Chapter Text
Lena Luthor had made a very, very big mistake last year. After her undergrad and master's degree, for some god-forsaken reason, she decided she wanted at least another four years in the academic world. What exactly possessed her to pursue a PhD? She could have opened a bakery, or a café, or a bookstore, or anything else that would not require fourteen-hour workdays, minimum wage, and a permanent headache from dealing with people. Because although everyone warned her about the workload being a mistake, no one thought to mention the constant stream of people that would be demanding things of her… Spending the entire day in the lab and away from people was literally supposed to be one of the few good parts of being in the academic world.
Lena’s life revolved around three things: her PhD work, the gym, and sex. At least all three used to be in the same place… kind of, which made it marginally easier.
The sex part, specifically, had been a surprising development of her first year. It started on Tinder, as these things usually do. Lena had swiped right on a profile with no face, just a very nicely tailored blazer, a sharp collarbone, and the initial 'L'. The banter had been sharp, quick, and explicitly geared toward a stress-relieving, no-strings-attached hookup; which is exactly what Lena was looking for.
The problem was that actually meeting up proved to be a logistical nightmare. Every time they set a date, academia violently intervened. Lena’s reaction went awfully wrong, or 'L' would have to track down a bug in her simulations, or one of them would simply fall asleep fully clothed at 8 p.m. It eventually became a running joke, of guessing the reason they would not meet that day; until a fateful Tuesday at 10 p.m.
Lena had been standing in the dimly lit basement connecting the science and math buildings, aggressively glaring at a vending machine that had just eaten her last dollar bill without dispensing her desperately needed stale Pop-Tarts.
"May I?” came a voice, before violently kicking the vending machine, which finally gave up those highly deserved stale treats.
Lena had turned to see a gorgeous blonde leaning against the machine, looking just as sleep-deprived and soul-crushed as Lena felt. She was wearing the exact same tailored blazer from the Tinder profile.
‘L’ pushed off the wall, a tired but deeply appreciative smirk playing on her lips. "I'll be damned. Good to finally put a face to the profile"
The blonde had blinked, her exhausted brain taking a full ten seconds to connect the dots. When it finally clicked, she arched a perfectly manicured eyebrow. A flash of genuine panic had crossed her features, and Lena realized with sudden clarity why the profile had been faceless and nameless. She wasn't out. Maybe if the blonde hadn't been running on three hours of sleep and maybe much like Lena entirely too desperate for some fun, she probably wouldn't have spoken up at all.
But frankly, they were both hot, they were both vibrating with either stress or caffeine or both, and they desperately needed some stress-relief that night.
"Leighton," she had finally breathed out, her eyes darting nervously down the empty hallway before meeting Lena's gaze again.
"Well, Leighton," Lena had murmured, stepping away from the vending machine and closing the distance between them. "I think my analysis can wait until tomorrow. How are your simulations?"
"They can wait," Leighton had replied instantly, her voice dropping lower.
They had skipped the rest of their night in the lab. That first frantic, desperate hookup had evolved into a standing arrangement that lasted for months. It was a simple physical release that was perfectly in step with their way too busy day-to-day lives. But through it all, somewhere between the tangled sheets and the whispered complaints about their respective PIs and the horrible cafeteria coffee, they had actually become friends.
The hookups were great, but a true friend in academia was incredibly hard to come by. Lena had a front row seat to the way Leighton slowly but surely started to drop her walls, gaining confidence in her sexuality and shedding the suffocating expectations of not necessarily her upbringing but society itself. Lena watched her navigate coming out in her own terms, and eventually, watched her slowly fall head over heels for Alicia, the infuriating head of the campus Women's Center; who Lena would absolutely spent hours arguing with.
So, when it came down to it, Lena decided to officially call off their arrangement, re-download Tinder, and pushed Leighton to actually act on her feelings. The transition from casual fuck buddies to roommates who shared an overpriced off-campus apartment and trauma bonded over shitty PIs, was not just seamless but absolutely welcomed.
She just wished her favorite roommate operated on a slightly tighter schedule. Lena tapped her fingers impatiently against the metal doorframe of the math lab, staring into the dimly lit room "Come on, Leighton," Lena whined.
"Coming," Leighton called from somewhere behind a dual-monitor setup. "Are we hitting the gym?"
"I am," Lena shrugged, pushing off the doorframe as Leighton emerged, slinging a ridiculously expensive designer duffel over her shoulder. "I’m surprised you are interested."
"Half the campus has been talking about the new trainer. Might be worth checking out."
"Oh?"
