driftfleet | And On Your Left You'll See a Tourist Mingle

Did you see how good I was with all the knocking and waiting to be let in?

[ a question hoping to break the mood at least slightly ]

[ it works; it even wins her a more substantial smile. ]

I'm very proud.

[ she smiles back. and offers a hug ]

[ he'll gratefully accept, and cling a little. it takes everything he has not to break into tears again. ]

[ she's ok with clinging. she can handle it ]

Give me a hint?

[ she only speaks after a moment, and doesn't let go of the hug ]

[ he's quiet for a moment. well, maybe he can't tell kara about kitty's side of the conversation they just had, but he can tell her about his, and the constant terror he lives with of seeing his father again here - or a version of his father - or a version of himself that's turned into his father - or turning into him himself because so many things here feel like they could so easily push him over the edge if he really has that tendency in him. ]

Kitty and I talked...about her world, and ours. [ he closes his eyes for a moment, willing himself to control his voice. ] About my dad.

[ they talked about Kitty's world? that would suggest at least some of this reaction. But she focuses on what he's saying about himself ]

Oh, Winn. You couldn't be further away from him right now.

Couldn't I? Because I kinda doubt prison bars mean anything to these people.

[ if they could take supergirl, they could take anyone. not that he -- can think of a single reason why anyone would want to watch his insane father, but then again, anyone who would tune in to watch a bunch of people ripped as far away from their homes as possible against their will has to be sick. ] I could run into him tomorrow, or to a him that I'll never be able to trust because if he figured out he could pretend to be something else and win me over - I can't say that he wouldn't do that. [ actually, he's pretty sure he'd do just that. he may be crazy, but he's also a genius.

and as much as this is not at all what's been making him cry, it feels good to let it out, to say it out loud. ]

Any number of things could happen, but what's the point in worrying about all infinite possibilities? It seems like an exercise in self torture more than anything else. The fact of the matter is that he isn't here, you are. And you're really nothing like him.

[ and there's the part that's hardest to admit - and not just because it would require explaining what kitty shared with him. he feels more like him than ever. he's been filled with so much anger since their talk, a blinding fury towards everything in kitty's world, everyone that's hurt her. he can't afford to go blind, not for a second, not considering the stakes.

he pulls away from her arms, suddenly feeling unworthy of the comfort, and avoids her eyes. ]

I wish that were true. [ but if he's capable of such rage, such hatred, what else is he capable of? ]

Winn, it is true. I know you.

I'm not sure I know myself here.

[ he can't hack, he's still struggling to help her regain her powers, the only project he's been successful at so far -- is making a couple dresses. he's useless. everything he was good at at home - has been stripped away from him, and in its place...he's gotten surprisingly good with people. kitty, kate, kaworu, even kirk...he's made more friends in less than two months here than he has in years back home. and it's not that he's ungrateful for that particular change - he absolutely is - but it highlights how different everything is here. there's a machine attached to his brain and he has no idea what it's doing besides making him good with spaceship engines. is he even in control of himself?

all the anxiety he's been burying down since he arrived floats back up to the surface. ]

What do you mean by that?

[ time to put those brackets out in the open? ]

[ but that's scary, though. he knows she'll reassure him, tell him it's not his fault, and he'll want to believe her, trust her. but even so, the words are incredibly hard to say, to face up to. he hates that he has these feelings, more than anything he wants to be strong for her and for kitty, like they're being for their respective worlds - and for him. ]

Just...[ he runs a hand through his hair, wishing he let the subject drop, wishing he said you're right and stepped away from the topic. grateful that he didn't - he shouldn't go back to bottling things up, that leads nowhere good. ] I can't help you. I can't uncover any new information. I can't...do anything, unless it's trivial like costumes for a party.

[ being helpful has become a pillar of his personality, and he doesn't recognize himself without it. it feels like everything that was useful about him is slowly being replaced with anger. ]

Winn, we've known each other for two years. You were the first person I met at CatCo. I was so nervous and you made me smile. How long have you known I'm Supergirl? A few months? If that?

