Frankie really didn't have the time to be going out for coffee.
With her first court date looming menacingly over her head, she was so swamped with paperwork and reading and meetings that she couldn't even think about taking lunch breaks at the office, let alone at Noonan's. She'd wasted the entire morning trying to find the slightest shred of evidence that any bribery had taken place in the NCPD, but had come up completely empty, to no surprise.
There was too much on her plate for her to deal with.
So it was probably a good thing her sticky buns had started to periodically disappear.
Frankie realised quickly that the hand waving in front of her face was not only covered in cinnamon sugar, but also held one of the missing pastries, and focused her attention back on Kara, who was staring at her worriedly.
"It is ok if I have this, right?"
Frankie didn't answer; she honestly couldn't care less, but watched as her sister bit her lip, obviously second-guessing her decision to blue-collar-crime her way through her alien metabolism.
"I mean, you've been sitting here for ten minutes and you haven't touched it, but I didn't know you'd be that upset about me taking it."
Still staying silent, Frankie bit back her mild enjoyment of watching Kara try to hold a conversation on her own and instead focused a lot harder than was necessary on taking a sip from her mug of coffee.
"Why aren't you talking?" Kara asked, squirming in her seat, clearly uncomfortable. She put the sticky bun back on Frankie's plate with a huff. "Something's obviously wrong, what is it?"
Frankie suddenly remembered exactly why she was upset and her enjoyment of Kara's awkwardness dropped significantly. She pushed the plate across the table towards Kara, her appetite vanishing, but Kara didn't take it back.
"You said we weren't allowed to talk about work stuff."
"Yeah, well I thought we could both do to forget about work for a minute."
Frankie didn't say anything, but leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms as if that settled the conversation. She knew that Kara wouldn't be able to resist the bait and really, if she was being honest, she needed an excuse to talk to someone other than Louise.
"But... since your problem is work-related, I guess I could lift the ban."
Putting her mug down, Frankie tried to suppress a grin. Kara's brand of comfort was one that she'd sorely missed. It'd been a long time since they'd hung out by themselves and while Louise was great, she tended to come off a little strong.
"I'm so fucking pissed," she whispered under her breath as a waitress passed a little too close to their table. When she continued, her voice was louder but still quiet enough to stay unnoticeable to the diners around them. "I have nothing going for me and every time I come up with something to use against Baker, it's either against the rules or there's no way I could include it in an argument."
"Wait, I missed the context. What's going on?"
Frankie watched Kara, her eyes narrowing. After a second, she realised that Kara really had no idea what she was talking about. She'd always just assumed that it had come up in conversation somewhere along the line, but now that she thought about it, Louise really was the only one who had any of the story.
Frankie relaxed slightly in her chair, taking another sip of her coffee. She then launched into the story from the very beginning, telling Kara what she could and leaving out what she couldn't. Kara was a perfect audience and listened intently, causing an odd feeling of guilt to flood her stomach. Frankie regretted not filling Kara in sooner, because it had been too long since they'd just talked, and it felt great to get this stuff off her chest.
"Crawford presented it like this big thing that was gonna make my career and everything, but it's like nobody actually cares what happens, they just want the money out of the win. It's not even just Josh, the whole orphanage is hanging onto every update I can give them."
Kara watched her from across the table. She was clearly sceptical, but Frankie tried her best to bite back any statements of accuracy in order to keep the story as simple as possible. Kara's lips tightened slightly before she sat up, a confused expression growing across her face.
"Aren't the police supposed to be on your side? I thought their whole goal was to put bad guys in jail."
Frankie laughed, her voice turning bitter as she shook her head.
"No, I don't even get that luxury. The woman's well respected and she's willing to put good money into the NCPD to keep it that way."
Kara's eyes widened in surprise, but Frankie continued without waiting for her to speak.
"Plus, the cop on the case is a complete asshole. It's like she knows that she's better than me and she can't resist making sure I know it. Like, at least I don't have to get paid to do my job well."
Several of the people around them began to look in their direction, confused expressions on their faces. Kara raised an eyebrow at Frankie's last statement
"You know what I mean," Frankie snapped, sitting back in her chair.
She wasn't used to being in the position she was in now. She'd spent three long years in National City's top law program, but not once had she come across a practice question that involved bribery amongst the police department's highest executives.
She really hoped that Kara had some ideas.
"Remember when you wanted to be a detective?"
Somewhat taken aback by the abrupt change in the conversation's direction, Frankie looked over at Kara in surprise.
"Sure."
"You and I used to binge-watch Law and Order and you'd predict the endings and get them right every single time."
Frankie shrugged.
"It's not that hard, you just have to remember that unless it's going to court, it's never the first person they arrest and then you're good."
