A/N: Mondays without Supergirl just don't feel right, do they?

Special thanks to Kakashi316 for the prompt, An aftermath of Kara and Alex after she told her she killed Astra.

Also, the prompt poll has been refreshed and updated so head over there and cast your new votes if you'd like. :)

Thanks for all your enthusiasm and support!

It was after the typical buzz of the DEO had thinned and Hank had left, that Kara loosened her grip on Alex.

The brunette responded by squeezing Kara tighter, letting out another soft sob.

"Oh, Alex," Kara breathed quietly, tugging her sister back into a firm embrace. Alex hiccupped quietly. Her fingers were still curled into loose fists, one of them half tangled in Kara's hair. She was warm and tangible in Kara's arms, her stomach heaving against Kara with every sharp and shuddery breath, gasping for air.

Inside Kara, a thousand emotions were rising, fighting each other for dominance, but she couldn't sort them out, couldn't determine how she was supposed to feel. The only thing she knew for sure was that the sight of Alex crying and falling apart in front of Kara was enough to outweigh the confusion and hurt and anger simmering in the blonde.

Minutes passed before Alex's tears slowed and faded into a small series of sniffles. She pulled back, immediately dropping her head and shoving a hand across her cheeks in an attempt to erase the tear tracks that stained her skin.

She stole a glance at Kara and it was impossible for the younger sister to ignore the way the harsh lights of the DEO caught the tear tracks shining across Alex's face.

"Come on," Kara said, taking Alex's hand in her own. "Let's go somewhere better than this."

She led her sister through halls of the DEO, turning and moving until they were outside.

"Wanna fly?" Kara asked and Alex gave a pitiful, minute nod.

It was strange, Kara thought, as she pushed off the ground, to see Alex so distraught and meek. It was like seeing a dead tree with its branches bare in the middle of autumn, with everything so typically vibrant and fierce.

They were so close together that Kara barely had to use her super hearing to listen to Alex's heart rate slow and even out as they dipped across the city. The wind was blowing in Alex's ears, making it impossible to hear anything else, but if she paid attention she swore she could feel Kara's heart own beating. Alex swallowed hard, guilt was weighty in her stomach and just wanted Kara to understand why she'd done everything.

It'd been a long time since Alex had flown with Kara, and she'd forgotten how much she liked it. The air was cool on her face and from so high up, everything seemed small and perfect. Kara was holding Alex tightly and the proximity was grounding her.

They flew through the city and keep moving until buildings merged and morphed into twinkling lights and golden windows and black silhouettes on a midnight blue sky.

Finally Kara slowed and Alex felt her shoes press into soft grass as Kara lowered them to the ground.

Alex immediately recognized the area – a small mountain on the outskirts of National City. Kara used to come there when she was overwhelmed or conflicted, even before she became Supergirl. During a particularly bad day, when Kara had shut down and shut her sister out, Alex had followed Kara up the mountain, tracked down her car where it was left on the side of the dirt road and found Kara sitting under a tree, looking out at National City. It'd become their place after that. Despite the darkness of night and Alex's months since visiting, she still knew the land, could walk to the tree blindfolded if she had to.

They sat cross-legged in the grass leaning against the tree, an uncharacteristic gap between them screaming in the stagnant, silent night.

Alex turned to Kara, the light of the moon reflecting in her hair. "Kara, I'm really sorry this had to happen."

The brunette watched, throat tight as Kara took a deep breath. When she faced Alex, there were tears sparkling in the younger sister's eyes. "You're my sister and I love you so much, Alex. I know that there's… there's more to family than just blood. You've shown me that. But when Astra died, I felt like…"

"…like you lost your ties to Krypton?" Alex tried when Kara trailed off and broke eye contact.

Kara shook her head, looking down again. "Maybe, sort of, but it was more than that. It was like watching my planet burn all over again. It was like having stupid, blind hope only to have it ripped away in a matter of days." She sniffled and wiped her nose absentmindedly with the back of her hand, appearing so much to Alex like a little kid. "Astra was family. She was the only one I had left," Kara paused, giving a small hiccup. "I feel like I'm losing everyone, Alex" Kara admitted, her voice cracking in a horrible cry.

Alex felt like she'd been punched. Her stomach twisted and she had to fight the urge to cry with Kara, because Alex wasn't enough. How could she be, when Kara's life had been perfect until it was all torn apart and she was sent spiraling toward earth carrying such a heavy burden?

"I know we're not your family from Krypton," Alex began, "and I know maybe we're not enough or everything you need us to be but-"

"That's not true," Kara interjected, a sudden fierceness in her words. Alex looked up, saw Kara shaking her head. "You're wrong. You're so wrong. You and Eliza and Jerimiah are the best thing that's happened to me on Earth and you have never let me down. Not ever. You were better than anything I could have ever asked for…"

Alex shook her head, wiping away tears as guilt swelled in her chest. "Kara, don't say that. I don't deserve for you to be so nice."

"Alex, you have to understand, this isn't your fault. I forgive you. I realized that my… my anger was just a mask for all the pain and the hurt I've been feeling for all these years and when I saw Astra lying there dying on the ground, all that grief just resurfaced…"

Without thought, Alex closed the space between them, wrapping Kara in the warmest, biggest hug she'd felt in a long time. Alex pulled Kara impossibly closer, rocking them softly in the grass under the bright, full moon.

"I'm so sorry," Alex whispered into Kara's blonde hair.

Kara shook her head, burying closer against her sister. "It's so hard to live without them," she muttered against Alex's collarbone. "It's so hard sometimes."

Alex rubbed a hand across her own forehead, frowning as she squeezed Kara. "I know. I know and I'm so sorry," Alex said quietly, repeating it over and over again.

"I'm not alone though?" Kara said, a question more than a statement.

"No," Alex muttered against Kara, looking out at the city, its lights sparkling and mixing with the stars in the sky. "Never alone," she promised.