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Kara loved food. It was no secret she loved to eat and anyone who spoke with her for longer than an hour eventually found out. There was a saying that was something like, ‘there a people who eat to live and people who live to eat’ and the blonde was not ashamed to be the second kind of person even when some people judged her a little for the big amounts of food she could engulf in a short amount of time… at least she compensated by working out a lot. And someone with an appetite like Kara had to learn how to cook or else she would be broke. And so there she was with an apron slightly covered in flour – with a cute ‘kiss the cook’ print on it –, her hair tied in a tight bun and her sleeves rolled to her elbows as she knead the dough for her ravioli as she sang along ‘Dancing Queen’ playing on her phone. Once it was smooth, she left it to rest while she started to prepare the filling. Not long after, she put a skillet in one of the burners, added two table spoons of olive oil, crushed garlic, pesto sauce and heavy cream, letting it simmer for a few minutes. She was singing ‘Hard Times’ by Paramore when she heard a knock on her door. Kara’s forehead creased. Alex didn’t say she was coming to see her and she was new in the building so she hadn’t met her neighbors yet so, who could be knocking on her door? The apartment building she had just moved into was fancy enough to have a doorman who didn’t let anyone inside unless a tenant told him to so it couldn’t be a sales person or something like that. Adding parmesan cheese to the skillet, she lowered the flame to the minimum and approached her front door with a rag in her hand, trying to remove any stains. Of all the possibilities that ran through the blonde’s head of who might be, Kara couldn’t say she was prepared for what she encountered once she opened the door: a very beautiful, and very pregnant, brunette with amazing emerald eyes and a jaw that could cut glass. Said brunette was dressed in a well-worn and soft looking MIT sweatshirt, yoga pants and slippers with her hair loose, wavy locks covering her shoulders.

Kara was so mesmerized her brain kind of forgot how to make a phrase or a somewhat acceptable greeting so she just stood in silence for a few seconds.

“Uh… hi.” The brunette started. “I’m Lena from apartment 8B,” she tilted her head to the side, signaling the door at the other end of the short hallway, “and I know that what I’m about to say it’s weird and probably inappropriate since we don’t know each other but I smelled whatever you’re cooking all the way to my apartment and this little one,” she gave a quick glance to her baby bump, “started kicking and I was wondering if you could give me a little bit of whatever food you're making or... something…” she ended her ramble.

The blonde’s eyebrows rose almost to her hairline, her mouth making a quiet ‘oh’ but not saying anything other than that.

The green eyed woman’s expression went from a little shy to complete embarrassment quickly, her cheeks turning a pretty pink. “I could pay you if you want to or-or… you know what? I better go…” she started to back away and Kara noticed the small Tupperware she had in her hands which she hadn’t seen before since the brunette was hiding it behind her back.

She took a step outside her door and gently placed a hand on the other woman’s forearm. “Wait!”

Lena turned her face to look at the hand in her arm, what made Kara let her go. The brunette didn’t know why she missed the warmth a few seconds of contact from the blonde provided her even through the fabric of her sweatshirt.

“Uh… I’m Kara, from 8A as you can see.” The blonde introduced herself, sticking out her hand for Lena to shake, which she did. “I’m making ravioli but it’s not ready yet…” The pregnant woman pouted without noticing but Kara did. “… but I have no problem giving you some once it’s done!”

“Are you sure? I know I was a little… bold.” Lena said, still a little embarrassed.

“Yeah, no biggie. I always make a lot of food.” The blonde waved her hand dismissively.

“I could still pay you.” The brunette quickly offered again.

Kara laughed under her breath. “No need to do that, really. You could give me your Tupperware and I’ll take it to you once it’s finished.”

Lena smiled widely, making her dimples appear. “I could come get it, I don’t want to give you more troubles.”

Kara shook her head softly. “It’s no trouble at all. Besides, you’re growing a tiny human, I’m sure you could use as much rest as possible.” She directed her blue eyes to the bump as the brunette placed a hand over it. “If it’s your Tupperware you’re worried about, I promise it’s safe with me, I know how moms go crazy when someone loses a Tupperware.”

That made Lena laugh openly. “You promise?”

Kara placed a hand over her heart. “You have my word.”

The brunette nodded slowly. “Thank you.” She handed Kara her small container.

That smile did something to Kara, she felt like a whole pack of elephants were stomping inside her stomach. Where were the usual butterflies people talked about?

She pushed her glasses up her nose with her free hand, hoping it covered her blush. “Thank me after you actually try them… I could be a terrible cook and the smell of garlic is just deceiving you.” She shrugged playfully.

Lena narrowed her eyes but didn’t fight the smile growing in her lips. “You wouldn’t give bad food to a pregnant woman, would you?”

Kara let out a big breath, looking at her feet before looking up again. “Nope, I wouldn’t give bad food to anyone, that’s a crime.”

“I’m glad you think so.” Her smile turned into a small smirk.

“I better get back before my kitchen catches on fire.” Kara pointed at her door behind her.

“We don’t want the ravioli to go to waste.” Lena tucked a brown lock behind her ear.

“No, we don’t… so I’ll get back to them to make sure that baby of yours gets the ravioli they asked for.” The blonde walked two steps backwards and grabbed the door.

“We can’t wait.” Lena finally said as she started walking to her apartment.

Kara closed the door and was tempted to slide down to the floor when she remembered she had something in the stove, rushing to it as ‘Milkshake’ by Kelis started to play. More like ‘my ravioli brings all the girls to my door’ situation, she though as she continued to make her dinner.

A little under an hour later Kara found herself walking to the door marked as 8B, food warm in her hands. She reached the door, standing there for a few seconds, trying to think what to say to the pretty brunette. She rubbed one of her sweaty hands on the back of her jeans and took a big breath, letting it out through her mouth, finally gathering the courage to knock. She knocked softly three times and only waited a few seconds before the door was open by Lena. She looked exactly the same as she had before, except her hair was now tied in a low ponytail, a few strands of hair loose.

“Hello there.” The brunette laced her fingers bellow her belly.

The blue eyed woman grinned at the simple greeting, not speaking for a few moments.

Lena raised a brow at Kara’s lack of response. “Is that for me?” She pointed at the container.

Kara finally reacted, her cheeks turned red and her smile became bashful. “Yes, it is.” She extended the tupper towards the pregnant woman, scratching the back of her neck with her other hand.

Lena grabbed it with both hands, feeling the warmth of the food inside. “Thank you so much, Kara. I know it’s weird and –”

The blonde interrupted her, shaking her hands in front of herself. “No, it’s okay… I mean, it was kinda weird but I didn’t mind.”

Lena’s dimpled smile appeared again on her face. “Well, I appreciate so much that you didn’t just slam the door on my face, most people would have.”

“I’m not like most people… I like to make others happy and food always does the trick. If ‘The Good Place’ was right, this should give me some points, extra points since I’m making both you and your baby happy.” Kara said as a matter of fact as she resisted the urge to touch Lena’s baby bump. She liked doing so but it was rude to do it with someone she barely knew.

Lena made a cute confused face. “‘The Good Place’?”

“It’s a Netflix show, super good, super funny. You should watch it!”

The brunette’s mouth curved into a smile. “Maybe I will.”

Kara smiled back, staying in silence once again for a few moments, admiring the woman before her. “Anyway, I should get going,” she pointed at her door with her thumb over her shoulder. “I hope you enjoy the ravioli. They have cream cheese, ricotta, mozzarella and provolone.” She numbered the cheeses with her fingers.

“It sounds delicious.” Lena lifted the lid of the container a little bit, breathing in the heavenly smell. “Buon appetito.”

The blonde chewed on her bottom lip as she heard Lena’s attempt at an Italian accent. “Buon appetito to you as well. Have a nice night.”

“You too, Kara.” The blonde gave one step back, ready to turn around when Lena stopped her with a hand in her forearm. “Wait.” She tugged the woman closer and stroke her cheekbone with her thumb. “You have flour on your cheek.”

“T-thank you…” she pushed her glasses up her nose again. “See you around.”

“See you around.” The green eyed woman stepped back, her hand on the door but not moving to close it, not until Kara started to walk away. She waved goodbye as the other woman reached her door and looked back at her, repeating the action. Closing the door completely, Lena walked towards her kitchen with her tupper in hand, looking for a fork and a glass of apple juice. Then she got comfortable on her couch and grabbed the TV remote, exiting from the movie she was watching and typing ‘The Good Place’ in her Netflix search. She stabbed a ravioli with her fork as the words ‘Welcome! Everything is fine.’ appeared on her screen. She smiled. Maybe, someday soon, everything would start to feel fine again.

::::::

It was a week later that Kara heard another knock on her door. Alex was supposed to visit but it was too early for her to be there already and she still hadn’t met anyone in the building but Lena so the blonde was almost sure it was her. She opened the oven to let the cinnamon buns inside begin to cool down, removed her oven gloves and walked to the door, opening it with a wide smile on her face.

“Hi Lena.”

“It smells like Christmas, what are you making?” The brunette said, taking a loud breath in before shaking her head. “I’m so rude, I didn’t even said hi.”

The blonde chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’m baking cinnamon buns! They’re Alex’s favorites, do you want some?”

Lena’s eyes opened wide at the mention of someone else. “Oh, you’re baking for your boyfriend? I couldn’t possibly take any –”

“No! I don’t have a boyfriend, Alex is my sister.” Kara clarified immediately. “She’s coming over in a little while and she’s going through a rough moment so I thought I’d cheer her up with comfort food.”

“More reasons why I can’t ask you for any, I bet she needs them more than me.” The green eyed woman scratched behind her ear.

“I made two batches, I can give you some and Alex will believe I ate them like I usually do.” Kara said nonchalantly.

“Are you sure?” Lena’s eyes lit up as she nibbled on her bottom lip, playing with the hem of her green sweater.

How could Kara resist that face? Not that she intended to. “Yeah, I’m sure… would you like to come in? So I can take the buns out of the oven.” She stepped to the side, leaving enough space for Lena to walk inside.

“I’d like that.” She timidly followed the blonde, closing the door behind her.

The blonde slipped her oven gloves back on and grabbed one of the pans leaving it on the counter. “Did you bring your tupper or do you need one?”

“I did bring it.” Lena had, again, hid it behind her back as she was a little embarrassed to ask for food. “I don’t want to imagine what you think of me right now… I must be the ‘crazy hungry pregnant girl’ in your head.”

Kara turned around to receive the container from Lena. “Of course not. I think of you as the ‘cute pregnant woman whose baby craves a lot of tasty things I make’ so, it’s good for my ego.” She fitted four cinnamon buns inside the tupper and closed the lid. “Here but careful, it’s a little hot.” She extended both arms holding the buns.

The pregnant woman pulled the sleeves of her sweater over her hands to try to protect them from the heat. “Thank you so much, Kara. It’s horrible to crave something and not being able to eat it so you’re basically saving my life with these. The ravioli was amazing and I would bet a lot of money on these buns too.”

The blonde’s cheeks flushed at the compliment. “You’re welcome. I love to cook and it makes me so happy when someone likes what I make.”

Lena beamed at those words and in a quick movement, she leaned towards Kara and pressed her lips on the blonde’s cheek, backing away a second later.

Kara’s blush extended from her cheeks to her neck like wildfire. “W-what was that for?” She covered the spot where the brunette’s lips touched her skin with her hand.

The brunette laughed nervously, her pale skin feeling hot. “I just… uh, your apron says ‘kiss the cook’ and I just… it felt like the right thing to do.” She mumbled.

A nervous laugh escaped the blonde’s lips. “Okay.”

They stayed silent for a few moments until Lena pointed at the door. “I should go, I don’t want to intrude any longer.”

“You’re not intruding –” before the blonde could continue, her phone dinged in her back pocket. She pulled it out and read the text message Alex left. “My sister is parking, she should be here in a few minutes.”

“Have a nice night with her.” Lena reached for the door knob.

The blue eyed woman leaned on the door frame once Lena was out. “You too… I hope your baby likes the buns.”

“I’m sure he will… and for the record, I think you would definitely end up in the Good Place.” She winked and started to walk away.

Kara took a few moments to process what Lena said. “You started watching!” She said excitedly.

The pregnant woman only looked over her shoulder and smiled.

::::::

The third time Lena knocked on Kara’s door was a week after the second time, another Friday night. But this time she didn’t bring a tupper with her, she was actually a little angry. The blonde opened her door and before she could say anything, Lena raised a finger to the blonde’s lips to shush her.

“I don’t know what you’re making this time but it smells like wine and you’re cruel because I haven’t had a glass of wine for the past seven months.” The brunette said in a single breath.

Kara gently removed the finger resting on her lips and started to explain. “It’s coq au vin. The alcohol evaporates but the taste remains in the chicken so it’s safe for you to eat. I even Googled it.”

Lena’s annoyed expression shifted to a surprised one. “Oh… that’s… thoughtful of you. I’m sorry I snapped like that, the hormones take over me sometimes.”

The blonde shook her head as she smiled. “Don’t worry, I understand. Come in.” She moved out of the way and made a hand gesture to invite Lena.

The brunette stepped inside for the second time since she met Kara. “I didn’t bring a tupper this time.”

“That’s fine because I was thinking you could have dinner here… with me.” Kara appeared at Lena’s side and pointed at the dinner table which already had the dishes served accompanied by two glasses of a red beverage with fruit inside. “I made non-alcoholic sangria, I hope you like it.”

“Kara, this is…” The pregnant woman didn’t know what to say.

“It’s weird, right? That I lured you in with food? Oh God, I’m such a creep! I’m so sorry Lena, it’s just that I want to get to know you and be your friend but you only come when you smell food and – oh, no! And now I’m insulting you by saying you’re some kind of hungry zombie but I didn’t mean it like that! I was afraid that you would say no if I came knocking on your door or –”

Lena cut Kara’s ramble by softly covering her mouth with her hand. “Kara, I think you’re a very sweet person and this is a very nice gesture. I’d love to have dinner with you.” She lowered her hand, brushing the blonde’s arm as it descended to her side.

“Really?” Without noticing, the blonde made puppy dog eyes.

The brunette nodded twice. “Really. But I do have one complain to make.”

“What is it? Are you allergic to something? I should have asked, I’m sorry.” Kara rushed to apologize.

“That’s not it… I’m way too underdressed for this.” Lena gave a quick glance at her clothes, she had a spaghetti strapped black top, dark blue maternity jeans and green Crocs.

“You look beautiful.” Kara said without hesitation. “And comfy with those Crocs. I could change if you want me to.” She started to unbutton her shirt – making Lena squeak, Kara smirking at the sound – revealing the grey tank top shirt she had underneath and discarding the garment, throwing it to the couch. She also took off her shoes, her rainbow socks protecting her feet from the scratchy carpet. “Better?”

The green eyed woman chuckled. “I didn’t know you were a smartass.”

“Well, the purpose of this dinner if for us to get to know each other. Shall we?” Kara pulled one chair for Lena to sit.

Lena’s smile widened at the chivalrous gesture. “Thank you.” She sat down and mentally thanked Kara again when she didn’t push the chair closer to the table, clearly skipping doing that because of Lena’s belly. She was about to reach for her glass of sangria when she felt something brushing her leg, startling her. “What was that?”

The blue eyed woman seemed lost on what was Lena asking about when she felt little claws on her pant leg. “Oh, this is Lenoir.” The blonde used French pronunciation for the name as she bent down to pick a small black cat with a red collar around his neck. The little animal couldn’t be older than three months old.

“Lenoir?” Lena arched a brow. “I didn’t know you had a cat.”

Kara laughed and put the feline down, quickly going to the kitchen to wash her hands. “I just adopted him this week, my sister found him and another kitty abandoned in the alley at the side of her building and decided she would take one and I took the other one.” She joined Lena at the table.

“And what’s with the name?” The brunette was intrigued.

“Well, I was thinking on what to make for tonight and coq au vin is French so I thought ‘why don’t I name him something in French?’ and Lenoir came to my mind because he’s a black cat so…” she trailed off.

“His name is just the color of his fur, then… how clever of you, Blondie.” Lena’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

Kara tilted her head back as she laughed. “We can talk about how much of a genius I am or we could start eating because it’s getting cold. I’m sure Lenoir would love it if we don’t eat this food. Bon appetite.”

“Bon appetite, to you too.” The green eyed woman repeated, grabbing a fork and taking some carrot and mushroom to her mouth. She moaned in delight. “Oh god, the sauce is so good!” She covered her lips with her unoccupied hand to speak with her mouth full.

The blonde hummed as she chewed a piece of chicken. “I’m glad you think so.” She answered after swallowing.

“Kara, you are an amazing cook, I’m serious! Are you a chef or something?” She grabbed another forkful or food, this time grabbing chicken, onion and more mushrooms.

The blonde took a sip of her sangria and cleared her throat. “No, I’m not. I’m a junior editor at CatCo Magazine. I cook because I eat a lot so it’s cheaper when you prepare your food instead of buying takeout.”

“Wow, I didn’t imagine you being involved in the media business.” She tried the drink as well. The taste of the grapes and other fruits was refreshing.

“I was recently promoted, I used to be a reporter. I mean, I could still write if I wanted to, I do actually but I don’t have that much time anymore and I needed the money to afford this place so I took the job.”

“What happened with your old apartment?” The brunette asked, taking another bite.

“Long story short, I used to live with my sister Alex, then she moved in with her girlfriend, they broke up and Alex came to live with me again. I wanted to give her her place back so I moved here a month ago.” The former reporter explained between bites.

“Where are you from?”

“Midvale. I’ve been living in National City for seven years. You?” The blonde picked almost all of her carrots in her fork and shove them in her mouth.

“Born in Ireland, raised in Metropolis and I’ve been in NC for five years.” She mimicked Kara but with her mushrooms instead of the carrots.

“You’re Irish? Wow! I think I have Middle Eastern ancestry or something but the fact that you were born in Ireland is so cool. It also explains why you’re so pale.” Kara teased. “If you call me Blondie because of my hair color, I should call you Ivory because of your skin tone.”

“Shut up.” Lena balled up one of the paper napkins in the table and threw it towards Kara who was able to dodge it. The ball ended on the floor where the black cat started to play with it.

The editor stuck out her tongue before continuing their conversation. “Why did you move here?”

“Work.” The pregnant woman simply said, her mood changing a little.

Kara noticed but still tried to get a better answer. “Where do you work?”

The brunette pushed a piece of chicken around the plate for a few seconds before answering. “Spheerical Industries.”

“Oh… A friend of mine covered the story of Jack Spheer’s death a few months ago. Did you know him personally?” Kara cautiously asked.

Sadness clouded Lena’s features. “I did. We were business partners and very good friends.”

Kara’s expression dulled. “Oh, Lena. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you, Kara.” The brunette faked a smile.

“I didn’t know he had a business partner. When my friend wrote the article, she talked to the CFO and Ms. Arias said she would be taking care of the business while the board appointed a new CEO.” The blonde didn’t want to pry but her journalistic curiosity came afloat. Not that she would ever write about what Lena was telling her, she wasn’t like that.

