Chapter Text
Kara pushes the door open with her back. Her arms are straining with the effort of carrying as many crates as possible. She has to squeeze her way through the door opening since the door hasn’t been able to open completely for a few months now. Boxes on the other side block the door, but they don’t have room in their small bakery to place them somewhere else.
Although, their bakery isn’t exactly a bakery anymore. The bakery alone didn’t make enough profit, so Alex and her decided to combine it with a small supermarket even though the space doesn’t really lend itself to it. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the luxury to decide otherwise.
Her arms are burning, but Kara manages to walk the last few meters to the refrigerators. Finally able to release her breath, she puts the crates down and opens the door to start restocking the sodas.
Behind her, she hears Alex sigh as she continues to mishandle the calculator. Kara doesn’t even have to ask to know what is bothering Alex, but she does so anyway just so Alex can share her frustrations.
“Another month losing money instead of making a profit,” Alex tells her. Her voice is low despite the fact that they are alone. Eliza raised them to never be ashamed of the situation they are in, but Alex holds a certain pride that stops her from being open about their struggles.
“I know,” Kara sighs, while she proceeds restocking just to do something else than looking at her sister’s worried face. “We will make it work,” Kara tries to reassure her. They have to, right?
Alex only hums, still lost in thoughts filled with red numbers.
Thankfully, the door to their shop opens as indicated by the soft ringing of a bell. Although they struggle with keeping afloat, that bell still fills her with joy.
She closes the door of the refrigerator and turns around who has entered their bakery. Immediately, Winn’s excited voice fills the shop. As happy as Kara is to see their friend, there is still a feeling of disappointment to see that it is not a new customer.
“What’s with the sad faces,” Winn asks, as happy as ever.
“Nothing,” Kara tells him, saving Alex from having to lie.
Winn grabs a coke from the fridge and takes a seat at the barstool they have placed underneath the desk. After Winn continued to sit on the desk, dropping several things on the ground in the process, they bought him that barstool so that he can hang around in their shop without destroying anything.
He takes a sip and sighs relieved. “Are we still on for game night tonight?”
Kara can feel her stomach drop. Secretly, she had hoped that they forgot about their plans for tonight. After Alex confirmed that she will be there tonight, two expectant looks are focused on her.
“Mon-El is taking me out tonight,” Kara admits reluctantly.
Alex chuckles. “To celebrate 2 years of hell.”
Kara ignores her. She knows Alex isn’t a fan of her boyfriend.
“Didn’t you celebrate two weeks ago?” Winn’s confusion is a mix of curiosity and annoyance. Unlike Alex, he actually likes Mon-El. He just doesn’t like their relationship, Kara guesses. Whether he still hopes they could be together or that he disapproves of their relationship altogether, she has no idea.
“Yes,” Alex answers for her. “But the spoiled brat didn’t like the restaurant that Kara chose, so now he’s dragging her to the priciest place in town.”
“Shut up,” Kara laughs, hoping that it would mask the hurt in her voice. She turns around after noticing the soft beeping of the oven in the back.
While she’s taking out the croissants she has baked, Kara can hear the rest of the conversation.
“Aren’t you afraid he’s going to propose,” Winn whispers.
“Of course,” Alex admits irritated. “She’s stuck with him.”
Kara decides she doesn’t want to hear the rest of it. She’s well aware that her relationship with Mon-El is not approved of by everyone, but she has fun with him. And they have been together for 2 years now, so why ruin a good thing just because her friends and sister don’t really like him. Or at least, that is what she tries to tell herself.
With quick ease developed over the years, Kara places the croissants on a platter to take with her to the shop. It’s almost lunchtime, so she hopes some customers will stop by to buy something to eat. Nothing better than a hot croissant for lunch, right?
Back in the shop, Kara notices that the conversation between Alex and Winn has halted and that their attention is now focused on the small television they have placed as a distraction on slow days.
She can already hear the excited voice of the TV host who always talks about the gossip and latest scandals. The annoying woman announces to continue with the real news. Normally, Kara would tune it out, but Winn and Alex are so engrossed with what is happening on the television that she decides to watch too.
“Movie star Maxwell Lord and Lena Luthor, daughter of business mogul Lionel Luthor, have broken up. It was a nasty breakup and there’s talk of infidelity that caused Lena to return to National City heartbroken.”
