Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When Lena arrives at Kara’s loft for Thanksgiving, she doesn’t bother knocking. As soon as her hand touches the doorknob to push inside, there’s a chorus of “Lena!” from the other side, planting a genuine smile on her face as she lets herself in.

There’s not a single ounce of reticence in her bones as she walks into a hug from James, tall and warm in a soft sweater. A call pulls her to the kitchen, where Kara pauses helping her mother cook just long enough to give her a fierce hug and introduce her to Eliza.

Just a hair shy of overwhelmed, Mrs. Danvers can barely spare a moment to offer an abbreviated smile before turning back to the stove. Lena’s instincts kick in automatically.

“Can I help--”

“Don’t even think about it,” her girlfriend fires back, stabbing a whisk towards Lena’s nose. “I know how long you were at the office last night, lady. You are officially on couch-warming duty. Go!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Winn answers on Lena’s behalf. He loops an arm through Lena’s and hauls her off into a whirlwind of laughter and conversation eased by the familiarity of countless game nights, brunches, sleepovers, and nights at the bar.

It doesn’t occur to Lena to be anxious, or nervous. Warmth fills her from head to toe as she melts into the couch, accepting the glass of red wine Alex offers. Soon they all but marinate in the smells that soon fills the apartment, until Lena’s stomach grumbles for the first time in recent memory. She’s hungry, and not just for food. She devours the comfort, the normalcy of it-- only the decorations and smells of cooking sets it apart from game night the week before, when Winn slaughtered them all at Rock Band.

Kara makes up for lack of girlfriend time at dinner by planting Lena between herself and Eliza. Drunk on comfort, Lena doesn’t even blink at the arrangement. High spirits carry through the meal, filling the air with laughter and loud voices vying to be heard.

“Eliza?” Lena lifts her own voice just enough to catch the woman’s attention. Hefting Winn’s contribution of parmesan mashed potatoes, Lena offers the bowl to Kara’s adoptive mother. “You should definitely try these. They are absolutely amazing.”

The smile that pinches back at her hits Lena like a smack to the face. Eliza takes the dish without meeting her eye, and though the whole exchange took less than a heartbeat, Lena feels the cheer drain from of her bones.

Out of the corner of her eye Lena scans the table for witnesses. Kara, gratefully, is distracted wrestling Winn for the glazed carrots. She hasn’t seen a thing.

But her sister has.

Alex’s face screws up with displeasure, and Lena’s heart lurches when she leans in, clearly intent on calling out her mother’s behavior. Alex only pauses when Lena shakes her head minutely.

Not here. Please.

Bristles deflate after a tense moment, as Alex leans back in her seat and shoots her mother a look Lena can’t quite discern, though it certainly feels… familiar. She doesn’t have time to dwell because then Kara grabs her hand and Lena pastes on a smile.

As comfortable as being welcomed feels these days, faking it is far more natural.

She lasts only as long as necessary to keep from seeming rude, then capitalizes on her late hours the night before to feign exhaustion and an early departure. Lena never realized how much she wanted Eliza to like her-- how much she expected to be liked-- until now. 

By the time Lena realized she had a battle to fight, she'd already lost.

When she gets back to her apartment, it feels all the colder for the warmth that’s steadily leaked from her.

“Well,” she announces to a dark, empty room. “Happy Thanksgiving.”

Chapter Text

Kara doesn’t suspect a thing when Lena begs off early. In fact she’s a little relieved that Lena’s finally letting herself rest, and nobody can blame her for succumbing to the post-feast fugue. Kara pretends she feels it too, and slouches against Alex on the couch as the boys clean up.

James leaves second, with Winn trailing only slightly behind, leaving the Danvers clan to their sleepy and overfull solitude.

“What is your problem?”

Alex’s tone bites through Kara’s haze, returning her to full wakefulness. She straightens in confusion, confusion that only grows when she realizes Alex posed the question not to her, but to Eliza.

Eliza seems equally taken aback. Her gaze flickers to the glass of wine in Alex’s hand, but Kara has only seen it get refilled once all day, and there’s still a finger left in the bottom of the goblet. Her hands are steady, eyes clear and piercing. Her sister is sober, and spoiling for a fight.

