Title: family tree
Prompt: Family tree
Character/Pairing: Winston, Lena
A/N: Written for DocHolligay's birthday. This was a lot of fun to make
Summary: Winston had always wanted something that connected him, something permanent. It was ironic he found it in a slip of a girl who could barely call her connection to reality anything of the sort.
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"Have fun?" Lena asked, flitting about the room. Even now, hours after the birthday party, she could barely keep still. A bundle of energy, she had perched on almost every piece of furniture in the room and then some.
Winston peered over his banana glasses at her. "Where did you even find these?" He was sporting a matching tie, Lena's gag gift. Each year, she managed to outdo the last and the team had placed a betting pool on just what she'd get him.
"I have my connections, "she replied cheekily, sitting on his shoulder. "A secret to you."
He raised a brow but didn't press any further. Instead, he sank further into the couch as she popped off him. There were streamers and colourful confetti on the floor, a mess he'd have to clean up later. Much later.
"Win, ready for your real gift?" Lena asked, bouncing on her heels. There was that smile of hers: eager, happy, alive, and he could only nod in its wake. That was all the encouragement she needed and she zipped off down the hall. No doubt to the bag she had insisted on hiding the second she arrived earlier that day.
Within a blink, she was back, a huge parchment paper in her hand. The paper looked faded, crinkled, though it was clearly neither old nor brittle considering how Lena was holding it. For once, she walked, not blinked, toward him, crossing the room on her own two feet. "For you, Win."
At her prodding, Winston gingerly picked it up and unfurled it. At the top, he spotted Lena's family crest. A series of names flowed down, some familiar, most not. He recognized an aunt and an uncle from one of Lena's tales. Fighter pilots of fame. His finger traced a line that lead to her father and then down to her. And then, connected to that, a line that led to Winston.
He almost dropped the paper. His finger rested on his name.
"It took ages to make the paper look right. Emily found something on YouTube but I didn't really have the patience for that."
He could only look at her. She smiled softly. "Well, you're family, right? Couldn't keep you off the tree then."
Winston had always wanted something that connected him, something permanent. It was ironic he found it in a slip of a girl who could barely call her connection to reality anything of the sort. "Thank you," he mumbled, his sight blurry.
Lena merely hugged him. "Happy birthday, Win."