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DAY ONE.
Kara sits on one of the old barstools at the diner counter, sipping on a glass of freshly brewed iced tea. The diner is fairly empty, but that’s not surprising on a day like this. Two o’ clock on Monday afternoon is the slowest time for business at Sawyer’s, which works perfectly for filming her sit-down interview with its chef and owner. Just enough ambience.
She spins around on the stool, restless. Her camera guy, James, has been setting up his equipment for the past half hour and her stomach is starting to eat itself. Having to smell all of the delicious food in the restaurants they visit and not being able to eat it all right away is probably her least favorite part of filming her show.
Winn, her sound engineer, moves over towards the counter, giving her a quick wave before holding the color board up for James to adjust the white balance. James peers into the monitor, frowning before calling over their producer, her sister Alex, to double check the specs.
She pushes the ice cubes around in her glass with the straw as Alex leans over the monitor with James, shaking her head. Winn’s groan is cut off by a glare from Alex and he holds up the color board again.
Color was one of the things Kara loved most about Earth, besides the cuisine of course. Despite the gleaming spires of its architectural marvels, Krypton was mostly bathed in reds and oranges and browns. When Kara landed on Earth and met her adoptive parents, she was stunned by variety of colors that decorated their skin. Jeremiah had sat her down and explained soulmate colors to her then.
When humans met their soulmates and made skin-to-skin contact, they’d be painted in the most gorgeous colors - brighter and bolder than anything that could ever be captured on camera. They were only ever visible to oneself and one’s soulmate, so not everyone had the chance to see them. Sometimes people would never find their soulmate and they’d never know what they were missing.
But the Earth’s yellow sun had given her many gifts. In addition to the ability to fly and super strength, she is able to see all soulmate colors and they are beautiful. There aren’t any soulmate colors in Sawyer’s though. Just the simple shades on the color board. Boring and flat.
Suddenly Alex moves into her field of view, snapping her fingers in front of Kara’s face, bringing her back to the present.
“Are you ready Kara?” She looks concerned, lips pursed as she checks her watch. “You’re on in five.”
Kara beams at her sister reassuringly, flipping her hair over her shoulder and adjusting her favorite summer cardigan. “Ready when you are!”
Filming goes exceedingly well in Kara’s opinion. Maggie Sawyer is one of the most engaging chefs they’ve had on "Kara Danvers’s Summer Eats Roadtrip" and her story is one that viewers can definitely relate to. Her aunt had originally owned the diner and she had started working there as a teenager. They had run Sawyer’s together right up until a few years ago when her aunt had gotten sick and had to retire. Kara has a feeling there’s something more to the story that Maggie isn’t letting on, but she knows better than most how some things are best kept to oneself, so she doesn’t pry during their interview.
They all settle into one of the booths as Maggie closes up for the night, exhausted from a morning of driving, followed by a long day of filming not only the interview, but some B-roll of the restaurant and the city as well.
Kara’s nose twitches as she catches the familiar scent of something freshly baked wafting through the air and her mouth is practically watering by the time Maggie comes by their table with what looks to be the most delicious chocolate pecan pie she has ever seen.
“My aunt’s recipe,” Maggie explains with a shrug, setting the pie and a stack of plates down onto the table. She slides into the booth next to Alex, giving her a small smile which Alex shyly returns.
That piques Kara’s curiosity. Her sister has been oddly friendly with the chef. She’s usually incredibly professional, sometimes to the point of being curt in the case of one Maxwell Lord, the hotshot molecular gastronomist they interviewed in Denver. But with Maggie she was all smiles, which was good because in Kara’s opinion, her sister could really use a friend her own age. She’s always so focused on work. The only time she foregoes a late evening at the network is for their weekly sister nights.
Kara bites into the pie, which practically melts in her mouth. “Ohmygodddd,” she mumbles through a mouthful of dessert. “This is the best thing I have ever tasted.”
“Wait until you taste the dish I’ve got planned for filming tomorrow.” Maggie winks, eyes twinkling with mirth.
“Urghhhh I can’t wait!”
