#which started out with a third of the food on the speedster table

[chocolateteapotsvis]

pat pat

Watercolor and pen with digital cleanup and color correction

[cipheress-to-k-pop]

Wally West with an Earth Bending S/O

emmacata said: Could you write some hcs for dating Wally West (YJ) as "earthbender-like powered meta" please?

Anonymous said: Hello. I hope you are doing well. I don’t know if you are accepting requests right now (I’m also slow so please do tell me if my dumb self missed it in your bio or something). I wanted to request something for Wally (dude I miss him. Writers bring him back!!). Do you have a favorite from YJ? Enjoy your day/night!

You met the Young Justice team at Mount Justice

You had sensed something wrong with the Mountain using your powers

So, one day you used your Earth Bending to create a path into their HQ

When you came inside

It was shocking

And you wanted to go inside and check the place out

But your gut told you to run and pretend this never happened

You immediately pulled your hood up and hid your face in case security cams were on

And you ran out

Just as you made it out of the passage way

You were about to close it but someone super sped right past you

You saw his face and you knew he saw yours

And even though you immediately tried to forget what he looked like

His face was flashing before your eyelids

Right when he was about to grab you, you shifted the ground to sink his feet into the sand

And taking off as fast as you could

When you got home you immediately hid underneath your covers

Trying to calm your racing heart

You didn’t know who that boy was

All you knew was that he had super powers and was a speedster

And that you were at a place you weren’t supposed to

You wondered whether he was a super hero

But there was also a chance he was a villain

In which case, he saw your face, he knows you saw their HQ and could possibly track you back to your house and kill you

Which is honestly kind of scary

So, you just try and lay low for the next few days

Not going to school and pretending to be sick

And so far, it seems like nothing is going to happen

So, you feel kind of relieved

Until one day you go out for pizza with your family

And lo and behold there is the exact same boy you saw at Mount Justice

Red hair and green eyes

Along with a few others

In the back of your head, you’re like just remain unnoticed

But just as you’re about to turn your head

He makes eye contact with you

And your heart drops

You look away anyway and pretend that you didn’t see him

But oh ho ho

He definitely saw you

And you’re like sinking in your seat tryna pretend you’re not here

And something in you expects him to just pick you up out of your seat while threatening you with a gun

But he just comes up to your table

“Hey, babe!”

Totally unexpected

Downright lunacy if you have ever seen it

“(Y/N) who is this?”

“Babe, I’m kinda offended you haven’t told your parents about your boyfriend.”

“(Y/N) (L/N), you have a boyfriend?”

And you’re just in shock

Like wtf is happening?

And you’re going to open your mouth and say he’s just a crazy

But before you can he speaks again

“Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. (L/N), I’m (Y/N)’s boyfriend.”

And you finally just get your voice back

“No, he isn’t! I’ve never met him in my entire life!”

“Well that obviously isn’t true, babe.”

And you’re just like sweating

Your parents are honestly concerned like “Everything okay?”

And this red-headed kid over there is just having a shit eating grin

You’ve just about had enough

So, you wipe the grin off his face and grab his ear

Pulling him out of the pizza place

Because you’re sure he can only super speed so your powers can put him in his place

Unless he’s gotten reinforcements

But something about him tells you that he hasn’t really thought this through

“What the hell was that?!”

His face turns dark and then out steps a few other teenagers

You assume must be on his side

Feeling a little threatened, you raise your hands to fight

“Who are you?”

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking that?”

“Well since you already snuck into our base, I would assume that you already know.”

“Well, sorry to disappoint but I really don’t.”

“We don’t particularly believe you.”

You scoffed

“Well, if you’re gonna kill me anyway, what difference does it make?”

And that kinda shocks him for a second

“Woah, kill you? We’re not gonna kill you, we’re the good guys.”

“Eh?”

And now all of you are confused

Fast forward to them explaining everything

You tell them that you didn’t mean to trespass

And about your powers

So, everything is good and well you think they’re gonna let you go

Just as you’re about to leave, Robin stops you

“We can’t just let her go; she knows the location of our HQ.”

“Look, birdboy, I have a curfew. My parents probably think I’m making out with said “boyfriend” in an alley somewhere.”

Wally blushes but still makes a flirtatious comment about doing what your parents say

“And I would like to save myself the experience of getting ‘the talk’ on the car ride back home. So, I bid you adieu.”

