Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Kara sat morosely in one of the booths at the alien bar, her hands clutching tightly to a glass full of shimmering blue liquid. She had asked M’gann for the strongest drink she had hoping that the liquid would be able to drown out her heartache. It didn't. She was drinking what looked like liquid glitter and all it did was give her a headache while her heart was still shattered in her chest.

“What's a beautiful girl doing in a bar like this at this time of night?” A light voice came and Kara glanced up, her eyes immediately connecting with bright green. The woman had bright red hair that flowed around her head, and striking, angular features. She looked to be a few years older than Kara despite her laid back appearance clad in jeans, tank top and a leather jacket. Her hand was lightly holding a glass of whiskey by the smell of it, pulling the entire image of the woman together.

“Look,” Kara got out, the word slurring a little at the end, “You seem really nice, and gorgeous, and nice, but I'm not in the mood right now…”

She was cut off by the other woman's chuckle and the redhead slid into the opposite booth, setting her drink down on the table. “Not that I don’t think you’re beautiful and I’m flattered you think I’m nice and gorgeous and nice,” the woman said, “But I didn’t approach you because I wanted to flirt with you, but rather I recognized someone suffering from the same affliction I am.”

“Which is what?”

“A broken heart.”

Kara froze and glanced back up at the woman, taking in the despondent look in green eyes, an expression mirrored in her own. She nodded as she glanced back down at her own drink. “You would be correct,” Kara muttered, sipping at the liquid glitter.

“So,” the woman said, taking a healthy gulp of her whiskey, “I’ll tell you my problems if you tell me yours.”

“Why would I, or even why would you care?”

The woman shrugged, “Sometimes it’s easier to tell a stranger your troubles, especially one going through the same thing. Sometimes it helps to have someone to talk to, and you don’t look like you have anyone to talk to about this either.”

The blonde studied the other woman for a minute and glanced back down at her drink, “It’s a rather long story for me, kind of confusing.”

“I’ll go first then if you don’t mind,” the redhead said. Kara motioned for her to continue and the woman slumped forward on the table. “I’m from Gotham, well I live in Gotham. I was engaged to this woman for a few years, we were planning on getting married when suddenly, she broke it off and moved back to Metropolis. Once I pulled myself out of the bottom of a whiskey bottle, I went to Metropolis looking for her in hopes to win her back, or even just to get answers. I found out she moved out here to National City and took a job out here, so I came here but I found out that she’s involved pretty seriously with a woman here.”

“Did you talk to her?” Kara asked, “Your ex-fiancee.”

She shook her head, “No, she looked happy, I didn’t want to intrude on that. I would probably just upset both her and her new girlfriend.” She downed the rest of her whiskey and motioned for one of the waitresses to bring her another drink before looking at me expectantly. “So, what’s your long story that wound you up here nursing a broken heart?”

Kara gave a weak smile and sipped at her glitter. “I guess the first thing you should know is that I’m adopted,” she said, “my parents died when I was thirteen and I was sent to live with this nice family. They had, have a daughter a few years older than me. She didn’t like me very much when I first came to live with them, but eventually we bonded and she became everything to me. I’ve been in love with her for years, I know that, but with her mother reinforcing the idea of us being sisters, and huma- um, people’s hangups about same sex relationships, I kind of let the idea go and tried to move on.” She took a deep shuddering breath, part of her feeling relief at finally talking with someone about this. “But a few months ago, she came to me and told me that she was gay, that she just realized it. I was stunned but excited, I thought that this was finally the time, I could tell her how I felt but-”

“But she didn’t come out for you,” the woman continued, “She came out for someone else.”

The blonde nodded, “She started talking about this woman, someone she had met through work. I knew her, or I’ve seen her, and she’s beautiful. They went through a rough patch and while I was upset that my sist… That she was hurt, I hoped that this was my chance. Anyway, I had to go out of town to help some friends, but when I came back, they were together, and I’ve never seen her so happy. I’d never felt pain like that before, not really. I want to be happy for her, I want her to be happy, but it’s hard. Ever since they started dating, she doesn’t have time for me anymore, she even missed my Eart- um, my birthday, went to a concert with her girlfriend instead, and then she confused my depression about her as being repressed feelings about this douchebag Mo- Mike that we both know. She thinks I have feelings for him.” She downed the rest of her drink in one gulp, coughing at little at the burning taste as it slid down her throat, “I want to tell her that I’m depressed about her dating, when all she ever talks about when we spend time together is Maggie this and Maggie that…”

“Wait Maggie?” The other woman questioned, “Maggie Sawyer?” At Kara’s nod, she chuckled, “Small world, Maggie Sawyer is my ex-fiancee.”

Kara’s eyes widened, “No way.”

She nodded, “Yes way, and the smoking hot brunette she’s with is your foster sister, the one you’re in love with? She’s beautiful.”

“Yeah she is,” the blonde murmured sadly.

The woman studied her for a moment. “I’m Kate by the way,” she said after the waitress dropped off another whiskey for the redhead. “Kate Kane.”

Kara’s eyes widened at her words. “No way, you’re her,” she whispered, realizing that she needed to be quiet. “Batwoman.”

Kate's eyes widened and she looked at the blonde suspiciously, “How do you know that?”

“I've known Batman for years, he and my cousin are sort of friends,” the blonde replied. “My cousin is impossible at keeping secrets and he figured it out and accidentally told me who you were, or who Batwoman was anyway.”

The redhead eyes the blonde critically for a moment and Kara just gave the woman a mischievous smile, her glasses sliding down her nose. “Oh my god,” Kate breathed, recognizing the woman on the other side of the booth, “You’re Supergirl, Superman’s cousin… He does have a problem keeping a secret doesn’t he?”

The younger woman just hummed and held out her hand, “Kara Dan- eh, Zor-El, Kara Zor-El.” Kate’s brow rose and she looked at the blonde curiously. Kara just shrugged, “I don’t really feel much like a Danvers these days, my adopted family, not with… not with everything.”

Kate nodded understandingly, sometimes she felt like she didn’t belong with her family either. Considering it was only herself and her father left, that was saying something. “So tell me about this person,” Kate continued, sipping at her drink again, “Your sis- your person.”

“Alex,” the blonde stated, “You can call her my sister, that’s really all she’ll ever be, I know that, especially now. She’s… she’s amazing, beautiful, kind, strong, determined. She’s always protected me, pretty much what she’s based her life around, makes me feel guilty really.”

“Which is why you were both happy and heartbroken when you found out she was dating Maggie,” Kate concluded.

Kara nodded, “I want her to be happy, I want her to have a good life, that’s what I’ve always wanted. I’m just kind of hurt it doesn’t include me, that’s all.”

“Sounds like Maggie is a lucky woman,” the redhead murmured.

“Tell me about her, about Maggie,” Kara said, reaching over to squeeze Kate’s arm.

“Didn’t Alex tell you everything about her?”

“Alex is a biased source,” the blonde replied, “I feel like you would be a little more honest about what type of person she is.”

“Mhm, well, she’s strong, determined,” Kate said, “Much like your Alex. She’s a little closed off at first, but she’s loyal and honest once you earn that loyalty. She’s a stickler for the rules though, bit of a hardass about them really.”

“Why did she break it off with you?”

Kate shrugged a little and fiddled with her glass. “I don’t think she ever really approved,” she stated finally, “Of me being Batwoman. She wasn’t a big fan when we first met, and I thought she let it go when I told her it was me when I proposed. I don’t think she ever did though, she’s not a big fan of vigilantes. That’s what she considers us, Batman, his Bat family and I, ruffians.”

“Well, Batman kind of is a ruffian,” Kara told her, cracking a small smile.

The redhead chuckled, “Yeah, but don’t tell him that. Anyway, I think me, who she considers an untrained civilian, running off into danger finally annoyed her enough that she couldn’t take it anymore.”

“Weren’t you in the military?” When Kate gave her an incredulous look, Kara smiled sheepishly, “Sorry, cousin remember, blabber mouth.”

Kate laughed, “Yeah, I was in the military, I was at West Point, but I was dismissed because I liked the ladies a little too much for the military to be comfortable with and I wouldn’t lie or hide about it, that would go against everything that I am, everything that I believe in. I already came out of the closet once in my life, I didn’t want to have to go back in.”

Kara giggled, “I imagine you didn’t.”

“What about you? Any good coming out of the closet stories or are you still in the closet?”

The blonde rolled her eyes, “I don’t think I was ever in the closet. I don’t understand human hangups with being in a relationship with someone of the same gender. I didn’t grow up in that type of society, so I guess I don’t really feel the need to ‘come out,’ I’ve always been out.”

“Must make us seem a little backwards.”

“In some ways,” Kara agreed, “In others no, just a different culture is all.”

Kate downed the rest of her whiskey and glanced back over at Kara, “Enough talking about loves that could have been, let’s talk about something more interesting.”

“Like what?”

Green eyes twinkled mischievously as she leaned forward on the table. “Tell me, what is sex like as someone with superior senese?”

“You’re joking,” Kate laughed as she and Kara walked out of the bar. Well, stumbled really.

“No, I kid you not,” Kara giggled, “This girl, I swear she must’ve just come out, or just started to embrace who she was, but she started to chat me up at this party. She was drunk, I could tell, but I didn’t want anyone there to mess with her, she was sweet, naive, anyway, I took her back to my room for her to sleep the buzz off, and she just jumped me. Took her shirt and bra off and then threw herself at me, shoving her tongue in my mouth as she pushed me on the bed.”

“So you had a baby gay try to molest you?” Kate choked down a laugh.

Kara just hummed, nodding her head, “It was really awkward, because I kept trying to get her off me without accidentally, you know, getting her off, and it just wasn’t working, until she bolted off of me, started crying, threw up, then fell asleep.”

“What did you do to that poor girl?” The redhead sniggered, while Kara nudged her harshly in the shoulder and broke down laughing as well.

“You know,” Kara said after giving herself a few moments to breath, “This is the first time I’ve laughed in a long time.”

“Me too,” Kate agreed.

“How long are you going to be in town?”

The older woman shrugged, “I don’t really know, I don’t have a set schedule. I’m on the board of my family’s company and most of my money comes from dividends from the company and investments in others, so I don’t really have a job. Being a wealthy socialite and crime fighter keeps me busy. I can stay as long as I want.”

“Do you want…” Kara started before pausing, unsure how to frame the question, “Do you want to see each other again while you’re here? I just… I had a really good time tonight and I could use a friend, don’t have many of those still around.”

Kate stared at the younger woman before nodding, a wide smile on her face. “Yeah, yeah I would love to, I don’t have too many friends either, and it would be nice to hangout with someone. Maybe Supergirl and Batwoman could team up sometime too.”

“That would be so awesome,” Kara squealed, floating a little in her excitement.

“Alright, down Sunny, you want to share a Lyft? We can talk about hanging out on the way.”

“Deal.”

Sunlight streaming through the window fell across Kara’s face, pulling a sleepy smile from the girl and she was lured from sleep. She pushed the sheets from her body and shuffled to the window, shucking her pajamas to absorb more sunlight. The rays from the yellow sun rejuvenated her far more than sleep ever could, she just liked sleeping. Her phone chimed on her bedside table and Kara glanced over at it, grabbing for the device. It was a text from Kate, pulling another smile from the girl.

Hey, you want to grab some lunch today? I understand you’re a big fan of food, a lot of it.

Of course! Kara texted back, I do have to consume a lot of calories so I know a lot of different places around the city.

So you probably know the best places to go then, the out of the way places that have amazingly delicious food.

Of course! Are you a food fan?

Who isn’t a food fan, I’ll pick you up at CatCo then? My treat.

Thx, see you then! A bright grin was plastered on Kara’s face as she sped around the room getting ready for work, showering, brushing her teeth, dressing and then making a huge pile of eggs for breakfast. She shoveled the eggs into her mouth before cleaning up again and speeding out of the door. Stopping at Noonan’s to grab a large hot chocolate and one of their extra large cinnamon buns, Kara bounced her way into CatCo. She holed herself up in her office, typing away at the different articles Snapper had given her to work on or edit. She quickly devoured the cinnamon bun, and sipped at her hot chocolate to keep the constant stream of sugar and calories in her system.

Her phone chimed a few hours later, another text from Kate saying she was on her way to CatCo, and Kara started cleaning up her desk area, grabbing her purse to head down to the lobby to meet the older woman. A knock at her door had her looking up and shock filled her system at the sight of her sister standing there. “Alex,” she said, “What are you doing here?”

“Well we haven’t really seen each other recently since you’ve been so busy, so I thought I would come and see if you wanted to get some lunch?”

Kara looked at Alex incredulously, since she’s been so busy? “I don’t know if you’ve noticed Alex, but you’ve been spending all of your free time with Maggie recently, so it’s not me who’s been busy,” Kara replied, leaving the office and stepping away from the brunette.

Alex followed the blonde to the elevator, curious about the hostility she was feeling from her little sister. “Okay, so I’ve been a little preoccupied with Maggie, but it’s only natural since she’s my girlfriend. I miss my little sister though, so what do you say, lunch?”

Ignoring the feeling of her heart breaking in her chest, Kara glanced at her sister for a moment before exiting the elevator in the lobby. “Sorry Alex, but I have plans for lunch, maybe another time.”

“Plans? Can’t you change them, we haven’t really spent any time together in weeks?” Alex questioned, her arms crossed angrily.

“Alex, you were the one that came to me at the last minute and expected that I would be free, I’m not canceling my plans,” the blonde stated firmly, glaring at her sister.

“Am I interrupting something?” Kate started, walking up to the two.

“Kate!” Kara grinned, pulling the redhead into a tight hug. She released the woman and turned back to her sister, finding her staring suspiciously at the newcomer. “Alex, this is my friend Kate, Kate this is my sister Alex.”

“Kate…” Alex drawled out, fishing for a last name.

“Kate Kane,” the redhead replied, assessing the brunette with a piercing gaze. “So you’re the infamous Alex Danvers I’ve been hearing so much about.”

“Funny, I’ve never heard of you before.”

The redhead smirked and grabbed on of Kara’s arms to loop around her own. “Oh, we’re new friends, and if you don’t mind, we must be getting off to lunch. Have a good day Danvers,” Kate waved, lightly tugging Kara away from the other woman. She knew that if Kara didn’t want to move, she wouldn’t be able to pull her anywhere so it was comforting to know that the blonde did want to come with her. “Are you okay?” Kate whispered as she escorted Kara out of the building and towards her car parked on the side of the road.

“Yeah, I’m okay, it’s still a little raw you know,” Kara said weakly before getting a good look at the car. “Is this a Ferrari Spider?”

“You like?” Kate smirked, opening the passenger door for the blonde woman.

