272. Chapter 272

Maggie’s never used the term partner before, with anyone she’s dated.

Not that she’s introduced any of them to Adrian – none of them have been special enough, kind enough, open enough.

Until Alex.

But he’s always grilled her about her love life like it was going out of style, so he knows all the stories; the girlfriend who loved zip lining, which was great, but ultimately left Maggie for another woman; the girlfriend who was verbally abusive and the one time it got physical, she tried to not talk about it with him and he just stared at her gently until she did, because how many times had she been there for him; the girlfriend who Maggie constantly fought with about race, but the sex was amazing and after the last relationship, she was just about broken enough to stay until she was dumped.

Adrian hadn’t met any of them, but he’d heard all the stories. All of Maggie’s girlfriends.

She never used the term partner.

Too close to work – she had a cop partner, after all – and it had always felt too clinical for her.

Until there was Alex.

Adrian’s ears perked because now when she said the word – partner, my partner – it wasn’t about the guy she spent her days driving around with in an NCPD car.

The word, now, is laced with adoration, laced with love, laced with intensity that Adrian has never heard Maggie have for anyone before.

“So, when do I meet them?”

Maggie beams at his automatic use of Alex’s pronouns, at his intuition, at his heart. But then she blinks.

“You’ve never asked me that before.”

“And you’ve never swooned like that before.”

She tilts her head and glares slightly, but denies nothing, and the quirk to her lips gives her away.

“Please, Alex does not make me swoon.”

Adrian just stares, and Maggie’s phone buzzes. “Hey babe,” she answers eagerly, her voice rising an octave or two, and Adrian chuckles to himself.

“Sure you don’t swoon,” he mouths, and Maggie sticks her tongue out at him.

The three of them decide – through a series of gestures and mouthing and suppressed giggling between Maggie and Adrian – that Alex should come for dinner that night.

Maggie paces while Adrian does most of the cooking.

“They’ve never met anyone really, from my life. And you’ve never met anyone really, from my life. What if you two don’t get along, what if – “

“Hey. Hey hey hey, Maggie.” He wipes his hands on the “Kiss the Cook, He’s Hot, Just Look at Him” apron Maggie keeps in the cabinet for him, and rests them on her shoulders. “It’s gonna be fine. I promise.”

She sighs and she nods and she grabs a spoon and pokes at the simmering rice.

“Hey, get outta there, it’s not ready!”

She scowls and sighs again and surrenders the spoon.

“Was I like this before you met my friends when I was in high school?”

“Please, you were so much wors – “

The sharp but somehow also gentle knock at the door interrupts her, and Adrian kisses her cheek as she heads to the door.

“Hi babe,” she greets, and Adrian watches carefully from the kitchen as this new person in Maggie’s life presents her with flowers – red roses, so they’re serious, he observes – and kisses her cheek and holds up a small paper bag and says something softly.

They’re in loose fitting jeans, a spectacular belt, and a henley over a pretty flat chest that makes him grin – it’s always nice to not be the only one binding in a space – and their hair is a short, almost red mess of post-motorcycle emotions.

“Hey there,” he calls from the kitchen. “Sorry I’m not coming to you, I don’t wanna burn the plátanos – “

“No, you’re fine,” Alex says with an easy grin, and he observes their confident stride, their low voice, the way they casually kiss Maggie’s hand before letting it go to walk toward him, with a deep-seated joy.

“I’ve heard a lot of about you from Maggie,” they smile as they lean on the counter next to Adrian, offering their hand and smiling deeper as Adrian rushes to dry his own before taking it.

Alex’s handshake is firm and confident and Adrian hopes his matches up – from the nod Alex gives him, he’s pretty sure it does.

“So, I hope this isn’t weird – I mean, it might be totally weird, and you can tell me if it is – “ Adrian glances at Maggie as Alex’s swagger melts into adorable prattling, and Maggie is beaming and Adrian makes a note to tell her later that yes, Alex Danvers definitely makes her swoon.

“But I know how much you mean to Maggie, and I wanted to get her flowers, but I didn’t want to not bring something for you – I mean, not that I think you’re a child and wouldn’t be okay with it or anything, but – I wanted to bring you something. Anyway, I hope you like it.”

They slide the paper bag they brought close to him, and he lowers the stove’s flames under his various dishes before diving eagerly into the bag.

“I always like presents! But you didn’t have to bring me anything, I – whoa, cool!”

He digs out a pair of astronomical binoculars and turns them over and over in his hands, his eyes wide and his smile even wider as he presses them to his eyes.

Maggie shifts to stand behind Alex, wraps her arms around their waist, and stands up on her tip toes to kiss the back of their neck, their cheek. Alex melts into the touch, but Adrian isn’t watching to be able to note that Maggie also makes Alex swoon, because he’s too busy with his new toy.

“Maggie said you were taking astronomy in Star City, and I figured you might as well be able to see the places you’re studying. They’ve got really great resolution, you can see the – “

“Do you like hugs from people you don’t know?” Adrian is interrupting, something he generally tries not to do, but his eyes are flooded with tears and his heart is moved beyond telling.

“I – no, not usually, but if you’re asking if you can hug me right now, then yeah, I’d like that.”

Maggie beams and steps back from Alex so Adrian can slip into their arms, and Maggie notes with both a full and broken heart that Adrian is almost as tall as Alex, and given another growth spurt, he’ll probably wind up taller.

He meets her eyes over Alex’s shoulder and winks.

“This one’s a keeper, Maggie,” he says softly, but intentionally loudly enough for Alex to hear him, and they hug him closer.

“You take care of her, okay?” he tells them as he pulls back from the hug.

“Always.”

“And fortunately, you have all of dinner to give them the shovel talk, but for now, can we eat, is everything ready?”

Adrian and Alex laugh.

“You sound like my sister, babe” Alex comments, and Maggie flinches with a lopsided grin on her face.

“I’m pretty sure I didn’t sound like your sister last night – “

“Innocent child is present, please don’t corrupt innocent child!”

Maggie laughs because she knows he’ll be grilling her for details about their sex life later, but for now, his interest is in feeding his queer mom and her partner, in making them laugh, in feeling like the kid in the… family.

Family. Family.

She stands on tip toes and kisses Alex’s cheek again. They turn to her and beam down at her. “You and his parents have raised a beautiful son,” they tell her, and Maggie burrows into Alex’s chest as they watch Adrian taste-testing the rice.

“I mean he can cook like a god, so he’s worth keeping around.”

“Oh my god, he should meet Kara! Adrian, you should meet my sister, she exists to eat!“

“Sounds like my kinda woman! Now sit down, you two, I will accept no help from any mere mortals in my kitchen.”

“Technically, it’s my kitchen, Ade.”

“Technically, now I will make you help, so go set the table with your partner, Mags.”

“Yes sir.”

“Thank you ma’am.”

Alex laughs. “Are you two always like this?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Oh please, Maggie, tell them the truth!”

Maggie looks up into Alex’s shining eyes. “He brings out the worst in me.”

“Really? Because you look like the best to me.”

“There will be no making out in my kitchen! No – it – okay, fine, just don’t knock over the – okay. I’ll clean it up, I… oh well, they’ll come up for air eventually.”

And when they do, it’s to grab onto each other and gasp with laughter.

Between the three of them, it doesn’t stop all night long.