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A dim light illuminated the bakery, filled with aromas of delicious baked goods.
Lena stood at the kitchen table, cracking a few eggs into a bowl one by one, in order to mix all the necessary ingredients and finish preparing the next batch of dough. Every muscle in her body was aching from the long 11 hours of uninterrupted work, but the heat coming from the oven relaxed Lena at least a little and helped her to keep going.
During the day, Lena, dressed in simple jeans and a t-shirt, moved with ease around her kitchen, drifting from one cupboard to another. The bright apron with “I'm Irish” and clover on it was stained with flour. Her thick dark hair was pulled up into a bun to protect the food from contamination.
Sighing, Lena decided to take a break and looked around, counting the number of pastries she had baked.
“You're working too hard.” Said Sam, putting on her jacket and getting ready to go home. She started working with Lena in her bakery just a few months ago.
Lena just shrugged at her friend's comment and continued whipping eggs. Glancing at her friend for a moment, Lena noticed her hungry gaze as she examined the delicious treats. Smiling warmly, Lena stepped away from the kitchen table and began to collect everything bit by bit into a paper bag, waving off Sam's refusal.
“You know how much Ruby loves my baked goods. I'm packing this for her, but you can have a taste too, that's fine.” Said Lena with a wink and held out the bag to Sam.
“I love you, you know, right?” Sam replied cheerfully, kissing her friend’s cheek who always came to her rescue in times of need. When Sam was left alone with little Ruby in her arms, Lena was by her side and actively helped to take care of Ruby, becoming attached to the girl. Years later, they were still friends and supportive of each other.
“Enjoy! See you tomorrow morning.” Lena hugged her friend.
“When are you going to finish? You need to get some sleep and a good rest.” Asked Sam.
“I want to finish one more batch of biscuits and then maybe I’ll rest.”
“Lena...” Sighed Sam.
“We have to win tomorrow's festival, Sam. If first place goes to Danvers again, we're going to have a tough time. You know that very well.” The Irishwoman explained and went back to making biscuits.
The image of her rival, Kara Danvers, immediately appeared in Lena's mind. Blonde hair, long and incredibly soft, most often tied up in a messy bun. A warm smile that always shone brighter than the sun. And piercing eyes, an incredible shade of blue, always looking with warmth and understanding. Shaking her head, Lena shook the image away from her thoughts and turned the dough over in anger. This was all before...
“It's just...” Unsurely Sam began, eyeing the brunette with apprehension.
“What?” Asked Lena, raising an eyebrow.
“It would have been so much better and easier if we had teamed up with Danvers. Imagine how much the two of you would have done together and there wouldn't have been a need for a competition to see who was better.” Sam said with hope in her voice.
Lena scoffed at the suggestion as if to say that the idea was unimaginable.
“I tried to get her to see sense in it, but Kara wouldn't even listen. I... I just can't understand what happened. There's never been anyone closer to me than Kara before, no offense Sam, I still love you. And I know Kara felt the same way, and now she can't even look in my direction.” Disappointingly, the brunette waved her hands and continued kneading the dough.
“Maybe it just wasn't meant to be.” Sam sympathized, taking a seat on a high chair beside her friend's kitchen table. Sadly, she couldn’t offer a clear explanation for this.
Lost in thoughts, Lena was shaping her biscuits into hearts. After a while, she mumbled. “Why? How can such a strong friendship end without a reason?”
“I believe everyone has their reasons, Lena. And I think Kara has hers. You never actually tried to ask her, just began to hold a grudge.” Sam had a point, Lena thought but didn't want to admit it.
“She could have explained them herself, I would have listened, whatever those reasons were.” Lena softened.
“Maybe.”
A thoughtful silence hung over the bakery for what felt like a lifetime.
“Before you go, can you help me to move all the trays into the pantry, please?” Lena asked.
Sam immediately agreed. “What about these?” She asked, pointing her hand towards a plate of small cupcakes called “Love cakes” that were by the window. For a reason unknown to Sam, these cupcakes Lena baked every year for the festival, but never sold or even shared with anyone. Sam tried to ask but the brunette didn’t want to share, so she didn’t push.
“No, no... Those are... Just not for sale. Leave them there, okay?” Mumbled Lena, breathing a sigh of relief that Sam hadn't questioned her further or noticed the sad glint in her eyes.
“That's it. See you tomorrow. Bye!” Sam waved her hand and walked out the door of the bakery.
Lena stretched her sore muscles and locked the bakery’s door. It was a place Lena had bought for a small price, but it was home to her. She opened the bakery on the ground floor, and on the second floor, there was a small apartment just for her.
About 30 minutes later, she finished all preparations and finally decided to wrap up. Making her rounds around the small room, checking to see if there was anything left on the counters, Lena walked over to the plate of cupcakes and, taking it with her, went up the stairs to her apartment.
