Chapter Text
In the last 23 years she had been living on this planet, not for once had Kara Danvers felt so lonely. Maybe the breakup was a bad idea.
She missed having Barry around. Some of his clothes were still lying around. His favorite Star Wars mug was in the kitchen. His music on her iPod playing softly around the apartment. Maybe she could talk to him. He had always been her best friend since school days. Even if she couldn't have the boyfriend Barry back, she could at least have her friend.
Kara decided to give him a call only to stop short when her phone rang. It was her sister, Alex.
"Hey, Alex," Kara answered the phone and plopped on the couch. A loud noise outside made her move the phone away, but when she heard her sister ask if she had any plans for the weekend, Kara turned her attention back to the phone call. "Nope. No plans. In case you have forgotten, I don't have a boyfriend to make any plans with."
"Well… there's still Winn."
"Winn is also a great friend of mine. I'm not dating him."
"Fine. Fine. I can cancel my date if you want," Alex offered. "We could hang out."
"Don't d—" A loud crash following by a small bark made Kara jump. "Alex, looks like someone is outside the door. I'll call you back."
"Sure. See ya, Sis."
Kara cut the call and made her way towards the door. She opened it to see people moving outside 4-B. A little ball of fluff crashed against her legs and she jumped in surprise to see it was a puppy.
"Oh hey there!" Kara bent down and patted its head lovingly. The pup rubbed its head against her hand and let out a short woof.
"Buyo, come back here." Someone called from 4-B. Kara looked up to see a young man around her age standing outside the other apartment, gesturing for the dog to come back. "Hi, I'm so sorry," he apologized to Kara. "He's way too excited to see new people."
"Hey! That's okay," Kara said, making her way towards the stranger, the little pup walking with her and quickly running back to his master.
The guy took the pup in his arms and patted his head. "You don't run off like that again, Buyo. We really need to work on your manners."
Kara smiled watching the man talk to his dog. He then set Buyo down and paid the men who had just moved his things in. 4-B had been empty for the last 3 weeks. Maybe this was her new neighbor.
Once the men left, the stranger turned to face Kara with a smile. He had unruly dark brown hair and piercing blue-grey eyes. He was taller than her, way taller and he scratched his stubbly chin a lot. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a whine and saw Buyo disappearing into his neighbor's apartment. "Oh shit! Sorry. Buyo is being troublesome today." Saying that, he walked with Kara into her apartment to see Buyo chewing on something. It looked like a t-shirt.
Kara facepalmed herself when she realized it was Barry's. Her neighbor ran to his dog and took him in his arms and tried to pull the t-shirt from his mouth. "Stop it, Buyo! You're being a bad doggy!"
He managed to pull the t-shirt, but Buyo had torn it. Sighing, he looked at the pup who whined and nudged his face against his master's hands.
"Again, I'm so very sorry. I'll buy you another t-shirt, exactly the same one."
Kara smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. That wasn't mine. And don't apologize. Your puppy seems very energetic."
Carrying Buyo out of the apartment, the man nodded. "Yeah, he is. He's a handful. I can't take my eyes off him even for a minute these days."
Kara caressed Buyo's head and he happily melted with the touch. "He's so cute. How old is he?"
"Oh, he's a month old. We just moved in. 4-B. Sorry, where are my manners?! I'm Mike. Mike Matthews." He held his hand out for her to shake, struggling to keep the hyperactive pup in his other arm.
"Kara Danvers. Nice to meet you, Mike. And you too, Buyo." Kara smiled at the pup and got a happy bark in return.
"It's nice to meet you too, Kara. Buyo and I are going to head back inside. I'll see you around." Waving to her, he turned around and walked away. Mike went into the apartment, closed the door and only then did he set Buyo down.
Kara didn't waste another minute after Mike had disappeared into his apartment. She rushed in to call Alex and tell her all about her new, charming and handsome neighbor, and his cute ball of fluff.
It was later that evening that she stood outside 4-B after Alex's insistence to get to know the new guy. She stood with a box of chocolate chip cookies. Kara took a deep breath and rung the doorbell. At first she heard nothing, then she heard footsteps followed by a short excited woof.
Mike pulled the door open and smiled when he saw her. Buyo was pawing at her feet and trying to jump to see what was in her hands.
"Buyo, down, boy!" Mike quickly pulled the pup away from Kara. "Hey, please come in."
Kara walked in with the baked goodies and handed him the box.
"You… baked me cookies?" Mike asked with a small smirk. "That's very neighborly of you."
