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shblackeagle · 3 years

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BBRAE Week 2021

Day one: Unconventional Kiss

Garfield Logan was known to have the silliest jokes and pranks at the most stupid and unpredictable times. He was practically famous for it.

Raven knew that, actually everyone did. That's why she often didn't care if he pulled up a prank or cracked a childish joke when everyone least expected. None of those silly jokes got the team into trouble, at least most of the times, so she basically never invested so much into them. He'd always been like this ever since she knew him. It didn't even change when he became an adult. Gar's silly jokes never changed.

But his feelings somehow did.

As an empath Raven could easily feel the slightest changes in everyone. She always knew if something had changed in someone before anyone, even before the person themselves. Such power was really helpful to the team in many ways. She could feel if someone was being dishonest or too afraid for a mission, maybe even expose a villain's lies. She basically knew things about Titans other titans didn't even have a clue.

She knew about Dick's inner fears, Kory's homesickness no matter how much she tried to hide it, Victor's sadness about his humanity, Donna's insecurities and many more that they didn't dare to share. Despite that, she never pried more than she was allowed to. But being a very powerful empath she was, she often found herself knowing some private secrets she was not supposed to know. It was hard at first but then she learnt to keep this power more under control, not to expose what she knew and maybe even forget them.

But Gar's sudden change of feelings was not something she could easily overlook.

She knew it wasn't as sudden as she wanted to think. She had been feeling it for months now and at first thought it would disappear like many changes of feelings others went through. But not only didn't it stop but it grew stronger each time she felt it.

She knew exactly when it happened. It was long ago in the medical room. She could picture it in her head easily.

She felt his first slight change of feelings when he was badly injured in a mission and she had to spend a long time healing him. It was an ugly fight and if she wasn't quick enough, he might have died. It was a very painful process for her. Absorbing such pain wasn't as easy as she talked about it. The pain would stay with her forever, but it was worth it. Gar was worthy of it. She would always do she could to save him. Whether he knew it or not, he was important to her; more important than she wanted to admit.

When she was done, he opened his eyes and met hers, he smiled at her.

Appreciation

Hurt

Confused

Proud

"None of Vic's medical treatments will ever be as good as your healing touch. Thanks" He said weakly. Raven just nodded at him despite the pain she was feeling at that moment. She didn't want him to feel guilty.

He got up from the bed and sighed.

"But as much as I appreciate it Rae, do me a favor next time will you?" He said pulling away the cover.

"What is it?"

He hesitated for a moment, "Don't heal me next time." She looked at him confused.

Hurt

Scared

Ashamed…?

"Why?"

That was the first time she felt it. A sudden strong feeling coming suddenly and almost overwhelmed her but before she could totally embrace it, it stopped. It only lasted for a very short moment and she wondered if it was from him in the first place. She had just absorbed his pain so she was probably messing up her head due to the pain?

"I can heal myself quickly and Vic's treatments also come in handy. You should use your healing powers for something more important than me."

It wasn't the first time they had this conversation. Gar always asked Raven to never use her healing powers on him and whenever she asked why he always said the same answer.

Something more important? What could possibly be more important than his life?

But before she could ask, the door opened with a bang as Kory came to the room.

"Garfield!" The Princess flew towards the weak man and lifted him up from the ground, hugging him tightly. "I was worried!"

Gar laughed, "No need to be Kory. I'm fine." He looked down at Raven, "All thanks to Raven."

***

Raven tried to forget that strange feeling from that day and she would have been successful if it didn't come to her out of nowhere consistently when she wasn't ready.

Next time she felt it, even stronger than before, was when the Titans decided to have a movie night. They were superheros but even superheros needed some time to be themselves, even if it was just for one night.

It was not unusual for Gar to arrange the whole thing, definitely with Victor's help but mostly himself. He even forced everyone to be in their rooms when he was preparing the movie night in the main room. Dick found it a little extra but who could stop the Changeling? He was always unstoppable when it came to their short gatherings.

Raven was sitting on her bed that night while reading her new book when she heard someone knocking on her door. She knew it was Gar of course. She easily felt him coming to her door excited a minute ago.

Without even looking away from her book, she called. "Yes?"

"Rae it's Gar!" He was definitely too excited for it. It wasn't like they've never done this before but something obviously never changes.

"I'm done preparing the main room for movie night. Everyone is now in the main room. Please join us! The movie I picked is amazing!"

She'd rather not think about the last time he picked a movie to watch. She was so scared that she had to meditate for hours to keep her emotions under control the next day. It was even harder when she could feel others were also scared.

"What genre?" She asked. There was no way she was going to watch another scary movie and absorb others' fear of it for a week.

"Comedy! I promise you'll laugh."

She shook her head. Was he really still into that? She was really impressed by his commitment to take any chance of making her laugh. She appreciated it of course, but found it unnecessary.

She opened her door and found Gar in his pajamas with a grape soda in one hand, offering it to her. She took it, thanking him by a nod.

Happy

Excited

Impatient

He was just so easy to read. He always wore his heart on his sleeve, letting her feel anything he was feeling and since he was usually in a good happy mood, Raven always welcomed his presence.

Not that she would ever tell him that!

"Let's hope this one won't come out as silly as the last time you showed us a comedy movie. It was basically a kid show."

Gar gasped, "How dare Rae! No one is too old for cartoons!"

Raven grinned, "So you agree it was a kid show."

Gar opened his mouth to retort but nothing came. Raven just shrugged and started walking toward the main room with a grin on her face. Gar quickly caught up with her from behind.

"It still made you laugh! I remember that."

"It didn't. It was just a silly cartoon."

"Do you want me to go and get the security cameras to prove my point?" He winked at her as she tried to hide her smile and the door opened to the main room.

That was the moment she felt it again. That powerful strange feeling. It hit her in every way possible as she tried to find the source. She looked at Gar but his face remained straight.

"Hey Rae! Join us. The movie is about to start." Cyborg said with bags of chips in his hands.

"Where's Wally? He said he would come." Donna asked looking around.

Suddenly Wally appeared on the couch with many bags of snacks and drinks in his arms.

"What are you talking about? I've been here for the last three seconds!" He obviously bought them from the supermarket downtown. It didn't take long for him to come and go.

"Okay then. Now that we're all here. Let's watch it." Dick said.

But Raven couldn't understand what they were saying because that was the moment the feeling faded away as quickly as it came. Was it from Gar? Roy? Donna? She wasn't sure. Gar was always so easy to read. She doubted he could feel something so strong and hide so quickly...but could he? If the feeling didn't belong to him then who was it? Who was the one that possessed this powerful confusing feeling?

She immediately looked down at Kory who was cuddling with Dick on the ground. Kory was indeed capable of that. She was also there when the first time it happened. But what was it? Kory's emotions were always loud to read for her and she usually never hid them. Raven knew it.

Raven sat on her favorite part of the couch which was now filled with pillows and blankets and some of her favorite snacks. Thanks to a certain shapeshifter who outdid it. Despite her curiosity, when the movie started, she tried to forget about that powerful feeling. She only felt it twice and it was probably no big deal. For now maybe she would just enjoy being with her friends rather than investing in something she probably had no role in.

Raven was sitting at the end of the couch with Gar beside her. Vic and Wally were also sitting on the couch while Dick and Kory were on the ground, sharing the same blanket. Donna and Roy were on the ground as well but not as touchy as them. All the Titans knew they were a thing but apparently, they were the only ones who weren't convinced.

This time the movie was actually very funny and she found herself chuckling at some of the parts. The main room was filled with Titans laughter as they enjoyed themselves after a long busy week.

That was all she needed. The whole room was filled with happiness. Everyone had forgotten about missions, stress and plans even if it was for just two hours. Even Boy Wonder wasn't feeling uneasy as he was laughing loudly with Kory by his side whose laughter was so beautiful to hear.

Raven closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting in all the happy emotions around her,. Even two days of meditation would not give her such peace as this did.

Azar! How much she missed it!

She didn't even care if she missed some parts of the movie as the Titans kept laughing. Them being happy made her happy. She was so deep in herself and in her own world as she didn't even notice she wasn't even watching the movie.

That was the moment that once again, that feeling came to her.

She opened her eyes quickly, looking at all Titans faces to find a clue yet she found nothing strange. Everyone was busy laughing, eating and drinking exactly like how they were before she closed her eyes.

"You okay Rae?" Gar asked as noticed her curious face, "You seem worried."

Raven looked at him, "I thought I felt something."

"Felt something?"

"Yeah." She said looking at everyone again but she didn't spot anything unusual or something she would worry about.

"Anything dangerous?" Gar asked as he stretched his hand to get another soda from behind.

"I don't think so…" She pressed her back to the couch again, trying to let it go. She didn't want to worry Gar for nothing. "It was probably nothing."

"Well I trust your emotions detector more than anything. It saved us more than we can count." He offered her the grape soda he grabbed, "but for now, let's just not overthink things and enjoy the movie. I'm sure if it was anything alarming, you'd know it by now."

Raven took the soda from his hand, "Yeah...Yeah you're probably right."

Gar grinned, "when wasn't I?"

"Do you want a list?"

He laughed. "Maybe I'll ask you to show me later."

Raven smiled at him as he turned his head to the TV and continued watching. He had a point. If it was anything dangerous, she'd have felt it, but it was so powerful to let it go. During the rest of the movie, she felt it come and go very quickly many times, especially the times she was laughing or chuckling. It was weird how the person could switch it on and off whenever they wanted it. Was it a sort of a red alarm? Was it really dangerous? She doubted it because whoever possessed it was in the room and there were only Titans.

But one thing was certain, as much as the feeling didn't feel harmful, it was very powerful that she could detect it among all those happy emotions surrounding her. What could it possibly be? How could such emotion be that strong? It even beat Kory's loud emotions.

But she'd lie to herself if she said it didn't feel so good. Everytime she felt it, she was overwhelmed by it in a very good way. Whatever that was, it put her in peace and gave her warmth. She would be a big liar if she said she wouldn't welcome it the next time she felt it.

***

Even if Raven wanted to let go of that feeling, that feeling didn't seem to let her go.

It came to her in the most unexpected places, rushing through her whole body and leaving before she knew it. She noticed that each time it came, it lasted longer than before but it was still all over the place and Raven couldn't exactly point her finger to anyone; especially because it came to her randomly.

During battles, her daily training routines, her meditations, sometimes even when she was eating lunch or just walking, even when she was reading her book on the couch and minding her own business! Each time it came, there were many of her friends around and it was hard to figure out who it was.

Mostly because a big part of her didn't want to know who it was either.

It was the truth. Raven never went deep in her investigation to realize it. Probably, if she really wanted to she would have realized it long ago, but she feared that if she knew, she wouldn't feel it again. That powerful feeling, whatever it was, put her in peace and gave her strength. She was fed from emotions and one of her friends was giving her something she didn't know how desperately she desired.

A feeling of home, comfort and warmth. She didn't want to lose that! Raven figured if it was from one of her friends, she didn't need to worry about it. It wasn't like she suspected anything bad about it.

Azar! How selfish of her!

She closed her book and sighed, lying on her back on her bed. She was being selfish. What if one of her friends was in trouble and it was their way of giving her a heads-up, or asking for her help? But such an act required a serious knowledge of how her powers worked and she knew none of them had something like that.

Dick and Victor were the only ones who knew how her empathic powers worked better than others but giving her a strange yet amazing feeling to ask for her help didn't match any of them. Dick would have directly said it and Vic was more into technical ways.

She shook her head and tried to let it go. She shouldn't be using her strength over something ridiculous. No one asks for help by filling her soul with a particular strong feeling. No one even knew she was capable of feeling their deepest emotions as much as she let it show and they most of the time forgot it as well.

She heard a gentle knock on her door when she was struggling with herself. It was Gar. She never mistake his aura.

"Hey Rae...are you there?"

It was a stupid question. Everyone knew that Beast Boy could easily pick up anyone's scent even from far away or hear their heart beats if he wanted to. His heightened powers gave him advantages that most of the time they forgot he had even; just like her.

Pulling her hood down, she walked to the door and it opened as she stood in the doorway.

"Yes?"

Gar was in his casual clothes. A dark jacket with a T-shirt underneath, his dark jeans and a cap. She would never tell him, but he looked very handsome in them. She quickly put that weird thought away before it got somewhere she didn't want it to get.

He was standing with one hand behind his back and his usual smile on his face.

Joyful

Delighted

Self-conscious?

Nervous?

Shy?

"Great!" He looked around making sure no one was near. Yeah he was definitely nervous but why?

"Is everything okay?"

"Oh everything is great! I was just…" He scratched the back of his head with his other hand nervously.

"Well…?"

He sighed, "Well I was in the city to get some fresh air and I passed by your favorite bookstore...thought of something you might like to read but then I saw this." He took out a book from his back with his hand and Raven's eyes widened in surprise. "I know you've been reading the first novel of this series...I thought you want the second novel soon." He stretched his hand and gave it to her. Raven was flattered if she was honest. Gar knew what book series she was reading and bought her the second part of it! She never even thought someone like Gar, who couldn't really focus on reading books, actually cared about her hobbies so much that he knew what she wanted; even before she told him anything.

He suddenly looked scared, "Please tell me you haven't bought it already!"

Raven shook his head. "No, I haven't."

Gar sighed in relief a bit dramatically, "Thank God that would have been awkward."

Pressing the book on her chest, Raven said, "Thanks Gar."

He smiled, "No problem Rae."

That was the moment it hit her again; that familiar feeling. Raven looked around. No one was there except them. There was her chance. This time she had to put her selfishness aside and for once make everything clear.

She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. With just Gar around her, she was now able to figure out who it was.

"You okay Rae? You seem...paler than usual." Gar asked worriedly.

All of the sudden, Raven opened her eyes.

"Where are the others?" She knew the answer but had to make sure.

"Oh? Well Dick and Kory are out, thinking it's a great time to have some alone time. Vic is in his room, coming up with a new technology which I still didn't understand. Don't tell him that though. Donna is on her secret date but let's be honest we all know it's Roy." He laughed and continued, "Wally is off to meet his family and said he would be back…" He took a glance at his watch, "in 45 seconds top."

Raven looked uneasy and pulled the cloak tighter around herself, looking down.

"So...it's just you and me here?"

Gar shrugged casually, "Yeah pretty much but don't worry. If anything happens, we can handle it. It's not the first time we might face a threat alone." He gave her a reassuring smile, "and others are probably heading back as well. So yeah no need to worry."

She wanted to tell him she was not worried at all. She was shocked! But she couldn't bring herself to tell him that right now because she wasn't sure about it.

"Well I'm headed to the kitchen. Do you want me to make something for you? You haven't gotten out of your room since morning. You must be hungry."

Raven tried not to look suspicious so she looked at him with a forced smile, "No thanks."

"You sure? I wouldn't make it too vegetarian for you."

"No no thanks…"

Gar simply shrugged, "Okay."

He turned around and started walking away. Raven looked down at the book then at him for a second and before she knew it she was speaking.

"Thanks again Gar...I appreciate what you did for me."

He turned his head back to her with a smile, "Anytime Rae. If you ever feel hungry, you know where I am."

The door opened and closed and he disappeared from her sight as he went to the kitchen.

Raven stood there for a couple of moments, not believing what she just found out. It was him! That strange feeling came from Gar himself. She just couldn't believe how easy it was to figure it out. It was so obvious. He was there anytime she felt it. It made sense it was coming from him.

But it wasn't Gar who surprised her, what he was feeling shocked her more than anything.

She suspected that she had felt that feeling before and it turned out she was right. She felt it from all titans before; especially from Kory on great levels.

It was love.

Of course it was love! Only love was so powerful that could give her such warm feelings from inside and put her in such a peace no meditation could ever do. Love was a powerful emotion, she knew it better than anyone.

She held the book harder as she looked down. The realisation hit her harder than she expected. She didn't know why she regretted knowing the truth or why she wasn't happy about it.

Gar was in love...it was a truth she wished she never knew.

***

"Have you noticed Garfield has been acting...weird recently?"

Raven asked Victor days later at the gym as he was lifting up weights and she was done meditating. After knowing the secret behind the strange feeling, Raven started to avoid Gar in a subtle way. She was ashamed of prying too much into his emotions when it was obvious he was trying to hide it; so the farther she was from him, the better.

That didn't stop her curiosity though.

"No, why?" Vic asked casually, "Did that green ass do something stupid again?"

"No…" she lowered her voice.

It was hard talking about it. She already knew something she believed she shouldn't have and now she was trying to know more. It was wrong, yet she really wanted to know.

"Then what is it?" Vic's question brought her back to the gym, "You seem worried."

"No, not worried. It's just...he seems different. He...feels different." She said the last part in more of a whisper but Victor heard her.

Shocked

Uneasy

Surprised

Scared?

Yet his face didn't show anything. He just gave her a blank look. Victor was good at not showing his emotions but not as good at not feeling them.

"What I mean is…" she felt stupid in asking, "Is he seeing someone?" Her question tasted bitter on her tongue and she felt she didn't want to know the answer.

This time Victor stopped his exercise and turned his head to her, giving her a questioning look. Raven kept her face straight, not letting him see more than she allowed it but she knew her question wasn't something to just ignore. Victor was curious to know why she would ask such things, especially about the Changling of all people.

After some intense moments, Victor turned back on exercising. "No."

His answer was way firmer than she expected. Raven was taken back on how he seemed upset about her question.

"No, he's not seeing anyone. At least not someone I know." His words sounded angry and Raven wasn't sure why.

"Why are you angry Victor? I just asked a question." He scoffed.

"It's not you Rae…" he lowered his voice, "Stupid green bean!"

"What?"

He looked at her with an angry face. "You're the empath here. You should know it by now."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Before she could get any answer from him, the gym's door opened with a bang.

"The Animal Man is here!" Gar shouted excitedly, "Please cheer for the new gym captain!"

He was in his sports clothes with his towel on his shoulder and a big speaker in his hand. He almost seemed to be at a party rather than at the gym.

"There's no such thing, Animal Man." Dick said following Gar from behind.

Gar put the speaker on a table and turned to the Boy Wonder with a grin, "well I guess I just invented it." His eyes landed on Raven and Victor. "Oh hi Cy! Rae!"

Victor stood up suddenly and walked towards his best friend. Raven could feel how his anger leaving his body the moment he saw Gar. His sudden change of mood surprised her, especially because it was Victor.

"Looks like someone is here to get his ass kicked." He patted Gar's shoulder.

"Oh you wish! I beat Richard, you're easy."

"Only once." Dick said in defense, "and only because you were lucky."

"Two out of three isn't once and it sure as hell wasn't luck."

"Well I guess there's one way to find out." Victor said.

Raven felt her presence was not welcomed anymore. She wanted to leave the gym as soon as she could. Seeing Gar was hard especially when she knew his little secret when she was not allowed. However, the moment he stepped in the gym, his love poured over her like a waterfall. It was hard to stay and harder to leave.

If only she didn't dig in too much! She regretted it more than anything. If she let it be the way it was, maybe she wouldn't feel uncomfortable around him anymore. So what if Gar was in love with someone? It wasn't her business. She shouldn't care! He could be in love with anyone he wanted. It wasn't like it mattered to her. It didn't matter!

She wished she could sound more convincing in her head.

"What do you say Rae?" Gar's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"I asked if you wanna judge the game, to see who's better?"

He was close, too close and he was letting her feel everything! She wasn't sure if it was his doing or was it because she already knew his deepest emotion; as in she couldn't turn back.

Up close, Gar looked way better than from far. When did he start to look so attractive to her? Did she always find him attractive? She knew he was good looking but now it felt different from the last times. It had changed! Something had changed about him, or maybe about her?

She should leave. She should leave as soon as she can.

"Sorry I can't." She said quickly flying over him to the exit door.

"W-what? Raven you okay?"

She didn't even look back, "I'm fine." And left the room with no other words, leaving the boys there confused.

Except that she wasn't. She wasn't fine at all. Something was happening with her and she knew it was all because of her nosiness from that day. Love was a powerful emotion. Something she shouldn't just mess with especially when Gar initially had kept it hidden within himself. There must have been a reason why he didn't let her feel it in the first place.

But it didn't matter how many times she told herself otherwise, she couldn't help but wonder about Gar's secret lover.

Was she a superhero too? Was she blonde? Azar was it Cassie? No! Gar would never go after girls way younger than him. Then who? A normal citizen no Titan knew of? Someone he met online? He could do that. He just needed to take a picture of himself in those sports clothes and everyone would be all over him.

"Raven? What's with the rush?" She heard Donna's voice as she and Kory were headed to the gym as well. They were both in their sports outfits as well.

She stopped flying and landed on the ground before them. Kory got a worried face as soon as she looked up.

"Raven, are you okay?"

"Yeah...just finished meditating at the gym." She tries to sound normal, "the guys are already there."

"Yeah we know." Donna said, "but are you okay?"

Raven raised an eyebrow, "I am. Why do you both keep asking?"

Donna and Kory exchanged some confused looks and Raven just wished she knew what it was about. She didn't want to get into another intense conversation or an awkward one like the ones she had back at the gym with them. She needed to be alone right now more than anything.

Kory stepped closer to her, "Raven... you're blushing!"

***

Life always put people in the most unexpected situations, kind of like Gar's jokes; you basically couldn't predict them.

But Raven was used to find herself in situations she didn't expect, being Trigon's child gave her that. She was herself unexpected.

It wasn't that Raven was unfamiliar with love. Maybe the time she just left Azarath she could say she was, but it was years ago. She gained more control over her powers and emotions ever since. If she could recall correctly, she always felt love from others, especially when they were younger with more unbalanced emotions.

She felt Kory and Dick's love throughout the years and the alien princess could overwhelm anyone with her emotions, let alone a powerful empath like Raven herself. She felt Donna and Roy's thing with each other, Victor and Sarah's and Gar's.

Azar! Even her own!

So why did it feel so different this time? Why was it so powerful? Raven knew Gar's love before. She'd witnessed many of his crushes before her own eyes. But this time? This love? It was so different on considerable levels.

"Raven! Cover Flash!" Kory shouted as she tried to block the attacks from this demonic creature who seemed to just get out of hell. A gift from her father? Raven decided not think about it.

As Wally was running fast towards the creature, Raven used her soul-self to block the fires. The monster was indeed strong and possessed dark magic as she felt it.

A green flying eagle flew above her fast and went straight to the monster. Raven saw how Gar shifted into a gorilla and attacked it with his power hands. A smile appeared on her face. His presence alone always made her smile.

She still didn't get the time she wanted to talk with him. After her awkward conversation with him at the gym, Raven couldn't get the courage to ask about his feelings; mostly because she was afraid if he was actually in love with someone.

She didn't know how to approach the subject either. For all that matter, Raven wasn't the titan with the best social skills. How was she supposed to start the conversation even? And tell him she basically invaded his mind and his privacy by accident? When she knew it wasn't an accident at all? That she knew he was in love? That she was jealous? To the point she couldn't stop thinking about him?

As if she would ever do that.

So Raven waited for the right moment. A moment she was brave enough to talk about it. It was frustrating how this right moment she was waiting for didn't come for weeks. The universe hated her. She had to endure months to finally find out about the truth and now weeks to talk about it? She knew what he felt, she knew what she felt and that was the biggest problem.

A familiar yell caught her attention as she saw Gar being thrown in the air.

"Beast Boy!"

He tried shifting to something to reduce the pain of landing hard but he was too weak for that. Gar crashed on the ground hard with a hand on his side, trying to stop the cut from bleeding.

Letting go of what she was asked to do, Raven quickly teleported herself on the ground where Gar was lying on the ground groaning in pain.

"Oh Azar…" she whispered as she kneeled down above his head. There was a big cut on his side which he was covering. Raven put her hand on his and tried to remove it so she would heal her but Gar didn't stopped her.

He groaned. "Don't Rae… it's not that important." His voice was weak, "Go help the others. I'm fine."

Raven frowned. "You're bleeding. If it doesn't stop soon it will get dangerous. You might even die."

And it scared her. She couldn't just leave him because of his stubbornness. She had to heal him before it caused him his death. Raven made a move with her hand and made a magical force bubble around them to prevent any attacks or interruptions.

Gar opened his eyes slightly.

"I heal quickly...you know that." He hissed for a second and continued, "Don't waste your power on me...Go!"

It all started with a similar moment didn't it? Him asking her not to heal him. It was months ago by now and Raven remembered all of his words. It all started that day, maybe she would finish it today.

She put his head on her thighs and looked at him upsidedown. Putting her hands on his cheeks, she started to caress them gently.

Stubborn or not, Raven couldn't leave him.

Gar smiled through his pain. Weakly he put his free hand on her and leaned to her touch.

"Raven…" he whispered.

And then it hit her. Raven's heart froze as she realized how stupid she was the whole time. Gar was in love with her!

It all made sense now. How could she be so blind over something so obvious? Anyone even without her powers would have figured it out already. It was right before her eyes. There was a reason Gar's feeling was more powerful than others, that she felt it stronger than others, why he tried to hide it from her, why such a powerful feeling never left her head...and her heart.

She just looked down at him. He was so lost into his world that he didn't feel she had already started the healing process; she knew it because he would have stopped her. It was painful and she tried hard not to make any sound so he wouldn't notice what she was doing.

"God It feels...it feels like heaven…" his words got her attention from his wound to his face. Even wounded, Gar was smiling and making her smile as well. It was what he excelled. He always managed to make her happy even though she didn't admit it.

She was done heading him yet she didn't let go and he didn't seem to be willing to leave the situation either. He looked so in peace and it was heartwarming.

She looked down at his lips. They were slightly apart and hot breath was coming out of his mouth. Raven bent down a bit, still staring at his lips. His smile never left them and Raven realized she couldn't stop herself either.

Still caressing his cheeks, Raven closed her eyes and kissed his lips upsidedown.

Azar she was kissing him! And how much it felt amazing! His lips were soft on hers and she felt him kissing her back shortly after. A smile appeared on her lips as she kept kissing him gently. That's what she wanted. Him with her. How much of a fool she was not to realize it sooner. It felt as if her lips were meant to be on his at that particular moment; and she figured she didn't mind if these moments become more often.

"Guys! Really?!" It was Roy, "in the middle of a battle?

Neither of them cared as they kept kissing. A battle, a mission or even an apocalypse, none of them could take away this moment from her. She had waited long for this to finally happen.

They broke the kiss slowly. She didn't open her eyes and knew Gar didn't either. She could feel his breaths on her face and his hand on hers. He was rubbing his tomb on her hand. She heard him chuckle.

"You knew it all the time, didn't you?"

Love...

For that moment, that was all he was feeling. She smiled.

"Well, you're always easy to read Gar."

@bbraeweek21

#bbrae #beast boy #rachel roth #garfield logan #raven #gar logan #raven roth #well it is a bit late but better late than never #hope you guys enjoyed it #bbraeweek2021 #day one

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creepyalienghost · 3 years

Text

literature club

Warning: suicide

——

“Henry. Please join. You would love the literature club.” Wally begged his friend Henry, as they walked to their lockers. This year they were next to each other and for the pass month Wally’s been wanting Henry to join their little book club after school.

