Work Text:
December 24th, 2020
The wind carried the snowflakes softly until they landed on the window sill outside Kara’s loft. It had been snowing for almost three days now, singling that it was Christmas time in National City.
Kara sat at her kitchen table working. Yes working, the day before Christmas. It’s not like the article she was working on had an absolute deadline that she was trying hard to meet. She had chosen to sit in her loft. Alone, on Christmas Eve.
Kara wasn’t try to being a Scrooge. After all, her sister Alex had made sure she strung Christmas lights all around the place, decorated a tree, and even put a wreath on her front door. Christmas was Kara’s favorite Holiday, but there were reasons that she didn’t want to think about for her skipping the festivities this year. When it came down to it, she just didn’t really have the energy to host this season.
So she sat with her laptop in front of her trying to work, hoping that it would take her thoughts off of the fact that she would be alone. Not because Alex had been invited to spend her first Christmas with her girlfriend Kelly at her parents house. Or the fact that her best friend Winn had gone to see his recently back-in-his-life mother, out of state. Or that her adoptive mother Eliza had gone on a cruise to take the holiday edge off. It wasn’t about that, It was about the fact that Kara had no one to share the holidays with. Her romantic life had been non-existent. No boyfriends, or even dates. The last time she had even thought about starting a relationship was, well... This time last year.
December 20th, 2019
Kara was in desperate need to find a pair of new snowboard boots for Alex. It was the only thing she could think of for her sister's Christmas present. She should've spent some more time thinking of gifts, but work had been so busy lately that she just didn’t have time. Did that make her a bad sister? She didn’t think so, but now she really had to crack down and find these boots, or else she would be screwed with five days till Christmas.
That’s how Kara found herself at the closest ski shop to her loft. Seeing as in she lived in the city, it was a bit of a drive to the place, but that was fine. It gave her some time to herself.
She had luckily found the shoes after about an hour of shuffling through the racks in the back of the store. She was too focused on getting back home so that she could edit her latest work, that she didn’t even check the price before finding the cashier desk and getting in line.
When the person in front of Kara had finished arguing with the cashier, he signaled for her to come up to the desk.
She walked up and placed the boots on the counter, reaching and starting to dig in her bag for her wallet.
“That will be two hundred and forty-five dollars,” the salesman said as he placed the boots in a store branded bag.
Kara grabbed her wallet and glared at the employee in front of her. Annoyed by the fact that the item was almost a hundred dollars cheaper when she last looked online.
“Uhh, here.” She hesitated, but she gave him her credit card anyway.
“Oh I almost forgot, do you have a member ID? If you do, it will get you percent off.”
Kara let out a sigh. Of course she didn’t have a dumb membership here. She was practically in the middle of nowhere.
She started to say no when someone came up behind her.
“There you are sweetie, I have been looking for you. Do you think my mom will want the coat or the hat we saw in the back?” The stranger asked.
Kara’s mouth feel open in shock and couldn’t do anything other then shrug with confusion. The person who had come up to her was a tall, brunette man with a little bit of stubble on his cheeks and grayish blue eyes. Kara couldn’t help but notice how attractive he was.
Did he think she was someone else, his girlfriend maybe? She still didn’t answer the question, so he took her shrugging as an answer.
“You’re right, neither really work. Oh, you're getting these boots? Do you need our member ID babe?” He asked, offering her a smile and raising his eyebrows, hinting at her to following along with him.
“Uh, yes, yes I do. I forgot it for some reason. You know, I’m so forgetful,” she played along, smiling at the weary cashier.
She understood now why the stranger was pretending to be her husband. He gave him the information and then Kara handed over her card, feeling much better now that she wasn’t spending as much money.
After she collected her card, Kara and the man walked towards the exit of the store. Once they were out side the doors he bursted out laughing. Kara was chuckling but was still a little confused.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he laughed. “I didn’t mean to ambush you, but I thought I could help you out a bit.” He said once his laughter died down.
“Thank you. You didn’t have to do that, it was very nice. I was just a little shocked, I guess.” She replied, thankful.
“No problem.” He was done laughing, now look right at Kara. He stood there for a moment without saying anything before asking Kara about the boots.
“Do you snowboard?” He questioned.
“Ha, I mean no, I don’t. I’m more of a skier. But to be honest, my favorite part of going is the hot chocolate you get to drink after, ” Kara confessed, noticing the way he smiled at her honesty.
“What about you?” She asked, wanting to know more about him.
“I ski too. I don’t know how to feel about my feet being stuck to a snowboard. I’d rather have more control of where I’m going, but I do like a good hot chocolate, ” he smirked, nudging Kara with his elbow as they started towards her car.
