Barry sat exasperated on the couch, twiddling this thumbs. Winn had been nagging him for about thirty minutes to no avail, no offense to Winn but he had to figure it out on his own. His eyes moved to the corner, where Lawrence laid on the floor snoozing, falling asleep after eating pizza.
"You know, I didn't want to do this Barry, but you forced my hand," Winn commented, pacing. Barry only raised his eyebrows, not understanding. As if taunting fate, someone knocked on the door. Barry threw a panicked look at Winn. He didn't know they were expecting anyone else to show up, the pizza had already shown up ages ago.
Winn shrugged his shoulders, moving to the door, "It's fine, I just invited a friend," Barry didn't take any solace in that as Winn opened the door, revealing a short brown-haired man who was holding a plastic bag.
"Mon-El come on in, thanks for coming," Winn greeted, patting his friend on the back. Mon-El walked in a little further before turning back to the host.
"No problem, sorry it took me a while, the kids did not want to go to bed" The Daxamite explained, heading to the kitchen and he started pulling out the booze.
Winn nodded, crossing his arms, "Oh yeah, how are Lucy and the kids?" Winn curiously asked, crossing his arms, Barry looking between the men curiously, not knowing any names.
"Good, good, same old, same old" Mon spoke, unscrewing a cap off a bottle, grabbing some glasses with practice ease, "Lucy is still working with the military, Sam thinks she'll get a promotion soon,"
"Winn, why's there's a handsome man in your kitchen?" A slightly hysterical-sleepy voice muttered from the corner, Mon-El jumped, startled, having not noticed the guy asleep in the corner. Barry and Winn shooting skeptical glances at Lawrence for his comment.
"What? I can appreciate another man's looks" Lawrence defended a bit heated, sitting up, rubbing his head. Barry rolled his eyes while Winn just nodded, not seeing anything wrong with that, Mon-El just looked confused.
"Who is that?" Mon-El inquired, pointing at Lawrence, tilting the bottle, pouring alcohol in the cups. Winn just deadpanned, he had no idea why he was even friends with these guys.
"A friend and this here is Barry Allen," Winn introduced, gesturing his hand to the Brunette who was now standing up. Mon had come around to them, he shook Barry's free hand while handing him a drink, Barry thanked him and lifted the glass to his lips while Winn started talking again.
"And this is Mon-El, a Daxamite Royal, oh and he used to date Kara," Winn added that last part in, watching Barry's eyes widened as he choked on the liquid, he didn't know if it was the alcohol or what but his chest was burning with something.
"W-what?" Barry stuttered hard, barely getting the words out. He smacked his chest hard, he turned anxious eyes over at Mon-El, completely forgetting the fact the man had kids. Mon shot an annoyed look at Winn, the techie holding his hands up in surrender,
"Keyword, 'used to' I'm married now, and have two kids," Mon insisted, still looking at Winn, hopefully making his point. Winn only smirked with Barry wincing in embarrassment.
Mon heading back in the kitchen straight to the pizza, grabbing a couple of slices, "So what's on the agenda boys? Get drunk and play video games?" Three pair of heads nodded, "Wow you guys are such nerds," Mon joked, joining Barry on the couch, the two other guys sitting on the floor.
After booting up the game it was clear competition was fierce even Mon-El who was uninterested at first was now also shouting at the television. It was probably not a good idea to take 3 super-powered individuals who were super competitive and give them something to be competitive about,
"How'd you not see him?" Mon-El exclaimed in disbelief, his hand stretched outward, Lawrence squinted at the television and sighed heavily, "I'm sorry! My vision is the worse," The elemental cried, "I usually wear glasses"
Winn threw a glance at Lawrence before turning back to the TV, "Seriously? Why haven't I ever seen you with any?" He questioned, seething quietly as his character died. The hot-headed agent just shrugged, "Well, uh, I dunno really" He lied horribly, hiding the real excuse.
"You should use them at work, you won't be squinting all the time," Lawrence blushed, he did squint a lot, there had been times where he'd get reprimanded because he couldn't see the board and he was embarrassed to admit so.
"Y-yeah," He stuttered, Barry just patted him on the head awkwardly, "Hey man, glasses aren't so bad, just look at Kara," Barry dumbly stated, the three men giving him strange looks, "What?" Barry had no idea why these guys were looking at him like that,
"C'mon man, you know Kara doesn't need those glasses to see, she probably has the best eyesight on the planet," Lawrence complained, sprawled out on the floor.
"Besides Kal-El," Winn quipped, Mon just rubbed his head in frustration, these guys - he thought, standing up he stomped ahead of the TV. It was about time to address the Krypton-sized elephant in the room. Winn sat up with anticipation, knowing where Mon was about to go, he had waited all night for this. Barry and Lawrence looked around confused, also standing up cautiously.
