141. Chapter 141
“Hey ba – why do you have the I’m in trouble face on?” Maggie wants to know as she’s tossing down her gun, kicking off her shoes, perching on Alex’s armchair by the door, and rubbing at the tension in her heels.
Alex bites the inside of her cheek and saunters over, kneeling in front of Maggie and replacing Maggie’s hands with her own. Maggie groans in relief as Alex digs her thumb just right into Maggie’s heel.
“Thank you,” she breathes, and Alex grins, but she’s still got that look.
“What’d I do, Danvers?”
“Why did I have to find out from my reporter sister that my girlfriend is getting some really big-deal community-NCPD relationship-building award from the mayor this weekend?”
“I’m… in trouble for getting an award?”
“Why didn’t you tell me, babe? Kara says it’s a big deal – ”
“It’s not, really. It’s just a – ”
“Maggie.” Alex stills her fingers and Maggie sighs.
“I dunno, Danvers, it’s just… it’s not a big thing.”
“Maggie, of course it’s a big thing. You’re a big thing.”
“Thought you’re always calling me tiny. Are you finally recanting?”
“Don’t change the subject!”
Maggie sighs and stares down at the woman kneeling in front of her, the woman who’s looking up at her with love, with adoration, with frustration because she’s proud of her, because she’s proud to be her girlfriend, and all she wants Maggie to do is let her do that.
She stares because she doesn’t quite understand. She stares because she can’t quite believe that someone would care, that someone would want to share her accomplishments with her; would notice her accomplishments.
Would rub her feet without being asked at the end of a long day because that’s just what Alex does.
Maggie gulps and Maggie sighs, because she’s not used to feeling loved like this.
“Alright then. Wanna be my date, Danvers?” A grin is forming on her lips, now. “You’ll have to wear something nice.”
Alex leans up and kisses her mouth slow, kisses her mouth steady. “I can do that for you.”
And she does.
She meets her outside of the L Corp lobby, where the dinner and ceremony’s taking place, and she’s in a low-cut, tight as sin blue dress that makes Maggie’s heart stop beating, that makes Maggie’s lungs forget what breath is.
“You clean up nice,” Maggie manages, slipping over to Alex and offering her her arm.
“You do, too,” Alex splutters. “With the dress uniform and the… uniform. You… it… uniform.”
“Yes, Danvers, very good. Words,” Maggie teases, but her heart takes flight, because she’d been terrified. Terrified because Alex had never seen her in her uniform, let alone her dress uniform; terrified because she was out at work, but casually; she’d never shown up to a work event with the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen on her arm; terrified because what if it was all too much for Alex, what if Alex only liked her in a dress, what if, what if, what if, but Alex is stammering and Alex is beaming and Alex is practically tripping because she refuses to stop staring, which is convenient, because Maggie’s having a hard time peeling her eyes away from Alex, too.
“Not a big deal?” Alex repeats incredulously with wide eyes as they walk into the building, and Lena has decked it out for the occasion, with catering and elegant décor and a jazz band and a great deal of champagne.
Maggie shrugs and Maggie stiffens as she meets eyes with her captain, as she shakes his hand and accepts his congratulations on both the award and the beautiful girlfriend, and Alex has never seen Maggie blush until this moment, and Alex’s heart is fit to burst.
The feeling only intensifies when, an hour or so of mingling and thank you so much and just doing my job, ma’am, and yes, she really is, I’m the luckiest woman in the world and well, I don’t know if we’ve thought that far ahead yet, but I’m certainly looking forward to the journey, sir, the mayor calls a beaming teenage boy up to the stage, and Maggie gasps with pleased and shocked tears in her eyes, and leans into Alex and whispers, “I didn’t know he was gonna be here, what the hell – ”
“Who – ” Alex starts to ask, but the mayor is answering for her, for the whole crowd, into the microphone.
