Chapter Text
“Hey, come in.” A glance behind Maggie through the door shows Kara that her sister is missing. “Where’s Alex?”
“She’s getting the pizza. She’ll be here soon.”
Kara grins at the thought of pizza and shuts her apartment door behind her.
“Beer?” Lena calls from the kitchen, already on her way to the fridge. Kara’s grin stays in place as she watches Lena move so easily through her kitchen. She loves how at home Lena makes herself in her apartment.
“Can you get me one too?” Kara asks as she moves across the room to spread the snacks across the coffee table. It’s just the four of them for movie night tonight but you wouldn’t know that based on the number of snacks spread out across the table. It looks enough to feed a small army.
“You sure you don’t want anything stronger?”
Kara shakes her head. “Beer is good for now.”
Lena retrieves two beers from the fridge and hands the first one to Maggie.
“Hey.” Maggie smiles at her. “Thanks.”
Lena smiles in return. “Hey. How are you?”
“I‘m definitely ready for pizza, beer, and a night off work.”
Lena nods in agreement. “Me too.”
Next Lena makes her way over to where Kara is fussing over the food. She sidles up to stand beside Kara as she surveys the coffee table.
“Do you think we have enough snacks? I can run out and get some more.”
Lena shakes her head, a fond smile on her face. “I think we have plenty of food. Don’t forget we have pizza too.”
Kara turns to Lena, takes the beer from her outstretched hand, and lets their fingers brush ever so slightly as she takes it. That’s all they can do tonight, no unnecessary or blatant contact. Cuddling during the movie they’d agreed they could still do, but anything more than that is off limits until they’re alone again.
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”
A smirk. “I usually am.”
“I knew it!”
Maggie’s shout startles Kara and Lena, their eyes quickly finding a grinning Maggie across the room.
Kara’s eyes flash to Lena’s then back to Maggie’s again.
“… Knew what exactly?”
Maggie gestures between the two of them, grin on her face. “That you’re together.”
Lena’s mouth drops open while Kara splutters.
“That’s not… We’re not… Lena and I…-“
Maggie’s laughter cuts her off. “Want to try that again?”
Kara bites her lip, looks uncertainly towards Lena as they share a look. They’d been keeping their relationship a secret because it was so new, something that was actually pretty easy with how busy they’d been recently. But tonight was the first night in the two weeks since they’d begun dating that their friends would see them together and apparently Maggie could tell from just one look.
A nod from Lena halts any more denials Kara has on the tip of her tongue. She sighs. “How did you know?”
“I’m a detective.”
Lena rolls her eyes. “No, really, how did you know?”
“I have eyes. It’s obvious.”
“But we were literally just talking to each other. How could you figure it out just from a few sentences?”
Maggie grins. “As I said, I’m a detective.”
Kara suddenly has a thought: this is bad. “Oh no.”
Lena eyes flash to hers, concern clear in them. “What?”
“If Maggie figured it out so easily, so will Alex, and she’ll wonder why I didn’t tell her myself.”
Maggie’s laughter draws the attention of the women again.
“What?” Kara really has no idea what Maggie finds so amusing. This is serious.
“Alex isn’t going to figure it out, don’t worry about that.”
“Of course she will! She’ll know in a few seconds, just like you did.”
Maggie shakes her head. “No, she won’t. As much as I love your sister, she can be entirely oblivious at times. And with you two you’d basically have to have sex in front of her for Alex to figure you two out. There’s no way she’ll figure it out with one look.”
Both Kara and Lena’s cheeks go red at Maggie’s words.
“But you did. And Alex is an agent, it’s her job to be observant too.”
“Yes, and usually she is but this is just one of those things that will go straight over her head.”
Kara thinks for a moment. “Even if we act how we normally would and not try to hide it?”
“I guarantee you, by the end of the night, no matter how ‘couple-y’ you two act, she’ll have no idea that you two are dating.”
Kara frowns. “I think you’re wrong.”
Maggie walks over and sits down on the couch before she smiles up at Kara and Lena. “Think what you like but trust me, your sister is oblivious and the only way she is going to figure it out is if you tell her.”
Kara thinks for a moment. She’s going to tell Alex at some point about their relationship anyway, so why not now? She’s serious about Lena, serious about their relationship, and she wants to share that with Alex. But why not have a little bit of fun telling her, see if Maggie really is right about Alex? She turns to Lena, her smile now mischievous. “Want to make tonight interesting?”
“What did you have in mind?”
“If you’re okay with telling Alex, what do you say we just act normal and see if she figures it out by herself?”
Lena laughs. “You just want an excuse to cuddle while we watch the movie without having to worry if Alex will figure us out or not.”
Kara shrugs. It’s true. “I can’t help it if you give the best cuddles.”
Maggie cuts in. “You two are so cute.”