Frankie remembered those countless hours clearly, as if they'd only just happened the previous week. It had started after Alex moved out. Kara had gotten ridiculously clingy ridiculously quickly, so the two of them had started a tradition. One weekend at the school, one weekend at home. Every weekend spent together, solving mysteries.
"You were so upset when you didn't make it into the academy," Kara said, her eyes locking with Frankie's. "I remember you called me at three in the morning, crying your eyes out and you told me that your entire world was over."
So far, this sudden change of pace had only served to make Frankie feel more upset than she already had been rather than lift her spirits, which is what she had hoped Kara's intention would be.
"Then you changed your mind and applied for law school. You got in. You aced all of your exams, assessments, mock cases, the lot of it. To the average outsider, you were the perfect lawyer. But deep down, you still wanted to be on the front lines. You never gave up on that dream."
"Where are you going with this?"
Kara pointed a sugar-coated finger in Frankie's direction, waving it threateningly in her face.
"Then this cop comes along and she's everything you've wanted to be since you were a kid. She's a detective and she's working on the kinds of cases that you used to be obsessed with."
"Are you kidding me?"
Kara's eyes widened in surprise, but Frankie wasn't quite sure why. She hadn't just been compared to a traitor.
"Were you listening to a thing I just said? Kara, she's getting bribed. I'm not jealous of some random person who just happens to have my dream job. I'm fucking angry because all I want is to make a damn difference, and I don't want to have to be involved with someone who couldn't care less about the people she's supposed to be working for!"
People from the neighbouring tables were starting to stare more persistently now, but Frankie didn't pay them any attention. She could see Kara shrinking back in her chair ever so slightly, but didn't slow down.
"She's not even doing her job right! I would much rather be telling the truth and making sure that someone awful is getting met with the justice that they deserve than be paid to sit back and watch the whole thing fall apart without giving a crap."
"Frankie, I didn't mean it like that."
Frankie lifted her chin, keeping eye contact with Kara. She paused very briefly to catch her breath but quickly faced her sister fully once again.
"I'm sure you didn't, but your point still stands."
"This is ridiculous." Kara shook her head incredulously. "You're being ridiculous."
"Am I?"
"Yes."
"That's not the point," Frankie said quickly. "The point is that I'm trying to do something important and you're spoiling it."
"So petty..." Kara mouthed under her breath.
"Ok, fine." Frankie reached down into her bag and pulled out a twenty-dollar note. She huffed, dropping it down on the table. "I'll see you later."
Kara watched Frankie get up in a sulk and storm out of the cafe.
This was silly. It was honestly stupid. So, maybe Kara shouldn't have made the comparison, but once again, Frankie's habit of blowing things way out of proportion was shining through as bright as the sun on a summer day.
She loved her sister, she really did, but Rao was it difficult to deal with her sometimes, especially when she was already putting up with pretty much the same thing from Alex almost all the time as well.
The moment one thing didn't go Frankie's way, she was up in arms and arguing with somebody to try and fix it. Sometimes, it was admirable, but most of the time, it was just plain infuriating.
Trying to ignore the stabbing feeling in her gut that just came with getting angry at people, Kara stood up herself and paid for the bill, pocketing Frankie's twenty dollars. She'd probably give it back, mainly because Kara herself had eaten most of the food Frankie had ordered.
She headed for the elevator in the corner of the cafe to get back to work, carefully trying to avoid the eyes of the waitress she knew recognised her as Cat Grant's assistant, and when it arrived, stepped in as quickly as she could. She wasn't quite sure why she didn't want anybody to see her leaving, but her stomach twisted uncomfortably every time somebody looked at her and that was not a fun feeling.
"Hold the elevator!" Someone yelled from further inside the cafe and instinctively, Kara threw her hand over the elevator doors, just as they groaned into motion. She looked up and spotted James jogging through the tables and chairs, apologising when he bumped into an annoyed customer. Kara's heart sank when she realised who it was, but James, panting his way into the elevator, didn't seem to notice.
"Thanks, Kara," he said, flashing a wide smile in her direction. Normally, it would have made her blush, or giggle or weak in the knees, but she didn't feel like that anymore.
What Winn had told her had changed things in her mind, completely rerouted her entire thought process when it came to James. She hadn't been alone with him since then, but as the doors closed and the elevator started its ascent, Kara realised that there was one thing she had been dying to tell him.
"I know."
He looked at her, his eyebrows furrowed.
"What?"
"I know you like Frankie," Kara said as quietly as she could while being sure she'd still be heard over the noise of the elevator. For a moment, James' expression remained confused, but the second he realised what she meant, it turned into one of anger.
"Dammit, Winn shouldn't have-"
Kara shook her head.
"It's not Winn's fault. But I know, and you don't have to hide it anymore."
