Chapter Text
It was like Lucy had jinxed her. At the crack of dawn the next morning Kara got a call about a five alarm fire in the warehouse district that had jumped over into the fashion district and parts of downtown. She spent most of the morning trying to put out hot spots and rescuing people and just when everything was finally, finally out, Alex called her with a new alien threat that she had to take care of that had taken the majority of the afternoon by the time she had finally come home covered in soot and the last remnants of her more major injuries that were still healing, it had been past dinnertime and she’d eaten the entire contents of her fridge and then ordered takeout on top of that. She’d fallen into bed not long after and her alarm to get up to come to set had gone off far too early for her liking.
Sitting in the studio listening to Tamera go on for the fifth time about how they had to make a signature filled loaf, well made ciabatta bread, and six braided loaves presented in a basket made out of braided bread she was probably going to lose it. Unfortunately bread day was one of the longer days and really it hadn’t even started yet. What she wouldn’t give for a pint of Ben and Jerry’s, her Netflix account, and the window open letting the sun hit her full on so she could recharge and actually feel like a person. But they were finally starting the count down so there she was, stuck for at least eight hours without the couch and ice cream and definitely not the sun. It was going to be a long day.
She walked with her team back to their station and Cat took charge as normal. “Carter, you’re on the ciabatta, Lucy braided loaves are your thing, yes?”
“I know how to make challah from Alex literally bullying me into learning it that’s what you mean. I’m good at braiding it, as for when it’s done rising and when to stop kneading, I know Patricia went over this but it still feels like I’m guessing.”
“Would you feel more comfortable handling the fillings?”
“Definitely.”
“Get started on those then, Supergirl, flex those muscles and make every woman in National City swoon with your biceps while you’re kneading. If you don’t get tired muscles I think that’s the perfect place for your.”
“I can also braid bread really well. It’s the only thing I’m allowed to do when Eliza bakes bread at home. I’ve learned some pretty complicated braids.”
“Wonderful, get to work then.”
Kara set to measuring out the first batch of dough for the showstopper. She put herself on autopilot. Measuring out weights of baking supplies wasn’t exactly hard, especially when her hand didn’t get tired sifting the flouring into the bowl. Sometimes being an alien superhero did have its advantages. By the time she finished measuring out the second batch Cat came over with her first dough ready for kneading. She lingered by Kara for a second before taking one of the complete bowls of flour and looked up at Kara through her eyelashes.
Kara immediately went on red alert. Whatever was about to come out of Cat’s mouth was going to be something that probably would send her to the ceiling if she didn’t keep a tight lid on her powers. She was really far too gay for any of the things that had happened to her since Cat had asked her to participate in this show with her.
“Really, Kara, the only woman you should be concerned with watching you is me. And I wouldn’t pass up a free show like this.” Cat’s eyes trailed over Kara slowly before Cat turned and went back to the area she’d claimed as her own workstation.
Kara looked after her for a long moment. Yeah, she really needed to do something about this situation after this whole competition was done or she was probably going to implode. Considering how much energy her body probably stored that couldn’t be good for the Earth at all. So she would just...talk to Cat? Ask her out on a date? Make random hand motions until Cat guessed that she wanted to go on a date with her? Yeah she was going to have to work on that answer.
Instead she spread flour all over the counter in front of her and set to work kneading the dough Cat had given her, careful to not squish it too much and ruin everything by basically atomizing the dough by pushing on it too hard. She probably couldn’t manage that. Probably. But that didn’t mean she wanted to take the chance on ruining the dough either. She could only imagine what sort of double entendre Cat would come up with about her losing control. Yup, nope she didn’t need that to happen. Just deep breaths here and thinking about Rao and getting through the day so she could face plant in her couch. That’s all she was going to think about this round. Definitely. Uh huh.
She worked through three batches of dough in fairly short order. When you didn’t tire out, forming enough gluten to pass the windowpane test wasn’t that hard really. The proving drawer was filling up at a nice rate and soon she could help Lucy with cutting up things for the filling or whatever else useful that needed doing while she waited for everything to prove enough that she could punch it down and braid it.
Except Cat once again came over to ruin all of Kara’s carefully thought out plans. She reached out and squeezed Kara’s bicep and practically purred. “Woman of steel, indeed. I imagine arms like that let you get up to all sorts of fun activities.”