Lena rolls her eyes and takes the seat next to Maggie. “You still think Alex won’t figure us out?”
“I know she won’t. But tonight just got even better because now I get to watch my girlfriend be adorably oblivious.” She pauses. “I’m happy for the both of you, by the way. You both seem really happy.”
Kara reaches over and squeezes Lena’s hand, her eyes on Lena’s as she speaks. “Thanks, we are.”
Kara tilts her head to the side and both women know what that means. “Alex is here. Start the clock. Let’s see how long it takes her to figure us out.”
Maggie laughs. “Trust me, your clueless sister is going to be no closer to the truth by the end of the night.”
“I guess we’ll see about that.”
The conversation ends as the door opens and Alex walks in holding an armful of pizza. Kara rushes to her side to help.
“Relax, Kar, you can’t be that hungry.”
Kara rolls her eyes as she takes the pizzas, bumps Alex’s shoulder as she moves past her to put them on the table.
Lena gives a wave from the chair and Maggie stands to greet Alex, gives her a quick peck on the lips.
Kara manages to squeeze the pizzas on the coffee table with the rest of the snacks and everyone takes a seat.
Kara presses herself against Lena’s side and Alex doesn’t even give them a second glace. But Kara puts that down to the fact that their relationship has always involved a lot of physical contact, even before they were dating.
“What are we watching tonight?”’ Kara asks, already on her second slice of pizza.
“Stranger Things?” Alex asks.
Kara and Lena glance guiltily at each other.
Alex gasps. “You watched it without us!” Her hand even flies to her chest, like the thought physically pains her. “I’m not surprised by you, Kara, but Lena, how could you?”
Lena looks sheepish. “Sorry, but it wasn’t my fault! Kara pouted and how was I meant to say no to that face?” Kara sticks out her lip when all eyes land on her. “See? It’s impossible to say no to that!”
Kara’s face breaks into a grin. “Is it, now? I’ll have to remember that for future reference.”
“I’ll forgive you, Lena, but only because I know how hard she can be to resist. You say no and she looks like a kicked puppy.”
“What shall we watch instead then?” Maggie asks as she takes another slice of the veggie pizza she’s sharing with Lena.
“I vote The Princess Bride!” It’s Kara’s go-to movie. She loves it and it’s been a few months since she’s watched it.
“Really?” Alex asks. “Haven’t you seen that enough?”
Kara shakes her head. “There’s no such thing as too much Princess Bride.”
Alex rolls her eyes at Kara. “Fine, we’ll vote. But if it’s not a majority, we’ll pick something else.”
Kara immediately turns her pout and puppy dog eyes on Lena.
“I vote the Princess Bride too.” There’s a small smile playing on Lena’s lips and she loves it. Usually, that’d be enough for Kara to lean over and press her lips to Lena’s (and Rao does she want to) but not right now, not so early in the night. They can’t give the game away just yet. Small steps, to see what it takes for Alex to finally see the truth.
“Traitor,” Alex mumbles.
“Me too.”
Alex turns to Maggie, eyes wide. “You too!”
“You just said before that those eyes are hard to resist so you can’t blame me.”
Alex huffs out a laugh. “The Princess Bride it is.”
“Yay! Thank you!” Kara squeals and she turns and places a sloppy kiss on Lena’s cheek.
Lena pulls a face even as she tries not to smile and Kara can’t help but think how incredibly cute she looks right now. “Gross, you just got pizza grease all over my face.”
“Sorry.” Kara doesn’t look sorry at all even as she uses a napkin to clean Lena’s cheek. Then she cleans her own lips before she places another quick kiss to Lena’s cheek.
“Better?”
Lena grins and Kara’s heart skips a beat. “Much better.”
A quick glance at Alex shows she’s not fazed at all by the little display of affection they’ve just shared. Maggie sends them an ‘I told you so’ look and Kara resists rolling her eyes in return.
The night is still young.
Kara quickly finds the movie on her TV and hits play, settling back into Lena’s side as she starts on her second box of pizza.
They finish the pizza and move on to the snacks as they watch the movie and it isn’t until almost halfway through that Kara breaks the silence.
“Lena,” Kara whispers.
Lena hums in return, eyes still on the movie.
“Can you get me a glass of water?”
That gets Lena’s attention. “Why can’t you get it yourself?”
“Because I’m so comfy and don’t want to move.”
“But if I move then you have to move too because we’re cuddled together. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose?”
Kara pauses for a moment before she turns to Alex, her voice louder this time.
“Alex, can you get me a glass of water?” Alex takes the remote and pauses the movie.
“Why can’t you get it yourself?”
“Because I’m nice and comfy cuddled with Lena and I don’t want to move.”
Alex rolls her eyes. “Well I’m nice and comfy cuddled with Maggie so why should I have to get up instead?”