It wasn’t like Henry didn’t want to hang out with Wally, he did. They have been best friends since they were kids. He just wasn’t sure that was what he wanted to do. He was an artist not a book worm, Art was his thing.

But he didn’t like to see his friends sad and eventually he gave it to Wally’s request. “Alright Wally.” He replied opening his locker and getting his books for the next class, history. “I’ll come check it out today.”

“Yay!” Wally jumped around with happiness and a big smile across his face that Henry loves to see. “Thank you Henry! Meet me outside room 278 after school!”

Henry nodded. “Will do Wally.” He shuts his locker just as the bell rang. “See you then!” He said with a wave as they go there separate classes.

The school day drags on for hours but eventually 3 o’clock finally came and everyone rushed outta there classes, some to get home others to hurry to their clubs or sports. Henry searched for the room Wally told him to go and found it within minutes. Outside Wally was there waiting and when he saw him that big smile came. “Henry toy came!”

He nodded. “Of course! I never back down on my promise.”

“That’s true.” Wally replied. “Come on in! Meet the others! Sammy even brought cake today!”

Henry followed Wally inside the class room and was amazed at how it looked. It was a regular classroom with desk and all but they made it more cozy. They had a soft chair in the back corner for anyone to read on and there was soft yellow fairy lights hung up on the ceiling. Calm low music played from the radio next to the chocolate cake and drinks. A long bookshelf ran under the windows and quotes from different book lined the walls.

“It’s so...relaxing In here.” Henry stated looking around the room.

“Thank you kind stranger” said a tall brown haired boy walking up. “You must be Wally’s friend, Henry. Welcome to the literature club. I’m Joey.”

Henry nodded in response. “I am. And thank you Joey! It actually looks fun! What all do y’all do here?”

Joey prompted himself on a desk before answering. “We read books of all kind. Horror, poetry, the classics. He decide on something and read that.” He paused for a minute before continuing. “We also right short stories and poems.”

Henry nodded while listening. “That sounds fun but I don’t think I can write poems.” He chuckled.

“Nonsense.” Joey chuckled with him, waving his head away. “It’s easy! If you join I’ll teach you how to write poetry.”

“Really?” Henry ask, feeling a bit excited to learn something new.

“Of course!” Joey nodded. “My mother taught me when I was young. Now I’m teaching these boys.” Joey gestures to the other boys.

Henry accepted his offer. “Yeah. Alright. I’ll join!”

Joey smiled in excitement. “That’s great! We should celebrate! Good thing Sammy brought cake!” He announced. “Come. Meet the other two!” He wrapped his arm around Henry leading him to the table where the others were heading.

Henry sat down next to Wally as Joey handed out pieces of cake and drinks. That hour he got to know the the three more better. Joey was the leader and starter of the club. He love to read the classic books like, to kill Mockingjay, and enjoyed writing about love. Jack was quite opposite from him. He loved reading manga and climes that it is literature. His favorite being the promised Neverland. The last boy, Sammy was the shortest out of all of them. His thing was dark and creepy literature. Anything Edgar Allan Poe he loved. Henry also found out Wally’s favorite books were funny books. Anything that would make you laugh in tears he would read and Henry found that suited his friend.

——

After school the next day Henry headed in the club a bit early. Sammy and Joey were already there and were talking before he came in. “Hello Henry!” Joey called out when he saw Henry, heading to him. Sammy smiled and waved before going to his book.

“Hello Joey! Hey Sammy!” He replied happily.

Joey sits upon the near by desk, facing Henry. “You ready for today’s activity? I thought it would be fun for the group!”

Henry nodded. “I am! I can’t wait to hear what it is!” He said just as the other two arrived.

Joey chuckled in response. “In do time Henry! Until then you can hang out with whoever for a bit. Hell these two just joined us! Welcome boys” he left Henry, going over to Wally and jack to greet.

Henry glances back at Sammy and noticed he had been watching them and he quickly turned back to his book once He looked at him. Henry thought he must be a bit shy for Conversation so he turned to Wally and jack. Wally was hanging out with Joey and jack was reading a comic book. He went over and sat next to jack. “Hey. What comic you ready?”

Jack shook his head. “It’s not a comic book, it’s manga!” He informed Henry. “Have you ever read one?”

“I haven’t.” Henry shook his head. “What is a manga?”

“You don’t know?” He chuckled. “Ah Henry you have lots to learn!” He added before tapping the chair next to him. “come. sit. I’ll teach you.”

Henry sat next to jack as he began talking about all he knew on manga. Henry didn’t interrupt he sat there listening to everything this excited boy to say. He was learning quite a lot about it as time went on. Like where it came from and what was the latest issues of the popular manga. Henry noted some titles he should pick up so they both could read them together.

Time quickly flew by and the hour was almost at a closed. Joey dedicated the last quarter for reading the poems so he left Wally to stand at front. “Alright boys. It’s time to share our poems.” He announced before turning to the newest member. “Henry you can sit this one out and listen to the others today.” Henry nodded in response giving the ok for Joey to continue. “Alrighty. Who wants to read theirs today?”

“I will!” Called out Sammy standing up and grabbing his poem then heading up to the front as Joey sat back down. He held up the poem and cleared his throat. “My poem is called hands”

The hands around, allow me to see

Show me things only they want me to see

The hands around, allow to speak

Using my voice as theres

The hands around, hold me in place

Guide me to one place to another

The hands around, pull the strings

And I can not escape

“Vary good Sammy!” Joey said while the others boys snapped their fingers. Sammy Smiled and headed back to his seat. “Is there anyone else that wants to read there’s?” Joey ask and waited. There was no takers today for anymore reading. “Alrighty boys. I hope to hear from y’all tomorrow. Club Dismiss.”

As Henry grabbed his bag Joey came over. “Hey Henry. Do you wanna go to the bookstore? I can recommend you some easy poetry books?”

“Sure!” Henry smiled with a nod. “That would be cool. Thanks!” He and Joey walked out of the room heading for the book store. Sammy and jack looked at wally before he signed and left on his on.

——-

During brakes in classes he read a few pages of his new poetry book. Joey had helped him pick out one for beginners which has a little of all kinds of topics to figure out what was your style. Love, light, happiness sadness, funny, horror and dark. Henry seemed to be most interested in the poems about happiness and love. He was excited to talk about poetry with Joey, Wally and the boys in the club as well as read his poem today.

When he arrived in the room after school Joey was the only one there at the point, getting the club sit up, Cleaning and fixing the desk back. “Hey Henry!” He greeted as Henry came in. “How’s the book?”

Henry waved at him as he walked up. “Hi Joey! And the book is lovely!” He smiled as he helped him with the table. “I quite enjoy happy rain and pink so fair. There really fun to read!”

Joey chuckled. “That’s great! I’m glad you found you style Henry!” He replied as he started sanitizing the food table.

“Thanks man. I wouldn’t have if it won’t for you Henry.” Henry praised Joey.

Joey smiled with pride. “Aww thank

You Henry.” He replied.

Henry nodded at Joey Just as the rest of the boys joined them. “Hey! There they are!” Joey announced happily . “Hia boys!”

After everyone greeted each other and got settled down with there books, Henry decided to read with Sammy today. He spotted him setting in the comfy chair next to the window. It was storming outside and judging by his book title, it was the right kind of weather for it. Henry pulled up a chair from the desk near by and sat next to him. “Hi Sammy. Hope you don’t mind if I read with you today.”

Sammy looked up from his book and shook his hand. “N-no. Not at all.” A small kind smile spread across his face. “I’m not sure if you’d like my kind of reading through. It’s dark poetry.”

“Oh really?” Henry replied. “That’s alright. I might enjoy it.” He said giving a smile back.

“Well. Alright.” The boy nodded and opened his book up to the first page to a poem called darkness. While Henry scooted his chair closer.

The two of them sat beside one another and silently reading each page as the storm raged outside. There was a lot of emotional and death related poems as well as depression and anxiety. Henry had question himself if he needed help but didn’t wanna asked. Besides the boy seemed happy every time he seen him so maybe it was just interesting to Sammy.

However when Sammy turn the page after reading a while his sleeve slipped down revealing a deep burn, making Henry worried. “Are you alright Sammy?” He ask looking up at him. “What happened?!”

“Uh. Y-yea...” Sammy calmly rolled his sleeve back up while nodded. “It j-just a cooking accident last night. Don’t worry..” he replied with a slight chuckle.

Henry nodded believe him. After all cooking does lead to accident. “Alright. But you might need to bandage that later.” He smiled.

“Thanks. Will do.” Sammy nodded. They both went back to reading the poetry book, Sammy only glancing up once to find Joey staring at him form across the room for a moment before returning to his book. Sammy didn’t dare to look again for the night.

Soon the last quarter of the club arrives and the boys made there way to the front role desks. “Alright boys. Today I want Henry to come forward and share his poem.” Joey replied. “Don’t be shy Henry, we all had our first time.”

Henry came up to the front with his poem ready to share. He’s been waiting for hours for this and now it was his time to shine. He held up his poem and reads it.

I look out in the night

To see a bright shining star above.

I wish upon that star

Things I wish to become.

That star with guide me to

places that I wanna be.

And one day I’ll find that

The whole time the star has been me.

The boys have a round of applause for Henry’s first poem as tradition in the club. Henry smiled confidently as he walked over to Joey. “I’m impress Henry! Vary excellent, for the first time!” Joey commented. “Soon you’d became a natural!”

“Thanks Joey. You are a good teacher.” Henry beamed.

Joey blushed. “Aww thanks Henry.” He chuckled. “Alright guys. Club meeting over. See you tomorrow!” He announced to the others

Wally gathered his two books and bag from the desk in the back then headed to his friend. “Hey Henry. Do you want to head over to the arcade?”

Henry frowns as his friend. “Sorry Wally. I would but I already made plans with Joey for tonight. We can tomorrow though!” He replied.

Wally nodded with a wide smile on his face. “Of course! That sounds awesome!”

“Cool” Henry nodded. “See you tomorrow”

Wally frowns watching his friend leave with that monster he know trusts, as jack and Sammy came up to him. He looked over at them and sadly sighed. Jack gives Wally a hug. None off the boys said anything. They didn’t have to. They knew each other’s pain. They knew there plan wasn’t working. Henry wasn’t noticing the signs even when Sammy purposely showed a big one. Eventually the three left the classroom and went to there homes for the night alone.

——-

Last night had been fun! Joey had taken Henry to poetry slam. Together they watched as people came and read there poems in front of an audience. Some good, some bad. Some short, some long. Some about happy times, others about horror. Henry was enjoying his time with Joey and the boys. He was actually really happy that Wally begged him to join. It turned out great and he couldn’t wait to tell talk to him.

However when Henry walked though the door the vibe was a bit different. Sammy, jack and Wally were in the back of the room talking quietly to each other about something Henry didn’t know. When they all

Saw Henry standing there they all welcome home. “Hello Henry!” Wally was the first. He jumped off the desk with a big smile, walking over and given a hug.

Henry, feeling better then a second ago, hugged back. “Hey Wally! Sorry I couldn’t hang out last night. We will tonight though.”

Wally nodded eagerly. “Great! I can’t wait. We could go to the movies to see one of the new ones showing! Or we could go to the park! Or the arcade?” He listed off things to do, happily

Henry chuckled and nodded. “Ya! We can! You can choose where we go!”

Wally nodded as Joey came in. Everyone then gathered there books there on and choose a comfy spot to read at today. Henry decided to buddy read with Wally today. Another chance to be with his best friend. Wally was on the the couch and reading a book that looks like it was funny. “Can I read with you today?”

Wally looked up and nodded. “Of course you can!” He replied and scooted over for Henry to sit then patted the space. “Come sit.”

Henry did indeed sit down beside him, getting comfortable. After he was settled he looked at his friend and asked. “So what’s the book about?”

“It’s about this guys Journey in a wacky world. There’s all certs of funny things about the world and it’s people.” Wally answered him. “It’s one of my favorite books.”

Henry nodded. “That wonderful to hear. What page your own?

“Oh I’m on page 208 but we can start from the beginning.” Wally smiled and opened the book to the first page. Wally read quietly out loud as Henry followed along. He found himself enjoying the characters the best as they read together. His favorite became a purple man who helped the main character in his Journey.

As always Joey was on time with the last quarter of the club. He got to the front and ask for volunteers. This time jack wanted to read his. Jack got his notebook and flipped to the latest poem he had written. “Alright. This ones called The field.”

In my dreams I see a field.

One so beautiful. One so elegant.

It’s golden sunlight like rays spread across

No darkness can be found.

In my dreams I see a field

Surrounded by friends

Happy as ever

No sadness can be felt.

In my dreams I see a field

Laugher is the only thing to hear

Peace all around

No cries can be herd.

Jack finishes and bows as the others snapped their fingers. He went back to his sit as Joey took his place up front. “Nice job jack! Your getting better!” He replied before turning his attention to the rest. “Alright before we go I have an announcement.” He waited for a moment before continuing. “As you all know the festival is this weekend. I think we should give it a shoot and try to bring more people to our club for once, like the others.”

“Oh! That would be fun!” Wally agreed. “I second that!” Sammy jack and Henry agreed as well.

“Alright guys. I can make the pamphlet but I’m no good with designing them. Wally want to help me?”

“Sure!” Wally nodded happily. “We can start it tonight after hanging out with Henry.”

Joey nodded. “ perfect.” Joey looked at jack and Sammy. “I think we should have a banner as well as treats for the other students.”

“I’ll make the treats!” Sammy suggest.

Jack nodded. “I’ll take care of the banner.”

Joey smiled. “Thanks you guys.” He looked at Henry last. “You can choose who you want to help with.”

Henry turn his attention to jack and Henry. He has to decide who to help. Sammy with the treats or jack with the banner. After some thought he turn to jack. “ I’ll help with the banner.”

Jack nodded and Exchanged their Numbles for later. Once all roles were settled each one began to leave. Henry and Wally left with each other as planned. Joey left after getting belongings, giving a warning glare to jack on the way out, and jack left with Sammy after they cleared up the room.

—————

The next morning, Henry woke up like Normal and started getting ready for school. As he got ready he was reminded of his and Wally’s time together and how he got the sense Wally was off. He had looked and sounded happy but it was like there was sadness. He asked Wally about it the night before and Wally told him he was good. He didn’t bother him again on it that night but was still worried.

Henry grabbed his phone and decided to call him but he didn’t answer. He wasn’t to worried by this as Wally liked to sleep in a bit longer. He’ll meet him outside and everything will be all good. Henry continued getting ready for the day. He got dressed, ate some breakfast then brushed his teeth and headed out to there meeting spot.

There was no signs of Wally as he arrived which was also normal behavior of Wally. Henry decided to read some of his book as he waited and pulled it out, flipping to the page he was on.

He got lost in the book and read longer then he thought. Almost half an hour has gone by with no Wally showing up. This was strange. Wally would have call him if he was sick or not going to school. He would’ve been here if he was. Something was off.

Henry headed to Wally’s house and knocked on the door then waiting. No one came to the door so he tried again meeting with the same results. He turned the noob to see if it was unlocked and sure enough it was. “Wally?” He called out opening the door. There was no answer in the dark house making his stomach to knot up. He walked deeper in the house, calling out again. “Wally? Are you home?” And again no answer. He got to the bottom of of the stairs and looked up calling one more time with no answer.

He claimed up the stairs and approached Wally’s bedroom, knowing on the door. “Wally it’s me, Henry. Are you in here?” He ask pressing his ear to the door. After a long moment with no answer he opened the door only to find a Horrible seen.

His friend...his best friend was hanging from a noose. His desk chair kicked away from him. Wally’s skin was a pale blue grayish color and there was no light in his eyes.

Henry was frozen in place there, unable to look away from his friends corpse. He felt cold tears pour down his cheeks but he couldn’t acknowledge them. It felt like his would just got turn upside. “N-no...” he finally spoke after a long while of Silence. “Wally....” he said then fell on his knees and sobbed in his hands.

Once the shock was gone and he was numb he pulled out his phone to call for an ambulance. It took 20 minutes for them to arrived there and was taking out of the house for them to take down the body. Henry watched them carry his friend out in a body back and loaded in the back of an ambulance, driving away soon after.

He went back to his own house after answering questions and sat on his bed. He didn’t feel like going to school today. He didn’t feel like doing anything today after that. But it wasn’t long before his phone rang. He looked at it and saw it was jack. He didn’t want to answer but he did. “ y-yea..?”

“He-hey Henry.” Jack spoke sounding nervous” I herd what happened...it’s so sad..” he said.

Henry was suspicious of this. How would Jack know if he was at school and why was he sounded so scared. “Jack how do you know..?” He ask.

Jack went silent for a long moment before speaking quickly into the phone. “Henry, Joeys not a good person!” Right then his phone hung up on Henry.

“Hello?” Henry asked. “Jack you there?” After no answer he tried to call him back a few times but couldn’t get a hold of him again. After the fourth try he gave up and wondered what he was taking about. He laid back in his bed in thought staring at the ceiling. He let his mind wonder in memories of him and Wally. The first time they meet, there times at the fair and the last movie they seen.

His thoughts got interrupted again with another phone call, But not jack. It was Sammy. “Hello?” He said once he answered. He immediately herd crying from the other end

“Henry..” Sammy said after taking a moment to calm himself down. “I-I need to tell you s-something...but first I n-need you to p-promise me you will believe me..” he ask sounding desperate.

Henry was so confused and didn’t want to deal with anything more today. But the boy started scared and Henry could swear he herd pounding on a door on Sammy’s end. “Yea I promise Sam. What’s going on.” He ask sitting up.

“It’s Joey...” He told, sniffling fight after. “Joey isn’t a kind person...”

#bendy and the ink machine #sammy lawrence #joey drew #wally franks #Henry stain #jack

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birdy-bat-writes · 4 years

Text

New Year’s Bet

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Pairing: Tim Drake x Fem! Reader

Word count: 2.4k

Warnings: Word vomit and weird writing? But mostly fluff.

Summary: You and Tim have liked each other for a while. It’s Your chance to confess at the New Years Eve party.

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Sometimes, life overcomplicates things, and when you’re a teenage superhero that fights crime in between your homework, you don’t want any more complication. That’s why you really resented today. You had just come back from a mission with the team. When you got back with the rest of your Alpha teammates, you noticed that Beta had already been here for a while. Typical. Still, it was sweet that you found Tim waiting for you. His hair looked a little more ruffled than when you saw it last, and he looked as tired as you felt but it didn’t stop him from flashing you the smile that could light up your whole world.

“Hi, Boy Wonder.”

“Hey, how’d your end of the mission go?”

“Not bad. No injuries, so that’s good, but I, for one, am exhausted.”

“Same here.”

“How’d your end go?”

“Well, I guess you’ll find out in about 30 seconds because Batman is calling us for a briefing.” You laughed and headed over for the briefing along with your teammates. Seriously, Batsy could not have picked a worse day to send you on a mission that ran for 14 hours. It was peak winter and New Year’s Eve. When you were deployed, you could tell by the looks on your teammates faces that they weren’t too thrilled either and just wanted to be in their beds. You all practically exuded lethargy. Although, as much of a toll as the covert op took on you, the emotional ache of trying to confess to your crush for a week and failing was far more crushing. That’s why you were so exhausted. For the last two weeks, either you or Tim were called away for something before you had the chance to tell him, and now you were back to debating if you should even try. See? Complicated. You were pulled from your thoughts when you saw the crowd around you disperse, indicating that Batman was done talking.

“Briefing over, Nap time!” you exclaimed.

“Nap time? Its 2:30 pm.” Tim huffed a laugh.

“Yes, and that means I have not slept in 27 hours. You and I both know that’s never a good thing.” He smiled and looked like he was about to say something. Presumably sarcastic, before,

“No one’s napping. Y/S/N, Robin, you both said you would help me decorate the party hall today.”, M’gann said. She was right. A few weeks ago, the Justice League members had decided to throw a New Year’s Eve party and invite all the members of the junior team. M’gann was tasked with decorating. You had promised to help, and you weren’t one to break a promise.

“You’re right, I’ll be right there.”

“Great! Robin, you too, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there.” Of course, Tim was going. You were going to be there and there’s no way he’s missing any opportunity to talk to you. Especially since he had been trying to tell you something rather important for over a week now. He was hopelessly in love with you and now he really wanted to tell you. What better place than a party, right? Gosh, he hoped you felt the same way. I mean, Conner and Gar insisted that you did.

The two of you Zeta tubed over to the hall of justice and saw that Bart, Conner, Jaime and Dick were already there. By the looks of it (the looks of Dick covered in confetti and holding a glitter banner with his foot), they were also roped into helping M’gann. Understandable since the room you were standing in was enormous. This was just one of the spare rooms on the top floor of the Hall of Justice. The back of it was a wide balcony overlooking statues of esteemed heroes, and beyond that, the city skyline. The air was icy but still refreshing. You were admiring the sight when the first order was barked, surprisingly, not by M’gann.

“Okay! Tim, Y/N, you guys hang the banner. Seven feet up on the left wall.” Dick ordered. “Bart, Jaime, you two set up the tables. Conner, make sure they don’t eat all the food. Anyone that can fly is left responsible for the disco ball. I don’t trust any of you with the sound system so I will be picking the music.” He looked a little too happy about that last part. He’d better not play 80’s music all night.

***

“It’s going to happen…” Bart whispered under his breath.

“No, you will not eat the-”

“Not that! Look at Robin and Y/S/N. Today’s the legendary day.” He cut Jaime off.

“Oh yeah, you said they get married in the future. Today’s the day they get together?”

“Yeah, and we’re going to see it live. Now I’ll know who actually wins the bet!”

***

You dragged the step ladder over to the wall while Tim came over with the banner and measuring tape. Honestly, you had no clue that Dick was such a stickler for organization. Still, it wasn’t as boring or tiring as you thought it was. Joking around with Tim brought some life into you.

You had climbed up to the four-foot mark and taped the banner edge to the wall. Nice and even, but you didn’t step quite right while getting down and tripped. A fully trained hero of the night like you would have had no trouble landing on their feet, and you didn’t, but you didn’t get to land on your feet because you landed in someone’s arms. Tim Drake’s arms.

“Are you alright?” He asked, concerned.

“Yeah, I am. Thank you.” Your arms clung onto his shoulders and his hands tucked under your knees and waist.

“Are you sure? You didn’t hurt your ankle, did you?”

“I don’t think so. How’d you catch me that fast?”

“Um… my protective override gives me superpowers?” You both laughed at this. His eyes were so genuine and pure. It was only when you felt his chest heave from laughter against your body that you realized he was still holding you, and suddenly, you could feel your heartbeat get faster.

“Hey, guys, is the banner up?” You heard Dick’s voice approaching and scrambled to your feet. Tim rushed to straighten himself.

“Yeah, everything’s great here. All done!” Tim spoke a just fast enough to sound suspicious, but Dick ignored that. He just might win that bet tonight.

“Perfect. You guys can go home and get changed for the party. Everything is pretty much done around here.” With one last smile to Tim, you zeta’d back home with M’gann so she could help you choose your dress, and you skipped the entire time.

***

“He caught you?!” M’gann was your biggest cheerleader and she was like an older sister to you. Tim was your best friend, but she was the one you went to when you needed to talk about feelings and the girl stuff. You know, like how to keep your hair up during a fight.

“Yeah! Does that mean something?”

“Obviously! I’ve seen both of you jump off 20 story building and land on your feet. There was no reason for him to catch you unless he really wanted to be your hero.” You were positively giddy.

“Maybe I should tell him.”

“Maybe? DEFINITELY! And you can do it in this.” She pulled out a simple black tulle dress that hemmed just above the knee. You really liked it. Paired with a pair of silver shoes and some light jewelry, you were ready to go.

***

By the time you made it to the hall of Justice, the room was already filled with people. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman sat in the corner of the room. You were sure Supes and Wonder Woman were trying to convince Batman to actually leave the corner but were not succeeding. The decorations you had put up were gleaming in the lights that contrasted the fading daylight outside. Then you saw him. Tim was dressed in a black suit with a dark red tie. He stood next to Bart, smiling that smile again and you felt the butterflies come back. You weren’t alone though. When he saw you, the whole world melted away. You looked absolutely beautiful. With the way your hair fell so gracefully over your glowing skin and how your dress fit you so perfectly… It probably wasn’t possible to be more in love with you than he already was but if it were, he would have fallen hard. ‘Butterflies’ was an understatement.

“So, are you going to go talk to her or would you rather just keep staring at her?” Tim’s thoughts were interrupted by a very amused Garfield Logan. “She’s waving at you. Go talk to her.” He urged. Tim started walking and looked back only once to see gar with the biggest smirk on his face.

“Y/N, you look really nice.” He said. You tried to hide your blush, but he saw it.

“Thanks, so do you.” The smile was audible in your voice and the thought of you smiling at him made the corners of his mouth pull up even more. He wanted more than anything to hear your voice, see your smile, to gaze into your gorgeous eyes forever. “They effort we put into decorating this place paid off. I never thought I’d see Batman under a disco ball.”

“Funny, it’s my sixth time seeing that. One time, there was a shark involved.”

“Someday, you have got to tell me that story.”

***

Minutes turned into Hours and you spent most of them in the back of the room with Tim.

“Capes are functional!”

“How?! Edna Mode said-!”

“Yeah, but mine is bullet proof!”

“Tim, your whole suit is bulletproof! There’s no point of a cape!”

“Fine, it gives me flair.” He joked. In the distance, Bart was watching the two of you giggle in each other’s company.

“It’s 11:30, Jaime, we just have to wait half an hour”

“Dude, this is creepy.”

“But necessary.”

M’gann passed the two of with Conner by her side. She waved at the two of you and joined Artemis and Wally. Both couples looked so happily in love. “You know, I think Conner’s planning on proposing.”

“Really? M’gann will be so happy! I can’t wait for the day he does.”

“Do married couples kiss at midnight on New Year’s?”

“I guess so. I mean, the point of it is to kiss the person you want to spend the new year with, right?”

“Right. So, do you think Dick will kiss Barbara or Wally?” You chuckled. “I say Wally.”

“Never tell Dick, but I agree with you.”

“Are you going to kiss anyone at midnight?” The question had you flustered to say the least. You weren’t expecting him of all people to ask you that.

“Well, I-”

“Guys, have you seen the cake they’re bringing out? Its massive! Come see.” He tried to pull the two of you toward the kitchen, but Bart was having none of that. It was too close to time and things weren’t about to get off schedule now. So, he sped over.

“Hey, Gar! What was that about cake? In the kitchen you say? Cool, let’s go now! Y/N, Tim, have a lovely evening.”

“Wai-” And they were gone. You and Tim looked at each other with eyebrows raised. There was a non-verbal exchange of “That was weird, right?” and “Eh, not for them.” Tim went to get two drinks and you made your way to the balcony. The bright lights of the city skyline looked so alluring for no explainable reason. They looked like stars scattered among the buildings and you couldn’t help but think of all the nights you’d spent staring at the stars until the sun came up next to Tim. You really wanted to tell him tonight. It was 11:55 by now, imagine if you had your first kiss on New Year’s. But that won’t happen. Pssht.

“Two glasses of punch, lots of ice.” He handed you a glass.

