Someone is just laying in the garden in front of her apartment building.
Alex sighs, all she wants to do is go to bed after a hard day at the DEO, but no. Now, she has to help this admittedly extremely hot woman who has decided to take a nap by those thorny roses. Perfect.
Alex slumps her shoulders and stalks over the unknown woman. She's only a few feet away when she realizes something. The woman is bleeding. All of her previous annoyance flies out a window as she drops her bag and runs the distance separating the two of them.
She drops to her knees beside the mysterious woman, instantly moving her fingers to check for a pulse. Alex breathes a sigh of relief when she finds one. Next, she scans for all possible injuries, feeling even more relief when she figures out that the bleeding isn't coming from a life-threatening wound.
Alex takes her jacket off and holds it to the shallow stab wound. That's when the woman awakens and sits up incredibly fast.
"Woah, there," Alex exclaims, leaning backwards and out of arms reach, "calm down, you are hurt!"
There's a wild look in the mysterious woman's eyes, but it's gone in an instant. Alex knows she didn't imagine it though, she was trained to notice that kind of stuff.
"Hey!" Alex shouts when the woman attempts to stand, "you're bleeding. Calm down and let me help, goddamnit!"
The woman growls, "I do not need your help!"
Alex rolls her eyes, helping the woman up. Once they're both standing, Alex steps back and shakes her head with a sigh.
"Okay, listen," Alex stares into the woman's eyes, "you don't want help, I get that. But my apartment is right here and there's no way I'm going to be able to sleep, now."
She takes a step forward, hands held up to show she means no harm, "So just let me patch you up and then we can go our separate ways."
The woman glances at her side where the bleeding has slowed before sighing, "If you wish. Where is your abode?"
"Um," Alex points up at the window for her apartment, "there. Come on, we'll take the barely working elevator. My name is Alex, by the way."
The woman hums and nods, "Astra."
The name sparks some memory, and she feels like she should know this person. Alex brushes the feeling away, turning and leading the way to the entrance of the building. Astra follows, and in minutes she's unlocking her door and letting Astra into her apartment.
"Make yourself at home," Alex waves her hands around.
Astra nods and makes her way to the couch. She sits almost regally, like her posture needs to be kept perfect even when injured. Alex files away that information for later.
Alex walks to the bathroom and grabs her first-aid kit, speeding back to Astra with antiseptic, gauze, and bandages. Alex hesitates before lifting Astra's shirt and has to work extremely hard not to look at a certain someones abs.
With a deep breath, Alex cleans the wound and dresses it, knowing that its shallow enough to not need stitches. Halfway through dressing the wound, Alex glances up at Astra. Astra, who has leaned backwards, head resting against the back of the couch, eyes closed, mouth slightly open, and looking like a fucking goddess.
Alex takes deep breaths and focusses back on the wound. Minutes later, she's standing and walking over to the garbage can, throwing away the bloody gauze. She shuffles back to Astra, who is now sitting against the couch with her back straight, eyes open, and mouth pressed together tightly.
"So," Alex rubs her hands together, sitting beside Astra but making sure not to touch, "how'd this even happen?"
Astra seems so pause before sighing, "It was a simple…mugging. They ran away soon after I fought back."
Alex nods, she does seem like someone with military background. Makes sense.
"How come you were passed out in the garden, though?" This is what Alex has been wondering about, how'd Astra get there?
Again Astra pauses, but Alex let's her take all the time she needs, "I must've been walking back to my residence and gotten lost."
It's a while later that Alex learns about the poison that caused Astra to pass out. To learn that the poison had flushed out of Astra's system just before Alex saw her.
Alex nods once again, "Well…I'm glad you'e all right."
There's a lengthy and slightly awkward pause before Astra bolts to a standing position, startling Alex slightly.
"I shall be going, it was nice to make your acquaintance, Alex," Astra nods and turns towards the door.
"Wait," Alex stretches out her hand, "I wouldn't mind, you know, seeing more of you."
Astra freezes, fury rolling of her in waves, and Alex is confused. Was it something she said?
"You wish to…fornicate," Astra scoffs, "of course, you are all alike."
"Wait…what?" it takes Alex a moment, "no!"
Alex shakes her head while a blush creeps its way onto her face and steps forward with her palms up, "That's not what I meant! It's an expression, I just meant I'd like to hang out! Get to know you."
"Oh," Astra turns around, a slight blush colouring her cheeks, "I understand. I would also like to…hang out with you."
Alex chuckles and nods, "Do you…have a phone number?"
Astra's face twists into the most comical expression and it takes all of Alex not to laugh, "I do not have…that."
Alex quirks a brow, "Okay, give me your hand."
Even more confused then before, Astra stretches her arm out and Alex grabs the hand, taking a pen and writing her own number on it.
"Here," Alex smiles releasing the hand, "that's my number. Once you get a phone, call me. Or you can use a payphone. Either way, call me?"
Astra nods slowly, inspecting the writing on her hand, "Yes, I endeavour to…call you. Soon."
Alex's smile grows and she nods, "You should probably head on home."
With another nod, Astra turns to the door again. Alex follows behind Astra and opens the door.
"Thank you for your help," Astra glances to her feet for a moment, "I am forever indebted to you."
