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1.
When Winn first meets Kara, he’s instantly smitten by her. It’s hard not to be.
The girl is literal sunshine.
With her bright smile, kind heart and cheerful disposition.
He can’t help it. He really hopes Cat likes her too because he wants Kara to stick around.
After a few weeks, it’s clear Cat is smitten with her new assistant too.
Winn is ecstatic.
They become fast friends, but he isn’t exactly sure how to move beyond that.
He isn’t even sure if Kara is single.
They talk about a lot of things, but never that. He wants to ask her of course, and he tries to on several occasions, but Kara either misses the hints or chooses to ignore them.
He should just ask her out right, but he can’t seem to manage the words. He likes her so much, but he’s too scared. It’s so unlikely that a girl like Kara is still single.
Kara don’t talk about her personal life much, nothing beyond her favorite foods, or TV shows. She never mentions her family. He only realizes this when, after weeks of friendship, Kara mentions a name.
Alex.
It’s the one and only time she’s ever mentioned anyone.
Winn immediately thought the worst, assuming Alex to be Kara’s boyfriend. But when it comes out that Alex is a she, and not a he, WInn breaths a sigh of relief.
It’s still early on in their friendship when he first glimpses the lithe, jaw-dropping brunette. She saunters in Noonan’s one morning with Kara, arm casually around the blonde’s waist.
He watches them from his small table at the back. He isn’t positive that this beautiful woman is Alex, but he makes the assumption anyways.
They sit down beside each other in a booth, instead of opposite.
Winn swallows a lump in his throat.
Alex orders their breakfast without even looking at the menus or the waitress. She only has eyes for her companion.
Kara leans her head on the girl’s shoulder, eyes peering up through her glasses. Winn can tell, even at this distance that the look Kara gives Alex is one of almost reverence.
He watches Alex grin at the other girl before placing a small, quick kiss on top of blonde curls.
He lets out a heavy sigh, pays his bill and leaves. That will teach him to make assumptions about people.
Over the next few weeks he watches Kara more closely, and he notices things.
Notices the way she smiles at her phone, the way the light catches on the silver cuff around her wrist or the ring on a chain hanging around her throat. He notices the, very discretely placed, picture of Alex on her desk.
One afternoon they’re in the break room when some clumsy guy from the mail room spills coffee all over Kara’s blouse.
She lets out a little squeak and Winn tries to help her wipe the liquid from the top.
It doesn’t work. She swears a little under her breath and it surprises him enough that he lets out a laugh.
Kara seemingly too irritated to notice unbuttons her blouse and shrugs it off, leaving her in a spaghetti strap top.
He swallows hard at the newly revealed skin of her arms and chest.
She mumbles something about a blazer at her desk and turns to leave.
If he wasn’t staring at her before, he is now.
Because he can just make out swirling black lines under the back of her top. He can’t make out what the tattoo says, but he’s almost positive he can make out the word Alex in those swirling black lines.
He’s dumbfounded because he’d never pegged Kara as the tattoo type of girl.
He shouldn’t make assumptions.
He’s a little bit heartbroken.
2.
Cat Grant prides herself on knowing things.
All kinds of things.
At any given moment, whether she’s at home, in a meeting or in a crowd, Cat wants to be the person in the room with the most information.
She has an insatiable thirst for it, and for truth, it’s what made her a successful reporter.
Cat wants to know everything about everyone she comes into contact with. That is even more true in regards to her employees.
She knows about them all.
All except for her new bumbling assistant.
The girl with the dreadful wardrobe and the irritating ‘pushing up her glasses’ quirk that makes Cat want to throw something at her.
But the girl, bumbling as she is, is efficient. Cat almost never has to repeat herself, and when she asks for something to be done, she doesn’t have to worry about it again because it’s taken care of.
Kira might be too cheerful for her own damn good, but she’s the best assistant Cat’s had in a long time. So, she tolerates it.
What she can’t tolerate is the girl’s secretive nature.
Cat barely knows anything about her. Only knows the very basics of what was on the girl’s resume. And it isn’t enough to satisfy her hungry for knowledge.