Alex shakes her head fondly and hands Kara a napkin. Her own plate remains untouched, save for a small bite taken from the end. Maggie notices and frowns. “Do you not like it?”
Alex’s eyes widen. “Oh! No, no it’s delicious really. I just—” she cuts herself off and pushes her hair behind her ear. A nervous tick Kara recognizes.
She decides to jump in and save her sister. “Alex doesn’t really like pecan pie. It’s my fault really. I’d always make our mom bake them for Thanksgiving.”
The look Alex gives her is all relief as she slides her plate across the table. Kara takes it gratefully and shovels the rest of the slice into her mouth. Winn snickers at her and she pokes at him with her fork.
Maggie ignores their antics, focusing instead on Alex. “Well you’ll have to tell me which is your favorite and I’ll make that next time.”
“Oh you don’t have to do that!” Alex protests.
Maggie places a hand on Alex’s wrist briefly. “I want to.”
They share a lingering gaze that is only broken by Kara letting out a big yawn. Alex looks away from Maggie and clears her throat. “Well, we should probably head over to the hotel. We’ve got an early morning scheduled.”
Maggie looks somewhat disappointed, but slides out of the booth so that Alex can get out as well. “Sounds good. I asked my sous chef, Tom, to run the kitchen tomorrow, so I’m all yours.”
The hotel is thankfully only a few blocks away, so in less than 30 minutes, they’re all checked in and comfortable in their pajamas. Kara flops down on one of the queen sized beds in the room she’s sharing with her sister, claiming it as her own. She opens the room service menu, chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully, considering a late night snack.
Alex rolls her eyes and sits on the edge of Kara’s bed. “You aren’t full from the pie you just ate?”
“Maybe now I want something salty!”
“Uh huh.” Alex snatches the menu from her grasp and that’s when Kara notices it.
“Alex… Your wrist!”
“What?” Alex looks down at her left arm, eyes widening when she sees it - an emerald splash of color running down the back of her arm. “Oh my god.”
“Oh my god!” Kara repeats, bouncing up and down on the bed excitedly. “Alex! Alex your soulmate!”
Alex just stares at the mark in disbelief. “I didn’t… I didn’t notice… Did I brush up against someone while we were filming?”
Her eyes plead with Kara for answers, but Kara has none. She wasn’t keeping a close eye on her sister, who like usual, tried to make herself invisible while they were filming. She just shakes her head.
Alex is in full-panic mode now, pacing around in front of Kara’s bed, waving her arms about. “They must have been in the diner. That must have been when it happened. I would have seen it before, right?” She halts her pacing. “But who spends all day looking at their arms, anyway? What if it has been there since this morning and I didn’t notice?” Pacing again. Back and forth. “I’ll need a list of names from Maggie. She must know all of her regulars…”
Kara watches her sister wear circles into the hotel carpet and thinks back to earlier in the day. The diner had been slow while they were there, only a few patrons. There was the group of elderly women in a booth by the window, a middle aged man sitting at the end of the counter, a few teenaged boys, and the young sandy-haired waiter. She couldn’t recall if any of them had made contact with Alex. But then again, she wasn’t paying that much attention to anyone but James and Winn and…
Maggie.
She looks back up at Alex who has stopped and is staring at her in shock. She’s biting her lip and tucking her hair behind her ear and Kara knows what that means.
Alex is nervous. She’s nervous because they’ve both come to the same conclusion.
It’s got to be Maggie.
DAY TWO.
Alex’s wrist is back to normal in the morning and she seems relieved but a little on edge. She’s certainly more jittery around Maggie when they get to the diner and Kara is a little worried that she might spontaneously combust if they get too close.
Maggie, to her credit, looks cool as a cucumber, although she hasn’t taken her eyes off of Alex all morning. Kara supposes she’s probably come to terms with her own sexuality at this point, which makes her heart ache for her sister. They don’t ever talk about Alex’s love life. Alex always manages to steer the conversation back to whatever guy Kara is currently dating. But Kara knows her sister and she has always suspected, even if Alex hasn’t felt comfortable enough to tell her.
