Traffic had become a nightmare on summer nights now that National City had a professional baseball team and fancy new stadium. It use to take Alex twenty maybe twenty-five minutes to drive from her apartment to Lena's penthouse on the nights that Lena hosted a hangout night. Now that there was so much congestion as people made their way to National City Stadium for the games it took Alex a good forty-five minutes to get to Lena's. She grumbled softly as she rested her head on her hand which was propped up on the window's edge while she waited for a herd of National City Comets fans to finish crossing the street. This was Lena's fault. She's the one who helped build the stadium and she's the one who bought a baseball team to bring to National City. Alex still wasn't convinced that Lena hadn't bought the team just because Kara mentioned she liked baseball because it had been something special she shared with Jeremiah.
Lena insisted it was an investment and an opportunity to improve National City.
While she somewhat patiently waited Alex tapped the fingers of her right hand against the steering wheel to the beat of Hurts So Good. Her head bobbed a little as well as she continued practicing. Glancing in her side mirror she watched herself form the words yet again. "Would you like to have dinner with me? Would, you like to have dinner with me? Would you like to have dinner, with me?"
Alex had been thinking about saying something for a couple of weeks now and after the close call she had that morning chasing down a rogue alien she figured tonight was as good as any other night to ask. She just really hoped she wasn't about to make things weird.
When she finally made it to Lena's building Alex managed to find parking close by and considered that cosmic payback for having to suffer through traffic. Stepping onto the sidewalk she spotted a familiar figure heading towards her from the opposite direction. Alex smiled and waved, "Hi Sam."
Sam would have returned the wave but her hands were full. She'd promised Lena she would pick up dessert so she was loaded down with cupcakes and cookies. "Hi Alex."
"Let me give you a hand." Alex said as she closed the distance between them.
"Thanks." Sam said warmly and then laughed. "I swear the bakeries I go to must wonder what I do with all the sweets I buy from them."
Alex laughed. "The first time I ordered Kara's mountain of potstickers the old lady behind the counter looked at me so weirdly I didn't go back for three months." When Alex realized that Sam was on her own she asked, "No Ruby?"
"Nope." Sam said with a shake of her head. "She's sleeping over at a friend's house. Apparently she decided it would be cooler to hang out with friends her own age. Crazy right?"
They both smiled at the doorman of Lena's building as he opened the door for them. He greeted them each by name. They both had codes to the elevator that would take them to Lena's secure private floor. When they arrived at Lena's front door it was Kara's beaming face that opened it and welcomed them in.
"Lena's putting Andrew to bed." She said as she closed the door behind them. Tilting her head in the way she did when she was listening to something out of normal earshot, she smiled apologetically. "Excuse me a moment. I need to find Bean. Wine's on the table."
Alex watched her sister speed off to find Andrew's missing stuffed animal. Smiling she walked over to where the wine was and picked up the bottle to examine the label. There was no three buck chuck when Lena hosted hangouts. This bottle alone would have cost five hundred dollars. Looking up and over at Sam who'd just come out of the kitchen where she'd put the desserts she brought Alex asked, "Wine?"
"Yes please." Sam said with a nod and a warm smile.
Was now a good time, Alex wondered as she poured wine into two of the stemless glasses Kara had set out. They were alone, but for how long? And what if she asked now and Sam said no? That would put a real wet blanket on the whole night for everyone. No. It was probably better if she waited. "So," Alex said as she held out a glass to Sam. "How's it feel to be back at L-Corp full time?"
"A little strange." Sam admitted. "Mostly because I'm getting a lot of sympathy for being sick when I wasn't really sick."
"Weren't you?" Alex said as they moved to sit together on Lena's heaven on earth of a sofa. "Reign was a virus, Sam. You had no more control over what it did with your body than someone with a biological infection that takes away their control has."
Sam sighed softly. "I know, but it's still weird to sit there and sort through get well wishes, and to smile at all the we're glad you're ok comments."
Alex reached over to take Sam's hand and squeeze it reassuringly. "That will all fade, you'll see. If nothing else it shows you that you're well liked there."
"I suppose that's a way to look at it." Sam smiled. Her dark eyes flicking down to where Alex held her hand and she smiled more.
