#I will reign more chaos in the morning :3 for now the dragon sleeps

[ohimsummer]

goodnight dash :33

[mycroftinthemindpalace]

♥️♥️ MARLOS + “You can’t make up for it by giving me a tic-tac.”

Prompt from @hersilentlanguage - thank you! I put in a short reference to “She Painted Fire Across the Sky” towards the end. :) 

It began innocently enough. Carlos came racing into the room looking for...something (in the end, neither could remember what rudimentary item he’d needed in the first place.) They’d checked all the usual places – backpacks, desk drawers, Jay’s pockets – then they moved onto Tier 2 of possible locations – underneath mattresses, stashed inside shoes – and as they’d both begun thinking that it may be time to consider searching the Tier 3 locations (neither had given voice to this thought, Tier 3 was Serious Business), Mal’s eyes caught on something.

Something purple.

Something that had led a multiple day, all-hands-on-deck, Tier 3 search with no results.

Something that was not Carlos’s.

“Carlos.” The boy’s head popped up from underneath the sink, colliding with a pipe on its way. He rubbed it gingerly, his eyes wide with cautious hope that Mal had found the...whatever it was they’d been searching for.

The look he received surprised him, and sent him scrambling what little distance he could away from Mal. Mal was seated on her knees in the middle of his and Jay’s dorm room, which had been all but destroyed in their search. Chaos reigned in every direction around her, though Mal herself had created a buffer zone, about two feet around her in every direction, that was completely clutter-free. Beside her was Carlos’s box of scraps ‘n’ things. (It’s proper title, written in Evie’s perfect handwriting along its outside.) An unusual sight in and of itself, as all but Carlos were expressly forbidden to touch the box, lest they dig too deep and impale themselves on a random shard of metal. Had Carlos seen her remove the box from beneath his bed, he would have insisted he be the one to search it, even though he was confident that whatever they’d been looking for was not in there.

Carlos wished that had been what happened, because then Mal wouldn’t be glaring at him from the center of the room, the tips of her pointy ears turning red as a dark flush spread across her cheeks. Maybe she had impaled herself. If that were the case, Carlos wasn’t to blame. She knew not to touch his box.

Carlos’s stomach clenched as Mal, moving painfully slow, lifted her hand to reveal a familiar purple pen, a dragon keychain twisting on its cap, dangling between her fingers.  

For a moment, Carlos did not realized the very real danger he was in. “Why were you looking through my stuff?” He asked.

“Why did you have my purple pen?”

That...was a good question. Carlos remembered the day the pen vanished – they all remembered the day the pen vanished. Mal, who did not believe in luck, had had a History of Heroes test that day, and she could not take it without her pen. Not because she was superstitious, she insisted. She was a creature of habit. “Since when?” Jay had snickered, until Mal’s glare shut him up. She just wanted her pen, because it was hers, and she liked it, okay? And, Hades, stop grinning, it’s not funny, just start looking!

So they’d looked. After an two hours and one missed breakfast, they’d found Evie’s golden sewing needle, Jay’s biology homework, and Dude’s red collar, but not a purple pen. Realizing that Mal was now in danger of missing the test entirely, Evie suggested that maybe she’d misplaced it, she could borrow one of their pens, and she should probably get going. Mal insisted that she had not misplaced it, someone had taken it without her permission, but she took one of Carlos’s boring black pens and left in a huff. When she got her test back, with C+ written on it, she told them it was definitely because she didn’t have her purple pen but not because she was superstitious or anything, geez, guys.  

So they’d looked a second time. Carlos found a new pack of tic-tacs, Evie found a fashion magazine, and even Mal found a few missing sketches, but they were signed with purple ink and just seemed to be taunting her, so she threw them out and left. (Evie picked them out of the trash and carefully smoothed them, then hid them on her side of the closet to return at a later date.)

The third search was the longest and most invasive, and very nearly broke them all. It was two days before Mal’s next test, and she needed her purple pen this time, you guys. They all agreed to get a good night’s sleep and come in refreshed, with positive attitudes and sharp eyes, the next morning. And they did, but their positive attitudes could only last so long in the face of such adversity.

The pen was nowhere, and they had searched everywhere. The girls’ room, the boys’ room, the hallway; they’d barricaded and scoured the cafeteria. They did not check the library, as they all knew it wouldn’t be there, but, otherwise, no stone of the campus ground was left unturned.