The brunette hid herself behind her sangria for a moment. “We met during my time in MIT and we became really close friends. We started Spheerical in Metropolis but decided to move here because I didn’t want to be in my family’s shadow, that’s also why I was like a ghost partner. He was the face of the company but the two of us decided its course.”

“What does your family do in Metropolis?”

Lena smiled as she thought of her brother. “My brother is CEO LuthorCorp.”

The blue eyed woman almost choked on her food. “Your brother? You’re Lena Luthor?”

The brunette lifted her hands as if presenting herself. “In the flesh.”

“I’ve hear so much about you!” The blonde exclaimed. “You’re a genius.”

Lena was a little confused by her reaction. “Where have you heard about me?” She made sure she was out of the spotlight, the last thing about her that was slightly news worthy probably was about her early graduation with honors in MIT.

“My cousin is Clark Kent, your brother won’t shut up about you when talking to him and he tells me about you, trying to motivate me by showing that women can do big things even in a field dominated by men! He never said where you worked or why no one knew about you but those are just details.”

The brunette’s expression softened. “You’re related to my brother’s best friend? That’s such a coincidence.”

“It does sound crazy… but now I get what you said about stepping out of your family’s shadow, I always get compared to Clark since we’re both reporters and he lives at the other side of the country, if I lived in Metropolis I would probably go insane.” The blonde playfully rolled her eyes, drinking some sangria.

“That’s why I left… I wanted to build a company on my own terms, without their help so Jack and I started SI. And now that he passed away, the company belongs to me.” Lena’s tone went from excited as she talked about having her own creation to sad as she spoke of her friend.

“What will you do with it? Will you let the board pick a new CEO, or will you do it?”

Determination appeared on the emerald eyes. “I will step up as CEO but not right now… now I have to think about my baby.”

Kara didn’t know why but pride and something warm filled her chest. “I think you’ll do great… speaking of your baby, how far along are you?” She wanted to change the subject because she didn’t like to see Lena sad.

“I’m 30 weeks pregnant.” The brunette said with a soft smile, taking a hand to caress her stomach.

“Who’s the baby daddy? Is he okay with you eating my food?” Kara playfully asked, not realizing she had messed up until Lena’s mood fell again.

“He’s not saying much these days…”

Recognition dawned on the blonde’s face. “Was it Jack?” She asked hesitantly.

Lena’s gaze met Kara, expecting to find pity but she was met with true sadness and care. “He was.”

“You said before he was your friend so, were you not together or… It’s okay if you don’t want to answer, it’s none of my business.” The blonde added quickly.

“No, it’s okay… I don’t talk about him a lot since… since his accident but I should…” Lena took a bite of her food. “We were not a couple… actually he was gay and so am I,” she confessed, Kara’s eyes widened at that, “but we both knew we wanted to have kids, even if we were single but with work being so time consuming, we never had the time to dateother people so we decided to make it happen. He gave me his sperm and held my hand during the insemination… the two times, the first didn’t work. We were so happy when we found out I was pregnant and we were planning to tell the press I was the other owner of Spheerical once the baby was born but Jack died a few days after the doctor told us we were having a boy… I was devastated, I felt like I couldn’t do this alone. I was supposed to have his help but in an instant he was gone… so I stepped back of my COO position and left Sam in charge for the time being. But I will go back, not just for Jack but for our son, I just needed some time to myself, to convince myself that I could do it, to grieve… I’m still grieving but I have to admit you have been like a beacon of light this past couple of weeks.” Lena reached out and placed her hand over Kara’s. “I’m mostly alone here, Sam comes to see how I’m doing but she’s usually too busy with her daughter and the company, Lex is also busy in Metropolis and even like that he has come visit a few times, but having to look forward to what deliciousness the kind stranger from the apartment across the hall will cook has been the highlight of my last few weeks.” Both of them chuckled. “I’m so happy you invited me tonight and I hope we can become friends.” A tear rolled down her cheek and she rushed to wipe it away. “I’m sorry, damn hormones.” The brunette sniffed and then let out a shaky laugh.

“Never apologize for having feelings… also, pregnant women are allowed to have extra feelings and extra servings of food because they are growing an entire human being inside of them. What do you say, want some more food?”

Lena looked down at her plate and was surprised to find it almost empty. She looked back at Kara and nodded. “Yes, please.”

The editor stood up and took both her plate and Lena’s to the kitchen, coming back shortly after with more food. She also refilled their glasses before taking her seat. “I forgot to say it early but I’d love to be your friend… anything you need, I’m here for you. I’ll try to ignore the feeling in the back of my head telling me you only want me because I cook like Escoffier but…” she laughed along Lena, “… if you want to watch a movie or talk or anything, you just have to knock on my door.”

"Thank you." The brunette sincerely said.

They ate the rest of their meal over mindless conversation, things like Kara saying her sister was a doctor at National City General and Lena saying she goes there for her prenatal checkups, ‘No way! How come I’ve never seen you when I have lunch with Alex?’ ‘It’s a big hospital, Kara. And I go in the mornings.’, or Kara narrating something embarrassing that happened to her in high school, Lena commenting how she never had the high school experience in boarding school, ‘It’s not the same and being surrounded by spoiled and rich mean girls is not fun.’. After a while they moved to the couch and the blonde offered Lena some ice cream ‘I didn’t know what flavor you liked so I bought five different kinds.’ ‘Are you sure you did it for me or because you wanted to have extra ice cream for yourself?’ ‘How dare you accuse me of something like that!’. They decided to watch ‘Lucifer’ and Lena was hooked immediately, saying she loved Tom Ellis’ accent. Lenoir found his way to them, curling on Kara’s lap with Lena’s hand scratching behind his ears every now and then. Kara asked Lena for permission to touch her belly, ‘I hope it’s not weird.’ ‘Not at all. Actually, you are kind by asking, there are people that don’t even know you and want to lay hands all over.’ ‘Those are the worst.’, and got excited when the baby kicked in the place she put her hand. ‘He’s happy with all the food you give me.’, Lena stated. At the end of the third episode Lena had nodded off a couple of times and Kara decided it was time she escorted the young Luthor to her door, even when she protested, ‘It’s just down the hall, don’t bother for such a short distance.’ ‘As you said, it’s a short distance, I don’t mind.’, and that’s how she ended up behind the brunette, watching as she placed her key inside the doorknob and twisted it.

The green eyed woman pushed her door open and turned to face her friend. “Thank you for such a lovely night, Kara.”

“Thank you for allowing me to be your friend.” The blue eyed woman said with a wide smile.

“You make it too easy.” Lena’s smile mirrored Kara’s, the only difference were her dimples. “Do you want to come over next Friday? We could watch a movie or something and I can cook for you for a change.”

“I can cook and bring it over.” The blonde offered.

Lena shook her head. “No way, you’ve been cooking for me since we met, it’s my turn. How does kale lasagna sound like?”

Kara faked gagging and put a hand over her forehead, as if fainting. “It sounds like the most disgusting thing ever.”

The brunette arched her brows. “You don’t like lasagna?”

“I love lasagna, but putting kale in it is a crime!”

“Oh, come on Kara, don’t tell me you don’t like healthy food.” Lena crossed her arms over her chest but they practically rested on her belly.

“I can eat vegetables but with moderation. Kale is a no no for me, though.” Kara said with her hands on her hips. “What other foods can you cook?”

Lena drew her lower lip between her teeth. “I’m sorry to disappoint you but I only cook healthy stuff…” This made Kara wince. “It’s pregnancy food, vegetables and healthy options are my best friends, the only times I eat something other than that is when the baby craves something and lately that has been your fault.”

The blonde sighed. “I’ll try your… kale lasagna,” she said the word with disdain, “but if I don’t like it, I’m ordering Chinese.”

The brunette clapped a few times in victory. “That’s all I can ask, that you try it. I promise you won’t regret it.”

“Don't make a girl a promise if you know you can't keep it.” Kara said in a playful challenge.

Lena smirked at those words. “We’ll see.”

“We’ll see.” The blonde repeated before pulling her phone out of her pocket. “Would you give me your phone number?”

Without a word, Lena lifted her hand, palm up, waiting for the blonde to give her the device. She typed her number and pressed the call button and handed it back to Kara, pulling her own phone out.

“Should I save you as Lena Luthor or just Lena?” The blonde asked as she started the process to save a new contact.

“Should I save you as Kara Kent or just Kara?” Lena was doing the same, but she didn’t expect the burst of laughter coming from the other woman.

“I’m not Kara Kent!” Her laugh started to die down.

Lena was a little confused. “You said you were Clark Kent’s cousin.”

“I am, but my last name is Danvers however… that’s a story for another day.” She typed ‘Lena’ and added the four-leaf clover emoji, pocketing her phone.

The brunette arched a brow. “You’re trying to keep the mystery… okay. I can play that too. Good night, Kara.”

Kara’s response was to lean down and place a chaste kiss on her new friend’s cheek. As she pulled back, she saw the flush starting to surface. “Good night, Lena. Sweet dreams.” She turned around and didn’t look back, knowing her face was starting to redden as well.

Chapter Text

Lena opened her eyes leisurely, blinking a few times, allowing them to adjust to the light that came through the partially closed curtains. Letting out a small yawn, she shifted closer to the edge of her bed and slowly moved to a seated position, smiling as she felt the weight of her belly on the hand she had placed under it. With her free hand, she reached for her phone on the bedside table, taking it away from the wireless charging station to see what time it was. It was just after 9 in the morning and, even if she had been waking up at that time for the last few months, she still found it odd not rousing at 7 am like she did when going to the office. It took a second for the brunette to notice the notification telling her she had a text message. She quickly opened it since it wasn’t unusual for Sam to text her something about the office that early in the morning even on a Saturday but, to her surprise, the text wasn’t from her best friend… it was from Kara.

07:28 am. *good morning Lena* [sun and smiley face emojis]

Lena made a funny face, wondering why the blonde was up so early on the weekend.

09:11 am. *Good morning Kara, why are you up so early? Work?*

Kara’s response was immediate.

09:12 am. *saturdays are my days off, I’m actually out with my sister* [photo attached]

The picture was a selfie showing a sweaty yet smiley blonde with a high ponytail in what looked like the outdoor section of the cafeteria of National City General. She was sitting in a table next to a short haired woman wearing scrubs, she was smiling too and had one hand up doing the peace sign but you could tell she was tired.

Lena stared at the selfie admiring the blue eyed girl until another text came.

09:12 am. *she was on call last night and wanted to have a decent meal instead of hospital garbage* [donut emojis] [photo attached]

This time, the camera was pointed at the table, showing two half-eaten club sandwiches, two cups of coffee and a box of half a dozen donuts.

Seeing all that food made the brunette hungry. She got up to go make herself something to eat as she texted.

09:13 am. *That doesn’t explain why you’re all flustered and sweaty*

Lena opened her fridge and pulled out some ingredients she needed to make pancakes.

09:13 am. *that’s because I went for a run before coming here* [flexing arm emojis]

Well, that made sense. Someone who ate as Kara had to lose all those calories somehow, Lena thought as she started to batter the pancake mix. Once it was done, she texted again.

09:17 am. *I didn’t think you exercised, I thought you were some kind of alien with super-fast metabolism after watching you devouring 3 out of 5 tubs of ice cream last night*

09:18 am. *you discovered my secret, the run was just a cover and I sprinkled water on my face just now for that picture but you’re so smart and figured it out* [x-eyed emojis]

The pregnant woman laughed. She grabbed a pan and placed it on the flame, putting some butter and grabbing her phone to answer quickly as she waited for it to melt.

09:20 am. *I’m not smart, I’m a genius so you better not try to fool me* [winking emoji]

09:20 am. *I would never…* [googly eyes emoji]

09:20 am. *I thought you didn’t have emojis on your phone until now* [laughing emojis]

Lena rolled her eyes playfully even if the other woman wasn’t there to see. She put some pancake mix on the pan before typing.

09:21 am. *Not because you seem incapable of texting without them means everyone is like that, I am a very serious person…*

Lena turned her attention back to the pan where the mix started to bubble but not enough to flip it yet. She felt her phone vibrate in her hand again.

09:21 am. *serious people don’t go banging on their neighbor’s door because they smelled wine* [ROFL emojis]

The brunette’s jaw went slack, not believing Kara really typed that. She wasn’t offended but she didn’t expect it. She grabbed the pan’s handle and with a flick of her wrist, flipped her pancake and though of a comeback.

09:23 am. *Pregnancy card*

The green eyed woman scooped the pancake with a plastic spatula, put it in her plate and then put more butter on the pan, hearing as it sizzled, before adding more mix.

09:24 am. *that’s not fair* [rolling eyes emoji]

Lena chuckled at the reaction.

09:24 am. *Oh, but it is*

09:24 am. *Being pregnant it’s the perfect excuse when you do things out of character*

09:25 am. *so having a tiny human inside of you is a get out of jail free card?*

09:25 am. *Exactly* [smirking emoji]

09:25 am. *Now, I’ll leave you hang out with your sister, also I don’t want to burn my pancakes*

09:25 am. *Have a nice day*

Lena flipped the second pancake, wincing when she saw that it was a little browner than what she liked.

09:26 am. *have a lovely day, mamma bear* [blushing emoji]

The brunette’s dimples appeared on her face as the corners of her mouth pulled into a smile. Leaving her phone on the counter, she grabbed some strawberries from her fridge and cut them in sliced to eat with her fluffy pancakes, making herself some decaf coffee too. Even as she took the first bite, the smile never left her face.

::::::

Kara had just hit ‘send’ to her last text when a piece of donut hit her in the face.

“Hey! Don’t waste food!” She reprimanded her sister as she grabbed a napkin to clean the chocolate – and sweat – from her skin, before taking the piece of donut from the table and put it in her mouth.

“You have been ignoring me for almost 10 minutes! Who are you texting that is more important than your sister?” Alex complained, biting on her donut, starting to speak as she chewed, “Hell, forget about me,” she swallowed, “your sandwich is still half eaten and I’m already starting on the donuts, who is more important than food?”

The blonde’s cheeks flushed a little, grabbing her sandwich and taking a big bite, trying to deflect the question. She took her time, chewing slowly. She was about to take another bite without even swallowing what she had in her mouth when the doctor wrapped her hand around Kara’s wrist and stopped her, giving her ‘the sister look’, you know, the scary tell me the truth face.

“It was Lena.” Kara mumbled through half chewed food before finally letting it go down her throat.

The redhead’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Lena? Pregnant girl who asked you for food Lena?” Her sister nodded in response. “I thought you only saw her like… two weeks ago? Didn’t you give her ravioli?” Kara nodded again. “And now she’s your friend just because you met once?”

The editor didn’t answer right away. “That wasn’t the only time we’ve met.”

Alex squinted her eyes, making Kara squirm. “Explain.” She demanded.

The blue eyed woman looked down at her sandwich before whispering. “I gave her cinnamon buns last week.”

The doctor let out a dramatic gasp. “You gave a stranger my cinnamon buns?”

“Okay, first of all, they were my cinnamon buns, I gave you some because you were sad and pathetic and I’m an amazing sister – ouch!” Kara yelped as Alex hit her in the arm with the back of her hand. The blonde rubbed the attacked limb for a few moments and then continued. “And, second, how can I deny food to a pregnant woman? It’s impossible! And she’s so cute, Alex! Like, even if she wasn’t pregnant, I wouldn’t have said no.”

“And what? She’s your BFF now?” The redhead asked incredulous. Two interactions weren’t enough for that but she had to admit her sister had a magnetic personality.

“And… I had dinner with her last night…” The blonde confessed, then opened her mouth as big as it went and stuffed her face with her food.

“Yeah, right, you had dinner with her…” Alex snorted with a smirk on her face, not believing her sister but the mockery abandoned her features slowly as she realized something. “Wait… you had a list of fancy ingredients when we bought the cats’ stuff in the supermarket… fuck, you did have dinner with her!” She slapped the table, making a few heads turn in their direction but she didn’t mind. “Look at you, Kara, making the moves on a pregnant girl, I didn’t know you had it in you!”

But the blonde did mind people staring. “Would you be quiet? This is your work place!” She whispered-yelled at her sister.

The doctor leaned towards her sister, entering her personal space. “Oh God, are you a home wrecker?” She wondered with a low voice. “She’s pregnant so there must be someone else in the picture, right?”

Kara leaned away from her sister. “I’m not a home wrecker!” She said louder than what she’d have liked, attracting attention to them again. She blushed harder and modified her tone. “I’m not a home wrecker,” she repeated, “because there’s no one else, she’s single.”

“So, will you try something?”

The editor let out a gust of breath. “I don’t know… I think I want to…”

“Why do I sense a but? Is there a but? Is she straight?” Alex asked in quick succession, not letting Kara answer.

“She’s gay.” The blonde took another bite of her sandwich. “But what if the only thing she need right now is a friend? She told me she is a very lonely person, her male best friend was her baby daddy and he died recently and her girl best friend is busy with work and her own child so they barely see each other.”

“Well… the term ‘girlfriend’ has ‘friend’ at the end so…” She poked her sister’s stomach, making her flinch away.

“Stop it, I mean it.” Kara warned the redhead. “I want to get to know her and if something more happens… I’ll go with the flow.”

Alex arched a brow, unamused. “So, you want to get friendzoned?” She drummed her fingers on the table, the soft metallic sound of her nails as they touched the surface got to Kara’s nerves.

“She has her baby to think about, I bet a romantic relationship is last on the things she needs right now.” Kara said firmly.

Before her sister could answer, her pager went off. The doctor looked at the message before meeting the blonde’s eyes again. “I have to go, one of my patients just woke up.” She got up, placed her half eaten donut on the box and started to walk away with it in her hands.

“Hey! Give me back my donuts!” Kara growled at her sister who only started to walk faster.

“You owe me, you gave away my cinnamon buns! Thank you for breakfast sis, you’re a life saver!” Alex disappeared inside the building.

Kara sighed in defeat, looking at her sandwich which no longer looked yummy. “I want pancakes now…” She muttered to herself.

::::::

They didn’t have a chance to see each other during the following week but that didn’t mean they didn’t talk at all; Kara texted Lena good morning as she woke up for her morning jogs every day, Lena replied a few hours later when the blonde was already at work and then they text throughout the day about any topics to get to know each other a little better.

::::::

09:47 am. *a quiet morning in the office* [sun emoji] [video attached]

The video showed a lot of people walking around, papers in hand, all clearly frenetic trying to finish whatever it was they were doing.

09:49 am. *Why are you at the office on a Sunday morning?*

09:55 am. *it’s all hands on deck on sundays to finish monday’s issue*

09:55 am. *I see you’re a hard worker miss Danvers*

09:55 am. *Don’t let Cat Grant caught you on your phone though*

10:01 am. *is that your way of telling me to stop bothering you? [pleading face emojis]

10:01 am. *Of course not, I just don’t want you to get fired because if that happens you won’t be able to afford your apartment and, who would feed me delicious food then?*

10:02 am. *oh I see, this is not about me, it’s about you!* [crying and broken heart emojis]

10:02 am. *Why would you believe such thing? [raised eyebrow and laughing emojis]

10:06 am. *you’re not as sweet as I initially though…* [thinking face emoji]

10:07 am. *Oh, you think I’m sweet?* [smirking emoji]

10:10 am. *not anymore*

10:10 am. *It seems like I’ll have to change your mind*

That afternoon, a man delivered Kara two bags of takeout filled with Chinese food and a box of donuts. Inside the paper bag of Chinese there was a note that read ‘I didn’t know what you liked so I ordered a little bit of everything. PS. There’s not a Chinese equivalent of bon appetite so, 慢慢吃!’ The blonde smiled, quickly googling the meaning of those characters, which turned out they translated to ‘eat slowly’, that made her chuckle.  Then she lifted the lid of the donuts box, her grin widening as she realized they were of same kind Alex had stolen from her the day before and they also had a note stuck on the inner side of the lid, ‘You think I’m sweet now?’