A light blush colored Alex's cheeks at that smile. Taking her hand back she reached for one of the appetizers on the high tech coffee table. "I wonder what Lena has planned for the night."
"Dinner and a movie." Lena said as she and Kara came down the stairs.
Sam smiled as she stood to greet her friend with a hug. "Sounds like the perfect night after the week we've had."
"We ordered everyone's favorites from Bella Italia." Kara said as she crashed on the sofa beside her sister to snuggle.
As soon as Kara was beside her Alex wrapped her arms around her little sister and held her tight. It had been a busy week in all aspects of their lives. Kara was working on a joint article with Lois which she was hyper excited about. There had been a rise in underworld alien activity that kept Supergirl and Agent Danvers busy. Lena was in a battle of wills with Cat Grant who was less than thrilled with the idea of Lois Lane having a feature article in her former magazine. Lena was constantly reminding the woman that she no longer owned CatCo and Cat would counter with the fact that her name and reputation was still attached to it. And Sam was settling in to working at L-Corp full time once again, and as she'd mentioned having to deal with the fallout from the cover story for her absence.
Alex had also volunteered to help coach Ruby's softball team, Kara was spending more and more time with Lena and Andrew, and Sam was still dealing with what happened to her by seeing a friend of J'onn's name Kent Nelson. J'onn had reassured them that Dr. Nelson was a therapist with unique experience dealing with these types of issues. Sam was reluctant but Clark also vouched for him and Kara trusted Clark and Sam trusted Kara.
"So what movie are we watching?" Sam asked while looking between Lena who was reaching for a glass to pour herself some wine and the snuggling Danvers sisters. Now that she'd seen Alex as the badass Agent Danvers she savored seeing the softer side of Alex that much more. The way she was with Kara and the way she was with Ruby, it was one of the things that had first caught her eye.
"IT." Kara answered.
Sam paled a little.
Alex noticed. "Not a fan of scary movies, Sam?"
She wasn't but Sam wasn't going to admit that so instead she crinkled her nose and said, "I hate clowns."
Lena chuckled softly. "No one likes clowns."
"I don't mind clowns." Kara said with a shrug while extracting herself from Alex to lay claim to some potstickers. "Mimes are freaky though."
"Well at least it's better than the last movie." Alex added in. Clark had been in town and Kara had invited him to movie night. The rule was that whoever hosted got to pick the movie as reward for having everyone over and supplying most of the food and drink. Kara had hosted and transferred her host's choice to Clark. "I never thought in a million years I'd have to sit through a movie about typewriters."
"You didn't." Kara teased. "You fell asleep."
"At least it's not another superhero movie." Sam chimed in. "Winn always pick superhero movies, like we don't get enough of that in real life."
"Hey," Alex teased as she poked her sister in the ribs. "Maybe they'll make a movie about you someday."
Kara groaned. "I hope not. That couldn't be anything but cheesy."
"Maybe Supergirl would be a better television show." Lena teased.
Kara made a face and shook her head hard. "Not any better because it would just end up on the CW and we'd all be forced to date men, except for Alex, and then she'd be killed off just like Lexa."
"Still bitter I see." Alex chuckled. Kara huffed and pouted. Looking past her sister to the other two she said, "Kara use to write Clexa fix it fan fiction."
Kara gasped as she sat up and glared at Alex while hissing, "Traitor!"
Lena nearly missed the buzz of her phone, the sound being drowned out by Alex's cackle. The text was from her doorman letting her know her food delivery was here. She was going to go down and get it herself but Kara said she'd do it. She needed to get away from her sister's betrayal.
Alex was still laughing as she said, "Aww, Kara don't be mad. If it makes you feel better I'll tell them Winn writes AgentStucky fan fiction."
Kara just replied by leaving the penthouse in a huff.
During dinner they steered clear of more shipping talk in favor of less controversial topics. "So then he called Ms. Grant a witless harpy who wouldn't know real news from fake news if it her life depended on it, and that she wouldn't be so quick to make things up about him if she were getting laid by a real man." Kara shook her head and continued. "Ms. Grant's response was that if he was the example of a real man she'd rather have sex with an actual Cheeto. Then she sent Melania a Cheeto shaped dildo."
