Supercorp, lena is blessed with discovering a kitten outside via the cat distribution system and has no clue what to do with herself.
Hi, pal! I did a lil bit of creative interpretation and kinda combined this with some bits of that story going around tumblr of the orange asshole cat in a Japanese cat cafe, but I hope you like it anyway. Pre-relationship and Lena does not know Kara's Supergirl yet.
Thanks for the prompt, bud!
If anyone else is interested in submitting an ask with a prompt, here are my guidelines. No promises, but so far, so good.
KITTEN, a Supercorp fic.
It's once more time to deeply consider the plans hidden four folders deep on her private server for a secret secondary office. Not for the whole company, of course. That would be ridiculous. Just for her. Maybe she could even spend more of her time there, now that tensions across the board of directors seems to be settling into a consistent, sustainable level.
She doesn't need to be so visible anymore, a boon both for the bottom-line of her company and her own productivity. If the building doesn't house a Luthor, then there's no reason to plant bombs or send operatives to infiltrate the place looking to make a buck for her death. Everyone might be a little safer if she removes herself just a bit from the public eye, since she's mostly proven by now that she won't be deterred or undermined.
And maybe, just maybe, she would be able to get through a whole fortnight without some kind of credible threat against her continued existence. It's kind of hard to believe, in retrospect, that there was a time when her morning check-in with Jess didn't have a whole devoted section to security concerns regarding that apparently paltry thing which is her life.
Lena bobs her head from side to side thoughtfully and then makes a note to revisit those plans in the next couple of days. She wouldn't need a ton of room. Ideally, something off the grid and just large enough for a couple of tables and some tools. Decent lighting. Not too far from the modem, still able to receive satellite and cell signal.
Jess could probably have a few viable options for her by the end of the week, if she's serious about pursuing this. The longer things go on the more enticing it is. Maybe it would be good just to have, just in case. A backup plan.
The car comes to a gentle stop and the divider lowers a smidge. "We're here, Ms. Luthor," Frank says. Only the top halves of his eyes are visible in the sliver of rearview mirror Lena can see.
"Thank you, Frank," Lena says, pushing a small, appreciative smile his way.
"Ms. Luthor? If I may?" Frank asks then, an ounce of trepidation clear in his voice.
"Of course, Frank," Lena invites. She reaches across the seat for the handles of her bag.
"Isn't there somewhere more private I can take you?" he asks, and Lena's touched at his concern. "Somewhere safer?" he stresses, brown eyes serious.
"I don't really think I'm in that much danger," Lena says, sidestepping his suggestions. "And, let's be honest, Frank, I don't think anyone is going to be looking for me here," Lena explains.
There's a moment of silence as Lena pulls her bag into her lap and rebuttons her peacoat.
"Alright, Ms. Luthor," Frank finally relents. "I'll be close by, just let me know when you'd like to leave."
"Oh, I expect I'll be a couple of hours," Lena suggests. "Kara said this place makes a pretty good cappuccino," she continues, which is true. Even if Kara's face had scrunched up cutely in distaste as she said it. "And that it's quiet. At least until the evening when they get a bit of a rush."
Frank nods. "Well, there's a lint roller in the cabinet back there if you need it when you return, Ms. Luthor."
Lena lets a single chuckle escape her. It catches her a little by surprise. "I don't think I'm going to be all that popular with the residents, but I appreciate the forethought, Frank."
She opens the door and climbs out, knowing how much it pains Frank to stay put in the car as she does so. It had taken almost two months to break him of the habit of rushing out and opening her door for her, but she knows he still doesn't like it. His gripe had been that it wasn't proper, so they'd had to compromise on the point.
He can open the door when she gets in, provided he is parked somewhere and she meets him there. He can open the door if it's raining and hold the umbrella for her until she gets out. And the only other time is when he takes her to a monied affair—galas, openings, some specific press conferences. If there is a red carpet or valet parking, Lena lets herself swallow her pride and be treated like the heiress she technically is.
That doesn't mean she has to like it.
There's almost no one on the street as Lena closes the car door behind her. She gives Frank a little wave in the sideview mirror to let him know he's okay to leave and then she strides forward quickly into the café.
She hadn't originally planned to come here. Not alone, at any rate. But with the bomb threat at the office, her security's insistence that she could not remain in the building, and zero desire to work from her home office… she figured why not. After all, Kara had mentioned it was a nice place and that something about all the cats in the place just seemed to pull the anxiety out of the body.
Feeling less anxious sounds like a miracle at this rate, so it feels worth a try.