The voice-over is supported with footage of Lena Luthor trying to get into a car while she’s surrounded by paparazzi. It’s really a hectic scene.
“Broken-hearted,” Alex scoffs.
“She’s a billionaire. Can’t she just buy a new heart,” Winn adds laughing.
“Lena Luthor and Maxwell Lord met two years ago on Elton John’s yacht, which led to a hot romance,” the voice continues. Images of Lena and Maxwell are shown. “We all hoped for a Hollywood wedding, but that won’t be happening.”
“That’s a shame. I prayed for it every night,” Winn remarks.
Alex laughs. “I can’t tell whether you’re serious or not.”
“What if I am? I like her. A wedding would have been fun,” Winn defends himself.
Kara shakes her head unbelievably. “You talk as if you would have been invited.”
She moves some products on the shelves around, so that it looks more orderly. In the background, she can still hear the television playing – talking about the upcoming events that Lena Luthor will attend.
She can’t help but wonder what it would be like to be at these kinds of events too. Most of the time, she is able to enjoy the mundane, but sometimes she longs for something more. Maybe that’s even the reason she has stayed with Mon-El for so long. His spontaneity would always shake things up a little bit, even though his surprises weren’t well timed most of the time.
At the start of their relationship, he would just drop by and take her away to something. Back then, she really enjoyed that until she started to notice that he would only do these kinds of things when he felt like it. In the end, she was just someone he could do these kinds of things with.
But Kara can’t really blame him. Perhaps it is even mutual. Is it about doing fun stuff with Mon-El specifically, or does she just like being in a relationship with someone?
With a sigh, she notices that it is time for her to get ready.
“Can you stop that?” Mon-El tells her irritated, while he swaps her hand away.
With some effort, Kara can stop herself from continuing fidgeting with her dress. They have just entered the restaurant and immediately Kara felt uncomfortable. This isn’t really the kind of place she likes to go, which is why she chose a completely different kind of restaurant to celebrate their anniversary.
Nobody needs to tell her that she can be a bit clumsy. And being in a place like this just freaks her out. There is so much expensive stuff that she can easily break in a moment.
“If you would follow me, please,” the clerk says politely to them.
Taking a breath of courage, Kara follows after Mon-El and the clerk.
Mon-El turns around to her. “Wow, wow. This place is amazing!”
Kara takes another look around and she has to agree with him. It does look really beautiful. The restaurant is really spacious, without lacking in warmth. She wonders whether the distance between each table is thoroughly calculated before, or if they just wanted this many tables in there to make as much money as possible.
Or maybe not everyone is as obsessed with using every bit of space to earn money as she and Alex are in their bakery.
The only thing that feels out of place and comes over as a bit tacky is a huge portrait of a stern-looking woman.
“Who’s that? Employee of the month?” Kara jokes without making Mon-El laugh. Instead, he gives her a patronizing look, and Kara feels her stomach turn.
“That’s the chef, Kara. If only you would listen to me and study cooking that could have been you.” Mon-El takes a seat, not bothering to help Kara. He is clearly done with that conversation before it had even started, and Kara doesn’t really mind.
“If only I wanted to become a chef,” she mumbles just soft enough for Mon-El not to hear.
A waitress brings them their menu, with a picture of the chef. She starts listing the prices of the wine and Kara’s mouth almost falls open. Mon-El coughs and just orders them two cokes.
“We’re both driving,” he explains, which is not true at all.
The names of the dishes on the menu start dancing for her eyes. She has no idea what to order and she just worries Mon-El won’t agree with her choice eventually.
“I am sure this will be an unforgettable night for us,” Mon-El promises her, together with a wink that is not as handsome as he hopes it is.
“Mmm,” Kara agrees, pretending to still be focussed on the menu, although what to eat is the last thing on her mind right now. If she’s even able to eat anything with the nerves that are starting to spread.
“Excuse me.” She stands up and hurries towards the bathroom. After she’s closed the door behind her, she feels like she is able to breathe again.
“He’s going to propose,” she mutters to herself. “I don’t want to get married, do I?”
Maybe he is not going to propose. That’s a possibility. She just needs to calm down.
Washing her hands for a really long time, she looks at herself in the mirror. “If you don’t want to, you don’t have to marry him,” she tells herself. “But it would be the logical choice after being together for so long.”
“If you really have so many doubts about that guy, don’t marry him.”
