Something Just Like This 3
I own nothing, obviously. This is not connected to the previous ones.
Girlfriend – Avril Lavigne
I See A Victory –Kim Burrell and Pharrell Williams (from the movie Hidden Figures)
I tried to go a little sillier with this one.
Lena felt her face tighten into what she knew Kara called her 'business smile' when she spotted Mon-el entering the bar. Maggie noticed and looked to where the CEO was facing. She edged closer to the newest member of the group.
"You don't like the frat boy either, huh?" She nudged her, shooting the slightly taller woman a knowing smirk.
"Kara can do better," Lena muttered. "And isn't he aware that Kara currently isn't even here?" No, Kara was on another Earth. Which, according to Alex and Maggie, meant they became Lena's bodyguards for the duration with J'onn on standby in case of any balcony falls.
It was part of the reason why she was in the alien bar on a Friday night instead of holed up in her office or apartment. The lovebirds had dragged her along with them to join Winn, James, the visiting Lucy Lane, J'onn, and M'gann when the woman wasn't helping behind the bar. Mon-el was typically part of these outings when Kara was around (Lena had been invited before, but unlike her sister Kara had never dared to physically drag Lena anywhere).
"I know that, but he doesn't." Maggie eyed the man-child. "Wanna best him at pool?" They couldn't out drink him, even when he stuck to alcohol unfit for human consumption.
"Too easy, and then he'd just whine to Kara that we were being mean." Lena was trying not to glare at the man now swaggering over to them. She could be pleasant for Kara's sake, but lacking her best friend's presence and enough whiskey Lena might just forget all decorum and actually strike him.
"Be fun though," Maggie continued. "Alex says he's been bragging to Winn about all the practicing he's been doing."
Lena rolled her eyes. As if a few weeks of practice would enable him to defeat any of the three that had been playing since they were tall enough to see over the table. Well…physically able to balance on a chair while shooting at the very least. Billiards and Chess: the only two games allowed in the Luthor Mansion.
"Unless you can convince someone to pair with him, we'd only end up playing against each other."
"We could play nine ball," Maggie suggested.
"No one else here will let you hustle them, will they?" Lena deadpanned. She knew better than to play either Maggie or Alex for money. Most of the regulars did as well, so paying for a round of drinks was the usual stake.
"You wound me Little Luthor," Maggie dramatically clutched her shirt fight over where her heart was, "right in the heart."
"Is that the space frat boy?" Lucy popped up between them, gaze on the person now speaking with Winn.
They managed to not jump but only because Alex liked to use the same trick.
"Yeah, we were just discussing taking him to the pool tables." Maggie grinned. "Little Lane, you pair with Little Luthor and I'll grab Alex." She left before either could protest.
"She likes to press the younger sibling thing," Lucy commented.
"Yes, but it's better than other things we've been called." Lena replied. She had found herself liking the other woman almost despite herself.
"True," Lucy agreed. "Vas is here, come on."
Vasquez nodded to them, already armed with several cues. "M'gann already reserved table six for us." They informed them.
"Great," Lucy quickly pecked her lover on the cheek. "Maggie has Alex, so we just need a sixth."
"Not the brat," Vas whispered under their breath, "please not the brat."
"Maggie wants to hustle him," Lena informed them. She grimaced. With Vasquez here, that meant she would be the one paired with him.
Vasquez grimaced. Perhaps she could feign an emergency that needed attention? That would cause unnecessary paperwork, but she would rather waste time on the paperwork. At least she would accomplish something at the end of it.
"Or we could all just gang up on him," Lucy whispered. "What's he going to do, whine to Kara that we're being mean to him?"
"Yes," Lena replied. She had already heard that rant from her best friend. Lena wanted to shout at Kara that she would be the better choice for the blonde, but refused to make her best friend uncomfortable. She refused to be that kind of person.
Lucy blinked. Vasquez was nodding in agreement with Lena. The shortest of the trio turned a dark look at the jovial man currently flirting with the bartender as he ordered. The woman looked unimpressed.
"Does he flirt with anything that has boobs?" Lucy questioned them. She had heard some of Mon-El, but had only met him briefly. This was her first real look at him.
"Mostly," Lena nodded towards Alex. "I am not entirely certain Alex knows of all his…antics."