“Alex?” Kara’s gaze bounces between the two of them, struggling to get a read on the sudden tension between them.

Alex’s eyebrows lift an a telling shrug. “Mom doesn’t like Lena.”

“What? No! The night went great!” Didn’t it? Kara wracks her brain for any moment in the night that could warrant Eliza’s displeasure, and comes up empty. Turning to her adopted mother, she hopes to find denial and reassurance that she did, in fact, adore Lena. “Eliza?”

Eliza hesitates a heartbeat too long.

“Hah!” Alex barks. Her finger jabs towards her mother from around her wine glass. “Told you.”

Kara’s brain short circuits. She can only stare, as Eliza lifts her hands-- not in surrender, but deflection. “I’m sure Lena is lovely…”

The words kick Kara back into gear. “She is.”

“It’s not that I don’t like her--”

“Then, wha--?”

“I just don’t like the risk she presents.” Eliza licks her lips, gaze downcast as she searches for words that are more diplomatic than her true opinion allows. Kara feels her hackles lift, and struggles to keep her temper at bay as Eliza continues.

“You both have made choices on how to live your lives, and I’ve done my best to accept them, but I see the headlines that come out of this city. Murderous nanites and alien invasions, and poisoned swimming pools!”

“None of that was Lena’s fault,” Kara reminds her. She’s said as much so many times it’s imprinted on the back of her eyelids. The fact she has to say it tonight of all nights, to Eliza of all people, makes her entire body revolt. Her stomach churns ominously, and her throat locks tight.

“But she was involved, intimately involved! She may not share her family’s politics, but that doesn’t make her any less…”

Kara holds Eliza's gaze as her words trail off. “Less what?”

“Dangerous.” Eliza tilts her head towards Kara. “You may be bulletproof, but you are so trusting. It’s one of the many things I love about you, and it’s an important quality for Supergirl to have, but it leaves you so, so vulnerable. Especially when it’s someone with as much reach, and as much history, as Lena Luthor.”

Shaking her head, Kara can’t find words to respond. In her silence, Eliza turns to Alex. “Alex, you of all people must understand the degree of risk that Lena carries with her. Whether she means Kara harm or not, she is dangerous.”

Both Eliza and Kara turn to face Alex, who slowly blinks under the scrutiny. She swallows, sets her glass aside, and softly claps her hands on her knees, running her palms across the fabric of her pants.

“What I think…” she says carefully, “is that I wasted a lot of time agonizing over how today was going to play out.”

Her gaze lifts to meet her mother’s.

“You know, I thought you’d fall in love with Lena? I mean, any sane, un-murderous mother would be thrilled to have a daughter like Lena. She's... perfect, by any parental standard. And you, you have a history of collecting unclaimed daughters, so-- I assumed I’d have to sit here, and pretend to be okay with the fact that my mother put more effort into being kind to yet other wayward child than she does her own daughter. But, now I’m disappointed that isn’t the case, so…”

Alex draws back, scrubbing her cheeks as she blinks away the tears sparkling in her eyes.

“So, I think I’m done. I’m done worrying about what you think. About anything, or anyone.”

She rises, dusting her hands against her pants. Kara climbs up after her, unwilling to let her leave so unhappy. But Alex waves her back, and Kara sinks back onto her cushion as her sister retrieves her coat from the rack by the door.

“Happy Thanksgiving.”

The door closes behind Alex with a soft click that deafens Kara. Only her heartbeat is louder, pounding furiously in her ears as she stares at the empty space her sister left behind. After a long moment, Eliza loses some of her bristles, softening in the way she always does with Kara.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” she says gently, “but I can’t change how I feel.”

“Actually you can.” Kara only just manages to keep from snapping. “You just have to want to.”

“You are so strong, but sometimes you forget your own weaknesses. But Lena’s family won’t. They know every vulnerability--”

“You don’t know--”

“Lillian Luthor knows everything Jeremiah does,” Eliza reminds her stiffly. Then she softens, taking a deep, calming breath. “She is so incredibly dangerous, Kara, and if Lena isn’t a threat, she’s another weakness for her mother to exploit. I just don’t understand why you would choose to associate with--”

“Don’t finish that sentence.”

