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Glass clinked against wood as Kara set the bottle down on the table. She sighed, glancing around the tavern. To call it dreary would be an understatement. Her mental image of what a twenty-first birthday should look like varied wildly from what was actually happening. Rather than being in a bar with friends or family, having her first legal drink in a warm and comfortable environment, here she was. Alone, on a foreign planet, basking in a red sun, drinking booze that even she knows is cheap. And she’d bought a whole bottle, too!
In her defense, she hadn't really drunk much before this. She had no real gauge of how much she needed to get tipsy, and she didn't want to leave disappointed. That was what you were meant to do when you turned twenty-one, right? Go get wasted, regret it the next morning, and then learn to pace yourself? She was pretty sure that was the protocol, at least.
Whatever. She’d drink now, figure out the rest later. It was all about the experience, anyhow. Even if her experience was a bit different from others her age, what with being off-planet and all.
She wrinkled her nose as she stared down at the way-too-full bottle with something resembling disdain. Did she really have to drink all this? It tasted sort of like piss and burned going down her throat.
In all honesty, no one was forcing her to drink. She didn’t even really want to–it was more out of an obligation to normalcy than anything.
As if hoping to give her a much-needed out, her phone buzzed.
“Oh thank Rao,” she exhaled, abandoning the bottle in favor of her phone. A notification from one Stephanie Brown sat on her lock screen:
hey, kara! its your 21st right? hbd!!!
Kara smiled at the screen. She could practically hear Steph’s voice through the text.
im sure youre suuuuper busy, but if you need some company you should stop by!
i would bring it to you but i figured its faster if you come get it
cause. yknow. superpowers and all
Kara snorted, thumbs already tapping a response.
be there soon
She was gone before the message even sent. A few coins sat beside the unfinished bottle in place of a tip.
Whatever flimsy inebriation Kara had obtained from her small amount of drinking vanished the moment she returned to Earth. She wasn’t mad about it, though. She liked having her wits about her.
Kara didn’t need to announce her presence for Steph to know she’d arrived. She lacked the super-hearing of a Kryptonian, but her Bat-trained senses were pretty sharp in their own right.
“Woah, you meant it when you said ‘soon,’” Steph quipped, opening her window to let Kara inside. She touched down gently, eyes scanning for anyone else around.
Steph seemed to read her mind: “You’re all good. My mom’s working tonight.” She sat back on the bed, patting the spot next to her. “Not that she’d mind me having you over. She definitely likes you.”
Kara all but flopped down beside Steph.
Steph leaned forward, folding herself in half as she fumbled around under her bed. Eventually, she procured a bottle of vodka. There was no real need to hide it, her mom wouldn’t scold her, but she did regardless. Steph knew that her mom always got nervous over this sort of thing–addiction ran in the family, after all. She didn’t mind sneaking around if it gave her some peace of mind. It was far from the biggest thing she kept from her mom considering the many bat-shaped secrets she kept stashed under the bed alongside her booze.
She held up the bottle. “I know you won’t actually feel a buzz, but I figured it’s better than nothing.”
Kara grinned, grabbing the offered bottle as Steph bent over again. She straightened, now holding two cans of soda. Kara made a mental note to check underneath Stephanie’s bed for treasure later.
“Do you keep everything under your bed?” Kara asked, clearly amused. Steph popped the tab on one of the cans.
“The cans are still cold. Do you think the soda’s always there? Is it a crime to want to be cool and mysterious?” Steph elbowed Kara in the side before handing her the open can.
Stephanie took the bottle back, unscrewing the lid. The liquid inside was decidedly not fully clear; She had clearly already done some mixing.
“Anyways, I would offer to accompany you to whatever planet lets you get blasted, but I don’t think space travel would help a hangover.” Steph cracked open her own can of soda. She took a swig straight from the bottle, nose wrinkling at the taste before quickly following suit with a gulp of soda.
Kara was like 90% sure that wasn’t how you were supposed to mix a cocktail, but she wasn’t going to judge.
“It’s fine,” Kara said as the bottle was passed back to her. “I basically decided right away that the whole ‘drunk’ thing wasn’t that fun.” She took a sip of vodka as if to intentionally contradict her words. Her eyes screwed up in displeasure. She was eager to drown out the taste with soda. Stephanie held back a snicker. “Rao, this stuff is miserable.” She passed the bottle back.