They all wait a moment to see if Alex will realise she’s just made a comparison between herself and Maggie and Kara and Lena but she doesn’t.
“Pleeeease,” Kara drags out and pouts to increase her chances of getting her way. She loves the feeling of being pressed this closely to Lena, her warmth and scent surrounding her, Lena’s body soft against hers, and she’ll do almost anything to stay this way.
Alex hurls a nearby pillow at her instead. “Don’t pull that face on me. Stop being lazy and get the drink yourself.”
“Fiiiinnneee,” Kara grumbles, causing Lena to laugh. “I’ll get it myself. “ She stands but turns back to Lena. “You want anything?”
Lena shakes her heads. “I’m good, thank you.”
“Thanks for asking us!” Alex calls to Kara’s retreating form.
“Maggie, do you want anything?”
“Another beer would be great thanks.”
“What about me?” Alex asks as Kara busies herself in the kitchen.
“You were mean,” Kara calls back. Because thanks to Alex, she had to move from her comfortable place pressed against Lena and Kara can at least be petty about that.
Kara returns with two beers and her glass of water and she hands the beers to Maggie and Alex. Alex rolls her eyes at her sister’s childish actions. “Thanks.”
Kara places her cup on the coffee table and then crawls back into Lena’s arms, settling against her side again. It’s amazing how one person can make her feel so safe, so loved, so at home. Alex gives her that too but this is different, this is a whole other feeling that settles in her chest and makes her feel like she’s finally found her place in the world.
“I missed you,” Kara pouts before she glares over at Alex. “And that’s your fault.”
Lena laughs as she presses a kiss to Kara’s temple. “You’re ridiculous.”
Popcorn flies from the other end of the couch and hits Kara in the face.
“You two are disgusting. Can we get on with the movie?”
Kara turns her glare on Maggie but she glances back at Alex to see her reaction. So do Maggie and Lena. Surely Alex can’t still think her actions are entirely platonic. Alex registers the looks but misreads them and she picks up the remote to continue the movie instead.
Maggie grins and raises her eyebrow at Kara, a clear message in her look.
See, she’s oblivious.
Kara’s not sure what else she can do short of just making out with Lena to get Alex to see the truth without outright saying it. They’ve been close all evening. There have been several kisses and lots of cuddles plus some words that aren’t entirely platonic. What else can she do?
Kara’s thoughts are derailed though when she feels Lena’s arms tighten around her and words are whispered softly against her ear.
“I missed you too.”
Kara snuggles even closer to her girlfriend as they turn their attention back to the movie. Who cares if Maggie is right so far? The fact that they can be open with their affection instead of hiding it like they’d planned for the evening makes her frustration at her sister’s obliviousness worth it.
They’re very near the end of the movie when Kara feels Lena’s head start to droop. Kara shifts, pulling Lena properly into her side so she can rest her head against her shoulder.
Lena hums as she snuggles closer and Kara can tell she’s close to sleep.
Not ten minutes later, the credits are rolling and Lena lifts her head.
“Oh. Did I miss the end?”
“You did.” Kara catches Lena’s eyes, gives her a soft smile as Lena blinks sleepily up at her. Rao, her girlfriend is adorable. “You can go to bed it you want. You were up late last night. I think we’re going to watch another movie but you can sleep if you’re too tired.”
Kara turns to Maggie and Alex for confirmation.
“We don’t have to watch another. We can leave if you two want to get some rest,” Maggie says, throwing implications around on top of Kara’s that Lena will be spending the night. Of course it’s true, Kara and Lena have spent practically every night together since they started dating but Maggie doesn’t know that. Or judging by the smirk that’s settled on her face, maybe she does. And maybe she has other ideas about why Lena was up late last night and why Kara knows about it.
A glance at Alex shows there’s no reaction from her, just gentle concern at the fact that Lena is tired.
Maybe it’s time to step it up a notch.
“I’m not tired. Lena was the one up half the night working. All I could hear as I was trying to sleep was her tapping away on her laptop.”
Lena laughs. “You act like you weren’t asleep within minutes of your head hitting the pillow. You woke up at 3am to tell me it was time to sleep and basically pulled me under the covers with you.”
“It’s not my fault I missed my cuddle buddy. The bed is too cold without you in it.”
“I’m sure cuddling was all you were doing,” Maggie says, throwing a wink their way.
At least that gets a confused look out of Alex.
“We can finish movie night another night,” Alex says to Lena and Kara is disappointed when she doesn’t make a comment about the bed sharing. It’s one thing to share a bed after a movie night. It’s another thing entirely for Kara to drag Lena into bed so they can cuddle. Can Alex really not see it? Was it the word ‘buddy’ she used before? Kara wonders idly if she were to use the term ‘girlfriend’ if Alex would think she was just talking about a friend who is a girl.