01:33 pm. *you’re even sweeter than these donuts*

::::::

03:17 pm. *when’s your birthday?*

03:19 pm. *Why do you want to know?*

03:19 pm. *because people know that kind of stuff about their friends, dah* [grinning face emojis]

03:19 pm. *When is yours?*

03:20 pm. *hey! I asked first!* [pleading emojis]

03:20 pm. *Just tell me* [hugging face emoji]

03:22 pm. *September 22* [Virgo sign emoji]

03:22 pm. *now’s your turn* [winking face with tongue out emoji]

03:22 pm. *October 24* [autumn leaves emoji]

03:23 pm. *so you’re a Scorpio then* [Scorpio sign emoji]

03:23 pm. *I suppose I am*

03:23 pm. *As much as I’m into astronomy, zodiac signs are beyond my understanding*

03:23 pm. *I don’t know when a planet is in retrograde and how that affects my mood and/or interpersonal relationships based on the day I was born* [shrugging emoji]

03:24 pm. *me neither but everyone likes to ask people’s signs* [ROFL emojis]

03:24 pm. *your bd is so close to Halloween, that’s cool*

03:24 pm. *if that was the case for me, I would have asked to have costume birthday parties every year* [Jack-O-Lantern, ghost and witch emojis]

03:24 pm. *bc yes, Halloween is my favorite holiday*

03:25 pm. *Would you judge me if I tell you I’ve never been to a costume party?*

03:25 pm. *...*

03:25 pm. *tell me at least you have trick or treated*

03:25 pm. *Lex took me once when I was 8 but my mother was not happy about it*

03:25 pm. *She confiscated all our candy but I didn’t care because I had so much fun with my brother*

03:26 pm. *omg why would she do that?!* [crying and screaming face emojis]

03:26 pm. *Because Lex didn’t tell her we were going out*

03:26 pm. *oh, so you made her worry and she grounded you? That’s not too crazy*

03:27 pm. *She actually wasn’t mad because of the trick or treating, she was angry because Lex ‘borrowed’ one of our dad’s cars so we could go to a normal neighborhood since there weren’t any kids my age in the fanciest side of Metropolis*

03:27 pm. *okay, that’s a good reason to take the candy away* [ROFL emojis]

03:27 pm. *still, such a shame you didn’t eat the candy but at least you had the experience*

03:27 pm. *how were you guys dressed?* [thinking face emojis]

03:28 pm. *Wednesday and Pugsley Addams*

03:28 pm. *OMG THAT’S SO CUTE!*

03:28 pm. *I’m gonna need prove of that though…*

03:28 pm. *Maybe someday I’ll show you the only picture I have of that*

03:29 pm. *But only if you show me pictures of you first*

03:29 pm. *deal*

::::::

11:18 am. *what’s your favorite color?* [thinking face emoji]

11:18 am. *Take a guess*

11:18 am. *black?*

11:19 am. *I’m not that basic* [smirking emoji]

11:19 am. *green* [clover emoji]

11:19 am. *Just because I’m Irish? That’s racist* [laughing emoji]

11:19 am. *[laughing emojis]

11:20 am. *how bout purple?* [purple heart emoji]

11:21 am. *Barney color? No thanks*

11:21 am. *orange!*

11:22 am. *I’ll only wear orange if I ever go to prison*

11:35 am. *Giving up already? That seems unlike you*

11:49 am. *sorry, had an errant to run*

11:49 am. *moving on… red*

11:50 am. *Don’t worry, I know you’re working hard*

11:50 am. *I like red in my lipstick, the bottom of my shoes and in a coat or two but still not my favorite*

11:52 am. *I’m running out of colors here…*

11:52 am. *… pink?*

11:52 am. *Finally! I thought you’d never guess!* [party face, party popper and pink heart emojis]

11:53 am. *really?!?* [star-eyed emojis]

11:53 am. *No*

11:53 am. *I cannot believe you thought it was true*

11:54 am. *I should’ve know… you used way to many emojis* [rolling eyes emojis]

11:54 am. *will you tell me?*

11:54 am. *pretty please???*

11:55 am. [photo attached]

The picture showed the blonde pouting and making the most adorable puppy dog eyes Lena had ever seen. The brunette felt like she could lose herself inside those blue pools.

11:56 am. *That’s cheating*

11:56 am. *You can’t use that look on me*

11:56 am. *idk what look you’re talking about* [hand over mouth emoji]

11:57 am. *You are well aware of it and the power it holds, I’m sure* [rolling eyes emoji]

11:59 am. *you mean this look?* [photo attached]

The blonde had clearly taken a little longer to reply because she took her time editing the new picture, it showed her pout and puppy eyes again but she had added a soft blush on her cheeks and sparkles around her. Also her eyes looked bluer than usual which was a hard thing to top.

12:02 pm. *You’re killing me* [cross eyes emoji]

12:02 pm. *I would never, you’re too cute*

12:02 pm. *just tell me, pleaAAAseeee!* [crying and pleading emojis]

12:03 pm. *Try to guess one more time*

12:03 pm. *b*

12:03 pm. *l*

12:03 pm. *u*

12:03 pm. *e*

12:04 pm. [blue heart emoji]

12:04 pm. *About time* [winking emoji]

12:04 pm. *yesssss!!!*

12:04 pm. *but wait*

12:04 pm. *if black was basic, why blue isn’t?*

12:05 pm. *Black only has one shade, if it’s lighter then it’s not black anymore, it’s gray*

12:05 pm. *Blue however, has so many tones and a lot of my favorite things are blue*

12:05 pm. *The sky, the sea, blueberries, many animals…*

Lena almost typed ‘your eyes’ but caught on her slip quickly.

12:06 pm. *wow*

12:06 pm. *now I feel shallow to have chosen blue as my favorite color as a child because of Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber…*

12:06 pm. *Excuse me, that’s Anakin’s lightsaber*

12:06 pm. *excuse me, Obi Wan claimed it when he beat Anakin at Mustafar and then gave it to Luke*

12:07 pm. *This isn’t Harry Potter, you don’t get ownership of a lightsaber if you disarm the owner*

12:07 pm. *I didn’t mean to make that pun but now it’s done*

12:07 pm. *okay, we need to have a Star Wars debate like ASAP*

12:08 pm. *Bring it on*

12:08 pm. *unfortunately, it’s gonna have to wait because I have work* [frowning face emojis]

12:08 pm. *We’ll discuss it over the lasagna then*

12:13 pm. *yes, we shall* [star emojis]

::::::

Friday finally arrived and Lena was feeling nervous. Not bad nervousness, it was more like excitement, like the way a kid feels when they go to sleep on Christmas Eve knowing that the next day there will be presents under the tree. She woke up at the usual time, briefly texted with Kara and then went to the supermarket after breakfast to buy all the necessary things for the lasagna. She was a good cook but, unlike the blonde, she didn’t have the patience to make the lasagna noodles just like the editor had made for the ravioli so she made sure to buy the best kind of premade noodles the store had. She picked up some big red tomatoes for the sauce, the ricotta, mozzarella and the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and the most beautiful bunch of kale available – she would never admit she spend quite some time selecting it – before going to pay for her stuff, knowing she had the rest of the ingredients back home.

Lena had told Kara to come over at 7 pm, so she had a lot of time to kill before she could start cooking. The brunette looked at her e-mails hoping Sam needed help with something but she had no luck. Then she called her brother to catch up a bit but he was busy running his company too so the call wasn’t very long. Lena thought about calling her mother but she wasn’t desperate enough and decided to have some lunch while watching something on Netflix – she was already about to finish ‘Lucifer’. At half past four she decided it was time to begging, cooking the lasagna would take about an hour and a half, leaving her plenty time to shower and find something nice to wear.

The brunette washed her hands and started on the tomato sauce after turning on the oven to preheat. Then, she proceeded to let the noodles cook, stirring them in the boiling water for the first few minutes to prevent them from sticking together or to the bottom of the pan. In the meantime, Lena grabbed a bowl to combine the ricotta and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese with an egg, lemon zest, salt and pepper while constantly checking on her noodles, draining them once she felt they were ‘al dente’. Leaving them to dry and cool off on oiled baking paper, she grabbed the bunch of kale to wash and disinfect, grabbing a knife to destem and chop it. After that, Lena prepared the baking dish she was going to use, coating it with olive oil and then spreading a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom. She placed 4 lasagna noodles over the sauce, spread some more of it and added half of the ricotta mixture, half of the chopped kale and a layer of mozzarella, repeating the process one more time before placing the final layer of noodles, topped only with tomato sauce and mozzarella. Satisfied with the result, she carefully opened the oven and placed the baking dish inside, setting a timer to ring at 45 minutes. She started cleaning the kitchen and by the time she was finished, her lasagna only needed 10 more minutes in the oven but she still checked if the cheese was golden yet.

Seeing that it was not ready, the brunette went to her room and started pulling out clothes so she could choose. Given that she didn’t go out much since Jack’s dead, the maternity clothes she had were in its majority more comfortable than pretty, the few cute outfits she had were thanks to Sam who occasionally made her go out with her and Ruby. Lena decided to ask her friend for advice. Placing two options on her bed, she took a picture of each and sent them to the older woman, requesting her opinion. As soon as the check marks turned blue, Sam’s name blinked in the screen in an incoming call. Before the pregnant woman could answer, the timer for the lasagna went off so she pressed the green button on the screen as she walked to the kitchen.

“Haven’t I told you to burn that ugly black shirt with white stripes?” The CFO didn’t greet or give time to Lena to do it first.

“Hi Sam, I’m doing great, thanks for asking.” Lena playfully said as she turned off the oven, grabbing a rag to carefully open it and let some heat escape.

Sam chuckled under her breath. “Hello darling, I’m glad you’re okay and I’m sorry we haven’t talked other than business this past few days.”

“No need to apologize, I’m grateful for the work you do.” The green eyes woman said sincerely, leaning on the kitchen counter smelling the lasagna and feeling her mouth water.

“Anyways, why are you asking for outfit choices? Am I being a terrible friend and forgetting we had plans tonight? Because Ruby invited a few friends for a sleep over and they’ll be here in less than an hour.” The CFO said apologetically, Lena could almost picture her running a hand through her hair.

“No, we don’t have anything planned, don’t worry. I’m having someone over for dinner and I want to look nice.” Lena tried to sound nonchalant but Sam knew her too well.

“You’re having who over?” The older woman was too smart for Lena’s own good. She knew that Lena liked to go straight to the point and would have said if she was having dinner with someone Sam knew.

Lena played with a lock of her hair as she tried to avoid the interrogatory. “A friend.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way babe but… you don’t have friends.” She tried to lighten the statement with a giggle at the end. “Your only friends in National City were Jack and I.”

Lena scoffed at those words, feeling slightly offended. “Of course I have friends, don’t think so high of yourself…” she didn’t mean the last part and she knew Sam knew too.

“Name five friends, right now.” The CFO retorted sharply.

The pregnant woman rolled her eyes even if her friend couldn’t see, as she loudly let out a breath. “Okay… Andrea Rojas.”

“That’s your ex and you hate her.” The older woman deadpanned.

“I don’t hate her.” Lena quickly replied – and she did hate her.

“Well, you should after what she did to you… and I hate her so she doesn’t count. Another.”

The brunette thought of another name for a few moments. “Veronica Sinclair.”

“She’s your ex too, and she was even crazier than Andrea.” Sam said unamused. “Stop naming exes, they’re not your friends.”

“Lana Lang.”

Sam grunted from the other side of the line. “Ugh, that’s your brother’s ex! You’re just proving my point here.”

Lena shrugged and opened her mouth but no words came out at first. “I… You’re being mean to a pregnant woman, do you realize this?”

“I’m not trying to be, honey, but I’m having a hard time thinking about who you want to dress up for.”

The brunette heard the concern in her friend’s voice. She was right, Lena was a very private person with not many people who she considered close to her. “It’s someone I met a few weeks ago.”

The line was silent for a moment. “The only new person you’ve met lately is that cute girl from the apartment down the hall, right? The one who gave you food, what was her name?”

“Her name’s Kara.” Lena said as closed the oven again to maintain the lasagna hot and then started to walk back to her room to lay on her bed for a moment, her feet were starting to hurt.

“So, you’re having dinner with this Kara person? Is it a date?” Sam asked salaciously.

The pregnant woman got comfortable with her back leaned on the headboard and a pillow on her lower back. “I don’t know what it is… for now it just is two people getting to know each other more.”

“More? What do you already know about her? And how did you get her to have dinner with you?”

“Geez, thanks for making it sound like dinner with me it’s the worst thing that could happen to anyone.” Lena quipped as she placed her free hand over her belly.

“I didn’t mean it like that and you know it, so stop trying to deflect the question.” Sam used her ‘mom’ tone.

The younger woman bit her bottom lip trying to hide her smile as if Sam could see her. “I asked her after we had dinner at her place last Friday.”

“You what!? You already had a date with her and didn’t tell me!?” Lena heard Ruby on the background asking her mom why was she yelling and Sam shushing her.

“It was not a date, she just cooked dinner for me and we talked…” The brunette pulled the phone away from her ear, put it on speaker and set it on the bed besides her.

“That sounds like a date… but tell me, what do you actually know about her? How do you know she’s not some pregnant women serial killer who just wants to gain your trust who now will have access to your home?” The brown eyed woman said, half joking half not. She cared a lot about Lena’s – and the baby’s – wellbeing.

The brunette laughed. “You’re being dramatic. You don’t need to worry, I don’t know a lot about her yet but I can assure you she’s not a serial killer or a crazy person with a pregnant women kink. She’s Clark’s cousin.”

“Clark’s cousin? Clark Kent’s cousin?” Sam asked incredulous.

“Mm-hmm.” Lena hummed in agreement. “The one and only.” She wouldn’t admit it but last week after Kara walked her to her door, she had texted Lex asking if Clark had a cousin and her brother confirmed it with a picture of the two cousins in front of the Daily Planet’s entrance.

“That’s such a coincidence…”

“I said the same thing but I don’t really care. She seems like a really nice person and I could use a new friend. Now, could you tell me what to wear? I need to take a shower pronto.” Lena said, taking her hair off the bun she had it in.

“Sure, hmm… I like the black dress but you could use it for other occasion. For tonight, wear the overall shorts with a shirt underneath – not that black and white monstrosity and not red or green unless you want to look like Mario and Luigi –, some cute sandals and you’re set. Let your hair down but don’t straighten it, the wavy locks make you look soft. You’ll have her under your spell in no time.” Sam added mischievously.

“Stop it, I don’t even know if she’s gay.” Lena retorted, standing up to search for a shirt that went well with the blue overalls.

“But she could be.” The CFO quickly responded. “She invited you to dinner first, that sounds gay to me.”

“Even if she was, I’m pregnant. That’s a lot to take in.” She finally found a white shirt with the ‘Star Wars’ logo in black across the chest.

“You could be U-Haul lesbians. Look! You already live in the same building!” Sam replied.

“I don’t have time for that, Sam. My baby comes first, my focus should be on him but… if something happens, I’ll just… go with the flow.”

Her friend laughed. “Okay, Lena. Have fun, you useless lesbian.” She decided not to push it.

The brunette grabbed all her clothes and her phone, walking to her bathroom. “Have fun watching over a bunch of 8 year-olds.”

“Don’t worry about me, I already have the pizza and sodas ready for them. Tell me how it goes, okay?”

Not closing the door behind her since she lived alone, Lena placed her clothes on the sink. “Of course. Talk to you later.”

“Later.” After that short goodbye, Sam hung up.

The brunette proceeded to take her clothes off and carefully hopping into the shower. Using a lavender scented gel to clean her skin and later taking her time with her shampoo as she massaged her scalp. Knowing that her overalls were short ones, she thought about shaving her legs but quickly dismissed the idea, she was in no way willing to bend over to do it and it’s not like she was hairy, the small hairs that grew on her legs and arms were so thin that you could barely see them. Lena climbed out of the shower, toweled herself and applied moisturizer all over her skin – especially on her belly –, put on her robe and applied some hair cream to help her detangle and protect from the heat of the quick blow dry she liked to do, to then let it air dry for the curls to form naturally. By the time she was fully dressed, it was quarter to seven so she sat on her living room with a towel around her shoulders so her shirt didn’t get wet. She applied a little bit of makeup, some blush, eyeliner and a soft lipstick to go with the outfit. The young woman was just finishing when there was a knock on her door. She stood up as fast as her body let her, threw the towel on her shoulders to her room and then walked towards the door.

Lena took a deep breath and let it out through her mouth. “It’s just dinner with a friend, you can do this.” She encouraged herself, grabbing the knob and forming a smile as she opened the front door.

Chapter Text

Kara had been nervous since the moment she opened her eyes that Friday morning. She usually woke up at 7 am for her morning jog but chose to rise an hour earlier to prepare a little surprise for Lena and also because Lenoir was meowing demanding food. The blonde texted Lena good morning as she typically did when she returned from the park – where she almost tripped a couple of times as she was distracted thinking about certain green eyed woman –, cleaned herself up a bit and entered her kitchen to make a simple yet delicious dessert for after dinner, preferring to ignore the brunette’s request of not bringing anything since Kara would never show up empty handed.

Washing her hands again after petting her cat, Kara grabbed the ingredients she needed to make a Mexican flan. She placed a saucepan on the fire and added one cup of sugar and two tablespoons of water, watching as it melted to form the caramel and then pouring the golden syrup into a mold. Turning on the oven to preheat, she then grabbed the eggs and cracked them inside the blender, adding the condensed and evaporated milk, the vanilla and a bit of sugar, mixing it all and pouring it in the mold as well, covering it with tin foil. Finally, the blonde opened the oven and placed the mold in bain-marie for 50 minutes. She cleaned everything as she waited, only going to take a quick shower once she pulled the mold out of the oven to let it cool for a bit, and lastly placing it inside her fridge before going to the office.

She spent her morning and afternoon working on a short article at CatCo that had way more typos than usual and reviewing articles from some other people. Nia noticed her boss’ odd behavior and teased her about it but stopped as soon as Kara threatened the young reporter with assigning her the sports article of the month and Nia was not a fan of it. Somehow, she managed to survive the day at work and was out of the building as soon as the watch on her wrist marked 5 o’clock.