His face broke into a sudden, wide grin, a jarring juxtaposition to a mere few seconds ago, but Kara couldn't bring herself to match it.
"You're not mad about it?"
"I'm not mad," Kara sighed, doing her best to look happy. Clearly, she was failing, because James' face fell and he ducked slightly to catch her eyes.
"Kara, you just said you weren't upset," James said, his voice turning a little sour, a quality Kara wasn't used to hearing in it. The more that he stared at her, waiting for an explanation, the more that she realised how much of their relationship had truly been in her head.
"I never said I wasn't upset, I said I wasn't mad."
She'd spent months pretending to herself that there was something there, some unseen potential, that he could maybe have an interest in her, but he hadn't been worried about her finding out because she would be upset, he was worried because Frankie was her sister.
Kara needed to get it through her head; he was expecting her to be protective, not jealous.
"What are you talking about?"
"I liked you, James!"
Kara held her breath as James took a small step back. He looked shocked. Of course he did, Kara reminded herself. He had been completely oblivious to her feelings the whole time, that had already been established, but it wasn't as though she was completely alright with spilling it out into the open.
"I liked you and you never saw it. You never noticed." Her voice dropped to a whisper as they passed the twentieth floor. "I was so stupid. Rao, I actually... I'm sorry, James, this isn't your fault."
James simply stared at her. The elevator shuddered to a halt and there was a second of pure silence, before the doors opened and revealed Catco's pristine lobby. He opened his mouth a few times, but Kara left him no further time to answer her.
Frankie was lucky. She didn't realise how many people saw her in the way James did. She thought that she was the sister that nobody cared about, that she needed to prove herself to the world? Maybe this small fact was enough to prove her wrong.
A sudden plan formulating in her mind, she turned away from James and left him stuttering by the elevator doors. Maybe Frankie was mad at her, but it wasn't important. All Kara needed to carry it out was one vital piece of information.
Alex have you got any idea when Frankies court case is?
Sending the text without a second thought, she dropped her phone back into her bag, trying to suppress a smile as she marched over to her desk because it didn't matter how mad she was at Frankie, she still wanted to be there to see her big day.
Even if it was at least partly a guilt trip.
Winn stared at the framed photograph he held in his hands.
When Frankie had seen it, she'd called him adorable, but he couldn't quite figure out why. He'd always seen his home-made bowl cuts as something to be ashamed of, but maybe she could see something in them that he couldn't.
The photo had been taken a week before they moved from the farm and Winn had been ecstatic about the prospect of his dad owning a toy company, just as any kid would have been. Plus, the day in the picture had been his seventh birthday. His mother had made a cake from scratch, the first and only year she'd done so, and he'd never been more excited to blow out birthday candles.
He smiled, remembering how he'd refused to go anywhere without the dog. God, he'd been a brat, but once they moved to National City, his list of chores had grown longer and there wasn't any way he could do any of them with Chew Barka by his side. Eventually, there wasn't a lot he could do with Chew Barka by his side since their house was small and cramped and his dad had given up listening to his barking, so they'd sold him to the sweet old lady down the road.
Winn had known, even as a kid, that the toy shop had changed things around their house and soon enough, the excitement had well worn off. Soon enough, his house had become a little bit darker and a little bit colder.
His fingers tightened around the frame and he replaced it on the shelf. The little boy in the picture couldn't see where Winn was now, and hedidn't know that moving to a big city would be the best thing that could've happened to him. He had been scared.
Winn didn't want to remember that scared little boy.
A sudden knock rang out from his door and Winn jumped slightly. He straightened his shirt and moved over to open it, only hesitating to note the time. It wasn't late by any means, only around eight in the evening, but the only visit he'd been expecting that afternoon had been from his landlord, which he was relatively glad had never happened.
When he opened the door, he was greeted by the sight of Frankie, draped in an old coat and leaning heavily against the doorframe. She looked considerably more dishevelled than what he would've expected from someone so early in the night, her hair was tousled and she seemed to be having considerable trouble standing up on her own, but nevertheless, she grinned dopily up at him, her copper-coloured eyes shining in the dim light from his apartment.
"Hey," she said, drawing out the word longer than was necessary as she struggled to stand up straight. Winn watched, bemused, as she kicked off her low heels and casually strolled her way into his apartment.
"Hi," Winn answered quickly, following her and shutting the front door behind him. He was surprised, but not altogether unhappy that she'd shown up, he needed something to take his mind off the picture that loomed in the corner of his vision.
"I hear you're running quite the hostel over here."
Winn's eyes were drawn to the bag that Frankie dropped on his dining table. The small crash it made was not one that he'd been expecting from something so tiny, but he shook it off as Frankie marched to his couch and, dropping down heavily, reached for the half-empty bag of sour cream and onion chips. She sank back into the cushions, staring up at him innocently.
