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Kara knew the second her phone rang with Alex’s number flashing on the screen that something was wrong. Movie night was not for another three days and they had left work only a few hours earlier to a quiet city night.
Now the moon was high and Kara knew by the feeling in the pit of her stomach that this phone call in the middle of the night did not bear good news. “Alex? Everything alright?”
No verbal answer, but Kara did not need super-hearing to pick up on the muffled sobs from the other end of the phone line.
“I’ll be right there okay? Don’t move, I’ll be right there!”
True to her word, Kara was in the air and landing through Alex’s window barely thirty seconds later, still in her sweat pants, her ponytail loosened and windswept and her eyes dark with concern.
Her sister was horizontal on the sofa, a mostly empty bottle of Fireball whisky on the coffee table and a line of tears and mascara streaked unabashedly down her face and onto the pillows below.
Kara was by her side in a moment, lifting her older sister’s legs to sit underneath them where she could rub the red head’s back soothingly.
“Talk me out of it.” Alex Danvers was practically hoarse and Kara’s heart broke in thinking that she had been crying long and hard enough to lose her voice.
“Talk you out of what sweetie?”
“Being gay.” It was a whisper now, uttered in a voice that paled even in comparison to the gravelly voice from a moment before; it was defeat and embarrassment that were written on Alex’s face now.
Kara’s hand faltered in its soothing motions. This picture was so different from the Alex she had seen this afternoon, all bright eyes, happy tears and flushed cheeks at the mere mention of Maggie. Maggie… something had to have happened because Kara had never seen her sister get this emotional about anyone else besides herself.
“Do I need to go kick her ass?” Kara tried her genuine sparkle and nine times out of ten, she would have bet her powers on that making Alex laugh. Tonight, it only made her shoulders quake with tears that refused to fall.
With a groan, Kara lowered herself behind Alex, hugging her sister from behind and smoothing the loose strands of errant red hair away from her face.
“Shhh I’ve got you,” she murmured, nestling her face into the crook of Alex’s neck. “I promise I won’t go kick her ass.”
Finally the sobs subsided and Alex let out a quiet laugh, one that Kara may have missed if she was not listening for it.
“I kissed her.” She said it in disbelief, as if this whole thing had happened so fast that her head had not had time to catch up yet. Kara simply nodded, encouraging her to go on.
“I kissed her and she wants to be friends.” The memory brought out another sob and Kara wondered how many times Alex had been over and played out the past few hours in her head.
“Well that doesn’t sound so bad,” her voice was gentle against Alex’s ear.
“I don’t want to be her friend Kara!” It was the most passionate Alex had been in her speech thus far and she even made a half-hearted attempt to sit up before the alcohol made her head swim and Kara eased her back down. “So talk me out of it.”
And Kara, for as supportive and gentle as she had been, could not find it in her heart to tell her sister that this might be something she was stuck with.
Thankfully a muted snore drifted up from the older girl in front of her and Kara settled in against the back cushions, not wanting to risk rousing her sister back into her reality.
‘Cause you can’t jump the track, we’re like cars on a cable and life’s like an hourglass, glued to the table. No one can find the rewind button, girl so cradle your head in your hands and breathe, just breathe. Oh breathe, just breathe.