And walk away like a boss

You manage to convince your parents that you’re not dating him

You don’t know why you ever thought that you could get away with it

Because the next day in school

Guess who’s sitting in the desk beside yours

Yep, Wally Fucking West

“You’ve resorted to stalking me now?”

“I’m trying to make sure you don’t kiss and tell, babe.”

Ever met a headache in person?

That was exactly how you’d describe Wally

But he’s kind of lovable?

Which is honestly more irritating

But between Wally’s flirting and infuriating behaviour

You start to see a genuine and kind side to him

The way he always gives you a hand when you’re getting on the bus when it stops far away from the pavement

The way he always opens the doors for you

The way he stays back in school so he can walk you home

Sure, he could’ve been doing it to keep an eye on you

But you believed that he didn’t

You told yourself that one day if Wally sincerely asked you out

Then you would say yes

And you kinda just waited like a fool for him to genuinely ask instead of just implying it while flirting

But finally, you realized that you would do the job

Cuz clearly wally is also a coward

So, you technically ask him out first

Even though he tells everybody that he made the first move

Still flirts with you

Even though you’re dating

You’re not an official member of the group

But you still help out when you can

Worrying when Wally is on a mission

Bear hugs when he gets back because you were worried as hell

His holding you tight and telling you that he isn’t going anywhere

Robin third wheeling and suddenly feeling single af

Wally likes randomly grabbing you in his hands and running to wherever

Giving him leg massages cuz he’s sore

Him repaying the favour

He’s extremely warm

So, when you cuddle, you turn the AC way up and then just melt in his arms

Damn I’m getting sleepy writing this

He always steals your food

Showing up to your parents’ house with you and introducing himself to your parents

Again

Your parents just being like

“We knew it.”

Sneaking into your bedroom in the middle of the night after a mission because he just wants to hold you

Sneaking out of your bedroom in the morning because your parents would literally kill you

Inviting you over to Mount Justice sometimes

The others don’t like it but oh well you can bend through earth so shut up

You like to walk barefoot most of the times

So, Wally always brings you to the beach

Him eventually retiring from being Kid Flash so you could live peaceful lives together

NOT dying on the mission in Antarctica

Actually, living a long and happy life with him

Forever Taglist: @simonsbluee​

DC Taglist: @emmacata​

[cygnetofthesea]

Happy Mother’s Day, Iris

In honor of Mother’s Day, here’s a little bit of Iris celebrating with her family. Happy Mother’s Day to all the loving, doting mothers and mother figures!

On AO3

It was the smell of fresh coffee and the touch of soft lips pressing against her cheek and lips that woke her up. She kept her eyes closed as a smile broke across her face and the kisses traveled up to her lids.

She sighed in complete and utter contentment, reaching up to thread her fingers through her husband's hair. She stroked the thick locks, feeling his hum against her skin.

"Happy Mother's Day," he greeted her softly

"Thank you. How are the babies?" she murmured, her voice raspy from lack of use.

"Perfect as always."

Iris burst out laughing, finally opening her eyes to see Barry sprawled horizontally on his side of the bed, fully dressed and his legs dangling off the side. She leaned over and kissed the space between his brows, endeared by his goofy smile.

"Perfect, huh? I mean, they are perfectly beautiful but well-behaved? I don't know about that."

"They sure take the 'terrible twos' to the next level," he agreed. "The parenting books definitely were not written with them in mind. Want to sleep in a little more? You might need it."

He brushed a strand of hair from her forehead as she shook her head. "Uh-uh, I want to see the tornado twins."

They shared a smile, remembering how Cisco gave Nora and Bart the nickname after they had started vibrating slightly in place. They found that when the brother and sister were together and playing with McSnurtle, their excitement went up a level that caused them to vibrate in place. Barry and Iris had lunged to grab them before anything else could happen but it was safe to say, they kept the babies' interaction with McSnurtle to a minimum until Cisco finished his dampening bracelets for them.

Barry's smile dropped slightly, looking off to the side. She knew that look: his speed force senses were tingling, which meant the babies were acting up again.

Barry sped away and in a flash brought back little Bart and Nora in his arms as Iris sat up in bed. Her face lit up, any traces of grogginess washing away at the sight of her gorgeous babies. Her heart felt like they had doubled in size as she reached over to grab the nearest baby, Bart.

