SECRET IDENTITY
DISCLAIMER: Supergirl does not belong to me at all.
SUMMARY: Maggie is hoping for a quiet night in with her girlfriend. What she wasn't expecting was for a beautiful, blonde alien to fly right into her girlfriend's apartment. But, she's not worried...really.
NOTES: Semi-related oneshot to Mistaken Identify. Is technically part of the same universe.
ONE
It wasn't unusual for Detective Maggie Sawyer to be curious about the unknown; however, as this was her first visit to her girlfriends apartment, and said girlfriend was out on a take-out run, Maggie was making good use of the alone time.
Alex was a bit of a neat-freak, Maggie had observed, and there was a precision to her belongings that potentially spoke of a major case of OCD.
The photos that were displayed throughout the apartment were mostly of the Danvers sisters, Alex and Kara grinning happily with their arms slung around each other's shoulders. As always, seeing either of the Danvers' sisters smiles brought a smile to the detectives lips as well. Plus the photo of Alex in her punk-rock phase was absolutely hilarious.
Wandering aimlessly through Alex's home, Maggie ended up in the kitchen and took a moment to rifle through the fridge, popping open a beer and taking a deep gulp, grateful that it was the end of the week and she would be able to use the weekend to wind-down. After more than her fair share of cases involving aliens, Maggie felt she was due for an alien-free weekend.
Of course, with the way Maggie's luck ran, there just so happened to be an alien making her very graceful entrance through the wide-open widow of Alex's living room.
"Alex? You home yet?"
Maggie felt her heart rate spike, and her hand went for her service weapon, un-holstering her gun with practiced ease. Her bottle was set quietly onto the counter, and Maggie eased her way out of the kitchen and into the living room, uncertain what to expect from the surprise visitor.
Finding Supergirl in your girlfriend's apartment certainly wasn't what the detective had been expecting. She reluctantly returned her weapon to its home on her hip and stared at the alien woman curiously.
"Do you often fly into women's apartments?" Maggie asked.
"Uh...not that often," same the sheepish reply. "I was just looking for my – uh, Alex."
Maggie felt herself tense with the slipped possessive descriptor.
"She's out," Maggie said tersely. "And I'm not so certain she'd really like that you just let yourself in like that."
"No, she's pretty used to it by now," Supergirl replied blithely. "Do you know when she'll be back, it's kind of important."
The detective took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She respected Supergirl, truly she did. The crime rate in National City was at an all time low thanks to the efforts of the woman in front of her. Alien rights were being discussed with more reasoned responses and critical thinking than ever before, and feminism was on the rise in the city with people now responding so positively to a female role model.
All of that, however, didn't mean that Maggie had to like the woman.
"Trouble?" she forced herself to ask.
"No, well, probably not. Maybe? I don't think so, at least. But Alex is very good at helping me with this sort of thing," Supergirl said.
As an officer of the law, Maggie was sworn to protect and serve, even if the threat seemed extremely vague.
"What sort of thing?"
Supergirl looked extremely uncomfortable, and for a moment there was something in her expression that reminded Maggie of Alex. It looked like that split second of hesitation before laying an open heart out for all to see that Alex tried so hard to hide.
"There's this girl - "
Maggie couldn't help but snort. "Yep, I been there."
Supergirl smiled half-heartedly. "I think she's flirting. But, apparently I'm terrible at knowing when people are flirting, so I figured Alex could help me with that."
"And, just to check, this girl isn't Alex, right?" Maggie questioned bluntly.
"Alex?! Me and Alex? No, no, no, no, no, no. No." There was an awkward shuffle as Supergirl took a step backwards, as though trying to physically distance herself from the suggestion.
Amused, and feeling a little more charitable, Maggie took a seat on Alex's couch and gestured to the spare seat for Supergirl to join her.
Supergirl hesitated, looking down at her crime-fighting outfit. "Gimme a sec."
There was a whoosh of air, and before Maggie could even take her next breath, a second whoosh as Supergirl was back, wearing a pair of yoga pants and an old football jersey. "I think I need a beverage for this conversation," Supergirl said, heading comfortably towards the kitchen. Maggie noticed the jersey had the name 'Danvers' spelt out across the back and tried not to read too much into it. "You want?"
