427. Chapter 427

Once she acknowledges it to herself – once she talks to Winn about it – she can’t get it out of her mind.

More specifically, she can’t get Maggie out of her mind.

Her ears burn when Maggie calls her Little Danvers and she stammers and stumbles over her words even more than she usually does around her, and she tries to do what Winn says and “fly casual”, but flying casual around pretty girls isn’t exactly Kara’s forte.

Winn facepalms and Alex squints at her kid sister and J'onn leans into Maggie and whispers, “good god, Detective Sawyer, if there were any more Danvers girls in the world, they’re probably fall for you, too.”

“Don’t worry about it, Danvers, it’s cute,” Maggie insists when Alex asks if she should talk to Kara about it.

And really, it is.

It is, of course, until Kara invites Lena to the bar, and Lena notices.

Notices the way that Kara adjusts her glasses, the way that Kara laughs too loudly, when Maggie talks to her. Hell, when Maggie looks at her.

Because Lena had thought only she made Kara like that.

She berates herself for being arrogant enough to think that she could have a truly unique impact on someone as lovely as Kara Danvers. For being conceited enough to hope that Kara could ever want something… more… with her.

Alex notices and nudges her shoulder into Maggie.

Maggie notices, too, and she nudges back.

“Hey Lena,” she says, and Lena’s back stiffens. “You have to chill out, okay?”

Lena bristles. “What would make you think I’m anything less than… chill, Detective?”

Her ease is gone, her defenses back up, the over polite daughter of Lilian Luthor back on the edges of her voice.

“Lena, it’s just a little crush that Kara has. She likes me, but she reallllly likes you. Trust me.”

“I…”

“Yeah, really Lena, Maggie’s like a closet key for Danvers women.”

“Hey, Danvers, look at you, getting with the lingo!”

“Well I have an excellent teacher.”

“Aw babe – ”

“Um, I’m sorry, but could you not make out in front of me after telling me that your sister… does she… Kara… has feelings for me?”

“Tell her about yours, Lena. She might adjust her glasses so hard the damn things’ll break, but she’ll be over the moon. Possibly literally.”

“Are you sure?”

“I know my sister, Lena. Trust me. The thing she has for Maggie is a little crush. The thing she has for you? Ask her out. Find out for yourself.”

As Lena watches Kara laugh with Winn and James at the bar, takes a deep breath in, a deep breath out, stands, and strides over to ask the scariest question she’s ever asked anyone, Maggie bets Alex a flash grenade that Kara will drop something.

The sound of a glass of club soda shattered to the floor, and a very spluttering Kara trying to pick up all the pieces with her bare fingers while Lena tries to stop her and James and Winn try not to laugh, has Alex bringing out everything in her DEO-training arsenal to figure out ways out of the bet with her girlfriend.