He made grabby hands at her, settling them on her hair and locket when she kissed his chubby cheeks. She leaned over to smooch Nora's too as Barry settled in next to her.

"It’s like      your    speed force senses were tingling," he said with a chuckle. "They spotted McSnurtle."

"Mama, Snurtle play!" Nora squealed before leaning over Barry's arm and turning to her mom as though she had the turtle she so coveted.

"Sn-snurtle play, Mama," Bart repeated looking at his mom inquisitively.

Iris smooched both her babies again after brushing their wispy curls. "Not today, babes. We're going to try to make it without incident today. Ok?" she asked, nodding with a smile.

The twins were only two-years old but it didn't stop Iris from talking to them like they understood complex language. She just loved the wide-eyed looks they gave her in return. Plus, Barry more than made up for it in the baby-talk department.

Case in point, he was leaning over Nora just then, adopting a goofy voice. "You wanna pway with McSnurtle the turtle? You want to pway wid him? Yes you dooo."

Nora just gave him the same wide-eyed look Bart had just given her. "Snurtle!" she repeated as though attempting to conjure him up.

Barry turned Nora to face Bart more fully and Iris did the same with Bart. They found when they didn't get their way, the best thing to do was let them play with each other and they'd forget all about their baby plights.

Barry grinned at Iris crookedly as the babies fought against their holds to play with each other. They released them, keeping a careful eye on their crawling bodies.

"I wanted you to have breakfast in bed without interruptions," Barry said, taking hold of her hand.

It was only then Iris noticed the familiar rolling breakfast tray covered with an assortment of her favorite foods and a single frangipani that could only be found in Bali. She spotted some familiar foods that definitely were not from Central City.

"Oh my god!" she squealed, drawing the attention of her babies before they turned back to their light wrestling. "Is that pan au chocolate from Gérard Mulot?" she asked in a perfect French accent.

It was her favorite bakery in Paris that she took Barry to on their third anniversary. She had fallen in love with the place that Barry made sure to get it for every special occasion or really, whenever Iris was in the mood for it.

Barry rolled the tray over her and let her dig in. "Yup and the one from Marais, too. Nothing but the best for my beautiful baby mama," he said pressing a kiss to her cheekbone.

She groaned in pleasure as the smooth, dark chocolate blended perfectly with the warm, flaky croissant in her mouth. "Holy sh-crap. If the kids weren't here, I'd pounce on you."

"Oh that can most definitely be arranged," he murmured, wrapping his arms around her. He took the piece of pastry she offered, licking the chocolate from her finger. "Tonight, after the portraits and dinner, it's just you and me. I have a whole day planned with us and the kids, it'll be enough to tucker them out for the night."

"Oh yeah?" she asked, sliding a grape in her mouth as she looked at from underneath her lashes. "And what exactly is going to happen once the twins are asleep?"

He peeked at said twins—they were happily occupied with a Flash plush toy, squealing "Dada!"—before leaning over to lick at her lips, taking any of the residual pastry with him. He kissed her, letting his tongue slide into her mouth to taste her.

"Oh I don't know, maybe we could watch Inception and light up that oyster candle thing," he said in a deep and husky voice.

She knew he was using his bedroom voice and normally it would make her body tingle enough to tackle him, but his words made her giggle against his lips. She leaned into the kiss some more, tilting her head to take in his lips because yes, despite the humor his words evoked, she would always want him.

She pulled away slowly, watching as he took his time opening his eyes, the flutter of his lashes making her heart clench.

"You still really think it was that combo that knocked me up?"

He looked at her, his cheeks flushed with desire, but he looked sheepish. "Hey, the guy said oysters were an aphrodisiac." The guy being a young waiter at the Japanese restaurant where Barry had gone to pick up their takeout.

"Please babe, as if we ever needed any aphrodisiac. Your libido is plenty." She pulled at her lower lip. "So is mine, come to think of it. Who knew nerds were my weakness. Or maybe it's just you."

"It better just be me," Barry growled, pretending to bite her. She pushed at his shoulder with a laugh.

"Besides, it's the act of      eating oyster     that's supposed to be the aphrodisiac, not sniffing an oyster-scented candle. Which I still can't believe you tracked down."