“No, I’m fine,” Lena protests. “We’re going to finish movie night. Don’t let my workaholic tendencies stop you.”
Alex hesitates but she sees Lena is serious so she nods. “Okay, what movie shall we watch next?”
“Enchanted!”
The outburst surprises everyone as three sets of eyes fall on Lena. Kara grins as Lena’s cheeks go red.
“But we just watched The Princess Bride,” Alex protests. “We need something with more action in it this time.”
“What are you talking about? The Princess Bride has plenty of action scenes,” Maggie points out.
“Yeah, so why can’t we watch Enchanted tonight? I promise next time, you can pick the movie.” Kara says.
Alex shakes her head but there’s a smile on her face. “Of course you’d pick Lena’s side.”
“Always. Anyway, who can say no to that face?” All three women turn to Lena again who rolls her eyes at Kara, a fond smile on her face even as her cheeks darken again.
“Enchanted it is then,” Maggie says, taking the remote from Alex to switch on the movie.
“I thought you were meant to be on my side?”
“Always,” Maggie grins, before she leans over to press a kiss to Alex’s cheek. “Except for tonight because there’s been too much action at work recently and right now, I want to watch another fairytale rom-com.”
Alex nods her head in Kara and Lena’s direction.”You’re just as sappy as those two.”
Maggie grins again then she’s about to hit play when Lena stops her.
“Wait, we need more snacks.” Kara turns to Lena in surprise. Kara herself had managed to eat all the snacks she’d set out already because everyone else had been too full to eat anymore.
“How on earth can you still be thinking about food?” Maggie asks.
Lena rolls her eyes. “Not for me, for Kara.” She turns to Kara. “I’m sure you’re already hungry again.”
Kara’s face lights up as she pulls away for Lena to look at her properly. “More snacks?” But then she frowns. “But didn’t we eat them all?”
Lena grins. “I may or may not have snuck some ice cream into the back of the freezer yesterday when you were out.”
“Rao, you’re the best!” Kara shifts away even more, but only so she can bring her hands up to cup Lena’s jaw. And then she’s close again, pressing quick kisses all over Lena’s face.
“Kara!” Lena giggles as she tries to swat Kara away but it’s only half-hearted. “I can’t get you ice cream if you don’t stop kissing me.”
That gets Kara to stop, but not before she places one last kiss to the tip of Lena’s nose. Kara grins as she finally lets her go so she can retrieve the ice cream. “Can you bring the chocolate sauce from the cupboard too?” Kara calls to Lena as she retreats into the kitchen.
“As you wish,” Lena calls back, quoting the movie they’ve just finished.
“You’re a dork,” Kara laughs. “And I love you too.”
Kara turns back to find Maggie and Alex watching her with amusement but Kara knows Maggie is more amused because she’s sure Alex hasn’t figured it out yet. Kara wonders how on Earth Alex is still in the dark. But her next words prove just how oblivious she is and wow, Kara really underestimated her sister’s observational skills.
“You really do love food.”
Maggie’s sudden laughter startles Alex.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Maggie replies before she presses a quick kiss to Alex’s cheek. “You’re just adorable.”
Alex blushes and Kara laughs too.
Lena returns with the ice cream and settles back into Kara’s side.
Kara’s grin is back when she sees the carton in her hand. “Mint choc chip!”
“Of course, darling.”
Kara grins and presses another kiss to Lena’s cheek, lingers slightly as she hears Lena’s heart rate increase.
Maggie hits play on the remote and Kara pulls her attention away from Lena and back to the TV as they all settle back down to watch the movie.
Until a yelp from Lena just as Giselle breaks into song in a park causes two concerned pairs of eyes to fall on her.
“Is everything okay?” Alex asks as Maggie pauses the movie.
Lena doesn’t answer them but squirms in her seat, trying to push Kara away. “Your hands are freezing.”
“Exactly,” Kara grins. “Which is why I’m trying to warm them up.”
Kara shifts her hands, causing Lena to yelp again and squirm even more. “Kara, get your hands out from under my shirt.”
It takes that comment from Lena for Alex and Maggie to realise what is going on and Maggie bursts out laughing again.
“But your skin is so soft and warm,” Kara pouts as she removes her hands.
That only makes Maggie laugh more.
“Well, for one thing, I’d appreciate it if you’d kept your hands to yourself when they’re freezing from holding an ice cream container-”
Kara cuts her off. “Does that mean I can touch you when my hands are warm?”
The smirk and raised eyebrow from Lena gives Kara the answer she is hoping for even if her words say differently. “I don’t think this is a conversation your sister wants to hear.”
Kara blushes. She’d almost forgotten they weren’t alone. She turns to find Maggie grinning (no surprises there) and Alex looking confused, which is a good sign. Maybe this is the moment that will make Alex realise the truth.