The editor rushed home to take another shower and pick her outfit. She was pacing from her closet to her bed in her underwear, pulling out clothes and trying to match them with some other garment but nothing seemed right. Her bed was starting to look like a mountain of clothes when she heard her phone ringing, instinctively reaching for it on her ‘back pocket’ when she realized she didn’t have pants on. Snorting to herself, the blonde approached the night table where the device rested, seeing her sister’s name flash across the screen and swiping her finger to answer the call.

“Hey Alex.” Kara greeted first.

“Hey sis, are you freaking out already?” The doctor’s tone was clearly meant to tease her sister.

The blonde snorted, placing a hand on her hip and making a face as if Alex could see her. “Why would I be freaking out?”

“Because of your date tonight, obviously.”

Kara almost stomped her foot like a child but stopped herself. “It is not a date, Alex.” She remarked.

“Okay, okay… are you freaking out because of your not-date with your not-girlfriend?” The redhead tried again, her amused tone saying everything.

“She is not my girlfriend!” The blue eyed woman whispered-yelled to her sister.

The doctor laughed at her sister’s insistence. “That’s what I said! She’s not your girlfriend, you just want her to be.”

Kara pinched the bridge of her nose with her middle finger and thumb, pushing her glasses slightly up. “Ugh, I can’t deal with you right now, I have to pick what to wear.” She let herself fall on the bed, not caring if she wrinkled some clothes by accident.

“Have you narrowed down your options?”

The blonde sighed and sat up, looking down at the clothes next to her. “Uh… I was thinking of something a little more casual than a button down and pants, so maybe jeans and a cute shirt?”

“What shirts do you have in mind?”

Kara tried to find one on the pile of clothes, pulling out a purple one. “I have the purple blouse with the round neck and…” she pulled another. “… the baby blue shirt that has the… pointy collar thingy, ugh you know which one I’m talking about.”

“The pointed flat collar, yes. Pick the blue, always go with the blue, you know this. Also, that shirt makes your arms look good, like they’re about to tear the fabric. Wear it with dark jeans and you’re set.” Alex suggested.

“Okay, I’ll do as you say. Thank you, Al.” The blonde said with a smile, flopping down to the mattress again.

“I wish you would do as I say more often, Kar. I’m the smarter sister for a reason.” The redhead said as a matter of fact.

Kara snorted. “Yeah, right. Anyway, I should get dressed, thanks again.”

“Anytime, tell me how it goes and if she thirsts over those guns you have for arms.”

The blue eyed woman rolled her eyes as she stood up from her bed. “Whatever, talk later.”

“Byeeee.” Alex said before ending the call.

The editor turned around and looked at the blue garment, thinking if she should iron it or not. It wasn’t too wrinkly but, would Lena think she was lazy if she didn’t iron it? Would she think she was trying too much if she did? Oh God, she was thinking too much. She slipped into a pair of dark jeans and the blouse, tucking it into the waistband before zipping it up. Pushing her hands into the front pockets so the fabric doesn’t bunch up and make it look like she had a bulge, she finally straightened any wrinkles in the shirt with her hands.

Kara looked at herself in the mirror and smiled at the sight, nodding at her reflection. She tied her hair in a ponytail twist, applied some makeup and slipped into her shoes, smiling when she found them next to a sleeping Lenoir. After making sure she was ready, the blonde went to her fridge to pull out the flan and place it into a dish. She removed the tin foil, ran a knife around the inside of the mold to release the flan. Then she inverted a plate on the mold, skilfully flipped it over, and gently removed the mold, revealing the syrupy caramel topping of the flan. All the surface was smooth and the hole in the middle was perfect.

Grabbing her phone to take a quick photo, Kara realized she had half an hour to kill before 7 pm so she placed the dessert back in the fridge and started to play with her cat using the laser pointer she had bought for the feline, laughing when the animal ‘caught’ the red dot, only to separate his little paws and see nothing. They kept doing that until Kara looked at the time again, her eyes widening when she saw that it was 6:55 pm. Pocketing only her phone, she made sure to fill the cat’s bowls with both food and water before grabbing the flan and heading to the brunette’s door.

Kara stood in front of the door for a few moments, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. “It’s just dinner with a friend… a gorgeous friend with the most adorable face and the deepest green blue eyes I have ever seen in my life and… who also is going through a lot and probably just needs someone to talk to and nothing more. I can do this.” She whispered to herself, balancing the flan in one hand and reaching out to knock with the other.

A few moments passed until the door was opened by the beautiful brunette. “Hello, Kara. Come in, please.” She said with a wide smile, moving to the side to let the blonde walk past her.

“Hi, Lena.” Kara did as she was told and turned around when she heard the door close. “I know you said I didn’t have to bring anything but I thought we might need dessert after.” She gestured at the dish in her hands. “I know that a tiramisu would have been better to eat after the lasagna but it takes time to make but I didn’t have much time and the only place that sells a decent tiramisu here is on the other side of the city, so I decided to make a flan because is faster to bake and it tastes really good.” How she managed to say all that in one breath was beyond Lena.

The brunette raised her hands to stop Kara’s ramble. “That’s okay darling, I bet it tastes even better than what you claim.” Her smile fluttered slightly when she caught on the pet name that accidentally left her lips. What was that, Lena? You’re going to make her feel uncomfortable! she thought and waited for Kara to make a gesture of uneasiness but that didn’t happen.

Instead, the older woman let out a nervous giggle and finally took a good look at Lena. She was wearing overall shorts with one of the straps undone, showing the ‘Star Wars’ logo of the white shirt underneath. She smiled as she saw the way the fabric tightened on her belly, showing the almost perfectly round bump. “I see that you didn’t forget we had a pending discussion on ‘Star Wars’.”

Lena’s dimples showed up along a soft blush. Her eyes darted down Kara’s frame, looking at her outfit choice. Those arms, damn, she tried not to stare. “And I see that you didn’t forget which color was my favorite.”

The blonde looked down bashfully before meeting the pregnant woman’s eyes again. “You can’t claim blue as yours, I like it too!”

The green eyed woman stepped closer and took the flan from Kara’s hands. “We can agree to disagree. Let me put this in the refrigerator for now. Make yourself at home.”

“Sure, thank you.” Kara started looking around and got distracted by the many frames hanging on the walls, the lights above the kitchen bar and all the electric fireplace. “Are you sure blue is your favorite color? Because this is a lot of white.” She commented lightheartedly as she ran her hands on the back of one of the white couches.

Lena turned around as she closed the fridge, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “White relaxes me.” She simply said. “Can I offer you something to drink while I serve the lasagna?”

The blue eyed woman started walking towards the brunette. “Let me help you.” She said, ignoring the question.

When Kara was close enough, the pregnant woman grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around. “No, no, you will sit down and let me do this.” She gently pushed Kara to the small four seats table that was behind the big couch. She pulled a chair but the blonde didn’t sit down.

“I don’t mind helping, for real.” The editor insisted, turning to face the young Luthor.

If it was someone else, Lena might have felt offended with the request, taking it as condescendence but Kara didn’t make her feel that way, she made her feel warm and like she genuinely cared. “I’m pregnant, not disabled.” She joked. “I’ll tell you what… let me serve the lasagna and you can serve the flan, okay?”

The taller woman sighed in resignation. “Okay, that sounds good.” She took her seat, tilting her face to watch Lena walk back into the kitchen. “How was your day?”

Lena grabbed an oven glove and took out the lasagna from the oven, happy that was still warm. “It was nice… quiet.” She pulled out two plates to serve the lasagna. “After breakfast I went to the supermarket to get everything.” Grabbing a knife, she cut a perfect square into the pasta and then lifted it with the help of a plastic spatula. “I called my brother to catch up and then had lunch over some Netflix.” She repeated the process. “After some episodes, I decided it was time to start cooking, took a shower and now we’re here. That was my very exciting day.” She chuckled as she looked for the cutlery and some napkins, taking that to the table first. “How about you?”

“It was the same as every day, to be honest. I did wake up earlier to make the flan but other than that, it was a regular day… that is until now, this is the highlight of my week.” Kara added quickly, letting Lena know she was important. “I was playing with Lenoir before coming here, he’s getting a little bit bigger and – wait, what are you doing?” She interrupted herself as she saw the brunette placing two glasses of wine in the table, filling them with the red liquid. “You shouldn’t be drinking wine.” She pointed at the second glass.

The green eyed woman laughed. “I am very aware of that, Kara but don’t worry. After last week's diner, I did some research; this is a dealcoholized wine composed of Cabernet, produced in a sustainable winery in Paso Robles, here in California. ” She explained, setting the bottle on the center of the table. “It has less than 0.5% of alcohol. I know that’s still not good and that’s why I’ll only have one glass with you and then I’ll switch to sparkling water.” She rested her hand on the blonde’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze before turning around and walk back to the kitchen once more, this time to grab the plates and bring them over to the table. However, she heard Kara’s chair being pushed back as the taller woman stood up and followed her. “I told you I had it.” She gave the woman an accusatory glance but her tone was soft, letting the blonde know she wasn’t really angry.

“I know, I just want to wash my hands.” The editor innocently said, reaching for some liquid soap and scrubbing her hands clean. Lena gave her some paper towels to dry her hands after she rinsed them under the tap. “But since I’m already here, I hope you don’t mind if I help.” She grabbed a dish in each hand and, with a smug smirk, went back to the table.

The brunette arched a brow as she placed a hand on her hip. “You think you’re clever, don't you?”

Kara, who hadn’t sit back down, pulled a chair for Lena to sit. “It worked, right?”

A small smile appeared on the younger woman’s lips at the gesture. “Thank you.” She muttered, watching as the editor circled the table to take her place.

“You’re very welcome.” Kara said, taking her fork in one hand and knife in the other as she looked down at her plate. “I have to admit this does looks good and smells even better…”

“I told you so.” Lena said self-assuredly, taking her fork and knife too.

The blue eyed woman lifted a finger, gently motioning Lena to stop talking. “Don’t be so smug just yet, I have to try it first.”

The pregnant woman started to cut into her lasagna, a smirk taking its place on her lips. “Then, dig in.” She carefully scooped a portion of the pasta and brought it to her mouth, letting out a small moan as she started chewing. “Mm, it is so good.” She said once she swallowed it.

Kara’s grip on the silverware got tighter as a reaction to the sound trapped behind Lena’s lips but snapped out of it when the brunette spoke. “I’ll be the judge of that.” She retorted a few seconds later, starting to cut a smaller piece compared to Lena’s. She stabbed it with the fork and lifted it to her lips. “If my throat starts closing and I die, it will be your fault.”

Lena laughed behind her wine glass. “Oh, come on, kale will not give you an allergic reaction.”

“Who knows? I’ve never eaten it.” The blonde said with a shrug, delaying taking the bite.

The green eyed woman’s browns knitted. “How can you say you don’t like something you haven’t tried?”

“It looks like it will taste bad.” The editor said as if it was the most obvious thing ever.

Lena rolled her eyes playfully and started to cut another piece. “Stop talking and eat, will you?”

“So rude!” Kara said with faux indignation, gaining also an eyebrow raise from the other woman. “Okay, okay, I’ll take the bite but remember our deal, if I don’t like it, I’ll order Chinese.”

“That’s not going to happen.” The brunette stabbed her lasagna as well and took it to her mouth. “Now, on the count of three, you will put that lasagna in your mouth before more of it falls apart, okay?” The blonde nodded. “One, two… three.”

Kara squeezed her eyes shut and grimaced as she closed her lips around the fork before sliding it out and starting to chew. The child like gesture made Lena smile. The blonde’s frown started to smoothen in a matter of seconds, and when she opened her eyes she was met with Lena’s expecting gaze. “What?” She mumbled with her mouth full.

The brunette raised a brow again, swallowing her food. “So? How is it?”

The editor finally let the food down her gullet and then extended her arm to grab her glass, taking a small sip. “Mm, oh wow, you would not be able to tell this has no alcohol, it tastes the same!” She said in glee, but both of them knew she was deflecting.

“Kara…” The green eyes twinkled in a mixture of playfulness and annoyance as the warning left her lips.

The older woman put her glass down and grabbed her napkin, cleaning the corners of her mouth even if there was no sauce or anything on them. “Well… the sauce is great, you seasoned it just perfectly.”

The brunette smirked. “That’s what happens when you have international chefs at Luthor Manor, you learn things.”

Kara smiled at that. “The mixture of cheeses is amazing too, you can feel each flavor perfectly.” She continued. “Also, good choice on the curly noodles, they’re my favorite.”

“And the kale? Was it disgusting as you thought?” Lena asked as she grabbed her wine.

“It wasn’t… horrible. You could still feel the leafy taste and the lack of meat was a little disappointing but the whole combination was… good.” Kara said behind her glass.

“So you liked it.” The young Luthor stated. “You like kale lasagna.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” The blonde quickly argued. “Nothing can top a classic lasagna.”

“But you just said this was good.” Lena countered back. “Just admit you loved it and that there’s no need to order Chinese food.”

Kara raised a hand, as if stopping Lena from speaking. “I never said I loved it.”

“But you didn’t hate it.”

“I… I-I don’t…” The editor crossed her arms and pouted. “I have a reputation to uphold, you cannot tell anyone I ate kale and liked it.”

“Ha! You just admitted you liked it!” Lena grinned as she pumped up one of her fists in victory.

The blue eyed woman sighed, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. “Okay, I did, can you please stop gloating?”

Lena tapped her chin with her index a few times. “Hmm… Okay, but just because you said please.” She winked, grabbing her fork to resume eating.

Kara did the same thing, cutting a bigger portion this time. “Are you like this every time you win?” She asked, covering her mouth with a fist as she talked.

“You’re assuming I lose sometimes.” The pregnant woman said with a cocky smile and an arched eyebrow.

The editor almost chocked on her food at the sight. “Showing your true colors, Miss Luthor?”

Lena let out a quiet giggle. “I’m just stating facts, Miss Danvers.” She started to cut another piece of lasagna before speaking again. “Now, tell me about yourself… we’ve texted a lot this week but nothing too deep, don’t you think?” The brunette – as Sam so kindly pointed out – didn’t have many friends, she was curious about the woman sitting in front of her. Lena felt like they had known each other for long but, at the same time, she barely knew anything about Kara.

“What do you want to know” The blonde spoke behind her glass, taking a gulp right after.

“Tell me about your childhood… did you get to see Clark often?” Lena tried to start the conversation including the other reporter since she knew him too.

“Not really, remember I told you I’m from Midvale?” Kara waited until Lena nodded. “Well, technically, I’m from Kansas just like Clark but my family moved to Midvale when I was about three years old. That’s why I consider Midvale as my hometown since I have no memories of Kansas, but before moving I suppose I did spend time with him, I just don’t remember.” She chuckled. “And after moving we only saw the family on the holidays and some birthdays… the trip from Midvale to Kansas is not a short one.”

“What are you saying? Don’t Americans love super long road trips?” Lena teased.

The blonde laughed at the jab. “You say ‘Americans’ as if you weren’t one of us.”

“Technically, I’m Irish like I told you, so I can make fun of you and your americanness all I want.” The brunette stated.

“Don’t you have dual citizenship or something? You even speak with an American accent!” Kara replied, arching one of her brows but the effect wasn’t the same as when Lena did it.

“Please, forgive me for not keeping the Irish accent, I was only four when I came to the States.” Lena’s tone started innocently and ended up being sassy. “But enough about me, tell me more about yourself. Last Friday I poured my heart out, I believe it’s your turn.” She dramatically said, drinking the last bit of wine she had left.

The editor sighed heavily as she nodded. “You’re right, it’s my turn to tell you the sad story of my life.” That made Lena laugh since she didn’t know Kara was not joking. “It’s gonna be quite the monologue so be prepared.” She tried to lighten the mood for her own sake.

“I’m all ears.” The sincerity in the brunette’s voice and smile made Kara’s heart skip a beat. It had been a while since she told anyone her story.

“Okay, uh…” the older woman let out a deep breath. “Remember that I told you my name is not Kara Kent?”

“Yeah, you laughed at my face.” Lena said, repressing a chuckle.

“There was a time when I was Kara Kent… technically I still am, I hyphened it. I’m Kara Danvers-Kent but for professional purposes I only use Danvers.” The blonde started to explain.

Lena’s brows drew together in question. “Okay…”

Kara looked down at her plate, breaking the eye contact with Lena. “When I was 13, my parents and I went to visit Clark’s family for a few days. We were on spring break and one night, the night of my uncle Jordan and aunt Lara’s anniversary, they decided to have a nice dinner in town with my parents. Clark and I stayed behind because we wanted to give them a ‘children free’ night – even if we weren’t kids anymore – and we also wanted to play videogames together and catch up. Our parents agreed and told us they would be back late but we could stay awake if we wanted because they would bring dessert for us.” She shoved some lasagna in her mouth, chewing slowly. “The thing is, they never came back… they had a car accident on their way home. The four of them died.”

“Oh my God, Kara, I’m so sorry.” Lena reached out and covered Kara’s hand with her own. “We don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to.”

The blonde looked at their joined hands, feeling the warmth of Lena’s skin against hers. Her blue eyes met jade ones again. “Thank you… I’d like to say it is fine because it’s been almost 20 years but it still hurts sometimes, you know?”

The pregnant woman nodded gently. “I do know.”

Kara’s brow knitted as she looked at Lena. “Are you okay?”

Lena didn’t know why Kara was asking her if she was okay until she felt something wet travel down her cheek. She had started crying without realizing it. The brunette looked away, quickly wiping the tears with her fingers. Kara’s hand felt cold without Lena’s. “I’m sorry for crying, it’s the hormones.” She chuckled. “I cry over puppy commercials, I cry when clothes don’t fit me, I cry when I can’t find a comfortable position to sleep… and I will even admit that I cried when I tasted your cinnamon buns because they were so delicious, I literally cry over anything these days and what you just told me hit a little bit close to home…” She explained, not giving importance to it.

It was the blonde’s turn to place a hand over Lena’s, showing support. “That’s okay, I cry over puppy commercials too.” She said with an innocent smile. “I can stop my telenovela life story if you want.” She rubbed the younger woman’s knuckles with her thumb.

The brunette laughed at that. “No, I want to get to know you… unless you want to stop, I won’t force you.”

“I want to tell you…” the editor admitted. “I want you to know who I am and why I am this way. It’s been a while since I last told anyone my story but I feel comfortable sharing it with you.”

One last tear ran down Lena’s face as she smiled at Kara’s words. “I feel the same way, like I can tell you anything.”

“Okay then… I’ll tell you everything but first, I’m gonna go get you that sparkling water since you already finished your wine. I can’t have you dehydrating from all the crying.” Kara squeezed the pregnant woman’s hand as she stood up.

“I can get my own water, Kara.” Lena said as she started to stand as well but the blonde placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

“I know you can but I will also grab some more lasagna, so I don’t mind bringing you water.” The editor grabbed her almost empty plate. Food was her comfort and she hadn’t stopped eating as she told Lena about her past. “Actually, I think I will bring the whole thing, you’re almost done too.”

Kara grabbed a wooden chopping board to place the still warm baking dish and took it to the table, asking Lena to move the wine bottle. Then, she grabbed Lena’s empty wine glass and placed it on the sink, opened the fridge to find a bottle of sparkling water, unscrewing the cap and pouring the transparent liquid on a tall glass.

