Chapter Text
Alex Danvers is gay. At least, that’s what Maggie had gotten from their little conversation. Or, rather, from Alex’s ranting. And then their almost kiss…
Maggie feels her heart flutter in her chest at the thought. The phantom feeling of Alex Danvers’s nose rubbing against hers makes her bite her lip and shake her head. She looks at the bathroom door, which has been closed for the better part of ten minutes, and wonders what the hell Alex is doing in there.
Is she calling her fiancé to come pick her up? Maggie doubts it. From the way Alex had spoken about him, she doesn’t really think that their relationship will continue, in any regard. She feels bad for taking delight in that.
Maybe she’s speaking to her sister, Maggie thinks, as she starts to walk around the room, tidying up. She leaves Alex’s pizza where it is, in case she wants to finish it when she comes back out—if she comes back out—and throws her own plate with crust in the garbage and washes out her glass. She stands at the sink long after the glass is clean, though, just taking deep breaths and thinking about what to do next.
She should probably take Alex to her sister’s place, if she doesn’t want to go home and face her fiancé just yet. She could give Alex her number, just in case…
In case of what? she thinks. The only reason Alex had needed her was to be a getaway driver. It’s doubtful that they’d spend much time together otherwise. After all, the woman is still confused about so many things and that’s not the kind of relationship that Maggie should be jumping into right now, is it? What if Alex…what if she was asexual and aromantic? What if she realized that after they’ve been together for a month or two? What if she breaks Maggie’s heart, just like all the other women before her? Maggie doesn’t know if she could take that.
She already likes Alex Danvers so damn much that it terrifies her and excites her all at the same time. She has never felt like this before and that’s enough for her to make up her mind; she will not fall for Alex Danvers. She won’t.
The door to the bathroom opens and Maggie’s spine stiffens. She forces herself to remain staring down at the sink, her knuckles turning white as she grips the edge. She hears the soft padding of Alex’s socked feet as she comes closer. From the corner of her eye, she can see the taller woman holding out her cellphone and a bit of trepidation in the dark hazel eyes. She presses her lips together before opening her mouth as she stops right next to Maggie and leans her hip on the counter adjacent.
“Thanks,” Alex says, her voice a little rough. “For letting me use your phone. And for…well, everything else.” She laughs lightly, still holding out the phone, but Maggie doesn’t turn towards her. She barely breathes. “Maggie?” She prods her with the phone, almost teasingly. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Maggie replies, clearing her throat. She makes a grab for the phone—still not looking at Alex—and her fingers wrap around the other woman’s wrist instead. Her eyes widen and she bites her lip, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks as her fingers seem to be burned by the feeling of Alex’s skin under her hand. She swallows thickly and turns her head slightly, finding Alex staring down at the place where their skin meets and blushing quite fervently. Alex swallows thickly and her eyes raise to meet Maggie’s, wide and confused and so damn beautiful.
Maggie clears her throat and looks back down, releasing Alex’s wrist and snatching her phone—probably too quickly—before placing it into her back pocket. “Thanks,” she says, her voice low and gravelly and far too emotional right now. She glances back up at Alex and feels the air leave her lungs at the way Alex is looking down at her lips, her eyes taking on a hungry look. Maggie can feel the way her heart skips a beat and her mouth goes dry as she finds herself turning fully, without her permission, and looking up into Alex’s eyes, which have returned to hers. They’re still hungry, still wanting, and Maggie’s hands itch to reach out, to run her hands through Alex’s hair, to cup her soft cheeks in her warm hands, to wrap around her waist and pull their bodies flushed together.
But she doesn’t. Because she promised herself she wouldn’t and she—surprisingly—has enough restraint to resist doing everything she wants to do. Even though it’s practically killing her to stay still, to look into Alex Danvers’s eyes like this and not kiss her with everything she has.
But that doesn’t mean she has it in her to resist when Alex does what she wanted to do.
Alex Danvers takes charge as she cups Maggie’s cheeks in both hands and lowers her mouth to land, softly, on the shorter woman’s. Their lips barely brush and Alex pulls away for a second, as if expecting Maggie to pull back or slap her or push her away. Maggie does none of these things because it’s all she can do to keep standing when she’s feeling this weak in the knees. Alex waits for a long moment before pressing in again, her lips not parting until she feels Maggie’s begin to move against hers, because Maggie is strong and resilient but she’s not made of steel.