The inside of the café is almost exactly as Lena pictured it. To her immediate left is the bar with the extravagant commercial espresso machine and till manned by a single employee. To her right is the coffee bar with sugar, cream, lids, and napkins. And straight ahead is a little gate that opens into a wide space with tables, armchairs, and plenty of cat toys lying around.
Lena turns her attention to the employee—maybe a university student, relatively young, not as exhausted as she had been throughout her degrees. That may have had something to do with her and Jack's attempts at curing cancer in his garage during her limited free time, but still. Maybe this person's better adjusted or on a break.
"Welcome to the Catfé," the employee greets. It's mellow and welcoming without being abrasively bright, which Lena appreciates. Lena gives them a small smile and finds the name tag and pronoun pin half-hidden behind their apron: Ash.
"Hi, thank you," Lena replies, walking over to the till.
"Are you here to see the cats or just for something edible?" Ash asks, fingers poised over the tablet on the counter.
"Cats and a cappuccino, please," Lena answers, dipping a hand into her bag to pull out her slim wallet. "Do you mind if I linger a bit?" she asks, not wanting to make herself into a problem for someone making minimum wage.
Ash shrugs narrow shoulders. "Fine with me. If we need the table at some point, I'll let you know, but you're probably good for a bit." The tablet makes a little noise under their fingers. "Okay, one cappuccino—anything else?"
Lena scans the display case quickly. She'd been hustled out of her office before she could snag a granola bar and she was starting to be unable to ignore the pangs of hunger. "What do you think, lemon-raspberry scone or the blueberry muffin?"
"Scone for sure," Ash weighs in, already tapping the screen. "Okay, I'll get all that ready for you and bring it over," they say.
Lena slips a few twenties out of her wallet, sliding one across the counter and folding the others into the tip jar. "Keep the change, thanks," Lena adds. Ash nods, brown eyes a little wide in surprise. Lena turns to go through the gate when Ash's voice stops her.
"Wait," they say. "There are some rules." They shrug, "Okay, there's really only one big rule outside of common sense; you know, don't feed the cats, don't give them your coffee, don't hurt them, all that jazz," Ash explains. "But the rule you need to remember is to leave the black kitten alone."
Lena's brow furrows. "The black kitten?"
Ash nods seriously. "There's only one kitten so he should be pretty easy to spot," Ash says. "He likes to bite people from England."
The noise Lena makes in the back of her throat is mostly affronted, but a little amused. "I'm not English."
"Good," Ash nods again. "Okay, I'll bring your stuff once it's ready. You can go on in."
"Thanks," Lena says again and turns for the gate. There are a few cats milling about—a couple are lounging in one of the several available beds, a few are exploring the network of cat trees, and one fluffy grey tail disappears into a passageway in the wall. That one must be returning to wherever the cats are able to escape from what Lena can only assume are constant annoyances: overly-enthusiastic customers and toddler grabby-hands.
Lena takes a table near the back, shuffling into the narrow bench against the faux leather cushioning. The table is all new wood with a few minor scratches, but unlike more modern tables, this one is of a decent size. Lena sets up her laptop and places her phone to the side and there's still plenty of table space left for a small plate and a warm mug by the time Ash wanders over with her order.
"Thanks," Lena murmurs, quietly accepting the cup.
Ash disappears back towards the front and Lena takes a sip.
Kara was right. It is a good cappuccino. Lena savours the foam, enjoying the switch-up from her usual black coffee. Something brushes by her leg and Lena takes a peek under the table to see the swishing sleek tail of a tabby sashay away from her.
With a little smile, Lena looks back up at her computer and connects it to the secure network tethered by her phone. It takes a moment, but then the emails are pouring in and Lena can't keep the sigh inside. From her bag she pulls a small bottle of hand sanitizer and rubs some all over her hands. She reaches for the scone and breaks off a piece.
The scone is pretty good. It could be a little more lemony, a bit more tart, but it's just moist enough and the little bursts of raspberry on her tongue are a good complement. Suddenly ravenous, Lena makes quick work of the scone and by the time she's brushing the last crumbs off her fingertips, her emails finally slow.
Lena wipes her fingers on the napkin Ash brought her—very thoughtful of them—and then it's first things first. She opens the private message thread with Jess and starts tackling her to-do list. She watches the emails in her inbox shift as Jess organises them, watching some of them float to the top of the list with little red flags.
From the L-Corp research and development server, Lena pulls the series of reports she'd been looking at before the bomb threat came through and upturned her day. She opens up the second one and scrolls to where she left off, the margins filled with notes and commentary until they disappear and the edges of the electronic paper are blank once more.
