-WINN-

Winn Schott first met her a little over two years ago, exactly five months after he had been hired as an IT for Catco. He could remember the day vividly; it was a permanent memory fixed into his mind - a memory he could always find hope and comfort in.

Winn had been sitting at his desk, bored out of his mind, staring mindlessly at the empty seat across from him, knowing that by the end of the day it wouldn't be empty anymore. He knew that Cat Grant's new personal assistant was supposed to arrive that day, but if they were anything like the last one she had fired just the week before - old, grumpy, and bossy - he wasn't looking forward to meeting them. He already had to endure countless hours of doing whatever miscellaneous job Miss Grant threw at him - even if it wasn't in his line of work - and having a nagging assistant sitting across from him, snapping at him to stop swiveling his chair or to stop eating snacks at his desk would just make the whole job miserable.

Winn had already finished most of his job for the day, and was just counting downs the hours until his lunch break when the elevator opening caught his attention.

He swirled around in his chair to catch a glimpse of the new employee, and then suddenly felt as though his heart had stopped beating in his chest. Stepping out of the elevator was a beautiful young woman whom Winn had never seen before. She was a little shorter than him with dark blonde hair pulled back in a simple yet elegant braid, and she was wearing a straight black skirt with a white sweater that fit well on her slender frame. But the feature that caught most of Winn's attention was her eyes. Though hiding behind her plain black rimmed glasses, her large, sky blue eyes shone bright, brimming with nervousness and excitement.

She can't possibly be Grant's new assistant, Winn thought to himself, but the more he watched her the more he was sure of it: the beautiful girl was the new personal assistant of Cat Grant, and she would be sitting right across from him.

He watched her step out of the elevator and scan the room, as though she was looking for where to go. He suddenly saw an opportunity to talk to her and quickly got up and walked over to were she stood. Her eyes landed on him as he made his way toward her and she smiled - a perfect white smile with perfectly straight teeth.

"Hi - welcome to CatCo," Winn greeted, putting out his hand to shake hers. "I'm Winn Schott." She took his hand and he was surprised at how strong her grip was.

"Nice to meet you," she smiled a little shyly. "My name's Kara Danvers. I'm the new personal assistant for Cat Grant."

Winn nodded, having already figured that out for himself, but pretended to be slightly surprised. "Oh, so you're the new assistant? Well, in that case, I think you should probably meet your boss before she gets too impatient."

He led her over to Grant's office and motioned for her to walk through the glass doors separating her personal area from the rest of the building. "Good luck," he whispered as she walked by, and she turned and gave him a grateful smile. Winn felt his cheeks warm slightly but returned the smile and went back to his desk, watching through the glass windows. As soon as Kara had walked in Cat had turned around and started talking to her, and from the looks of it, it seemed as though Cat was trying to interrogate her. That was always how Cat Grant greeted her new employees - by questioning them again, like she was making sure their first interview hadn't just been a fluke. But Winn noticed how Kara stood confidently and how she held her head high, and after a few minutes Cat motioned for her to sit - which Winn knew was a good sign. He remembered his own interrogation with her only a few months earlier, and he wished it would've gone a bit better. Grant had seemed distracted throughout the whole time they talked, and sometimes Winn felt as though the only reason he got the job was because he complimented the little glass figurine of a horse she had on her desk - apparently a gift from her late grandmother.

Kara and Cat's "chat" lasted for about fifteen minutes before they both stood up, shook hands, and turned away from each other. Cat turned back to her iPad while Kara turned and exited the office, closing the glass door behind her with a soft 'click'.

"How did it go?" Winn asked from his chair, which was only a few feet away from the office. Kara looked towards him, seeming surprised to see him sitting right there. "Well...I guess it was fine..." she started but Winn cut her off.

"Don't worry about it. You'll be fine as long as you remember what type of coffee she likes and which papers to deliver to her, and besides, she's always intimidating on the first day." Kara nodded, giving him a small smile. "Thanks Winn."

Just hearing her say his name made him feel light and happy. "By the way, I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you," she said, snapping him back to attention.

"Anything," he replied, hoping he didn't sound too eager.

"Do you think you could show me around the building, or, more importantly, to my desk?"

"I'd be happy to," he answered, feeling glad it was something he could actually do. He pointed to the desk across from him. "That's yours," he informed.

"Oh," she seemed surprised at how close it was. "Well, that was easy."

"But we aren't done yet," Winn said as he stood and motioned for her to follow him. "C'mon, I'll show you around."

The rest of the morning seemed to fly by to Winn as he showed Kara around not only the office, but all the hidden rooms and secret shortcuts as well. As he talked to her, he learned that she had lived in the suburbs of the city most of her life, and that just recently she moved into the heart of National City to find work since she just finished college. He also learned some seemingly random facts about her, like how her favorite animal was a cat and that she loved popcorn.

