InsaneJournal

Alex pushed open the front door to her apartment, her daughter’s backpack slung over one shoulder and a grocery tote full to the brim with supplies hooked on the opposite elbow. She turned to usher Esme inside, head down and distracted as she tried to keep the bread perched precariously at the top of the bag from falling. But when she finally looked up, her head immediately began to spin.

This wasn’t where they were supposed to be.

It took a few moments for her brain to download everything it had been missing. Vaguely, she wondered whether they’d been magically hidden away, but that was neither here nor there – and knowing her luck, she’d never find an answer no matter how hard she tried. Esme turned to look at her, confused, and Alex did her best to muster up a reassuring smile. It was Vallo. Just Vallo. Nothing bad – not inherently, anyway.

“Mama, where are we? This looks like Aunt Lena’s apartment!”

Alex straightened and shook her head, taking in the penthouse around her. She knew every inch of this place, had helped build it. She felt like she hadn’t been here in ages, but with her memories revived, it felt like yesterday at the same time. The cognitive dissonance was hard to shake, but she didn’t have time to dwell in it. She wasn’t the only one who had been popped out of their world this time.

“This is Aunt Lena’s apartment, sweetie,” Alex told her. She hoped beyond all reasonable hope that her daughter wouldn’t ask any more questions, but deep down, she knew better than that. Esme was a smart, inquisitive kid, and she would want an explanation for how they’d walked up to Alex’s apartment door and walked into Lena’s apartment. In another dimension, too.

As expected, the follow-up question was immediate. “How did we get here?”

Before Alex could answer, she heard footsteps on the stairs – the sound of heels was crisp, clear, and undeniable – and she froze, heart pounding in her chest.

A ding hit her tablet as it rested on her nightstand, and Lena thought nothing of it. She knew that ding. That ding let her know when someone entered the penthouse, and aside from that doppelganger incident (she was only a little tender about it still), her concerns over some sort of malicious infiltration were low. Still, it was a matter of urgency to greet whoever it was.

Which happened to be Kara about ninety-nine percent of the time and her presence warranted a welcome. Sometimes even the scandalous kind.

But for the moment, she was dressed appropriately – jeans and heeled boots (the ones Alex was hearing click-clack on the floors), a blouse that was flowy and festive for summer. Kara had been out to run a few errands, and Lena stayed home to relax and get pretty. They had plans for the evening. All her emails could wait until the morning.

She turned the corner, expecting to see a bubbly smile and a shift of glasses. What she saw instead made her freeze in her tracks, which was ten times better than missing a step and falling flat on her face in shock. Lena was stock-still, but her heart was beating like thunder beneath her ribcage. It was interesting, really, to want the sight before her to be real and also not real all at once, all with the same intensity. Alex was a sight to behold – and in the company of her daughter.

“Hoping you’re real and not a shapeshifter here to mess with my head,” Lena greeted coolly, not allowing herself to look anything but pleased to see them. There was a smile. It was sincere. “Hi, Alex.”

“Hi.” There was something reassuring in the knowledge that Alex wasn’t the only one thrown here. She didn’t know how long it had been since she left Vallo in Vallo-time, but judging by the look on her friend’s – ex’s? – face, it had been a while. “We just got he–”

“Aunt Lena!” Esme’s smile was bright and bubbly as she interjected, not unlike her Aunt Kara’s. She bounced across the room to pounce on her godmother, her tablet still clutched tightly in one hand. “Mama and I were just going home, but then we ended up here.” She fixed her aunt with a serious gaze and asked, “Did we go through a portal?”

Her mother, behind her, couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

God, wasn’t that a title she sorely missed? Lena didn’t falter in the least when Esme approached, and she got to her level by kneeling onto the floor and bringing her into a tight hug. “Kind-of-sort-of,” she chuckled. “This is Vallo, and it has powers that pluck you from your world and timeline–and into this one. It’s a world of its own, and I’m pretty sure it’s in its own universe. But you also still exist back home, like you never quite left?”

That was a lot for a child but it was the simplest way to explain everything. Hopefully.

“Your Aunt Kara is here too,” she told her gently, looking from Esme’s face to Alex. “She’s been here for quite awhile with me.”

“Really?! Where is she?! AUNT KARA!”

Oh. Alex’s eyebrows raised at that news, and she studied Lena’s expression for a moment. There was nothing there that would give away exactly what her sister’s arrival in Vallo meant for the two of them, but Alex had always known how they felt for each other. She didn’t expect even her being part of the equation would put a stop to that.

She wouldn’t want it to.

“I’m glad to hear that,” she chimed in sincerely. Judging by the way Esme had raced off to the windows in search of her Aunt Kara (apparently, expecting that she was merely off on Supergirl duty since she wasn’t in the room), she wasn’t the only one.

