"No, nu-un those two are out." Kate decided pointing at the board with the end of her dry erase marker toward two options in turn after some thought before crossing them off herself.
"What? Why those are classics for a reason." The only other man in a room of intimidating women gaped around the few pieces of popcorn he'd tossed into his mouth. Brainy having stepped out a while ago to help with something or other down in one of the labs while Winn kept his head down continuing to scribble away at his note pad trying to find just the right combination of words but as of yet he kept coming up short.
"If this was for a date with Kara yes." Eliza reminds them with a soft smile "We don't really know what Linda's balance would be on a bike or roller skates." She sighs looking over the dwindling list of ideas, they'd managed to come up with since this little meeting had been called.
"And a game night isn't that special considering you 'super friends' have one every week or every other week if what Mags said was true." Kate reminds taking a sip from her now lukewarm coffee as she tapped the end of her marker against the tabletop in thought.
"Karaoke isn't ruled out yet." Lena reminds with a smile after swallowing another bite of the burger Alura had sat in front of her with a motherly look on her face after Eliza had gently but firmly dragged her out of the lab to help them. "and even if she doesn't want to sing with you, you could always bring down the house all on your own Schott." The CEO praised making Winn gape a little at the compliment.
"Hey speaking of…. if she really does share some of Kara's memories….."
"There's doubt?" Lena laughed while Eliza slid what was left of her fries toward her with a shrug and a smile after noticing how quickly the CEO had finished her own off.
Barry rolled his eyes continuing his question as if he hadn't been interrupted as he tossed a few more prices of popcorn into the air at lightning speed. "would that mean that she remembers that time Kara and I got whammed by 'red pocket-handkerchief' guy into that musical world?" leaning back just in time to catch the falling snack in his open mouth.
Winn groaned fighting the want to lob one of the crumpled bits of paper at his friend's head. Why he wanted to do so he didn't really know but in the moment is just felt like something fun to take his mind off his dilemma. Instead he rubs his hands over his face fighting a yawn. He'll need to shave soon. He can feel the scrape of stubble against his palms.
"Bathroom break." He lies when he feels all eyes draw to him while he pushes away from the table.
He knew she would follow him after a little while anyway but he makes a point to catch her eye just in case waiting for the almost imperceptible node she gives in answer while her eyes stay trained on the front of the room where an amusing argument had broken out between the Luthor and the Bat.
"What the hell is wrong with the planetarium Luthor? We're talking about a girl that literally fell from the sky how in the hell is it unromantic to show her a few of the stars she fell passed on her way here?"
He needed to think. To be as alone with his thoughts as he could get while wandering around a government agency that included a literal mind reader within its innermost circle.
He makes it as far as the catwalk over the hub before he forces himself to stop.
Why was this so hard?
After all it was just coming up with finding some kind of an opening to get the woman, he was slowly but definitely falling for alone long enough for him to admit how he feels about her all the while knowing exactly how much she was already feeling for him considering how he'd accidentally walked into a room just in time to catch her confession earlier in the day. And with just how many parenteral figures and family members Lin had in the vicinity he was sure that the second he said something wrong he'd be bullet-ridden, beaten to a pulp then hurled into space if not the sun itself before he could take his next breath.
No pressure whatsoever.
This may be his one and only shot with Linda. He wanted to go into it for the right reasons. After everything, she's been put through in her short 'life' she deserves the world and Winn sure has Rao was going to do his best to give it to her.
"If you're trying to hide from the den moms try a less 'out in the open' hiding place than the heart of the building." A joking tone says as the body it belongs to drops down to sit beside him on the overhead walkway.
Winn lets out a slow breath leaning over to rest his head against her shoulder. It was so natural this brother-sister like bond they've forged in the short time they've been in the other's company.
Jamie lets her arm slid around his shoulders her hand finding his hair. Winn had yet to figure out her fascination with his hair but right now he didn't care enough to come out and ask.
"How can I risk hurting her when what I feel could just be the lingering feelings, I had for Kara projected onto her."
"I can tell it's not like that." Jamie countered "You care for Kara; anyone can see that but when you're with Linda…."
Winn felt a smile tugging at his lips just from hearing her name.
"See that proves my point. That right there." Jamie breaks off but Winn shakes his head his smile wavering.
However, the argument stalled a second time when another body lowers itself down on Winn's other side with a tired huff. Her head finding a pillow on Winn's shoulder with a soft greeting hum.
"Hammyton got rough today huh?" Jamie asks sliding the half-full water bottle she'd bought with her over enough for Alex to reach without much effort. She didn't need to look to know the other two rolled their eyes at her not so creative nickname for a favored DEO doctor. "What? I don't like doctors no matter how cute they are." She leaned forward enough to catch Alex's eye sending her a flirtatious wink. Alex grins in return but fishes the chain around her neck out with a smirk of her own.
Jamie lets out a dreamy sigh at the sight. "Just cause your taken doesn't mean I can't still think your cute….. even if you are a doctor."
"Brat." Alex rasped out her voice like she'd swallowed molten rock as she forced the single word out as her head dropped for a second time against Winn's shoulder.
The bruises were healing her stitches fading little by little and she was steadily regaining her voice but everyone who knew her knew that Alex was pushing herself harder than needed in the few days since the bar brawl in order to write herself out of the med bay so she could go reunite with the woman she loved and also her sisters.
To be honest everyone in the building was amazed she hadn't tried to sneak out already.
"What's with the shirt? You changing teams on us Lexie?" Winn jokes noticing the distinctly bat-like shape splashed across Alex's front her he turned him head to nuzzle his face against the crown of Alex's head.
Alex gave his arm a playful smack as her other hand smoothed out the wrinkles in her borrowed shirt. Another of Maggie's. "When….you ask….baby sister….out?" she asks instead.
