#superphia

It was instinctual, how her eyes would gravitate towards Sophia in every room. At first it was glances searching for the leader's approval. She didn't even notice she was doing it. After the tension between herself and the girls in the academy, a part of her was admittedly feeling insecure about what the others would think of her every move and every attempt to do better. But despite everything said and done, it was Sophia who would be the first to give her reassuring touches and smiles, which turned into heart-to-heart talks and nightly cuddles, and into something more.

Eventually, she found herself in an internal struggle, letting herself depend so much on the person everyone else relied on, but Sophia--good, dependable, trustworthy Sophia, never failed to let her know that what the leader felt for her was special. 

And that's why, even when, for some great reason, Sophia had to fly around the skies tonight, Manon was safely tucked into bed, peacefully asleep, with her night light on and Sophia's hoodie to hold beside her. That was until she saw a figure struggling to hold herself up in her balcony, wearing red, blue, and gold.

It was difficult not to worry about her girlfriend flying away at night. She was the woman of steel, yes, but with her appearance came the increasing number of powerful beings with malicious intent. It was getting more and more frequent that Sophia would come home to her with cuts and bruises. Especially when the yellow sun is yet to rise, Manon would spend the night tending to her girlfriend, even when the superhero profusely convinces Manon to go back to sleep. Because of course, even when Sophia is hurting, she would always, always, put others first. That's why she's the leader of the pack. That's why, for some cosmic reason, the heavens chose the woman Manon loves to fight their battles for them. 

When they would reach the dance studio or the venue for sound check, no one would even know of anything that happened the night before. And because Sophia's secret was also Manon's, no one would know that little by little, she found everything weighing heavier on her.

"Manon," a weak voice rings from outside the glass window. A screech from the sliding doors fills the quiet room and before she could fully register what was happening, Manon was on her feet, catching a bloodied woman of steel. 

Sophia falls to her knees with a loud thud. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." 

"Oh my god," Manon quietly exclaims as she tries to assess the damage done on the hero. She has seen Sophia hurt after a battle, sure. She's even watched news and TikTok footage of her getting thrown around the city by flying aliens and raging villains. The good thing about her girlfriend being Superwoman was that wounds and bruises rarely meant anything serious, if there were any at all. At least at first. At least before the bad guys discovered what kryptonite does to her. It was a rare material in their galaxy, but apparently wasn't impossible for them to acquire. Manon, herself, wears a necklace that glows green, a gift from the superwoman.

She's seen how it weakened Sophia, how it made her formidable lover as vulnerable as humans. But not like this. Never like this. This, it seems like, is the first time Superwoman lost a fight.

"Soph, you have to get up," she uses all her might to get the hero on her feet and lead her to the bed. "Please. Please, get up."

"I'm sorry. Fuck. I'm sorry," Sophia struggles to get the words out as she wobbled on her feet. When Sophia finally settles down with her back leaning on the wall, Manon watches the blood from her torso trickle down the bed they share. "Couldn't make it all the way home."

𓏲 ๋࣭  ࣪ ˖

or When Manon breaks up with Sophia, but struggles to stop herself from caring whenever the hero flies off to fight bad guys.

❤︎ whole chapter here ❤︎

They are still in Sophia’s dimly lit room (Yoonchae, at this point, has resigned herself to sleep in Lara and Megan’s room as an excuse to play Valorant until 3 am), window curtains closed, safely planted on the floor, and yet Manon clings onto Sophia’s purple satin sleeping shirt, as if they were a hundred feet in the air.

“So you do think I can fall! Nuh uh, nope, nope.” She moves to push herself off the superhero, completely ready for her feet to get contact with the ground again, until she feels Sophia’s breath on her ear and neck. She’s singing.

Manon takes a couple of breaths to calm herself. “You do this for everyone you carry off to the sky?” Not her best work, but it helps ease her nerves.

Except Sophia doesn’t sing in a way that commands the attention of a crowd. It’s not even theatrical, the way she does in karaoke when Lara hypes her up. No, she sings with a quiet wispy voice, but with the same control she’s known for. It’s soothing at this proximity, making the girl in her arms close her eyes, wanting the world to shrink to nothing but just the melody in her ears. This one is just for Manon.

It takes her a while before realizing that they were already off the ground.

“Oh my god. Oh my god,” Manon utters when she opens her eyes, tensing her arms around Sophia again. The hero watches her with a dopey smile. What a dork, Manon thinks. “We’re flying!” she exclaims, watching their heads get closer to the bedroom ceiling.

Sophia, who had flown past the Earth’s atmosphere just the other week, can’t help but laugh in adoration.

It took almost a hundred more tries before Manon felt ready enough to actually fly outdoors. But it only takes one Laforteza family emergency for Manon to be the one to suggest that she flies with Sophia to Manila. She hyperventilates the entire time. But when she sees how relieved Sophia is that she’s with her, it makes her feel like the bravest woman alive.

For a minute, she tries to entertain the absolutely insane thought of jumping, just to see if it would magically call on the hero from whichever end of the earth she decided to disappear into. A quick look past the balcony sends her shuffling back, far, far, from the edge. Okay, Manon, this is getting deranged. She’s not that brave yet, and she probably never will be. Maybe that’s the pattern. Lately, she’s been feeling like a coward about most things.