As Winn and James set up their camera equipment in the kitchen, Maggie whips up a quick breakfast for them all. Pancakes with a berry compote, something quick and easy, according to the chef, although she’s using far too many bowls for Kara to classify the dish as such.
She narrates as she cooks, a little bit of a warm up before filming. Kara doesn’t think she needs it though, Maggie is a natural in front of the camera. If viewers are half as engaged in what she’s doing as Alex seems to be, this will be their best episode yet.
Kara leans up against one of the large refrigerators, watching them carefully dance around each other. They have an easy banter and Kara is so incredibly tempted to interfere. To push her sister into Maggie’s arms and watch the colors - and their love - blossom. But she always was a bit of a hopeless romantic.
Winn and James call Alex over to discuss the filming schedule and Maggie is left alone by the stove. She continues flipping pancakes and stirring various sauces, every so often casting a glance Alex’s way. She expertly plates their breakfasts, then turns around to reach for another plate, running smack into Alex. Alex stumbles and Maggie quickly reacts, taking a hold of Alex’s arm to steady her. Everything seems to stop as they stare deeply into each others’ eyes before Alex glances down at the arm still in Maggie’s grasp. Rays of violet radiate out from where they’ve made contact and Alex lets out a small gasp before stepping back, away from Maggie. She stutters out an apology and runs out the back door of the kitchen.
Maggie looks like she wants to run after her but Kara stops her. “Wait, let me.”
She slips out the back door, casting one last glance back at Maggie who is cradling her own violet-stained hand to her chest.
She catches up with Alex behind the diner, next to the dumpster. She’s pacing frantically, rubbing at the color on her arm as if the contact could erase it.
“Alex!” she calls out. “Alex, please stop.”
Alex whips her head towards her, coming to an abrupt stop, her eyes wild. “Kara, I...” She takes a deep, shaky breath, trying to steady her nerves. “I don’t…”
Kara crosses the length of the alley in three strides, taking her sister into her arms. “It’s okay, I’ve got you.” She rubs Alex’s back, feeling her shudder. “I know.”
Alex pulls back, panic evident on her face. Kara hasn’t seen her like this since her junior year in college when she Skyped her during an anxiety attack the night before an exam.
“You… You know?”
She urges Alex to sit on the curb. At first, Alex is skittish, but lowers herself down. Kara takes a seat next to her. “Remember that night we watched Singing in the Rain?”
Alex squints. “Which one? We love that movie.”
“Six months ago…?” she prods gently. “You stood outside my door pacing for like thirty minutes.”
Alex bites the inside of her cheek, closing her eyes and shaking her head. “You heard that, huh? I should have figured.”
“You were going to come out to me then.” Kara wraps an arm around Alex’s shoulder, pulling her closer.
Alex remains quiet, staring down at her arm again, fingers ghosting against the vibrant shades of purple staining the skin.
Kara remembers that night well. She wanted to say something. She wanted to stop her sister’s nervous rambling and tell her that she loved her no matter what. But she couldn’t. She knew deep down that Alex needed to come to that herself. So instead she sat on the other side of the door, listening as Alex practiced her coming out speech to the sconces in the apartment hall. But Alex never brought it up that night— she’d built the walls right back up.
“You didn’t say anything and I didn’t want to force it…” Kara continues. “I figured you’d tell me eventually.”
Alex’s voice comes out as a whisper, “But you knew.”
“I knew.”
“That night…” Alex takes a deep breath and Kara squeezes her shoulder, urging her on. “Do you remember Claudia? From the network?”
“The accountant?”
“Yeah from the third floor…”
Kara vaguely recalls the tall blonde with the fitted suits. “She was pretty… Wait. She was gay?”
Alex gives Kara a withering look. “We dated for a few months. I was… New. And she was… Well. She taught me a lot.” She picks at her cuticles as a light blush dusts her cheeks. “But then she wanted to go public and I…”
“You were scared, that’s understandable.”
“She didn’t think so,” Alex lets out a watery laugh. “I was scared. I’m scared now.”
“But it’s Maggie! Your soulmate!”
“That’s what’s so terrifying. She’s. God she’s so beautiful.”
“Alex, so are you! She’d be lucky to have you.”