Maggie tried to reign in her discomfort at seeing another woman walking so confidently around Alex's apartment, as though she'd been there hundreds of times before. She'd known Supergirl and Alex were buddies, she'd just never stopped to think what being buddies might actually mean. And with Alex just beginning to work out her own sexuality and all the feelings that came with that, Maggie couldn't help but wonder how she stacked up against a bona fide super-hero.
"There should be an open beer on the bench," Maggie called.
"Got it." The casually dressed superhero returned at a far more sedate pace than she'd left, handing the bottle to Maggie and then curling her feet under her to take a seat on the couch, balancing a glass of milk easily as she settled into her seat.
"You don't drink?" Maggie asked.
Supergirl crinkled her nose and shook her head. "It doesn't actually do anything for me. Alex tried to get me drunk once, but mostly I just sent her broke," she said. "Oh, but I took her to a casino, and we totally cleaned up, so she wasn't mad at me about that."
"You've known each other a long time, huh?" Maggie asked curiously. She'd never actually asked Alex about her relationship with Supergirl, uncertain she really wanted to know the answer.
"Sometimes it feels like forever," she replied with a sweet smile. "Can I just say, I'm really glad you and Alex worked things out. She hasn't been this happy in, Rao...years!"
A layer of Maggie's defensive melted away at the sincere declaration. "And you and she...never?"
Supergirl looked startled. "Like, she and I, together? No." The denial was emphatic. "Well, technically there was a minor misunderstanding, but that didn't count."
Maggie tried to ignore the way her pulse spiked. "Misunderstanding?"
"It's embarrassing," Supergirl said, and then hid behind her glass of milk, drinking slowly to try to avoid any further conversation. When the milk was gone, leaving only a milk moustache on her upper lip that had Maggie trying not to snicker, Supergirl felt the weight of the silence overwhelm her and began to ramble. "It was just a bit of a cultural misunderstanding, that's all. On Krypton, there wasn't a word for adoption, and my cousin being the giant dork that he is, misappropriated a Kryptonese word, and accidentally told me that he'd arranged for Alex and I to be betrothed."
"Uh, that's quite a misunderstanding," Maggie said. She didn't know whether bursting into nervous laughter would be appropriate for the situation and tried very hard to contain the snort that was begging to be released.
"I was under that impression for three weeks, and there was a language barrier so Alex didn't even know that that's how I understood our relationship."
"So, how did you work it out?"
"Well, she got asked to her junior prom by Benjamin Grey and I was distraught that her parents were encouraging her to say yes. I asked them what I'd done to fall out of their favour, and after they worked out that the Kryptonian word Kal-El had used didn't mean what he thought it'd meant, they very gently explained that Alex and I weren't going to be married. We were going to be sisters."
Maggie froze, her beer bottle coming to a halt before it could reach her lips. The detective stared in disbelief at Supergirl, taking in her famous facial features and trying to see past the superhero. Only to find her little wingman who had given her some of the best advice she'd ever received in her life, and lead to her decision to go after the woman that she loved.
"Kara?"
Kara smiled, and Maggie suddenly wondered how the hell she hadn't seen it before.
"Holy shit, are you serious? Glasses and a ponytail, that's your damn disguise? Shit, how did I not see that?"
Kara laughed lightly. "You'd be surprised how easily people overlook Kara Danvers."
"No, kid. I don't overlook you, at all. I guess I just don't expect to see the Girl of Steel being hidden behind the Girl of Argyle."
"Hey, I rock those cardigans, and you know it," Kara replied.
Maggie grinned. "Yeah, you really do." She breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn't even realised she'd been holding. "Thank you. For trusting me with this."
"Well, honestly I only told you because I was a little concerned for my safety if I ever wanted to visit Alex again. If you had Heat Vision, I'd be a goner," Kara teased. "But, I like that you'd go toe-to-toe with an alien to fight for my sister."
"Yeah, she'd be worth every second of getting my ass beat by Supergirl," Maggie said, a soft smile on her face.
Kara smiled happily and hugged the cushion beside her happily. She really did love happy endings. Especially when it involved her sister's happiness.
"Wait, hang on," Maggie said, remembering the beginning of their conversation suddenly. "If you don't have a thing for Alex, what girl were you talking about?"
Kara's cheeks burned a bright red. "Um, it's a secret?"
"Oh no, not a chance Little Danvers. I just completely embarrassed myself by being jealous over you and Alex, it's your turn now."