“I must tell you that I’m not happy with you doing everything.” The brunette said, even when she felt the contrary. It was nice to have someone doing things for you in a non-condescending way.

The blue eyed woman gave her a lopsided grin. “I’m sorry.” She said without actually mean it as she set the glass in front of Lena and topped her own with wine. “Now, where were we?”

“What happened after your parents died?” Lena softly asked as she gave Kara some more food.

“Oh, right… uh, well, Clark was 20 and legally could take me in but he was in college and didn’t have the time or the knowledge to take care of a teenager so the Danvers family took me in.” Kara took some lasagna to her mouth. “They worked with my father in a lab, actually they’re the reason my dad decided we moved to Midvale, to work with them. I knew who they were and their daughter and I went to the same – and only – high school in town but we didn’t talk much since she was older than me. When they adopted me I was… difficult. They understood, Eliza and Jeremiah, that I was deeply hurt and angry so they gave me my space but also asked Alex to keep an eye on me. She was not happy. She had been an only child for 15 years and then she was not, there was a 13 year old girl in her house with whom she had to share her room and her parents. She did try to be a little sympathetic because she knew my parents but sometimes I would just… explode. Because of that, we didn’t have a very good relationship until Jeremiah passed away.”

Lena almost chocked on her water. “Your adoptive father died too? Oh, Kara, I’m so sorry you had to go through that again.”

The blonde nodded as she sighed. “Thank you… He died of an aneurysm two years after they adopted me. It was sudden, no one was expecting it, but that brought Alex and I together. We both understood how it felt to lose a parent, we talked a lot about it, she started going to therapy with me –”

“You went to therapy?” The brunette interjected.

Kara’s cheeks turned a little bit pink. “I still go, though not as often as then. I go once a month… but I’m not crazy, I promise.” She joked.

“I don’t think you’re crazy. After what you’ve been through, I’m surprised to see how bright and kind you are and I bet therapy is one of the reasons why. I’ve gone to therapy too, when I first joined the Luthor family and after my father died, and it helped me an a lot.” Lena confessed, her mouth curving into a smile.

The editor returned the gesture, the blush on her cheeks was now due to Lena’s words and not because she felt embarrassed. "Therapy helped me and Alex so, so much. I’d like to say that Jeremiah’s dead didn’t hit me as hard as my birth parents dead but I would be lying… that’s when I realized that the Danvers had become my family too and that I wasn’t just some orphan they looked after. I decided to take Danvers as my last name because of that and my relationship with Alex and Eliza just grew stronger after it, we started to heal together.”

The brunette nodded in understanding before looking down and playing with her food. “I get it, the same happened to my family after my father’s dead…” She was silent for a few moments, gathering the courage to look at Kara’s eyes again. “As you know, I was adopted by the Luthors when I was four. The world knows this but no one asked why Lionel Luthor would adopt some random Irish girl, everyone saw it as an act of kindness from a very powerful family. The truth is…” Her gaze dropped again before taking a sip of water. “The truth is, it wasn’t random. My father… was cheating on Lillian with my birth mother.” Lena heard Kara take a sharp inhale of air through her nose, and decided to meet her eyes again. “Lionel was my biological father. He found out that my mother died, so he brought me into his family. I didn’t know about this until after he passed. My mother, Lillian, told me. She never mistreated me as I was growing up but she was distant… cold. She confessed to me that it was because I look like my birth mom and was hard for her to see me and not think about the betrayal but with Lionel’s dead she realized that it wasn’t my fault.” The brunette smiled and laughed under her breath. “We don’t have the closest mother-daughter relationship in the world but it’s so much better than before. And Lex… he had always known, he told me he met my mom once and that she was really kind to him. He asked me to forgive him for not telling me but I knew it wasn’t his fault, if anything it was Lionel’s but there’s no point in blaming the dead…” Lena looked over Kara’s shoulder to some framed photos of her family. The blonde followed her gaze, admiring the photos for a few moments before turning to face the brunette again. “As you might imagine, this is not something many people know, I can count them in one hand and have fingers to spare.”

“I’m honored that you feel comfortable sharing this with me.” The older woman said.

“To be honest, I thought I was going to have a hard time telling you about it but, oddly enough, I feel like I can trust you even if we’ve known each other for less than a month.” Lena admitted.

The corners of Kara’s mouth turned up until an enormous grin was splattered across her face. “I know, right? It’s so weird but like… I feel I could tell you I killed someone or stole some kid’s candy and you wouldn’t tattle on me.”

The green eyed woman laughed. “Have you been steeling candy, Miss Danvers? Because that’s something I don’t condone.”

“But you condone murder?” The blonde teased.

“Only if it was for the right reasons… like someone stealing the last slice of pizza.”

“That’s an excellent reason to commit murder.” Kara agreed as she stuffed her face with more lasagna. They stayed quiet for a few moments until the blonde spoke again. “It’s funny, you know? We’ve shared a lot today, we went from barely know each other to know all about our childhood traumas and baggage in one night, but it feels… natural.”

Lena chuckled again as she kept eating. “Yeah, all the skeletons are out of the closet now. But I warn you, if I read any of this on CatCo Magazine, my team of lawyers will have your ass.” She joked, knowing Kara would never publish anything of what she just told her.

The blonde slapped her own thigh. “Damn, there goes my promotion to editor in chief!”

They changed the subject several times throughout the night as they finished the lasagna and the dessert, which Lena insisted in serving, ‘Oh my God, Kara, this is so good.’ ‘I can’t believe you had never tried flan before.’ ‘Stop judging me or I’ll tell your sister you ate kale.’ ‘Don’t you dare!’ In between some bathroom break from Lena’s part, ‘Let’s see if you don’t go pee every five minutes with a giant baby pressing on your bladder, Kara.’ ‘I’m scared of pregnancy, thank you very much.’ they managed to talk about ‘Star Wars’, Lena winning the argument on who was the lightsaber’s owner – Anakin of course –, they also discussed what they thought of ‘The Good Place’ finale, ‘Did you cry?’ ‘Of course I cried, Kara! It was so sad and happy at the same time!’ ‘… I cried too.’ ‘Well, at least Tahani will be an architect, which was the only thing that didn’t make me weep.’ ‘Right? Tahani was my favorite!’ ‘She was my favorite too… she was so hot.’, and some other topics before finally say their goodbyes. Kara didn’t let Lena walk her to her door like she had done, even when the brunette pouted, but promised she would come over next Friday to watch some movies over sushi. Lena was thrilled.

“I’ll see you next week, then.” The green eyed woman said as she leaned on the doorframe.

“Why until next week? I bet I will catch you on the hallway sometime.” The editor said with one hand on her pocket and the other holding a tupper with some lasagna. She had decided to leave the remaining flan to Lena and pick up the plate next week.

“I doubt it… I will avoid you all week, I don’t want to see you more than I have to.” The brunette joked as she pretended to check on her nails.

Laughter escaped Kara’s lips. “I’m sorry you have to bear my presence.”

“You’re forgiven as long as you let me pick the movies on Friday.” A smirk appeared on Lena’s face.

“Okay… I was gonna let you pick anyways so…” The editor shrugged as if she didn’t care. “Good night, Lena.” Her eyes drifted down to the round baby bump. “Good night, little guy.” She pulled her hand out of her pocked and reached out, stroking the bump with her thumb for a quick second.

The brunette blushed at the gesture but didn’t comment on it. “Good night, Kara. Say hi to Lenoir for me.”

“Of course.” The blonde softly whispered. “See you later.”

“Later.” Lena nodded and stepped back, waiting for Kara to turn around to close her door.

It wasn’t long after that Lena and Kara were speaking on the phone with Sam and Alex respectively, and the older women got to the same conclusion rather quickly: both of them where hot gay messes.

::::::

Both women texted during the weekend, asking trivial things here and there. It wasn’t until Tuesday morning when they met in person again. Kara was just closing the door of her apartment to go on her morning jog when she heard the brunette’s door opening.

Turning around, the editor greeted the pregnant woman. “Good morning, Lena!” She approached her friend as she waved her hand.

“Kara, hi, good morning to you as well.” The younger woman said with a smile as she locked her door and placed her keys in the small bag she had strapped across her chest. She examined Kara’s attire, the blonde was wearing a pair of skin tight blue leggings, a sleeveless training shirt also in blue which allowed one to see the red sports bra the blonde was wearing underneath that matched her red sneakers. Kara also had a sports band in her arm to hold her phone and the cord of her earphones was hanging around her shoulders. Lena didn’t realized she had been staring at the editor’s muscles until the other woman cleared her throat and scratched the back of her neck with her free hand – the other was carrying a water bottle – , which only made the curve of her arm look more appealing. “I see you’re about to go running.” Lena tried to sound normal but didn’t do a good job at it.

“Yes, I was about to head out. And you? You’re not usually up this early – wait, don’t tell me my text woke you up.” Kara’s voice started perky but started to shift towards a guilty tone as she thought it was her fault Lena was up.

The green eyed woman immediately shook her head. “No, it wasn’t you, is this little peanut,” she rubbed her belly, “he’s been kicking and I’m suddenly craving some sweet bread from a bakery that’s in front of the park a few blocks away from here.”

“The one five blocks north with the doggie play area?” Kara asked, her arms reaching up to tighten her ponytail. The brunette nodded in answer. “That’s where I usually go jog, we can go together if you’d like.”

Lena’s face lighted at the prospect of spending time with the blonde. “I’d love that.”

The editor pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and grinned. “Then, let’s go.”

Kara always started jogging the moment she stepped outside her building, that way when she got to the park her blood was already pumping. This time, however, she didn’t mind walking slow next to Lena, enjoying the morning breeze and the warmth of the sun. As they stopped to wait for the street light to go red, the blonde took a moment to admire Lena the same way the brunette had done before. She looked at her a little more discreetly, with the corner of her eye. The pregnant woman was wearing black cotton leggings, a white long shirt with black horizontal stripes and a denim jacket over it. She smiled when she caught Lena placing a hand over her bump out of habit.

They reached the bakery and the smell made Kara’s mouth water. “Oh God, why haven't I ever come here? It smells amazing!” She started looking at the different kinds of sweet bread. “Why don’t I recognize these?”

Lena gasped dramatically as she placed a hand over her chest. “Kara Danvers, you don’t know what Mexican sweet bread is and call yourself a foodie? How can that be?”

The blonde laughed, covering her face with both hands. “I’m sorry, I’m a disgrace!” Her whine was muffled by her hands.

“You sure are, but I’m here to educate you on the culinary wonders they sell here.” The pregnant woman stood next to Kara and pointed at the piece of bread in front of them. “That one is called ‘pan de muerto’.” She pointed another one. “And that is called ‘bigote’.”

“It looks like a croissant.” Kara pointed out.

“I suppose it kind of is a croissant but it has chocolate inside.” The brunette shrugged.

“That’s even better!” The blue eyed woman then grabbed a tray and a pair of tongs, starting to grab some bread. “What is this one?”

Lena grabbed her own tray and tongs as she answered. “That one is called ‘hojaldra’. It has ham and cheese inside.”

Kara grabbed some hojaldras. “What is this white stuff over this bread?” She squinted as she saw a row of circular shaped breads with some kind of pattern on top.

“It’s sugar. That bread is called ‘concha’.” The brunette whispered the word as if it was a bad thing, winking at Kara and making her blush.

“The what, now?” The editor laughed, thinking she had heard wrong.

Lena smirked. “‘Concha’, you know, because it resembles a seashell. See the pattern of the sugar?”

“Oh… yeah, I see it.” Kara grabbed a concha and brought it closer to her face. “It looks good.”

“It is… I, personally, love conchas.” The brunette grabbed a regular concha and a chocolate one. “I bet you’ll like them too.”

Kara nervously laughed at the innuendo. “More than like…” she whispered to herself. Lena didn’t seem to have heard. “I’ll trust your word.” She said, this time catching the brunette’s attention as she copied her and grabbed a regular and a chocolate concha. Seeing that she had six pieces of bread, she decided it was enough. “Will you grab something more?”

Lena, who had only grabbed the conchas so far, turned around and grabbed a tricolor and triangular shaped bread. “I’ll grab this ‘polvoron’ and I’ll ask for some day old bread to feed the pigeons in the park.”

“Aw, you feed the pigeons?” The editor asked as she pictured the pregnant woman surrounded by birds as she threw some crumbs at the, it was the cutes thing ever.

“Sometimes.” The green eyed woman confirmed as both approached the counter where a girl was ready to bill them. “I usually come to the park in the afternoons but since I’m already here…” She trailed off. “Hi Naomi.”

“Hello Lena, you came early.” The girl greeted, starting to put the bread in a paper bag. “Who’s your friend?”

“Hey, I’m Kara.” The blonde answered quickly, her tray still in her hands.

“I’m Naomi, nice to meet you, Kara.” The girl said before turning to Lena again. “Let me get the stale bread.” She was gone for a few seconds and came back with a long paper bag and one baguette. “Do I bag hers separately or not?”

Before Kara could say she was paying for her own stuff, Lena spoke first. “Yes, we do need another paper bag, please.”

The girl nodded and reached out for the blonde’s tray, quickly bagging everything. Lena handed her a 50 dollars bill and thanked her without waiting for her change. She and Kara exited the bakery, Lena with two bags and Kara with one and her water bottle she had almost forgotten.

“Is it that expensive?” The editor asked, they had grabbed less than 10 pieces of bread – and the old baguette of course –, so they were five dollars each?

“No, I just like to tip Naomi well. She works hard, she deserves it.” The brunette said nonchalantly as they started to walk to the park. Once they reached it, the pregnant woman looked for a bench to sit – one that looked towards the center of the park and not backwards –, placing her bread on her lap and the old baguette next to her. “For how long do you usually run?”

The blonde set her bottle and bag of bread on the bench before kneeling to re tie a loose lace of her sneakers. “I don’t have a specific amount of time, I normally run until 8:20 am so I have time to go back home and shower before work.”

Lena looked at the time in her phone, her eyes widening as she saw it was 7:47 am. “I’m so sorry, Kara, I’ve taken so much of your time already.” She tried to apologize, feeling her cheeks flush with embarrassment. They had taken longer to get to the park because she walked slowly and then they lost more time in the bakery.

The older woman chuckled and made a hand gesture, dismissing Lena’s words. “Don’t worry, I really enjoy spending time with you.” She started to stretch her legs. “I’m going to run a few laps around the park and then I’ll come back with you, we’ll feed the pigeons together.”

“You don’t have to do that, Kara. I’ve already cut short your routine.” The brunette said as she started to crumble the baguette absentmindedly.

“That’s okay, don’t worry, for real.” The smile she gave Lena showed her that the blonde was being sincere. “Be right back.” She placed her earphones in place and started jogging away.

Lena followed her with her eyes, watching as her figure became smaller and smaller. Letting out a soft sigh, she grabbed a fistful of crumbs and threw them on the floor, smiling as the birds quickly surrounded her. Her smile got bigger when she felt a kick coming from her belly. “There’s food for you too, little one, just give me a second.” She shook her hands to get rid of the old crumbs, grabbing the polvoron from the other paper bag and taking a bite. “Better?” She asked, rubbing the spot where the baby had kicked her with her thumb. As expected, he kicked again in the same place. “I knew you’d like it.”

Not long after, Kara ran by the brunette, shaking her hand and saying “Hi, Lena!” as if the woman would ignore her if she didn’t. The green eyed woman returned the gesture, watching the birds fly away scared of the blonde only to come back a moment later. They repeated the process a few times until Kara decided she was done jogging.

The blonde started to slow down as she got closer to the bench Lena was sitting on, coming to a stop in front of her – and scaring all the birds away once more –, she was panting, her cheeks slightly reddened and the skin of her forehead and chest glistening with a thin layer of sweat. “Hello again.” She said breathlessly, reaching for her water bottle and taking a big gulp.

The brunette was having a hard time trying not to stare again. “Hey, are you done? You still have about ten more minutes I think.” She shifted her gaze to her phone, seeing that indeed Kara still had some more minutes to run until she had to get going.

Kara wiped a few droplets of sweat and water off her chin with the back of her hand. “Mm, yeah but I wanted to be with you for a few minutes before I have to go.” She took a seat next to Lena.

The younger woman could feel the heat radiating from the blonde even with the small distance between them. “I don’t want you to cut your exercise short because of me.” She said, taking more crumbs and throwing them in the ground.

The editor did the same, watching as more birds came to them. “If you don’t want to spend time with me you can just say so…” Her quiet, sad voice would have been convincing if the smile forming on her lips didn’t betray her.

Lena bumped Kara’s shoulder with her own. “Don’t be such a drama queen, I’m just saying that I already made you waste some time.” She picked apart a piece of the chocolate concha and stuffed it in her mouth.

Kara smiled as she saw some sugar in the corner of Lena’s lip. Sensing the blonde stare, the young Luthor realized what must have happened. She blushed and stuck out the tip of her tongue to get rid of the sugar. That almost made the blonde choke on her saliva.

“If that’s what really bothering you, I can do the rest of my work out right here.” Kara slapped the top of her thighs as she stood up again.

“What do you mean? Will you run in the same place or in circles around me?” Lena joked, rubbing her belly without giving much thought to it.

“Do you think jogging is all I do?” After saying that, the editor dropped to the grass and started doing push-ups, counting out loud.

Lena’s jaw almost hit the ground when she saw that. The way Kara’s arms tensed under her weight, the barely audible strain in her voice as she counted, the smirk she gave her one time she looked up paired with a wink. God, did the blonde want to kill her?

Kara was almost at 15 when the brunette managed to speak again. “O-okay, you’ve proven your point, you do more than just jogging. You truly are a fit girl.”

The blonde kept counting, “19… 20,” she was able to complete before her arms gave out and she ended face down on the grass. “I’m glad you recognize I’m fit…” She stayed there for a few moments before rolling on her back and sitting up. “But right now I will turn from fit to fat, give me my bread.” She stumbled onto the bench, brushing her hands on the back of her legs and grabbing a concha, taking a big bite. “Mmmmm, this is so good!” She said with her mouth full.

Lena closed her eyes as she threw her head back and started laughing. “Buen provecho, señorita.” The blonde didn’t answer as she kept eating. “Slow down or you’ll choke.”

Kara waited until she swallowed to speak again. “I have decided that choking on food is the best way I could die.”

The brunette chuckled at the same time she fed the birds again, who gathered around Kara’s feet. “I warn you, I will let you choke, I’m in no shape to be doing the Heimlich maneuver.”

What about mouth to mouth? Kara thought. “Like I said, I’d die happy… chocking on a concha.” She added at the end, aware of how that sounded. She finished eating her sweet bread and set down the paper bag next to Lena to free her hands. She pushed her glasses up to the top of her head and grabbed the hem of her shirt, pulling it up to absorb the sweat of her brow.

Lena’s breath hitched when she saw the blonde doing that. She gazed at her exposed midriff, her green eyes following the barely-there lines of the toned abdomen. The skin was the same sun-kissed tone as the rest and was a tad damped, glistening. It was the hottest thing she had ever seen. “Oh God.” She whispered as she looked away.

“You said something?” The editor asked when she finished drying her face, squinting at Lena since her glasses were still on top of her head.