Kara pushed her falling glasses up her nose. “Well I have to get to get back to work but thank you again...Um...” She was looking for him to tell her his name.
He understood the meaning of her pause.
“Oh, Mon-El Gand, but my friends call me Mike.”
“Well thank you again, Mon-El Gand but my friends call me Mike. I’m Kara Danvers,” she teased.
“Well if you need my discount again, or maybe want to get some coffee, let me know.” He hummed digging in his pocket for a piece of paper.
Kara smiled. “I’d like that.” She flirted, taking the note from his hand which had his number written on it.
“Bye, Kara.”
“Bye, Mike.” She waved, slipping back into her car, giving him another glance before heading back on the road.
December 24th, 2020
A knock at the door pulled Kara away from her computer. The door opened, and to no surprise, it was Alex barging into her loft. There was no need to for Kara to get up to let her in because she would let herself in, even if Kara had been busy.
Instead of greeting her younger sister, Alex yelled, “Bah Humbug!” trying her best to mimic Scrooge, while still trying to hold the smirk on her face. She placed the present she had brought over for Kara on top of the counter across from the table she was sitting at.
Kara grimaced. Alex had been teasing her for the last couple of days about the fact that she wasn’t in the holiday spirit this year.
“Haha, you are hilarious Alex.” She said, faking a laugh as she moved back to finish typing her article.
“I’m just trying to make you merry, Kara. It is Christmas, after all. Besides, I’m worried about you. You’re becoming a workaholic.” Alex gestured to the screen in front of her sister.
Kara didn’t respond, getting up to make herself some more hot chocolate.
“I told you, I just need a little time to myself this year. Next year I will host. It will be great, but now you need to go and have fun with your girlfriend,” Kara hissed, trying to push Alex towards the door and out of her apartment.
“Ok, ok I’m leaving. Are you sure you don’t want to come? It could be fun!” Alex tried to tempt Kara.
“Yeah, a blast. Third wheeling sounds great.” She said sarcastically.
Alex rolled her eyes.
“Alright then. I will see you in a couple days. Merry Christmas.” Taking the defeat, her older sister bopped her nose and headed towards the door again.
As soon as here sister was out in the hall, Kara yelled bye, waving and shut the door.
She turned, and as she pressed her back against the wood, her mind wondered to what a certain someone was doing this very moment. Did they have plans? We’re they spending the holiday with their new girlfriend? It didn’t matter anyway. She just wanted this winter over, She had missed her opportunity anyway.
April 13th, 2020
The sun was shining in National City today, a rare occasion during spring time, it had been raining most days this week. Some of the shops had switched their items from season to season and summer businesses were starting to reopen.
The weekend had finally rolled around and Kara had it off from work. She usually didn’t work weekends, but the company she worked for, Catco, had just been bought by a new owner and they were replacing the CEO. It seemed the workload had doubled since, so things had been ridiculous lately.
Kara had plans to meet up with Alex, Winn, Eve, and Sam at a bar somewhere downtown.
She had gone home after work to drop off her stuff and then head over, but when she got to the place, her phone had a couple messages she hasn’t checked yet.
Alex 7:15pm
Hey Kara, sorry but I’ve got to bail tonight. Kelly just got home from her trip and we’re going to be busy... Anyway. I’ll be over Sunday. Love ya.
Alex wasn’t coming, she thought she had made these plans. Kara could let it go because she knew her sister had been missing her girlfriend while she was away.
Kara looked around. She still couldn’t find anyone else. So she went and grabbed a seat at the bar, figuring she could have a drink while she waited.
Her phone buzzed again.
Eve 7:30pm
Hey! Winn just got home and he bought tickets to go see a concert we’ve been trying to see forever. You wouldn’t mind if we took a rain check, would you!?
So Winn and Eve were bailing on her too. She couldn’t be mad at her friends though. They all had other stuff going on. She sent Eve a quick reply, saying something along the lines of have fun and not to worry about it.
Her phone then buzzed again. She didn’t want to check it, hoping that it wasn’t Sam also ditching her. She looked down at the small screen.
What do you know? It was Sam.
Sam 7:35pm
Hey girl, I’m sorry. I can’t make it tonight, I had a sitter for Ruby but they just fell through so now I gotta stay. I’ll make it up to you. Tequila shots on me next week. Miss you!
And there goes her Friday night. She was frustrated, but understood that her friend was a single mother with a five year old daughter and no extra help. It was tough. She shot back a quick reply and sat there contemplating. Should she just go back home and watch a movie? Maybe finish reading her book?
“You don’t look very happy, Danvers.” Someone said from behind the bar.