“They didn’t make many of these,” she breathed, running her hands along the side of the car as she stepped down into the seat. “This is so cool!”

“So, do you have a place in mind on where you want to go for lunch?”

Kara bit her lip, trying to hold down her excitement, “Well, I had originally planned on a nearby Chinese place, but seeing your car, I kind of want to go for a spin, I do love a good convertible.”

Kate revved the engine and grinned over at the blonde, “I’m up for an adventure if you are, so where to?”

“There’s an awesome burger shack up the coast about an hour away. They have huge burgers and unlimited baskets of fries and onion rings, you game?”

“Don’t you have to get back to work this afternoon?”

The blonde sighed, “I’m not really doing anything, it doesn’t make me happy anymore. There’s no thrill like when I was Ms. Grant’s assistant. I don’t feel like I’m making a difference, not anymore, and Snapper hates me, always gives me these stupid assignments, or rips up what I have done. It’s just not, not there anymore, so I don’t really care if he fires me for not coming back in.”

“Feeling a little bored with your career?” Kate mused, shifting the car into drive and peeling away from the curb.

“Yes,” Kara groaned, leaning her head back against the seat. “I mean, I don’t have to work technically I guess, but it’s nice being able to work, help make a difference, do something outside of being a girl with a cape and skirt you know?”

“Are you independently wealthy and didn’t tell me?” Kate asked, glancing over at the blonde suspiciously.

“Um, no,” the younger girl sputtered unconvincingly. When it didn’t look like the redhead was going to believe her, Kara sighed, “Okay, fine, yes I do have some money. Not as much as you obviously, but enough to get by with my food bill for a while.”

“How?”

“Mhm, oh, well, Clark gave me the idea of using my powers to find gemstones, or sunken ships, things like that to make some extra money. I just took it a step further and invested it in various companies, yours included I think,” Kara murmured, tilting her head. “I know I have several stock options in Wayne Industries, CatCo worldwide media, Kane Incorporated to name a few. And since Lena is my friend now, I dug out a few gemstones I had stashed and used them to buy stocks in LCorp.”

“Damn, so even if the stocks go down, you won’t really lose any money since you never had it to begin with,” Kate whistled, impressed. “So you’ve been packing away the dividends and interest earnings all these years then?”

Kara nodded again, “It really does help, being Cat's assistant didn't pay very much.” The blonde directed the redhead through the city and out on the coastal highway, speeding north, hitting amazing speeds in the Ferrari. Kara had swapped her glasses for a pair of sunglasses she found in the car, while Kate pushed her own down from her head to cover her eyes. Their hair was tousled and wind blown by the time Kara directed her off the road to the rundown burger shack. “That was so much fun,” Kara giggled, replacing her glasses as she stepped out of the car.

Kate hopped up on the seat and swung over the car door, sauntering over to her friend. “We can take the scenic route on the way back to the city so that you can enjoy more of the drive,” the redhead grinned before looking at the shack suspiciously. “Are you sure this is the right place?”

“Oh yeah,” Kara grinned, jogging up the steps to swing open the screen door. “Come on in.” Kate followed after Kara and found the blonde sitting on one of the stools by the counter.

A tan, broad shouldered blond man strolled out of the back and pulled the alien into a tight hug. “Kara babe! My best costumer!” He set the girl back down on her stool and turned to Kate. “Babe, who’s the hot redhead babe?”

“That’s Kate,” Kara replied, “She’s my friend, though I wouldn’t call her babe if I were you.” She motioned the older woman to the stool next to hers and gestured to the man, “Kate, this is Dustin, Dustin, Kate.”

“Dude,” Dustin held his fist up for the woman and Kate glanced at it for a moment before bumping her fist against his. “Dude,” he said, nodding his head before looking back over at the blonde. “You want your usual order Babe?”

“Of course, and another one for Kate please?”

“Totally,” he nodded again before disappearing back in the back.

“This place is really busy during spring break,” Kara said, leaning over towards Kate, “Dustin and his friend Kai co-own it, and basically make all of their money back in one or two weeks. Outside of that time, it’s pretty much only visited by locals. Dustin and Kai get a lot of surfing in that way.”

“So this is a surf shack,” Kate mused, glancing around, “It makes sense with the decor I guess. Do they rent surfboards? It’s been awhile since I’ve hit the waves.”

“Dude, you surf?” Dustin called from the kitchen, “If you’re a friend of Kara’s, bro, totally a friend of mine. Take my board out man, there’s some wet suits in the back if you want to hit the waves. Kai has been out there all morning, says there’s some sick waves out there today if you want to hit them.”

Kate perked up and quirked an eyebrow up at Kara motioning to the back of the shop. “You surf?” The redhead asked.

“She sure does, Supergirl is killer on the waves,” Dustin replied, returning to the kitchen. “Your surfboard is in the back where you left it Babe.”

“Supergirl?” Kate question, turning a teasing eye on the blonde.

Kara shrugged, “I’ve been friends with Dustin and Kai for years, surfing with them for just as long. They’ve known I’m Supergirl from the very beginning. Just don’t tell Alex, she’d be pissed more people knew, despite the fact that it is my secret to share, even though she told Maggie after only dating her for like a week.” She rolled her eyes and tugged Kate into the back of the shop, “So I come up here to surf with Dustin and Kai when I can get away, and they feed me tons of food and we surf a lot. I help them with the food when I can during their busy season, and they give me extra onion rings.”

“Babe makes killer smash burgers,” Dustin called. “I’ll bring your food out on the beach if you ladies want to go hit the waves.”

“Come on Kate, let’s have some fun,” Kara giggled, tugging the redhead into the back of the shack. Dustin and Kai did pair the burger shack with small surfboard rental, but they didn’t have many boards. Really they were extra that they had, a few regular boards along with a couple long boards. Kara often left hers with them because she knew that Alex would give her fits if she found out that she was surfing, so she just avoided the confrontations all together. She wondered what that said about her relationship with the older woman; she’s loved her for so long, but she also learned it was easier not to talk about things with the brunette. Alex had an explosive temper with a short fuse.

Kara grabbed her wetsuit out of the closet and stepped into one of the changing stalls, motioning for Kate to do the same. It only took the blonde a few seconds to switch her clothes, and she grabbed her board before heading out onto the practically deserted beach. She left her glasses behind with her clothes, and pulled her hair back into a tight braid that fell down below her shoulders.

“Yo Kara!” The blonde turned when she heard Kai’s voice, and saw the broad, Hawaiian man walking towards her. Unlike Dustin, Kai had his hair cut short, though it kept it longer on the top than on the sides, and was darker skinned than his blond best friend. He was wearing a long pair of boardshorts that clung tightly to his legs, heavy with the salt water. “Great to see you out here again,” Kai said, lifting the girl up into a large hug. He was as much as a giant as Dustin was, standing at nearly 6 ½ feet tall. “It’s been what, a few months? You came out to help during spring break, but nothing, where have you been Hōkū?”

“Just a lot of stuff going on,” Kara sighed. “I do want you to meet someone though.” She turned around and saw Kate standing not too far behind her in a dark wetsuit holding one of Dustin’s spare boards. “Kate! C’mere.” She waved the redhead over and motioned between the man and the older woman, “Kai, this is my new friend Kate, Kate this is Dustin’s best friend and business partner.”

“Aloha Kate,” Kai greeted, hugging the woman. He stepped back from the redhead after releasing her and gave her an assessing gaze, “New friend hmm, beautiful but strong, deadly, a Koa huh?”

“A what?”

“It means warrior Kate, relax,” Kara giggled, “And yes Kai, she is. We’re going to hit the waves for a bit while Dustin is making us lunch.”

“The waves are excellent today,” Kai said, waving them both out to the water. “I’ll go see how Dustin is doing with your food.” The man walked away and the two women turned to face the ocean again.

“Should’ve know that you liked pink,” Kate said, gesturing between Kara’s fluorescent yellow and pink board that matched her yellow and magenta wetsuit. “Though with all the blue and red you wear flying around city, I figured you would go with those colors.”

Kara shook her head as she waded out into the water, “No way, I’m always wearing that stuff, or pastels, but I really like fluorescents. Have you ever seen phoenix hair? It’s hair dye that glows in the dark, really big with the club scene. It’s beautiful and I would love to have my hair colored that way, but it would be too obvious if Supergirl showed up with the same hair style. And my hair doesn’t take hair color anyway.”

“That sucks,” Kate murmured, remembering her wild, club going days. “Have you tried the clip in hair, or a really well made wig?”

“Haven’t really thought about it. I was always worried about what Alex would say,” Kara sighed. “Though, I guess it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“You don’t have to give up you know,” Kate murmured as they both sat on their boards and moved with the small ripples in the current.

“I’m not giving up,” Kara replied, glancing over at her friend. “I’m moving on. Me and Alex, it’s not going to happen. It’s more than just her dating Maggie, it’s other things. There are parts of my life I don’t really talk to her about, like Kai, Dustin, this place, the money that I invested, how I really feel about my job at CatCo.” She sighed, “Aren’t you supposed to share everything about your life with the person you love?”

“That’s something that I’ve had to wrestle with in the past,” Kate replied. “I didn’t tell Maggie I was Batwoman until I proposed. Perhaps that’s our problem, the people we love knew that we didn’t share everything with them.”

“Well then, to moving on then,” the blonde replied, paddling out to an oncoming wave.

“To moving on!”

Chapter Text

Alex slumped into her apartment after a long day at the DEO, worrying about Kara the entire time. She went back to CatCo later in the afternoon to have words with her younger sister, only to find that Kara had not returned after lunch. The agent instantly went into attack mode, and called her sister, only to be sent straight to voicemail each time. She went back to the DEO and had Winn trace the GPS she had planted on Kara after the last time she disappeared for a few days. It triggered to the blonde’s apartment and Alex growled, she had checked there before returning to the agency. Alex hit number 3 on her speed dial periodically through the rest of the afternoon, hoping that the younger woman would pick up before sighing in defeat and heading home.

“Hey babe.” Alex glanced up when she heard Maggie’s voice and found the woman standing in her kitchen plating some food from take-out containers. “Rough day?”

“Just stressful dealing with my sister,” the short haired brunette replied. She walked over to the table and embraced her girlfriend, giving her a quick peck on the lips before taking the offered plate.

“Weren’t you going to have lunch with Kara today?”

Alex made a small sound around her food as she shoveled it into her mouth, “I was, but when I got to CatCo, I found out that she already made plans for lunch with a new friend of hers, someone named Kate Kane. She never came back to work after lunch so I spent all afternoon worrying about where she was and trying to track her down.”

Maggie set her own food down quickly and looked at Alex in alarm. “Kate Kane,” she repeated, staring at her girlfriend with wide eyes, “You’re sure it was Kate Kane, that she said Kate Kane?”

“Yeah,” Alex replied, staring at her girlfriend suspiciously, “Tall, lanky but curvy redhead. I don’t know where they met but she seems like trouble to me.”

“She is,” Maggie groaned, rubbing at her head in frustration. Alex quirked an eyebrow at her girlfriend and Maggie knew that it was time that she air out some dirty secrets. “Kate Kane, she's my ex-girlfriend, well, ex-fiancée really.”

“What?!”

“It's a long story, but it was years ago when I was still living in Gotham and I got involved with Kate Kane. She's a rich socialite that likes to party; all of her money comes from her family investments, so she doesn’t really work. I didn't know she was in town.” She paused for a moment lost in thought before her eyes snapped back to Alex. “You said that she and Kara were friends?”

“That's what she told me before disappearing for the day in a Ferrari.”

“This isn't good Alex, Kate is a glorified party girl and a hoodlum, she'll be a terrible influence on Kara.”

Alex was going to reply when her phone rang, Winn’s name appearing on the screen. “What do you want Winn?”

“When were you going to tell me that Supergirl knew Batwoman?” He asked, his voice reaching a high pitch.

“What are you talking about?”

“ Supergirl is out taking down bad guys and petty criminals with the aid of the female Dark Knight,” he squealed again. “This is so cool.” Before Alex could reply, Winn hung up the phone, leaving the brunette to stare at it in confusion.

“You wouldn't happen to know why my sister is running around town with Batwoman do you?” Alex asked, turning a questioning eye on the other woman.

Maggie sighed, “I told you she was a bad influence.”

“Okay, I have to admit, that was one of the best burgers I've ever had,” Kate groaned patting her stomach.

“Did you seriously doubt my ability to pick good food?”

“No,” Kate defended, “I just worried about the difference between alien and human diets. I don't think I could ever each that much again, there was a ton of meat on that burger, plus the piles of onion rings and fries.” Her stomach gurgled, and she let out a small belch to relieve the pressure. “I may never eat again.”

“But it was worth it wasn’t it?” Kara asked, glancing down at her friend from where she was sitting. Both of them were on the beach sitting on borrowed towels, Kate was lying down with both hands settled against her stomach while Kara was sitting normally, her knees pulled into her chest and her arms settled on top of them. Their surfboards were stuck in the sand behind them, offering a little shade from the blazing sun shining down on them. Kara never worried about staying in the sun too long, it powered and rejuvenated her, refreshing her more than anything else so she relished lying in the sun. Kate didn’t mind working on her tan, and drying the water that clung to her wetsuit.

“So worth it,” Kate sighed, “It tasted really good, though I think the next time we come up here, I’ll probably just get a single patty cheeseburger, rather than that monstrosity with three patties and extra bacon that you devour.”

“Are you going to skip the avocado on yours?” Kara questioned.

Kate sent the blonde a disbelieving look, “No avocado, are you nuts?”

Kara giggled a bit before leaning back on her elbows. “You know people usually give me a hard time for eating so much meat, but I’ve figured out it is a great way to fill up without having to eat a bunch of empty calories.”

“I can imagine you have to eat a lot to keep up with the amount you would burn just flying around the city,” the redhead replied, mirroring Kara’s position. “So how did you get into surfing?” Kate asked, “How’d you find this place?”

“I met Dustin and Kai in college,” the blonde answered. “I know they don’t seem like much, but they both have business and finance degrees. I know they both could’ve gotten jobs on Wall Street if they wanted, but they didn’t. They wanted to open their own business, somewhere on a quiet beach where they could surf as much as they wanted.”

“So how did you get involved?”

“I invested,” Kara said. “I told them that I didn’t want the money back, or any free food when I came. I just appreciated what they were doing. They wanted jobs where they were happy, where they could do what they loved and be able to set their own schedules. I could respect that, and they were my friends. I did make the stipulation that I got to leave all of my surf stuff here, and that I could come up whenever I wanted.”

“Seems like a pretty good deal, this view is incredible,” Kate murmured. “How is it that this beach isn’t overrun with tourists all the time?”

