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Mountains II

Whoops sorry it’s been literally forever, hope someone somewhere still gives half a shit about this thing <3

Previously on Mountains: Pt 1

- - - - -

“So this is it.”

“This is it,” Maggie confirmed, watching Alex with equal parts apprehension and amusement.

Alex scanned the room, nodding appreciatively. It was a small place, with room for only a few mismatched tables inside. The real selling point, Maggie had told her, was the patio.

Two large garage doors made up one wall of the restaurant. On nice nights, they were pulled up so that the smell of pizza was all but lost to the smell of dirt and leaves. The patio was lit with a few strands of string lights strung between the building and the trees, which stood atop a narrow strip of earth that unraveled into big boulders that made up the riverbank. The river beyond rushed over the rocks and tree roots in its path with rumbling enthusiasm.

That night, the restaurant was empty, save for Maggie, Alex, and the skeleton crew who held down the fort in the offseason.

“Best pizza place in Aspenvale,” Maggie said as she ambled out onto the patio with her hands shoved into her pockets, picking the table closest to the river before taking a seat.

“Only pizza place in Aspenvale, you mean.” Alex sat down across from Maggie, leveling her with a knowing smirk.

Maggie hung her head, shaking it as she laughed lightly.

“Who tipped you off?"

“The phonebook,” Alex shrugged as she scanned the beer list.

“The phonebook? Who uses phonebooks anymore, Danvers?”

“I forgot my book. I was bored.”

“You know there’s a TV in the room, right?”

“Yeah, well. For what it’s worth, I saw that there are three different ice cream shops, so I have some questions about that.”

“I’m sure we can find some answers.” Maggie paused and had the decency to look a little contrite. “Sorry. Usually I don’t look to build friendships on lies.” She picks at the label on the bottle in front of her, looking sheepish. “Had to give you a reason to call me, right?”

“Called you anyway, didn’t I?”

Alex arched an eyebrow and Maggie felt her heart give a little flip, but did her best to ignore it.

- - - - - “No way.” Alex shook her head. “No. There’s no way that’s real."

Maggie leaned back in her chair, smirking. “Swear on my badge.”

“You’re exaggerating. Again. Show-off.”

“Maybe a little,” Maggie grinned, shrugging. "But it was definitely a bear and I definitely saved at least two rabbits.”

“A hero the likes of which this world has never known,” Alex deadpanned, taking a generous swig of her second beer. “I’m sure they’re already making plans for a statue in the middle of the town square, Sawyer.”

“That’s Ranger Sawyer to you, Danvers.”

“Doctor Danvers, if we’re getting formal.”

“Right, right,” Maggie nodded. “Doctor of what, exactly?”

“I studied bioengineering."

“Really?”

“Why would I lie about that?”

“Maybe you’re trying to impress me,” Maggie shrugged.

“Don’t have to lie to do it. That’s your wheelhouse.”

“Noted,” Maggie laughed. “So, tell me, how does a bioengineer end up with the Geological Survey?”

Alex shrugged. “More partial to dirt than blood."

“Of course,” Maggie nodded, smirking. "Anything else I should know about you, Doc? Going to tell me what brings you to our fine corner of the range just as the weather’s starting to turn to shit?”

Alex eyed her carefully for a moment, considering the question.

Because Alex Danvers was good at undercover assignments. Whether she was working or not, Alex focused on the needs of the people around her constantly — what they needed to hear, what they wanted to hear, what might put them at ease, what might make them trust her. Alex Danvers was good at undercover work because she was good at using trust to her advantage.

But she didn’t need Maggie’s trust, didn’t need her help. She was undercover, sure, but only insofar as she couldn’t very well say that she was a part of a government organization that didn’t, strictly speaking, exist. She was on a bogus assignment looking for something that wasn’t there. There were no complex roles, no involved backstories, no need for layered lies or deceit. For the most part, she could tell the truth. Or at least, some version of it. Alex was surprised to find that it was something of a relief.

“Chasing ghosts, mostly,” Alex said.

“That’s a first. Ectoplasm in the soil?”

Alex chuckled, absently running a finger over the scarred table top in front of her. “Not as such, no.” She chanced a look up at Maggie. “My boss sent me here for a few weeks. Said that I needed a break and that if I was too stubborn to take a vacation on my own, he’d mandate the next best thing.”