"Yep. Your type from the sounds of it," Leighton pumped her eyebrows, a smirk playing on her lips. "Blonde and hot."
"Oh, shut up," Lena waved her off. "Besides, you know I don’t mix business and pleasure."
"Business?" Leighton scoffed as they pushed through the heavy glass doors of the science building and out into the crisp evening air. "Babe, it’s the campus gym. She’s not your boss. Besides, Alicia is busy grading undergraduate midterms tonight, and I need some sort of entertainment. Watching you short circuit over a blonde or watching her stare at your whole dark and twisty act is exactly the self care I deserve."
"I do not short circuit," Lena muttered, rubbing her temples to fend off the phantom weight of tomorrow’s experiment and emails. "And for the record, I go to the gym to maintain the tiny shred of sanity I have left. Not to gawk at girls."
"Sure, although the gym clearly works out better than even Tinder does when it comes to you," Leighton smirked, falling into step beside her.
The campus gym was usually Lena’s sanctuary and Leighton’s worst nightmare, but this time the roles seem to be reversed, as Leighton suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, letting out a low, appreciative whistle.
"Okay, wow. The rumors fucking underplayed the reality."
Lena blinked, following Leighton's eyes toward the squat racks.
The new trainer was, in two words, fucking hot. She was tall, with broad shoulders that strained against her fitted blue staff t-shirt, that seemed a size too small for her; blonde hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. She was in the middle of re-racking a frankly terrifying amount of weight, her muscles flexing effortlessly. When she turned around to wipe down the bench, she revealed a bright, sunny expression that felt entirely out of place in the grunting, sweat-stained environment of a university gym; which at this point was only filled with exhausted postgrads…
Lena felt her throat go dry. Definitely short circuiting.
Before Lena could grab her arm and drag her toward the safety of the treadmills, Leighton was already moving.
"Leighton, don't you dare—" Lena hissed, scrambling to catch up.
"Hi there!" Leighton chirped, leaning smoothly against the frame of the mirror, practically oozing the Manhattan-bred confidence that used to drive Lena crazy. "You must be new. I'm Leighton. And this is Lena."
The blonde turned around, her eyes were a piercing, vibrant blue, and when she smiled, a small adorable crinkle appeared at the corner of them. "Hi! I'm Kara. Just started on Monday. It’s so nice to meet you both!"
Her voice was bright, completely devoid of the cynical exhaustion that plagued every other staff member in a ten-mile radius.
"Nice to meet you too," Leighton purred, tilting her head. "I was actually just telling Lena that I really need to switch up my routine. I've been looking for someone to show me the ropes with... well, whatever it is you were just doing. You clearly know your way around a barbell."
Lena’s jaw clenched. She shot Leighton a glare that could have melted steel. "Leighton, you exclusively do Pilates," Lena interjected, her voice tight. "You told me literally yesterday that lifting heavy objects is, and I quote, 'for people who don't know how to hire movers and I do not understand why you put yourself through that'"
Leighton didn't miss a beat, though her eyes danced with malicious glee. "People change, Lena. Growth is important. Plus, with an instructor like Kara, I feel incredibly motivated to learn."
Kara chuckled, entirely oblivious to the silent war happening between the two roommates. "Well, I'd be happy to set you up with a beginner's lifting program, Leighton! It’s all about form and progressive overload."
Kara then turned her attention entirely onto Lena. The shift in focus made Lena’s breath catch. Up close, Kara smelled faintly of jasmine.
"What about you, Lena?" Kara asked, her smile softening just a fraction, looking at her with genuine curiosity. "Do you have a routine, or are you looking to mix things up too?"
"I—" Lena started, her usually sharp intellect momentarily abandoning her. She cleared her throat, standing up a little straighter and wrapping her icy, professional armor tightly around herself. "I have my own routine, thank you. I don't like altering my schedule."
"Oh, she's a creature of habit," Leighton supplied unhelpfully. "A very stressed creature of habit who spends twelve hours a day in a lab and desperately needs to let off some steam."
"Leighton…" Lena warned with a sharp side-ways look
Kara's gaze lingered on Lena, a flicker of something intrigued, and maybe a little challenging, sparking in those blue eyes. "Twelve hours in a lab? Wow. If you ever feel like punching something instead of sticking to a rigid schedule, let me know. I teach a boxing circuit on Thursdays."
Kara gave Lena a soft, lingering smile before turning her attention back to someone who clearly needed a spotter. "I'll see you around, Leighton. Lena."
As Kara walked away, Leighton immediately burst into a quiet, triumphant smirk.