When it was time for their lunch break, Kara surprised him by asking if he'd like to get lunch with her. "There's this cafe just down the street that has the best food ever," she exclaimed, and Winn had to laugh at how excited she was getting over the food. Once they got there they ordered their food - a sandwich for Winn, stickybuns for Kara - and talked a bit more.

"So how long have you lived in National City?" Kara asked, already digging into her third stickybun.

"Well, I moved when I was eighteen, and I've lived here ever since," he told her, hoping it was enough information to keep her from asking more. She was starting to enter a subject he tried to avoid - talking about his past - but he especially didn't want to talk about it with her. If she knew what he had done, what his father had done, she would never talk to him again.

"What about you?" he asked, trying to change the subject. Kara swallowed the bite she was chewing and set down her fork. "Since I was twelve," she responded, but she suddenly seemed to have lost her appetite. Winn tried to read between the lines, and figured that maybe there were some things in her past she didn't want to discuss either.

Winn quickly tried to think of a topic to discuss before the silence got too awkward. "So...uh, where do you live?" he asked without thinking, and as soon as the words left his mouth he realized how stalker-ish it sounded. "No, I didn't mean it like that, I meant, like - you said you moved, and I meant to ask, I mean-" he quickly tried to explain his question but Kara's laughter stopped his rambling.

"I know what you meant," she reassured him, and gave another small laugh at his relieved expression, "and I just live in an apartment complex a few blocks away."

Winn nodded, but felt his cheeks flush slightly in embarrassment. The rest of their lunch went by with leisure conversation on safe topics such as movies or celebrities, and the two soon returned to the office. Almost immediately Kara was hailed by Cat Grant and sent on some errands, so Winn didn't get to see her for the rest of the day. He thought about waiting to see if she would come back to the office after going on her last errand or go straight home, but he didn't want her to think of him as over-eager or stalker-ish if she did come back to the office, especially not after their lunch incident, or so he thought of it as. So instead he left her a sticky note on her desk, saying: 'You're doing great for your first day! Hope you have a good rest of the evening, it was great getting to know you,' with a smiley face and his name added at the bottom. He hoped she would perceive it as friendly and not creepy.

He then left the office and caught a cab back to his apartment, reliving the days events and anticipating what tomorrow had in store. When he got out in front of his complex, he noticed a light on the sixth floor coming from one of the rooms that had been empty for almost a year. The room was right down the hall from his, and he wondered how long it had been occupied for. He mentally shrugged to himself, deciding not to be concerned about it, but as he walked down the hall to his door, he found himself face-to-face with none other than Kara Danvers.

"Winn?" she exclaimed at the same time he said, "Kara?"

Her face suddenly turned slightly pale. "Are you following me?" she asked, looking like she was preparing to make a run for it.

"No!" Winn quickly said, trying to calm her back down again. "No, I live here." He pulled out his apartment keys for proof. "That one, right down there," he said, pointing to the door at the far end of the hallway. "I live here," he clarified again, making sure she knew he wasn't trying to follow her.

"Oh," she said softly in surprise, then gave a small laugh, the one Winn had heard so many times already in just that day. "Well, earlier you asked where I live, so I guess you can get your answer now," she pointed to the door right behind her, the one that Winn had seen a light in from the parking lot - the one that had been empty for a year. "I live there," she said, as though she needed to clarify for him in case he didn't realize it from her gesturing. He nodded to let her know he understood. "What are the odds..." she said softly. "I guess it was just fate for us to meet."

Kara's words echoed in his head. Of all the people in the CatCo office, fate chose me to meet her, he realized. And she's only four doors down and a desk away, he thought, not believing his luck.

"Well," Kara drew out the word after a short pause, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow at work, neighbor." She smiled and walked down the hall towards the elevator.

Winn stood rooted to the spot and watched her until the doors hissed shut and she disappeared. Then, slowly, he turned and made his way towards his room, and then dropped his laptop and book-bag on the floor, collapsing on the couch. It was only six-thirty, but he already felt tired. He still couldn't get his mind around the fact that not only did he work across from one of the nicest, prettiest girls he had ever met, but he also basically lived right next to her too.

Could she be the one? he dared to think.

Of course, he couldn't decide that right then and there. It would take a lot of time for them to get to know each other, considering how closed up they both seemed about their past. Maybe it's best if we just start off as friends, he decided, feeling more confident about that idea. Then maybe in the future, if I still have the same feelings as I do now, then maybe things can change.

Winn then went to sleep, and he couldn't help feeling like one of the luckiest people on the planet, for getting a chance to meet a girl as good as Kara, and knowing that no matter what happened in the future, he could always count on her to be his friend.