(So, I'd like to breathe life back into this fic. So I'm rewriting, editing, adding, and reposting each chapter by chapter. Hang with me. I promise it will be worth it.)

Others Watch

She carries identical vanilla lattes and trots down a few steps into the D.E.O. Headquarters, bright red skirt swishing with the breeze she makes. There's a pep to her step.

"And here you are," smiling brightly Kara hands one of the coffees to her sister and stands with her own drink, careful to avoid Alex's broken leg. Her focus turns to the displays made by the holotable.

Alex raises a delicate brow at her. She waits, a moment of silence passing between the two. "Seriously? That's all?"

"I asked if you wanted a bagel too!" Kara yelps.

Alex skeptically narrows her eyes. "That's not what I meant. You were supposed to call me last night, remember?"

"Look," Kara sighs, setting her latte down on the holotable. "I know you want to have another conversation about Mon-El and Imra and how I feel, but really I'm fine. He's married and she is so sweet and excited to work with us. And I am honestly so much better than I was a couple weeks ago. Trust me. Everything has just..." Her words trail off as she catches sight of a man with turquoise skin and a head of shockingly white hair. "...just…" Kara clears her throat and forces her focus back to Alex. "Changed. Everything has changed. And maybe that's a good thing, you know?" She flicks her gaze back to the control panel across the large room.

A week has passed since he'd helped her break free of the coma-induced prison her subconscious had trapped her in. And Querl has barely spoken to her since. They'd exchanged friendly greetings when he'd casually crossed her path after the latest battle against Reign. But since then, Brainy had a seemingly endless amount of work to keep himself busy. Which made it difficult for her to find any spare time to speak with him again.

He crosses the open space alongside Winn, both examining the tablet Winn carries with keen interest. He doesn't notice she's across the room staring at him with interest.

"You'll need to reboot it," he says to Winn, though Kara's stellar hearing picks up his voice as if he were directly beside her. He has a nice voice, not as deep as James' or J'onn's, but one she's quickly associated with the calm feeling that bloomed while he'd helped her last week. That relaxed, content feeling spreads whenever she hears it.

She lets out a soft sigh.

"Yeah," Winn whines across the room. "I tried that already."

"Well," Querl shrugs. "May I suggest purchasing a separate computing system for your games?"

Winn frowns and tries the tablet's power button again. "I have three at home. This was supposed to be part of my 'at work' set up."

"The D.E.O. allows such activity on premises?"

"Look, man," Winn grunts, glowering at the piece of tech. "Overwatch is like, a super big deal during this era."

Querl tilts his head, confused. "It is a game."

"Yes, but it's so much more than that." Winn shoves the tablet into his messenger bag. "Thanks anyways, sorry I pulled you from the lab for nothing."

The Coluan smiles, "Don't worry about it. I need to remember not to lock myself away with research so often. I don't actually remember when I last ate."

"What?! My man, we are getting you a burger, stat!" Winn clamps a hand on Querl's shoulder and leads him towards the lounge room, where a pile of take out menus are stacked.

Kara licks her lips.

Alex darts her eyes from her younger sister to the retreating pair and back before her mouth drops. "Oh. My. God. Everything makes so much sense now!"

"What?" Kara snaps her head to look at her, cheeks pink from blushing.

A smile spreads across Alex's face.

"What?!" Panic causes her voice to rise an octave, which only makes Alex laugh in good old fashioned sibling jest.

"Tell me, Kara," Alex teases with a twinkle of mischief in her eye. "What was it really like having Brainy in your head during your coma?"

Kara's blush is a furious red and she ducks her head down to stare at her coffee in embarrassment. "...oddly intimate," she answers softly. "It-it was like…like he'd always been there. Like, a comfort, you know? I mean, I was definitely panicking and angry. But he was so calm and kind and curious and I just…" A little smile tugs at her lips. "It felt really good."

Alex chuckles and takes a drink of her latte. "Is that why -"

"Yes," Kara answers quickly. "Yes, okay? Yes. I can't stop thinking about him. It's like he never left my mind. Which, I know sounds creepy. But it's just - I can't - I don't -" she stutters. "Help me, Alex. Please?"

