her eye widen. “Maybe we do?” She trailed off. “No, no, Lena gave that set to us as a joke at our wedding.”
She set aside a matching set of Supergirl wine glasses complete with mini capes. They had come with an entire crate of sparkling cider in various flavors. Alex was fairly certain they’d never used the glasses.
“Right, I knew that display case on the list was there for a reason.” Kara looked at the travel mugs she held. “Isn’t there a box of lids for these somewhere?”
“Hall closet, I think,” Alex looked them over. “Most of these I’m pretty certain we can either toss or give away.” If they actually bought that many reusable cups, they needed to actually remember to use them. She recognized most of the gas station and coffee shop logos. She took them, fully intending to set them somewhere else.
“Not that one!” Kara snatched one (that surprisingly still had its lid) back. “I got that from Noonan’s on their tenth anniversary.” It had the logo as well as a pile of sticky buns on it.
“You mean the one they gave you for being their best customer?” Alex teased, looking more carefully through the rest. Why did they have so many L-Corp ones?
“I think that one might actually be Lena’s,” Kara plucked one from the pile, “and that’s probably Jess’. I hope we still have the lids…”
“I’ll get the box.”
They spent the next several hours emptying cup cabinets. They ended up with an assortment of lids that fit none of the cups they had, and some cups with no lids that required one to be used.
“Why do we have a collection of Bat Family themed cups?”
“I think Damian thought it would be funny? Or Kate?” Kara set those aside to keep.
“Probably both, and that would explain the villain themed ones as well.” Alex looked over to the growing pile of cups they were keeping.
“Oh no, those were Selina’s idea.” Kara remembered helping to steal and demolish several sets featuring Gotham’s most infamous clown. “I think she left them in exchange for the cat themed cups Eliza gave us.”
“Right…” Alex looked at the sheer volume of Harry Potter and Star Wars themed cups. Kara had her own little collection of animal themed ones as well. “Have people just been gifting us cups and we never noticed?”
“I think so? I don’t even remember buying most of these.” Kara had found newspaper and empty boxes from somewhere. She had already taken several photos of the collection. “I don’t even know who would have given them to us.”
Alex picked up a set of mugs in the shape of various Star Wars character heads. “Pretty certain Winn bought these after Episode IX came out and we had that binge watch party.”
“I think Lucy and Vas bought us the lion and raccoon mugs,” Kara nudged those two aside. “I know Carter sent you the set with the element table on them.”
“Yeah, after the science center.” Alex nodded in agreement. “We should go and get that display case, shouldn’t we?”
Kara paused. “I mean…yes? At least then we can use these for decoration rather than stuffing them in a cabinet.”
Alex frowned. “Won’t that just encourage them to buy us more?” She was looking pointedly at the collection of mugs themed for their country of origin. Lena, Sam, and undoubtedly Lois, Kate, and Diana were all responsible for them.
“Probably,” Kara agreed. “We could always just tell them that we don’t actually collect cups?” How had they not noticed just how many they had when they had first moved in together? Admittedly, there hadn’t been much to move but still.
“Maybe we’re being pranked and most of these aren’t even ours?” Alex fully believed their friends capable and willing to do something like this.
Kara mulled the thought over. Everyone was over often enough; they could slip cups into either a cabinet or the sink and never be caught. If it was a cup they rarely or never used, it just got shoved onto a shelf and forgotten about.
“Or we can just accept the fact that we collect cups now.” The joke would be on everyone at that point. Looking over the sheer amount of cups (there had to be at least a hundred, probably more), it wouldn’t be long before they were right back here.
Alex rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Fine, but you’re building the damn case.”
With that agreed upon, the pair went out and acquired the needed materials. If nothing else, having to repair things when Kara broke them had well prepared them for building a set of shelves. They also dropped off a box at the local donation center, taking care of at least a miniscule amount of the horde.
Three days later, shelves built and cups arranged with room to spare, saw Game Night arrive.
“Wow, that is a lot of cups.” Winn gave a low whistle.
Alex snorted. “You have no idea.”
“Why do you have so many?” Lucy asked, shoving Winn further into the room so she and Vas could get a better look.
Alex and Kara exchanged looks. Really? Alex nodded, allowing Kara to take control of it.
“Well, most of them were gifts.” She pointed to several, naming who she thought (and she was mostly right) on who had gifted them. “The rest, we’re pretty certain you guys have been slipping cups you didn’t want into our house under them misconception that we collect them.”
“Pay up,” Vas held out their hand. “I told you they would catch on.”