Once upstairs, the first thing Lena did was taking a shower to wash off all the flour and sticky bits of dough. The warm water helped her to forget all her worries for a moment. After getting out of the shower, she changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt and made her way to the kitchen. The brunette was not particularly hungry but decided to have one of the “Love cakes” with hot tea. Taking the first bite and feeling the amazing taste, Lena couldn’t stop the flood of memories that occupied her mind and a lonely tear rolled down her cheek. Warm smiles and the best hugs... It's all in the past. The Irishwoman reminded herself and swallowed the rest of the cupcake.
After clearing away all the rubbish, Lena decided it’s time to go to sleep, but she wanted to go through her journal full of pressed flowers before that, as she always did to calm her nerves before the festival. She took a beautifully decorated journal and sat down on the couch. It was the only present she had ever been given. However the book had some more blank pages to fill, the filled pages were full of lilac sprigs with lavender ribbons, roses, and forget-me-nots, wrinkled primrose by her favorite sunflowers. Every year on the evening before the festival, someone would leave a box of newly pressed flowers under her door. Lena never managed to catch this person, no matter how hard she tried. After a short walk down the street in the hope of finding the mysterious stranger, she would return home, take the box and go to fill in a new page. Each paper held a different memory for her. Lena flicked through and when the last filled page was reached, she huffed. And as if on cue, the knock at the door downstairs came.
Lena ran as fast as her feet would allow, almost tripping over the last step. Her toe would surely bruise by morning, she thought. Hastily, she yanked the door open, hearing the bell chime above the frame.
As always, no one was there.
The streets were empty due to late hours.
“Fuck!” Lena cursed. She had run faster than she had in previous years and it still wasn’t fast enough. She would probably have to stay downstairs next year to helpfully greet the mystery gift giver.
Speaking of gifts, Lena looked down and saw an unsurprising box wrapped in gold paper and tied with a black satin ribbon. The gift wrapping was, as usual, perfectly done. Lena even felt bad tearing the paper. Inside the box was a new wonderful addition to her journal.
“Dahlias?” Said Lena out loud.
She felt a cold autumn breeze and shut the door, going upstairs.
Dahlias were more than just beautiful flowers. The bloom symbolized abundance, strength, and love. More specifically, it meant “yours forever”.
“A fond farewell or forever yours?” Lena wondered.
Lena brought the journal and box to her room and spent the next 30 minutes carefully arranging the leaves and flowers, creating a harmonious composition. Gently running her fingertips over the pressed blossoms, she allowed her imagination to conjure up happier days, spent in sunny meadows, running through flowery fields with her late mom.
Deep in her heart, Lena desperately hoped that the mysterious giver was the person she was always thinking of. Unfortunately, she had no proof. For now.
Sighing heavily, she cleaned everything up and went to bed. As soon as her head touched the pillow, she sank into a long-awaited sleep, tightly hugging the journal to her chest.
***
The ceremonial trumpets announced the upcoming festival and Lena jumped out of bed, cursing her alarm that hadn’t gone off. She has very little time left to make final preparations for the festival.
Lena took a quick shower and changed into jeans and a green sweater. She put the journal into her bag that she was going to take with her. She then put her dark hair up in a ponytail and, closing the door of her apartment, began to walk down the stairs to the bakery.
Lena was stressed because several trays of biscuits still needed to be baked. To her surprise, when the brunette reached the bakery, she inhaled the familiar aroma of baked goods and all the biscuits were already in the oven.
True to her word, Sam had arrived early and started preparing everything, not waiting for Lena.
“Thank God! You’re a lifesaver, Sam!” Lena exclaimed, feeling relieved.
“Yeah, yeah. I know how amazing I am.” Sam winked and continued to put everything in the baskets.
***
In the central town square, the small wooden huts that had been built for the festival participants a long time ago shone with a warm glow. Everyone began laying out numerous baked goods on their stands, preparing to receive the festival's buyers and judges.
Lena and Sam arrived a little later than they had planned and Lena immediately noticed some changes.
Every year, there was Eve Teschmacher with her sunny yellow stand opposite Lena’s soft pink one. However, Eve was nowhere to be seen and her stand had been replaced by an elegant blue and gold design.
Lena froze. It didn't take her long to figure out who it belonged to.
“Lena?” Sam asked, holding a big tray of bread. She came to stand beside Lena, wondering what could have stopped the woman in her tracks.
“Kara Danvers’ stand is opposite ours, Sam.” Lena said.
“What? That doesn’t make any sense! We’re normally on opposite sides of the square!” Confused, Sam exclaimed.
Lena looked just as puzzled. “I’ll go and talk to Miss Grant, there’s been a misunderstanding. Could you take care of things here?”