"Oh," Alex blinks. "Oh. I didn't realize it was like that."

Kara chews her bottom lip and nods. "I know you expected me to be hung up over Mon-El, and there's a part of me that is always going to hurt from how we ended. But, there's this thing inside me that's like, growing and I can't ignore it and it's making my anxiety go crazy, because all I want to do is get to know him."

"You know," Alex throws an arm around her sister's shoulders and pulls her into her side. "You could just talk to him."

"He's always working," Kara groans and leans into the embrace. "I swear, I've tried, but it's practically impossible. And honestly, what would I even say?"

"Just offer your help, I'm sure he'd appreciate it." Alex squeezes her shoulder in an effort of comfort.

"Oh yeah," Kara rolls her eyes. "Big help I would be. He's a twelfth level intellect."

"What does that even mean?" Alex frowns, still holding her tightly as Kara's nerves battle on.

"Culuans are the most intelligent beings in the galaxy, Alex. And Brainy," her voice drops softly. "He's the smartest of them all."

"So what? You're Supergirl."

Kara snorts. "Lot of good that'll do me! Brute force isn't going to impress him and my intellect sure isn't. I should just-"

"Ugh, Kara," Alex groans loudly, dropping her arm from her sisters shoulders. "Shut up. Seriously, listen to yourself! You do this every time with every guy you crush on."

"What? I do not!"

Alex raises a brow again, and Kara shrinks under her stare. "...maybe I do." She gives in. "But this-"

"Is really different," Alex finishes. "Yeah, I've heard that before. Look - no, don't say anything, let me finish - Kara, if you like him, you gotta spend time with him. Stop staring longingly from across the room. And stop using your powers to eavesdrop on his conversations! If you like him, like, really like him, hang out with him. Right now." Leaning heavily on her cane to take pressure off her broken leg, Alex begins to hobble away.

"What?!" Kara yelps.

"You heard me." Alex calls over her shoulder without breaking her limped pace. And then she is gone.

**O**O**O**

His lunch was canceled the moment Mon-El came into the D.E.O. lounge room, complaining about time sensitive research and analysis that Querl had seemingly neglected.

Neglected. As if that were possible. His sole purpose and position on the Legion of Superheroes depended entirely on his intellect and the work he produced. If he neglected anything the team would be useless in its methods and practice. The flight rings they wear were his invention, he embedded Imra and Mon-El's DNA with the information to destroy the Blight of the 31st Century. As well as many more creations and discoveries he's made over the years.

Yet, it is never enough. Querl glares at the D.E.O. computer screen before him. His tolerance levels were diminishing quickly and annoyance grew within him. The tasks assigned to him were not difficult, but time consuming. Especially with the computer J'onn had allowed him access to. His own equipment waited for him in the ship's lab. As soon as this Sprock-awful, ancient, waste of wires and gigabytes that operated slower than anything he's used before was finished downloading the information Mon-El deemed important, he'd retreat back to his haven and continue working.

His stomach growls. He'd abandoned the burger and fries Winn had ordered for him, leaving them on the table while he followed Mon-El out of the lunch room. Like a damned dog, he frowns. It wasn't that he didn't love his friends, or that he didn't enjoy helping the D.E.O. But there were times when he was treated more computer than being. As frustrating as that was, he couldn't rationalize being upset with Mon-El. Not when Querl did it to himself as well, often forgetting to eat or sleep, and will work days on end, the need to solve the puzzle before him to great to pause.

Still, that burger had been delicious.

A growl of frustration leaves his lips as he stares impatiently at the screen, waiting for it to finish downloading pdf files.

Whatever those were.

Behind him, soft footsteps announce the arrival of another, and without looking Querl practically barks at his visitor. "In case you've forgotten, I am the most intelligent being on this entire planet. And I do not need you hovering over me!"

When he's met with silence he turns to find Kara standing in the doorway with two brown paper bags, one labeled Big Belly Burger and the other Eden's Garden. With raised brows, wide eyes, and dropped jaw she looks spooked and uneasy.