"I wish I had. I would have burnt down my apartment." Kara giggled as Mike gestured for her to sit. Buyo immediately jumped over the couch and sat next to Kara and pawed her hands, expecting a treat.
Kara rubbed his head and turned to face Mike who stood chuckling lightly. "Coffee?" he asked. Kara simply nodded and thanked him. "I have something for you," she said, standing up and making her way towards the kitchen. His place was sparsely furnished unlike hers. There were many unopened boxes in the living room. Mike did have a huge TV and a big stereo system. Buyo's toys were lying all over the place. She accidentally stepped over a squeak toy.
Mike turned to look at her as she held up few take-out menus. "These are from my favorite places. I thought you should have them."
"Oh wow! Thanks, Kara." Mike gratefully accepted the menus and started checking them out one by one. "So how long have you been living in 4-A?" he asked before setting the menus aside.
"Ah! Just about a year," Kara replied. She smiled and took a coffee mug from him. When he led the way back to the couch, he stopped short to offer Buyo a treat. Mike took a seat on the armchair and Buyo tried to climb on his lap. Unsuccessful, he went back to sit next to Kara. "Are you a local?"
Mike nodded. "Yup. Grew up here. You?"
"Midvale. I moved here for my job."
"Where do you work, Kara?"
"I'm an assistant at CatCo."
"CatCo, huh?" Mike gave her a small nod before sipping his coffee. "I lived near my Mom's place. It was just five minutes away. I took Buyo to visit her for the first time. He peed inside my mother's very expensive handbag… Let's just say she wasn't happy and wanted me to give Buyo away, so I had to relocate. Plus Buyo needed a bigger place to move around, he's growing up so fast.s
Kara smiled and looked at the pup who now lay with his head on Kara's lap.
"I'm sorry, he has absolutely no regards to personal space. He sleeps on my bed and that is one habit I'm trying to break."
"If I were you I wouldn't mind at all, he's so adorable."
"Don't let those puppy dog eyes fool you." Mike chuckled. "He's mischievous and he gets away with it." Just as Mike said that, his phone rang and he went to get it. He sighed when he saw his mother's name flashing on the screen. Excusing himself, he answered the call.
Kara sat there watching him pace the living room talking to his mother. He seemed upset and frustrated, so she excused herself and waved him goodbye. Mike apologized as she left. She smiled in return.
Kara headed back to her apartment and plopped on her couch. Mike seemed like a really nice guy but he seemed to have some family issues, and Kara Danvers had no time for issues of any sorts. She decided it was time to go to bed. Whatever happened the next day, she would face it with a smile.
When Kara woke up the next morning, she realized she was running late. There was no time for breakfast because Miss Grant's coffee was more important than her own nourishment.
Kara took a bus to her workplace and stopped by Noonan's. The barista started making Miss Grant's coffee as soon as he saw her.
"Morning, Kara. The regular for you?"
"I would love an espresso, please. Thanks, Jake!" Kara paid for the drinks and her eyes fell on the huge strawberry muffin that was calling her name. But Jake had already made her drinks so she couldn't afford to waste another minute. Thanking him, she grabbed the drinks and headed to work.
Just as Kara walked in and let out a sigh in relief that her boss wasn't here yet, the door to Miss Grant's personal elevator opened and she stepped out, not paying attention to anyone.
Once Cat walked into her office, she called, "Keira, do I have to come and collect my bulletproof coffee from you or does the cup come with specialized wheels so it can roll over and sit on my desk?"
"I'm sorry, Miss Grant. Here you go." Kara placed the coffee on her desk. "Is there anything else you need?"
"Peace of mind… But also the new reporter, Matthews. It's about time I grace him with my presence. Send him in."
"Will do, Miss Grant." Kara walked out of Miss Grant's office and looked around. No one told her a new reporter was coming in. No wonder the desk next to the huge windows had been cleared out, awaiting its new occupant.
"Kara?"
When she heard someone call her name, she turned around and saw it was Mike Matthews. Her neighbor.
Kara was truly surprised to see him here. "Mike, hi! What are you doing here?"
"Matthews!" Cat called from her desk. When Mike turned to look at her, she gestured for him to come in and smiled.
"Be right back," Mike said as he went to talk to Cat.
Kara couldn't help but listen to what her boss was saying. When Cat said, "Welcome to CatCo, Mike." Kara's eyes widened. Mike was the new reporter!
What kind of game was destiny playing with her?
He was in there for some ten minutes. Kara smiled to herself and watched as Mike shook hands with Cat and stepped out.
"Hi again," he said with a pleasant smile. "Looks like we'll be working together from now on."
With those words he had her blushing, wanting to get to know him more. Oh how she wished!