There's a solid twenty minutes or so where Lena works uninterrupted aside from the occasional brush of a cat against her leg or her shoe. It's kind of nice, actually, maybe even vaguely therapeutic to be in the midst of all these cats just going about their lives and rarely paying her even a morsel of attention.
She finishes the last of her notes on the report, suggesting a future path of inquiry to be noted for the next iteration of the experiment since it's out of scope for the current project. She leans back, stretching her neck to try and relieve a kink that's forming at the base of it, and freezes.
On her table, on the other side of her laptop screen, is a very small black cat. The head is tilted to the side as it surveys her with bright gold-green eyes. There's an energy radiating off of it of high arousal, senses maybe teetering on the edge of overwhelmed.
Immediately, without a doubt, Lena is sure this is the kitten Ash spoke of.
"Hello," Lena says quietly, hoping that somehow this kitten knows more about accents than Ash and can tell that her words have a slight Irish undertone, not English.
The little head tilts to the other side, like he's considering her, evaluating her. It feels almost a little like it had when she'd first arrived at Luthor Manor and Lex stood at the bottom of that grand staircase, looking over his new sister. The intense interest continues to roll off of his little kitten shoulders in waves and Lena braces herself to defend against small kitten claws.
Without taking her eyes off of the kitten, because Lena knows not to take her eyes off the imminent threat, Lena calls out to Ash via the corner of her mouth, "I thought he only hated the English?" Which. She certainly can't blame him for. More than fair, really, in her humble opinion.
"He improvises," Ash replies nonchalantly and Lena risks a quick glance in their direction only to catch the end of a helpless shrug.
The kitten takes another step forward, angling toward Lena's almost-empty cappuccino mug, and then pauses, little whiskers twitching about as he seems to investigate it. He reaches out a paw and—maybe it's on Lena for having left the mug so close to the table's edge in a place full of mischief-makers, but—he knocks it right off the table.
There's a dull thud when the mug makes contact with the vinyl flooring, but it doesn't shatter. An impressive feat. A bit of coffee dribbles out, but it's nothing a single napkin can't fix.
Lena narrows her eyes at the little assailant. As cute as he may be, "That felt targeted," she tells him sternly. The kitten's attention resettles on Lena as he shifts his posture again.
"Is he evil?" Lena asks, aiming for a light conversational tone as she maintains focus on the animal. Does he sense a kindred spirit somehow, beneath all the ways she's trying to differentiate herself from her family? Does he somehow know for sure what Lena can only lie awake at night fearing?
"No," Ash says quickly, though Lena notes they're still at a safe distance behind the counter. "No, he's just really passionate for his age."
Lena scoffs. She doesn't need her decades of experience navigating hostile environments to know that Ash is lying through their teeth—and that they're really bad at it.
With an ominous feeling mounting in Lena's chest, she hits the keys to save her work without breaking eye contact. The kitten steps toward her, slowly, cautiously, and then he steps again, coming closer and closer all the time. He passes by the barrier of her laptop and pauses about six inches from Lena's edge of the table. She has one hand poised over the keyboard and one hanging down by her side ready to try and swipe him gently away if his claws make an appearance.
His eyes look a little more golden this close up than they did before. And there's a softening around the edges of them, like the kitten is just starting to squint at her, before he launches himself across the last few inches separating them.
Lena hesitates, hand remaining limply at her side, and she lets out a mumbled, "Oh," as he lands in her lap. He's not a very fresh kitten, she's pretty sure. He's not as big as some of the other full-grown cats, but there's still the beginnings of some heft to him as he thuds down onto her thighs. There's a brief pinch as his claws must dig in for stability before they're gone and he turns around on her skirt in a little circle.
Lena's pretty sure it's not just her jaw that drops when the kitten, apparently satisfied, lies down in a tight curl, tail flicking slightly, on top of her.
All sorts of alarm bells are ringing in Lena's head as she tears her eyes away from this kitten, still in shock, and meets Ash's own wide eyes. They've moved a little closer since she saw them last, maybe drawn by the disbelief at the kitten's behaviour across the room to press up against the gate.
"He… likes me?" Lena asks, sounding an unfortunate combination of both horrified and honoured.
"That's…" But Ash lets the sentence drop, apparently at a loss for words.
The kitten wiggles a little in her lap, adjusting his hips, and then settles down again, his sleek black head on one front paw.
"Impossible," Ash breathes. They blink several times in quick succession and just stare at the black kitten who's chosen to hang out very closely with Lena.
"He's… he's never approached a customer before for anything other than violence, and he's certainly never trusted anyone enough to do that," Ash emphasises, pointing to the curled-up kitten in Lena's lap like she's somehow forgotten he's there.
