Still don't own Supergirl.
Hope you like :D
Gemstone (AKA Park I)
"Maggie's almost here, put on your shoes," you tell her as you busy yourself with packing her backpack. She might be almost eleven, but the amount of stuff you need to take with you on outings is more or less the same as when she was a toddler. Food, a change of clothes, food, a book (for you), food, a brand new Frisbee, food… okay, so mostly it's food, but your baby girl eats more than you and she gets cranky when hungry and you've grown used to make sure she's always fed. It's prevented more than one epic tantrum.
"I don't wanna go," Kara tells you from her spot on the couch. The TV's on and her hands are playing with her stuffed dog, Krypto, but she refuses to look at you.
You pause midway peeling an orange and sigh because you've already talked to her about this. She's not too thrilled, but she's accepted that there's a new person in your life and that you're excited for her to meet Maggie. "Kara," you answer her back in her language. You both speak Kryptonian in your home, partly because the language helped Kara feel more comfortable in your new apartment and partly because you believe she shouldn't forget her roots. "You said you're okay with this."
"I lied," she tells you in a tiny voice that tells you it's not time to be irritated with her. Right now she's not being difficult, like that one time she had a fake melt down on the store when you refused to get her more ice-cream, or the time she literally dropped on the floor, boneless, and cried and kicked for an hour when you told her that, no, you were not buying her a PlayStation.
Right now, she's being honestly upset and that scares you.
You leave your halfway peeled orange and go to sit next to her, turning the TV off and stilling her nervous hands. "Baby, look at me," you urge her softly. When shy, hesitant eyes look up, you smile encouragingly. "Talk to me, baby."
She shakes her head, but climbs onto your lap. "You'll be mad," she hides her face in the crook of your neck and you can feel it when she starts sucking her thumb.
You hate it when she starts sucking her thumb. She only does that when she's too stressed or too scared. Not even when she's sad she sucks her thumb. She must be really freaked out. "Oh, baby. Please, tell me what's wrong."
"Dou'd be ma'," she repeats, her words slurred around her thumb.
"No, Kara. I promise I won't be mad," you tell her seriously. You push her away just enough to force her to face you, holding her hand gently and taking her thumb away. You rise her tiny hand to your mouth and kiss her palm. You once helped her break the habit and you'll help her again. "Just talk to me."
She stills, not meeting your eyes, but rather focusing on the blue gemstone that hangs from the chain you always wear and it's on display thanks to the tank top and open flannel you're wearing. You've never take it off ever since people started commenting on the gemstone that hangs on Kara's own chain. People started saying such a little kid couldn't wear such expensive looking jewellery and your parents were getting paranoid and tried to take it away. And, how could you allow them to take away the only thing Kara has left of her mother? So, you started wearing a replica of it and made it your duty to inform every person that ever noticed Kara's gemstone that it was just your matching sisters' necklaces. No one ever questioned it again. "… what if she doesn't like you anymore, after meeting me?" she asks after a minute.
"Oh, Kara…" you sigh as you cuddle the kid closer to your chest. "Maggie's not like that," you assure her. "She wants to meet you. She's pretty excited to meet the 'little angel'. Her words, not mine." Kara knows you've been dating Maggie for a month now. She also knows that your dates always finish before she's out of school or that they happen when Susan is available to babysit her. She also knows that, when she's with Susan, you always go pick her up before its bed time. But, she's also aware that Maggie is never with you when you pick her up. And maybe you were wrong and having Maggie around for those times would've been better than asking her to give you and Kara time and wait for a proper introduction. Kara now thinks Maggie doesn't like her when that couldn't be farther from the truth.
Kara clutches your gemstone as she nuzzle the point where your neck meets the shoulder. "People don't like you when I'm around," she reminds you in a tiny voice.
You smile. "That's because you like to tell people I'm your mom… you scare them away."
She tenses and you don't need to see her to know she's frowning. She burrows deeper into you and mumble something.
"Sorry, baby, I didn't hear you."
She turns her head just enough for you to hear her murmur, "you're my mom."
You sigh, because for as long as you can remember, or rather, for as long as she could muster whole, coherent, sentences, she's been trying to convince you to be her mom. It's not like you don't love her as if she were your own, but rather, you're too young to be labelled as a mother, you were too young when she first asked. And now that you're her legal guardian, you're scared the State would, somehow, find a way to take her away. It's safer to be her sister. Somehow, legally, it's easier to keep her if she's just your baby sister.
A little ping from your phone interrupts anything you could tell her. You reach for it from where you left in on the coffee table and read Maggie's text:
'5 min away. Should I park da car?'
You text her back, quickly, choosing to ignore how Kara shrugs into herself and goes back to sucking her thumb:
'Pls. brt.'
"Kara," you say as you put the phone away. "Maggie is different. She really wants to meet you, but she'll also understand if you want to wait. Neither of us will force you to do anything you're not comfortable with."