“Thank you very much.” Tim’s mind was racing silently. He kept thinking if he should or shouldn't confess. With your own mind racing, you broke the silence "I never answered your question...I- No, I don't have anyone I plan to kiss tonight." His face relaxed for a second before a fiery blush crept up "Do you...plan to kiss anyone?"

He responds "I wouldn't say I plan to. Just…" Should I…? Ah, screw it he thought. He's in love with you with you and he wants you to know. "Y/N?"

“Hm?”

“I really like you. A lot, and-" he's interrupted by a shout, It's 11:58 only two minutes ‘till New Years! You were smiling uncontrollably. "Two minutes till midnight, wow. I know you probably don't feel the same, but I just wanted you to know that since the day I met you, I've been so unbelievably happy. You make that way." Someone started a countdown from 60.

You began, "Timmy, I like you too." You placed your hands on his and the countdown reached 35. Maybe it was the adrenaline from the heat of the moment, but you felt particularly bold and said, "Tim, we kiss people on New Year’s because we want to be with them for the new year. You make so happy all the time and I love being around you and-and- " you stammered while the countdown reached 10. "Will you spend the new year with me?"

5, 4,

"I'd love to."

3. You both looked into each other’s eyes, glanced at each other's lips. He placed a hand on your cheek and gently drew you in.

1! His lips were on yours. Happy New Years! The crowd cheered while you moved your arms up to pull Tim closer into the kiss. It was soft and warm and perfect. You both pulled away grinning like idiots. Bart looked over at you two, Crash.

***

Later on, the Justice League is watching from afar how cute you two are. Wonder Woman and Canary were awing while Arrow and Green Lantern were giving you the "Way to go kiddo" head nod.

"I’d better ask Tim who confessed first." Batman said. Superman looked at him questioningly. "I had a bet with Nightwing. My money was on Y/S/N"

Superman just smiled and said, "You're going lose your money, Bruce."

"Were you actually listening in on their conversation?"

"Um..." Batman looked at him with faint surprise and gave a nod of disapproval. "Oh, what can I say I was rooting for them!"

"I'm disappointed in you Clark. Now quick, tell me what they said."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Taglist: @anothertimdrakestan @offendedfishnoises @comicsandhoney @river-bottom-nightmare @catxsnow @cries-in-fangirl-23 @batarella @idkmanicantenglish @sonofrobin16 @l-horizon11

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sparkleofpizza · 4 years

Text

The archer - Tim Drake x reader 1/?

Hey guys, how are you doing? I have been working on this story for a while now and decided to finally post it, I am currently still writing the next parts because I decided to change a few ideas I had previously, but this is mainly just me giving Tim Drake some love and incorporating a bit of my love for Arrow too. Hope you guys like it and feel free to request me anything if you'd like, I write for the batboys, Wally and Conner.

Requested: no

Warnings: some swearing

Summary: Y/n Queen will be living in the Wayne Manor for a while, and Dick Grayson decided to be the Cupid between her and his little brother Tim Drake.

Word count: 2.228

Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7

The Wayne manor was silent that day, Bruce had everyone prepared for the arrival of a guest. The four boys were pissed off as why they had to make sure their rooms were organized, it was not like the guest would sleep in there. Dick and Jason didn't even live there anymore, but they gave up on arguing after one pointed look from Alfred.

When the doorbell finally rung, the boys were all too busy playing around in the cave - somewhere they found out they would have privacy, after all there was no way the guest would get there. So they weren’t there to greet you as you found your way around the house, after being greeted by Bruce and Alfred, letting them take your bags to the room you’d be staying at and showing you around.

You ended up standing in front of the clock, you knew pretty well what that clock meant, your brother had told you about that. You had a vague idea that the boys would be there - you really wanted to meet all of them - but didn’t want to intrude, this wasn’t your house after all and Bruce was already being nice enough to let you stay over while your brother was away in some business. So you went back to your room, deciding to meet them when was the right time.

And it actually didn’t take long for you to run into one of them. You collided with a huge body, making you land in your butt as you looked up to see none other than Jason Todd. He started down at you.

“Who are you?” He asked, frowning "Are you the guest Bruce told us about?"

“Hello to you too, Jason.” You rolled your eyes at the boys antics, pushing yourself up “It’s nice to see you again.”

He started at you for a few seconds before realization drowned on him. You are Y/N Queen, Oliver’s young sister and Roy’s ‘sister’ as well. He hasn’t seen you such a long time he almost didn’t recognize you.

“Y/N?!” He questioned, too surprised, patting your shoulder “Oh, it’s good to see you again. You look so different from the last time I saw you.”

“That’s because the last time you saw me I was sixteen.” You smirked up at him “Which means you’re getting a bit old.”

He narrowed his eyes at you “You’re like eighteen now or something?”

“Nineteen, actually.”

He nodded, leading you downstairs to the kitchen “Well, you’re still underage so you still have to respect me and do what I say.”

“When have I ever done something people tell me to do? I literally went after a serial killer on my own when I was fifteen just because Ollie told me to stay out of it.”

Jason nodded his head, remembering Roy complaining about something like that. He didn’t pay much attention at the story at the time because he thought it was boring and he had better things to think of, such as his revenge on Bruce, but now it seemed amusing a small girl like you trying something like that. He made a mental note to ask you more details about it later.

“I hope none of you are doing anything imprudent, we have a visitor and that would be really bad looking for you all.” Jason exclaimed, entering the kitchen with you by his side

His three brothers were sitting on the counter, fighting over the last cookie Alfred had made earlier. Their heads shot up in curiosity trying to find out who was there with their brother. Hoping it wouldn't be the mysterious guest.

You stood still, pushing some hair from your face and offering them a friendly smile. Oliver has told you about them, even Roy filled you in on who they were, you’ve seen pictures of them, after all they were Bruce’s Wayne kids, but damn, you didn’t expect them to be this good looking in person.

“Todd, who’s this?” A small boy questioned, holding up a knife to point at you

You chuckled at that “I’m y/n, it’s really nice to meet you. Maybe you should let go of that knife, kids shouldn’t hold things that can hurt them.”

“I’m not a kid!” He yelled

His brothers laughed at his face, Tim already taking a liking into you. If you got to bother Damian in less than five minutes into conversation than you were cool. Dick though you were funny and Jason smiled proudly just because he knew you before everyone else.

“This are my brothers, Dick, Tim and Damian.” Jason introduced them to you

You smiled once again, taking a sit across from where they were.

“So...” Dick started “Y/n, when did you and Jason get together?”

“What? You think we’re dating?” You almost gagged, taking a look at the boy beside you. From all the stories you heard about him from Roy, you were 110% sure that you’d never be able to feel something more for him “We’re not together.” You chuckled at the end

Jason narrowed his eyes “Y/n is the guest Bruce told us about, but hold on a second... Why did you sound so disgusted?”

“Because anyone would be disgusted if someone thought they were dating you, Todd.” Damian rolled his eyes, earning a few laughs from his brother and you, and a death glare from Jason

“Roy just tells me so much shit about you, and you guys are glued. It would be like dating Roy, totally weird.”

“Oh, you’re friends with Roy?” Tim asked, leaning in a bit, curious about how much you knew about them all

You smiled directly at him, flipping some hair from your face. He stared at you for a while, mouth slightly open before quickly shutting it close. You were so pretty and what a perfect smile you have.

“Yeah, I’ve known him almost my whole life.” You replied, frowning a bit, thinking back into old memories of when things went down hill, but quickly smiled again at boy in front of you “So I know plenty about all of you.”

That gave him the answer he needed. You knew about their nightly activities, which was better than having to lie all the time. Not like he was expecting to have you around all the time, you were just staying for a while. But he wouldn’t mind staring at your gorgeous e/c eyes, and pretty conquer smile.

Dick’s eyes went wide, looking at his brother and than at you. An idea already popping on his mind, if you weren’t dating Jason, maybe that meant you weren’t dating anyone, since you stated you also weren’t dating Roy. Big chances of you being single. Watching you and Tim interact made him want to play match maker, oh he was desperate to play match maker.

“How old are you, y/n?” He blurted out loudly

“I’m nineteen, why?”

“Oh! Nothing! Just curiosity. Did you know Tim is twenty-one? Only two years older than you! Funny, right?”

You nodded, biting your lower lip to prevent yourself from laughing. Dick didn’t know how to be discreet.

It had been a couple of days since you’ve been at the manor and you noticed a couple of things:

1. Damian was a very hard person to socialize with, he was very judging and didn’t seem to enjoy your presence at all.

2. Jason was everything Roy told you about him, and that was kind of creepy.

3. Dick was definitely trying to play cupid, asking you random questions out of the blue and then stating facts about Tim.

4. Tim had a very weird sleeping pattern, was coffee addicted and the nicest to talk out of the four of them.

You tried to live your days as normally as possible, but nothing normal is really normal in this family. You thought it was ok their vigilant routine, your brother was one as well, but weren’t they extreme sometimes?! No wonder Oliver said Bruce was uptight. They show zero emotions.

You tried not to get in their way, not really bothering them when they were busy with patrol and cases. You figured your time of the day should be during the night, when the would be out of the manor and on the streets fighting crime.

Going down to the kitchen to get some coffee, maybe something to eat and then you could silently laugh while watching Brooklyn 99. What you didn’t expect was to run into Tim during that.

He was pouring down coffee on his mug when you appeared on the doorway. He glanced up, smiling once he saw you.

“Did I wake you up?” He questioned, leaning down on the counter

“No.” You shook your head, smiling back at him “I came to get some coffee. Shouldn't you be on patrol?"

"It is my day off." Tim replied, watching you as he took a sip of his coffee

"So then... Can't sleep?"

“I normally don’t sleep. What about you?”

You arched your brows at that, pouring some hot coffee in a mug for you. Who normally doesn’t sleep?

“Just wanted to watch some Netflix in the quite of the night.” You shrugged “What do you normally do since you don’t sleep?”

"I just work on some cases."

That seemed unlikely. How could someone stay up all night just working on some cases? He certainly did other things, maybe he had a secret girlfriend and he would sneak her into his room at night and that's just what he told everyone he was doing? Working on some cases.

"But you do that all night? I doubt it's healthy. Don't you like have a secret girlfriend you're sneaking in and you just don't want anyone to find out about?"

Tim laughed at your statement, shaking his head.

"I don't have any secret girlfriend or a real girlfriend for the matter. I like working at night. You could help me sometime, if you'd like?" A dust pink took over his cheeks, maybe he crossed the line by asking you join him in his room in the middle of the night, but you smiled at him

"I'd love to help you on some cases. Shall we start now?"

He nodded, grabbing your hand and pulling you in towards his room. You smiled at the touch of your palms, his hand was way bigger than yours, but you liked how it felt against your skin. His fingers were cold. You could get used to holding hands with him, it felt nice.

You entered his room, looking at the place around you and seeing how it had so much of him in it. It smelled like coffee and his cologne, a nice combination. He closed the door behind you, leading you to his desk.

"So, what do you want me to help you with?" You questioned, leaning on the desk and staring at him

He took a moment to admire you. Your face free of makeup, some natural redness on the skin that made you look cute, your hair down on your shoulders, and your comfy pijamas.

"Have you ever worked on a case before?" You nodded, making him look at you with surprise. You smirked before he kept on talking "I'm trying to track down some of these weapon buyers, there's supposed to be a sale soon, but I can't point out the location yet."

"What are our leads?"

Tim smiled, showing you all the evidence he got before splitting up the job and the both of you starting to work. You sat on his bed with a laptop and he sat beside you with his own. Both clicking at the keyboard, trying to find new clues to find out the place of the weapon sale before it's too late.

At some point of the night, you had decided to take a small break. Laying on your side, looking at Tim while he worked and holding a small conversation with him. But then you were too quiet and when he looked at you again, you had fallen asleep, holding on his shirt sleeve.

He closed his laptop, carefully placing it on his night stand, trying not to disrupt you, and lied down himself. He tried to put some distance between your bodies, but you shifted only getting closer to him once you missed his body warmth, and he found himself trapped when you plopped a leg over his thighs. His cheeks turned red and he was really glad you were asleep so you wouldn't be able to see how flustered he was right now.

Eventually, during the night, Tim wrapped his arms around you as your head was placed on top of his chest. And that's how Alfred found the both of you in the morning, having checked your room to wake you up for breakfast and being frighted to find an empty bed.

"What you're staring at, Alfred?" Dick asked, waking past him on the hallway only to squeaky like a little kid once he saw you two asleep holding each other "I knew it! I knew they'd end up together!"

He grabbed his phone, snapping a couple of pictures before being rushed out of there by Alfred. Tim deserved some sleep, and the both of you looked too adorable together to be disturbed like that.

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wisdom-walks-alone · 3 years

Text

we’ve got mistletoe and firelight

a christmas fic for my friend @queerbutstillhere! this was originally for the @damijonsecretsanta but i didn’t finish it in time fhnusihf sorry it’s a bit late korey but you know me DHFUSHYFSL

read it on ao3 The first Christmas was spent in Hamilton County, at Jon and his family’s house. It was snowing. Jon was just about to lose hope for a white Christmas, but mother nature seemed to pull through.

There was excitement in the air, as there always was during this time of year, and Jon was watching as the snow fell lazily outside the window.

"Down, boy," his mom chided, chuckling and putting a hand on his back as he realized he was hovering.

"Sorry, Mom." Jon lowered himself back onto the couch, a sheepish smile on his face.

Mom shook her head, smiling herself. "It's fine, Jon. You know powers are fine in the house, I just don't want you getting in the habit of using them without realizing."

"I know, Mom, I'll be careful," Jon assured her. She ruffled his hair, was met with his protests, then disappeared back into the kitchen to check on dinner.

Just then, Dad walked out of the kitchen, a steaming mug in each hand. He handed the one piled high with whipped cream to Jon, who thanked him avidly. "I would say it's hot and to be careful, but I'm not sure that really matters anymore," Dad commented, and Jon took a tentative sip of his hot chocolate to test it.

It felt fine to him, so he shrugged. "Don't think so. Tastes good, though."

Dad smiled. "You got a little something on your lip there." He pointed and Jon went cross-eyed for a second, then licked the whipped cream off his lips. "You're a bit too young to be shaving, still."

Jon rolled his eyes. "Daaad, you're not nearly as funny as you think you are sometimes."

"It's Christmas, Jon, humor me."

Jon stuck his tongue out and took another sip of hot chocolate.

When the doorbell rang, Jon was the first one up, at the door in a split second, mug left forgotten on the coffee table. “Damian!”

Damian stood in the door, wearing a long coat and a nice shirt and tie, contrasting Jon and his family’s matching sweaters. His dad stood behind him, dressed similarly.

It was a little surreal to have Batman over for Christmas Eve dinner, but then Jon was starting to get used to surreal.

“Bruce, Damian, thank you for joining us!” Jon’s dad came up behind him, placing a hand on Jon’s shoulder.

“Thank you for having us, Clark,” Mr. Wayne replied, stepping inside and reaching to shake his hand.

“Hello, Corncob.” Damian brushed snow off of his shoulder before shrugging his coat off, handing it to his father when he held out a hand for it.

“You can hang those right here.” Dad gestured to the coat rack. “Dinner’s almost ready. And Lois made pie!”

“Can’t wait. It’s been too long since I’ve had Lois’s pie,” Mr. Wayne said.

“Me, too,” Dad agreed.

“Mom made pie last week,” Jon commented, looking at his dad quizzically.

“Exactly,” Dad replied solemnly.

Damian shakes his head. “Tt.”

Dinner went by without much fanfare. And Mom's pie was delicious, as always. Dad had three slices and Damian's dad had two. Luckily, Mom had thought ahead and made two pies. Always one for preparedness.

Once they were all full and done, Damian wiped his mouth and stood. "Now that dinner is finished, I believe it is time for the main event…" He paused, looking around at all of them. Drama queen. "Presents."

"Yes!" Jon leapt out of his seat and made a beeline for the tree.

"Just one, Jon!" Mom called after him. "It's only Christmas Eve!"

Damian met him by the tree, picking up a box that Jon knew wasn't there before. "Here, open mine."

Jon took the box slowly, looking at Damian. "Really? For me?"

Damian scoffed and turned away. "Yes, Jonathan, for you. Who else would it be for?"

Jon smiled widely. "So we are friends,” he said, smile turning devilish.

“Tt. Don't push your luck.”

“You loooove me,” Jon taunted, floating over Damian’s head. “Can’t get enough of me!”

“Just open your present, Hayseed.”

Jon laughed, landing cross-legged on the floor. He started tearing open the wrapping paper, eyes widening when he saw what was inside.

"Monk-E-Monsters! I've wanted this game for months! How did you know?"

Damian shrugged, a knowing smirk on his face. "I'm Robin," he said simply.

"But I thought it was all sold out until after the Christmas season," Jon remembered, looking at him quizzically.

Damian shrugged again. "I'm also Damian Wayne. I pulled a few strings."

Jon grinned and threw himself at his friend (they were friends, whether Damian liked it or not). "Thanks, Damian."

Damian froze for a second, then relaxed. "Of course," he replied, patting Jon on the back. "Merry Christmas, Jon."

Wayne Manor was always cold this time of year. It was an unbelievably old house, and unbelievably big. But gathered in one of the smaller living rooms by a roaring fireplace, it wasn't so bad.

Decorations covered so many of the rooms that Jon would have thought it impossible if he didn’t know who lived here. Even then, the bats must have really had to pull together for something like this—probably all under Alfred’s watchful eye, of course.

A good amount of the caped community was here for one big Christmas party. Jon and Damian's dads were talking with some other members of the League. Dick and his friends were testing how many ornaments he could juggle before dropping one. From his vantage point, Jon guessed they were up to eight or so. He could see some more of Batman's allies in the hallway, Kate and Duke sitting on the stairs chatting, Harper, Cass, and Steph giggling over something on their phones. Conner was hanging out with Tim and the rest of their Titans team, while Jon and Damian sat on the couch with their own Titans playing Super Smash Bros.

"Again?" Gar whined, throwing his hands up.

"Man, you gotta let someone else win every once in a while," Wally added, already resigned. He and Gar sat on the floor, Damian on the couch with Emiko on one side and Jon on the other. Raven sat on Jon's other side, her controller floating in front of her, most of her attention taken up by her drink and her book.

Damian shrugged. "Emiko wins sometimes. So does Raven, when she's paying attention."

"We mean you should let one of us win for once!" Gar wailed.

"You'd win if you were good at the game."

"You little sh—"

"Hey, hey, hey." Jon put a hand on Gar's shoulder to keep him from lunging at Damian. "We are not having a brawl on Christmas."

"But it would be so entertaining," Emiko said disappointedly.

"He is kinda right, though," Raven piped up, not taking her eyes off of her book. "Just get better at the game and maybe you'll win."

"Et tu, RaeRae?" Gar looked up at her, looking like a sad puppy. Literally. He had turned into a little green puppy and was staring up at her pathetically.

Raven wasn't even phased, just turned a page in her book. Jon snorted.

Gar turned back, but the pout remained.

Just then, somebody wolf whistled, and everyone in the room turned to the culprit: Tim. And once everybody saw who it was, they followed his line of sight, right over to Jon and Damian. Jon suddenly felt very vulnerable, which was ironic in of itself, shrinking in on himself a bit while he tried to figure out why everybody was staring at him.

"Hey, Rob." Gar grinned toothily, staring at the space above their heads. Damian's face turned beet red, and Jon looked up to see Kon floating over them, dangling what was unmistakably mistletoe over their heads.

Damian crossed his arms haughtily, pulling a leg closer to his body, clearly trying to downplay his embarrassment. "Tt. As if anyone would partake in your childish holiday games."

Jon couldn't help but laugh. He leaned over, pressing a quick peck to Damian's cheek. "Merry Christmas, Damian." Somehow, Damian's face had managed to turn a deeper shade of red, and he looked away as he pulled his other leg onto the couch.

"Tt. Whatever." Then, when the room had once again filled with chatter and they were about to start another round of Smash, Jon heard Damian mutter a quiet, "Merry Christmas, Jon."

Their first Christmas in their new apartment wasn't looking too shabby, if you asked Jon. He was quite satisfied with the way everything was decorated, by the lights laid out on the TV stand, the tree in the corner letting off a soft glow. Of course, Damian was a perfectionist, so obviously everything would look perfect.

Damian walked out of the kitchen with a mug of hot chocolate, sweater sleeves pulled over his hands, and plopped on the couch next to Jon. He pulled the blanket over his bare legs and tucked himself under Jon’s arm, turning his attention to the Hallmark movie Jon had put on. Jon still didn’t understand the point of wearing shorts with a sweater, and when asked, Damian would just shrug.

He leaned his head on Damian’s, nursing his own mug of hot chocolate. “This is nice,” he said, squeezing Damian a bit tighter.

“Arguable. This movie is maybe mediocre at best,” Daman replied, a smirk audible in his voice.

Jon rolled his eyes. “I don’t mean the movie and you know it.” Damian snorted. “I mean this. You. Me. Us. It’s nice.”

“You’re such a sap,” Damian said, turning his face further into Jon’s chest. “But I agree with the sentiment. I must admit, this is nice.” He played idly with the hem of Jon’s shirt, and Jon pressed a kiss to his head as the movie continued to play.

As the credits rolled, Jon stood up, earning him a whine, with grabby hands following after him as Damian flopped the rest of the way onto the couch. Jon chuckled, walking over to the tree and picking up a small box. He brought it back over to the couch, and Damian’s eyebrows scrunched. “It’s only Christmas Eve,” he pointed out.

“Yeah,” Jon agreed, “but I think you deserve to open one tonight. I hope you like it.” He smiled, holding the box out to his boyfriend.

Damian took the box gingerly, undoing the ribbon carefully and lifting the lid. He pulled out a silver charm bracelet, laying it out on his palm so that he could look at the charms. They were small, nothing fancy, just disks with their initials and a pair of green and blue jewels. “Like I said before, you’re a sap,” Damian told him, but he was smiling. “I love it, thank you.”

He pulled Jon in for a kiss, hand on the back of his neck, fingers tangling in his hair. When they pulled away, Jon gestured to the bracelet, and Damian held out his hand as Jon did the clasp.

Damian smiled. “It’s beautiful. Thank you again.”

“You’re welcome,” Jon said, taking his hands. “Merry Christmas, Damian.”

“Merry Christmas, Jon.”

Damian's never been one for mornings. So when sunlight spills in through the window, all he does is roll over and push his face into the pillow. It smells like lemon scented shampoo.

The bed dips behind him, and strong arms wrap around his waist, pulling him close to a warm body. Damian relaxes into it.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Jon mumbles into his skin, nuzzling into his neck.

Damian pulls Jon’s arms tighter around him, and he feels Jon press a kiss into his shoulder. “Morning, love,” he replies drowsily, his voice still thick with sleep. He twists and rolls over in Jon’s arms to face him, reaching up to brush a lock of hair from Jon’s face. Jon hums, pulling him in for a kiss.

“Daddy! Baba!” a little voice screeches from down the hallway. “Santa was here, Santa was here! Wake up, wake up, Santa was here!”

Damian groans, turning his face back into the pillows. Jon just chuckles. “Your son is calling.”

“Before 8 AM, he’s your son.”

“Was that a Lion King reference? Color me impressed.”

“Ari! Ari, Santa came!”

Damian sits up at that, Jon’s arms falling to his lap. “Sebastian Phillip Wayne-Kent, do not wake your sister up this early in the morning!”

Jon sits up next to him and drags a hand down his face. “It’s too late, she’s awake.”

An excited shriek sounds from Aria’s bedroom, and Damian sighs into his hands. “You heard her, Hayseed. I’m going back to sleep.”

“You can’t go back to sleep, you have to see what Santa brought you,” Jon teases. Damian flops back onto the bed.

“Nope, it’s too early for this, goodnight.”

Too quick for him to process, Damian is standing in Aria’s room, the excited and very awake toddler standing up in her crib, jumping and bouncing. “That’s cheating!” he calls out the door. Jon just cackles from down the hall.

“Ba!” Aria smacks him on the chest.

“Alright, alright, let’s go, you little terror. Santa came last night.” Damian lifts her out of the crib and settles her on his hip, making his way downstairs, the smell of pancakes, eggs, toast, and coffee flooding his nose. Of course Jon already made breakfast. He continues to the living room, where Jon is just barely managing to restrain Bash from opening anything too soon.

When he sees Damian he finally lets go, and Bash zooms over to the tree, floating around as he looks for which gifts are for him. Seeing Bash’s excitement and wanting to follow suit, Aria wriggles free from Damian’s arms and Jon has to use his superspeed to catch her before she hits the floor.

Damian sighs and drops onto the couch beside Jon, watching Aria toddle after Bash, trying to keep up.

“Look, Ari, this one’s for you!” Bash holds out a large box that’s almost as big as Aria. Damian knows there’s a doll in that one.

“Yay!” Aria sits down on the floor with it and starts ripping it open, and Bash finds one to tear open for himself.

“Hey.” Jon gets his attention and holds out a small box, a dopey smile on his face. Damian takes the box gingerly, taking off the lid. It’s a new ID tag clip for his scrubs, with a rubber cartoon cat. He laughs.

“Thank you, habibi, it’s perfect.” Jon clears his throat and glances up for a second, and Damian follows his gaze to where Jon is dangling a piece of mistletoe above their heads. Jon looks at him expectantly, and Damian laughs as he leans in.

“Eeewww,” Bash cuts in, making a disgusted face at them.

“Eeww!” Aria echoes happily, scrunching her nose in an attempt to copy her brother.

Jon rests their foreheads together as they laugh. He looks up at Damian through his lashes and says, “Merry Christmas, Damian.”

Damian smiles. “Merry Christmas, Jon.”

#jay writes #my fics #queerbutstillhere #gifts #jondami #damijon #jon kent #jonathan kent #damian wayne #dc #supersons #super sons #dc fic #batman fic #superman fic #batfam fic #secret santa #damijon secret santa #ily korey!

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longitudinalwaveme · 3 years

Text

Smoke and Mirrors

Dramatis Personae

Wally West, the energetic, enthusiastic, and confident third Flash

Iris Allen, the wife of Barry Allen and a daredevil reporter

Mirror Master, alias Sam Scudder, a talented inventor and the de facto second-in-command of the Rogues

The Top, alias Roscoe Dillon, an arrogant elitist who is suffering from a mysterious disease

Weather Wizard, alias Mark Mardon, a rather dimwitted thief with an obscenely powerful weapon, the weather wand

The Trickster, alias James Jesse, a charming con man with no fashion sense

Script

Act I

(Enter Wally West and Iris Allen, who has just arrived to the Flash Airport of Central City)

Wally: Hi, Aunt Iris! How have you been? It’s so nice to have you back!

Iris: Hi, Wally. It’s good to be back. How’s your Uncle Barry been?

Wally: He’s been great. Really slow since he lost his super speed, of course, but otherwise, he’s fine. He even took down the Trickster all by himself!

Iris: I heard. It made a great story. (Pause) How have he and Bart been doing since I went on my trip?

