#can lena boss me around?

[lucyllawless]

Lena pulling the boss card

[ofstarsandvibranium]

Beloved Mine

Fandom: Marvel (Mob Boss AU)

Pairing: Chubby!Bucky x F!Reader

Summary: Sam sends out an SOS that Bucky isn't in the best mood, so you see him to ease his mind.

Sammy: SOS. he's in a bad mood!

You read over Sam's text and snort. You quickly type out a reply and start to change from your pjs to some appropriate clothing.

On your way to Bucky's, you stopped by his favorite bakery, grabbing his favorite baked goods as well as a wide variety for his people. You also grabbed him a coffee and a drink for you as well.

Sammy: He almost shot the new guy in the foot. Please tell me you're on your way.

You: ETA 10 minutes.

Sammy: THANK GOD.

You giggle and continue to drive to Bucky's family mansion. At the gate, the security guard takes one look at you and immediately lets you in. You give him a pastry in gratitude before driving up the long gravel driveway.

You park beside Sam's car and hop out. The man at the door nods at you, opening the door wide for you to step in. You also hand him a pastry with a smile.

You head towards the back of the house where you hear a familiar, loud distant voice.

The closer you get, the louder the voice. You push through some of the men spilling out of the room until you're inside.

"-HOW MANY FUCKING MEN DO I GOTTA LOSE TO-honey?"

All eyes land to you. You give a sheepish wave, "Hi, sorry, is this a bad time?" You know it is but you feign ignorance.

Bucky sighs, running his hand through his brunette locks, "Just finishing up a meeting."

"Oh, I can wait-"

"No, no. It's fine. Think they all had enough of my shouting," he waves his hand, "Leave, you fuckers!" most of the people scurry out in an instant, not wanting to wait and see if Bucky changes his mind. A small group stay behind, Bucky's closest friends and confidants: Sam, Joaquin, Yelena, and Nat.

You approach them, setting yours and Bucky's drinks in front of him. You open the pastry box in your hands and hold it out to the four, "Take your pick!"

"You're Heaven sent!" Sam exclaims as he grabs a donut and shoots you a wink. You give him a smirk and a nod.

Joaquin grabs a danish, practically stuffing the entire thing in his mouth.

"Did you eat today, Joaquin?"

He shakes his head as he continues to chew the danish. You lift the box higher, "Take as much as you want."

He gives you a grin as he grabs two more pastries and follows Sam out the door.

"Ladies?"

"I'm good," Nat says with a shake of her head in decline.

"Hell yeah, donuts!" Yelena exclaims as she grabs the glazed twists. She hums in delight as she takes a bite, "Thanks, Y/N!"

You chuckle, "You're welcome, Lena."

The two women look to Bucky to see if he needed anything else. Bucky sips his coffee and waves them off and the two file out the door, closing it behind them.

You turn back to Bucky, "Yours are at the bottom," you place the pastry box in front of him.

Bucky's eyes narrow at you, a hint of a smirk on his lips, "Who called you?"

"No one called me."

"So if I check your phone-"

"Technically, Sam texted me. He didn't call me."

Bucky scoffs and shakes his head, "Of course he did."

You walk over to the other side of his desk. He leans back in his chair and you sit on his arm rest, "Bad day?" You begin to run your fingers through his hair and he leans into your touch with a sigh, "Another shipment got intercepted. We lost some guys."

"'M sorry, baby."

"I'm getting real fucking tired of Hydra. And none of my people can find shit out! Anytime they snag one of their guys, they kill themselves before we get any answers. Fucking cowards."

You wrap your arms around Bucky's bulking frame, "You'll figure it out. You always do. Besides, I'm sure Lena and Nat have something cooking, right?"

"Supposedly, but they won't tell me what yet. They're trying to iron out the details."

"Just let them handle it in the meantime. Now, how about a treat?" you grab one of the pastries that you know he loves and he takes a bite. He moans at the taste and his shoulders drop in relief.

He washes it down with his coffee and he looks at you with shining blue eyes, "You really know how to make a guy feel loved, honey."

You giggle, and wipe some crumbs off his chubby cheeks, "Well, duh, I do love you," you peck his lips, "Ease up on everyone, will ya? I know things are tense, but they're all doing the best they can. You can't afford to lose more people."

He slowly nods, "You're right. Fuck, you know, maybe you should step down and take over, hm?"

You throw your head back and laugh, "Oh, please, I'd run your family into the ground! No one would listen to me-"

"Baby, a majority of my people listen to you already."

"...I don't know how to lead people or how the inner workings of all this," you gesture around you, "goes."

Bucky shrugs, "I can teach you. Besides," he takes your left hand, thumb grazing over the diamond ring on your finger, "you should start learning some things anyway."

"Let me just live in ignorant bliss until after the wedding, Barnes," you pat his plump cheeks and he grins at you, eyes soft and full of love.

[mike-wachowski]

“Okay.” Sam takes a deep breath, in and out, and Lena can see the cloud of frost forming around her exhale. The sub-thermal temperature of the freezer is already thawing what was left of Lena’s growing hot rage. “Spill. Why are you acting like a dick?” 

Lena huffs. “I’m certainly not acting like a dick. Jess made a mistake. It’s within my duties as the head chef to make sure everything is perfect—”

Sam raises a hand and immediately silences her. “Lena. I’m not your brother. I don’t want you to be perfect. I don’t need you to be our boss right now. I need you to be our friend.” Sam pulls out an empty apple crate from the bottom shelf and plants herself down on it. “Now tell me what’s wrong. Please.” 

Lena slumps to the floor. She sighs, watching the small puff of ice that gathers around her breath, and buries her head in her hands. 

She whispers, “Kara and I kissed.”

“What?” Sam leans in. “Lena, you gotta speak up, the fan is on-”

“Kara and I kissed!” Lena shoots her head up, making eye contact with Sam. “Kara and I kissed, and… we haven't talked about it or anything, and we haven’t done it since, but I— I made her pizza, and my brother called, and I was so upset, and I kissed her, and I can’t stop thinking about it.” 

the final chapter of you can tell a whole story with a taste is now live (and its 16k!)

you can read it from the start here.

[narraboths]

“You got anything to tell me about yesterday’s interview, Ponytail?”

Being cornered by one’s editor is rarely a good sign. Being cornered by a harried Snapper Carr one month into her tenure as a rookie reporter would be enough to give others nightmares for a month. Maybe ulcers. Kara, though, she’s been having a great week, and she’s not about to let anyone ruin it.

“Nope.” She pops the p a little. Something about Snapper’s moroseness always pushes her to be spitefully chipper.

“Nothing out of the ordinary?”

“Not at all.”

“Hm.” Snapper nurses the thought with that dour, toothachey look that Kara’s come to learn is directed at her just as much as it is a sign of his general displeasure with the world. He pulls out his phone, jabbing at the screen. “So do you mind explaining to me why my cub reporter is on the front page of every gossip rag from here to Metropolis as the Mystery Blonde Caught in Luthor’s Web?”

That can’t be right is immediately the tip of Kara’s tongue but it freezes there, along with the incredulous laugh threatening to burst out of her, because Snapper is shoving his phone in her face and–

“It’s not what it looks like,” she blurts out, instinctively, then winces at her own choice of words. Great save. “I was just being considerate.”

It’s true, really. She was only holding the door open for Lena as they left L-Corp (Lena was on the move the whole day, they did half of the interview in the back of her Range Rover, flitting between offices), and it only happened that Lena’s hand fell to her forearm, a completely innocent gesture, as innocent as Lena’s smile, as the way she swayed a little closer, saying thank you as she strode by. And sure, Kara may have felt mesmerized for a single, fleeting moment, suddenly so deeply flustered by the gentle weight of Lena’s hand that she almost cracked the door handle in two, but who wouldn’t? Lena Luthor just has a remarkable presence. Why are they letting paparazzi camp out at the L-Corp doorstep, anyways?

“I’ve never seen Luthor that affectionate with anyone.” Snapper eyes Kara suspiciously, his face screaming why you of all people, bumbling rookie who can barely even spell?. “I’ve never seen any of the Luthors affectionate with anyone at all.”

“Guess it’s just my natural charm, sir.” Kara flashes the most annoyingly innocent smile she can, then squares her shoulders. “Did you actually read my article?”

There’s a beat of silence, Snapper staring daggers at her. Then finally, finally, he lets out an annoyed huff.

“Of course I read it. It’s going out first thing tomorrow.” He pockets his phone, then rubs his face with a tired motion. “Make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

“You got it, boss.”

-

It happens again.

It happens again a bunch, really. (Kara at the L-Corp gala, at Lena’s table, the two of them in lively conversation, shoulders pressed together – she was telling me about L-Corp’s new green energy initiative, sir –, the fond smile and almost-teasing tone when Lena calls “yes, Miss Danvers?” at her press conference – she’s just nice! It’s not a crime! –, the candid of them on the CatCo balcony when Lena’s in house for her cover shoot, Kara gesturing excitedly and Lena leaning against the railing, hanging onto every word, a jacket two sizes too big wrapped around her shoulders – you know it gets cold out there. At least there’s no photos of her wrapping the jacket around Lena, their hands brushing together, the faint blush along the lines of Lena’s throat. That’d probably look pretty suspicious.) Snapper’s face takes on increasingly vivid shades of purplish red.

“Do we need to go over the meaning of journalistic integrity again, Danvers?”

Kara decides to take graduating from “Ponytail” as a win.

“We’re not– it’s not anything untoward,” she shoots back, arms crossed, only slightly blushing. In anger, certainly. “I’m doing my job. I grilled her on L-Corp still holding a contract with the government for anti-alien defense systems that Lex negotiated, just last week. There’s footage.”

“Yeah,” Snapper grinds his teeth so vehemently that Kara’s afraid he might crack a crown. “Footage of her hugging you in the hallway afterwards, too. What the hell were you doing?”

“She just thanked me, sir.” The vein on Snapper’s neck looks ready to burst. Kara makes a mental note to recommend meditation at a less belligerent time. “She said my question made it possible for her to make a public stance and really send a message.”

Snapper looks like he’s nearing an aneurysm.

“Hell, Danvers, that sounds even worse!”

It sounded pretty great, actually, Kara thinks, after the borderline unprofessional row they had in Lena’s office when Kara first broached the subject. It felt pretty great, too, not just Lena’s declaration, her renewed commitment to reject everything Lex and Lillian stand for, but the warmth of Lena’s pressed against her, her lips brushing against Kara’s cheek, the low murmur of “you’re such a wonderful friend” in her ear that gave her such a strange shiver. At least that much thankfully escaped the prying eyes and cameras.

“Either I don’t go near her, or CatCo continues to have the leading stories on one of National City’s most high-profile citizens.” She gives Snapper the steeliest look she can muster without letting her heat vision flare up. “And my covers are currently bringing in our biggest numbers. Sir.”

Snapper grinds his teeth again, but his shoulders sag just a touch, and Kara knows she’s won this round.

“You’re on thin ice, Danvers. Back to your desk.”

Kara complies with a grin and a thumbs up, and decides to take a break half an hour later, when Alex forwards her an article titled Bosom Buddies: Lena Luthor Out And About With CatCo Gal Pal with a subtle mix of skull, knife, and eyeroll emojis. She does save one of the photos, though, the one where Lena’s head’s thrown back in adorable, delightful laughter.

-

“Can you explain this one, Danvers?”

Snapper doesn’t look angry this time. No, he’s strangely calm, somewhat elated, even, slamming a whole bundle of newspapers down on her desk, jolting Kara out of her reverie. Half of them are National City publications, Kara vaguely notes, but there’s Metropolis and Gotham and Central City in the mix, too, as if it was the story of the century. Must be a slow news day.

“Of course, sir. I think the proper term is ‘first date’?”

To her greatest surprise, Snapper barks out a laugh, loud and gruff.

“You’re now barred from any future reporting on the Luthors or L-Corp,” he tells her, not without a touch of satisfaction. If Kara hadn’t been walking on sunshine for the past thirteen hours, twenty-eight minutes and forty-one seconds, since the first tentative press of Lena’s lips against her own, she might’ve felt a bit miffed. “Cat Grant’s setting aside a little time later in the afternoon to chew you out personally.”

Kara nods happily along. Withering tones and grim disapproval, the usual spiel, as if anything could dull that buzzing, electrifying feeling coursing through her body since last night, the weightless, feverish joy that grips her every time she thinks of Lena’s last text and everything can’t wait to see you again tonight could possibly entail.

“Yessir.”

“Congratulations, Danvers.” Snapper raps his knuckles against her desk. “Let’s spare each other the heartburn from now on.”

- 

(Kara shows up with a hickey on her neck and the headlines of Lena Luthor Packs PDA With New Girlfriend the next day. Snapper refuses to look her in the eyes for the rest of the week.) 

[wandamaximoffsbadgirl]

Beautiful Stranger

You Thought That You Were the Boss Tonight, but I Can Put Up One Good Fight (3)

Mommy!Wanda x Beefy!Fem!Reader

Summary: Your best friend has invited you out to a party and has also told you to try and bring your new girlfriend.

Word Count: 2.5K

Warnings: 18+ MDNI! Alcohol and drug consumption, W eats R out, R uses a strap on W, W is called Mommy, R is called Daddy, Dom/sub dynamics

A/N: Here you go have a party scene

September 13, 2023

“Hey! Y/N!” You hear your best friend, Yelena, call as she catches up to you in the quad. 

“Hey Lena, what’s up?” We were headed to the same class; English.  

“There’s a party this weekend that Stark is throwing. Are you finally going to come or are you babysitting again?” She asks as the two of you walk and you huff, rolling your eyes.

“Not this weekend Lena, the boys are going to their dads and it’s a bit more than babysitting at this point. I told you that.” Lena laughs.

“I’m messing with you. If they won’t be there this weekend you should convince this hot milf you’re banging to join us.” You punch Lena giving her a dead arm as she hisses in pain. “Fuck jeez I can’t even joke with you about it.” 

“Yes because you know I actually like her Lena. It’s not just about banging the hot mom next door.” You remind her and she smiles, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. 

“I know, so convince her so we can all meet her.” You roll your eyes.

“I doubt she’ll want to Lena. I’m sure her party days are over and done with, besides she can’t even drink.” You mention off handedly.

“Why not?”

“She’s pre-“ You stop yourself realizing you didn’t mention before that Wanda is currently pregnant and you’re banging her. Let's just add that to your list of kinks as Lena’s eyes widen. “Don’t. Lena. Fuck. Stop! Don’t look at me like that!” She has this shit eating smirk on her face. 

“Look at you like what detka? Like you’re totally into older milf’s who are also pregnant and that’s why none of us could ever dream of getting you off? Did I forget anything?” You don’t dare tell Lena that she calls you Daddy when the two of you fuck. 

“That’s it I’m gonna murder you and I’ll make it look like a goddamn accident Lena.” You say through gritted teeth.

“Fine, fine! I give! I won’t mention it, but if she says no at least let me meet her? I do actually care if she’s treating you right and not just using you.”

“She would never Lena...she’s incredibly sweet and kind and caring and loving and....” Lena starts making gagging noises. “Why do I even bother?” You start walking ahead of her. As she scrambles to catch back up and apologize, but, you decide to ignore her.

----------------------------------------------

“Hey Wands?” You ask as she makes dinner, the boys occupied in the living room by TV and video games. 

“Yes pretty girl?” She flicks her eyes to you as she prepares vegetables for a roast she’s making.

“I got invited to a party on Friday,” Wanda nods, listening as you speak, but concentrating on the vegetables she’s cutting. “and my best friend Lena said since the boys are going to Vis’s this weekend that we should both go...I know it’s a college party and I’m sure you have no intent in partying with any of us, but my friends want to meet this mysterious woman I always talk about,” You feel your face heat up, “I told Lena you probably wouldn’t want to go, so if you don’t want to that’s fine and we can-“

“Is it important to you?” She cuts me off.

“I mean you meeting my friends is important, but it doesn’t have to be the party Lena said-“

“Then we can go to the party.” She cut you off again, but you're surprised by her answer so much that you can’t even be mad. 

“You want to meet my friends?” You ask, tilting your head, eyebrows knit in confusion as Wanda stops what she’s doing, moving around the island to stand between your legs, resting her arms on your shoulders.

“Of course I do sweet girl. I want to be a part of your life. Every part of it and that includes meeting your friends even if it’s some college party and I haven’t partied since I was your age sweet girl.” She kisses you tenderly and the boys make noises at us. 

“Go back to your show boys. Mommy’s busy.” Wanda gives them a look and the boys giggle. We had told them yesterday morning about us after what had happened the previous night. You laugh with the boys and eventually so does Wanda.

-----------------------------------------------

Wanda wears a green off the shoulder frilled and layered dress that falls to her mid thigh. You look her over and before she can even say anything as she looks herself over in the mirror You come up behind her, wrapping your arms just under her belly which the dress hides nicely as she decided she didn’t want your friends other than Lena you told her you had accidentally let it slip. Wanda wasn’t mad thankfully. 

“You look amazing beautiful girl.” You kiss her neck, her hair is flowing in waves over her shoulders and her make-up is impeccable. 

“You think so?” 

“I know so. I’m looking at you and it kind of makes me wanna skip the party and just fuck you all night with my cock.” You whisper in her ear. 

“Mmmm don’t threaten me with a good time.” She turns around, kissing you gently, not wanting to smudge her lipstick. You see her look over your outfit, you have decided to wear black skinny jeans, a white crop top and a cropped leather jacket that just barely falls past your tits. Your hair is down and straightened and you've got your knee high lace-up boots that have these little chains hanging off them. 

“Mmmm pretty girl Mommy wants you so bad.” She bites her lip as she looks you over. You pull her chin up to meet your eyes. 

“Behave yourself and you can ride Daddy’s cock until you see stars when we get home.” She simple nods and smiles. “Good girl. Grab your purse and let’s go.”

-----------------------------------------------

You hold Wanda’s hand as you get inside, music blaring people drinking and doing drugs. You're offered a joint by some girl. You think she’s in your language class or maybe networking either way you smile, taking a long drag as you feel Wanda’s hand squeeze yours, pulling your attention to her. You're reminded that you've never smoked in front of her. It’s something you tend not to do, but when it’s offered you usually take it. 

You hand it back to the girl and give a quick thank you as you find your group of friends in Stark’s basement where there are pool tables that people are playing at including your friends except for Lena. 

“Hey guys!” You speak cheerfully as you see the three of them playing a game of pool. Peter, MJ, and Kate all look at you and smile as you hug each of them asking Kate where Lena is, who is currently grabbing drinks and shots for all of you. You nod and introduce Wanda to them,

“Guys this is Wanda. We’ve been kind of seeing each other all summer. Well not exactly all summer, but we met at the beginning of summer when I moved in.” You start rambling and Wanda stops you by squeezing your hand.

“It’s nice to finally meet you all. I know Y/N here has told me you guys always invited her out, but she’s been turning you down because of me and I feel bad about taking up all her time, but she’s been a big help, She wraps her arms around your arm and You can feel her belly and her tits against you. You wanna melt into a puddle from the feeling as the conversation goes on without you.

“Okay who is ready for some drinks!?” Yelena calls out and Wanda snaps her head at the voice.

“Yel?” Wanda asks and Lena is looking at Wanda wide eyed.

“Oh hey Wands so you’re the one taking up my best friend's time!” Yelena walks over hugging Wanda like they’re old friends. 

“Am I...am I missing something?” You ask, dumbfounded.

“Well if you had ever said her name I would have known you were dating Tasha’s best friend! Wow! This is crazy!” You punch Yelena once again giving her a dead arm. “Ah! Stop doing that! It hurts!” Yelena hissed, shaking her arm trying to get feeling back as quickly as she could. 

“Tasha as in your big sister Nat? Natty? Natty bear?” Kate asks listing off literally every nickname we’ve ever given to her older sister.

“Yes! That Tasha!” You say and huff.

“Pretty girl it’s okay. Everything is fine.” Wanda reassures me as You lean your forehead against her temple,

“I need a drink...” You whimper to Wanda. 

“Go have one it’s okay if you drink. Just because I can’t doesn’t mean you need to stop yourself.” You smile and pull her in for a kiss. You go over to the table that Lena put the drinks down at noticing she still brought over six shots and six beers, well bottoms up. You take one shot after the other of the vodka Lena had brought the clear liquid burning and setting your stomach a blaze then popped the top on the beer bottle, using the table to take off the top as you start drinking it, looking back as Yelena and Wanda talk the others getting involved. 

