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“Now I can spend more time with you and our…”
Jimmy could feel his own heart racing when he took Kara’s hand. After everything they had been through in the last couple of months, being excited about something that was not a literal threat to humanity was definitely very welcome.
And the fact that something was Kara becoming his girlfriend was just the cherry on top.
“Committed relationship.” Wow, saying it aloud was awesome. She was awesome, they would be awesome together, nothing could go wrong!
But immediately, he heard Kara saying:
“Promising friendship.”
Wait, what?
“Promising what?” he practically shouted.
She closed the distance between them as she explained:
“You wanted to be a better friend, remember? I, Supergirl, am giving you an opportunity to do so.”
Just as it had come, the contact with Kara’s hand was suddenly gone and she skipped over to the ice cream parlor as she asked for extra sprinkles, leaving Jimmy standing there, completely frozen.
His hand twitched slightly and one of the scoops of the ice cream that he was holding rolled down and splattered onto the ground. He stayed there, unmoving, watching the treat dissolve under the summer sun little by little.
He should have seen this coming from a mile away. That much was obvious. He had played a stupid game with Kara and this was the ultimate prize: being friendzoned by the most powerful woman on the planet. It stung a lot. Even if there was one corner of his mind that reminded him that he had caused this to himself, the whole thing hurt.
He deserved it, of course, and Kara had waited for the perfect moment to deliver this to him, like a calculated attack. Like one of those precise punches she always threw in the middle of a fight, a psychological uppercut that completely demolished him.
“Jimmy Flamebird, are you alright?” he heard her voice and looked at her. She was smiling brightly, completely unaware of everything he was going through while holding a cup of ice cream that definitely had more sprinkles than it should.
“Biz says you still have to pay for the sprinkles.”
He frowned at that. Seriously? He had helped save the world and Bizarro was still charging him for the damn sprinkles.
(Although the brand new ‘Superman's Cousin’ had done his fair share too, so Jimmy guessed he earned it. Also, it was his livelihood!).
He mechanically searched into his pocket, pulled out a few bills and Kara took them then flew away immediately. Wow, now she wasn’t even talking to him, great. The tip of his foot stepped on the sticky ice cream, that was exactly how it felt right now: on the ground, useless, rejected. He could hear her voice faintly behind him. She seemed her usual cheerful self, probably boasting about how she had broken a human heart with her Kryptonian might.
Now, she was back to his side. He felt her, but still didn’t dare to look her in the eyes.
“Jimmy Flamebird…”
Why was she still calling him that? It was merely a reminder of how hard he had fumbled the whole thing. She had used that name with him ever since she met him, and her voice was sweet, kind, and melodic every time she did so. Now, he couldn’t think about anything except the fact that he had ruined the whole damned thing.
“… are you alright?” she said once more.
He blinked, coming back to reality to see Kara floating in front of him, with an expression of absolute confusion and care.
Friendly care, because she’s nothing more than a friend, you stupid, his brain supplied.
“I don’t get it,” he muttered.
You do get it, you just want her to repeat it to you, to stomp your heart once again so you can keep drowning in your self-pity.
Kara came even closer now, without saying a word, obviously waiting for him to finish his thoughts.
“I thought I could get…”
It didn’t really matter what he wanted, because he was not going to get it, so he didn’t say another word. Kara obviously got tired of waiting and questioned:
“Did you want another ice cream flavor?” she muttered. “Did Cousin Biz get your order wrong? Are you mad that it fell to the ground?”
She was obviously still messing with him, because he didn’t care about the cone. The ice cream splattered on the ground didn’t matter in the slightest, much like his feelings, it seemed.
“I don’t understand why you said that,” he said, his mind still echoing the words ‘promising friendship’.
“It was merely a supposition,” she countered, “based on what I am seeing and how troubled you look.”
And Jimmy hated that, because she was obviously talking about the dropped ice cream. But also, she was being kind to him, except that a worse possibility was that she was pretending to be kind on purpose. In any case, it was maddening, and his hand tightened into a fist, completely forgetting he was still holding an ice cream cone and shattering it violently. He huffed in frustration and let out a yelp when the cream covered his hand and upper arm. Kara took a step back, obviously shocked by his reaction.