Wally: Bart’s still really impulsive, and he scared Uncle Barry half to death when he ran to New York City and watched an off-off-Broadway show without telling anyone, but overall he’s been doing great. Uncle Barry enrolled him in sixth grade and he’s become friends with this girl named Carol and this boy named Preston, and he’s finally kind of adjusting to life outside the speed force. He’s still not crazy about Irey and Jai, though-he thinks they’re annoying tagalongs. Oh, and he discovered anchovy pizza for the first time, and, for some reason, he loves it! He’s eaten 45 slices in the past two days, and Uncle Barry says that he thinks he’ll single-handedly keep the neighborhood pizza place in business. (Pause) How was your trip?

Iris: I loved it! There’s nothing quite like the thrill of investigating the government of Kandaq.

Wally: But isn’t Kandaq led by Black Adam?

Iris: Yes. That’s why it was so much fun to investigate what he’s been up to! Before I did some snooping around, no one knew what he was doing because everyone was too scared to check, so I was able to write the biggest exposé of my career and take down a supervillain at the same time. It was awesome! I even got to interview Captain Marvel after he rescued me from Black Adam.

Wally: No wonder you won a Pulitzer. (Pause) So, besides risking your life, did you do anything else in Kandaq? I’ve heard it has delicious food.

Iris: (Laughs) Of course you would focus on the food.

Wally: Well, is it as good as Dick told me?

Iris: Actually, yes. The spices in particular are delicious-and unique to the country, too!

Wally: I’ll be right back. (Wally exits, then rapidly re-enters) That was delicious!

Iris: That’s my Wally. (Pause) And to finish answering your question, besides eating and investigating, I did a lot of sightseeing and even more souvenir-buying.

Wally: Sounds fun!

Iris: It was. (Pause) And in speaking of souvenirs….. (Pulls t-shirt out of bag) This is for you.

Wally: (takes shirt, reads) “I stood in the presence of the all-powerful Black Adam and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.” (Laughs) Thanks, Aunt Iris! I love it!

Iris: I thought you might. I also got a doll of Isis for Irey, a book on Kandaq’s history for Jai, a longer book on the same subject for your Uncle Barry, a necklace for Linda, a fan for Joan, a scrapbook for Jay, and Captain Marvel’s signature and promise to visit our house for Bart.

Wally: Sweet! (Pause) Do you have all your bags?

Iris: Yes, I do.

Wally: Then let’s get you home! (Pause, then in “official” voice) The West Delivery Service will get you there in three seconds, or your money back!

Iris: (Laughs) Definitely my Wally.

(Both Exit)

Act II

(Top is onstage, sitting at table and talking on the phone)

Top: (on the phone) Greetings, my darling. How are you? (Pause) Excellent. I’m glad to hear it. How fares the mission? (Pause) What sort of complications? You know as well as I do that I haven’t much time. If you do not find a cure soon, my powers will quite literally be the death of me. We do not have time for failure! (Pause) I’m sorry, honeybunch. I did not mean to snap at you. I am simply anxious. Even I cannot come out on top in a battle with the grave. (Pause) Of course I trust you, sweetums. Remember though, my darling, if my calculations are correct, I only have a month left. We must get the cure! (Pause) Well that, at least, is good news. If Allen likes you, it will not be long before he is willing to trust you enough to help you find the cure. (Pause) I love you, dearest. Farewell. (Puts phone away and puts on earmuffs) And now to enjoy my meal in peace.

(Enter Trickster, Mirror Master, and Weather Wizard)

Weather Wizard: So, how’d you guys find me?

Trickster: It’s simple, Wiz! We followed the reports of snowstorms in July.

Mirror Master: You aren’t exactly subtle, Mardon.

Weather Wizard: Fair enough. I guess being able to control the weather doesn’t leave much room for subtlety. (Pause) So, what do you two want?

Mirror Master: Your help. If there’s anyone who can keep the Flash away from our heists, it’s you. You’re more powerful than all of us-even me.

Weather Wizard: I know.

Trickster: And you’re modest, too.

Weather Wizard: Hey, if you could control the weather with a flick of the wrist, you’d be a little arrogant, too.

Trickster: Fair enough. (Pause) Say, last I heard, your wand was busted. How’d you get it working again?

Weather Wizard: (Defensively) None of your business. I just did, okay?

Trickster: (Suspiciously) Oh, really? Then let me see the wand.

Weather Wizard: No! You can’t touch it!

Trickster: Why not?

Weather Wizard: Because it’s mine, and you aren’t gonna touch it!

Trickster: (Grabs wand) Too late! I already have it!

Weather Wizard: Give it back! (Tries to grab wand, but fails and falls on his face)

Trickster: All right, Mr. Weather Wand. Make it rain! Bippity boppity boo! (Waves wand, nothing happens) That’s funny. I thought you said you fixed the wand, Wiz.

Weather Wizard: (Gets to his feet and grabs the wand back) Okay, so I exaggerated about being able to fix it. I’ve used the weather wand long enough that I was able to do a patch job and get it to make some snow, but it’s pretty much useless for any other form of weather. I can’t even make it whip up a decent blizzard!

Mirror Master: All you can make is snow? (Trickster notices the Top)

Weather Wizard: (Weakly) Yeah.

Mirror Master: Well, that’s just great. Here I was thinking that we had tornadoes, lighting, and hail on our side, and all we have is a glorified snow machine! (Pause) And when were you planning on mentioning the fact that you can’t make anything but snow, anyway? When the Flash showed up to take us to jail?

Weather Wizard: Well, to be honest, I hadn’t really thought out that far. I was trying to save face, not come up with a battle plan.

Mirror Master: (Despondently) There goes my Ferrari.

Trickster: Don’t give up on the Ferrari just yet, Sam! I have a way to salvage our heist!

Mirror Master: James, I already told you. I am not going to use a “whoopie cushion of doom” to stop the Flash. Unlike you, I have some dignity.

Trickster: First, the Whoopie Cushion of Doom is high comedy, and you should be honored that I offered to let you use it. Second, that’s not it.

Mirror Master: Then what is it?

Trickster: It’s the Top! He’s sitting right over there! (Points to Top)

Mirror Master: (Surprised) So he is.

Weather Wizard: What’s he doing here? I thought he and Golden Glider were in Hawaii on the fifth anniversary of their first date or something.

Mirror Master: Who knows with those two. Maybe they came home early.

Trickster: Came home early ? They never went ! They’ve been in Central City this whole time!

Weather Wizard: They have? But then why did they tell everyone that they were on vacation?

Mirror Master: Probably so they could spend time together without Captain Cold breathing down their necks. Given how overprotective he is, if I was dating Lisa, I would probably pretend to be out of the city, too. It’s hard to have romantic moments when you know that her big brother’s watching and will maim you if you look at her funny.

Trickster: Nah, that’s not it. If Roscoe was afraid of Captain Cold, he wouldn’t challenge his authority all the time. I think they’re planning something, something they want to keep secret from the rest of us, and I want to find out what it is. (Taps Top on shoulder) Hiya, Top!

Top: (Takes off earmuffs; Aside) Why me? (To Trickster) What do you want?

Trickster: Well, Mirror Master wants a Ferrari, and I want some excitement, so we need your help to rob the jewelry store on Fifth and Main.

Top: I am afraid that you will be disappointed. I am quite busy, and am being pressed to the top of my bent. I have no time for frivolities, Giovanni.

Weather Wizard: Giovanni? Who’s Giovanni?

Trickster: Me.

Mirror Master: You gave the Top an alias when he asked for your real name?

Trickster: (“Offended”) No! I’d never do anything like that! (Pause) I didn’t give him an alias when he asked for my real name. I gave you two an alias!

Weather Wizard: Your real name’s Giovanni?

Trickster: Yep! Giovanni Giuseppi. My family is Italian.

Mirror Master: Then why do you always go by James Jesse?

Trickster: Because Jesse was our family’s stage name from the circus. Since we used an alias in our performances, I got used to being called James, so I eventually decided to just start using it as my regular name. Besides, it’s easier to say than Giovanni Giuseppi.

Mirror Master: Well, whoever you are, clearly, your plan failed. Dillon doesn’t want to get involved in our plan, and so it’ll be a bust.

Trickster: (Aside) Oh, ye of little faith. (To Mirror Master) I’ll be able to get him to come around. Trust me.

Mirror Master: Forgive me if I’m less than convinced. (Trickster walks over to Top)

Trickster: (To Top) What if I told you that there would be something in it for you?

Top: I would still refuse. As I already told you, I am quite preoccupied. Now, if you will excuse me, I am going home.

Trickster: (Stopping Top) Top, old buddy, just hear me out. If you don’t like it, I promise you can leave, but you’ve gotta at least learn what it is.

Top: We are not “old buddies”, but, since you seem determined to annoy me until I listen to what you have to say, I suppose I will give in to the inevitable and allow you to speak. But be quick about it. I am giving you five minutes- tops .

Trickster: You know what? Never mind. It was silly of me to think you would be motivated by something as small as an engagement ring. (Moves out of Top’s way; To Mirror Master and Weather Wizard) Come on, guys, let’s go. I’m sure I’ll be able to come up with something else.

Top: What was that about an engagement ring?

Trickster: Oh, you wouldn’t be interested in it, I’m sure.

Top: You are mistaken. Do tell me what you think I will get out of this heist.

Trickster: Are you sure? If you really are busy, I don’t want to bother you.

Top: No, no. I am fine. Please, tell me what you mean.

Trickster: Well, if you insist…..A few months ago, Lisa told me that she saw the perfect engagement ring at the jewelry store that we’re planning to rob, and that she would be thrilled if you proposed to her with it. But like I said, if you don’t want to help us….

Top: (Quickly) If it will please Lisa, I would very much like to help ensure that you come out on top .

Trickster: Great! Glad to have you aboard, pal!

Mirror Master: (Draws Trickster aside) How could you have talked to Glider “a few months ago”? You spent the last six months on a cross-country swindling trip and didn’t get back until three weeks ago!

Trickster: (Aside to Mirror Master) That’s right…..but he doesn’t know that.

Mirror Master: (Aside to Trickster) Clever.

Trickster: (Aside to Mirror Master) I know, right? (Aloud) So, what’s the plan?

Act III

(Enter Wally and Iris)

Wally: Is there anything else you need me to do, Aunt Iris?

Iris: Wally, you’ve already gotten me home from the airport, unpacked all my bags, put everything away, pulled everything out when you put everything away wrong, put everything away in the right places, delivered my letter to your Grandpa Ira in Florida, fixed my car, and repainted the garage. You’ve done enough.

Wally: Aww, it was nothing, Aunt Iris.

Iris: It wasn’t nothing. That was a lot of work, and I really appreciate it. (Pause) By the way, you haven’t eaten much since you brought me home. You should probably get some food.

Wally: Good idea, Aunt Iris! (Wally exits, then quickly re-enters) I love Japanese food!

Iris: Did you really run all the way to Japan just to get food? Wally: Why not? I can get there and back in three seconds!

Iris: (laughs) Oh, Wally. You’ve gotta stop doing that before it rubs off on Bart.

Wally: I think it might be too late for that. He’s already running to New York City to watch off-off-Broadway, after all.

Iris: I know, but now that Barry doesn’t have his super speed, we need to dissuade him from doing that again. We can’t be calling you all the time because we can’t bring him back when he disappears to another continent. Without at least one parent with super speed, he needs to stay close to home so that we can help him if he gets into trouble.

Wally: I don’t mind bringing him home.

Iris: Yes, but I’m pretty sure your boss will mind if you have to keep leaving work to bring Bart home from Namibia or Laos or Bithynia.

Wally: But he knows I’m the Flash! I have to leave work all the time!

Iris: True, but there’s a difference between leaving work to stop crime or save people and leaving work to track down your cousin who went on a joyride.

Wally: Yeah, you probably have a point there.

Iris: As soon as he and Barry get home from their trip to the park, I’ll have Barry sit him down and have a little chat with him about running off to other states or foreign countries-assuming that he can focus long enough to get the message, that is.

Wally: Hey, do you mind if I stick around until they get back? I wanted to talk to Uncle Barry about the Rogues’ latest escape from jail.

Iris: Of course you can stay here! (Pause) And why didn’t you tell me that the Rogues escaped? That always makes for a good news story!

Wally: I don’t really know a lot about how it happened yet, so I guess it just slipped my mind.

Iris: In that case, I’ll have to do some investigating to find out how….after Barry, Bart, and I have our little chat, of course.

Wally: Have I ever told you that you’re awesome, Aunt Iris?

Iris: Not lately.

Wally: Well, you’re awesome. (Phone rings) Sorry! I have to get that! (Pulls out phone) Hello? (Pause) Oh, hi, Mrs. Rowen. Why are you calling? (Pause) Suspension? Why? They’re only kindergartners! (Pause) They did what? (Pause) Well, yes, I’m sure that the school having all its windows broken by dual sonic booms would be problematic, but they don’t know how to control their speed. I know they didn’t do it maliciously. (Pause) $600,000? Wow….That is a lot of money. I’m really sorry. I didn’t even know they were moving at supersonic speeds yet. Did anyone get hurt? (Pause) Two teachers are going to need stitches? Oh, no. I’m really sorry. I’m really, really, really sorry. (Pause) Yes, of course I’ll come meet with you. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I’ll be right there. Bye. (Puts phone away) Looks like I won’t be able to talk to Uncle Barry. My kids shattered all the windows at the elementary school when they accidentally created a sonic boom, and now I have to meet with their principal. I swear, parenting super-powered children is a million times harder than fighting supervillains. At least with supervillains, I don’t have to pay for the damages that they cause. I’ve gotta run. Bye!

(Exit Wally)

Iris: It’s at times like these that I’m glad Bart stayed in the Speed Force until he was old enough to know how to control his speed. (Pause) In speaking of Bart, there he and his dad are now. Hopefully, Bart will cooperate with the limits he sets on his travel, because if not, I’m not sure that Barry and I will be able to enforce them. Even Wally wasn’t as impulsive as Bart is.

Act IV (Enter Top, Trickster, Mirror Master, and Weather Wizard. Trickster is wielding a fearsome rubber chicken and a kazoo)

Mirror Master: Did everyone make it through the Mirror Realm all right?

Top: I feel more than a little nauseous, but otherwise, I am fine, since we managed to arrive at our intended destination.

Mirror Master: What are you implying?

Top: Nothing. It is simply that I would feel far more comfortable if I knew that the realm through which we traveled so shortly ago was controlled by a man who had at least completed his secondary education and who hailed from somewhere other than the part of town colloquially known as “Skid Row”. In all candor, your credentials do not inspire confidence.

Mirror Master: Hey, I might not have your fancy education, but I’m just as smart as you. How else do you think I discovered an entire alternate dimension?

Top: My supposition would be that the goddess Fortuna smiled upon an unworthy candidate with the freakish caprice for which she is known.

Mirror Master: Are you saying I just got lucky?

Top: Indeed.

Mirror Master: You’ve got some nerve, Dillon! I worked for years to learn how the Mirror Realm worked! Just because I’m from Skid Row doesn’t mean I’m stupid!

Top: My experience, and the experiences of my father, would suggest otherwise.

Trickster: Girls, girls, girls . You’re both pretty. Now, let’s start the heist already! I already deactivated the alarms, but they’ll come back on eventually. And besides, I’m bored!

Weather Wizard: Trickster’s right. I already created enough snow to slow down the cops, but that won’t hold them forever, and it won’t hold our friend in the red pajamas at all. We need to hurry.

Mirror Master: Well, if the Top is ready, so am I.

Top: I was not the one delaying us, but I am quite prepared to proceed in our enterprise. (To Trickster, as Weather Wizard and Mirror Master start grabbing jewelry) Where is the engagement ring that my beloved desires?

Trickster: (Looks around at the various rings) Let’s see…..I know it’s around here somewhere ….. (Finds a particularly ostentatious ring and points at it) Oh! There it is!

Top: Are you certain that that is what she desires? It seems a bit gaudy for her tastes.

Trickster: Of course I’m sure! (Aside) And I’m not lying. I’m sure she’ll hate it, and I’m sure that learning that he got outsmarted by a circus brat will take Mr.Phony British Accent down a few pegs. He’s smart, but he’s not nearly as smart as he thinks he is.

Top: You have my gratitude, Giovanni. (Takes ring) Is there nothing that you are inclined to take?

Trickster: Not really. I’m here to put on a show, not to take money. (Pulls out bottle of paint) Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to replace the bathroom sinks’ water with paint.

(Exit Trickster; Top analyzes jewelry and slowly begins to select the sophisticated jewelry)

Mirror Master: (To Weather Wizard) I know I said that I was getting a Ferrari, but I’ve been thinking it over, and I think I might get a Lamborghini instead. What do you think?

Weather Wizard: Which one’s faster?

Mirror Master: I’m not sure. Except for a three-day period where I was in possession of W. W. Wiggins’s stolen Ferrari, I’ve never actually owned a car.

Weather Wizard: (Surprised) You’ve never owned a car? How’s that possible? Before I became the Weather Wizard, I was the world’s biggest loser, and even I had a car. I mean, granted, I crashed it into a tree, but I had one!

Mirror Master: (Defensive) I grew up in the inner city. Have you seen the traffic in the interior of Central City? It’s a nightmare! There’s a reason everyone takes the subway to work. The traffic gets so jammed that cars are basically useless.

Weather Wizard: But you still live in the inner city. If there’s no use for one, why do you want it so bad?

Mirror Master: (Angrily) Because I’m tired of being poor! I’ve spent my entire life either in jail or in tiny two-room apartments on Baker Street, and I’m sick of it! I’m sick of always being behind on rent, I’m sick of wearing other people’s cast-offs, and I’m SICK of Roscoe implying that I’m stupid! I want a car because it would be a sign that I finally have enough money to get off of Skid Row! People would have to give me some respect then!

Weather Wizard: If it makes you feel any better, without the weather wand, nobody gives me any respect, either. The only reason that I’m here right now is to earn back the reputation I lost when it broke. I don’t really need the money.

Mirror Master: You don’t?

Weather Wizard: Nah. I won a $20,000 poker game a few weeks ago.

Mirror Master: But you’re terrible at poker!

Weather Wizard: (Shrugs) I was playing against an 18-year-old who had just inherited his daddy’s company and had never played a game in his life.

Mirror Master: And Dillon says I’M the one who gets lucky!

Weather Wizard: Don’t take it personally, Sam. He’s a jerk to everyone-except Lisa, that is.

Mirror Master: What does she see in him, anyway?

Weather Wizard: That, my friend, is one of the great mysteries of life. He’s not even that attractive!

Top: (Comes over) It is not so mysterious as that. Unlike the rest of you ruffians, I am a man of birth, breeding, and education. Our relationship is a great boon for her social status, especially given the “trailer trash” from whence she comes-to use a colloquialism, of course-and I am certainly better company than any of you could hope to provide. Her selection of me as a paramor proves that she, alone among you “Rogues”, has taste.

Mirror Master: (Sarcastically) Yeah, you’re a real prince, Dillon.

(Alarm goes off)

Weather Wizard: Oh, no! The alarm! We must’ve lost track of time, and now the Flash is gonna show up and make me a laughingstock all over again!

(Enter Trickster)

Trickster: Where’s the Flash? He should be here by now!

Mirror Master: Who cares? Let’s get outta here!

Trickster: Wait! I want to fight the Flash! It’s no fun if I don’t get to fight the Flash!

Mirror Master: Trickster, we got what we came for! Now let’s go!

(All exit quickly, Mirror Master dragging a flailing Trickster)

Act V

(Mirror Master, Weather Wizard, Top, and Trickster are onstage, sitting. Trickster is pouting)

Weather Wizard: We...we actually did it?

Top: Obviously. We are here and not in jail, are we not?

Weather Wizard: I know that, I just can’t believe that we actually did it! We never get away with heists this big!

Mirror Master: You’re right, Mardon. It’s been over four years since we had a heist that the Flash didn’t stop….and we got away with it!

Weather Wizard: So, what do we do now?

Mirror Master: I….I don’t know. It’s been years since we got away with anything, so I haven’t had a plan beyond “get away” in years.

Weather Wizard: I guess you can buy your car now.

Mirror Master: Yeah. I guess so. (Sighs) It’s so weird that we’re not in jail right now.

Weather Wizard: Tell me about it. I haven’t had a run of luck this good in ages!

Top: It is not so peculiar as you are treating it. After all, I accompanied you on this heist, something I have not often done. It is not, therefore, terribly surprising that you were successful-I enabled you to come out on top .

Mirror Master: Dillon, do the world a favor and shut up. I’m not in the mood for your attitude.

Weather Wizard: (To Trickster) Hey, James, why are you so upset? We just got away with a million dollars! You should be on cloud nine!

Trickster: I’m upset because the Flash didn’t show up! He’s what makes crime exciting! Since he wasn’t there and we did it at night, I didn’t have an audience, and it wasn’t any fun! Besides, escaping changes up the game. How are we supposed to start the game over if we don’t get captured and have to escape again?

Weather Wizard: Now that you mention it, I did feel like our heist was lacking in that rush. It’s hard to feel excited when there’s no danger that you might be stopped.

Mirror Master: Yeah. It’s not enjoyable to beat him when he doesn’t even show up. (Pause) But hey, at least we’re rich now, right?

Weather Wizard: (Without confidence) Right. And I’m sure we’ll be able to come up with something to do. It’ll be great!

Trickster: (Petulantly) No, it won’t. The game’s been ruined!

Mirror Master: How has it been ruined? You don’t need the Flash to trick people.

Trickster: No, I don’t, but it’s not the same. I came back to Central City to play the game, and now the game has been ruined because the Flashes won’t play!

Weather Wizard: (Too cheerfully) Hey, why don’t we go get some ice cream? That’ll make us all feel better.

Mirror Master: Sure, why not?

Trickster: I guess so. But only if I can get gummy bears and rainbow sprinkles.

Top: I will pass on that offer. I have fulfilled my part of the agreement and must get back to work.

Weather Wizard: Okay. More for us, I guess.

Mirror Master: (Mutters) Good riddance.

Trickster: I had better get two dips, too.

(Exit Trickster, Mirror Master, and Weather Wizard)

Top: Ahh. Peace and quiet at last. (Pulls out cell phone) Hello, Lisa, darling. This is Roscoe. How fares the mission? (Pause) Allen is willing to help you get the cure? Good. Good. Very good. You, my sweet, are a veritable Sarah Siddons. (Pause) Oh, my apologies. I thought that was common knowledge. Sarah Siddons was a famous Shakespearean actress who was renowned for her life-like portrayal of Lady Macbeth in the 19th century, and you are quite as talented an actress. (Pause) Oh! I almost forgot. I have pleasant news as well, honeybunch. I appropriated the engagement ring that you so desired! (Pause) Wait, you never picked out a ring for that purpose? My profuse apologies, sweetums. It seems that I was misinformed. (Pause) Don’t worry, my dearest darling. The pain has been quite manageable, and given what you have just told me, I have no fear for my life. (Pause) Thank you, darling. Your snuggle-bunny loves you, too. Good-bye. (Puts phone away) TRICK-STER!

(Scene change. Enter Wally, in jewelry store)

Wally: Aw, come on! I’m getting sued by the school district AND I let the Rogues get away? Man, this just isn’t my day! (Pause) Oh, well. If there’s one thing that Uncle Barry’s taught me, it’s that a true hero never gives up. I’m sure to find them eventually-especially since they aren’t exactly subtle. (Pause) And if there’s one good thing about all this, it’s that things can’t possibly get worse! I’ll go get a quick snack, and then I’ll find Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry so that we can take down those Rogues- in a Flash!

#wally west #flash rogues #dc comics #fanfic

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mwolf0epsilon · 4 years

Note

Story about something crashing on little Sammy parents farm. Maybe the government comes and forces them out for a while to collect it?👽

Warning for disturbing imagery and dead animals!

Summary: Joey Drew Studio is snowed in, so while everyone tries to keep warm for the night they end up reminiscing about the oddest things they had ever experienced. Sammy ends up recalling a rather bizarre event from his childhood.

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[[MORE]]

"I'm sorry to impose so much Mrs. Harrison. I trust Abigail will behave, she's a little angel I assure you." Sammy fidgeted with the phone chord nervously as he listened to his elderly neighbor. "Yes, yes thank you... Oh certainly! Let her on so I can wish her a good night..."

Susie watched as the tired look on the music director's face melted away to welcome a gentler smile. She could sort of hear a child's voice on the line (his little sister that he'd mentioned a few times). It was quite endearing to see Sammy with such a calm and content expression instead of the usual grumpy scrawl that scared half the band into submission.

"Good night Abby, be good to Mrs. Harrison." The call was coming to a close. "I love you too."

Susie smiled at him and nodded, taking her turn to call home now that he was finished.

"Wally is heating up soup in the break room. The stove's thankfully working." She called after him as she dialed the number.

"Everyone camping out there?" He asked as he looked back at the voice actress.

"Everyone but Joey, that devil of a man actually has an insulated office... The rest of us are sleeping by the stove." She sighed "Thankfully Norman and Grant thought ahead and brought a few blankets to stay warm."

Clever thinking and also a necessity, as Grant's office was very drafty, and Norman's booth got cold from the pipework frosting over a bit (since the music department had been a repurposed bathroom) in cold weather. Mr. Cohen also knew the likelyhood of Joey having paid the heating bill. Slim to none.

"Great... Just what I wanted, to sleep in a stuffy room full of people and the smell of that rancid soup..." A soup he'd enjoyed at first (due to it reminding him of his father's cauliflower soup which had little bits of bacon in it), but which had lost its luster on the third week of being asked to take a few cans home. Abby hated the stuff so he'd had to eat it himself. "Don't you just love getting snowed in?"

"Only when I was a child. The snow usually meant no classes." Susie finished dialing and waited for her mother to answer.

He left her alone to go back into the break room where Wally and Norman were passing around bowls of soup. Grant greeted him with a blanket, which he graciously took. The damn studio was absolutely freezing in November. The freak snowstorm hadn't helped.

Honestly he'd loved the look of a snowy New York when he'd first moved here with his father. It had looked beautiful and new, almost magical, unlike the ranch he'd grown up in until he was 11. Looking back now, he missed the expanse of snowy fields instead of the cold streets. He also missed watching a few of the animals play in the snow.

Getting stuck in the studio made him a little nostalgic.

"Here ya go Sammy!" Wally passed him a bowl of soup, which he nearly dropped in surprise, and grinned "It ain't my ma's beef stew and it definitely lacks a spoon since we don't got that many of those to begin with, but at least it'll keep you warm from the inside!"

"I, yes at least that." He sniffed it and grimaced. Pork grease and chunky bits that definitely were less bacon and more cartilage. "You ever wonder how they made this slop?"

"I'd rather not think about it. It's like hot dogs ya know... The less you know about it, the better they are!" The janitor shrugged and went to sit on one of the chairs closer to the stove. Everyone was very much huddled close by, swaddled in shared blankets, rubbing their hands together to keep them warm, or drinking soup.

Norman nodded at the music director once he sat down to join the group. Not too long after Susie was sitting beside him, and he offered to share his blanket with her.

"So, what do we do now?" Wally asked as he looked around. The issue would be sorted in the morning but it was still only a quarter to eleven and no one was particularly keen on sleeping just yet.