“Of course.”
Finding Miss Grant was not too difficult.
Lena was a little afraid of this woman, as she always looked like she could kill with just a glance. But Miss Grant was the main organizer at the festival every year, so she had to put up with it.
As Lena was about to walk up to her, someone approached Cat Grant from the opposite side. Someone Lena wasn't ready to face yet.
Lena immediately hid behind the nearest stand and listened to the conversation.
“Miss Grant! May I have a word with you?” Kara Danvers, wearing light-colored jeans and a soft blue sweater that accentuated her amazing blue eyes, approached Cat with barely contained anger.
“Kara, good to see you! You look great as always!” Said Miss Grant. Kara was the only one this tough woman had warm, almost maternal, feelings for. Cat noticed the grim look on the blonde's face and asked. “What's the problem?”
“You know very well what the problem is.” Kara sighed, calming down. “You put my stand in front of Lee's.”
Lena's heart squeezed painfully at the mention of the nickname. She hadn't heard it in so long.
“Kara, I wasn't in charge of the organization this year. I was offered, as usual, but declined. I just wanted to spend the day with Carter, without all the fuss. You'll have to discuss it with Morgan Edge. He's got it all planned out here.”
“Oh… Okay. Thank you. Sorry for my outburst.” Kara replied, smiling sheepishly.
“It's okay. I understand everything. Go and enjoy the festival. Carter and I will see you later. He can't wait to talk to you again.” Miss Grant said with a smile and walked off in the opposite direction.
Kara turned to leave and suddenly caught Lena's gaze. Surprise flashed in her cerulean eyes, but the blonde immediately hid it.
“Kara, what a surprise!” Said Lena, not taking her eyes off Kara's intense gaze.
“Miss Luthor.” Kara said without any emotion in her voice. “Looks like our stands are opposite each other.”
“Yeah... I guess they are.” Lena frowned at Kara's use of her last name. She hated that wall between them, that formality, the cold shoulder and stoic expression on Kara's face. Kara, whom Lena knew and loved even now, always smiled at Lena with a smile she only used with the brunette.
“May the best baker win.” Said Kara and held out her hand.
Lena stared at Kara's palm. After a moment, she shook her hand, trying not to emphasize how warm and soft Kara's skin was, and muttered. “May the best baker win.”
***
Lena went back to her stand and retold Sam everything she had learned.
“Don't worry. We can beat Danvers.” Sam smiled encouragingly.
Lena smiled back, admiring her friend's competitive nature. Lena herself didn't feel all that reassured. The brief conversation with Kara had stirred up old feelings. Lena didn't want to admit it, but she missed Kara very much.
“What's going on over there?” Sam asked, pointing to Kara's stand.
Lena glanced across the street and noticed that Kara’s business was thriving. Many customers were passing her and Sam in Kara's favor and curiosity took over the brunette. She and Sam went closer to Kara’s stand and Lena began to see what the blonde was selling that was so unusual. What could fascinate her customers? Salted caramel biscuits, dark chocolate truffles, lava cakes, and many other different baked goods, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Lena was puzzled and could not understand what was wrong, but then her gaze fell on Them, which stood beautifully in the center of the table. Her face was stripped of all color, her heart dropped and Lena felt tears begin to gather in her eyes. Anger took over her and Lena shouted.
“Kara Danvers!”
The shout caught those around her and Sam off guard. Everyone froze and Kara's puzzled gaze turned towards Lena.
At that moment, Lena felt the emotions that she had been holding back deeply for years begin to burst out and take full possession of her. Her next words she uttered as a loud sob. “How could you?”
Not wanting others to see her tears that were about to fall, Lena stepped back and went into the back of her hut, away from prying eyes.
Sam immediately followed her. “What's wrong?”
Lena, feeling the tears began to roll down her cheeks, grabbed her bag in fury and pulled out her journal full of pressed flowers. She planned to destroy every page, tear them into small pieces and burn them in the fire, she didn't care anymore. She had managed to open the first page when gentle hands snatched the journal from her hands, closed it, and placed it gently on a nearby table.
Soft blue eyes met deep green ones, and Sam immediately left the hut and closed the door behind her, giving the couple some privacy.
Tears freely rolled down Lena's cheeks as she managed to whisper. “How could you?”
“How could I what?” Kara asked quietly, gently taking Lena's hands in her own. She looked at Lena again with the same warm and attentive gaze she had once had long ago.
“You're selling our Love cakes!” Blurted out Lena, looking into her beloved eyes that always shone with kindness.