"Okay, enough beating around the bush, which one of you is in love with Danvers?" Mon asked snippily, he had an idea who was but he wasn't sure, instantly the room got volcanic, two sets of eyes blown wide open. Winn wished he had his phone to take a snapshot of their faces
"I'm NOT in love with Alex!" Lawrence boomed, blushing madly, looking around the room in denial. Winn was already laughing hard, he wasn't in love with Alex, she was- she had saved him, his life, helped him relearn how to walk, went to his parent's graves with him, yeah she was beautiful and sure he sometimes stared stupidly - he was just eternally grateful for what she's done.
"I-in love?" Barry yelped out at the same time, sure maybe he was developing a small crush on the Kryptonian woman, but love? The thought made his knees weak, stumbling back, he had to use a hand to balance himself on the couch. Winn had tears running down his face as he laughed. Mon looked taken back at their reaction.
"In love with Alex? Ouch, that's rough buddy," Mon-El winced, the alien felt bad for him. His brown eyes looking so lost and confused, his face scrunched up with frustration. Mon could tell the guy felt like he was being left out of something, something important.
"Winn, buddy you're going to have to explain to him now, you should've done this once you knew for sure, it's a little messed up" The request directed at Winn who was calming down, his face schooling into one of resignation, the tech genius realizing it was a little messed up to keep the man clueless, but Alex had threatened him with a beating, not to reveal her secret, claiming she was eventually going to tell her partner, not ever seemingly finding the right moment.
Alex had no idea the man harbored feelings for her, if she had she would've nipped this in the bud a while ago. It wasn't her fault, the agent never attempted anything, never let anything slipped. If Winn never caught the stupid longing looks whenever Alex wasn't looking, he'd never know.
He was also sure Kara had a suspicion, the alien had caught him once or twice, Winn once saw a look of pity on her face, not knowing why it was there in the first place.
"Lawrence, let's go for a walk man" Winn grimly said, picking up a jacket on the counter. Winn walked to the door, the elemental following not saying anything. The two left out into the slightly chilly night, Winn's voice explaining there was a park nearby.
Mon-El sighed, moving to the kitchen again, he'd need a hard drink to get through this, he poured two drinks one for him and another for his new friend, god knew the other man needed it if his expression said anything.
"Here," Mon-El expressed, handing Barry his second drink, "How about you sit down chief, you are looking a little wobbly there" Barry did so roughly, looking up at the ceiling. He didn't even realize the drink he had earlier was affecting him.
"So your in love with Kara huh," Mon-El spoke out in disbelief, not believing he was about to have this conversation. Barry closed his eyes in mock frustration, sighing,
"I'm not-" Barry started,
"Humor me, Barry," Mon exasperated, Barry eyed the guy sitting next to him, he licked his lips, taking another drink, feeling his tongue loosen up.
"Okay, maybe I have a small crush on her, alright?" Barry mumbled, feeling his ears get warm. Before Mon could even breathe, Barry continued,
"But who doesn't? She's Supergirl," Barry defended himself, hoping that would throw everyone off his case for a bit, he needed to be less obvious around people.
Mon-El laughed, he couldn't find the lie, "That's true, even Winn had a thing for her," Barry's eyebrows rose at that, "Winn?" The Daxamite smirked, "Yeah, he even kissed her," Mon could see the jealousy swim in his eyes as the Speedster sat up in attention.
"So yeah, you're right, a lot of people do have crushes on Supergirl, but I'm sensing that's not the case with you," Mon conceded, luring Barry into a false sense of comfort.
"No, you have a crush on Kara Danvers" Barry's eyes instantly gave him away, he gritted his teeth at how easily Mon played him like a fiddle, a man he had known for a couple of hours.
"Fine! I have a crush on her! Happy?!" Barry exclaimed, exploding to his feet. Mon leaned back in satisfaction, he was, helping his new friend out of the denial stage,
"Yeah, I am actually" Mon retorted cheekily, Barry groaned, slumping down on the couch again, his head in his hands.
"So what's the big deal? Winn told me the minimum, that a friend of his was acting all mopey about Kara, that I needed to see it" Mon eyed him, already forming his thoughts.
Damn Winn, Barry would prank him hard, he would brainstorm later, instead, Barry just growled, the source of his hesitancy rising, he didn't know how to get it across,
"It's just, look at you-" Mon-El smirked, "Incredibly sexy?" He finished for the speedster, who in return rolled his eyes,
"And then look at me, then there's Kara, there's no way someone like Kara could ever be interested in someone like me," Mon's face got serious, He took a minute to collect his thoughts.