Kara nearly vibrates with rage. She closes her eyes and counts. Five beats for every inhale, and five for the exhale. When she trusts her voice again, she ungrits her teeth and opens her eyes.

“Eliza, you have been so kind to me, and you’ve sacrificed so much to help me survive the worst thing that could ever happen to me. You opened your arms and your heart to me in the worst period of my life, and I just-- I wish you could share the best part of it now.”

Eliza reaches for Kara’s hand. For the first time in her life, Kara pulls away from her touch, and rises to her feet.

“You’re welcome to stay here tonight,” she says, “but I-- I can’t be here with you. Right now. I just can’t.”

“Kara…”

“I love Lena. No one can change who her family is, but Lena has worked tirelessly to build a new reputation for herself. One of compassion, progress, and charity. And she’s succeeded. I thought you would enjoy meeting her. I’m sorry you didn’t. And I’m sorry you can’t see how amazing she is.”

Kara wraps her arms around herself, and fidgets with her glasses. She swallows and swallows and swallows, struggling to breathe around the lump in her throat. Eliza remains quiet as the silence stretches, but whether from guilt or anger, Kara can’t bring herself to look and find out.

Finally, Kara manages to squeeze out one last rush of words she can only hope makes sense.

“I’ll be staying with Alex tonight.”

She escapes through the window, and doesn’t look back.

Chapter Text

Alex doesn’t go home. She rides to Lena’s with a cool head, stopping only to get a tall bottle of something that comes in a brown paper bag. When Lena answers her knock twenty minutes later, she lifts the bottle in offering.

“Ho, ho, ho,” she drawls.

Lena rolls her eyes. “Wrong holiday.”

She lets Alex in anyway, and retrieves a pair of glasses from the kitchen while Alex plops onto her couch with a scowl. She accepts her glass from Lena as the other woman returns, smoothly picking her way over Alex’s spread legs.

“Sometimes I get jealous of you and your mom,” she delivers without overture. She pours Lena a glass first, then her own, as Lena blinks at her.

“I have to say that’s not one I’ve ever heard before.” Lena takes a long swallow, grimacing as the drink burns down her throat.

“No, I mean it,” Alex insists. “Having a villain for a mom would make it easier to dislike her, you know? It sucks to resent a mom who’s awesome to everyone else. It’s gotta be easier to hate her when she’s bent on genocide and world domination, right?”

When Lena finishes her glass in a single swallow, she motions for the bottle. Alex relinquishes it to nurse her own glass-- only to choke when Lena takes a long drag right from the bottle. She splutters into a laugh, even as guilt settles on her shoulders.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean--”

“No,” Lena coughs. “You’re right, it should. But it doesn’t. Because you still want the affection, and the approval, and you still hate yourself for not getting it. Except now you hate yourself for wanting it in the first place. Because you shouldn’t, not from people like them. But you do.”

When Alex drains her glass, she too eschews her glass and snags the bottle from Lena’s fingers to take a swig of her own. They trade back and forth for a while, and even though they don’t say much more, the air grows warmer the longer they sit.

Despite the rock that sits square in the center of her chest, Alex can’t help but think that this is how it should be. The forgotten children, boozing it up on the most family of holidays.

Alex takes a deep breath, and releases it in an audible whoosh.

“My mom’s an asshole.”

Something inside her twinges painfully, then releases into something like relief. “There. I said it. My mom’s an asshole.”

“Welcome to the club,” Lena hiccups, taking another short swig before handing it back. “Card carrying member since 2005.”

Alex cackles, only to be interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Kara steps in, hangdog expression heavy on her face. Alex shakes her head, still quaking with laughter.

“Nope, this clubhouse is members only.”

Kara pauses. “...what club?”

“Failure Children.”

“Asshole Moms!”

Lena and Alex answer at the same time, then burst into laughter that’s too loud and too sharp, but it dispels the pall that had settled over them. Lena caves first, and waves her girlfriend in. Kara slowly crosses the room to join them, filling the space they make for her between them.

