Chapter Text
Alex let herself into Kara’s apartment, closing the door behind her and shrugging off her leather jacket, shaking her hands out. Though it had been sunny, it was an unusually cold day in National City, and she didn’t want to admit the chill was starting to get to her. “Kara?” she called out, looking around for her sister and wondering why she hadn’t popped up to greet her yet.
There were paint supplies strewn across the table and part of the floor, so unless Kara had zoomed off for some emergency Supergirl-ing, she should still be home. Alex tossed her jacket over a chair and pulled her phone out of her pocket, moving around the island counter with the intention of making herself a cup of coffee as she waited, but startled in surprise as she rounded the corner.
Kara was sitting cross-legged on the floor with her back against the dishwasher, paint-smeared and glaring at the cabinet door in front of her.
“...Kara?” Alex ventured cautiously. Her sister ignored her, munching furiously on a bowl of cereal, and Alex edged closer. Kara was wearing a familiar paint-splattered t-shirt and an old pair of gym shorts, streaks of paint staining her bare arms. Alex could see paint on her temples as well, indicating Kara had been rubbing at them, and her hair was tied back in a messy bun.
Alex kept approaching slowly until she was at her side, crouching down and watching her sister’s face carefully. Kara’s eyes were narrowed at the cabinet door, and Alex glanced at it quickly, hoping to see what had captured her attention. Finding nothing, she looked back at Kara, then turned again and rose up enough to peek her head over the countertop. Sure enough, set up right across from them was Kara’s biggest easel, a partially painted canvas sitting on it. It would be right in her line of sight if she had x-ray vision.
Settling back down on the ground, Alex crossed her legs and sat facing Kara. “Kara,” she began to repeat gently, humming quietly in between words to fill in the silence until Kara noticed her.
“It’s missing something,” Kara finally mumbled around a mouthful of cereal, not taking her eyes away from where she was x-raying through the counter.
Alex let out a small sigh of relief and smiled at her. “Just how long have you been sitting here?"
Kara kept chewing, lifting her cereal bowl in Alex’s direction. “Since three bowls ago."
“Okay, but I know how fast you can eat when you want to, that means nothing," Alex chuckled and leaned back on her hands, knocking her knee against Kara’s leg.
Kara hummed in acknowledgement, still not moving her gaze. “What time is it?"
Checking her watch, Alex said, “5:08.”
Kara blinked, finally lowering her spoon. “Oh. Almost an hour, apparently."
“Can I ask why you’ve been sitting on your kitchen floor for an hour?”
“I just can’t seem to get it right,” Kara huffed irritably, blowing a piece of hair out of her face and gesturing at the painting that was blocked from Alex’s vision. “It’s not… I can’t… ugh!” Kara blew out a breath and made an aggravated noise that shifted to exasperation.
“Alright,” Alex said, standing up and pulling on Kara’s arm, “That’s enough of that. Up we get!"
Kara made a sound of protest, but got to her feet readily enough, shoveling the last few bites of cereal into her mouth and depositing the bowl into the sink. Alex put one hand on her back and one on her arm, leading her towards the canvas. They stopped in front of it, and Alex eyed it critically, noting that it had a lot more orange than she was accustomed to seeing in Kara’s paintings. She looked at her out of the corner of her eye in concern, but went with what she knew. Kara would come to her if she wanted to talk about something.
“So why don’t you try explaining it to me?” Alex put her hands on her hips, squinting critically at the canvas. “Remember? Talking me through my incompetence would help you figure it out.”
Kara rolled her eyes, returning her grin with one of her own. “You’re not bad at it, you’re just too… technical.”
“I know, I know, it’s not my thing. Anyways, what do you think about using that one?” Alex pointed randomly to one of her mixed paints as Kara picked up her palette and took off the cover.
Kara scrunched her nose up. “I don’t think that would look too good, the colors would get all… get all…” She trailed off, eyes sharpening with a different type of focus, and Alex nodded in satisfaction, slowly backing away. Kara was quiet now, occasionally mumbling to herself, and Alex knew she’d gotten past her art block.
Wandering back towards the kitchen, Alex picked up the cereal box Kara had abandoned on the floor. After appraising the brightly colored design on the front, she shrugged to herself and moved to the cupboard to get a bowl.
Cereal poured and spoon in hand, she settled herself on the couch and turned on the TV. She looked back at Kara once more, seeing her absorbed in her painting before turning and putting on the documentary playing on the history channel. The volume was low enough that she could hear Kara puttering around, mumbling to herself as she worked, and Alex sat back on the couch, occasionally turning back to watch the way Kara's colors started to match the setting sun.