She rises on her tiptoes, pressing her lips more firmly against Alex’s, her hands burying themselves in her short hair, her skin singing where Alex’s fingers press against her lower back, her shirt riding up in the back and allowing their bare skin to brush. Maggie moans into Alex’s mouth and Alex gasps against her lips, her teeth teasing the bottom one and sending an arrow of pleasure down her spine. God, she’s never had a kiss like this. She’s never wanted to drown in somebody like this. She’s never quite fallen so hard and so fast and they’ve known each other less than a day, but Maggie is sure that she could spend the rest of her life kissing Alex Danvers.
Perhaps that’s what makes her finally pull back, extract herself from Alex’s arms, and press her fingertips to her kiss-swollen lips, her eyes as wide as Alex’s as they stare at each other, chests heaving. Alex swipes her tongue over her lower lip and Maggie fights to keep herself still, her eyes closing for a brief moment as she gathers herself.
“This,” she gasps, “should not be happening.”
“Why not?” Alex asks, furrowing her brows. She looks so upset and Maggie averts her eyes, because if she doesn’t then she’s going to pull her back into her arms and kiss that frown away. And she can’t do that…for reasons.
“Because you…you just came out,” Maggie says. “And only to me, you know? This is all so new for you and you shouldn’t…we shouldn’t be together just because we’re both gay.”
“That’s not—”
“Wait,” Maggie says, putting up her hand. “There’s…you also have a fiancé. And he doesn’t really know why you ran out on him yet, does he?” Alex shakes her head. “So you have that you need to deal with. And I don’t want to be the person who gets in the way of that, you know?” She runs her hand through her curls, mussing them slightly. “I’ve just—I’ve been in a lot of relationships that didn’t work out because the woman I was with treated me like some dirty little secret they couldn’t share with their friends and family. I’ve found out that women I thought I was in love with still had boyfriends or husbands and I…I really can’t do that again, you know? I can’t be with somebody who’s ashamed to be with me, just because I’m a woman.”
“Maggie,” Alex said, her voice soft as she looked down at Maggie, reaching out to cup her cheek. Maggie stiffened and tried her best not to lean into the touch. “I’m not ashamed of you,” Alex says. “This is all new to me, that’s true, but I…I don’t think I could ever be ashamed of you.” She takes a deep breath. “Besides, I’ve already told my sister about you.”
Maggie’s eyes widen at that. “You have?” she asks.
Alex smiles shyly and nods. “Yeah,” she says. “That’s who I was talking to on the phone just now. I told her what happened and she…she accepts me.” Her smile turns to one of pride. “She told me to ‘go get the girl’ and that’s what I’m doing. Or, at least, that’s what I’m trying to do, if you would let me.” She raises one eyebrow at Maggie and strokes her cheek with her thumb. “Or do you not like me?” Her face falls and she starts to move away, but then Maggie grabs her hand and pulls her back.
“I do like you, Alex,” she assures her. “But I…I’m just scared that the only reason you like me is because you’ve suddenly realized that you’re a lesbian and I’m the only other one around. I mean, we barely know each other.”
Alex sighs, looking down. “I know,” she says. “I know that. But, I, um…do you know why I ran out on Max?”
“Because you realized you didn’t love him,” Maggie says, with certainty. That’s what Alex had said before, isn’t it?
“Well, yeah,” Alex says. “But also, it’s because I looked out at the crowd this morning, when we were standing at the end of the aisle, and I locked eyes with this woman…” she smiles, blushing. “And I felt more for her in two seconds than I have ever felt with Max. Or any man, really.” Now she’s looking back up into Maggie’s eyes and smiling softly. “It’s just my luck that she’s the florist for my not-wedding, huh?”
This time, it’s Maggie who can’t help herself. She takes a step towards Alex, throwing her arms around the taller woman’s shoulders, pulling her lips down to hers and moaning as Alex responds with enthusiasm. She knows that it’s probably a bad idea to be jumping into a relationship with a woman who has just realized something so big about herself, who has a fiancé worrying about her right at this second, who she’s only known for a few short hours, but she also can’t find it in herself to care very much about all that. Not when Alex Danvers’s lips are on hers and her arms are wrapped around Maggie’s waist, practically lifting her off her feet.
Maggie forgets to care.
Later, they’re sitting on Maggie’s couch, facing each other, their legs tucked up underneath them and their fingers brushing on the back of the couch. Maggie is giving Alex a dimpled grin with stars in her eyes and Alex is smiling back, blushing. They’ve been sitting here, like this, for five minutes now and neither of them has said a single word. Maggie is fighting the urge to kiss Alex again and she can only imagine that Alex is thinking the same from the way her eyes keep flitting down to Maggie’s lips. But they’d agreed to stop kissing and get to know each other a little more; see if a relationship really is the right move for them right now.
