Chapter Text
"Mom, can I talk to you?" Alex is nervous. This is all new, and she's not sure how her mother will react. Maggie is the first girl - the first person - she's brought home. Home to her mother's house. The house she grew up in.
Eliza is seated on the couch in the living room with a book open in her lap, "Of course, Sweetie. What is it?"
"Uh..." Alex is standing in the doorway. Her voice is timid, small. She's not sure exactly how to ask what she wants to ask.
"Alexandra..." She pauses, taking in the way her daughter is shifting her weight from foot to foot, the way she's tugging at the hem of her shirt, the way she won't look at her, "Alex, what is it?"
Alex takes a deep breath, "Um...you know Maggie...and I..." she pauses, stops.
"Yes?"
"Uh...you know we're...together."
"Yes."
"She's my...girlfriend?...I mean, you know she's my girlfriend?"
"Yes, I know."
"So...I was wondering...while we're here...if it's okay with you...if Maggie and I sleep together."
"I'm sorry?" If Alex weren't trying to hold it together, she would have found Eliza's wide-eyed expression comical.
" If she could sleep with me? If we could sleep together in my bed?"
"Alex?"
"What?...No!...That came out wrong."
"Alex."
"Oh God! I'm sorry, Mom. I have to go," She turns to walk away.
"Alex, wait." She turns back, eyes on the floor, refusing to make eye contact with her mother. "Alex...Sweetie, come sit with me." Alex rubs the back of her neck, shuffles across the living room carpet and sits on the opposite end of the couch. Eliza closes her book and places it on the coffee table, crossing her legs and turning more toward Alex. "Ok now. Just talk to me."
Alex sits, wringing her hands, looking at the couch cushion between them, her leg bouncing nervously, "Is it ok with you if we sleep together in my bed?...just sleep. After the past few weeks, neither of us has been able to sleep very well when we sleep alone."
"I know it's been a difficult couple of weeks, Sweetie. But you know, you're an adult. You don't have to ask for my permission."
"I wasn't sure how you would feel about it and I didn't want to disrespect you or your home."
"Alex, this is your home too. This will always be your home." Alex looks up into Eliza's eyes and she can feel the tears starting to form in her own. "I want you to be comfortable here. I want you to be you." Alex is biting her bottom lip as the tears start to run down her cheeks. "Oh Alex, come here." Alex scoots across the couch and is wrapped up in her mother's arms. She cries into her shoulder, Eliza rubbing her back and running her hand over her hair. Alex can't remember the last time she let herself be this vulnerable in front of anyone who wasn't Kara or Maggie. Her relationship with her mother has always been a bit strained, but Eliza is making progress and taking steps to prove her love for Alex, how proud she is of Alex. Alex pulls back as she gets herself under control. She swipes at her eyes with the back of her hand. "Your bed here is considerably smaller than yours in National City. Do you think it will be big enough for both you and Maggie?"
Alex lets out a sound that is somewhere between a sob and a laugh. She doesn't want to tell her mother that space isn't an issue when her tiny girlfriend wraps herself around her so closely that combined they almost take up less space than an average adult human. "I think we'll be ok."
"I hope so, Sweetie." Looking into her mother's eyes, Alex knows she is refering to more than just sleeping arrangements.
"Just so you know, you should probably prepare yourself to wake up finding Kara in you bed."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, it surprised us the first couple of times."