Kara didn't answer anything, just continued to stare at Lena, and the brunette continued. “You stopped talking to me, Kara, for no reason at all. You gave me no explanation and broke off our communication on the eve of our first festival together! We were friends, partners, Kara! And you just walked away without even looking back. You left and now you're selling the one thing we promised never to share with anyone!” Cried Lena. “Why?” She whispered in a broken voice.
Kara let go of Lena's hands and frowned slightly. “You know very well why I stopped talking to you, Lena.”
Lena's tears suddenly slowed. She stared at Kara, her eyebrows furrowed and her jaw dropped.
“No, Kara, I don't know!”
Realization suddenly dawned on them; the air thickened. Kara seemed to suddenly withdraw into herself and began to glance at the door, clearly thinking about running away.
Lena grabbed Kara's warm hands and squeezed them.
“Please don't go. I'm sorry I yelled. And forgive me for never trying to understand. Just talk to me, please.” Lena pleaded, pulling Kara closer. The tension in Kara's shoulders evaporated and she gave in to the gesture.
“That night, before our first festival, I came to the bakery to give you a present.” Kara began, catching a glimpse of the journal. Lena's suspicions were confirmed and her heart filled with such warmth. “And I overheard you talking to Andrea Rojas.”
Lena thought about that night and it only made her more confused. As far as she remembered, nothing bad had been said. Over conversation, they had had many glasses of wine then, and nothing much had happened. At least, that was all she remembered.
Kara spoke again, pulling Lena out of her thoughts. “Andrea asked you about me and who I am to you. And you answered then that I was just your friend and nothing more. You always answered everyone like that, but... I thought I meant so much more to you than just a friend... or I just desperately hoped so. It was stupid.”
Kara confessed, trying to fight back her tears of frustration.
“I then overheard Andrea telling you how she felt about you, how much she cared for you. I realized that night... you and I weren't on the same page. I decided to distance myself to protect my broken heart. Every time I saw you, it reminded me of how I felt and how you'd never feel. So I left the present by the door and left. Being cold with you was so much easier than being close to you.”
Silent tears rolled down Kara's cheeks and Lena's heart broke at the sight. She had no idea.
Lena exhaled and uttered. “Kara, you have no idea how I feel about you. How could you be so sure of the unrequitedness of your feelings if you've never asked me?”
The expression on Kara's face fell rather comically to utter bewilderment and confusion.
“Andrea was never and is never going to be interested in me like that, Darling. She came over that night to thank me for setting her up with my old friend Jack. Sadly, it only lasted a week. Andrea and I are just friends.”
Silence hung in the air between them. Kara seemed immersed in her own world, trying to analyze her memory and remember exactly what had been said that night.
Lena decided to ask another question that interested her. “Why did you decide to open your own bakery?”
“It's the only thing I'm good at.” Kara shrugged.
“You could open a flower shop?” Lena giggled, looking at the journal on the table. She let go of Kara's hands and picked up the journal, flicking through to the recently filled page.
“Dahlias.” Kara ran her long fingers over the petals of the flowers spread beautifully on the page.
“I kept each of the flowers you secretly brought me. This gift means a lot to me. Thank you.” Whispered Lena and smiled. Kara looked up at her and smiled the very smile that Lena loved immensely.
A knock on the door made them both flinch, the intimate moment was lost.
Sam, with a regretful look, poked her head through the door. “I'm sorry to interrupt the lovely moment, but the judges have come to our stand.” And she just as quickly disappeared from view.
“You work too hard, Lee.” Kara said softly.
“Yes, I've been told.” She smiled.
“Go and conquer the judges with your baking. And I've got some Love cakes to clear off the stand. We'll talk after the festival is over.”
Lena looked at Kara's encouraging smile but noticed the doubt still slipping into her eyes and posture. She was still afraid that Lena didn't feel the same way. Lena made up her mind that she couldn't let Kara go without convincing her that they were on the same page.
She glanced at the open page of the journal with dahlias and muttered. “A fond farewell or forever yours...”
Kara looked up, feeling heaviness in her chest. Lena just smiled and took Kara's palm once again, kissing the back of it before entwining their fingers.
“No one has ever made me as happy as you do with every moment we spend together. No one means more to me in this world than you do. You always have been and always will be my whole world, Kara. I've loved you for as long as I can remember. And I’ll love you until my last breath.” Lena felt her heart hammering in her throat. “I'm madly in love with you, Kara Danvers. I’ve always wanted you. I’ll always want you, Darling.” Lena confessed, pressing her forehead against Kara's.
Tears rolled freely down their cheeks, but the pair didn't really care.
Then Lena whispered. “How long will you love me?”
There was no pause, no delay, and no hesitation on Kara's part.
“Always, my love.”
And their lips finally met in a searing kiss. At that moment, Lena didn't care about the festival or the judges waiting for her to come out. All that ever mattered to her was Kara, and it would always be that way.