“I need to apologize,” she offers quietly. “To both of you.” Alex’s hand fills hers, and Lena reaches out with clumsy fingers to tuck her hair behind her left ear. “I’m so sorry. Eliza has only ever treated me with love and patience, and-- I guess I just assumed she was like that with everyone. It blinded me to how hard she was on you, Alex. For years.”

Alex shrugs, like it doesn’t matter. As if seeing Kara take her place in her mom’s affections didn’t gut her every day for years. As though Kara’s assumption of Eliza’s support-- in anything-- didn’t stab her through the heart every single time.

Kara worms herself around to meet her girlfriend’s gaze. “And Lena… It never occurred to me that she wouldn’t welcome you. I swear if I even suspected that could be a possibility, I wouldn’t have--”

“It’s not your job to make the world like me, Karrrrra.” Lena blinks slowly, keeping time to the lazy roll of her Rs. “It’sa battle you’ll never win.”

“Actually, as your girlfriend, that is precisely my job,” Kara counters. But her playfulness fades as her sense of failure resurges. “But this isn’t the world. It’s my own family. And it didn’t even occur to me.”

Alex cranes her neck to let her head rest on Kara’s shoulder. “We forgive you.”

“Totally,” Lena agrees. She giggles, and the inappropriate sound breaks the somberness better than any words could. When she buries her nose in Kara's shoulder, Kara wraps her in a tight hug. Then Lena props her chin up and looks at Kara with puppy-dog eyes. “Wanna drink?”

Alex wiggles the bottle under Kara’s nose, earning a laugh of her own. Kara shoves it away.

“I’d prefer something that would actually affect me.”

“You know where it is.” Lena nudges her, and in a flash Kara is gone and back with a bottle of Aldebaran Rum. She and Alex toast, and Kara takes a long swig before snuggling in.

“Happy Thanksgiving.”

Chapter Text

They wake the next morning to pounding on Alex’s door.

“Jesus fuck,” Lena mumbles unhappily. “Make it stop.”

Kara sits up from their dogpile on the floor, scattering the pile of playing cards that had been gathered on her chest. Alex had yet to stir under her favorite blanket, soon rectified by Lena’s foot nudging the top of her head.

“Where’s your bathroom again?”

“Go ‘way,” Alex mutters, swatting the offending toes sharply.

The knock came again, somehow louder than before.

“I swear to god Kara if you don’t make it stop I’m going to vomit on Alex’s carpet.”

Alex’s?

Kara struggles to clear her sleep-fogged brain to piece together the events of the night before. Vague memories of wanting to watch Home Alone flashes through her foggy brain. Alex’s movie. Apparently, it had made more sense to fly all three of them here, rather than retrieving the dvd from Alex’s apartment and going back to Lena’s.

Mind clearing by the second, Kara climbs to her feet. Grateful that hangovers aren’t a thing on Earth-- even with Aldebaran rum-- she gamely surrenders herself as tribute and plods towards the door, letting her unhappy family remain on the floor.

Her snaps to full wakefulness when she opens the door to find her foster mother attached to the fist raised to knock again.

“Eliza!” Kara steps closer to the door jamb, closing the door close around her shoulders to hide her sister from sight. “What-- What are you doing here?”

Behind her, someone mutters a curse and a you’ve got to be kidding me.

Eliza’s eyes slide over Kara’s shoulder, unable to keep from trying to peek into the room. “We need to talk,” she offers softly. Thin lips press even thinner. “May I come in?”

“Umm… now’s not a great time…”

“Might as well,” Alex grunts. Kara hears her roll over and flop one arm over her face. “Not like she could be any more disappointed.”

“And we don’t care, right?” Lena chimes in.

“Right. Pfft.”

“Oh, god, don’t make that sound.”

“What? Pfft?”

A pillow thwumps, and an indignant squawk confirms Lena’s aim is unerring even in her current state.

Kara hesitantly steps aside, and pushes the door open wide. She catches a glimpse of Alex lifting the offending pillow off her face, before she makes uncomfortable eye contact with Eliza. She watches Eliza fight a frown as the mess of two humans peel themselves off the floor and stagger through the remnants of last night’s chaos to sag onto the couch.