“There’s really nothing around here other than the shack, and it’s far enough out of the city that people don’t want to bother coming here, other than the spring break crowd. They have an unofficial surfing competition a few times a year with some of their buddies, some people they knew from Hawaii.”

“Do you participate?”

Kara shrugged before nodding, “Sometimes, really the competition is just to get bragging rights, also practice for many of them who compete in the actual competitions.”

“So really, this place is where you come to hangout with your friends without Alex knowing or judging you,” Kate said, and Kara nodded.

“What does that say about me?” Kara laughed dryly, “I've loved Alex for years but I kept this major part of my life from her.”

“You can love someone and not really trust them,” the redhead answered. “When people say you can't love someone you don't trust, it's a lie. Love comes from the heart while trust is formed in the mind, they don't always listen to each other.”

“Who knew that you could be so wise,” Kara teased and Kate nudged her in the thigh with her elbow.

Kate propped herself up on the sand before standing up, stretching up on her tiptoes. “Come on Supergirl, let’s hit the waves again, and maybe your buddies will make you an afternoon snack before we take a scenic drive back to National City.” She stood up and offered a hand to the still seated girl, pulling Kara up when she grabbed her hand.

“Maybe by then you’ll be ready to have some dinner,” Kara laughed, a teasing lilt in her voice.

The redhead groaned, grabbing her borrowed surfboard, “I don’t think I can keep up with a Kryptonian’s appetite.”

Kara giggled and took off into the water with Kate hot on her heels. The two surfed for another hour before tripping back to the shack and pulling their wetsuits off their bodies. Kate gulped when she saw the vast expanse of tanned skin as Kara walked into the outdoor shower stall. The sun-kissed skin left her breathless for a moment before she shook herself out of her stupor. Kara was her friend, no need for such thoughts entering her mind. She stepped into the other shower stall and rinsed the salt out of her hair and the sand off of her feet.

“Shit,” she muttered when she realized she forgot her towel. “Kara can you grab me a towel when you get out, I forgot to grab one.”

“Yeah,” Kara answered, wrapping herself in her own towel and walking back into the changing room. She quickly dried herself, changed back into her clothes, and took the towel back out to Kate in the shower. The blonde stuttered a bit as Kate peeked around from the door and she briefly lost control of her x-ray vision, getting the barest glimpse of the body hidden behind the door. She fled after handing Kate the towel, returning to the front room of the shack where Dustin had another basket of onion rings waiting for her.

“Babe, your friend is an excellent surfer,” the man said when Kara sat down in front of the basket and started picking through the onion rings, slowly eating them.

“She is surprisingly good,” Kara commented, clearing her mind of the more dangerous thoughts. “But she’s a new friend, so I can’t make any assumptions about what she does or does not know.”

‘It’s best not to underestimate me,” Kate said, strolling out of the back room, “I tend to surprise people all across the board.” She snatched one of the onion rings out of Kara’s basket and popped it into her mouth, sitting down next to her on one of the stools. “So are you ready to head back? We can wind our way through the countryside and get to National City sometime this evening, really let loose on the highways.”

Kara smiled and followed after her friend, only to stop when Kai called out to her. “Hōkū! Wait a minute,” he said, jogging up to them. “I have something for you if you hold on.” The man stepped into the shack for a minute before popping back out and handing the blonde an envelope. “Your check Hōkū, your last few paintings sold really well. There are a few people waiting for more of your work.”

“I have a few paintings finished, I’ll bring them with me next time I visit,” Kara promised, tucking the envelope in her purse as she climbed into the car. “Did I forget to mention that they also sell some of my paintings for me?” She commented when she saw the questioning expression on Kate’s face, “Kai has a website he displays them on, he’s really good at managing online businesses.”

“You definitely have some interesting friends,” Kate chuckled as she put the car in gear before peeling away, returning to the highway to continue heading north. They sped along the highway, turning inland only when they felt like they had to return to National City. Conversation flowed freely and easily between them and by the time they pulled back into city limits close to twilight, it felt like they had been friends for years.

“Do you want to come back for pizza at my place?” Kara asked while Kate put the roof up as she drove through the city.

“I could go for a slice so long as you know the best pizza place in town and will eat anything I don’t manage to choke down.”

Kara smirked and winked at the older woman, “Leftovers don’t really last all that long around me.” She directed Kate to the pizza place near her apartment, one of the best pizza places in town she claimed, where they got two large pizzas, a Hawaiian and a supreme. “I don’t know why some people don’t like pineapple on pizza,” the blonde said as she and Kate headed up to her apartment. “It is a delicious flavor combination, add in the ham and it’s heavenly.”

Kate nodded and stole a slice from both boxes, “I completely agree, I never discriminated against pizza toppings, except like anchovies or anything else that is weird like that.”

“I had a pizza in Maine that had lobster on it,” Kara told her. “I thought it was odd too but it was delicious and amazing.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” the redhead replied, scrunching her nose.

“We'll have to go sometime, you'll see.”

“Already planning our next trip?”

Kara shrugged, “You're the first friend I've had that seems like you want to go places, other than Dustin and Kai of course but we've only been up and down the California coast and Hawaii.”

“Alex doesn’t like traveling?” Kate questioned, glancing over at her new friend.

“She didn’t used to, but she went on a weekend getaway with Maggie a few weeks ago.”

“Sounds like Maggie,” the redhead leaned back against the couch, “She always liked those romantic weekend getaways in the middle of nowhere. Those are nice, but going somewhere exploring a new place, somewhere with awesome scenery or a fun city, that’s more my idea for a good getaway.”

“I’m a food traveler,” Kara replied, “I’m always looking for the next eating challenge to get free food.”

“Of course you do, do you happen to dress up in a bear suit and steal picnic baskets too?”

Kara shoved Kate off of her couch, causing the woman to land with an ‘oof’ on the floor. “That’s what you get for making fun of me,” the blonde muttered as she finished devouring her pizza. She ignored Kate pouting on her floor and just tilted her head, listening to the sounds of the city. “There’s a bank robbery occurring right now,” Kara murmured, her eyes unfocusing, “After hours of course, and some of the local gangs are causing trouble. You want to lend a hand? Nothing extraterrestrial today unfortunately if that’s the kind of action you’re looking for.”

“I’ll settle for a robbery, but the night is still young,” Kate smirked. “Do you want me to just meet you there?”

“I’ll wait for you, just hurry up,” Kara said. She spun into her uniform and took off out of the window while Kate looked around for her suitcase and changed into her own suit.

Supergirl landed on the roof on the building across from National City bank and glanced through the walls to monitor the thieves progress. A few minutes passed before Kara heard Kate’s voice right next to her, “So what do we have?”

Kara jumped back and her eyes whirled to find her friend standing next to her, her dark suit causing her to blend in with the shadows of the building. The crimson accents created a vivid contrast to the black suit, and Kara knew if she saw that figure stalking towards her out of the darkness, glowing eyes and red hair flying… “You didn’t have to sneak up on me like that,” she gasped out rather than finishing her thought.

Kate just smirked, her lips painted a deep red and her skin a pasty white, a stark contrast to her normally tan skin. “I didn’t think it was possible to sneak up on a Kryptonian but Batman does it all the time to Superman, so I figured this was my chance to see if I could manage as well, so thank you darling, gives me something to hold over the Bat next time I see him.” Her face schooled as she looked down towards the bank and crouched down on the ledge, “What do we have?”

“Five robbers as far as I can tell, two in the vault, two lookouts and one in the getaway van,” Kara replied, stepping to the edge.

“Sounds like fun, do you want to take the ones in the bank?”

“Oh no, I’ll take the getaway driver, I want to see how Batwoman operates in person.”

Batwoman stood and sauntered closer to the superpowered heroine. “It would be my pleasure,” she purred before leaping off of the building. A single grappling hook halted her fall down and the rope she was holding onto swung her through the glass windows of the bank, straight into the thieves. Kara grabbed hold of the getaway van, lifting the front of the van off of the ground to keep the driver from speeding away. The tires spun uselessly in the air but Kara paid them no mind as she watched what was happening in the bank with her x-ray vision. Kate was wiping the floor with the men; it was almost sad how unfair the fight was.

Kara heard the door on the van open and she caught the man as he dropped out, and wrapped the bumper around him to keep him from running off. “Let me go you bitch,” he yelled, wiggling in her grip. She just sighed and tapped him on the head, effectively knocking him out.

Kate appeared at the doors of the bank, a wide shit-eating grin on her face. “You want to leave him in here with the other bozos? The police should get here soon, but I’ve never been one to stick around.”

Supergirl acquiesced and dropped her charge with his cohorts. “There are more criminals to catch, crimes to thwart, you up for this cape crusader?” They left the bank and tracked down criminals throughout the city, stopping petty crimes and car chases, and Batwoman observed from the shadows as Kara put out a house fire to assist the National City fire department.

They were sitting on top of a building eating sub sandwiches a grateful convenience store owner gave them after stopping a petty thief when Maggie and Alex finally caught up with them. Kara heard the familiar rumble of her sister’s motorcycle and glanced down to see the woman and her girlfriend climbing off the vehicle near the building where she and Kate sat. “The fun suckers are here,” Kara mumbled to her friend, her eyes tracking Alex and Maggie’s movements. They glanced around at the buildings and Alex looked back down at her phone before Maggie tapped her on the shoulder and pointed up at them.

“I knew that Maggie had a sixth sense for finding things, heroes, villains, but I didn’t think she was this good,” Kate said, handing the rest of her sandwich to her Kryptonian friend.

“Alex placed a tracker in my boot,” Kara told her, her words muffled by the sandwich in her mouth. “So technically Maggie cheated because Alex knew where we were, but she did find us. They’re heading up right now.”

“We have enough time to get away if you want, you can literally have us disappeared in a flash.”

Kara shrugged, “That would just infuriate Alex even more, besides, I’m still eating my sandwich. Well, sandwiches, what if I accidentally drop one?”

“Or me, what if you accidentally dropped me while you were trying to eat your sandwich.”

“You would be fine, my sandwich on the other hand would suffer dearly.”

The sound of a throat clearing broke the two out of their conversation and they turned around to find Alex and Maggie standing a few feet behind where they were sitting. “Are you two having fun?” Alex asked, her hands placed on her hips as she glared down at her sister.

“We were,” Kate replied while Kara continued to eat her sandwiches. “Just out cleaning up crime.”

Alex's eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared as rage built in her system. “Supergirl,” she bit out. “Can I speak with you for a moment?” Kara just shrugged and continued eating her sandwich while Alex seethed. “Kara!”

The blonde sighed, and finished her sandwiches before standing to follow the auburn haired woman away from Maggie and Kate. “What were you thinking Kara?” Alex hissed, “You barely know this woman and you told her who you are?!”

“Don't take that judgmental tone with me Alex, Kate already knew who I was through Batman and I knew who she was. And aren't you being a little hypocritical since you told Maggie who I was after only dating her for like a week?”

“That's different!”

“How is it different? It's my life Alex, my secret and I get to decide who I can tell, not you.”

Alex let out a frustrated huff and pinched the bridge of her nose. She knew that Kara had a point, but she would never admit it. “What about blowing off work for the rest of the day?” She continued, “Don't think I don't know that you didn't go back to CatCo this afternoon.”

“We were hanging out, and I didn't really need to come back, didn’t have much to do.”

“Where were you?!”

Kara stiffened, “That's really none of your business Alex.”

“You are my business.”

“We went surfing, is that what you want to hear? We went for a drive and went surfing.”

“You went up to see those two beach bum friends of yours didn’t you?”

“Dustin and Kai aren’t beach bums Alex, and they’re my friends,” Kara snapped back, her eyes hard. “They have their own business that is fairly successful and they’re able to do what they love, not all of us can say that.”

“They run a restaurant on a beach Kara, no better than a dive shack on the beach, how do you call it a business?”

Kara growled in frustration, “They’re my friends Alex, I’m tired of you putting them down. They have degrees in business and finance, they just didn’t want to be stuck in an office job working all of the time.”

“I bet you told them who you were too,” Alex continued on without any sign that she had heard her sister. “You’re always so irresponsible, and now running around with people like, like that vigilante ruffian…”

While Kara and Alex were arguing, Kate and Maggie just looked at each other. “I didn’t think I would see you on this side of the country,” Maggie said after a few moments, “I didn’t really think any of you left Gotham.”

Kate scoffed, “You know better than that Maggie, I go where I’m needed.”

“And why are you, Batwoman, ‘needed’ here?”

“Are you asking as Maggie, my ex-fiancee, or Detective Sawyer?”

“Whatever brought you here is most likely something illegal, so it falls under police jurisdiction Kate.”

Batwoman crossed her arms as she stared at the shorter woman, “Still have that distaste for heroes then, people that work outside the law to catch criminals and help people. It’s amazing that you were so closely with Supergirl then.”

“Need someone with the firepower to go after the hard-hitting aliens or metahumans,” Maggie replied, her arms crossed. “I don’t always approve of her methods or interfering in petty crimes, like you both were doing tonight.”

“The police weren’t around and we were, would you deny that we’ve done some good, prevented a lot of people from getting hurt in the end?”

Maggie rubbed at her forehead in frustration, “I guess you have a point.”

Kate was silent for a few minutes and glanced away from the shorter woman. “We never did talk about it did we,” the redhead murmured, “About why you left…”

“Kate…”

The woman shook her head, “No, I, I want to know, need to know. We were happy, at least I was, we were planning a wedding, and then all of the sudden you were gone, disappeared back to Metropolis and left your engagement ring behind like we hadn’t spent several years together, living and fighting together.”

Before Maggie could reply, Kara was next to them, her eyes hard. “There’s a rogue alien on the other side of town,” she said, her eyes hard. “One of the Fire People, must’ve hidden out after the Justice Society dealt with the rest of them.”

“You need backup?” Kate asked, already preparing to jump down the building to locate her bike.

“From Batwoman, sounds like fun, let’s do it!” Supergirl lept off the building and Batwoman quickly followed, flitting down to her hidden motorcycle and following the blue and red clad figure zooming overhead. She almost wishes that Kara hadn’t interrupted her discussion with Maggie, she wanted answers on why the woman had left even though she has her own speculations. Another part of her doesn’t want an answer, doesn’t want her thoughts to be confirmed that who she is, what she is was so offensive and irritating to Maggie’s sensibilities that she chose to leave rather than marry her. Kate didn’t know if she wanted that confirmation, but she knew that she needed an answer eventually if she wanted to be able to move on.