“Your boss put you on an assignment a hundred miles away just to get you out of the office?”

“Something like that."

“Right,” Maggie smirked. “Sounds like you’ve got a healthy relationship with work. So who’s up here with you?”

Alex frowned, confused. “No one. Just me.”

“Oh,” Maggie said. “I mean, I just thought...” she trailed off, hesitating for a moment. "You said that you had a ride coming the other day when I met you. I figured she was here with you.”

“Right,” Alex remembered. “My sister. She wanted to see the town. But she lives in National City. She, uh, flew back.”

"So you’re here by yourself for a few weeks of peace and quiet while you tear up my beautifully maintained trails for soil samples?”

“Guess so.”

“Let’s hope you find something good, then.”

Alex laughed lightly, “I wouldn’t count on it.”

Maggie raised an eyebrow.

“There’s some evidence of a rare mineral here, but it’s flimsy at best,” Alex said. "I think my boss expects that I’ll spend a lot of time outside finding a whole lot of nothing."

Maggie nodded, smirking. “So you have a sister, you like Bill Withers, you read phonebooks for fun, and you work too hard,” she said. “That about sum it up?" Alex laughed, worrying the paper label of the bottle between her fingers, “Guilty as charged.”

“Lucky me,” Maggie tilted her head. “Can’t say that I’m not a little thrilled to have a new face in town. Things tend to get pretty slow around this time of year. Town shrinks back down to 200 and suddenly you’re hearing the same boring stories you’ve heard from the same people every year since you were 11.” “I’m sure they’re nice stories.”

“And I’m sure you’ll hear plenty of them. Reserve judgement.” Alex chuckled, and then it hit her all at once. It was one of those moments when, without meaning to, you suddenly finding yourself taking stock. You take notice of the way the light’s hitting the trees, the way the breeze carries the smell of afternoon rain and conifers, the way the music from inside the restaurant is just the right volume as it mixes with the sound of the river and they seem to have agreed on the same key.

Alex took stock and realized that without design or intention, she felt remarkably content. Good, even. Her cheeks hurt, tired from smiling more than she was used to, and her shoulders held none of the tension that seemed permanent in National City. She wasn’t thinking about bullets or bad guys or national safety. She was just a girl, eating pizza and drinking beer with Maggie Sawyer, who was funny and smart and had dozens of stories that were vivid and thrilling, if half-true at best.

Ostensibly, they were two people who’d met by chance, getting pizza because Maggie was hungry and was also the only person Alex had spoken to in Aspenvale, outside of Loretta. But Maggie didn’t treat her like she was just someone she’d happened to pick up, someone who was just an excuse for company.

She listened when Alex spoke, teased her gently, talked to her like they didn’t need the grace period most require to become comfortable with another person. She was open and honest (save for exaggerated accounts of heroism) and kind, and Alex found that there was something in the way that she smiled that made Alex feel like if goodness still existed, it called Aspenvale home. It had been a long time since Alex had been close to anyone outside of Kara. She was friendly with Kara’s friends, sure, but they didn’t often spend time together unless Kara was around, too. Suddenly, the idea of Maggie as a friend, as someone who was just hers, made Alex feel —

“You still with me, Danvers?”

Alex turned her attention back to Maggie, shaking her head to dispel thoughts too heavy for an uneven patio table topped with a couple of empty bottles and a few remaining slices of greasy pizza. She returned to safer thoughts of rivers and trees and the Stevie Wonder record playing inside.

“Yeah, sorry,” Alex said. “What did you say?”

“Just wondering if you wanted to see a man about some ice cream." - - - - - “Sometimes I think about it,” Alex admitted through a spoonful of ice cream as she and Maggie walked side-by-side along the bank of the river. “I mean, I wonder where I’d be if it hadn’t been for Kara, if she'd never come to us, if we’d never adopted her.”

Alex stopped near a large boulder, promptly climbing atop it and sitting down, elbows on her knees. Maggie joined her a second later.

“I’d be worse off, I’m sure,” Alex said, watching the river as she ate another spoonful. “Kara’s the best thing that ever happened to me. Even when she’s insufferable.”

“I’m jealous,” Maggie said. "I always wanted siblings.” She grabbed a nearby pebble and tossed it into the river with a satisfying plunk. “I was a pretty happy kid, but I always felt like I was missing something.” Maggie squinted up at the dark sky, considering. “You know, someone willing to back you up, no matter what.”

