Did You Know?

Tattoo

"Kara, don't you think we've got plenty of snacks?"

"No, not at all." Kara answered and grabbed another popcorn and put it in the microwave. "I'm happy you're here, we're gonna have so much fun!"

"Oh I'm sure! What's the first game we're playing?" Lena asked.

"Ehm, Monopoly. Do you know that game?"

"Do I know Monopoly...? Kara! You have no idea how good I am!"

"Yeah, sure..." Alex said in disbelief.

Lena won. She said she would and she did.

"I didn't realize you weren't joking, Luthor." Maggie complained.

"Uhm, yeah. What can I say? We've got business in family. I just have natural talent." Lena chuckeled and sipped her wine.

"Not gonna play with you again. Ever." Alex sank into the couch angrily.

"Don't be so dramatic, babe." Maggie took Alex's hand.

"Babe?!" Kara and Lena said in unison.

Then there was horror in everyones eyes.

"Alex..." Maggie tried to say something, anything to make this situation better. She was panicking she had just outed Alex.

"Babe?" Kara asked.

"Uhm, well. Kind of?" Alex tried to explain.

"Kind of?!" Maggie let go of her hand and looked at her girlfriend with WTF, ALEX look.

"I mean, we're dating. But I didn't want you to know yet. But it doesn't matter now. So yeah, I'm dating Maggie." She grabbed Maggie's hand and smiled unapologetically towards Kara and Lena.

"Alex! Why didn't you tell me? That's awesome! I like Maggie!"

"I feel so much better now that you know! Are you okay with that Kara?"

"To be honest? I always kinda knew?" Kara chuckeled.

"Yeah, I know it is not my place to tell or judge or anything but I always thought you belong to the LGBT community." Lena couldn't help herself and said that. She always knew Alex was queer. The hairstyle? Her jeans and flannels? Leather jacket? It all screamed gay. And she was right.

"Oh okay, I didn't know I was that obvious."

"But you are, babe." Maggie took Alex's hand and kissed her.

"Eww, gross guys!! Also I'm happy for you both." Kara covered her eyes.

"Thank you, sis. It means a lot. So... Which film?" Alex grabbed the remote and put on Netflix.

"Pick whatever you like, but no horror, please." Kara shouted while she jogged towards the bathroom.

"Come here, babe." Maggie motioned for Alex to lean in her arms.

"Oh. Guess I'm sitting on the floor." Kara said sadly while she came back from the bathroom.

"Don't be silly, we can sit together here." Lena made place beside her in the enormous armchair.

"No Lena. I can't do that."

"Yes you can, and you will. Come here." Lena bossed around.

She sat beside Lena. It wasn't as comfortable as she thought it would be. She turned and moved and moved and turned and Lena was slowly but surely getting annoyed.

"Kara. Just, don't move. Sit still." Alex paused the film and waited for her sister to sit comfortable with her friend. Lena climbed out of the airmchair and sat back, but this time on Kara's lap and leaned her back towards Kara's chest. She reached for a blanket and wrapped it around them. Kara hugged her from behind and Alex hit play.

It was a horror movie. Kara wasn't happy, thank god she had Lena right in her lap so she could hide everytime something scary popped up.

Kara screamed and squeezed Lena because of a frightening scene.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!"

"I'm sorry Lena!"

"Shhh!" Alex and Maggie warned them, "Be quiet!"

"I'm sorry." Kara repeated herself once more in hushed voice. She tried to make it up to Lena so she started to caress her arm, hand and even her stomach. Somehow she managed to end up just under Lena's shirt. The odd thing was that Lena said nothing in protest and sat absolutely still.

"How are you so soft Lena?" The blonde whispered.

"I don't now? Maybe it's the moisture body milk I'm using?"

"Oh?" Kara seemed pleased with this answer and Lena focused back on the screen.

"Did you know that Sam got a tattoo?" Kara tried to distract herself from the horrendous film.

"Yeah she sent me a picture. She said it hurt so much she wanted to run away." Lena laughed.

"Do you know how do tattoos stick around if your skin cell renew every month?"

"Shhh." Alex gave them an annoyed look.

"How?" Lena got closer so Kara could whisper in her ear and they wouldn't be interrupting Maggie and Alex.

"It is the function of the immune system. The puncture of the tattoo needle causes inflammation in the dermis, the skin's middle layer. In response, white blood cells known as macrophages are sent in to help heal the damage. These macrophages eat the dye and can pass it to newer macrophages when they die off, so the pigment is essentially transferred from one cell to another. Any leftover pigment is soaked up by fibroblasts, which are longer-lasting skin cells that don't regenerate as often. Only lasers designed for tattoo removal are strong enough to kill off the macrophages and fibroblasts that hold the dye."

"Are you some kind of encyclopedia? You remember so many amazing facts about everything! How do you do it?"

"I don't know? When I find something interesting I just remember. She's brave though. I couldn't do it."

"It isn't that bad, it depends where do you want that tattoo to be."

"Are you saying you got a tattoo?"

"Ehm, yeah? Just a small one."

"What? When? What? Where? What?" Kara tried to express herself. Lena just laughed the whole time Kara was trying to be coherent.

"Well, I have it on the sole of my foot because that's one of the places my mother wouldn't see it. She wouldn't approve me having a tattoo."

"Why have a tattoo if you have to hide it though?"

"I have it as a reminder of Lex. It's a rook. Lex taught me how to play chess. He taught me so many other things but playing chess was kinda our thing. I was a shy kid and even more after my parents died and the Luthors adopted me. He wasn't pushy as all the adults were, they tried to make me speak with them and got mad at me when I didn't. He got me, he is... was the best brother I could've ever wished for." Kara knew this particular topic was still tender so she just hugged Lena tighter.

"Thank you." Kara spoke up after a while, Lena turned in Kara's lap to face her. She furrowed her brows.

"Thank you for telling me."

"No I think I should be thanking you. It is still painful for me to talk about it. About him being...gone. I know it's over a year now but we don't talk about him at home as if he never existed. Thank you for listening."

"You know I'm always here for you."