"I hate you," Lena stated flatly. "I am moving out."
"Oh, please," Leighton laughed. "You're welcome! Did you see the way she was looking at you? The 'boxing circuit'? That was practically an invitation to fuck"
"Wow!” Lena rolled her eyes “I don’t know what you and Alicia have been doing… but you must have confused something” She added pointedly “She was just being a good employee," Lena snapped, aggressively turning away and marching over to the free weight racks to begin her warm-up.
She reached for her usual bands and started her shoulder mobility routine, stubbornly keeping her eyes fixed on the mirror in front of her. But a familiar, obnoxious voice drifted over from the adjacent bench press.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't my favorite chronically sleep deprived chemist."
Lena rolled her eyes, the tension leaving her shoulders as she looked over at Jack Spheer. Her best friend was sitting up on the bench, grinning like a kid who just figured out a magic trick. Much like Leighton, Jack made a sport out of getting under Lena's skin, and his methods were usually just as chaotic.
"Hello, Jack," Lena sighed, falling into her first set of bicep curls. "Don't you have some code or something to fix?"
"I took a break in an effort to forget my miserable existence" Jack said cheerfully. He paused, his gaze tracking across the gym floor to where Kara had been standing. He looked back at Lena, then over to Leighton, his grin widening into something distinctly feral. He bumped his shoulder good-naturedly against Lena's. "I saw that little exchange over there by the squat racks. Leighton doing the devil's work, as usual. But more importantly... I saw you, Lena Luthor, entirely unable to form a coherent sentence."
"I formed several coherent sentences, thank you very much" Lena countered defensively.
"Sure you did," Jack laughed. "Right after you stopped staring at her—"
"Is everything alright over here?"
The voice was suddenly very close, and significantly less sunny than it had been five minutes prior. Lena jumped slightly, almost dropping one of her dumbbells.
Kara had circled back around. Her golden-retriever energy had vanished entirely, replaced by a squared-off stance and a cool, calculating gaze directed entirely at Jack. She'd clearly seen one too many gym bros hovering around female members and decided to take matters into her own hands.
"Everything's fine," Jack said, looking mildly surprised at the sudden animosity.
Kara turned those piercing blue eyes towards Lena "You sure? You don't have to talk to anyone you don't want to. Gym policy."
Lena's heart did a strange, completely traitorous flutter at the protectiveness in the blonde's tone. "Oh! No, no, it's fine," Lena stammered, rushing to clarify. "He's... unfortunately, he's a friend. This is Jack."
Instantly, the ice melted. Kara's shoulders dropped, and the blinding, crinkly-eyed smile returned in full force. "Oh! Got it. Sorry about that, Jack. You just see a lot of guys taking up uninvited space in here, you know? Just making sure all members are comfortable."
"No offense taken at all," Jack laughed, waving her off. "Honestly, I appreciate the defensive line energy. Though just for the record, I barely have the brain cells left to figure out how a treadmill works, let alone bother anyone. But if you happen to know any single, queer gym bros or fellow trainers who wouldn't mind spotting a tired, single gay guy, please point them in my direction."
Kara let out a bright, genuine laugh at that, the last bit of her tension evaporating. "I'll keep my eyes peeled for you, Jack."
"Appreciate it," Jack grinned. But then his eyes darted from Kara back to Lena, and the gears in his head practically audibly clicked into place.
Lena narrowed her eyes at him. She knew that look. That was his I'm about to ruin your life for my own amusement look.
"Actually," Jack started, clapping his hands together, "I was just about to spot Lena. But since you're here, Kara... would you mind spotting her instead? I really need to get back to the cables."
Lena felt the blood drain from her face. It was pure betrayal.
"Jack," Lena said, her voice dangerously low. "You promised."
"I know, I know, I'm the worst," Jack smiled smoothly, already backing away toward the cable machines. "But Kara's a professional! You're in way better hands. See you later, Luthor!"
He didn't even look back. He just gave Leighton, who was now leaning against a pillar, watching the entire spectacle unfold like it was a prime-time drama, a high-five on his way past.
“Want some popcorn?” Lena bumped her shoulder as she went to grab the plates to set up for her chest press warm up set.
“You know that is not actually a bad idea” Leighton smirked and the blonde honest to god headed towards the vending machine in the hallway…
If she walks back in here with popcorn I am telling Alicia about the mug…
“Unbelievable” Lena shook her head as Kara gave her a questioning look
“What was that?”
“Oh nothing” Lena waved her off… she was going to murder them both…
"Well," Kara said brightly, stepping up behind the bench and adjusting the safety clips. "Looks like it's just you and me."
