Disclaimer: I do not own Supergirl.
Author's Notes: Ashlee requested "something angsty about Cat and her son with a dash of SuperCat would be greeeeeeaaaaaat!" and of course I'm throwing a Christmas spin on it because why not! 'Zehdh' means family and 'ukiem' means love.
Ohana
Carter had hit that rebellious, angsty teenage phase. And there was nothing Cat could do to please him. Her sweet little boy had grown up into a raging pile of hormones, at least two inches taller than her already and constantly pushing her away. He was less understanding about her job now, which frankly, she had pulled even farther back from with her recent romantic entanglement but it was never seemingly enough.
Now it was Christmas Day and Carter was furious with her because he thought she didn't care enough about him to personally shop for his presents and she had tried to explain how meticulous she was in the list she gave her shopper. The New Years edition of CatCo Magazine had kept her at the office for far too many late nights, edits left and right due to incompetent, holiday distracted employees. Cat even had a gift she found herself a few months after his birthday she saved until Christmas to give him but it wasn't good enough.
"Saying sorry does nothing!" Carter growled out, hands fisted at his sides as he glared down at his mother curled up on the couch. "You don't even put in any effort with me lately. It's always been about your stupid magazine and stupider company. It's why you lost Adam, it's why you lost my father and you know what, you're close to losing me too. Why am I never enough?!" he practically howled the last line, too focused on his anger to note the sadness crossing his mother's face, the twitch at his harsh barbs.
"Carter...I...I love you, sweetie. Sooo...so muc-" Cat could barely speak around the lump in her throat, frozen to her spot in the corner of the couch, wishing she were wrapped up in her lover's arms and had that extra support right now. Being cut off had her closing her eyes tightly and wishing things were different.
"It doesn't feel like it!" Carter said, hardly refraining from stomping his foot like a petulant child. "I...I don't even know anymore. I give up," he announced, making to turn on his heel and head back to his bedroom only to feel strong arms encircle his chest and hold him securely to a warm body.
"What's going on?"
Cat's eyes opened and landed on the blonde who ensnared her son.
"Kara..." both Grants breathed out quietly. Carter looked down shame-faced, Cat's eyes welling with tears further.
"It's Christ—mas," Kara's voice cracked, biceps flexing under her Supergirl suit as she itched to hug Carter tighter, more properly than her current hold to prevent his escape. "Wha...what's the matter?" she asked.
Carter gulped, breathing in heavily but kept his mouth firmly shut, his anger dissipating to the slightest of tremors in his neck muscles.
"Apparently, I'm alienating my son. Again," Cat managed to say after a moment, refusing to lose eye contact with the superhero. Though it hurt to look at Carter, she knew she was safe in those pools of blue, that Kara would be understanding, more than even the honesty she shared with Carter.
"No...no that's impossible," Kara said, shaking her head and Cat sighed as she hadn't expected Kara to become deluded. "Alienating one's child is more like burdening them at thirteen to take care of an infant, sending them across the universe to live with the memories of an entire lost planet, keeping the truth of their sister's less than moral actions hidden, sending that sister away along with many others undeserving of that fate, and creating a Rao-forsaken non-Kryptonian virus that ended up in the wrong hands and killed so many innocent refugees..." Kara spoke passionately, overtaken for a moment at the recollection of her parent's misdeeds, grateful for the support system she had to help her through the developments. Breaking eye contact with Cat for a moment as she composed herself to make the point, arms tightening slightly around Carter, who had come to rest a single hand around her forearm.
"That is what alienating one's child looks like so whatever...this is, whatever has happened, we can work through this. But we have to work together. El Mayara, zehdh," Kara bit her lip, finally releasing Carter slowly to stand to his side and view both of the Grants evenly.
It was tempting to mention how this turned into a game of 'my horse is bigger than yours' but Carter held his sharp, sarcastic tongue in check to not upset Kara further. She was by all means his second parent now. She put in more effort than his father, loved him to Rao and back, and always enjoyed spending time with him, no matter how small and banal the situation was.
Kara was his mother just as Cat was.
"I'm sorry, ma," he whispered, fingers flexing in urge to hug Kara. Instead, he leaned forward and rested his forehead against her shoulder.
"I know..." she replied, reaching her hand to Cat. " Ukiem," Kara murmured when Cat was close enough, wrapping an arm around her comfortingly. Cat melted into Kara, tears slipping down her cheeks as she rested her cheek on Kara's other shoulder to watch Carter. Hesitating for a moment, she reached out and rubbed soft circles over their son's back.
They were a little broken but they were a family and they could pull through this.