Chapter Text
“Remind me again why we can’t just go to the… erm… other bar? Y’know, our bar?” Kara fidgeted anxiously with the hem of her dress as she and Alex exited the back of their Uber. She had been pestering Alex for the past hour and a half about the subject. She struggled slightly with the intimidating height of her heels, finally managing to meet Alex’s long-legged stride.
The alien was beginning to question why she had allowed her sister dictate her outfit in the first place as she tugged at the garment’s neckline. It wasn’t anything spectacular, just a simple black dress. Though, the neckline plunged deeper than Kara was accustomed to and the fabric hugged her hips just a bit tighter. She’d topped it off with a loose-fitting, red cardigan to dress the ensemble down just a touch. The brunette gave Kara a once-over as they approached the door and grinned fondly.
“Because,” she said for what was probably the hundredth time that evening, “Maggie recommended this one and, honestly Kara, you really need to expand your horizons a little, don’t you think?” The girl in question grumbled unintelligibly in response. Alex shook her head. “Come on, it’ll be fun. Besides, you never know-- you may even decide you like it.”
Kara narrowed her eyes skeptically at her sister’s smirk. She knew that look, and knew it well. That was the look she had when she’d convinced Kara to sneak into an R-rated movie when they were kids. It was the same look she had when she talked her into sneaking out of the house after they were consequently grounded for sneaking into said movie. Nothing good ever came with that look.
The pair crossed the threshold of the bar. Kara’s senses were flooded with a menagerie of smells and sounds. It took her a moment to adjust. It was then that she realized, something was different about this bar.
“A-Alex,” she said quietly, “is this… is this a gay bar?” The blonde squinted hard at the back of her sister’s retreating head.
The brunette in question turned to glance innocently over her shoulder. “Oh, did I not mention that? Oops, my bad,” she smiled and turned back around.
Kara groaned and skittered after Alex. She mentally berated herself for not figuring this out sooner. Maggie had suggested it. Maggie was Alex’s girlfriend. The very same girlfriend who had been pushing Alex to get more acquainted with National City’s LGBT community for weeks. Really, how had she missed this?
“Alex, wait, I’m not… I mean--,” she stammered out, cheeks tinting the faintest shade of pink.
“Kara, it’s fine. I know you’re not gay. Maggie said that not everyone who comes here is, either, which is why I brought you.”
The Super’s face scrunched, but she did relax a bit. In all honesty, she didn’t know what she was. She knew she wasn’t gay, her feelings for James had proven that much. But she also wasn’t entirely positive she was straight, either. Sexual and romantic orientation was much less binding on Krypton. She was raised in a culture that believed in a partnership being more about a compatible match rather than a specified gender role. Granted, she had never been with a woman before, but that didn’t mean she had never thought about it or wasn’t open to the concept.
As she followed Alex to the bar, she could feel several pairs of eyes on her. Looking casually around, she could sense that the gazes were more out of sheer curiosity than anything else. She opted to ignore the wandering eyes.
Kara's own eyes danced over to the bar that had a gaggle of women around it and sighed. This would probably be easier if she could actually get drunk. Or at least she would loosen up and care less which was almost the same thing.
Of course Alex was already halfway to the bar, which didn't surprise Kara a bit. Kara took a few quick steps and caught up with her sister just as she hit the bar, the women before her parting like waves in the wake of Agent Badass-Personality.
Alex leaned up against the bar, facing Kara. She glanced behind her sister and smiled at someone, probably the bartender, for a second before turning back to Kara. "Apparently their happy hour here is great. Maggie says that she can drink as much as she wants, even on a cop's salary."
Just as Kara was about to respond, a voice sounded from behind her.
“She’s right,” and, oh, what a wonderful voice it was.
Kara spun to seek out its source and was stunned into silence. The dimple-faced bartender looked back at her with unreasonably blue eyes and flashed her a smile that would make anyone melt on the spot. Kara was certain that smile had broken its fair share of hearts, and, if it hadn't, the freckles surely had. Blonde hair fell over her shoulders in loose waves that showcased what could only be natural highlights. A gray tank top hugged her chest and ribs tight enough that Kara could clearly make out the lines of her abdominal muscles and her trim waistline.
