338. Chapter 338

Alex is pacing.

It’s not the same as the way she paces when Eliza comes to National City.

But it’s close.

She’s pacing and she’s wringing her hands and she keeps glancing at the freezer, even though she knows that Kara has long since cleaned out her apartment of liquor.

Maggie glances at Kara, and Kara grimaces a small smile before taking Alex by the hand.

“Alex. Clark loves you. Okay? You might not be Kryptonian, but you’re his cousin, too.”

Alex nods distractedly, glancing behind her at Maggie, who nods silently, letting Kara take the lead, because this is a moment for her Danvers girls. The Danvers sisters.

Kara sighs and strokes Alex’s hair, bringing her face back toward her. “Alex. He’s going to love Maggie, too.”

“Well yeah, what’s not to love? But I mean… my girlfriend?”

“He’s not going to care, Alex, he – “

“Yeah, but he’s so… white bread good old boy.”

Maggie snorts and Kara pffts.

“Alex – oh! He’s here!”

Maggie furrows her brow and Alex shrugs, a small grin on her face. “You get used to the superhearing after a while.”

“Oh. Right.”

“Clark!!!”

Because suddenly Kara is throwing open the door and barreling into her cousin’s arms, and he’s kissing her forehead and spinning her around slightly, and she’s giggling madly and Alex takes a deep breath, because yes, he abandoned her, but yes, he loves her, and god, family is complicated.

And speaking of complicated –

“Alex!” he says, and she doesn’t need to be looking at him to hear the huge smile in his voice. He steps out of Kara’s arms and pulls Alex into his, and she revels in it despite herself, because there aren’t a lot of men she lets touch her, ever, but Clark is one of them, and his arms make her feel… accepted.

And speaking of accepted –

“And who’s this?” He’s pulling back from her, still with a warm smile, but stiffening slightly but nearly imperceptibly in the way that he does when he has to maintain his cover.

“Um, Clark, this is Maggie Sawyer, NCPD Science Division. Maggie, Clark Kent.”

“Big fan of your work, Clark,” she says, shaking his hand with a smile that matches his, and Kara’s eyes almost burn through Alex, knowing – because she can hear it – exactly how hard her heart is pounding.

And Clark can hear it, too.

“Well, Science Division, seems like something I’d be a big fan of too. Even though Alex is the brains of the family.”

He looks at his adoptive cousin, then, trying to give her an opening, for whatever she wants to say, because clearly – if her slamming pulse is any indication – she wants to say something.

And she says it, sudden, fast, rambling.

“Clark, Maggie’s my girlfriend. She’s my girlfriend, because I’m gay. A lesbian. And a lucky one, too, because um… yeah, she’s my girlfriend.”

She bounces slightly on the balls of her feet, Maggie and Kara delicately channeling their amused chortles into their proud smiles.

Clark doesn’t raise his eyebrows and he doesn’t comment about men not being good enough and he doesn’t seem disappointed and he doesn’t laugh and he doesn’t do anything except pull Alex back into his arms, kissing her hair and smiling, smiling, smiling.

“I’m proud of you, Alex. And Maggie, welcome to the family. This one’ll take good care of you – you’re gonna do the same for her, right?”

“That’s the plan,” Maggie beams, and Kara tugs a relieved, exhaling Alex sideways into her own arms.

“You don’t seem… surprised?” Alex narrows her eyes along with her smile.

Clark digs his hands deep into his pockets, glances at Kara, glances at Maggie, and grins.

“Well, Lucy has been telling Lois for a while that she thought…”

“What’s a while? She knew? And J’onn! God, you’d think they could’ve told me! Did everyone know before I did?.”

“Not me, I thought I was falling for another straight girl – “

“Ever been more happy to be wrong, Sawyer?”

“Never.”

“Um, guys… we’re… right here?”

Clark and Kara adjust their glasses and turn away in tandem, identical smiles on their faces and identically wide can’t-erase-that-from-my-mind-but-Rao-is-it-good-to-see-her-happy eyes.