She looked up form her phone to see who had said that, and to her surprise, it was Mike from the ski shop last winter.
He was standing with his hands pressed to the bar in a navy long sleeve shirt with a white rag thrown over his shoulder. His facial hair was a bit longer than the last time she had seen him, almost giving him a bit of a beard. She liked it, it was cute.
“Oh Mike. You work here?” She asked, forgetting why she was frustrated to begin with.
He leaned down on the bar. “Yes, I do. I am a mixologist. Can I get you something?”
She let out a laugh.
“Yes, I would love a club soda please.”
He backed away from where he was leaning, turning to grab a glass and filling it with her beverage. He then grabbed a coaster and placed the drink on top of it, taking his former position.
“Thank you,” she said before taking a sip.
“So why the frown?” He asked, this time looking right at her. It looked like he genuinely wanted to know, and he cared what she had to say.
She hesitated before responding, not knowing if she should tell him her problems. They were so little, but decided to anyway. “I was supposed to meet some friends tonight after a pretty tough week at work, but they all couldn't make it, I guess. It's okay, they all have other things going on.” She left out a huff.
“Well, I’m sorry. That sucks. But the good news is that you get to sit here with me and make up for the fact that you never called.” He joked, trying to make her laugh.
Kara shrunk in her bar stool, bringing her hands up to cover her eyes in embarrassment.
“Ha, I’m sorry. Things were just so busy work, I guess I just got caught up, but I’m here now.” She moved her hands back down and reached for her drink again.
“Busy at work, huh? Are you sure you’re not just trying to stand me up?” He teased her, moving a bit closer across the bar.
“Trust me, I wouldn’t do that. I’m surprised I even got the weekend off.”
Now it was his turn to look surprised. “Really? That busy? What do you do?” He asked.
“I’m a reporter for Catco Worldwide Media. It’s not usually this busy, but we just got bought by a new owner, so everything is kind of up in the air over there.” She had found herself moving closer to him as she talked.
It had been a while since she had dated, or even flirted with anyone, but something about this guy just really make her swoon.
Kara’s phone buzzed, causing her to pull away from the bartender. She lifted it and read the message.
Cat Grant 8:04pm
Keria, I need you back at the office. I can’t find my new office contracts. Seeing as my new assistant is useless and I can’t leave without those, I need you here to help me. Sorry about your night off.
Great. Now she had to go back to work.
Then there was another text.
Cat grant 8:06pm
Damn autocorrect, sorry Kara.
Kara hit the power button and slid the phone into her coat pocket. She looked back up at Mike.
“That’s work. They need me back at the office. I’ll see you around,” she said, disappointed at the fact she had to leave. Kara got up off the bar stool and put ten dollars on the counter.
“You must be pretty important over there. It was good seeing you, even for a couple minutes.” Mike replied.
Kara turned to head towards the door. She was feeling brave in that moment, so she decided to take initiative and ask him out this time.
She turned back around, looking in to his grey blue eyes.
“What would you say to lunch? I’ll call you this time?” She asked, not sure if you she had yelled because she was so nervous.
“You better.” Mike winked at her and then proceed to move to help another customer.
All Kara could do was smile before turning and heading towards the door to the street.
Over the next couple of weeks they had started texting, getting to know one another a bit more. Kara learned that Mike had started bartending after he quit working for his controlling parents, and Kara had told him about her life and adoptive family. Now every time her phone buzzed she got a rush of excitement, hoping it was from her new flame. The two of them tried and tried again to set up a lunch date that was good for one another, but between work and other things, it just never worked out.
December 24th, 2020
After getting lost in her thoughts, Kara finally pulled herself away from the door and made her way back to her laptop, closing it. She had done enough work today.
She plopped down on the couch with her favorite blanket, trying to watch a movie before she went to bed.
Halfway through the Grinch, Kara got up to make herself some popcorn and got sidetracked by the stack of party invitations sitting on her table. Weeks ago she had checked all the decline with regrets boxes on them, but never made it to the post office to send the envelopes back. She was done with them now, picking up the pile and dumping them in the trash.
She went back to watching the movie.
After it was over, Kara walked over to the Christmas tree that stood in the corner and unplugged the lights, and then went over to the string of lights that hung from the ceiling beam and unplugged them.
Heading off to bed for the night.
July 7th, 2020
The door to Kara’s loft was swung open in a hurry. Alex and Sam had a very sunburned Kara in between them. Both of her arms slung over their shoulders, carrying her into the threshold.
“Ow, ow, ow,” Kara repeated every time she made a movement.
Once they had made it over to the couch and had set Kara down, she relaxed, moving her arms off the girls and leaning against the cushion in relief. She was never moving from this spot.