It was then, that she felt a jab against her own side. “Kara, she asked you a question.”
Kara shook herself out of the bartender-induced trance she was caught in. “Sorry, what?”
Alex rolled her eyes. “You’ll have to excuse my sister, she’s a little hard of hearing sometimes,” she said, ironically, of course, as Kara was most certainly not that.
“Sister, eh,” the bartender returned with a slight lilt in her tone. She raised her eyebrow, turning her piercing gaze on Kara. “I said, what’ll it be, cutie?”
Shit, what did she want? You, back at my apartment, preferably with no clo-- wait, Kara, stop it!! Oh, frack, she’s waiting for you to answer. Say something, idiot!
Kara stammered, "Ah, um... do you-- do you have chocolate milk?"
What?!
The younger Danvers wanted nothing more than to erase herself from the timeline at that point. She felt her chest tighten in panic. There she was, at a
bar
, talking to the first person that made her question attraction itself, and what did she do? She asked for chocolate milk. Did she mention she was at a bar?
Alex then turned to her with an expression that says, ‘
What the hell did you just say?’
Kara could feel the heat radiating from every cell in her solar-powered body as she cooked under her sister’s stare.
The bartender grinned broadly, very clearly amused. She turned her attention to Alex and said, "Is she serious?"
The brunette’s wide eyes never left Kara’s face as she replied. “Apparently,” she said slowly. She looked at the blonde for another moment before shutting her eyes and shaking her head.
Turning back to the bartender, "She actually wants a fuzzy navel. Whiskey, for me, straight."
“You got it,” the blue-eyed woman chuckled and turned to prepare their drinks.
Once the other woman was out of earshot, Alex spun on Kara and stared at her incredulously. "Chocolate milk? Seriously?"
Kara groaned and threw her hands over her face. “I panicked, I don’t know! She’s…” the alien trailed off, her eyes finding the woman. Her back was turned to them and Kara couldn’t help but to glance down at the expance of her unreasonably perfect ass.
Beside her, Alex cleared her throat. She snapped her eyes back to her sister, praying to Rao that her indiscretion had gone unnoticed. No such luck. Alex had caught it and sported a sickeningly sly smirk. “She’s what, Kara?”
Kara felt her face turn beet red, again, “Ah, Alex, I don’t know!” She turned away, in a futile attempt to mask her growing embarrassment. “She’s just… she’s really pretty, okay,” she said the last part quickly and quietly, but, of course, Alex heard it despite her efforts.
Her sister smacked her palm on the bar triumphantly, “I knew it!”
“Shhh, Alex!” Kara hushed her, positively mortified.
Just then, the bartender returned and set their drinks in front of them on the counter. “Here we are. Sorry, fresh out of chocolate milk. Hopefully this will be a good enough alternative,” the girl winked at Kara causing any blush that had faded to return with a vengeance.
Alex smiled warmly and turned her body to face the freckled blonde. “Thank you… I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?”
“It’s Sara,” the girl replied with a charming grin. Oh, that grin.
“Well, it’s great to meet you, Sara. I’m Alex and this is my sister, Kara. My girlfriend recommended this place so we thought we’d check it out,” Alex continued, conversationally.
Sara nodded as she began to wipe down the counter haphazardly, “Ah, yeah. Cop, right? You mentioned earlier about someone being able to binge drink here during happy hour on a cop’s salary. Safe to assume that’s your girlfriend?”
“Yes ma’am, that is correct,” Alex said. She slammed back her whiskey and set the glass down on the counter. “Well, I think I saw one of Maggie’s coworkers over there, so I’m going to run say hello. I’ll be back in a bit,” she said cheerily. Kara’s eyes tripled in size at the words. Alex merely winked, patting her shoulder as she passed.
“So, is it normal for pretty girls to make you mess up your drink orders or is that just for me?” Sara’s raspy voice pulled her out of her daze. She looked at Sara and, somehow, managed a halfway-socially-acceptable smile.
“Well, ah-- I… oh, this looks delicious!” Kara deflected, turning her attention to the drink in front of her. She took what was probably too large of a gulp, causing Sara to grin even wider.
