He was safely ensconced in the solitude of his lab, as usual of a date night. He didn't expect visitors, after all, who would be foolish enough to seek him out when they could be having fun? There were no incoming crises or missions that demanded attention, so while most of Legion went out and dated and had fun, or stayed in and had fun anyways, Brainiac 5 stayed in his lab and worked. It was nothing especially stressing of his awesome mental capabilities, and in fact, the menial work relaxed him.
He started to input data into his computer banks for later analysis but took a few seconds to note the proximity alarm. Someone had come to disturb him, but would within seconds be sent on their way. Brainiac rarely appreciated friendly overtures.
Still, Brainiac prided himself on anticipating the moves of others, and fully expected Cosmic Boy or Invisible Kid to walk in, to berate him or to seek out company, respectfully. Invisible Kid, a newcomer to the Legion, had already made himself a few enemies, but that didn't include Brainiac. Brainiac appreciated the usefulness of having someone unable to detect, and restrained any urges to yell at the naïve boy. Cosmic Boy on the other hand, their so-called leader, he Brainiac often took the time to irritate.
However, his visitor was neither; instead, when he turned from his work to greet the intruder, he was greeted by the sight of a familiar white-haired precognitive. The fact that this didn't displease him shocked him into silence for quite a few moments, during which she smiled at him vaguely. Just last week, she'd completely thrown him off his thoughts when she'd coyly mentioned a possible marriage in their future. She had a habit of doing that, saying things that he didn't know whether they were true or not, and then just walking away for him to pick up the pieces.
It was damned irritating.
It was also damned attractive.
Which he would never admit; it would undermine the respect he demanded to be seen weak-willed and subservient to another, even if that other was a beautiful woman that routinely haunted his dreams and caused his will to turn to mush.
Instead, he let his anger over this weakness of his to take over and he often came off as angry and resentful of her, in turn distancing her from him, or so he thought. Truthfully, she sought him out, out of a masochistic personality or whatnot; and he didn't hate it.
"What do you want?" He demanded, taking in the silver dress she wore that perfectly complimented her pale complexion and hair. She was smiling at him still, not saying anything, just watching him disconcertingly. Her eyes, though looking right at him, weren't seeing him. They were clouded over in a way that told him that she was seeing something from the future. He gave her a minute to do that, and turned back to his data. She'd come out of it when she did.
Brainiac, though obviously lusting of Dream Girl, had a healthy respect for her abilities, even if he disdained of them in public. True, it didn't take much skill to see the future, especially if you were from Naltor, but Dream Girl had worked long and hard to see farther and more clearly into the future than any of her people. He knew this, but he'd never let on, lest she take his acceptance of her usefulness as an overture to friendship.
Wordlessly, so she wouldn't disturb him, Dream Girl slowly walked across the room, trying to minimize the sound of her heels on the floor. She'd been dressed, ready for a date with Star Boy when a sudden vision came upon her, and without really knowing why, she'd told Star Boy to go with Shadow Lass, and had come here. She couldn't even remember the vision, just the urge. To come here, to see Brainiac, and to be here on this night.
She'd learned the hard way to never ignore her instincts.
"What are you working on?" She asked, leaning over the green-skinned man's shoulder where he sat at a computer terminal.
"Inputting recent interstellar travel logs into the data banks."
"Why?"
"Don't you know the answer already?" He asked with a slightly sarcastic tone to his voice. It was nowhere near as harsh as it usually was, but she'd figured out not so long ago that when they were alone together, he wasn't a lot of things he liked to appear as when surrounded by others. Whether it was her presence that did it, or the presence of too many people crowding him, she didn't know, but she wanted to.
"You're going to compare it to the actual topography of interstellar exhaust to see if there are ships coming and going that aren't registering."
He nodded, reaching past her for a few more pads of information to input. His hand brushed her bare arm, but he didn't allow her to see any reaction to the contact on his part. "If you know the answers, why do you ask?"
"Maybe I like to hear your voice," she whispered into his ear before swinging around, the hem of her skirt brushing his chair, and levying herself up onto the console next to his monitor.
"Maybe you like to irritate me," he replied, before leaning away from the keyboard and staring at her. "You're out of uniform."
"I had plans tonight."
There was a subtle energy forming between them, tense and anticipatory. Neither acknowledged it's presence, but it was there. It sparked from his eyes to her, and every small innocent touch that had happened in the last few minutes because taunting and suggestive in retrospect.
"What kind of plans?" His voice was quiet, oddly suited to this dimly lit version of his lab. Usually bright, shiny, and utterly clinical, the room had taken on deeper, shadowy dimensions, perfect for hiding your secrets, or yourself, in.
"Star Boy asked me to go dancing with him," she said matter-of-factly, watching him from beneath lowered lids to see his reaction, though just exactly what she wanted to see she wasn't sure.
"Then why aren't you with him?" Was it her imagination, or was his tone vaguely accusatory?
"I'm not sure," she replied honestly. "Do you dance?"
He looked surprised, and not the least thrown. "No."