But, apparently, one box had been.

“You said,” Mal started, her voice dangerously low. “You swore that there was no chance it was in your box. I wanted to check, Evie wanted to check, but you said you’d never touched this pen and it couldn’t possibly be here.” She shook the box with her free hand, the one not holding the damning evidence up high.

“I...I...” Carlos wracked his brain, trying to figure out how in the world the pen could have....

Oh no.

“I didn’t,” he said. He gulped, then raised a shaky finger towards the bed. “But he did.”

Mal’s eyes widened. “The dog? You’re gonna blame the dog?”

Carlos nodded. “Dude did it.” He stood up on shaky feet, his hands held out in front of him in a gesture of peace. He pried the pen from Mal’s hand, then placed it on the ground in front of Dude. Then he stepped aside so Mal could witness the crime scene reenactment.

Dude blinked up at them sleepily and yawned. Mal raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, but Carlos waited. Then, slowly, Dude poked at the pen, stood, stretched, and picked it up in his mouth. He trotted obliviously past Mal, deposited the pen in the box, then retreated back to his place under the bed to sleep once more.

“Ta-da,” Carlos said, throwing in a jazz hand for good measure.

“What...did I just witness?” Mal asked.

“I trained Dude to help me clean,” Carlos explained sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “He knows when the box is out, to pick things up and put them away.”

“Things?”

“Yeah... scraps ‘n’ things.”

Mal jumped to her feet, waving the pen at Carlos. “This is not a scrap! This is not a thing!”

“I know, but I didn’t do it!”

“But you wouldn’t let me check the box! You said it couldn’t be in there!”

“I didn’t put it there!”

“But if you’d let me check the box-“

“I didn’t want you to hurt yourself!” He yelled. “It’s got...pointy things in it. And metal. And... other stuff. I don’t really know what’s in there, actually.”

“Obviously.”

Carlos stared at the pen, refusing to meet her eyes. Without looking up, he reached into his pocket and retrieved a nearly-empty container of red tic-tacs. He upended it and shook until one fell out, which he promptly held out for Mal. “Sorry,” he said.  

“You can’t make up for it by giving me a tic-tac,” Mal snapped, her eyes flashing. (Though she took the tic-tac.)

Silence echoed between them. Then, slowly, Carlos extended an arm. Mal frowned, her arms crossed stubbornly in front of her chest. Carlos shook his arm, his eyes averted. Mal rolled hers, then held out her hand beneath his. He shook the container above her palm until another tic-tac rolled out.  

“Two tic-tacs doesn’t make it better, Carlos.” Then, “Everyone knows the proper apology for training your dog to steal your friend’s pen and then refusing to let said friend check your box of weird shit is three tic-tacs.”

The third tic-tac was in her hand almost before she finished speaking. She grinned, then popped them in her mouth. “You’re lucky they’re cinnamon. If they’d been peppermint, I’d have to refuse your apology.”

“Peppermint tic-tacs are gross.”

“Yep.” She swallowed the mints, then breathed in his face. “Smell good?”

He wrinkled his nose. “No.” He leaned down and picked up the scraps ‘n’ things box. “So what is the proper apology for insisting that you didn’t misplace your pen and accusing everyone of stealing it?”

Mal froze. “What?”

Carlos popped the last remaining tic-tac in his mouth, then bank-shot the empty container into the trash. “Yeah, you swore that you didn’t lose it, and said one of us borrowed it and lost it, but you left it on my floor where Dude found it. So what’s the proper way to apologize for that?”

“By not stuffing your ass in a fridge?”

“...Yep, that sounds right.”