"Nah," Alex grins, "just call me when you can and we'll call it even."
Astra nods and heads to the elevator, speaking just before the elevator doors close, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Alex."
The doors slide closed and Alex smiles, "Nice to meet you too, Astra."
Over the course of three months, the two of them grow closer. They go to movies together, get coffee together, Astra sleeps over on particularly hard days, but Alex doesn't know what they are to each other. Best friends? Girlfriends? Lovers? What?
At the end of the third month of knowing each other, Alex resolves to talk about it. To figure out what this weird but welcomed relationship is. The day she's about to ask Astra, Astra let's something slip.
"I have never before tried anchovies on pizza," Astra sniffs the slice of pizza that is covered in anchovies while Alex snorts quietly, "my husband hates them."
Alex chokes on her coke…husband?
"H—" Alex coughs, tears forming from lack of oxygen, "husband?"
"Yes," Astra leans forward patting Alex's back, "my husband. No more about him, are you okay?"
Alex nods and reigns in her emotions, of course Astra isn't interested in her like that. She's married for fucks sake, and here she was about to ask if they should consider each other girlfriends.
"Didn't know you were married, that's all," Alex lets a fake smile slip onto her face, hoping Astra buys it, "I need to go to work, I forgot something. You should head on home."
Astra lets out a startled breath, "We only just arrived here."
"I know," Alex's smile is getting faker by the second, "and I'm sorry, but I have to go."
"Yes," Astra nods, standing and shrugging on her jacket, "I understand. When shall I see you again?"
"I don't know," Alex is putting on her jacket and picking up her bag faster then ever before, "some time. I'll see you, Astra."
Alex bolts out of the door and exits the pizza place in mere seconds, leaving Astra to stand there incredibly confused and slightly hurt, "Goodbye, Alex."
—
It starts small. First, Alex cancels on going out to get coffee. Then it's saying no to movie nights. Finally, she starts making excuses as to why Astra can't sleep over anymore. At this point, Alex is just glad nobody knew about this thing with Astra. It would've made letting her go that much harder.
Eventually, Astra stop reaching out. Eventually, they stop talking all together. Alex doesn't regret her decision, she couldn't fall in love with a married woman. She just couldn't. That doesn't make living any easier.
Alex wakes up and doesn't want to get out of bed because she doesn't get her usual good morning text from Astra. Alex walks out of her bedroom and wants to go back in because Astra isn't asleep on her couch. Alex enters her Noonan's and wants to collapse because Astra isn't sitting in their usual seats.
Alex may not regret her choice, but living with it is incredibly difficult. That's why she buries herself into her work, doing all she can to help the DEO. Figuring out all kinds of scientific break throughs, watching all kinds of aliens. The weight of knowing she pushed Astra away doesn't lift, but it becomes easier to ignore.
That's when the Kryptonians attack.
She's on her flight when it suddenly dips. Looking out the window, Alex sees the plane descending in a definitely unsafe manner. Her eyes close and she grips the armrests on either side of her. There's two people and one thought that are in her mind now that she thinks she might die.
The thought is, why did I get on this flight last minute? The two people are Astra and Kara. Kara needs her, needs her sister to protect her. There's a lot she needs to do for Kara still. Then there's Astra.
Astra probably thinks Alex doesn't care about her. Astra is out there and she isn't even going to know that Alex is dead. There are so many regrets flying through her mind in that moment, and all of them surround how she dealt with the issue of Astra being married.
Now, she might not get to fix all her mistakes.
That's when Alex realizes, she's done all of this to stop herself from falling in love with Astra. The problem with that plan is, she already has.
Suddenly, Kara is flying the plane to safety. Suddenly, everything is going crazy because Kara is now Supergirl. Kara is now fighting Vartox. Then there's a Hellgrammite and now she's been kidnapped by the Fort Rozz escapees.
Just two months ago she was having coffee with Astra…what the fuck, life? God, Alex wishes she could go back in time. If she's going to die, she doesn't want to die with all these regrets.
Alex stiffens when she hears voices. One is obviously that fucking Hellgrammite that just dragged her into the warehouse. The other one, though, is…familiar. She can't place it, but she just knows she's heard that melodic voice before. The footsteps from the unknown person get closer and Alex squares her shoulders. They may be incredibly stronger and she may be at their mercy, but she's Alex Danvers and she won't back down.
All of those thoughts are forgotten when the person walks into her line of sight. Alex chokes on her own spit, shaking her head, blinking her eyes, and pinching her wrist. She does everything she can to wake up from this dream, but it's not a dream. She is really here.
"I've been waiting quite some time to get one of you alive," Astra smirks.
It's obvious Astra doesn't recognize her, what with Alex bleeding and dirty on the ground in a dark warehouse looking nothing like all those times they've seen each other before.
That doesn't matter though, as Alex whispers with tears in the corners of her eyes, "Astra…"
Astra pauses, her smirk falling, as she finally gets a good look at the woman on the ground. It only takes a second of truly looking for Astra to realize who is bleeding on the ground right in front of her.
"Alex—" Astra gasps out.
Anything more that was going to be said is cut off as Kara blasts through a wall and tackles Astra to the ground.