Kate could feel the air around her increase in temperature and she knew that they were closing in on the rogue alien. Turning the corner, she witnessed Supergirl slam into a tall being seemingly cloaked in fire and molten lava. The asphalt beneath the being’s feet was cracked from the heat and cars around them were nothing more than piles of melted metal and plastic.

The massive amount of heat radiating from the being didn't seem to phase Supergirl as she quickly slammed into it. Kate left her motorcycle away from the confrontation and quickly scaled one of the nearby buildings to get a higher viewpoint of the situation. As she watched the two super powered aliens do battle, Kate briefly wondered how long her own suit would hold out. It was decided to withstand heat, but only to a certain point, not a constant battering of fiery fists, though it didn’t look like Kara’s suit was holding out much either.

Batwoman quickly ran through her arsenal of devices at her disposal before quickly settling on a plan. They had to subdue the alien quickly before he caused any more damage to the streets and surrounding property. She took out a few of her bat-a-rangs that carried an electrical charge and her grappling gun, firing the grappling hook at a taller building across the street. She swung down towards the tangling aliens and tossed a few of devices at the fiery being, smirking when they connected and sent a shockwave of electricity through the alien. It let out an inhuman shriek and flailed angrily, striking at the buildings and cars around them.

One of the arms connected with Batwoman as she swung back down, sending her flying through the air. “Shit,” Kate muttered, scrambling for the clawed cables she keeps in her belt for emergencies but was unable to activate it. Before she could even process that she was going to hit the ground, hard, she was being caught by a pair of strong arms. One came around her shoulders and another underneath her knees, and Kate found herself looking up into concerned blue eyes. “Supergirl,” she breathed out, her heart pounding in her chest

“Are you okay?” Kara asked, her eyes wide.

“Yeah, um, yes, I’m fine, thanks for the save,” Kate replied, trying to still her stuttering heart. Is this what people felt like when they were saved by Supergirl? Did they feel the rush of adrenaline coursing through their system and heat settling in key parts of their bodies? Did they feel the inescapable surge of affection and lo- “You know you’re a lot softer than I thought you would be,” she said, cutting off her own thoughts. She would have to think on them at a later point.

“What do you mean?”

Kate shrugged, “Well, you know, with the whole ‘Girl of Steel’ thing, I figured you would be harder, but you’re all soft, toned muscle, it’s nice.” A bright red blush covered Kara’s face and she sputtered a bit while she tried to formulate a response. Batwoman just chuckled and patted Supergirl lovingly on the face, the heat in her body receding to just a warmth in her chest that spiked at the red bloom on Kara’s face. “While this is fun, we have work to do,” she said, turning her attention back to the alien steadying himself on the ground. “Do you think you can douse him with water? The electric batarangs would have more of a punch if he was wet and then you can use your freeze breath.”

“Then toss him into space, there isn’t a prison that can hold one of the fire people,” Kara said, setting Kate down on one of the nearby buildings.

Batwoman grabbed the remote device for the batarangs, and charged them, ready to send another current of electricity through the alien. She watched as Supergirl punched through concrete and asphalt reach the water pipe, and directed the stream at snarling being. Kate pressed the button as soon as the water made contact and smirked as the fire person dropped to the ground convulsing. Kara welded the pipe back together with her eat vision before directing a concentrated blast of cold air at the downed alien. He let out another shriek of protest, but was weakened enough for Kara to grab him and take off into the sky. She was back in a few minutes, landing softly on the roof next to Kate.

“You tossed him into space?”

Kara pursed her lips, “Their race is originally from an asteroid, so he’ll be fine without oxygen. I tossed him out of reach of the Earth’s gravitational field, and unless he hitches a ride on another asteroid, he won’t be back any time soon.”

“We made a good team,” Kate said, nudging Kara in the side. “We should do this again sometime while I’m in town.”

The blonde bounced excitedly on her feet and embraced the woman. “This will be so much fun!” She squealed, pressing her lips to Kate’s cheek.

Kate’s breath caught in her throat and she felt her heart skip a beat. She was in trouble, she was in so much trouble.

Chapter Text

Kate groaned as she was pulled from sleep by a constant, persistent knocking. She rolled over and rubbed at her face before stumbling out of bed and making her way down the stairs towards the door. Opening the door, Kate found herself face to face with her ex-fiancée. “You know how long it took me to find this place?” Maggie muttered, pushing past the still disheveled redhead. “I didn’t think you had a place in National City since you never mentioned it, so I searched through the records of all of the five star hotels in the city. Since that didn’t turn anything up, I looked through property records since Alex mentioned you had one of your cars with you when you picked up Kara, and what do I find? A record of beachfront property just a few miles out of the city, complete with your own stretch of private beach.” Maggie rummaged around her fridge and retrieved two bottles of beer, setting on in front of the still confused superhero.

“Isn’t it a little early to be drinking?” Kate muttered, popping the top off her beer anyway.

“For you maybe,” the detective replied, clinking her bottle against Kate’s before taking a swallow. “For the rest of us, it’s about two in the afternoon, which isn’t so bad.” She glanced around the house while Kate collected herself. “So why didn’t you tell me about this place?” Maggie asked, “You told me about most of your other properties.”

Kate sipped at her drink, her mind whirling over the absurdity of the situation, sitting in her kitchen with her ex-girlfriend/fiancée drinking beer. She dressed up in a tactical leather bodysuit at night catching criminals and this was the most absurd things she’s ever dealt with. “This was my mom’s house originally, her favorite vacation property really. I haven’t been back here in years, not since my mother and sister died.”

Maggie nodded in understanding, she knew that Kate's mother and sister were still sensitive subjects for the woman. “You know why I'm here,” she said, changing the subject.

Kate froze, her bottle raised part way to her lips. “Haven't any idea,” she replied, sipping at her drink.

The detective rolled her eyes, “Don't be coy Kate, it's not cute. Why are you in National City?”

Sighing, Kate moved to her fridge and pulled out a few eggs and some fresh vegetables. “Breakfast?” She asked, offering some of the eggs. At the answering head shake, Kate set the food on the counter and retrieved a pan. “That's right, you're a vegetarian.”

“Vegan actually,” Maggie replied, “It's easier since I'm lactose intolerant.” Kate just hummed and made herself an omelet, chopping the vegetables to slide into the pan on top of the cooking eggs. “Kate…”

“What do you want me to say Maggie?” Kate asked, “What do you want me to say? That I came here looking for you?”

“Kate…”

“Shut up Maggie, you wanted answers and you're going to get them,” the redhead growled, setting her food aside. “I looked for you after you left, I wanted to apologize for whatever I'd done to cause you to leave me, to see if maybe we could get back together. I went to Metropolis but you weren’t there, so I kept looking and eventually found you in National City. I came here, but you were already dating another, already moved on with your life…”

“Kate…”

“I deserve an answer Maggie,” Kate slammed her hand on the counter. “I deserve an explanation for why, why? I thought we were happy, we were going to get married, we were talking wedding plans!” She calmed slightly and sat back down, “I may not want answers, but I need them.”

Maggie sighed and ran her hand through her hair, she knew when she came over that this conversation would be a possibility. She just hoped that Kate wouldn't really want an explanation and she wouldn't have to explain herself. “I got scared,” she whispered, “I know that might not be what you want to hear, but I got scared.”

“Scared? Scared of what?” Kate asked.

“Scared of you, for you,” Maggie shrugged. “I can't really explain it but when we were discussing wedding details, plans, it all just started to hit me about the different worlds we live in.”

“What do you mean?”

“You just, you're the heir of this humongous fortune and conglomeration, and you spend your free time chasing down some of the worst villains in the world. I guess it never really hit me that I was marrying Kate Kane, Batwoman, along with Kate Kane, wealthy socialite. You always were just Kate Kane, my goofy, slightly annoying girlfriend. I loved dating you Kate, I loved you, I just, I just don't think I wanted to marry you.”

Kate released a loud breath of air, it was better than she thought but still hard to hear. “Why did you agree to marry me then? And then leave without a word, I thought you couldn't marry me because you still didn't approve of vigilantes.”

“I don't approve of vigilantes, the untrained ones can easily get hurt and make a situation worse, but I acknowledge that heroes like you, Batman and his crew, and Green Arrow up in Star City, you fill a need, hunt down the criminals that sometimes the police are just unable to handle.” Maggie looked away from her ex and stared out at the beach and rolling waves in the distance, “And I didn't really realize my feelings until after you asked me to marry you, not until we were planning the wedding, that's when it hit me.”

A low, dry laugh escaped Kate’s throat, “I guess I can’t fault you for that.” Releasing a small sigh, she also glanced out at the beach, “I guess we just weren’t meant to be, not forever anyway.”

“It was fun while it lasted though,” Maggie offered. “Chasing you as you chased bad guys, flirting at crime scenes, being shot at during dates.”

“Hearing you say that makes it sound like we’re a couple of nut cases.”

“Aren’t we though?”

A laugh, a real one, erupted out of Kate at Maggie’s reply. “Yes,” she gasped out, “Yes we probably are.” They were quiet for a few minutes before Kate spoke again, “So tell me about your new girlfriend, Alexandra Danvers, she seems… fun?”

“Haven’t you already heard all about her from you new friend?” Maggie questioned. “National City’s resident superhero, aka, cub reporter Kara Danvers?”

Kate stifled a laugh, “Yeah, I have heard about her from Kara, but that was a different perspective, I want yours.”

“First I want you to tell me how you really met Kara,” the detective said, “I mean, it’s a bit of a coincidence that you come into town and one of the first people you encounter is Supergirl.”

“It’s just as I said,” Kate replied, “I came to National City looking for you. When I saw you were with someone else, I got depressed. I ended up at a bar, one of those alien dive bars you like to frequent, and I found Kara there drowning her sorrows. I didn’t know who she was when I met her, but I knew the look on her face.”

A concerned look crossed Maggie’s face, “Why was Kara there?”

The heroine just shook her head, “It’s not my place to say.”

“Kate, she’s my girlfriend’s little sister, I have to know if something is wrong with her,” Maggie protested but Kate held firm.

“It’s not my place to say Mags, that’s really between Kara and Alex when she finally decides to talk to her about it,” Kate told her. “I know you’re Alex’s girlfriend, but still, some things aren’t any of your business.”

Maggie sighed, “I guess you’re right, though Alex is worried out of her mind about Kara’s behavior, and she tends to display her worry through anger.”

“She’s not violent is she?”

“Only at the shooting range or when sparring,” the shorter woman replied, “She’s a fantastic shot, and has this cool new alien gun that she let’s me shoot every now and then. Wish she managed to snag me one as well.”

“Basically your type,” Kate commented, “Not to mention smoking hot with a reddish tinted hair, wonder who that sounds like.” Maggie kicked her stool out from under her, but fortunately she foresaw Maggie’s action and managed to catch herself. She pulled her plate of food towards her and started eating, ignoring the way that cold eggs tasted in favor of satisfying her grumbling stomach. “So tell me more, other than she likes shooting and worrying, what else is Alex like?”

The detective hummed, “Well, she’s very overprotective, especially of Kara, so be forewarned. She’s insanely smart, one of the few experts on alien biology in the world, finished up her doctorate after she started working for the DEO. And while she’s pretty much a badass in her everyday life, she’s really kind and basically a marshmallow in private.”

“Interesting,” Kate hummed. It was interesting, she received a different perspective from Kara, but she had no doubt that each were truthful. Sisters were always treated differently than girlfriends, and it made her heart hurt for Kara. She knew that Kara knew that Alex only ever saw her as a sister, just judging by the way Alex treated her.

“So what’s up with you and Kara?” Maggie questioned.

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t ‘what do you mean’ me Kate, I know you,” the other woman replied. “You might pretend to be the big, scary, badass Batwoman all the time, but I saw you after Kara caught you the other night. You’re feeling something for her aren’t you?”

Kate blustered a bit, “Don’t be ridiculous Maggie, Kara and I, we’re just friends, that’s all.”

Uh-huh, right, we were just friends once upon time as well if you recall,” Maggie smirked. “I mean, I can understand why you would start to develop a crush, she's Supergirl! All golden smiles and hair with perfectly toned muscles, and all of that strength to put you where she wants you. If she wasn't Alex's little sister, I would definitely be exploring more of those fantasies during my alone time.”

Kate's mind involuntarily wandered to the image of Kara in her wet suit, and the brief glimpse of golden skin as she peeled herself out of the soaked fabric. “You should see her surfing,” she murmured, her eyes distant. “Beautiful…”

Maggie grinned, “Kara's a surfer girl? Makes sense, walking personification of sunshine. I bet you saw her naked didn’t you?” The blush flooding across Kate's face was enough of an answer for Maggie. “How's that ‘just friend’s thing working out?”

“Shut up Maggie.”

“You know, if I were you, I would fly up here every night for dinner,” Kate moaned as she speared another cut piece of chicken and popped it into her mouth. The creamy peanut sauce exploded along her taste buds, pulling another moan from her throat. “Oh my god.”

Kara shifted in her seat at the moan that Kate let out, and cleared her throat. “Um, yeah, well, Coast City isn’t too far from National City, and this is, hands down, the best Asian food on the west coast. Has a pretty good mix of everything from Chinese to Vietnamese cuisine, so if I’m in the mood for Korean and Thai food, I come here and get both.” She spooned some more of her curry onto her rice and relished the spicy flavor as it hit her tongue. “And, as you can see, the dinner portions are humongous so I can manage on only a few plates.”

“Well this place is delicious and I want you to bring me here as much as possible,” Kate said. “I’ve been coming to Coast City for business for years, and never knew this place was here.”

“It’s kind of hidden, more of a local place, kept away from the tourist district here for the beaches and what not,” Kara hummed. “But it’s worth it if you know it’s here.”

“I would gain so much weight, I wouldn’t be able to fit in my suit anymore,” Kate replied. “Or any suit really.”

“You stay pretty active, I have no doubt that you would be able to burn all of this off.”

“I don’t know,” Kate frowned, “Coast City is pretty calm compared to Gotham, or even Metropolis and National City. Gotham keeps me plenty busy, though Batman occasionally asks me to track down people outside of Gotham since he can’t.”

“The Batman doesn’t like leaving Gotham to catch criminals?”

Kate shook her head, “No, Bruce Wayne going anywhere causes a spectacle, though I’m also a wealthy socialite, I can fly under the radar better than he can.”

“I don’t know, you seem to stand out to me,” Kara mused, “Probably the red hair and flashy cars.”

“You’re one to talk Miss ‘I fly around in a bright red and blue suit’ thank you very much,” Kate retorted, finishing her own meal.

“Fine, fine,” Kara dismissed Kate’s words. “You finished? Ready for some dessert?”

“I’m full to the busting, but I’m always up for dessert. Are we getting it here?”

