Alex headed into work a couple of hours early to get in some training in the gym there, so by the time you reached the DEO, you expected to find her back in her uniform and getting back to work but that wasn't the case. When you couldn't find her, you headed down to the gym to see if she was still there and had lost track of the time.
There in the gym, Alex was on the treadmill, pushing her limits. She was running faster than you had ever seen her run, with the machine at it's steepest incline. Sweat poured from her face and her top and shorts clung to her body as she tried to push herself as hard as she could.
"Alex," you called out as you made your way over to her. "Have you been here this whole time?"
"Yeah," she grunted, continuing to run.
"It's almost been three hours," you stated. "Have you been on the treadmill the whole time?"
She shook her head, pushing her dark fringe from her face. "I did weights for a while and went on the cross trainer."
Alex was a healthy person and did enjoy working out but even for her this was a little extreme for a before work workout. She would end up hurting herself at this rate before the dangers of your shared line of work even got involved.
"You need to take a break," you said with a weary tone. "You need to stop before you end up getting-"
You weren't able to finish your sentence before Alex lost her footing and ended up flying off the back of the machine, falling into a slump on the floor. Quickly you shut off the machine before rushing to her side as she rolled onto her back, tears in her eyes.
"Are you okay?" You questioned.
She weakly nodded her head, but the tears continued to fall.
"Not many people cry when they are okay," you corrected.
Alex tried to wipe away the tears but more continued to fall down her cheeks.
"Why do you try so hard?" You asked. "You're already one of the best DEO agents, you are at optimum health and yet you spend hours on end training until you can barely even walk home."
She didn't respond, bowing her head to try and hide the pain and sorrow that she held.
"You are the best of the best," you said softly. "I don't know what much more you think you can achieve."
Alex tutted. "I might be the best, but I will never be Supergirl."
You cocked an eyebrow at her. "What?"
"Kara. I love her but it's hard to live in my sister's shadow. I don't know how I'm meant to exist when I can never be even half of her."
Ignoring the sweat covering her, you wrapped your arms around your girlfriend and held her close.
"You can't compare yourself to her," you whispered. "You can't judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree. You are running different races and you both shine brightly in your own right. You will always be in her shadow if you try to run her race."
Alex gave you a weak smile, resting her head against your chest.
"I'm sorry," she croaked.
"You have no reason to be sorry."
~*~
Written by Charlotte.
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