He jumps out of his chair. "Supergirl! I -"

"I-I didn't mean to interrupt -"

"- didn't realize it was you -"

" - just thought you might be hungry -"

" - please, excuse my behavior. Mon-el asked -"

"Here." She shoves the bags at him, averting her eyes. "I-I didn't know if you were a vegetarian or carnivore. I-I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have broke your concentration. I-uh-I-" she turns without finishing her stammered sentence, leaving him holding her offerings.

"Wait!" Hastily, he sets the food on a nearby computer desk and grabs for her wrist. "Please don't go."

Kara faces him again, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear and smiling shyly. Panic rushes through Querl and he finds himself at a loss for words. This was Supergirl standing before him. The woman he'd idolized for years, had inspired him to fight for justice, had a damn statue built in her honor in his own century, had brought him lunch. As if she'd known he was running on fumes and about to collapse.

"Uhm, do you want to use the computer?" His body stiffens in utter embarrassment and anxiety. What the Sprock was that?!

"Oh," Kara blinks. "No, I'm okay. I don't really, uhm, computers aren't part of my job." She bites her bottom lip and looks down to her red boots, avoiding his eyes.

He stifles a groan, all twelve of his intellects hyper focused on her lips. Did she have absolutely no idea what she looked like? Or that this small, adorable act was sending sparks through him?

He would give anything for her to bite his lips. Querl gulps and attempts to shake away his stupor. "Uhm, are-are you hungry?"

Kara smiles at him. "I'm okay. Thanks. You should enjoy your food."

"How much do I owe you?" He pats his pockets, trying to find the roll of bills Winn had given him to help make life a little easier in the 21st Century.

"Nothing, really," Kara shakes her head. "It's my treat. I overheard you and Winn talking and just thought I'd run out and grab you something."

His brows lift in surprise. "You got this for me just because?"

"Well," worry etches across her face. "You said you were hungry. And I wasn't doing anything. So, I just," she shrugs.

The corner of his lips pull up into a half cocked smile. "That is…that's really nice." She cared, that rush of feelings warm him, and he knows he has that stupid, awed look on his face as he stares at her.

"It's no problem." Her smile retreats briefly and he can see the physical shift of her ease turning to a nervous fidgeting. "So, uhm…" She swallows. Querl watches her with piqued interest, an eyebrow raising in curiosity. "I-I thought maybe we should talk."

"About what?" He tilts his head.

"A-about what happened."

He furrows his brow. "What happened?"

"You were in my mind, Brainy." Her voice is soft, sultry.

His mouth drops open. "Oh," he manages. "That." He takes a deep breath and nods. He moves aside, freeing her to cross the threshold and take a seat at the computer he'd been working on. Kara folds her hands in her lap, looking up at him patiently.

Querl crosses his arms over his chest, trying to decipher the best way to approach the subject. Obviously they had shared something while he was present in her subconscious. Some unnamed thing that had worked its way to sit comfortably between them. He'd done his damnedest to set that aside and focus on work, focus on the Blight, on Reign, on the rest of his friends still sleeping on the ship, on literally anything other than the fact that Kara Zor-El had exceeded his dreams and given him hope and the courage to think maybe there was something there. Maybe this woman could feel what he was feeling. Maybe that big, warm feeling was shared and he wasn't just some idiot with a crush on a celebrity.

"Well," he clears his throat. "Let me start off by saying I'm sorry I didn't have your consent to enter your mind. I had consent from Alex, but I can understand why you feel like it was a complete invasion of your privacy."

Kara smiles gently at him. "I'm not upset about that, Brainy."

"Querl," he answers shortly. Kara blinks at him. "Sorry. My name is Querl, and I-I would prefer if uhm…if you called me that."

She nods like it's no big deal. Like saying his name is the most natural thing in the universe, even though none of his own damn friends call him Querl. "And…" he begins again. "If you're not upset about that, what are you upset about?"

Kara shakes her head, a little laugh escaping her. "I'm not upset at all."