“Nope, I didn’t say anything.” Lena quickly replied.

The blue eyed woman tilted her head to the side and rested her fists on her hips. “I heard you say something.”

“Look at the time!” The pregnant woman tried to distract her friend, standing up as fast as her body allowed her. “We should get going, you’re going to be late for work.”

Kara pulled her phone out of her arm band, confirming the time. “You’re right, it’s getting late and I need to shower… do we walk back together or are you staying to feed the birds?”

“I’ll come with you, that is if my slow walking doesn’t bother you.” Lena joked as she grabbed both of her paper bags, one with only her sweet bread and the other with the remaining of the old baguette.

The blonde grabbed her own bag and her water bottle. “Of course it doesn’t bother me, I think it’s cute… you look like a penguin walking.”

“You did not just call me a penguin.” Lena said with indignation. She raised her hand as if to slap Kara in the arm but the blonde moved out of reach. “Come back here.”

The editor was already walking in the direction of their building. “I guess you will have to catch me first to hit me…” She shrugged, pressing her lips together to stop a smirk from taking over her features but failing miserably.

“Oh, game on, Kara.” Lena walked as fast as her feet allowed her to catch up with her friend, smiling when she heard the other woman’s laughter.

Chapter Text

Lena was looking for a good movie to watch on Netflix when a knock on her door caught her attention. Standing up, she rushed to the door as fast as she could but took a few moments to fix her hair and clothes before opening it. A smiling blonde was waiting for her on the other side, both hands holding a big paper bag each.

“It’s sushi time.” Kara said as a greeting as she raised the bags to be at shoulder’s level.

The brunette’s eyes opened wide as she took in the size of the bags. “How much sushi did you bring?” She stepped back and motioned her friend inside her home.

The editor placed both paper bags on the kitchen counter and turned to see Lena. “Just five rolls, some onigiri, tempura veggies and Tampico paste.”

Closing the door behind her, Lena started to help Kara take the containers out of the bags. “Did you invite someone else over?” She half joked.

“You’ve seen how much I can eat, right?” The blonde replied, folding the paper bags and throwing them in the bin marked as ‘recycling’. “I asked them not to give me chopsticks, as you requested so…” she pulled a long metal case from the back pocket of her jeans. “… I brought my own.” She opened the lid, showing a pair of shiny metal chopsticks.

“Oh, well, since you have your own I guess you won’t need to borrow some from me…” Lena smirked as she opened one of the kitchen drawers and pulled out two pairs of chopsticks styled as lightsabers. With a push of a button on the handle, they even lit up.

The taller woman gasped, letting go of her boring utensils and reaching out for the shiny ones, however, the brunette moved the out of the way before she could grasp them. “Give me!” She whined, chasing after the brunette.

“But you brought your own, why do you want these?” Lena innocently asked, moving the hand holding the chopsticks behind her back and the other in front of her, trying to keep Kara away.

“Lena,” Kara whined again, extending the sound of the ‘a’ for a few seconds, “come on, you know I need them.” She stopped trying to get behind Lena and resorted to her pout and puppy eyes. “Can I borrow your awesome chopsticks, pretty please?” She even interlaced her fingers together as she pleaded.

The pregnant woman threw her head back and brought her hand forward, giving in. “Ugh, I can’t say no to that face.”

The blonde clapped in victory in a childlike manner, grabbing both pairs of chopsticks and beginning to examine them to decide which one she would use. “Good to know, I’ll use it more often from now on.” She stated, briefly looking up to Lena before going back to inspect the utensils.

“Nah-ah, don’t over use it or I might become immune to it.” Lena warned, turning to grab two mugs and pouring hot water from the kettle to make some green tea.

Kara made a self-assured face and snorted. “No, you won’t.”

No, she won’t.

Lena rolled her eyes playfully even if she wasn’t facing the other woman. “Whatever…” She turned around holding the mugs, “Let’s take this to the living room.”

The editor put down the chopsticks and looked at the many containers. “Hmm… we should have taken them out of the bags once we were in the living room…” She commented as she stacked a tray over the other, repeating the action and carrying two containers in each hand.

The green eyed woman laughed at her friend, setting the mugs con the coffee table and approaching her. “Be careful, please. I don’t want any sushi on my floor.” She took the containers on top and set them down as well.

“Thank you for worrying about my wellbeing.” The taller woman said sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest as her forehead creased.

The brunette chuckled again. “Don’t be so dramatic, darling.” She reached up to smooth the wrinkle between the blonde’s brows with her thumb. It was a bold – and intimate – gesture, however, neither one of them commented on it.

Kara uncrossed her arms, letting a smile take over her face. “Says the woman who cries over puppy commercials.”

Lena quickly slapped the editor’s arm, offended. “You admitted you cry over them as well and, at least, I can blame it on the hormones, what’s your excuse?”

“Ouch!” The blonde rubbed her arm as if the slap had really hurt as she complained. “I guess I… don’t have any excuse.” She shrugged and made an innocent face.

Lena laughed again and then gently pushed Kara back to the kitchen to grab the rest of the food and the small soy sauce containers. “Have you picked which chopsticks will you use?”

The blonde grabbed the chopsticks with one hand and two food trays in the other, letting Lena take the rest. “I can’t choose, Darth Vader’s lightsaber is my favorite but Mace Windu’s is so cool! Maybe we can use one of each?”

They finally sat down – close to each other but not too close – and the brunette reached out to grab the remote. “That sounds good and since we’re eating with lightsabers, I think it’s only logical we watch a Star Wars movie, right?” She exited from Netflix and opened Disney+. “Hope, lower the lights.”

A bodiless voice filled the air with a firm, “Yes, miss Luthor,” as the lights dimmed down, making the light coming from the TV much noticeable.

“What was that?” Kara asked swiftly, looking around but not finding the source of the voice.

“That was Hope, a little something I’m working on. It’s like Alexa or Siri but better, smarter.” The brunette explained. “So, Star Wars?”

“Sure! Which one should we watch?” The older woman said, impressed with the extend of Lena’s abilities but also eager to watch the movie, as she grabbed one sushi tray and her chopsticks, smiling like a child at the glow.

“I know your favorite is Revenge of the Sith –” Lena started talking before Kara interrupted her.

“Because that’s the best movie ever, with magnificent effects, amazingly choreographed fights and Anakin looking fine as hell.”

The brunette snorted. “Yeah, he was so hot he even caught on fire…”

“Take that back!” The editor demanded, bumping into her friend’s shoulder with her own and almost making her tumble on the couch. “Oh crap, I’m sorry!” She quickly set her food on the table and helped a laughing Lena to sit straight.

“I’m fine, I promise.” The pregnant woman said between laughs, calming Kara and also taking advantage of the moment to feel her muscles as she helped her. “As I was saying, Episode III is your favorite but I was thinking we should watch Rogue One and then A New Hope.”

“I did that after watching Rogue One at the theatre!” The blonde mentioned. “It was like three in the morning because I went to the midnight screening but it was totally worth it.”

“I know, I did the same after watching the premiere too.” The brunette searched for the movie and hit play, putting down the remote and grabbing her food.

Kara did the same as she asked, “Wait, when you say premiere, are we talking about the midnight premiere in the local movie theater like normal people or Hollywood style premiere?”

The younger Luthor tilted her head towards the blonde and arched a brow. “What do you think?”

“Oh, golly! Are you serious?” Kara was so in awe that she hadn’t started eating yet.

Lena, on the other hand, had lifted the lid of the sushi tray and examined the delicious looking roll. “Yes, I am. What does this roll have inside?” She asked as she could only see the nori.

“That’s the Konoha roll, it has cream cheese, carrot, avocado, tuna and spicy sauce; but don’t ignore me, I want to know about the movie premieres!” The blonde said excitedly, preventing Lena from grabbing a roll by bumping her chopsticks with Lena’s, as if it was a real lightsaber fight – she was tempted to do the buzzing sound but stopped herself.

The brunette sighed but she wasn’t really bothered. “Well, when I first arrived at Luthor Manor, Lex introduced me to two things, chess and Star Wars. We watched together the original trilogy like a million times and we even asked our parents to have costumes made for us.” Lena started to tell the story, pausing for a moment to thank for the food in Japanese with a quiet itadakimasu and then taking a bite of her food.

“Aw, that’s so cute.” Kara said, doing the same as the pregnant woman. “Little Leia and Luke.” She spoke with her mouth full. On the TV, the movie kept playing even when the women weren’t paying much attention – not that it mattered, they knew the movie by heart.

“Actually, I was Darth Vader.” Lena said smugly, making Kara almost choke on her food. “My father contacted people from the 501^st Legion and they made my helmet and everything else, it was really amazing.”

“Oh God, that’s even better! Did you try to force choke anyone?” The blonde asked, knowing that of course Lena had done just that.

“Would I have been a good Darth Vader if I didn’t?”

Kara chuckled and then shoved an entire piece of sushi in her mouth. “You have to tell me what you did.” She mumbled with her mouth full.

“So, there I was, 5 years old, dressed as Darth Vader approaching my father to ask him to take me to LA so we could watch The Phantom Menace. He was starting to say he was too busy but I raised my hand and started to make a fist… he laughed so hard and said he’d take me and Lex just because I tried to use the force on him.” Lena proudly stated, extending a hand to take her mug.

The blonde was laughing out loud. “Wow, are you sure you didn’t use Jedi mind control?”

“My father didn’t have a weak mind but he did have many influences so we got access to the red carpet where I met George Lucas.” The green eyed woman said as if it was nothing.

“You met George Lucas?” Lena nodded. “And you were dressed as Darth Vader?” The editor was flabbergasted.

“Yes, he thought I was a boy until I took the helmet off. He even signed it with a silver sharpie.”

“Oh my God, do you have it here?” Kara was ready to jump out of the couch to look for the item.

The brunette chuckled and shook her head. “Unfortunately for you, I don’t. It’s back at the Manor.” She took another sip of her tea.

The blue eyed woman let her back hit the backrest of the couch as she pouted. “Damn, I really wanted to see it…” she picked a piece of sushi and brought it to her face. “Will you tell me more about the movie premieres you have gone to? That would cheer me up.” She said with a quiet innocent voice, munching on her food.

“Well, for Episode II my father was really busy and couldn’t take us and for Revenge of the Sith I was in boarding school. I wanted to go to the London premiere but my father didn’t like the idea of a 12 years old me alone in there.” Lena remembered.

“Oh, yeah, you mentioned going to boarding school before... For how long were you there?” Kara’s voice was filled with curiosity, completely forgetting the previous topic for a moment.

“Five years. I went from age 11 to 16; it was a really exclusive school in Ireland. After that, I came back to the States and got into MIT.” The younger woman explained.

“That sounds cool,” the editor mentioned, “going back to the place you were born.”

“I suppose… but the thing is, I don’t remember much about Ireland from when I was little, I just have some memories of my mother… so basically, when I went to Ireland for boarding school was like seeing it for the first time. I loved it, I’m not going to lie but most of the time I was with a bunch of rich, bitchy girls who thought they could mess with me because I was younger. They quickly learned how wrong they were.” Lena commented the last part with a mischievous tone, alternating her gaze between her food, the movie and her friend. Mostly on her friend.

The blonde, though, never took her eyes away from the brunette, taking in the sharp angles of her face being illuminated by the purple and red glow of the chopsticks and the TV. “I would’ve loved to see that.” She popped another piece of sushi in her mouth, passing it down with some tea.

“I got in some troubles but they understood I wasn’t a scared little girl.” She turned around and looked fully at the blonde, staring at her for a few moments. The brunette finally broke eye contact by looking down at Kara’s food. “I want to try your sushi.” She reached out with her chopsticks and took the second to last piece of fried sushi the editor had left in her tray. “What does it have?”

If it had been someone else, Kara might have found a way to turn the chopsticks into real lightsabers to cut that person’s hand for daring to touch her food, but it was Lena so she let her. “It has mango, cream cheese, shrimp and coconut.” She reached out for Lena’s tray and stole a piece of sushi too, bringing it to her mouth. “Did you go to the premiere of The Force Awakens?” She asked, bringing back the previous subject of their talk.

Lena was savoring the food in her mouth so she took a few moments to answer. “I went with Jack for that one.” A sad smile appeared on her face at the thought of her friend. “We were still working on the on the whole layout of what would become Spheerical and decided we deserved a break so we flew to LA for the red carpet. We stayed in the city for a few days and that’s when we thought it would be a good idea to establish our company on the west coast, away from my family’s influence. Later we decided National City would be better than LA and that’s the story of how Star Wars changed my life.”

The blonde chuckled as she reached out for another sushi tray. “One more reason to love Star Wars…”

“What would that reason be?” The pregnant woman asked, her tone was teasing but the soft blush on her cheeks betrayed her. She was grateful Kara wasn’t able to see it.

The editor stopped pouring soy sauce on her sushi and turned her face to look at Lena. “Thanks to Star Wars I met you.” She said, her voice filled with honesty.

Lena could feel her face getting hotter and hotter but she couldn’t bring herself to look away. It was only when she felt a kick on her belly and the urge to pee, that she did. “I have to pee.”

Kara’s face twitched and she almost laughed but stopped herself, however a smirk did make it to her face. “We’re in your house, you don’t need to ask for permission.”

The brunette swatted her friend on her leg, setting her tray on the coffee table and standing up. “You don’t know what is like to have a baby pushing on your bladder most of the day so you’re not allowed to make fun of me, miss.” She started walking away. Kara only laughed.

After the young Luthor came back, they decided to focus on the movie – Jedha was long destroyed by then –, only talking about certain parts of the film that excited them, ‘I love how Cassian proves that you can have a dark side even when you’re trying to do good. It’s very human.’ ‘Pfff, a dark side, that was so obvious, Lena.’ ‘Are you crying right now?’ ‘No! You’re crying.’  True to her word, Kara ate most of the food, but always giving Lena a bite of it so she can try everything she brought, ‘I told you to never doubt my stomach.’ ‘Oh, I will never do it again, trust me.’ Then, they pressed play on Episode IV and started making fun of Luke, ‘Leia is like ‘I’m 19 and I’m already a badass spy of the rebellion’, while Luke was playing with toy ships and he gets the credit of everything.’ ‘Oh, let me put a deadly weapon to my face!’ When the movie credits began to roll it was almost midnight. Kara insisted on helping Lena clean everything even when the green eyed woman told her several times it was not necessary while Lena placed the leftovers – that were practically just one onigiri, half a roll and some tempura – in the same tray, proceeding to left them on the fridge.

The younger woman walked her friend to the door. “Thank you for coming tonight, Kara.”

The blonde turned around, shoving one of her hands on her pocket as the other reached up to push her glasses up her nose. “Thank you for having me… it’s really nice to have a friend just across the hall.”

Lena looked down bashfully and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear before looking back at Kara. “It’s really nice having friends, period.”

Kara smiled a little sad for Lena, she wasn’t able to even imagine what it was like to lose your best friend and father to your child at the same time. “Do you have plans for tomorrow?” She didn’t want the brunette to feel lonely, not if she could do something about it.

“Just some grocery shopping in the morning and maybe call Sam to catch up a bit… and you?”

“I have nothing planned, would you mind if I tag along for the grocery shopping? I’m running low on food too.” The editor asked expectantly, scratching her cheek with her index finger.

“Of course I don’t mind, I think it would be really nice to have someone carrying my bags.” The young Luthor joked, rubbing her belly.

The editor laughed and followed the movement of Lena’s hands with her blue eyes. “At least they’ll let us get to the front of the line.”

“That’s the only reason I got pregnant, to get access to the front of the line faster.” Lena deadpanned.

The blonde pressed her lips together, containing her grin. “Yeah, that’s the true perk of being pregnant, the child is just extra.”

“Exactly.” This time, Lena wouldn’t keep her face straight, she laughed a few seconds after.

Kara joined Lena, her laughter was not loud but genuine. “Well, then I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” She said after the laugh died down.

“See you tomorrow.” The brunette repeated but without moving an inch to close the door.

They stared at each other in silence for a few moments, not long enough to be creepy but definitely longer than necessary. Kara’s wrist watch was the one who broke the moment, beeping as it signaled it was already midnight. She quickly stopped the beep and looked up at Lena. “Well, since its midnight I guess I’ll, technically, see you today.”

The brunette chuckled and finally backed away from the doorframe. “Good night, Kara.”

Kara wetted her bottom lip as she also took a step back. “Good night, Lena,” she looked down at her bump, “good night, peanut.”

“Sweet dreams.” Was the last thing Lena said as she closed her door. Out of Kara’s sight, she allowed herself to smile like an idiot at the thought of the other woman.

Outside, Kara practically skipped like a little kid as she walked the short distance to her own door.

Chapter Text

“Do you really need that many cereal boxes?” Lena asked as she watched Kara grab three boxes of cereals, two of them were basically pure chocolate and the other was mini chocolate chip cookies.

“Of course!” The blonde answered as she placed the boxes in her half full cart. “These two,” she pointed at the chocolate ones, “are for breakfast and this one,” now she gestured at the mini cookies box, “is for snacking while I watch TV. You should buy some too, they’re so good.” She turned around to grab another box and placed it on her friend’s cart.

The difference between both carts was almost comical; one was filled with fruits and vegetables, organic products, some cleaning supplies – all eco-friendly – and personal hygiene stuff while the other had a lot of sugary foods, some candies, cat’s supplies, a bottle of whiskey – ‘That’s for my sister,’ Kara had said –, milk, the occasional fruit and some personal hygiene stuff as well though much less than Lena’s, How’s her skin so soft without moisturizing and her hair so shiny without anything more than shampoo and hair conditioning? the brunette wondered to herself.

Lena grabbed the box and started reading the nutritional values on the side. Her eyebrows almost reached her hairline as she read it. “Kara, this thing is so unhealthy.”

“But it’s delicious!” The editor insisted.

“I bet you can make better cookies than these.” Lena put the box back on the shelf and started to push her cart away.

Kara followed her, quickly reclaiming her position at Lena’s side. “Probably, but one of the things I love about that cereal is that I don’t have to do anything more than grabbing a bowl and fill it.”

They made a turn and reached another aisle.

“Well, if you want cookies without having to make them yourself, I could bake some.” The pregnant woman offered as she grabbed a box of tea.

The blonde stopped in her tracks and turned to face her friend, gently grabbing her by her forearm. “Would you bake cookies for me?” Her child like grin extending on her face.

Lena took a few moments to admire that smile and the twinkle in those blue eyes before answering, hoping she hadn’t been so obvious. She was, even for someone as clueless as Kara. “Of course. What do you think about cranberries and oatmeal?”

The editor’s smile cracked in a second, her lips forming a small pout and her brow crinkling. “I thought you meant chocolate chip cookies.” She reproached with a disappointed tone.

The brunette bit her bottom lip, trying not to laugh at Kara. She reached out with a hand and tucked a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. “I can add white chocolate chips.” She offered as she rubbed Kara’s cheekbone with her thumb.

Kara’s smile immediately came back to her lips. “I’ll take it.”

They kept looking into each other’s eyes for some time, neither knew if seconds or minutes passed, until they heard someone clear their throat. The sound made Kara almost jump and Lena step back, almost bumping into the shelf.