She doesn’t hear her assistant gossiping or sharing intimate details of her life like a normal employee. Her desk isn’t plastered with photos or trinkets. The girl doesn’t even have a Facebook, Instagram or Twitter!
What kind of millennial doesn’t share her life on social media?
It infuriates Cat.
Of course, she can’t just outright ask what the girl’s hiding because that would be unprofessional, but she does try to drop hints, leave openings, and do everything she possibly can to find out any shred of information.
She even tries lingering in strategic places around the office, hoping to hear bits of conversation.
Nothing.
That is, until late one evening.
It’s just after business hours yet she’s still working. Nearly everyone has cleared out of the office. There are only a few stragglers, including Kira, who is finishing up a project for her.
She’s typing away on her computer when a crash comes from outside her door.
Cat jumps out of her seat and rushes toward the noise, ready to investigate.
She finds Kira bent over picking up dozens of desk supplies from the floor.
The younger blonde doesn’t notice her, she just continues stuffing things into a small plastic organizer, mumbling to herself.
Cat watches her for a moment, when something catches her eye.
The top Kira is wearing today, an ugly striped sweater thing, has ridden up a few inches on the girl’s back, revealing pale skin.
Pale skin, covered in swirling ink.
Well isn’t this interesting?
It’s the first intimate thing she’s learned about her new assistant and she’s honestly a bit surprised.
Cat can’t tell exactly how big the tattoo is, but it disappears up under the ugly sweater.
The tattoo is definitely words, but the only part she can discernibly make out are the words “it all.” Letters stacked in a neat vertical column on along the girl’s spine.
She cracks a smile.
Kira finally notices her presence and starts babbling out apologies for being clumsy. Cat just sighs, rolls her eyes and bends down to help the girl with her things.
She gathers up a few pens, some paperclips, a roll of tape, when her fingers land on something far more interesting.
A small photograph.
She pockets the image slyly and they finish cleaning up.
Later when Cat is sure Kira is gone, she pulls out her prize.
From the paper a girl smiles up at the camera.
Well, not a girl exactly, because she’s very definitely a woman. A really beautiful woman.
Short auburn hair, and deep brown eyes. She’s smiling a candid smile, one that is more of an amused grin really. It’s obvious that she is very familiar and fond of the person behind the camera.
Cat would put money on that fact that Kira is the one behind the camera.
While her assistant still might be somewhat of a mystery, Cat Grant is positive she’s now the most knowledgeable person when it comes to the girl, well, the most knowledgeable at the office anyway.
And for now, that’s enough.
3.
Clark talks about Kara a lot.
Talks about her enough that James feels like he already knows her, even before he meets her.
When he does finally meet the girl of steel, she is both familiar and not.
Because while much of what Clark had told him was true, there’s a lot missing from the descriptions.
James chalks it up to the fact that the cousins don’t spent much time together.
Which, he soon discovers, is only partly true.
The other part, he learns, is because Kara is too much like Clark when it comes to her secrets.
She doesn’t talk about her personal life, doesn’t share details that are of any real value. He picks up on her easy deflection, the way she reroutes conversations and answers questions with more questions. She’s good.
He might be a photographer, but he’s also a journalist, he notices these things.
It makes him even more curious about her.
Even without the added mystery Kara is beautiful and smart, she’s charming in an adorably uncanny way that makes his heart race.
He finds himself wanting to know her better.
And he tries. But Kara doesn’t give up information easily. He doesn’t even know if she’s seeing anyone.
He spends night after night trying to recall every single detail Clark had ever told him about the girl from Krypton.
James can’t remember Clark ever mentioning his cousin having a boyfriend.
In all of his recollections he can only remember Clark mentioning one other person in regards to Kara.
And that was Alex.
Alex, Kara’s foster sister.
James does have a vivid memory of the Kryptonian explaining how the pair are nearly inseparable, that they’re basically two halves of one whole.
He doesn’t completely understand until he meets Alex for the first time.
It’s at a game night party Kara has invited him to.
