Archive of Our Own ^beta

Kara has just been cleaning up a few tables when it first happens. On a table in the back, beside a big window she finds a napkin with a writing on it. The blonde takes it into her hand with scrunched eyebrows. What's the difference between a hippo and a zippo?  A pun, someone has written a pun on the napkin and left in on the table for Kara to find. Kara hums in thought thinking about the answer to the pun but she comes up short. What is the difference? And who left it here? The handwriting is very beautiful and sophisticated, so much different from the blonde's that looks more like a chicken scratch.

Kara flails the napkin and notices the writing on the other side of it, quickly turning it around she reads what's written. One is really heavy and the other is a little lighter. It is a little corny but nonetheless Kara laughs, loudly, making Alex look at her weirdly. Whoever left that napkin here is, in Kara's mind, a genius.

Walking back to the counter she shows Alex, her older sister, the napkin hoping to cheer her up but the older woman just gives her a look that screams, unimpressed. "Well, damn, tough crowd I see. Personally I think it's amazing."

"Of course you do Kara, It's your kind of humor, not mine. Besides don't you thinks it's creepy? I mean who the hell leaves something like that on a table for anyone to find?" Alex says while throwing the napkin away to the trashcan.

Rolling her eyes at the auburn hair woman Kara wipes the rest of the tables having already closed the door for the night. A little cafe with bookshelves and cute booths has always been a dream of Kara's so after finishing school she opened it with the help of Alex. The blonde takes care of business part but sometimes helps with the register and cleaning while Alex bakes sweets, some donuts and cakes.

The next time Kara finds a napkin with the same handwriting on it is the next day. The furniture store keeps calling me to come back.  She's pretty sure that the rest of the pun is on the other side but Kara still tries to think what the rest may be but again she's got nothing. But all I wanted was one night stand. '

As much as she tries to keep it in, the blonde is not strong enough and there is a loud snort heard throughout the whole coffee shop making Alex shake her head and sigh knowing that her sister found another napkin with a pun on it.

And that's how Kara starts to collecting the napkins, one after another, all of them always found on the table beside the big window. She finds them almost everyday, sometimes it's two a day and sometimes there is none for a day or two but after a month she has a nice collection on her desk in an old shoe box.

Is it ignorance or apathy that's destroying the world today? I don't know and don't really care.

Let me tell you about my grandfather. He was a good man, a brave man. He had the heart of a lion, and a lifetime ban from the zoo.

My dad, unfortunately, passed away when we couldn’t remember his blood type… His last words to us were, “Be positive!”.

Which country’s capital has the fastest-growing population? Ireland. Every day it’s Dublin.

I wasn’t originally going to get a brain transplant, but then I changed my mind.

But Kara's absolute favorite one for sure is, What did the janitor say when he jumped out of the closet? SUPPLIES!  Doesn't matter how many times she has read it or thought about it, that pun always makes her laugh and smile seeing as she came out to her parents with a joke. The blonde was standing half in the closet, that's been in the hallway seen from the living room, for some time and when Eliza and Jeremiah finally asked what the hell she was doing, Kara answered with a big smile 'I'm half in the closet and half out, just like my sexuality'. It goes without a saying that Alex wasn't impressed with her coming out like that.

Seeing as it's been a bit more than a month since she found the first pun, Kara has decided that she's going to stay in the front the whole day to finally see who's been leaving the napkins for Kara to enjoy. 

Kara has served a few people that sat in that same booth but after cleaning up the table she didn't find that special napkin. At the end of the day a beautiful brunette comes up to the counter smiling up at Kara and ordering a slice of chocolate pecan pie and a black coffee, no sugar or cream. Before the gorgeous angel sent from heaven ordered the monstrosity of straight up black coffee, Kara thought she might have fallen in love at first sight but hearing that amazing voice say black coffee made her almost gag.

Nonetheless she gives the brunette her order, without the words because of course she can't utter a word having that captivating woman in front of her. Kara's blue eyes don't leave the goddess, she almost has a heart attack when she sees her sitting down at that booth but then her mind kicks in. There is no way that that sensational woman is behind the dorky puns left on a napkin.

When the woman leaves the coffee shop, Kara goes to clean up after her, finding a napkin with writing on it. What are the strongest days of the week? Saturday and Sunday, the rest are weekdays. Kara smiles down at the napkin and then truly realizes that she finally found the person behind her laughs and smiles for the last month, and it's kind of hard for Kara to imagine that spectacular woman writing down puns on a napkin in a coffee shop.

If Kara hadn't developed a damn big crush for the woman, that's always looks so soft in jeans and sweaters that are a bit too big on her, she would have talked to her a bit sooner but it's been a bit over a week since she found out who's the mystery person and she always freezes. The blonde promises to herself that the next time her crush comes in she's going to talk to her.

So here she is, a small smile on her lips and black coffee and slice of chocolate pecan pie in her hands while looking into those lovely green eyes she adores so much. "I honestly down know how you can drink that."

The woman looks up at Kara with a big smile and shakes her head. "You are so sweet that I don't need any sugar with it."

Kara doesn't know what to say to that and honestly she thinks that maybe she misheard the woman because there is no way that that is what she said. The blonde just puts the woman's order and walks away with a blush on her cheeks leaving the brunette giggling.

The whole time that the brunette is sitting there and reading a book, Kara can't focus on her work so she just sits down by the counter and tries to be subtle while watching the woman. When her crush looks up and catches her eye, she knows that she got caught. Seeing as the brunette definitely flirted with her and smiled at her after she caught her staring, Kara stands up and walks to the woman with what she hopes is a brave face.

"So you're the one that leave those puns." She goes straight to what she wanted to say for so long while sitting down on a chair in front of the brunette.

"Yes, I always leave them hoping that you are the one to find them."

"My sister found a few but she always gave them to me, it's not really her kind of humor. Why do you leave them like that?"

"I once heard you say one pun to your co-worker, that auburn haired woman, and she wasn't having it so I thought I'll write one on the napkin and leave it so hopefully you'll find it and laugh. Have someone who also appreciates the art of puns." The brunette gives her a shy smile. "I'm Lena, by the way."

"Kara."

After that day both women talk whenever Lena comes into the cafe, they share more puns, stories about their life, dreams and hopes. Kara's crush intensifies more and more as days go by and both women speak whenever they can, meeting for lunch or simply to just watch some movies. Lena flirts with her every second she has an opportunity, some of it leaving Kara a mumbling blushing mess and some leaving her laughing as tears come down her cheeks because Lena used a pun.

It's about three weeks or so when Lena finally asks her on a date, finally because Kara is too scared and a bi mess to ask the brunette. Not much has changed after their first date though, they still meet in the cafe, have lazy movie nights and strolls around the park but now to that are kisses and hand holding.

They are sitting in the booth that started it all, just casual lunch before Lena has to go back to school, eating the chocolate pecan pie and joking around. The younger woman takes a pen from her purse and writes something on a napkin making Kara smile like a maniac. Lena bites her bottom lip while moving the napkin towards the blonde.

You're hot, sweet and I have coffeelings for you. There's a coffee cup drawing and a few hearts, Kara melts at her girlfriend's sweetness.

"I love you too, you dork."