"No, Kara! Absolutely not!" Alex chopped her hand through the air several times. "I'm NOT ready for this!"
Supergirl perched her hands on her hips, tilting her head and grinning. "Come on, Alex. This is a GREAT idea."
"No! Not when I…" The agent looked around and lowered her voice. "I haven't even told him I'm gay yet." She shook her head. "I can't just walk up to him and say 'Hey J'Onn, I need you to pretend to be my mother so I can practice coming out to her… oh and by the way… I'm gay!'" Her voice had risen to an almost shrieking level that was making Kara's alien ears very uncomfortable.
The hero stepped forward, gently grasped her sister's forearms and ducked her head to meet her frightened brown eyes. "Alex," she said softly. "Breathe. J'Onn loves you. Nothing is going to change that."
"I know," Alex nodded. "I'm just… I'm hurt and upset. I don't think I could take any more rejection."
"I already know," came a deep voice by the door. J'Onn was there, just watching them. "I'm sorry to intrude on a private moment but I could sense that you were upset, Alex." He moved closer, his face gentle. "I've known for a while." He smiled and tapped the side of his head. "And Kara is right. Nothing will change how I feel about you."
Alex rolled her eyes. "I'm such an idiot."
Kara smiled sympathetically. "No, you're not. You're amazing, Alex. And I understand if you don't want to tell Eliza yet but, bear in mind that she'll be here for Thanksgiving and she ALWAYS knows when something is up."
The agent slowly walked away, her hands perched on her hips as she shook her head. She knew Kara was right. Even if she didn't tell her, her Mom would know something was wrong for sure. "I don't want another Thanksgiving like last year," she finally replied. "I'm going to go to Midvale tomorrow. And you, Supergirl, are coming with me for moral support."
"Me?" Kara replied, her hand on her chest. "Well… sure… but isn't that something you'd want to talk to Eliza about… alone?"
"Oh hell no!" Agent Danvers shook her head emphatically. "That would be much too terrifying!"
"Are you going to tell her about Maggie?" the hero asked softly.
Alex glanced at J'Onn who smiled and ducked back out of the room. "He's so sweet," she chuckled. Then her face sobered and she walked to the wall where she slid down to sit on the floor with her knees tucked up under her chin. Kara joined her there, her red-booted legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles. "I don't know," the agent went on. "I had this… silly fantasy where Maggie and I were happy together and you loved her like a sister. And, when Mom came for Thanksgiving, we spent it together, the four of us, as a family." Her breath hitched and she rubbed impatiently at her eyes. "Stupid."
Kara wrapped both arms around her sister and drew her close, briefly kissing her forehead. "Not stupid at all," she murmured. "You're in love with Maggie, Alex. It's natural to want that." She smiled then. "I'll drive to Midvale with you. Just the two of us in your truck with snacks, drinks and road trip music. And we'll tell Eliza together."
Alex smiled and pressed closer to her sister, loving her even more than she thought possible. "Ok… but no N'Sync."
..
Alex laughed as she watched her sister, who was using her coke bottle as a microphone and dancing in her seat as she belted out the latest song in a long series of songs. Kara was driving with one hand as she performed her solo but luckily, her enhanced senses allowed her to focus on both driving and her new career as Celine Dion at the same time. Very few people knew that Kara had an amazing voice and Alex could hold her own against her sister so they'd spent the three-hour drive competing in the Danvers iPod Challenge. However, they were close to their home town now and as the final strains of That's the Way it is faded away, Kara could see the crease forming between Alex's eyebrows that always meant she was feeling stressed. She put the bottle down and took Alex's hand, lacing their fingers together. "Everything is going to be ok. Eliza loves you more than anything else and she WILL be ok with this."
"I know," Alex replied with a little smile. "I'm just having flashes back to that time I tried to tell her I was dating Robbie Franklin."
Kara winced. "Yeah, she hated Robbie Franklin… but only because she caught you two making out on the porch swing with his hands under your shirt! Way to be discreet, Alex."
"I know," the older Danvers chuckled. "But it was spur of the moment and terrible timing and it wasn't even enjoyable."
"And now we know why," Kara grinned, elbowing her sister teasingly. "His name wasn't Roberta."
"Shut up!" Alex huffed but she smiled away, appreciating that the hero was just trying to help her take her mind off things. "Besides, what about you and Jack… Jack… God, what was his name?"
