Disclaimer: I do not own Supergirl
Author's Notes: Prompt was: "I work at a toy store and you keep coming in but never buy anything." Having meant to rewatch the movie to imagine Alex's response, my mind INSTANTLY thought of this idea so, here is the modern day Carol SuperCat AU no one asked for. And in true form of the movie, I've decided to title this simply...
Cat
The year is 1995, a thirty year old Cat is in the midst of building her company, putting in long nights and even longer weeks. She's so focused on hiring the right team and advertising in the right places to get her name out there that there never seems to be enough time in the day to breathe, especially not with how she throws herself into the long hours the work requires. When the first Christmas of hers and Max's separation headed for divorce hits, she finds herself oddly lonesome despite the constant press of people surrounding her, clamoring for attention. Especially because Max was taking their five year old son, Adam, to his parents in Florida for the festivities. Thankfully, they agreed that Cat would have Adam until Christmas Eve, which was more than she would have expected him to allow.
Cat had decided that in order to distract herself from her son's absence at such a joyous time of year, she would work alone in the office on Christmas Day and get a head start on the next edition of the magazine. Without the hustle and bustle of daily work operations and constant hand holding, Cat would have the peace of mind to focus for more than a few minutes on her passion to write. But first, she had to survive the inanity of a staff distracted by the holidays for another two weeks and find the perfect gift for her son in the meantime.
Her search led her to the local toy shop, spruced up and decked out in the most sickeningly display of Christmas cheer one could imagine in a singular location. And quite the slighting of other holidays if she were making a statement in the paper, which she had already, to be honest. Plenty of feedback, both positive and negative had filtered into the offices, but Cat had specific instruction to her assistant to destroy the complaints on sight, allowing only the thankful letters through.
Cat wandered around the first floor as she began to look for ideas, bored to bits by the pristine, new electronics and toys for kids. The latest in walkman technology being tried out by overzealous teenagers to the frustration of their tired parents, the corniest of tunes playing over the P.A. system. Cat preferred having personal shoppers for her general needs in life, such as grocery purchases, but being such a particular occasion, Cat wanted to soldier through her disgust of germs to find the perfect present. Adam deserved the best and she would do everything in her power to ensure that, especially with his underlying concerns about his parents living separately now. He didn't really understand but he knew enough that it was not ordinary and set him on edge. So Cat bargained with herself that so long as she kept her hands to herself until inspecting a possible gift then immediately washing her hands afterwards, she could handle the task.
She managed to find a small corner on that first floor where some new stuffed animals were set up, and Cat investigated their cotton levels, the amount of fluff that came off with each handling, how soft and cute they were. With her back turned to most of the store she expected to be spotted by a view passersby, but she was surprised at the feeling of someone consistently watching her. It was a strange sensation considering how CatCo was in its infancy still. Had she really drummed up enough press and response in the paper for the use of 'happy holidays' versus 'Merry Christmas' that those in the store could recognize her on site? Cat sighed, shaking her head at how immediately she went to a darker place.
Guarding her face into as neutral an expression as possible, Cat turned and spied a young blonde from an end cap some distance from her. Lean, muscular build, clearly taller than her, dressed in perfectly bland khakis and a god awful Christmas sweater with loafers to boot. Stunning, Cat would later admit upon reflection. The moment of pleasant perusal broke when she heard the telltale notes of her beeper paging her and she set the stuffed frog down in order to exit the store to deal with her work business.
Having had no luck on the first floor with the best of the best toys the store had to offer, Cat returned two days later when her schedule permitted and began her exploration of the second floor. It was emptier this time, a strange hour even for last minute shoppers to be out and about away from work, so the floor was comfortably vacant enough for Cat's liking. It meant less diseases to contract in the cold weather and less press of the folks about her. However, she had managed to remember her gloves this time unlike the first visit to the toy store.
Unfortunately, she only made it through half of the second floor's stock before her meeting with the board was pushed forward to an earlier time slot. Cat was grateful that the second floor was less biased in its far vaster assortment of toys. She knew that when she returned she would find the perfect gift for Adam. It was when she was heading toward the escalator that she noticed the young blonde employee from her first visit to the store. She was stocking some dolls onto the shelves behind a counter on the second floor, giving Cat pause as she took in her appearance today. Nothing much had changed, except her hair was in a messy bun now, and she was wearing a different yet still horrible Christmas sweater. She wondered for a moment if the company was partaking in one of those ridiculous Bad Christmas Sweater contests and if the woman was making them herself.