“Oh, so it is just me. Okay,” the woman said amusedly. She switched her task from wiping down the counter to shining up some glasses in front of her. Kara choked a bit on her drink.
Sara chuckled, “I’m just messing with you. So, your sister… Alex, was it? She’s got a girlfriend, but what about you? Any lucky ladies in your life?”
Kara froze. “Wha-- me? No, no, I’m not-- I mean, I am… I’m just, ah,” she stumbled over her words in a panic. She took a deep breath before settling safely on, “No.”
“Good to know,” Sara paused, thoughtful, “I think?” She shook her head, “I get it, it’s hard to figure out. So what do you do, Kara?”
Hearing Sara say her name made Kara’s breath hitch. Not noticeably, thank Rao, but it still happened. “I’m a reporter, actually. I write for The Tribune.” A human sentence, kudos, Kara.
“A reporter, huh? Ooh, fancy,” Sara smirked. Before Kara could say anything further, someone called the blonde’s attention on the other side of the bar. “Hold that thought,” Sara said, holding up a finger in Kara’s direction, before sliding down to the other patron.
She couldn’t help but watch with intrigue as the girl flitted about behind the bar. Her movements were practiced, deliberate. Her interest piqued, however, when a seemingly drunk girl approached the bar. Or, rather, tried to approach the bar. She didn’t quite reach it before stumbling over her own feet and sending her empty glass soaring through the air, directly towards Sara’s head. Kara’s first instinct was to jump from her seat and intercept the glass before it collided with the bartender’s pretty face, but that thought was halted when Sara lifted a dainty hand and plucked the glass from the air with ease, not even taking her eyes off the drink she was preparing.
Well, that was surely unexpected. Reflexes like that did not just happen . Maybe there was a reason the girl moved so delicately. Kara made a mental note to ask her about that when she returned.
A few minutes passed before Sara was able to return to Kara’s place at the bar. She approached her with a smile Kara was sure she hadn’t seen her use with other bar patrons, but she convinced herself she was just seeing what she wanted to see and brushed it off.
“Sorry about that!” Sara said as she went back to polishing the glasses before her.
“Oh, I don’t mind,” Kara replied. With a surge of confidence, she quietly added, “I enjoyed the view.” Her heart hammered in her chest. She listened closely for any changes in Sara’s pulse and smiled a bit when she heard a slight, momentary increase.
The bartender met her eyes with a smirk, “Is that so?” She drawled, her voice an octave lower.
“Yeah…” Kara trailed off, casting her eyes down as she finished off the last bit of her drink.
“You want another?” Sara asked.
“Ah, sure,” Kara said, smiling shyly up at her.
“Same thing, or…” the bartender trailed off, taking Kara’s glass from in front of her. Kara’s mind went fuzzy when Sara leaned over to do so, both from her sweet, dizzying scent and the impressive amount of cleavage the action exposed.
Sara must have caught her looking because when their eyes met again, the other girl had a cocky grin plastered on her face. Kara cleared her throat and averted her eyes from Sara’s intense gaze. “You pick. Whatever you want to give me,” she said, any confidence she had mustered, vanished.
The bartender was quiet for a moment. The moment lasted long enough for Kara to glance back up to make sure she was still there. She caught the tail-end of a thoughtful expression before Sara’s face morphed into something slightly sinister.
“A Screaming Orgasm, it is then,” she smirked and winked before setting to work on the drink. Kara nearly fell off the barstool. She physically had to grip the edge to keep from collapsing, right then and there, onto the bar’s less-than-sanitary floor.
“You alright over there?” Sara asked, grin still evident in her voice. She had her back to Kara as she scanned her wall of liquor before snatching a bottle of what appeared to be very high-quality vodka. She turned back around, ingredients in hand. “You got quiet.”
“Hmm? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just, ah-- got distracted, is all,” Kara replied, trying desperately to keep her face neutral. She failed, she could tell by the look on Sara’s face.
“Whatever you say, dollface,” Sara grinned as she set the drink in front of a blushing Kara.
