Hey all! A friend of mine wanted to see a story with Mass Effect's new game mixed in...I know practically nothing about the game so this is what she got. Hope you like it/don't hate it.
She loves Winn, she really does. He's like her little, annoying, goof of a brother.
She loves him, she does, except when it's Friday night and he's taken her girlfriend captive.
Captive may not be the right word, considering Maggie went willingly, but, captive nonetheless.
This kidnapping has lead her to Winn's apartment with pizza and a noticeable skip to her step.
Maggie and Winn were bonding, nerd bonding, but still. They were making plans, they were hanging out, they were...currently playing the trial for some space game that, 'Really, Mags? We work with aliens on a regular basis and I've been to another planet!' 'You sure you want to bring up that mission, right now?' '...No'
Her point still stands. They work with aliens everyday, not to mention Kara and J'onn. And, really, if Maggie was going to spend ten hours on the couch engrossed in her game, Alex can't understand why it couldn't be her couch.
Apparently, Winn's awesome sound system wins out over cuddling with her girlfriend. She can't help the eye roll as she shifts the box to call the elevator, an eye roll which quickly turns into a smirk as she remembers Maggie's very realistic concern of becoming far too easily distracted from the game.
'Winn will never let me hear the end of it, babe. There's only so much bodily harm you can threaten over the phone, and after your last threat he won't stop making finger jokes.'
A kiss.
A promise of tomorrow night.
A dimpled smiled.
And here she is.
Riding the elevator to Winn's floor, judging the small rickety cart, and speedily stepping from what she decides is a certifiable death trap, Alex finds herself on Winn's level. Shifting the pizza box once again, her mental note to warn Maggie from ever using the machine is cut off by a loud bang and muffled yells.
Rushing down the corridor, she picks up her speed at seeing Winn's door open, cursing herself for leaving her gun at home. Heart in her throat she nears the door, only able to take a calming breath when Maggie and Winn can be seen confused but unharmed beyond a tense woman.
Alex stalls in her tracks when she's hit with the realization of who it is.
Lyra.
Alex's steps slow, knowing her people are safe, her confusion takes over. Not wanting to interrupt whatever fight Winn and his girlfriend were in the middle of she hangs back.
Not wanting to interrupt, well, until Lyra's voice throws out a seething, "Who is this bitc-" Complete with an arm flung threateningly in Maggie's direction
Then she really had no choice, no thought, no restraint, her body storming threateningly into the room.
"You're going to want to stop speaking." A pause as she catches Maggie's eye over Lyra's shoulder. "Now."
If she wasn't as focused on not fighting the woman in front of her, Winn's interpretation of a fish out of water would have been hilarious.
As it was, she's not laughing. Nowhere near laughing. Extremely near punching, however.
Her glare doesn't leave Lyra's irate form, not as she frees her hands by settling the pizza onto the counter, not even as she slides further into the room to Maggie's side.
If anything Lyra's eyes seem to harden. Fire raging as her eyes jump from the women to Winn's frozen form."
"Another one? What the hell!" Her yell floods the room with equal amounts noise and confusion.
"Whoa- Whoa- Whoa, Lyra what's going on?" Winn stutters out, words running into each other as they tangle in his mouth
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"
Her icy words seem to pull Winn's face down in even more confusion. His quick, wide-eyed glance lands on Maggie and Alex as the latter pulls Maggie further into her side.
"Uh-" A pause. A nervous hand to the back of his neck. "What?"
"You canceled last night." Winn shifts. "But, when we talked this morning you said you were tired."
"Yeah? I was?"
"What were you doing then?" A huff. "Or, better question," Another pointed glare at Maggie, "who?"
Bad move. Bad move. Bad move.
The alarm blares throughout Winn's mind as he watches Alex go rigid, swiftly stepping in front of Maggie and catching Lyra's eyes, the fire in her eyes quickly overwhelming Lyra's ice.
"Alright, guys," Maggie's voice comes out calm in it's strength, "obviously there's-"
"No, you don't get to talk!" Lyra's shout immediately grants her a face full of Agent Danvers
"Okay, okay, let's step away from the angry Alex." Winn rushes out, working to slide his hand in between the women in a trembling effort to guide Lyra back
"No, Winn." Alex's voice drips of violent promise, "It seems like Lyra has some more things to say about, Maggie. Why don't we let her continue."