"Where did you hear that?"
"I'm not sure, something just told me it was true."
Joining her on the couch, Winn kicked his feet up, figuring that if Frankie was so keen on inviting herself inside, they might as well get comfy. His socks were an obnoxiously bright orange covered in dark grey TIE fighters and he thought they were quite stylish, but when he looked over, he caught Frankie staring at them oddly.
He quickly dropped his feet from the coffee table.
"I would've gone to Kara's but I'm angry at her," Frankie muttered, mostly ignoring the socks and pausing to stuff a huge handful of chips into her mouth before continuing without bothering to swallow. "And if I'm being completely honest, I don't remember what Alex's address is and something sounded weird about telling the cab driver 'a little past the sex shop on West Ebor,' because that's how I remember where it is and I didn't want to just say a random number and have to potentially walk all the way to her building before-"
She broke off, catching sight of Winn's poorly controlled giggling.
"Wow, I didn't take you for someone who would be so immature."
"I'm not immature, I just..."
Winn shut his mouth quickly. He really didn't know what to say from here, especially since Frankie was normally so careful about making sure that she asked before she came over. Again, not that he minded, misery loved company, but this was completely out of character for her.
"Are you doing ok?" He asked tentatively, turning to see Frankie feeling around the bottom of the bag.
"There's a bar down the street from the firm, and I respect beer, I do, I respect it. So I decided, why not, just this once, give the beer what it deserves?"
"To be in your stomach?"
"I'm drunk, Winn. Have you figured that out yet?" Frankie stared at him, wide-eyed and annoyed. She dropped her hands to the couch cushions. "I'm drunk, and I'm tired and I'm sad, can you just accept that?"
A little taken aback, Winn narrowed his eyes. This had not been where he expected the conversation to turn. Of course Frankie was drunk, he was an idiot for not realising it sooner, but it still didn't quite explain everything. Turning to face her fully, Winn caught Frankie's eye and said quietly, "Not until you tell me why you're sad."
"Because nobody believes in me." Before Winn could open his mouth to say something comforting, Frankie added, "And don't you dare try to say some cheesy shit like oh, Frankie, I believe in you, because it won't work tonight."
She looked set, her expression had hardened, so Winn didn't fight it.
"What would you like me to say?"
He studied her carefully, taking the opportunity to note how the flickering light from a few of his candles fell on her face. Her jaw tightened determinedly, and Winn was forcibly reminded of Kara's expression when she had come to him for help with finding Jeremiah.
This, like that afternoon, wasn't the moment for heartfelt discussions.
"I don't want you to say anything. But, you could potentially go up and get another bag of chips?" She asked quietly. Her eyes had darkened considerably over the past few minutes, and now, as she held up the empty bag, she looked like more like a child than an adult, cautiously requesting something she definitely shouldn't be allowed to have.
Winn shook his head, quietly smiling to himself as he stood up, trying to ignore the steady pounding in his ears.
"You don't like salt and vinegar, do you?" He called out over his shoulder to Frankie, who was waiting on the couch.
"No," she replied equally as loudly.
"Got it."
Winn swung open the door to his pantry and bypassed the forsaken bag, reaching instead for the classic one. When he turned around, he was surprised to see that Frankie had silently gotten up from her spot on the couch and planted herself right by his dining table against the wall.
"Is it weird for people to wave knives at you?"
Making his way over to her, Winn put the bag down on the table. He looked at her curiously.
"Unless they're trying to mug you, then yeah, a little bit," he said, laughing slightly. Frankie ignored the chips, instead picking at the fingernails on her right hand, avoiding his eye.
"Why?" Winn asked.
"Brad came over a few nights ago. He was even drunker than I am. I guess he thought it was funny..."
Winn paused. All humour gone from the situation, he stared at Frankie in disbelief. She looked as though what she'd just said wasn't a big deal, and wandered over to his fridge, pulling out a bottle of beer when she found them, but Winn wasn't willing to pass it over so easily.
What did that mean? Had Brad pointed a knife at her as a joke, or had he threatened her? They were yet to meet in person, but he'd still seemed nice enough from how Frankie and Kara had described him, polite, funny... Maybe his sense of humour wasn't as good as Winn had assumed it to be.
Questions spun around his head like crazy, but none of them seemed to be anywhere close to being answered that night, especially with Frankie being so nonchalant about the whole thing. He doubted any answer he could get would hold any weight.
Despite how much Winn wanted to discuss what Frankie had just said, he stopped himself, remembering the promise he had made to himself only minutes before.
This wasn't the moment for heartfelt discussions.
A/N
Have y'all read Genesis by Bernard Beckett? Truly transcendent experience, like I was literally a different person when I finished it. Highly recommend it.
K bye