“Do not move, Jimmy Flamebird, I shall be back to assist you.”
And off she went again, shouting, “Cousin Biz, I require as many paper towels as you can provide!”
Jimmy let out a long sigh. He wondered what he could do next. Obviously, asking Kara for forgiveness was pointless; it was far too late for that. She did mention a friendship, and even if that situation would lack the romance he was so desperately yearning for, at least Kara would be in his life. That is, until he would inevitably screw up again, because it was bound to happen, (because it seemed like that was the only thing he could do lately).
He felt a soft pressure and went stiff, feeling Kara working over his hand meticulously. She was focused on her task, completely fixed on his fingers, and he parted them slightly, allowing her to continue. He briefly questioned why she was doing this; he was expecting her to just throw the paper towels over his head while calling him an idiot, yet here she was, softly cleaning him while he melted under her touch.
It was so bittersweet, because she obviously still cared for him, but he had to remember it was out of the respect she felt for him as a friend and nothing else. Once she was done, she patted his shoulder slightly and said, “All done, Jimmy Flamebird,” flying away to throw the sticky towels in a nearby garbage can, then returning to his side to ask:
“So, what was the thing you could not get?”
It didn’t really matter now, so Jimmy didn’t see a reason to reply to her.
“Perhaps it has something to do with the fact you mentioned a ‘committed relationship’, Jimmy Flamebird?”
He opened his mouth to respond, but found out he was unable to do so because, to his surprise, Kara knew exactly what he was going through. She had listened to the words he said, so he got ready for the inevitable and definitive heartbreak.
“Because if that is the case, then let me tell you I do not get you.”
He tried to say something back, but now she was putting a hand in front of his face and he had no option but to shut the hell up.
“You tell me to go out there and discover the world, then avoid me when I do exactly that, then promise me you want to be a good friend, and now you are disappointed because you actually want a relationship?”
That was a surprisingly succinct way to put everything they had been through over the last few months, and Jimmy muttered:
“I thought that you had forgiven me, Kara.”
She gave him a look of utter confusion, then replied:
“You never asked for my forgiveness! You just offered me your friendship. Your messages are truly contradictory.”
“Well, you started to talk to me again.”
“It was my way of expressing gratitude for staying by my side when I was recovering from the Eradicator’s attack. I did not know you wanted something more.”
“If we can’t understand each other…” he replied, shaking his head, unsure of why he was thinking or even saying this, “then maybe we weren’t even meant to be together.”
And now Kara looked absolutely devastated, like she had witnessed the most horrifying thing in existence.
“So you do not desire to even be around me anymore?”
“No, I didn’t mean it like that!” he replied, half panicking, half raising his voice because Kara obviously didn’t get it.
“That is literally what you just said, Jimmy Flamebird!” she countered, and now her voice was loud and overwhelming.
“Well, you don’t have to take everything literally all the time. You should work on that, you know?” he spat back, because maybe he was an idiot, but Kara had started looking for other people the minute he suggested it, without even trying to understand why he was doing so.
“I’m trying!” she said back at him, and Jimmy recoiled in shock because it wasn’t normal seeing her being this emotional. “That is why I want to be your friend now, because I listened to what you wanted!”
Jimmy looked up at Kara. She looked angry, she was red in the face, her hands were closed into fists, her teeth were gritting, and her hair was slightly disheveled. He was sure he looked very much the same, and for the first time in several months, a thought appeared in his head. One that, in his opinion, should have been there much sooner.
What the fuck are you doing, man?
He took a deep breath and shook his head, trying to calm himself down, because whatever he was going to say to Kara next, he couldn’t do it in this state. She noticed his attitude and flew down to Earth, clasping her hands together as she looked down. Jimmy closed his eyes, then thought about her.
He cared for Kara immensely, and there were so many things she still didn’t understand, and that was his fault too. There was a whole world out there; he had told her those words and he had to admit that was his mistake.
He opened his eyes. A second later, Kara did the same and they stared at each other for a few seconds until he said:
“I’m sorry, Kara.”