[swanqueeneverafter]

Sins of the Past Pt.3

Camelot. Past. Main Square. (A young Morgana watches on as Uther Pendragon addresses a crowd from the balcony while a convicted man is brought into the Square.) Uther: "Let this serve as a lesson to all. This man, Thomas James Collins, is judged guilty of conspiring to use enchantments and magic. And, pursuant to the laws of Camelot, I, Uther Pendragon, have decreed that such practices are banned on penalty of death. I pride myself as a fair and just king, but for the crime of sorcery there is but one sentence I can pass. (Uther gives the signal and the man is beheaded, much to the horror of Morgana:) When I came to this land, this kingdom was mired in chaos, but with the people’s help magic was driven from the realm. So I declare a festival to celebrate twenty years since the Great Dragon was captured and Camelot freed from the evil of sorcery. Let the celebrations begin." Storybrooke General Hospital. Present. (A small group has gathered outside the hospital room where Morgana is being examined. Having learned from Guinevere exactly who the woman is, only Hook seems to recognise the name.) Hook: "The daughter of Uther Pendragon? The architect behind the Great Purge of Camelot?" Emma: "Great purge?" Hook: (Nods:) "King Uther was notoriously against magic and sorcery of any kind. I remember hearing some of the stories during my piracy days. Uther made even the royal navy's methods of dealing with pirates seem civilised. (At Guinevere's stern look:) Of course, these were just rumours, I myself never stepped foot in Camelot as I knew it'd be the last place I'd find the Dark One." Guinevere: "Uther's reign ended a long time ago. It was a dark time filled with bloodshed. Not everyone agreed with the King's actions, least of all Morgana."

(Doctor Whale exits Morgana's room.) Guinevere: "Doctor, how is she?" Whale: "She needs rest, but she'll be fine." David: "There's nothing wrong with her?" Whale: "Well, certainly nothing physical." Snow White: "May we see her? Perhaps we can find out-" Whale: (Raising his hand:) "I'm sure all your questions can wait until morning." Snow White: "Oh, yes, of course." Guinevere: "I'll stay with her." Whale: (Nods:) "Call me when she wakes." Camelot. Past. King's Palace. Evening. (Morgana looks out the window from the top of the large staircase as Uther approaches.) Uther: “Morgana.” Morgana: “Yes?” Uther: “What is it? Why are you not joining us at the feast?” Morgana: “I just don’t think chopping someone’s head off is cause for celebration. That poor mother.” Uther: “It was simple justice for what he’d done.” Morgana: “To whom? He practiced some magic, he didn’t hurt anyone.” Uther: “You were not around twenty years ago, you have no idea what it was like.” Morgana: “How long are you going to keep punishing people for what happened then?” Uther: “Until they realise there is no room for magic in my kingdom! You will be with me when I formally greet our guests.” Morgana: “I told you! I want no part in these celebrations!” Uther: “I’m your father! I expect you to do as I ask. If you show me no respect at least do it privately. I will not be embarrassed by your lack of support in public.” Morgana: (As the King walks away:) “You know, the more brutal you are, the more enemies you will create!”  

Kingdom of Valencia. Present. Council Chamber. (King Richard and Queen Roberta stand ready to receive Lady Catrina as she enters.) King Richard: "Lady Catrina, is it really you?” Catrina: “I can hardly believe it myself.” King Richard: “We had tidings from the north that the House of Tregor had fallen to invaders.” Catrina: “All that you heard was true, My Lord, and worse.” King Richard: “Your father, the King?” Catrina: “Gone, Sire. The enemy attacked without warning. We were outnumbered five to one. He could not endure. I would never have survived had it not been for my faithful servant Jonas. But we did survive, and we have made it this far… (Catrina swoons and Gareth steps forward to catch her:) Oh! Thank you, kind sir. (To Richard:) Forgive me, My Lord. I fear my trials have taken a toll.” King Richard: “Your sufferings are beyond imagining, My Lady. It would be an honour to help you in any way we can.” Catrina: “A bed for the night would be most welcome.” King Richard: “And consider yourselves our esteemed guests. It’s the least we can do.” Catrina: “Thank you.” Catrina’s Guest Chambers. (Gareth shows Catrina and Jonas her guest quarters.) Gareth: “I’m sorry it’s not quite what you’re used to.” Catrina: “Forgive me, but I didn’t get your name.” Gareth: “Gareth.” Catrina: “Well, Gareth, considering we spend last night in a cave, this will do very nicely. Thank you.” Gareth: “Well, if you need anything, just ask.” Jonas: “My mistress and I could not be more grateful for the kindness you’ve shown us.” Gareth: “You’re welcome.” (Gareth leaves.) Catrina: (Immediately slouches and drops any pretense of nobility. Her voice scratchy and rough:) “Well I can’t sleep here. This whole place stinks of cleanliness.” Jonas: “Do not worry, Mistress. I will find you somewhere more suitable.” (Catrina takes a seat at the table. When she breathes onto the fruit bowl, she causes its contents to rot before her very eyes.)

