Chapter Text
Something tipped me over, someone knocked me down
Emptied out my inside, poured it on the ground
Maggie stalked down the hallway in the direction the agent had indicated Alex and Supergirl had gone. Those two were always together, especially since that night at the bar, and their dual glares toward the detective at every crime scene were starting to get old. So to add insult to injury, the captain had insisted she go ask her ‘alien spooks’ to analyze a weird substance from the crime scene, so she not only had to deal with those glares, but she also had to ask for a favor.
And what were Alex and Supergirl up to down this deserted hallway anyway? She smothered the nascent jealousy before it could gain any traction in her gut as she stepped into a small darkened observation room to see the two women she was seeking going at it like gladiators in an arena, only their arena was a weird gym ringed with odd green lights.
The greeting died on Maggie’s lips as she watched, transfixed, by Alex squaring off, fearlessly, with Supergirl. There was even a small grin on her lips as the Supergirl closed, swinging a fist that could pulverize concrete, and Alex dodged it smoothly, delivering a bare-fisted uppercut to the Girl of Steel’s stomach and then an elbow to the side of her head that staggered the superhero. Supergirl responded with a sweeping roundhouse that caught Alex squarely on the jaw, but Alex rolled with the blow and came back swinging, her kick to the head and knee to the solar plexus putting Supergirl in just the right position for Alex to flip her over her hip and send her to the floor with a crash Maggie could feel through the soles of her boots.
“Again.” Supergirl rose, shaking her head, and then rushed Alex, who slid to the side at the last minute, catching a wrist and sending the superhero into the wall. “You know better than that,” she scolded as Supergirl peeled herself off the wall. “Now focus.”
“We’ve been sparring for an hour.” A slight whine edged into Supergirl’s voice.
“Again.”
“Damn it, Alex.” But Supergirl didn’t get any time to continue complaining as Alex laid into her, her spinning kick to the head just barely missing as the superhero ducked and went low, her punch to the gut doubling Alex over for a second before Alex swung an elbow up to catch the Girl of Steel on the jaw and snapping her head back. Alex stepped back, her fists up, as Supergirl tried her own showy spinning kick. Alex rushed in and slid under the swinging leg, her momentum taking her halfway across the mat. At the last second, her hand reached out and snatched the edge of the superhero’s cape, yanking Supergirl down, the sound of her body hitting the floor making Maggie wince.
Alex was already squaring up again when Supergirl got to her feet. “Enough.” She walked over to a panel and touched a control, the green lights dimming while regular lights came up. “Unless you want to try now?” There was a smirk on her face that Maggie didn’t understand as Alex glared at the superhero.
“We should keep training.”
“We’re done. Rao, Alex, you need to deal with this because beating me up every day for hours is not a healthy coping mechanism.” Alex’s dark eyes were stormy, but Supergirl did not back down. “You might not be able to hurt me physically, but that doesn’t mean this is fun for me.”
Alex dropped her fists, and her head fell to her chest, eyes closed for a minute before she shook her head, her hair flipping back and forth. “Sorry, I just…”
“Detective Sawyer?” Alex’s head snapped up and fixed on Supergirl, who was staring at the observation room with narrowed eyes. “What are you doing here?”
Maggie stepped out into the gym, holding the sample out in front of her like it would protect her as both Supergirl and Alex glared at her. She had to remind herself that only one of them could actually incinerate her with a look, because of the two, the blazing anger in the brown eyes definitely appeared more scary. “My captain asked me to come and ask for an analysis.”
“Why were you watching?” Alex asked, her voice impossibly cold.
“When I got here and I saw you were sparring, I didn’t want to interrupt. And that was kind of amazing.” Honesty infused her voice, and Alex’s glare dialed back a couple of degrees and her shoulders relaxed a little.
“Yeah, Alex is a badass.” There was pride in Supergirl’s voice along with another emotion that Maggie couldn’t quite read. Then a tight smile twisted her lips, and the hint of evil in her eyes scared Maggie more than a little. “She’s still in the mood to spar, in case you are interested in volunteering.”
“I think she’d kill me,” Maggie retorted truthfully, and the superhero didn’t contradict her. If anything, her smile got a little wider.
Alex shook her head at them both and stepped forward to take the sample from Maggie’s hand. “I’ll get this to the lab.” She was already out the door when Maggie realized she really didn’t want to be alone with Supergirl in whatever mood this was, so she hurried after Alex, following half a step behind until they got to the relative privacy of the lab. “I’ll let you know when the analysis is done, Detective.”
The dismissal in Alex’s voice was clear, and Maggie started to leave only to stop at the door, closing it and leaning back with her arms crossed over her chest. Alex sighed and straightened, squaring up with Maggie like she had done with Supergirl in the ring. “Do I need to volunteer? Would slamming me into a wall a few times help? I mean, it sounds like Supergirl would prefer you take your anger out on the source.”
“She shouldn’t have said that.” The anger seemed to be gone from Alex’s eyes, leaving only pain and resignation, and Maggie wished there was something she could say that would help, that could reassure Alex, but she knew she was the last person who could offer that comfort right now. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” Alex’s words mirrored Maggie’s, and Maggie recognized the attempt to let her off the hook.
Alex let out a breath, and her eyes slid past Maggie to focus on a spot in the distance. “I am angry, but I’m angry at myself. I....” Her words petered out, and she didn’t continue, but she didn’t have to. Maggie knew this place, had been here too many times to count; in fact, she was just beginning to leave it herself. It started with taking a chance and ended with getting kicked in the teeth, and the fact that she was responsible for Alex’s heartbreak felt almost worse than her own.
“I meant what I said. I’m here for you, as a friend.” Maggie almost choked on the words, knowing they didn’t even begin to express how she felt about this dark-haired beauty across from her, knowing that they were absolutely not what Alex wanted to hear. But at this moment, they were all she had.
Alex’s head dropped and her hand clenched where it rested on the table. “And maybe someday, being your friend will be enough.” Her eyes, when they met Maggie’s, were full of anguish and bright with unshed tears. “Right now, it’s not. I’m sorry.”
“Me too.” Maggie nodded slowly, sadness threatening to overwhelm as her sense of loss grew, both for their friendship and the possibility of more. “See you around, Danvers.” And then she was gone.