"Ok, we can skip the oyster candle," he amended.

"Please."

"And how about I give you a nice massage instead."

"Yes, please."  

 "With Inception on or off?"

Iris snorted. "Definitely off. I don't need Hans Zimmer making our lovemaking feel dramatic and scary. But we are watching it first."

"You got it." He kissed again and then grabbed a familiar looking album. It melted her heart every time she saw it and remembered the first time Barry presented it to her.

Iris has been four months pregnant with the twins and hadn't even thought of Mother's Day other than to buy flowers for Nora and Francine's graves. Despite her mother being absent in her life, she was grateful that she had at least given her Wally and been a mother to him. She had brought the flowers home only to be greeted with a huge arrangement sitting on their dinner table next to a brand new photo album.

She looked at the arrangement curiously before turning to Barry who was bringing over a matcha mille crepe cake from her favorite place in New York City. She had been craving matcha anything as of late and Barry never hesitated to speed over to Prince Tea House over in East End to get them for her.

"Hey babe, I already got the flowers," she said, gesturing at the bouquets in her arm.

He beamed at her, his eyes soft. It was that look he always gave her, that was reserved just for her: as though she was a marvel he couldn't believe existed. As though she was the impossible and not him and his speedster abilities.

"They're for you. Happy Mother's Day, Iris."

 Maybe it was her hormones—most definitely—or maybe it was that look he was giving her, but Iris could feel her eyes welling up. Barry immediately set the mille crepe down and gathered her in his arms, the flowers crushing in between them.

"You're a mom, Iris. A beautiful, wonderful one at that. You have been since the moment Nora walked into our lives that day and you deserve to be celebrated."

 She sniffled and gave him a watery smile. "And you're a dad."

Barry shook his head. "It's not the same. I…I wasn't there for Nora like I should have been, the way you were," he said with regret and residual grief. "But I'm going to do better this time around. I will be anything you and our babies need."

Iris cupped his cheek, stroking the five o'clock shadow there. "I know you will."

She knew it in her heart that he would do anything and everything for them. She kissed him softly, savoring the moment with his scent mixing with the flowers around them.

She pulled away and looked at the album. "But what's that?"

He grabbed the album and presented it to her. On the front cover, he had placed a candid picture of her, smiling brightly with a frangipani tucked behind her ear and a bundle of them in her hands. Barry had made it a habit to collect a bundle of flowers that surrounded the resort where they stayed. It was a large and private area that made it feel like they were in their own little world.

"I want to commemorate every moment of this," he said. "Just like I want to honor every single moment of our lives together. You're the most incredible woman, Iris West-Allen, and I know you're going to be the most incredible mother. I want our children to be able to see their mother every step of the way. How she carried them with love and nurtured them with the utmost care and compassion. Even while they were wreaking havoc on her hormones."

He had looked like he was going to say more, but Iris couldn't wait any longer. She took the album from him and set them on the table with the flowers and kissed him with everything in her.

When she eventually pulled away, she pressed their foreheads together, their heavy breaths mingling together.

"I love you Barry Allen."

"I love you, Iris West-Allen."

And so began tradition. Barry had taken a portrait of Iris with their camera, her wedding ring sparkling brightly as she rested her hand on her belly, curving around it as though protecting their babies. And she was protecting them, just as Barry would protect her.

This Mother's Day, they would be adding a third picture to the album, with the twins slightly bigger than the last photo.

Barry hugged her to him, the album against his chest with her image on the outside. "Ready to add to this?"

Iris glanced over at her babies fooling around on their bed and then turned to her husband, her heart full. She felt like the luckiest woman in the world.

"Always."

[jaxl-road]

The League of Extraordinary Rockstars, ch.8

Summary: LA is a hub for music and mutants, making it the perfect place for Motley Crue, Guns N’ Roses, and countless other mutant musicians to call home. But it’s not all easy, especially when it comes to finding a decent place to live. So what better solution than moving in together in the mansion of an immortal? Love, drama, and super powers. If nothing else, it’ll be interesting.

Chapter Warnings: Language, genderswap!Steven

AN: This is a collaboration between myself and @the–blackdahlia! It combines elements from her fic “It’s So Easy (And Other Lies)” (specifically her genderswapped!Steven) and my super powered GnR series. It is completely AU and ignores timelines like Woah, but hopefully you’ll have as much fun reading it as we’re having writing it! Let us know what you think!