Lena stared at the bench. The idea of lying with her back arched, as this devastatingly attractive woman hovered directly over her, was enough to make her want to spontaneously combust… “Let’s start with the 10s” Lena managed to say as she laid down and positioned herself under the barbell.
Forty-five minutes later, Lena practically collapsed onto the wooden bench in the locker room. Her chest and shoulders burning, though whether that was from the actual workout or the sheer adrenaline of having Kara’s bright blue eyes focused entirely on her form for an hour and the constant stream of compliments the blonde seemed to be able to come up with, she wasn’t sure.
Leighton was already in the showers, singing something or other, in a way that honestly made Lena wonder why her roommate chose academia instead of a music career.
With a heavy sigh, Lena pulled her phone from her gym bag as she waited for Leighton to stop hogging the one shower with good water pressure. She opened Tinder out of pure, mindless habit, needing something trivial to distract her from the persistent smell of jasmine still lingering in her memory.
Swipe left on a girl whose entire personality seemed to be based on her love for hiking.
Swipe left on a couple looking for a unicorn.
Swipe left on the girl that caused her a headache when she was a TA last semester.
And then, her thumb froze.
A bright, sunny smile filled the screen. Golden-blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a picture of her about to devour a potsticker.
Kara, 24
Lena’s breath hitched. She clicked on the profile, her eyes scanning the short bio beneath the photos.
New in town! Mostly looking for friends to show me the best potsticker spots and help me figure out the subway system. Not really looking for dates right now. Bi-curious.
Lena’s spirit, which had been dangerously buoyant since the chest press incident, immediately sank like a stone.
Friends not dates. Bi-curious.
Lena Luthor was many things. She was a decent chemist, a good friend, and a woman who absolutely, unequivocally knew what she wanted. What she did not want was to be someone's experiment, nor did she have the emotional bandwidth to guide someone else through a gay awakening. It was messy. It was complicated. It was entirely against her rules.
She stared at the screen, her thumb hovering decisively over the red 'X'. It was the logical choice. The smart choice.
She stared at Kara's smiling face for another long, agonizing moment.
With a frustrated sigh, Lena didn't swipe left. Instead, she clicked the power button on her phone, turning the screen black, and tossed it back onto her gym bag. She took in a deep, shaky breath, leaning her head back against the cool metal lockers and closing her eyes. She just needed a minute.
Ten minutes and several threats about what would happen if her roommate didn’t stop hogging that shower, later, Leighton emerged wrapped in a towel.
"Hey, my phone died. I’m borrowing yours to text Alicia we're heading out," Leighton called out, not really waiting for permission as she reached for it.
Lena, currently entirely too focused on the warm water feeling incredible against her skin after a long workout in an even longer day, just grunted her agreement.
Leighton tapped the screen to wake it up and punched in the passcode, 2000 the year conductive polymers were awarded the Nobel Prize, because Lena was nothing if not painfully predictable.
The screen lit up immediately. But instead of the home screen, Leighton found herself staring directly into the bright blue eyes of Kara.
Leighton paused, her eyebrows shooting up toward her hairline. She quickly scanned the bio on the screen. Bi-curious. Friends not dates.
Leighton scoffed silently. Please. She'd seen the way Kara had been looking at her friend. If that was just 'friendly’… she hated to wonder what Kara flirting would look like.
With a wicked smirk, Leighton didn't hesitate for a single second. She dragged her thumb firmly across the glass, swiping right.
Instantly, the screen exploded into digital confetti.
IT'S A MATCH!
Leighton bit her lip hard to keep from laughing out loud. Well, well, well. Look who had already swiped right on the icy, broody chemist who can bench more than her bodyweight.
She hovered her thumb over the 'Send Message' button, half-tempted to type out a first text right then and there. Teach me how to punch things. No, maybe just a simple smirk emoji?
Ultimately, Leighton decided against it. She didn't want to completely orchestrate Lena's life, just give it a necessary shove; she makes a few more matches just to bury Kara in the mix enough for Lena not to notice; because she would literally kill her… or at least tell Alicia about her watching Heated Rivalry without her. She swiped out of the app entirely, clearing it from the recent screens, and quickly texted Alicia.
When she was done, she set the phone casually back on the bench. What will happen will happen, she figured. It was high time Lena took a step away from the lab. And since the stubborn brunette categorically refused to come to any of the queer mixers Alicia threw on weekends, which Leighton admittedly normally avoided like the plague herself, a gym romance would have to be good enough.