"I'll tell ya what we could do!" Shawn called out from his spot, voice slightly muffled by his big red scarf. "I say we pass t'time by indulging in the ye old grand art that is story tellin'!"

"Story telling? What, like a sleepover?" Jack questioned. Sammy found it amusing that he'd swaddled himself in his blanket in a way that pressed his hair tight against his skull, to the point where it looked like a makeshift scarf and ear mitts. "Like when we were little kids?"

"Well we're all sleepin' here t'night aren't we? And ya don't need t'be wee little ankle biters t'go tellin' stories." Shawn huffed "Besides, what better way t'know yer co-workers than share some harrowin' tales? I sure got a few that'll intrigue you folks I'm sure."

"Is it about potatoes?" One of the art department workers asked, only to get a slap on the back of the head and an elbow to the ribs.

"Very funny, that muppet over there's a real comedian coddin like that..." The Irishman rolled his eyes. "Right, you folk ever hear 'bout the legend o'the banshee?"

Everyone gave him a peculiar look, which Shawn took as permission to carry on.

"The tale varies some dependin' on t'person who tells ya. But the way me ma told it to me was somethin' like this: The banshee is a sweet singin' virgin, pretty as a button, a real feek." He tapped his chin thoughtfully as he recalled his mother's words. "Sometimes she has long black hair, other times it's a bright red like fire. Always pale... But don't be thinkin' she's just some little lady, oh no. The banshee is a spirit, one that heralds death in the family. Her ghastly cries precede the death o'loved ones and fill ya with a mighty chill o'dread... And I saw one when I was just a wee lad."

"Ya saw... A ghost?" Lacie wrinkled her nose. "And ya sure it wasn't some regular girl you just saw?"

"Couldn't o'been. She was right outside the window Lacie. And me room was on the second floor..." Shawn shook his head "And I knew it had to o'been a banshee. She looked just like me cousin, who died o'the shakes a few months prior. My pa always did say she might come back as the household haunt, she wasn't ready t'leave just yet."

"So, that's it? You saw some apparitions at your window and think it was some folklore horror?" Sammy rolled his eyes.

"Yep. An' then in the morning me grandpa was dead. Dreadful song she went and had t'sing. I was just 5 too! T'damn beour coulda gone bother me brother instead... He was t'one that used to scare us wee lads with these tales o'ghosts n' ghoulies..."

Well, that wasn't a very nice story. And it likely had a reasonable explanation behind it too. Just a small child frightened by tales and likely still coming to terms with losing a cousin.

"Oh, that's nothin'!" Wally grinned. "Ghost stories aren't anythin' compared to what I found in a ditch when I was 8!"

"Oh yeah? Then enlighten us, oh scare Meister!" Shawn barked back, glaring slightly. "What coulda been worse than a banshee?"

"How about a maneater?" The janitor offered.

Shawn fell quiet and others began to whisper among each other at the claim, before Norman began to hush everyone.

"Go on then... Yous can't just say that an' not tell us."

"Oh man, it was the dang scariest thing I'd seen as a kid!" Wally grinned. "Us tykes from Brooklyn? We didn't grow up with monster stories and such. Our mas and pas told us about kidnappers and murderers instead, cuzz those are like, real dangers you know?"

He took a sip from his cooling bowl of soup, before clearing his throat.

"But you know what kids are like. They like adventure and don't really listen too much cuzz, you only believe it when you see it!" He carried on. "Me? I was with a couple a pals exploring this old ditch that had some neat stuff people used to throw in there. Busted watches, trinkets, sometimes a lost wallet with a little bit of cash in it...Well that day there wasn't just goodies."

Sammy sipped his own soup and felt Susie's arm brush up against his as she got on the edge of her seat. She was excited to hear wherever Wally's story was going.

"Local news had like, been going on about this one loon that had run off from the big house or somethin'. Some big mug who was a pervert or whatever. Adult stuff we kids didn't care for." Wally looked around as he spoke. "Only he wasn't no pervert, just really messed in the head. A cannibal. A cannibal that liked eating little tots. You know, stories like Little Johnny went pokin' around where he shouldn't and now there was no Little Johnny no more? Yeah that nearly was us."

"You found the guy in the ditch?" Sammy guessed.

"Nope! Found my neighbor, Sally, partially eaten and all kinds o' messed up." Wally replied "I figured we were in trouble so we ran like our butts were on fire and screamed the whole way back. Coppers caught the fucker and his picture on the paper still gives me nightmares. If we'd found him instead, we woulda ended up like Sally!"

Everyone looked extremely disturbed at the thought of a couple of 8 year olds finding another child's partially eaten corpse.

"Shite... No wonder yer such a mog. Brooklyn's fucked up!" Shawn winced.

"Hey!" Wally pouted.

"Also your story was misleading. You didn't actually encounter the "maneater"." Sammy pointed out. "That's not how you should advertise a tale you twit."

"Would ya rather I have found the creep that did it?"

"No, next time just don't make it sound like an actual encounter when it's an anecdote about another outcome entirely."

"Don't go bein' an ass Lawrence." Norman called out. "I thought the story was good. Messed up, but good... Granted it don't top what I experienced when I was still in the cradle."

"Oh, this ought to be good." The blond smirked. "Word of mouth?"

"My Nanna never told no lie. Yous won't find a more honest lady." Norman smirked back.

At this point everyone had finished their soup and was practically laying or leaning against one another for warmth. It helped that the story telling atmosphere had all but made everyone forget about the cold.

Norman being so tall and obscuring the stove ever so slightly, cast strange shadows on the wall.

"Now, this happened a few months after I was born. My Nanna was lookin' after me while my mama and memaw was helpin' my pops and pepaw out in the cotton fields. My brother and sister wasn't that much older either, not yet ready to go pickin', so they was in their room playin' together." He leaned back in his chair, a content smile on his face "Nanna was just preparin' lunch while I was layin' in this big ol' basket full o' pillows and blankets, just sleepin' away like babies do. She turned 'round to chop up some carrots when she had this weird feelin' all of a sudden."

Sammy put an arm around Susie as he listened. Norman was a pretty good story teller. Had this voice that just pulled you in. He could almost imagine a little chubby baby in a basket while an old lady prepared food in the kitchen.

"Nanna Polk always had a feel for when things were no good all of a sudden. She'd known when Poppop weren't doing well in the head, and she knew how to pop a shot into a big gator when it got too close to the house. She wasn't afraid o'nothin'." Norman carried on. "But she was afraid. She was afraid when the blade o'her knife caught the reflection o'this big brute pullin' my basket out the window."

Sammy winces and Susie tightened her grip on his arm. The others were quite aghast as well, at the thought of an innocent little babe getting snatched away by some stranger.

"Nanna didn't scream. She didn't wanna scare my siblings you see... Instead she tiptoed towards the backdoor, knife in hand, and kept outta sight o'the man that was tryin' to take me away." Norman hummed as he thought back on what Nanna had told him. "You know, they often tell ya 'bout southern hospitality. If yous is friendly and respectful, yous always got a friend. They don't tell yous about Louisiana ladies like my sweet Nanna tho... They is forged of iron and grief. Strong and protective o'their youngins... She knew what that man wanted from me, an' she wasn't bout to let it happen."

"What did she do?" Wally asked, bitting his knuckles as he put his legs up to his chest.

"Put the knife through his back. She pushed him so he wouldn't go an' fall on me, oh 'course, and that basket well about saved my life cuzz it was damn well padded and didn't so much as wake me when it hit the ground."

"Holy shit..."

"Now, that might sound a little extreme to yous, but I trust Nanna's judgement." Norman began once he noticed the horrified looks on his coworker's faces. "That man woulda taken me somewhere no one could'a gotten me from, an' she wasn't 'bout to lose anyone else to them creeps. Nanna was smart, and Nanna was hard workin'. She buried the bastard where he fell, an' planted a tree t'remember it too. I got to put a swing on it when it grew big enough to support the weight."

"Where were they going to take you?" Sammy finally asked, once he realized no one would do so. "The man?"

"Hm, well I don't know exactly. But she did say it was where my Poppop grew up, so I know it wasn't a good place." Norman frowned. "They did bad things to him, made him messed up in the head an' dangerous. Nanna saved me from endin' up the same way... Don't care if it wasn't the right way t'do it, them folks don't deserve no pity if they go stealin' babies from their cribs t'do god only knows what."

"Well... For what is worth, we're glad your nanna saved you Norman. You're a gem." Susie smiled which got the much larger man to chuckle.

"How's that for a story then? Anyone steppin' up to top it off?"

No one seemed to have anything that quite matched the energy of this... What should he call it? Cultist kidnapping story? It certainly sounded that the man was some underground cultist if he was taking babies to indoctrinate, or whatever...

The blond watched, saw no one step up to the challenge, and then remembered.

"Well, it may not be as bad as getting snatched away. But I do recall a rather peculiar set of events from before I moved to New York with my father." He began, the band members snorting and whispering among themselves that it was probably something stupid. He glared their way before looking at Norman who gestured for him to go on.

"Floor's all yours Sammy."

"Right." He thought back, way back when he was 10. Just a year prior to his mother's death. It was all a little foggy but the more he concentrated on what his father had told him about that night, the less his explanation made sense once correlated with his own memories. "I didn't exactly grow up in the city. Not until I was 11 that is... I actually lived in a cattle ranch for a while."

"That explains why you call us sheep." Johnny laughed.

"No, I call you sheep because your job is to follow me, you damn goat." Sammy snarled back at the interrupting organist.

"Ouch." Jack winced.

"Either way, as a child living with a father who raised cattle for a living, one can expect that I was often tasked to help with a few of the animals. Mainly cleaning the pens and, if I was particularly lucky, shearing the sheep." The sheep, he confesses, had been his favourite. They were dumb and cute. "My father usually dealt with the larger animals. When this event occured, he'd just bought a big healthy heifer. His ornery old bull had covered our best breeding cow but she'd not been having calves."

"Was she called Bessie?" Wally grinned.

"The name of the cow isn't of importance!" Sammy rolled his eyes. "It was Felicity by the way."

"My mistake."

"Either way, my father was a breeder, so his breeding female not producing offsprings was a big deal. I was a kid so I wasn't particularly interested if Felicity had issues, I just liked watching her when she had little calves. They were the cutest thing right after the baby lambs." Sammy carried on "The new heifer, Clarabelle, arrived that day and immediately the bull was put to working. My father thought That'd be the end of his problems... An easy fix. Except it wasn't..."

"She sterile?" Norman asked.

"Oh I wish that had been it. I was 10, had seen animals in plenty of states from sickness or wild animal attacks. But never had I seen a cow turned inside out, other than in a damn butcher's..." Sammy shuddered. He could still remember it... Going outside to get the eggs like his father had asked, and just finding this massive dead heifer with no skin on her body. His mother had said he'd screamed like the devil himself had been before him.

"Oh god..." Susie gagged slightly. "That couldn't have been nice..."

"It wasn't. I was freaked out and my father was furious. Clarabelle had been an expensive purchase. And she wasn't the only casualty." Sammy shook his head. "The pen was wrecked, the bull was in better state but no less dead, and poor Felicity must have run into whatever butchered them both because she had a massive wound on her hind. Every animal was spooked out of their minds and even our sheepdog wouldn't come out of the house. Peed himself when we tried coaxing him."

"Did ya find what did it?" Shawn asked.

"No, we couldn't find anything that explained it." Sammy carried on. "No tracks, no trails of blood, nothing. The pen was just ruined, like it had been splintered apart, and Clarabelle looked to have just... I don't know how to explain it. Pop? Like a balloon?"

"I figure your father wasn't too keen on going' about business after that?"

"He wanted compensation, but you can't exactly put the blame on anything if you can't even find a cause." The music director sighed "We eventually just decided to call it quits on figuring out what the hell happened and went on with our lives. But then things just got... Weird."

Strange lights at night, bizarre noises, and horrific night terrors. Sammy's father had lost his patience when he'd found their dog's remains and called the authorities.

"We were all on edge, unsure what was going on at the ranch, and losing animals every night. My father called the cops, saying someone must be playing some seriously messed up joke to terrorize us. He'd made a lot of enemies with his attitude over the years, so I wouldn't have been surprised..." He trailed of, beginning to feel goosebumps as he recalled the final night of these strange occurances. "And then one night I saw something strange out of my window. Stranger than anything else."

Everyone was eager for the conclusion, he could tell. Taking a deep breath, he recounted what he'd been a witness to.

"I wasn't sleeping well, no one was, but I just couldn't settle in bed that night. It felt too warm in my room so I got up to open a window." His 10 year old self had always struggled with the latch on his window, but not that night. That night it opened without a fuss. "I saw... A figure. Out in the fields. Cast in weird green light that I couldn't put a source to. They were tall, and I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, but I assumed man because there wasn't a hair on its head... I just stared, and it looked to be staring back. Next thing I know, I'm outside in my pajamas, staring up at this pitch black figure... Taller, imposing, faceless. No eyes, no nose, no mouth... And yet it felt like it was glaring hatefully at me. Frustrated, angry... It pointed at the woods and I don't... I don't know what it wanted and I was just a scared kid."

He gulped heavily as he recalled how oppressive everything had felt.

"Again I blacked out, but this time awoke inside to my mother fanning me. My dad was yelling at the cops and it was morning." Sammy frowns "Yelling at them to get that damn thing off his property, and to fuck right off since they were so useless at their damn job."

A soft amen from a member of the writer's department. Followed by a chuckle from another one.

"My throat was raw, and when I tried to ask what happened, my mom told me they'd found me outside at the edge of the woods, screaming until my voice went. Screaming about wanting out of the woods. Screaming about wanting to go home... Screaming that nothing here was good to eat and that I was going to die... I don't recall doing it, and my father said I'd probably had a nightmare of some kind. A fever dream even, since mom had been trying to cool me down for a good reason." He bit his lip "It's odd, I'd just fallen ill overnight and everything was fuzzy... I asked why the cops were here, and my father said when he'd gone to get me he'd spotted a weather balloon of some kind in the woods. The cops were there to take it away."

Everyone stared, confused and trying to figure out how these events connected. He gave them a shrug.

"I have no idea what was going on, so don't ask. I was 10, animals were dying weirdly, and I got so sick all of a sudden that I started sleep walking and hallucinating demonic figures. No one ever said anything about the weather balloon in the local paper either, so I don't even know what to think of that." He leaned against Susie "It was weird, but it stopped. Still that thing kept appearing in my nightmares for a while... It faded with time but it bothered me while it was still fresh in my mind."

"Sounds like aliens." Wally pips up.

"No such thing." Bertrum laughed at the suggestion. "Just a bunch of vandalism, fallen governament property, animal attacks, and a child's overactive imagination."

"No, I'm serious! Stuff like that happens in farms all the time! Stuff no one can explain..."

"Wally, there's tons o' things none can explain in this world already." Norman pointed out. "I'm not sure what sorta thing Sammy might o' stumbled upon as a kid... But little green men don't sound plausible."

"Oh come on, ain't it obvious? Cows gettin' killed, the strange damages? The fallen thing in the woods? The spooky figure? The one person who no one would believe being chosen to see the alien? Then the cops just swoopin' in and covering it up? Happened just the same to my uncle Paul!"

"What I saw wasn't little or green. Don't make it another one of your outlandish tall tales." Sammy grinned, enjoying how much Wally was puffing up.

"Bite your tongue! It ain't a tall tale!"

"Sure it's not."

"Boys don't fight... Because I've got one heck of a story that'll make Norman's and Sammy's feel like child's play!" Susie cut in, with a devilish grin of her own.

And so the night carried on, with more stories to be shared. All the while Sammy laughed and listened, content with the situation.

Although... He did still wonder what he'd seen out in the field. Surely it couldn't have been extraterrestrial.

Hm... Yes, surely not. Just a bad dream and some sick prank. Had to have been.

#Eps Writes:#Bendy and the Ink Machine #BATIM

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puppetsoftomorrow · 4 years

Text

okay so imagine: the trapped in the tv ep but with only british tv shows - if ur not british i'm sorry!! hopefully this will still be funny for you lol

No one was fazed as the classical music rang out overhead, and Nate and Mick waited patiently for it to finish. The pair were stood next to a low table, set on lush green grass and under a backdrop of a clear blue sky and a large country house, with people milling around and chatting, just quietly enough not to be heard over the music.

The logo flashed faintly in the sky, and Nate coughed, adjusting his glasses slightly.

"Well, here we have a lovely piece - a mantle clock, looks to be 17th Century, possibly Russian," He started, tipping the clock back slightly to get a better look at it. "Can you tell me a little more about how you came to have it?"

"It stole it." Mick shrugged. "It looked expensive."

"And you'd be correct." Nate said, waggling his finger to emphasize his point. "Made by an early pioneer of this type of time-keeping, Rip Hunter, the craftsmanship is just - exquisite, and there's not even - oh, there's a small dent here."

"Probably from when I hit Rasputin over the head with it." Mick said, and Nate nodded sagely.

"Well, even with that, it's extremely valuable - you don't see many of these pieces, I'm very honoured to be evaluating it. What do you think it's worth?"

"From the age and quality, I'd want a couple million." Mick grunted.

"And what would you use the money for?" Nate asked, and Mick shrugged again.

"Put Lita through college. Some for the Legends, buy more condiments."

"That sounds fantastic. Well -" Nate started, then paused for an unnaturally long time. Everyone held their breath. "I think, at auction, it could fetch up to £3 million."

Behind them, the Legends cheered, Ava punching the air. Mick nodded, then picked up the clock in his gloved hand wand walked off, swinging it as he did so.

///

The music faded out, and Sara shut the book she was reading, smiling widely. The nursery she was in was quiet, the children having not yet arrived for the day. "I didn't see you there! I'm Sara - what's your name?" She said, voice bright and bubbly.

There was silence for a few seconds, and Sara nodded, despite no one replying.

"Ah, of course. I'm so glad you're here - I need your help." She stood up, eyes wide. "There's a giant octopus named Tagumo terrorizing the village - and we need a special treat for the bake sale! But who should we ask for help?" She scratched her head in an exaggerated thinking motion, then stood up and walked backwards to the large, colourful map that hung on the nursery wall.

"We could ask - Ava the Bureaucrat?" She asked, pointing at a point on the map.

Ava popped up on screen, dressed in her suit and surrounded by stacks and stacks of papers, threatening to topple at any moment. She gave an exaggerated shrug.

"No, she's too busy. Maybe Nate the Historian?" Sara said in a sing-song voice.

At the top of a pink castle, a hand was waving.

"No, he's stuck at the top of his castle. Maybe Zari, the Cat Chat celebrity?"

Zari was on her phone but started to wave as the camera zoomed in on her.

"Yes, that's it! We'll ask Zari, the Cat Chat celebrity!" Sara said, smiling widely. "Come on, let's go to Zari's house!"

Sara walked through the quiet streets of Waverider, avoiding the large chunks of stone that were being thrown her way by an angry octopus. It was a sleepy seaside town, with brightly coloured buildings and extremely predictable weather, and she loved it. She stopped in front of the yellow house and knocked on the door.

"No! It's mine!" "It's mine!" came the muffled voices from inside.

"Oh no! I think Zari's having an argument with her brother Behrad." Sara said, eyes wide. "Let’s see if we can help."

She opened the door, where Zari and Behrad were having a tug of war with a small bracelet. Sara stood, hands on hips, with an exaggerated frown.

"Z! B! What's this?"

"It's my turn with the totem!" Behrad whined, and Zari stomped her foot.

"No, dummy, it's mine! You used it to beat Genghis Khan last week!"

"Did you two forget our last lesson, when we learnt about sharing?" Sara said, and the two broke apart, looking distinctly guilty.

“No, Miss Lance.” They said in unison.

“Good.” Sara said, smiling brightly. “How about – Zari, you use the family heirloom to capture the giant octopus, whilst Behrad and I make a treat for the bake sale!”

The pair brightened up. “Sounds great! We can make a Behrad brownie!” Behrad said brightly, moving towards the kitchen, when Sara put out her arm to stop him.

“Uh oh, did you forget something?”

Behrad struck his palm on his forehead with an exaggerated sigh.

“Whoops! Here you go, sis.” He said, passing the totem over. “I’m sorry I wasn’t sharing nicely.”

Zari shrugged, slipping the bracelet on. “I’m sorry too.” She said, and the pair hugged. When they broke apart, Zari blinked.

“Wait -”

///

The tannoy overhead started to play classical music, overlaid with the booming voice of an announcer. "DC's University Challenge! With your host - Raymond Palmer!"

The lights went up on the studio and Ray sat at a desk, smiling widely at the audience, shuffling his cards.

"Good evening and welcome to DC's University Challenge!” He said, barely being heard over the sounds of the audience clapping politely. He waited until they’d started to quiet down before beginning again. “Our first team tonight is the Time Bureau, a secret government organisation that has produced several bureaucrats, a multi-million-dollar magical creature theme park and around a dozen clones. The organisation has just under 1,000 employees and ranks number two in the inter-governmental department softball league. Their team tonight includes -"

"Hey! I'm Mona Wu, and I'm reading creature care and getting in touch with my wild side!" Mona said, waving and smiling brightly.

Gary coughed. "Uh - Hello - I'm Gary Green, and I'm studying as an apprentice of the dark arts under John Constantine."

"I'm Nate Heywood, and I'm doing a second PhD deductive historical reasoning and turning into steel." Nate said, giving the camera a mock salute.

"And finally, their Captain -"

"I'm Ava Sharpe, from 2213, and I'm reading how to move on from clone based psychological trauma." Ava said, nodding with a tight-lipped smile. She looked at her team – they looked good, all dressed in the Bureau suits. She hoped it would be enough to beat their opponents.

After the clapping ended, Ray gestured to the other side of the studio. "Our second team tonight are the Legends, founded in 2016 by Rip Hunter. Although seen as the underdogs, they won a comfortable victory against the Legion of Doom in the first round, answering questions on the French Revolution, punk rock and African oral history. With a combined age that's impossible to calculate, lets meet the team."

"Hey, I'm Behrad Tarazi, and I'm studying the air totem - but if my parents are watching, I'm studying .... business." Behrad said awkwardly, fiddling with the bracelet around his wrist.

"Hi, I'm Charlie, I'm from before the concept of time, and I'm reading loom weaving - and also shape-shifting." Charlie said, waving to the audience and adjusting the Beebo mascot they had placed behind their team name.

"I'm Mick." Mick grunted. There were a few seconds of silence before Ray spoke again.

"And their Captain -"

"Hey, I'm Sara Lance from Star City. I did two tours with the League of Assassins and now I'm reading kicking ass across the time stream." Sara said, pointing her finger guns towards Ava and winking, which caused the opposing captain to blush.

Ray set the cards down. "Right, well, we all know the rules, so I'll just get started. Your starter for 10 is - in the novels of Rebecca Silver, how many breasts does the alien queen Garima have?"

Mick was on the buzzer, but Mona was quicker. "Three!" She answered excitedly.

"I'm sorry, in the most recent novel, Death of a Rogue, she is revealed to have a secret fourth breast. Another starter for ten - the 1995 film Swamp Thaaang, written and directed by Greg Berlanti, was based on the memiors of what creature?"

John slapped the buzzer decisively. “Swamp Thing.”

Ray nodded and the crowd went wild. “Correct. Your questions will be on marine life. How many penis’ does a shark have?”

The team formed a little huddle, and Behrad shrugged.

“Anyone got any -” Sara started, but John cut in.

"Two." John said.

“Are you sure?” Sara asked, and John nodded, wincing slightly.

///

“Welcome back to – Top of the Pops!”

The lights came up on the little podium where Astra was standing, holding the slim microphone between her fingers, and she smiled widely.

"So, your top five this week is Doctor Mid-Nite with ‘Year 3000’ at number 5, Ava and the Clones with ‘The One and Only’ at number 4, Rip Hunter and Wally West with ‘Careless Whisper,’ entering the charts at number 3, and that was the JSA, staying strong at number 2 with ‘Kids in America.’ But, coming in hot at number 1, with their new hit ‘American Idiot’, it's the Legends of Tomorrow!"

Astra swept her hand towards the stage, where the lights came up to rapturous cheers from the audience.

"We are the Legends of Tomorrow - and we're here to change your destiny!" Charlie shouted into the mic, just as Mick started up on drums. Nate’s hands hovered over his bass guitar, looking over to Sara, who winked at him as the chords of her electric guitar rang out over the cheering audience.

///

(shows featured are - antiques roadshow, balamory, university challenge and top of the pops)

not featured: ava's very short episode of 'who do you think you are', the legends very chaotic stint on strictly come dancing and a master chef ep where the only food they make is mush variants

okay should i keep going!! should i post this on ao3? i wasn’t gonna but if ppl want me to i can :) thanks for reading!!

#phoebe lifeblogs #legends of tomorrow #legends of tomorrow spoilers #my writing #legends of tomorrow fanfiction #i made myself laugh with this lmao

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lavenderhyrdrangea · 3 years

Text

Moon River 2.0

If you prefer to read on ao3 the link is here

Butch had undoubtedly sprained his ankle; the mild caution in his step had given it away. Dedicated to making matters worse, he kept his usually flippant mouth shut about the pulled joint even with Grayditch, by then, miles behind them.Viola deferred his much needed chiding in favor of hammering her fist on the door to her happy place, a dream land where she didn’t have to deal with his screw ups.

Frustrated was too gentle a word to describe her feelings about their predicament. Sure, no one wanted to admit that the first thing they did when they saw a fire ant was shriek then ragdoll fling themselves in the opposite direction—But that was the most common reaction. Those incendiary pests made even the most skilled Wastelanders wet their pants, so a trembling valutie was no surprise. Most people understood that. But Butch? No, not him. Of course not. Most blowhards had a problem admitting to their shortcomings and he was no exception. He was a dummy and thought that his wounded pride mattered in the Waste.

Instead of pressing him for a confession, she opted for the sit back and watch method. If he wanted to suffer in silence like an obstinate little turd, then far be it for her to break her back trying to lend a hand.

With the way his nostrils were flared his breaking point had to be soon.

“Whys the crapshoot settlement got to be so far?”

“Yeah, got to admit—I don’t remember the walk being this long.”

“Map’s probably all wrong. Makes stuff appear to be where it ain’t.”

Viola stopped. Not hearing her steps behind him, Butch followed suit and glanced over his shoulder.

“ If the directions and the destination don’t match then maybe you’re on to something.”

He raised a brow, urging her to go on.

“Maybe Megaton got so sick of hearing you whine about it that it got up and ran.”

Butch gave a hard roll of his eyes and went back to walking, no, shuffling ahead.

“I ain’t got no time for games, girl.”

“Girl, Nosebleed, Poindexter, Wet rag. I love the variety, but I’m sure you know I’ve got a name,” She started walking again and met his pace, “and a gun.”

She’d been threatening him with a bullet ever since she was old enough to traipse the lower parts of the Vault with Sister Beebee. Much like her single barreled friend’s Bbs, the constant shots she and Butch fired at each other could pierce through skin;often times it did. Arguments ended with balled fist and gnashed teeth. He tried to steal her sweet roll so she spat on it. He yanked her hair and called her ugly, so she got a hold of some hair removal product, walked right up to him and poured it all over his head. He ran a rumor about her and Freddie, so she told Wally about all the trips he and Susie took to closets when they thought no one was looking.