AN pt 2: It was entirely my fault that this chapter took so long, so special shout out to @the--blackdahlia​ for being so patient and kind while I got my shit together <3 <3 <3

~~~~~~~~

The night was spent with Stevie, Duff, and Izzy just talking, drinking, and trying to figure things out. Izzy had opted to return to his own bed for the night, and Stevie and Duff didn’t press him to stay, even though Stevie did pout when he said goodnight.

“I hope he realizes this isn’t a joke,” Stevie yawned.

“I’m sure he knows,” Duff smiled, “Let’s get you to bed pretty girl.”

Despite drinking more than Izzy and Duff had, Stevie was up before them the next morning, preparing to make breakfast for, what she assumed would be just her, Duff, and Izzy. But she knew she couldn’t get away with that.

That being said, she was on the lookout for a wild CC Deville to come crawling out of the cabinets at any minute.

She was so focused on being prepared for the potential Poison guitarist, that she ended up nearly screaming when she tossed a towel onto the kitchen table and it landed on a camouflaged Slash.

“God fucking dammit, Slash!” Stevie clutched her chest as the guitarist grumbled, shaking his head to get the towel off his hair and becoming visible again, “WHY are you sleeping out here?”

“Good question,” he stretched his arms over his head, “I was having some drinks with Tommy and Nikki. I must have passed out and they left me here.”

“That sounds about right,” She breathed. “Wait, since when do you have drinks with Tommy and Nikki?”

“Must have a death wish,” Vince commented as he came down the stairs with a satisfied grin on his face, “Morning guys! God, last night…”

“I don’t want to know,” Stevie turned away, missing the glare Slash shot him “I’ve gotta work on breakfast. You two, keep watch for CC.”

“We apparently need CC traps to go with the live traps Tommy wants to set up to catch that fucking raccoon,” Vince laughed, winking at Slash, who huffed and turned away. “Was it something I said?”

Stevie rolled her eyes as she started pulling items out of the fridge, “Vince, don’t be an ass.”

“That’s just his natural state,” Slash commented.

“If you think you can kill my good mood with your attitude you’re wrong,” Vince crossed his arms.

Ignoring the bickering rockers behind her, Stevie focused on the stove in front of her. Her cooking skills weren’t high class, but she figured she could handle some scrambled eggs and bacon, so she got started.

“I need Tommy to teach me to cook,” Stevie said to no one, “His cooking is amazing.”

“Yeah, if he kept cooking, I’d get fat,” Vince commented.

“Good,” Slash muttered under his breath. Before Vince could say anything, Kelly came down the stairs.

“What are you two bickering about?” He asked as he stretched to loosen his muscles. “It’s too early for this.”

“Apparently Vince is just planning on fighting everyone in Guns N’ Roses,” Stevie called over her shoulder.

“Hey!” Vince threw his hand up, “I’d never fight you, Stevie!”

“What are you talking about? I’ve seen you two bicker dozens of times,” Kelly chimed in.

“I can’t believe you’re all ganging up on me,” Vince huffed, “So rude.”

Snickering, Stevie finished the first pan of bacon, a few pieces maybe borderline burnt, but nothing any of the boys would complain about. She got started on a second batch before looking over her shoulder. “What are the odds of you guys actually making your own breakfast instead of stealing mine?”

“Slim to none,” Slash grinned. Stevie shook her head as Tommy and Nikki joined them.

“Good morning son,” Nikki patted Kelly on the shoulder.

“Oh my god that’s not over yet?” Kelly sighed.

“Nope!” Tommy smiled, “Oooo breakfast. I love food.”

“It pisses me off that you can eat and eat and never gain a pound,” Baz popped into the kitchen. “I want your metabolism.”

Stevie groaned at the increase in people in the kitchen. She wasn’t even that surprised when she went to place the second batch of bacon on the plate to find half of the first batch gone.

“Tommy!” She whined, spinning around and putting her hands on her hips, “At least let me finish before you steal my food!”

“What?” The speedster blinked, “I didn’t do anything!”

“Yeah right,” she rolled her eyes, “Look, I’m gonna make enough for everyone so just wait a few minutes!”

“But I-” Tommy flailed, sputtering as he tried to defend himself while the group chuckled at him.

“Where’s Ax?” Slash asked as he turned to Sebastian, “You usually drag him out with you.”