Kara flagged down the waitress to bring them their check and left the appropriate amount of cash on the table before standing up and pulling Kate out of the restaurant. “I figured we could head back down to the shack?” She suggested, “Kai makes fantastic banana splits and mojitos, and they put lights out on the beach on Saturday nights with music. A lot of the locals come to dance on the beach and just enjoy the sand under their feet and the sound of waves crashing.”

“Well, who am I to turn down such an opportunity?” Kate replied, “Up up and away Supergirl.” Kara grinned and pulled Kate down a nearby alley and spun into her suit before lifting the redhead into her arms and taking off into the sky. Kate willed her heart to stop pounding so loudly in her ears, not wanting Kara to think that she was afraid of flying with her. The problem was that she wasn’t afraid, she was definitely not afraid as she felt heat flood through her body straight to the apex of her thighs. Kate knew that she had a thing for powerful women, typically brunettes, she had never dated a blonde before, but glancing up, looking at the way Kara’s golden hair lit up in the light from the setting sun, she wondered why she never thought about dating one before. There was just something about Kara that called to her, spoke to her in a way that no other did, not even Maggie.

The blonde superhero landed not too far from the beach shack and quickly changed back into her loose dress, pulling Kate with her towards the lights strung along the beach. There were a few other people on the sand softly swaying to the music or sitting on the beach further away with drinks in their hands. “Wow,” Kate murmured looking at the scene. When Kara said that Kai and Dustin put lights out on the beach at night for dancing, she didn’t expect it to look so… “This looks really romantic,” she said to her friend, “Are you sure that it’s Dustin and Kai that do this?”

“You shouldn’t underestimate them, both of them have romantic, soft sides. Whenever they do decided to finally date, they’re going to make a couple of women very happy,” Kara said, squeezing Kate’s hand as they walked towards the beach. The blonde quickly pulled the older woman into a dance when a new song started on the stereo. Kate was content to watch Kara move to the music, her hands in the air and her hips moving to the hypnotic beat. She really didn’t know where these feelings were coming from all of the sudden, but she was going to enjoy them. It had been a while since she was able to truly admire a beautiful woman, to feel things for a beautiful woman without any of the complications that came with returned feelings or the weight of a relationship or failed one. She decided to just enjoy them in the moment and consider the ramifications at a later date. A Super and a Bat, it could never happen.

They danced for a while longer before retrieving a few drinks from Dustin and a basket of onion rings and heading down the beach. “This is nice,” Kate muttered, sipping at her mojito. “Just sitting on the beach looking at the waves and stars drinking, it’s been a long time since I’ve done this.”

“What do you do with all of your time?” Kara asked, “Seems like you don’t get the chance to relax much.”

“If you read the tabloids, you would find that I don’t do much other than party, relax, and waste time on frivolous things,” Kate replied, stealing one of Kara’s onion rings.

The blonde pouted and moved her basket away slightly before glancing up at Kate again, sipping at her own mojito. “I know what the tabloids say, but I want to know what you say,” Kara said. “What do you do?”

Kate just hummed and snatched another onion ring out of the basket, sipping at her drink. “I catch bad guys,” she said after a few minutes. “I train, I fight crime, and despite what everyone says, I do work for my family’s company. I don't have to be there all the time, but as major shareholder and unofficial CEO, I am responsible for making many of the decisions. I generally leave most of it to the COO, CFO, and other general managers though.”

“So the flirty, party girl persona is an act then?”

The redhead shrugged, “Kind of? I mean, I do like to flirt and I like to party, but I pretty much do it for appearances now. If that's all that people think I am, they don't pay me any attention.” She cocked her head and sent a wink in her friend's direction, “Just look at all the attention constantly on Bruce, mysterious, playboy billionaire, just attracts all kinds of attention.”

“Or world famous journalist Clark Kent,” Kara mused.

“Or that.” The two sat in silence before Kate spoke again, “So what are you going to do, about you job situation, I know you said that you weren’t really happy with it, but never mentioned again about what you would do.”

Kara sighed, “I don’t know, I know I don’t want to leave CatCo because I feel like that would be a betrayal of everything Cat taught me, all of the trust she placed in me and time she spent mentoring me. I just know that being a reporter isn’t what I thought it would be.”

“Have you thought about just asking Cat?” Kate questioned, “I mean, you said that she told you that you could have any job in CatCo that you wanted. You picked reporter because that’s what you thought you needed to do, expectations from your cousin, from her. You seem to be one of the few people that Cat cares about, so I have no doubt that she’ll be able to help you.”

“I hope so,” Kara murmured, “Thanks Kate, you’re a good friend.”

The redhead tried not to visibly react to the word friend leaving Kara’s mouth, and instead raised her glass. “To a new career then and new opportunities.” She clinked her glass against Kara’s and snatched another onion ring while the blonde was distracted. Kara let out an offended squawk and quickly polished off the rest of the basket out of fear of any more being taken. Kate laughed as Kara’s cheeks bulged out like a chipmunk as she tried to stuff everything in her mouth. “Alright, let’s head back to the beach shack, you still owe me one of those giant banana splits you were talking about.”

Kara groaned, “Best decision ever, you’re not going to regret it.” She pulled Kate up and jogged back to the beach shack, retrieving a large banana split from a laughing Hawaiian.

“Oh Rao,” Kate muttered, picking up the phrase from the alien when she plopped down in the sand next to where Kate was sitting just outside of the shack. She had never seen so much ice cream in one place, she could already feel the cavities forming in her teeth just by looking at it.

The blonde gleefully handed her one of the spoons and dug into the pile of ice cream. “You’re gonna want to get in on this before I end up eating all of it myself,” Kara said around the ice cream and bananas in her mouth.”

“Paws off of the banana blondie,” Kate warned, her spoon poised over one of the pieces of fruit. “This one’s mine.”

Kara glanced down at her phone nervously, twiddling her fingers a bit as she contemplated the choices set in front of her. It had been nearly two weeks since she had the conversation with Kate on the beach about her unhappiness in her job situation. When she arrived at work the following Monday, Snapper had her running down puff pieces or harping on her to get a statement from Lena Luthor about some latest piece of technology or new alien rights movements that have started popping up since the amnesty act was signed. Kara loved going to see her best friend, but she didn’t like having to constantly badger her about how she felt about aliens because her mother and brother were notorious xenophobes. She felt as if Snapper was just using her for her close ties to Lena, and she didn’t want to use her friend that way.

She twisted her fingers around as she continued to stare at her phone. She knew that if she wanted something to change with her job that she would have to contact Cat, but she was afraid of letting the older woman down. Cat had placed a great deal of faith in her as a reporter before she left on her sabbatical, entrusting her to carry on her legacy as an investigative journalist. She didn’t know how her former mentor would take it when she told her it being a reporter wasn’t what she thought it would be, that it wasn’t making her happy.

The blonde sighed and finally picked up her phone, dialing a familiar number and waiting for the woman on the other end to answer. Kara had always known how to get a hold of Cat since she had given Kara her personal cell phone number before she took off for destinations unknown. She just never used it until now, wanting to give the woman the privacy that she was searching for.

Her leg bounced while she waited for the other woman to answer the phone, but managed to still her leg when she felt her apartment starting to vibrate around her. “Are you dead?” Cat stated when she finally answered the phone, her voice raspy.

“Um…” Kara blinked, “No…”

“Are you in the process of dying?”

“No…”

“Then why have you neglected to call me until now?” Cat asked and Kara could just picture the unimpressed look on her face. “ I figured it was because you were dead or dying.”

“Ah,” Kara winced, “Sorry, I just… I didn’t think you would want to hear from me since you were taking a break from everything National City.”

“Doesn’t mean that I was taking a break from you Kara, I thought we were at least friends at this point.”

“Right, I’m sorry Ms. Grant, how are you doing?” Kara tucked herself into the corner of her couch and listened as the older woman told her of her travels. She had been seeking happiness and meaning in her life, and had been spending her time seeing old friends and working for different causes. At present though, she was in the Himalayas relaxing in solitude in a yurt, something that Kara didn’t think she would ever hear.

“That’s enough about me though, you called for a reason.”

“No Ms. Grant I really did call to hear how you were doing.”

“Oh Keira, Keira, Keira, I can pry secrets out of cheating politicians, just give it a rest will you. What did you want Kara?”

Kara let out a loud sigh, knowing it was impossible to keep anything from the woman. “I’m not happy Ms. Grant. I thought I would be, with everything, but I’m not and I need a change but I was afraid to talk to you about it.”

“You know what I think about being happy Keira, if you’re not happy, change it.”

“I don’t want to completely change what’s making me unhappy though, because Ca- the place has always made me happy before, but what I’m doing now, it’s not what I thought it would be and I’m not doing what I want to be doing.”

Cat was silent for a few moments before speaking again, “Well that explains why your articles have been less than enthusiastic since you started, you never really wanted to be a reporter did you?”

“Ms.- Ms. Grant, you read my articles?”

“Every one, but they missed what makes you distinct, your individual voice among the crowd, and that’s what I saw in you when I hired you as my assistant, your voice. Your writing is improving, but I could tell your heart wasn’t in it.”

“Well it wouldn’t, not with how much Snapper edited the articles,” Kara groused before letting out another sigh. “Look, Ms. Grant, I really appreciate the opportunity you have given me with allowing me to pick what I wanted to do, but I don’t think I can do it, I can’t keep doing it, not when it doesn’t mean anything to me, but I didn’t know what to do.”

“We all have to do jobs that make us unhappy,” Cat mused. “Why didn’t you just quit and go looking for something else?”

“Because I want to work for CatCo, for you, when I worked for you, I felt like I was really making a difference, but now…”

Cat sighed, “It’s a shame, your writing is beautiful, maybe if reporting isn’t what inspires you, you should consider something else. In the meantime, I promised you would always have a job with me if you wanted one, and you will. Everything has gone down hill since I’ve been on sabbatical, the magazine, the Tribune, all extremely disorganized and printing articles that I would never have signed off on. This all points to the poor decision of having Olsen as the temporary CEO, a decision the board decided on.” Kara could hear the displeasure in her voice, which was founded. James was great at some aspects of the job, but organizing everything, keeping the reporting, fashion, sports, economy, lifestyle, all of the different departments in line was not one of the aspects he was good at. The writers had gotten lazy and many things were sliding through the cracks, including articles with blatant self-plagiarism. “I will not see my empire fall because James is distracted by his nightly activities.”

“Ah, um, I don’t know-”

“Don’t start Keira, it won’t work. So effective immediately, or at least until I can send the proper emails out, you’re in charge as head editor. Olsen will still be the figurehead and handle the meetings with the board and heads of the departments, but you’re the one they will answer to and will be sending their work to. You know how I like things, I taught you myself after all, so I trust that you will be able to preserve my company and my legacy, maybe even improve it.”

Kara was stunned, she didn’t know what to say, “Ms. Grant…”

“I won’t take no for an answer Keira. The beauty of this job is that you can work in your office or at home so you can also focus on your mental health. I know you can do this Keira, I have the utmost faith in you.”

“Thank you Ms. Grant,” Kara replied, excitement building in her voice. “I won’t let you down.”

“I know you won’t Kara.”

Chapter Text

“So Cat basically put the overseeing of CatCo magazine in your hands,” Kate repeated, staring at the blonde wide-eyed. “Cat Grant, Queen of all Media Cat Grant, the woman who runs a tighter ship that most Navy admirals, that Cat Grant?”

“Ms. Grant isn’t… okay, well, she can be a bit…”

“Demanding?”

“A bit of a perfectionist,” Kara finished, “But I learned a lot from her, she expects the best from everyone because she always gives her best.” She dug her chopsticks through the boxes of Chinese food sitting on her coffee table. “And I’m not really in charge, I’m kind of the ghost editor while James is still the figurehead. Apparently the board wouldn’t be too happy if a former assistant was but in charge, which is why she gave James the job in the first place. Sales have been declining since he’s been in charge, which gives Cat power to do something to fix it, namely assigning me as a secret editor.”

Kate whistled, “Well, you’ll be able to keep everything exactly the way Cat likes it, does that give you veto power over articles?”

A mischievous twinkle entered Kara’s eyes, “Yup, and you can bet I’m going to kickback most of those articles about the guardian that James has been approving.” She rolled her eyes, an irritated look on her face. “I can’t really believe him sometimes, he got on me for using ‘Supergirl’ as a source, when he’s the one pushing reporters to publish more articles on stuff he’s doing as a vigilante. If anyone were to find out, it would open CatCo up to a slew of lawsuits, that’s why I only used Supergirl as a source and not the focus of the articles.” Kara angrily stuffed her mouth with rice and chicken, “Of course, what do I know, I just double majored in Journalism and English.”

“Alright, retract the claws Kitty,” Kate said, nudging her friend. “So what did James say?”

“I didn’t tell him, I figured I would leave that for Cat to do. Luckily I’ll be able to work from home when I want so I won’t have make excuses when I need to disappear for Supergirl stuff.”

“Does Cat know who you are?”

Kara shrugged, “I think so, I thought that I had managed to fool her, but she’s really smart, she’s probably known the whole time.”

“She does have a way of pulling information out of people,” Kate mused. “I think she even made Bruce cry once, or at the very least tear up.”

“I can see that,” Kara smirked, imagining Cat making the normally stoic businessman lose his cool. Her phone chimed with an incoming call from her sister.

“Kara,” Alex said as soon as she picked up her phone. “Cadmus goons are at it again. They have some kind of alien weapons and are tearing up downtown.”

“I'm on it Alex,” Kara replied, hanging up the phone. She turned to her friend, an excited gleam in her eyes, “ You ready for another fight?”

“Always, let's go,” Kate was already pulling out her suit as she spoke. The two quickly had their suits on and bolted out of the window. Kara dropped Kate off where she was keeping her bike, and took off towards the sounds of gunfire, explosions, and lasers. She found several Cadmus goons firing cannons with lasers at several businesses, looting them of their money and goods. “Hey!” She yelled, drawing their attention away from terrorizing bystanders.

The goons just smirked and turned their weapons towards her, firing energy blasts in the air. Kara flew around, dodging the blasts, climbing higher into the air until one of them struck her, knocking her back, and sending her spiraling towards the ground. She braced herself for a hard landing, but was caught only a few seconds later, a strong, slender arm wrapping around her waist. Kara glanced up and saw wild red hair waving in the wind, and a dark, black mask set against pale skin. The feeling of Kate’s arm wrapped around her waist, holding her protectively as they swung towards the ground cause her heart to pound wildly in her chest. What was this feeling?

Batwoman’s left arm was extended upwards as she held onto the rope carrying them through the air, and her right arm was wrapped firmly around her alien friend. She landed softly on on the ground and released the blonde heroine. “You alright?” Kate asked, looking her friend over for injuries.