You smiled though it was a turn of events. You weren't expecting your girlfriend to be getting along with all of your friends just fine and it didn’t matter that she’s ten years older than us, or that she has kids, or that she’s pregnant. She’s just Wanda right now. You move back over, feeling the buzz start from drinking and smoking, wrapping myself around Wanda from behind; kissing her neck. The other four were playing pool, talking with us in between turns and eventually we played a round of cut throat so we could all get involved. 

A few hours later you were floating in the clouds. All giggling from drinking. Wanda says the goodbyes for you two and how nice it was to meet everyone, taking your keys as the two of you approach the car, “I’m driving sweetie, go get in your passenger princess spot.” Wanda teases, making you giggle. 

“Jokes on you beautiful I like being passenger princess.” You tell her. “I hate driving sometimes. This is so much better.” You get comfy in your seat, closing your eyes after you've buckled in. As she starts driving you two home, she puts her hand on your thigh as you connect your phone to Bluetooth, putting on, Dove Cameron’s album Alchemical: Volume 1, skipping to the song Sand.

“I love hearing you sing pretty girl.” Wanda says squeezing your thigh, keeping her eyes on the road. You had your eyes on her the whole time you sang and she knew it.

“I’m not a great singer.”

“But you sing with your heart. So it’s beautiful.” Wanda assures me, making me smile. 

-----------------------------------------------

By the time the two of you got home you were feeling better. Though you still took the water from Wanda that she grabbed from the fridge. You sat up on the counter while you drank it as Wanda grabbed something small to reheat from earlier in the week. You watched her practically dance around the kitchen, humming a tune from the music you had playing in the car. She was absolutely beautiful.

“Wands?” You call out. When she looks over at you, your arms are outstretched, hands reaching for her. She smiled walking over to you and settling between your legs. Her arms wrapped around your waist and your own wrapped around her shoulders. 

“Is this what you need, sweet girl?” Wanda's voice is muffled against your chest. You give her a small ‘Mmm’ into her hair. “I love you being Daddy, but it's okay when you need to be all soft like this. I still love you like this.” You knew how needy you could be at times, especially when you'd been drinking. You kiss the top of her head and take a moment to just breathe her in and cherish the moment.

“I know. I just prefer it. I can be myself with you Wands and it's all I've ever given you.” She looks up at you with a smile, getting up on her tiptoes to kiss you.

“Good.” You smile into the kiss. You try to lick her lip, to keep going, but she stops you. “Ah. Food first then we can have our fun.” You subconsciously let out a whine in displeasure. Wanda smirks, whispering in your ear, “Behave and do as Mommy says sweet girl.” You felt your eyes roll back as your stomach flipped. 

Wanda had such an effect on you, sober or not. Usually you were able to overpower her; take the situation and flip it, but it was obvious to you that she wanted to win at some point. So you listened to her, even letting her feed you. You knew it made her happy. The smile on her face was as wide as ever. You knew Wanda loved being a mom, loved taking care of those around her.

-----------------------------------------------

“F-fuck…” You moaned out as Wanda's tongue buried it's way inside of you. She'd already had you cum once, but you were even more needy than either of you had anticipated. You never let others touch you, but Wanda made you feel like you were on fire. Your hand tangled in her hair, hips rocking against her face as you moaned out, “Fuck…cumming…ahhh…” You bit your lip, feeling her tongue lap inside of you as you came down from your high.

Wanda crawled back up, after cleaNing you with her tongue. She leaned down to kiss you, tasting yourself on her lips. A moan slipped past your lips before flipping the two of you over carefully. 

“My turn to make you feel good Mommy.” You leaned back down, kissing her. “I promised you my cock didn't I?” You saw Wanda's eyes light up, she'd been waiting for it. As you got up to put the strap on you looked over her body. Letting your eyes rake over her form, admiring it as you crawled up between her legs. “You are so fucking beautiful. I swear no one could even come close to you.” You told her as you slowly slid inside of her. A quiet moan slipped out as you leaned over her. “Look at Daddy while she fucks you.” Wanda's eyes locked with yours as you started your thrusts. 

Slow and steady at first listening to every little noise she made because of you. Watching her body move beneath you. Everything about it was beautiful, perfect. Nothing to you was better than this. Nothing was better than what you two had built over the summer. Nothing was better than the family you've found.

[clockwayswrites]

A Broken Sort of Normal, Part 15

WC 1133, Masterpost

“Danny!”

“Lena, no,” Danny groaned. He let his bag slump off his shoulder as he turned to face them. “Lena. It’s Friday. I have been in meetings for the last three days. I have plans. I am actively leaving the building. Lena. Why are you stopping me, Lena?”

Lena held their tablet up, covering up the lower half of their face. Their dangerously large doe eyes looked over the top of it. “I just have one last thing!”

“Is it an emergency?”

They rolled their eyes. “Do you hear any alarms?”

“If I don’t deal with it until Monday and an emergency happens, are people going to be out of supplies they need to deal with said emergency?”

“No,” Lena huffed.

“Then can it please wait until Monday, Lena? Please? I’m begging you. I don’t want to have to get down on my knees, but I will,” Danny said. “Oh great now more of you are here. Please tell me you don’t all have things you need from me? Why are you smiling like that? If this is a mind control thing just thrown me tied up in my office and let me at least sleep under my desk.”

“You’ve been hanging out with the heroes too much Danny,” Greg said with a laugh from where he leaned on the bright green partition of his cubical. “You’ve picked up on their dramatics.”

“No, I’m just used to the crazy now and this,” he said, motioning to his gathering underlings (HR wouldn’t let him call them minions anymore), “is suspicious.”

“Well if you feel that way, we don’t have to give your gift,” Lena said.

Danny perked up a little. “Gift? Wait, gift?”

Hamid snorted. “Of course he pays attention when gift is mentioned. Danny, someone could catch you with a piece of cake under a cardboard box.”

Danny flapped a hand in Hamid’s direction. “Hush. But why gift? You all don’t have to get me anything.”

“Of course we did!” Lena said. “It’s your one year being the boss man, Boss!”

That made Danny pause. It couldn’t be, could it? Had he really been working as leadership in the Justice League Response Team for a year now? It felt like yesterday still when he had been moving to Central City.

“I think we broke him,” Hamid whispered loudly.

“I just can’t believe it’s been that long,” Danny said honestly.

“Well it has been, so here,” Lena said. They grabbed a tissue wrapped bundle and handed it over.

Danny unwrapped it carefully, aware he was grinning stupidly and not carrying to stop it. It was really sweet of his team. “I couldn’t have made a year without you all.”

“We know,” Greg said, which made Danny laugh.

When the paper was finally discarded, Danny was holding a mug that said ‘You’re the Best Boss’ with the word ‘best’ scratched out. Stuffed inside the mug were floppy Titan figures wrapped with fake bandages. “You’re all jerks, I love it. I’m taking a picture and sending it to the Titans. Nightwing’s little broken leg is inspired.”

“Thank you,” Lena said proudly. They waited for Danny to snap the picture before taking the mug away. “Now you go. I’ll put this on your desk for you.”

“Thank you, really, you’re all the best.”

“We know,” all three of the coursed as Danny headed out the door with a wave.

-

“I can’t believe they broke mini me’s leg!” Dick wined when Danny got back to his and Wally’s department.

“Of course they broken your leg with all the stunts you pull,” Victor said as he flicked the cap off a beer with his thumb. “Wait, that sounded wrong. It’s not like those were voodoo dolls or anything. Right…?”

Danny laughed hung up his work bag and keys on the hooks by the door. “Greg is right, you’re all paranoid and I’m around you way too much for it to be rubbing off on me.”

“Really only Wally rubs off on y—” Garfield started only to get a face full of pillow tossed by Donna. It sent Gar right over the couch back he had been perched on.

“No one needs to hear that,” she said.

“You’re just jealous Wally has a hot boyfriend,” Gar said.

The couch shifted a little before a green cat popped out from under the front of it. Danny picked Gar up as he passed, setting him back on the couch.

“I am not the hot boyfriend,” Danny said.

“Yes you are.”

“Right.”

“Dude.”

Victor just snorted.

“Wally,” Danny called out. “Our friends are being weird. Did you all get a collective head injury or something?”

“Our friends are always weird, babe,” Wally called back from either the bedroom or the office.

“Yes, but this is extra weird.”

There was a pause then Wally appeared with the monstrosity that was the current Uno set up. It now included a board and six different dice. “Okay, what’s extra weird?”

“That they think I’m the hot boyfriend.”

“Danny, babe,” Wally said. He leveled Danny with a look. “You are the hot boyfriend.”

“Collective head injury, all of you!” Danny said, throwing his hands up.

Wally just laughed, the bastard, and set the game box down so that he could pull Danny into his arms. “Accept it, you’re hot.”

“No,” Danny said, purposefully pouting.

“So hot,” Wally insisted before leaning in to kiss Danny.

Gar whistled while Victor made a fake gagging sound. The kiss broke as Danny laughed at being hit with a pillow.

“Okay, okay. I’m going to go change out of my work clothes. Is food ordered?” Danny asked as he dragged himself out of Wally’s arms.

“Indian. An absolute feast too,” Wally said, reluctantly letting Danny go.

“Good, I’m starving.” Danny headed for their bedroom, shucking off his clothing as soon as the door was closed. He hated meetings where people expected him to wear suits. It was a relief to change into jeans and a comfortable t-shirt.

“…wait till the others are here?” Dick was saying to Wally when Danny opened the door.

“I know we should, just…”

“Wait for what?” Danny asked.

It was a little startling how both their heads jerked up to look at Danny.

“Um, just explaining the Uno rules! You know?” Wally said with a nervous laugh. “Not all of them have played this version, yeah?”

Danny raised a brow, spotting the lie easily but not knowing what it was about. It was usually safer to not get between Wally and Dick plotting something though. “Right… pass me a cider?”

“Sure, babe!” Wally said with far too much perkiness.

Danny had just accepted the uncapped cider when suddenly the room was filled with a screaming alert. From the volume that wasn’t just one communicator.

That was everyone’s.

---

AN: I managed to shake out some words! I'm not actually sure of the pacing of this one, but I won't know till I write the next part! There's a chance this might get more added to it. We'll see! I wonder what Dick and Wally were talking about??

Stay delightful, darlings!

I no longer tag, instead you can subscribe to the masterpost.

[6rookie-writer0110]

The ocean at our feet

Male Reader X Lena Luthor

Request - Can you do a MR! X lena Luthor fluff. R is Kara’s brother who came to earth with her when Krypton exploded, he also followed Kara to CatCo but became a Photographer instead of Assistant and when he met Lena became head over heels with her. Lena and R have a Lois and Clark style relationship until one day he saves her and reveals his identity to her

“I can't believe Cat left,” You said.

“I can't believe it, either. But you will like working there, just trust me. Lena will be a great boss” Kara said.

You knew that Kara was friends with Lena but you never met her. You and Kara used to live in Krypton, then went to Earth when Krypton exploded. You do wear glasses just like Kara and she is happy that you will work with her at Catco. You used to live with your sister but you moved out and she won't admit it but she does miss living with you.

You arrive at the company and she takes you to Lena’s office. Lena saw you and Kara walk into the office then she stood up, and walked toward you and Kara. She is smiling at you and you forgot how to say hi, you stare into her green eyes. Your body is feeling hot your heart is beating faster and faster. Lena said hi and she waiting for you to say hi back and tell her your name. You can't stop staring at her and you still don't say anything to her, then Kara taps your arm with her elbow.

“She asked your name,” Kara said.

“Oh-… My name is Y/N, I’m her brother” You said.

“Nice to meet you, Y/N. I know she is your sister because of her last name. Can I see your portfolio?” Lena said.

“Portfolio?” You asked.

“The big book, Y/N” Kara laughed.

“Oh!” You said.

You hand over your portfolio and Lena starts to look at the pictures carefully. You are feeling nervous that she is looking at your pictures and she doesn't say a word just yet. Lena doesn't look up just yet, but she can feel your eyes on her. Then she looks up and she looks at the camera around your neck. She thinks you are cute and she stares into your eyes for a few seconds.

“Y/n, you are very talented. I like how you capture the light and the moment in each picture. You got the job, as the new photographer” Lena smiled.

“Wow, thanks Ms Luthor,” You said.

You like how she says your name.

“Just call me Lena,” Lena said.

You nod then Kara gives you a hug and you can't stop smiling.

“Kara, I want you to work on an article with William Dey. It's about the new library opening in a neighborhood and they are giving away food for the families. And Y/N, you will come with me” Lena said.

“I will get on it” Kara smiled.

Kara left and you are feeling nervous again.

“Why me?” You asked.

“It's for work obviously, Y/N. Get your camera ready and let's go” Lena said.

You and Lena leave together and you sit next to her in the car. You smell her perfume and you like the scent. You never felt nervous around women before.

“We are going to a hospital for sick children. I need you to take pictures of them and everyone else and the hospital. We will need donations and posting pictures online will benefit the hospital” Lena said.

“I can do that. It's nice that you are helping them” You said.

“People deserve healthcare no matter what their financial status is,” Lena said.

“I understand,” You said.

You and Lena arrive at the hospital and you get the camera ready. You start to take pictures of the press conference and the guests. Lena gets on stage and you start to take pictures of her. Later, Lena starts to spend time with the sick kids and you start to take pictures of her with them. You start to like her even more because of how she likes to help people in need.

“Y/N, show me the pictures,” Lena said.

“Sure,” You said.

You start to show her the pictures and you watch her.

“Wow, Y/N each picture came out great and you didn't even edit the pictures yet,” Lena said.

“You are beautiful,” You said.

“Thank you, but you shouldn't say that to your boss,” Lena said.

“I’m sorry. I just blur out…”

“Y/N, calm down I’m not firing you,” Lena said.

“Sorry,” You said shyly.

“It’s alright. Get back to work” Lena said

“Yeah,” You said.

You continue to work and Lena starts to talk to the press again. Much later, you and Lena went back to the office. You start to edit the pictures then you stare at the screen and you stare at Lena’s eyes.

———

Lena would sometimes stare at you when you were not looking. She thinks you are cute but she doesn't want to cross the line between boss and employee. On the TV, everyone sees there is an explosion at a building and the fire is out of control. You and Kara stare at each other and then nod, you two sneak away and head to the elevator.

“Where are you two going?” Lena asked.

“Oh, umm we are going to cover the story,” You said quickly

You and your sister rushed to the elevator and you closed the door. You and Kara ran towards the alley and quickly changed. You and Kars fly toward the building on fire. Clark arrived and you two are happy to see him.

“Still no cape, Y/N?” Clark asked.

“Still trying to find my own style,” You said.

“I keep telling him, capes are cool but he is just being stubborn” Kara teased.

You start to work together with them saving people and putting out the fire. You saved a firefighter’s life, she almost fell inside the building when the ceiling fell and blocked the exit. Everyone started to cheer for you, Kara, and Clark.

Much later, you returned to the office and Lena asked questions about where you went. You lied about asking people about the fire and she did believe you. Now, she wants the article before morning then you texted Kara and told her what happened. She did help you, she wrote the article then you went back to take pictures of the building.

✫ ✯ ✬ ✫

You are working late and you just finished. Before going home, you see Lena in her office and you go into her office.

“Is everything okay?” You asked.

“I thought you went home,” Lena said.

“I thought the same for you. But i was editing some pictures. You seem sad, do you want to talk about it?” You said.

“I don't want to bother you and I’m sure your girlfriend is waiting for you at home,” Lena said.

“I don't have a girlfriend. But you can talk to me, I’m a good listener. Is it about your brother Lex?” You said.

You sit down next to her on the couch. You start to listen to her talk about her family drama and she likes that you are listening to her. She is surprised that you are single. You did change the conversation to make her laugh and she did laugh at your funny stories.

There would be times that you would stay late at work, to edit pictures. Lena would also stay late and work long hours and she would skip lunch.

“You didn't have to buy lunch for me, I’m your boss,” Lena said.

“I don't forget you are my boss. It’s passed eleven and it's nighttime and you skipped lunch. You are my boss from morning until eight at night, so right now just think of it as two friends having a late dinner together” You said.

Lena couldn't help to smile because of your response.

“What kind of pizza is it?” Lena asked.

“I didn't know what you liked so I picked pepperoni” You smiled.

“I do like pepperoni on my pizza. Okay, I will join you for dinner” Lena smiled.

You smiled and put the food on the table. She sits next to you, then you and Lena start to ask questions about each other. She is starting to have feelings for you but won't tell you tonight. After a while of eating and talking, you take her home.

“Thank you for taking me home,” Lena said.

“Anytime. I couldn't let you go home alone at this time, Lena” You said.

She briefly held your hand.

“Thank you and get home safe,” Lena said.

You are in shock that she is holding your hand.

“Bye,” You smiled.

You watched Lena go inside her building then you went home.

————

Before heading to work, you noticed Lena following Morgan Edge. You start to follow Lena but she doesn't notice you just yet. You take pictures of Morgan Edge talking to Benjamin Lockwood. You have super hearing and you hear them talking Supergirl and your alter ego. Lena starts to walk away then she bumps into you, and you almost drop your camera.

“Y/N what are you doing here?” Lena asked.

“I can ask the same for you. I saw you following him then i started to take pictures. Why are you following him?” You said.

“We can't talk here, let's go,” Lena said.

You went to the office with Lena. She starts to tell you why she is following him.

“He is poisoning the water in the poor neighborhoods and lying about me. I wanted to catch him in the act so people can see it's him, not me” Lena said.

“Oh. We will figure out how to catch him, don't worry about it you can trust me” You said.

“I do trust you that you won't tell anyone,” Lena said.

“I won’t tell anyone,” You said.

“Okay. Get to work” Lena said.

You leave her office then you sit at your desk. You are thinking hard about how to get him to confess or catch him in the act. But you don't tell your sister about it and she has been very busy.

The next night, you started to follow Benjamin and Morgan. You caught them spilling toxic waste into the pipes and you started to take pictures of them. Then someone brings out Lena tied up and you take a picture. Now, you change clothes and they are about to hurt her. But you used speed to stop Benjamin from hurting her.

“You won't hurt anyone else,” You said.

“Where did you come from?” Benjamin asked.

You don't say anything and you start to fight Morgan and Benjamin. You used a metal pipe to tie them up but they are passed out. You easily punched them and they passed out.

“Lena, are you okay?” You asked.

The cops arrived and you ripped the zip tie around her wrists. You tell them what happened and they believe you and Lena. You pick up Lena and fly her to the office.

“Thank you, Y/N,” Lena said.

“What?” You asked.

“I know it's you. Because of your camera and the last letters on your camera,” Lena said.

You look at your camera, you forgot to take it off. You didn't think about it because you didn't want her to get hurt even if you were two seconds late.

“I was following them to get proof then I saw you. I didn't want them to hurt you and I forgot to take off my camera” You said.

“I thought you would deny it,” Lena said.

“I didn't want to lie to you, Lena,” You said.

“Thank you for not lying to me,” Lena said.

Lena slowly leans in and you feel her lips on your lips. She starts to kiss you and you start to kiss her back and her lipstick gets on your lips.

———-

You and Lena started dating in secret. But you two keep it professional at work and she doesn't give you special treatment. Tonight, you went to Lena’s condo to spend time with her. You and Lena are making tacos and she is having fun making tacos with you.

“I never made tacos before” Lena smiled.

She drinks her wine.

“Do you like making it?” You asked.

“With you, Yes I like making it” Lena smiled.

She gives you a peck on the lips. After dinner, you and Lena cuddle on the couch to watch a scary movie. She hides her face on your chest and you have your arm around her. Again, she hid her face in your chest, and she held on to your shirt.

“We don't have to finish the movie, I will watch it on my own I want to see how it ends,” You said.

You stopped the movie and she slightly moved away.

“I didn't expect the movie to be scary,” Lena said.

“You didn't have to yes to watch a scary movie. We could have watched a chick-flick movie” You said.

“I do like other genres of movies not just chick flicks, Y/N” Lena said.

“I know, i was just teasing. We could play a game? Have any board games or cards?” You said.