“You need a lot of backup as a kid, Sawyer?” Alex said, half-joking.

“Oh yeah,” Maggie blew out a sigh. “Don’t get me wrong, I love it here now, but that took a long time.”

Alex quirked an eyebrow in question.

"Aspenvale’s a small town,” Maggie explained. "People talk. As soon as you get caught kissing the Mayor’s daughter backstage after theater practice, your personal life is suddenly everyone’s business.”

There it was.

Alex had been pretty sure she’d read Maggie right, but the subject hadn’t really come up. And in truth, Alex was still new to this. She’d come out a little over a year ago, but in that time, she’d only been on a handful of relatively unsuccessful dates. Aside from a label to put with the sensation of turning into a blushing, stuttering mess around pretty girls, not much had changed. Alex Danvers still didn’t have much time for a love life.

Somehow, knowing that Maggie was gay made things feel different. Not for the first time tonight, Alex wondered what it might feel like to be on a date with Maggie Sawyer. She wondered what it might be like to mean something to Maggie, to be more than what they were, which was something between acquaintances and friends.

Perhaps it was a testament to just how few friends Alex had and just how long it’d been since she’d allowed herself to connect to anyone in any way, outside of her immediate family and friends, but Alex found herself sort of thrilled by Maggie.

“The Mayor’s daughter, huh?” Alex smirked, fighting to keep her voice steady.

“Yeah,” Maggie laughed. “Too bad she was dating the quarterback of the football team at the time. Big guy, lot of big friends.”

Alex turned to look at Maggie, concern etched on her face. “Did they...?”

“I was quick and scrappy. They usually didn’t get the opportunity.”

“Usually?”

“They might’ve caught up once or twice.”

Alex tried hard to swallow the lump in her throat, tried to quell the rage building in her chest. The idea of Maggie becoming an outlet for the anger of an entitled teenage boy made her furious and nauseous in equal measure.

“Jesus,” Alex breathed. “I’m sorry, Maggie. I can’t imagine.”

Maggie shrugged. “It’s nothing. Ancient history now,” she said.

It wasn’t nothing, Alex knew. “And it’s better now? People don’t give you a hard time anymore?”

Maggie nodded. “For the most part, yeah, it’s better. It’s not perfect, but it’s good.”

Alex took a deep breath. “I’ve wondered how things might’ve been if I’d been out when I was in school,” she said.

Maggie turned her attention to Alex. “Where’d you grow up?”

“Midvale."

“Probably a little different, then,” Maggie smiled good-naturedly.

“Probably,” Alex agreed. “For what it’s worth, though, if I’d grown up here, I would’ve stuffed more than a few of those jocks into garbage cans.”

Maggie laughed, head tilted ever so slightly as she looked carefully at Alex. “I appreciate it, Danvers. And I don’t doubt it.” - - - - - “Danvers,” Maggie Sawyer’s voice came over the speaker on Alex’s phone the next morning. "Got something you might want to see.”

“O…kay?”

“You free? I’ll pick you up.”

“I-uh, yeah. Definitely.”

“Perfect. You ready now?”

“Sure.”

“Great. Ten minutes."

Alex was not, in fact, ready. She was, as it turned out, still in bed.

It was 6 a.m. on a Thursday. And while National City Alex Danvers would’ve been awake and halfway through a run at 6 a.m., Aspenvale Alex Danvers was finding that staying in bed with a cup of coffee as the sun made its lazy debut was, at least on occasion, deeply preferable. Alex saw nothing wrong with her bed in National City, but this bed was bigger, softer, warmer, and came with the added bonus of being far, far away from national emergencies and alien crises.

Though she’d never admit out loud, Alex could acknowledge privately, in the security of this room, that perhaps J’onn had been right. Maybe she had needed a break.

As soon as she hung up the phone, Alex stowed her coffee on the nightstand and hopped out of bed, pulled on her black jeans and sweater, and did her best to smooth out the part of her hair that always seemed to lay funny after she slept on it.

Eight minutes later, she was outside, coat and hiking boots on, hair laying mostly flat. Maggie pulled up a moment later, the windows of her truck rolled down.

“Morning, Danvers,” she greeted as Alex slid into the passenger seat. “Nice glasses.”