Alex cradles her head in her hands, elbows propped on her knees. Lena doesn’t get too comfortable-- she sits just long enough to run her fingers through tangled, greasy hair before her eyes lock on Eliza. Kara watches her girlfriend consider her options, and fights a grin when green eyes roll.

Not doing it.

Lena pushes laboriously to her feet, and ignores Eliza completely as she carefully picks her way across the room to present her cheek to Kara for a kiss.

Kara bequeaths it readily, unable to keep herself from smiling. “You leaving?”

“Yeah,” Lena confirms, swallowing a hiccup. “I don’t need to be here for this.”

“Actually, Lena,” Eliza cuts in gently. “I would appreciate it if you stayed. What I have to say involves the whole family.”

A single dark eyebrow climbs towards Lena’s hairline. Kara admires the way that even miserable with hangover, Lena still manages to look down her nose at a woman two inches taller than her. More than that, with Eliza in the same heeled boots from yesterday and Lena barefoot.

“Actually, Eliza,” Lena says, parroting Eliza’s tone perfectly, “I’m not part of your family.”

It’s a fact Lena admits readily. But instead of hurt, the quiet smile she turns towards Kara is perfectly content. Lena has a family-- a family filled with laughter and hugs and rough mornings plagued by hangover. Eliza simply isn’t part of it. And Lena’s okay with that.

“Call me later?” Lena asks.

“Absolutely.” Kara leans in to smack another kiss against Lena’s cheek.

Lena receives it, but winces. “You kiss too loud.”

“Sorry.” Not really. “Need a ride?”

“Already texted my driver.” Lena tilts her head towards the couch. “Bye, Alex. Thanks for nothing.”

“Fuck off,” Alex drawls, affection plain in the lazy middle finger she lifts in Lena’s general direction.

Lena giggles, and leans in for one last sour-breath kiss.

“Happy Thanksgiving.”

Chapter Text

Eliza steps aside as Lena sidles past her, and fights the shame that rises in her throat when the door clicks shut. Kara shrugs her eyebrows, not offering an ounce of help before turning towards the kitchen. It’s been a long time since Eliza has felt as small as she does in this moment, watching one daughter fetch a glass of water for the other-- who ignores her entirely.

Reaching for her purse, Eliza fishes out two aspirin. Sitting on the couch next to Alex, she tips the pills into her daughter’s palm. Alex avoids her gaze, but shoves the aspirin in her mouth and gulps it down with the water she takes from Kara.

The hand that rubs circles on Alex’s back belongs to Kara. As much as Eliza itches to offer comfort, she is acutely aware that she no longer has the right. She’s lost whatever leeway she’d been entitled to as Alex’s mother. She can only hope that she still has a chance to earn it back.

“Girls--”

“Too loud.”

Taking a deep breath, Eliza tries again more quietly. “Girls--”

“Still too loud.”

Alex’s groan stills Kara’s hand between her shoulder blades. “Alex,” she murmurs.

Another groan. “Fine. What.”

“I came to apologize,” Eliza tries again. “To both of you...”

“Like we haven’t heard that before,” Alex drawls. She pauses, glaring at Kara. “Well, maybe you haven’t.”

Eliza’s heart falls. She’s never heard this kind of disdain in Alex’s voice, but it rolls so easily off her daughter’s tongue that Eliza knows it’s not something new. She doesn’t know how long Alex has censored herself for her sake, but Eliza can’t remember the last time Alex ever confided in her-- and that’s almost the same thing, isn’t it?

“I am sorry,” she murmurs, only to fall quiet when Alex snorts.

“Alex….” Kara warns again, but this time Alex shakes her head.

“No, you know what? No, Kara! I’ve been through this before. I finally snap, she apologizes for whatever set me off, and completely ignores the years of pressure and criticism and expectation--”

“I’m sorry for that too--”

“No, I don’t think you are. See, you apologize for putting so much pressure on me, and you still blame me for not warning Kara off dating Lena! I am so, so sick of it!”