“I have a game called Jenga, it belongs to your sister and she forgot to take it home. We could play that game” Lena smiled.

“Let’s play” You smiled.

She takes out the game and you start to set it up. You and Lena became competitive and she doesn't stop smiling at you. Lena is happy that doesn't have to change who she is with you and you accept everything about her. Lena won the first round then you and Lena started to play again.

A bit later, she asked you to stay the night. You cuddle with her in bed while talking, and you and Lena start to kiss each other. She has her leg on top of you and you two are smiling at each other. Your hand is under her shirt and she has her hand on your cheek and she kisses you again.

✫ ✯ ✬ ✫

It’s starting to get cold in National City because it's December. You and Lena are in a serious relationship and taking it slow. You are happy that you are able to tell her stories about when you used to live on Krypton, she does enjoy the stories.

“You didn't celebrate Christmas on Krypton?” Lena asked.

“No. We didn't have Earth holidays on my planet. When I got to Earth, Eliza introduced us to Earth holidays and I liked Halloween, Christmas, and summer because I got to play with fireworks. Do you have Christmas traditions?” You said.

“No. Mother and Lex are not the types to celebrate holidays to spend time with family. Mother was busy with work and Lex well… he just didn't have much time with me besides playing chess. I was shipped to boarding school and spent the holidays alone” Lena said.

“Oh, well that wasn't fun to spend the holidays alone,” You said.

“I got used to it,” Lena said.

You used your strength to move the tree where she wanted it. Then you and Lena start to decorate the tree together and she is happy that she is with you on the holidays. After decorating the tree, you start to put Christmas decorations on the wall while she puts decorations on the shelves of the fireplace. Then you and Lena started to bake Christmas cookies together.

You are spending more nights at Lena’s condo. She did make space for your clothes and items in the closet and bathroom. She takes a shower and then puts on your hoodie to be warm. She is lying on her side and you are on your side behind her, and you have your arm around her and her fingers go between your fingers.

The next day, you and Lena leave the city for the weekend. She booked a hotel in a small town just to be alone. It started to snow, you decided to convince your girlfriend to build a snowman. You tried to roll a big snowball, but you missed-placed your foot, and you fell on top of the snowball.

“Not funny, Lena,” You said.

“It is funny, that's why I'm laughing” Lena giggled.

She does help you stand up. Then she started to wipe the snow off you then she kissed you on the lips.

“Better?” Lena smiled.

“No” You smiled.

“Let me try again,” Lena said.

She grabbed your scarf and she started to kiss you.

A bit later, after playing in the snow, you and Lena went to a skating rink, she held your hand while skating with you.

“I haven't done this in many years,” Lena said.

“Last time I did it, I was a teenager,” You said.

You stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Lena asked.

“Someone is in trouble, they are yelling for help,” You said.

“Go, I will wait,” Lena said.

“Grab dinner and wait for me at the hotel,” You said.

You kiss her on the lips before she says something, and you quickly leave. You changed into your suit and you went to save a family from almost driving off the cliff. Then someone needed help, their car got stuck on the train tracks and you stayed out for a while saving people. Lena did buy dinner and she headed back to the hotel.

————

Lena planned a toy charity event, people are donating toys and other items to the kids in the hospital. You are taking pictures and you have a Santa hat on your head and a Christmas vest that Lena bought for you. Kara is at the event and sees you sneak away but at first, she doesn't you are following Lena. Kara got curious and started to follow you toward the hallway which was isolated, then she gasped.

“You kissed Lena!” Kara said too loud.

Some of Lena’s lipstick is on your lips.

“Were you following me?” You asked.

“Don’t change the subject. Wait, are you two dating?” Kara said.

“Yes, I’m dating your brother and no one else knows about us,” Lena said.

“This is great. I’m in shock but I’m so happy for you two. Why you didn't tell me?” Kara said.

“I was going to tell you,” You said.

“You can't tell anyone, we have to be professional,” Lena said.

“I won't tell anyone. But they need you to make a speech, go now”’ Kara said.

Lena left to make a speech and you wiped your lips.

“We should head back,” You said.

“You are in love with Lena” Kara teased

“What-… no I’m not in love” You lied.

“Yes, you are. So cute you try to deny it but I know you are in love” Kara giggled.

“I haven't told her yet that I’m in love with her. And she is about my powers but I didn't tell her that you have powers also, but I think she knows about it” You said.

“She is smart, but I think I should tell her. But I’m happy for you, I thought after what happened with your last ex you stopped looking for love” Kara said.

“Lena is different and she isn't just anyone. I told her not to give me special treatment at work but she did buy this watch for me as an early Christmas gift” You said.

You show your sister the watch and she gasped.

“I saw this watch online it cost over ten thousand dollars” Kara gasped.

“I didn't ask for it, she just surprised me with it,” You said.

“You should invite her to meet Eliza for Christmas” Kara smiled.

“Good idea. Mom will like her” You said.

You call Eliza ‘mom’ and Kara just calls her by her first name. You and Kara head back and you start to take pictures of everyone and the gifts for the kids and their families. Much later, you go to Lena’s condo and you invite her to meet Eliza for Christmas and she agrees to go.

“Do you think she will accept our relationship?” Lena asked.

You wrap your arms around her waist and she puts her arms around your shoulders.

“Of course, she will accept you and our relationship. You are beautiful, smart, funny, and caring. I can go on about why she will like you” You smiled.

She kissed you on the lips.

“And you are handsome, funny, a bit nerdy, and smart” Lena smiled.

You kiss her and she doesn't stop smiling.

[tortillamastersblog]

♕ No Matter What - Part 11 | Lena Luthor ♕

Pairing: Lena Luthor x reader

Warnings: none

Previous Part | Next Part | Masterlist

________________________________________________

Surprising Lena with breakfast was definitely a success. Her eyes lit up when she saw the bagels I got and we ate together at the kitchen island.

She told me about her work plans for the day, but I only listened half heartedly because I kept thinking about last night’s realization.

I think I’m falling in love with you. . .

That thought crosses my mind every time her soft eyes meet mine.

The reminder that’s she’s still my boss however is still present and I’m torn between acting on my feelings and staying professional. Well, partly professionally because we have crossed a line already by cuddling on the couch and sleeping in the same bed.

The rain is currently pelting down outside, the clouds dark and angry-looking, while Lena is typing away at her laptop at the kitchen island.

I’m on the couch, working on my own laptop, but I’m distracted. I keep glancing at Lena and the sharp line of her jaw as she works it, squinting at her screen.

Usually I’d go for a run to work off all this nervous energy, but the weather is too bad and I don’t want to leave Lena alone.

I shift on the couch, feeling restless and try to focus on the task at hand for over half an hour before it just gets too much.

I shut my laptop and place it on the coffee table, getting up and pacing.

I don’t get to do it for long though because Lena soon turns around with a raised eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

I stop and stare at her wide eyed. I knew she was still there, but I was too occupied with my own thoughts to even consider the possibility of her calling me out on my weird behavior.

“I— Uhm— I’m antsy,” I reply awkwardly before adding, “I usually go for a run when I’m felling like this, but. . . you know.” I gesture to my left where rain is streaming down the outside of the windows.

Lena’s eyebrows knit together and she suggests, “You could go to the gym.”

I shake my head and sigh. “No, I don’t want to leave you alone. I mean I could— You know what, never mind.”

“No, come on what is it? What were you going to say?” she questions and it makes my stomach flutter when I think of what I was going to say.

“I was just— I have a pull up bar for my doorframe and there is this one calisthenics workout I’ve been wanting to try, but I don’t want to disturb you while you’re working,” I admit, scratching my neck nervously.

Lena’s ears turn pink and she bites the inside of her cheek. “You mean you want to workout in the living room?” she asks and I nod.

“But, like I said, you’re busy and—“

“No! I-I mean, I don’t mind,” she corrects and now her cheeks are pink as well as she squares some papers in a folder on the island. “I can just put in some headphones.”

I gape at her, but quickly school my features not to show my surprise. “O-Okay.”

Lena smiles bashfully and turns back to her computer while I go to my bedroom to change into a pair of shorts and a black, long-sleeved compression shirt.

I don’t want to wear a regular shirt because I have this unexplainable fear that it will snag on the pull up bar and cause me to either fall or accidentally hang myself.

I grab my bluetooth headphones and connect them to my phone and take the pull up bar from behind the door to install it on the doorframe.

It’s up in a matter of seconds and when I glance in the direction of the kitchen I find Lena with her back turned in my direction, her headphones plugged into her laptop.

I turn on some music and get started with the workout.

In a matter of minutes, I’m panting and sweating and I wipe the sweat off my forehead as I take a short break, leaning against the doorframe.

The workout is harder than expected and is really kicking my ass, but it has managed to take my mind off Lena and my feelings for her which was the ultimate goal.

However, as I’m taking a break I notice how tense Lena is. She still has her back turned to me and her headphones are still in her ear, but her shoulders are rigid and her ears are a fiery red.

I frown and wonder what’s gotten under her skin, but quickly push those thoughts to the back of my mind as I feel recovered enough to continue the workout.

I do pull ups until my muscles are sore before doing some toes to bar. Then I drop to the floor and to push ups before collapsing with a groan. I do that four more times until I can barely move.

I take out my earphones and pause my music, dragging my hands down my sweaty face. I’m thirsty and in desperate need of a shower, so I make my way to the kitchen and grab a bottle of water from the fridge.

Lena is still working but as I take a sip of water I hear a quiet gasp behind me. I turn and catch her eyes rake up and down my body. She’s shamelessly staring but when our eyes meet she quickly looks back at her laptop.

I smile to myself and take another sip of water. “I’m going to shower real quick. Is there anything you need from me right now?“

Lena gulps and keeps her eyes trained on the screen in front of her. “No, I’m alright. Thank you,” she croaks out.

I nod in acknowledgment even though she’s not looking at me and make my way to the bedroom. I grab a change of clothes, some sweatpants and a shirt, before going into the bathroom.

I shower, enjoying the way the hot water makes my muscles relax, and get dressed fairly quickly. My stomach rumbles and I check my phone for the time, realizing that it’s almost time for dinner.

When I return to the main living area, Lena’s no longer at the kitchen island. She’s standing on tip-toes in front of the open fridge.

“Whatcha doin’?” I ask, coming up behind her and looking in the fridge as well.

She looks over her shoulder and smiles nervously when she notices our proximity. “I was thinking we could cook something, but you really don’t have a lot to work with.”

I grimace and mumble, “Yeah, sorry about that,” as she closes the fridge again. “There’s a convenience store right around the corner though. If you want I can head out and get some stuff. What were you thinking of making?”

Lena turns around, trapping herself between me and the fridge. There’s barely any space left between us and when she looks up to meet my eyes I feel my heart racing in my chest.

Her pupils are blown and her lips part ever so slightly, letting out a puff of air that I feel on my chin. “I was thinking of cacio e pepe and some chocolate soufflé for desert.”

I swallow harshly, but not because of the food she just mentioned. “I— That sounds delicious. . .”

Lena hums and her eyes flicker between my own before darting to my lips. I’m frozen to the spot, almost suffocating on the tension between us as she slowly places her hands on my chest. “Mhmm. . . We’ll need eggs, Parmesan cheese, dark chocolate, flour and sugar.”

“I should probably write that down,” I joke quietly without actually making a move to do grab a pen and paper.

Lena huffs in mild amusement, but her eyes stay focused on my own. She lets her hands travel from my chest, over my shoulder and onto my biceps, squeezing softly. “Can I ask you something?”

Mouth dry, I find myself nodding dumbly. My skin tingles where she’s touching me and I can feel the warmth of her hand through my shirt.

“Why don’t you kiss me?” she whispers.

My eyes widen and my jaw drops at her forwardness. “I—I don’t— I didn’t think you— Huh?”

She falters slightly and averts her eyes. “I’m sorry, Y/N. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I— Shit. Forget what I just said.”

“No!” I blurt out when she goes to slip away. My hands land on her waist and she gasps, her eyes darting back up. “It’s just— You’re my boss, Lena. I can’t—“

“Then you’re fired.”

My eyebrows shoot up and my grip on her waist tightens involuntarily. “I—What?”

Lena cups my neck and runs her thumbs over my jaw. She studies me intently for a reaction before repeating herself. “You’re fired. I don’t want you to be my bodyguard anymore. I like you and I want you to be just you, and I really want to kiss you.”

That last part comes out in a whisper and my heart feels like it’s about to explode in my chest. “But you can’t fire me. . .”

Oh my God, what is wrong with you, Y/N! Why would you say that?!

“I can resign though,” I amend quickly, mentally patting myself on the back when the coroners of Lena’s lips twitch upward.

“You’d do that?” she asks, insecurity flitting across her face.

I nod adamantly and pull her closer, one of my hands landing on her lower back while the other stays on her waist. We’re now chest to chest and I can feel every contour of her body against mine.

I lean down to make up for the height difference until my nose is barely brushing against hers. “I also really want to kiss you,” I confess in a whisper.

It makes Lena gasp and within the next second, she pulls me into a kiss by the back of my neck. My eyes fly shut and I sink into it as my heart flips in my chest.

Her lips are warm and soft and when she moves them against mine for the first time, I feel my knees weaken.

She pulls me closer, swiping her tongue over my bottom lip and I grant her access with a breathy moan. Her fingers thread through my damp hair at the back of my neck and I push her against the fridge, making her gasp.

My hands roam her back and waist and when I nip at her bottom lip, she digs her nails into my scalp.

It’s messy and we’re soon both panting against each other’s lips.

When the need for air however becomes too much, Lena places a hand on my chest and pushes me back gently.

Her breaths hit my lips and I want to lean back in, but I know I have to let her catch her breath first. She might be sporty, going to spin and yoga classes every now and then, but she doesn’t have the stamina a service in the army will grant you.

I rub my thumbs over her ribs and rest my forehead against hers, allowing myself to fully enjoy the closeness for the first time.

“That was. . .” Lena trails off and huffs a breath of laughter against my face.

I chuckle and finish her though. “Amazing.”

“Yeah,” she whispers and when she opens her eyes they’re glittering with happiness.

I brush the tip of my nose against hers which makes her laugh softly, a sound that is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

One of her hands slides onto my cheek and she traces the corner of my lips with her thumb. Her touch tickles and I turn my head to press a kiss to the pad of her thumb.

She watches with adoring eyes, smiling, and I can’t help but lean forward again to peck her lips a couple of times.

“So, what now?” I ask, but before Lena can answer, my stomach grumbles.

“Dinner?” she suggests playfully and I shake my head with a smile.

“No, I mean about us,” I say, moving back a bit without taking my hands off her waist.

Lena takes a deep breath and places her hands on my chest right as my stomach makes itself known again. “Let’s talk about it over dinner.”

I drop my chin to my chest with an embarrassed smile. “Okay. I’ll head to the convenience store then.“

Lena laughs and extricates herself from my embrace. “Yeah, you do that while I go take a shower. Then we can cook together once you’re back.”

I grab a pen and paper and jot down everything Lena said we will need.

Then I slip on my shoes and throw on a jacket. It’s still pouring outside, so I pull the hood over my head.

Just as I’m about to slip out though, Lena hurries out of the bedroom. “Oh good, you’re still here. Could you also get some pasta? There’s barely any left in your pantry.”

“Sure.” I pat down my pockets to make sure I have my wallet on me. That is when a thought strikes me. “Hey, Lena. Can I ask you something?”

Lena, having already made her way back to the bedroom, turns in the doorway and nods for me to go on.

“Why now?” I ask. “Why did you tell me about your feelings now? Why did you kiss me now?”

Lena’s ears turn bright red and she frowns, embarrassed. “No reason.”

“Riiight.” I smirk and rest a hand on my hip.

She huffs. “It’s just-“ she vaguely gestures at me “you know. . . All those pull ups and push ups—“

I laugh before she can finish her sentence and open the door wider. “Wow. Who would have thought? Lena Luthor is a secret horn-dog.”

“Hey!” she exclaims and I laugh even more. When I notice the mortified look on her face though, I smile reassuringly.

“I’m just kidding,” I say. “Now go shower, I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”

________________________________________________

Yay! They finally kissed. I hope you guys liked it. Spoiler alert: The next part will be somewhat angsty, so get ready for that I guess. . .

Tag list: @nerethos @orange15quote @nuianced-tck-enby @autorasexy @unexpected-character

[romanstheory]

Ride Slow a Bronco Nima One Shot

Warnings: Smut, Size Kink, Edging, Alcohol, Bronco x Fem OC

Word Count: 2,610

Person in the picture

"Respectfully Hunter, I'm not doing this match" Hands crossed tightly around my chest, my weight bearing on my right leg. "I told you I'm not doing another tag match and I meant that". The last tag match I was in I got abandoned and forced to compete in a handicapped match at NXT battleground. Hunter lets out a low sigh before rubbing his frown lines. "Look Lena that's understandable but this is what Creative has come up with for you. It's either this or nothing." Fuck. It's either this or nothing... this or nothing. My face curls into a frown before I finally respond "Who is my tag partner? Blair? Indi? Candice?" Not that it matters, whatever bitch he has me teaming with won't have my trust. Simply get it, destroy, and get out, I don't even want my hand raised at the end.

"Well creative is trying to mix things up around here... No pun intended. You'll team with Bronco Nima, they've got it planned out for a while since he split from OTM when the two of you got drafted to Smackdown from NXT." Hunter looks over his glasses at me "We're trying this all out to see how the crowd reacts. You two are total opposites so we figured it would be interesting." Bronco Nima... Even in NXT we didn't really speak. "We're your guinea pigs" A sarcastic huff leaves my lips before I shake my head slowly. "This or nothing Lena, just think about the opportunities this could bring. If this all goes well we could introduce a mixed tag title, of course, you and Bronco would automatically get a title shot." Hunter says resting his hands on his desk. An opportunity to make history makes this whole tag team thing more appealing.

"Some people are out in the ring rehearing and warming up, I heard Bronco is out there too. He already knows about the plans so I would go make a game plan with your new tag partner" He says before shuffling through a stack of papers on his desk. I nod and make my way to the empty arena. Voices echo through the deserted place. Superstars are littered around the ring, but only Bronco is inside. Rolling, running the ropes, shadow boxing. His 6'5 frame is striking even from a distance. I jump onto the ring, standing on the apron watching him. It's criminal how good he looks, sweat beading on his forehead, muscles pumped full of blood, a grimace across his face. I can just barely see over the top rope due to my 4'11 height.

Suddenly he stops what he's doing an that grimace turns into a smirk. "Can you even see over the ropes?" He chuckles. A swift eye-roll is my response to him. "You gonna come in or are you gonna fight with the ropes to get a good look?" His hands rest on his hips as his chest heaves up and down fighting to fill his lungs with air. Quickly I duck under the middle rope and get into the ring. "I'm guessing Hunter finally told you?" He says walking closer to me. With every step I feel smaller and smaller under the presence of..... him. "He did, and I'm not exactly happy about it but he mentioned a mixed tag title" Keeping my eyes on his feels like a full time fucking job at this point.

"Yeah, he said he knew you would give push back about it." He chuckles, that fucking chuckle. "You were talking shit about me with my boss?" My reply is quick and sharp. "Look I'm not exactly happy about it either I just came from a tag team the last thing I want is to be shoved back into one. That's beside the point, we're a team now so I need you to get your head outta your ass so we can practice" Bronco replies "I want us to try this finisher". My eyebrows raise to my hairline, nobody has ever talked to me like that. But shock aside I listen. We run the ropes and practice bumps over and over again until we have some sort of chemistry, and then it's time to try the finisher Bronco was so adamant we do. He slaps my hand to tag me in, I climb to the top rope, he backs into the corner. I step onto his shoulders, his hands in mine.... they have to be at least three times the size of my hand. Oh god.... My mind is racing... Get it together Lena. Once I'm stable I release his hands, and do a front flip onto the superstar laying on the mat willing to take the bump to help us.

Swinging my curly hair out of my face I smile and look up at Bronco who is returning the look. "Do that tonight!" Carmelo Hayes calls from outside of the ring. "I told you it was gonna be fire!" Bronco says grinning. He sits on the middle rope, gesturing for me to go through. I can help but to put my ass in his line of vision as I exit the ring. His gaze is like fire burning a hole through me. Before I know it he's just steps behind me, I can feel him still silently staring at me before I turn around quickly. "It's rude to stare Bronco, if you're going to look at my ass then at least tell me it's nice" I crane my chin to look up at him. "I don't know what you're talking about." He says with that dumb ass smirk on his face again.