"Bigmouth," Kara stated, shaking her head in disgust.
"Huh?" The agent raised an eyebrow in question.
Kara changed lanes smoothly and then took the exit ramp toward downtown Midvale. "He was the one who told everyone he and I had sex after the senior prom."
Alex blinked. "Wait, you didn't even go to the prom with him."
"Exactly!" the hero said, throwing up her hands.
"Did you have sex with anyone after the prom?"
"Well…" Kara grinned, adorably. "Yeah… but it wasn't him." The sisters laughed together and after a few more moments, Kara was pulling the black Suburban into Eliza's driveway. They watched as the door immediately opened and Eliza Danvers stepped out onto the porch, waving madly. Kara put the truck into park and turned off the engine. "Sweetie, breathe," she said softly. Alex just nodded and opened the door to hop out of the tall vehicle.
"Alex, my darling!" Eliza exclaimed. "I've missed you! You look great!" She pulled the agent into a tight hug, rocking her gently and kissing her temple. Alex's breathing hitched but she managed to hold it together and smile.
"Hi, Mom. I missed you too."
Kara came around the truck with a big grin. "Hi Eliza!"
"And there's my other girl," the older woman replied, accepting the hug from the hero and rubbing her arms. "You also look great."
"Shucks," Kara laughed. "This old face? How have you been?"
"I'm doing great, Honey. Thanks." The Danvers matriarch led her daughters into the house, closing the door behind them and ushering them into the kitchen where she had lunch waiting. Kara's eyes lit up when she saw all the food.
Alex chuckled. "Good call, Mom. It's been almost twenty minutes since Kara last ate. She must be FAMISHED!"
The hero back handed her sister in the stomach but knew the familiar banter was helping to calm the agent down. "HA HA" she stated flatly but grinned then and took her usual seat at the table, helping herself to some sandwiches.
Eliza and Alex joined her there. "So," the older blonde began. "It's not that I'm not happy to see you but I'll be seeing you in National City on Thursday. To what do I owe thanks for the special trip?"
Alex had opened a bottle of wine and she poured herself a good measure, knocking it back in one long swallow and then gasping. Mom, I'm gay. "Um… remember … um… when I was a teenager and I… um…" Mom, I'm gay. "I had a friend that I used to have sleepovers with all the time?"
"Sure," Eliza's face scrunched as she thought back. "Vicki… something."
"Right," Alex agreed. "Well… I used to love spending time with her… sleeping over at her house… in her room… in her bed." Alex poured more wine and knocked that back too. "Mom, I met someone recently that I wanted to be in a relationship with and… wanting that so badly… and those memories of Vicki have just made me think that this is not the first time I've wanted to be in a relationship like this."
Alex faltered but Kara grasped her hand. "It's ok," the hero said softly as tears rose in Alex's eyes and a couple spilled down her cheeks. "Tell her."
The agent nodded and swiped at her eyes. "We came today because I need to tell you something." She took a deep breath. "Mom, I'm gay."
For a moment, Eliza didn't say anything. Alex swallowed and the tears came harder, making her breath hitch. Kara looked between the two women and waited. Then slowly, Eliza stood up from her chair and silently offered her hand to her older daughter. The agent looked at Kara, who smiled, and then took her mother's hand to be drawn to her feet. Then Eliza's arms were tightly around her and she was pressing her face into her Mom's shoulder, feeling that familiar comfort that she was longing for… had been longing for since Maggie... "Alexandra Danvers, I love you, I'm so proud of you and I just want you to be happy."
Kara grinned happily and grabbed some more sandwiches.
"Thanks, Mom," Alex replied, her smile wide and bright as they took their seats again. "That means a lot to me."
"So," Eliza continued. "This woman that you met. What's she like?"
The dark-haired Danvers shook her head. "That doesn't matter now," she replied softly with a shrug. "She doesn't want a relationship with me."
"Are you in love with her?" Eliza asked.
Alex sighed and bowed her head, lacing her fingers together on the table. "Yeah." Kara linked arms with her sister and leaned against her as she'd done so many times before, offering her silent comfort. "I met Maggie completely by chance when we were both working the same case. She's tough and smart and she's a fantastic cop." She shrugged again. "I was in… deeply… before I even realized what was happening." More tears came as Alex's heart clenched. "It hurts. A lot," she added. "But she has her reasons and I have to respect that."
