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CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP.
Kara’s eyes pop open. Shit.
She reaches over to the nightstand, quickly snatching up her cell phone to accept the call before any more of her ringtone can be heard. She checks the other side of the bed for any sign of disturbance, but the figure curled up in the duvet remains breathing steadily, sleep uninterrupted.
“Yeah?” She's careful to keep her voice low as she gingerly makes her way out from underneath the covers.
“Your horse is loose,” comes the irritated, scratchy voice of Vasquez’s aunt. “It’s 4 AM, and he’s in front of my house, half-way up a tree, probably doing a better pruning job on my trees than my gardener does. But. Kara. It’s 4 AM.”
“Sorry, I am so sorry, Vero,” Kara whispers. “I’ll be right there.”
A high-pitched dial tone. She hopes Vero’s gone back to sleep. Rao knows that woman barely gets enough rest as it, considering the kind of ranch she runs. There’s a reason why the DEO approved the Vasquez Ranch to board Comet and reveal Supergirl’s identity..
She uses a burst of super speed to do a quick-change into her hero costume, and is half-way out the balcony door of the bedroom when she hears a disgruntled whine from the bed. She makes her way back to the bed where a bleary-eyed Cat is making concerned noises.
“It’s fine, it’s just Comet. I’ll be back soon. Go back to sleep.” Kara drops a lingering kiss on Cat’s forehead, and pulls the covers snugly around her. Cat grumbles a little more articulately until Kara presses her lips briefly but firmly against hers. “Sleep.”
Kara slips out, sparing Cat one last fond look, and takes off into the night. There are muted sounds of minor incidents below, but they’re nothing that can’t be solved by local law enforcement, so her thoughts are overtaken by concern for her horse.
This is the third time this month Comet’s flown the coop. Normally, he’s content to remain earthbound, napping in his paddock or out in pasture with his buddies, but lately, it seems he’s gotten more... restless. His working trot is getting rather more floaty and powerful, and Kara’s long suspected that instead of a gait improved by fitness, he’s learned to use his powers to supplement his natural movement which is odd considering his usual laziness. His normally placid personality is now a little more excitable, causing some - okay, a lot - of property damage when he feels the need to kick up his heels in turn-out. And he’s ignored grass and hay in favor of leaves - preferably the ones at the very tops of trees.
It’s worrying. Is he.. bored? They certainly exercise him enough, especially since Cat had consented to letting Carter ride Comet - but only under the strictest of supervision and she’s yet to give him permission to go beyond an under-powered trot.
Kara slows down when she spots a light grey spot floating among a sea of green leaves. Ah, there he is, the little glutton. He’s mowed down about a third of the tree, but pauses when he swivels an ear back toward her.
“Hey, buddy,” she calls out. She’s still a ways away, but Comet’s hearing is almost as good as her’s. He swings around, and suddenly, there’s a streak of grey headed straight toward her, only slowing as he circles excitedly around her, legs treading air easily. Kara laughs, patting his neck when he gets close enough. “You miss me?”
He snorts, pushing his giant head against her chest. Kara obligingly scritches his forehead where two whorls meet, his favorite itchy spot. “Aw, buddy, you can’t just wander off like that. Well, you can, but what happens if someone sees you? I know J’onn suggested an invisible barrier above the ranch, but..” Kara cringes at the thought. “You wouldn’t like that much.”
“Hey!” Kara blinks, then looks down. A short woman in a pink nightdress and muddy paddock boots is waving up at them. It’s Vero, wide awake and nursing a mug of what Kara’s sure is Irish coffee. “Yeah, you two chumps! Go on a joy ride, play tag, do whatever - just get outta my sight for a while, will ya?”
Kara giggles a little at the older woman’s mock upset tone. “Will do, Vero. Go back to sleep!” To which Vero snorts and walks back up to her porch.
Comet headbutts her, jostling her a little, as if aware he’s lost her attention.
“How about it? Let’s play tag!” Kara lightly boops his nose with finger, and speeds off into the clouds. Comet chases after her, unfazed by the cool sting of ice crystals that quickly coats him in a thin layer of dew as he dips and leaps through the haze.
From her porch swing, Vero watches the two indistinct forms, one in bright primary colors and the other a moon-lightened white, chase each other through the night sky, chuckling a little into her spiked coffee. “Kids these days...”
Kara returns to Cat’s balcony at dawn, hair wind-tousled and sticking up like the worst kind of bedhead, but smiling up a storm. Cat’s sitting outside, a thin blanket draped over her shoulders, hands cupping a steaming cup.
Cat eyes Kara’s disheveled appearance with amusement, but spares her the scathing comment her brain automatically produces. “Had fun?”
“Yeah. It’s.. it’s been a while since I could let loose with my powers like that. Just for fun, you know? Nothing productive - like fighting fires or catching alien bad guys.” Kara thinks of J’onn and the carefree fun they’d had in the past racing each other across the skies. He’s too busy these days, and Kara doesn’t want to ask for fear of seeing the regret in his eyes before he gently refuses.
“And I think Comet’s been feeling lonely, sort of. He’s understanding his powers more, and while he gets along well enough with the other horses, I think he’s aware of the differences that set him apart.”
“Smarter than the average horse, hm?” Cat shifts a little closer to one side of the chair. Kara takes that as the invitation it is, and settles next to Cat, curling around Cat’s smaller frame.
“Yeah, I think so,” she murmurs a little wistfully into Cat’s neck. “It’d be easier on him if he weren’t, though.”
Cat closes her eyes and twists to the side to gather Kara in her arms. “He’ll be just fine. He has uh--you and Carter, after all.”
The unintentional stammer had not gone unnoticed by Kara, judging from the toothy grin Cat can feel pressed against her collarbone. “Were you about to say “us”?”
Cat huffs indignantly into Kara’s hair. “No.”
“Yes, you were about to say that he has us! You don’t stammer or stutter, Cat.”
“Very well,” Cat grits out grudgingly. “He’s important to you and my son, so that alone makes him a point of interest for me.”
“A point of interest? Wait ‘til I tell him you like him!”
“I don’t-- stop laughing, Kara!” But Cat’s cracking a grin, too, and fighting the urge to kiss off that adorable expression on Kara’s face.
Once or twice a week, there’s a streak of white that accompanies the unmistakable red, blue, and yellow of Supergirl as she patrols the city. Some say it’s a unicorn, others the mythical Pegasus himself (sans wings), but anyone with an eye for horses can tell it’s just a normal, slightly overweight fleabitten grey horse - possibly a draft cross - galloping through the skies like the youngster he hasn’t been for a very long time.
Suffice it to say, the criminals of National City learn to have a very healthy fear of horses.