With a soft smile, she lifted the bag still hooked around her elbow and said, “Hope you needed some groceries. I wouldn’t want these to go to waste just because we flipped universes.”

Lena should have clarified that Aunt Kara wasn’t physically in the building, but there she went to look off into the skies to catch a glimpse of red and blue. She couldn’t blame Esme. The enthusiasm was sweet, and it gave her a moment to…

Focus. On Alex.

“It won’t go to waste,” she chuckled. “Think you can set those down for a hug, maybe?”

Things were about to get a little strange but, god, Lena wanted to at the very least hug her.

The tote and Esme’s backpack were both immediately dropped on the nearest armchair at that request, and Alex stepped forward. “Hi,” she said again, leaning in to pull Lena into her arms. The tension in her shoulders eased immediately, and she squeezed her tightly, quietly breathing her in. “It’s good to see you.”

It was such an odd feeling, this mix of feelings swirling inside her. Back home, although she found Lena attractive, she’d never had those sort of feelings toward her, those sort of thoughts. Kara was the Danvers enamored with Lena Luthor, and though they’d been through their ups and downs over the years, Alex supported them both in that. They had finally found themselves on the same page; they both deserved it.

Here? Well, with her Vallo memories slotting into place, there was a layer of complications beneath the friendship. She loved Lena. There was no mistaking that. Everything they’d had together, everything they’d felt for each other, everything they’d said to each other – they’d been meant. They’d been sincere. But their lives had diverged again.

“How long’s it been?” she asked. “Since I’ve been gone?”

This hug wasn’t like anything from back home. Those didn’t have baggage or the ghost of their history lingering between them. This hug reminded her of Vallo, and everything they went through here together; the start of them, the things in between, all the way to the end of them. It was a bittersweet feeling. Lena knew she had moved on, and she felt confident in saying so.

Yet, she ached.

“A year,” she whispered, pulling back only to cradle her face and look at her. “We both left. L-Corp stayed. Someone took in Mermista for us. I came back a few months later alone, and… Kara was here, she’d been here for a little while. She kept the place up and running.”

“Sounds like her,” Alex sighed fondly. It wasn’t so hard to believe a year had passed here; a year had passed at home, too. More, if she counted the last thing she remembered upon her initial Vallo arrival. There were times it felt even longer, with all she’d been grappling with, all the changes that had come her way.

Her fingers found their way into Lena’s belt loops to keep her close. Just like they always had. That was what made the year gone by hard to believe. “Is Kara living here now?”

“She is,” Lena confirmed, her smile slightly morose. Oh, she had thoughts about moving her former-girlfriend’s sister in here, in a penthouse they had once called theirs, and it felt – odd. Like it wasn’t fair to Alex and it would be a slap in the face if she found out.

She hadn’t explicitly stated the nature of their relationship, but Alex was smart. A literal genius in her own right. She could put together the pieces herself.

“Out running errands, but - she’ll be happy to see you.” Her hands dropped to her shoulders. “And I’m happy to see you. I missed you, Alex. Coming back here without you wasn’t easy.”

It was hard. She’d been in a daze about it for several weeks, trying to figure out what this meant for them, if she should just wait it out for the chance that she would come back. Lena was stubborn enough to do exactly that. She loved Alex.

But then there was Kara, and that complicated everything.

Alex’s smile mirrored Lena’s. “I’m sorry you had to,” she murmured, lifting her chin to kiss Lena – on the forehead, gentle but lingering a moment longer than necessary. “But I’m glad Kara was waiting for you. I’m sure that made it a little easier.”

An indignant mrow sounded not far away, and Alex turned her head to see Mermista climbing up into the armchair across from them. She looked expectant, and Alex let out a laugh, turning her wrist to see if her watch had adjusted to Vallo time.

“It’s not even noon, what’s she waiting for?”

“Kitty!” The squeal of delight seemed to rattle Mermista, who backed up into the corner of the chair, her eyes seeming wider. Alex stifled a laugh as her six-year-old raced over to greet the cat. And despite her eagerness, she reached out her hand politely to allow the cat to sniff.

“Good job, sweetie,” Alex praised her. She gave Lena a squeeze. “She’s been begging Kelly and I for a cat back home. Or a dog, preferably, but she’d take a cat. As a compromise.”

“Kara, um.” Lena sighed fondly, crossing an arm over her chest while the other went behind her neck, scratching beneath that infamous ponytail. “Spoils her with snack time, it’s horrendous. She’s turned this cat into more of a monster than ever.”

Kelly, though. She remembered their conversations about her like it was yesterday, and she didn’t know if she should be glad that they sounded like they were still together.

“How long has it been since your wedding?”

“About a year.” Alex’s response was short but not unkind. She didn’t want to get into the specifics of how her relationship with Kelly was going with Esme right here, now cheerfully but carefully petting Mermista’s head. The cat still looked reluctant, tail flicking slowly behind her, but she didn’t seem annoyed enough to lash out.