It was an old lady dressed with a beige cardigan and holding a basket with some items. She was looking at them with a smile on her face. “I’m sorry to interrupt you, dears, but I need to reach the shelf behind you.” She said, shifting her gaze from Kara to Lena.

The brunette quickly moved out of the way as her friend pulled her cart to the side. “Of course, we’re so sorry.”

The old lady grabbed a box of tea, the same brand Lena had grabbed before, from the shelf and placed it in her basket. “Don’t worry, darling, no harm done.” She turned around and looked at the women, the blonde was looking at the other with the corner of her eye and the brunette was looking at her, paying attention to her words. “Can I ask how far along are you?”

Lena looked at her belly and back at the old woman, placing a hand bellow her bump. “I’m 32 weeks pregnant.” She answered with a soft smile.

The old lady mimicked it. “That’s wonderful, dear. Is it your first?” She pried.

The brunette didn’t usually like to talk with strangers but there was something about that old lady that made her want to talk. “Yes, he is.”

“I bet you must be a little nervous but it’s not as scary as you may think, I promise you.” The old woman assured her. She got closer to them and placed a hand around her mouth, like she was going to tell a secret. “And let me tell you, I think you make a beautiful couple.” She whispered.

Both women felt the blood rushing to their cheeks. While Kara flushed faster, Lena’s blush spread wider on her face and neck thanks to her fair skin tone.

“W-we’re not –”

“She’s not my –”

They tried to say at the same time, stopping when they realized the other had spoken as well. They looked at each other before looking at the old lady who seemed amused.

“We’re not together.” The pregnant woman said, completing what Kara tried to say before.

“We’re just friends.” Kara added, pushing her glasses up her nose.

The old lady nodded. “Well, if that’s the case, I have a son that I’m sure would be very lucky to meet you.” She directed that to Kara, assuming – like most people – that if Lena was pregnant, it meant she had a significant other.

The editor chuckled, quickly covering her mouth with a hand, fearing she could offend the old lady. She cleared her throat before speaking again. “I’m sure he’s a wonderful man but, as it happens, I’m just getting out of a long term relationship and I’m not looking for anything right now.”

The lady’s smile got a little smaller but she didn’t look upset at all. “Oh, dear, I’m so sorry to hear that.”

Kara gave her a tight smile, pushing her hands in her pockets to stop herself from fidgeting. “Thank you.”

The old lady sighed. “Well, then, I better get going. Have a wonderful day, girls. And I wish you the best of luck with your baby.” Saying the last bit for Lena, she turned around and started to walk away.

“Thank you, have a nice day too.”

“Bye!” The blonde said, extending the sound of the ‘e’, as she waved a hand.

As the old lady turned the corner and was finally out of sight, both women burst into laughter, Lena covering her face with both hands and Kara tilting her head back and wrapping her arms around her stomach. The brunette reacted quickly and shut up, smacking her friend’s bicep to get her to stop.

“Shut up, she’s going to hear you!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” She moved her glasses to the top of her head and wiped the corner of her eyes as small tears were threatening to fall. She took a deep breath and let it out, putting her glasses back on.

Even after the laughter died down, the blush was still present in both their faces. There was a nervous air around them, not awkward – not much at least – but the old lady’s words had done something to them. They stayed silent for a few moments before Lena gathered the courage to speak again.

“I’m sorry if what she said made you feel uncomfortable.” Lena apologized as she pretended to rearrange the things in her shopping cart.

“Not at all… I took it as a compliment, actually.” Kara commented, rubbing the back of her neck with a hand.

The brunette looked up at her, arching a brow. “A compliment?”

The taller woman nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. It’s flattering that anyone thinks I could be with someone as amazing as you.”

The young Luthor blush rushed back to her cheeks, she looked away trying to hide it. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

Kara chuckled at that. “Well, thank you… I think.”

The green eyed woman looked back at her friend and poked her in the stomach. “Why didn’t I know you just got out of a relationship, hmm?” She changed the subject.

The blonde looked up as she filled her cheeks with air, looking like a chipmunk, and then let it out slowly. “The truth is, it wasn’t as recent as I let the old lady believe…”

“Keep talking.” Lena insisted, poking her in the stomach again.

Kara scratched her cheek, then took off her glasses and wiped the lenses against the corner of her shirt. “Mike and I broke up almost a year ago…” She put them back on and focused her eyes on her friend. “We were together for almost 4 years but he moved away and…” she shrugged, “I guess I wasn’t… ready? Or willing to do long distance. He didn’t move an hour away or even across the country, he moved to Europe. And so… we decided to end our relationship.” She let out a long sigh, looking down. “I was sad for a long time, I dove into work like a mad woman, ignored my friends and my sister… I wasn’t myself.”

Lena got closer and placed a hand bellow Kara’s chin, lifting her face slowly. “That’s alright. You’re allowed to have feelings.” She repeated the words the blonde had told her many times.

The older woman smiled. “I know… but the thing is… I wasn’t sad because he left… I mean, I was,” she corrected quickly, “but that wasn’t the thing I was sad about the most. Mike leaving didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would and that hurt me. It hurt to realize I didn’t love him as much as I had thought and I avoided everyone because they always asked how was I doing and then didn’t believe me when I said I was fine.” She let out a humorless laugh. “It was really annoying, you know?”

The brunette nodded. “I can only imagine.” Her hand, previously under Kara’s chin, drifted down to squeeze her arm.

Kara closed her eyes and shook her head, as if shaking off the bad memories, before opening them again. “But I’m okay now… I’m not particularly looking for someone but, if the right person comes, I’m open to see what happens.”

Lena tried to hold her grin, succeeding for the most part. “That’s good. You don’t know who life will put in front of you one of these days.”

Before the blonde could say anything more, another person interrupted them.

“Excuse me, ladies, could you move your cart, please?” A tall, lean and clearly gay man asked with a soft tone and a gentle smile.

Both of them turned at the sound of his voice but almost immediately looked into each other’s eyes again.

“But maybe not today.” Kara whispered, making the pregnant woman chuckle. “Sure, no problem!” She said before moving her cart and Lena’s to the side.

“Thank you, girls.” The guy grabbed some tea as well and a box of sweetener before going away. “Such cute lesbians.” He muttered to himself when he was out of the women’s earshot.

The blue eyed woman cleared her throat and straightened her shirt before speaking again. “How about we move on from the not-appropriate-for-the-supermarket conversation and keep shopping?”

Lena nodded again before grabbing the handles of her cart and starting to walk away. “Let’s go."

The women kept wandering the aisles for a while, getting the cookie ingredients and some other stuff, happily chatting about mundane topics. When they made their way towards the cashiers, Kara spotted some baby articles such as cribs, strollers, mobiles and more. She squeaked when she saw a dinosaur’s mobile, abandoning her cart next to Lena to go admire it.

“Oh, God, this is so cute!” The blonde excitedly said as she watched the different color dinosaurs move around. “Isn’t it cute, Lena?” She turned around to face her friend only to find her trying to push both her cart and Kara’s with one hand each. “Ups, sorry!” Kara quickly reduced the distance between them and pulled her cart.

Lena, who was grinning at the child like reaction Kara had when she saw the mobile, chuckles and moved her hand as to dismiss her friend’s apology. “Don’t worry. And, to answer your question, that is very cute.” She got closer to Kara and inspected the toy. “Do you like dinosaurs?”

Kara snorted. “Do I like dinosaurs?” She said lime it was an insult. “That’s an understatement. I love dinosaurs!” She pulled out her keys from her bag and showed Lena her T-Rex keychain. “I have a dinosaur with me all the time. I have one in my keys,” she wiggled them, “I have stickers in my laptop and in the back of my CatCo ID, I have T-shirts with dinosaur puns, my lock screen has dinosaurs, and I even have a dinosaur onesie.”  She proudly mentioned that last part.

Lena let out a low whistle, impressed. “I’m in the presence of a true dinosaur lover, then.”

“That is correct, my friend.” Kara smiled at Lena and then looked back at the mobile, nudging a dinosaur so it started moving. “If I wasn’t sure you already have your nursery ready with some other theme, I would definitely buy this for the baby.” She turned to see the brunette, expecting to see her smile but that wasn’t the case.

Lena was looking down at her fidgeting hands, biting her bottom lip as she tried to keep it from quivering. Kara knew something was wrong when she let out a shaky breath.

The blonde quickly placed her hands on the pregnant woman’s arms and lowered her face, trying to look at her green eyes. “Lena, what’s happening? Are you alright?”

The younger woman didn’t answer verbally, instead she only nodded but kept her head down. After a few seconds, she finally looked up. The white of her eyes was reddish, she looked in the verge of tears. She sniffed and nodded again, but this time she also voiced it. “Yes, I’m fine.” She said but Kara of course didn’t believe her.

The taller woman rubbed the pads of her thumbs on Lena’s arm as she gently squeezed them. “Are you sure? You can tell me anything.”

The brunette nodded once more and carefully removed the unshed tears with her index finger, fanning her face with a hand like that would stop any more tears. “It’s just that…” she sighed, “you mentioned the nursery and it reminded me of Jack…” she looked at her belly, placing a protective hand over it, before looking at Kara’s blue eyes again. “He and I were supposed to set the nursery together… we thought of the theme, bought the furniture and the paint but… but then he died…” she swallowed loudly, looking away again, “… and I haven’t been able to go inside that room since.”

Kara’s eyes opened wide. “You mean… you don’t have a nursery yet?” She carefully asked, incredulous. It was hard to believe someone who is so organized and – let’s be honest – a bit of a control freak didn’t have something so important ready when she was weeks away from her due date.

Lena shook her head. “No. I know I should have it already, I keep telling myself that I will hire someone to do it but I never do. And I feel sad because Jack didn’t have the chance to do it and then I feel guilty because I’m neglecting my unborn child by not having the nursery ready for him.” She finished her short ramble with an angry note.

The blonde’s hands went from Lena’s arms to the sides of her face, cradling it gently to look at her eyes. “Hey, hey, don’t do that. You’re not neglecting him.” One of her hands drifted down to touch Lena’s bump. “You lost your best friend and father of your baby, of course you’re sad! There’s nothing wrong with that. And there’s still time to get the nursery ready, okay?”

“Okay.” Lena whispered as she tried to smile.

Kara couldn’t stop herself and wrapped her arms around Lena, engulfing her in a hug. It was funny feeling her round bump between them, one could say it was something intimate, but she didn’t mention anything. The brunette reciprocated almost immediately, wrapping her arms on her friend’s mid-section and resting her cheek on her shoulder. They didn’t know how long they stayed like that, Kara had always been a very touchy person and Lena was starving for physical contact so neither was in a rush to end the embrace.

The blonde was the one who pulled away after some time, brushing a single teardrop that was rolling down Lena’s cheek. “This is what we’re gonna do: we’re going to pay for our stuff, then we’ll drive to Big Belly Burger and order some burgers and fries to go, we’ll eat them at your place and finally I’ll help you set the nursery while you bake those cookies you promised me.”

Lena put some more distance between them as she shook her hands in front of herself. “No, Kara, there’s no way I’m letting you do that.”

“What? Why?” The way the blonde tilted her head to the side and the crinkle between her brows made her look like a puppy.

“Because it’s a lot of work!” The young Luthor pointed out, making big hand gestures – which Kara found endearing.

The editor snorted. “Who said I’m doing it for free? The cookies are my payment.” She stated as if it was obvious.

“Kara…” The brunette sighed heavily, crossing her arms over her chest.

Kara sensed what might be going through her mind. “I’m not pitying you, if that’s what you’re thinking. This is a business transaction; I paint the room and build whatever furniture needs to be build and you pay me with delicious baked goods.” She tapped the tip of Lena’s nose with her index.

The brunette arched a brow – again – and bit her lip. “How do I even know you’ll do a good job?” She finally gave in.

The older woman smiled widely. “You’ll just have to trust me, I guess.”

Of course I trust you. Lena thought. “Alright…” she uncrossed her arms and grabbed the handle of her cart again. “But if you make a mess, there will be no cookies for you.”

Kara gasped and clutched her chest dramatically. “What!? There’s no reward for the effort?” She followed Lena to the cashiers.

“Nope. I’ll eat all the cookies in front of you.”

They both laughed at the empty threat.

Chapter Text

“Kara, are you sure you don’t need any help?” Lena asked as she eyed her friend standing next to her in the elevator as it made its way up.

The blonde was carrying four big reusable grocery bags on her shoulders, two of those were hers and the other two belonged to the brunette, in a not so comfortable way. She had insisted on helping Lena when they got out of the pregnant woman’s car, stating she shouldn’t carry heavy stuff.

“I’m fine, I already told you.” Kara replied with a smile as she turned her head to see Lena, who was only carrying their food, two paper bags in one hand and a third bag in the other.

A ding indicating they had arrived to their floor prevented Lena from saying anything else.

Kara remained still, indicating Lena to get out of the elevator first with a head gesture and a smile. The brunette nodded in understanding and stepped out, looking over her shoulder as her friend followed her to her place. With the keys already in her hand, she opened the door and was her turn to step to the side and let the editor go inside first who laughed under her breath when she spotted a tiny smirk on Lena’s lips.

The taller woman set the brunette’s groceries on the kitchen counter and turned around, watching her friend close the door with a nudge of her hip, as her hands were still busy. “Don’t,” she quickly said, “I have to go to my place to leave my stuff.”

The pregnant woman stopped the door with her foot and turned around. “Yes, you’re right. We don’t want all the sugary things you bought to go bad, do we?” She teased as she placed the food on the counter.

Kara almost blushed at the tone and tried to hide it by pushing her glasses up her nose. “No, we don’t.” She adjusted the straps of her grocery bags on her shoulders. “Also, I wanted to ask you, is it okay for me to bring Lenoir over? It’s just that I’m usually with him all day on Saturdays and I don’t want him to feel alone.” A small pout formed on her lips at the thought of her kitten feeling abandoned.

“Of course it’s okay, I’d love to see him again.” Lena couldn’t resist that pout, agreeing right away.

A bright smile formed on Kara’s lips. “Great! I’ll be back in a minute, okay?” She started to make her way out.

“Okay.” The younger woman repeated as she began pulling stuff out of her grocery bags but never taking her eyes away from the blonde.

The editor then nodded and crossed the threshold, closing the door behind her. Fifteen minutes after, she knocked on the same door, waiting less than 5 seconds for it to be open by the owner of the apartment whose eyebrows rose as she saw the many things the blonde had in her arms: she was carrying a big shoe box which contained two pet bowls, cat food, many colorful toys – including a ball track –, a bag of clean litter and even something resembling the shape of a cartoon fish wrapped in some type of rope. She had also changed her clothes, now wearing a simple white t-shirt and faded jeans. A soft meow made Lena look down and found the small black feline sitting next to Kara’s feet with a leash attached to his collar.

She couldn’t hide her giggle. “I’m sorry, is Lenoir going to live with me from now on? I think I’m missing something.” The green eyed woman said as she stepped to the side to let both the woman and the cat step inside, closing the door after them.

Kara snorted in a very un-lady like fashion. “Very funny, Lena, but I would never abandon my baby.” She crouched down and detached the leash from Lenoir’s neck and started taking things out of the box right after. “At first I was planning on only bringing his water and food bowls because, if we’re going to be here all day, he will get hungry,” she took both bowls and filled them accordingly, setting them in a corner out of the way, “but then I thought he’d need his litter so I grabbed the shoe box and clean litter so there’s no residual smells,” she proceeded to put a plastic on the bottom of the box – to prevent any liquids going through the cardboard – and then poured the litter in it, “and then I thought about him getting bored and scratching your very expensive furniture so I grabbed his favorite toys and scratchers to avoid anything like that happening because I honestly don’t think I could replace any of your stuff.” The blonde finished explaining as Lenoir meowed and clawed her pants’ leg, asking for attention. She bent to grab him and cradle him in her arms like a baby.

That last part of Kara’s ramble made Lena laugh again. She stepped closer to her friend and scratched the kitty’s belly, feeling him purr. “Okay, I’ll admit you make good points.”

“Don’t I always?” The blonde retorted, enjoying the feeling of her hand occasionally brushing against Lena’s as they both petted the cat.

Lena arched a brow but didn’t comment on it. “I think we should start eating or the fries will be cold and gross soon.” She took a step back and made her way to the kitchen sink to wash her hands.

Kara left the cat on the ground again and followed Lena. “Let’s get started, then!” She cheerfully said.

The brunette reached to grab some glasses for their drinks – water for her and a soda for the editor – as the other woman grabbed the paper bags to the table and started pulling the food out.

“A regular cheeseburger with pickles, tomato, lettuce, no mustard and regular fries for you,” she placed it in front of Lena’s seat along with her fries, “and a triple burger with bacon and guacamole, chili cheese fries with jalapeños and onion rings for myself.”

Kara’s mouth was watering at the sight of all that food, Lena, however, had paled a bit as soon as she smelled certain scent. She gulped slowly as she placed their glasses on the table. “Did you say onion rings?”

“Yes! Want some?” The blonde held the onion rings close to Lena’s face, who reacted by quickly covering her nose and mouth. Kara immediately caught on the situation. “Oh no.” She set the onion rings on the table. “Do you need me to get rid of them?” She winced.

Without taking her hand off her mouth, Lena nodded. “Please.” She muttered, repressing a gag.

Kara sighed. There was only one thing left to do. She opened her mouth and started shoving the onions rings in, two or three at the time.

Lena’s green eyes opened wide. “What are you doing?”

The editor covered her mouth with a fist as she answered with her mouth full. “ ’m gettin’ rid of the onion rings.” She then swallowed to stuff her mouth a second later.

The pregnant woman laughed for a moment before covering her mouth again. “Okay, do it faster.” She then turned around and walked to the kitchen, away from the still lingering smell.

Kara didn’t have to be told twice, finishing them in a few minutes. “Clear!” She said before burping quite loudly, blushing when she heard Lena’s laughter. “Sorry.” She muttered behind the napkin she used to cover her lips.

The brunette approached the table again, the color coming back to her cheeks and a smile adorning her lips. “Don’t be, it was my fault.” She took her seat and reached for her glass of water, taking a sip.

Kara did the same with her soda. “Are you okay?” She gently placed her hand above Lena’s and gave it a squeeze.

The brunette smiled at the touch. “I am now, thanks.”

“You get nauseous a lot?” The blonde asked before taking a big bite of her monstrous burger. She had never noticed if Lena reacted in a negative way all the previous times they had shared a meal.

“No, this was odd actually. The morning sickness – which let me tell you it’s a stupid name since you get nauseas at any time – stopped around the start of my second trimester but from time to time there’s some food that makes me queasy.” Lena explained, then took a bite of her burger. “It hadn’t happened in two months or so.”

The editor, who was almost one third of the way through her burger, sighed. “That must suck.”

“It does…” Lena took the first bite of her food. “Although I’m glad it doesn’t happens as often as before. The first time it happened I was nauseous all day, I could only eat crackers and water.”

“Oh God, I’d die if I only ate crackers for an entire day!” Kara was horrified at the thought.

