Author's Note: Okay, so I got this great idea from PockyGirl of the Phoenix Souls (though I think it was really more a question than a prompt but we're taking it as a prompt lol):

"Is their going to be a Nia version of the Take-a-Break chapter? Nia burning the candle at both ends and Brainy comes to the rescue."

I'm down! Let's do it :D

Summary: When you burn the candle at both ends, the wax melts to nothing that much faster. Nia discovers that firsthand when she overdoes it and collapses at CatCo.

Spoilers: It's set in Season 5. So, hey, if you haven't seen Season 5, this is the perfect excuse to watch it XD

Nia had gotten so tired that she didn't even groan when her alarm went off at 5 am anymore.

She couldn't keep living like this.

The early morning in itself wasn't so bad. Plenty of perfectly rested, healthy people woke up regularly at 5am. But those same people also weren't staying out on superhero patrol until late at night and then writing deadlined articles into the wee hours of the morning. Crime never rested, and neither did the news.

So Nia didn't, either.

Nia slapped blearily at her phone, finally hitting the right spot on the screen so the alarm stopped beeping. She glanced over at Brainy and found him still fast asleep, fingers steepled on his chest like they always were when he rested. She honestly couldn't understand him sometimes... her alarm blared at 5 in the morning and he slept on, but if she had a nightmare he was sitting up in milliseconds, alert and calm.

Nia yawned and got out of bed, shivering as she was forced to push her covers off. She was exhausted and freezing and really just wanted a day to take a break. She really didn't see how Kara did it; Supergirl was even more busy and vital than Dreamer. Although... there were many times that Nia had to cover for her at CatCo and even do some of her work when she really couldn't. And Nia was sure the super speed didn't hurt Kara's case.

But Nia didn't have super speed. Now, she didn't even an understand boss who knew she moonlighted as a superhero and was sometimes just too busy saving the day to write a paper about a new bakery opening downtown. Nia missed James. A lot. She also missed the days when she didn't have to back out of game nights because she had too much work to do. And she and Brainy hadn't gone on a proper date in almost a month. If they didn't live in the same apartment, she would barely see her boyfriend.

After Nia had taken a quick shower (which did nothing to wake her up) and gotten dressed, she grabbed her keys and headed out the door. She had been skipping breakfast lately, a fact she kept from Brainy and anyone else who might ask. Nia usually loved food, but she had just been too tired and busy to eat in the mornings. And occasionally at lunch, too.

Nia, surprisingly, wasn't the first one at work in the mornings. She didn't know when Andrea woke up, but the woman was always there, in her office, poised and put together and made up, when Nia arrived at 6:30. Today, she waved Nia into her office.

"I've noticed that you've been getting some of you work in ahead of schedule," Andrea said, barely looking at Nia as she clicked away at her computer. "It's to be expected, considering how early you get here every morning."

Andrea finally did glance up, smiling a little at Nia. "I appreciate your devotion to this company," she said, and Nia realized that was the first compliment she had ever gotten from her boss, other than not being fired when Andrea took over. "And, since you're here so much, I don't want you to be bored. I've added a few various reports that others haven't had time for to your schedule. The files are right over their on the side desk; please take them on your way out."

Nia's mouth fell open and she felt her stomach plummet. She was already do so much. In fact, she was pretty much doing more than she could do. And now... Andrea wanted her to do more?

Nia felt sick.

Andrea looked up again. "Is something the problem?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you not able to handle it?"

Nia swallowed, trying to get her voice to work. "It's fine," she whispered after a second, before turning and quickly walking out of Andrea's office, just remembering to grab the files before she left entirely.

Nia sat down at her desk, and got to work. As she wrote and fact-checked and researched, the office slowly filled up with people. Kara, bless her, brought Nia a cup of coffee as she came in and headed to her office. Nia drained the mug in the next few minutes, wondering how she had managed to last out the morning this long without any caffeine.

About an hour and a half later, CatCo was buzzing. Nia rubbed her eyes, the screen before her beginning to get bleary. Maybe it was time for a short water break.

As she stood up, Nia felt a weird fluttering in her chest. Her breath caught and the world around her spun. As she fought the sudden nausea in her stomach, Nia heard someone calling her name. It was then that she realized that the floor was getting closer, and closer, until-

"Get her some water."

"Guys, I think she's waking up."

"Has someone called her boyfriend yet?"

"Give her some air."

"Should we be calling a doctor?"

"Guys, I seriously think she's awake."

Nia blinked her eyes open blearily. Her head was pounding and she found that she was laying on the squeaky leather couch in Andrea's office. There was a small crowd huddled around her, the faces of various coworkers watching her nervously.

Kara's features swam into view. "Hey, Nia," she said gently, putting her hand on Nia's shoulder. "How do you feel?"

Nia blinked again, trying to clear her head as she slowly pushed herself upright. The room tilted for a second and she shut her eyes, taking a slow breath. "What happened?" she managed.

"You passed out," the man who sat across from her at work, Dan, spoke up. "Just stood up and then collapsed."