"Oh," he frowns. "Then, why…?"

Kara licks her lips, looking up at him with these twinkling blue eyes that pull him in. "You have to admit, it was pretty…intimate." The way she says it has him pushing down the rearing need to touch her.

Fuck, he swallows thickly. "Yes it was."

They stare at each other as silence fills the room, and yet the heaviness of whatever was ballooning between them took over. He coughs and looks away. "I, uh, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I know I can be intense." When Kara doesn't answer, he glances back over at her.

Her brow is furrowed and she's looking at him with a confused expression. It's enough to snap him back to reality. This was Supergirl. Whatever he was feeling for her, she'd never feel the same. She was this beautiful, untouchable being. And he was…he was just Querl. And not even fully himself. These damn inhibitors on his forehead kept him from even being his true self, kept him from even looking like his true self. But she didn't need to know that. No one at the D.E.O. needed to know that he kept himself from connecting to the Big Brain and reaching his full Colu potential. Not if they were going to continue to trust him.

"Querl," she says his name so softly, like it's a delicate, precious thing. "You didn't make me uncomfortable. You helped me free myself."

"Well, a small part of that is the machine," he shrugs. "The rest was all you. I just smelled some pillows."

A giggle flitters like a bird in the quiet, and he snags another glance at her. She's beaming at him, and damn it if it isn't the cutest fucking thing he's ever seen. "You did more than that."

His voice is a low, gentle rumble as he barely gets out, "Happy to help."

There are thousands of scenarios firing through his twelve intellects, all with the question: What if I told her? What if he spilled his gigantic, throbbing, growing infatuation with her? What if he revealed that he literally always had at least three of his intellects constantly thinking about his time in her mind, replaying every smile and laugh and the story of Streaky the cat, and how she'd sat next to him, happy to share this cherished memory from her childhood?

Even though there are chances that telling her could result in a happy, unbelievable response, Querl ultimately decides to say nothing. Because, as if he needs any reminder, this is Supergirl who sits before him. And he doesn't have a chance.

***O***O***O***

Say something, Kara silently pleads. Anything. Say you felt it too. Say you want to get a drink later. Say I'm not alone, you like me, we should give this a try. She plasters a smile on her face and waits.

Querl doesn't speak a word. He shifts his weight from foot to foot, watching her with a sizzling, anxious energy radiating from him. As the minutes pass by, Kara's hope depletes and she finds herself scrambling to keep the conversation going.

"I, uhm, I don't have any plans later." She bites the inside of her cheek. Querl nods in answer, his jaw clenching briefly. "Do you?"

He shakes his head, "No, uhm. No, I was just going to work through the night."

"It's Friday," Kara frowns.

Again, his brows pull together in that puzzled look of his. It makes her skin prickle. "So?"

"So, you can't work through a Friday night!" Filling with an eagerness to grasp this opportunity to ask him out, she places her hands on her knees to keep her legs from shaking with adrenaline. "Why don't we go out?"

Whatever he'd been expecting her to say, it clearly wasn't that. The shock showing on his handsome face had her nearly barking with laughter. "Out?" He repeats. "With you?"

Kara nods, "Sure! We can go to this bar I know where aliens are welcomed. You wouldn't need a disguise. And they have great greasy food, and karaoke, and -" she shuts her mouth, noticing the parade of expressions running over his face. "Are you okay?"

Querl scrunches his eyes shut and shakes his head. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm alright. Uhm, I do have a lot of work I need to finish."

"Oh." She practically deflates. "Right. Sorry. I'm probably keeping you from something important right now, huh?" She stands up from the chair he'd offered her. "I'll get out of your way." She strides towards the door, ready to speed off.

"Supergirl, wait," Querl hustles after her. "I'm sor-"

"Kara," she cuts him off, stopping at the open doorway. "Call me Kara. Please. And you don't have to apologize. You're busy. I get it." She leaves, using super speed to rush off without giving him a chance to stop her again.