“Are you okay there, Alex?” Kara prompts when Alex continues to look at her. Even Maggie’s expression shifts as she turns to look at Alex.
Alex looks over to Lena then back at Kara. “Yeah, I’m fine. Are we going to finish the movie or are you going to continue to harass Lena?”
Kara looks offended. “I was not harassing her!”
Alex laughs. “If you say so.”
She wasn’t. Her hands were just cold and she knew Lena’s skin was warm and the perfect way to warm them up again.
Maggie presses play to stop any more arguing, even if it was playful, but Kara can tell she’s disappointed too that Alex hasn’t figured it out yet.
Instead of putting her hands back on Lena, Kara shifts from her position cuddled against her and curls up in the small space left on the couch between Maggie and Alex on one side of her, and Lena on the other. Kara rests her head on Lena’s thighs and immediately Lena’s hands find their way into her hair.
Kara sighs and sinks into the contact as Lena’s hands run gently through her hair.
It’s Kara this time who is blinking her eyes open as the credits roll and she sits up to find Maggie and Alex already cleaning away their rubbish from the table.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” Maggie teases when she sees Kara is awake.
“Sorry, is the movie over?”
“It is and it’s late so we should probably be heading out,” Alex says. She turns to Lena who is still seated and had been stuck with Kara’s head in her lap. “Do you want a ride?”
This is it, Kara realises, the moment where Alex has to figure out they’re a couple. With the answer she knows Lena is about to give, plus everything else that’s happened tonight, surely Alex must figure it out.
“No, thank you. I’m staying here tonight.”
Alex’s eyes widen. This is the first time Lena has ever declined a ride after movie night.
But then Alex smiles like nothing is out of the ordinary and Kara’s mouth drops open. She shares a look with Lena, then one with Maggie.
Okay, so maybe her sister really is as oblivious as Maggie thought.
They say their goodbyes and promise to do another movie night soon.
Once they’ve left, Kara turns to Lena. “Do you think she really doesn’t know?”
“I honestly don’t know. But you literally had your hands up my shirt so if she hasn’t figured it out yet then for someone so smart, your sister is pretty dumb.”
Kara laughs. “We’ll just have to wait to hear from Maggie. She’ll get the truth out of her.”
It isn’t until they’re in bed a little while later that they get their answer.
Alex doesn’t know. Your sister is hopeless.
Lena turns to Kara after she’s read the message.”Do you think we should just tell her?”
“Or…”
“Or?”
Kara grins as she settles her head back on Lena’s chest. “We see how long it takes her to figure it out on her own.”
“Let’s see how long it takes her to figure it out then.”
xxxx
Games night, two weeks later, is the next time they’re all together and it’s time to see if Alex really doesn’t know. Alex hasn’t mentioned anything in the past two weeks, hasn’t made any comments about the amount of time Kara spends with Lena or how much she talks about her but tonight, she’ll be able to tell for sure if Alex actually knows the truth or not.
But on top of that, it’s time to test if Maggie is just super observant and that’s why Alex doesn’t know or if Alex really is that clueless because Winn and James are coming tonight too and Kara hasn’t told them yet either.
“How long do you think it’ll take the guys to figure it out?” Kara asks as she helps Lena set up the snacks. They’ve both just gotten home from work so they’re in a bit of a rush as everyone will be here soon.
“I think they’re going to figure it out straight away. One hug or look and they’ll know. I still can’t believe Alex hasn’t figured it out.”
“She’s ridiculous, but hopefully tonight she’ll figure it out or I might just tell her myself.”
Their conversation is interrupted by a knock at the door before it opens to reveal James and Winn on the other side.
“Hey!” Kara says excitedly as she gestures them in. It’s been too long since they’ve all found time for a games night together.
Kara gives them both a hug before they step past her to give Lena a hug too.
Kara smiles as she watches. She loves the fact that her friends have welcomed Lena so readily into the group.
“Who wants a beer?” James asks, holding up the bag in his hand that is clearly filled with bottles of beer.
Everyone accepts the offer, each taking a beer from James as they make their way to the table Kara has piled board games on.
Lena’s about to take the seat next to Kara when Kara turns to her. “Weren’t you going to put your glasses on tonight instead of wearing your contacts so you don’t get a headache like last time?”
Lena places her beer down on the table and shoots Kara a smile. “What would I do without you? I’ll be right back.”
Kara turns to join in the conversation the guys have started but Lena’s voice from the bedroom a moment later stops her.
“Kara? Have you seen my glasses? I can’t find them.”
Kara pauses, tries to think of the last time she saw Lena wearing them. “Have you checked the bedside table? You had them on last night when you were reading in bed.”
There’s a moment’s silence when Lena is presumably checking there before she calls out again. “Found them, thanks!”