Alex, who was trying her hardest not to laugh at her sisters current situation, went over to the chair across from the couch and made herself comfortable. Kara expected Sam to do the same but she held her stance, not sitting or even holding in a laugh but falling greatly like her sister, just staring at the floor in panic. Kara was staring to worry about her, knowing that she was blaming herself for the incident.
Alex broke the silence first.
“So...” she started but then stopped to clear her throat of laughter. “Does someone want to explain to me what happened?” She asked, waiting for someone to finally fill her in on the situation.
Kara huffed, trying to pull her shirt on over the bikini she was wearing without moving. It wasn’t working out that well to say the least. Once she had gotten it on and sat back again, she started to tell Alex.
“Well, we were at the beach.” Kara said, gesturing to the statue that used to be Sam.
“And I had asked a very distracted Sam apparently, to spray some sunscreen on my back.”
“I’m so sorry again, Kara! It was just that there was this guy and I hadn’t been paying attention.” Sam interrupted, finally looking up from the floor and at Kara.
“It’s okay Sam, it was an accident,” she replied, reassuring her friend but continuing with her story. “Anyway, she sprayed baby oil on me instead.”
Alex couldn’t keep the laughter suppressed anymore, this time laughing through her sentence.
“Hahaha...who brings baby oil to the beach...hahahahahaha...you would..haha.” She howled, clutching her torso.
“I was using it to tan, but you’re not supposed to sit in the sun for too long with it on.” Sam said trying to defend herself.
Kara rolled her eyes, letting out another big sigh, waiting for her sister to stop laughing.
Alex stopped laughing once she realized why Kara was so annoyed about this.
“Wait, weren’t you supposed to go out on the cute bartenders boat tomorrow?” She asked, crouching in her chair.
“Yes Alex. Yes I was, but now I have to cancel. I can’t go looking like this!” Kara yelled.
Alex looked at her sister with sympathy, apologizing for laughing in the first place.
Kara had to cancel after Mike had asked her out.
Sam had taken this opportunity to slowly back away from the living room and towards the front door again. Once she was standing in front of it she murmured something along the lines of “Sorry...have to go...something about Ruby...text message...going to buy more sunscreen...feel better,” and shut the door before anyone could say something.
Kara and Alex just looked at each other, knowing there friend was the worst liar ever.
That night, Alex had stayed to help a very upset Kara get around.
She had texted Mike, letting him know she wasn’t going to make it. She made up some dumb excuse. He probably though she was trying to blow him off...again.
Damn you, baby oil.
December 25th, 2020
Kara eyes drifted open at the sound of snow falling off the roof and down the side of the building. It was Christmas Day and she didn’t have to get out of bed to rush and cook for everyone today. She rolled back over and tried to get some more sleep but the longer she laid there, the more she realized that wasn’t going to happen.
Kara pushed the covers aside, getting out of the bed and reaching for her phone to check the time. It was nine, so at least she had been able to sleep in a little. She got up and went to the closet to get ready for the day, spending most of it cooking a tiny turkey she had gotten from the store.
The rest of the time she spent answering calls from family members who wanted to wish her a Merry Christmas. Kara spent some time opening some of the mail she had got, a lot of the envelopes being Christmas cards she needed to hang on one of her windows.
After finishing a movie, she had decided to bake some cookies for her neighbors. What else was there for her to do, other than work? But she had promised Alex she wouldn’t work today and was trying not to break that promise.
Kara carried her laptop into the kitchen and pulled up a recipe for holiday cookies, skimming through the list of ingredients. Guessing that she had everything, she started to bake.
October 31st, 2020
Her dress was tight. All Kara could think about was how tight her dress was. Was she even breathing? Who knows? Why had she picked a dress that was so damn tight? She pulled at the hem of the dress trying her best to move it down a little. It barley moved.
Great.
Kara stood outside of a big apartment building that was few blocks from hers, clad in a tight fitting black dress that hugged her waist a little to much for her liking. The black tights under her dress were starting to really annoy her, not to mention the black high heal boots Sam had somehow convinced her to wear. She was supposed to be dressed like a sexy witch according to her friend. All she knew was that she couldn’t wait to go home and put her pajamas on.
She didn’t know why she had let Sam dress her in the first place. Kara had put Sam in charge of picking the costumes, so maybe that was her fault.
Two weeks ago, Kara had gotten a call from Mike asking her if she wanted to go to a Halloween party with him at one of his college buddies house. She of course jumped at the opportunity to go out with him. Although, she had been surprised to hear from him at all after she had to cancel the last time.
Kara shivered thinking about the embarrassing sunburn.
