Multifandom Oneshots

supergirl ~ anxiety attack (hurt/comfort) ~ lena & brainy

A/N : An extended version of the scene from episode 6x03 where Brainy breaks down in front of Lena. Also Autistic!Brainy. Not the focus of this but it is there

"I need... To destroy him" Brainy told her, his hands curled into shaking fists. She had never seen him so livid. He almost seemed manic with how angry he was. It was worrying. This was Brainy! He was usually fairly level headed, or at least could appear as such even when he was acting irrationally. But, now? Now his entire demeanor sent chills down Lena's spine. "And if I can't do that, then... How do I make these feelings go away?"

Lena was fighting back tears at this point. She felt guilty because she knew that a part of this was her fault. She was the one who had told him to bottle up his emotions. The man had clearly internalized this advice, and she felt shame for it. Back then, that was the only way she knew how to deal with all her bad emotions, but now she understood better ways to cope. Brainy had just gotten caught in the crossfires of that.

"Brainy, we were wrong" she told him, shaking her head. "Y- Y- You can't put your emotions into little boxes. They'll eat away at you until there's nothing left" she explained, and she sworse she could see tears forming in the alien's eyes. "And, I know it's hard, but you have to embrace them. "It's okay to feel rage. You just gotta let it out and then LET IT GO!"

Brainy backed away from her, flicking his hands a few times to try and help force the anger away (it helped with smaller emotions) to no avail. Lena just watched him with sympathy as he picked up a laptop, typed something into it, and then slammed it onto the floor with a yell. It broke on impact as several chunks from the device flew around. It was such an uncharacteristically violent outburst, and it just made Lena more worried for him.

"I HATE HIM!" the alien screamed, his voice and body shaking as rage and fear and grief surged through his body. He repeated that mantra once more, tears breaking through as he did so. A part of Lena wanted to run to his side and hug him, but she stayed put. She didn't know how he would react to such a gesture in his current state and didn't want to upset him further. He sobbed, fingernails digging into his hands from how tightly curled his fists were. It hurt to watch.

He sat down, unable to stand any longer as he ran a hand through his hair. "And I'm- I..." he stuttered as Lena sat across from him to show that she wasn't going anywhere. She'd been alone through too many of her own episodes, so she knew full well how upsetting that could be. No one deserved to go through this type of thing by themself. "I miss her"

"Hey" Lena whispered gently, reaching out to take his hands in her own. He felt his rage simmer a little bit at that, though something else began to boil up under it. "Me too" Lena admitted. She missed Kara too. That was her best friend. The one person she trusted above all others. The family she never got but always knew she deserved. Kara was gone, and it was tearing everyone else apart.

Brainy shakily looked up at her, surprised at the vulnerability he just showed. She exhaled and smiled at him with empathy. "What... What if..." Brainy mumbled out, squeezing onto Lena's hand a little bit for comfort. She didn't mind this, nor did she mind him tripping over his words. All he needed was a little patience, and she understood that. "What if we can't get her back?"

"Brainy..."

"What if we can't, Lena!?" he shouted, fear wracking his body. Lena sighed, not entirely sure of how to respond. "I mean, we already tried and it didn't work" he continued, and the Luthor could see him growing more and more freaked out with every word. "The Phantom Zone split off into countless factions after Crisis- It could be years before we even know which one she's in, let alone figure out how to save her! Lena, I can't..."

"Focus on breathing, Brainy" she told him gently, seeing how he was being overcome by fear. She understood, of course. Lord knows how many of these she had dealt with throughout her own life. Anyone dealing with this superhero stuff would, it just kinda came with the job. She was just glad she was able to be there for her friend while he went through it.

He gasped for air, feeling especially freaked out at the fact that this was happening to him. This never happened when he had his inhibitors. A small part of him wanted them back, but he quickly shoved that thought away. "Brainy, can I hug you?" Lena asked him softly. She felt it may help him to calm down, but wasn't sure how he would react and decided that asking was probably her safest bet. He nodded frantically. "Please"

Lena went over to him and wrapped her arms around his shaking body, allowing him to cry and (lightly) punch at her as much as he needed. All that really mattered to her was that he was no longer bottling it all up and compartmentalizing his feelings into tiny boxes. Some of the damage she had inadvertently caused was finally being undone, even if it was painful to see.

He eventually calmed down, though he did not leave her arms. Things needed to be done. The Phantoms were still out there. But, at that moment, he could not find the energy to get up and work on it. Truthfully, he needed sleep. He had not properly slept in a few days, which definitely was not helping his already high running emotions. However, he couldn't sleep. Not then.

"I am glad to see you have calmed down, Brainy" Lena told her friend quietly. He nodded, not saying anything for a moment. "We have work to do, but..." he trailed off, taking a deep breath. He'd already been vulnerable around her this whole time, what harm could a little more do, right? "Can we stay here for a little while?"

"Of course, Brainy"