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Kara Danvers wasn’t a good cook. Certainly she could cook but she couldn’t cook. It was a skill that she had never honed, relying on others and few basics she possessed to get by once she lived alone.
Growing up in Midvale she’d been entirely taken care of by Eliza, whom was a wonderful cook, her lasagne being out of this world (a subject Kara considered herself the authority on). When she went off to university she ate like everyone other student did; whatever was quick, simple, and most importantly cheap.
When she finally moved to National city permanently her life was no less busy and she continue to subscribe to her previous student mentality but with a lot of more take away thrown in. After all, the Girl of Steel didn’t have to calorie count.
So it was no surprise to Kara but no less frustrating, as she slammed a burning pan into the sink, that things weren’t going well.
Lena was due over to her apartment in an hour, having accepted her invitation to have date night there with a “special surprise” included. With each tick of the clock Kara felt her stress rise further as she struggled not to cut through another solid chopping board rather than mutilated tomatoes atop it.
She was trying to make lasagne, Eliza’s signature dish, and one of Kara’s favourite meals that she wished to share with Lena. Things had started off well with the salad but had begun to go progressively downhill since.
‘Fuck!’ Kara cried as she turned just into to save the mince from burning behind her. She growled, turning down the heat and glaring at it for a moment before returning to her tomatoes. The apartment smelt like five flavours of wrong as the burnt aroma from her first attempt still lingered in the air.
Once the tomatoes and onions were chopped she mixed them with the rest of the tomato sauce before combining it all with the mince. It gently bubbled together and Kara let slip a sigh of relief as she cleared away remains of her chopping board into the bin.
With the sauce cooked and ready, Kara spooned it into a dish and layered it with the lasagne sheets, careful not to let too many of them snap between her fingers. With a kiss of mozzarella and basil on top she put it into the preheated oven, hoping to get in a quick shower before Lena arrived in less than thirty minutes.
Kara relaxed in the shower somewhat, taking her time and imaging the pleased look of Lena’s face when she arrived to wine, candles, and a beautifully prepared lasagne. All Kara every wanted to see was the bright shining smile that was often reserved entirely for her.
She climbed out of the shower, wafting at all the steam she’d caused from the hot water. Tying a towel around her chest she frowned up at the steam as it refused to dissipate above her. A few seconds ticked by as she looked at it before a dawn of horror washed over her.
Aided by superspeed, Kara hurtled out of the bathroom and back into the kitchen to be engulfed by smoke. ‘WHY!’ she yelled, throwing open the oven door to be greeted with burning remains of her lasagne.
She snatched it out with her bare hands, glaring at the oven in dismay as she released she’d left it on high while preheating it. Naturally, it was then that a knock came at the door only for it to immediately swing open to permit the very shocked form of Lena Luthor.
‘What on Earth-’ was all Lena could manage as she took in the scene before her that was a towel covered, still wet Kara, brandishing a clearly ruined lasagne surrounded by smoke.
‘Happy date night,’ Kara replied half-heartedly, putting down the lasagne in defeat and covering her face.
‘Oh, my darling,’ Lena laughed, walking into the apartment and reaching for Kara. She took her face in her hands, kissing the pathetic look from Kara’s face away. ‘Did you leave the oven on too high?’
‘Pretty sure it was preheated to melt metal,’ Kara muttered, burying her face in Lena’s neck. ‘Everything has been a disaster.’
Lena grinned widely, her heart swelling at the effort Kara had clearly gone to for her, noticing the candles around them no doubt waiting to be lit and the wine ready on the counter. She kissed the side of her head and coaxed Kara to look at her.
‘What am I going to do with you?’ Lena smiled, kissing Kara again whom smiled softly.
‘This morning I took on an alien twice my size, weathered Cat’s monologue about almond milk, and successfully said no to that man selling magazines in the village, but I’m defeated by a simple lasagne.’
‘Cheer up, we can fix it.’
‘But I wanted to cook for you,’ Kara whined.
‘And now we’re going to cook together.’
In a heartbeat Kara was dressed and back in the kitchen to find Lena in an apron and wearing a determined look on her face. ‘Now, there is plenty of sauce left but it could use a little more mince, do you have any left?’
‘No, but-’ Kara didn’t finish her sentence as she shot out of the window, making Lena jump with the suddenness. She only waited a moment before Kara was back with a packet of mince.
‘Amazon Prime could never,’ Lena chuckled, taking the mince and emptying it into Kara’s last remaining pan. Kara hovered behind her, wrapping her arms around Lena as she dutifully cooked the mince through.
After not too long a new sauce was prepared and ready to be layered into the dish. ‘Where is your chopping board?’ Lena asked, frowning. Kara muttered something unintelligible and pointed to the bin. Lena peaked under the lid, biting her lip hard to not laugh at the sight of two broken chopping boards that Kara had clearly cut straight through.
With a flourish of finesse and more patients than Kara had ever possessed, a new lasagne was safely in the oven at the right temperature while Kara and Lena were tucked into each other on the sofa waiting for it.
‘I’m sorry this didn’t go as planned, I wanted you to relax after work,’ Kara mumbled into Lena’s hair.
Lena gently swatted at the chest she snuggled harder against, wrapping an arm around Kara’s waist securely. ‘This is exactly what I needed, and it’s all the better with you,’ she said, peering up to catch the dorky grin that spread across Kara’s lips.
‘Domestic life is still rather new to me,’ Kara smiled.
‘Me too,’ Lena sighed softly, leaning up to be level with Kara. ‘But I wouldn’t change it.’
‘Nor would I.’
Their lips met tenderly in a slow kiss that left a blush on their cheeks and quickened the pace of their hearts into a joint rhythm. Though the execution had been wrong, somehow Kara had failed her task successfully and achieved all she wanted as Lena smiled at her as if she were the only good thing upon the Earth.
The oven timer went off, alerting them that it was finally time to eat. Kara’s stomach growled on que as she swept Lena up with her as she stood. Lena let out a small giggle as she was carried over the table and set down.
‘Sit there, the least I can do is dish up,’ Kara commanded, pointing at her to stay as she pulled the lasagne out of the oven. ‘God, this looks delicious.’
‘Mm, very delicious,’ Lena agreed, ‘and the lasagne looks good too.’
Kara laughed, it was going to be a fantastic night.