This is how she came to be standing outside of Mike's friends apartment, waiting for him. It was finally going to happen after all these months of chasing each other and schedules clashing. They were finally going out. And she couldn’t be happier about it.
“Hey Kar, I’m going to head inside. Okay?” Sam called to her friend, nodding her head to the guy dressed like a firefighter. Her hand was placed on his shoulder already.
Kara just laughed a little and gave her fellow witch a small nod.
Kara had to hand it to her friend. She was a single mom who worked a full time job, and she still knew how to find the time to go out and gave fun.
Buzz buzz buzz
Kara’s phone rang in the pocket of her dress. She tried to ignored it, but at the last minute decided to check to see who it was, and she was glad she did. It was just the person she had been waiting for.
She smiled, bringing the phone up to her ear, answering. “Hey, I’m standing outside, the underdressed witch by the door. Are you almost here?” She asked, trying to make a joke out of her outfit.
There was a moment before Mike said anything. She could hear him let out a sigh in the other side of the phone.
“I’m really sorry to be doing this Kara, but my car won’t start. Normally I would just grab a cab, but I’m coming from my parents house and its a bit of a drive from the city.” He explained.
Of course this is happening. Was he trying to blow her off because what happened a few weeks ago?Kara questioned it, but she knew that he wouldn’t do that. He was too nice.
“Oh. It’s okay, no big deal. It’s just our luck, right?” She said, trying not to sound disappointed.
“There isn’t a spell you could cast to make it better, is there?” Mike teased her.
“I wish, but I’m afraid not.” She chuckled.
“Guess, I’ll see you soon then?” He asked hopeful.
She took a moment before responding, trying to collect herself. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be.
“See you soon, bye Mike.” Kara breathed, so quietly she wasn’t even sure he heard it. She know he did though, because he uttered a small, “Bye Danvers.” and ended the call.
Kara stood there for a minute before pulling off the dumb witch hat on her head, heading into the party to find Sam to let her know she was going home. At least she could go, change, and maybe even fit in a movie or two before the night ended.
She did hope she would see Mike again soon. But that never did happen.
Kara knew she was spending Christmas home alone this year.
December 25th, 2020
Putting sugar, check. Flour, check. Nuts, check. Cranberries ...oops. Kara hadn’t seen that in the ingredients list, since she apparently hadn’t read it that great. Now she has to go to the store and get cranberry’s.
She stuck the bowl with the current mix into the fridge, washed her hands, and walked over towards her shoes. She pulled her boots on and slipped her coat over her shoulders, adding a hat because it was still snowing outside.
Leaving her loft, she made her way down the road towards the all night store.
Kara went inside to get the cranberries and made her way way outside with the bag.
She started out of the parking lot.
Her phone buzzed in her coat, probably another text from Alex. She reached into her pocket to pull it out.
But not watching where she was going, Kara slammed into someone walking the opposite direction.
She looked up to apologize to the stranger, but was surprised to see who it was instead.
Before she could say anything, they got to it first.
“Kara?!” Mike practically shouted in surprise.
“You know you shouldn’t text and walk. It could be dangerous.” He joked.
Kara just gawked at him. She was surprised, but could she really be that surprised with her luck? No.
“I should've looked up.” She responded, trying to apologize for running into him.
But still, she's a little shocked to see him.
“What are you doing here?” She asked wanting to know why he was here on Christmas when he probably could be home with his family.
“Oh I was cooking back at my place because my family went on holiday, so it’s just me and my dumb ass for got the get cranberries.” He chuckled.
“You forgot cranberries too? I mean, that’s what I came for. I was baking cookies and I guess forgot to read the whole recipe.” Now it was Kara’s turn to laugh at her stupid mistake.
“You’re kidding! Are you hosting Christmas?” Mike asked smiling at her.
“No, it’s just me. I needed a little break this year.” She responded.
So he wasn’t spending Christmas with a girlfriend, or even anyone. Kara had an idea.
“If you’re going to be alone, would you want to come to dinner at my place maybe?” Kara asked him nervously.
Mike didn’t hesitate answering.
“I would love that.” He spoke.
Kara smiled and the pair turned and walked towards her loft.
As they walked snow and fell around them, Mike took the opportunity to slip his hand into Kara’s and they stayed like that till they got to her door.
The pair spent the night talking and laughing at each other’s stories, and at some point he pulled her under the mistletoe, their lips brushing. She pulled him closer as the kissing became more passionate. Kara’s hand slipping through his hair, his hand on her hip.
Kara eventually lead him into her bedroom, and they spent Christmas night getting to know one another even better.
She couldn’t of skipped this one this year. After all It was a happy Christmas.