The only reason why she hadn’t tried to kill him was because he would try to do her in the moment he saw her coming. Of the little pre-war history she had been taught, she remembered that something called the Nuclear Deterrence Theory followed the same notion. One nation would hold off on blasting another to bits for fear of a full and equal retaliation. Given the fact that they were trekking through radiated rubble, a couple of somebodies screamed “screw that” while pounding on their respective shiny red button. Regardless, her and Butch’s civility with one another had always come down to survival, and that sentiment doubled once they no longer had the Vault’s fortified walls to protect them.

Butch looked as if he was going to say something smart but it came out as a grunt instead.

“I think that thing back there bit my ankle.” He croaked.

“If that were the case you wouldn’t have a leg and I would’ve had no choice but to leave you to die.”

Before he could spit his usual venom, Viola offered him her shoulder to lean on. He seemed startled by it. This wasn’t the first time he’d been injured but it was definitely the first time she’d voluntarily offered to allow him to use her as balance as oppose to him just pressing his weight on her after getting fed up with the tough guy act.

He eventually gave in after she reminded him of the type of mutants that stalked around once the sun set. They made some advancements. And by some that meant none at all. She considered finding a raider camp and telling Butch to hang back while she took care of them. The shot gun was empty so it wouldn't be an easy task. She rarely used her sniper rifle though it would be useless in close quarter combat, plus there was a reason why she didn't use it much.

She had a bat and rusty pipe. Using them in each hand would…

“Hey, Nosebleed?”

“ Whatever it is, shorten it. Trying to figure out where we’re sleeping tonight. ”

“How long did you know about my ankle?”

“You’re an open book, Deloria.” She snorted. “Wide open.”

“Did your old man teach you how to spot stuff like that?”

Viola chewed the inside of her cheek as she eyed the dilapidated overpass ahead of them. No respite.

“Sorry.” He said sheepishly.

"No, you're good."

It wasn't like she hadn't done something similar. During her first day of her little vault rescue mission, she'd asked him about Paul.

The next few minutes of silence was unnerving. She'd rather hear Butch's mouth than to go down the rabbit hole that was her father and the pain he had inadvertently caused those in the vault.

“Why do you ask? You’re not one one to care about my home life unless it’s for ammunition.”

“Just thinking.”

“Quit that will you? The Wastes are as hellish enough as it is without the universe folding in on itself.”

“ Oh ho ho! You’re a real walking stand up show ain’t you? You’ve really missed your calling. Maybe you should drop the guns and plant yourself in the Rudder. That place is rough, they could use a clown.”

If anyone was a clown it was the guy limping the way home.

She peered across the large expense to the left of her. Maybe they would be more likely to find a camp if they veered off the main path.

"I get it. Scarecrow has a brain now and wants to think and be serious."

"What do you think our lives would be like right like if the door never opened?"

Huh.

" The GOAT sorted that out didn’t it? You'd be a hairdresser and I'd be in Vault Management.”

"Barber."

“That’s not what the GOAT said.” She playfully sang.

"Forget that stupid test. If I say I'm a barber then I'm barber." He sounded like he would've shouted that if he had any energy to do so.

"Looks like you’ve got an answer to your half of the question."

"No, wait. I'm not a barber."

"You sound very confused. I’m guessing the great Oz put that brain in backwards or something."

" Forget everything. Act like the door never opened and the GOAT never existed. Where would you be?"

Viola fell into silence again, in search of an answer to his question. With putting nearly all she had into surviving the Wasteland, she only ever had time to think about lost friendships and broken bonds not the normal, ground level what could have beens. Where would she be? Not helping Butch for starters. Also, working with her father as receptionist for his medical office. After that she might have taken a part-time job helping around at the diner. There wasn't much variety in the Vault, and with certain jobs being limited to only one or two people what little options she had dwindled even further.

Butch had taken the reigns of the conversation after she had assigned herself back to searching duty. He gave a response she didn't think she'd hear: An officer.

"Don't go shooting me funny looks," He said, eyeing her as she gave him a sidelong glance.

She decided to leave that as it was, looking for a resting place and holding a serious conversation as he called it proved to be harder than she thought.

Their trek eventually led them to an abandoned campsite. There was blackened wood and a smoky aroma that indicated there was a fire not too long ago, a backpack with some sugar bombs, and canned pork and beans inside, and a note with barely legible scrawl stating to a Ben that a Ricardo, she learned from the closing statement, was going to go ahead to the old scrapyard without him, and that he should eat something before meeting up with him later and that if someone had taken the food before he got there it was his fault for not hurrying. She wouldn't touch the food left for Ben, however, the junkyard peaked her interest. Most of the items would be picked over but Viola discovered a while ago that few Wastelanders knew that if you accumulated enough junk you could earn a decent amount of Caps.

She’d been deciding whether or she should drop Butch off at Megaton and get Dogmeat first, or try to make the quick stop to the Scrapyard before Megaton when Butch started taking dinner out from his backpack. The rotten smell of Yum Yum Deviled Eggs was enough to keep her present.

She picked up the conversation where she left it. “You rebel without a cause types wouldn’t even waste the spit it would take to put a fire out if the thing burning happened to be some type of authority or institution. I doubt you’ve experienced any type of growth since you’ve stumbled out of the Vault.”Her gaze trailed over the length of his frame,taking in the relative newness of the jeans and white Tee he procured from Seagrave, shocked that they weren’t filthy yet. “Imagining you willingly wearing another uniform is enough to induce a fever dream.”

“Says you. I’ve grown plenty,”

“In the ego department, maybe.” She muttered at first then brought her voice back to a level tone.” Is this some type of kink in your psyche? You hate what you secretly desire?”

“You calling me a boot muncher?”

“I’m saying that your sudden judicial interests are suspect.”

“ They’re untouchable. People don’t mess with them. If someone’s stupid enough to push their luck they’ve got three other officers there to back them up.” He managed through half chewed up deviled egg chunks.

She added her own items to their little spread: Muttfriut, Peaches,and Pinto Beans. With his eggs and Sugar bombs they almost had the four basic food groups, albeit the poor man’s version.

“So,” She paused, thinking, “you wanted to be a big man with legal backing, huh? Gives credence to that one saying.”

Notwithstanding the obvious dig, He asked easily, “Yeah? What saying?”

“Bullies seek out positions of authority. Typically, the guys try to be officers and the girls go for nursing jobs. I’m a little surprised you didn’t get that as a result on the GOAT.”

Butch’s lips quirked into a stupid grin. “What’s all that make you miss Vault Managament?”

“ I’m only a partial bully and that’s thanks to you.”

“ Everything’s my fault. Right. I forgot.”

She shrugged. "You said it. Not me."

The conversation lulled as they fell to the rest of their meal. Gingerly holding a piece of Muttfruit under the fading sunlight, Butch shifted from his lazy supine position to a full on crouch and put his nose to it. With that litmus test out the way, he nibbled on it like a molerat, sampling bite after bite, until the full flavor zinged on his tongue. He spat the chewed mush past his puckered lips. Viola had gobbled down her cheekful of sugar bombs to free up space so she could tease but went for a subtle side eye last minute. Leave it to Butch to turn his nose up at something good for him.

“People move for them, you know?” He admitted, jumping back into their intial conversation. More so to not have to take another bite than eager a need to continue their chat.

Narrowing her eyes, she said, “So you fantasize about the badge because you have a naive fantasy about power and control. Is that it? You’re idea of law enforcement and people in leadership explains your past behaviors a bit too well. ”

“Christ, way to miss a point. That ain’t it at all. Security has guns and stuff.”

“Weapons intimidate. Intimation can lead to power or control. Use your head for something besides hair gel for once.

“No, no,no-You brought up the badge, right? That’s it. That’s all it is.”

“I’m still not sure about what ‘it’ is.”

Butch huffed.

“Say I draw pretty picture. Cogs in a circle. A winged sword jabbing through. You’d think..?

“Oh, an inkblot test almost.”

“A what? Quit stalling, Nosebleed.”

“The Brotherhood of Steel. Resourceful. Altruistic. Tech-savvy. A bit frigid when it comes down to the more human side of things. Order, Structure, Chain of command—That’s them. Forming an order and plotting ahead is smart of them. I don’t like their...well, steel but I respe--”

Butches eyes went wide and he pointed. “There.”

Viola chewed on that for a bit. " I think I get you." She said, nodding.

Butch’s expression grew soft for split second but smoothed out and eventually went back to it’s normal wise guy grin.

" How come I'm the only one sharing?"

" I honestly don't know what my answer would be."

" You never wanted nothing?"

She rolled the deviled egg she pilfered before Butch demolished the rest of them between her fingers.

"I remember wanting to do things that would make my father say that my mom would happy."

"And being a receptionist would have done that?"

"It did. He would tell me all the time that she would be happy that I'd taken to the working around the office. I think my mom and my dad valued my safety. That's what made them both happy. But out here safety’s luxury."

"Well, you’re not dead, stiff as a board, but not dead. I’d say you’re doing a good job of keeping yourself safe."

"Not for long. Not with all these curve balls."

They each took their turn taking watch as night fell and passed. Viola made Butch promise to wake her in case something happened and either through guilt or some form of pride he asked her to wake him if she ever got too tired.

A blinding sunlight woke Butch up. Since she’d been out of the vault longer than he had she’d already adjusted to the wastelands rays, and simply took her pair of shades from her backpack and tolerated it on her skin.

"Wish we had something to drink." He said with sleep thick in his voice.

"I brought some purified water from home."

"Something stronger."

"That's not a good idea outside of any settlements," She shot him a withering glare," for you, I personally don’t think that's a good idea at all."

Butch grumbled, "Gimme the water then."

Butch took a three huge, loud gulps.

"I thought of something Mr. Brotch said."

Butch's crumpled his face up like she just told him she spat in his water. "Why?"

"I talked to him after the GOAT. I wasn't happy with my results—“

"—He never told me nothing like that."

"That's because he didn't like you. Look. He told me the whole thing was a joke. And if it is actually is joke, and we we could forgo those results then why not here?"

"What?"

"No one really knows who we are out here. As long as we're not blowing towns up, we can do anything. And if we get bored we can do something else."

"Something tells me the Officer thing is a pipe dream."

“You don’t have to be an Officer. That’s not what you want. Just make some noise and people will associate you with it. I know I do.”

"Yeah, I like that. And you can make your folks happy then."

“Yeah.”

Viola decided to take Butch to Megaton first. They gathered their belongings from around the camp and continued their journey. This time Butch leaned on Viola from the start.

“Hey.” He said a little too quietly.

“Is your ankle bothering you?”

“Nope.”

“What is it then?”

“Would you really have left me behind if I lost a leg?”

She let silence past so he would sweat some.

“No, but I would’ve given you one heck of a nickname.”

For the first time she made him rumble out in that snorting laughter only his friends back in the vault could.

“Nerd.”

* * *

A bit sentimental are ya? You might like my Young Justice(animated) fic, Game Plan, starring Wally West, long roads and glaring insecurity.

#My writing #Fallout 3 #Viola shaw #butch deloria

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youllallriseintheink · 4 years

Text

A Symphony of Nightmares, part 1

This is a fanfiction meant to explore a thoroughly toxic relationship between Sammy Lawrence and Joey Drew. I hope you enjoy.

---

It was December 23rd, and Sammy and Joey were staying at the studio after hours to put together a little workplace Christmas party.

“Thanks for helping me with this,” Joey said as they finished up. “Usually I have Wally help me, but you know you’re always my first choice.”

Sammy blushed. Joey really knew how to make a man feel special. “No problem. It’s probably good damage control for my reputation, y’know, because...”

“Oh, stop bringing that up. Here, I brought you something.” Joey handed Sammy a lovely little present with powder blue and mint green wrapping- Sammy’s favourite colours. Inside of it were many things, the first being a matching green and blue card. The card read,

Dear Sammy,

In the past months since we started dating, you have been proven many things to me. You have proven that you share my artistic mind, as well as some of my more obscure interests. More importantly, you have proven, or at least, almost proven, that you’re someone I can trust with my heart and my vision. You are the perfect person for me, perhaps moreso than anyone I’ve ever met, and I think it’s time that I fully bring you into my life. No more distrust. No more punishments. Fewer rules. Just love. Please meet me at Joey Drew Studios tomorrow and we can discuss how.

-Your loving partner, Joey Drew.

Two keys were taped to the inside of the card, and the box also contained some candy and cocoa, a beautiful notebook with a musical note motif for writing songs, and a small bottle of ink with a note taped to it reading “bring tomorrow.”

“Wow. This is really nice. But, are you going to explain the ink? And the keys?”

“Well-“ In that moment, there was a knock at the door. “Oh, the guests are here!”

“Okay, I guess we can talk later. And then you can open your present.” With that, Sammy gave Joey a peck on the cheek and went to answer the door.

Before long, a few dozen employees had arrived, and were having a jolly good time at the party. Sammy Lawrence was enjoying himself as well, but half of him was concentrated on being good, making sure not to seem too warm to anyone Joey, had made off-limits. The wound in on Sammy’s arm still burned from last night, when Joey had taken a lit match to it as a punishment for making him jealous. On his surface, Joey was a man anyone would want in their lives, always full of inspiration and cheer. Behind closed doors, however, his temper and his fear of losing anyone he found himself attached to led Joey Drew to be... a very intense partner would be one way to put it. Sammy had found that out too late. And he felt addicted to Joey, and all the love and excitement and inspiration he brought into Sammy’s life. But Sammy was also deathly afraid of him.

Considering the ink bottle again, Sammy slipped out to head for his sanctuary. The motions of unlocking it, complicated as they were, were automatic to him by now. Finally alone in the dark, Sammy reflected on how this relationship had come to be.

—-

It had started about seven months ago, when Joey had first asked him out to dinner. They had essentially talked the entire night about their shared passion for the arts. At first, Sammy had thought it was stupid. Sammy couldn’t exactly say so in front of his boss, but Joey didn’t make art- he made stupid kid’s shorts. And even apart from that, Sammy had plenty of bones to pick with Joey as a boss. But as the night wore on, Sammy realized that Joey’s appreciation for art was genuine, and came to respect him a little more. He was pleasant enough when he wasn’t busy being a terrible boss. At Sammy’s door, he’d handed him an unlabelled black book. Sammy still remembered Joey’s exact words: “I want you to borrow this. Check it out a bit. I’ve tried some of the activities in it, and well, they really work! The world is wider than you can imagine Sammy, and I want someone to explore it with. You’re a man of passion. Just promise me you’ll think about it.”

Well, Sammy did look into that tome of Satanic rituals. And he did go to Joey to see them actually work.

It wasn’t too long, maybe two months, before Sammy found himself waiting in an area of town he’d never been to before. It was a poor-looking area, it was getting dark, and he was getting nervous. Joey Drew had always insisted that they meet in a different place every time, for secrecy's sake. Joey had been late that night, and it was spitting rain. Even so, Sammy, normally irritable, was calm. He took another drag on his cigarette, looked over his shoulder for the hundredth time, and propped himself against the brick wall behind him in attempt to look like he belonged in the rough part of town. He was used to this.

Amazing. He, the wimpy, white-collared Sammy Lawrence, was used to waiting around in strange, quiet areas for the opportunity to practice the occult. What Joey had shown him that first night would have converted the most cynical heart. Sammy had never been an atheist, but nor was he especially dedicated to religion- just a churchgoer who seldom thought about the supernatural any time but Sunday mornings. That night, however, he had seen it proven before his eyes that powers beyond his imagination- indeed, beyond the imagination of Christianity or any other religion he knew of, were very real, and very much entwined with the mortal world.

How had that turned into this? Sammy couldn't answer that. Joey had invited him over a second time, let him help with a few rituals performed in his house. Then he lent Sammy a different book so that he could figure out what he wanted to do with his newfound powers. There was no point when his coming over had become an intentional weekly tradition, it just had. And then it came to the point where it wasn't just once a week, but generally multiple evenings that Sammy put into his new hobby. There were supplies to collect, secluded areas to find, and evidence to dispose of. Before he knew it, he was the one suggesting that the two of them go to the woods at night for the first spell involving animal sacrifice that either had ever performed. And beyond that, the candlelit dinners, the sex, the getting drunk and having deep conversations in the woods, the talk as though they were running the studio together- Sammy wondered at when on earth they’d become a couple, and when Joey had become such a big part of his life. Not that Sammy wasn’t enjoying it- Joey might have been a terrible boss, but Sammy was greatly enjoying his personal company.

There were things about Joey that bothered him, though, even then. Six weeks into their relationship, Joey had caught Sammy chatting warmly with Jack in the music room, and had grabbed all but dragged Sammy to his office, holding his wrist tightly enough to leave marks.

“What are you doing, making kissy eyes at the biggest fruit in the studio like that?” Joey had demanded. His fists were curled, and Sammy’s pulse picked up, even though he found the scenario ridiculous.

“I wasn’t making kissy eyes at him. We’re best friends, that’s it,” Sammy halfway snapped. Then, he felt a fist slam into his stomach. His back hit the wall, and Joey held him against it, fist cocked back for a second blow.

“Really?” Joey growled.

“Yes, really! He’s married, I promise,” Sammy cried. Joey let go of him.

“Oh. Okay. Well, I’ll be asking him to make sure, but if you’re telling the truth, I’m sorry. Can we still be partners?”

Sammy hesitated. This is the exact behaviour anyone would tell him to break up with someone over.

A desperate, touchy look fell over Joey’s face. “Keep in mind that it’s all or nothing. I’m not practicing Satanism or lending my books to anyone I can’t trust, one hundred and ten percent.”

“Yeah, let’s stay partners.”

“Good. Maybe we should set some rules so this never happens again.”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

“Okay. Well, how’s about a rule about who you can talk to. Anyone related to you or married is fine, of course, or if they’ve been in a relationship for a while that’s okay. And so are straight men- don’t think you can cheat this rule, though, I always know. And I know you had a thing with Susie Campbell, so I don’t want you talking to single women, either, alright? And especially not Allison Pendle. I can tell she’s a total slut.”

Sammy found the whole thing pretty weird, but he wasn’t at the point of protesting just yet. Satanism meant to much to him. He and Susie weren’t exactly amicable exes anyhow. “Okay. And my rule is that you don’t hit me.”

“Deal,” Joey said, reaching out for a handshake. Sammy returned it firmly. “I love you, alright? I don’t want to hurt you, so keep up your side for me.”

“Right. I love you,” Sammy said, too much hesitation in his voice. “I love you,” he tried again. It was firmer but still didn’t sound quite right.

—-

When had been the next time Joey had hit him? Sammy couldn’t remember. His mind kept traveling back to his first real, hard beating, and that reminded him that he needed to get back to the party and give Wally Franks his present.

Sammy had been storing Wally’s present in his sanctuary all day, which made it pretty convenient now. Hopefully Wally was ready to forgive him. Back in the break room with everyone else around, Sammy tapped Wally on the shoulder while he was talking to Susie.

“Huh? Uh, hey Sammy... What is it...?” Wally’s awkward smile was reminiscent of a cringing puppy who’d been caught red-handed.

“I brought something for you.”

“Thanks.” Wally took the box and lifted its lid. “A chocolate cake. That’s real considerate.”

“Yeah. Remember the time you ate my chocolate cake right out of its box when I left it in my office?” Sammy took care to sound good-natured about that. “You looked so shocked when I walked in on you. We’ve has some pretty funny moments, haven’t we?”

“Ha ha, yeah, ah guess. Look, I don’t wanna offend you but I don’t feel comfortable takin’ this. Sorry for avoiding you, though. I’ll try to stop.”

Sammy’s face fell. “Okay, I get it.”

With that, Wally handed him back the box and walked (a little too fast) back into the crowd.

“Sorry,” Susie said. “He told me that he forgives you, but y’know. He was scared of you even before the... incident... and he’s having trouble being comfortable with you again. If it helps, I want to be friends again. We’ve been broken up for almost a year now, so why keep avoiding each other?”

Because Susie was high on Joey’s list of people he couldn’t talk to. “I’ll think about it, alright Susie?” Sammy said, businesslike, before going to look for Joey. All he could think was how pathetic Wally was. Really, avoiding him like this after one little punch to the face?

—-

It was early November, and Sammy was in his office, attempting to focus on songwriting. If he let his mind stray, it inevitably strayed to the night before, when Joey had beaten him until he bled. And yet, he didn’t feel scared or tearful. Instead, he was furious.

There were no two ways about it, leaving this relationship would be risky on multiple fronts, and Sammy wasn’t sure he could do it. The most obvious was that Joey could- and likely would- fire him. As well, Sammy was enthralled enough with Satanism that he was just about willing to be beaten if it meant he didn’t have to give it up. And, of course, there was the issue that Joey might beat him to a pulp for breaking up- maybe even kill him.

God, Sammy had been so stupid! Why had he thought that it was a good idea to be in a relationship with his boss? Why had he thought he could work the magic of the devil himself without becoming so intoxicated? Why was he allowing himself to be mistreated like this? Why was he such a-

A knock on the door interrupted Sammy’s internal rant. Probably some idiot needing to use the pump switch. Sammy got up and opened the door to see Wally Franks.

“Hey, Mr. Lawrence. You sure look angry.” There was a slightly apologetic tone to Wally’s voice, and Sammy immediately knew what he was there for: some keys to borrow so that could retrace his steps and find his own. Growling, Sammy snatched the keys from his pocket, threw them at Wally, and turned back to his desk.

“...You okay?” Wally asked hesitantly, slowly approaching the angered musician. “That’s a pretty dark-lookin’ bruise you got under your collar there-“

In that moment, Sammy lost all self-control and swung his fist into Wally’s jaw, knocking a tooth out and two others loose. The action shocked Sammy as much as it did Wally.

“Oh my God. Wally, I’m sorry! Can I take you to the infirmary?”

Wally whimpered a no and left Sammy’s office with his proverbial tail between his legs.

Sammy was frozen in shock. He knew he was in trouble, and he supposed he deserved to be. After a couple minutes of waiting for the other shoe to drop, he went back to his sheet music as a distraction. Sammy wasn’t sure how much time had passed before the door opened and Joey took a seat opposite to him. Sammy couldn’t quite look Joey in the eyes.

“So, you hit him,” Joey began, his voice somber. “I’d be a hypocrite to fire you, and I wouldn’t want to do that to my main man, anyways. Here’s what’s going to happen: you’re going to give a public apology to Wally, with me there to mediate. I’ve offered Wally a raise to keep his mouth shut about this to the police. Of course, if this does get out, I’m going to have to let you go for the company’s sake, but until then, I’m going to do everything I can to keep you hired and out of jail. That’s a promise.” Joey gave Sammy a pat on the shoulder, and Sammy winced. “Oops, did I hit a bruise?” Sammy nodded. Joey patted him on the arm instead before leaving.

Once he’d had the time to collect his thoughts, Sammy realized that there was no breaking up with Joey for now- not while this was still fresh in everyone’s memories and he still needed Joey’s protection. But by the time it felt safe to risk making Joey angry, Sammy didn’t want to break up anymore. By then, the beating seemed like an eternity ago, and his most recent memories of Joey were positive. I mean, yes, he did get the occasional punch, burn, or threat, but by then Sammy was used to it. And Sammy had hit Wally- maybe a bit of a temper was just something men of passion like them had. He’d even struck Joey once or twice, and Joey had handled it like a sport. Really, Wally was being such a baby over one punch. Sammy could remember Jack knocking on his door to ask for use of his keys several times in the past couple weeks, and he had no doubt that he was just fetching them for Wally. It was the only time Jack spoke to him now, and he, like a lot of Sammy’s coworkers, had gone cold on him. It had been kind of lonely, especially since a lot of Sammy’s old friends from outside the studio were now off-limits.

At least he had Joey. Maybe they were the only people capable of handling each other.

---

Sammy didn’t even know what Joey wanted from him, so he supposed the best way to figure out if he should agree to it was to go to the little meeting Joey had arranged and to hear him out. So, here he was, at the entrance of Joey Drew Studios with that bottle of ink clutched in his hand. Joey greeted him with a “Merry Christmas Eve!” and a kiss on the lips. They got into the elevator together and Joey sent them down to the very basement.

“So, Sammy. I know our relationship hasn’t exactly been perfect. And I want it to be perfect. I honestly do! I think you’re the perfect partner for me. I don’t want to have to tell you who not to talk to. I don’t want to hurt you. I just didn’t want you to leave me. So, it’s time that I addressed some problems in our relationship. First, I’m sensing that you have some resentment towards me at work, because of the ink machine.”

“Well, yes,” Sammy admitted. “I mean, it's a thorn in everyone’s side and no one knows what it’s for!”

“Well, I don’t want it to inconvenience you. One of the keys I gave you is for the finance manager’s office. You can switch offices with him after Christmas so you won’t have to deal with the pump switch anymore. And I can tell you what the ink machine does if you just make a promise with me.”

“I’m... listening.”

Joey slipped a small bottle of ink that matched Sammy’s out his pocket. “This ink machine could be the next step in our ventures into the occult, Sammy. We should both give ourselves over to it, see what role it chooses for us both. If you can do that with me, well, I’ll be able to trust you entirely. I’ll let you talk to whoever you want, and I’ll never hit you again. In a couple weeks or whenever’s convenient, you could even move in with me. What do you say?”

Sammy had heard the “I’ll never hit you again” line before, but he’d never heard Joey even suggest letting him talk to anyone. “You’ll let me talk to Susie?” Sammy asked.

“Why?” Joey spat, suddenly defensive.

“She forgives me for... you know, Wally. She wants to be friends again. That’s all.”

“Oh, okay. I suppose so.”

Sammy turned the ink bottle in his hands. The long nights they’d spent preparing spells that went horribly wrong, getting drunk, complaining and laughing about the other workers, the sex, the conversations. Was it worth the bad? Especially if it could get better? Sammy uncorked the bottle. “I’ll do it.”

Joey uncorked his bottle. “Thank you. And cheers!”

They clinked their ink bottles and threw them back. For Sammy, it was a bittersweet, salty, viscous liquid that he could barely choke down. For Joey it was as sweet as syrup. Immediately after they were done, Joey showed Sammy to the inside of the ink machine. Suddenly, Sammy wondered if downing the ink was actually symbolic. What would happen to him now? Would it be worth it? Joey loved him. Joey wouldn’t want harm to come to him. He’d have to trust that it was worth it.

---

I get that this one was pretty slow moving. Do you guys want a part two? I could just make it a one-off.

#Bendy and the Ink Machine #a symphony of nightmares #joey x sammy #my fanfiction #joey drew #sammy lawrence #wally franks

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papier-ciseaux · 4 years

Text

Study Session

It’s a Wallis / Purple fanfic from their time in college !

No warning applies, except gay thoughts and horny science thoughts.

You can read it on AO3 !

Or down here :

—————————

Purple was sitting at his desk, reading quietly some of his notes. Well, ‘sticking’ at his desk would be more appropriate. The heat was unbearable for the time of year, and Purple was as sweaty as can get. He had to put a blanket under his thighs to keep his skin from adhering to the chair but he was still very much uncomfortable. But what could he do about it? Not much. He could go outside, but then he would need to take all his lessons with him, and that was a bit too much.

