Fic: Last Call, Kara/Karl, PG-13/T+, AU, no warnings 1/2

[lanalucy]

In my ongoing Home is Where the Heart Is series.

Prompt: You, me, naked, mistletoe, fifth of Jack, gallon of lube, condoms, Cheetohs, handcuffs, rope, along with no morals, inhibition or judgement. That's all I want for christmas. (textsfromlastnight)

Full series, including this chapter, on AO3.

Thanks to newnumbertwo for the beta!

Karl had gotten up hours before her - he’d had early shift and she was on mids this week. She saw the folded note on the dining room table and smiled. He was so goofy, always leaving her love notes or silly little jokes. She opened it and laughed out loud.

You asked what I wanted for Solstice? You. Me. Naked. Mistletoe. Fifth of Ambrosia. Gallon of lube. Snacks. Handcuffs. Rope. No morals, inhibition or judgement. That’s all I want.

“A fifth of Ambrosia and a gallon of lube, Karl? Don’t you have that backwards?” She wondered how she could get all that into the apartment without him seeing any of it, then wondered if she should wrap it, and make him open one thing at a time. He was so much fun to tease like that.

She went to take her shower, pondering how to pull something like this off. Just as she twisted the water off, the answer came to her: Oliver. They hadn’t seen as much of Oliver since they’d graduated and gotten their first jobs. Hells, they were lucky that so far, neither of them had been posted off-planet. Whatever. She shook her head. Oliver would hide everything - he’d even know where she could get mistletoe and the right kind of rope, and he probably had plenty of wrapping paper. Maybe she could wrap it all and just leave one thing on the table a day. She wouldn’t get to see Karl’s face when he opened them, but she had a good imagination, and she’d get to reap the rewards when she came home every night.

She snickered to herself while she was getting dressed. Now that she had a plan, or the beginnings of one, she moved on to her mental calendar. She had Thursday off, and had a doctor appointment for a physical that morning. Then work Friday, all of next week off, and the first three days of the following week. They should hit Oliver’s place sometime soon. She could sneak in a chat with Oliver while Karl was distracted.
~~~~~~~~~~
When they walked in the front door of Oliver’s, nobody noticed for several minutes. They made their way to the bar and ordered drinks. Kara ordered the cheapest stuff, since she wasn’t going to be able to drink it anyway. She’d bet money that Karl would never notice. Oliver came out of the office around the corner from the bar and screeched out Kara’s name. He rushed over to pick her up and twirled her around.

“Gods, Oliver, put me down. You’re makin’ me nauseous.”

Oliver put her down and picked up Karl, who had long since given up being embarrassed by anything that happened at Oliver’s.

“You haven’t been here in forever, girlfriend! How are things? Is this lug behaving for you?” Oliver smacked Karl on the back.

“He knows what happens to bad boys, Oliver. Which means sometimes he behaves and sometimes he doesn’t.” She leered at Karl, who smiled placidly back. Someone picked her up from behind, and she kicked at his shins.

“Frak, Kara. It’s me. Sebastian.”

She stopped struggling. “Gods, don’t do that to me.”

“Sorry. I forgot.” He put her down and pulled her close to his side instead.

“Who else is here, Oliver? Looks like a pretty good crowd for a Saturday.” Kara craned her neck to look around the bar.

“Lots of new faces. I think Sebastian might be the only one you know tonight.”

She looked up at Sebastian. “Maybe you can introduce Karl around. No funny business tonight, either of you.” She gave Karl the look that told him she wasn’t kidding. He shrugged and ambled off with Sebastian, giving her a peck on the lips as he left.

“Okay, girlfriend. What was that about?”

“I need some logistical assistance, Oliver. It’s a Solstice surprise for Karl.”

“Ooh.” He rubbed his hands together. “I love secrets.”

“You’ll love this one, then. First off, serve me something that looks like alcohol but isn’t.”

“Really?” He looked her up and down. “Are you…” When she nodded, he almost picked her up again, but she held him off.

“I’m going to tell him on Solstice, but first I’m going to frak him nearly dead. That’s where you come in.”

Oliver looked at her like she was nuts and Kara laughed. “Don’t worry. You don’t have to frak either one of us.” She dug Karl’s note out of her jeans pocket. “This is what he wants for Solstice. I have no place to put it in the apartment that he can’t find. Plus, there’s two things on here…” They kept talking, finishing up plans, then moving on to the people who used to be here a lot when Kara and Karl, mostly Karl, were regulars.

By the time Sebastian brought Karl back, Karl had obviously had a few, and Kara thought they should escape before Karl got himself into trouble. She gave Oliver a hug, whispering that he could let Sebastian in on the secret, then hugged Sebastian, and they headed for the exit.
~~~~~~~~~~
Between Oliver and Sebastian, Kara managed to get everything together, and the smaller things she kept under the mattress on her side of the bed. The larger ones Oliver kept in the bar office for her. The one thing she really wished she could watch Karl open was the envelope with the picture in it. She’d asked Oliver to take the picture, and she’d been obviously naked in it, but nothing was actually showing.

She liked the picture so much that she contemplated the idea of having a photo shoot done - one really good picture with her all dolled up like she was going on a date, but dressed in just garters or something slinky. His birthday wasn’t too far off, and if they shot the pictures right, she wouldn’t look pregnant. If the situation were reversed, she’d probably love to have a good picture of Karl maybe lying on a bed, with satin sheets pulled this way and that to preserve the mystery…she shook the thought off. She had to get ready for work, and Karl wasn’t here to ease that particular ache right at the moment.