Broken And Beautiful ~ A Supercorp AU Fanfic

Chapter Eight: Before You Sleep

Alex and J'onn weaved expertly between the coffee house tables and found a seat next to the window. The place was always packed full of working stiffs looking for their early morning courage, and hopeful out of work writers and actors hoping to catch their big break.

"Why do we come here?", Alex asked as she counted the number of man-buns floating around. She gritted her teeth and fought the urge to tazze the hipsters one by one.

"It's the closest coffee place to the station. That's pretty much it." J'onn surveyed Alex for a moment and then gave her a sad smile. "How are you doing? You seem a little more tense than usual this morning. How's Kara?"

Alex rubbed the back of her neck and let out a troubled sigh.

"She's getting better day by day but it has been slow going. She's in a lot of pain and she beats herself up for not making better progress."

J'onn placed a hand on Alex's shoulder and leveled his deep brown eyes to Alex's.

"Remember to be patient and kind. I know she has been snapping a lot. Has her temper cooled?"

"She's eerily quiet now, but her pain is written on her face. Most of the time I think she feels the pain of her loss more than the pain from her injuries."

"Loss?"

"That woman from the elevator. She thought she might have a chance to win her back, but she was finally dealt the death blow."

"Your sister is a fighter. She will get through this. She will come back physically and she will love again. Death blow?"

"I sure hope so. She really liked this woman. I liked her too, from what I saw. I still remember that Christmas Eve in the snow. I thought for sure that the two of them would be married by now. Hard to imagine snow with this heat. I feel like I can't breathe."

"True. Metropolis summers are the worst." J'onn grabbed a napkin from the table and wiped the sweat from his brow.

Alex looked over at the line and made eye contact with the woman she had noticed every day for weeks.

The two women had been dancing the same flirtatious tango for almost a month. They made eye contact, smiled, blushed, and never spoke a word to each other.

"When are you going to do something about that?" J'onn asked with a big grin.

"Huh?" Alex asked distracted.

"That beautiful woman you stare at every day. The two of you stare into each other's eyes, but it never goes any further. Go over there and talk to her."

"That poor woman is just trying to get a cup of coffee. Just because we smile at each other doesn't mean she wants me sidling up to her like we're at a nightclub."

"You say that, but she is headed this way. I'll give you some privacy", J'onn said moving out of his seat. His grin wide and his eyes bright.

"Don't you dare leave me alone."

The woman approached holding two coffees. Her long brown hair looked soft and silky. Alex couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to get lost in her hair as they shared the same pillow. Her brown eyes sparkled in the light and her smile was so infectious, Alex's face hurt from grinning after only a few seconds.

"Hi. I'm so sorry to interrupt", the woman said. Alex looked up at her and she found she could barely breathe.

J'onn smiled and cleared his throat. Alex was speechless.

"It's no interruption at all. Please, would you like to take a seat?"

J'onn motioned for for the beautiful brunette to take a seat across from Alex.