Outside Storybrooke General Hospital. (Emma and Regina stand waiting outside discussing the events of the day.) Emma: "Did you ever have any dealings with Uther?" Regina: (Shakes her head:) "I think I remember Leopold used to visit Camelot quite a lot. Of course, the King never considered it necessary to take me along with him so I never met the man." Emma: "By the sounds of it, you wouldn't exactly have been welcome anyway." Regina: "Had I known how nice the castle was, I might've considered invading." Emma: "You think Uther would've been so easy to conquer?" Regina: "Oh please. Those toy soldiers? I could've killed them all with a wave of my hand." Emma: (Smiles:) "So, mom said she arranged a car to come pick us up for our date tonight." Regina: "Mm well the driver is late. I'm not sure I like the idea of your mother arranging dates for us." Emma: "Oh relax, it's just her way of getting her hands on Maria for the evening." Regina: "Even so..." Emma: "Well it's not like Zelena's any better." Regina: (Chuckles:) "That's true." Emma: "And, with Henry, Ella and Maria gone, we have the house to ourselves." Regina: (Eyes sparkling:) "Yes indeed. (The car arrives:) Finally." (Just as she's about to give the driver a piece of her mind, Regina's eyes widen when Henry steps out of the cab.) Henry: "Moms." Regina: "You're our driver?" Henry: "Seems that way." Emma: "What about Ella? We thought you'd be halfway to Wonderland by now." Henry: (Awkwardly:) "Yeah... well there was a slight change of plans. Can we talk about this in the car? I have like eight more customers booked after you." Emma: "Oh you can bet your butt we're going to talk about this. I wanna hear just what's more important than going with your fiancée to the dark side of Wonderland." (Henry sighs as his mothers take their seats inside the cab, knowing that this ride could be the longest few minutes of his life.) Kingdom of Valencia. Dining Chamber. Evening. (Richard, Roberta, Gareth and Catrina are having dinner.) Catrina: “Well, this is wonderful. Thank you.” King Richard: “It’s an honour. The House of Tregor have been allies of my family for as…well, as long as anyone can remember.” Catrina: “Our fathers spoke often, My Lord.” Queen Roberta: “I’m sorry we didn’t get the chance to meet him.” Catrina: “I’m sorry too. For the House of Tregor is no more.” (Catrina pushes her plate away.) Gareth: (Speaking up:) “Well, no, My Lady, it lives on in you.” Catrina: “Oh you are kind. I only wish that were true.” Gareth: “It is, My Lady. Your courage, your modesty. And your beauty.” (At this, Richard and Roberta exchange knowing looks.) King Richard: (Fake yawn:) “I’m sorry, it’s been a long day. If you’ll excuse us?” Catrina: “Of course.” Queen Roberta: “It was a pleasure to meet you.” Catrina: “And you, my Queen.” (The King and Queen leave.) Gareth: “Can I get you anything else? You’ve hardly touched your food.” Catrina: “I’m sorry, I find I have little appetite ever since that day.” Gareth: “I wish I’d been there for you.” Catrina: “Oh, but you’re helping me now. (Placing her hand on his:) Your kindness, your companionship. (Staring longingly into his eyes, catches herself and makes to leave. Standing:) I must also bid you goodnight. It’s been a long day.” Gareth: “Of course. Goodnight, My Lady.” Catrina: (Taking his hand and kissing it:) “Goodnight, Gareth.” (Catrina leaves the room, an unseen smile upon her face.)

Wonderland. The Tulgey Woods. (Ella and Will stand at the entrance to Tulgey Woods.) Will: "Ella, I didn't exactly leave this place on good terms. Are you sure you want me as your guide?" Ella: "Would you prefer it if I had asked Alice to help me?" Will: "No. Look, I left this part of Wonderland behind me because I did a lot of bad things here. A lot of people wanna see me dead. They have their reasons, and to be honest, they're good reasons. I left this place for a future I'm quite keen to see through." Ella: "Just get me as far as the Mad Hatter's old place." Will: "That's why we're here? It's abandoned. The Hatter hasn't been in Wonderland for quite some time. And he ain't never coming back. He's found himself a nice little life back in a place where the dragonflies aren't actually dragons." Ella: "I know, but he's the closest link to my mother there is. (At Will's look:) It's a start at least! Now, the Hatter's place is on the other side of these woods. If there's even the slightest chance of finding a clue as to where my mother might've gone, I have to take it. Let's go." (Ella walks into the woods as Will reads the sign before him.)