Kara hasn’t even realised that James and Winn have stopped talking until she turns back to find them both staring at her, open-mouthed.
“What?”
“You,” is all James can manage to get out as his hand gestures vaguely in the air which only confuses Kara more.
“What?” She asks again.
Lena arrives back before either of them can answer, not that they seem likely to in the state they’re in.
Lena frowns as she looks between all three of them.
This time it’s her turn to say it. “What?”
Winn manages to gesture vaguely too, this time between Kara and Lena, and that’s when it clicks.
They know.
“How on earth did you manage to figure that out so quickly?” Kara asks and that seems to at least snap James out of his shock or whatever it was.
“You two just mentioned spending the night together last night. How could we not figure it out?”
Kara can’t help the laugh that bubbles out of her. This snaps Winn out of his shock too.
He frowns now. “What?” Everyone seems to be using that word tonight.
“It took you both all of five minutes to figure it out. Maggie figured it out in less than two. But we spent the entire night with Alex two weeks ago for movie night and she still didn’t figure it out.”
Winn laughs. “That’s because your sister is clueless.”
“I’m beginning to see that now. We wanted to see if it was just Maggie being super observant or if Alex really is clueless. That’s why we haven’t told anyone. Apparently we have our answer now.”
“Do you think she’ll figure it out tonight?” James asks.
“We’ll just have to wait and see.”
There’s a knock at the door then before it opens and Maggie and Alex walk through, cutting their conversation off.
It’s show time.
Kara gets up to greet Alex and Maggie and offers them each a beer.
They know, Kara mouths to Maggie when Alex is putting down the food she’s brought with her.
I told you so, Maggie mouths back, grin on her face.
“Are we going to play Monopoly first?” Winn asks when they’re all seated with their drinks, the food scattered around the table.
“No!” Kara almost shouts, startling everyone. “Sorry,” she winces when she hears the elevated heartbeats around the table. And then she pouts. “But I always lose at Monopoly.”
“And I always win,” Lena says matter-of-factly. “So when you inevitably lose, you can just join my team and we’ll win together.”
“Awfully sure of yourself there, Luthor. I was close to beating you last time,” Alex says, eyebrow raised in challenge.
“I was just going easy on you. There’ll be none of that this time.”
Alex laughs. “Well, let’s get started then.”
As predicted, Kara loses abysmally and is out very early in the game. She may have got out on purpose so she could team up with Lena sooner but she’s not going to tell the others that.
Winn is out next, followed closely by Maggie, then James, so now only Alex and Lena (and Kara) are left. They’ve both got almost an equal number of hotels on the board so now it is just a game of luck. Whoever can avoid the other the longest will win.
It’s Lena’s turn and she picks up the dice, eyes never leaving Alex’s as she does.
So what if they take Monopoly so seriously? It’s fun.
She’s about to roll when Kara’s hand stops her. “Wait!”
Kara pulls the hand with the dice towards her and presses her lips to the back of it.
“For luck,” she grins.
Lena smiles back before she rolls the dice and an excited shout escapes her lips when she sees she’s got a ‘six’ which puts her on “free parking” and she’s safe for another round.
“Maybe Maggie should kiss your hand for luck,” Kara taunts, pleased that her girlfriend isn’t out yet.
Alex scowls at her. Maybe they do take Monopoly a bit too seriously. That doesn’t stop her from continuing to grin at Alex as she leans in closer to Lena in anticipation of Alex’s roll.
Alex rolls the dice, without the kiss from Maggie, and she groans when she sees what she’s landed on. Park Lane. Which is Lena’s. That’s definitely going to put a dent in her money. Kara’s grin grows even wider. And she’s right, a few more rolls each and Lena has successfully won another game of Monopoly. They all know they should give up but one day one of them has to beat her.
“Yes!” Kara shouts, bouncing excitedly in her chair. “We did it!”
“Lena did it,” Alex grumbles as Maggie tries to reassure her that there’s always next time.
But Kara doesn’t care about next time. She cares about this time and this time they won.
“That was amazing,” Kara says and then without really thinking, it seems so natural now, she grabs Lena’s cheeks and presses a quick kiss to her lips. She doesn’t even realise what she’s done until she registers the pink tinge to Lena’s cheeks and how quiet the room has gone. She turns to find five sets of eyes on her and they all look shocked. Well, four of the pairs do and Kara wants to groan because Alex is the only one that doesn’t look surprised. She just looks upset and Kara knows it’s still due to her loss.
Alex did just see her kiss Lena, right? She must’ve.
“You won this time, Lena. But next time, I’m coming for you.”
Alex’s words break everyone out of their shock, at least the shock from the kiss, as they all turn to Alex and it’s clear what they’re all thinking.
How could she be so blind!?