As if being summoned, Maggie pokes her head out of the back door of the diner. Kara gives her a brief nod, letting her know it’s ok to come over. She’s very tentative, approaching them slowly, clearly wanting to comfort a teary-eyed Alex, but not knowing if it would be welcome.
She stops in front of them and scratches the back of her neck. “Um… Your crew was wondering if we were going to continue. I wasn’t quite sure what to say…” she trails off, glancing back down to Alex, still sitting on the curb, biting her lip nervously and avoiding Maggie’s gaze.
Kara rests a hand on Alex’s knee, silently asking if she is going to be ok. Alex squeezes her fingers, their signal that everything is fine, and Kara stands, wiping the dirt off of her jeans. “I’ll take care of them.”
“I think you two”— she points at them both— “Need to talk.”
Maggie’s pancakes have unfortunately been devoured by Winn and James by the time Kara gets back to the diner. Luckily, the sous chef is perfectly willing to whip Kara up something fresh. The resulting omelet is so delicious, she almost wants to film a special segment just for it.
An hour later, Alex and Maggie walk back inside. They’re both smiling shyly and Kara’s heart soars when she sees the pink streaks on Alex’s cheek and the fact that their lips are slightly tinged red.
DAY THREE.
"Are you sure this looks okay?”
“You’re not even going to be on camera!” Kara groans, flopping back on the hotel bed in frustration. This is the third shirt Alex has tried on this morning and they’re going to be late. She’s hit with the strange feeling that this is probably what Alex feels like every time she’s trying to get ready for a shoot. She really does owe her sister a lot.
“I know I’m not, I just…” Alex bites her lip, tugging at the hem of her shirt as she peers at herself in the mirror.
“You just want to look good for your soulmate .” Kara finishes, rolling off the bed and standing next to her.
Alex runs a hand through her hair, ruffling the soft, short waves. She looks at her reflection and sighs. “It’s too much, isn’t it? I should go with the first one. It’s more casual. Casual is good.”
Kara tilts her head, considering for a moment, then snaps her fingers. “The blue one. The button down. It’s your color and Maggie will love it.” She rummages through Alex’s suitcase and throws the shirt at her. “Now put this on and let’s go. Winn won’t stop texting me.”
Kara’s original pitch to the network was simple: a host would travel around with a small crew tasting the best summer foods the country had to offer. But as the weeks went on, it had become so much more. She certainly has the opportunity to taste a lot of amazing, unique dishes, but she also gets to know the chef and their city really well. So far on their journey they’ve gone crabbing in Maryland, gone to a chili cook-off in Texas, and even been berry picking. This week they’re going to film a segment at the farm where Maggie sources all of her produce.
When they pull up to the diner though, the parking lot is empty and Maggie is hanging up a “ Sorry We’re Closed” sign in the window. She rushes outside when she spots them, the wind whipping through her hair. “I was just about to call you, did you guys check the weather alerts?”
Alex pulls out her phone and curses as thunder rumbles in the distance. “Tornado watch.”
“Quickly, let’s get all of your stuff inside, just in case.” Maggie ushers Alex and Kara inside and directs her sous chef to help Winn and James with their equipment.
Once they’re all safe and dry, Maggie heads back into the kitchen to make them all some sandwiches, dragging Alex along with her. Kara rolls her eyes as they giggle to each other. She’s happy that her sister is happy, but she’d also really like her lunch.
She slumps forward onto one of the booths, arms spread across the table. “So we’re stuck here all day then?”
“At least while the tornado watch is in effect,” Winn pipes up from the bench seat he’s sprawled across.
Tom deposits a stack of board games onto the table. “He’s right. You could make it back just in the rain, but better safe than sorry in case a twister comes through.”
James pulls another chair over to the booth and they set up a game of Monopoly, much to Winn’s chagrin. The last time they all played in Kara’s apartment back home in National City, he spent half the game trying to roll his way out of jail. Alex and Maggie return with armfuls of delicious smelling paninis. They slide into the booth together and hold hands under the table, distracting each other from the game with whispered promises and lingering glances at each new swirl of color that appears. Tom rolls his eyes at Maggie and throws a hotel at her head when she forgets her turn, making everyone laugh. Kara just sits back in the booth, listening to soft sounds of thunder rolling in the distance and the rain beating down onto the roof, watching her little family. Despite the weather, the day is far from ruined.