“I’m fine,” Kara stuttered, trying to get a handle of the new feelings growing in her heart and the warmth blossoming in her chest. At the disbelieving look on the Batwoman’s face, Kara chuckled, “Really, I’m fine, the blast just stunned me for a moment. You ready to get out there and deal with the bad guys?”

“Always,” she replied, pulling out a few of the bat-a-rangs from her utility belt. “Humans are much easier to take down, even with their little toys.”

Kara smirked, “Cadmus goons are pretty stupid, I’ll serve as a distraction and you take them down?”

“What about the weapons?”

“The DEO are most likely on their way, so they’ll probably seize the weapons.”

“Is that safe?”

Supergirl shrugged, “No, but there isn’t anything I can do about that, other than continue to express displeasure that they’re experimenting with alien weaponry. Thankfully they got rid of the rest of their Kryptonite, but with a synthetic version out there, it doesn’t matter.”

Kate was about to reply when another explosion drew their attention. “We should probably…” She started, gesturing back towards the goons blowing things up a street away.

“Yeah, probably.” Kara took off and slammed into one of the men, catching him off guard and knocking the weapon out of his hand. The other men whirled around and turned their weapons on her, but before they could fire, bat-a-rangs dug into their arms, sending shockwaves of electricity through their bodies. The goons dropped like lead and Batwoman fired ropes at them to keep them tied up while they waited for someone to come collect them.

The masked hero appeared out of the darkness and slowly stepped towards one of the fallen weapons. Picking it up carefully to examine it, Kate noted that while the technology appeared to be alien, the way it was hastily strapped together screamed of human engineering. “These are man-made weapons,” she murmured to Kara, indicating the specific areas on the weapon. “The materials may be alien, but the way they’re put together, definitely human.”

“So Cadmus has just started making it’s own weapons, putting a human spin on alien devices,” Kara murmured.

“The Intragang has been doing that for a while,” Batwoman told her. “They just aren’t as vocal about their actions as Cadmus, they’re more out for personal gains than downright hating aliens or anything like that, except heroes of course.”

Kara smiled wryly, “How decent of them.” They waited a few more minutes for the DEO vans to show up, but chose to wait on one of the nearby buildings rather than down at street level.

“You know what we should do,” Kate said as they watched the DEO cart the goons and weapons away in dark vans.

“What?”

“We should go out and celebrate your new job!”

The blonde cocked her head, “And how should we do that?”

Kate smirked, “Know any good nightclubs?”

“Kara still not answering your texts?” Maggie asked as she watched her frustrated girlfriend pace across the floor in her apartment. The detective had come home from the late shift and found the auburn haired woman furiously typing on her phone before returning to her pacing, glancing at the device every few seconds. There was only one person that could ignite that level of fury and concern in her girlfriend, and that was the blonde darling of National City. She had heard on the radio on the way home that Supergirl and Batwoman were seen taking down a few men that were terrorizing the downtown with high-powered weapons, and Maggie knew that that is why Alex was in the state she was in.

“No,” Alex growled, “And she’s still hanging out with that… that creature…”

“Kate isn’t that bad Alex,” the detective replied. “Yes, she’s not always the best influence, but she’s a good person and a good hero. I’m glad that they’re becoming friends.”

“Isn’t this Kate Kane your ex?”

Maggie sighed and nodded, “Yes but we… we’ve cleared the air a little bit. Hopefully we’re on the road to becoming friends in the future, but I did hurt her so it won’t be for a while.”

Alex scratched at her scalp in frustration, “I just don’t know why Kara is avoiding my calls, or me! I know I’ve been pretty preoccupied recently and haven’t been spending time with her but…”

“But Kara is allowed to have her own life without you hanging over her,” Maggie interrupted. “Now if you’re still feeling jittery, why don’t we head out and do something fun.”

“I don’t feel like going to the gun range tonight Maggie…” Alex grumbled.

“You’re such a dork sometimes Danvers,” the shorter woman knocked her girlfriend’s shoulder. “I meant something normal people consider fun, like going dancing, get a few drinks.”

“Where, at a nightclub?”

Maggie shrugged, “Why not, we can both blow off a little steam and have some fun at the same time.”

Alex rolled her eyes but a smile crossed her face, “Fine.”

“Come on Danvers, get your club clothes on,” Maggie ordered, nudging her girlfriend towards the bedroom. They both pulled on clothes appropriate for a night out at the club, meaning very tight but still breathable to dance in, and hitched a taxi to their favorite spot.

“Shots and chasers first,” Maggie said, ordering the drinks at the bar. “You need to loosen up a bit.” The two clinked glasses and downed their shots before starting on the chasers. Once they finished those, they settled into one of the booths with a couple of beers, glancing around the club with mild interest as they took in all of the people dancing or drinking.

The agent nearly choked on her beer as she caught sight of two figures dancing on the other side of the dance floor, just moving together without a care in the world. “You’ve got to be kidding,” she hissed, nearly slamming her bottle back down on the table.

Maggie glanced in the same direction and spotted what her girlfriend had, Kara and Kate dancing at the edge of the dance floor. The blonde had her back to Kate while the other woman had her hands on her hips. They were both grinning and laughing about something as they moved along with the rhythm, and Maggie thought the two made a striking pair. Kara was the embodiment of sunshine and air with her happy personality and laughing eyes, while Kate was fire and darkness, passionate, protective and destructive. She had thought that her ex had been fostering feeling for the blonde heroine and called her out on them, but Kate had just stumbled over her words before changing the subject.

Seeing them together, they were beautiful, a perfect combination of strength and broken pasts that shaped them into the heroes that they are. Honestly, Maggie hoped that the two would become an item, she loved both Kate and Kara, even though she no longer loved Kate in that way. Kate and Kara though, Supergirl and Batwoman, she shipped it. Judging by the way Alex was eyeing them, the agent did not approve.

Before Maggie could stop her, Alex was storming across the dance floor towards her sister, swiftly getting in between the two women. “What are you doing here?” Alex asked, her teeth clenched, “And what are you doing with… with her ?”

“We were blowing off a little steam Alex,” Kara said, pulling her arm out of her sister’s grasped. “The… everything earlier left us a bit wired and we wanted to have some fun, is that a crime?”

“It is when you’ve been screening my calls and texts for anything other than…” Alex yanked on her hair in frustration.

“Me screening your calls? What about you screening my calls and basically ignoring me after you started dating,” Kara growled, her eyes flashing dangerously. “You know what, this isn’t the place to have this conversation,” she said, storming out of the club. Kate followed Kara out of the club, leaving Alex standing there rubbing her face in frustration.

She returned to the booth where she left Maggie sipping her beer as she watched the spectacle unfold. “I fucked up didn’t I?” Alex croaked out, downing her own bottle of beer.

“Yup.”

The agent groaned and scratched at her scalp again, “What do I do?”

“Danvers, you're gonna need to talk to your sister, really talk to her, clear the air, sort out the problems between the two of you and you need to do it now.”

“What? Now now?”

“Yes Danvers, now, she's obviously gone back to her apartment, just send her a message that you're coming over to talk.”

Alex sighed, “What if she is there?”

“Then you figured it out.” Maggie downed the rest of her beer and bustled her girlfriend out of the club. She hailed a taxi and gave the driver the address for Kara’s apartment and twenty minutes later the two were pulling up in front of the building. “Go talk to your sister Danvers, stop avoiding the issue.”

The auburn haired woman stepped out of the taxi, and Maggie had the driver take her back to her own apartment, choosing to leave her girlfriend alone for the night. Alex watched the taxi drive away and stared up towards the light in her sister's apartment, taking a deep breath before heading inside.

“Alex is here,” Kara sighed as she looked over at Kate. “She wants to talk.”

“It's probably a good idea,” Kate said, “You need to come clean about everything with her, that's the only way you'll be able to move on.”

“You're right, I know you're right, but that doesn't make this any easier.” She paced furiously as she spoke, “What if she hates me?”

“She’s your sister, I doubt she’s going to hate you.”

Kara shook her head, “No she will, I know she doesn’t love me like that, so I know that it’s unrequited love, but she’s going to walk out of my life for this.”

Kate stood up and set her hands on Kara’s shoulders, softly rubbing up and down her arms. “Kara, breathe, take it easy,” she murmured, trying to sooth the girl. “If she chooses to walk out of your life for something that you couldn’t help, then she didn’t deserve to be in it to begin with.”

“Thanks Kate,” Kara gave her a slight smile.

“Do you want me to stay?”

Kara thought for a minute before shaking her head, “No, no it's okay, I should talk to her by myself.”

A hesitant knock sounded on the door and Kate looked at Kara for a moment before going to answer it. Alex Danvers stared at her from the other side, her expression unreadable. Ignoring her for a moment, Kate turned around and called back into the room. “Kara, I'm going to go, call me later when you get the chance.” At the slight nod from the blonde, Kate turned to move past the woman waiting outside the door. “Take it easy on her,” she whispered before disappearing out of the building.

Alex just stared through the open door of Kara’s apartment, her mind trying to will her feet forward but failing. This was her sister, her sister who invaded her life when she was just fourteen years old, her sister who was sunshine personified, her sister who lost her entire world only to come to a new one and have to learn to be something she’s not, her sister who she has loved and protected with every fiber of her being for the last thirteen years. She’s been a bitch, she knows that, but everything she’s done was to ensure that she never had to lose Kara, even if she was protecting her from herself.

But she knew that was part of the problem, she was so busy trying to protect Kara that she forgot that the blonde was her own person with her own likes and dislikes, her own dreams and hobbies that didn’t fit in Alex’s idea of protecting her. “Stop lurking in the hallway Alex, you can do this,” she muttered to herself before stepping through the doorway, softly shutting the door behind her as she went.

Kara was standing looking out of one of her large windows staring at the darkened city. She had changed out of her club clothes into an oversized, long-sleeved t-shirt and loose, exercise shorts. “I had wondered if you were going to come in or not,” Kara commented, stepping away from the window to face her sister. Her hair was pulled back in a messy braid but her face was devoid of glasses, so Alex was confronted by her sister’s true persona, both Supergirl and Kara Danvers at the same time, Kara Zor-El.

“I briefly wondered if I would as well, but I’m not going to run away. You’re my sister, we have to clear this up.”

A sad expression crossed Kara’s face and she softly sat down on her couch, folding her legs up into her chest and wrapping her arms around them. “That might be part of the problem,” she murmured quietly, her eyes distant.

“Kara,” Alex sighed, sitting next to her on the sofa. “I know I’ve been a right bitch recently, ignoring you since I got together with Maggie, even forgot your Earth birthday but it’s… It’s like you’ve started shutting me out of your life. I didn’t really notice until… until Kate came around and you two started doing everything together.”

“I wasn’t trying to replace you Alex…”

The older woman held up her hand, signalling that she wasn’t finished. “I know that you’re not, but I couldn’t help but worry about you. I’ve kind of programed myself to worry about you and all of a sudden you were hanging out with this woman, ditching work early to visit those beach bums-”

“They’re not beach bums.”

“... Those guys that you’re friends with who probably also know your secret, and you’re fighting crime with Batwoman, I just… I was worried, you were behaving so differently than normal…”

“Kate… Kate has been helping me work through something, and has been a great friend to me when I needed her.”

“Kara, you know you can come to me with anything right?” Alex asked, running her hand on her sister’s arm comfortingly. “Even if I’m with Maggie, I will always make time for you… Okay, these last few months haven’t been the best example, but I will work on it.”

The blonde let out a dry laugh and shook her head, “No, this… it wasn’t something that you could help me out with Alex…”

“What was it? Tell me please Kara, I don’t like this distance that has grown between us.”

Kara squeezed herself back into the corner of the couch and shook her head. “No,” she finally gasped out, “No, you’ll hate me.”

“I’m…” Alex started, slightly shocked by Kara’s reaction. “I’m not going to hate you Kara, I don’t think I could, so please, just talk to me.”

Pulling at her hair in frustration and fear, Kara rocked slightly on the couch, looking everywhere else but her sister. “I… when I first moved in with you and your parents, I was just a scared little girl that lost her entire world. You were there for me though in a way that no one else was and I…” Kara’s voice trailed off and Alex had a sinking feeling that she knew where the conversation was headed. “Anyway, when you came out, I was so happy because I thought that I might have a chance, but then you started talking about Maggie and I realized that you came out for her.” Kara’s gaze was trained stubbornly on her hands as she fidgeted with the long sleeves of her shirt.

“Kara…”

“I always knew that it was unrequited, that nothing would come from my… feelings…” Kara said, still not looking at her sister. “But I was working through them, working on moving on, and Kate has been helping me.”

Alex blinked, not knowing what to say. “Uhhh…”

Kara rolled her eyes, “Eloquent as always Alex.”

“Well excuse me for being a little floored at finding out that my little sister has feelings for me!” Alex yelled, her hands balling up into fists.

“This is why I wasn’t going to tell you,” Kara replied, bouncing off the couch. “I wasn’t ever going to tell you because I knew that it was useless and Kate was helping me work through them, but you kept pushing the issue.”

“Because you were pulling away!”

“For a reason!” Kara yelled. “I was trying to get over my feelings, and to do that, I needed some space from you. If you haven’t noticed Alex, you can be extremely controlling!”

“Me,” Alex scoffed, “How am I controlling?”

“You hate that I go surfing,” Kara countered, her eyes narrowed. “You hate Dustin and Kai, you hate that they know my secret, you hate that I sell my paintings through them, and you would probably hate my new job too, because it’s another aspect of my life that you can’t control.”

“New job?” The auburn haired woman backpedaled, grasping for something else to focus on, “What new job? You loved being a reporter.”

“No Alex, I loved working at CatCo, making a difference, I couldn’t do that as a reporter, and really I was just doing that to feel closer to Clark,” Kara replied. “You should know that though.”

“What new job?” Alex repeated.

Kara firmed her spine and stared her sister straight in the eye, “Cat offered me the job as Head editor of CatCo magazine. Basically a secondary CEO since James has no idea how to put together a magazine to Cat’s standard.”

Alex was silent for a moment before exploding, “Are you crazy?! You can’t take that job, it would put everything in jeopardy! Who you are, your duties as Supergirl-”

“Both of which Cat is aware of and made provisions for when she gave me the job.”

“What?!”

“Get real Alex, Ms. Grant is smart, she never fell for that double with J’onn, and it didn’t help that you and Eliza were there with us during Myriad.”

“Why must you be so reckless with your secret?!”

“It’s my secret Alex, I can decide who should know, not you.” Kara glared at her, “And don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing, focusing on everything else but the fact that I had feelings for you.”