The brunette arched both brows and eyed her friends food in an exaggerate way, poking the inside of her cheek with her tongue. “You don’t say.” She said ironically, trying to keep a straight face but failing once Kara started laughing, joining her. “Can I try your fries?” She asked out of the blue when the laughter died down.

Kara pouted, grabbing her fries and pulling the closer to her protectively. “So onion rings make you nauseous but chili cheese fries with jalapeños don’t?”

Lena raised a brow and tilted her head to the side. “Don’t try to find logic to a pregnant woman’s cravings. Once I ate a pickle with peanut butter… I hate peanut butter.”

The blonde frowned at the strange combination before pushing her fries towards the green eyed woman. “Okay, you can have some fries.”

The brunette smiled widely as she reached for one. She closed her eyes in delight as she tasted it. “Mmmm, this is really good.”

 “I know, right?” The editor grabbed three fries at the time and put them in her mouth, grinning while she chewed.

The rest of their meal was filled with laughter and soft smiles as they continued to chat, often interrupted by Lenoir clawing at Kara’s leg for some bacon. Once they finished, Kara offered to clean everything while Lena played with little Lenoir on the floor.

“Well, the kitchen’s clean.” Kara stated, drying her hands with a rag and leaving it on the kitchen island as she approached Lena. “Wanna show me the room?”

The brunette stopped moving the mouse toy over the cat’s head and lifted her face to see her friend, tongue touching the roof of her mouth as she smirked. “Are you always this forward?”

Kara’s nose and brow crinkled in confusion for a few seconds until a deep blush invaded her cheeks once she understood the innuendo. “T-that’s not what I meant, I was talking about the baby’s room!” She rushed to clarify.

Lena’s smirk widened to a full smile, showing her double dimples. She looked down at the cat and back at the blonde. “I know, I just couldn’t resist… help me up?” She asked with innocent eyes as she extended her hands towards Kara.

The editor chewed on her bottom lip and tucked a lock of her behind her ear, letting out a chuckle under her breath. “Of course.” She reached for Lena’s hands and helped her up with a strong and careful pull.

Standing face to face, Kara thought about how cute their small height difference was as Lena wondered if she would need to get on her toes to kiss her if she wanted to, that until her belly bumped into the blonde’s firm abdomen, which made her take a step back.

“The room is this way.” Lena said, letting go of Kara’s hands, walking away from her.

The taller woman followed her friend to a room with a big window and white walls. The place looked empty since all of the furniture was piled on a corner, still in their boxes except for a white chest of drawers and a closet. Paint cans and some brushes and tools were kept in another corner, ready to be used. A fine sheet of dust confirmed that Lena hadn’t entered the room in months like she had confessed before.

Kara clapped once, taking a few steps until she was at the center of the room. “So, tell me what you had planned?” She spun on one foot to see Lena, opening her arms gesturing the room.

The brunette stepped inside as well, taking a deep breath and letting it all out before speaking. “When Jack and I found out we were having a boy, he was ecstatic.” She looked out the window over Kara’s shoulder. “We had discussed a few themes for the baby’s room before but we hadn’t decided anything yet. The day after my sonogram, he came over, knocked on the door and was hiding something behind his back when I opened… He walked backwards until he was here, he stood in the same place you are standing right now,” her eyes landed on Kara and stayed there, even as she walked to the chest of drawers and opened the one in the middle, “and he pulled this from behind his back.” It was a small book.

“‘The Little Prince’.” The blonde said, her gaze shifting from Lena’s face to the book cover and back.

Lena smiled as she nodded. “‘The Little Prince’ was my favorite book as a child. Jack knew this. In fact, he gave me a first edition for my birthday a few years ago so I asked him why was he giving me another one, one that you can find in any book store.” The brunette looked down to the book between her hands. “He said, ‘I don’t want the other one to end up stained with paint’.” She said with a deep ‘masculine’ tone and an accent, making the voice she always used to mock Jack.

The brunette stayed silent for a few moments, outlining the drawing from the cover as she thought about her best friend. Finally, she looked up at Kara, who had gotten a little bit closer without her realizing. “He wanted to paint it himself, brushing me off when I said we should hire someone to do it, claiming the drawings were easy enough for even someone as untalented as him to make.” She chuckled at the memory. “I told him he would make a mess and we would end up hiring someone but he insisted he would do it and I would eat my words once he finished. He even bought the paint to show me he was determined to do it.” A lonely tear rolled down one of her cheeks at that point. “However, he never got the chance to prove me wrong. He died three days later.”

Kara reduced the distance between them, brushing that tear away from Lena’s pale face with her thumb and then tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry.” She quietly said as she hand fell to her side, brushing the tips of her fingers through the length of the brunette’s arm as it did.

Lena nodded slowly as a sad smile formed on her lips. “Thank you.”

The blonde stayed silent for a few moments, waiting for the heaviness of the air to clear out. When she considered enough time had passed, she grabbed the book from Lena’s hands and started to pass the pages. “Jack marked some of the drawings, did you see?” She touched the small check mark on the top of a page.

The pregnant woman craned her neck a little to see the page in a better angle. “Oh, I hadn’t notice.” She confessed, taking the book away from her friend’s hands to see which drawings Jack had chosen.

“Mm-hum. He marked a lot of them so we’d have to narrow the options down but I’m confident I can do it.”

The brunette lifted her gaze from the book again and arched a brow. “You can do what?”

Kara’s temple furrowed and the corners of her lips raised in a confused smile. “The drawings… on the walls…?” Her tone questioning.

Lena shook her head. “No, you don’t have to do that.”

The blonde chuckled. “That’s literally what I’m here to do. Paint the nursery.”

The brunette let out a sight with a mix of exasperation and humor. “Yes, to paint in one solid color, not to make a mural, Kara.” She reached behind herself and left the book on top of the chest of drawers.

“It’s okay, I can do it, Lena.” She assured with a wide grin.

“You sound like Jack.” The brunette smirked and crossed her arms.

Kara laughed again. “I don’t know about Jack but I can actually paint.”

Lena squinted a bit, incredulous. “Oh, really?”

The taller woman crossed her arms too. “You don’t believe me?” She said in a playful tone.

The green eyed woman shrugged. “I guess I need prove.”

Without saying a word, Kara pulled her phone out of her pocket, tapped at the screen a few times and then handed it to Lena.

The brunette began to swipe to the side, her expression going from amused to impressed as she admired the different artworks shown in the pictures. “You made these?”

“Yes.” The blonde confirmed as she grabbed the corner of her glasses between her thumb and index to readjust them.

“This paintings are incredible.” Lena took her eyes away from the screen for a second, just in time to see the Kara starting to blush. “You’re incredible.”

The editor smiled warmly. “Thank you.”

Lena straightened a bit and handed the phone back to its owner. “So, let me get this straight. You can cook,” she lifted one finger, “you can write,” she lifted a second finger, “and you can paint as well?” she lifted a third finger, “Is there something you can’t do? She asked with fake exasperation. “Do you, by any chance, sing too?”

Kara’s blush deepened as she rubbed the back of her neck with her right hand. “Well…”

The younger woman opened and closed her mouth a few times as she realized the truth. “So you can sing, then?”

The blue eyed woman chuckled. “A little.” She admitted before continuing. “But I’m not here to discuss my many, many talents, okay? I’m here for two reasons: reason number one, to paint this room.”

“And what’s reason number two?” Lena asked with a tiny smirk.

“To eat those cookies you promised me.” Kara walked past Lena and grabbed the book again, pushing it towards her. “Now, I need you to pick a few of the drawings while I take the furniture out to sweep and dust off a little.”

The pregnant woman took the book. “Do you need help with that?”

Kara shook her head. “Nope. You’re not doing any heavy lifting and I don’t want you near this room until I finish, you shouldn’t breath all the paint fumes.” She firmly said.

“What? Jack got zero-VOC paint, it’s safe.” Lena argued immediately.

“It’s safe-er,” the blonde separated the syllables, “than regular paint but pregnant people still should not be around it for a long period of time. Actually, we should get all the windows open to keep the air circulating.” She turned around and did just that with the only window in the room.

The brunette crossed her arms, her expression a little sad. “If I can’t be here, am I supposed to yell to talk to you all afternoon?”

Kara turned around and her knees almost gave out when she saw Lena pouting, however she quickly spotted the solution to their dilemma. She walked over a box labeled as ‘rocking chair’ and grabbed a smaller box that rested on top. “No need to yell with these bad boys.” She pulled out the baby monitors from the package and gave one to her friend.

Lena examined the device in her hand and arched a brow for the nth time at Kara. “Are you seriously kicking me out?”

“For your own good, yes.” Kara stood her ground and turned on her baby monitor, tucking it in one of the belt loops of her pants with the small velcro attachment it had. “Now, off you go, those cookies won’t bake themselves.” She shooed Lena away with both hands.

The brunette raised her arms in surrender, a hand holding the book and the other the baby monitor, as she turned around to get out. “Okay, okay, I won’t come in but you’re not allowed to try the cookie dough before I’m done baking.”

“What!? That’s not fair!”

Lena, who was already out of the room, turned on her baby monitor and spoke into it. “Who said life’s fair?”

It didn’t take long for Kara to take most of the furniture out of the way, sweep and place the protective cover on the floor to avoid any paint stains on the expensive wood. By then, Lena had selected her favorite drawings form ‘The Little Prince’ and gave the book back to the blonde so she could get started on the mural. Throughout the course of many hours they talked over the baby monitors as they both worked individually, but never alone.

Kara was curious about Lena’s doctor’s appointments, ‘So, what size is the baby now? Like an avocado?’ ‘No, an avocado would be too small. Internet says it should be the size of a squash but Dr. Herman says that’s crap and I shouldn’t consult the internet.’ ‘Nicole Herman is your doctor? Is the baby okay?’ ‘You know her?’ ‘Alex says she’s a fetal surgeon, she only takes cases where the babies have defects.’ ‘The baby is perfectly fine, don’t worry. She’s a friend of my mother’s, that’s why I go to her.’ ‘You had me worried for a second.’

And Lena was eager to listen to the blonde talk about her work, especially about a young woman called Nia, Kara’s little protégé, ‘I mean, she’s so young and yet her view of the news isn’t shallow, she digs deep and writes meaningful pieces.’ ‘It sounds like she’s had a good teacher.’ ‘I won’t take all the credit but I am proud of her.’

Lena spent the next hour and a half working on the oatmeal cranberry cookies, making sure to add many white chocolate chips for Kara’s enjoyment. She tried to convince the blonde two more times about letting her help with no avail, her friend was adamant in keeping her safe and she also wanted to surprise her, ‘C’mon, I want to see!’ ‘You’re not stepping into this room until I’m done.’ ‘Then send me a picture.’ ‘Nope, not happening. Don’t you know what a surprise is?’

Once the cookies were finished and had time to cool off a bit, Kara took a break from her work and joined Lena – and Lenoir – on the couch to watch a few episodes of ‘Brooklyn 99’, with a few cookies and a glass of milk, ‘I knew Peraltiago would be endgame from the pilot.’ ‘I think it was pretty obvious, Kara. What I didn’t see coming was Gina being a mom.’ ‘Oh God, that was the plot twist of the decade.’ ‘It was.’ ‘Your cookies are incredibly delicious, by the way.’ They watched the sitcom for about an hour before the blonde went back to the baby’s room to continue her work.

More hours went by but neither noticed as the conversation flowed with ease. It was dark already and Lena was still curled on the couch with the small fur ball on her lap.

“So, how much longer do you think you’ll take?” The brunette asked into the baby monitor, rubbing the black cat’s belly and feeling the soft vibrations of his purr.

“Not another minute.” The blonde answered through the device, which made Lena’s head turn towards the hallway.

Kara emerged from said hallway, safety mask hanging from one ear, a few paint splatters on her jeans and arms and the baby monitor near her face as if it was a walkie-talkie.

The younger woman gently removed the small animal from her lap and stood up, closing the distance between herself and her friend. “Did you finish?”

The editor nodded with a grin on her lips as she set her mask and the baby monitor on a near-by surface. “It’s finished. However,” she continued as she moved behind Lena and covered her eyes with her hands, “I told you it would be a surprise, didn’t I?”

The feeling of Kara’s breath on the back of her neck gave Lena goosebumps. “I’m not a fan of surprises, Kara. Also, I think it’s a bad idea to cover the eyes of a pregnant woman, we don’t exactly have a good center of gravity.”

“I’d never let you fall, don’t you trust me?” The blonde said, pressing her front to Lena’s back to make her walk.

I trust you with every cell of my body, Lena said in her mind, blushing instantly due to the honesty of the thought, also thankful Kara couldn’t see her. “I do trust you.” She started walking, letting herself be guided by the blonde.

The taller woman didn’t say anything more but couldn’t help but smile as a warm feeling spread inside her chest.

They entered the room and, with her eyes still covered, Lena smelled the residual scent of paint mixed with Kara’s own, which was stronger as she was closer. “So, will you let me see or what?” She questioned after a few seconds with Kara not taking her hands away.

“I’m gonna pull my hands away but don’t open your eyes until I count to three, okay?”

“Okay.” Lena said quickly, too quickly for Kara’s taste.

“No cheating.”  The blonde scolded her friend.

“Okay!” Lena breathed out with a small laugh, lifting her arms in surrender. “I promise I’ll only open my eyes at the count of three.”

That seemed to work because Kara removed her hands and stood before Lena, making sure she was not blocking the view from the mural behind her. “Ready?” The brunette nodded in response. “At the count of three… one… two… three. Ta-dah!”

The pregnant woman opened her eyes, quickly adjusting from dark to light and looked around. The first thing that caught her gaze was obviously Kara, who was smiling as wide as she could while making jazz hands. Then her green eyes looked behind her, where the open window let a soft breeze in, and gasped at the sight: it was the little prince laying on a field, belly down and feet up, looking at the many flowers that surrounded him. It looked exactly as it did on the book. She looked at her right and saw the desert where the narrator of the book had crashed his plane, but not only that, Kara had added the little prince in the skies as he left his home planet. To her left, the formerly-wild fox was peeking from inside his lair, a small hill behind him where a tall tree stood. Finally, Lena turned around to face the wall where the door is. It showed the little prince sitting in the desert and above his head, the lamplighter performing his endless task on the sky.

Lena covered her lips with the palm of her hand, trying to contain a whimper but failing. Tears started rolling down her cheeks and her shoulders started shaking.

Kara’s smile immediately fade away as she witnessed Lena having some sort of breakdown. “Lena, what is it? Do you hate it? Don’t worry, I can paint again!” She rushed to say, not knowing how to react. She touched, almost fearfully, the brunette’s shoulder to make her turn around and she did not expect what happened next.

Lena practically threw herself into Kara’s arms, burying her face in her shoulder as she kept sobbing. “Kara, this is wonderful.” Her voice muffled by the fabric of the blonde’s shirt.

The taller woman immediately wrapped her arms around her friend’s back, pulling her as close as she could with the baby bump between them. “You liked it?” She whispered, a light blush dusting her cheeks.

The brunette snorted as she loosened her grip from around Kara’s shoulders to look at her blue eyes. “Liked it? Are you kidding? I love it.” She declared, her voice breaking from emotion at the end of the sentence.

Kara grinned as if someone had told her she won the lottery. “You had me worried for a second there.” She joked.

Lena chortled and put some distance between them, wiping the happy tears away from her cheeks and sniffling. “I’m sorry, it’s just… this is so beautiful and I wish Jack could see it. You made his vision come true.”

The blonde stuffed her hands in her pockets and looked down coyly. “I’m glad you think so.” Her blue eye met Lena’s green ones again. “I know no one can replace him but if I can help you in any way, I’m glad to do it.”

The brunette chewed on her bottom lip before pulling Kara into another hug. “Thank you.”

The blonde buried her nose in the dark tresses as her fingers traced mindless shapes on the younger woman’s back. “You’re welcome.”

The hug lasted for a few more moments. When they finally pulled away again, Kara showed Lena the rocking chair she assembled, reassuring Lena that she had tested it and almost jumped on it to make sure she built it correctly. The blonde also apologized for not assembling the crib, but it was getting late and she didn’t want to start it to leave it half done. Then it was Lena’s turn to apologize for making Kara work on her day off but was quickly brushed away by the editor who stated she had nothing better to do and promising to come by another day to finish setting up the room. Moments later, Kara was on her apartment door with Lena by her side helping her get Lenoir and all his toys back in her house, with some cookies in a tupper as a plus.

“Thank you for helping me with all this.” Kara said as she pushed her door open and let her cat and her friend inside.

“This is literally the least I can do after everything you’ve done for me today.” Lena said as she placed the cookies on the counter and the cat toys on the floor.

The blonde put the cat litter away and quickly washed her hands. “Hey, do you have something to do next Friday night?”

The pregnant woman leaned on the counter and curved an eyebrow. “Since we’ve met every Friday night for more than a month now, you should know I have no other plans.”

The editor chuckled at that, because it was true. “Well, since you’re not busy… I was thinking you could come for Game Night?”

“Game Night?” Lena inquired.

“Yes! It’s a little something I do with my friends. Every month on a Friday we meet in someone’s place to play board games and drink. We’ve been very busy lately and haven’t had one in like two months so we cleared our schedules and we’re meeting here next Friday. It will also be like a house warming party since only my sister’s been here since I moved.” Kara finished her very long explanation.

Lena nodded slowly. “So, how many people will come?”

“My sister Alex, Nia, her boyfriend Barney – but we all call him Brainy –, my best friend Winn and my friend James.” She numbered each with a finger.

Lena looked down as she thought about meeting so many new people, and not just any people but important people on Kara’s life. She was nervous and Kara sensed that.

“You can bring Sam if you want. And Ruby!” The blonde continued. “I’m sure you’ll all have fun, my friends are really chill.”

The brunette pressed her lips together. “Kara I –”

“Just think about it?” The editor cut her short as she saw a rejection coming.

Lena let out a huff of air and seconds later the corner of her lip curved slightly up. “I’ll talk to Sam and let you know, okay?”

The taller woman pumped a fist in victory. “Yes, that’s great! Don’t forget to tell her Ruby is invited too.”

“She’s eight years old, Kara.” Lena argued.

“So?” Kara made a face as if that wasn’t an excuse. “She’ll have fun, I promise. We’re a crazy bunch.”

The green eyed woman chuckled. “I bet you are.” She pushed herself off the counter she was leaning on. “I think it’s time for me to leave. You have work tomorrow and I sure made you work a lot today.”

As if on cue, a yawn made its way onto Kara’s mouth, who pushed her glasses atop of her head and rubber her eyes. “Yes, I should get a shower and get into bed.”

“Thanks again for everything you did today.”

The editor placed her glasses on their place again and looked at the brunette. “It was my pleasure.”

Lena turned around and exited the apartment, looking over her shoulder as the blonde leaned against her door frame, wanting to see Lena get to her own door. “Good night, Kara.”

The blue eyed woman smiled at the brunette. “Good night, Lena.” She nodded and stayed in place until Lena was inside her home. A meow behind her made her turn around and finally close her door. “She’s awesome, right Lenoir?” She picked up the cat and scratched under his chin, walking towards her bedroom.