Kara looks next to her surprised. She feels herself blushing from the embarrassment of getting caught talking to herself.
“I was talking to someone on the phone, she lies, trying to cover up for herself.
The other woman just laughs and it sounds beautiful. It makes Kara take a better look at her.
She has shining dark hair and her green eyes are sparkling with amusement. It takes a second but suddenly Kara recognizes her.
Lena Luthor.
Lena Luthor is standing next to her in the bathroom of some restaurant and she is talking to her. Kara opens her mouth to answer but closes it again. What does one say to Lena Luthor?
She’s really pretty, is the only thing going through her mind. No wonder she can’t form a coherent sentence.
“I don’t see a telephone,” Lena says, clearly catching her in her lie.
Kara just shakes her head with unbelieve and walks past her to leave. She makes sure not to touch Lena. It feels inappropriate to brush even her shoulder. Just when Kara reaches the door, Lena speaks up again.
“First time here, right?”
Kara halts and turns around. She can only nod, still mesmerized by Lena. Quickly, she averts her gaze to look at the floor instead of Lena, even though she still tries to watch her.
“Go for the artichoke soup, the rest sucks,” Lena advises her. She moves towards the door and walks past her, completely but softly bumping her shoulder into Kara’s. One last smile and then Lena returns to her own table again, leaving Kara standing in the door opening of the bathroom.
She looks at the direction where Lena disappeared to. Did that really just happen?
“Well, are you going to stand there all night, or what?”
Kara looks at the woman that is standing in front of her, tapping her heel impatiently on the floor. She suppresses the longing to pull that hideous pearl necklace of the woman’s neck and walks past her. Still offering her an apologetic smile, of course.
After Kara has also returned to her table, they can quickly order their food – Kara indeed choosing for the artichoke soup – and they fall into easy conversation until their food arrives. Kara ignores the smirk that keeps on appearing on Mon-El’s face.
He’s just talking about someone he had an argument with yesterday when Kara feels someone watching her. While continuing to pretend to listen to her boyfriend, she looks around the restaurant to find whoever is looking at her.
She immediately spots Lena Luthor at a more secluded table. Lena is leaning on the table with one arm and spinning her wine glass around absentmindedly with her free hand. Next to her, a young attractive man is talking on the phone. The two other women at the table seem engaged in their own conversation.
Lena doesn’t give anyone at her table her attention. Her eyes are focused on Kara. Once she notices that she has Kara’s attention, her smile grows and Kara can feel a small smile appear on her own face as well.
“How’s the soup?” Lena clearly mouths.
Kara only nods a little bit, afraid that Mon-El will notice. Once he sees that Lena Luthor is here and that she’s having a wordless conversation with her, he will probably do something embarrassing. She watches how Lena grins and takes a sip of her wine, before tuning into the conversation with her friends at her table.
“It’s nice being here with you,” Mon-El suddenly starts. “It is nice being with me, isn’t it?”
Kara can’t help but look at Lena’s direction again, but when she notices that Mon-El tries to see who she’s looking at, she quickly answers. “Yes, nice.”
“I’m really crazy about you,” Mon-El continues after she’s agreed with him. He seems to take a few seconds to gather some courage and Kara feels panic taking over.
“I wanted to wait until after the main course, but I just can’t.”
Oh no. “Wait for what?”
Mon-El stands up and takes his glass and a fork to gain everyone’s attention. “Excuse me, people…” He waits until everyone has turned to look at them. Kara can only stare at the bowl soup in front of her.
“Sorry for interrupting this dinner, but tonight is the anniversary of me and my beautiful girlfriend - Kara - who’s sitting here with me.” He pauses deliberately so everyone can start applauding. When he proceeds with telling the whole restaurant how they met, Kara can only concentrate on trying to keep her breath under control while her heart rate increases.
Her embarrassment is complete when two men with a violin and guitar appear and Mon-El starts singing a song from Ed Sheeran. It seems to never end and Kara looks around her discretely. Some people are even filming them. She tries to hide her face with her hair. The only thing she can do is pray that Mon-El stops singing soon.
He does, but only to go down on one knee. Before he can even ask the question, Kara decides to end this.
She wants to stand up too quickly, and her legs bump into the table. She tries to catch her glass of coke, while Mon-El tries to do the same. While she grabs for her glass, her arm touches the bowl of soup and instantly feels the hot soup cover her dress.