Her nose scrunched up a bit at that, like she was about to reproach him for taking so long to apologize. However, she didn’t say a word and so, he continued:
“I told you, months ago, that you should discover the world. You did so much of that on your own, and I should have said I wanted to be with you when that happened. I wanted to discover new things with you, to help you understand Earth, to be there for you if you needed me.”
She extended a hand to him and he took it. She gently squeezed it, her thumb resting above it as she whispered:
“That is something a good friend would do, Jimmy Flamebird.”
“Then I promise you I will try to do exactly that,” he said, fully accepting that his fate was to be Superman’s and Supergirl’s best pal, and nothing else.
“May I tell you what I want, then?” she asked, still holding his hand. He nodded briefly and she continued, “I want to give you the chance to do what you want, Jimmy Flamebird. I want you to become the best possible friend you can be, I want our friendship to blossom, and I want us to become stronger, together, bonded by that very same friendship.”
The way she told him that was equal parts beautiful and devastating, and Jimmy nodded several times, as he opened his hand and little by little broke the contact with his friend.
Only for Kara to squeeze him once more, coming closer to his face as she elevated off the ground and added:
“And if you want to ‘get another thing’ as you say, then I am willing to give you that chance in the future, too.”
“You mean that?” he whispered, in utter disbelief.
The way she smiled at him confirmed that she was being completely serious, and she spoke again.
“I do, but you must work for it. We both have to work for it, understood, Jimmy Flamebird?”
His cheeks turned pink as he nodded over and over again, then muttered:
“I’m just glad you’re not friendzoning me, Kara.”
“What is even that?” she asked, turning her head to the side. As a good first step in their journey, Jimmy was ready to explain the concept, but when he took a second too long to respond, she moved over his shoulder and shouted:
“Hey, Cousin Biz, what is friendzoning?”
Jimmy turned around as his eyes twitched and his cheeks turned red with embarrassment because A) Kara was being too loud and B) There was no chance Bizarro knew what she was talking about.
Superman’s clone, in the meantime, was surrounded by a group of kids clearly interested in buying ice cream, so perhaps he didn’t hear her./span>
“It when someone you like a lot... say they only want be your friend!”
How in the hell did he know that? Jimmy thought.
“But that doesn’t make sense!” Kara replied, being louder this time. “Friendship is an excellent starting point for a relationship!”
No, you still don’t get it, Kara, Jimmy realized.
“Yes, but friendzone means friend forever, only friend!”
Wow. The gentle giant that spent 99% of his lifetime in a black ops facility basement actually got it.
“That actually sounds very inconvenient and sad!”
Please shut up Kara, please! Jimmy thought, blushing when Kara looked at him for a split second.
“It is!”
Both of you, shut up!
“Why do humans even have a word for that, Cousin Biz?”
She was doing it on purpose at this point.
“Don't know! I send link to scientific magazine after work so Kara can read!” he added.
What the hell was life right now?
“Excellent! My most sincere appreciation, Cousin Biz!”
From among the crowd of happy children with their ice creams came an oversized grey hand with a thumb up, which then waved at the Kryptonian.
Meanwhile, Kara descended back to the ground, standing right beside Jimmy with a huge smile plastered on her face. She offered him a hand, and when he took it, she brushed her thumb against his skin once again. Jimmy smiled at her, unaware he had forgotten about the ice cream puddle below him. As soon as he started to walk, he stepped on it, slipped, and fell toward his back. Kara reacted immediately, catching him by the shoulders before he impacted against the concrete. She looked at him from above and questioned:
“Are you alright, Jimmy Flamebird?”
“Yup, thanks Kara,” he replied as fast as he could, trying to hide his blush and failing as he realized he was pining for the woman with the beautiful smile, the sweet voice, and the immense strength that was currently cradling him.
As they started to walk to meet up with Clark and Lois, Kara began to make guesses about the name her cousin would choose for his newly acquired puppy. Jimmy silently decided he’d rather eat ice cream off the floor before having to explain what pining meant to his alien friend/crush.
For now, he was going to enjoy the way their hands felt together. He was sure that whatever the future brought for them, it was going to be awesome...