“Mama, Aunt Lena, can I give her snacks? What’s her name??”

“Her name’s Mermista,” Alex told her. She gently pulled away from Lena. “And I’m okay with you giving her snacks if Aunt Lena is.”

A year. That was – quite a lot to sink in, actually. A year since her wedding. A year since Kara outed herself to the world, exposing her vulnerabilities. Lena had questions, but they wouldn’t be in Esme’s presence.

Instead, she smiled warmly and reached into a hidden drawer of an end table for those aforementioned treats. Mermista was crafty; she’d break into cabinets looking for these, so they had to find a cat-proof location for hiding. “You definitely can, beautiful. Here,” she offered it. “It’s a special occasion. Feel free to spoil her – you’ll be her new favorite.”

Esme eagerly took the treats she was handed and leaned on the seat of Mermista’s chair, offering one out between her thumb and forefinger. She was perfectly content like that, and Alex took the opportunity to pull out her phone.

“I guess I should call into the DOA, get set up at Morningside,” she sighed. At least the process wasn’t new; she would have to register Esme, but they should be able to pull her file again.

“You could stay here too,” Lena blurted. The offer was impulsive and not entirely thought through but the words came out before her brain could catch up and tie it down with a little more tact. Her shoulders squared as she took a breath in, and she flattened her hands and twisted them together in some quirky little gesture to expel some nervous energy. “If it’s not strange for you, I mean. I understand if you don’t want to. Kara’s really missed you, and I’ve missed you, and we know how fickle Vallo gets.”

Tomorrow wasn’t promised. It was a truth for any scenario in life – not just Vallo – but they had been without Alex for so long, and this place had brought her back.

“But I also understand that this might be a lot and an adjustment with Esme right now, so.” After a careful exhale, she smiled with more confidence. “I just need you to know that you’re always welcome here. This was your home, too.”

In that moment, Alex wanted nothing more than to pull Lena close again and kiss her. She nearly accepted right then and there. It wasn’t impossible. They could co-exist alongside each other, and she wanted to be near her sister. The space was available. But she worried her presence would create tension.

“We’re not going anywhere now,” she assured Lena. “We’ll wait for Kara to come back, and honestly, I could stand to eat. But don’t let us interrupt any plans you have.”

Lena wasn’t going to push. She didn’t know if Kara might want to try to insist to stay – she could get overeager sometimes, all that golden retriever energy – but it made sense for her to want to decompress a bit. Her whole entire day was just shifted by multiversal travel.

“I’ll text her to come home,” she offered, pulling her phone from her pocket. A quick message of stop what you’re doing and come back here, now, there’s a surprise was fired off. “And I’ll make sure to order some food while the two of you hug in the middle of the living room for a whole hour. Kara’s not going to want to let you go.”

Alex barely got a chance to let out a laugh, soft and knowing, when the balcony door was swept open. She turned to see her sister standing there with a handful of draped dry-cleaning over one shoulder, in her full superhero regalia. Bright blue eyes went wide, and before either of them could say a word, Esme shouted, “AUNT KARA!!!”

The shout, not surprisingly, startled poor Mermista. Her already tenuous acceptance of Esme shattered, and she leaped off the couch, complaining loudly as she prowled off to hide under the dining room table.

By the time Alex looked back, an eager Super, with Esme tucked onto her hip, had surged forward to briefly knock the air out of her lungs. She let out a cough as she struggled to regain her breath, but her arms circled around Kara’s neck and squeezed.

“You’re here,” Kara breathed into her sister’s ear. She looked over Alex’s shoulder at Lena and smiled ear-to-ear. “Alex is here!!”

“Yes, darling, I see her,” Lena laughed. This was the exact scenario she came to expect - a super strong bearhug that swallowed Alex and Esme whole, and it was a happy sight to see. It wasn’t awkward. The joy was genuine, and she still stood by the claim that this embrace would take awhile. “How about you let me borrow Esme so we can pick what we’re ordering for food while the two of you hug it out?”

Alex was a prize, but so was Esme and she had missed her goddaughter, too - those cheeks, that sweet smile.

“There are a lot of dessert options,” she faux-whispered to Esme (in the sense that it was actually a loud whisper). “And I’ll let you pick all of them. Your mom can deal with the sugar rush just fine, don’t worry.”

With reluctance, Kara pulled back just enough to let Esme – who was making eager grabby hands at her Aunt Lena – out of her grip. But that arm immediately snapped back around Alex, and the older Danvers sighed fondly, drawing her hands down Kara’s back. When she’d been here before, with Lena, this was all she’d wanted. All they’d both wanted. And it didn’t matter that she’d had it back home just hours before; she was going to soak all of this happy energy up.

“We’ll be here.” She smiled at Lena, reaching a hand out briefly to squeeze her daughter’s cheek, then sank into her sister.