"She didn't!" Lena barked out a laugh.
Kara grimised. "Who do you think had to order it?"
"That could come back to bite her if the rumors are true about her running for office." Sam said after she'd stopped laughing.
When they settled in for the movie Kara and Lena had claimed the love seat, leaving the full sofa for Alex and Sam. When the movie first started there was a respectful distance but comfortable closeness between Sam and Alex. But as the movie played out that distance shark until Sam was sitting right up against Alex's side. Alex smiled warmly and gently whispered, "You ok, Sam?"
Sam jumped a little and then glared at Alex for making her. She whispered back, "I'm fine."
"Ok." Alex said as she put her arm around Sam.
During one of the scariest parts of the movie Sam couldn't muffle her scream soon enough and Alex found herself wrapped in a death grip as Sam tried to hide her face in the crook of her neck. Alex whized gently as she whispered, "Sam. Sam. Can't breath, hon."
Sam eased up and pulled back with wide eyes. "Oh! Alex I'm so sorry!"
Alex chuckled softly. "It's ok, it's fine, I'm used to it. Kara still forgets sometimes too." She gave the other woman a reassuring smile before saying, "At least you didn't use heat vision and blow a whole in Lena's tv."
"Yes, thanks for that." Lena called out from where she was cuddled up with Kara. "I just had it replaced because of heat vision."
"That was totally your fault!" Kara accused. "You're the one who couldn't wait for the portable red sun lamp to work."
"How was I expected to wait with you wearing nothing but my favorite purple silk shirt?" Lena replied. "It wasn't even completely buttoned!"
"Ok, that conversation needs to stop." Alex said as she pulled Sam close again. "Let's just finish the movie. It's a lot less disturbing than details about my baby sister's sex life."
The next time Sam jumped and hid her face in Alex's neck Alex whispered, "You know you're invulnerable now, clowns can't hurt you."
Sam relaxed a little and muttered, "Shut up."
The warmth of Sam's breath against her neck had Alex biting her lip and she was suddenly really glad that the lights were out, and trying really hard to forget that Kara and Sam had probably heard her heart skip that beat.
When the movie was over Kara and Sam decided they needed a palate cleanser so while they ate the cupcakes and cookies Sam brought they binge watched Steven Universe. Once everyone, mainly Sam and Kara, were feeling better Sam and Alex helped clean up. That's when Alex found herself once again alone with Sam in Lena's kitchen. Experiencing Sam and scary movies had just made Alex want to ask her out even more.
Do it now Danvers, she thought to herself as she held out a trash bag while Sam threw in aluminum bowls and white cardboard lids. "Hey Sam?"
The slightly taller woman looked up to meet Alex's eyes as she replied, "Hmm?"
"I was just wondering." Alex said nervously as she let go of the trash bag with one hand so she could rub the back of her neck. "And if you think it's a bad idea for whatever reason that's perfectly fine, but I was just kind of wondering if maybe, and I could be wrong about this, and if I am I'm so sorry, but well I thought maybe if I asked you might want to, so, um, would you maybe want to go out with me sometime, on like a date, together, with me, and you, just us, a date."
Sam looked surprised for half a second and then she smiled. That was the cutest thing she'd ever seen. The nervous rubbing of her neck, the way she twitched her left foot side to side as she rambled on, it was adorable. "I would like very much to go on a date with you, Alex."
Alex's eyes flew open as wide as was physically possible. "Really?"
Sam chuckled softly as she nodded her head. "Yes, Alex, really."
The laugh that bubbled up from Alex's throat was one of relief and excitement. "Dinner next week then?"
"Dinner next week." Sam said with a nod of agreement.
For the whole week Alex was on cloud nine. She was in such a good mood in fact that it scared Winn a little. When he expressed his concern she laughed it off and threw her arm around him to give him a one armed side hug. That's when he started asking about mind control. Kara eased his fears by telling him Alex was just excited about her date with Sam.