“Remember when you told me you wanted to try a keg stand?” Steph recalled, a smirk playing on her lips. She took a sip, downed the chaser, and continued speaking like it was nothing. “You still think you’d want to?”
Kara snorted.
“Not a chance. But I could definitely drink everyone on this planet under a table.” She took another sip to prove her point, stubbornly refusing to chase away the aftertaste.
“I can’t decide whether it’s a blessing or a curse,” Steph said, impressed at Kara’s display. “Not being able to get drunk, y’know?”
Kara groaned in a typical don’t-get-me-started fashion.
“That’s how I feel about the whole ‘Kryptonian superpowers’ thing.”
Steph nodded along sympathetically. She didn’t have the whole ‘being a metahuman’ part to worry about, but she did understand on the hero front.
“At least you don’t have to deal with hangovers, right?” Steph offered. “I mean, I’m going to regret this tomorrow. But you won’t.”
The downturn of Kara’s lips made it clear that Steph’s words did little to comfort her.
“Yeah, I guess so.” Kara sighed, resting her chin on her hand. “It’s just–” She sort of wished she had something to scream into.
As if able to read her mind (that wasn’t something the Bat-guys had figured out how to do, right?) Steph offered her a pillow. Kara accepted it with a sheepish glance in Steph’s direction before promptly burying her face in it.
Stephanie barely flinched as Kara shrieked, the sound only partially muffled.
When she righted herself and met eyes with Steph, she felt lighter. Yeah, her head was kinda hurting now, but it was cathartic. Stephanie cast her an empathetic look. She’d done her fair share of screaming into pillows.
Kara set the pillow aside and collapsed backwards. Steph followed suit.
The two laid side-by-side in comfortable silence, staring at the ceiling. In Kara’s case, she was more so staring through the ceiling in a weird form of stargazing. Stephanie was more than content to just gaze aimlessly at the scattered posters plastered onto her ceiling. Most of them had been up there so long that it was a miracle they hadn’t fallen yet, but she didn't have the heart to take them down herself.
Steph finally broke the silence.
“What’s it like out there?” Steph finally broke the silence. Kara shifted onto her side to meet her gaze. Steph mimicked the action, leaving the two almost nose-to-nose. “In space, I mean. ‘Cause, y’know… never been.”
Kara raised an eyebrow.
“You haven't? I thought that you Bat-guys were always anywhere but Gotham,” she teased. Stephanie sighed.
“The rest of them are,” she said, annoyance evident in her tone. “But not me. I don't think I really count to them.” She gnawed at her bottom lip.
“I’ve always been sort of an outsider to this whole thing. When I started out, they all made it clear they didn’t want me around.” Stephanie's expression faded to something unreadable.
“Even now that I’ve been legitimized as a Bat or whatever, it feels like a consolation prize. Batman literally had to die for me to become Batgirl.” Stephanie frustratedly buried her face in her hands.
“And even now, it’s clear they don’t see me as an actual part of the team. Why is the literal ten-year-old getting to go do all this cool stuff?” She huffed.
Kara frowned. Then, she threw the newly-dubbed Screaming Pillow at Stephanie, which was accepted with a grateful smile.
One good scream later, the pillow was discarded on the floor and Steph was red in the face (and a little out of breath). Their eyes met once more, and the two couldn't help but break out in giggles at the ridiculousness of it all.
Here they were, two superheroes, having a sleepover like normal girls. Even though they both were anything but.
“If you ever do wanna go to space,” Kara started once she regained her breath, “I could take you.”
Stephanie’s eyes widened and her smile grew across her face. “Really?”
“I’m sure I could figure something out. Give you a whole tour across the galaxy.” Kara stretched a hand towards the ceiling, emphasizing a sky that only she could see. “We could go wherever you wanted. Just the two of us, so you’re not some backup plan.”
Stephanie’s smile softened, eyes strangely emotional. She raised her hand in a copy of Kara’s, reaching for the stars she’d only ever been able to see from a distance.
“I’d like that.”