For a few seconds, she closes her eyes and tunes out the whole restaurant. That short moment of quietness is all she needs to gather herself.
“The answer is no, Mon-El,” she answers him, to so that they are clear, and then quickly leaves the restaurant with her dress ruined with big soup stains. All she can do is ignore the stares of everyone else in the restaurant.
It’s cold outside and she just wants to go home. Of course, there is no taxi nearby. With all the energy she can muster, she starts to walk home. It’s quite on the streets, so luckily there are few people who can judge her even more.
As she is trying to process everything that has happened that night, a car drives up to her and slows down. Kara is so put down that she doesn’t even start to worry who it might be. The window of the backseat opens and loud music fills her ears.
“I feel responsible,” Lena says. The friend next to her waves excitedly. “I recommended the soup.”
“Actually, it was so good. I even got some to take home with me,” she replies while gesturing at her soup covered dress. She awkwardly pushes her glasses up her nose.
“Can I take you home?” Lena asks her. Her friends respond by squealing. The man in front of the car quickly hushes them. “Her home, I mean of course.”
Kara has really no idea what to answer. Her mind is a complete mess after this night – just like her dress.
“In ten seconds, TMZ will spot me. Make up your mind.”
The man scoffs. “Are you for real, Luthor? I can smell her from here.”
Kara has enough embarrassment for one night. She doesn’t need a ride where she’s clearly not welcome. Reluctantly, she refuses.
Lena shrugs and bids her goodnight before the car drives away. After a few meters, however, it stops again and this time the door to the backseat opens. Lena leaves the car and holds to door open for her. “Come on, it’s the least I can do.”
There is no way that Kara can refuse right now and she walks over to Lena, who is giving her an encouraging smile. She takes a seat and sits back into the comfortable cushions.
“No worries, Kara. The car’s getting cleaned tomorrow,” the girl who’s driving looks at him via the rear-view mirror.
The woman next to Kara shakes her head. “Nice of you to let her, but this is Lena’s Jeep.”
“Well, she drank a lot, so I’m driving,” the other woman retorts.
“Not that much,” Lena defends herself without taking her eyes from her phone.
The other women laugh at her and tell her they don’t believe her. Meanwhile, the man in the passenger seat is taking to someone on the phone about Paris.
Kara feels out of place once again, but it is different than at the restaurant. The uncomfortable feeling is mixed with an excited nervousness. Everyone in the girl is bickering with each other and Kara can’t really follow it. Unlike her company, Lena is a bit more aloof. Her voice is even and while she participates in the conversation, she is not completely there.
Kara can only look at her with fascination. Lena must have picked up on this and glances back at Kara. Her eyes go down to her dress.
“Sam, can you stop at Acrata and Jack, give me your sweater?”
“Kara,” Lena says to catch her attention as if she doesn’t have it already. “This is Sam, my oldest friend,” she says as the woman who is driving waves. “And this is my assistant and friend Jess. And that’s Jack, my manager.”
Kara smiles at them, not really knowing what to say.
“Jack used to be my friend, but I don’t like him anymore since he doesn’t want to cancel Paris,” Lena whispers in her ear. The slur in her voice makes it clear that she has indeed drunk more than she wanted to let on earlier.
They stop outside of Acrata, which is an even bigger and more luxurious restaurant than they were before. They leave the car and enter the restaurant. Lena doesn’t wait at the entrance and just moves through the restaurant towards a door in the back. It leads to a small hallway with a staircase. Kara looks at her confused.
“Andrea Rojas – the owner – is an old friend of mine. We will be fine,” she reassures her. “You can finally change out of your dress.”
She hands her the sweater that Jack has given her minutes ago and then turns around. “Jess is getting you some chef pants.”
Kara gladly pulls off her dress and puts on the sweater. The door opens and Jess gives her the white chef pants.
Lena turns around and glances over her. “You can even pull this look off.”
“Thanks, I guess,” Kara answers. She stands in the hallway expectantly without any idea what Lena and her friends expect from her. Is this it? She has some dry clothes now and she’s much closer to home, so it's the end of the night. How does she even thank Lena?
The door is pushed open once again and this time Sam enters. “Come on, Lena. We have places to be, drinks to drink and songs to dance to!”
Jess and Sam leave together, already starting to dance. Lena waits until they have left and then looks at Kara intently.
“Are you coming?”