it was weirdly comfortable, despite how awkward not knowing how to play made laurel feel. alex seemed so non-judgmental and willing to teach that laurel just kept smiling. “ alright. time to show you what i’ve got, i guess.” her grip on the cue was almost painfully tight as she lowered her upper body, fingers trembling as she rested the other end of the cue between them. “ i can’t remember a game ever making me feel like this. ”

        “ but that’s so not fair. i was exhausted after saving this stupid planet for like the millionth time. plus, your hands were all soft. how was i supposed to not fall asleep ?? ”

alex’s smile when she speaks of maggie is probably the most infectious one kara has ever seen. it’s a look that she never knew her sister’s capable of– but it’s definitely one that she enjoys seeing and hopes to see more often. “that’s great! I hope she’s as badass in the games as she is with a gun,” kara says as she digs into her tub. “well, I guess I could do that. but I don’t know if lena plays anything else other than chess,” she replies, distracted by her ice cream and failing to notice what alex has gotten her into. with a shrug, she stuffs her spoon into her mouth. “i’ll be fine. i’ve handled ms. grant. i’ll get used to snapper’s antics soon enough.” when alex confirms her thoughts, she sends a pout in her direction and grumbles, “fine… you’re lucky i love you so much i’m not fighting you on this. so, what is it tonight? zombies or poltergeist or some other creepy monsters? oh, we’re definitely watching lilo and stitch after this by the way.”

“i only need her to be better at them than she’s at pool.” alex huffs around a laugh, aiming for casual. it’s the unadulterated fondness simmering in the very depths of her eyes that thwarts the entire act. she has never felt quite like this before. ‘happiness’ seems like to weak of a word to describe the seam-bursting sensation that has taken residency in the cavity of her chest and she has no idea how to control it. isn’t even sure she wants to. “now you’re making up excuses. we can play scrabble.. monopoly.. charades.. and if all else fails, we’ll implement chess as a new game.” twisting around to lean against the armrest of the couch, she nudges kara with a sock-clad foot. “come on, it’ll be fun. you know you want to.” it’s an added bonus that lena joining them would divert most of the attention from maggie and alex. “fine. i’ll give it a rest for now. but if it doesn’t get better, i’ll pay him a visit.” alex hadn’t broken tommy acker’s nose for calling kara a ‘weirdo, who belonged in special ed’ back in high school to watch this snapper person walk all over her. stretching her legs across her sister’s lap, she popped another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth, pretending to contemplate kara’s proposal for a moment. “hmmmmm... alright, alright. i know how much that movie means to you. we can watch it afterwards.” that was going to end in tears for both of them. “but first, i was thinking... hellraiser.”

        “ i am much better hitting people with cues than at hitting the balls on the table. ” laurel smiled brightly at the other woman. “ teach me how to play for real? ”

         “ fine, we’ll do this your way. but remember, no rules. and hey, you and i both know that that’s totally not true. for example, you still owe me like three back massages. ”

        “ are you sure you want me to start ?? because that’s just gonna make winning even easier and faster. and you do realize that after i win, anything i want, i get, right ?? ”

this sounded exhausting, and lena wouldn’t even be the one working during any of this. she hated how she needed to be monitored like this, it felt almost juvenile. but at least alex seemed to have a good nature about her. “ i don’t keep extra work clothes in my purse closet at the office for nothing. i only like to go home after a decent date, but i’m usually not making that trek alone. ” smirking, lena sighed while contemplating her next teasing words. “ that’s the only time i break my ‘no cuddling’ rule, fyi. ”

          “ see ?? totally adorable.  ——  but alright, you’re on. get ready to lose, danvers. ”

        “ actually, no, that’s not what i meant at all. but now that you mention it, you’re totally right. there are countless very enjoyable things i would absolutely love to do to your neck.  ——  and your lips, your chest, your stomach, your waist and the rest of your body. ”