#I saw luthordamnvers' Dansen Big Bang post and then this fell out of me over like an hour

[fazedlight]

Medal (post-canon Dansen)

That’s my wife, Alex thought proudly. She tugged Kelly closer as they entered the room - a large gala-style event, with Kelly’s name and face blazed on a poster. Alex smiled as she noted everyone who was already there - Kara loading her plate with potstickers as Lena whispered in her ear, James shaking hands with General Hanson who would be presenting Kelly’s award that night, Nia smoothing over a conversation with Brainy and a soldier where Brainy had almost certainly said something mildly awkward.

Kelly herself was all smiles as she entered the room, tugging at Alex’s side to point out an old buddy from bootcamp, waving across the way to a friend from her deployment in Afghanistan. Alex hadn’t gotten the chance to meet so many of these people - spread across the US after their time in the army - and found herself happy to finally be putting faces to names from Kelly’s stories.

And then Kelly’s jaw tensed.

Alex turned to her wife, noting her suddenly stiff frame and plastered smile. “What is it?” Alex murmured into her ear.

“Nothing,” Kelly said.

“Kelly…”

Kelly glanced to Alex. “I just didn’t expect that he’d be here,” she murmured. “That’s Dixon.”

Alex glanced over. Kelly’s former commanding officer, she thought, tensing. The homophobic, misogynistic bastard who had made Kelly’s time in the army hell - not to mention a large part of the reason she had to hide her relationship with her fiancee at the time. At least, as Alex had learned, the man’s career had crashed and burned years earlier.

“I’m not going to let him ruin my night,” Kelly said. Alex turned back and smiled.

They continued to make their rounds, meeting more people, eventually giving the superfriends a hug when they reached them, enjoying the cacophony of voices and the ambience of the evening.

“Dr. Olsen,” a voice said, as another man approached Kelly, “We’ll be starting soon, we’ll need you backstage.”

Kelly nodded, planting a kiss on Alex’s cheek before turning away, following the man for whatever prep work was needed backstage.

Alex - alone - wandered around the room, making a beeline towards the bar for a nice scotch. But she stopped when her eyes landed back on Dixon.

The man was exiting a corner door, out towards an empty and unlit balcony area that Alex had seen earlier in the evening. Alex’s jaw tensed, and she turned towards the door, slowly ambling through the crowd until she reached the quiet balcony.

Dixon was alone, the shadows only lit by the cigarette he had pulled out, burning smell dissipating in the cool night air. Dixon blew smoke out in a huff, seemingly annoyed.

The tap of Alex’s shoes on the tiles alerted Dixon to her presence, and he turned towards her. Disinterested, he looked away again. “Here with your husband?”

“I’m Alex Danvers,” Alex said, “Kelly’s wife.”

A sneer appeared on Dixon’s lips. “Suppose you are.”

Alex glanced at Dixon, mulling over the washed up man in front of her. She had been curious, once upon a time, to meet him - to understand the jackass that had once made Kelly’s life a miserable hell. 

But there was nothing to understand. No hill left to die on. Kelly had fought and won her own battles, and this man was left in the dust.

Alex turned to leave, but she paused when she heard footsteps coming towards her. “She’s here because of me,” Dixon said, standing toe-to-toe with Alex as he threw his cigarette to the floor. “It’s fucking biology, women aren’t cut out for military shit.”

If it had been a few years earlier, Alex would’ve thrown a fist in his face then and there. The insult, the gall, of a man trying to grab all the credit for Kelly’s hard work and brilliance?

But she didn’t throw a punch. Maybe it was the calming effect of age. Maybe it was the years of hearing Kelly’s psychological talk. Maybe it was that Dixon himself didn’t even sound convinced of his own words, trying to intimidate with desperate bravado. 

So Alex chose the weapon that all fragile men feared: She laughed. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

She didn’t wait to hear Dixon’s answer, turning to walk away and rejoin the party. But before she could go far, she felt a hand grab at her arm, roughly yanking her back. “Fucking dy-”

Alex didn’t let him finish his sentence, instead sending a swift knee to the man’s groin, causing him to grunt in pain and keel over. “You bitch,” he gasped.

“You’re done, dude,” she sniped back. “You realize there are cameras on this balcony? If you want to make a shitshow of how you tried to assault me and got beat, I’m happy to go there.”

Dixon gasped again, and Alex turned away, reentering the ballroom. Dixon is in Kelly’s rearview mirror, she thought to herself, watching as General Hanson took the stage, so he’s in mine too. 

“Good evening,” General Hanson greeted, as Alex made her way to the front of the crowd - between Kara and James, looking at the corner of the stage where Kelly patiently waited. Kelly glanced in Alex’s direction, smiling with nerves as Alex gave her an encouraging thumbs up.

“Dr. Kelly Olsen’s groundbreaking research has opened up new avenues in the fight against PTSD,” General Hanson said. “Her dedicated service to her country is only outshined by her endless pursuit of helping her fellow veterans. We present this medal to honor her astounding achievements in aid to our soldiers, and all who wrestle with this illness.”

The room burst into applause - Alex was the loudest - as Kelly strode onto stage, receiving her medal with a wide smile. That’s my wife, Alex thought again proudly, and she’s a fucking badass.