“You can’t have feelings for me Kara, you’re my sister!”

“I know,” Kara gasped out, tears falling down her face. “I know you’re my sister, and I love you, but I can’t help the way I felt. I just thought that you would understand, and while I knew you would never return them, I thought that maybe, just maybe you would be my big sister and still care for me through this.”

“I- Kara I do car-”

“Then why do you continue to back away from me like I’m going to attack you,” Kara cried. “You accused me of pulling away from you Alex, but that’s exactly what you’re doing right now.”

Alex reeled back as if she’d been slapped, “Wha- Kara no-”

“Just go Alex, I don’t want to talk to you anymore right now,” Kara sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat  as she turned away from her sister to look out the window.

“Kara…”

“Go!”

The agent lingered for a moment, staring at the back of her sister’s head before stepping out of the apartment and softly closing the door. Kara stood strong for a few minutes, her back straight as she held in the pain, but tears soon started to cascade down her face. She sensed her presence before she felt or saw her, but soon strong arms clad in black spandex were wrapped around her. Turning around, Kara buried her face in the bright crimson bat symbol on Kate’s chest and wrapped her arms around the lithe figure, sobs wracking her body.

Kate didn’t say anything, just held her friend as she was crying, her own heart breaking at the sound.

Chapter Text

“She hates me,” Kara murmured, her head pressed into Kate’s shoulder.

“What did Alex say exactly?” Kate asked, running her fingers through soft blonde hair.

Kara shook her head and pushed off of Kate’s shoulder, “She didn’t have to say anything, she moved back after I told her. That says it all, instinctual reaction to move away from what scares you.”

“That’s just how humans are Kara, you can’t really hold that against her.”

“Alex has never backed away from me in her life,” Kara sniffed, wiping her eyes. “Not even when I went on a rampage when I was being influenced by Red Kryptonite.”

“Red Kryptonite?”

The blonde hummed a bit, “A type of Kryptonite that reduces inhibitions, basically brought out the worst in me. I did terrible things, hurt people, I threw Ms. Grant off her own balcony, but Alex didn’t back away from me, she wasn’t afraid. When I told her of my feelings, how I felt for her, it was like she was afraid I was going to jump her or something.” She buried her face in Kate’s shoulder again, “I’ve never felt so worthless in my entire life.”

Kate wanted locate Alex and punch her in the face for making Kara feel the way she did. The blonde was one of the most beautiful and pure people she had ever met, and deserved to be treated with love and respect, not fear and suspicion. “She doesn’t deserve you Kara,” the woman murmured, “You deserve more than that.”

“Just further cemented in my mind that I need to move on,” Kara said. “I just thought she would be my sister at least, would still be my sister.”

“She probably just needs some time to come to grips with everything,” Kate commented. “How she acted was wrong, but how would you feel if someone you considered a sibling came to you and told you that they were in love with you?”

Kara glanced away, conceding Kate’s point, but that didn't stop the pain she felt at Alex pulling away from her. “I just, I wish this was easier,” she murmured. “Getting over love, falling in love was so easy in comparison.”

“Falling in love is always so easy,” Kate murmured, trying not to think about the blonde currently curled up against her. “It’s thoughtless, just a brief moment between liking someone and then being in love, there’s no warning, no time to prepare, it just happens, which is why it shouldn’t be held against people.” She ran her fingers lightly through blonde hair, twirling it slightly and watching as light fell across the strands before continuing her thought. “Staying in love, moving on from love, that’s hard, and takes far longer than the actual act of falling in love.”

The blonde chuckled dryly, “Tell me about it.”

Concern tugged at Kate’s heart as Kara fell back into melancholy and silence, and she wracked her brain trying to think of what to do. “Let’s do something,” Kate suggested, wanting to take her friend’s mind off of what was troubling her. “Anything, get away from this apartment for a bit.”

Kara hummed a bit before pulling back from the older woman, “What did you have in mind?”

“Anything that you want to do, what would make you feel better?”

She glanced out the window to the dark sky, dawn still hours away. “Stars,” she whispered after a few moments. “Let’s go up to the beach shack and look at the stars, maybe fall asleep under them as well.”

“Okay, my car is parked in the-”

“No,” Kara interrupted, “No, I want to fly, can you grab a bag with a blanket?”

“Um, okay, do you need to change…” She started, gesturing at the long sleeve shirt and shorts Kara was wearing. Kara spun quickly into her super suit before gesturing at the redhead’s own attire.

“Do you need to change?”

“Nope,” Kate said, pulling the blanket off the couch and wrapping it in a bag. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

Kara doused the lights in her apartment and opened the window, scoping Kate up in one fluid motion and taking off through the sky. The redhead had to keep her heart from beating out of her chest due to their close proximity, but fortunately, her rapid heartbeat could be ascribed to the suddenness of Kara’s movements and their location hundreds of feet above the ground. “Definitely know how to sweep a girl off her feet,” Kate laughed, her voice breathless and eyes unfocused.

The blonde heroine cracked a smile and took them both north up the coast, wrapping her friend tightly in her cape to protect her from the sting of the wind. The usual hour’s drive was over in a little over fifteen minutes, and Kate spent the entire 947 seconds cursing and praising her fate at being pressed so securely against the superhero. Useless lesbian, I’m a useless lesbian, and this is amazing but terrible, very, very terrible.

Kara landed softly on the ground in a secluded spot just up from the beach shack, setting Kate down on her feet. She took the clothes Kate offered and quickly changed back into her comfortable clothes, stuffing in suit in the bag after taking the blanket out. They spread the cloth on the ground and settled down side by side, staring up at the stars much brighter and more visible than anything they could see in the city. “When I was on Krypton,” Kara softly murmured into the quiet, “My father taught be about the stars, regaled me with our stories and legends, and the stars’ names. When I came to live with the Danvers, Jeremiah taught me about the stars here, and Alex continued the tradition after he… after he died.”

Kate could hear the sadness in her voice, longing for a time long passed when things were simple, but tinged with sorrow. The blonde’s childhood was similar to her own, fraught with tragedy and loneliness, growing in a world they didn’t understand and that didn’t fully understand them. While Kate’s loss was well publicized in the media with the sensationalism of the ‘Kane heir’ being brutally and viciously murdered, leaving only one daughter to inherit the company and the family’s fortune, Kara had to hide the majority of her pain. People knew she was an orphan, but they didn’t know she lost the entirety of her people, her language, her culture in one cruel, vicious moment. “Tell me about it,” she said, turning on her side to look at her friend. “Tell me about your time learning about the stars.”

“Jeremiah had a telescope for us, and he would tell Alex and I about the names and stories of the stars, and Alex just kind of carried on that tradition.” Kara shrugged, “I think she knew that I found it comforting, and eventually I started sharing with her the ones that my father told me.” She reached up with her hand and traced one of the constellations she could see. “It wasn’t romantic per say, we were both children, but it was comforting, warm. Alex didn’t really like me when I first started living with them, but Eliza and Jeremiah asked her to look after me. Continuing what her father did, I guess that was Alex’s way of trying to fulfill that role.”

“Sounds like you two had a beautiful relationship,” Kate murmured.

Kara just hummed before turning her attention to the red haired woman, “So tell me about your family, I know some obviously but…”

“I guess it’s only fair,” the older woman replied. “I was raised by my father, Colonel Jacob Kane, or really I was raised by the military schools he shoved me in after my mother and sister died. My mother, she was the best, one of the kindest women you’d ever meet, despite growing up a socialite in one of the wealthiest families in Gotham, second only to the Waynes. She took care of my sister Beth and I while the Colonel was out protecting the country. She took us to school, took Beth to dance class and me to martial arts, and on the weekends we always baked something together.” Kate smiled fondly, remembering both her mother and her twin, “Or at least attempted to bake, Beth and I always ended up eating more of the raw cookie dough or throwing it at each other. Only a little of it was baked at the end of the day.”

“You have your own version of looking at the stars,” Kara stated, turning blue eyes back to the depths of space above them.

“Yes, I guess I do.”

The two continued to stare up at the stars in silence before Kara started to whisper the story of the stars, naming the constellations and telling their legends. The barest hints of dawn were peeking over the horizon when they finally drifted off to sleep.

Maggie let herself in Alex’s apartment, and immediately scrunched her nose at the copious amount of empty bottles littering the living room and the smell of stale beer. “Alex?” She called, trying to locate her girlfriend. The answering retching sound had her turning towards the bathroom where she found the woman in question curled up next to the toilet. “Alex?”

The auburn haired woman cracked an eye open to look at her before groaning and slamming it closed again. “Not so loud Sawyer,” Alex grumbled, pressing herself closer to the cool tile underneath her..

“I’m taking it things didn’t go so well last night then Danvers,” Maggie murmured, pulling her protesting girlfriend off the ground and bustling her out to the kitchen to get water and food into her.

“Don’t remind me,” the woman groaned, setting her head on the table.

Maggie hummed and poured a glass of water, setting it next to Alex’s head along with a pain killer. “Drink your water and take your pill while I make some pancakes to soak up the rest of the alcohol, you really need to sober up.” Alex just grunted out an acknowledgement and slowly downed the glass of water, foregoing the advil next to it. She felt like shit, she deserved to, she was shit for how she treated Kara last night, for how she has been treating her.

She stewed in silence, jerking up slightly when Maggie set another glass of water next to her and a plate of pancakes loaded with butter and syrup. Stabbing at her food with a fork, Alex slowly set into the massive plate, taking a sip of water after each bite. “Kara’s in love with me,” she said after she had finished half of the plate, unable to stand the knot in her stomach any longer. “Or at least she was…” She glanced up and noticed Maggie didn’t look shocked. “You’re not surprised?”

The detective shrugged a bit, “I am, but I’m not at the same time.” She cocked her head as she looked at Alex, “I talked with Kate you know, asked her about what was going on with Kara, and she said it was between you two and wouldn’t speak anymore on the subject. That left a few things in mind, but I wasn't completely sure. All of her actions though, it makes sense.”

“How does it make sense, this is my little sister Maggie?!”

“Come on Danvers, have you seen yourself? There's a lot of people in your social circle that are totally lusting after you,” Maggie pointed out. “Kara was what, 13 when she came to live with you guys? She's the person that knows you best in the world, can you blame her for falling in love with you after all these years?” Alex looked away from her girlfriend, not wanting to think about it. “Did Kara force her feelings on you?” Maggie asked, wanting to know what happened between her two Danvers.

“No,” Alex replied miserably, “She said she was trying to get over them. She knows I'm in love with you, so she's trying to move on, just wanted to tell me to get everything out in the open.”

“How did you react?”

“I… not well,” she admitted. “I was trying to process, I didn't understand, my little sister was in love with me and I didn't know? I wasn't really paying attention and I… I did something terrible, I moved back from her.”

“You moved back from her,” Maggie repeated, “Like you were afraid?”

Alex covered her face with her hands and let out a shaky sigh, “I didn't mean to, it was a mistake, I was trying to think, to understand and I-”

“You moved without thinking,” the detective finished. “You need to talk to Kara again.”

The auburn haired woman snorted, “Yeah like that worked out so well last night.” She glanced down at her plate again and took a few more bites of food. “Does Kate Kane have feelings for my sister?” She asked suddenly, not lifting her eyes from her food.

“I think so,” Maggie replied, knowing there was no use denying it to the other woman. Alex might’ve been oblivious to her sister’s feelings, but she wasn’t oblivious to how people around her felt about her sister.

Alex nodded, “I thought so, the way she looked at her… I think Kara might feel the same, or at least is starting to…” Her voice trailed off, “I don’t know if she’s even realized it yet.”

Maggie just hummed again, “How do you feel about that? I know you’re not one of Kate’s biggest fans.”

“It’s not that I hate her, I just thought that she was causing the rift between Kara and I, that she was taking my sister from me, but that’s not what was happening at all. I don’t really know what to think…” She looked up at Maggie again, “I thought you said Kate was a bad influence?”

“Oh she is, she’s definitely a terrible influence, but in this case it might be a good idea,” the latina mused. “Kate is free and passionate in a way that Kara probably needs in her life, and she understands sorrow and pain, similar to Kara’s. I think they’ll be good for each other.” She shot a wink at Alex, “Besides, think of how beautiful they’ll look together, one is all darkness and fire, the other light and air, vivid red and golden hair, just picture it.”

That was the thing, Alex had thought about it, she had thought about it the night before in between bouts of drinking. When she wasn’t going through self recriminations, she marveled at the beauty that the two would make together, how striking they would be, and maybe Kate could teach Kara a little bit about being more stealthy on occasion, a trademark of any bat. “They would,” Alex agree, “They would be beautiful together.”

“You need to talk to your sister again Alex,” Maggie murmured softly. “You know she won’t take this step without approval from you, without a nudge from you. She might have fallen in love with you, but that doesn’t mean that the role you held before that, before she developed feelings, the role of big sister… That doesn’t mean that it’s gone, she just has to prioritize her feelings again.” She reached over and squeezed Alex’s hand, “She’s always loved you, she just has to figure out how again.”

“I don’t think she wants to talk to me Mags,” Alex groaned. “You didn’t see her face after I moved away from her, it was like I personally destroyed Krypton.”

“You fucked up,” Maggie agreed. “You need to fix it. When you came out to Kara, she was understanding and patient with you while you figured yourself out, but she accepted it. You need to do the same thing, she came to you with something extremely personal, you need to accept it and be there for her.”

“Won’t it be cruel though? Considering her… feelings?”

“Not as cruel as rejecting her in every capacity, or letting her think that you’re rejecting all of her.”

“So what do I do?”

Maggie took a sip of the coffee she had poured for herself earlier before glancing at the girlfriend again. “You have to finish your breakfast… Well, more like late lunch now really, make yourself decent and sober, hangover free, and march your cute butt back to your sister’s apartment and grovel for forgiveness.” She started moving around the kitchen, cleaning up the dishes she used to cook the pancakes, “And while you’re at it, you can nudge her in the general direction of acknowledging her feelings for Kate.”

“What am I a matchmaker now?” Alex grumbled, slowly eating the rest of her food.

“Yes, now stop complaining and go shower,” Maggie urged her into the bathroom and tossed some clothes in that landed on her head. The slightly hungover woman grumbled as she turned on the shower and stepped under the cold spray, letting the freezing water shock her into sobriety and consciousness. She stood in the ice cold water for a few minutes before she shifted it to warm and started washing all remnants of the night before, watching as her sins washed down the drain.