---

I haven't seen or talked to Bronco all night, I huff loudly before lacing up my black boots before heading to the curtain. Jumping up and down in place to hype myself up I close my eyes and lean my head back. Soon after I feel those eyes burning through my body again. "You really have to stop staring at my ass dude. It's unprofessional" I say not bothering to look back or even so much as open my eyes. "It's crazy to assume that your ass is the one i'm looking at. There's a lot of ass around here, chaparrita" He says now standing next to me. "Yet clearly mine is your favorite because you keep staring a hole in it" Raising an eyebrow I shift my weight to my left hip, lips pursed together.

"Just don't fall on your fat ass while you're on my shoulders and we're cool. Wouldn't wanna bruise it" He winks when our music comes on... It's time.

---

My chest heaves as I climb to the top rope, Bronco already waiting in front of me seething at our opponent. His muscles tense as he awaits me to step onto his shoulders. The lights hit him in a way that makes him look damn near like a God. One foot and then the other onto his shoulder and then his big hands take mine just like we practiced. The crowd roars with excitement and he takes one, two, three steps and releases my hands before I front flip and land on the opponent. "one, two, three" The crowd screams before the bell rings. Flipping my hair out of my face I get up and scream. Celebrating, I walk backward straight into Bronco unknowingly. My ass presses into his thigh and those hands.... those big hands of his rest on my hip softly before reality sets in and my heart drops before I pull away from him.

"That was dope as hell!" Carmelo says dapping Bronco up before pulling me into a hug. "Welcome to the big league yall. Aye I got a section tonight and some of us are linking up y'all should pull up." My mouth opens to reject but Bronco interrupts "We'll be there" He says glancing down at me. We'll be there? Why the fuck would he say that? I..... We just worked our asses off in the ring the last thing I want to do is hear music blasting, I want to relax... But since he's already committed us to going I guess I'd better go take a shower. With an eyeroll I begin walking to the exit. "You really gotta get rid of that attitude of yours." Bronco says from behind me. "I don't have to do shit!" I retort. "I'll get rid of it for you, chaparrita" I can hear the smirk in his voice. "And stop calling me that! What does it mean?" I turn sharply. "Short, shortie, you're short" He cackles as he walks past me.

---

The music beats through my body like a drum, I refuse to ride with Bronco to the venue so I make my way through the crowd alone stopping at the bar to take a shot or two of liquid courage. I approach the section guarded by a security guard who lets me in without a word or hesitation. I walk in, immediately locking eyes with Bronco who has a glass of dark liquid to his lips. My body warms from the shots of liquid courage I took in minutes ago. Slowly, so slowly he walks toward me, gulping down the liquid. It feels like all eyes are on us, I can't tell if it's the alcohol making me think we're the center of the universe or if everyone really is staring. Wrapping his arm around me he bends down until his lips ghost my ear "You look good" His voice is rough and smooth all at the same time. I melt into his touch, I can't help myself.

I turn to him, pressing my body against his. He raises his eyebrows, sliding his hands down to squeeze my ass only making me press further into him. "You keep it up and we bouta leave early" His voice just loud enough for me to hear above the bass of the music. As much of a good time as that sounds like, my liquid courage has kicked in and I want to dance. Grabbing his big hand I lead Bronco further into the section moving my hips to the beat, my ass settles on his thigh like it had earlier in the ring. His lips purse into an o shape before he rests his hands on my hips, swaying back and forth with me. I can feel him growing behind me. but honestly, it just makes me move faster and closer to him. He buys us another round of shots before sitting on a nearby chair, pulling me into his lap.

"You know all these dudes keep staring at you, right? Like real hard" he chuckles "Trick basically broke his neck when you walked in". So I wasn't tripping. I shrug and gaze into the crowd of superstars in front of us all dancing no doubt drunk out of their minds. If they're staring, we might as well give them a show, right? Softly but firmly I grab his chin and press my lips against his. The taste of henny was still on his lips. Again his strong hands grip my ass, harder this time as if he's trying to rip my shorts off. Our lips disconnected with a smack, and our faces were still so close that I could feel his breath on my skin. "Don't do me like that if I can't have you, chaparrita." Bronco's voice low and raspy and I swear he could feel my excitement through my clothes the way I can feel his. Suddenly kissing him wasn't enough, I need all of him.

"I never said you couldn't" I purr into his ear. Bronco's eyes widen and he moves me off of his lap, standing quickly. "I'll catch you later Melo, something came up" Bronco says quickly dapping Carmelo up again but he says nothing only laughs. 'something came up' yeah his dick.

---

The hotel room for clicks shut behind us, my body buzzing with lust and liquor. Clothes fly off faster than anything i've seen before. Bronco picks me up with those hands I keep imagining around my neck. He presses me against the wall hungrily kissing my neck and chest. He nips and kisses my skin like he's been waiting for this moment, like he's been fantasizing about it and finally had his chance. It feels like a dam has broken between my legs when my eyes shoot open. My body craves his on mine, I need to be closer. His eyes meet mine, dark and low and without a single word exchanged he moves to the bed. Slowly he slides one finger into me, my body aches with a need for more.

"It's dripping already." He groans. His fingers are long and thick, it only makes me wonder what his dick looks like. Quickly he begins pumping his finger into me, eyes never leaving mine as I squirm around gripping the sheets like my life depends on it... and it very well might. As soon as my climax threatens to undo me he takes his finger out. "We come together." Is all he says. My body aches with need to release. He wants to edge me on, two can play that game. "Lay down." I demand and he listens willingly. Slowly I begin to straddle him, making sure he gets a good look at my body. I circle my hips around his long thick dick. Bronco grips my ass, making me gasp softly.

"You are about to make me lose my mind" He growls softly. Planting soft kisses along his neck and jawline I grind back and fourth along the length of him, precum threatening to come out. "We come together, remember?" I whisper before stopping my motion. Something animalistic takes over him and he digs his fingers into my hips, a surge of pain and pleasure jolt through my body before I lift myself and push his length into me slowly... so.... slowly. I sigh loudly, my body relieved to finally have him. Quickly I bounce up and down on him. Softly he grabs my hips, stopping me from raising again. "Ride it slow" He says softly "I wanna enjoy it, all of it." His voice is like some sort of mix between a moan and pure need, he needs to see it all.

Slowly I rock my hips back and forth, grinding and bouncing in between. His eyes drift around my body but always land back on my face even when he rubs soft circles around my swollen clit. My legs are stretched open around his thick waist, his long muscular arms glazed with sweat drape over my legs. "Fuck!" He growls "Lena! Fuck!". My name on his tongue is sexy. He presses himself into me from underneath making me yelp. "You're so fucking sexy" He groans. His dick glistens with my juices as he pushes in and pulls out of me over and over again from under me.

I bite my bottom lip and close my eyes, is this euphoria? My climax is approaching. His mouth gaped open before an inaudible sound left it. Lightning strikes through my middle and I let out a final yell at the same time that he lets out his final swear word and we are both finished. We come together. I collapse on his warm heaving chest before sitting up, hands in the area my face just was. "They're all going to know we fucked when we go back in next week." I say softly. A chuckle "Then they'll know not to stare so hard next week too." He replies

[fyonahmacnally]

Thank you to @rainbow-rebellion for the amazing prompt!

“W-Wait…you’re going to Midvale this weekend? You’re spending the 4th of July in Midvale? With the Danvers? The same place I am going?” Lena asks, voice an octave higher than usual as her panicked green eyes dart between her computer screen, her cell phone, and the woman sitting in front of her. “K-Kara didn’t mention anything at lunch yesterday.”

Oh fuck! Lena thinks. This can’t be happening. Sam knows me too well. This is a disaster. Fuck! That’s it, I have to find an excuse not to go. 

Sam’s hazel eyes scan her boss and longtime friend’s face with a smirk. “Well, that’s because she just asked today. I ran into her on the sidewalk on my way back from lunch with Andrea. She invited the two of us as well as Ruby, but Rubes is going to be with her friends all weekend. So, it’s just Drea and I.” 

Shit, Andrea will be there as well. Goddammit, Kara. Drea knows me better than Sam! Gay panicking. You’re gay panicking. Okay, it’s fine. Everything is fine. You’re fine, Luthor. Get it together. You’ve hidden your pining for years. You can handle a weekend with your friends. 

The brunette CFO raises a brow in question, an act picked up from the raven haired genius over their years of working together. It’s obvious the youngest Luthor is panicking over the presence of two of her oldest friends. No, she’s full on gay panicking. Sam does her best to stifle her laughter for Lena’s sake, but just barely. “Why are you being so twitchy about it, Luthor? Drea and I have been going to game nights since I moved back to National City. Besides, all of us already know you have the hots for blondie.”

The L-Corp CFO grins as she watches Lena’s posture shift from nervous to defensive. The entirety of their friend group knows Kara and Lena have been pining over each other for years. Sam is more than aware of the reason her friend is being squirmy about her and Andrea spending the weekend in Midvale. Lena knows she and Andrea know her better than the rest of their friends. The two of them know her every little tell and both of them live to give her shit about it. 

Sam gives the youngest Luthor one final devilish smile before leaving her office. Lena knows she is absolutely fucked with the Arias and Rojas duo.

Lena does her best to put things out of her mind after her conversation with Sam. The first two days of her week fly by. It’s suddenly Wednesday, she’s finished her work for the day, and is currently standing in the middle of her walk-in closet trying to figure out what to pack for her four day weekend in Midvale. 

The past few years with Kara around have provided a crash course in “comfy clothes” as the hero calls them. She has even accumulated a lot more casual clothing, but it doesn’t mean she has figured out how to pack for a holiday weekend, much less one held primarily outdoors. Honestly, she never really had holiday weekends while growing up with the Luthors. How the hell is she supposed to know these things? 

She sighs and glances down at her watch, she should have been finished packing hours ago.

Kara will be at her penthouse any minute and she has exactly three things packed – her toiletries, her tablet, and her glasses. They are supposed to leave at 7:00 pm, which is exactly 45 minutes from now. There is absolutely no way she will have all of her shit done by Kara’s proposed departure time. 

The Kryptonian wants to beat everyone to her childhood home to help Eliza set-up for all the guests. Lena pulled out all the stops and tried her best to get out of going after learning Sam and Andrea would be there, but the lovable reporter wielded her deadly pout and any further attempt died on her lips. So here she is, packing her suitcase. She was originally excited for the trip. It was supposed to be relaxing, but now she’s certain she will spend the entirety of the trip tense as a mouse in a room full of cats. 

Lena sighs, again. She can already feel her anxiety climbing and shakes her head. Get yourself together, Luthor. Accept the fact you’re the mouse and will be tormented by two very devious cats. Fucking Sam and Andrea.  

She gets lost in her thoughts. The next thing she knows, warm arms wrap around her waist causing her to shriek like a banshee. Once she calms down and wrangles her heart out of her throat, she smacks Kara for scaring the hell out of her quickly followed by shaking her now aching hand. They tag team her packing and get it done much faster than she would have alone. Unfortunately, she let her heart eyes cloud her judgment and allowed her years-long crush to take care of her swimwear for the weekend. There is no doubt in her mind she is going to regret this decision later as she has no idea what awaits her.

You are a fucking gay disaster, Luthor. Useless, pining queer disaster. 

Unfortunately, Kara Danvers is her kryptonite. Lena Luthor cannot say no to that woman. It’s impossible.

Read the rest on AO3 - link at the top.

[owl-with-a-pen]

They could’ve been anywhere for New Year. Literally anywhere – no one was going to blink an eye if you turned up in The Bahamas thirty seconds before midnight with Supergirl as a best friend. In fact, Nia had lost count of the party invites she’d received from acquaintances at best just for being in Kara’s general social circle.

The first proper year since Kara’s identity reveal had gone global and, suffice to say, the dust hadn’t settled just yet.

But no invite came without expectation. In this case, that Supergirl would be a part of the package. Everyone wanted a spectacle. They wanted the suit, the show, the fanfare. Even CatCo’s office party felt a little too intense for Nia’s liking. While most of their co-workers had relaxed into the notion of having Supergirl as their boss, that didn’t stop journalists at rival news stations from practically clawing the doors down, all hungry for the latest scoop into the life of Kara Zor-El.

So, they didn’t spend New Year’s Eve on a beach or a yacht, the roof of a skyscraper or even at CatCo. There was only one place that would’ve felt right – the only place that mattered. Being with the people that mattered.

Which was why Nia found herself snuggled up with Brainy on the Tower’s couch by 5pm. Super suit officially retired for the evening, she lounged about with the rest of her friends in comfortable civilian clothes, wine glass in hand and like a zillion different party games strewn across the coffee table.

Lena and Brainy had both spent the better part of the afternoon poring over the game instructions with the same sort of life-or-death intensity usually reserved for their day jobs, but Nia wasn’t about to complain. Brainy was on her team, after all, which meant that whatever they got around to playing, they were totally going to kill it. She and Brainy were already sat at the champion spot on the game night board – really, the others didn’t stand a chance. Brainy didn’t get all the credit for that, either. Nia’s powers came with some added benefits – like dreaming up specific strategies or figuring out the rules to games they hadn’t even thought of playing yet. She’d gotten pretty good at it, in fact, and no matter what Alex said, it was not cheating.

So long as she didn’t get caught.

“So,” Alex said as she grabbed a beer from the cooler, clinking her bottle against Kara’s glass as she passed. “Your first year without a secret identity. Better or worse than you thought it’d be?”

Kara pulled a face, hiding behind her glass. “Can I answer that after midnight?”

“Staller,” Alex teased, settling down next to Kelly who had already claimed a spot around the coffee table.

“Hey—not fair,” Kara said, speeding over to join them. “I shouldn’t be the only one answering that question, anyway. A lot has happened this year. I mean, the DEO officially started up again, you and Kelly got that new house.” She pointed to Nia and Brainy emphatically. “And you two – you got engaged!”

Nia grinned, leaning forward. “Oh, you mean this?” she asked, brandishing her new Legion ring with pride.

Alex laughed. “We get it, already, your fiancé bestowed you with the power of flight.”

Brainy scoffed. “This ring offers more than just flight.” He scooped Nia’s hand into his as though to demonstrate, linking their fingers together. Nia’s grin widened. “It’s also a psychic blocker and comms device, as well as offering protection against extreme climates found at higher altitudes, otherwise compromising—”

“Show off,” Alex cut in, poking out her tongue.

“Well, I think our engagements rings were pretty perfect,” Kelly said, pecking her wife on the cheek.

“Yeah,” Alex pouted, “but flight.”

Kelly waved her off. “I get nauseous flying anyway.” She prodded the backpack stowed beneath the coffee table with her foot, giving some shape to the folded shield tucked inside. “Guardian stays grounded for a reason.”

“Yes.” Brainy eyed Kelly warmly, sitting upright. “Let me know if that ever changes.”

“I appreciate the suit upgrades, Brainy, really,” Kelly assured him. “But you couldn’t pay me to strap on a pair of wings, or a flight ring for that matter.”

“Understood,” Brainy said, although Nia could tell he hadn’t quite put his flight plans to bed just yet.

When he relaxed back against the sofa, she took the opportunity to claim his lap as her new headrest, making herself comfortable. Their hands remained entwined across her stomach, Brainy’s thumb working gentle circles over her knuckles.

Just before anyone could get too comfy, the elevator doors dinged from across the room and Lena stepped into the loft, her face obscured by an intimidatingly tall stack of pizza boxes. “Pizza’s here,” she announced, struggling to see around the veritable tower in her hands. “There’s more downstairs if anyone has an arm to spare.”

“Well timed, Lena,” J’onn said with a smile. He was already jogging forward, half-phased through the Tower’s floorboards. “I’ll get the rest.”

“Oh,” Lena called out before he could disappear, “I also had to leave the wine in your office.”

J’onn winked before melting through to the level below.

“Prioritising food over alcohol; who are you and what have you done with Lena Luthor?” Alex teased, rising to greet her at the same time as Kara.

“Oh relax, it wasn’t the good stuff,” Lena said as she assigned pizza boxes to the two sisters. “There should still be some of that left over in the pantry downstairs.”

Nia smiled, watching the interaction with absolutely zero intention of moving herself. Instead, she spread out even further across Brainy’s lap, stretching out her arms. “D’you think they ever fight over who gets to deliver here?”

“Why?” Alex asked. “Because we’re superheroes, or because of Lena’s tips?”

“Both.”

Brainy narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. “It is highly likely.”

“Oh, come on you two,” Lena called out in exasperation. “Pizza’s getting cold.”

Nia groaned, pushing herself up with a little help from her fiancé. “Fine, fine, we’re coming.”

----

The next few hours passed with ease. They ate and chatted and played way too many high-stakes card games. Brainy was officially banned from poker by 8 o’clock and Nia wasn’t allowed any more pre-game ‘warm up’ naps. She let it slide – she’d been meaning to practice her conscious dream-state, anyway. Besides, by the time the strong stuff came out of the pantry, everyone was playing with every super advantage they had at their disposal.

Nia wasn’t sure what time it was when she felt Brainy begin to grow restless at her side. Without saying anything, she lifted her head from his shoulder, giving him a little more room to work with. Not long after that, he broke away from the circle, heading out to the balcony for some fresh air.

She gave him some time at first, easing back into the conversation, but as the clock ticked closer towards midnight, she knew she needed to check in. After excusing herself, she creaked her way unsubtly up the stairs, finding Brainy exactly where she'd expected him to be – with his arms folded over the balcony’s edge, his chin tipped up towards the stars.

He always looked so peaceful when he was alone like that. His eyes may have been closed, but his mind was wide open. Right now, Nia imagined a million and one thoughts coursing seamlessly through Brainy’s head. To anyone else, the very notion of thinking to that extreme was a one-way ticket to migraine territory. But Brainy revelled in it. His twelve thought tracks were flourishing, broadened to new and exhilarating horizons ever since he’d first removed his inhibitors.

Sure, it had been rocky at first, but with the time to become reacquainted with his own potential, Brainy had only become more certain of himself for it. He’d once tried to explain it to Nia - how it felt for him without the restrictions that had once clouded his mind - and although there was no way she could ever put herself fully in his shoes, the way he had described it had sounded so profound, so freeing, that she’d found herself tearing up long before he’d even finished talking.

To be alone with one’s thoughts took on a whole new meaning for a Coluan, and it was the surest way to calm him whenever he became overwhelmed. Sometimes, especially after being around so many people for so long, Brainy needed to take a step back from it all and recharge his social metre. To find that connection between himself and the Big Brain and to truly nourish it.

It did mean that he often lost track of time. And so, as quietly as she could, Nia padded out to the balcony edge alongside her fiancé, brushing her arm up against his.

He stirred slowly, his lashes catching the starlight as he turned his head, acknowledging her without having to say a word.

Nia stood with him a while in that comfortable silence. The night air felt sobering against her cheeks, and the city below was so alive. Every brightly lit window was a doorway into another world, another person celebrating that step closer to a new year on planet Earth. Down on the ground, the bars were abuzz with people, whole groups spilling out onto the streets with drink in hand, enjoying the mild weather and fragrant breeze.

Nia took in a deep breath, letting it go slowly. “How long do we have?” she murmured.

“Eleven minutes, twenty-nine seconds.”

She grinned. Brainy’s response was as immediate as ever. She tipped her head against his shoulder, relaxing into his warmth. “Kara was right, y’know. This year has been pretty intense. In a good way.”

Brainy’s lips twitched into a faint smile. He lowered his head, pressing a kiss into her hair. “Indeed, it has.”

“Think we’ll top it next year?”

Brainy’s smiled widened. He turned his attention back towards the skyline, scanning it with new vigour. “You wanted a summer wedding, correct?”

“Spring or summer,” Nia said with a shrug, burying her nose firmer into his throat. “So long as the flowers are out. Mom would’ve wanted to see them in bloom.”

Brainy was still mapping the stars ahead, his dark eyes moving rapidly from left to right. There was a secretive edge to his smile, and a far-away look in his expression - one that told her he was already planning something special. He bit his lip, rising proudly where he stood. “Then the year to come will certainly exceed the last.”