Nia let out a soft groan and let her head fall against the couch. "I don't know what happened," she mumbled. "I was fine and then... I wasn't."

Andrea pushed her way through the crowd, watching Nia with an unreadable expression. Nia gulped, staring up at her. She wasn't sure whether to apologize or defend herself.

"Take the week off," Andrea said finally, her face softening a little. "You're clearly overworked. I should have known better to ask you to do those extra reports."

Kara looked at Nia sympathetically as the other woman let out a relieved breath and her shoulders drop. "Thank you," she murmured, suddenly feeling beyond drained. "Kara, can you please call Brainy and ask him to pick me up? I really just want to go home."

"Of course," Kara murmured, rubbing her arm again and reaching for her phone. The crowd of coworkers around Nia filtered away and she shut her eyes again, trying to stem her headache.

Distantly, she heard Kara on the phone. "Hey, Brainy. No, no, it's... Nia. Relax, she's fine. Well, I mean... she'll be fine. She collapsed. Whoa! Calm down. No. No, I swear! Can you come pick her up, please? She wants to go home. Yeah, she's at CatCo. Thank you. Mhm. Okay, see you soon."

Kara hung up and Nia heard her footsteps coming closer. "He's coming," she said softly. "And I'm sorry if he freaks out, I don't think I softened the blow very much."

Nia snorted and opened her eyes a little. "Thank you," she murmured.

Kara glanced over her shoulder at Andrea, who was at her desk pretending that they weren't there, and moved a little closer. "Nia... if being Dreamer is getting to be too much..."

"No!" Nia said sharply, sitting up. Her head throbbed and she grit her teeth against the pain. "No. I- I love being Dreamer. I just... I need to cut back a little. On everything."

"I've been there," Kara said. "When I started being... you know, I was crazy overwhelmed and overworked. But you have us, okay? We're you're family. I will do anything I can to help you, and I know that Brainy and Alex and J'onn and even Kelly would do the same."

Nia nodded, suddenly teary. "Thank you," she murmured again, letting out a shaky breath. "I really do appreciate that."

Brainy arrived a few minutes later, panting and frazzled. He rushed into Andrea's office and fell to his knees beside the couch Nia was resting on, pulling her into a hug. Nia buried her face into his neck, eyes stinging at the familiar feeling of his warmth and his arms tight around her back.

Brainy pulled back all too soon, brushing his hand across her face to cup her jaw. "You burnt out," he murmured, upset. "I should have seen this coming and done something to prevent it."

Nia shook her head. "It wasn't your fault," she replied, covering his hand with hers. She was just so tired, and all she wanted was for this day to be over. "I should have known to slow down. I've never been good at that."

"No, you haven't," Brainy agreed, but his tone was more fond than accusatory. "Would you like for me to bring you home now?"

"Yes," Nia breathed, eyes flickering shut at the relief just the idea of going home and curling up in bed for awhile brought. "Please."

Brainy nodded and stood up, before promptly scooping Nia up off the couch and into his arms, bridal style. Nia's eyes flew open, incredulous. "Um... Brainy? What're you doing...?"

"Bringing you home," Brainy said sedately, hoisting her a little farther up in his arms.

"Not gonna lie... I would not have thought you were strong enough to pick me up," Nia told him with a faint snort, trying to ignore the fact that Andrea (and everyone else on the floor within the appropriate distance) was openly staring at the two of them.

Brainy sent her an affronted glance. "Of course I am," he huffed. "I have had to carry many people out of the line of fire in this fashion. Do not forget that I was a superhero for many years before-"

"Shhh!" Nia hissed, clamping her hand over his mouth. "Do you want the entirety of CatCo knowing that we fight crime?"

Brainy looked chagrined. "No, I do not," he said, starting to walk out of Andrea's office.

Nia squirmed awkwardly. "Really, Brainy, I can walk," she told him. "I'm not an invalid."

"Nia, you fainted," Brainy reminded her matter-of-factly. "You are not... an invalid, but you are still... unwell. I simply cannot risk you collapsing again. What if you had hit your head? You could have obtained a concussion, or worse."

Nia pulled a face and then smiled uncomfortably as she made awkward eye contact with one of her coworkers. "I understand that," she muttered into Brainy's ear. "But this just looks... really weird, okay? You're going to make it a big deal and I'm embarrassed enough as it is."

"Fine," Brainy said, rolling his eyes and promptly putting her down on her feet. He began to stride towards the elevator, leaving Nia standing suddenly on her own. "Have it your way."

Nia groaned quickly and hurried to keep up with him. She was still shaky, and maybe her heart was elevating a little faster than normal as she picked up her pace, but that didn't mean she couldn't walk perfectly fine.

But then, just as she reached the elevator, her heart did that weird little fluttery thing it had an hour ago. Nia sucked in a breath and stumbled, head swimming. "Brainy-" she managed, grasping out for him.

His arm was suddenly in reach and Brainy smoothly kept her upright and tugged her into the now-open elevator at the same time. The doors slid shut but Brainy made no move to press the button for their floor, letting Nia regain composure in relative privacy.