The storm lets up in the early evening, but even though the sun has started to peek through the clouds, it’s too late to start filming. After a quick dinner, the boys pack up the equipment and load it back into the car for the shoot the next day and Kara watches as Alex helps Maggie tidy up. They move around each other with practiced ease and if she didn’t know any better, she’d think that they have been together for years.
She clears her throat to grab her sister’s attention, “We’re headed back.”
“Oh, okay. Actually I’m”— Alex motions towards the rest of the dishes still on their table— “I’m gonna just help Maggie clean up here and I’ll meet you back at the room?”
Kara gives her a knowing look, but nods all the same.
As she expected, Alex doesn’t come back to the hotel that night.
DAY FOUR.
When Alex meets them at the farm the next morning with Maggie, she’s wearing a borrowed flannel and shorts and her entire face and collarbones are painted with reds and oranges and yellows, as radiant as the sun. She’s softer too, gentler, laughing along with Winn as he cracks jokes about radishes where before he would be met with contempt.
Maggie introduces them all to her vegetable supplier, a woman named Megan that Kara suspects might not be entirely human. They seem to be close and Maggie doesn’t hesitate to introduce Alex to her. Kara breathes a sigh of relief. Bringing up the subject of her own otherworldly origins to her sister’s soulmate might be easier than she thought.
Megan— or M’gann— as she quietly confirms when they have a moment alone, notices the change in Maggie just as Kara does in Alex. She can’t see the colors, but as a Martian, she can feel their bond in her mind and she notes that she hasn’t felt Maggie so open and carefree before.
They finish filming in the late afternoon— all of them sticky and sluggish from the humidity—and M’gann generously invites them back to her small farmhouse for supper. Maggie whips them up some gorgeous salads that James photographs for the show Instagram and they laugh and joke and soak up the rays of the setting summer sun on the porch. But as the sun sets, so do their spirits.
Kara glances down at her watch. They had planned to leave that evening. Their schedule had already been thrown off by the bad weather the day before and while they had a few extra days padded on either end of their set filming days, they did have to start driving if they were going to make it to Chicago on time to do all of the extra touristy things they’d all begged Alex for.
She excuses herself from the table.
Off in the distance, the rows and rows of corn glow golden in the light of the setting sun. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, taking it all in. It reminds her of past summers spent visiting her cousin, Clark, in Kansas where she and Alex would chase each other through the fields, giggling with glee until the Kents or their parents called them back inside for apple pie.
She wanders the fields until the sun dips below the horizon and stars are just visible. She’s almost back to the farmhouse when her ears catch the sound of music coming from nearby. She follows it to the barn, where she finds her sister and Maggie slowly swaying to a sweet love song playing from Maggie’s phone. They’re illuminated by a few strands of string lights stretching across the rafters of the barn, casting them both in a soft glow. Fireflies flicker nearby and the buzzing of the cicadas— coupled with the crooning of Billie Holiday— create the most romantic scene Kara has ever seen. The song ends and they come to a halt, Maggie’s arms still wrapped around Alex’s waist, holding her close.
Alex’s fingers draw small patterns of orange and gold onto Maggie's neck and she sighs as their lips meet. Maggie presses jewel toned kisses along Alex’s jaw and suddenly Kara feels like she should probably let them know they have company. It’s one thing to revel in her sister’s happiness, but whatever is starting to unfold in the barn is something else entirely. Kara hasn’t walked in on Alex with a woman before and she doesn’t intend to start now.
Alex’s hands start to snake their way up the back of Maggie’s tank top, marking Maggie’s shoulder blades with various shades of green and yikes okay it is definitely time to announce her presence. She knocks loudly on the side of the barn door and they jump apart like a pair of teenagers caught making out on the couch by their parents, their cheeks burning red from the embarrassment, complimenting the fading warm hues from their earlier caresses.
She gives them an awkward wave. “Sorry to interrupt.”