Nia buzzed with anticipation; his excitement was infectious, igniting her own. Honestly, she would’ve married him right that second if it hadn’t been for all the hard work they’d put into the wedding plan already. Although, with an officiator in the other room and a bottle of wine already going to her head, she couldn’t deny it was a tempting thought.

She was thrown from that thought when a flash lit up the sky above their heads, followed by an explosive pop and bang a second later. Instinctively, Brainy clutched at her hand, holding her close. Nia tensed expectantly, but there was no fire to follow, no superhero emergency at all - just a stray firework set off by some kids down below.

“Little early,” Nia murmured, nudging Brainy’s arm. It was still beautiful, though, and she found that she couldn’t tear her eyes away.

The firework streamed across the sky in fine shimmers of red and gold, reminding her a little of the translucence of her own dream energy, before spilling downward, raining a mist of glowing embers just a few blocks away.

The sky was dark again by the time she realised that Brainy hadn’t been watching the firework with her. Instead, he was looking at her, his eyes bright with reverence, twinkling with a different kind of spark.

“Perhaps we should take advantage of the moment,” he suggested in a low voice, leaning forward.

Nia smiled when his lips brushed across her cheek, trailing towards her ear. She closed her eyes appreciatively, tipping her chin closer to his mouth, his lashes tickling her nose. “Aren’t we supposed to wait for midnight?” she murmured.

“Hm.” Brainy’s lips curved in contemplation. His thumb traced the line of her jaw slowly, catching a curl of her hair before stroking it back behind her ear. His fingers lingered there at the nape of her neck, digging fine crescents into her skin. “I think we’ve traversed time enough to allow for certain… deviations in that respect.”

Nia shivered. She didn’t need much convincing; in fact, she was already leaning in for the kiss, one hand still gripping the balcony wall, the other locked tightly around Brainy’s arm, pulling him closer until their lips finally met.

She was still a little heady from the wine, but the kiss felt like a firework of its own inside her chest, warming her from the inside out. Brainy’s hands were electric everywhere they touched - her face, her hair, her neck, each sensation enhanced by the alcohol roaring through her blood.

She could have believed they were flying.

Crap. Because they were flying.

Or at least, she was. Without even thinking, Nia had let her Legion ring tap into the psychic suggestion she’d been broadcasting a little too boldly, so much that it had begun to lift her off her feet.

When she gasped in surprise, Brainy grinned against her mouth. He held her steady, anchoring her to him until she found her footing again - on solid ground, this time.

“Thanks,” Nia mumbled against his chin, ducking her head into his shoulder, trying to assuage her own embarrassment. She could feel the rumble of laughter in Brainy’s chest and couldn’t help but smile along. “That’s definitely gonna take some getting used to.”

They held each other for a while longer, so comfortable in each other’s arms that Nia nearly lost track of time.

That was until voices started picking up back inside.

A moment later, Nia heard Kara calling: “Countdown’s starting!”

Already? Nia could hardly believe it. She grinned mischievously. “C’mon,” she said, tugging Brainy’s arm.

In the light of the Tower, he looked about as flushed as she felt, his blond hair frazzled against his jaw. He moved eagerly with her momentum, letting her drag him towards the balcony door.

By the time they were back inside, the countdown was nearly halfway through. They got as far as the top of the stairs before the final three seconds started ringing out.

Thinking fast, Nia made her decision. Spinning impulsively at the final second, she wrapped her arms around Brainy’s shoulders, pulling him in for another – official – kiss.

His lips were the warmest welcome she could hope for to usher in the new year.

They parted just as a bottle popped across the room. Brainy’s hands slipped around Nia’s waist, bumping his nose against hers before they both blinked back into reality, noticing for the first time the chaos that had erupted in just seconds below them.

“Ah,” Brainy said under his breath.

“Uh-huh,” Nia answered.

Over at the coffee table, Lena was pouring champagne flutes like her life depended on it from a bottle that’s neck was furiously frothing over courtesy of a certain over-eager Kryptonian. Kara was already making up for her mistake by super-speeding glasses under the bottle faster than they could spill over, placing them on every available surface she could find.

“Okay, you guys really need to start taking some of these,” Kara insisted.

“Way ahead of you,” Alex said, snatching two flutes from the table and handing one to Kelly. They clinked glasses, sharing another kiss.

J’onn laughed. “Here, let me help,” he said, angling the bottle in Lena’s hands so that it was a little less explosive on the next pour.

Lena let go of the bottle entirely, more than happy to let J’onn take over in exchange for a glass of her own.

“Us too,” Nia said, catching Brainy’s eye. “I could use another glass.”

Lena raised a brow expectantly. “Oh, I bet you do.”

Nia tried not to blush.

Once everyone had settled back around the table, flutes in hand, champagne mostly mopped up, Alex raised her glass, tapping it insistently with a fingernail. Instead of instigating a speech, she pointed her glass towards Kara. “So?” she asked. “Better or worse?”

Kara groaned aloud, muffling her voice with the rim of her glass. “I was hoping you’d forget.”

Alex winked. “Never.”

Kara rolled her eyes, lifting her free hand in surrender. “You know what? Fine. I’ll say it. Because, as a matter of fact, despite how freeing this year has been for me, I can’t deny that it’s also been hard. Really hard at times. In fact, for a while, I really did begin to wonder whether any of this was worth it.” She pursed her lips, knocking Alex’s arm. “But,” she countered, drawing out the word, “every time the media tried to beat me down, or the military pushed into my affairs, you were all there for me. You stood by me, supported this decision and supported me whenever I needed it. You reminded me why I wanted this in the first place.” Kara’s lips were already starting to tremble. She swiped quickly at her eyes, sniffing. “What I’m saying is, I really couldn’t have got through this year without you guys.”

“Kara,” Alex said softly.

“Stop, or I won’t finish,” Kara laughed. With a steadying breath, she hooked one arm around her sister’s shoulders, looping her other with Lena’s. “So, yes, this year could have been the worst, but it was the best because of all of you.” She raised her glass above Alex’s head, beaming proudly. “To family!”

“To family,” everyone echoed back.

Nia clinked her drink with everyone else, trying desperately to hold it together. She locked eyes with Brainy from across the table, seeing the happy tears that already stained his cheeks, the easy smile he wore now for no one’s benefit but his own, and realised just how lucky she was to be surrounded by so much love. Despite the hardships she’d faced in both her personal and hero life, she had a family here, one that may have come under its fair share of strain, sure, but had only grown stronger from what it had endured.

The Legion ring suddenly felt warmer around her finger, like a hug from a new friend. Maybe it was all in her head, or maybe it really was responding to her good mood.

Brainy had told her once that a Legion ring meant different things to different people, but at its heart, it represented the joined forces of the Legionnaires themselves. Their connection to one another, despite what made them so different.

For her, though, at its core, the ring was a promise. As certain as the one she and Brainy had made to each other on the training room floor. A promise shared by the echo of her friends right that second.

To family.

With the person she loved the most right there at her side, their devotion to each other worn as plainly as the rings on their fingers, she realised that promise was only just getting started.

Nia grinned, taking Brainy’s hand.

She couldn’t wait for the year ahead.

[thebiggerbear]

"I hate you." "You have a weird way of showing that." - Alec McDowell Prompt Response

Summary: You're looking for a way to set yourself up and blend in after breaking out of Manticore. Having heard the rumors, you seek out Max for help. In doing so, you come across someone you had never thought you'd see again.

Pairing: Alec McDowell x Female!Reader; Alec McDowell x Female!Transgenic Reader

A/N: Prompt from @creativepromptsforwriting (#941). I have been in love with the world of Dark Angel and Alec ever since the show aired. To me, it's completely fascinating, and I really wish it had continued. (I was a big Malec fan back then btw; Lomax just wasn't my thing) There's so much to explore, especially with Max herself and how the transgenic community was going to move forward now that the public was aware of them. And of course, Joshua, OC, and Alec. Great stuff. Originally, I wasn't sure what scenario would best suit Alec based on this prompt line but I knew it would definitely be something that would apply to him. As far as It's A Wonderful Life, I was listening to the Christmas radio show they aired back in the 40's as I was outlining this one and the idea sort of came to life on its own. Hope this one's alright.

This is meant to take place mid-s2 and I did use events from the Berrisford Agenda episode (2x11) as inspiration for the beginning. 😉

Thanks to my beta @rieleatiel for her services. You rock, girl!

Warnings: implied violence; implied murder; mention of fatal injury; implied sex

Word Count: 8419

Taglist: @avada-kedavra-bitch-187

Alec Taglist: @heartlessdelusions; @nancymcl

Jensen Taglist: @samanddeaninatrenchcoat; @deansbbyx

You can also read on AO3

"I hate you." "You have a weird way of showing that."

Soldier Boy version ✨ Beau version ✨ Dean version ✨ Jenny version ✨ Jason version ✨ Tom version ✨ CJ version ✨ Rachel version ✨ Anael version ✨ SDV Leah version

You made your way into the bike messenger shop, glancing around despite the busy, distracting din. Rumor had it that a transgenic named Max had a sweet hookup here, something a fellow transgenic like yourself could use, being on the run and all. You could get a job, make money, and more importantly: blend in; not to mention it would teach you the layout of the city, the ins and outs, and provide you with legal documentation to let you past checkpoints in case Manticore ever came looking. 

So far, you hadn’t spotted the dark brunette you had been told about, and you didn’t sense any of your kind here. While a few people either walked past you, giving you a once-over as they did or stood there staring, all of them appeared to be human. Everyone else was milling to and fro, and you wondered if perhaps you’d been given wrong information. It had happened before so you were used to it, but this one you had really been hoping would turn out to be true. You could use a lucky break.

A man was barking out orders to a group of messengers before they dispersed, and his eye landed on you once they did. “You need something, Missy-Miss?”

You assumed the crankpot was the boss so you carefully approached him. “Uh, yeah, I was looking for—”

You were interrupted by yells coming from your far left. Your head snapped in the direction of the sounds and your eyes widened at what you saw.

There was the transgenic X5-494 backed up against the lockers, holding his hands out in a ‘whoa’ manner and giving the women in front of him his most charming grin; by the looks of their faces, it wasn’t working. “Ladies, ladies. No need to fight.”

“You didn’t tell me you were already seeing Lena when you asked me out!” One woman seethed.

“He asked you out?” Another woman, who you assumed was Lena, demanded. “I bet it happened right after we slept together, didn’t it?”

“He slept with you?” A third woman blanched.

“Tell me you haven't been making the rounds through the entire company,” another woman scoffed in disgust.

You shook your head, watching the show. Typical 494. Even out here he was still getting himself into trouble. By the sounds of it, he more than deserved the wrath of the women he was currently faced with, but you were still taken aback by his sudden appearance. Just when you thought you’d never see him again…

Before you knew it, the older man you had been talking to made his way over. “Alright, break it up! Break it up!” He forced his way next to 494 and glared at the ladies. “Shouldn’t you be working? You want your paychecks? Packages need to be delivered on time. Get going.”

The women grumbled and began to disperse, glaring in both men’s direction. “You just wait until later, Alec! This isn’t over!” 494 gave them all a sheepish smile while the other man scowled. 

“Okay, okay! You’ve got deliveries to make. Packages don’t deliver themselves so let’s go, keep it moving!” 

By the time they had all left, 494’s smile dropped and he seemed to deflate, gratefully clapping the man’s shoulder. “Thanks. I think they were about to eat me alive,” he laughed.

“Not on my watch,” the other man promised. “How’re you feeling, champ? You okay?”

“Yeah, no, I’m good. Just, you know…” He gestured to where the women had disappeared and bugged his eyes before letting out a nervous chuckle.

“You should’ve let them take a swing at him,” a brunette woman suddenly threw at them as she approached her locker, which was near the two men. “It’s not like he didn’t deserve it.”

494 let out a huff. “Thanks, Max,” he mumbled.

That name caught your attention—so this was Max. It had surprised you to see 494 here of all places, but it made sense considering what X5-452 had set up here.

“Don’t be like that, Missy-Miss,” the older man warned the woman. “There’s no reason to have that kind of attitude.”

Max shook her head and discreetly rolled her eyes, zipping up her backpack. “So what have you got for me today, Normal?”

Normal held out two packages for her to take. “They need these by noon, not one second later.”

Max snatched the packages and nodded. 494 stepped closer to her. “I’ll come with you,” he insisted, still seeing some of the dirty looks he was receiving from girls coming to and fro. 

She made a face at him which clearly said that wasn’t going to happen, and before she could voice that, Normal cleared his throat. “Not a bad idea. You could show him the ropes on that side of town and keep him from the estrogen mob looking to burn him at the stake. He’s got that raw animal charisma working and it’s causing trouble.” This time you made your own face of disgust. And this guy’s name was Normal? Far from it.

“Whatever,” Max snapped and shoved a package into 494’s chest, hard. She turned and was about to leave when you stepped forward.

“Max?” You called.

Her eyes snapped towards you as did 494’s and Normal’s. “Yeah?” She asked, seeming unsure. 

You knew she was sensing who you really were just like you could sense her and 494 across the way, even if you hadn’t just been watching them. You ignored 494’s eyes widening at the sight of you and the sudden tension in his body, making your way closer. “I was wondering if we could have a word.”

Max’s brows furrowed and Normal glanced between you, holding up a finger. “No visitors at work, Miss. You know the rule: packages need to be there by noon. Make it quick.” He turned and walked away, completely uninterested in whatever conversation you two were about to have.

Max stepped over to you, studying you intently. “You know my name, but I don’t know yours. What do you want?”

494 was standing right next to her, his eyes never leaving you. The surprise was still evident in his expression along with something else you couldn’t quite put a name to.

You glanced around, making sure no one was paying attention to you, before turning and lifting your ponytail from your neck, letting her see the barcode tattoo you had. After a moment, you spun on your heel to find her appearing a little more receptive to what you had to say. “So, you got somewhere we can talk?”

She nodded and glanced over at 494 before inclining her head in a direction she expected you to follow her in. You obliged, your eyes briefly flickering to 494’s, before he followed both of you.

Once you were outside in a semi-private spot, Max turned to you, her arms crossed. “So, who are you really?”

“X5-498,” you answered. 

Max glanced over at 494 before addressing you once again. “How long have you been on the run?”

“Since you destroyed the base and helped 494 escape.” You nodded in his direction. Yeah, maybe you were still a little bitter about that. 494 looked like a deer caught in headlights.

“I didn’t help him do anything,” Max insisted, her nose scrunching up in what appeared to be repulsion at the very idea. 

494 ignored her and trained his gaze on you. “I thought you were dead.”

You smirked over at him and crossed your arms. “Sorry to disappoint.” You noticed his jaw tighten and his eyes narrow at the jab.

“You two know each other?” Max was looking between you but neither of you looked away from the other. 

“She was my breeding partner,” 494 informed her. 

Max’s eyes widened and turned on you. “Wait, what?”

“Yeah,” you agreed. “He wouldn’t have been my first choice, either.”

He snorted and the amused smirk you were more than familiar with began to appear on his face, yet he didn’t say a word. 

“Oh-kay. That’s not super weird or anything.” She turned to 494. “You had more than one breeding partner? Were you Manticore’s stud horse or something?” She looked grossed out at the thought.

494’s eyes briefly flickered over to her. “498 and I were paired off long before you got there.”

“But then, if you were already paired off, why were you paired off with me, too?” Your gaze snapped to Max who looked genuinely confused for a moment before realization hit her. “Oh, right. It was all part of your big plan to get me to trust you so I could accidentally kill Logan. Got it.”

494 shrugged unapologetically. “Pretty much.” He turned back to you. “Renfro gave me the mission and told me if I didn’t succeed, then that’d be it for me. I was already on thin ice with them. So, she assigned me to you, Max, and I did what I had to do.”

“And he left me to die,” you supplied, gracing her with your smirk. 

His jaw dropped before he closed his mouth and pressed his lips into a thin line. “I didn’t leave you there to die,” he protested. 

“Leaving me there to burn to death constitutes as leaving me to die,” you countered. He glared at you but you ignored it. You noticed Max’s eyes constantly moving between the two of you and you decided you’d get to the point of why you were here. “452, I’m here because word on the street is that you have a way of helping fellow transgenics like yourself.” You motioned towards 494. “I was hoping you might be able to help me as well.”

She looked taken aback. “I don’t have anything set up like that. As a matter of fact, Alec here only got the job because of Normal’s weird worship of him.” 494 gave her a smug smile which made her roll her eyes. “But as far as other transgenics go, I don’t really have anything in place to help like you’re thinking. Sorry.”

You nodded, figuring as much. You thought it had been unlikely but you had hoped anyway. All you could do now was remain on the run until you could find a place where you could seamlessly blend in. “Thank you for your time.”

“Just hold up a sec,” 494 entreated you, but you ignored him.

You turned to leave when Max’s voice stopped you. “Wait.” You glanced back and found her watching you, compassion twinkling in her eyes. “Maybe there’s something we can do.” She quickly glanced at 494 who was giving her a look. Max rolled her eyes at him but lifted her chin when addressing you. “I wouldn’t put you with this one because it sounds like you’ve been punished enough already.”

494 shot her a glare to which she only smirked. You couldn’t help but smile yourself; perhaps you would like this 452 after all. 

“But I think I have an idea of where you can stay. It’s temporary and you’d have a roommate, but we can see about getting you a job and getting you set up properly. Logan can help, too, with papers. If you’re serious and you plan to stay, that is.”

494 watched you intently. You thought it over for a moment. This proposal was better than anything you had going for you right now. Hell, you would have even stuck yourself with 494 again if it meant you’d have a place to sleep and something to eat, safe from Manticore for a while. You gave Max a nod. “Thank you.” To your surprise, 494 seemed to relax a bit at your response.

She smiled and turned, indicating you should follow. “You’ll be with Joshua for the time being. He’s pretty easy to get along with,” she assured you, her tone softening a bit. You could tell she was fond of the guy she was mentioning.

“Joshua?” You questioned, looking from her to 494.

494 stayed in step with you as you all made your way out onto the street. He shot you a smile as Max retrieved her bike. “You like dogs?”

Joshua did indeed turn out to be a decent roommate. He was kind and thoughtful and actually a little funny. Truthfully, you hadn’t been prepared to find a dogman as your new temporary roommate, but once you found out about his history, you found yourself feeling compassion for his situation. You were glad he had managed to escape the destruction of the base that night. 

Max kept her word and set you up with a job as a bike messenger at Jam Pony (apparently a couple of the girls 494 had been involved with decided to up and quit for some strange reason), which gave you access to all of the legal documentation you’d need to get past certain checkpoints in the city. She’d introduced you to her friends Original Cyndi and Sketchy, who would also turn out to be your coworkers. Normal viewed you as another hooligan he was forced to pay for standing around and not doing your job just like the rest, though despite his warped assertions, you actually did get your work done. You ended up going on runs with 494 and Max to get to know the ins and outs of the job. Outside of work, you kept your distance unless your help was needed. Max and OC had invited you to Crash a couple of times, but you bowed out, especially when Sketch seemed a little too invested in your joining them. You also met Logan and Asha, neither of whom you cared for very much; still, they were important to your fellow transgenics and Logan was helping you, so you kept your thoughts to yourself. All in all, you were settling into life in Seattle and beginning to blend in. And you avoided 494 like the Plague despite his couple of attempts to approach you and strike up a conversation, so everything was going pretty swell. 

You had even found a new place you liked to escape to every now and then. You knew the Space Needle was also Max’s favorite spot—she had told you as much—but after a long day, you liked to get to the highest point and look out over the city you now were beginning to call home. 

It was one such peaceful night when 494 found you.

“Thought I’d find you here.” He carefully lowered himself down next to you.

You didn’t respond and instead focused on the feel of the cool breeze gently blowing through your hair.

“I’m glad you made it out,” he admitted.

You shot him a look before returning your attention to the city. 

“I am.” He rested his forearms on his knees and looked out towards the city skyline. “I know what we had wasn’t of our making, but it wasn’t all horrible, was it?”