"Do you know how?"
"I know the mechanics."
"You didn't answer my question."
Brainiac stood, towering over her smaller height, and glared. "No, I don't."
She nodded, smiling at him in that same small smile that told him nothing of what she was thinking. She stood, and moved to the terminal he'd just been working on, and though the mechanical part of him demanded that he stop her from touching his precious work, the emotional part of him held his place and watched her. She was a delight to watch, so graceful and smooth in her movements. It often seemed as if she were made of wind, so easily did she move. At times, she seemed so fragile. She wasn't built for combat like many of the other Legionnaires. Her abilities were mental, and her physical body was soft and easily breakable. It was one of the reasons Dream Girl rarely went out on missions.
Suddenly, but not without warning, music started to drift out of the mini speakers littered around his lab, usually used by Cosmic Boy or others when making announcements. Dream Girl turned from the terminal and wandered over to where he stood stiffly. "Dance with me."
"No," he replied surly.
"It wasn't a request," she replied with just a touch of anger in her tone. He was so stubborn, always things his way and no one else's. Just once, couldn't he give in a little, instead of always forcing everyone else to?
Finally, after what seemed like hours, he unfolded his arms from across his chest and took a step into the empty space between his equipment where she stood. She watched as he did so, just as surprised as he was that he'd done it.
Dream Girl smiled, no small vague smile as usual, but a large, happy one; a smile that he'd not seen in many weeks as the worries of the Legion had begun to wear on her. He'd never noticed how their battles with the government and with their enemies had taken such a toll on her, but this close, studying her; he could see every fight written clearly on her face.
She slipped her right hand in his left, and of it's own accord, her left hand snaked up around his neck. She laughed softly as he hesitated to lower his arm around her waist, and stopped laughing when he did so and drew her close.
The music was slow, a revival of a style that'd been in fashion for as long as any could remember, echoes of a distant age coming through in the heavy base and the slow melody. In modern times, music was usually observed as only being "acceptable" when it was mathematically created and without any real "depth" to it at all. The music that was playing now, heavy on the beat, light on any semblance of perfection, and intoxicating in the smooth voice of it's singer (another big no-no).
They moved slowly, one step forward, another back, rotating at the same time. Their movements very much echoed their relationship, all razzle dazzle in the same place, with no real progress being made. Dream Girl licked her lips as she stared up at Brainiac so close. "You're not as bad as I expected."
He nodded, unconsciously drawing her just a little closer. "I perused a few texts on this subje-"
"You read about dancing," she simplified, and grinned when he nodded. "If you never intended to come here to make friends or to mingle with anyone, then why'd you study dancing?"
He blushed, as much as Coluans could, but didn't release her. "I deduced that at some point, it might be required that I dance."
"Why?"
He stared down at her, unwilling to admit that she'd been the one to make him want to learn such a frivolous activity. He'd thought that perhaps one day, far from now, when they'd effectively changed society as their goal was, that he'd come across her one day and he'd ask her to dance. He'd show her that he could be as good as the other male Legionnaires, just as able to entertain her. He hadn't counted on her coming to him.
"My reasons for doing so can be best explain-"
"Nevermind," Dream Girl said quickly, knowing full well that he had no idea what he was about to say, and was, in effect, going to "bullshit" her about it. The song changed to the next one on the list, same artist, different song, and if possible, even slower. Their movements adjusted, and somehow or another, Dream Girl found her head resting on his shoulder, both arms wrapped around his neck and quite happy to be there.
"This is nice," she said softly, not wanting to ruin the moment.
Brainiac nodded, then realized that she couldn't see it. "Yes, it is."
"Querl?"
He was surprised she knew his real name.
"Yes?"
She continued to move in his arms, in time with the music, but her tone was shaky at best as she began to speak. "I'm scared."
His eyes widened and he looked down at the top of her head to try and make sense of her words. "What do you mean?"
"My visions are changing."
"I thought that wasn't possible."
"It's possible, but most of the time my people don't remember it. If the future changes, our visions change, and we can't really recall the original vision in the first place."
"And why does this scare you?"
She sighed, and turned her face into his shirt. "Because I'm a better precog than any of my people. I can remember the changes, but what I see..."
"What you see..." He prompted.
She angled her head up so that he could see her eyes. "I don't see anything. My visions are disappearing."
He smoothed back an errant strand of hair, and thought on her words. "Maybe you're getting sick. I'll take you to the medical ward," he said as he slowly released her and started for the door.
She grasped his hand and shook her head. "Not tonight."
Brainiac stepped close. "This could be ser-"
"Just...dance with me?"
This time it was a request, and something in her eyes, some sort of desperation made it impossible for him to refuse. "Yes."
He took her back into his arms, and he danced with her. He did it because she asked. He did it because it was something he wanted.
He did it because he could truly not know what tomorrow would bring.
For anyone interested, the songs I was listening to when I wrote this, and the ones that inspired the music in this story, were Damien Rice's "Don't Explain" and "Then Go".