Next of Kin - SuperCorp

Next of Kin Part 17 - An Armed Society Is A Polite Society

"Say it." Maggie nodded, one forearm on the table in Alex's apartment as the other hand rested on her thigh. She leaned, weight shifted slightly forward, her face serious.

"Oh, come on Mags," Alex replied from her chair across the table, arms crossed and head to the right.

"You need to say it."

"Ugh! Fine," Alex replied, hands striking the table and shaking the contents of her wine glass. The red liquid circled inside, nearing the rim and almost spilling before it began its descent again. "You're the best girlfriend in the world."

"And?" Maggie asked slowly as she smiled, deep dimples showing.

Shaking her head while she exhaled slowly, Alex replied, "And the greatest lover in the world."

Maggie chuckled. "As far as you know that's true."

"You keep this up, and maybe I'll have to increase my sampling of women. You know, the scientist in me finds this study invalid. Even if I were to add another, say, even nine women—"

"Nine women?" Maggie asked sitting upright. "Are you looking for a lab assistant? I can send you my resume."

Grabbing a roll from the middle of the table and tossing it at her girlfriend, Alex laughed as she said, "I've seen your resume you jerk."

Maggie also laughed as she deflected the roll with her arm. "I'm a jerk now? I thought I was the world's greatest girlfriend."

"My sampling of that is also extremely limited." As her phone buzzed on the table, signaling a text, Alex tilted it, so the screen caught her eye. "Kara is just about to take off. She should be here in two minutes."

"You don't show her that lasagna. You promised, Alex. Kara ate before she left."

"She did. She did," Alex said, hands raised in surrender. "You know that doesn't mean anything though."

"It means that if she touches my God damned lasagna, I'm going to shoot her," Maggie grumbled.

"That also doesn't mean anything," Alex said rising and walking around the table to her girlfriend. One hand squeezing Maggie's shoulder, Alex asked, "This new task force is really getting to you, isn't it?"

Turning to face Alex, Maggie said, "The damn overtime is getting to me. I love your sister, I really do, but I finally get one date night with you and here comes your lapdog. This isn't about being anti-Kara. This is about wanting some us time. I feel like I'm going to come over some night and you're going to look at me like I'm a stranger." She ended with a deep exhalation, hands in her lap as she blew the day's troubles across them.

"Never," Alex replied as she took to her knee. Placing a hand over Maggie's, Alex waited until Maggie looked at her and added, "This is temporary your work situation. We both go through this. You've been incredibly patient when my job pulled at me in ways that didn't seem fair. How could I be any less so?"

Maggie considered that for a few moments, then replied, "That's true especially since I'm the world's greatest girlfriend." She raised her eyebrows waiting.

Alex grinned back, knowing what was expected of her. "And lover."

"Hey, you said it not me."

They both laughed, some of the tension of the day melting away as they kissed. This was what they needed more than food. When the world pulled at them demanding a physical distance, they needed to remind themselves and each other that the emotional distance was an illusion.

The 'tink-tink' on the window pane was met with a sigh, and Alex pushed up and let her sister in.

"Sorry, Alex, Maggie. I'm...Did you not get my text?" Kara asked, hands fumbling a bit at having stepped into the intimacy.