Work Text:
Kara is in her last class when she notices the black ink explosion on her right hand.
She thinks it's strange because she doesn't remember her pen getting ink on it, but quickly decides with a frown that it was her and she doesn't remember. When she goes into her room, she washes it off in the bathroom (it takes her a while to get it all the way off, but eventually she does), and falls asleep on the couch while watching the bad series Alex has been watching for the past few weeks because 'it's funny'.
It takes two more days for an ink accident that she doesn't remember doing to happen again.
"Rao, again?" she grumbles with the air as she heads for the college toilets. And then, when she's in the second-to-last class, it happens again, only the ink is blue, that time.
She makes her second stop at the restrooms for the day before heading to her room. When she opens the door, Alex is there with a blanket over her as she eats popcorn and watches the movie they're supposed to be watching together.
"What are you doing?" she asks, feigning annoyance. "I thought we were watching it together."
Alex shrugs. "You were late, what happened to you?"
"Huh, lately it seems like my pens have been leaking ink and I just don't remember it and when I look, boom! A huge smudge."
Alex frowns, with Kara plopping down heavily beside her and taking a ridiculous amount of popcorn in her hand. "What?"
"Yeah, I know," she says, her frown deepening after she puts on her thoughtful expression. "It's weird."
"You mean you don't remember having that ink on your skin?"
Kara nods in the middle of a big mouthful. "And that's like three times now."
"Kara, do you remember this thing about.... Soulmates can exchange messages on their skin at a certain age? With ink?"
Kara looks at her, confused. "Yes, but I thought that didn't happen to Kryptonians," she says slowly, remembering the time she spent three weeks badgering Alex about it after seeing it on TV. As she ponders the latter, Alex opens her eyes to a specific part of Kara's forearm.
"Kara..."
"What?" Kara follows Alex's gaze to her own arm and.... There it is again, the damn ink. "Oh."
"Just 'oh'? Kara, you just found out you have-", she interrupts herself to find another word: "You can have a soulmate."
"What am I supposed to say?" She says as she jumps down from her stall and goes in less than the blink of an eye (you know, super speed and all) to the bathroom.
She returns two minutes later with her arm in the air and a huge grin. "Look!"
In deep, black letters, it says Sorry, problems with my pens, response from Kara's own marker asking Everything okay?
Alex rolls her eyes. "That's it? I thought it would be more dramatic."
"It's a start."
"A not-so-dramatic one," she retorts, but by the time she finishes the last, Kara's already gone to her room. "Don't share all your personal data!" She yells, but the next day, she sees Kara full of black marker with scribbles and letters.
Alex doesn't bother to read anything.
-
Maybe Kara has begun to understand how last year Alex was practically talking to her soulmate day and night.
She can't stop once she starts. She enjoys the way she finally has something to do during the most boring classes of the day, and she learns things too. From her soulmate, of course.
Her name is Lena Luthor (of course she's a woman and not that it surprises Kara) and she studies some complicated tech stuff.
After a little research, she discovered that the Luthors weren't exactly strangers, though she didn't find anything relevant about Lena in her family. Kara also discovered that she wasn't good at drawing, if her doodles were proof of anything.
And also that she has a lot of trouble with her pens and markers.
The next time she has ink on her body, it's not a question, but another handful of black ink.
She laughs before remembering that she's in the class that's supposed to be reading something. She clears her throat at the looks she gets as she feigns concentration on her book.
What kind of cheap pens do you use???
It takes her a while to get an answer. Excuse me? These pens are worth more than your college.
My college seems more decent and functional than your pens
No more answers, but Kara likes to think Lena is smiling, perhaps stifling her laughter in one of her classes on quantum mechanics and physics.
-
Kara is bored studying at night when she slides the tip of her strongest pink marker she has over her hand. Do u like penguins?
A few seconds pass before she sees the black ink forming words underneath her question. Why? Are you watching Happy Feet?
Kara smiles. Do u like Happy Feet?
No. There's a pause. It's awful.
Whaaat??? Now you're going to tell me you like pineapple pizza?
Lena takes longer to respond. I don't stoop that low, what kind of person do you think I am?
I was hoping for one who likes penguins
I do, but definitely not Happy Feet.
Kara bites her lip as she shakes her head. She continues to study, but gets distracted by the conversation along her arm. Then, she starts drawing her best attempt at penguins.
-
Alex had a little trouble pressing the button on the remote to turn off the TV, and turned to Kara, who was writing a bunch of stuff on her skin with a smile.
She barely refrained from rolling her eyes. "Don't sleep so late," she says when she's halfway to her room, shuffling her feet and deciding that this was the last time she'd stay up late watching movies, especially on an exam week.
"Nope," Kara replies, but they both know it's a lie.
-
They have shared their schedules, and find themselves a large part of their "break" time (to call it one way) writing scientific pick-up lines.
The first time it happens, it causes Winn to immediately fall over and lean in closer to poke around.
If gravity didn't exist, I would still fall in love with you. And next to it has at least five hearts.
"Wow, that's-? Since when can you have a soulmate? You know, being a Kryptonian..."
"Do you have a pen? I forgot mine," Kara interrupts.
"Oh, yeah?" He rummages through his pockets until he pulls one out and Kara practically snatches it from him with a low 'thanks'. "Have you two exchanged addresses or something?"
Kara frowns. "Just schedules."
"Why? I mean, you could meet in a matter of seconds, literally."
"It's not like you're doing it with your girl, either."
Winn blushes immediately. "Well, I don't want it to be that... Forced."
"Exactly."
Winn manages to watch as Kara replies underneath the neatly traced letters with a U shake me more than a mitochondrion.
And Winn didn't know Kara was so familiar with terms like that, or that it was so corny in the first place.
-
Do you call yourself singularity? Because I can't escape you.
It makes Kara remember the time Alex's soulmate wrote her something corny like that during Christmas dinner, and she mimics it as best she remembers with a choked laugh.
Do u like water? Cause I'm 80% water ;)
It takes so long for an answer to come that Kara thinks there won't be one. Instead, Lena delicately traces:
80%? What are you? A cucumber?
-
Kara has found a habit of not washing most of her own or Lena's drawings for a while. She sponges carefully so that the ink doesn't rub off (which is hard enough in itself) and her brain fills with butterflies when Lena doesn't erase them either. Some of the quick conversations in her arms have to be erased sometimes, but Kara is still happy.
So, it's only natural that she forgets a little too much about the giant talk her university is supposed to attend along with another institution about science and technology.
The room is full even long before the event starts, so she takes the empty booth that's a bit far from the entrance next to a girl (attractive, if Kara has to be objective).
And she'd be fine, except that the girl she's sharing a table with lets out a curse word and....
Again, Kara has ink all over her hands and this time she definitely has the culprit in the act.
Kara has to hold back her hysterical laughter when she sees the gir- Lena, smeared with ink as she looks with surprise at the same ink pattern on Kara.
"Hey," she says breathlessly. "I'm Kara."
"Lena," and she clears her throat. "Pleasure."
And Lena's smile- Rao, how could it be so bright?