Winn retracts his arm quickly as Alex's tone strikes the air, Lyra not backing down in her own fury, he takes measured steps back.
Before anything can escalated further, Alex feels Maggie's hand close around her arm, firm but kind. The grip provides the break in focus Maggie needs from Alex.
"Babe." She breathes out, pulling Alex further away from Lyra and back into her side. The arm she slings around Alex's side is both in comfort and security.
Comfort, because Alex's upset. Comfort, because Alex protects her. Comfort, because she cares enough to. Comfort, because, well, it's Alex of course there's comfort.
Security.
Well, security so that Alex doesn't fight an alien in her honor. Which, sounds cooler than the paperwork and jail time would be worth.
"Babe?" Lyra whispers, eyebrows knitting
A pregnant pause.
A scoff.
"Don't tell me she's homophobic." Alex grinds out
Maybe, J'onn could fix the jail time? And the paperwork couldn't be too bad...
"Wait, what?" Lyra's eyes seem to clear of their storm, "You two are together?"
At the deadpan stares surrounding her, Lyra seems to deflate as understanding takes over. "And you're not sleeping with Winn?" She asks more as a statement, embarrassment beginning to seep into her skin
Twin looks of horror are her answer.
"God, no."
"Gross, really?"
"Too gay, too gay."
"Even if I had to pick a dude-"
The sputters of disgust calm Lyra's mind as Winn's playful glare takes its place, he clings to the normalcy of the room's break in tension.
"Hey, I'm a catch!"
"Sure, sure."
"Maggie, you're supposed to be on my side!"
"Why?"
"I let you use the good remote." A look that can only be described as the embodiment of 'duh' punctuates his words
"Good remote?" Alex mutters, rolling her eyes
"Alex," A sigh, "there is always a good remote. I think giving it to me was Winn's plan to excuse his multiple gaming difficulties."
"We started playing after a twelve hour shift!" Winn's background sputters of protest and defense are quiet but heard
"Nerds." Alex whispers, pressing a kiss to Maggie's lips as she makes her way to the kitchen, "I'll grab you a piece, get back to your game."
A dorky salute and Maggie is striding back to her spot nestled into a corner of the couch. Alex's chuckle rings out, from beyond the kitchen's island, as she watches Maggie's face turn serious.
"So…" Lyras's voice pulls Winn and Alex's (What? She still hasn't fully decided on not fighting the woman yet) attention to her
"You haven't slept in twenty-four hours for a game…" Lyra states, eyebrow quirked as she volley's her glance between the screen and Winn's shuffling form.
Winn's face immediately reddens as he finds his feet of extreme interest, "Well, it's- new- and, I-"
Lyra reaches out quickly, pulling him into a relieved kiss.
"You don't think it's weird?" His voice comes out self conscious but hopeful
"I definitely think it's weird." She replies with a smile. A smile which Winn slowly mirrors. "Next time, just tell me."
Winn's quick nod and bright smile have her biting back a laugh as she pushes him to the paused console with a kiss to his cheek.
Breezing into Winn's kitchen, she maneuvers behind Alex to grab four waters from the fridge. Coming to a stop beside Alex, she waits for the plates to be dueled out before they can bring them to the duo, trash talking and arguing between laughter, in the living room.
"They're such, nerds."
"That they are." A pause. A sigh. A clenched jaw. "They're my nerds. You hurt them, either of them," Lyra watches the brightness in Alex's eyes as she glances across to the duo, "it won't be pretty."
An audible gulp paired with a nod of understanding brings a smirk to Alex's face.
"Good."
Silence descends between the two as they grab plates and make their way to their respective nerd.
"Wait. Is that a spaceship?"
At Lyra's clear intrigue, Alex resigns herself to -not so silently- judging the three adults before her.
Once empty plates find themselves haphazardly stacked on the coffee table, Alex pulls Maggie into her arms sighing softly at the warmth. She tries valiantly to care about the characters on the screen, about the questions Lyra's asking, about the impossibilities of their weapons. She tries, but in the end she loses herself in the calm of Maggie's breathing, the ever present mutters of 'really?!', 'he came out of nowhere!', 'rude!,' and the feeling of twirling Maggie's locks around her fingers.