Finals were coming in, and all he had done for the past few days was studying. Making notes, reading lessons, retaking previous exams… He had made himself a schedule, perhaps a bit too strict, as he was already falling behind.

His brain was being constantly fed, learning and memorizing so much information in such little time, it almost felt like it was overheating. But that was the least of his troubles. Purple had learned the hard way that, when your brain is stimulated — because of studying for example — everything gets stimulated. And so, his creativity, his imagination, they had never been this high. His mind was bubbling, buzzing with thoughts and ideas, and he didn’t know what to do to clear it. He couldn’t focus on studying when his brain kept coming back to one unrelated, unimportant thought and exploring all of its meaning, causes and consequences. A friend had told him to write it all down, but he found that it was a waste of time as it was a never ending task.

But the worst, the absolute nightmare, was that this overstimulation of whatever you want to call it, was making him horny. Never in his life has he been that thirsty.

He took a sip from the bottle on his desk.

And let’s not kid ourselves, what he was studying was making it worse. There’s something inherently sexy about science that he always noticed. It wasn’t a kink — or maybe it was ? — he was just turned on by the complex mechanisms that governed reality. There was so much he still didn’t know… and that mystery was alluring. It was an enigmatic beauty, the kind that kept leading you on and that you kept chasing, and you know you will never get, but goddamn, you can’t help but hope that one day you will. The more you learn about it, about the details or about the grand scope, about the rules, the implications, the causes and the consequences, the more you fall in love with it. It is such a complex mechanism, so perfect and yet so flawed…. The probability of it all… you can’t help but feel so so lucky and special….

Fuck. Purple’s thoughts had wandered off once again. It became harder and harder to keep himself in check, and he constantly dozed off, staring blankly at the sheet of paper in front of him.

He couldn’t take it anymore ! He needed to blow off some steam if he didn’t want to literally implode. Maybe a cold shower would do him some good. It would help with the heat, and the… horniness. God, he really wanted to… do something about it ! Dirty thoughts kept on coming and he was trying really hard to keep them at bay !

And as he let out a frustrated “FUCK”, in came Wallis. Purple jumped in surprise as he heard his boyfriend — and roommate — talk behind him:

“ Whoa what’s happening here? You need help?” He asked, a concerned tone in his voice.

“No I’m just — ”

Purple cut his phrase as he turned to see Wallis, caught off guard by the very distinct lack of clothes on his partner. Thanks to the gods he still had his underwear on.

“Like what you see ?” He looked so smug, wiggling his eyebrows as he posed sexily. “More seriously, I was about to take a shower but I couldn't find my towel. It’s so hot today ! Though not as much as me.” He winked.

Purple couldn’t believe his eyes and ears. That was… so… so… He couldn’t finish his thought, too distracted by the sight before him. A smile overtook his face. He loved Wallis for a lot of different reasons, but goddamn he was also a treat for the eyes. Oh no, here comes the dirty thoughts. He really hoped that the reflection on his glasses was enough to cover his eyes, and the fact that they had been wandering down. Purple bit the inside of his cheek, and looked at Wallis’ face. Now he was the one staring down. He felt his cheeks redden a bit.

“Hey, don’t tell me you’re sitting on my towel?!” He looked betrayed.

That snapped him out of his fantasy.

“Oh yeah, I suppose? I didn’t realize it was yours.”

“Well you can keep it now, but I’m gonna steal one of yours. So watcha working on? It looked like you could use some help.”

“Ah, it’s fine really. I was just going through my notes on thermodynamics.”

As Purple was talking, Wallis came over to the desk, leaning against him as he looked at the notebooks. He had a very… small definition of personal space, and ever since they were in a relationship together, that space became almost null. Usually, Purple didn’t mind, it was nice to feel his arms against his back and shoulders, but right now, he did mind. Physical contact. It was like a pleasant tickling, and a warmth spread across his spine. He could hear his breath, and feel his silky hair on his skin. His skin was so soft, and he wanted to feel it against his own. But a shirt was in the way.

“Yeah you’re usually good at that. So what’s the matter?” Wallis pulled back and sat on the desk, looking concerned for his boyfriend.

“It’s nothing really, I just… I can’t really concentrate right now.” Purple tried to look at his face, but he couldn’t. His gaze felt like fire on his skin, his skin was so lovely and his lips… Gods, he really wanted to kiss him. He diverted back his eyes to the notebook, knowing that his face was probably getting redder.

“Am I really that distracting ~ ?”

Of course. Of course he would.

“I suppose you’re a part of the problem.” No point hiding it when it was that obvious.

“Only part?!” Now he sounded playfully offended. He always liked to exaggerate his reactions and put on a dramatic act… And with his beautiful face, it was a wonder why he didn’t pursue acting. He would make such a lovely star. A bright, shining star…

He needed a comeback.

“Yes, can you believe it? Wallis Gloom, not being the center of attention for once.” He smiled. Was that clever and funny? Wallis’ reaction told him yes. He did the physical equivalent of keysmashing before transitioning to a more traditional laugh, his hand trying to cover his face. He looked down and took a deep breath to calm himself. It was so precious. Adorable. He’d made Wallis laugh.

After a few attempts, he managed to calm himself and straightened his face. It was hilarious to watch.

“Ok, then… if it’s not me, what is it ? You look super tense. Are you stressed about the exams ?”

“No that’s not it. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain… It’s… I….” Purple couldn’t find the right words. “My brain feels like it’s about to explode ? And my thoughts are running wild, I can’t think straight.”

Wallis snorted, fighting a smile.

“I know what you’re going to say so don’t — ”

“Have you EVER been able to think straight?!” He looked so proud of himself.

Purple tried his best to maintain a disappointed face, but Wallis’ smile was contagious.

“LIKE I WAS SAYING, my thoughts are too distracting for me to work like I want to, and it’s very frustrating.” Back on track. He wouldn’t give him the pleasure of acknowledging that joke, because frankly, he had heard it — and perhaps said it — a lot already.

Wallis pouted for a minute, arms crossed over his bare chest, his gaze wandering on the desk he was sitting on. After a moment, he settled on something, and went to grab Purple’s schedule for the day. His eyes widened as he read it.

“Is that your study schedule??! It’s packed! No wonder you’re like that. You need a break.” He looked his boyfriend dead in the eyes. He was worried.

“Yeah, that’s what I’ve been thinking too.” Purple looked away. Wallis’ eyes were too intense to maintain direct contact with for too long. And his face was so close now.

“Really?” Wallis sounded surprised. “I thought it would take more convincing for you to admit it. You’re kinda stubborn, you know…”

“I... suppose that’s fair.”

“Well, I still want to take a shower, but we can do something together after that.”

He gave Purple a quick smooch on the lips before getting off the desk, leaving the room with a wink.

Meanwhile, Purple was frozen in place, redder than a tomato. His brain was definitely overheating now, and all his senses were going haywire thanks to Wallis’ kiss. He got up almost mechanically, the lingering sensation on his lips making him crave so much more. He had already been using all his self control to maintain a decent composure. Nothing could stop him from running after Wallis like a madman.

The desk still had the print of Wallis’ butt on it.

#gloomverse #wallis #purple #purplis #wallis gloom #professor purple #gloomverse fanfiction #fanfiction #LBWrite

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cyclone-rachel · 4 years

Text

@peskyburgers I couldn’t finish it before midnight, and honestly that is my own fault (I’m going to finish the chapter probably later tonight or early tomorrow I promise) but here’s the first part (around 3,569 words) of the musical crossover chapter in Pay the Asking Price!

Querl, Alex, and J’onn stepped through the portal, finding themselves under what looked like a spotlight, on a sort of raised platform in a room that perhaps could’ve been part of the DEO- there were monitors towards the back of the room, chairs- it looked like a room that saw frequent use. But it had a slightly different aesthetic, and there was no question that this was the home of the “Fastest man alive”, who, based on Kara’s description of him and Querl’s own knowledge of heroes of this century, was Barry Allen.

And, appropriately, he was there to greet them, alongside an audience of three others.

“Kara.” Barry said softly, as the three of them approached. “What happened to her?”

“We don’t know.” J’onn said. “But whoever did it has come to this world.”

“Yes.” Querl continued. “And he is looking for you.”

Once they had all been introduced to each other (and Querl had confirmed that the others with Barry were Cisco Ramon, Harrison “H.R.” Wells, and Wally West, as he’d thought) J’onn took Kara to the STAR Labs medbay, where Kara was placed on a bed, still lost in her own mind.

“Her vitals are low. How long has she been like this?” Caitlin asked.

“A few hours.” Alex answered.

“Right.” Querl said. “And as I mentioned, the same person who did this to Kara… said that he was going to be looking for the “fastest man alive”- who, as I understand it in your time, is you- Barry Allen. So keeping you safe is our priority, along with finding a way to reverse whatever spell he put on Kara.”

“Who are you, exactly?” Barry asked. “And what do you mean by “your time”?”

Well, the line between what time is my own and what isn’t is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish. It’s a matter of emotional attachments as much as it is of chronology…

“How much do you know about the future?”

Barry stared.

“I definitely know that there used to be a guy who wanted me dead who was from the future, and got stuck here. Ended up being why I got my powers- called himself the Reverse-Flash.” He said. “How far in the future are we talking, exactly?”

“The thirty-first century.” Querl stated. “Specifically, the year three thousand and six.”

“And you’re from that year.”

“Indeed. I am Brainiac 5- Half-computer, half-organic lifeform, all Coluan, and, not to brag, but a 12th-level intellect. My name is Querl Dox, but the Legionnaires just call me Brainy.”

“The Legionnaires?”

“My friends- like the team you have here.” Querl continued, deactivating his image inducer and showing the team his ring. “I’m a member of a group called the Legion of Super-Heroes, dedicated to promoting peace across the galaxy by bringing together representatives from all over the United Planets and defending it from those who might oppose that peace. We were inspired by Supergirl, as well as Superman, her cousin- and I was one of the first members, before I… got myself stuck on Earth, in the twenty-first century.”

Funny, how easy it was to tell my story to a stranger, he thought. I could have said so to Kara all along, that I did not land here by accident… but now I must only make up for my mistake, and prove that I am truly sorry.

“Hey, I’ve seen that ring before.” Barry said, looking at it closely. “While I was traveling to another Earth myself, last year… guess it was from yours and Kara’s Earth all along.”

“A logical assumption.” Querl answered. “Also, while I have stayed here… Kara and I were in a relationship. But it ended shortly before this happened.”

“Oh!” Caitlin said. “She never mentioned she had a boyfriend.”

“It was a recent development.”

“I tell you what, I know enough not to mention the break-up between Barry and, uh…”

“H.R.”

“Sorry.”

H.R. cleared his throat, and Querl continued.

“Regardless of what is going on with the status of Kara and myself, I do not wish to leave her in this state.” He said. “I will help as much as possible in finding a way to help her return to consciousness.”

Alex laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, as did Caitlin.

“We will get her back, I promise.” Barry said. “And I’m sure we can find a place where you could help.”

The last thing Querl wanted was to lose himself.

He could not afford to imagine a worst-case scenario, a world where Kara’s future did not continue beyond this point, where she was trapped in a mind-prison of someone else’s design and subject to unknown horrors, forced into a coma with no way from him or anyone else other than her captor to bring her back. He did not want to go back to National City, and tell the world that Supergirl was dead to them, tell others that Kara Danvers was gone and never coming back. He did not want to return to the future and inform the Legionnaires of something that was quickly setting in, in history- that their heroine would have a much shorter legacy than she originally had, something that could hardly be considered a legacy at all.

And it would be his fault. He would go down in history as the twelfth-level intellect who let Supergirl fall under the sway of someone who was much more powerful than he looked- someone, perhaps, who had fifth-dimensional powers, or something close to them.

That was something he would have to investigate- if he saw him again, before that being found Barry Allen.

“So, what happened to her?” Iris asked.

“An alien prisoner escaped our custody, he… did something to her, put her in some kind of a coma.” J’onn explained.

“Then he disappeared, we tracked him here and followed.” Alex said.

“Okay, but why would he come to this Earth?”

“As Brainy said before, he’s looking for you.” J’onn said, to Barry. “We don’t know why.”

“Okay, well clearly we’re talking about a breacher here.” Cisco said. Querl admired his confidence, how relaxed he looked now in familiar territory- much like himself, before he traveled to the past. Even with Supergirl in a coma, he knew that if both of them worked together, things were going to be okay, and she would come back to them, and their common enemy would fall at her and Barry’s hands.

It was just up to her, to come back in the first place.

“And if there’s one thing I can do; it’s find breachers.”

It may not be so easy. He seemed to be more than just someone who travels between Earths…

But I should tell him that in person.

So Querl left the room, following Cisco, and as he left J’onn placed a gentle hand on Querl’s back.

Querl got the message, the conflicted feeling that had churned inside him slowly subsiding as he turned away from Kara’s unconscious body and left to get to work.

But the others joined he and Cisco as well, as they entered a room much like the DEO’s command center, with just about as many monitors that Querl could connect to.

“So what else can you tell us about this guy?” Barry asked.

“Not much. It's like he just materialized out of thin air.” J’onn said, and though Querl was not a telepath himself, he had worked with one enough to know that even this man, someone experienced in leadership and used to knowing everything about what he went up against, was unnerved by this threat- as innocent as said threat may have looked- and he could relate.

“You mean, like this clown just did?” Cisco asked, gesturing towards one monitor, that indeed showed the man who had arrived in the DEO earlier that day, near a place that Querl didn’t recognize.

Barry clearly did, and before anyone could remind him that he was supposed to keep himself safe, he was out.

“I’m gonna go.” He said, and J’onn followed.

If she wasn’t completely unaware of how she got there, or how she ended up in this dress, at this club, seemingly in an entirely different time period, singing Moon River… Kara would’ve thought she might be living out her dreams.

The only flaw was that, if she could’ve decided, she would’ve wanted her friends and family there to see her sing, and for them to sing with her, or sing their own songs- or whatever else they wanted. But she seemed to be singing to a crowd of strangers.

That is, until she located one familiar face- and at an appropriate time, too.

But she had to finish her song, and she did so, before she got the chance to go backstage again and greet her multiverse-traveling, very fast friend.

Once she did return backstage, though, Barry wasted no time, and they met each other in a tight hug.

“Barry!”

“Hey!”

“Barry, it’s you! Thank Rao!”

The tomato sauce?

But he didn’t have time to think about that, before Kara pulled back and asked him, “Wait, it’s really you, right?”

“Yeah. Yeah, this is me, yeah.” Barry said.

“Good.”

“What is- where the hell are we? What's going on?” Barry asked.

“I was hoping you could tell me.” Kara said. “Or maybe explain to me why I just pulled an Audrey Hepburn and sang in a nightclub.”

You were really good. And you look great, in that dress.

She did- it was black and kind of sparkly, and she wore black gloves, with her hair curled perfectly, and multiple earrings… but still, nobody could compare to Iris, for him.

“Maybe we're dreaming?”

“The same dream?”

“Yeah, that's- What's the last thing you remember before you got here?” he asked her.

“I was at the D.E.O.” Kara said, starting to pace around. “They had just brought in an alien prisoner. He got loose, and it was really weird. He had this, um, red-“

“Pocket handkerchief?” Barry guessed.

“Yes!”

“I saw you on my Earth. You were in a coma. Your boyfriend brought you to us.”

Kara stared.

“Brainy?” she asked. “He’s… not my boyfriend, anymore.”

“Then what is he?”

“Complicated. Um… I’m still trying to figure that out. Nothing, right now.”

“Okay then.” Barry said. “Whoever he is said that this guy whammied you- not his exact words- and then he escaped to my Earth, he showed up at Star Labs, I went after him to try and get him to wake you up-“

“And then you got whammied.”

“Yeah.”

“So, where are we?”

“I don’t know. I mean, it could be a parallel dimension, or maybe some elaborate illusion, we just need to figure a way out.”

“I guess I could… click my heels together three times.” Kara said, not entirely seriously.

Barry, meanwhile, looked at her like it could work.

“…Yeah!”

“I was kidding.”

“Okay, all right, well- Come on. Let's-“ Barry started, as they made their way out of the backstage area.

“You're a really good singer, by the way.” He continued.

“Hey, thanks. My sister says I put the "Kara" in "karaoke.””

“Oh yeah, your sister! She brought you here, too.”

“That’s good.” Kara said, heart aching for Alex. She wondered how she was doing now that Kara seemed to be in yet another illusion- just like the Black Mercy, with Kara in a coma that she couldn’t escape from, while Alex was forced to deal with another problem. Kara hoped she was okay, and that she wouldn’t see Alex in this reality, having been “whammied” herself.

But before they could get too deep into any conversation, they ran into someone Barry seemed to recognize.

He kind of reminded Kara of Jack Harkness, in who he looked like, except dressed in a white suit and far more serious.

Whoever he really was, though, he sounded like he knew them too.

“There you are!”

“Merlyn-“

“Who?” Kara asked, at the same time as the mystery man.

“Who?”

“Malcolm Merlyn. Former head of the League of Assassins.” Barry whispered.

“The what of the what?”

“What the hell you talking about, kid? My name's Cutter Moran, I own this club, and both of you work for me.” He said, apparently having heard Barry.

“We what now?”

“I pay you to sing, not pepper me with questions.” Cutter said. “And I hope you got something better in your songbook than what you were belting out up there, blondie.”

“Hey! Don't call me blondie.” Kara protested.

“Hey, look, I don't know who you are-“ Barry started. But he was quickly silenced, as Cutter pulled out a knife and held it dangerously close to his face.

“-Obviously you're someone who's quick with a knife.” He continued.

“You have to excuse my friend. He doesn't think before he talks.”

“Yeah, I had a cousin like that. I had to slit his throat too.” Cutter said, still waving the knife around in a way Kara wasn’t comfortable with, for Barry’s sake.

“Oh.”

“Grady!” Cutter called. “Get these two set up. And nothing I've heard before. I want something original.”

“Barry, I don't have my powers.” Kara whispered. She hadn’t been able to admit it to herself before, but she knew it was true- she felt the same way in this world as she had when she’d stepped onto Slaver’s Moon a few months previous.

“Me neither.” Barry said, as they both waited for whoever this Grady guy was. If he was working for Cutter Moran, though…

It was safe to say that they were each equally cautious.

But thankfully, the person who came up to them was a much more familiar face for Kara, and the tenseness she was feeling almost instantly eased away.

“Winn! Winn, you're here too?” Kara asked, almost giving him a hug, but he put his hands up before she could get close enough to do so.

“Ah! Who's Winn? The name is Grady. I tickle the keys around here.” He said. “Say, you realize how he got the nickname "Cutter," don't you?”

“No.”

“Because he likes to cut people.”

Grady chuckled.

“You ask me; I think he's all talk.” Said another familiar face.

“Cisco!” Barry said, before realizing again that this wasn’t his world, and these really weren’t his and Kara’s friends and enemies by association. “…not Cisco. Hello.”

I pray that, one day, you do not find out how very, very wrong you are, Pablo. Now go do your job.” Grady said.

“All right.” Pablo answered, before Grady left and he turned to Barry and Kara.

“You see, Grady doesn't know this, but one day, I'm gonna be somebody. I'm gonna be somebody, and it's gonna happen right there on that stage. You'll see. I just need my one shot.” He said.

“It's just curiouser and curiouser.” Barry muttered, as Pablo left too.

“Yeah, yeah, it's like "The Wizard of Oz.” Kara said, knowing that they were talking about two completely different stories but going with her own comparison nonetheless.

“Yeah.”

“And you were there, - and you were there-“ Kara continued.

“- Except, it's not really them. They're all playing characters in a-“

“Musical.” Barry and Kara realized at the same time.

Devious, and brilliant.

“Barry, where are we?” she asked, as the two of them stared at each other.

“I don't know.”

The lights came on brighter, suddenly, and Kara and Barry turned to face the guy who’d whammied both of them. He was still wearing his fancy suit, and now standing on the stage, illuminated by the spotlight.

“Well, you know what they say.” He said. “The show must go on!”

“Ah!”

“-The show must go on! Ah, Supergirl, I loved your rendition of "Moon River," such a beautiful song. You were a little flat in places, but I'm willing to let it slide just because you're so cute.”

“Hold on. What did you do to us?

“Oh, nothing much. Just put a little song in your heart.”

Barry scoffed.

“Put a little-Why did you bring us here?”

“I didn't bring you anywhere. We're inside your heads. You created this world. And we got lucky because it could have been a war movie or a a space opera, but thanks to your love of musicals, with the countless times you watched, um, "Wizard of Oz" - with your adoptive parents –“ he said, looking at Kara.

“How did you know that?” Kara asked, even though she had the feeling she wouldn’t find out, as he then turned to Barry.

“And, you, all those rainy nights watching Fred Astaire and Frank Sinatra with Mom. Well, where else would we be?”

“All right, all right.” Kara said, before attempting to punch him.

He disappeared before her fist could connect with any part of him, only for him to reappear right after she pulled her hand back.

“Ooh! Swing and a miss.” He said. “I didn't tell you. I'm not really here. See, I'm out there in the real world. Central City's mine for the taking.”

“Ah. We're gonna stop you.” Barry answered, even if Kara didn’t think he sounded that confident.

“Yeah!”

“You're welcome to try that. If you can get out of here.”

“How do we get out of here?”

“You're in a movie musical. So all you have to do is just follow the-“

“The Yellow Brick Road?” Kara interjected.

“No, the- the script.”

“Oh, yeah. Script.”

“Reach the end of the plot, and, presto chango, you get to go home. One little detail, though, I should mention if you die in here, you die out there.”

“Lovely.” Barry said.

“I've reached my limit with magical creeps.” Kara added, unable to shake the impression that he might be a new incarnation of Mxyzptlk, messing with her life yet again.

“In the meantime, I hope you're both ready to get the rust off those pipes of yours.”

“We're not singing for you!” Kara answered immediately.

“No. Uh, any anymore, I mean.” Barry said.

“Come on, now, maybe just one little - fun opening number just to-“

He took his jacket off, and threw it away, seemingly for no reason.

“Leave your jacket on.” Barry continued, but was ignored.

“-kick things off!”

“Where did it go?”

“Think of your fellow man-“

“Stop that.” Kara said, at the same time Barry said, “It's not happening.”

“Lend him a helping hand-“

“It's not gonna work.”

“We're not singing!”

“Put a little love in your heart…”

The man walked around behind the piano, and as if compelled by magic, Grady began to play, singing along with him- and eventually, Pablo and Cutter joined in, until the whole thing became a full-scale musical number, as Kara and Barry could only watch.

When it was over, he’d disappeared, and Kara and Barry went to look for him, deciding to follow the script- which happened to involve running into some more gangsters, and Barry getting knocked out.

Barry came to with Kara by his side, as they both seemed to be stuck in what looked like a warehouse.

“Barry, are you okay?”

“Oh, please stop yelling.”

“I'm not yelling.” Kara whispered.

“Wait, where are we?”

“I don't know.”

“All right, well, I'm sure everybody at S.T.A.R. Labs is working on getting us out of this.”

“Yeah, I'm glad they brought me to your Earth.”

Kara exhaled.

“Brainy seems like he really cares about you.”

She scoffed, as Barry stared at her.

“Brainy… only cares about himself.” She said. “And keeping his secrets. He lied to me about how he really ended up here- for nine months. And I know it was noble, that he was trying to protect his friends and all by sacrificing his safety for theirs… but I still wish we could’ve been prepared for what he brought with him.”

“Hmm.”

“I can't shake it. I thought it was gonna be something special like what you have with Iris.”

“That is… off track.”

“I'm sorry.” Kara said.

“I asked her to marry me.”

“You did? That's great.” Kara answered, then upon seeing Barry’s face, changed her answer to, “Did she not say yes?”

“Oh, she said yes, but I guess I did it for the wrong reason, and, I mean, I love her, but I was trying to change the future. Then I pushed her away so I could focus on saving her, and it's just a mess now.”

Kara looked up at the ceiling, contemplating her own relationship problems.

“Everything's so simple when I'm running.”

“Or flying.”

“Shut up! Both of you.” Said the man watching them, leaning against a desk with his arms folded.

The man turned out to not be someone Barry knew named Stein, but instead another gangster, who happened to be partners with someone named not Joe West, but rather Digsy Foss. And Kara and Barry, being the heroes that they were- even though in this reality they were only singers for Cutter Moran- ended up agreeing to help find Digsy’s daughter, Millie. Who happened to look a lot like Iris, and had last been seen in Cutter’s place.

After all, there was nothing they could do other than follow the script, and both Kara and Barry agreed that this was where they were going.

That, and it was, as their captors had promised, a matter of life and death.

Specifically, theirs.

Pablo ended up taking them to Apartment 4-B, where Millie was staying.

#papa don't look #peskyburgers #supergirl #karadox #supergirl au #fanfics #supergirl season 2 #kinda #the flash #westallen #i hope you like this nerd #love you #happy birthday

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raywritesthings · 4 years

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Secret Superhero

My Writing Fandom: Arrow, The Flash Characters: Laurel Lance, Oliver Queen, Barry Allen, Iris West, Team Arrow, Team Flash Pairings: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen, Barry Allen/Iris West (secondary) Summary: When Oliver and Laurel are unknowingly assigned each other in a joint Team Arrow/Team Flash holiday gift exchange, feelings long-held secret rise to the surface. Notes: This is set in an AU timeline where Laurel was never stabbed, Felicity remained off the team and Oliver never learned Laurel still had feelings for him. The story takes place sometime between the season 6/season 4 crossover event and midseason finales. *Can also be read on my AO3 or FFN, links are in my bio*

Like most years, the holiday season caught Laurel unaware. She’d spent so many years ignoring it that it was something of a habit now. It didn’t help that between her busy schedule and the majority of her friends and family having gone without it, too, she had little reason to bother remembering it. It was always something that occurred to her as she walked down streets lined with lights and wreaths in store windows, and even then it was more of an afterthought.

Except this year, when something entirely unexpected happened.

Their meeting in the base that evening before heading out was interrupted when a streak of lightning entered the room, announcing Barry’s presence. “Hey, guys!”

He wasn’t alone, as he set down the brand-new Mrs. West-Allen. Iris was beaming from ear to ear and wearing a Santa hat. “Sorry if we’re interrupting.”

“That’s okay,” Oliver assured them. “Was there some kind of emergency?”

Laurel hoped not. The last one at Barry and Iris’ first attempt at a wedding had been uncomfortable to say the least, without even getting into the loss of Dr. Stein.

“No, no. Everything’s fine. Actually, Iris and I were talking and we sort of wanted to run an idea by you. For the holidays, kind of the pick up people’s spirits, you know?”

Laurel shared a curious look with Thea before her friend asked, “Sure, what’s the idea?”

“A Secret Superhero. Like a non-denominational Secret Santa,” Iris explained. “We pick names, get each other gifts. It’s a fun way to get to know everyone a little bit better.”

Laurel didn’t see anything wrong with it. Thea was smiling and John was also nodding along.

“It sounds fun,” Curtis, their tech support ever since Felicity had departed the team over a year and a half ago.