Kara looks up, her thumb firmly in her mouth. "Dou 'ike he'," she states.
You nod. "Yes, I like her. Very much."
Her nose wrinkles and you're transported back to when she was a baby. She's giving you the same look she did when you woke her up, back when you discovered she's bubbly, but at the same time, too sleepy to function in the mornings. It's a look between puzzlement and determination and you love her just a little more just for it.
She takes her thumb out her mouth and ask you plainly, "can I wear my dampener?"
And that's when you know she's near the point where she will have a real to Rao meltdown. Not only has she asked you in English to make sure you listen, she knows, as certainly as she knows the Sun gives her powers, that you hate the dampener and you only let her use it when she needs to go to the doctor or when she's too emotional to control herself. You hate it because your mother made it for when she became tired of teaching Kara to use her powers. You hate it because she was forced to use it to go to school, when she lived with your parents. You hate it because it made it more difficult for Kara to control herself after wearing it. You hate it because in a good day, it'll make Kara tire quickly, but in a bad day, she'll become very ill.
Yet, above all, you hate it because it's a reminder of how close you came to lose your little sun; Kara was wearing the damn thing when your parents' car crashed over the cliff and its effects made it so for Kara to be truly hurt. The only reason she survived was because the paramedic took the bracelet away to treat her broken arm and the Sun had done its magic. But it had been too close. Way too close.
"Kara…"
"Please, Alex," she says in earnest. "I don't want to hurt anyone. Please."
And you close your eyes. And you let out a very big sigh. Because if there's something that truly frightens Kara is the thought of hurting people, of hurting you. "Fine," you relent as you open your eyes. "But if you feel ill, you'll take it off immediately and we'll be coming straight home."
She nods back at you and scurries off your lap, no doubt going to your room to retrieve the lead box that contains the bracelet your mother made. It's made of white gold, just like your chains, and have little blue stones mixed with green ones all around. One of those green ones it's a little piece of Kryptonite and you hate that your mother took the time to make something so hurtful so beautiful. She wanted it to match Kara's necklace to avoid a repeat of the town's comment on her expensive jewellery.
Your phones pings again and you get up from the couch without looking at it. You know its Maggie. You head to the kitchen and grab the backpack, quickly looking in it to make sure you have everything to last an early afternoon in the park. Kara comes out your room, the small box in her hands and passes it to you. You have the standing rule that only you can open the box and only you can put the bracelet on her wrist. She can take it off whenever she wants and she'll be the one carrying the empty box so she can storage it again when she does. But opening the box, making her weak, it's something only you allow yourself to do.
You fear she'd want to try to use the dampener most of the day. You fear she might want to hurt herself. You fear something going wrong and your baby suffering from it.
You take the box and open it wearily. The change in your girl is almost immediate, her posture stiffens, just a little. "Kara, are you sure?"
She looks up at you determination clear in her eyes. "Yes."
And you sigh yet again and put the bracelet around her wrist. One day, you promise yourself, you'll get rid of that thing. Sadly, today's not that day.
XxXxX
Maggie's waiting for you both a block away. Her beaten up sedan is parked near the bakery Kara loves and it should come to no surprise to you that Maggie is leaning against it, a small box of Kara's favourite doughnuts in one hand and her phone in the other. She's looking intently at the tiny screen and you smile, because, even when it's not noticeable, you know she's nervous about this meeting.
Kara is walking beside you, her tiny hand firmly clasped in one of your own. Another rule you have when it comes to damper time: she can't let go of your hand. You need to be sure where she is. You need to be sure she's safe. You need to be sure nothing will harm her.
"Hey, Sawyer," you greet her and smile when she startles enough to almost drop the box.
"Danvers," she greets you with a huge smile. She looks at you with her shiny eyes before they drift downwards to your sister. "Hello, Little Danvers."
Kara presses to your legs, half hiding behind you. Her free hand reaches for her mouth, but, knowing you are looking at her from the corner of your eyes, she instead grabs her gemstone nervously. "Hello," she says without prompting. If anything, she's polite even when she's terrified.
Maggie lets the box of doughnuts on her car's hood and bends a little to be more to your sister's height. "Alex says your name is Kara. That's a beautiful name," she tells her. "I'm Maggie," she adds with her beaming smile, cheeks full of dimples and a stretched hand.
Kara looks up at you, questioning and you squeeze her hand in support. You won't force her to touch Maggie. You know Kara is not always comfortable touching people and you'll respect that. Maggie knows it too, so she doesn't let her smile fall and waits. Kara looks at Maggie again and lets go of your hand and reaches for Maggie's.
"I like Maggie, too," she tells her as she lets your girlfriend shake her hand and you have to reign in your laugh at how serious your baby sister looks. You know for the last three months or so Kara has been all about a new cartoon which protagonist it's a fly named Maggie. The backpack you're carrying have the pink haired fly on it and you wonder when you'll bring up that fact to your girlfriend. Been compared to a fly it's not flattering and the look you can imagine on Maggie's face it's hilarious.