TULGEY WOODS. Generously secured for passage and residence by her Majesty. THE RED QUEEN. By Her Excellency's Command.

Will: "Why do I get the feeling this sign won't be the only thing wrong with this place? Anastasia hasn’t been Queen for years now." (Sighing, Will follows Ella as they walk deeper into the woods.) Ella: "The Hatter told you that he modeled the dream version of Wonderland to be as close to the original as possible, right?" Will: "Yeah, to seamlessly blend everyone's dreams together during the tea parties." Ella: "So it stands to reason that when we reach his house, it should at least be familiar to you." Will: "I suppose so, yes. (Notices something nailed to a tree:) Oh, bloody hell." (Will walks over to the tree and Ella reads the poster over his shoulder.) Ella: "Wanted. With or without his head. The Knave of Hearts. What exactly did you do, Will?" Will: "Don't ask. (Tears down the poster:) Now, which way?" Ella: "Up. We'll never see anything under these tall trees. We need a different point of view." Will: "What do you mean?" Ella: "If I get high enough, I can see the Hatter's house." (Without another word, Ella turns and begins to climb the tree, much to Will's amazement.)

Kingdom of Valencia. Catrina's Guest Chambers. Night. (Lady Catrina enters her guest room and slumps down into her hunch once more.) Catrina: (Her voice hoarse and scratchy again:) "What’s that?" (She sits down by tray full of fruit.) Jonas: “Compliments of Sir Gareth.” Catrina: “Revolting. (Catrina rots the fruit by breathing on it and begins to eat:) Gareth’s so stupid, so blinded by pretty things. Already he falls for me. I can see it in his eyes. It’s only a matter of time before he is completely under my control.” Jonas: “Excellent.” (Chef Vincenzo knocks on the door and enters while Catrina quickly wipes her face of rotten fruit.) Catrina: "Jonas, you must take these back to the kitchens, it’s, er, it’s perfectly rotten.” Chef: “I–I’m sorry. I did not mean to intrude.” Catrina: “That’s, er, that’s quite alright. At least I wasn’t undressing.” Chef: (Blushes:) “Er, I came for the tray.” (Smiling nervously, Vincenzo takes the tray of rotten food and leaves the room as Catrina and Jonas glare after him.)

Storybrooke Heritage Park. Night. (Taking a leisurely stroll through the park, Regina and Emma walk arm in arm in high spirits.) Regina: (Laughing:) "I think Henry will definitely think twice about driving us anywhere from now on." Emma: "I don't know what he was thinking. How could he just let Ella go by herself?" Regina: "Oh it's worse than that, she's alone with Will." Emma: "You don't think he'll try anything do you?" Regina: "Of course not. Aside from Ella being her best friend, Tiana is not someone I would've liked to get on the wrong side of, even in my Evil Queen days." (They share a laugh and walk in silence for a few moments.) Emma: "I know he's working hard, but I just think Henry's concentrating on the wrong things. Relationships take just as much work, especially given how little time they're spending together recently and now will spend apart." Regina: "Mm, speaking of work... I have a little confession to make." Emma: "Ooh, go on..." Regina: "Well, retirement isn't the only thing I've had running through my mind lately. I've also been thinking about you and how wonderful you've been since Maria came into our lives." Emma: (Smirks:) "I think you mean extra wonderful, right?" Regina: "I'm serious. (They stop walking:) Watching you making trips to the grocery store at all hours, changing diapers and making meals-" Emma: "I told you I could cook." Regina: "It's made me so happy to see you really doing all the things you missed out on with Henry." (They kiss.) Emma: "Yeah, it's been pretty great. I never want to miss a moment of Maria growing up you know? Learning to walk, to talk, teaching her how to ride a bike - all of it. And I have you to thank for it." Regina: "Well hey, we're in this together right? But I mean it, watching you... all maternal... it's very attractive." Emma: (Smiling:) "Is that so?" Regina: "Oh god yes." Emma: (Chuckling:) "I always knew you had Mommy issues." Regina: "My biggest issue has been seeing you in my apron preparing Maria's food and being unable to ravish you where you stand." Emma: "Mm, well, I don't have the apron with me... but there's a perfectly good looking bench over there that we can get to at least second base on?" Regina: "We could.. if we were a pair of horny teenagers. I'm looking to run home." Emma: (Laughs:) "I think you mean you’re looking for a home run." Regina: "I mean take me home. (Pulling her close:) Right now." (As Regina lays a searingly hot kiss on her, Emma waves her hand and they disappear in a cloud of smoke.)