“I was thinking just a little get-together at the old farmhouse,” Barry said to Oliver. “Nothing big, we don’t have to make a big deal out of it—”

“Oh, make as big a deal as you want. Ollie loves Christmas,” Laurel said.

“Wait, really?” Barry and Iris looked both stunned and delighted by this information. “I never would have guessed!”

“I- it’s a nice time for friends and family,” Oliver said, his shoulders hunched at the attention he was receiving. Laurel bit her lip. She hadn’t meant to embarrass him. “How do you want to do this, Barry?”

“We figured we’d have you all pick first, then take the remaining names back with us for the team at STAR Labs.” Iris took out a little baggie of paper slips and removed her Santa hat with her other. She dumped the paper into the hat and shook it around, then stepped forward.

“Who would like to go first?”

Thea naturally did, and the hat was passed around in a semicircle from there. Laurel withdrew her own slip and felt her heart give a funny jump when she read the name.

Oliver.

God, she couldn’t even remember the last time she’d gotten him a gift… actually she could, and the memory of standing there on the dock with love bubbling up in her and his kiss on her lips, it nearly stole her breath.

“Okay, Bear, your turn,” Iris said, her voice drawing Laurel out off the reverie. She gave a little shake of the head.

Barry drew his name and Iris drew hers. The couple exchanged a smile before each tucked their slips of paper away.

“Okay, so we’ll be in touch. We’re thinking maybe about two weeks from now?”

Oliver looked up from his paper and nodded. “That’s fine.”

“Okay, great. We’ll see you then!” With that, the West-Allens left the base as quickly as they came.

“Okay! Maybe an early night so people can get started shopping?” Curtis asked after a brief silence.

“We’ve got two weeks, Curtis,” Oliver reminded him.

“Right. Yeah, of course.”

Laurel almost wished they had taken an early night, because her mind just wasn’t in it the rest of that time. She knew that wasn’t good, but she couldn’t help worrying about the gift exchange.

Oliver wasn’t a material kind of guy, at least not since the island. He appreciated gifts that had utility or that had some sort of sentimental value. But what kind of sentiment could she express that didn’t give everything away?

She’d nearly confessed her still-present feelings so many times. The closer they seemed to get the harder it was to keep silent. Reminding herself that all it would do was drag up long-buried history Oliver had decisively buried. No matter what kind of signals she thought she might have been picking up. It was all in her head, or better yet, her heart.

Still she wanted to give him something that had meaning nonetheless. It was what he deserved after all they had been through together.

But what to get for the man who’d had and lost everything? And who meant everything to her?

---

Oliver was well-practiced at hiding his emotions, which allowed him to keep anyone from guessing whose name he might have drawn. On the inside, however? He was a mess.

Laurel, the paper read. Of course.

He still hadn’t told her. Still hadn’t said anything in over a year, had sworn Thea, John, Sara and Ray all to secrecy over the matter. The dream.

His dream. His dream of the life they could have had before the Gambit, before all this, if he hadn’t pushed her away like a fool.

Laurel remained in his life as a friend. She was far too kind to him to even allow that. And now he had been handed the chance, by literal chance, to show just some of the appreciation he felt for her continued presence every day.

If he were truly brave enough, bold enough, he might even show her how he felt. But could he?

It was now or never. If he let this opportunity pass him by… but maybe he should. What would be the point after all these years?

He watched her over the next week. Her gentle smiles, soft touch and compassion never wavered. Neither did her fierce sense of herself and of what was right. Oliver tried to imagine it — that version of Laurel, not just the one in his head, still in love with him. Was it something that could be reality or truly just a dream?

There was one thing that had been in the dream. Something he’d given her. Something he wished he really had given her in their actual lives. So Oliver set to work, all the while knowing he might be setting himself on a collision course with disaster.

The night of the party arrived and their team came into Central on a high-speed train, meeting Barry and others out at the farmhouse. Oliver paced the ground floor as everyone stood around chatting in small groups. He noticed Barry watching him with concern while Iris perched on his lap, but Oliver waved him off. Better that Barry not keep troubling himself with Oliver’s romantic failures; he’d gotten his happy ending.

“Hey, Ollie, I think we’re gonna start,” his sister called to him when he’d been out on the porch for several minutes alone.

“Okay.” He touched the small box in his pocket and squared his shoulders before marching inside.

Laurel sat on the arm of the couch, taking up very little space so as to accommodate the others, he noticed. Her present, a large rectangle — in another life, he might have teased her about bringing a book — rested on her lap. She kept smoothing the wrapping paper down nervously, unconsciously. Oliver wondered who it was for.

“Okay, everyone,” Iris said, walking into the middle of the room. “We’re gonna try to do this in a chain. You get your present, you give your person their present and so on. As the hostess of the festivities, I’ll start us off.” She took a couple steps forward to John who stood up against a wall. “John, this is for you.”

His friend smiled in thanks and unwrapped his gift. It was a toolkit for maintenance and cleaning of guns.

“Oh, this had to be too much.”

“Nope,” Iris informed him with a wide smile. “Dad knows how to get the best deals. I figured you could always use more even if you have your own supply.”

“Well, thank you.” John se this present aside and then picked up the wrapped gift he’d brought. He turned, and for a moment when his eyes met Oliver’s, Oliver thought — “This is for you, Caitlin.”

Oliver breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t going yet. He knew he would have to, eventually. But maybe if he just steeled his nerves, he’d be ready.

His in attention caused him to miss a couple exchanges, and so he refocused, wanting to be prepared. Cisco had Thea, Thea had Barry and Barry had Curtis. A new custom-made quiver, a Flash-themed Christmas sweater and some new kind of gadget were all exchanged. On and on things went, the list of people and gifts dwindling. Oliver waited for someone to call his name, to turn to him. It didn’t happen.

“I had Iris,” Wally West said, standing up to hand his sister the package in his hands. She unwrapped a set of fountain pens that wouldn’t have been out of place on Oliver’s mother’s desk and reached out to give her brother a tight hug.

Wally grinned for a moment before looking around. “So what happens now?”

“Who didn’t go?” Asked Cisco.

“Uh, I didn’t,” said Laurel, and it suddenly clicked.

“Neither did I.”

The room seemed to hush as they met eyes across the room. Laurel’s displayed surprise, then happiness and then strangest of all nerves.

“I guess we had each other.”

“I guess so,” said Oliver, his voice needlessly quiet. He cleared his throat. “So, uh—”

“Right.” Laurel stood, and he met her halfway. Oliver nearly dropped the box as he took it from his pocket, but managed to pass it to Laurel without incident. The package she handed him felt like book, but somehow heavier.

“Ooh, open them at the same time!” Caitlin suggested.

Laurel inclined her head as she looked at him, as if asking how he felt about that idea. Oliver nodded, and she turned her attention to peeling back the wrapping paper.

He watched her instead. He couldn’t help himself.

“Looks like jewelry?” He thought he heard Curtis mutter to someone else as the velvet box was revealed.

Laurel opened the jewelry box, her eyes going wide. “Oh.”

“What is it?” This time it was Iris who asked.

“A bird necklace,” Laurel said, turning it around to show the room. It got a couple of appreciative “oohs” from Iris and Caitlin while some of the guys looked at him with raised eyebrows.

“It’s a canary,” Oliver told her. “Cause, you know.” He somehow lost any semblance of a train of thought as she looked up at him with a brilliant smile.

Behind him, there was a gasp as Thea caught sight of the necklace. She came up to his side. “How did you find it?”

So she recognized it. There had always been the chance. The knowing look John was wearing across the room said she wasn’t the only one. Oliver ducked his head. “I, uh, made it.”

“From memory?”

“Wait, sorry, what are we talking about?” Laurel asked.

Beside him, Thea wore a panicked look. “I, um, I meant — maybe you should open your present, Ollie.”

“Yeah,” he agreed quickly, ripping back the wrapping paper with far less care than Laurel had displayed. He realized right away why it had held the shape of a book while feeling heavier. It was a leather-bound photo album.

“I figured in all the moves you’ve had to make, you probably haven’t been able to hold onto many pictures,” Laurel explained. “So I looked through what I had and I asked around.”

Oliver opened the cover and saw his own old baby photo under a plastic covering. Thea’s baby photo was beside it, and two underneath of his mother holding first him as an infant and then the other of his mother holding Thea with him standing by her shoulder. The edge of that one looked slightly singed.

“The fire at the Manor,” Laurel said, seeming to read his confused look. He nodded. Allowing himself one last look at the long-forgotten images, he shut the album.

“Thank you, Laurel.”

“And thank you for this,” she said, taking the necklace out of the box and holding it up in the light. She made to put it on, seeming to have some trouble finding the clasp without being able to see it.

“Here.” He moved behind her, setting his new album on a table for a moment in order to move Laurel’s hair aside to fasten the clasp of the necklace. As his fingers brushed her neck, he thought he saw her shoulders jump and heard a sharp intake of breath. It was agony to force himself to step back, to take his hands away from her. He took the photo album back up between both hands instead. Laurel looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes wide and lips slightly parted.

“Wait, we’re not passing around Oliver’s baby photos?” Cisco asked, earning a round of laughs from the room and breaking the moment of tension between them.

“Nope,” he managed to reply, glancing back once at Laurel before making his retreat. Had he imagined her cheeks turning red or had it simply been a trick of the light?

As the party picked back up he found refuge on the porch swing outside. He hadn’t said what he wanted to, even when Thea had unintentionally given him the opening. Why was he such a coward?

Alone, Oliver opened the album to random pages. His family at the beach house in Coast City. Him and his father, working on an old boat engine. His first day of school, and then a second photo from the first day of the next year. Him and Tommy standing in front of the car in their uniforms with tiny backpacks on their shoulders. There was his senior photo, but not his senior prom. A Christmas photo with his family, too, even when he knew he’d also taken a photo with Laurel that year as their first Christmas together as a couple.

Had those photos just been lost in the fire? But then when another photo surfaced of him and Tommy on the slopes at Aspen from the trip he knew Laurel had come with them on just as he knew what she’d spent her nights there doing with him, he thought he was starting to sense a pattern.

Then he flipped a page and was faced with Thea holding a bow and arrow. He squinted at it, because that couldn’t be right. Thea’s hair was long the way she’d worn it as a teenager and she looked decidedly that age as well.

“Some of those are from your time away.”

Oliver looked up. Laurel had wrapped herself up in a blanket and stood watching him on the porch swing. Wordlessly, he scooted over and she joined him.

She turned the page and pointed to a photo he had never seen before of his mother in a cream-colored dress looking radiantly happy. “Like, um, this was your mother on her and Walter’s wedding day. He was able to find me it in his things.”

She flipped another page and his old friend was smiling up at him with an arm around a young woman probably none of them knew the name of.

“That was Tommy’s twenty-fifth birthday,” Laurel told him.

“Looks like a typical Tommy birthday.”

They both smiled, fond and sad. They'd sat like this going through old photos once before, and he’d kissed her. He hadn’t known then it would be the last time.

Laurel dropped her gaze. “Yeah. There’s, um, one more I wanted to show you myself because, it’s a bit of a story. Samantha gave me a photo to pass along to my dad in case we’d needed to put out a missing poster.”

Oliver felt a lump rise in his throat as Laurel went past several pages with glimpses of John, Roy and even Felicity to reveal a photo of William dressed in his baseball uniform. He hadn’t seen his son since that terrible time on the island. Thank God Laurel and Thea had pulled Samantha back to avoid her getting hurt or something worse, but she had been even more adamant after that that his world and William’s world were never to collide. And he hadn’t blamed her.

Having this now, though, it brought the love and longing he felt for his son back to the surface. Oliver put a hand to his mouth, his shoulders trembling slightly.

“Ollie, I’m sorry.” Laurel’s hand rested on his arm. “I didn’t know if it would be too much, I just—”

“It’s not. I don’t — I didn’t have anything of him. I love it. I do.” He turned and hugged her. In her arms, he finally found the strength to add, “It’s just, there’s something missing.”

Laurel paused, her hand stilling where it had begun rubbing his back. “What’s that?”

“You.”

She pulled back and looked at him. “Well, um, most of the photos I have with us are from when we…”

“I know.”

Laurel searched his face, then touched the canary pendant hanging from her neck. “Ollie, what was Thea talking about earlier?”

He licked his lips and said, “You know when a few of us were captured in that Dominator ship? While we were there, they put us into some kind of illusion. It all looked and felt so real, but it wasn’t. It was… I guess in a way it was all our greatest temptations come to life.”

He looked down at the photo album and flipped back a few pages to a photo of his family. “Mom and dad were alive, Ray was happily engaged, the island had never happened. And you were there, too.”

“Well, what was special about that?”

Oliver hesitated a single moment, then looked up and met her eyes. “We were getting married.”

Laurel clutched the pendant, her eyes wide with shock. Oliver nodded at it.

“That necklace was an engagement present I’d given you. I’m not trying to say it means that here. I know that — one of the hardest parts about leaving that world was coming back and seeing the real you and knowing that could never be us.”

Laurel flinched back. “It can’t?”

Oliver froze, then slowly set the album aside on the bench. He angled himself more towards her. “I didn’t think you could remember being in love with me.”

Laurel’s lips pressed tight together, clearly knowing exactly what he was talking about. Then she said in a voice, carefully light in that way where she was trying to hold back tears, “I thought you were done running after me.”

He closed his eyes. Of all the things he had ever said in anger, perhaps that conversation was one he wished he could take back the most.

“It wasn’t true.”

“It wasn’t true,” she echoed, and he knew she was referring to her own previous declaration of no longer having feelings. Falsehoods they had told each other and perhaps told to themselves to try and keep apart.

He looked at her again. Laurel’s eyes were shining bright in the porch light and her lips were twisted in a funny sort of way as if to hold everything inside. Oliver reached out, but faltered before he made it there.

“In the dream, I told you I didn’t deserve you. I still don’t.”

Her fingers brushed his cheek, guiding him back to face her. She gave a slow shake of the head. “It’s never been about that, Ollie.”

Then she leaned in, her lips soft against his own. Their breath mingled and turned to puffs of steam in the winter night air. The swing rocked as he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.

She was warm, almost hot to the touch under the blanket, and Oliver couldn’t help grinning when she shivered at the touch of his cold hands. But Laurel determinedly pressed herself to him, one leg sliding over his knee. He seized her around the waist, lifting her onto his lap—

“Hey, we’re taking a picture! Oh,” Barry added in the doorway as they both turned their faces to look at him. “Uh, my bad.”

“That’s okay, Barry,” Laurel spoke for them, which was probably good since Oliver was inclined towards growling in annoyance at the moment. “We’ll be inside in a minute.”

“Yeah, sure. Take your time.” The speedster didn’t tap into his powers to leave, but he suspected it was a near thing.

Oliver sighed and prepared to get up, only for Laurel to turn back around in his lap and kiss him again soundly. “What? He said take our time.”

The photo of their joint teams was a crowded affair, but it was easiest to pick out him and Laurel. His jacket collar was rumpled, her hair a little mussed, and both of them had their arms around each other with wide smiles while the light glinted off her canary necklace.

It was the first of many new additions to his album.

#lauriver #laurel x oliver #laurel lance #oliver queen #arrow #green arrow #black canary #my writing

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youngjusticeslut · 5 years

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And They Were Roommates (Chapter 3)

Fandom: Young Justice Links: FF.net // AO3 Characters: Artemis Crock, Jade Nguyen, Roy Will Harper, Lian Nguyen-Harper Ships: Light RedCat Summary: On her first night in Jade and Roy’s apartment, Artemis experiences her first Nguyen-Harper dinner. Quite fluffy. Rating: T Word Count: 2343 Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters. Also I wrote this while sick so I’m really sorry in advance if it sucks but I like it so whoops.

Upon exiting the bathroom, Artemis was greeted to the happy gurgles of her eleven month old niece. The sound brought a rare smile to her face; if there was one good thing about living with her sister, it was that she would get to spend some more time with Lian. How Jade and Roy both managed to produce such a cute and charming little thing, she’d never know.

She returned to the living room, already expecting to hear her niece’s garbled version of her name. From the sounds of it, Lian must be playing. Artemis snuck her phone out of her jeans, ready to capture the rare sight of her sister playing with her daughter; she’d put it on a Christmas card and send it to her mother.

Instead, she found Lian playing with an impressive assortment of silver knives.

Artemis didn’t think twice before she dropped her phone, scurrying to pick up her niece and get her away from her chosen playthings. Lian squealed as she was scooped up so quickly, clapping her hands in delight. After a quick once-over, Artemis finally exhaled in relief as the baby appeared to be just fine.

“‘Mis, ‘Mis!” Lian cheered, grabbing a blonde lock of her aunt’s hair and tugging excitedly. Wincing, Artemis tried to breathe through the sudden pounding in her heart, bouncing her little niece to calm herself down.

“Jade?”

“Kitchen.”

Artemis carried Lian to the kitchen, still trying to wrap her mind around the image she’d just seen. Roy stood at the stove, stirring a pot. She knew she was being rude by not saying hello, but at the moment she had bigger things to address. Jade lounged at the kitchen table, glass of red wine in her hand. She looked up as Artemis entered, smirking once Lian cooed and reached for her. “Looks like you two are getting along.”

“Did you know that I found her playing with knives?” Artemis hissed.

Roy stiffened and turned to look at his wife, brow furrowed in utter exhaustion. “Jade,” he deadpanned, annoyance dripping from his voice. Clearly, this wasn’t the first time this had happened.

Her sister shrugged, plucking Lian from Artemis and holding her close. “They were butter knives, Red.”

“Like that makes it any better?” Artemis nearly screeched.

“Relax, Sis,” Jade purred, grinning at Lian. “She likes it.”

“That’s besides the point, babies shouldn’t play with knives!” Artemis turned to look at Roy in incredulous disbelief. “You’re okay with this?”

“Of course I’m not okay with it,” the redhead snapped, turning the burner off and glaring at Jade. “This is the last time we’re having this discussion, Jade. No more knives; she’s already prone to like violence, and I won’t encourage it.”

“Really, Roy?” Artemis said, watching as Lian began to get restless in Jade’s arms. “Your problem is with her genetic tendencies, and not the fact that she could hurt herself?”

“She won’t hurt herself,” Jade scoffed. She carried Lian over to her highchair and buckled her in. “Ignoring the fact that Lian is my child and is too smart to hurt herself-”

“Our child.”

“No, my child still stands. Your logical reasoning skills are average at best,” she corrected as Roy rolled his eyes. Artemis had to fight hard against the smirk forming. “Lian barely has the strength to pick up an apple, let alone hurt herself with a knife. Besides, they’ve all been dulled.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Artemis asked.

“I wasn’t trying to make you feel better. If it really bothers the both of you so much, I’ll find her some plastic toy knives to play with.” Finished with the conversation, Jade strolled over to the cabinet and pulled out some baby cereal for Lian.

Artemis shook her head at her sister and turned to Roy. “You won’t really let her do that, will you?”

“Trust me, downgrading to toy knives is going to be the most reasonable compromise I’ll get from her. I’m not going to attempt any further,” Roy sighed, pulling out three plates from the cupboard and watching as Jade poured out some cereal puffs on Lian’s tray. “Hey, by the way,” he greeted, nodding at Artemis.

“Hey,” Artemis greeted back. “You cooked?”

“Chicken.”

“It smells good.”

“Would have tasted better an hour ago,” Roy chided, unable to keep the irritation from penetrating his words.

Artemis held her hands up in defense. “Sorry. Didn’t realize mealtimes were so strict.” Roy grunted, somewhere between a scoff and a snort. There were bags under his eyes, and his t-shirt was too big on him. She hadn’t had the pleasure of seeing Roy in the thick of his depression, but according to Wally, he’d really gone off the deep end in his search for Speedy. At the funeral, he still hadn’t looked completely back to himself. It was a relief to see him acting so normal. Normal for Roy, at least.

Roy handed her two plates of food and she dutifully carried them to the table. Jade was watching Lian pick up the cereal puffs and shove them into her mouth with drool-covered fists. She grinned as Artemis set the plates down on the table. “Well, look at that. Treated like royalty in my own home.”

“Shut it.”

“Do you do dishes, too?”

Artemis scowled as Roy brought over the last plate and sat by Lian. “How do you put up with her?” Roy didn’t answer. Instead he took some chicken from his plate and cut it up into small pieces. He made sure they were cool enough to eat before setting them on Lian’s tray. The baby looked up at her dad and flashed him a gummy grin, peppered with a few baby teeth; Artemis pretended not to see the small grin Roy gave back.

“So,” Jade began, wine glass in hand again. “Let’s break the tension.”

“Smooth, Jade,” Artemis grumbled, stabbing at her chicken. It was hard to be mad at it when it tasted so good. She’d never known that Roy could cook this well.

“Someone had to. And it wasn’t going to be Roy.”

“She’s got a point there,” Roy agreed. “I’m better at causing tension.”

Artemis chuckled. “Was that supposed to be a joke?”

“Was it funny?”

“Little bit,” Artemis admitted. “You haven’t returned to the league yet. I thought you’d be jumping to go back once you were back in shape.” He hummed, looking away from Lian and directing his attention to Artemis.

“I extended my leave. Lian needs my full attention right now,” he explained. Roy’s eyes glanced over to his wife before he went quiet. “Most of my attention, at least.” Jade didn’t say anything in response, but from the way her eyebrow twitched it was clear that things still weren’t fixed between them.

“Dada?”

“Yes, Sweetheart?” Roy answered on instinct, ears going pink when he realized that he had. He had no problem calling his daughter a variety of different pet names; it was other people’s reactions that took some getting used to.

“Juice.”

Before Roy could get up, Jade rested a hand on his shoulder and stood. “I’ll get it,” she insisted. “You still haven’t touched your dinner.”

Roy looked down at his plate, almost as if he’d forgotten that it was there. “Thanks,” he mumbled, picking up his fork. “How did the chicken turn out?”

“It’s good,” Artemis complimented, taking another bite. Her appetite had been touch and go as of late, but she couldn’t deny that this was the best food she’d had in months.

“Needs more salt.” Jade returned to the table, handing Lian her sippy cup before she sat down again. “Stop glaring at me, Artemis. I was only kidding. Red knows I like his cooking.”

Roy snorted. “Only because your cooking fails in comparison.”

“Won’t argue there,” Jade agreed, but she couldn’t hide her pleasure at his quip. They ate in comfortable silence, trying their best to pretend that it was normal. Lian certainly helped. She hummed as she ate, taking absolute pleasure in scooping up the bits of food her dad put on her tray.

When she cleared her tray, Lian threw her hands up in the air. “Done!”

“Good girl,” Jade approved, smoothing down her daughter’s hair. “Maybe you can teach your Dad a thing or two.”

“I’m eating, Jade.”

“She’s talking more now,” Artemis noted as Jade unbuckled Lian and sat her on her lap. Despite being ‘done’, Lian made to grab at Jade’s plate, picking up a scoop of mashed potatoes and placing it into her mouth. “It’s impressive for a one year old.”

“She’s not one yet.”

“September fourteenth?”

“Sixteenth, Red,” Jade reminded gently, slowly pushing her plate out of Lian’s reach.

“Right, I… right,” he said, a flicker of regret briefly flashing across his face as he laced his hands together. “She loves to talk. Walking is another story.”

“She isn’t walking yet?” Artemis asked. “Don’t kids usually start toddling around this time?”

“Not this kid,” Roy sighed. “We think she likes being carried too much.”

Artemis watched as Lian licked the potatoes from her fingers. Eventually, she cut out the middleman and just stuck her whole hand in her mouth, sucking happily. “Who can blame her?” she noted, making a funny face when Lian looked her way. The baby giggled and flailed her arms, getting some potato residue on her mother. Jade didn’t flinch; to Artemis’ surprise, she smiled. A small one, but it counted.

“I think it’s time for a bath.”

“I got her,” Artemis said, reaching for her niece. Jade raised a brow but Artemis shrugged. “Gotta pay board somehow. Finish dinner in peace while Lian and I get better acquainted.” Her sister stared at her before she finally acquiesced and handed her daughter over.

“If you need us, just call out,” Roy said. “She likes to splash. And the baby soap is on the rim of the tub. Don’t use too much, she likes to eat the bubbles. Toys are in the cupboard under the sink. And-”

“Roy,” Artemis interrupted. “We’re going to be fine. Isn’t that right, Lian? Your daddy is a big worrywart,” she said, bouncing her niece.

“I am not a…” Roy trailed off before he leaned back in his seat. “Fine. Just call if you run into any trouble.”

“I won’t. Eat your dinner, Roy.”

Jade snorted into her forkful of chicken.

Lian’s cries woke her up around three in the morning. They stopped around three fifteen, but Artemis couldn’t return to sleep. She wasn’t surprised; Artemis hadn’t slept a full night since Wally had ceased to exist.

At three thirty, she crawled out of bed. Brucely was on the alert, but he soon returned to sleep once determining that his owner was okay. Artemis rubbed his head and left the bedroom in hopes of sitting outside on the balcony. To her surprise, the door was already open. Jade sat on one of the chairs, holding a sleeping Lian to her chest.

“Did she wake you?”

“No,” Artemis said, leaning against the doorframe. “I couldn’t sleep.” Jade nodded, pulling the blanket around Lian a little tighter when the breeze hit. They didn’t speak for a little while, instead listening to the sound of the waves slapping the sand.

“You can sit, if you want.”

“And if I don’t?” Artemis tried to tease. She couldn’t shake off how odd this was. Jade and her had never been that close. Not growing up, and especially not after Jade had left her behind. Once in a while, Jade would pop in for a random visit, but that was the extent of that. To live with her, to even sit beside her as she calmly held her daughter was more than a little jarring.

“Then you don’t.”

Artemis sat anyway. “Roy still asleep?”

Jade shook her head. “I don’t think he’s slept a full night since finding out he was a clone. Some days he’ll only sleep an hour or two,” she said, holding Lian closer when she fidgeted in her sleep. “He usually calms her down before I do.”

“He looks good, Jade. Better than before.”

“Better. But not there yet,” Jade said. “Your boyfriend’s death sent him spiraling again.”

Artemis sucked in a breath. She hadn’t been expecting this to come up; she was surprised that Jade was even talking to her in the first place. Her sister wasn’t one to mention what happens behind closed doors. “But he seems to be improving. He’s there for Lian, isn’t that what you wanted?”

“More than anything. He’s a good dad,” she admitted, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“Anybody would be a good dad compared to ours.”

“Fair point. Crusher did set the bar pretty low.”

Artemis didn’t expect to laugh so early in the morning, but she did anyway. She leaned back in her seat, staring out to the sand. A figure appeared at a distance, slowly making its way closer to the apartment. “Is that Roy?”

Jade nodded. “He takes walks to clear his head.”

“That’s good.”

“I prefer to fuck him into next week, but it’s a little hard to do when there’s a baby sleeping in between us.”

Artemis grimaced, making sure that Lian was still asleep. “You’re disgusting.”

“No, I was disgusting. Now I’m just moderately filthy.” Jade pushed herself from the chair, taking her time as not to wake up Lian. “Got plans this Friday?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Good.” Jade shot her a grin. “You’re babysitting.”

#young justice #artemis crock #jade nguyen #roy harper #lian harper #yj fanfiction

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