“Oh, yeah, he’s probably not gonna be around today,” the teleporter smiled sadly, “He’s in a, y’know… a mood. I was just gonna take some food back to our room.”

Stevie frowned, “Oh. Well, I’m making some eggs in a minute, but you can take some-” she turned to gesture to the plate of bacon only to find it nearly empty. “Oh come on!” She snapped in frustration.

“Third cabinet on the left,” Mick stated nonchalantly as he shuffled into the room.

Blinking in confusion, Stevie opened the cabinet in question and cursed loudly.

“Oh for fucks sake, CC!”

“I was hungry! You said you were gonna share!” The guitarist pouted around a mouthful of bacon.

“Why are you even here?” Tommy asked. “And why are you in a cabinet?”

“Alright, come on,” Mick pulled CC out of the cabinet, dragging the other guitarist out. Stevie sighed.

“I have a headache now,” She groaned. Tommy went to finish up the cooking while Duff and Izzy finally joined everyone. Once there was enough food ready, Sebastian was quick to make two plates and retreat back to his and Axl’s room, the tall singer awkwardly avoiding even looking in Izzy’s direction.

Not that Izzy noticed. He was too caught up in his own head as he tried to figure out how he was supposed to act around Duff and Stevie now. The night before, they had talked as if he would be another boyfriend, but that could have just been for his benefit. It didn’t mean they would appreciate him invading their space in front of the others. Did Duff even like guys?

It was too early for this. He needed coffee.

"Morning sweetie," Stevie greeted Duff. "Morning honey," She kissed Izzy's cheek, making him blush. "I'm gonna go lay on the couch. Fucking CC gave me a migraine." She walked off, mumbling about how he even got in there.

She had just flopped back onto the couch when Kelly suddenly entered her field of vision, the bassist grinning widely as he leaned over the back of the couch.

“I couldn’t help but notice,” he smirked, “you gave a certain guitarist a little smooch this morning.”

Stevie grinned back at him, “Hey, it was your idea!”

“Yeah, but you were so shy and nervous, I didn’t think you’d have the balls to actually do it,” he teased, laughing as Stevie punched him hard on the shoulder. “But for real,” he softened, “it all worked out?”

“Yeah, I think so,” She smiled. “He said yes at least...” Her eyes darkened a little before she shook her head and grinned, “So now you really don’t get to tap this anymore.”

“I hate you,” Kelly laughed, “But don’t worry. I sowed my wild oats last night.”

“Kelly, it’s the 20th century. You don’t have to talk like an old farmer.”

“I am appalled you called me a farmer,” Kelly said in mock annoyance, making Stevie laugh.

“I seriously have a migraine though,” Stevie told him, to which Kelly responded by yelling:

“Duff! Izzy! Come help Stevie!” He turned to look at her, with her eyes scrunched up, “You’re welcome.”

The two men quickly wandered into the living room, Izzy clutching his coffee like a lifeline while Duff chewed on a piece of toast. “What’s wrong?” The blonde asked, mouth still full, “Stevie, are you alright?”

"Just a headache…"

"You said migraine!" Kelly yelled, making Izzy give him a death stare.

“If she said migraine,” he replied, softly but coldly, “then why the fuck are you making it worse with your shouting?”

“Shit…” Kelly smiled sheepishly. “I’m just gonna go…” He quickly left, leaving Izzy and Duff with Stevie.

“I’m okay guys,” Stevie waved them off.

“Are you sure?” Duff questioned quietly, tossing his toast onto the coffee table carelessly as he approached the drummer, “Do you want me to grab Mick?”

Izzy shuffled uncomfortably. He didn’t want to leave, but he felt like he was intruding.

"Izzy, baby, tell Duff he's overreacting," Stevie smiled at Izzy. "I just need some cuddles from my boys."

It took a moment for the guitarist to respond- his brain short-circuited every time someone called him a pet name, and he was still trying to figure out his place here. It had been less than twelve hours and all his assumptions about what this relationship was had started to crumble in his hands. And he had no idea if that was good or bad.

“You heard the glowstick,” he finally responded, forcing a wry grin on his face as he turned to Duff, “Keep calm and get cuddling.”

Stevie smiled and reached for them, wanting cuddles. She sighed happily as they settled down by her.

"Thank you guys," She smiled. She kissed each other their cheeks and giggled when Izzy’s cheeks turned red, “Maybe today we can just be lazy? Apparently Axl might be MIA today, so we won’t have to like, seriously rehearse,” a small frown crossed Izzy’s face, but Stevie didn’t notice and carried on, “Although you know I’m always down to jam with you guys,” she grinned widely.