[nancywheelxr]

(our friends set us up on a blind date as a prank because we don’t like each other but neither of us wants to let them win so ) | Part 3:

( part 1 ) ( part 2 )

“Have you ever noticed how ominous this song is?” Winn says, between muffins, “I mean, you better watch out? You better not cry? Like, are you threatening me? Are you warning me? Is Santa going to kill me in my sleep?”

Nanoon’s is still covered in string lights and Christmas songs are still flowing through the speakers at all times of day, Christmas spirit stubbornly clinging to the coffee shop with every red-and-green decoration, but there are worse things to see at ten in the morning, Winn supposes. Especially when the food and the coffee are for free. “I know right? I never understood that,” Kara nods enthusiastically, ponytail swishing behind her, “he sees you when you sleep, he knows when you’re awake? I’m pretty sure that classifies as stalking.”

Their waitress brings another plate of muffins and donuts, eyeing Kara’s bony wrists and her half-eaten blueberry donut with jealousy before leaving them at the table. Winn snorts, watching Kara hoard the donuts on her own plate like a blonde, cardigan-wearing dragon. “Either way. Here’s to having survived another Christmas,” he raises his coffee for a cheap, brunch toast and Kara clinks her own paper cup against it with a grin. “But seriously, is there a reason you dragged me out for brunch or– not that I’m complaining, far be it from me to refuse free food, but. Is there?”

Kara adjusts her glasses, shrugging half-heartedly, but it can’t be that bad, because her smiles stay fixed in place, if only a little sad at the edges. “What, can’t I want to do something nice for no particular reason?”

“This is about the blind date, isn’t it?” Winn sighs, putting his coffee down. His apology coffee, it seems. “We talked about this yesterday, it’s fine. It turned out better than fine, actually.”

“Right! Right, no, I know– I’m still sorry about that, though, sort of,” she shakes her head and her ponytail swishes again. “But that’s not why I asked you here. It’s not– it’s just that you are one of my best friends but when was the last time we talked? Really talked, no world-threatening, reality-altering, future-changing disasters. Just you know, two friends talking about life, and movies, and work!”

“Kara, we pretty much work at the same place– dealing with world-threatening, reality-altering, future-changing disasters is basically our whole job.”

“I know. But! It’s like game night. Game night is no longer among us. It perished sometime between the Daxamites and Reign and we didn’t even notice!” She complains, chewing on her donut with renewed passion as if maybe the void left behind by game night could be filled with exceptionally good pastries. “What’s next? Karaoke night? If we don’t do something about this soon, it will be chaos.”

Winn sips at his latte, stalling. Kara does have a point, a semblance of normalcy sounds awesome right about now, after Worldkillers and not-so-bright futures and a year of playing the universe’s deadliest game of chess with Brainy’s homicidal maniac relative. Honestly, at this point, they should all start a club, he, Brainy and Kara, make some t-shirts, hold weekly meetings. How to deal with your psycho family member 101. But he digresses. “Okay, I see your point. Things have been kind of intense, lately.” That’s the understatement of the century, he knows. “And it would be nice to hang out without some impending doom glooming everything up.”

Kara sets her cup down with a little too much force, coffee spilling on the wood table, but it doesn’t dampen her enthusiasm, she’s grinning as she tries to clean up the mess with napkins. “It would, wouldn’t it? A normal night, without any superhero business?”

“I have an idea,” Winn passes her more napkins, “why don’t we resurrect game night?”