“What?” Alex asks, finally noticing the staring.
Kara shakes her head slowly. “It’s nothing.”
“Ooookay,” Alex draws out, eyes darting around the table but it appears no one else is going to speak up. “What game next?”
“Poker?” Lena grins.
“No!” This time it’s Winn who protests loudly.
“Relax.” Lena pats Winn’s arms reassuringly. “I was kidding.”
“How about Uno?” Kara suggests, a nice, easy, fun game that is more about luck than skill and can have multiple winners if they play more than one round.
Everyone agrees so Kara pulls the cards from her stack of games and deals the first hand.
Winn gets up and finds Kara’s glasses in the kitchen and hands them to her. “No cheating.”
“That was one time!” Kara protests. Since then, she’s never been trusted with card games and always has to wear her glasses while playing.
Winn starts and then the game goes on and she’s doing well as cards get placed down while others get picked up. She’s doing very well, with just one card left when Lena places a +4 card down on the table.
Kara actually gasps as she looks up to find Lena with no cards left in her hand and a slightly guilty look on her face.
“Lena! How could you?”
“I’m sorry, I had to. It was the only card I had left.”
“I give you my heart and this is what I get in return?” Okay, so maybe she’s being a bit dramatic but looking at everyone else’s hands, she’s going to lose now.
And then Lena has the audacity to laugh at her. “Darling, it’s just a game.”
“Yeah, a game you just betrayed me in so you could win,” Kara grumbles as she watches Maggie then Alex throw down their remaining cards too.
“I’m sorry,” Lena says again as she leans over and places a kiss against Kara’s cheek. That makes Kara feel slightly better, but she’s not going to tell Lena that.
Kara was right. After just a few more turns, she’s the last one in the game and thus, the loser.
“We can play something else, if you want?” Lena asks as Kara collects the scattered cards.
She turns to Lena. “No, I love Uno, and now I have to beat you.”
“Oh no, we’ve released the competitive beast inside her. Lena, what have you done?” Winn jokes before he receives a face full of thrown popcorn for his efforts.
It takes nine more rounds before Kara is successful at winning and only then does she declare that they can stop playing Uno and can play something else.
“You guys decide on a game, I’ll get more drinks,” Kara says as she stands and makes her way to the kitchen. Lena stands immediately to help her.
“Do you think she knows?” Kara asks once they’re in the kitchen, voice quiet so Alex won’t hear.
Lena shakes her head. “I don’t think she does, and we’ve been less ‘couple-y’ tonight than last time so I don’t think she’ll figure it out.”
“But I kissed you!” Kara whispers loudly as she grabs the beers from the fridge. “How can she not know?”
Lena laughs. ”I genuinely don’t know. Sorry about the plus four by the way, that was mean.”
Kara steps closer to Lena, winds her arms around her waist to pull her closer. “I guess you’ll have to make it up to me later then.” Kara’s voice is low as her eyes drop to Lena’s lips and she’s about to close the gap when a shout from across the room startles them apart.
“Get a room!”
She’s going to kill Winn.
“Later,” Lena promises with a wink and suddenly Kara really wishes it was later now.
They return to the table with the drinks and Kara glances at Alex, watching her carefully. She knows that Alex heard Winn’s words, but did she see them about to kiss in the kitchen?
“What game did you decide on?” she asks instead of questioning Alex because she really doesn’t know if there’s a right way to ask your sister if she just saw you almost make out with your girlfriend in the kitchen without it sounding weird.
“The Game of Life.”
“Really?”
“It’s fun!”
“I know it’s fun, but I’m surprised you guys all agreed to play it.”
“We decided a game that requires no skills at all, only luck, was probably the best way to end the night.”
Okay, Winn has a point. Kara remembers the Mario Kart fight from 2015. They’re not allowed to play that together any more.
“That’s probably a good idea.”
They start the game, Kara still eating snacks she’d forgotten about in her attempt to win Uno earlier. And everything is going well until Kara puts a little pink person in the car beside her when she gets married instead of the expected blue.
At least Alex raises her eyebrow at that.
Kara’s not even the first to have done that tonight. Maggie and Alex both have pink people in the car with them so why can’t Kara?
“What?” Kara asks, because this could be the conversation that makes Alex realise she’s with Lena now.
“You’re getting married to a woman?”
“Is that a problem?”
Kara knows it’s not, it’s not even the first time they’ve played this game and she’s married a woman, but she wants to know what Alex is thinking.
Alex huffs out a laugh. “Of course it’s not, more an observation than anything.”
Kara narrows her eyes at Alex. Does she know? “Okay then.”
When it’s Winn’s turn to get married, he places a little blue piece his the car. “To bi friends!” Winn holds out his beer to Kara and she grins as she clinks her own against his.