Kara deflates. She pulls her hands back into her lap, and her gaze follows, avoiding Eliza’s eye. Eliza feels her own guilt settle more fully on her shoulders. Rationally, she always knew one day her daughters would make her feel small. Kara had, when she’d so passionately defended her decision to be a hero like her cousin. Alex hadn’t. Not yet. Not until this moment, when Eliza’s insignificance was measured not by Alex’s successes, but by Eliza’s own failures.

“Even the fucking cranberry sauce!” Alex continues, leaning back as she gestures sharply with angry hands. “You couldn’t have gone to a bit more effort? Exactly how much effort did you expect when you sent Kara the assignment the day before dinner, huh? Jesus fucking christ! You just can’t help yourself!”

Desperate to counter the accusation, Eliza fishes in her mind for a rebuttal, for the last time she issued praise to Alex, proof that she criticizes only when warranted. With a jolt, she realizes there isn’t one. None that she can recall in recent memory, and instead of proving her own point, she confirms Alex’s. The closest she finds is the last time they had this conversation-- the last time she apologized. And even then, it’s not praise: it’s a lack of criticism. It’s not the smoking gun she needs, and so she keeps it buried, unspoken.

“So, no,” Alex shakes her head, gesticulating sharply. “No, I don’t want to hear it this time. Keep your apologies. I don’t want them. Clearly they don’t mean anything to you, so why should they mean anything to me?”

Silence cuts in deep after Alex’s sharp outburst. Eliza can swear her own swallow echoes in the room, so thunderous it sounds. Alex shoves away from the couch, leaving Kara and Eliza to sit stiffly in her wake. Eliza doesn’t know what to say. Without apologies, without promises-- she has nothing.

“On Krypton,” Kara starts, quiet and hesitant, “our way was to demonstrate our understanding of our wrong before attempting to offer an apology. So that the injured party could see for themselves that the apology is true, and that the mistake wouldn’t happen again.”

To Eliza’s surprise, Alex starts to nod. “Yeah, I like that. I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“But I don’t know how to fix it if you don’t talk to me…”

“That is not my problem.”

“The burden of finding a solution lies with the offending party,” Kara says softly. “Entirely.”

And a burden it is. Eliza feels the weight of it settle on her shoulders, even as shame fills her nose and pours down her throat. It churns her stomach, to realize that she’s reaching for a cheat, instead of embracing the task before her. That on the brink of losing her daughter for good, she looked for a shortcut.

Taking a deep breath, Eliza nods. “All right. I will.”

The promise is received about as well as the last. Alex blinks, looking vaguely nauseated. “Great. Excuse me-- I need to go vomit.”

Her daughter staggers towards the bathroom, and Kara grimaces awkwardly as she moves to follow. “I should probably…”

“Yes,” Eliza agrees. She stands, trying not to look as awkwardly as she feels. “I’ll get out of your hair. I have a lot to consider.”

Kara nods.

“Kara--”

Kara pauses, turning back to face her.

“Thank you,” Eliza offers.

“We all have our prejudices,” Kara says. “Even me. It’s up to us to work past them, and keep the people we care about.” She offers a pale smile. “I don’t want to choose sides, but… Alex has felt alone for a long time. If I have to… I choose her.”

As though it had nothing to do with the fact that Eliza had been so cold towards Lena, or chided Kara’s choice to build a life with her. As though she hadn’t disappointed Kara just as keenly. Alex isn’t the only apology she has to make.

She swallows it before it can pour off her tongue, and resolves to do it the Kryptonian way.

So without promises, without apologies, there’s only one thing left for her to say.

“Happy Thanksgiving, sweetheart.”

Kara’s lips turn upwards, but the smile doesn’t reach her eyes. She then follows Alex to the bathroom, leaving Eliza to see herself out-- without a hug or a kiss goodbye. It’s hardly the holiday she’d expected when she arrived in National City this year, but perhaps… perhaps it’s the one she needs.

She’ll make it right. She has to. Before she loses her family for good.

Chapter Text

Lena recovers from Thanksgiving just as she always does. She puts it from her mind, and doesn’t give Eliza another thought as she gets wrapped up in the biggest fundraising season of the year. She doesn’t bother to ask Kara if Eliza will be at the annual christmas party. If she is, Lena now knows to give her a wide berth, and if she isn’t, then she’ll be able to be herself anyway.