You let his question hang in the air. No, it hadn’t been all horrible, but it was still a messed up situation you both had been thrust into. Based on what you’d learned about his sessions with Max, copulation hadn’t needed to happen due to the background plan. You and 494 weren’t so lucky after a while, just like every other pair of breeding partners in the facility. By the time Max was recaptured and brought to the base, Renfro and company were already starting to side-eye the two of you and wanted to know how you hadn’t gotten pregnant yet. Almost every other pairing had been successful or reassigned if they weren’t; you were arousing too much suspicion by your constant failure to report an impregnation despite your successful copulations. The truth was that you and 494 did what you could to prevent it from happening. You had no desire to add to the ranks of Manticore transgenics and neither did he, something you both had been on the same page about since the first night you’d been thrown into a cell together.

You hadn’t fooled yourselves. This wasn’t about love or any attraction you had for one another, nor was it even a fun roll in the sheets; you both would not have chosen each other if you’d had a say in any of it. This was all about science and genetics, and it was purely clinical. That didn’t mean that there weren’t a few moments here and there that you snatched for yourselves: a laugh here, a tender moment there, a camaraderie forged between you in flipping off the organization that had created you and controlled you since your first breaths. So no, it wasn’t all horrible.

Which is why you didn’t protest or move away when you felt him subtly shift a little closer to you. You nearly smiled at the action; 494 had always sought a connection between you, something that superseded the physical. You couldn’t count the amount of times after your sessions that you had both held onto each other: you still remembered how he would wrap his arms around you and pull you close, letting out a content sigh as you ran your fingers through his sweaty hair, scratching at his scalp in the way you knew he liked. And he would make sure every inch of him was still touching you on the uncomfortable cot suspended from the wall, before the guards were due to come back and retrieve him. How he would chatter away about different subjects, doing his best to engage you.

“I went back for you,” he murmured.

Surprise ran through you as you turned wide eyes on him. 

“Once they revealed the base’s location and I was able to get free, I went back for you.” He stared at you, swallowing compulsively. “But by the time I got there, it was too late. I thought you were gone.”

You could see the truth of what he was saying in his green eyes, but you refused to give in that easily. You huffed out a snort and turned back to the view. “More like you were hoping.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you could see him shaking his head. “I never wanted you gone.”

You ignored him and continued your ritual of observing the city, allowing silence to fall between you. Only when he slowly took your hand into his did you turn a glare on him and finally speak:  “I hate you, you realize that, right?”

“You have a weird way of showing that.” He nodded his head towards your intertwined fingers. 

You rolled your eyes but you didn’t pull away. “Don’t you have a harem to get back to? Or what’s her name…Asha? Now that you’re free to choose who you want to copulate with. You didn’t seem to have any issue finding willing partners before I showed up.”

This time, he was the one who snorted. “Just passing time.”

You finally did pull away, grimacing. “Ew.”

He let out a nervous-sounding laugh. “I just meant it’s all been casual. Nothing serious.”

You side-eyed him. “Good luck with that.” You got to your feet and were about to leave when he grabbed your hand to stop you, forcing you to look down at him.

“Y/N,” he murmured, using the name Max had picked out for you. It wasn’t your favorite, but you needed something to go on the paperwork for Jam Pony and the papers Logan was acquiring for you, so you figured it would do. Perhaps you’d even grow into it and it could be a decent identity for you.

“494?”

He shot you a glare. “Alec.”

Right. Max had named him, too. That was something he’d mentioned on one of the runs you, he, and Max had gone on. You had smirked at Max’s explanation of that choice while 494 had rolled his eyes.

“Okay then. Alec?” It felt weird to call him that yet at the same time…it felt like a good fit.

His thumb tenderly stroked against your skin and he watched you. “Just wanted to see how it sounded. Using our names instead.”

You nodded. You could understand that. All of this was new and…fragile in a way. Any moment you could be found, you could either be killed or worse — brought back to another base. However, from what you’d heard, the former was more likely to happen these days. Max had encouraged you to start thinking about what you wanted out of life, and so far, freedom was certainly at the top of your list. You might be free right now, but you weren’t really free, not with your captors still out there who viewed you as their property, to apprehend or destroy at will. You had a feeling that Alec knew that just as well as you did, no matter the optimistic picture Max tried to paint for Joshua or any other transgenics she might come across.

He tugged on your hand to urge you to sit back down next to him. You resisted for a moment but then decided to oblige. What did a few minutes more matter in the scheme of things? He snuck an arm around your shoulders and pulled you closer. Had it been anyone else, that arm would have been ripped from its socket by now. 

Alec gave you a small smile and leaned down to press a kiss to your hair, flooding you with memories of every time he’d done just that. Other memories made appearances, too: his sharing with you about his side hustle of trading things with guards for certain comforts, something he actually used on your behalf a few times; his laugh and kiss to your head when both of you had gotten a little too much into one copulating session, almost making the two of you forget to take your usual precautions; his promise of getting you both out of there together if you could hold out just a little longer; his expression when he told you that he thought Renfro had a mission for him that would keep him out of your barracks for the next few nights but that he’d do his best to see it through quickly and return; the last time you’d seen him when he’d exchanged a look with you across the yard before you and your unit were led away for more drills and testing, you thinking back to the worry you’d seen in his expression and since you didn’t know the cause, it created your own set of worries — 494 never let it show if he was ever worried or scared. 

You weren’t sure how to feel about any of this. Yes, you and Alec had history but it had been forced upon you. Although you had forged some sort of connection during it all, it didn't mean that either of you were looking to continue that or see where it went on the outside—especially now that you were able to choose for yourselves. Still, that connection hadn’t simply ceased to exist just because you wished it would… Especially not when he was trying his damndest to restore some piece of it, right here and right now.

He lowered his head to meet your eyes and you could feel something familiar inside your chest squeezing a little bit. You told yourself that it had to be heartburn from the chicken stew you’d eaten for dinner earlier, and not anything to do with him at all. “I’ve missed this,” he quietly admitted. “Just talking and being together. Didn’t you?”

You gave him a look of disbelief mixed with amusement. “I don’t really think we did all that much talking as I remember it.”

That cocky smirk of his was back. “True.” 

You rolled your eyes and he laughed. You enjoyed the familiar sound that caused more memories to wash over you. You would never admit it but the bond you’d shared had actually been the only good thing to sustain you when you were running after the explosion. You’d hoped that wherever he was, he had gotten away and was safe. You knew he hadn’t been in his barracks; you’d checked amidst the chaos. 

Thinking back to that night, you rested your head back against his shoulder and stared out into the night. His lips tipped up in a small smile and he laid his head up against yours, following your gaze. You both stayed like that for the next hour until he murmured to you, “Come back with me?”

You turned to frown up at him. Was he for real? “Really?”

“No, not that, I just meant…” He ran his free hand over his hair. “I didn’t think I’d see you again and now you’re here. I didn’t really know how to ask you before without it sounding like that. But I want to show you my place.” He gave you a bit of a proud smile.

You considered it. It would be interesting to see what kind of setup he had going for himself. That had been something you had talked about back in your bunk at the base as he held you to him, his hands roaming your bare back. “You sure Alec’s groupies won’t mind?”

Alec smirked and shook his head. “I don’t have any roommates or regular visitors if that’s what you’re asking.”

You smirked right back and leaned in, making his eyes drop to your lips. “I wasn’t,” you whispered before dropping his hand and getting to your feet. 

He got up as well, grinning over at you, that familiar fire lighting those sharp green eyes. “Just think: no guards to bribe, no need to keep it down, no time limit, no metal cot we both have to try to fit on…”

You snorted. “So you really are asking me to go back with you for that reason.”

“No, I really do want to show you the sweet setup I have.” His smile then turned wicked. “But if that were to happen, I wouldn’t exactly be against it.”

“Uh-huh.” You rolled your eyes and crossed your arms, looking away from him. You did your best to hide your own smile when he wrapped his arms around you from behind, resting his lips near your ear.

“So what do you say? Let me show you my apartment. I got a couch, a bed, a tub…”  

“Ooh, a tub?” You pretended to be impressed though you weren’t pretending too much. If a tub was considered a luxury before the world went to hell, then it was an even rarer commodity now. 

“Yep,” he huskily whispered as he brushed a kiss to your ear lobe. “All the hot water and soap you could want.” He trailed his lips down your neck, making your eyes shut halfway. “And I’ve got glasses, plates, a coffee table… I even have a stereo.”

You dug your teeth into your bottom lip when he found that spot on your neck that he knew you loved. “A stereo?”

“For music,” he explained, pressing a kiss to your jawline. “And I even managed to score some whiskey from years back, pre-pulse. You’ll love it,” he promised before nuzzling your cheek. “Come home with me.”   

You stared out over the horizon, unsure if you should give in to what he was tempting you with. Before, at Manticore, the sex had been clinical and while there was a connection between you, given the circumstances, it made sense to stick together like glue. But now… “I don’t know if I should. We’re out now and everything’s changed.”

He spun you in his arms, his brows furrowed as he cupped your face with his hands. “Not for me. I meant what I said to you in there, we were gonna get out together, find some place to blend in, and make it work.”

“But we didn’t get out together,” you whispered, gently removing his hands from you before stepping around him towards the door. 

He grabbed your hand. “Y/N.” You glanced back at his earnest expression. “I did come back for you. When everything exploded and I didn’t hear or see any trace of you, I thought—”

“I know. I went to look for you, too, once I managed to get out of my barracks.” His eyes widened slightly in surprise. “That guard, Hayes, he let me out. He said something about a deal you had in place with him if things went wrong while you were away on your mission.” You dropped your gaze. “It must’ve really cost you, so… Thanks for that.” You squeezed his hand before letting it go and making your way inside the abandoned building.   

You didn’t look back; there was no point. When you thought back to that night, you remembered Hayes sneering at you as he opened your cell door, spitting something about telling 494 that he owed him something better than cigars and the usual contraband this time. You didn’t bother thanking the man who treated you and every other transgenic on the base as nothing more than freak science experiments that were less than human, and you booked it towards the male barracks, fighting your way through when you needed to. You would never forget the relief you felt finding the specific bunk you were looking for empty, that was then followed by the feeling of betrayal, which quickly shifted into acceptance. You hoped he was alive out there somewhere, whether he had made it out before you got there or he had already been out in the world on his mission. You had chalked up your time together as a weird yet not so bad interaction and kept running. You’d even seen Hayes’ dead body on your way out, his throat torn apart, almost as if that too was closing the book on this messed up chapter of your life.

And that’s what you’d done: closed that chapter of your life and attempted to move on, to do what you could to figure out your own life. You never expected to see 494 again, let alone find him living his life, a harem of women around him. It had stuck a finger into that particular wound for a moment before the blanket acceptance was back in place. Your relationship was exactly as you’d thought it had been for both of you: something that had been forced upon you by your creators and you both had tried to make something good out of it (just not the child Manticore had wanted). And now, it was over. You both were on the outside and it was time for you both to go your separate ways, figuratively if not literally. He’d done right by you in that last moment and you’d escaped, gotten free, and lived. What more could you ask for?

You were just about to scale down to the next level when his hand landed on your shoulder, making you look back at him.

“Y/N, come back with me to my place. I want to show you something.”

You gave him a look. “494—”

“Alec,” he corrected. “I’m not talking about sex, though if you wanted that at some point, like I said, I’m more than willing.” He lifted his hand to cup your cheek and he stared into your eyes, willing you to agree. “I really want to show you something.” 

His thumb tenderly ran along your bottom lip in a familiar gesture that had always preceded a kiss before he left you for the night. A part of you hoped he would repeat the action but when he didn’t, you were more relieved than anything. Your body yearned for his—the familiarity, the comfort—but you still didn’t think you should fall back into old habits—it could only end badly, whether he ended up getting bored or one of you (or both) were found by your enemies. You felt incredibly torn. Truthfully, you weren’t quite sure what you wanted when it came to him. 

“Please,” he added. “Come over.”

He looked so determined, so earnest, that you found yourself slowly nodding in agreement. 

His handsome face lit up with a bright smile. “I promise, you’re really gonna like it.” He urged you to follow him, scaling to the next level down with you right behind him. You hoped he was right, and you also hoped you would finally get some sort of answer for yourself on whether to explore this new great unknown with him with the former Emerald City as the backdrop in contrast to your cramped cell or to close the book on him for good.

You had to admit, Alec had a nice apartment. It was bigger than you’d imagined and he had told you the truth: he had glasses, plates, a coffee table, a couch, a bed, a tub, the so-called stereo (which he turned on for a minute to show you how it worked), and the whiskey he’d promised. As you drank from your glass, marveling at the taste, you glanced around, nodding.

“Nice,” you complimented.

“Thanks.” He took your hand and led you to a corner of the living room where a box sat tall on some sort of stand. He released you to go over and stand next to it, turning to beam over at you. “What do you think?”

Your eyes roved over the box with a glass front, confused. “It’s…great?”

He gave you a look as if you should know what it was before smiling wide again. “It’s a TV,” he crowed. 

Your brows furrowed in confusion. “TV?”

“Yeah, you know, to watch movies and TV shows, that kind of thing.” 

You peered at it, wondering just how it worked. You’d heard of movies of course, but you’d never seen one. Did the images just appear on the glass when you turned it on? Was there something that needed to be selected or perhaps inserted somewhere?

He proudly laid a hand on top of it. “I managed to get ahold of it after one of my customers I’ve been selling synthetics to heard about some old lady dying nearby who had one. I headed right over to her place and got this beauty.” He smiled down at it. 

“You’ve been selling synthetics?” Of course he was still hustling, even out here. In Manticore, it had been a necessity; out here, if it helped him get nice digs like this and set him up, you had to give him credit for keeping it going and getting creative.

“Among other things. Oh, and look.” He gestured down to another smaller box sitting in front of it. “I was also able to get a VCR. It took me a few months to get a lead on one of these, but I got it.” He chuckled and turned a wide smile on you. 

You returned the smile, still unsure of what a VCR was.

“And the best part,” He took your glass from you and placed it on top of the TV before he grabbed something from behind it and shoved it into your hands. You looked down at the rectangular object and spied a familiar image you had only seen once before, when you were on the run from Manticore the first time. Your eyes widened; something you had told Alec about one night after copulating a few times and he was falling asleep, him tiredly rubbing your shoulder as you laid your head on his chest, one of the nights he’d bought more time for you both… The sight made the corners of your eyes sting, yet you forced yourself to keep the tears at bay. He had heard you that night even while nodding off and he’d— he’d managed to get his hands on it. “It’s that movie you told me about,” he began. “It’s—”

“--A Wonderful Life,” you finished in an awed whisper. You reverently traced the picture you’d seen a hundred times before Manticore caught you. You ignored the rips and stains surrounding the rim of the image and focused on the man who’d caught your interest in the first place. He looked happy, staring down at his wife, the two of them surrounded by their children, one hoisted up behind him and holding onto him for dear life. They all looked happy, which was something you’d never had or known. You’d never had a father, never knew your mother, and you’d never had a family, not like the one portrayed in the picture. Sure, you had dozens of brothers and sisters, but you weren’t a family. Manticore would punish you if any of you had even uttered the word. You were soldiers in training and that was it.

Still, this image piqued your interest and many nights, you found that you couldn’t stop staring at it. It was in an old theater, a place you’d managed to find while running the first time—the same place you took shelter in and eventually turned it into your own setup. There were other people throughout the theater who’d had the same idea, but they pretty much left you alone once you’d fought off the biggest guy in the group who had stupidly tried to take your food from you. Once you’d seen that poster, it created a yearning in you for something you had never known, something you never imagined wanting. You didn’t need parents and you didn’t need siblings, but you did crave family… Something that became more and more apparent the more you studied the image, imagining what that life would be like. 

Which is why it was so cruel when Manticore recaptured you and immediately thrust you into its breeding program. Not only had they taken your life from you since conception, viewed you as their property that they were determined to see some sort of return of their investment on—now they wanted to take whatever life you could create from you and control it, too. You weren’t going to let that happen. As a matter of fact, you’d fought 494 off the first night they sent him into your cell. It had taken him by surprise because he’d thought you both were on the same page: you had orders. But he’d quickly learned that you’d rather die than follow those particular ones. He’d maintained his distance until a guard came to retrieve him, and as he’d glanced back at you one last time as he stepped across the threshold, you knew then that you were marked for death. A soldier refusing to obey and follow orders was no good to the organization and more importantly, of no use. Thus, it took you by surprise the next day when 494 confirmed the success of your copulation the previous night to your superiors which led to him being brought back to your cell later that night to continue.

From there, even though it took a little bit, you’d both talked and began getting to know one another. You’d learned that he didn’t want to spawn any kids for Manticore anymore than you did. Eventually, a bond began to form between you and of course, so did an attraction. The night you got hit with your first heat since being recaptured—thanks to a splash of feline DNA in your system, something you’d always been able to manage on the outside before—things had changed between you, and 494 no longer had to lie when reporting that copulation had been successful. Nonetheless, the entire time you’d been back in Manticore’s hands, you’d never forgotten about that picture and what you truly wanted: your freedom, a life, and eventually, family—happiness. You wanted to be happy just like the people in the poster.

And now here you were: on the outside, free for the moment, attempting to build a life, and this picture had somehow made its way back to you, right into your very hands, real enough to literally touch. “How did you get it?”

“One of Max’s fences gave me a line on where I could find one.”

You glanced up to find him watching you intently. You gave him a small grateful smile and you could see relief flood through his expression before he covered it with a smile of his own.

He cleared his throat. “I got it before you showed up, but…I never watched it. I couldn’t bring myself to. It felt wrong to watch it without you, especially after how you talked about it, so it’s been sitting in that case for months. I hope it still works.” He let out in a quiet chuckle.

You placed the box down on top of the TV and approached him. He watched as you cupped his face with your hands and pulled him down to you, your lips meeting for the first time since seeing him again. That all-too familiar feeling flooded you and this time, you didn’t fight the smile that made its way to your face. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” This time, he was the one initiating a kiss, and he snaked his arms around your waist, pulling you into him.

Only when you both needed air and he pulled away to trail kisses down to your neck did you tease into his ear, “So exactly how many girls have you shown this movie to?”

“None,” he breathed, nibbling on your earlobe. “I told you, I didn’t want to watch it without you.”

“You expect me to believe that you haven’t shown the TV or the VCR to any other girls?” You chuckled.

He pulled back to meet your eyes. “Okay, yeah, fair enough, I’ve shown them both of those, but not that movie, I swear. That was always yours.”

You knew you should be disgusted—not only that he had been such a callous player in your absence but also because he had used similar moves on you—but right then, you decided to throw all caution to the wind, even if just for one night. Seeing the movie picture again had reminded you that you needed to take happiness wherever you could find it, because thanks to your life, who knew how much longer you had? 

“So,” you whispered huskily as you ran your fingers through his hair. “What were you saying about a bed and no time limit…?”

His eyes lit up with that familiar fire and he smirked. “Oh, hell yes.” He kissed you harder than before and picked you up, making you laugh into his mouth, as he used his transgenic speed to get you to the bedroom. 

You watched the images on the screen in awe. You and Alec were sharing a blanket to keep your nude bodies warm as you sat in his embrace, the only light in the place coming from the TV. He had his chin resting on your bare shoulder, watching the movie intently with you. The man from the movie poster, George, was telling the woman, Mary, how he was going to travel the world and he was listing off his dreams right before she threw a rock at the abandoned house they were facing. When they started singing, Alec began to frown, but you? You were completely enraptured. You’d never seen or heard anything like this before. 

In the beginning, the tape had seemed like it didn’t want to work, black and white tears in the image as it played, but thankfully Alec knew what he was doing with the equipment and how to get it working. Ever since then, your eyes hadn’t strayed from the screen once, even when Alec had tried to get a second round going, promising you he could pause the film and you could finish watching it later. When he’d failed to garner your attention, he’d pressed a kiss to the back of your head and settled behind you, letting out a quiet sigh of contentment as he’d burrowed into your neck before rejoining you in watching the movie.

When George told Mary that he’d give her the moon, Alec rolled his eyes and dropped a kiss onto your skin. “That’s lame,” he muttered.

You turned to look at him. “Why? Because he wants to give her anything she wants?”

“No. Because he’s going to lasso the moon. Lasso the moon? Really?”

You laughed and he smiled, leaning in to kiss your cheek. “Alright, sure, it’s cheesy, but the message isn’t.”

“It’s not?” Alec moved to kiss your ear.

“No. He likes her that much, he’d do anything for her. Kind of nice actually,” you ended in a whisper as you turned back to the screen. You let out a soft chuckle when the old man interrupted the couple and told George that he talked too much and he should kiss Mary already.

