Kara made a nervous glance around the surprisingly quiet newsroom before turning back to her computer and quickly typing in the name she needed into the CatCo database then proceeded to drum her fingers impatiently against the edge of her desk as she waited for the search to load.
She'd had to take the chance of doing this at work considering all her other options had a high chance of Alex finding out what she was doing, and Kara didn't want to take the chance of that considering how hard her older sister had worked to get over her, but she had to be sure that small point of hope she'd made for her sister's ex had been granted once the world had been reshaped.
She might not have been close with her almost sister-in-law but that didn't mean Kara was alright with the idea of Maggie being miserable whilst Alex was already moving on.
The load bar was sluggishly filling making Kara huff in annoyance and pull up one of the articles she'd been assigned as a distraction as she waited. It seemed that even in this new world Snapper was still on her case.
Kara gives another not-so-stealthy glance towards the load bar then groans under her breath at just how slow the thing seemed to be going. Sometimes she missed having Winn a few desks over to speed up her searches.
She'd gotten one a few paragraphs into reworking the article when the chiming hum of a completed search pulled her already distracted mind back to her main objective.
Again, Kara gives another quick glance around then towards the clock considering it was also getting close to her lunch break and Alex had texted her about meeting up. Apparently, her older sister had something important to tell her that just couldn't wait until game night, but Kara also knew that maybe the offer was just Alex's loneliness considering she remembered Alex talking about Kelly going back to visit with James. For how long Kara can't remember Alex saying.
Kara could only hope this sudden want to talk wasn't that Alex had found out about Kara's own news about finally being able to call Lena Luthor her girlfriend. Kara was still jealously guarding that bit of news. Even from her sister.
Rao only knew how much good-natured teasing Alex would dish out once she knew. And then there was Kelly to consider. True she didn't have the front row seat insight into watching Kara's roller-coaster of a relationship with the incredible better Luthor that Maggie did, but she'd seen enough of it recently to be able to join in should Alex need the backup.
She still had time.
With only a small shake in her fingers, Kara pulls the search results up on her screen. Why she was so nervous about seeing whatever the search had uncovered Kara wasn't completely sure.
Most of the pictures waiting for her she already knew.
Pictures either Kara herself or James had taken of the smiling Maggie and Alex over their shared game nights.
A few of Maggie and a grinning Eliza or J'onn.
The more recent ones being of Maggie her dimples on full display as she smiles for the camera with her arms wrapped snuggly around an equally happy-looking dog.
Well, or what at first glance could be considered a dog.
Only the eyes showed there was more to the animal than meets the eye.
Making a mental note to ask J'onn or M'gann what the not so earthly originated pet could be as she continued scrolling reading more slowly through the goings-on in Maggie's life since her split from the Superfamily mostly just to coo jealously over the impressive number of pictures Maggie had been posting about her new 'leading lady' as she jokingly called her dog.
Each one brought a new punch of guilt at the poor attempt at keeping in contact with the one who'd gotten her sister to open up in a way not even Alex had realized she ever could.
Maggie's move back to Gotham considering the job she'd taken over at the time, her impressive restructuring of the force once she'd worked her way up to captain. All in all, it was page after page of all the way large and small of Maggie's life had been since her split with Alex. Kara couldn't stop smiling as she speed reads every one of her should have been sister-in-law's accomplishments both good and even the ones that had ended badly.
"Thank you, Oliver." Kara finds herself whispering under her breath as she returns to one of the newer pictures of a smiling Maggie one of her with that beautiful, yet Kara was positive wasn't a true born on earth dog.
After all her hardships Maggie deserved to have some kind of happiness.
"Ponytail."
Kara jumped a little in her seat in startled surprise at her boss's sudden call.
"You got a visitor." He follows up when Kara hastily closes her search bar and starts the motions of grabbing a pen and a clean notepad.
That had Kara pausing for a beat or two in surprise considering the heartbeat closest to Sapper's own as he and Kara's visitor draw closer to the blonde's desk wasn't that of her older sister.
It was…
"M….Maggie?" Kara whispers in surprise earning an annoyed eye roll from Snapper who then turns and stalks back toward the more crowded corner of the newsroom.
"Hey….Kara."
Kara could tell Maggie had been wanting to use her old nice name of "Little Danvers" that is pained the blonde more than it should when she'd chosen not to.
"What can I do for you, Captain Sawyer?" Kara questions fidgeting a little with the lay of her glasses as Maggie shifts uneasily under the plain-clothed Super's probing gaze.
"Um." At this Maggie seemed too hesitant to even more before steeling herself with a strong "I was…I was hoping we could do lunch. Just the two of us." She proposed "for old time's sake."
Kara chewed her lower lip in indecision, but her reporter's mind was running a mile a minute.
"This isn't a work-related offer I just want to buy you lunch and catch up." Maggie corrects obviously picking up on Kar's mood.
By way of answering Kara takes out her phone sending a quick 'have to cancel sister lunch. Something came up' text to Alex with only a fraction of the guilt she'd thought she feel as she grabs up her jacket and gives Maggie a shy "alright."
The walk from CatCo to a nearby vegan catering diner was surprisingly short and quiet. Each woman was lost in her own thoughts as they weaved their way between the side streets.
Actually, more than once during the trip Kara swears she catches her sister's motorcycle trailing them but then she blinks and the following figure vanishes before Kara could look close enough to tell if it was Alex or not.
"What's really going on?" Kara asks once they'd ordered and chosen a table more towards the back of the not-so-crowded eatery.
"I've moved back to National City." Maggie admits "my transfer cleared earlier this morning, so I'll be captain of what was my old precinct tomorrow."