Alex isn’t anything like he’d imagined. Clark hadn’t really said much about her. Beyond her attachment to Kara.
He was in no way prepared for her fierceness, or her almost terrifying beauty.
As they play board games and eat pizza he watches the two.
They move as a flawless unit. Every action seemingly calculated perfectly to the other person. It’s eerie.
It doesn’t matter what she’s doing or who she’s talking too. When Alex speaks Kara’s attention shifts entirely to older girl.
It’s clear in her gaze that Alex is Kara’s everything. Sisters, he has to remind himself.
As he observes them more it’s obvious that the actions are completely unconscious. They move, speak and breath in almost perfect synchronicity.
With each and every movement they find ways to connect through touch, a brush of shoulders, fingers brushing away a stray bit of hair, a hand placed just so on a lower back.
He can’t help noticing that as they move, they seem like two perfectly aligned cosmic forces.
It’s fascinating and disheartening.
Clark had been right about the two.
James realizes that if he’s going to win Kara’s heart, he’ll need to do it through Alex.
He spends the rest of the night, trying to figure out how to make the perfect move.
Luck seems to be on his side when he (literally) runs into Alex the next day, outside of Noonan’s
The woman is wearing a pair of black running shorts and a tight black tank top.
She apologizes before recognizing him.
She doesn’t exactly smile but her lip quirks at the corner as she offers to buy his coffee.
They chat ideally, as he desperately tries to think of the right thing to say. To ask Alex about Kara, if she’s seeing anyone or…
His train of thought is cut off midway through when his eyes, which had been scanning all over the room, the floor and the woman beside him, land on her thigh.
She’s currently chatting with the barista and doesn’t notice his gaze on her.
He stares at the swirling, cursive lines of a tattoo.
Part of it is obscured by her shorts, but the bottom line is legible.
The words “I will not fall” and underneath them a pair of intertwined hearts.
He isn’t sure why but something inside of him falters.
After taking his coffee he sputters out an apology and darts out of the café, his mind a whirl as he tries to puzzle out the situation.
James has a flashback to a conversation with Winn just days earlier about him seeing a tattoo on Kara. And how he was almost sure it said Alex.
How does a Kryptonian get a tattoo anyways?
4.
Lucy likes sparing with Alex.
After all of her intense military training (and her father’s pushing) she doesn’t often find someone who is equal to her.
But Alex is.
At first when they spar, they’re basically enemies. Forced to work together despite their mutual distaste.
They go hard, hard enough to leave bruises, to cause muscles to ache for days afterwards. There are sprained ankles, broken fingers and once, a few cracked ribs. It’s full of hate and anger, but Lucy still loves it.
As time goes on they begin to develop a begrudging admiration of each other. And eventually that turns to full blown respect. And after that, they manage to strike up something that resembles friendship.
A very violent friendship, but a friendship none the less. The first real one Lucy’s had since childhood.
Lucy respects Alex. Respects her brains and her bravery, her determination and her control, her skills and her strength. What Lucy doesn’t respect is her relationship with Supergirl.
Because it’s painfully obvious to her that something is going on between the agent and the superhero. Lucy doesn’t have much love for superheroes, particularly, gorgeous blondes who try and meddle. Supergirl isn’t good enough for Alex.
But Lucy respects Alex enough not to say anything.
So, they spar and they joke, they have coffee and talk about their mutual daddy issues.
Lucy talks about James and Alex talks about Kara.
They don’t talk about Supergirl.
At least they don’t talk about her until Lucy finds out that it’s Kara behind the cape.
Her mind is blown, but she also feels like an idiot because how had she missed it?
Her sister’s literally dating superman, Kara’s cousin, and Lucy had had no idea.
The other thing that is confusing to Lucy is the relationship between Supergirl, well Kara, and Alex.
Because she can see that there is much more between the Danvers sisters that meets the eyes.
It’s not her place to say anything though.
Instead she tries to make a safe space for Alex, in case her friend ever decides to open up.
Of course, she doesn’t.
So things go on as they always have. Except she finds, she likes Supergirl after all.
They spar, they talk, Lucy watches the girls from afar, always wondering if her instincts are right.