Seconds later she's out of the D.E.O. Headquarters and soaring the skies of National City. Not in a I-need-to-get-away-because-that-was-so-embarrassing way (really), but in a I-should-totally-do-something-productive-and-patrol-the-city way. It had absolutely nothing to do with Querl all but rejecting her.

Really.

Her comm link patches her to Alex, who gives greeting by snapping. "Where the hell did you go?"

"What's wrong?" Kara asks, lasering in on a burglary happening just a few blocks down from where she flew. She glides over, landing right in front of the getaway car the thief had just dove into. She waves at the men, who's jaws drop.

"Shit," the man behind the wheel grunts.

His partner in the passenger seat smacks his shoulder. "C'mon dude, go!"

"No," Kara shakes her head. "No, don't do that. You're not going to like the outcome of that."

"Dude," the passenger smacks the driver again. "Come on! Go! This place is gonna blow!"

"What?" Kara snaps her head to left, using X-Ray vision to scan the bank these bafoons just robbed.

"There's a bomb planted at National City Bank on -"

"Yeah, Alex!" Kara quips. "I'm already here. Hang on." She flies through the bank at high speed, punching a hole through a wall where a bomb had been planted behind the drywall. Snatching the device, she speeds out of the bank and then pushes off the concrete floor to fly above the skyscrapers.

The second she makes it above the city, the bomb goes off, exploding in her arms. "Shit!" Kara yelps in surprise. The blast pushes her back and momentarily lose her balance. The smoke and sulfur make her cough, but she rights herself easily enough.

"You okay?" Alex asks over the comm link.

Kara's voice comes out in a croak. "Yeah, fine. Did the police grab those guys?"

"Yep, all is handled. Good work. We've got everything handled over here for the night, feel free to head home. I'll call you if something comes up."

With an early release on a Friday afternoon, Kara takes advantage of sisters generosity and sets her course to her loft apartment, ready for some take out and reruns of I Love Lucy.

***O***O***O***

"Is everything okay?"

Alex looks over her shoulder to find Querl standing behind her, his eyes on the screens that monitor the city. "Yeah, nothing major. Supergirl just snagged a bomb before it blew up a block."

He takes a step forward, his brows pulled together. "Is she okay?"

Alex smiles at him. "She's fine. She's heading home for the rest of the day. It's pretty mellow here and I know Lena is on her ass about an assignment."

"Oh," he sighs. "Okay. Well. Good. I'm glad she's not hurt." He turns to return to his lab.

"Hey Brainy," Alex moves her body to allow herself to rest her hip against the desk she'd been leaning over. "Got any plans tonight?"

"Oh, uhm," he looks uncomfortable. It draws out his me of Alex's mischievous all-knowing smiles that only older siblings have the power to wield. "I have work to complete for the Legion and D.E.O."

Alex crosses her arms over her chest. "Why not take the night off? Go grab some dinner somewhere, take a walk through the city park. Explore the town or something."

His face falls, as if even the suggestion of going out in public pains him. "I can't," he answers quietly.

There's a ping of sadness that touches her heart at his confession. "Why not?"

Brainy looks away from her. "I'm a Coluan."

"So?"

His jaw clenches but he says nothing. Alex studies him, recognizing anger and sorrow in the way he holds himself, the way he avoids her stare, and the silence that says so much. "Brainy," she offers gently. "You're not a prisoner. You don't need to stay cooped up in your lab all the time."

He looks down at his feet. "I know. I just-" He stops himself. He stopped himself a lot, Alex realized. Always before he's about to reveal too much about himself. It was like he was purposely keeping himself separated from everyone else.

He's lonely, Alex realizes. And that ping of sadness grew to a full clench of her heart. "Hey, why don't you go hang out with Kara? She's got the night off."

He jerks his face up, surprise all over it. "I-I," he swallows, trying to collect himself. "I'd already told her I couldn't go to the bar with her."

Alex shrugs. "So don't go to the bar. Hang out in her loft."