“That sounds awesome. Maybe we could switch instruments. I bet Izzy would look good playing your drums.” Duff suggested.

“Oh, I know he would!” Stevie said excitedly.

Izzy rolled his eyes, a small smirk of amusement on his face and his cheeks still slightly pink. Unable to resist, Stevie leaned forward to give him a quick kiss on the lips. But her plan was foiled when instead of feeling lightly chapped lips, she instead felt nothing but air as she fell forward, landing across the couch with a soft ‘oof’.

“Shit, fuck, I’m sorry,” Izzy stood rapidly, his body gliding through Stevie and Duff. His shoulders hitched up around his ears, a guilty and embarrassed look on his face, and the two blondes would bet money that he was still intangible even as he stood out of their reach.

While Slash definitely had the worst control of his abilities among the group, Izzy wasn’t far behind, especially when it came to unconscious control. When he was calm or in a good mood, he was fine. But the second he started feeling emotional or frazzled, he had trouble staying solid. And emotional and frazzled were understatements as far as how he had been feeling the past week.

"Are you OK?" Stevie questioned as Duff helped her sit up. "Did I do something?"

"No," Izzy sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's ok." Stevie smiled at him, the light brighter. "As long as you're not falling into the girls locker room…"

"Axl fucking told you about that?" Izzy sighed. "Fucking Bill…" The redhead loved to tease him for the many mishaps that had occurred when his powers first emerged in their first year of high school. He was a little convinced that Axl had some sort of secondary power that allowed him to always be present anytime Izzy embarrassed himself.

Frowning to himself, he wondered if he should try to talk to Axl about what happened the other day, but before he could dwell on it his thoughts were interrupted when Duff chimed in.

“Hey, don’t stress dude, we all had shit happen when our abilities popped up,” he grinned, “For like, the first year or something anytime I got startled a bunch of fog would surround me.”

“Aw, that’s so cute!” Stevie laughed, “Little baby smoke machine!”

“Hey! Slash told me about you blinding your school photographer!” Duff told her.

“It’s not my fault! He told me to give my biggest smile. I couldn’t help it,” Stevie defended.

“Nice to know nothing has changed,” Duff teased.

“Izzy, help me out here,” Stevie begged. “Please?”

Huffing out a laugh, the guitarist shook his head fondly, “I mean, you do have a very… bright smile.”

Duff laughed as Stevie pouted, crossing her arms petulantly, “Aw, it’s not a bad thing! You’re our Sunshine!” He wrapped his arms around her, the drummer unable to keep a straight face as he rested his chin on her head.

“Good thing you two are cute or we’d have a real problem,” She told them as she snuggled into Duff. Izzy was about to say something when Tommy came barreling into the room.

“Guys! Guys! Look at this book I found in Nikki’s shit!” Tommy tossed a heavy book on the table and everyone got a chill down their spines.

“Well that certainly looks… ominous,” Duff said slowly. The book was thick and leather bound, black with red writing in a language that didn’t look familiar to any of them. Stevie reached out and touched the book. When she did, the wind picked up a little bit.

“Wasn’t me,” Duff told them when they all looked at him.

“Let’s crack this baby open!” Tommy said, excitedly. “Maybe there’s naked pictures in there.”

“Probably all of you,” Izzy smirked and Tommy rolled his eyes, but then looked a little nervous. Picking up the book again, he flipped it over to glance suspiciously at the back cover, tracing his finger over the strange symbol on the back. Shivering slightly, he put it back on the coffee table, squeezing to sit on the couch beside the other three.

“Alright, the curiosity is killing me!” With that, he flipped the cover open, quick like ripping off a bandaid. The four rockers leaned over to look at the first page.

Duff, Stevie, and Izzy, frowned at the words written there. “What the Hell?” Izzy stated.

“Seriously,” Tommy chimed in, “What sort of book needs a disclaimer like that?” Three sets of eyes snapped to look at the speedster. When he noticed them staring, he blinked in confusion, “What?”

“You can read Latin?” Duff questioned.

