Chapter 07
What if we don't live forever? People die and that can destroy us in an instant. The lost, the longing for what is gone. We are not ready to say goodbye but as hard as it's to grieve. We can be restored, we can rebuild and become a whole once again with the help of those who are around us, especially if they know their way to our hearts…
"Hmmm, so many pancakes! I love it!"
The dear CEO chuckles when she sees how fast the pile of pancakes starts to decrease. It doesn't matter how many times Lena has seen Kara devour a stack of pancakes in a matter of seconds; every time she gets surprised by it. It's really impressive how much food can get inside that mouth or, maybe it's the pregnancy. Lena wonders if Kara's big appetite it's due to the baby, but she couldn't be more wrong, Kara's a food lover by nature.
Pizza, burgers, hot dogs, pasta and mostly pot stickers it's the day-to-day of Kara's eating routine. Something that Lena wants to change because after reading so many books about pregnancy, she's sure that they need to add more green to Kara's diet. The question is just: how? Lena doesn't have the answer, but, she has a hint of who might have the answer to her dilemma.
"Lena?"
"Hi Sam. Can I come in?"
The dear CFO of L-Corp nods, she wasn't expecting to see Lena out of the office especially on a Sunday. Is Lena really going to ask her to work on something today? Sam really hopes not because she's supposed to have a day in the park with her child, Ruby and her new girlfriend. Sam was looking forward to finally introducing her new lover to Ruby, so she really hopes she will be able to do it today.
Lena notices how Sam is lost in her thoughts and she wonders if her presence is not welcome at all. Before the dear Luthor could walk away, Sam drags her to the living room to sit and talk.
"Lena, I don't know what brought you here. But, I'll not let you chicken out so easily…"
Lena chuckles, she nods and when Sam offers her something to drink, she declines. Now, Sam is worried, Lena refuses to drink a glass of wine, it's something huge! All kinds of alarm settle into Sam's head because when did Lena ever decline a glass of wine?!
"Lena, since when don't you drink?!"
"I drink! I'm just choosing not to do it anymore!"
"Why?"
Lena shrugs, not wanting to answer, but, Sam has a little kid who's a little shy, so, she's becoming an expert on reading people who refuse to talk…
"OMG! You're stopping drinking because of someone! Am I right?!"
The CEO blushes, she pouts like a kid who refuses to admit something, and, like a kid, she avoids to answer the question and looks Sam in the eyes.
"Lena Luthor, changing her bad habits for someone. Wow, this guy must be really something…"
"There's no guy, Sam!"
"Oh, then, it's a girl?"
Lena gasps of shock and crosses her arms with a cute pout on her lips. Sam chuckles. ' It's a girl ' it's what Sam thinks, but she will not push the dear Luthor to say more. Since the dear Luthor doesn't want to drink wine, Sam makes some tea for them. It doesn't take her too long to prepare the tea, but, when Sam comes back with the hot beverage, she notices how Lena is looking at the newspapers which are over the coffee table of the living room.
"Stop worrying about what is said in the tabloids. We all know that fake press is what sells the most."
"And, what if it's not fake…?"
"Huh?!"
Sam never understood why weeks ago Lena refused to sue the tabloids for the buzz they did about a picture of her with someone else. The dear CFO was sure it was fake, there was no way that Lena would have a secret pregnant girlfriend, but now she's wondering if she was wrong all this time. After all, Lena has a very private life, she doesn't share anything with anyone, so maybe…
"OMG! You impregnated someone?!"
Lena gasps in shock under such accusation, but, thinking about it, technically, she cannot deny it. Because she did the procedure, she gave the egg, she put the baby in Kara, and a tiny smile spread over her lips, feeling proud of doing such thing.
"OMG! You dog!"
Lena rolls her eyes and before Sam could say something else out of place, she decides to entrust the truth with her. Sharing her secrets with someone has never been something easy for Lena, but she will not deny that after saying everything to Sam, she feels lightweight. It feels good to rely on someone, but, as the minutes pass, Lena starts to wonder if she did the right thing because Sam hasn't said a word…
"Sam, are you okay? Are you not saying anything…?"
"It's your egg, it's your DNA, it's your baby…"
"Well, technically, yeah, but…"
From all the possible reactions that Lena was expecting, Sam hugging her wasn't one of them…
"Sam?!"
"Lena! God! You're gonna be a mom! I'm so happy for you!"
The CEO gulps hard when she hears the word 'mom'. Technically, the baby was made thanks to her, but, is she really going to become a mom? That's a question for which she doesn't have the answer yet…
"Welcome to the club. I guess you're here to ask for some tips, right?"
Lena nods, she doesn't want to enter into the detail about her hesitation of what to do with the baby once it's born, so she decides to just focus on collecting the information she needs to improve the diet of Kara. With a big pat on the back and a thumb up, Lena leaves Sam's home.
"Don't worry about the company or the press. I'll take care of it!"
Lena is also not ready to face the world and share the news of the baby, so she just nods and really hopes that Sam will be able to take that weight away from her. Taking into account Sam's advice, she makes some stops before returning home. Lena smiles when she notices that Kara is asleep, taking her daily nap like always, which means that she will be able to surprise her when she wakes up.
"Wow, so many books"
It's the first thing that Kara says when she wakes up from her nap and sees Lena on the island table in the kitchen, surrounded by lots and lots of open books.
"Are you studying for a test or something?"
"What?! Of course not! I…. oh, you were being sarcastic..."
Kara chuckles and nods, it's cute to realize that a genius like Lena Luthor can be clueless enough to almost miss her sarcasm.
Like every day, they have a light talk while Lena cooks for them. After a lot of fires in the kitchen caused by Kara, trying to cook, they decided to leave Lena the part of making the meals. It would be the safest for them. Banished from the kitchen, Kara settles the table and smiles when she smells the food.