Seeing your baby girl touching Maggie, though, makes your heart soar.
"Your sister also told me you really like doughnuts," Maggie says as she lets go of her hand, allowing Kara to grab yours again. "So, I bought you some for our picnic."
At the word picnic Kara brightens and Maggie smirks at you and you can't help but feel warmness spread in your chest.
XxXxX
Arriving to the park is no easy feat.
Maggie decided you needed to go to Grant Park, which is maybe half an hour drive away without any traffic. Robinson Park is nearer and that's where you thought you were headed, but Maggie swears Grant Park's hot dogs are the best and the grass it's the best kept in the whole city. So, of course, because it's the first time she gets to meet Kara officially, she wants the girl to have the best experience when it comes to parks.
What Maggie hadn't counted on, was Kara's well rooted fear of cars. Or, rather, her fear of long drives.
You've made it so you and Kara can do everything on foot. You live near Dixon Docks and that's just a quick twenty minute walk away from Gotham University and Kara's Middle School it's practically a corner down your building. It may not be the best neighbourhood, on some clear nights you can see Arkham's lights from your living room windows, but it's close to school and Kara can have enough freedom to go to school and to the store alone.
So, you don't own a car. You used to have a bike, but once you transferred to GU, you sold it and somehow, you forgot to tell Maggie that Kara is still weary of most types of vehicles.
Still, your girl puts on a brave face and climbs into the car when Maggie prompts her to. She gets to sit next her box of doughnuts, all stiff and nervous, but with a determined look to her that you see every time she wants to prove you she is fine, she is managing. Once Maggie has closed the door, she turns to you, ever so perceptive.
"Is she going to be alright in the car?" she asks you.
You look through the window and notice how Kara is hugging her backpack to her chest, one hand playing with her gemstone and one thumb caressing her lower lip. "I hope so," you tell her honestly. You look at your girlfriend and close the distance to give her a quick kiss on the lips. "Thank you for doing this, it means a lot."
Maggie rolls her eyes and pulls you close by the lapel of you open flannel. She kisses you, slow and gentle. Once she lets you go, she says, "she's so sweet, Alex. You don't need to worry. I'll make sure she has an amazing day."
You smile and, after another quick kiss, you climb into the passenger seat and let Maggie drive you across the city.
You both make idle chat and let Kara be in her own bubble. You sit so you can keep an eye on Kara and you notice through the drive that Maggie kept looking at the rear-view mirror constantly, making sure Kara is still comfortable. Maggie had put a blanket and a couple of pillows in the backseat you hadn't noticed right away and Kara spends the drive absent-mindedly playing with a pillow, the blanket over her lap, her eyes closed and her thumb firmly in her mouth.
Neither Maggie nor you try to engaged her in conversation and you feel so grateful when Maggie would look at Kara and then at you with a soft smile and sad eyes.
Once you reach the Park and Maggie turns off the engine you can almost feel the tension melt away from Kara's body. Your girlfriend is the first out and she goes to the trunk to retrieve whatever she has packed. You, on the other hand, go immediately to Kara.
Opening the door, you look at blue, tired, eyes and reach to tuck an errant blonde lock behind her ear. "Are you okay?" you whisper to her, well aware she's too stubborn and proud to let Maggie hear you ask.
She nods, but she reaches to you with her free hand.
You do the only thing you know will make things a little better, you take her into your arms and cradle her to you. Her free arm goes to sneak around your neck as she hides her face in your shoulder. She shivers once, twice, before letting her body slump, making you carry her boneless weight.
"I'm so proud of you," you murmur against her hair, dropping a kiss there. "You were so brave. I love you so much."
You hear the wet pop her thumb makes when she takes it out, her moist hand going to your gemstone. "If I hadn't…" she trails off.
You understand her, even when she's unable to voice her fear. "If you hadn't," you tell her softly, "I'd be so proud of you. Just you sitting on the car was so brave. You've been so brave so far. I love you." You kiss her again. "I love you so much."
You can see Maggie has everything ready and you smile when she picks Kara's backpack without prompting, letting you carry your sister and the box of doughnuts. You can already tell neither Maggie nor you will taste a bite of them.
But you smile anyway, because you can feel Kara relaxing against you and you know Maggie is besides you, warm and constant.
Helpful and solid.
Open and understanding.
And, even when Kara hasn't really spoken to Maggie, you know your sister. And you know she's opening up to her. You know she's open for you to try and be with Maggie. You know Kara sees how amazing Maggie can be. You know Kara will grow to love Maggie.
Just as you are growing to love her. With all your heart.
XxXxX
Beta love to reinakonanofate who's helping me write this.
Come bother us at tumbrl ( charis-chan) with prompts and the like!