She hasn't. To be clear. Lena is still very, very much aware that there's a kitten lying on top of her. Her heart's actually pounding quite loudly about it.
"Holy shit," Ash says. "Okay, you have to take him!"
Lena's head shoots up. "Take him where?" she asks, loud and serious and more than a little bit petrified.
Ash ignores her, darting back to the counter and rummaging in a drawer before emerging with a victorious noise and a package of papers. They enter the gated area and approach Lena's table gingerly, eyeing the kitten in Lena's lap. Lena glances down, too, and, oh.
"You have to," Ash says again, eyes incredulous and imploring at the kitten who now appears to be napping contentedly in Lena's lap. She lifts her eyes to try and catch a glimpse of what Ash has in their hands and swallows hard.
CAT ADOPTION APPLICATION is what's written large at the top of the first page.
Lena's breathing picks up. She cannot, absolutely cannot bring home this creature. She cannot be trusted with another living creature; she doesn't even take passable care of herself unless it's under duress. Her pulse ticks up steadily, the anxiety mounting in her chest.
"No, no, I can't—" Lena begins to protest and then is promptly distracted by the front door of the café opening in a rush of wind that startles an off-white snoozer of a cat on the cat tree closest to the gate.
It's… Kara?
"Oh my gosh, Lena, hi!" Kara says exuberantly, scanning around the room and then her eyes move swiftly from Lena to Ash and, finally, to the kitten. "Oh, wow."
"Kara," Lena says, surprised to see her suddenly here in the middle of a work day. She flounders for something to say before she settles on, "What brings you here?"
"Oh," Kara says, cheeks turning a light shade of pink. It's altogether too endearing and Lena doesn't think about it at all before her hand has settled into her lap, petting the soft black fur.
The kitten starts to purr, a far louder sound than expected given his youth and size.
"Um, just, you know, thought I might grab a coffee and say hi to some cats," Kara explains, only tripping over her own words twice.
Lena strongly suspects that's not why she's here, but she can't figure out why else Kara would've appeared. She knows that Kara frequents Noonan's—she's made more than one theoretically anonymous donation to Kara's gift card balance over the years. It's truly astonishing how many sticky buns she can put away.
"Oh, is this your girlfriend?" Ash asks, forcing Lena to reconsider her positive opinion of them since they're clearly delusional.
As if Kara could ever—
Lena clears her throat, willing this nightmare to end sooner rather than later.
Kara does her best impression of a PC blue screening as she searches fruitlessly for something to say and in the absence of any response, Ash makes the grating decision to plow on, like a bull in a china shop.
"Is that why you wouldn't adopt him?" they ask, dawning understanding apparent. Lena has to fight a wince. "Needed to check with her first?"
"You're adopting him?" Kara's voice is high and much louder, fueled by her vicarious excitement. She steps right up to the gate and then hesitates.
"No, no," Lena shakes her head.
"Yes, come on in," Ash invites, gesturing for Kara to enter the cat area. "You can help her with the paperwork, if you like," Ash adds, producing two pens from… somewhere on their body and handing them over.
"I'm not adopting him," Lena says loudly and, finally, two sets of beseeching eyes turn her way. "Thank you, but no."
Ash is staring at her in disbelief. "But you have to," Ash says, sounding mystified. "He's chosen you," they stress.
Lena tries to ignore the little paws making biscuits on her thigh. "I appreciate that this kitten is selective," Lena allows, "but if he's managed to find one person he's fine with, I'm sure another will come along who actually wants to take him home."
"Wait, is this the kitten that doesn't like anybody?" Kara asks, gaze drifting from Lena and the kitten to Ash.
Ash nods. "So you understand," they intone solemnly. Lena sighs, but Kara nods back seriously. Kara turns back to Lena.
"I can help you, if that's what you're worried about," Kara offers. "Or maybe this lil guy—" Kara approaches slowly, holding out a couple of fingers towards the kitten and promptly recalls them at the kitten's low hiss. Kara gulps and shoves her hand into her pocket. "—maybe he'll be a good influence on you." She looks down at Lena with shining, hopeful eyes that are more powerful than any of Lex's weapons of mass destruction.
Lena shakes her head. She can't let a pretty face nudge her into yet another huge life decision just because it's Kara. While a cat wouldn't be a multi-million dollar investment, it's still an investment she doesn't want to make. "I don't know the first thing about taking care of a pet, Kara," Lena says sternly.
"But Lena," Kara says, almost a whine, as she gestures emphatically at the kitten purring in Lena's lap, once more kneading her thigh through her skirt.