We didn't become friends because you were, I don't know, useful to me. To Supergirl. We became friends because you're... you. You have this energy that just brightens the space around you. You were the fourth person in my entire life who knew about what I could do. If I ever thought for a fraction of a second that you would exploit that... I never would have shared.

I was here for weeks before you showed up, Winn. Weeks where, yeah, I didn't have my powers. And that's so frustrating. But you know what I missed way more than my ability to fly? My friends. You. So I don't know where you're getting all of this "I can't help you" stuff. You can help me. You have helped me. I sleep so much better knowing that I have a true friend just a few doors away from me, who won't mind if I need to wake him up in the middle of the night just to pour my heart out. Who will always look out for me when I forget to look out for myself. And who will drop everything to save my rear and dress me up for a last minute party.

Trivial as it may be, it matters to me. You matter to me. I'd be so lonely here without you.

[ all the feelings he's been struggling with are still there - he still feels helpless to help kitty, furious at himself for it because the stakes are so high. he's still angry that the stakes were raised that far to begin with. he's still afraid of what that rage may mean for him, still terrified of what tomorrow may bring.

but now, other feelings that have been beaten down rise up to join them. hope, gratitude, love (and not the awkward kind). he spends so much of his life smiling through it that sometimes it's easy to forget how amazing allowing a friend to offer comfort can be.

despite all the darkness, all the fears, he finds himself smiling. it's that power that's uniquely kara's. ]

I don't know what I'd be here without you. [ it's honest, and awed, and grateful. he connects with kitty in a way he never really did with anyone before - but what he shares with kara...is irreplaceable. she's the first real family he's had since he was a child. ] Or anywhere. You're not just my friend, Kara. You're my family.

[ that hits her in the feels. she knows what it means for him to say that. she knows what it means for her to hear that. he's going to make her cry ]

Winn...

[ she goes back in for another hug ]

For a pair of orphans, we really have some great family, huh?

[ he'll take some happy tears about now.

he returns that hug warmly now, and chuckles softly in her ear. ]

The best.

[ how could he ever think of coping with any of this without her? space really is doing a number on his brain, he's supposed to be smart. ]

[ yay hugs. eventually she sits back again, and takes her glasses off to clean them ]

Can we talk about the other thing you mentioned? Kitty's home?

[ he falls quiet again, unable to really bring himself to catch her eyes. he wants to scream out his frustration, his anger, his misery. but he doesn't know how much kara may know about it, and while kitty did say that at least (at least, it feels so horrendously wrong to even think in this context) her death is no secret - he still feels like he would be betraying the trust she placed in him if he brings it up without her explicit permission. ]

What do you want me to say? [ he knows she knows some at least - because of hank. but he can't know how far that extends. of course - she can't know how far his knowledge extends which kind of makes it hard on either of them to bring up specifics, doesn't it? ] You know it's...terrible, right?

Yeah and... not available for her to go home to?

[ she's in the same position as him—trying to feel out what he knows or doesn't know. she doesn't want to be the one to break the news if they haven't talked about it, but his reaction was so strong. they had to have talked about it ]

She told me some... pretty serious stuff last week.

[ he doesn't have the energy to feel anything about kara possibly knowing besides a strange sort of relief. ]

Which is why I'm going to make ours available.

[ he wants to sound confident, assured. this has to be the one thing he succeeds in, even if he fails at absolutely everything else for the rest of his life - he has to get kitty to national city. he has to. he has no idea how -- but he knows that he can't let her down - and he can't lose her. ]

Do you think that's possible?

[ she's not doubting him—in fact, she's energized by the possibility. She wants more details. ]

I'm sure it is. We were all brought here - to a dimension that isn't our own. That means that we can exist in a dimension that isn't our own - and we can travel to it. It's a matter of reverse engineering the technology.

[ it's a matter of finding it. and the obvious first place to look -- is the place that brought them all here. but he couldn't find anything on board the marsiva when he arrived. there has to be something, there has to be a solution. he's just not seeing it yet. ]

That sounds pretty exciting to me. I bet you and Hank could put your heads together on the topic.

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