At first, Kara wants to give a celebratory "congrats' but the way Maggie was avoiding meeting Kara's gaze as the waitress brings over the first round of steaming potstickers Kara had ordered to tide her over as the rest of their lunch choices was prepared had the blonde on edge. "and I didn't want to risk you tossing me into the sun if we ran into one another again."
Kara blinked a few times in confusion at that. "I'm sorry, what?" she asks swallowing a mouthful of potstickers that any normal human would have choked as she also looks around worried that anyone was listening in.
No one was. Everyone else was too lost in enjoying their meals or scrolling their phone to care what was being said at Maggie and Kara's small table.
"Why would I toss you into the sun just for coming back to kick our police force into a good of a shape as you did with Gotham's?"
The laugh that followed wasn't the one that Kara had been expecting. Nor was the teasing "Honestly Kara for someone with hearing as good as yours, you honestly just don't listen when food is involved." As a third member of this unexpected lunch meeting dropped into the open seat beside Maggie's own.
The chuckling Latina giving a laughed "she has a point." In Kara's direction before leaning over to give the newcomer a not-so-innocent kiss with a greeting "I missed you" as she nuzzled her forehead against Alex's own.
The wet press of a nose against her palm causes a slack-jawed Kara to glance down to find those intriguing duel-colored eyes looking up at her.
"Kara this is Bri." Alex introduces now sitting with her arm draped across Maggie's shoulders as they waited for their main courses. "She's a Logen Hound." Maggie says as if Kara needed the clarification as to the dog's origins after getting a much more up-close and in-person look.
Kara's first thought was 'Well that explain the eyes' as she finds herself unable to look away from the sky blue and soft wine-colored eyes still looking curiously up at her before the dog simply licks its lips then rears up to paw Kara's half-finished plate close enough to steal one of the cooling potstickers from it.
"Like Melog from She Ra?" Kara asks remembering a few times of watching the show growing up. It didn't help that Lena had recently found the reboot of the show after scrolling Kara's own netflix account reintroducing the show into Kara's life once again.
Maggie chuckles as Brie herself gives a grumpy sounding huff as she makes the quick trip back to rest her head against the laughing captain's lap. "You of all of us should know by now most of what others consider science fiction is actually based on facts most of those in politics don't want the public to find out." She answers coolly as the hand not clasped with Alex's against the tabletop drops to slide into the soft fur between her dog's ears.
"We were going to just wait until tonight to spring this." Alex pauses holding up her and Maggie's joined hands "on you but…"
Kara holds up her hand to stop her sister's explanation earning a warning growl from Bri when the move seemed to startle Maggie.
"Are you both happy?" Kara questions already noticing the waitress struggling to hold the first tray of food towards their table. Another following this one carrying the meals for Maggie and Kara guessed Alex and Bri's as well.
"Love ray level." Alex grinned nuzzling her head against the crook of Maggie's neck as Maggie herself gives an agreeing smile of her own as she dipped her head to press a kiss against what she was able to reach of Alex's head.
"Then that's all I want." Kara says before the chiming of the bell over the door pulls her attention and earning a soft "Right on time" from Alex. Gong by the happy thumping of Bri's tail anyone else including Kara would have thought it was because of the newly delivered food to their table.
"I thought we agreed to wait at least another game night before we told them." Lena huffed dragging a fourth chair up to the table as the waitresses both departed. "Also, hello darling." Lena sighed calming long enough to press a kiss to Kara's blushing cheeks as if uncaring about the more public display of their relationship now it seemed Kara had clued her older sister in on their status.
"I didn't LeeLee, but you just did." Kara answers her blush deepening when a wide-eyed Lena looks between her and a laughing Alex and Maggie across the table.
"Bri don't be a brat." Maggie groaned at the Logen hound's amused-sounding whimpers as the dog's tail thumped happily against the leg of Alex's chair at the show of affection.
"Wait Alex I thought Bri was your dog." Lena questioned stealing a potsticker or three from Kara's plate.
"She's mine conditionally." Alex corrects feeding Bri another small bite of chicken from what was left from Maggie's appetizer. Bri giving a low sigh as she nuzzles against Alex's hand wanting her ear scratched.
"So, I'm guessing this was the reason Kelly made such an abrupt move back with her brother?" Lena questions now stealing Kara's drink for her own as Alex continues her not-so stealthy feeding of the alien dog at her side. The younger Luthor waving her potsticker skewered fork between the no longer broken up couple
"One of them yeah." Alex nodes her tone layered in guilt. "But she was right about one thing." Alex sighed "It wasn't fair to both of us staying together then we both knew that my heart and my head would always be at war."
Bri this time letting out a low whimper as she nuzzles Alex's hand back towards Maggie's at the reminder.
"I know that feeling. I'm just happy we both figured it out who it was we wanted before it was too late." Lena sighs taking Kara's hand to press a kiss to the back of it before her expression turned serious. "I told Snapper I'm stealing you away for the rest of the day so we can start the game night early."
"Helps to be the boss, huh Luthor?" Maggie jokes making Lena blush around the straw that had once been for Kara's drink.
"I don't know Sawyer, does it?" Lena teases
It's Alex, not Maggie that blushes scarlet at this making Lena's teasing smile widen to a full grin as the raven-haired CEO continues picking different bits of food from Kara's plate.
"Just for that, I'm making it my personal mission to kick your butt in Monopoly tonight, Luthor." Maggie threatens
Lena only rolls her eyes with a cool "Sure Sawyer."
Between them, the Danvers sisters only laugh at their girlfriend's antics as they finished dividing up the rest of the food between the four of them.