She’s surprised, however, to return from lunch one mid-December day to find a large poinsettia on her desk.

“It arrived while you were out, Miss Luthor,” her assistant informs her. “Your next appointment is at 2pm--”

“Thank you, Hector. Please inform me when they’ve arrived.”

As soon as she’s alone, Lena hunts for a card. She suspects Kara as the culprit, or maybe even a season’s greetings from Sam in Metropolis. But she can totally and without hesitation say that Eliza’s was the absolute last name she expected to read on the bottom of the card.

Lena,

It’s a Danvers family tradition to exchange poinsettias at Christmas. This plant was cultivated from one I’ve had for years. I hope it will bring some color to your office this holiday season, and for many more to come.

I’ve invited the girls to Midvale for Christmas: I would be honored if you agreed to come as well. I have some questions regarding your Seattle TED Talk, and your innovative use of nanomechanical diagnostics in early cancer screenings.

I also have some photo albums you might be interested in seeing.

Merry Christmas.

Fondly,

Eliza Danvers

Lena sits back in her chair, reading and re-reading the note for a hint of passive aggressiveness, particularly in regards to the TED Talk. But Eliza inserted the word innovative, as though to be certain that Lena couldn’t interpret it any other way.

It feels genuine, despite the icy Thanksgiving.

“Huh.”

She reaches for her phone, and uses her speed dial to call Kara as warmth blooms in her chest.

“Hey. You are not going to believe what I got just now.”

“Poinsettias aren’t a Danvers family tradition,” Alex points out around a mouthful of pizza. An old episode of Veep plays in the background, a laugh track to their very  conversation.

“I know that,” Kara fires back, “but I wasn’t going to tell Lena that. So, it is now.” She shrugs. “Eliza’s trying.”

Alex snorts. “Yeah. I’ve noticed.”

Just the week before she’d gotten a handwritten note in the mail-- a clipping of a newspaper article detailing the capture of a behemoth alien before it could destroy L-Corp’s brand new children’s park.

It had been Alex’s idea to lure it away using an imitation mating call that at once both distracted and gentled it until they could maneuver it away from the population center.

When she saw the note, she’d expected her mother to attribute the win to Supergirl.

The two words written on a sticky note had proven her wrong.

Clever girl.

Alex certainly feels like a velociraptor as she flips the tail of her pizza into her mouth and rips it off with her teeth. Eliza’s efforts were… awkward. But not entirely unappreciated, as the note she’d stuck to her fridge testified.

“I think I liked it better when I could pretend she wasn’t paying attention,” she says anyway.

Kara kicks her gently. “You can’t have it both ways.”

“Says who?”

A harder kick answers her.

“I know, I know. I just-- it’s weird.”

“It’s new,” Kara corrects. “You’ll get used to it.”

Alex snorts. “Yeah, well… we’ll see how long it lasts.”

Right up until the next time Kara nearly dies. Or she herself nearly bites it. Which, given how this year has gone, seems only a matter of time. Then it’ll be her fault again-- her recklessness, her devotion to duty, her inability to follow regulation. She can just hear it now, all the things she should have done to prevent the unpredictable.

“She might surprise you. Kryptonian apologies have low recurrence rates.” Kara munches quietly for a long moment. “Are you going to Christmas?”

“Well, I have to now, don’t I? Besides, if I’m there maybe it’ll distract her from Lena.”

Kara hums, wiggling deeper in her seat. Excitement seems to emanate from her like light from the sun, and as much as Alex wants to resent her for it-- she can’t. Her chosen families are slowly merging. Anyone would be excited. Alex certainly would be, if she had someone to share Christmas with this year.

“I’m going to show Lena the planetarium,” Kara announces, reaching for another slice of Hawaiian.

Alex snorts. Lena could buy a better planetarium than the one in Midvale. “Of course you are. Nerd.”

“She’ll like the beach, too.”

“Lena hates the beach.”

“She hates the sun,” Kara clarifies. “And at Christmas it’ll practically be New England. She’ll be all bundled up in that sweater coat she likes, and the wind will blow her hair all dramatic as she stares out over grey, crashing waves like a sexy, forsaken poet, and-- oof!”

