#I am helpless in the kitchen like the butter was a bit lumpy? Is it going to blow up my oven 😭

[jimmyshopkins]

Baking banana bread for the first time rn if it isn't perfect i will be ending my own life

[the-wlw-cafe]

Supercorptober 2020 - Day 2: Baking

Read it on ao3 here!

After weeks of trying to confess her feelings to Lena before Valentine's Day and chickening out at the last minute Kara decides that maybe she can't trust herself to get the words out right, and maybe a different strategy is in order. They do say that love goes through the stomach, right? There's only one snag in the perfect plan: Lena insists on helping her best gal pal and isn't taking no for an answer.

“I heard you’re stress baking.”

Kara let out an inelegant squeak of surprise as she heard the voice from behind her, dropping her wooden spoon into her bowl of sad, lumpy batter.

“Lena! You’re not supposed to – how did you – why are you here?”, she stuttered, desperately shifting around the kitchen, trying to hide the incriminating evidence behind her back. It was an exercise in futility as every flat surface of the room was covered in either ingredients, used utensils or the several batches of cupcake prototypes she’d already gone through.

“Well, you did give me a key to your apartment, and when Alex called me to inform me of the cupcake related breakdown you were having I thought it as good an excuse as any to check up on you.”

“She’s a traitor”, Kara huffed. She’d downright begged Alex not to tell Lena about her feelings, no matter how much her sister called her a useless bisexual who needed to grow a pair and tell her best friend she’s been crushing on her for years now. Alex was right, of course. But Kara had to tell Lena in her own time, in her own way, and her own way just happened to involve heart shaped cupcakes on Valentine’s Day. Was it cheesy? Maybe. Absolutely. But was it Kara’s last resort after finding herself absolutely tongue tied whenever she tried to bring up the subject of her feelings in front of Lena? Most definitely. Besides, Kara was sure the best way to the heart was by way of the stomach anyway.

“Traitor or not, she means well”, Lena said. She let her gaze wander demonstratively slowly over the chaos residing in the kitchen. “So, what’s brought this bout of stress baking on?”

“I’m not stress baking”, Kara said, sounding a lot more petulant than she wanted to, “I’m just...stressed while baking.”

Lena’s eyebrows shot up, and by the way the corner of her mouth twitched it was clear she was fighting a smile. Kara wished she wouldn’t fight it at all, the sight of Lena smiling was sweeter and more addicting than sugar to her.

“Looks like you might need a helping hand”, Lena offered.

“No – Nope, I’m doing good. Great. Stellar!” Kara internally cringed at her desperate attempt to sound casual.

“Stellar, hm?”, Lena purred, dragging her pointer finger over the charred top of one of her more pitiful attempts, smirking when it left a sooty black residue on her skin. Kara could feel herself deflate at the sight.

“I swear I’m not usually that useless of a baker”, she sighed, unsure of who she wanted to convince more, Lena or herself. “It’s just...I keep getting distracted practising what I’m going to say in my head, and by the time I snap back to reality I notice that I’ve been sifting salt into the batter, or I’ve left the cupcakes in the oven for literal hours.”

“So we are at the detailed imagining of future conversations stage of anxiety already? Sounds like you really do need my help after all.”

Kara made a helpless sound, somewhere between a whine and a groan. She did need help, that part was true, but she’d rather take it from Snapper Carr than Lena, and threaten to ruin her entire scheme to ask her best friend out.

“Oh come on, Kara, just because I’m rich doesn’t mean I’m useless in the kitchen. In fact, reliable sources have told me that I’m very good with my hands”, she grinned, her smirk widening as Kara choked on thin air once the implicit meaning of the words caught up to her.

“It’s not that”, Kara whined, “It’s just that they’re for -”, she broke off, gesticulating wildly, hoping to somehow convey the meaning of please don’t make me give myself away more.

Lena’s brows furrowed at this, she blinked once, twice, before the confusion cleared away.

“Oh.” Kara swore she could see Lena’s face falling for just a fraction of a second, before she flashed her her brilliant smile again. It didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“I didn’t realise it was so close to Valentine’s Day. I’ve made a habit of ignoring it, between my family ties and my sordid history with my exes I’ve pretty much resigned myself to eternal singlehood.” She awkwardly patted Kara’s biceps. It was a short, fleeting gesture, nothing like the tender touches they usually shared – no wonder Alex had been convinced they’d been secretly dating for months before Kara confided in her about her crush. Lena’s voice dropped some of the forced cheerfulness. “I am truly sorry if I intruded, and if you really want me gone, I’ll leave.”

“No!”

The word had left her lips before Lena had even finished her sentence.

“Please stay”, she added, softer, awkwardly fiddling with the rim of her glasses and leaving a trail of batter on her face.

“That’s what friends are for”, Lena said in a sing-song voice, a few octaves too high to be casual.

“So, won’t you tell me who they’re for?”, Lena asked, her voice strangely stilted, as she methodically cleared away some clutter to create a better work space.

“Um…”, Kara squeaked, desperately pottering around the kitchen stalling for time while trying to devise a way to answer Lena’s question to her satisfaction without revealing everything.

“Kara, hey, look at me.” Lena gently took both of Kara’s hands in hers.

“You don’t have to tell me if you’re not comfortable. I understand completely.”

A silence between them stretched, tense, borderline uncomfortable, and there were so many things Kara wanted to say to break it, among them thank you for always having my back no questions asked and I’m always comfortable around you and I think I’m in love with you. What instead came out of her mouth was: “I got batter on your hands.”