Alex’s hand flew to her face, touching the plastic frames of her glasses self-consciously. “Shit. I don’t usually — I just forgot to — "

“Stop. They’re cute,” Maggie assured, turning toward Alex and tilting her head, eyes warm as she smiled. Alex felt a blush rising to her cheeks.

“Thanks,” she said, her voice barely loud enough to be heard over the engine as Maggie put the truck in gear and pulled away from the inn.

“Sorry, after I called I realized that not everyone here runs on Ranger time. Hope I didn’t wake you.”

Alex waved her off. “No, I was up.”

“Here, brought you some coffee to atone.” Maggie handed Alex a cup from the cupholder.

Alex accepted gratefully, taking a sip. And, to her credit, she tried very hard not to grimace when she tasted it. She failed, though, and Maggie noticed.

“Sorry. I should’ve warned you. I’ve been told I tend to make my coffee a little strong.”

Alex thought that “a little strong” was something of an understatement for a substance that , but kept that to herself.

“No, no it’s fine.” Alex took another sip. “It’s nice. Thanks.”

In so many ways, Alex wasn’t used to this. Wasn’t used to having someone other than Kara or J’onn or her mother call her. She wasn’t used to spending so much time with anyone other than Kara, let alone several consecutive days -- for pizza, for coffee, for ice cream. She wasn’t used to someone thinking about her, to being on someone's mind.

But Maggie thought about her. Alex knew she did. Maggie texted her to ask her about her day of "ghost hunting." She sent her pictures while she was out walking trails with captions like “look at this rock, doesn’t it look like J.K. Simmons?” or “you ever seen a marmot, Danvers?” or “in case you still had doubts about the axe.” Maggie had even called yesterday to warn her about another unexpected afternoon storm.

“Are you warm enough?” Maggie asked, glancing at her as they drove down Main Street and toward the edge of town that bordered the park. “I can close the windows. I just — “

“Nope,” Alex shook her head. “I’m great.” She took another sip of coffee, relishing the way that the cup warmed her hands. In truth, the cab was chilly, but it was the kind of chill that can make you feel lucky to be out, to be out in the world so early in the morning. The kind that’s just this side of uncomfortable, that’s a reminder that fresh air is a powerful drug and that hot coffee in cold weather is a little something like everyday magic.

They drove in silence for a few minutes, the town disappearing behind them as tall trees cropped up on either side of the increasingly winding road.

“Am I allowed to ask where we’re going?”

“You are."

“Are you going to answer?”

“Nope.”

Alex rolled her eyes. “Is this how it ends? Are you kidnapping me for real this time?”

“Kidnappers don’t usually bring coffee, Danvers.”

“Good point,” Alex nodded. “But I have to say that the amount of Dolly Parton you listen to strikes me as kind of suspicious behavior.”

“Yeah, that tape’s been stuck in there since I was in high school,” Maggie laughed. “Given my musical preferences back then, let’s just say it could’ve been a lot worse.”

“It’s growing on me, I’ll admit.”

Alex almost didn’t catch it then. If her head had been turned a little bit further, if she’d just a little more focused on something outside the window instead of on the music and the coffee and Maggie, she probably wouldn’t have noticed it at all. But as it happened, she did notice. She noticed the way Maggie took her eyes off of the road for just a second to look over at Alex. She noticed the way Maggie smiled, the way she bit her lip, the way she drew in a deep and almost-silent breath. Alex noticed, and it made her heart feel full — so full it almost hurt.

Because something about being there with Maggie, something about the way the mountains looked in the early morning sun and the way the trees stood tall over the road and the way the coffee was just a tad too strong but just the right temperature made Alex feel good. Really good.

Maggie pulled the truck to a stop in a tiny dirt pull-off on the side of the road a few miles from town and stepped out, slinging a pack over her shoulder. Alex followed, coffee cup still in hand. She wanted to ask what, exactly, they were doing, but Maggie beat her to it.

“Don’t ask, Danvers. It’s hard to explain."

And so they made their way over fallen leaves and twisted roots and dirt that still held a hint of yesterday’s rain and a near-brush with frost overnight. They walked for a handful of minutes before Maggie stopped several feet back from the point where the ground dropped off sharply into a deep valley. Maggie stooped, waving Alex closer.