“Oh it’s… It’s fine,” Alex fumbles with her words. “It’s late, isn’t it.” She voices what none of them want to acknowledge, sadness already filling her eyes.
“Actually, I was just telling James how exhausting today was.” Kara feigns a yawn. “I was thinking maybe we extend our stay in the hotel? We could leave in the morning?”
Thankfully Alex catches on, taking out her phone and pretending to check the production schedule. “Well… It’ll mean that we won’t be able to catch that baseball game you and James were so excited about… And we’ll have to have some longer filming days…”
“Please, Alex?” She readies a pout. “I know we’re all really tired.”
“Alright,” Alex relents. She rolls her eyes, but Kara knows she’s thankful for the excuse to stay in Nebraska for just a little bit longer. She’s just too proud and way too committed to her job to suggest it herself.
Kara stretches her arms up over her head and points over towards the main house. “Well, I’m going to go round up the boys. I won’t wait up for you.” She winks at Alex and heads off, smiling at the whispered thank you .
DAY FIVE.
The “ Sorry We’re Closed” sign is still up in the morning when they pull up in front of the diner.
Kara checks her watch. It’s 8 am, an hour past when the diner usually opens, according to the signage posted on the window. She peers through the glass and what she sees warms her heart.
Maggie stands behind the diner counter, smiling softly as she pours two cups of coffee for herself and Alex, who is sitting on a barstool. Maggie hands a cup to Alex, their fingers brushing, and Alex pulls Maggie in for a sweet, lingering kiss over the counter.
Kara knocks on the window and waves excitedly, drawing the pair’s attention. Alex looks characteristically frustrated at the interruption, scowling into her coffee as Maggie makes her way over to the door to let Kara in.
She takes a seat at the counter next to her sister, noting the dark blue and violet swirls on Alex’s skin, a galaxy of color, melancholy but beautiful. Maggie busies herself behind the counter, pulling out a third cup, her exposed skin a mirror of Alex’s.
“So, I guess this it it, huh?” Maggie has eyes only for Alex then and Kara feels like a sudden third wheel.
Alex casts a sad glance over at Kara and Kara knows what she must be thinking. She has a career at the network and Maggie has a successful restaurant. To have one, she will have to give up the other.
Kara sighs and thanks Maggie for the coffee. She can give them an hour more. She’ll need it if she’s going to come up with a plan to give her sister everything she wants.
Both women give her a grateful smile and Kara shakes her head as Alex takes Maggie by the hand and drags her upstairs to her apartment.
When the boys and Kara return, Alex and Maggie have emerged from the diner with clasped hands and bagged lunches. Maggie bids them all goodbye, one by one, making sure to give Kara an extra long hug as a thank you. When she gets to Alex, they’re both fighting off tears. Maggie squeezes Alex’s hands and rubs her arm, leaving behind splotches of dark purple. They pull each other close and Kara respectfully tries to tune out their hushed whispers, knowing that they’re just trying to savor the feeling of belonging for just a few more moments.
She wants to look away from the oddly handprint shaped red marks on Alex’s thighs, half-visible under her shorts, but the rest of what she sees fills her heart with joy. Alex and Maggie are both covered in colors of every shade, head to toe, the empty canvas of their bodies filled by their love.
DAY EIGHT.
The mood in Chicago is morose, despite the beautiful weather.
They finish filming quickly, giving Winn and James the chance to explore the city, but Kara knows that Alex isn’t really interested in going out. Instead she suggests that they stay in, rent a stupid comedy on Pay-Per-View and order something from room service. An impromptu Danvers Sister’s Night.
Alex agrees, but her heart really isn’t in it. She doesn’t even fight Kara on the last eggroll. She hasn’t been the same since leaving Nebraska. She does her job, laughs at all the right parts in the film, but Kara knows that she’s just going through the motions. And as the colors on Alex’s body slowly fade away, she just becomes even more detached.
“You miss her.”
Alex traces the last of the fading marks on her forearm and smiles sadly. “I didn’t think it would be so hard.”
“I know.” She scoots closer to Alex on the bed, rubbing her sister’s knee, trying to give her some kind of comfort. “You didn’t have to leave.”