Lena blinked at her, dumbfounded, before her gaze dropped down to her hands that were indeed sticky with batter.

“Well”, Lena said, seemingly glad for the distraction, “I’ve been told eating more batter than finished cupcake is an essential part of the baking experience.”

And just like that, she lifted one of her hands to her mouth, a pink tongue darting out to lick them clean and, oh, this was a fresh kind of torture. Hearing a tell-tale crack, Kara quickly hid the remnants of the crushed wooden spoon she’d been holding behind her back, a flush of embarrassment creeping across her cheeks that only worsened when she saw Lena’s face contort with the effort of hiding blatant disgust at the taste.

“Oh, golly, Lena, I forgot to tell you – I might have mixed up sugar and salt for this particular try.”

Honestly, Kara shouldn’t be surprised that baking with Lena is so much easier. Despite her nervousness around the CEO, everything just seemed to be a bit lighter with her around, all the worries, expectations and guilt seemed to weigh a little less heavy on her. Kara only hoped that she could just repay an inch of that kindness, make Lena feel a fraction of the comfort Kara felt around her.

It took two more tries, one of them ruined because Lena had to stretch to get a new packet of vanilla extract off the top shelf even though Kara told her she could have just floated up to get it, but her protest had died in her throat when Lena’s shirt had ridden up just so, and, well. After she was done wiping the sugar-and-egg mixture off the kitchen floor Kara had gained a new understanding of what Alex meant when she called her a useless bisexual.

Still, they came out with a tray of perfectly acceptable cupcakes, chocolate flavoured and dotted with perfectly kitschy pink sugar hearts. And sure, maybe they weren’t Paul-Hollywood-Handshake worthy, but Kara felt reasonably secure in the assumption that he at least wouldn’t refuse to try them.

Lena had pointedly avoided asking her about the recipient of the sugary goods.

They looked down at their work, Kara absent-mindedly wiping her hands on the sides of her jeans (she’d long since given up on keeping her clothes clean).

“Look at it”, Kara gushed, “we did it!”

Lena shot her a tired smile, stubbornly avoiding eye contact. “Your valentine would be a fool to reject you.”

Oh. Yes. Kara had almost forgotten, and just like that, her nerves were back, fluttering in her stomach like a panicked hummingbird. She wasn’t sure what she was fearing, exactly, she knew that even if her feelings weren’t reciprocated Lena wouldn’t be cruel about it. It would be awkward, of course, and maybe she’d need some space, but Kara had absolute trust in the fact that their friendship was stronger than that. There’d always be a them. Kara’s eyes flickered over to the alarm clock displayed on her oven. It was already past midnight, she hadn’t even noticed the time passing so quickly while Lena was here.

She had to do it. She had to do it now, before she got the chance to overthink it.

“So...technically, it’s already Valentine’s day.”

Lena gawked at her.

“Kara, please tell me you’re not seriously considering showing up at your valentine’s house in the middle of the night.”

“Not technically, no”, Kara began.

“Not technically? Darling, I know you’re a catch but I think nobody would be glad to be woken so late at night, not even by you holding a tray of – Kara?”

Since words had obviously failed her, Kara had resorted to actions, taking the most delicious looking cupcake of the batch and holding it out to her.

“Do you want me to try them?”

“No, I want you to have them.”

Lena’s head snapped up, wide green eyes meeting Kara’s. Her superhearing wouldn’t let her ignore the miniscule gasp the CEO let out, and the breathy “Kara…” that followed.

And just like that, Kara couldn’t hold the anxious ramble back anymore.

“I mean, I know they’re nothing special and I could have just flown to your favourite boulangerie in Paris and gotten you the buttered chocolate croissants you love so much even though you won’t admit it -”

“Kara.”

“- but that would be so easy for me, it’s just a matter of seconds, and I wanted to show you that you’re worth more, that you’re worth the effort-”

“Kara.”

“-and I know I’m not the best baker and I’ve let you do all the hard work but I really, really wanted to surprise you-”

“Kara!”

“Hm?”

“Darling, you’re squishing your cupcake.”

With another hot rush of embarrassment Kara realised it was true, she’d completely crushed her gift in her hand.

“Gosh, Lena, I’m so sorry, I’m doing this all wrong!”

“I wouldn’t say that”, Lena purred, picking up a piece of squished cupcake with pointed fingers and popping it in her mouth. “See? Still good.”

“You like it?”, Kara asked, bouncing on her toes with barely contained excitement.

“Hmm, I don’t know”, Lena drawled, but her voice held no bite, only affection and playfulness. “I think I need a second taste.”

Before Kara could react, Lena had leaned forward and without breaking eye contact she started licking the chocolate icing off Kara’s fingers deliberately slowly. Kara had to cling onto the counter, as her knees had suddenly become wobbly.

“Rao, Lena, you can’t just do that!”

Lena pulled back, mirth twinkling in her stunning eyes, one eyebrow raised in challenge.

“I don’t see you stopping me.”

Kara had made the mistake of letting her gaze drift down to Lena’s full, red lips, and now she found that it was a thing of impossibility to avert her eyes again, transfixed by the way Lena’s tongue darted out to wet them.

“You’ve got chocolate on...at the corner of your mouth”, Kara muttered. It was a paper thin excuse.

“Is that so? Could you be a dear and get it for me?”

Kara did.