"It smells good!"
"And, it tastes better! Just wait, Kara, you'll love it!"
And, Kara was very sure she would love the meal like everything that Lena has recently made, but when the dear Luthor put her dish on the table, the happy smile of the blonde fades when she notices that there are just vegetables.
"Where is the meat?!"
"It's a veggie lasagna, Kara. There's no meat in it"
"WHAT?!"
No meat? Just green things?! This is the worst nightmare for Kara and any kid who doesn't like to eat green things. And like a kid, Kara pouts, crossing her arms around her and refusing to eat at all. Lena sits in front of her and deeply exhales because she really made a big effort to find recipes with vegetables which could be yummy for Kara.
Lena doesn't cook for herself, she started to cook for Kara and she really hopes that the blonde would make an effort to eat what she cooks.
"Kara, you need to eat vegetables"
"I don't need to eat vegetables"
"Let me rephrase it, the baby needs to eat vegetables"
Kara wants to say 'no', but she's sure that Lena might be right about what the baby needs. The blonde refuses to eat green things, not even Lex was able to make her eat such a thing so she wonders if with Lena, it will be the same. Thankfully for her, arranging concession agreements is what Lena does for a living, and Lena is ready to start the negotiation...
"I know a restaurant where they sell the most exquisite pot stickers in the world"
Kara licks her lips just imaging them.
"Normal people need to make a reservation with almost a year in advance to get a table. But, I can get us a table for this month if, just IF you agree to eat vegetables"
Kara pouts, she's not falling for the trick. She wants to eat the pot stickers, but she's not sure if the deal will be worthwhile till Lena adds that they also have the biggest menu of desserts in the entire city. The dear CEO smiles when she sees how Kara starts to eat the veggie lasagna without objection.
Lena always keeps her word and that's why a few days later, she asks Kara what day would do to go to dinner. Kara blushes, she giggles, she's like a teen who has been asked to prom for the first time. This is the first time that anyone invites her to a fancy restaurant and somehow now that she thinks about it, she worries she will fall short of going to such a place.
Refusing to eat pot stickers it's not something that Kara would do. That's why Lena doesn't let go of the subject without a real reason, even if the blonde is not ready to show her insecurities…
"I'm a veggie now, happy!"
"Kara, you're not a veggie, tell me the real reason you don't want to go to the restaurant"
"Because… because… because…"
Kara stammers, trying to look for an easy exit, but when Lena looks at her the way she does, with those beautiful green eyes. Kara sighs and tells the truth. Definitely, she has a weakness for green things…
"I don't have anything to wear for a fancy restaurant"
Lena chuckles, for a moment, she thinks that Kara is being sarcastic again, but then, she realizes that Kara is being serious. 'Oh', it's the only thing that the dear CEO says. An etiquette problem has never crossed her mind, but she can understand how some people worry about their outfit. Decided to do something about it, she proposes to Kara to go shopping, but the blonde refuses to do such a thing. The last thing she wants, it's to make Lena spend more money on her.
"Just forget about the restaurant! I don't need to taste the most amazing potstickers in the world!"
The blonde walks away, she locks herself in her bedroom while Lena deeply exhales, thinking about what she should do. She doesn't have a clue, and, that's why the next day, Lena is still lost in her thoughts.
Taking a sip of her coffee, it's like heaven for the dear CEO. She cannot start the day without her dose of this black substance, something that Kara doesn't get because of her, the most important thing in the morning is to eat pancakes. But today coffee doesn't taste so good, and that's because Lena doesn't like how the restaurant thing ended. For some reason, she has this deep desire to make Kara happy, to make her taste the pot stickers she promised, so, if Kara is not willing to go to the restaurant, she will just need to bring the restaurant to her…
"Wow, what is this?!"
Kara says, surprised because the 1st thing she sees when she wakes up from her nap, it's a chef in the kitchen as Lena settles an elegant table for two.
"You're up! Good! Let's sit and eat!"
"Lena, what did you do?"
"I'm keeping my word…"
Says Lena with a big smile and Kara just chuckles and blush under such a statement. The dear CEO pulls away the chair for Kara and the blonde blushes with such attention. The courtesy doesn't end there, Lena puts music, candles, she serves them carbonated water in fancy glasses and she even puts a napkin on Kara's lap when the chef brings the potstickers.
"Bon Appetit!"
"Lena, I didn't know you speak French"
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Kara"
"That's true. So, let's change that…"
They start to talk about everything and nothing. It was nice, it was perfect.
"You were right, Lena. These were the most exquisite potstickers of the entire world! Not! Of the entire Universe!"
Lena chuckles under the enthusiasm of the blonde. A big joy spreads over Lena knowing that she makes her happy. Without noticing it, making Kara smile, making Kara happy becomes the only thought in her mind, in her heart, especially when Kara stares at her with lovely puppy eyes. Devoted, playful, trusting.
No one has looked at her the way Kara does. And, Lena is starting to love the way Kara looks at her. The way she smiles at her. The way she's always there waiting for her when she comes back home and the way she settles her mind free after a hard day at the office.
Somehow, not leaving alone doesn't feel so bad after all. Having someone waiting for you, it's a nice feeling. And, that's how Lena finds herself in a new world which turns around Kara. And, she likes, she loves it! The blonde never leaves her mind, not even when she sleeps and it's because of a particular dream where Kara kisses her that Lena wildly opens her eyes to the realisation that…
"OMG! I have feelings for her!"
Falling in love is the easy part; it's admitting to yourself that it happened that's hard. But, we don't live forever, and sooner than later, these two girls need to realize that love has no limits and they can't hide either run from it.