"Is that - would that - would she -"

Alex giggles, "It's fine, Brainy. Trust me. She's probably picking up sushi and watching movies tonight. She won't mind the company." She can see him battle with himself, trying to decide if he should abandon his work for the night and venture off to Kara's loft for a night of cozy companionship. "I'll talk to Mon-El. Really, it's okay. You need a break. You're not a machine."

He glares at her. "Yes I am."

Alex smiles again. "You're not fully a machine. You gotta learn how to relax."

He fidgets, looking uncomfortable and unsure.

"Go to Kara's," Alex turns back to the desk she'd been using. "Everything is going to be okay."

***O***O***O***

You idiot, Kara pulls a blanket up and over her shoulders. Her TV is on, halfway through an episode of I Love Lucy that she'd already seen a million times. She sighs, grimacing and chastising herself for her conversation with Querl earlier. What did she think was going to happen? That he'd kneel down before her and confess that yes, he absolutely felt something and he can't stop thinking about her and of course he wants to be with her.

But, duh. That didn't happen. And why would it? They barely knew each other. They were acquaintances, coworkers; their one link was Mon-El.

And yet…she wasn't wrong. She knew there was something there beneath the surface. Something that laid deep in her bones, in her lungs, in the blood that pumped through her. There was something between her and Querl. She couldn't ignore that his presence in her unconscious had woken something in the very core of her being.

Which was why she felt like an idiot for fumbling a chance to ask him out. For whatever reason, Querl would rather stay in his lab instead of go out into the city with her. He was friendly to her, definitely kind, and the gentleness he'd shown her as she panicked and tried to blast through her apartment door (albeit it wasn't her actual door) was a side of him she really wanted to see again. But he didn't -

Knock, knock, knock.

Kara swivels her head towards the door, using her X-Ray vision to check who stands on the other side. At the sight of him, she gasps and quickly jumps up from her spot among the cushions and blankets. Collecting herself as best as she can, she smoothes down rumples in her t-shirt that are not actually there and runs her fingers through her blonde tresses in an attempt to look a little less disheveled. She reaches the front door quickly and before she twists the handle to open, a shiver of nerves go through her. Why was he here? He'd denied her invitation to hang out just a few hours ago. Had something happened? Was it related to the D.E.O.? Was Alex okay? J'onn? Mon-El and Imra?

Kara opens the door. Querl stands with his hands behind his back, looking anxious.

"Hey," Kara manages a smile, hoping she's not radiating the jittery feeling that pumps through her at the mere sight of him.

"Hi," he whispers. He's looking at her with such a wary, terrified intensity. As if he expects her to send him away.

They stand awkwardly, trying to find the right words to breach the obvious, unspoken tension. "Would you like to come in?" Further opening the door, Kara steps aside, gesturing to the quant loft she calls home.

"Very much," he answers softly and she can see shades of purple rising on his cheeks. He lifts his hand from behind his back, revealing a pink paper bag. "I, uh, I brought cupcakes."

Kara flashes him a grin. "You didn't have to do that."

He shrugs sheepishly. "It only seemed fair. You brought me lunch. I"m bringing you dessert." He steps into her loft, looking around. "It looks the exact same."

That warm feeling spreads over Kara as she shuts the door. She waits for him to finish his observation and turn back to her. "It's just like when I -"

When I was here, lays between them. Kara nods, folding her hands in front of herself. "Except for Streaky."

A sad frown is his only response. Breaking eye contact, Kara holds out her hands and takes the cupcakes from him, setting them on her kitchen table. She offers him tea, to which he nods, and she sets to work finding mugs, tea bags, and filling the kettle. The loft is filled with silence save for the television, which continues to play the I Love Lucy reruns Kara had on before his arrival.

"I,uh," he shifts uncomfortably on his feet, clearly unsure if he should find a seat or remain standing in the space between her stove and the kitchen table. "I'm sorry. About earlier. I wasn't trying to be an ass."

She doesn't look at him as she rips opens the box of Yogi tea she'd found in her pantry. "You're not an ass."

He mutters, "Tell that to Mon-El."

Kara frowns at him over her shoulder. "What?"

"It's not important," he shakes his head. " But I do owe you an apology. I was unforgivingly rude to you in the lab."