The game continues after that and everything is fine. Maggie wins this time and Alex has to keep reminding her that the game is all just luck.
They pack up the games after that. It’s the end of games night and Kara calls it a success since there were no big fights over games.
Even if Alex still doesn’t know she’s dating Lena.
“Do you want a ride home?” Alex asks once James and Winn have left and Maggie and Alex are getting ready to leave too.
“Thank you for the offer but I’m going to stay the night here.”
Alex doesn’t look fazed at all by the comment and just nods and gives Lena a smile.
There’s no way she can be that oblivious right? She must know. But Kara’s sure she doesn’t and suddenly that’s not ok anymore.
“Are you serious?” Kara huffs out, eyes on Alex, who looks just as surprised as Lena and Maggie by the outburst.
“What?”
“Are you not even going to comment on the fact that Lena is spending the night here again?”
Alex looks from Kara, to Lena, then back again, confusion clear on her face.”…Is she not allowed to?”
“Of course she’s allowed to,” Kara huffs out another breath. “But don’t you find it odd that she’s spending the night again?”
Alex only looks more confused. “Should I? She’s your best friend, of course she spends the night sometimes.”
“It’s more than sometimes, we spend nearly every night together.”
Alex looks surprised by this and Kara’s not stopping now, she needs Alex to see the truth.
“She has a toothbrush here, she has clothes here. I have clothes and a toothbrush at her place too. She even has one of my hoodies!“ Kara turns to Lena with a smile on her face. “Which I totally know you stole, by the way, and I already have my eye on one of yours in return.”
Lena laughs, a fond smile on her face even if she looks slightly embarrassed. Kara reaches out and takes her hand before she turns back to Alex. “Don’t you think that’s odd for two people who are just ‘best friends’?”
“I…” Alex’s eyes dart between Kara and Lena, eyes falling to their joined hands before she looks over at Maggie who raises her eyebrows at her.
“What about if you think about how we’ve been interacting recently? Think about all of that, all the hugs and the kisses and the words. Don’t you think we’re closer than best friends would normally be?”
Kara sees it, the moment it clicks in Alex’s mind exactly what she’s trying to say, trying to get Alex to understand.
Alex’s eyes widen. “You two are dating?”
“And she finally gets it,” Maggie grins. She bumps her shoulder against Alex’s. “Took you long enough.”
”What’s that supposed to mean?”
Maggie raises her eyebrows again and at least Alex gets that meaning immediately. She groans as she turns back to Kara. “Oh no, how long have I missed this?”
Kara grins over at Lena, even if nerves flutter in her stomach as Alex finally knows the truth. “A month.”
“I’ve missed this for a month!”
“You have, and we weren’t even hiding it either and yet you still didn’t see it.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me?”
It’s Maggie who speaks this time. “More fun this way. We wanted to see how long it’d take you to figure it out.”
Alex’s eyes narrow. “How long have you known?”
“She figured it out at movie night last week. The guys figured it out straight away tonight too.”
“You’re saying everyone figured it out but me?”
Kara laughs. “Did you not find it the least bit weird that I kissed Lena tonight? Like on the lips? You can’t say you thought that was platonic?”
Alex looks sheepish, her cheeks reddening. “I just thought you two were very close.”
“I hope you’re not going around kissing your close friends like that,” Maggie says and everyone laughs as Alex pouts.
Alex leans forward and presses a kiss to Maggie’s lips. “The only person I’m kissing is you.”
“Good,” Maggie grins.
Kara scrunches her nose up. “Ew. Please stop.”
“Hey,” Maggie says. “I had to deal with you two being all cute for hours. The least you can do is let me kiss my girlfriend.”
“Could you maybe leave my apartment to do that then? Because I’d really like to kiss my girlfriend too and I’d prefer you not be in my apartment when I do so.”
Maggie’s grin turns suggestive. “I’m sure you want to do more than just kiss her.”
“Nope!” Alex says. “That’s my cue to leave. So I’m going to go and take Maggie with me and pretend I didn’t just hear that. Actually, for tonight, I’m just going to pretend I don’t even know you guys are a couple because I can’t think about what you two are going to do once we leave and nope!“ She cuts herself off as she grabs Maggie’s hand “Bye! I love you! I’m happy for you guys!” Alex shouts behind her as she practically drags Maggie out of the apartment.
“So I think it’s safe to say she knows now,” Lena laughs as she steps in front of Kara, winding her arms around her neck.
Kara rolls her eyes. “She does and I’m glad but right now I don’t want to think about that because we’re alone now and…” She pauses. “Maggie may have been right.”
Lena grins as Kara drops her head to rest their foreheads together. “Was she now?”
“She was. And if I recall correctly.” Kara shifts so her lips are hovering just above Lena’s. “You made me a promise.”
Lena answers her with a kiss.