Kara Danvers (lastof_krypton) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2019-10-29 21:59:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, alex manes, kara danvers (supergirl) |
Who: Kara Danvers & Alex Manes
When: Backdated: End of August
Where: The Beach
What: Random Beach Meeting
Rating/Warnings: Family Friendly
Status: Complete
Kara hadn’t been to the beach in quite some time, so when she found herself with the day off from work, she had decided that it was time to remedy that. It took her some time to get all of her beach supplies together, which included packing herself a lunch, but once she was all set she headed to the nearest beach and considering it was a weekday, when she arrived she was happy to see that it wasn’t too crowded.
After finding a spot that she liked, Kara proceeded to set up a beach umbrella and set out her beach towel then stripped down to her bikini and apply sunscreen before finally laying down and putting her sunglasses on. Sure, she might possess super strength and be invincible, but that didn’t mean she liked staring into the sun.
Alex had been wandering along the beach, trying to shake off his latest Dream. There was no need for him to relive his first tour in Afghanistan, if he was completely honest, and it seemed unfair that while some people were dreaming about getting superpowers, or Star Wars (he’d seen the Network, had a moment of being amazed that someone had received a lightsaber from their dreams), he was reliving something that had already happened with the added weight of the memories of what had happened immediately before.
He’d been out for most of the morning, a client consultation first thing followed then by him heading home to dump his things in the guesthouse and heading out to the beach. He might not have been able to surf anymore, and he definitely wasn’t comfortable enough with his scarred leg to go swimming just yet, but being on the beach - even when rammed with tourists, which it wasn’t today thank God - soothed him. Old habits, he supposed.
As he walked along, a nearby group of people playing volleyball shouted a warning as the ball was hit over the net and flew in a graceful arc right towards a sunbathing blonde. Alex moved forward, reaching out to catch it before it landed on her, stumbling a little but catching himself before he, too, fell.
“Sorry,” he offered with a little, sheepish smile, as he realised that he’d ended up kicking sand all over one of her feet and the bottom corner of her towel. He threw the ball back towards the players. “Got your towel all sandy.”
Had Kara been paying attention, she would have had no problem dodging the ball as it came towards her, but she hadn’t expected it and besides, it was only a volleyball. It wasn’t a bullet or a laser or anything like that, so there really was no harm in it.
“Oh, it’s alright. It’s only sand.” She sat up and brushed some of it off, “I mean, if I didn’t want sand to get on my towel and stuff, I wouldn’t have come to the beach,” She smiled up at the man who had saved her from the volleyball, “It’s pretty difficult to keep sand from getting all over everything here.”
Alex smiled a little. “True, still, you’d done a pretty good job up until then.” He lifted a shoulder and glanced over at the guys who had gone right back to playing as if they hadn’t nearly whacked a girl in the face.
He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a little awkward - as he always did when meeting someone new. A part of him wished Kyle was there: Kyle had an easy way with people that Alex often lacked.
“I’m Alex.”
“Well, I did only just get here. So, I probably haven’t had enough time to really try and prevent getting sand everywhere.” When Kara came to the beach today she hadn’t expected to actually run into anyone to talk to, but she didn’t mind it in the least. Kara liked talking to and meeting new people, “I’m Kara. It’s nice to meet you, Alex.”
“Mind if i join you, Kara?” Alex asked, hesitating for a half second before sitting down on the sand beside her. He didn’t have a towel but then he often didn’t. Growing up here meant that he was used to the feeling of sand and though it bothered him it was a nice reminder of a lot of things that he might have lost. A tangible reminder of why he’d come home, the things - and people - that he’d missed.
“Of course not. In fact, would you like some water?” Kara had brought a small cooler with her with a few bottles of water in it and proceeded to pull one out and offer it to Alex, “My sister would probably tell me to be careful of strangers, but I have a good feeling about you.” Besides, if Alex did turn out to be some creep, Kara could just use her super strength to stop whatever he tried to do; having super powers definitely came in handy on a daily basis.