And then Kara’s brain was right in the middle of a very vivid hallucination of Cat in bed in front of her, naked as the day she was born and Kara going to town on her. There would definitely not be any sore wrists or tired arms on her part. She could keep going as long as Cat wanted and then some. Cat would beg for her to stop and--
Yes Kara needed to leave room for Rao in her thoughts. She wasn’t in high school anymore she could control her hormones. Except when she looked down at the dough she had been kneading, it wasn’t there anymore. There were just ribbons of dough in odd places and covering the front of her super suit. Oh no, don’t tell her…
“Well then, Kara, with that kind of strength it’s a good thing I like it rough.” Cat turned away. “I’ll make another dough since that once seems to have found its way more onto the ceiling than into a useable form.”
Kara tried not to, but she found herself looking up the ceiling and sure enough, there was some of the bread dough on the ceiling. Kara wanted to melt into the floorboards. There were cameras everywhere. There was no way that that wasn’t making it into the cut somehow. She was doomed to live out her embarrassment for all eternity, immortalized on the internet as the superhero who couldn’t control her feelings enough to keep the bread on the board. She felt like pinching her nose and closing her eyes, but since her hands were covered in various baking substances, that was right out. So she just closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could make it through this round intact. The rest of the dough would too.
Lucy sidled up to Kara a minute later just as Kara was finally managing to get back into the swing of things. “Wow, and I thought your sister was bad. Is all of your family a gay disaster or just you two?”
“Lucy, I swear to god,” Kara managed to grit out.
“Yeah that’s what I thought there, Supergirl. Your Mom would never squish bread dough so hard it flew onto the ceiling.”
“You realize everything about me is a weapon, right?”
Carter walked over and threw his dough into the proofing drawer. “She has a point, Supergirl, you are sort of a disaster right now. Not that I like listening to my mom flirt with you because gross, mom flirting, I don’t even want to think about where flirting goes.” He shivered. “But watching your reactions every time almost makes it worth it. Almost.” He grabbed the last of the dough that Kara hadn’t kneaded and walked off again.
“Even the kid has it out for me,” Kara grumbled.
“Hey, considering, I think that was a good reaction from a kid whose mom you might date. He could have totally gone the whole resentment route.”
Kara shook her head immediately. “Carter isn’t like that. He’s a good kid who just wants his mom to be happy.”
“Yeah, well, I think you’ll make her very happy if you know what I mean.” Lucy wiggled her eyebrows.
“Lucy, I swear to Rao .”
But Lucy was already back at her station, working as if nothing had happened between them. This competition was going to kill her somehow, Kara just knew it.
Several hours later all of their baked goods were up at the judging table, but this time Kara didn’t really listen in. She’d torn a bite off of the couple of extra loaves they’d baked just in case, and everything had been great to her palate and their basket had stayed up easily. She was sure they were fine again, there was no need to be on the edge of her seat once again.
When everyone got up after the judging was complete Kara actually tuned back in and looked around. It looked like the boy band had gone home. No real surprise there, they’d had a flour fight more than they actually baked this time. She suspected they threw the round deliberately, but she wasn’t about to tell Cat that since she wanted every win to be deserved.
“I’m going to go grab a couple sandwiches, Mom,” Carter said. “I’m starving.”
Cat opened her mouth to say something but before she could he was already off. “So much for telling him to not spoil his dinner.” She shook her head.
“He’s a teenage boy. He can always eat.”
“Ugh, stop, you’re making me hungry now. I’ve been ignoring it successfully,” Lucy said, hand on her stomach.
Cat looked thoughtful. “Go grab Carter before he consumes his weight in processed meats and we can all go out and grab dinner, my treat.”
“Free food are the magic words to get me anywhere.” Lucy walked off towards the craft services table and left Cat and Kara alone.
“I fully expect you to eat enough food to satisfy a platoon of soldiers, so yes I am aware of what feeding you will entail. Though I can think of something I could eat that I’d never get tired of too.”
Kara choked on her own spit. “Cat, you’re literally killing me. Killing me,” she managed to cough out.
“You still seem alive to me. And besides Supergirl, what’s a bit of teasing. Goading you to do things has worked for me before.”
“When exactly did you decide that this was what you wanted?” Because Kara had sensed the shift, yes, but Cat was the one throwing it into hyperdrive.
“The balcony of the new penthouse. I wanted to kiss you, but I wasn’t about to do so without you fully on board, Supergirl. The reactions to the flirting just let me know I was on the right track.” Cat smiled and reached out to squeeze Kara’s hand before dropping it again.
“Mom!” Carter called out behind them.
They both turned to see him hurrying towards them with Lucy not far behind.
“Can we get potstickers?”
Kara’s stomach growled loudly.
“Well,” Cat said after a moment of stifling her laughter. “I think that’s a yes.”