Well. It's not like she's never considered it before. Even Jess has been dropping hints lately about finding a reason to go home at a decent hour, although usually she says something wistfully after one of Lena's lunches with Kara.
And if Kara really is sincere in her offer of helping… is it weird to co-parent a cat with your best friend? No, right?
"I'll get his things," Ash says into the lingering silence as Lena mulls over the situation. She doesn't stop them.
Maybe Kara's right, maybe it would be good for her. Maybe taking care of someone else will make her take slightly better care of herself, too. After all, she'd hate for the kitten to suffer because of her negligence, however unintentional. She won't let that happen.
Lena watches Ash walk past the table and through the employees-only door at the back. She can only presume it goes to the cats' room of respite. She turns to Kara and gives her a light version of her boardroom-notorious scathing look. The kitten in her lap shifts a little under her hand, so now she's stroking near the base of his neck. She adjusts so her fingernails scrape a little against his chin and the purring intensifies.
"I don't know the first thing about what he's going to need," Lena admits with a sigh. Bugger all.
"We can order you some stuff!" Kara declares helpfully, seizing on the surrender in Lena's voice. "Or there are a couple of pet shops around town, we could stop in and get you all set up there?"
"Online is fine," Lena says quickly, not forgetful of why she wound up at this nondescript cat café in the first place. Aside from Kara's glowing recommendation, of course.
Kara nods, pulling out her phone. "Yeah, that's probably best," she agrees, like somehow she, too, knows the circumstances behind Lena's afternoon out of the office. "They'll probably give you enough to tide him over for the night here, but food and a litter box are probably highest on the list of needs."
Lena wrinkles her nose. "I don't suppose there are any automatic litter box cleaners?"
"Oh, there are so many cat things, Lena, just you wait," Kara promises cheerfully. She smiles beatifically down at the kitten in Lena's lap again, and Lena catches the way her fingers twitch out of the corner of her eye.
"Maybe you'll be able to work up to petting him one day," Lena muses.
Kara turns the full-Wattage of her smile upon her. "I'm hoping he's like me and the giant bag of Whiskas Temptations I plan to buy for him are going to be my ticket to success."
Lena can't be sure, of course, but she'd be willing to bet an unreasonably large sum of her personal wealth that many, many other people have already tried that. Still, no reason to point that out and erase Kara's misplaced optimism.
Ash returns with a small cardboard carrier and a cat café branded tote bag with a few items in it. "Instructions, his favourite toys, and some food are all in there," they say, handing it over.
Resigned to her fate, Lena takes the offered bag and thanks them for it before setting it down on the table.
"Oh and here you go," Kara chimes in, pushing the adoption papers across the table. "You just gotta sign them there," she says, pointing to the empty signature line. Somehow, Kara has filled in the rest of Lena's information perfectly, even getting her birthday right, which does narrow Lena's eyes. Jess is a traitor, apparently, but she'll deal with that later.
"And you need to name him," Ash adds. "There's a line for that on the first page."
Lena looks down at the kitten, considering him. She flips to page one and adds his name and then shuffles back to the last page where she signs crisply on the line. Ash takes the paperwork from her quickly, like they're worried she might change her mind at any moment. They're right to.
"I hope you enjoy the new member of your family!" Ash congratulates them. They say it more to Lena, but Kara is also undoubtedly included in the sentiment, an observation only reinforced when they send Kara a grateful conspiratorial look.
"So what're you calling this little guy?" Kara asks, pushing her glasses up her nose in that frightfully endearing way.
"You'll find out," Lena says. "Now, come on, you said you'd help me. Let's take him to see how much he hates his new home."
That night, instead of spending her evening alone, Lena's apartment is surprisingly full between the enthusiastic energy of Kara and the kitten roaming around and inspecting the place. Her online order of supplies arrives a little after their dinner does and Kara insists on helping her by putting together the cat tree and the automated litter box.
Lena's sure she could do it faster and probably better, considering her extensive experience with engineering, but it's cute to watch Kara fluster herself over fitting pieces together. Not to mention, she's absolutely adorable when she looks over at Lena, proudly displaying a completed project with an air of ta-da.
By the end of it, somehow, Lena's crawling into bed to go to sleep beside her new cat co-parent and her new cat son. The echo of Kara's laughter when Lena finally divulged his name is still warm in Lena's ears.
With the way Fish settles down agreeably at the foot of the bed (on Lena's side, of course), she can't help but think that he likes it, too.
AN: I'll throw it on AO3 at some point, but for now, a lil tumblr fic.