That excitement lasted until the day of that date with Sam. That's when panic set in. What was she going to wear? What were they going to talk about? What if she were wrong about the possibilities? If things went bad things could get really awkward. Kara was her sister, but she was also Sam's cousin. Sam and Lena were close and Lena was Kara's girlfriend. What if she blew this? What if this turned out to be another painful experience? What if they ended up hurting each other the way she and Maggie had?
Alex took several deep breaths and then wiped the condensation off the mirror in her bathroom to look at herself. "You won't make the same mistakes." She told her reflection. "You're not rushing into anything. You'll take your time. You'll talk and you'll listen." She continued. "You got this."
Alex wasn't the only one swimming against a river of emotions. Sam really like Alex and she hadn't really liked anyone in a very long time. She was full of the same doubts and had the same concerns, but she also had Ruby to worry about. Ruby adored Alex and if Sam messed this up Ruby would end up hurt too.
"No not those." Ruby said as she grabbed the pair of jeans Sam had pulled out of the closet.
Sam blinked. "Ruby."
"Those are mom jeans." Ruby said as she put them back on the shelf. She looked around for a bit and pulled out a different pair of jeans. "Skinny jeans are better."
"Better for what?" Sam asked with a raised brow and half a smirk.
"Impressing the girl by showing off what you got." Ruby answered while waving a finger at her mother's legs.
Sam's eyes went wide. "Ruby. Where on earth did you…"
"Mom." Ruby groaned. "No time."
Sam watched as Ruby rooted through her shirts and blouses and then finally shooed her daughter out of her room. "I can dress myself Rubes, thanks." And then just before she closed her bedroom door she added, "And you and me are having a long talk later."
When Sam finally came out of her room an hour later she was wearing the jeans Ruby had picked out with a really pretty purple tunic style blouse and calf high leather boots. She left her hair down and gone really simple with her makeup. The place they'd agreed to go to was a Japanese dango shop, which was like a little Japanese cafe, that had just opened up in the Asian sector of town.
Ruby smiled when her mom walked into the living room. "That'll do."
Sam rolled her eyes.
When Kara arrived she was much more supportive. "You look great, Sam."
"Thank you." Sam replied while shooting Ruby a look. Turning back to Kara she added, "And thank you for staying with my brat."
"I'm too old for a babysitter!" Ruby huffed from the living room couch.
"Then don't consider me a babysitter." Kara said as she sat beside the girl and flung her arm around her shoulder. "Just think of it as hanging out with your big cousin."
Alex had gone with a pair of black skinny jeans and a light sweater that was gray and slightly sparkly. She'd traded in her combat boots and sneakers for a pair of heels that caused Sam's attention to linger on her legs as she looked her over after opening the door. When their eyes met again Alex smiled. "You look great, Sam."
Sam smiled. "So do you."
"Ready to go?" Alex asked.
Sam nodded. "Let me grab my purse."
When Sam turned to walk back to where she'd left her purse she found Ruby and Kara standing there watching them with the biggest, dopiest grins on their faces. She rolled her eyes before giving them both a soft mom glare while pointing back towards the living room. "Go away you two."
"We just wanted to say hi to Alex." Ruby said happily and then waved at Alex. "Hi Alex!"
Alex laughed. "Hiya Rubes."
Sam narrowed her eyes a little but then sighed and snatched up her purse. Just as she reached Alex at the door she heard the swipe of a fingers across a screen followed by a tap. Just as she was turning to face the two brats again Kara snapped the picture. "Really?"
"What?" Kara said with a grin. "Lena demanded a picture since Andrew has a cold and couldn't come be here."
Sam rolled her eyes again.
Alex laughed. "It nice seeing someone else having to deal with her dorkiness."
Sam shook her head, warned the two to behave, and then followed Alex out to her car. To be honest Sam was grateful for the moment of silliness, it eased some of the tenison she'd been feeling and had helped her relax a little. Having Kara and Ruby to talk about made for easy conversation between her and Alex. They had both worried about that. Would they have things to talk about outside of the people they had in common? Neither wanted to spend the evening talking about past events either.
Once the familiar and comfortable topics of conversation were exhausted things did get a little awkward but once they'd been seated at a table in the corner of the dango shop things took a turn for the better.
Alex stared at the menu with wide eyes. "It's all in Japanese."
