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Kara was busily setting the table for dinner when the front door swung open and an aggravated groan broke through the relative silence of the loft. She lifted her head as her wife strode in, raising an eyebrow when she noticed Alex rubbing her temples, eyes closed. That wasn’t a good sign.
Lucy wasn’t far behind. She closed the door, dropping her car keys in the bowl beside the door. “What do you mean no?” she demanded. “You can’t just say no to this, Alex. It’s not a unilateral decision for you to make.”
Kara set down the last knife and frowned. She knew that tone of voice Lucy was using and knew instantly that this argument, whatever it was, had been going on for a while. Maybe the entire ride home from headquarters. Still, she waited a moment to see how Alex would respond before she tried to interfere. Her sweet humans were both so bullheaded, but they loved each other, even when things got a little out of hand. Kara tried not to play mediator anymore than necessary.
“It’s no one’s unilateral decision to make,” Alex snapped back. “Not mine, not yours. You never listen before you jump—”
“Whoa, whoa,” Kara broke in, physically inserting herself between her lovers. She could sense Alex was close to losing her temper when she started to get accusatory and knew it was best for her to get in the middle.
“So,” she began in her best placating tone, slinging one arm each around Lucy’s shoulders, then Alex’s, “I made Eliza’s pot roast and veggies for dinner. The roast probably needs another fifteen minutes or so in the oven. Why don’t we sit down and talk about whatever this is together?” She received twin grumbles of agreement and guided both of them smoothly toward the living room.
She seated all three of them on the couch, keeping herself between her two girls and patting their knees. Alex’s head leaned against hers and two of Lucy’s fingers slid through one of her belt loops, tugging until she turned to kiss the top of her head. She looked between the two of them before deciding Lucy would be the most receptive to questioning in this instance.
“What’s going on, sweetie?” she asked their girlfriend softly. “Talk to me.”
Lucy sighed, leaning back against the couch. “I wanted to talk about us possibly getting a dog,” Lucy revealed. “Lo and I used to work with the dogs on base when we were young and traveling with the General. I always liked dogs. But I suggested it to Alex, and she said no without even hearing me out.”
Kara frowned. She would personally love to bring a dog into the house, but she wasn’t going to try to take a side until she had the entire story. She leaned toward believing Lucy, knowing her wife had a tendency to make executive decisions without a second thought. She was very independent and decisive and had been since they were teenagers. A lot of times looking after Kara had been solely left in her hands, especially after Jeremiah’s death, so it was second nature to her now.
“Alex?” she prompted. “What happened?”
Alex dragged a hand through her auburn locks and shot an annoyed glare past Kara at Lucy. “I did say no,” she admitted, “but it wasn’t like I was shutting down all discussion. I just don’t think it’s a good idea, personally. We’re two secret agents and a literal superhero. We don’t have any time to come home and take care of a dog right now. And I’m not bringing it to work with me.”
“Okay.” Kara nodded thoughtfully, looking between her girls again. She bit her lip, considering her words carefully before she threw her two cents in. “Well, I mean, personally…I’d kinda like a dog.”
The reaction was immediate. Lucy pumped her first and loudly proclaimed, “Told you!” while Alex’s head hit the back of the couch with a thunk. She groaned, dragging her palms down her face.
“What’s going on?” Kara asked, confused by the contrasting reactions. Lucy looked absolutely gleeful right now, and Alex looked like she was going to be asking Kara to rub her temples after dinner.
“I told Alex that you would totally be on my side, and she didn’t believe me,” Lucy declared, smirking triumphantly. “So, that’s it. Two against one. Majority rules, right?”
“No,” Alex cut in sharply, waving a hand. “No way. This is a big deal. It should be decided unanimously. I don’t think we’re ready for that kind of responsibility right now. It isn’t feasible, Luce. Are you planning to cut out of work three or four times a day to take the dog out?”
“We can hire a dog walker,” Lucy argued.
“And that would be what? A hundred bucks out of our money every week? That dog walker will see the dog more than we will! And get rich off us to boot.”
“Alex, come on, there’s three of us,” Kara pointed out reasonably, squeezing her wife’s knee. “I’m sure we could figure out a system! And my hours are flexible now that I’m on the journalism track. I don’t have to be at the office during regular work hours, and I can fly! If you guys can’t come home, I can handle things.”
“I know you can, Kara,” Alex said, much more patiently. She cupped Kara’s cheek and smiled at her fondly. “But you shouldn’t have to. If we’re adopting a dog, it should be on all three of us to take care of it.”
“We’ll all take care of it, Alex, but it’s not like Supergirl here is going to run out of energy if she has to take on a little more responsibility than we do,” Lucy maintained. She had softened a bit now, and Kara smiled at her appreciatively. She knew Alex and Lucy could get under one another’s skin like no one else; they were so like-minded it was really no surprise. But at the end of the day, they loved each other and had each other’s backs.
“Look, it’s not that I don’t want a dog,” Alex persisted. “I begged Mom and Dad for a puppy when I was a kid. And I kinda got one. A Kryptonian golden retriever.” She smirked playfully at Kara and Kara blushed, scratching behind her ear. “I’m not trying to be difficult. I just don’t want to neglect this dog or shell out five thousand bucks a year for someone else to take care of it. I don’t think that’s unreasonable.”
Kara bit her bottom lip. “That makes sense,” she agreed tentatively, “but I really do think we can make this work, Alex. We’re busy, but we’ve always found ways to make time together. Why shouldn’t we be able to do the same for a pet?”
