252. Chapter 252
They don’t quite have sex all night.
Because when they’re – eventually – taking a breather, Alex checks her phone, and Maggie knows why.
And she tosses one of Alex’s sweaters onto her face immediately.
“What gives, Sawyer?” Alex emerges from the sweater with even more tousled hair than she started with, and Maggie can’t help but lean down and kiss her nose.
“You wanna go see your sister. And you should. Do you want me to come with?”
Alex squints at her for a long moment and reads everything in her eyes.
I don’t want to intrude on your sister time, and I don’t want to get in the way. But I almost lost you, Alex, forever, and I need you near me, I need you close, I need you, I need you, I need you.
“Course you can come, babe.”
“Funny, I thought I already did. Several times, in fact.”
“And you call me a nerd.”
They carry on the snark and the flirtation – and the hand holding, always the hand holding, because they’ll have to deal with the fallout of living through hell in the morning, but god at least they’re both alive and very much on earth to get through it together – until they reach Kara’s door with two bags overflowing with potstickers.
Alex doesn’t knock, and Maggie finds herself wondering how her life would be different if her family loved her as much as Alex and Kara love each other.
Unconditionally.
Kara’s eyes are droopy and even Maggie knows it’s a terrible sign that she’s not even stress-eating anything.
“We brought potstickers,” Alex sing-songs softly, but there’s a sadness underneath her voice.
Kara hears it, and she appreciates it beyond belief. Her lower lip wobble, and she’s in Alex’s arms almost before Maggie can grab the potstickers and get them to safety.
“You almost were on the other side of the galaxy,” Kara sobbed. “I didn’t think I could do it, but you… you never stopped believing in me, and I… but that was as Supergirl, not…”
She sniffles and straightens and tears bitterly into the bag Maggie’s holding.
“Apparently Kara Danvers isn’t even worth keeping around at CatCo.”
“Kara, no.”
“Karayesh,” Kara mutters with a full mouth, and Alex is relieved that at least she’s stuffing her face.
“Oh, Little Danvers, I’m so sorry,” Maggie reaches for Kara’s forearm. “But listen, kid, you did what you thought was right. Alex lost her job, too. And she got it back. You’ll get it back, Kara.”
But Kara just shakes her head at the potstickers. “Snapper would never let me. He was… so disappointed. If Ms. Grant was here… Well, no, Ms. Grant would have run the story in the first place, she…”
Kara’s shoulders shake and Alex gathers her into her arms as Maggie leans back to send off a quick text.
Ms. Grant – Maggie Sawyer again. Sorry to bother, but Kara went out on a limb to save lives with an article, and Snapper fired her. Anything you can do?
“Kara,” Alex is whispering, over and over and over again, relishing the feeling of her sister’s safe, safe, safe, alive body in her arms, even if that body is wracking with sobs.
“CatCo was my normal, Alex, it was everything, it – I’m nothing without CatCo, I – “
“No. No no no no no. First, Maggie’s right, you might get it back, but even if you never did, Kara, you… You were the one who refused to believe us all about Lena Luthor. And look who was right? You were the one who wrote those expose articles, you were the one who figured out how to save all those missing people. You. Not Supergirl. And you… Kara, you were my sister such a long time before you were Supergirl. And my sister? My sister’s a hero. Always has been. Because my sister – you, Kara, you – you started saving my life so long before you ever put on that cape. You're loyal, Kara, and you’re compassionate, and you are so much better, so much kinder, than I could ever hope to be. And that? After all you’ve been through, all you’ve survived? That is a superpower, Kara Danvers. And I know how much you love CatCo, and I know what it does for you, but I promise you, sis, you don’t need to ever worry that Supergirl is the only thing you have going for you. Because Kara Danvers? Pretty amazing all on her own.”
“Argyle sweaters and all, Little Danvers” Maggie kisses her cheek, and Kara smiles as she sniffles.
“I haven’t been wearing that much argyle lately.”
“Yeah, you’ve been dressing a lot gayer, Little Danvers, been meaning to ask you about that and a certain Luthor – “
Kara jumps when her phone rings and Alex arches an eyebrow at Maggie.
“Ms. Grant! Is everything alright, is Carter okay, I – ”
“I don’t know what you were thinking, Keira, with this Danvers.com fiasco, but I certainly hope that the reason you didn’t simply reach out for advice in such a dire situation was because your phone only just now miraculously recovered from whatever millennial beverage you spilled on it – “
“Ms. Grant, I – “
“No need for apologies, Kiera, I’ve called your boss and explained that in no uncertain terms is her permitted to let the most promising young reporter I’ve ever seen get scooped up by some scrap of a publication like The Planet simply because he was too hard-headed about priming you to be a reporter to see the broader picture you were trying to paint for him about, you know, that little matter of saving lives. So you’re to report back to your desk tomorrow morning, Kiera, and you are going to tolerate his wrath and you are going to tolerate the whispers from your co-workers and you are going to hold your head up high because I seem to have heard something about a ship full of refugees being rescued, and don’t think I don’t know you had quite a lot to do with that.”
Alex and Maggie beam as Kara blinks and adjusts her glasses furiously.
“Ms. Grant, I – “
“No no, none of your tired excuses or gratitude speeches, it’s too late and I’m too exhausted for either of them, just one more thing before I end this conversation: I’m proud of you, Kara. I am so, so very proud of you.”
The line disconnects before Kara can splutter out anything even resembling words, and when she falls asleep an hour or two later snuggled between Alex and Maggie on her bed, it’s with a smile on her face and something that feels like confidence in Kara Danvers in her heart.