“So,” Maggie says, after a long while, tilting her head to the side, “when’s your birthday?”
“What is this?” Alex laughed. “20 Questions?”
“Why not?” Maggie replies. “What better way to get to know one another?”
Alex presses her lips together as the corners turn up in a grin. “April 10th,” she says, finally. “Yours?”
“March 26th,” Maggie informs her. “Not too far apart.”
“It would appear not,” Alex agrees, her middle finger stretching to stroke Maggie’s. “What’s your favorite color?”
“Wow, going deep, huh Danvers?” Maggie teases. Alex snorts. “I’ve always liked blue. Since I was a kid. Every shade of blue. But especially sapphire.”
“Adorable,” Alex comments and Maggie sticks her tongue out, making her chuckle. “Mine is purple.” She shrugs. “I don’t think I have a favorite shade, to be honest.”
“Really? I had you begged as more of a green girl.”
“You also had me pegged as straight.”
“Hey! So did you!” Maggie laughs, reaching forward to push at Alex’s shoulder as the other woman snorts. She rests her head on her arm as she gazes up at her. “First kiss?”
Alex wrinkles her nose. “Harrison Eichner.” She sticks out her tongue. “He smelled like wet grass.” Maggie laughs at that. “You?”
“Ellie Goode.” Maggie smiles softly and sighs. “She was a grade older than me and very hot.” Her face falls. “She told her boyfriend that I kissed her and he socked me in the eye.”
“Damn,” Alex sighs. “That sucks, Mags. I’m sorry.”
Maggie shrugs. “I got him back, though,” she says, grinning. “I took his high school crush to prom. Made out with her under the bleachers and…um, never mind.” She looks down, blushing at the frown that Alex is giving her. “It didn’t last, obviously,” she admits. “And I’m kind of glad it didn’t.” She reaches for Alex’s hand and pulls it to her lips. Alex turns bright red and clears her throat, but she doesn’t make a move to take her hand back.
“Have any siblings?” Alex asks.
“Three older sisters,” Maggie informs her, still grinning. “Lindsay, Angie, and Maura.”
“Aww, so you’re the baby?” Alex coos and Maggie snorts, pushing her hand away.
“Shut up,” she laughs. “That’s what they always say. I could kick their asses, though.”
“I’m sure you could,” Alex placates, reaching out to pat her knee. Maggie rolls her eyes.
“And I know you have a sister,” she says. “Any other siblings?”
“Nope,” Alex replies. “Just Kara. And Lucy…kind of.”
“Lucy?” Maggie asks. “Who’s Lucy?”
“Best friend since college,” Alex informs her. “Ooh, also Winn. He’s like a little brother. Only more annoying.”
Maggie laughs. “Sounds like a hoot,” she says. “Um…favorite movie?”
“Imagine Me & You.”
“You cannot be serious,” Maggie snorts.
“What? It’s a good movie!”
“Oh, I know it’s a good movie,” Maggie says. “I’ve seen it plenty of times. I just can’t believe you watched it and didn’t even realize that you’re gay.”
“I was a big fan of Piper Perabo, okay?”
“Ha, okay, Danvers,” Maggie laughs.
“Really!” Alex huffs, pinching Maggie’s thigh. “So what’s your favorite movie?”
“Um…I have no idea, actually,” Maggie says. “I’ve seen the new Ghostbusters an unhealthy amount of times, so maybe that?” She laughs and shakes her head. “I’m more into music.”
“Ooh, what’s your favorite band?” Alex asks.
“Bare Naked Ladies,” Maggie says. “Easy. Yours?” Alex’s eyes are wide. Maggie frowns at her. “What? What’s wrong?” she asks.
“N-nothing,” Alex says, shaking her head. “Just weighing the benefits of proposing right now.”
“What?” Maggie laughs, tilting her head.
“Bare Naked Ladies has been my favorite band since my Freshman year of college,” Alex informs her. Maggie’s eyes widen at that.
“Seriously?” she asks. “Wow, that’s quite a coincidence.”
“It’s fate,” Alex jokes, leaning in to press her lips to Maggie’s. Despite herself, Maggie couldn’t help but chuckle against Alex’s mouth, nipping at her bottom lip.
“Maybe,” she says, smiling up at Alex as she pulls away.
They stare at each other for a long time before Maggie clears her throat and looks down, still smiling slightly. “So,” she says, “what is your favorite place in the world?”
It takes everything in Alex to not say ‘right here’.