The other two snorted. Lena was still fairly new to the group so had yet to truly experience the Danvers sisters and their unique relationship. Lena knew enough to understand that despite Alex encouraging the relationship, she would make Mon-El disappear if he hurt Kara.
"Are we going to play or not?" Maggie had come to see what was holding them up. "The boys want to make it a competition. J'onn's going to sit out and keep score."
"They are aware that they're outnumbered," Vasquez said. They certainly had no intention of joining the boys.
"And Winn is terrible," Lucy shook her head. This was going to be a blood bath. "Unless they've convinced two more to play."
"Apparently Mon-El's made some friends who want to play." Maggie informed them.
Two more males had joined Mon-El at the bar. One looked human, but the other had skin that looked like rock with moss for hair. They joined up with James and Winn, exchanging drinks for cue sticks.
Lena sighed and hoped all of her opponents were human. At least then if she was accused of cheating they couldn't also play the 'Luthor Prejudice' angle. She was willing to make an except for Mon-El.
"The usual stakes?" Alex asked, setting up the first game. She was carefully sizing up the two newcomers.
"I thought we'd actually play for money this time," Mon-El replied, grin on his face. "Sven and Melran," he quickly introduced his friends, "would rather play with those stakes."
The rocky man shrugged his shoulders. "I do not care, but I do not…drink." He had a glass of water in his hand. It still astounded him that most places on Earth did not charge for it unless it came from a bottle. He was perfectly happy with tap water.
"Money or it's not worth it," the human said with a smug smirk. He held out several hundred dollar bills. "Sven Malone, at your service." He winked at Alex.
She raised an eyebrow in response. "Ladies?"
Lena eyed the bills, looking for any marker that would indicate they were fake. She would test them once she got the chance. Since she was amongst government agents and a NCPD Detective, she knew she wasn't the only one.
"I'm fine with it is everyone else is." Lena made a mental note to cover if anyone came up short. Well…if any of the women came up short.
"I'm game," Vasquez agreed. "Lucy?"
"Oh, I'm in." Lucy was looking positively gleeful.
"Count me in babe," Maggie slung an arm around Alex's waist, "they can pay for our next date."
"We'll play until one team is completely knocked out." James declared. He was a little nervous about this. He knew Lucy's skill and he'd heard of Maggie and Alex's reputation. He knew Winn was mediocre at best. Mon-El insisted that he had improved, but James didn't know if it would be enough to actually risk money on. "Winning team splits the pot."
J'onn thought this was ridiculous, but the girls deserved some fun. "Vasquez and Winn are going first." J'onn was randomly picking from slips of paper M'gann held.
They flipped a coin, Winn calling it. With a correct call of 'heads', he choose to break. It would be the only game he played tonight, and at least his fellow techie wouldn't trounce him too badly. He hoped.
Their game was short, Winn only managing a few turns before he sank the 8-ball instead of the 15 he was aiming for. Vasquez set up the next game and stepped aside for Lucy to take their place.
"Get him Ma'am," they whispered, placing a peck on Lucy's cheek.
"Oh, I will," she smirked at James as he ex stepped up to the table. She gave her lover a firm kiss. "Save my seat."
James gulped and tried not to show his nervousness. Lucy had that look on her face. Why did Kara have to be off-world at the moment? Kara had a talent for curbing the other women's more homicidal tendencies. At least Lois wasn't here. She'd be egging her little sister on.
Their game lasted longer, but in the end James won when Lucy sank her last ball but missed the 8 in quick succession. He returned to his seat after setting up the next game. It was now Sven's turn, and he was up against Maggie.
Maggie merely shrugged when she lost, smirking at Alex. Her girlfriend nodded, sizing up Melran. They had played this game before. Kara typically tried to discourage this behavior, but Kara wasn't here. A pity though, she had wanted to play against Mon-El.
It was a close game and Alex found herself impressed by Melran's skill. She still won by a lucky shot.
"Good game," he intoned. "Perhaps we could play again without…" he struggled to remember the English word.
"Yeah, it'll be fun," Alex told him with a grin. They shook hands and Alex set up the game for Lena.
Lena found herself against James. She won easily, turning the table back over to Vasquez. They went up against Mon-El and lost, making him smirk and puff up. Alex went up against Sven and beat him resoundly, nearly coming to blows when he tried to grab her ass. His flirting didn't help Alex's mood any.