She gets her answer a few weeks later when she’s sparing with Alex.
The older girl is wearing a black sports bra and leggings, her toned abdomen glistening with sweat.
They’ve been at it nearly an hour when Lucy finally manages to pin the taller girl to the floor of the training room.
She’s got Alex on her stomach with her hands behind her back. Lucy’s body weight pinning her in place.
Before Alex concedes, Lucy gives the girl underneath her a once over.
She stops at the exposed skin of the girl’s side.
The waistband of her leggings has shifted just enough that Lucy can see the top of a tattoo.
A set of 4 letters inked in black, four letters that look a lot like the word KARA.
Lucy grins to herself because, damn, she’s good.
5.
Kara and Alex are lying together in their bed. Both sweaty and breathless from their love making.
Kara leans up and kisses her wife on the lips, deep and slow. Their mouths move together in a flawless pattern only years of practice can bring. Which of course, is absolutely the case.
They’d kissed a few times throughout in high school, they’d shared their first time (Kara’s first ever time) together a few months after Alex went way to college.
Over the course of their college careers they’d traded hundreds of stolen kisses, and several nights falling into bed together.
They danced around each other, neither willing to say what they both already knew. Yes, they were foster sisters, but they were also so much more than that.
They were soulmates.
Alex had a lot harder time accepting the situation than Kara did. On Krypton it wasn’t unheard of for even blood siblings to bond.
Kara knew from the first moment she’d laid eyes on Alex, that the girl was her one and only.
It took Alex a lot longer to acknowledge that her feelings of love and protectiveness went far beyond sisterly. She fought it too, and Kara had never pushed. But no matter what they’d always found their way back to each other.
It was shortly after joining the DEO that Alex had finally taken the plunge, had finally told Kara she was in love with her. That she wanted them to be bond-mates.
Kara had wept.
Two days later they’d performed the bonding ritual because Kara hadn’t wanted to wait another second. Who was Alex to deny her?
They performed the bonding ritual and placed the silver Kryptonian bracelets that Kara’s mother had given her as a parting gift onto each other’s wrists.
A week after that Kara had gotten down on one knee and asked Alex to marry her.
Alex, of course, said yes.
They’d gone to a justice of the peace a month after that and exchanged vows, with Eliza as their witness.
She’d been a little confused, but ultimately accepting of her daughter’s relationship.
Both girls had decided that for now, they didn’t need to be out to the rest of the world. To them, the rest of the world didn’t matter. In the beginning it was because Alex had a dangerous job for a top-secret organization, but after Supergirl came out, keeping their bond hidden was even more important.
The only person they’d told was J’onn, who’d been more than supportive of them.
They were sisters, they were bond-mates, they were wives. Nothing else mattered…
They’re still kissing, alternating from firm and gentle to roughly clashing teeth and tongues. Kara would be content to do nothing but kiss this woman for the rest of her life.
Unfortunately Alex needs oxygen and pulls away.
Kara keeps kissing her though. Over her nose and cheeks, down the column of her throat, over her neck and finally back up to her ear.
“I love you.”
Alex smiles and kisses Kara’s forehead. “I love you more.”
Kara giggles into her ear.
“Not possible!”
Alex doesn’t even try to protest.
“Okay, so maybe we love each other equally.”
Kara just nods at this before readjusting her position.
Alex is laying on her back, head propped on the pillows. Kara is draped over Alex’s left side, on her stomach with their legs tangled together. Kara’s head is tucked in the space between Alex’s shoulder and the pillow. Lips ghosting over a pulse point.
Alex leans in just enough to kiss the top of Kara’s blonde head. One hand tracing swirling letters that run vertically over the length of Kara’s spine.
She smiles at the memory of red sun lamps from the DEO, Kara’s human strength grip in hers as the needle worked the ink into her skin.
Alex’s keeper, for her I’d risk it all.
Kara can feel Alex’s fingers tracing her tattoo, so she moves her hand to Alex’s right thigh to trace the horizontal lines of script there as well.
Kara’s protector, because of her I will not fall.