"Alex…"
"Don't, Kara, please. I…" The agent got up. "I just need a few minutes." She headed out to the only place where she could really think. The beach.
Kara sighed. "She's devastated and embarrassed."
"She told Maggie how she feels?"
"She finally got up the nerve to kiss her… and Maggie just sent her straight to the friend zone."
"Ouch," Eliza murmured. "Poor Alex."
Kara shook her head unhappily. "The worst thing about the whole situation is that I've seen them together and I really thought that Maggie liked Alex too." She turned her head and slipped off her glasses, narrowing her eyes as she watched her sister skimming stones in the shallow pools left at low tide. "I encouraged Alex to tell Maggie how she feels."
"You know, it's still a little strange for me seeing you use your powers so openly," Eliza commented after a moment. "I see you on TV all the time and sometimes, when you're fighting, it scares me." She chuckled. "Now, it's just dawned on me that both of my daughters have come out in the past year."
"One's gay and one's an alien," Kara laughed. "Go figure."
..
Alex wasn't really surprised that her mother had been as wonderful as she had been. She picked up another stone a sent it skimming across the water, smiling to herself as memories of her childhood crept into her mind. She remembered when she'd taught Kara to skim stones. It had been the first time, the Kryptonian girl had really opened up to her.
"You have to find a kinda flat one," Alex explained as she carefully examined the stones under her feet. "Like this." She held out the stone and shy blue eyes peered at it. "See? It has a flat side."
"Flat." Kara repeated, her face showing her confusion. "What flat, Alex?"
"What IS flat," Alex corrected gently. "It means that one side is completely straight." She ran her finger along the stone and then took Kara's hand to run her finger over it too. "Flat."
Kara nodded her understanding. "What we do?"
The older girl was impressed that Kara's English had improved so much over the short weeks since she'd landed. In fact, the kid was pretty much a sponge. She stayed awake far longer than Alex could and read everything she could get her hands on. The older girl suspected that her new sister was way more intelligent than they could tell. "Well, you hold in it the space between your thumb and index finger. Like this." She demonstrated. "Then you pull back your arm and kinda… flick it out parallel to the surface of the water." She demonstrated again, making the stone skip five or six times before it sank with a plop.
Kara jumped up and down excitedly, clapping her hands. "Awesome, Alex. Can I… do?"
"Sure." Alex crouched, tucking her hair behind her ears as she searched for the perfect stone for Kara's first skim. "Try this one."
The young Kryptonian took the stone from her new sister and tried to recreate the movements Alex had shown her but, to her surprise and embarrassment, the stone flew further than the dark girl could see and never actually touched the water. Kara frowned and huffed out a breath. "Epic fail," she stated unhappily, making Alex laugh and wrap an arm around her.
"Don't worry, Kiddo. Practice makes perfect," the older girl replied. "Let's try it again."
Adult Alex smiled, her eyes closed and her face turned toward the sun. "Do you remember?" she asked softly, recognizing her sister's footsteps.
"Epic fail," Kara chuckled. She wrapped her arms around her sister's waist from behind, resting her chin on her shoulder. "We had some good times here," she murmured. Then she sobered. "I really am sorry, Alex. I feel like I let you down. You've always been the strong one and I wasn't there for you when you needed someone."
"That's not true," Alex gently replied. "And I don't want you to think that I felt like I couldn't talk to you about this. I didn't know this about myself, Kara. I'm almost thirty and I'm only figuring out now one of the biggest things about myself."
"And how do you feel?"
The agent smiled and shrugged. "Liberated and terrified."
Kara kissed her sister's temple. "Want to go flying?"
Alex looked back at her over her shoulder. "Now? We can't… It's daylight…"
"Sure we can," the hero grinned. "I'm Supergirl now, remember?" She released her sister and a quick change later, she was standing in full super suit. "Besides… we both need this, Alex."
"You are crazy," the older Danvers laughed, poking her sister's chest in the center of her famous coat of arms. Kara merely shrugged, picked her up like she weighed nothing and launched them into the sky.
From the house, Eliza watched them go, smiling broadly. Her daughters always seemed to know what the other needed and that was one of the truest meanings of the word 'sister'.