“Yes! That would be perfect!” She squeals, eyes widening behind the glasses, “you should bring Brainy, and I’ll invite Nia and Lena, too! It’s a shame J’onn is still out of town, though.”

“Yeah, but he’ll be here for Karaoke night, right?”

“I think so, yeah. He’ll definitely be here before New Year’s Eve.”

Winn is in the middle of trying to remember where he put his board games when the TV catches their attention. The news anchor is outside a suburban house– pastel colors, white picket fences, rose bushes in the garden; the whole package– talking about murder and some sort of alien serial killer on the loose, and Winn can physically see Kara itching to fly. “You should go,” he tells her, “sounds like superhero business, hopefully not so world-threatening, reality-altering, future-changing level.”

“I’m so sorry,” she rushes out, already digging dollar bills out of her wallet, eyes glued to the screen, “but we are bringing game night back. That’s non-negotiable now. And you still have to tell me everything about your date with Brainy– but we’ll talk later!”

And she’s off, doorbell ringing on her wake.

*

What no one tells you about spending an entire year in the future is that, like with any other extended trip, there’s a shitton of things to do once you get back.

Because being an adult sucks like that.

Alex made sure the DEO took care of his rent, and Winn is thankful for that, he is, he very much likes not being homeless and there’s no way he’d find another apartment like this for the same price– but anything beyond that, it’s a work in progress.

His internet connection isn’t nearly as good as before, won’t be for a little while, or at least until he can stabilize his bank acount– and that’s not gonna happen until he forces himself to go grocery shopping for real and stop buying take out every night. There’s only so much Chinese food he can eat without getting sick, anyway.

Google Chrome crashes for the third time this afternoon and Winn lets his laptop slide from his lap to the floor. And honestly, he hopes it breaks and bursts into flames, because if he has to watch that freaking pixelated dinosaur jump over equally pixelated cactus one more time–

Maybe he should buy a cactus. It would probably be better than sit here and try his luck with cable.

You know what, maybe he should.

Dragging himself off the couch, Winn stretches, hopping over his fallen laptop– sadly, still in one piece– and looking for his keys; there has to be at least one flower shop still open in the whole city. It doesn’t even have to be nearby, he’s willing to go for a walk.

Keys, keys, keys– got it!

He grins, throwing his front door open and– “what are you doing here?”

Brainy is standing in his doorway, one hand poised to knock and the other holding a manilla envelope. “Oh.” He takes in Winn’s clothes, key halfway into the lock, “is this a bad time?”

“No. I mean, I was about to head out, but,” the cactus will have to wait, it seems, “by all means, come in, I guess. Wait, how did you know where I live?”

“The DEO keeps a personal file on every current and former employee,” he says, breezing past Winn and inside the apartment, envelope thrust unceremoniously into Winn’s hands. “It was easy enough. But do not worry, I only scanned the contact information.”

“Because that’s not creepy at all,” Winn comments without any real heat, too busy opening the envelope and too curious to be annoyed. He shakes it upside down and two photos fall down, screenshots from security cameras showing– no way. “Dude, we should have these framed!” The first one has Alex’s shocked face while the second has Kara’s, both taken in just the right second. “And then, when we do the big reveal in– what, a few weeks? Anyway– we should give it to them, like, with little bows on top– oh, oh, I know! There should be a cake too, with Congrats, you’ve been played! written on top!”

“That is… an idea, certainly,” Brainy pauses in the middle of his living room, back straight and stiff, looking almost nervous. “But not the reason I’m here.”

“Well, then what is it?” Winn asks, scooping up his laptop from the floor, and now that there’s another person here, in his apartment, he’s beginning to notice how messy it truly is. The jacket thrown over the couch now feels glaringly obvious and the takeout containers from lunch still sitting on his kitchen table couldn’t be more noticeable with neon signs hanging over them. If only the person standing on his living room weren’t so judgy, or even just had given him a heads up before showing up on his doorstep. But god forbid, that would be asking too much. “What is the reason? Come on, man, did something happen? Are they onto us?”

Something complicated scrunches up Brainy’s face, not quite a grimace but just as disgruntled. He opens his mouth, stops himself, then closes it, before trying again, “no, I don’t believe so. But something did happen. After Alex convinced Supergirl to pick you up for brunch, whatever that means.”