She turns to fully face and lean against her kitchen counter. She crosses her arms over her chest. "It's not a big deal."

"It is," he persists. "I should have at least explained. I -"

She shrugs her shoulders, "It's fine, really. I knew you were busy and I took a chance and well…"

His dark eyes drop and he fidgets with the flight ring he wears. "I'm never too busy for you."

If she hadn't had super hearing, she may have missed the softly spoken confession. Her heart pounds in her chest.

He sighs and raises his eyes to hers, offers a small smile and says, "I have…issues, with being around other people. And I…I don't like to try to risk being seen. I obviously look different than humans. I don't want to upset anyone."

"You wouldn't upset anyone," She wants to comfort him. There's so much to unpack, so much she doesn't know about him. "There's a place here that accepts aliens as customers."

"That doesn't mean they'll accept me." That temper he's known for, the one that has D.E.O. agents leaving whenever he enters the room, shows itself for just the briefest second of time. He shuts his eyes and shakes his head for a second, regulating his emotions. "I'm Coluan…and a lot of people hate Coluans."

"Why?"

"That's a loaded question."

Kara frowns at him. "What do you mean? I'm just asking."

Querl shakes his head again. "I don't," he sighs. "The point is that, I'm not ready to explore your city. I'm not…I'm not brave enough to leave the D.E.O., or even the lab, really. I speak from experience, Kara. Hiding is the safer option."

She wants to tell him that he shouldn't feel this way here. That National City had taken leaps in positive progression regarding alien acceptance. She settles for, "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

He shrugs, dismissing his feelings as if they were nothing. It makes her heart ache.

The kettle whistles, waking them from the tense conversation. Kara jumps, the sound startling her. She turns and pours the boiled water into their two mugs and hands one to Querl. He takes it with a little smile.

"Well," Kara attempts to lighten the mood. "I'm always up for a night in. What do you say we introduce you to the greatest sitcoms of the century and eat all the cupcakes you brought?"

***O***O***O***

An hour later and the cupcakes have been completely demolished and they were on the third episode of How I Met Your Mother.

"I don't like Ted," Querl announces. He's sitting on the opposite end of the couch as Kara, his head propped up with his fist, his other arm resting across the back of the couch. Kara is cozied up with her favorite faux fur blanket, lying on her side and feeling wonderfully drowsy, even though her iPhone revealed the time to only be 6:04 PM. She glances at Querl, taking note of his head tipped back and his eyes barely open.

"Would you like a blanket?" She asks. "I have extra on my bed over there."

He lets out a yawn and shakes his head. "I'm alright."

She pushes herself up to sitting. "You're falling asleep."

"It's because this show is boring." He side eyes her, a smirk on his lips.

"What!" Kara yelps, mouth dropping open. "How can you say that?"

"If he liked this brown haired girl so much, he should've just said so. Throwing three parties is irresponsible and inconsiderate of his law school friend."

Kara bites her bottom lip to keep from laughing. "But then there wouldn't be a show. It would end after the first episode."

"But they'd be happy."

"Oh come on," Kara rolls her eyes. "Haven't you ever had a crush on someone and just couldn't tell them." She'd said it before she'd even realized what she was saying. And as soon as it was out of her mouth, Kara wished she'd just shut up.

The entire mood shifted. Querl sat still as stone, his eyes unflinching as he stared at the TV. Kara nervously picked her cuticles and kept her eyes downcast. Minutes went by. Agonizingly slow minutes that tormented her until she couldn't take it any longer.

Letting out a huff of air, Kara somehow pulls out enough courage to say. "Look, I - there's something I need to tell you." She takes a moment to sort through what she wants to say, how to get this right, how to not scare him off.

He's turned his head to look at her, patiently waiting. And all her bravery vanishes.

"I will never make you go out into the city if you're not ready. I promise."

He stares at her, as if he can read her mind and is just waiting for her to say the words. When she doesn't, he gives her a tender smile. "Thank you," he whispers.

They turn back to the TV, and do not speak for the rest of the night.