“Here,” she said, pointing. “You ever seen anything like that?”

Alex bit the inside of her cheek, hard. Because the truth was that she had seen something like that. It was blue and glowing, its crystalline surface catching the morning light just so. Though she hadn’t ever seen it in person, Alex knew what it was in an instant that it was Rag’norium.

Maggie reached forward, extending her hand toward it, but Alex caught it, stopping her.

“Don’t touch it,” Alex cautioned.

“What is it?”

Classified was the word on the tip of Alex’s tongue. Because it was true. Technically speaking, Rag’norium didn’t exist. It wasn’t in textbooks or on periodic tables accessible to anyone without a hefty government clearance level.

But this was Maggie. Maggie, who brought her coffee and asked about her family. Maggie, who had only known Alex for all of five days but treated her like she meant something to Maggie, like she mattered, like they were friends. Maggie, who thought about Alex at least once a day and made sure she knew it.

Alex couldn’t tell her what it was, but she also couldn’t just shut her down with the “classified” card.

“It’s hard to explain,” Alex said, hoping that Maggie might be satisfied with that.

“Try me.”

Dammit.

“It’s a mineral,” Alex ceded. “Really rare, really volatile.”

“Okay, so why’s it here now?”

Alex frowned. “What do you mean ’now’?”

“I run this trail every morning. I’ve never seen it before.”

Everything Alex knew about Rag’norium flew in the face of a claim like that. The deposits weren’t naturally occurring — they were, essentially, a byproduct from ships powered by super-dense Thalydian cores. It started with something like exhaust and condensation — trace amounts of concentrated Rag’norium left behind by the ships react with the nitrogen in Earth’s atmosphere — and, a week or two after the ship’s departure, a Rag’norium vein was discovered.

It’d happened exactly twice in the entire history of the D.E.O.: Once in 1968 and again in 2003, the latter occurring several miles away, the epicenter of Alex's field work thus far.

But a Rag’norium vein here, now, meant that a ship had been here recently and that Alex wasn’t searching for decades-old deposits. It meant, of course, that all of a sudden, Alex was investigating undocumented contact, possibly with a group that meant Earth harm.

Thalydian cores were outlawed in many parts of the galaxy. They were a notorious staple of older ships, now used almost exclusively by smugglers. Whoever they were, they likely weren’t stopping by to check out the World’s Largest Ball of Yarn.

“You run this every morning?”

Alex chided herself internally for sounding less than professional as a note of admiration crept into her tone.

“We all have our vices, Danvers.”

“And you’ve never seen this?”

“Pretty sure I’d remember it.”

Alex nodded. “I need to get some samples. Can you —“

“Way ahead of you.” Maggie opened her back to pull out a small field sample kit. It wasn’t quite D.E.O. caliber, but it would do. Alex arched an eyebrow, impressed.

"Rangers are more than crowd control and saving pretty girls from surprise rainstorms, Danvers."

Alex felt a blush rising to her cheeks and ducked her head as she accepted the kit from Maggie.

"Yeah, I've heard rumors of a fair amount axe-wielding."

"You and that axe," Maggie shook her head. "Should I be worried?" - - - - - "This mean you found your ghost?"

Alex climbed into the passenger seat and pulled the door closed, trying and failing to find a graceful way to answer the question without really answering it.

"I don't know," she said.

It was true. In a way. Alex didn't know what she'd found and she had even less of an idea about what it meant.

"Best guess?"

Jesus she's persistent.

"Some version of it, yeah."

Maggie nodded. "This where we run into the 'Classified' wall?"

"Sorry."

"S'alright," Maggie shrugged. "You'll tell me if it's something dangerous, right? If it's something that puts the town or the Park at risk?"

If Maggie noticed Alex's hesitation, she didn't let on.

“Of course,” said Alex. And as Maggie pulled the truck back out onto the two-lane road, she tried hard not to think about the fact that outside of the usual, unavoidable things like who she worked for and why she was in Aspenvale, this was the first time she’d lied to Maggie.

Alex Danvers had lied plenty of times about plenty of things on plenty of occasions, but something about this lie, here, to Maggie Sawyer, settled in her heart like a stone.

#maggie sawyer #alex danvers #sanvers #sanvers fic #fanfiction #wlw fic #alex x maggie #supergirl #supergay

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