The two continued to talk amicably for a while. At one point, Kara said something that made Sara laugh, full and real. The sound was incredible and Kara made it a personal goal to emit that sound from Sara whenever possible from then on out. They talked about their jobs and their families. Kara learned that Sara had a dog-- an English Bulldog named Mick. Sara learned that Kara had never had a dog growing up, which she couldn’t believe, but that Alex had owned a small parrot in high school that hated everyone but her and constantly tried to take the tips of Kara’s fingers off.
Before either of them realized it, it was almost 9 o’clock.
Sara sighed. “Well, Kara. It has been great chatting with you, but I’m afraid my shift is going to end in,” she glanced at her watch, “two minutes.”
“Oh… okay. Well, here, let me go ahead and pay off my tab so you can--”
“On the house,” Sara said casually. She was moving around behind the bar again, cleaning up any small spills and gathering empty glasses.
Kara’s snapped her eyes to the girl’s face. “Wha-- no, what? Why?” She downed the last of the drink in front of her and began fiddling in her purse for her wallet.
Sara stopped walking and turned to Kara with a cat-like grin. “I’d never let a pretty girl pay me for a Screaming Orgasm. Not when I’m perfectly capable of giving her one for free.” The sip Kara had taken of her drink almost came spewing out of her nose at that one and she dropped her wallet onto the counter. Sara was clearly having far too much fun with this interaction.
As Kara was formulating a response that didn’t make her sound like a flustered schoolgirl, Sara’s replacement rounded the bar and rescued her from unavoidable humiliation.
“Hi, Sara,” the girl said from the opposite end of the bar. Her delicate features turned up in a small smile as she greeted her coworker and tied her dark hair back away from her face.
Sara smiled sweetly in response. “Hey, Amaya,” she returned politely.
Kara toyed with a loose strand of hair by her ear, not really sure of what to do next. She watched as Sara gathered her belongings from beneath the register and tugged her black jacket over her toned arms. She wanted to say something to her, she really did, but what would she even say? ‘ Hey, I think you’re beautiful and I really like talking to you, wanna go out sometime? ’ No, that wouldn’t work.
So, instead of saying anything, she just say there in silence as Sara gave the other bartender a friendly hug goodbye and exited the bar. She smiled gently when she reached Kara’s seat and said, “Goodnight, Kara.” The smile was different than the flirty ones she had been throwing Kara’s way all night. It was genuine and soft and comfortable.
Kara smiled back, uttering a quiet, “Bye, Sara,” as the girl passed. She watched her walk out of the building and her heart sank.
Her eyes sought out her sister’s and she Alex off to the side with a few people she recognized as Maggie’s friends. The brunette had apparently been watching the interaction. The moment their eyes locked, she jerked her head towards the exit and mouthed an over-exaggerated, “Go after her,” at the alien girl.
Kara sat, contemplating, for only a moment. She chewed on her lower lip and bounced her leg anxiously up and down before hopping off the stool and rushing out the door. She spotted Sara about halfway down the block to the left and ran after her.
“Sara, wait!” She called. The blonde stopped at the sound of her name and turned around. She waited patiently, her hands stuffed in her pockets, with a brow cocked, as Kara slowed to a stop a foot in front of her.
Blue eyes gazed at the Kryptonian expectantly, waiting for an explanation. “Yes?” She said when none came.
Kara began to stammer, not really expecting to have gotten as far as she had, “I was-- well, I was just wondering if, maybe, you… y’know, if you and I could possibly, I dunno, if you wanted to--”
Her struggling was cut short when Sara closed the distance between them and pressed her pink lips to Kara’s. Kara whined a bit at the contact and stepped closer, placing one hand on Sara’s neck and the other on her hip. She felt a jolt of electricity shoot through her chest and down to the base of her stomach as she moved her lips tentatively against the other woman’s. Sara smiled into the kiss and pulled back after a few seconds.
She gazed admiringly at Kara before speaking, keeping her voice low so as to not ruin the moment. “You’re cute. And the answer is yes, I will go out with you,” she said, placing another chaste kiss to Kara’s smile.
“Really?” The other blonde countered, dazedly.
Sara chuckled lightly, “Yes, really. I might even throw in some chocolate milk, if you’re lucky.” She smiled that genuine smile and laughed as Kara ducked her head against Sara’s shoulder , groaning with mild embarrassment . Oh, yes. This was going to work out beautifully.