"Look, Barry, Kara? She doesn't care about all that stuff, it wouldn't matter if you were the most hideous man alive, it's what's in here that matters most to her" Mon tapped his chest, "Who you are as a person, what makes us tick, your values, what you hold dear to your heart"
Barry soaked everything in, "That's what Kara looks for in a partner because that's what you'd be, a partner, in her eyes, an equal, sharing her heart and soul with you" Mon looked distressed, standing up. He had made his peace with his and Kara's relationship ages ago but he still didn't like what he did to her.
"So be brave, go get her, show her your heart, and she'll show you hers" He finished, moving to the door. Barry looked a bit alarmed,
"W-wait... Why help me? A stranger, Winn said you used to date Kara," Barry's green eyes staring at him. The two men just looked into the eyes of each other, both wanting to know the same thing,
Mon-El looked down, ah but that was it right, the entire reason he was here, he wouldn't have shown up if Winn had just said someone had a crush on Kara, no it was the way Winn had worded it, that he had to see for himself.
"I don't know you Barry, but Winn said you were a good guy - a good man, Kara's been with a few guys, none of them good, myself included," He shook his head sadly, meeting Barry's green, "Kara's a good friend, she deserves someone good to her in her life," He shook Barry's hand, opening the door.
"Good luck Barry," Mon-El left the apartment into the dark, leaving Barry alone with his thoughts. Barry was silent for a moment before moving to Winn's phone, calling Kara -asking her to meet him at National's coast.
Barry stood a ways away, arriving at National's coast a bit ago, he watched Kara arrive, she looked around briefly before starting to walk along the shoreline. She left her hair down flowing, the slight breeze making it flutter a bit, dressed in a white striped shirt, with faded blue jeans - her feet were barefoot, the sand soft under her feet.
Barry removed his shoes, leaving them on a table, unbuttoning the top of his flannel, letting himself breathe, taking a deep breath before he started jogging his over to her,
Kara turned at the sound, seeing Barry Allen jog over to her slowly, his normally done brown hair a mess, his jeans rolled up and he too was barefooted, his green eyes determined. She decided to meet halfway, also starting to jog towards him,
The two met in the middle, both breathless, the other not knowing the other could even get so, even so, they stopped in front of each other, Barry's heart started to race as he gazed upon her, she did the same to him,
"Barry.."
"Kara.." Barry's heart beating a hundred miles an hour, so loud that it was impossible for Kara not to hear, her ears got warm, all he had to do was show her his heart, his soul.
Barry tentatively raised his hands to Kara's flushed cheeks, grabbing them gently. Kara snaking her arms around his neck, slowly but surely he brought her face closer, closing his eyes as he did so,
Then he couldn't breathe as - no, he really couldn't breathe, Barry felt his lugs screech at the sudden loss of air, opening his eyes in a panic - he was staring into a pair of bright glowing eyes, the heat being felt on his face, Barry realized there was a hand gripped painfully tight around his throat.
Sound rushed to his ears as he heard Kara yelling, Barry phased his body through the man's hand, falling unceremoniously on the sand, gulping in air. He glanced at his attacker, a tall built man dressed in a familiar blue suit, the S on his chest.
"KAL! What the hell is wrong with you? What are you doing?" Kara yelled, her hands trembling in anger, she didn't even see Clark arrive, only till she was suddenly behind him and had Barry up above the ground did she snap out it.
"Stay away from him Kara, that man is a murderer, he will pay for his crimes!" Clark growled, shielding her with his body, Kara raced around to face him, pushing his chest hard, making him stumble a bit,
"What are you talking about?" Kara demanded heated, she had no idea what her cousin was on about, she hadn't even told Clark about Barry, waiting to introduce them at a later date, Clark took a deep breath,
"Kara... he killed General Lane," Barry stood up slow, Kara calmed down considerably - confusion etched on her face, Kara took a minute, she couldn't process that General Lane was dead, while the man still hated aliens with a passion the man had calmed down considerably since retiring, making a better effort to be in his new grandkids lives.
"Kal, that's impossible, Barry just arrived to this earth - he doesn't even know who General Lane is" Her tone slightly hysterical. It was Clark's turn to look confused, her words not making any sense to the man.
"Then who is this?" Clark asked grimly, pulling a photograph to her eyes, a picture of a man dressed in a glowing cracked blue suit, white glowing eyes staring straight into the camera, holding up a peace sign.
"I-I don't know..." Kara admitted, a bit shaken, if she hadn't known Barry, she probably would've thought the same. The figure also had a lightning bolt on his chest, the only exception was Barry's suit was red, and his lightning was yellowish red.
Barry finally stood next to her, trying to get a better look, he glanced at Clark asking silent permission to look closer, still wary, Clark let the man take it for examination. As Barry's eyes roamed over the picture, Kara pulled Clark aside, probably to fill him on who he was.
Barry stared at the picture, no doubt the gesture was for him, taunting him, letting him know he wasn't safe - and he never would be,
Just... who are you?
How are you even here?
What do you want with me?