“This very courageous young man is going to introduce a very courageous young woman tonight: I’m told they have a long history together, which I’m sure Adrian will be more than happy to share with you as he does this city the honor of presenting Detective Maggie Sawyer with the NCPD Community Commitment Award.”
There’s polite applause and some whoops from Maggie’s closest colleagues, and her work partner thumps her on the back. She laughs and nods in his direction, but she has eyes only for the boy with the silver earring, faint scruff, and red bow tie who’s shaking the mayor’s hand and stepping up to the microphone.
“Okay, there’s more people here tonight than I thought. Whoo!” the boy begins. Maggie laughs gently and Alex watches her watching Adrian, a feeling of affection and pride she’s never felt for anyone but Kara growing in her chest.
Adrian resets himself and locks eyes with Maggie. She nods calmingly at him, and he grins, and he speaks. “Hi everyone. My name’s Adrian Rodriguez, and Detective Sawyer saved my life.”
Alex inhales sharply, softly, and stares at the woman who will never stop amazing her, the woman she will never stop loving, and Maggie lets her eyes drop as she bites her lip. “Adrian,” she whispers, and makes herself look back up at him as he continues.
“A few years ago, I was running the streets, trying to get my hands on T – um, testosterone, to help me with my transition – because my parents didn’t have insurance. Detective Sawyer – she was Officer Sawyer, then, so I guess we’ve both been moving up in the world – ”
The crowd laughs gently and Maggie fights tears and Alex squeezes her hand because Alex has never felt like this.
“Detective Sawyer took care of me. She took me to a clinic, she helped me get my paperwork in order. She kept me out of the court system, because – I know this isn’t a popular thing to say in a room full of cops, but the other thing that Detective Sawyer taught me to be is brave, so here goes – the court system isn’t safe for kids like me. Brown kids, queer kids. And Detective Sawyer protected me, not only from getting unsafe, tainted hormones, but from being alone. From being isolated and from thinking that it was impossible to get my proper name, my proper paperwork, my proper life in order.”
Maggie is shaking and squeezing Alex’s hand and clenching her jaw because she is trying so, so, so hard not to cry, not to let her heart physically burst out of her chest with pride for Adrian, pride for this boy she loves so much, has fought so hard for.
“When I met Detective Sawyer, I was a scrappy kid that everyone thought was a girl, trying to figure out who I was. She saw me for who I am, and she helped me get here: in the fall, I’m going to college, with M marked down on all those stupid gender boxes, because Detective Sawyer is more than a detective. She’s a hero. And she cares about our community. And we care about her. So um – there’s actually a bunch of us that wanted to give this award with me, so, guys – ”
There’s rustling and there’s cheering and a group of teenagers slips out from backstage, all shapes and sizes and styles, but all beaming, all waving down at Maggie, and Maggie puts her head in her hands, and Maggie shakes her head, and Maggie’s shoulders rack with shocked sobs because she doesn’t do this in front of her precinct, she doesn’t show emotion in front of her precinct, but these kids, these kids, these kids.
“So, we’re happy to present Detective Maggie Sawyer with the Community Award, you know… thing. And also, Maggie, congratulations on the smoking hot girlfriend! It’s Agent Danvers, right? You’re super, super lucky, Agent Danvers!”
“Oh, I know it!” Alex calls up through her own layer of tears, and the kids cheer, and the crowd laughs, and Maggie kisses Alex full on the mouth and the kids whoop raucously and the crowd awes and Maggie’s hands shake as she heads onstage, as she hugs each of the kids close to her, each of them beaming, each of them whispering different words of thanks to her, each of them adjusting her tie and complimenting her dapper shoes and making her laugh, each of them gesturing to Alex and thumping her on the back, and Alex laughs, and Alex wipes away tears, because Maggie, Maggie, Maggie.
She’s never felt this proud of anyone other than Kara, and she’s certainly never felt this happy, because that amazing woman is her girlfriend, her girlfriend, her girlfriend.