751. Chapter 751

A lot of nights, both of the Danvers girls were stuck at the DEO.

Some of those nights, both of their girlfriends would be there, too, helping to save the world yet again with their permanent guest badges and smarts and grit.

But a lot of those nights, it would just be Maggie, too restless to be alone with her thoughts, and Lena, too frightened to be alone with hers.

It started awkwardly, the two of them hanging out.

Hey, Maggie had texted, one of those nights where the boys and the Danvers girls were all doing DEO work and Maggie, distinctly, wasn’t. I’m sorry again I arrested you. You know I had to make things clean to make them easier for you long term.

She’d expected no response, or a response the next day, communicated through a slightly irritated Kara, perhaps.

But Lena got back to her right away.

You’ve already apologized several times, Detective. And as I’ve told you, I completely understand.

You think we could possibly drop the formalities? Our girlfriends are sisters, it’s midnight, and we’re both probably most of the way through a bottle of scotch anyway. It’s Maggie.

Her stomach lurched the moment the message was sent. What the hell did she think she was doing, anyway? Who was she to talk to Lena effing Luthor that way? Lena would hate her for sure, and then she’d tell Kara, and Kara would tell Alex, and Alex would leave, and…

The only thing that prevented her from going straight to the bottle instead of pouring more into a glass was the buzzing of her phone and Lena’s name on her caller ID.

I prefer red wine, actually. But, yes, that seems like a fair request. Maggie.

Maggie chuckled and tapped at the sides of her phone aimlessly, wondering if their conversation was over or just beginning.

Turns out, it was just beginning a lot of things.

Because the next time the rest of her chosen family was stuck at the DEO, she found herself parking her Triumph in front of CatCo and popping into Lena’s office.

“Hi,” she said, wondering if she looked as stupid as she felt. This was a terrible idea, this was –

“Hi!” Lena’s face actually brightened at the sight of her, and Maggie blinked: it wasn’t a reaction she was used to. She was still getting accustomed to Alex treating her so well, to James and Winn embracing her with open arms. Now from Lena, too? “If you’re looking for Kara, I’m afraid she’s – “

“No, actually. I uh… both our Danvers girls are probably gonna be out for a while, and I dunno about you, but I hate when Alex is in the field and I’m not there as backup, and I thought…”

She offered up the bottle of red wine she’d brought, hoping it wasn’t too cheap of a bottle, too desperate of an offer, too pathetic of a –

“That’s perfect. I… thank you, Maggie. I was just about finished here anyway. Shall we?”

Maggie was surprised at how easy Lena was to talk to; what a generous listener she was, and how quick she was to laugh.

Lena seemed just as awkward as Maggie felt, but it didn’t make the situation more awkward; it made it… fit.

That both of them had always struggled to maintain friendships.

That they’d both had families whose legacies wouldn’t let them breathe.

That they were both dating superheroes, and were kind of lowkey superheroes themselves.

“And then, of course, she’ll just float sometimes, while she’s sleeping,” Lena was laughing affectionately in her penthouse as Maggie poured her another glass of water to go with the wine.

“I know, Alex says she used to hit the ceiling sometimes when they were kids.”

Lena leaned into Maggie’s shoulder with laughter before sighing. “A Luthor and a Super. Who would’ve thought?”

Her smile faded after she and Maggie toasted, though, as she took a thoughtful and long sip.

“What’s up?” Maggie asked, because she’d seen that look in the mirror more than enough times.

Lena shook her head like she was surprised someone cared enough to register her expression and ask about it.

“Nothing, sorry.” She forced a smile, but Maggie frowned.

“Lena.”

Lena shrugged, and Maggie smiled because the gesture was so un-befitting a Luthor, but so perfectly matched to Lena.

“Most days, I don’t think I deserve her. Kara. Her heart is too golden, too… if I’d been through half of what she’d experienced, I would tear the world apart, not spend my life desperately trying to put it back together.”

“Hey,” Maggie shook her head, shifting on the couch. “Don’t do that to yourself. Comparing never helps. Yeah, Kara’s incredible. But you know what, Lena? You’ve been through your share, too, and you just… do you even have count of how many times you’ve literally saved the world at this point?”

“Well, you too,” Lena clinked her glass onto Maggie’s, and a bit of wine spilled onto both of their fingers. They giggled at the sensation.

“Okay, so I’ll insist that you deserve Kara, and you can insist I deserve Alex, and we’ve got each other covered until we believe it ourselves. Deal?”

“Deal, Detective Maggie Sawyer, NCPD Science Division.”

“God, you’re worse than Alex.”

When their girlfriends got home – Kara had flown Alex to her apartment, only to find a note from Maggie that she’d gone to Lena’s, so she’d flown them both there – a few hours later, Maggie and Lena were both asleep on the couch, surrounded by leftover takeout, wine glasses, water glasses, reading glasses, and the soft hum of The Great British Baking Show on the TV.

With one simple glance and smile exchange, Kara and Alex changed into Lena’s old college sweats before each snuggling into their girlfriend for a solid and absolutely perfect sleep.