Alex settled, shaking his head and lifting his hand to stay the offer. “Thank you but I’m okay.” He’d not stick around long, but the offer was a kind one. He chuckled, “Your sister sounds like a wise woman,” he offered and it was the truth; strangers for the most part needed to be carefully and tangibly avoided. “But here in Orange County you’re much more likely to run into a friendly face than not. Something about this place creates a real sense of community.” It was probably the shared dreams, to be honest. The oddness that poured out of every inch of the area. “Have you and your sister - I assume she lives here - lived here long?”
Kara laughed and nodded, “Don’t let her hear you say that. She’ll get a big head.” She knew that it was just her older sister watching out for her, but there really was very little that Kara really needed to worry about these days considering the fact that she had super strength and was invincible. “Yeah, we’ve been out here for a few years. She moved here first then I followed for college. We’re originally from Seattle. What about you?”
“Oh, I grew up here,” Alex said with a little smile, watching the ocean. “My friends left for college, but I- I enlisted with the Air Force and so travelled a fair bit. I’m due to discharged,” he added, “so I figured it was about time to come home. My friends are all here, and it’s a good place to be.” The dreams aside, of course. Those he could do without.
“Oh wow. Thank you for your service.” It might have sounded stupid, but it was the first thing that came to mind after he mentioned the Air Force, “I bet you saw a lot of cool places. What was your favorite?” Kara hoped to travel one day, but so far she hadn’t really been past the West Coast of the United States. “I’ll be honest, I prefer Orange County to Seattle. Less rain.”
Alex smiled a little as she thanked him. He never quite knew how to respond. He rubbed the side of his neck and settled, shifting his weight slightly. “I spent some time in the UK on a special ops mission,” he said, “but I spent six weeks in central Africa and got to spend time on a nature reserve which was amazing.”
He chuckled, “There’s definitely less rain here, when I was in the UK, I experienced seasons, which was pretty novel.” Orange County was warm pretty much all year round. “Seattle’s one place I’ve never been. If I wanted to travel, is it worth a visit?”
Kara adjusted her glasses as she listened to Alex, “Where in the UK were you? Someday I want to go to England. Oh wait, you probably can’t say, can you? I mean, if it was special ops.” Then again it was in the past so there was the possibility that Alex could talk about it. Either way, she’d understand if he couldn’t talk about it, “Oh yeah. I mean, Seattle really is a great place. Definitely worth a visit.”
“I spent some time in London,” he shared, “and some time at a couple of the RAF bases there, including Menwith Hill and Molesworth.” He shrugged, not expecting Kara to know where they were. “I think the strangest thing about the UK - other than driving on the other side of the road is that you can drive from one end of the country to the other in a day.”
Alex chuckled, “Is it true that it’s always raining in Seattle?”
Kara didn’t know where those bases were, but it didn’t really matter; she still enjoyed hearing about it, “Really? I didn’t know you could do that.” She always thought of the UK as this huge place and to hear how quickly one could drive across it was fascinating, “Well, not always, but it does rain a lot. The summer is drier than the rest of the year.” Talking about home reminded her that her and Alex, her sister, not the Alex in front of her, should probably make plans to go home for the holidays, “So, if you don’t want to visit when it’s raining, I’d suggest the summer.”
Alex smiled a little, “Better to avoid it when it’s cold,” he said with a shrug, “apparently I’m not gonna handle that all so well in the future.”
He glanced at his watch, and then at his phone, then at his watch again. Shit, he thought he had more time than that. Carefully, he got to his feet.
“Looks like I’m gonna be late,” he said with a little grin, “I’d forgotten about an appointment and got distracted.” He brushed sand down off his trousers, lifting his hand in a parting gesture as he started to move away from where Kara was lying on the sand. “It was nice to meet you, Kara, hopefully I’ll see you around!”
Kara hadn’t realized just how much time had passed while they had been talking and she nodded when Alex said he needed to leave, “It was nice to meet you too, Alex.” She smiled at him as he got up to leave then she settled back in to soak up a little sun before she hit the water.