Sam smiled reassuringly. "There doesn't seem to be anything too scary on here and there are plenty of pictures."
"You read Japanese?" Alex asked, a little surprised and a lot impressed.
"Not fluently." Sam replied. "But well enough to use it when I have too. L-Corp does a lot of business in Japan. It was one of many pros when it came to me accepting the CFO position. I've always wanted to go to Japan, and travel is part of the job."
Alex smiled at that and then admitted. "I've always thought it would be cool to do a vending machine tour of Japan. I have fallen down the rabbit hole of YouTube videos on vending machines and food shops a number of times."
They ordered main dishes of kishimen which came with sekinan and hiyayakko and continued talking about places they'd like to travel or things they'd like to do, and their conversation became easier and more natural.
"I was actually a little shit to Kara at first." Alex admitted as she finished off her meal and poured more green tea for them both. "I'd been an only child all my life and then wham He shows up with this scared, lost, weird little kid and suddenly all of my parents attention and focus wasn't on me. It took us awhile to find our groove as sisters." Alex paused for a moment and said, "It's one of my biggest regrets, not letting it happen sooner than it did."
Sam reached out and put her hand on Alex's while smiling reassuringly at her. "What matters is what you have now, and you're an amazing sister, Alex."
They ordered so many of the sticky, sweet, rice balls that style of shop was known for that they were both convinced they would be sick later. They'd gotten one of almost everything and agreed to share. Sam watched with glee as Alex pulled a face at the ones she thought tasted weird, and Alex teased Sam for having to sniff everything before tasting it.
"Things weren't bad while I was growing up." Sam said softly while reaching for the skewer that had the mochi rice cake balls covered in an amber colored sticky sauce. "My parents were strict in that small town america kind of way, but they weren't bad parents. Things got bad between Patricia and me after my Dad died. He'd been a kind of quiet buffer between us for awhile, but he'd been a heavy smoker since he'd started working at fourteen, so..."
They'd moved on to mochi filled with fresh fruits and sweet beans, and black tea. Sam laughed when Alex admitted that she may not have hated Kara's obsession with the Spice Girls as much as she'd claimed too, and Alex was impressed by Sam's knowledge of classic rock bands. Alex got a mischievous look in her eyes when they talked about Sam hating horror movies, a look Sam shot down with a quick, soft, mom glare.
Once neither of them could eat another bite, which for Sam was saying something, they decided to have drinks. They didn't want to go to the alien bar so they left it up to Siri and ended up at a cocktail bar with some rather oddly named drinks.
"The sea runs red with their blood?" Sam read off the menu.
Alex laughed. "Until the light takes us, and Snatcher of the moon?"
"Well it would seem that we've gone from Japan to Scandinavia." Sam laughed. The bar was apparently themed modern vikings.
Despite the odd names the cocktails were really damn good, and the atmosphere was relaxed and warm and before they realized it Alex and Sam were sitting close and lost in conversation. Alex smiled when Sam reached out and put her hand on her arm as she spoke and was lost to the warmth that spread from where Sam touched her to the rest of her body. Sam quickly found herself wanting to make Alex smile that big warm smile she was finding really rather beautiful.
It was a bit after two in the morning when Alex walked Sam to the door of her house. She smiled as she admitted, "That was probably the best first date I've ever had."
"Me too." Sam admitted. "Guess that puts a lot of pressure on the second date, huh?"
Alex bit her lip as her eyes sparkled in the porch light. "Second date?"
Sam nodded. "If you want…"
"I'd like that." Alex said with a nod.
Sam sucked her bottom lip between her teeth before biting it nerously. "I'd really like to kiss you."
"Then kiss me." Alex replied with an even brighter smile.
Reaching out Sam cupped Alex's face in her hands and drew her close for a soft but lingering kiss. When they pulled apart Sam smiled brightly. "Goodnight Alex."
"Goodnight Sam." Alex replied happily.
Sam couldn't stop smiling as she made her way through her home and it only grew brighter as she covered her sleeping cousin with a throw, deciding to just let Kara continue sleeping on the sofa rather than waking her and sending her home, or when she went up to check on Ruby, or as she slipped into her own bed. Was this the start of something special? She wondered. She really hoped so.