Cat chuckled into her hand at the thought, catching the woman's eye before the escalator descended. This time they were closer and Cat was able to see just how sky blue those eyes hidden by dreadful glasses were. Not even Adam's could compare, too much grey from his father's influence in his beautiful eyes. Her eyes were electric and striking in tone, as though looking into a deep pool of water, or staring at the starry skies above when Cat was a child with her father. She could easily fall into those blue eyes and lose herself for days as she picked out each deviation of color, determine the cause behind the slight grey of sadness just on the edge of those irises.
Shortly before Christmas Eve, Cat once again found herself at the toy store, deliberately setting aside the time to find the perfect gift before heading home to her baby boy and celebrating properly. And yet again, that employee was there, this time in black slacks and a more subtle and easier to look at Christmas sweater, though far more bulky than the previous two. After circling around the automatic train set, Cat approached her, now noticing the Santa hat perched over her sunny head.
"I was hoping you could help me find something," she announced in a calm, smooth tone, setting her gloves on the counter.
"Sure, uh...what are you looking for?" the employee asked, name tag revealing her name was Kara.
"I'm looking for a gift for my five year old son. You see...he's not like other boys, he's...special," Cat's eyes flitted to the ceiling, unable to hold back the smile that lit her face up. "Intelligent and kind, shy though...and I'm having trouble deciding on the best gift," she explained, looking back at Kara again.
Kara smiled brilliantly. "I know what that's like," she admitted. "I...I take care of my cousin full time so I know how hard it can be to find a good gift," Kara said a little hesitantly.
"What did he like when he was five?" Cat asked, curiosity piqued at this new layer to the mysteriously beautiful woman she kept stumbling upon in the toy store. She was so young and yet essentially a mother? It wasn't uncommon but it made Cat wonder what Kara's story was.
"Trains. Absolutely fascinated by them, actually. Still is to a degree," Kara giggled lightly and Cat was certain she hadn't heard a more pure as bells sound in her life. "We got a new set in last month, in fact. Not Thomas the Tank Engine, though that is very popular with the eight and under crowd," she explained, knowing how annoyingly in your face some of the advertisements for Thomas was lately. More than a few parents had admitted their ire to her during the Christmas season. "And it's easier to set up than Ikea furniture. Perfectly laid out instructions and labeled parts. A novice could put it together in an hour with the right determination. Not that I'm saying you're a novice," Kara's face widened in fear, immediately backpedaling in order to not offend her customer.
Cat huffed in amusement, oddly endeared by the rambling of this woman. "Well then, that sounds like a great gift. Sold," she said, pulling out her checkbook.
Kara stared at her for several moments in shock. "Wha...what? Really? Oh wow, that would be amazing. It is amazing. We don't often work for commission but there are a few items in each department and there's a bonus that comes with that sale and...wow that would really help Clark and I this year. Thank you, so much, miss," Kara said excitedly, tapping away at the register to pull up the proper payment, the smile never fading from her face. Cat was certain this girl was the sun incarnate, truly losing herself in that gorgeous face as she waited to be prompted.
"Well it is the holiday season and the holidays are for generosity, no?" Cat asked, filling out the check and signing her name in neat cursive before handing it over to Kara and writing out her address for the delivery of the train set. "Glad to help out a struggling family," she added, the barest hint of a smile ghosting across her face.
"Really though-" Kara paused, looking at the check and if she recognized Cat's name she made no show of it. "-Miss Grant, thank you. I really appreciate it and I bet your son will adore the train set. And...you...are all set," she announced, tearing the receipt from the dispenser and handing it back to Cat. "It should be delivered later today or tomorrow," she promised.
"Wonderful, Kara. Thank you," Cat said with an uncharacteristic smile. As she headed for the exit she paused and threw over her shoulder, "I like the hat," and winked at the employee. Feeling more confident than ever before, Cat had never felt more in her skin than she did interacting, and dare she say flirting, with Kara. Odds were against her in these matters, but Cat was surprisingly optimistic this time around that Kara was very low-key and subtly flirting back with her, if the blush coating her cheeks the entire conversation was anything to go by.
Perhaps leaving her gloves was a good decision after all.