“Wait, Alex convinced Kara? But she– no, okay, why did Alex convince Kara? What happened after she left?”

“It did not take much convincing, I assure you. Supergirl had already been talking about some board game she found in her closet this morning? Somehow that led to brunch, I didn’t entirely follow on their logic.” He frowns, sounding more irritated with himself than anything. To be fair, one year ago, Winn would be rolling his eyes, but damn if it’s not confusing to be in a completely different time. Sometimes Garth and Lyle would say ordinary stuff and it still went way over Winn’s head; it’s like the entire world’s sharing some inside joke, but you can’t even tell the set up from the punchline. “As I was saying, after she left, Alex requested, ordered, really, that we talked somewhere private.”

“Oh, so she wanted to get you alone, without me or Kara? That– that doesn’t sound like Alex. What did she tell you?”

“I thought the same,” Brainy exclaims, and wow. There’s a first for everything, Winn figures. “It’s completely off her normal behavior! Once we were alone, she threatened me.”

“Alex did what now?”

“Yes, strange, isn’t it? She warned me about the consequences of breaking your heart, but that makes no sense; if we are supposedly dating, why would I do that?”

Worry and apprehension had been steadily growing, coiling tight around his lungs, wondering if this is the next crisis– mind control, invasion of the body snatchers, who knows!– but now it deflates like a balloon, and he exhales a lungful of relief. “So that’s it? That’s what she wanted to talk to you about? Oh, man, you got me really worried there for a sec.”

Like most things that come out of Winn’s mouth, this seems to irk Brainy in all the wrong ways. “And it is cause for concern, Winslow, if the Director is under the influence of some sort of mind–”

“Okay, I’ll stop you right there,” Winn says, trying to placate him. He shoves his jacket off the couch and pushes pillows aside, clearing space for them to sit down. “It’s nothing to worry about. That was just Alex’s version of a shovel talk, it’s fine. I mean, it was probably very scary, because it’s Alex, but it’s fine.”

Brainy sits, one eyebrow raising as he appears to debate with himself if he should believe Winn or not. “Shovel talk?”

“Yeah, it’s a thing people do when a sibling or close friend starts dating, they give the boyfriend or girlfriend the good ol’ you hurt them, I’ll kick your ass speech.” And yeah, it’s his bad, Winn can recite a mea culpa here; he should’ve warned Brainy about things that could possibly happen, but, frankly, Winn had not considered this as a likely scenario. “It’s sweet, actually.”

The utterly flat look Brainy levels him is just too funny, and along with having him here, sitting on Winn’s couch because Alex scared him with her shovel talk, it sends Winn into a fit of laughter. He can’t help it. There’s something so absurd about the whole situation, it sends him laughing all over again everytime he hiccups back in control. Even Brainy, when Winn manages to gather himself, has an indulgent smile on his face. “A very strange custom,” he notes, “but understandable with its due context.”

“Yeah, don’t sweat it, man.” Winn waves him off, leaning back on the cushions. If he had gone grocery shopping, this would be a nice time for a beer. “But it’s good that you’re here, because while you were being shoveled, I was getting free muffins and free coffees-- now that I think about it, I’m not sure Kara understands the concept of brunch very well either. But nevermind that, the point is,” he grins, “we are invited for game night.”

A wary sigh from Brainy and the squinting look on his eyes tell Winn he would probably have agreed on the beer thing. “I’m assuming that has something to do with Kara’s recently found board game and brunch.”

Winn snickers, “you would assume correctly. Look, I’m kinda hungry, are you staying or what? ‘Cause I’m thinking of ordering some pizza, so-- speak now or be hungry forever.”

It snaps Brainy sharply into motion. He stands up, smoothing out his clothes, “no, I should probably go.”

“Suit yourself,” Winn shrugs, standing up as well, and his phone buzzes on the table. “Oh, no. This is not good.”

“Something wrong?” Brainy asks, peering over his shoulder to look at the screen, “is that Alex?”

“Yes, she wants to meet for lunch tomorrow,” he swallows audibly, they both know what this means, “oh god, now it’s my turn to get the shovel talk.”

And Brainy, the goddamn asshole, he smiles. “As you said it yourself, there is nothing to worry about. It’s sweet, in fact.”

Winn savors every last bit of pleasure of slamming the door closed on his stupid smug face.