In attempt to be more social, Lara had agreed to come out for drinks when Alex invited her. The occasion certainly called for it as Alex’s younger sister had departed from Atlantis. Lara thought it best not to ask whether or not Kara had plans on leaving. Given the grim expressions she remembered seeing, Lara thought that perhaps Kara didn’t have a say in the matter. Lara was well acquainted with that feeling, she had disappeared from Atlantis even though she made no plans on leaving. Lara could only imagine how it might have felt like to others, had Lara had anyone on the island that cared enough about her. Not that she didn’t think she was liked, but more that she never had a change to develop any strong friendships during her first visit.
It was her goal to change that now that she had a second chance. It wasn’t easy. By nature, Lara was a creature that enjoyed her solitude. She was doing her best to become more social, maybe even make friends. While she had a good time drinking, meeting new people, Lara thought it would be a nice gesture to see how Alex was doing. Lara might not have had any siblings, but being without her best friend, Sam was still difficult. The two were barely speaking back home but she knew what it felt like to wish someone was here. When she found Alex’s flat, she waited patiently after giving a few knocks on the door.
Alex knew that Kara wouldn’t have left without saying goodbye. There was no way she would have done that and she also didn’t believe that her sister had chosen to leave, not with Mon-El and their daughter here along with Alex. From what she understood though, there were times when people left without warning and this had to be one of them. Alex wondered if Kara would remember any of this at home or if she’d fall back into her life as if she’d never left. Someone had told Alex that she’d even been there before and she’d looked back at the network and saw the postings but she had no memory of being there. Time travel was confusing and alternate universes even more so.
She was sitting on the couch reading when she heard the knock. Alex wasn’t expecting anyone so she assumed that whoever it was must be looking for one of her roommates. Getting up, she put her book on the coffee table and walked to the door and opened it. “Hey!” she said, surprised to see Lara there but she couldn’t help but smile. “What’s up? Come in.” Alex had enjoyed meeting Lara the other night (even if she didn’t remember a great deal about it) and was happy that she had come by.
“Hey.” Lara politely smiled in returned, offering Alex her thanks as she walked into the room. “I came by to see how you were holding up with Kara being gone.” It did seem like the night out helped, but that was when she was surrounded by people. Lara knew first hand how easily one can put on a brave face when there are other people around.
“Good to see that you made it home in one piece.” Remembering that Alex did not hold back when it came to her beverage choices. Not that Lara blamed her, she had found herself in that same position once or twice before.
Alex laughed. “Yeah I did make it back safely. Sadly I’ve had a lot of experience drinking more than I should and having to get home lately. Have a seat,” she gestured toward the couch. “Would you like something? I actually do have non alcoholic beverages on hand. I’m not a total lush.” Maybe she needed to really think about that since she had been drinking a good deal more than normal since she and Maggie had broken up. She definitely hadn’t held anything back the other night but she didn’t want to end up in a bad place so she would have to get herself together.
“I know the feeling.” Lara replied. Not that she wanted to go into it, but there was a lot of nights where Lara spent her time drinking when she returned home from Yamati. Even Sam understood the need, they had all been through a lot on that island and Lara lost people, people she cared about and people she loved.
“I’m fine, but thank you.” Lara wasnt sure how long she should stay. While it was nice of Alex to invite Lara out, she still wasn’t sure if they were good enough friends for Lara to just show up and hang out. “How are you doing?” She asked. “I know it can’t be easy with Kara being gone.”
Despite what some people thought and the way she had often behaved in the past, Alex was a people person. You kind of had to be with Kara for a sister. “I’m doing better,” she said and sat down on the couch. “Some days are better than others. I miss her a lot though. It feels strange not having her here.” She had been watching after Kara ever since she was a teenager and while there had been times that she resented it, she had worked through that and now she couldn’t imagine not having her in her life.
Lara nodded. “I’m sure it’s not easy. There is a chance that she’ll return. I left and came back, and as memory serves from the exact same point in time, which I find odd.” She thought about it for a moment and she wondered if any time had actually passed for her at all. Perhaps she returned home, found the coin again and came back only to find time had passed in Atlantis. She was curious about it, but now it wasn’t the time. “In the meantime maybe you could take pictures or keep some kind of record. That way when she returns she doesn’t feel like she’s missed a lot.”
“That’s a good idea. I hadn’t thought about that,” Alex replied. “I hope that if she does come back, she’ll share a lot of the same memories from home even if she doesn’t remember Atlantis. I know that I was here before but I don’t remember anything about it.” That had been a hard thing to process even when she’d seen the evidence on the network archives. “When I got here, Kara had just gotten a memory update and I came from the exact same point so that was nice. There was still a lot of stuff about Atlantis that I didn’t know but she helped a lot.”
“Interesting. I was here before as well, left and then came back but I kept my memories.” Not that Lara had a lot of memories. She hadn’t been in Atlantis for very long and she most certainly wasn’t as social as she’s trying to be now. “That’s good that she was able to help you. If she returns with no memories of here, at least you’ll know how it feels like and will know how to help.” Lara paused for a bit, feeling uncertain what to say or do next. “I should probably go. I have a few errands to run but if you need anything, let me know okay?”
Alex was a little disappointed when Lara said that she had to go but she didn’t let it show. “Oh sure, I understand. Thanks for coming by though, I really appreciate it.” It had been nice of her to do it especially since they didn’t really know one another but Alex was learning that people in Atlantis looked after each other and she liked that.
Lara nodded. “Sure. Anytime.” Was there something else she needed to say? “Let me know if you ever want to have another night out like that again. It was fun and a good excuse for me to actually leave the flat.” Smiling awkwardly. She moved and put her hand on the door knob. “I hope you feel better.”