Alec, who had glanced back at the screen to watch that part of the scene, turned an affectionate smile on you before leaning in to nuzzle your cheek. “Stay here tonight,” he urged.

Your eyelids dropped halfway when he moved his lips to your neck and you dug your teeth into your bottom lip. “I can’t. Joshua will be worried.”

“The big guy will be just fine, trust me,” he promised, his lips gliding back to your shoulder. “I want you to stay.”

You thought it over. You both had reacquainted yourselves earlier quite nicely so that wasn’t an issue. Just like Alec had said, it had been amazing to be in a bed for once, not under the pressure of a timeclock or having to worry about prying eyes and listening ears milling around. You didn’t have to separate soon after you were finished if the guards Alec usually bribed weren’t on shift that night. Here, you were free to just be and let things take their own course and that had been a phenomenal feeling. As for what came next… you weren’t too sure about that. You hadn’t done a lot of talking since Alec carried you into his bedroom and playfully dropped you on the bed, knowing it wouldn’t hurt you. You had let out an incredulous laugh and he mirrored your grin before he’d been all over you.

You watched as he pressed tender kisses to your bare skin before glancing up at you hopefully. You took his face into your hand and he leaned into your touch. Seeing that, you decided to state your one condition if he truly wanted you to stay. “No more girls.” You refused to look away as you threw down that gauntlet. While he never said he wanted anything more than tonight with you, you needed him to know that if this did somehow go past that, you wouldn’t be wondering just who he had in his bed or on his couch a few hours before you would arrive at his front door. Or who he might bring back to this apartment to show his TV and VCR to. 

He stared at you for a moment until the corner of his lips tipped up into a bit of a smug smile. “No more girls,” he agreed.

You tilted your head at him, studying his expression.

“What?” He laughed. 

“Just like that?”

Alec’s smile grew and he leaned in to place a kiss to the corner of your mouth. “Just like that.” You weren’t the least bit surprised when he suddenly turned you around in his arms to face him, one hand keeping the blanket over you, cocooning you both. He wiggled his eyebrows playfully at you before covering both of your heads with the blanket and leaning in for the kill.

“What about the movie?” You laughed as he began to kiss your neck.

“That’s the great thing about tapes. We can watch it again anytime we want,” he murmured, his hands starting to roam your body insistently.

“So we can watch the lasso the moon part again?” You teased.

He groaned into your neck, making you laugh. “Yeah, we can, if that’s what you want,” he grumbled, sounding like he was going to majorly suffer when you watched it again.

You pulled back, smiling, and cupped his face. “I want you,” you told him earnestly. And you did. You wanted more nights with him like this, you wanted what you two had managed to create back in your cell. Studying him now, you could see the man who had become almost everything to you back then, who’d kept you going during the rough moments, who ended up looking out for you even though he usually lived by the unwritten rule of only ever looking out for himself.  

His eyes stared into yours and a small smile began to form on his face. “Then stay,” he urged.

You pretended to think over it for a minute and when you grinned over at him, his smile was already mirroring yours. “Okay,” you answered playfully, as if he had only posed a simple question like asking you if you wanted a drink or not. You moved up to kiss him and bury your fingers in his disheveled hair. “No lassoing the moon required,” you murmured to his lips.

He rolled his eyes and quickly maneuvered you onto your back with him right on top of you. He smirked down at you, leaning in to kiss you. “I’ll give you something better than the damn moon,” he mumbled into your mouth, making you laugh. 

You didn’t want the moon or the stars (except the ones Alec made you see exploding behind your eyelids from time to time) or anything else that grand. What you wanted was simple: everything right here in front of you at this moment. A life that was your own, a job that helped keep money coming in, a roof over your head that offered protection from the cold, the wet, and intruders, while offering you a safe space to rest your head at night; food in your stomach, clothes that fit, and the feelings that coursed through you every time Alec kissed you.

Post-pulse Seattle might not be Bedford Falls and you might not be George Bailey or even Mary for that matter, but you were free, you were building a life, and you were happy. And someday, if you lived long enough, you might even get that family you’d been yearning for. From the look of things, between Joshua, Max, and now Alec, you were hopefully already starting to form something akin to the idea. And really, what more could you ask for?

dividers by @firefly-graphics

[supercorpkid]

Yours Truly, Pink Kryptonite

Supergirl. Kara Danvers x Reader!, Alex Danvers, Lena Luthor

Word Count: 3003.

"As you can see here, we'll start this presentation with an overview of the current business –" You look out the window to see Supergirl staring at you and waving excitedly. "landscape, and, um, the importance of embracing innovation." 

You look around, making sure no one is paying attention to the Kryptonian calling out for you from the other side of the window. What the hell could she possibly want right in the middle of your most important work presentation ever?

You obviously know Kara does a lot of things, but working 9 to 5 isn't one of them. She runs off from CatCo whenever she wants or has an emergency.

Emergency! God, there must be an emergency!

Your mouth dries, and your eyes widen. "Or, you know, everyone knows this." You look at your boss, furrowing his brows at you. "We know our company and where we stand. So instead of wasting our time with the introduction, why don't we just skip to –" You press the control skipping through basically half of your presentation. "the expansion to new markets. And who better to talk about that than my team! I'll leave it to you guys, and will answer to this very important call from our program developer. We know he hates to wait. I'm sorry. I have to –" 

You slip out of the conference room, heart on your throat, completely unaware of what you just said in there.

Supergirl meets you at the balcony of your office with a wide smile. "Kara!" You close the door behind you, looking around you to make sure no one is paying attention or seeing the both of you through glassy walls. "What's the emergency?"

Kara tilts her head to the sides, like a confused puppy. "Emergency?"

You touch her arms, looking for something that could explain why she is here in the middle of the day. "Yes! I mean, isn't there an emergency?"

"Not that I'm aware of." She smiles widely.

It's your turn to master your most confused face. "Then why are you here?"

"Oh!" Kara lets go of your arm, and puts a lock of your hair behind your ear. "I came to ask you out."

"What?"

"On a date! Tonight!" You're still looking at her like you haven't got the faintest idea of what's going on. "Maybe lunch?" She tries to get a different reaction. "Now?"

You look around. This must be a prank. Is someone filming this? Is today April Fools? Surely not. 

"You're not saying no." Her smile brightens up, like this is the most amazing thing that's ever happened. "So that means I can fly the hottest woman out of here right now?"

"What?" You repeat, yet again, baffled by everything that is happening. "You can't. I — I'm working."

"And you sounded so smart in that board meeting, baby." 

"Baby?" You whisper to yourself, more confused now than before. If that's even possible.

"But work is boring," Kara strokes your cheek lightly. "and you're honestly so pretty that I'm sure you'd never have to work if you wanted. Oh! You know what, we should do that!"

"Never work again?" You ask and she agrees enthusiastically. "It's not like you do anyways." You try a little joke and Kara laughs like you just said the funniest thing in the universe.

She composes herself, after a loud snort. "Ok. So you're smart, and pretty, and hot and funny. Golly, how did I get so lucky to get you to go on a date with little old me?"

You open your mouth a couple of times, but keep your comments to yourself. She is literally Supergirl; You never said yes to any date; and WHAT THE HELL! Are some of the things you refrain from saying.

"Kara, I have to go back to work. This presentation is really important." You point to the door and she agrees, once again, vividly with her head. 

"Ok, ok. But lunch?"

"I can't. I have a meeting with the developer." She pouts like a child, and you can't say no to her. Not when she looks so adorable. You breathe deep. "Dinner."

Kara bites her lower lip, holding back a huge smile. "Dinner is perfect. I'll organize everything, and you just have to go and be pretty, which is basically what you do all day anyways."

You furrow your brows one more time and agree with a nod. You make your way to the door, and make a mental note to call Alex and ask her what the hell! 

"Hey baby," You look over your shoulders and back at her one more time. "Your butt looks awesome in this outfit." 

"Thanks?" While your face burns red in embarrassment. 

You spend the rest of the day trying to concentrate on your work, but you can't really because you need to understand what happened between you and Kara this morning.

Sure, you two are used to a little bit of flirting. Subtle and awfully vague. Just little jokes that usually makes Kara completely uncomfortable, and makes her blush in no time. And now, just out of fucking nowhere, she is calling you baby and asking you out on dates?

You: hey! Kara's a bit off today. Something happened? Alex 🌈: oh, yeah. Pink Kryptonite. Why? You: great! One more! What does this one do? Alex 🌈: not sure. Just discovered it. Send me a list of symptoms.

A list of symptoms. Ok. You can do this. 1. She looked extremely happy. But that's not a symptom. 2. She had the courage to ask you out. Could that be a symptom? No. Surely not. Asking people out is not a symptom of being exposed to kryptonite. 3. She called you baby. Yeah, you don't have a list.

You: IDK, just weird. We'll meet up later and I'll try to investigate further. Alex 🌈: great! Will do the same from here.

Not good enough. You look down on your phone one more time. Change conversations.

You: hey! did you happen to see Kara today? Lena the witch: Yeah… You: everything alright? Lena the witch: If by alright you mean weird, then sure.  You: weird how? Lena the witch: She spent the entire duration of our lunch saying you butt looked great today. You: got it ✨super weird✨. Lena the witch: What's up with that? You: unsure. will let you know as soon as I figure it out.

You get ready for your date. It feels weird thinking about it. You've been kinda flirting kinda joking with Kara for a long while. You never thought this was going anywhere. It's not like you didn't want it to happen, but Kara Danvers is not gay. Which is unfortunate for you.

Except today she was the gayest of the gays. Queen of the lesbians. So you can't help but look in the mirror one more time, before saying out loud this time, "What the hell!"

Of course you like the idea of you and Kara going on a date, but it feels hard to enjoy this when it is so sudden and out of the blue. Just yesterday when you were leaving the Tower late at night and said goodbye with a simple, 'see you later handsome', Kara blushed so hard, she lost all her words and stumbled on her own two feet on the way out the elevator. How was she so smooth this morning?

You open the door, after the doorbell rings once. Kara is on the other side, the brightest smile on her face and flowers on her hands. "Hey baby."

You blush furiously. Can't keep your body in check, no matter how much you want to not enjoy this moment before you find out exactly what's going on with Kara.

"You look incredible. You always look incredible." She makes sure, a thumb sliding on your cheek delicately. And it's only the second time she's done this, and you're already addicted to it. "Oh, I brought your favorite flowers."

You look at it, bite your lower lip and hold your breath. She looks beautiful. Like an angel in front of you. Blonde waves cascading down her shoulders, blue eyes as bright as the day sky, smile as wide and white as possible, and she is here holding your favorite flowers. How the hell are you going to resist her?

"Thanks, baby.” God, no! What are you doing? No flirting! 

You turn around, putting the flowers on a vase, and trying to keep your hands and yourself busy so you don't jump on her and kiss her senseless. "Hey, what does Pink Kryptonite do?"

"Um, Pink Kryptonite?" Kara plays coy and you don't even have to look behind yourself to know she is smoothing her hand over her vest, right after touching her glasses. "Where did you see that?"

"Well, baby," You turn around to face her. "it seems that you've been exposed to it." Kara's mouth drops, not knowing what to say. You close the distance. "And believe me, I'm loving what's happening here, but I need to know if this is you or the kryptonite talking. So, what does it do?"

"It turns Kryptonians alittlegay." She mumbles under her breath, and it is only with much effort from your part that you understand it.

Your face drops. "Right." 

It's not like you're shocked about her revelation, she was acting like the lesbian jesus right after being exposed to a hot new type of kryptonite (why so many?). You breathe out, looking at the flowers and trying to ignore your selfish heart and desire to just go along with it.

"You should go."

"What?" Kara's eyes get full of tears. "But, the dinner."

"You're not in love with a woman, Kara. The effects of the kryptonite will fade and you'll regret this whole thing. So before we do something that can ruin our friendship, you should go." 

A tear falls from her eye, and she bites her lower lip to keep herself from crying out loud. Your heart is squeezing in your chest and you're having to summon all of your strength to keep going with this and not just simply kiss her better. 

"But that's not it." She tries, sounding small and in pain.

"Kara, it's ok." It's your turn to stroke her cheek lovingly and carefully, wiping the single tear away. "It was fun, but it isn't you. And for this to happen, I need to be you. Ok?" You're explaining yourself with caution, almost as if you're talking to a child. She agrees with her head, slowly, looking small in her tall body. "Don't worry. It will wear off soon, and you'll be yourself again. And you’ll be glad this didn’t happen." You kiss her cheek and give her a wistful smile.

Kara makes her way out of your apartment, crestfallen and so disheartened you almost feel bad. You take a deep breath. She'll be fine. She'll thank you for this when she wakes up free of the Pink Kryptonite.

Gee, a kryptonite that turns them gay. What the hell was going on in Krypton? But also, you wish you were there. The parties must have been wild.

You turn around in your bed, the flowers that Kara brought keep haunting you, because you decided to put them right next to your bed. You sit up, rubbing your face awake. Why the hell did you kick Kara out the door? It could've happened! It could finally have happened! Why didn't you take advantage of it?

Oh yeah. Yours truly, Pink Kryptonite. Ugh. She didn't really want you, she was just gay for a day. You roll your eyes to yourself. Now you'll just have to live with the awkwardness and the desire while you're around her. Great.

You hear a light tap on the glass and you let out a shit-scare scream, only to see Supergirl flying on the other side of your window. You hear a soft, "sorry." when she realizes how shaken you got.

You open the window to find a glowing Supergirl, and it doesn't take much deducing to understand she's been under the yellow sun bed for a while.

"I flew as close as I could to the sun." She explains, still on the other side, but it's quick to make her way inside. "The yellow sun emulators are alright, but there's nothing better than the real thing."

"Yeah." It's all you can say.

"I wanted to get rid of the Pink Kryptonite as fast as possible." Kara explains it further, and finally puts her glass back so she can change back into her normal clothes. "I was going to wait until tomorrow, but I heard you were still up. I wanted to apologize."

"Whoa, I knew you'd regret it, but God that was fast. Must be some kind of new record for me." You sit back on your bed with a loud sigh.

"No, no." Kara is quick to follow you, kneeling in front of you and holding your hand. "I wanted to apologize for waiting for the kryptonite to finally show me what my life could've been like if I had a little bit of courage."

"Kara, you are the epitome of courage."

"No, I'm not. I've been wanting to ask you out for months and haven't got the courage." She confesses. "Do you know how many times I almost called you baby these past few weeks?"

"You said Pink Kryptonite turns Kryptonian gays." She shakes her head agreeing. "For you to be turned into something, you can't already be that something."

"It turned me extra gay." 

You bite your lip to hold back a laugh, but she's not scared of showing you her wide smile. "Let me show you."

"Show me what?" 

Kara perches up, thumb sliding across your cheek until her hand cups your face. "Let me show you that it wasn't the Pink Kryptonite that turned me gay." She brings your face closer. "Let me show you how you were the one that did it."

"Are you sure this isn't the Pink Kryptonite talking?"

"I'll tell you what," Her breath is hot in your mouth, and you're holding your own breath in anticipation. "why don't we go to sleep and when we wake up you can ask me again?"

"Ok." But your resolution is weakening by the minute, especially after she spoons you in bed and places a little goodnight kiss on your neck.

You wake up with more flowers and breakfast in bed. Kara has a warm smile, and she looks so damn beautiful just fresh out of bed it's annoying.

"Good morning, baby." She holds your face between her hands, thumb caressing your cheek in the way that makes your heart flutter. She’s obviously able to hear it.

You swallow deep. "Is this you or the Pink Kryptonite?"

"Why don't you ask me again after work?" Kara says feeding you a strawberry, and you agree weakly with your head.

She shows up at lunch time, and holds your smelly tuna sandwich out of your reach, convincing you that you deserve better food. She has it all set out on your balcony, a whole picnic that makes all of your colleagues so jealous of your lunch date. Little do they know she actually flew to Italy for that pasta.

And it's another thumb stroke and another, "Is this the Pink Kryptonite?" question that makes her head tilt a little bit farther and she reaches the corner of your mouth, instead of your lips.

"Ask me again at our dinner tonight."”

After work pick-ups and holding hands and perhaps it's Pink Kryptonite. Flowers and dinner dates and maybe it's just the exposure. Movie nights and cuddles and what if it is still turning you gay. Slow dancing to the TV light and thumbs slowly stroking your cheeks and why don't you ask again tomorrow. And that goes on for weeks.

Alex texts you that Kara was exposed to real Kryptonite this time. You know, not the one that turns her into the queen of gays, but the one that turns her bones into flaming hot goo. You run to the Tower and watch her unawake under the yellow sunlight. 

"Hey, it's ok." Alex holds your shoulder while you cry. "She'll be fine. A few hours under the sun and she's good as new."

"What?"

"Yeah, the effects of the kryptonite aren't lasting. It wears off if we deal with it fast."

"With all of the different types?" You furrow your brows at her and Alex agrees with her head.

Well, haven't you been wasting precious time?

You run into the medbay, and sit beside her bed. Like clockwork, a couple hours later, Kara's eyes open and she looks at you on the other side. "Hey baby."

"Oh my God, baby!" You run to her, not caring about anyone on the other side of the glass that might be able to see you both. You throw yourself at her, kissing her entire face. "You scared me."

She smiles widely. "And would do it again to have you kissing my face like that."

You hold her face between your hands, and slide your thumb across her cheek. "Don't you dare." She smiles, but soon her eyes widen when she realizes what's coming next. You meet her lips with yours softly. But soon she deepens the kiss, and next thing you know she's pulling you up the bed while sitting herself up. You’re full on sitting on her lap, while your lips crash and tongues slide and hands explore visible skin. And honestly, the yellow sunlight doesn’t help when you’re body already feels like it is on fire. 

Kara parts the kiss for some air, and looks at you with full-blown pupils. "Is this you or Pink Kryptonite?"

You roll your eyes and give her a chuckle. "Shut up and kiss me again before I think the Green Kryptonite is also turning you gay."

Kara’s tongue is almost inside your mouth again when you hear a yell from the other side of the glass.

"NO! Absolutely not! We can see everything!” Kara is quick to move her hands out of your butt. “That was more than enough!" 

Alex's face is red from yelling, Lena's face is red from embarrassment, and Nia's cellphone case is red from all the pictures she's been taking.

"Keep going! I'm gonna turn these into GIFs!"

You and Kara look at each other, "We should go." "Yeah."

So Kara was right, it wasn't the exposure that turned her gay. Still you do appreciate yours truly, Pink Kryptonite, because at least it gave her courage to be her true gay self.

[sssammich]

collateral ch6

HELLO i'm posting this purely for the bit in that it's st. patrick's day and therefore it's kmcg's day. sorry to the one veto vote in my unserious poll.

here's the chapter in ao3

here's the rest on tumblr: part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

thx for reading see u next time

---

It’s only Kara’s third week on the job at CatCo. It’s a definite upgrade from her job writing articles for the Midvale Messenger, but the transition from small town to big city living has needed a little learning curve. She’s barely gotten used to her schedule, let alone the bus route to and from her apartment when a really big assignment falls on her lap that changes her entire life. 

She looks up, pushing her glasses back on her face when she finds Snapper’s scowling face in front of her. 

“Come with me.”  

She furrows her brows, yet before she has time to ask him anything, he’s already walking away. She scrambles to her feet and rushes after her boss paying little attention to the stares coming from those around the office. She eventually gets her answer when they end up in his office.

“Sir, what—” 

“Can you explain to me why Lena Luthor requested you specifically to write about the launch of their new tech project?” 

Kara’s head remains empty as she quickly rifles through her mind for some flash of recognition to that name. She doesn’t know a Lena Luthor nor does she even cover the tech beat. 

“Snapper, sir, this might be a misunderstanding. I don’t know who that is.” 

He glares at her just as he places one hand on his hip while the other rests on his desk. “Well, you better figure out who she is quickly. You have an interview with her on Thursday at 10am. Do not be late. And make that article worth my while, you understand?” 

“Me?” she asks, her head slow to catch up to his words. 

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t ask me that. Now, get out of my office.” 

Wordlessly, and still a little shell-shocked, Kara quickly exits out of his office and makes his way back to her desk. 

“What was that about?” William, one of her coworkers, asks her as peers over his monitor.

She shakes her head. “I have no freakin’ clue.” 