Winn hadn't intended his sigh to sound so defeated as he let his head fall back against the glass lining behind them. "Right that's all she needs after this madhouse of a week is me cornering her as soon as she gets back and going 'Hey Lin how about dropping everything and going on a date with when I have absolutely no idea what we'd be doing?"
Alex nodes with a pleased half-smile on her lips.
"See you already have your opener and then Mags and Al can double. Oooo maybe we could get Lee to woman up and ask out the other hot super that's been strutting around here so it can be a tripe date night." Jamie suggests. "What?" she stalls seeing Alex's amused expression half hidden as it was by Winn's shoulder.
"I would love to tag along but sadly my plus one for a date night is back in Gotham, and I don't want to steal one here. No matter how tempting they are." The lab assistant sighed her eyes falling back toward the hub below them lingering on the straight-backed agent currently standing with her back to them monitoring something on one of the computer screens hanging on the wall.
"You've never told us that before." Winn counters.
"I have too." Jamie argues with a guilty sounding sigh. "Rory and I talk about it all the time. Not my fault if no one listens in on our late-night girl talk."
As if summoned the pup in question came bounding toward them at full speed with a triumphant sounding bark and a visible spring in her fast steps.
"So, this is where you've been hiding?"
Jamie was the first to speak up after the newcomer was settled in across from them flashing his own boyish smile as he watched Winn and Alex get an equal bathing in dog slobbered kisses. "You know what they say about hiding in plain sight."
Barry gave an agreeing node. "True."
"Didn't those results you wanted come in already?"
The speedster nodes "but I've already sent them off so now I'm just here for moral support." He shrugs opening the lid on one of the five box stack of pizzas he'd brought with him and offering it to the other three.
"Aaww bromance alert." Jamie coos taking a slice with a giggle while Winn rolled his eyes also grabbing a slice leaving a frustrated looking Alex to handle keeping Rory from tearing into the pie herself.
"Oh…right….hang on a sec."
Barry was gone in a blur of speed and lightning before any of them could ask what he was talking about.
"I hope you like pepperoni starlight." He coos popping the top on a smaller pizza box. This one bosting that it was dog-friendly as he sets it down in front of the struggling dog.
Astonishing to everyone present was how Rory didn't seem the least bit interested in the offering as her nose lifted pulling in a deeper breath as her head tilted as if listening to something the others couldn't catch.
Alex was the first to put the pieces together having seen at least part of that gesture from her sisters a time or twelve as Rory takes off toward the closest set of stairs. Alex hot as her heels or at least going as fast as her still-healing body will allow.
"Aawww the siren call of true love." Jamie sighed folding her next slice of pizza into a taco before taking a bite. "Or in this case the ding of an elevator carrying already mentioned true love." She corrected while she chews as she pulls herself up to lean against the railing in anticipation.
"Holy wonder twins." Barry gaped when the doors to the elevator pinged open allowing not one but two Karas to pass between the elevator doors to immediately be swept into the arms of their worried mothers. Kara by Eliza, while the one he assumes was Linda, was pulled into a tight looking hug by Alura.
"I know right." Jamie agrees nudging her shoulder with the speedsters. "Too bad they are already taken." She sighs sending Winn a playful wink.
"What no hug for the human? Okay, I see how it is." Maggie pouts earning popcorned laughs from not only the watching trio on the overhead catwalk but also from the growing ring around the elevators as the cute 'tiger' of a detective was lost in a hug between J'onn and Eliza while Alura hung back unsure despite Kara and Linda's encouraging node.
"Here she comes." Winn smiles as he like everyone else in the hub picked up on the hurried steps on the polished tiled floor. "About dam time." Jamie grumbles already fighting tears as she adjusts the focus on her phone so she wouldn't miss a single second of the upcoming reunion.
Thankfully Maggie seemed to catch on at the last second when her chosen parents stepped away letting the tiny one between then drop to her knees letting out only the softest of complaining grunts when she was finally hit with the full impact of her charging welcoming committee.
Shaking arms wrapped around one another as tight as they could on both cases while each sobbed into the others shoulder for the first few seconds.
"God, I wish I had super hearing." Winn lamented his eyes shining in unshed tears as he watched Maggie curl even closer around Rory's happy vibrating form they could tell Maggie was whispering something to her while the dog tried yet again to bathe her owner in welcoming/ I missed you kisses but none could make out just what that something was not even Jamie who was documenting everything.
"Me too man." Barry agreed already whipping a few tears of his own away the longer they listened to Rory's excited barks as she circles tightly around her giggling owner while Maggie continues murmuring to her in tearful broken Spanish.
"Sunbeam. My little sunbeam."
Everyone except Winn started at the sniffed translation as a fourth watcher squeezed in between the boys. Her head coming to rest against Barry's shoulder rather than Winn's as her watery blue eyes stayed trained on, the reunion below.
"I missed you. I missed you so much." She sniffed hiding her face against the speedster's shoulder as another wave of happy tears spilled from her eyes. The warmth and love behind the words. It was so beautiful while Maggie nuzzled her face against the squirming pup's scruff.
Jamie paused for a half-second turning the still running video toward the other three with her when the boys moved at the same time to offer the crying blonde comfort.
"Kara…."
"Linda…."
"Alex." The blonde now tucked into Barry's arms murmurs bringing everyone back to what was happening in the hub below them.
"What the hell." Jamie gaped almost dropping her phone in her attempt to refocus on the couple now locked in what had to be the tightest given hug of the day. Maggie standing as still as stone while Alex clings to her like a drowning woman lost at sea.
"Thanks for the warning Allen now I probably missed all the hot 'I missed you' tongue action."
