Work Text:
Three simple words; words the eldest Danvers sibling knew would calm her terrified little sister, bring comfort where previously there had been none.
Three words that meant so much more.
Words that meant, “I love you”, “I’m here for you” and “I will never, ever leave you”.
Words that meant “I will protect you, always, no matter what.”
And she did.
When the local mean girls had Kara cornered in the girls locker room, refusing to let her leave, calling her “weird”, insisting that no one would ever want her… Alex was there.
She rained down hell on the bullies, threatening each with social humiliation because once they had been friends and Alex knew all their secrets. When they scurried away, the brunette drew Kara into her arms and whispered their sacred promise.
“I got you.”
When Kara faced her first Fort Rozz escapee, the crest of her family emblazoned across her chest only proving to be a target, Alex was there; rappelling from the helicopter clad in all black tactical gear like an angel of death.
The alien had beat a hasty retreat and through her haze of pain, Kara shakily made out one face.
“Alex?”
“It’s okay. You’re okay. I got you.”
And the blonde had nodded, chin trembling, face streaked with tears as she settled into her sisters warm embrace, because she knew Alex would always make good on her promise.
Then came the times when Kara had been called upon to utter those same words, that same promise, to set her siblings mind at ease.
When Alex had been inconsolable after Jeremiah’s death, lashing out at Eliza and sobbing herself to the point of exhaustion, Kara was there. She climbed into bed beside her “sister”, a very new concept at the time, but one she knew stood for support and protection.
So she fitted her little body against Alex’s back, arms wrapped tight around her trembling frame and stated simply “I got you.” The elder sibling had turned towards Kara, eyes raw with pain and with a single, jerking movement, threw herself into her little sisters open arms.
The next morning found the girls still entwined and as Kara opened her eyes to find herself face to face with Alex, with her sister, she knew she would keep saying those words forever if it kept that small smile on her siblings face; that she would never stop living up to that promise.
When Alex faced down Astra that very first time, stunned Kara’s family was still out there but unwilling to be intimidated, Kara had never been happier to hold her sister in her arms and whisper those three sacred words as she helped Alex limp to the waiting medical van.
When Alex faced Astra that terrible, final time, Kara held her, forgave her, whispered “I got you” through countless tearful embraces until Alex could find it in herself to believe it.
When the eldest sibling faced a crisis of self, torn between what she’d always known and the equally exciting yet terrifying unknown, Kara held her in her arms as she sobbed, reminded of that night so many years before when she had first made her promise.
This time she whispered, “I'm so proud of you” yet the meaning remained the same. “I got you”, “I love you”, and “I will never, ever leave you”.
But when she pulled her sister from that tank of icy water after a full day of agony, nearly compromising her morals, nearly losing herself, she hadn’t been able to say it. Hadn’t been able to do anything except cling to her sister’s trembling body, try in vain to warm the freezing skin because Alex was alive and she hadn't been the hero. This time another voiced their promise.
“I got you.” Maggie whispered, lips warm against skin so cold and Kara felt warmth bloom in her heart at the detective making the promise that previously only two had shared.
And then it wasn’t just Maggie; suddenly there was a host of people sharing that sacred phrase, vowing to fulfill that sacred promise through word but mostly through action.
James tackling Alex to the ground; protecting her from the oncoming van intent on crushing the agent.
“I got you.”
J’on putting his personal feelings to the side to work with Kal’El, for Kara’s sake, because he knew the young woman couldn’t bear the thought of the two men, who were without a doubt family, at each other's throats.
“I got you.”
Winn placing himself fearlessly between Alex and her attacker, refusing to allow Malverne anywhere near his sister after what he’d put her through.
“I got you.”
Even Lena. The infamous Luthor name hung over her head like an anvil yet she remained kind and approachable, proving herself a true friend to both Kara and Supergirl on more than one occasion.
“Kara Danvers,” she whispered in awe. “You are my hero.”
Not quite “I got you” but just as good, in some ways better because Kara had always assumed it was Alex who kept their family circle so small but maybe the young Kryptonian wasn’t as open as she thought.
Maybe Kara was afraid of losing another world, losing another family, losing Alex to another family, that she hadn't really fought her sister’s tendency for isolation, had welcomed having Alex all to herself.
But it wasn’t for the best.
She’d found that out once Maggie came on the scene, once J’onn opened up to them about his true identity, once Winn and James became an integral part of their lives, once she opened herself up to friendship with Lena.
Their lives were suddenly so much fuller and so, so much better and “I got you” became a family mantra yet it still meant all the same things.
“I love you”, “I’m here for you, always”, and “I will never, ever leave you”.
Three simple words, infinite declarations of love, now no longer shared between two but many. Words not diluted by the frequency of their use but made more powerful because every person who said it meant it.
Each willing to die for the other to prove it.
“I got you.”
It felt good to say but damn, if it wasn’t amazing to hear.