Alex smirks at Kara’s glare, indignant for the pillow that’s beaned her in the face. “I get it: you’re in love. Shut up.”

“Ho, ho, ho to you, too! Grinch.”

“I’m not the Grinch. I’m Max-- just along for the ride.”

Kara eyes her, unimpressed. “Uh huh. And what if I told you Sam was coming too?”

A piece of pepperoni finds its way down Alex’s throat, making her choke violently. Before she can recover, Kara shrugs with a knowing smile. “Yeah, I told Eliza that I’d already invited her and Ruby, and well… they’re officially invited too.”

“Wha-- buh--”

“They already RSVP’d.”

Alex’s attempt to scowl is thwarted by the broad, beaming smile that takes over her entire face. “Really?”

“Really!”

Kara beams right back. Alex stares at her-- the image of her sister pulses in time with her own heartbeat, suddenly hammering in her chest. Her hands shake as she lowers her plate to her lap. Shit.

A warm body cuddles up next to her, rubbing her arm in anticipation. “This is going to be the best Christmas ever,” Kara murmurs.

Yeah , Alex almost gasps. God. It might just be after all.

Chapter Text

Goddammit.

Lena really does look like a forsaken poet, all bundled up in her cable knit sweater out among the dunes. Her long dark hair is even blowing in the wind like she's some selkie in mourning for her seal skin.

From the kitchen window, Alex watches Kara watching Lena from the porch. She almost wants to hurk at the sappiness of it, but the long arms that rope around her waist pull her attention back into the kitchen.

"I'm glad that finally happened," Sam murmurs softly. "Lena was hopelessly in love that entire year I was in National City. I wanted to throttle her."

"Yeah, that wasn't a good year... for anyone." Alex's heart twinges a little bit at the reminder of losing Maggie. Kara suffered Mon-el's return and then said good-bye to him all over again.

Sam survived Reign. Twice.

"There were some good things about that year."

Sam's lips tickle the skin of Alex's neck, sending goosebumps across her chest and shoulders. Alex turns her head and presses their lips together in a chaste kiss-- all she can manage in the pale light of morning.

"Yeah, there was," Alex admits. She sinks back into Sam's embrace, and together they watch Kara finally set her coffee on the porch rail before striking out across the sand to join Lena at the dune's peak. There's a gentleness to the way Kara wraps around Lena from behind-- not unlike Sam has done.

"I've missed you."

"We've missed you too--"

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Ruby crows from the first landing. The teen pauses only just long enough to spot her mom in the kitchen before pelting in to say good morning. "It's Christmas!"

"You haven't missed it after all," Alex quotes from last night's movie. She wraps Ruby in a tight hug, then nudges her towards the back door. "Go tell your Aunt Lena that we're ready to do presents."

"Okay!" Ruby charges outside and slips and stumbles towards Lena and Kara. Alex watches her go with a smile on her face.

Sam nuzzles her neck.

"Come stay with me until Ruby goes back to school." The offer bursts out of Alex before she can think better of it. It's impulsive and selfish and all the things she swears she's not anymore, but she doesn't want to say goodbye tomorrow.

The body behind her droops, and Alex's heart falls.

"If I do that," Sam says in a low voice, "I don't think I'll ever leave."

What’s so wrong with that? Alex wants to ask. She already knows the answer. Sam and National City are like Lena and Metropolis: the crimes visited on the city aren't their own, but the culpability weighs just as heavily. So they both escaped.

"Why don't you come to Metropolis with us?" Sam asks. "Ruby would love it, and so would I."

She can't. She shouldn't. She has a job, an important one. And yet....

"Yeah?" is what comes out of Alex instead of a refusal.

Sam huffs a laugh. "Of course we would! Neither one of us has thought of anything else since we moved. C'mon, Alex. Everyone deserves a break, and you... you can spare a week, can't you?"

Watching Ruby come back towards the house with Kara and a rosy-cheeked Lena in tow, Alex sees their happiness radiating from them like the sun.

The dawn presses at her back, and presses warm kisses against her skin.

"Yeah. I think I can."