#braina

Kara came home from a particularly gruelling day at CatCo to find Nia nestled on the sofa with a book in her lap.

Kara smiled fondly, bounding over before collapsing onto the sofa at her girlfriend’s side, playfully tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“Hey,” she said.

Nia perked up, blinking quickly as she snapped her book shut. “Hey. Sorry, I spaced out for a second. I almost didn’t hear you come in.”

“Good book?”

“What?” Nia shook her head, pulling a face. “Honestly, I couldn’t even tell you what it was about. I was, like, two seconds from falling asleep.”

Kara snorted. “Rough day?”

Nia shrugged. “Not really, just slow. Brainy’s been sleeping for most of it.”

Kara raised a brow at that. “Really? No nightmares?”

“None.”

Kara glanced over to the bedroom door. It had been left ajar, enough that she could easily hear Brainy breathing softly from inside. She took a moment to focus on his heartbeat. A steady rhythm – nothing close to the erratic state it had been not two weeks ago. She fought back the urge to shudder at the memory.

“That’s progress,” Kara said after a moment, smiling softly. 

And it was; although Brainy’s nightmares had been far more frequent to begin with, even now he was plagued with at least one or two throughout the course of a day. They varied in intensity, but were nearly always centred on his experience in Leviathan’s ship, the radiation that had eaten away at him, sending fire pulsing through his blood.

Other times, though, Kara knew they were about other, far more personal things. The fear of losing his friends, for example. He’d been less willing to open up about those ones, but it didn’t take a twelfth level intellect to figure it out. Especially with the way he couldn’t quite meet Nia or Kara’s gaze after coming out of one. Even if he wasn’t ready to talk about them yet, Kara was glad that he’d started to become more receptive to their non-verbal methods of comfort.

Nia yawned, pressing a fist against her mouth. “I’m gonna make some coffee, want any?”

Kara rolled her eyes. “You know you could just take a nap if you wanted to.”

“It’s not even seven,” Nia said as though that explained everything. “So, do you want one or-?”

“I’m good,” Kara said. “Maybe we should put some food with that coffee, huh? I could fly over and get some take-out from-”

But Kara didn’t finish, because her attention was diverted immediately to the sudden shift and hitch of Brainy’s breathing.

Nia turned to her curiously. “Kara-?”

Kara slammed a finger to her lips, looking pointedly at the bedroom door.

“Oh,” Nia whispered, freezing awkwardly.

It had become habit to keep quiet in spaces where Brainy sounded like he might be waking. They didn’t want him to expend himself just because he felt like he was required to get up. Kara had a hunch that it was down to the guilt he still clearly felt over lying to everyone. The second he’d been lucid enough to register the attention he was getting, he’d been rather insistent that it wasn’t necessary. He’d gotten a lot better with accepting their help since he’d realised his limitations, but Kara wanted to make sure that if he was getting up, it was because he had the energy to do so.

When the bedroom door creaked open and a very sleepy Brainy shuffled out, she got her answer.

His blond hair was mussed slightly, and he blinked at the shift in lighting, rubbing his eyes. Kara noticed he had the blanket she’d knitted around his shoulders and had to bite her lip from grinning at the sight.

She’d gotten pretty good at needlework over the last few weeks. Alex had told her that knitting was a useful way of alleviating anxiety – so Kara had knitted her six sweaters and two scarves in a single afternoon. Oh. And some mittens. For the Winter months.

After that, she was gently prompted to make things for other people as well.

The blanket project had been a good idea. It was larger than a sweater and so took a little more time and care to perfect. Kara had tried to design it with Brainy’s favourite colours in mind. She’d even managed to put in a simple three-dot design reminiscent of the Coluan symbol. At first, Brainy had tried to insist he didn’t need any gifts, arguing that he wasn’t deserving of them after the atrocious acts he had committed. But then, the very same night he’d fallen asleep curled up beneath it and Kara had tried very hard to keep from pointing that out to him come morning.

Seeing him with it now sent a pleasant warmth throughout her chest.

Nia darted over to him, taking his arm. When Brainy softened against her, she lifted her hand, brushing the hair from the side of his face. “Hey,” she said softly. She smiled, tugging at the blanket. “Digging the cape, by the way. New addition to your costume?”

Brainy huffed out a small laugh, righting the blanket across his shoulders. “My internal temperature is still a little… off.” He frowned, glancing about the room. “What time is it?”

Normally, Brainy would have known that just from checking his body clock, but he’d put most of his functions on pause to keep his energy in the places that it was most needed. 

Kara folded her arms. “Just gone seven.”

Brainy glanced away awkwardly. “Oh.”

Nia ran her arm around his back, squeezing gently. “Hey, it’s alright. Remember what Alex said, this isn’t a race. You take all the rest you need.”

“Are you hungry?” Kara asked, hoping to lift Brainy’s mood. “I was just about to grab us all some food.”

Brainy raised his head at that. The hopeful glimmer in his eyes was all the affirmation she needed.

Kara wasn’t gone for very long. Flying and super speed definitely had its perks – she could beat just about any delivery driver. She came armed with potstickers and an assortment of other treats, finding that Brainy had already gotten settled on the sofa and was lazily watching as Nia flicked through TV channels.

“We were thinking of watching a movie,” Nia said as Kara set out their plates. “Any specific requests?”

Kara groaned, glancing skyward. “Ugh. Anything with a happy ending, please. And no dogs dying. If a dog dies, that does not count as a happy ending.”

Nia chuckled. “Noted and agreed. Brainy?”

Brainy blinked sleepily, nodding his head. Kara smiled, taking a seat at his other side. She pressed her lips against his hair, smiling when he relaxed against her touch, closing his eyes. Something told her he wouldn’t last through the whole movie, but the fact he wanted to be there with them both was more than enough.

In the end, they settled on The Princess Bride. Brainy had more of an appetite than Kara had expected from him and managed to clean the plate she’d made up. Although, by the time he was finished eating, he was already beginning to doze again.

Kara found her attention was drawn away from Buttercup and Westley’s story, instead focusing on the soft heat emanating from Brainy where he had drifted, his face leant heavily against her shoulder. His breathing was still steady, easing from half-parted lips. Kara smiled, tucking her homemade blanket a little further up his chest. That’s when she spied Nia’s hand, resting gently along his sternum, fingers pressed securely into the fabric of his pyjama shirt.

When Kara glanced up, she realised with a softness in her heart that Brainy hadn’t been the only one to fall asleep prematurely. Nia’s face was firmly tucked against Brainy’s neck, snoring softly against his throat.

Kara rolled her eyes. Movie forgotten for the time being, she curled in close, trying her best not to shift Brainy’s position too much as she nestled herself next to him.

When she was comfortable, she reached out her hand, pressing it against Nia’s, squeezing with practiced gentleness. Nia’s lids fluttered slightly, but she didn’t wake, still, Kara was certain she felt a returning pinch against her fingers, however light it might have been.