"What how did my story of the betrothal gone wrong not completely trump that?" Kara cried indignantly.
"Because that story is hilarious, whereas mine is just embarrassing. Now, come on, spill. Who is this woman of mystery, and which version of you is she flirting with?" Maggie asked.
"It'sLenaLuthor,andIthinkshe'sflirtigwithboth," Kara mumbled in one breath.
Maggie took a moment to decipher the garbled sentence and then started snickering. "Wow, that's complicated kid. You do not do things in half measures, do you?"
Kara pouted and tried not to squish the stuffing out of her hugging pillow, burrowing down into the couch, completely aware that she was sulking.
"It's not my fault. She's just so pretty, and every time I'm near her the world kind of just stops, you know?" Kara said.
Maggie smiled. "Yeah. I do know."
Kara grinned happily, grateful that Maggie and Alex had worked through their issues to finally come together. "So...what do I do?"
"I'm gonna give you the same advice I gave your sister," Maggie said. "Life is too short, and you should kiss the girls that you want to kiss."
Kara nodded thoughtfully. "That's not bad. You're very good at this," she complimented.
"Yep, that's me. Helping the Danvers sisters through their girl troubles since 2016," Maggie teased.
Kara's super-hearing picked up the sound of her sister's familiar footsteps walking up the street towards the apartment. With the elevator ride, Kara's sister would likely be home in the next three and a half minutes.
"Alex is nearly home," she said, standing form the couch and making her way towards the window she's entered through.
"You're not staying?" Maggie asked.
Kara smiled brightly. "Nah, I've heard all the advice I needed to hear. Thanks."
"Anytime," came the reply, a truthful statement that surprised the detective, who usually guarded herself much closer than she had tonight.
"Hey, do me favour?" Kara asked. "Don't tell Alex I told you about the Supergirl thing? Watching her come up with excuses for my erratic behaviour is about my favourite thing in the world. She's surprisingly inventive."
Maggie couldn't help but remember her first official meeting with Kara Danvers, where Alex had introduced the two women as though they'd never met before. Kara had had to race off part-way through dinner, and Alex's excuse had been very creative. Kara rescued a baby deer, and she has to make sure it gets fed every two hours. Of course, Maggie had absolutely believed that Baby Danvers would 100% have rescued a baby deer and kept it in her apartment, but Maggie gave Alex points for creativity.
"Alright, but I'm not going to be the one who confesses that you already told me," Maggie said. "She'd murder me."
"I'm tough, I can take her," Kara boasted.
Maggie looked at her thoughtfully. "No you couldn't."
Kara smiled sheepishly. "No, I really couldn't. Goodnight detective. And thanks."
Kara was out the window a moment before Alex opened the front door and let herself in.
Maggie smiled and stood from the couch, making her way over to Alex and greeting her with a lingering kiss. "Hey."
Alex smiled, and deposited the bag of take-out food onto the table before wrapping Maggie in a tight hug. "Hey. Miss me?"
Maggie grinned. "Nah."
Alex smirked and kissed the detective fiercely. "I don't believe you."
"No?"
"Nope. Highly skilled investigator, here, you know."
"I do know."
"You find everything okay? Got settled in here?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, everything was fine. I like your photos. You and Baby Danvers were cute. I'm looking forward to getting to know her better at game night." Feeling mischievous, Maggie couldn't help but comment: "you know, I'm surprised you haven't invited Supergirl to your sister's game nights. She'd probably fit right in with Kara's friends."
Maggie watched carefully for any sign of a nervous tick. It was actually slightly unsettling how good Alex was at keeping Kara's secret to herself. "Supergirl doesn't think it's safe to socialise like that. With civilians, I mean. She'd never forgive herself if anyone was hurt for being friends with her."
"Still, it wouldn't hurt to ask, right? You guys are buds. You should ask her over for a movie night or something."
"I'll think about it. Hey, you hungry?" the shift in conversation sounded completely natural coming from Alex, a lifetime of practice of deflection and secret keeping was completely second nature.
If you'd asked Maggie even an hour ago if this would have bothered her, she'd have been able to reply emphatically 'yes'. But after her sit-down chat with Alex's sister, who loved Alex with every beat of her alien heart, Maggie understood completely.
And, at least now she knew there was one less woman to compete with for Alex's affections.