Alex shakes her head sadly. “I have a job… Maggie has her restaurant.” She bites her lip and shuts her eyes and Kara can tell she’s teetering on the edge of tears.
She takes Alex into her arms, letting her sister’s head fall forward onto her shoulder, and runs her fingers through Alex’s short hair, like Alex used to do for her when they were younger and she’d get homesick for Krypton. Her shirt is stained with tears, but she doesn’t care. She needs to fix this. Alex is always taking care of her, it’s time she did the same.
“You should go back.”
Alex pulls back, wiping her eyes with the collar of the blue flannel shirt Kara knows belongs to Maggie. “What?”
“You should go back to Maggie,” Kara repeats. “Your soulmate.”
“I can’t, Kara. You know I can’t.” She’s frowning. “I have a job. You know Cat—”
“I do know Cat. And I’ll deal with her.” Kara climbs off the bed and begins stuffing Alex’s things back into her suitcase. Alex slowly gets off the bed as well, her eyes wide, disbelieving.
“Kara…” Alex tries to catch her arm, to make her slow down.
“Alex.” She turns and faces her sister. She takes Alex’s hand and places the keys in her palm before closing her fingers around them. “Take the car and go get your girl.”
Alex’s eyes well up with tears again, but this time she’s smiling. She hugs Kara tight. “Thank you.”
And then, she’s gone.
EPILOGUE.
Maggie wipes down the counter with a rag, sighing. She didn’t even want to do the show originally. “Kara Danvers’s Summer Eats Roadtrip” sounded like a complete drag. But even though her food was renowned in Nebraska, business wasn’t quite booming like it used to. She had always opened up her diner to all - humans and aliens alike. But the political climate had grown fraught, and her business had suffered. She never liked to bother her aunt with business matters, not since she retired, but she didn’t know what to do. Her aunt had seen the television offer as an opportunity and urged her to take it.
She had expected to just make a few dishes, show the host around, and tell a sanitized, tv-ready version of her life story. She never could have imagined that she might find her soulmate.
Alex.
It had only been a few days since she left for Chicago and already Maggie felt like a piece of her was missing.
They hadn’t even gotten a chance to discuss their future.
Tom exits the kitchen, pulling on his coat. “Hey Mags, you gonna be alright closing up here?”
“Yeah, you go on home.” She gives him a half smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He pulls her in for a one-armed hug on his way out the door. “You let me know if you need anything. Okay?”
“Yeah.” The doorbell jingles as he leaves and she turns back around to fill the salt shakers.
She leans against the counter, staring up at the back of the bar, where a row of bonsai trees sit on a shelf. She’d considered following Alex to Chicago - dropping everything and leaving the diner in Tom’s capable hands. But she just couldn’t. Her aunt had put her blood, sweat, and tears into this place and when Maggie’s parents kicked her out at the age of 14, her aunt had taken her in without question. Juggling a restaurant and an unplanned teenager wasn’t easy, but she always stressed to Maggie that she didn’t regret it.
Maggie owes it to her to make sure Sawyer’s stays open.
The door jingles again.
“I’m sorry, we’re closed,” she calls out.
“I’m not really interested in the food…” The voice is so familiar and Maggie’s heart lurches with hope.
Was it?
Could it be?
She spins around and right there in the doorway of her diner, holding a suitcase in one hand, is Alex, a hopeful look on her face.
Maggie moves out from behind the counter cautiously, not entirely sure that she isn’t dreaming.
Alex smiles— the most beautiful thing Maggie has ever seen— and strides across the length of the diner until she’s face-to-face with Maggie.
Then, Alex is kissing her and they’re both laughing and crying simultaneously and Maggie feels complete once again. She pulls away to look Alex in the eyes, running her thumb along Alex’s bottom lip, staining it blue. Maggie’s heart swells with happiness at the visual reminder that they’re meant to be together. That they’re soulmates.
The colors are bold and vibrant and beautiful and Maggie is absolutely certain that she has never loved the color blue more than she does in this moment.
She melts back into Alex, kissing her again, and she feels like she has come home.