Alex fell silent, pressing her lips together. Kara knew her wife well. She knew no matter what other thoughts she might be having, now that she’d taken this rigid stance, it would take a lot of begging and persuasion to get her to reconsider.
“Alright, I’ve got an idea,” Lucy said, leaning forward and clapping her hands together. Alex quirked a curious eyebrow, their gazes meeting while Kara sat back in the middle and watched. “Tomorrow at headquarters. Training room, you and me. Best two out of three. If I get you to the mat, you quit being stubborn and agree to a dog.”
Alex raised both eyebrows, intrigued. A dangerous smirk started to curl her lips, and it took everything Kara had to keep from flinching. She hoped their girlfriend realized what she was getting into. Alex was very skilled; even after all the training she’d put Kara through in the Kryptonite training room, she still took Kara down eight times out of ten.
“And if I win?” Alex questioned.
“Then we’ll drop the subject,” Lucy said. Kara frowned, turning to Lucy with her lower lip jutting out. “For a period of one year,” Lucy amended. “Then we reconsider. Is that okay?”
Kara sighed, but the deal was fair. She had no urgent need to take in a pet right now, as much as she might like to. And if Alex won, she and Lucy could spend that year-long period breaking down Alex’s conviction on the matter.
“Okay,” she agreed. She turned to her wife. “Deal?”
Alex grinned broadly, brimming with confidence. “Deal.” She held out her hand to Lucy to shake. Kara hid her amusement behind one hand when their hands joined and they proceeded to squeeze as tight as they could until Alex broke free, rubbing her fingers and glaring petulantly.
“Now kiss and make up,” Kara encouraged them, grinning at the very thought. The thrill of seeing the two women she loved most sharing a kiss hadn’t worn off yet. Every time it reminded her of how lucky she was to have such an amazing, open-minded wife and an equally incredible girlfriend.
Alex and Lucy obliged her, exchanging a soft, apologetic kiss. She smiled, pleased, and they turned on her, attacking her with kisses until she couldn’t stop laughing.
X
Kara monitored through the window when Alex and Lucy went to the training room the next day. She watched them circle each other like angry tigers, absorbing one another’s every move, waiting for the right moment to pounce. They were both beautiful, graceful, entrancing. Kara couldn’t keep her eyes off them if she tried.
Lucy won all three rounds. Pinned Alex to the mat on the last round and refused to let her up until she furiously cried uncle. She bounced up to Kara for a congratulatory kiss before moving aside to let a sweaty, annoyed Alex slide into Kara’s arms and be comforted.
“So,” Kara murmured, her lips against Alex’s temple, “we’re…getting a dog?”
Lucy smirked when Alex heaved a sigh against Kara’s shoulder, coming up behind her and hugging her from the other side. Kara shifted her grip to wrap around their girlfriend, too.
“Yeah,” Alex muttered, resigned. “We’re getting a dog.”
X
They came home the next Saturday with a friendly, sweet-tempered four-year-old Beagle called Cooper. He came right up to Alex at the shelter and shoved his paw through the chain link fence to shake her hand. Kara had never seen Alex melt quite so easily, not even for her. They knew right away he was the one, and after they’d gotten his papers in order and been loaded down with a week’s worth of appropriate food and his favorite toys, they were off.
Cooper acclimated to his new home in no time. He soaked up every bit of loving his new mommies showered upon him, but he was especially partial to Alex. He sat with his head in her lap at every opportunity and followed her everywhere she went, even if she was only getting up to go to the bathroom or grab something out of the kitchen. And he absolutely refused to sit still to have his leash put on unless Alex was the one doing it, only reluctantly allowing Kara to do so when Alex wasn’t home.
Alex was just as enamored with Cooper as he was with her. She was the first to jump up and take him out for walks. He knew a few simple commands already, but she taught him more, including a few tricks. She even let him sleep on the bed against her back. When Lucy was edged off onto the floor the first time, Kara switched places with her. But when Kara was kicked off three nights in a row, they decided to finally invest in a king size bed to make room for their new bedfellow.
Lucy and Kara both teased her mercilessly over her determined little shadow. And when she decided on a quiet day about two months into their dog ownership that, maybe, just this once, it would be okay to bring Cooper into the DEO while she was working, Lucy had a field day.
“What happened to Agent ‘I refuse to bring a dog to work’ Danvers?” she teased. “I thought the DEO was no place for a dog!”
“Shut up,” Alex grumbled, her cheeks red as she leaned down to snap the leash onto Cooper’s collar. “It’s just one time. Kara has a big article to focus on, and the last thing we need is to leave him unsupervised all day. Who the hell knows what he’d do?”
Kara smiled, grasping her wife’s face gently in her hands and kissing her lips. “You’re a puddle of mush, zhremin,” she murmured. “I love you.”
“Love you. At least you’re not mean to me.” Alex stuck her tongue out at Lucy playfully and was immediately pulled into another long kiss by their girlfriend.
“I’m just glad you came around, baby,” Lucy told her with a grin. “Now come on, let’s get Agent Cooper here to the DEO. He’s gonna get so many ear rubs today he’s not gonna know what to do with himself.”
Kara smiled and watched as her two girls and their four-legged buddy trooped out the front door, snagging Lucy’s car keys out of the bowl on their way. “Have a good day! Behave, please!” she called out.
A duet of goodbyes and a joyful bark came back in answer before the door snapped shut.