It's That Easy

Kara watches the bakers on the television craft different flavors of cupcakes with a clock counting down before them. "Sure," she says to the empty apartment, "they make it look so easy." She crosses her arms as she sits on her couch. After a few moments, she begins to sniff the air. Her eyes go wide. "Crap!" Hopping off the couch, she rushes the few steps to her kitchen. She tugs open the oven door and reaches in with her bare hands to pull out a tray of cupcakes. "Well... they don't look bad." Her eyes go back and forth from the television to her cupcakes a few times. "They could still taste good?" She winces at the cupcakes bordering on burnt status.

With a shrug of her shoulders, she places the tray on the kitchen island to cool. She grabs the bowl of frosting from the refrigerator and sets it beside the cupcakes. Pursing her lips, she contemplates whether or not she should taste the cupcakes. Deciding against tasting for now, she turns to go back to her couch. On her way, she scoops a finger into the frosting and brings it to her lips. Her eyebrows raise in appreciation, and she walks back the few steps to the bowl to scoop a larger amount onto her finger. Just as her lips close around her finger, there's a knock on the door. Her eyes go wide as they turn to the door.

She quickly removes the frosting from her finger as she rushes to the door. Before opening the door, she wipes her finger on the apron around her waist. With a brief glance to check on the state of cleanliness of her apartment, Kara opens the door.

"Lena!" A bright smile appears on Kara's face. "What brings you to the rent-controlled side of town?" She steps back as she opens the door wider to allow Lena to walk inside of the studio apartment.

A tight-lipped smile grows on Lena's face that doesn't quite meet her eyes. Lena bites her lip as she walks past Kara, who closes the door behind her. Without turning to look at Kara, Lena takes in the baking show on the television and obvious signs of baking happening in the kitchen. "Are you grief baking?" She finally turns to look at Kara with concern written on her face.

"What?" Kara asks innocently. "No, of course not."

Lena looks down at the apron Kara is wearing before bringing her eyes back up to meet Kara's with one eyebrow raised elegantly. "Liar."

Kara hurries to take the apron off at a human speed and walks over to place it on the counter by the stove. "Being unemployed is not fun anymore." She turns toward Lena and leans her back against the counter.

Lena walks the few steps to the kitchen island to sit on a stool. "Still no luck?"

Shaking her head, Kara adjusts her glasses. "Not yet."

"You know, I could-"

"No. No. It's fine. Really. We've talked about this." Kara smiles at Lena to remove any sting from the words. Nodding slowly, Lena pulls her eyes away from Kara to look at the cupcakes. "I, um, may have left them in the oven a little too long." Kara winces as she glances at the cupcakes.

"I'm sure they taste fine." Lena turns her gaze back to Kara with a reassuring smile.

"I think you have too much faith in me," Kara says playfully.

"Not possible," Lena says without hesitation.

"Wait. Is everything okay?" The genuine concern is more than evident in Kara's voice.

"Y-yeah, no, I- uh, absolutely. I-I just..." Kara raises her eyes as her jaw falls slightly, and she pushes off of the counter to lean on the kitchen island as she sits on a stool opposite her friend. Lena opens her mouth to continue her rambling to deny anything being wrong, but lets out a sigh instead. She looks down as she wrings her fingers together with her forearms resting on the counter top.