Finally, it was Lena up against Mon-El. She had a suspicion that it had been planned that way. It was hard to tell by looking at J'onn and M'gann, but she managed to catch a few smirks from the other women on her team.
"Don't damage him too much," Alex whispered to the CEO.
"Don't take my fun away," Lena muttered back.
Mon-El broke, sending the 7, 4, and 11 balls into pockets. He frowned, muttering something under his breath as he stepped away from the table. He was still ahead at least.
Lena studied the table carefully before taking her shot. With a single smooth motion, she sank the 15 followed by the 13 and 10 but missed when going for the 9 and hitting the 1 instead.
His lead gone, Mon-El focused on sinking as many of his as he could. The 3, 6, and 1 balls settled into pockets nicely but his last shot sent the cue ball careening off the table. Alex caught it before it could strike Vasquez. She shook her hand out afterwards as she glared at him.
"Watch it," she warned him.
Lena took the ball, setting up her next shot. She sank the 9 and 14 in a rebound shot, smirking in triumph as the cue stopped in the perfect position for her to sink the 12. Unfortunately, her next shot missed the eight and sank the 5 while lining up a straight shot to the 2.
Mon-El smirked at her. Lena ignored him. She was not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her distaste for him.
He missed, striking the 8. It went wide, the cue ball sinking into a side pocket as the 8 ricochet around the table before coming to a stop beside the 2. Grumbling, he stepped back once more.
Retrieving the ball, Lena pondered the table for a moment. She settled on a spot and set up her shot. With the same focus that she used in the boardroom, she stuck the cue ball and watched as it hit the 8 and missed the 2.
"Right back corner pocket," she called.
Everyone held their breath as they watched the ball. It looked as if it wouldn't make it, but it did. With a clean roll, it settled into the back corner pocket on the right side of the table. Lena smirked.
"It appears that we've won."
"I want a rematch!" Mon-El demanded. "You cheated somehow!"
"How would I have done that?" She asked him calmly.
"I don't know, but you did!" He insisted. "Luthor's always cheat!"
"Hey!" Alex stepped between them. "You need to back off. Lena," she stressed, "played fair. Unlike you and your friend."
"And you didn't even do it well," Maggie agreed. "I've never had to try so hard to lose in my life." She was currently counting their winnings. Lena had matched every time Sven had raised, meaning they had a nice little bundle to split between them.
Sven bristled. "Then I demand a rematch as well!"
"Leave me out," Melran told them when they looked at him. "I accept my defeat gracefully. It was a fair game."
"It was," Alex agreed. "James, Winn?"
"Ah, not arguing." Winn threw up his hands. "We all knew I was going to lose."
"I know better," James muttered. He knew Lucy had thrown the game and he suspected it had something to do with the frat boy from space. He was staying far away from that.
"If you want a rematch," J'onn decided, "then have one." He looked at the women. "This time, do not hold back."
Alex cackled. Lena's smile was borderline evil. Maggie's smirk was near demonic. Vasquez looked as if they were mentally measuring them for coffins. Lucy was cracking her knuckles. They had Dad's permission to play.
It did not go well. Sven was a decent player, even when forced to play fair. He was still beaten in three rounds by Maggie. Lena never even gave Mon-El a chance to play, sinking ball after ball in numerical order and leaving the striped ones alone.
At this point, the other patrons were cheering on the women and heckling the others. This was the scene that Kara walked in on.
"What is going on?" She asked M'gann once she got to where the two Martians were seated watching that night's entertainment.
"The boys thought it would be a good idea to challenge the girls to a pool tournament." M'gann told her. "They didn't take losing very well."
Kara sighed. "Drinks or money?"
"Money."
"Oh Rao…" seeing Lena playing, Kara didn't dare ask how much. By the look on Maggie and Lucy's faces, it was enough. "I should stop them." She watched as Lena took aim and sank yet another ball. Finding her sister, Alex looked as if she were having fun.
Or she could leave them to it. It wasn't as if she wanted to talk to Mon-El at the moment anyway. She did want to speak to Lena, but the CEO was rarely this relaxed. Looking over the others more carefully, Kara sighed again.
"J'onn told them they could play, didn't he?"
"He did."
"…Lena really doesn't like Mon-El, does she?" Kara watched as her best friend once more defeated the Daxamite.
"Nope."