—

Armed with a memo pad and her trusty BIC ballpoint pen, she enters the L-Corp building in downtown National City. She’s on her second cup of coffee this morning, having stayed up late the last two nights doing her homework, researching about L-Corp, the upcoming project launch that the company has largely kept under wraps, and the head of Research and Design: Lena Luthor. 

She has no idea what this woman’s game is about, but she won’t turn down the opportunity as it presents itself. 

Wiping her sweaty hands on the back of her chinos, she reaches the 46th floor and talks with Lena’s assistant about ten minutes before her appointment.

“Miss Luthor will be with you shortly.” 

“Thanks.” 

She waits patiently in the small waiting area, her knee bouncing slightly. She crosses her legs at the knee and resituates herself to stop the bounce. She glances at the clock on the wall and finds that Lena Luthor is now five minutes late. 

She considers walking up to the assistant who seems very intently typing away at her keyboard, but thinks better of it. She waits it out, gives it another five minutes. She reviews her questions from her pad and double checks that her recorder is fully charged. The ticking from the clock and the consistent typing sounds fill the otherwise empty waiting area. 

She watches on as the assistant takes a call before looking over at her from across the way. 

“Miss Luthor apologies for her tardiness, but if you could wait another five minutes, she’ll be on her way up.” 

She nods and sits back slightly in her chair. The clock ticks on. 

While waiting, Kara briefly wonders if this is some type of test, a ploy to check on her. Her imagination lands her to think that this might be some kind of hazing from her colleagues. That didn’t make sense, however, not when this assistant seems like the kind of woman who wouldn’t participate in a prank if it affected her productivity. 

After almost twenty minutes, Kara audibly sighs, tries to rein in her annoyance, before getting up from her seat and decides that perhaps it’s best to reschedule. Just as she’s about to talk with the assistant, the elevator dings open and a woman in a lab coat wearing large dark-rimmed glasses with her hair pulled back in a high ponytail rushes towards them. 

“You must be Kara Danvers,” the woman says, her voice coming out composed despite the exhale she lets out, no doubt from rushing out. 

“I—yes,” she offers, a little stupefied in her spot, glancing down at the offered hand before slowly taking it in her own. 

“Lena Luthor. My deepest apologies for being so late; I was on my way up when a small emergency that couldn’t be ignored exploded…literally.” 

“Is everyone okay?” 

“Everyone is more than fine, thank you. Now, I’m sure you’re also a busy woman, so if we need to reschedule, then I understand. But if you have some time to spare, I can clear part of my schedule so you can ask all of your questions.” 

She blinks a few times to process Lena’s words, a reckoning force in front of her that Kara wouldn’t deny, even if she could. She beams and steps to the side. “Deal.” 

—

True to her word, Lena Luthor answers all of her questions about the new project called Biomax, a nanotechnology meant to advance and expedite healing for various open wounds and injuries. She thoughtfully takes notes of Lena’s responses knowing that the recording will help jog her memories if necessary. 

“Do you have any more questions?” 

Kara glances down to the last question that she has underlined twice: why me?  

She hesitates, an uneasy smile on her face. “Yeah, actually.” 

“Go ahead.” 

“Why did you pick me to interview you? As far as I know, we’ve never met—I’d remember you, for the record—so…just…why?” 

Lena holds her gaze, her head tipping to the side as she regards Kara. She almost looks away under the attention, but maintains her composure. 

“I’m honestly surprised you didn’t ask me right away.” 

She shrugs. 

“This project is very important to L-Corp and could greatly affect public perceptions of the company.” 

“I won’t write a puff piece if that’s what you’re asking,” she declares, sitting up. Yet Lena matches her and places a hand up, as if to stop her. 

“On the contrary. I need you to do what you do best.” 

“Excuse me?” 

Lena tents her hands in front of her and smirks. “Your established work in the Midvale Messenger shows level-headedness and thoughtful critiques. You’ve shown fair assessment and reporting, as far as I’m aware.” 

“Oh.” 

“This is a good project, Miss Danvers. I believe it can do a lot of good for a lot of people. But prior to the rebranding, L-Corp has been host to many scandals, as I’m sure your research has shown you. All I ask is that the project is reported on on its own merits and critiqued fairly for what it is and not who owns the building that developed it.” 

“You researched me?” 

“As I’m sure you researched me.” 

“Fair enough.” She nods in understanding. Then, “Don’t worry. I’ll do my job.” 

Lena smiles wide and Kara can’t help but glance down at red lips and white teeth.

“That’s all I ask.” 

Lena’s phone rings, signaling that she needs to get ready for an upcoming meeting. They both stand on either side of Lena’s desk before Lena walks around and stands practically toe to toe with her. 

“Thank you for your time, Miss Luthor—” 

“Lena, please.” 

“Lena, then. Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome, Miss Danvers.” 

“Well, if I’m calling you Lena…” 

“Kara it is. Feel free to call back if you need anything else for your article.” 

It’s only as they take the few measured steps between the desk and the office door that Kara notes the warm and cozy tones of Lena’s perfume just as she catches the side to side swish of her long ponytail from the corner of her eye. 

She turns around again and offers a hand, this time Lena grabbing hold of it with ease and shaking it a few times. 

“I hope this isn’t the last time we talk.” 

“I hope not either.” 

It’s not until Jess opens the door in front of them that they let go of each other’s hands. 

—

Her article goes to print, and she’s happy to see her name on the byline. So soon after starting her job, too. 

When she walks into the office the morning her article goes live, she’s met with all eyes from everyone staring at her as soon as she steps out of the elevator. She offers them uneasy smiles as she treks to her desk only to find it teeming with flowers. 

“What’s this?” she asks as she tries to move the different bouquets out of her seat and away from her monitor and keyboard. She glances at William next desk over and he only shrugs. 

“Secret admirer?” 

She plucks the lone card from one of the bouquets and flips it over, grinning from ear to ear. 

Thank you for doing your job. L.L.

—

The paper bag crinkles in her grip as she adjusts the shoulder strap of her messenger bag. The elevator dings and she appears back on the 46th floor of the L-Corp building. 

She walks towards the assistant who doesn’t seem surprised to see her. 

“Hi, uh—” she quickly glances at the name on the desk, “—hi, Jess. I was here last time. I know I don’t have an appointment, but do you think Len–Miss Luthor has a small break coming up or anything like that?” She knocks her glasses back up her nose with her knuckle. 

Jess studies her for a moment before glancing back down to the monitor. “She’s free for the next fifteen minutes.” 

She nods quickly and smiles, appreciative of the granted access. 

Kara knocks and waits until she hears a muffled response for her to enter. She peeks through the door before slowly making her way in. 

“Hi, Lena. Sorry to drop in unannounced…”

“Kara, hello. This is a lovely surprise.” 

She hums. “Well, I was in the neighborhood.” 

“Is that so?” 

“Mm. It turns out, it’s hard to get work done when your desk is overflowing with flowers.” 

“Really? Never would have guessed.” 

“No? Somehow I’m surprised,” she asks with a slight giggle. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yeah, I did.” Lena nods, her face sobering slightly, even with the smile still on her face. 

Kara brings a hand up and fixes her glasses again. “Well, I’m not sure I can compete with dozens and dozens of flowers. But perhaps I can offer you with a couple deep fried sugary goodness in exchange. You do eat donuts, right?”

Lena stands from the side of her desk and walks to accept the bag from Kara’s hands. “Well, I am human. Thank you, Kara. Won’t you join me? Probably for the best I don’t eat it all.” 

“Only if you’re sure.” 

Lena sits on the white couch at the far end of her office. “I’m very sure.” 

Kara takes a spot on the couch, the bag of donuts sitting between them. The fifteen minutes of break that Jess originally mentioned becomes half an hour then an hour until it’s just about time to leave for the day, the minutes and hours filled with conversation about nothing, everything. 

“Oh my gosh, I’m sorry, Lena,” she starts as they both rise to their feet. “I didn’t mean to keep you.” 

“Nonsense.” 

“I should probably get going, though. A few bites of donuts isn’t enough sustenance.” 

“Well, if you’re not tired of me yet, I was just about to grab some dinner. You're welcome join me.” 

"I couldn't impose." 

"I insist."

Kara glances down at the way Lena’s hands fiddled with each other. Then she thinks briefly about the empty apartment that awaits her and the leftovers sitting in her fridge. 

“Well, then, I’d love that.” 

— 

Days of friendship blossomed into weeks, Kara and Lena trading texts and video calls interspersed with dinners and coffees after long work days. 

The excitement of friendship with Lena lit something deep inside of Kara that she didn’t know ever existed. Simply put, being around Lena was a source of comfort while she settled herself in National City. 

“You’re not the only one who’s new around here,” Lena had said to her during one of their coffee outings, sympathizing with Kara’s adjustment after her recent arrival to the city. “It’s nice for me, too, to have someone—a friend—to spend time with. My therapist thinks so, anyway.” 

Kara then reached forward and placed a hand on Lena’s. “Tell your therapist you’re not alone, Lena. You’ve got me.” 

Lena smiled before reaching over and giving her a hug. Kara easily accepted, held Lena close to her, and made sure to never break her vow. 

—

It’s been a handful of months since Lena and Kara became friends, best friends even, and being allowed unrestricted access to Lena’s office for Kara to stop by still rattles something inside of her. It’s…she can’t quite put a finger on it. A kind of intimacy she enjoys: to be chosen, to be privileged in this way. 

She greets Jess with a grin and a separate bag for Jess’s favored almond croissants as Kara carries her and Lena’s lunch from Noonan’s. 

“How’s it looking today, Jess?” she asks just as puts the bag for Jess on her desk. The assistant grabs for the bag, an uncharacteristic voraciousness as she opens it and takes a whiff of the pastry. “That bad, huh?” 

“She’ll enjoy seeing you today, let’s just say.” 

“Alright. Does she have a hard stop?” 

“She has a conference call at 3. But otherwise, keep her from her computer until then.”

“Got it.” 

Just then, Lena pulls the door open. “Stop plotting against me.”

Kara beams and walks forward with a one-armed hug as she holds the bag of their lunch away from their bodies. She warms at Lena’s touch, both of her arms wrapping around Kara’s back before it gently slides down the length of her back before her hands rest briefly on Kara’s waist.

“I’ll plot against you any way I like. I’m my own woman.” 

“Yes, you are. It’s good to see you, darling. But we don’t have an appointment, do we?” 

“No, no. I just figured I’d drop off some lunch for you. Heard you’ve had a brutal morning.” 

Lena then glances at Jess who has remained steadfast in staring at her screen. “Is that right?” 

“Yes. Now we can stand here or we can actually eat some lunch. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.” 

Lena steps back and allows her to walk past her, making a beeline for the coffee table in front of her white couch. She quickly takes out their food from the bag and situates it neatly in front of them, a nice little spread of salads and breads and pasta dishes. 

“Did you buy all of Noonan’s?” Lena asks when she sits beside Kara on the couch. “I can’t possibly eat all of this food, Kara.” 

“Uh, because they’re not for you,” she says, offering a playful scoff. “That’s your kale salad and all the good stuff is mine.”  

She grins when she catches Lena rolling her eyes at her who otherwise grabs a plastic fork and takes a healthy bite out of her salad. Kara hates the stuff, thinks it’s an abomination, but she’s happy to see her friend eating and relaxing. 

Kara etches this moment to memory. Because she likes how settled Lena is beside her as they dig into their lunch. Likes how visibly comfortable Lena looks as she asks Kara about her day so far. Likes how she nudges some other dishes Lena’s way until Lena relents, still gracious as she does so, picking at some of the food. It’s one of Kara’s favorite views, the way Lena leaves herself unguarded, her walls down, with her. 

Abruptly and without notice, something inside of Kara shifts—irreparably, irrevocably. 

She doesn’t know what she’s even said for Lena to snort in laughter, putting her food down on the coffee table to cover her mouth as giggles leak through her fingers.

Something inside of Kara slots into place, the world suddenly saturated and sharpened.

When Lena gets a handle on her laughter, her mouth still etched with the echoes of her mirth, she opens her eyes to fondly look back at Kara, grasping at her arm and squeezing. 

Kara doesn’t hear anything but the pulse of her blood rushing to her ears, and the heat of Lena’s hand on her skin suddenly scorching her. 

And Kara, hopeless and unprepared, discovers on a Tuesday afternoon that she’s maybe a little bit in love with her best friend.

[theanxiousghostartist]

TMAGP 28 Spoilers

Reaction and Theories

Literally screaming with this one/pos

The Minister's Visit:

Trevor is the Minister? It's very interesting given his character in TMA was a vampire-killer, homeless outlaw, and a great father figure for Julia. I wonder if this means his first experience with a vampire went differently than in TMA. Maybe his brother survived, or maybe someone came to help?

His diversity comment with Sam??? It is reminiscent of TMA!Trevor but still, it was very unexpected for me.

He seems to be in a similar situation to Lena, having to keep his bosses happy. He mentions that the ONS has been "sniffing around" and that Gorman-Smith is on top of him. From what I can see, the ONS is the Office for National Statistics, but it could mean something else in TMAGP. Otherwise, the language Trevor uses reminds me of the Hunt a lot - "sniffing around," "someone's head to roll," "come back to bite me," ect. I know that these are common phrases, but Trevor seems to be similar to his TMA counterpart, so I've been vigilant, trying to pick up on any settle details about his relationship with the Fears.

Lena and the Minister:

So, Lena's running the OIAR without much oversight, interesting...

A reliable source? Who Trevor??

Ahh, Ink5oul is still committing crimes. Good for them. It makes sense too, with them Becoming, they need to feed.

Daniel "Danny" Turner is the Commissioner, so I assume he's been involved in the investigation of Ink5oul to some extent.

Trevor wants someone punished for Ink5oul, someone in the OIAR. What will Lena do? Maybe she'll fire Colin, since he knows too much already and tried to destroy the computers.

It seems like Trevor is giving Lena permission to kill or fire whoever is a liability.

In this interaction between Lena, Trevor, and Gwen, it seemed to me that Lena was trying to protect Gwen from Trevor. Like she made sure that Gwen didn't reveal herself as contracting externals and made tried to keep Gwen away from the conversation entirely, perhaps so she wouldn't know too much about the way the OIAR is run by the higher-ups. While Lena was firm, she seemed scared as well, showing more anger than usual. Her character is similar to Daisy in TMA, so I'm using her as a basis, as they both seem to get angrier and more defensive when they are scared. Especially since my theory is that Lena is Hunt and Web aligned, it would make sense that they would show these emotions similarly.

Alice, Celia, and Sam:

So Trevor knows nothing. I wonder if it is because information is given on a "need-to-know basis" according to Lena. She and the higher ups would have to know, as she runs the place and the higher ups have power over her, but Trevor seems more like a middleman than anything. "Pan?" Is Celia pan??!! Yippee!!!

OoooOOO, Alice is having drinks with Teddy, I hope we get to hear about it next episode. Also, he's having insomnia. I wonder if it is because he's away from the OIAR?

I appreciate Sam respect Celia's boundaries but also acknowledging that her "mysterious origins" (TMA-verse), are going to have to be revealed in order to get closer to Sam.

Alice wins the bet ^_^

Gwen and the Minister:

Wilson is Trevor's driver; I wonder if they'll be important...

Gwen nooo!!! Please don't get Lena killed ))):

Jeremy Bouchard?????

Nooo Gwen don't please ))):

She has a flashdrive full of 20 years of "incompetence" of Lena as the head of the OIAR. Ok, so she is older, that's good to know for my design lol.

A concerned 3rd party sent this information to Gwen... It's from the email isn't it? I'm pretty sure it's Jonah. Since Jonah took over Elias, he had to have access to his memories. If they were related, it makes sense that Jonah would know about Gwen, and if they are the same person, we know Jonah is a master manipulator and has manipulated Elias before. Maybe he's trying to claw to the top via Gwen in order to free himself?

How does Trevor know Jeremy? Maybe he is the reason Gwen got the job? Ah, so Gwen is a spy now.

The Archivist and Sam:

So Sam is locked out of the OIAR?

Archivist!!!! They found the OIAR!!! Oh, I wonder if they are going to serve a Jane-Prentiss-esc role for the OIAR crew.

Sam is able to resist, for a little bit, at least? That may be because of his connection with the Eye.

Sam's Statement: So, we finally get more information on the Gifted Children Program! Gilbert wore a fake smile. All I can think of is the Stranger's Dolls and Distortion, maybe he was marked by the Stranger or Spiral? Two stern-looking older women... I wonder if one of those women was Gertrude.

"Was I happy at home?" "What do I do when I feel angry or upset?" "When is it okay to lie?" The Institute was most definitely looking for someone to mark or who was already marked...

Oh, so Sam was marked at the Institute, while they were trying to do a ritual. Very interesting.

Dr. F. Welling's skeleton ripped out of his skin after a yellow light went into him? I wonder if he was doing a body transfer and that word he messed up when Sam interrupted him caused it to go haywire. It definitely feels like the Flesh, especially since Sam mentioned near the end that he was unnerved by the sight of seeing a bit of the form of the skull "smiling" underneath the skin when he looked at his parents Maybe the Stranger was mixed in a bit as well? IDK, it reminds me of the coral case.

The development of Sam through his statement is great. I loved being able to see his fear of being a disappointment shine through, even as a child, and this statement definitely helps show us why he makes some choices today (like seeking out the Institute, valuing the Institute more than Alice at times, ect)

So, the Archivist (not necessarily OUR archivist, Jonathan Sims), left Sam on the floor, and leaves the tape recorder with Sam. Maybe this is how they establish a connection with their victim and slowly feed off of them, even after death, like the drowning victim Alice saw? The transcript also says that "The archivist steps forward to takes one last breath of Sam's memory..." so I wonder if they are not only feeding off of the fear but damaging the memory as well. Or maybe they take the memory and force it into the tape recorder, hence why when it turns on, even after death, the person starts speaking again, sort of like Gertrude's skin in the Unknowing - it holds a bit of the essence of the person.

Great episode! I was screaming the entire time/pos

[kilibaggins]

ONE MORE ONE MORE THIS ONE I JUST HAD TO

can i get ''I could keep you safe. They're all afraid of me.'' with Bucky too please?

My Knight | Bucky Barnes

Summary: Reader has some issues with her coworkers not doing their job how they should, and Bucky has a perfect plan that Reader... Doesn't agree with.

A/N: EEE thank you again fro the requests and again feel free to send as many as you'd like ! love writing these AHHH. anyway, i know i might have stretched the prompt a little bit since reader actually isn't in danger so bucky won't be "keeping them safe" but i used it loosely and imagines bucky is trying to exaggerate a little.

Words: 356

"You know," Bucky says conversationally after just witnessing you barge through the front door and into the apartment. You slam your stuff down onto the couch and look at him, calming down instantly in his presence. "I could keep you safe. They're all afraid of me."

"I don't need rescuing from my coworkers." You argue, opening your bag and pulling out your notebook and throwing it on the table in front of the couch. You sit down and stare at the empty page. You have to write a report for your boss and since your computer broke this is what you have to work with.

"I'm just saying, they're all scared. I could just… Waltz in there," Bucky starts, sitting next to you and wrapping his arm around your shoulder, "And show them that nobody messes with my doll."

"Your doll, huh?" You ask, smirking. "I belong to you now, is that right?"

"Hmm.. Maybe a little," He jokes, lenaing forward and kisses him gently. He pulls back and looks at you seriously. "Actually, though. If you need me, I'm here. I can get them to stop screwing around and actually do their job so your boss stops throwing it all at you."

"I love you." You say. Bucky huffs and kisses the corner of your mouth.

"You gonna let me?"

"No." You say gently. He groans and leans back against the back of the couch.

"I hate seeing you upset." He admits. You frown and sigh.

"They're gonna be off the job soon, anyway. I promise, it's fine." You say, smiling gently. Bucky thinks for a minute his tongue slightly poking out of his lips and you smile at the sight.

"Fine. The offer is always up for grabs though. All I gotta do is pull this baby out," He says, patting his left arm, "And we're all set."

"My knight." You joke. He laughs and leans forward, kissing you again. "I gotta get this done."

"I'll make dinner." Bucky says, standing up. "But when it's done you have to stop working and eat with me!"

"Got it." You say, laughing. "Thank you."

"'Course, doll."