She knew that she wasn’t forgiven, she knew that ablutions and absolution were different, she knew that she still had to do the hardest part, beg for forgiveness from her little sister. Fear crept into her heart as she stood under the spray, water beating at her face; fear that her mistake, that this incident was what fully drove them apart. She loved Kara, she wasn’t in love with her, but she loved her more than she’s ever loved anyone in her life. It would destroy her if she lost her bubbly blonde, her personal sunshine.

When her skin was wrinkled more than she could stand, Alex climbed out of the shower and dried off, rubbing her skin raw with the towel. Clean, clothed, and feeling less like death, Alex walked out of the bathroom to find Maggie still waiting on her. “I figured you would’ve left by now,” she said, her hair still wet and dripping down her neck.

“I would have if I wasn’t sure that you wouldn’t run away from talking with Kara.”

“I… I’m not going to run away,” Alex said, determination coloring her tone. “I’m not going to run, I have to do this.”

Maggie smirked, “You can be taught, maybe next you’ll stop using alcohol as a means of escape.”

“Let’s not get too ridiculous.”

Alex stared nervously at Kara’s door, shifting lightly on her feet before knocking on the door lightly. She knew Kara was home; when they were younger, she had always been able to find the lost, little alien, almost like a sixth sense. The ability had gotten rusty over the years since cell phones and trackers, but she knew that her sister was in her apartment, right now, ignoring her. “Kara,” Alex pleaded, knocking again. “Please let me in…”

“Go away Alex,” the blonde’s soft voice came through the door, and Alex tensed at her words.

“No I- Kara please, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean- I’m sorry, Kara please just open the door.” Her voice was heavy, lonely, pleading, she needed Kara to open the door, she needed to see her, she needed… She needed many things, but most of all, she needed to make amends with her little sister. “Please,” Alex whispered again, setting her forehead against the cool wood. “Please, Kara.”

She heard some barely perceptible shuffling behind the door and she knew that Kara was standing there, possibly mirroring her own pose. She didn’t say anything else, just waited, knowing that it was her sister’s decision to open the door or not. A few moments later, the lock clicked and the door opened to reveal Kara standing in the doorway. The two looked at each other for a moment before Kara stepped back into her apartment away from the door and Alex followed after her. “I thought you had said all you needed to say last night,” Kara murmured, not turning to face her sister.

“No, Kara, no, I didn’t say what I needed to,” Alex forced out, her spine straightening and resolve strengthening at the sight of tear tracks on Kara’s face. “I love you Kara, I’ll always love you. I might not return the feelings that you have for me, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t love you or that I’m afraid of you because of those feelings.” She walked up behind Kara and hesitated briefly before setting a hand on a tense shoulder, “You don’t have to bear the weight of this alone Kara.”

“You moved away Alex,” Kara shuddered, sobs building in her throat. “You moved away like you were afraid, you’ve never been afraid of me.”

Alex wrapped her arms around Kara and started to rock her in her arms. “No, Kara no, I didn’t,” she started, trying to figure out what to say. “I didn’t move away because I was afraid, I didn’t even mean to move. It was such a shock, finding out that you, that you loved me, I didn’t know what to do. I just needed time to think Kara, time to understand, I didn’t ever mean to move away from you, I’m not afraid of you. I love you Kara, nothing will change that. I know I’ve been a terrible sister to you recently, but no more, I’ll be better for you Kara, I promise.”

“You haven’t been a bad sister Alex,” Kara murmured, turning slightly to set her head on Alex’s shoulder.

“I have, I have been a terrible sister. I neglected you after I started dating Maggie, and I didn’t see how much you were hurting.”

“I wasn’t hurting.” Kara pulled away and sat down on the couch, “Not really, I was happy for you, I am happy, all I’ve ever wanted is for you to be happy. I was… I was just lonely. Yes, I was sad that you didn’t return my feelings, but I knew you never would.”

Alex gave the blonde a sad smile and sat down next to her, “Kara, you can’t help who you fall in love with, it just happens, kind of sneaks up on us when we’re not expecting it.” She set both of her hands on Kara’s knee, urging the blonde to look at her. Blue eyes hesitantly peeked up at her, causing the auburn haired woman to smile. “There you are,” she said, a smile on her face. “Can you forgive me? For being a terrible sister, for not noticing that you were pulling away?”

Kara looked in her eyes for a moment before nodding. “Can you forgive me? For not coming to you about what was bothering me, for not telling you earlier?”

“I don’t know how I would have taken it any earlier,” the older woman replied, a distraught look on her face. “I still don’t know how to take it really, it’s a little hard for me to imagine that my little sister is in love with me, but at the same time I don’t want to hurt you. Do you need… what do you need? I don’t want to make this harder but I, god Kara, I don’t even know what to do…”

“Alex it’s fine, the, I… The feelings that I once had for you in that way, they’ve started to fade away recently. I realized I hid too much of myself, like the surfing and stuff, from you and it wasn’t a good sign. I’ll always love you, but just in a different way, not like…”

“Not like how you feel about someone else,” Alex finished, noticing the look on her sister’s face. When Kara didn’t offer any more information, she pressed forward. “Tell me about her,” she prompted, “Tell me about Kate.”

“Kate?” Kara scoffed, “What makes- what makes you think I love Kate?”

“You mean besides your face? Your words gave you away Kara, now spill, what’s she like? I mean, I heard from Maggie of course, but I want to know from you, what is she like?”

Kara thought about denying her crush on the socialite but knew that her sister would get it out of her eventually. “Kate, she’s… she’s like a breath of fresh air,” Kara said. “She's fun and makes me laugh, and she really understands me, understands what I've been through and going through right now trying to separate Supergirl from Kara, finding a happy medium.” A small smile crossed her face, “She's really easy to talk to, and she just…”

“You love her Kara,” Alex finished when the blonde's voice trailed off. “You have to tell her.”

“I don't want to lose her as a friend,” Kara replied weakly. “What if she doesn't feel the same?”

“Kara, I might be oblivious about a lot of things, but even I could tell that she has feelings for you, strong feelings.”

“You think so?”

Alex nodded, “I do, and you really should tell her and not let them fester.” The ‘like you did with me’ went unspoken between but Kara understood them. “I'm going to go,” Alex said, standing up from the couch. “You need time to sort out your feelings, and I need to apologize to Maggie.”

The blonde made to protest but she knew that Alex was still slightly uncomfortable with what she disclosed with her and just followed the older woman to the door. Before she left, Alex turned around and hugged Kara tightly to her. “I love you Kara,” Alex whispered. “Never doubt that.”

Kara didn't say anything, just nodded and Alex left, clicking the door shut behind her. The blonde set her forehead against the door, and let out a sigh before returning to her couch. She could hear the soft patter of rain and rumbling thunder in the distance, and she knew that a storm would be blowing through soon. Her mind wandered as she focused on the soft sound of rain, thinking about Kate and the feelings she started to develop for the redhead. Kara couldn't pinpoint when the feelings started, couldn't identify when smiling green eyes and fiery red hair set butterflies in her stomach and warmth in her heart.

The storm had fully set over National City by the time that Kara came back to her mind, letting her hearing return to her rather than out listening to animals dodging raindrops in the desert. The sky had darkened fully from the clouds and the approaching twilight, and her stomach was growling impatiently since she was no longer receiving energy from the sun. She always felt bad about making someone deliver food in the middle of a storm when it was much safer for her to just go get it herself, so she quickly changed her clothes and set out for her favorite Chinese place a couple blocks from her apartment.

Two orders of potstickers, one order of kung pao chicken, and one order of sweet and sour pork later, the thunder had abated to just a simple rainstorm, and Kara was content to just sit and listen to the rain while idly eating her dumplings. The dumplings were gone soon enough, and Kara helped the waitress carry the empty plates back to kitchen before stepping out into the rain. She quickly changed into her suit and took off into the sky, letting the rain strike her face and drench her hair as she darted through the clouds. Moisture clung to her suit as she rose above the clouds to see the stars shining in the sky above her. They always provided clarity and comfort to her before, especially the previous night when she was mourning the loss of her sister. Though now she wondered if it was less the stars that comforted her the previous night, and more the company she had.

Kara directed herself back down below the clouds and into the constant stream of rain. She landed softly in a deserted park, most of the people having left due to the storm so Kara was alone with her thoughts. She always loved this park, especially at night. Bright lights hung from the trees and glowed inside the fountain that still spouted water in the middle of a rainstorm. White, green and blue lights shone around her, catching the drops of rain as they fell to earth looking like a shower of sparkles.

“Didn’t think I’d see you out on a quiet, rainy night,” Kate’s voice sounded and Kara turned to see her friend materialize out of the darkness. Her red hair, though slicked down from the weight of water, still glowed around her mask covered face.

“I could say the same thing about you,” Kara laughed lightly before studying her friend. “What is it with you Bats and your waterproof suits? Do you set out to make sure that it remains unchanged even in the middle of a monsoon?”

“Unlike you Supers, we don’t care to get wet while out saving the world, protecting the innocents, so we make our fabric waterproof,” the redhead smirked as she walked up to her friend. “But really, what’s on your mind? The storm seems to have driven even the criminals indoors, so I didn’t expect to see you out patrolling.”

“I always love flying in the rain, listening to it fall around me, feeling it hit my skin, if it rains hard enough, feels like a nice massage,” Kara said, turning to face Batwoman. “I needed to get out, clear my head a bit really.”

“Clear your head?”

“I had another talk with my sister, we’ve started… mending things between us, she got me thinking about… things, more like fully acknowledging them really.”

“Acknowledging things?”

Kara nodded, “She basically told me not to regret things anymore, to go after things that I wanted, that I cared for, and to not be afraid.”

“Afraid of what?” The look in Kara’s eyes had Kate’s heart pounding in her ears, creeping up her throat.

The blonde just looked at her, a look that burned through her mask and persona to who she was, just simply Kate Kane. Strong hands reached up to cup her face, fingers gliding over an exposed jaw and covered cheeks before curling in wet strands of hair. Strong fingers yanked her forward and before Kate could register what was happening, soft lips were pressed against her her own and warm hands were tickling at the back of her neck. Muscle memory and instinct had her wrapping her arms around Kara’s back and moving her lips in tandem with the ones pressed against hers. Kate had once thought that what she and Maggie had would be the stuff that songs and romance novels were written about, but what she felt in that moment, with Kara pressed against her, and passion and heat building between them as rain fell around them, this was how fairy tales were born, how legends written in stars were made. It was a love made for the stars with one that fell down from them.

Batwoman cursed her need for oxygen as she could feel her lungs failing, but she did not dare to pull back, she didn’t want to be removed from this moment. It was as if Kara could hear her lungs crying for air because she pulled away first, blue eyes opening as greedy lungs sucked in mouthfuls of air. Air that was rendered useless when Kara spoke again. “I love you,” the blonde murmured, eyes searching. “I don’t… I don’t know how or when, but I do, I love you Katherine Kane.”

The largest smile Kara had ever seen crossed Kate’s face and she quickly found herself pulled into another kiss, one steamier than the last. She almost thought she would combust on sight as she felt a nimble tongue tease its way into her mouth. “I love you too,” Kate whispered in between kisses. “I love you too.”

Kara couldn’t help the smile that crossed her face as Batwoman started pressing feather light kisses across her cheeks and eyebrow. It was the most ridiculous thing, making out with your lover in the middle of a downpour, it was like the ending of a cheesy, romance movie, but those were always her favorite movies. She knew they had things to work out, they were both superheroes based on opposite sides of the country, but distance seemed like such a minor thing to conquer compared to what they’ve already overcome. Two broken hearts, finding their missing pieces in each other.

Chapter Text

“Darkness and Light: The Budding romance between two giants,” by Cat Grant.

Several weeks ago, the world awoke to possibly the greatest shock of your lives, though no greater the shock than Lois Lane’s real age or her first gray hair. I will admit, I was shocked as well, but I recovered soon enough and quickly came out of my self-imposed isolation to bring you the scoop of the century. I sat down with Supergirl and Batwoman personally and grilled them about their new relationship which graced the covers of newspapers, magazines and news outlets all over the world nearly a month ago. Batwoman was harder to pin down since she had reportedly returned to Gotham by the time I arrived, but I finally had both superheroes in my office, a feminist’s dream I assure you, and asked them the questions for which we all want answers.

Grant: So a few weeks ago both of you were photographed in a very intimate embrace in one of National City’s most beloved and romantic parks, is the picture authentic?

Supergirl: [Chuckling] It is authentic, we didn’t actually notice anyone else around until I heard the click of the camera.

Grant: Did you plan to be outed in such a way?

Batwoman: If you haven’t noticed, I’ve always been out and proud so this wasn’t really a problem.

Supergirl: And I’m not human, so human sexualities, labels, they don’t really apply to me, or I don’t really identify with any of them. I don’t see the need for such things really.

Grant: So how will you two work out your relationship with your superhero duties and since you’re both stationed on different sides of the country?

Supergirl: The distance is easy for me to cross in a few minutes, but since this is a new relationship, we haven’t delved to far into it.

Grant: Does that mean that we’re going to see Supergirl grace the skies of Gotham soon or Batwoman the streets of National City?”

Batwoman: Again, everything is still new, so it’ll be some time before any big changes are discussed.

Grant: I’ll get it out of you two one way or another. So you two have been trending on Twitter with #superbat on every single post, some lesser of the human species criticizing your relationship, but even more in speaking in support. Many have spoken about how you have inspired them to be truthful with themselves, so what would you say to them?

Supergirl: I want them to know that I love them, and they are all intelligent, beautiful, and amazing. And that they’re the brave ones, they’re the real heroes.

Batwoman: And to keep living, keep going despite what people say, keep being brave.

Grant: And while I have you both here, care to tell us a bit more about how you two got together in the first place, if you’ve been on a date, what and where did you go?

Supergirl: Prying Miss Grant?

Grant: People want answers to these questions.

Batwoman: Of course they do, um, our first date… Well, I would definitely consider it that time we went for a walk on the beach and Supergirl took me to this quiet spot that had unlimited onion rings and the best burgers.

Supergirl: ‘Turning to Batwoman’ You would consider that our first date, really?

Batwoman ‘To Supergirl’ Of course, it was the first moment that I realized, unconsciously, that I liked you a bit more than a friend would. It was probably one of the best first dates I’ve been on.

Supergirl: Yeah, no one was shooting at you.

The interview was cut short due to Supergirl and Batwoman needing to head out to counter an attack by the terrorist group Cadmus. Watching them fight together, one can’t help but notice how seamless of a team they are, much more than Superman and Batman could ever hope to be, and it is in this reporter’s opinion that this is due to the two women’s emotional connection with each other. They work together fluidly and it is beautiful to see them together, the contrast of light and darkness. While I do hope that the people of National City won’t lose our Supergirl, we can rest assured that she is in good hands.