"Nia," he said softly, making her glance up. "When... was the last time you... ate?"

Nia's cheeks darkened and she felt guilty, though she wasn't sure exactly why. "Does it matter?" she mumbled, trying to avoid answering.

"Yes," Brainy replied simply, and waited.

"It was.. probably..." Nia tried to remember. She hadn't had breakfast, that she knew for sure, but dinner last night..? "I don't know. Maybe eight o'clock? I had some cereal as an evening snack after dinner."

Brainy raised his eyebrow. "Which means that you haven't eaten in approximately 14 hours. Considering your high metabolism and usual food-filled diet, your dizziness is easily explained."

"Stop that," Nia said, glaring over at him. "Stop making me out to be your- your- your medical subject. I'm your girlfriend, Brainy!"

Brainy looked away and swallowed. "I am... aware of that fact," he said softly. "In case you hadn't... picked up on it, before... I have the tendency to hide behind logic and fact when I am feeling... overwhelmed. When you- when you receive an unexpected call that the woman you love has collapsed, you don't know what to think. I am... scared for you, Nia. And I am also kicking myself that I didn't pay more attention and take... better care of you. That's my job. And I... failed."

"You didn't fail," Nia said with a sigh, somehow feeling both uncomfortably guilty and overwhelmingly affectionate all at once. She reached out and rubbed at Brainy's arm, trying to get him to look at her. "All of this... it's no ones fault. Except maybe mine. But you know what? I'm not even going to blame me, because all I did was try to be a full time superhero and a full time reporter. It's not my fault I need more than 4 hours of sleep every night."

Brainy snorted softly, but he still looked troubled. "From now on," he said. "You are not allowed to go on patrol unless you get seven hours or more of rest at night. Or if we really need you."

"Okay, mom," Nia said, rolling her eyes.

Brainy looked over at her, a strange expression on his face. "I am not-"

"It was a joke," Nia explained quickly, cheeks going red as she realized he thought she had literally just called him her mom. "Because you're being protective and basically giving me a curfew."

Brainy huffed slightly, muttering something under his breath in an affronted tone. Nia just smiled at him.

Then she realized that they were still standing in the elevator and neither of them had even pressed the button for the first floor. She giggled a little and gestured at the control panel. "Are we going to... go anytime soon?"

"Hm?" Brainy glanced up and followed her gaze. "Oh! Ah, yes." He took a quick step forward and pressed his finger into the button, jolting the elevator into movement. "I apologize, I... lost track of where we were."

Nia's giggling faded to a faint smile and she leaned comfortably against Brainy's side as they road the elevator down.

The two of them made it back to Nia's apartment without further incident on Nia's side. Once Brainy had unlocked the door, he ordered Nia to the couch with a stern word and walked off into the kitchen. Nia grabbed a fleece from a basket in the corner and curled up with it, smiling when she found that it smelled like Brainy.

"Here," Brainy said, coming into the living room a few minutes later. "You're favorite tea. I am making some mac n cheese as we speak."

Nia's stomach growled. The lack of appetite that had matched her lack of sleep was easing up now that she was home and comfortable. "Thank you," she murmured, taking the tea and letting the warmth seep into her hands before it got to be too much and she had to hold the through her blanket.

Brainy paused before he went back into the kitchen, brushing her hair back from her face and look down at her tenderly. "You promise that you'll rest for a few days?" he said softly. "I will look after you."

"You're going to take time off from work?" Nia asked, surprised. "Brainy, you never take days off."

"I do, I-" Brainy paused and frowned. "You are correct. I never take days off. Well, I suppose there is a first time for everything."

Nia laughed a little, her breath rippling the liquid in her mug. "That'll be nice," she said. "Like a staycation."

"I have heard about those," Brainy replied thoughtfully, sitting down at the edge of the couch next to Nia. "I don't believe I fully understood the... allure until now."

"We can sleep in..." Nia mused, sighing happily. "Watch TV... cuddle... no work, or superhero-ing, or late nights or early mornings just you, and me, at home."

Brainy grinned, his cheeks coloring a little. "In any other situation, I would be worried about boredom," he admitted, before looking at her through slightly squinted eyes. "I don't think that... that will be a problem, in this case."

Nia snorted, slinging her legs across his lap so the backs of her knees rested on his thighs. "Well good, we couldn't have you being bored."

He stuck his tongue out at her in an uncharacteristically childish gesture and pushed her legs off his lap. "The mac n cheese requires my attention," he explained when Nia pouted and made a small noise of discontentment. "I will return."

She grinned at him as he walked past and back into the kitchen, and then curled up on the couch again. If any luck, Brainy would even agree to watch a romcom with her before her break time was over.

Author's Note: DOMESTIC. FLUFF. I. CAN'T. STOP. WRITING. SCENES. IN. THEIR. APARTMENT.

Someone please send help XD

(no but honestly I think it comes down to what we've seen on the show since Brainia's been dating, scene wise. We've had one scene at CatCo and two scenes at the Alien bar, but every. other. scene. has been in Brainy and Nia's apartment)