“Huh? No way, isn’t that like, a dead language or something?”

“Can you read this?” Duff pointed to the page.

“Yeah?”

“It’s in Latin,” he squinted at the words, “at least I’m pretty sure it is. Definitely not English though.”

Tommy’s eyes widened comically, looking between the figures beside him and the book on the table. Then with a gust of superspeed, he slammed the cover shut, huddling against the back of the couch away from the book, “How much did I snort this morning?”

"Whatever it was, you should share," Stevie told him.

"What did it say?" Izzy quizzed Tommy.

“It said ‘Tommy, I’m gonna kick your fucking ass’.” The group jumped, turning around to find Nikki scowling at them. Stalking forward, he snatched the book off the table as Tommy rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Y’know, that’s actually pretty close to what it said.”

"Wait, how do you know what it says?" Nikki asked.

"Uh, well, you see…"

"Tell me what this says?" Nikki held out the book and pointed to a small part that no one could read, except Tommy.

"Property of Cherie Curry and Lita...Ford...oh fuck…."

“What? What’s wrong?” Izzy asked.

“Nothing!” Nikki and Tommy blurted out in sync. There was a long pause, Tommy fidgeting in his seat while Nikki glared at him and hugged the book protectively to his chest.

“Oh gee, look at the time,” Tommy stood nervously, “I think I hear Mick… somewhere.... Sorrybabedidn’tmeantobyyyye!” and with that, the drummer was gone in a blur.

“Dammit, T-Bone! You can run but you can’t hide!” The skin around Nikki’s eyes glowed orange as he ran off to track down his boyfriend, leaving the three Guns members to stare after him in confusion.

"What just happened?" Stevie asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going to go raid Kelly’s prohibition room," Izzy sighed, heading straight for the basement.

[awhitehead17]

Universal Signs

Chapter Eight / Previous Chapter

Also on AO3

A/N: The rating has changed! It was general but is now teen. There is a bit violence and hints of blood towards the end of this chapter. Its nothing too graphic but just in case here's the warning if that makes you uncomfortable. 

Enjoy! :D

Tim wasn’t sulking. He wasn’t! He was just pouting in the common room on his own as he thinks through recent events. That’s all. No sulking involved whatsoever.

Okay so maybe he was sulking.  

His arm was irritating him. Underneath the bandage his skin itches and he has to forcibly stop himself from scratching at the wound. He scowls at the ceiling as he slumps back into the plush couch he was sat on. He can’t believe a cat spat at him and burnt his arm. Out of everything he’s encountered so far, that cat-like creature is probably the strangest things he’s yet to see. 

The aliens did tell him to not get too close, but in his defence they neglected to mention that the creature could spit over seven feet away! How was Tim supposed to know that? He saw the creature, it looked cute and fluffy and he wanted to pet it, then Kon-el found him and dragged him away. The alien’s reaction to the creature just made Tim more curious about it.

After grabbing food Tim found the cat again but kept his distance. It looked harmless and it even resembled his brother’s cat back home. However things went wrong when something spooked the creature and caused it to get nasty. In a matter of seconds it went from cute and cuddly to vicious and evil. It hissed and then spat at Tim before darting away and disappearing into the trees.

Thankfully he had quick reflexes and was able to cover his face with his arm before getting hit with the creature’s acid-like spit. His arm instantly flared up with pain which caused him to cry out. That’s when Kon-el appeared.

At least it was his arm that got burnt and not his face. Who knows what kind of damaged that would have caused if that was the outcome. Curiosity killed the cat. Tim snorts. Yeah, his curiosity did almost kill him this time.

“Are you okay?”

Tim jumps at the sudden voice. He turns around to look at them and follows them with his eyes as they walk over to the couch and sit opposite him.

“What’s funny?”

Cassie looks at him with slightly narrowed eyes, as if she’s suspicious of his behaviour. Tim eyes her up momentarily, even now after he’s been with them for a few weeks he still gets the odd feeling around Cassie. She’s warmed up to him a little in that time, as if she’s getting used to his presence now but there was still that underlying mistrust of him hanging around in the air.

Tim shrugs it off. There wasn’t a lot he could do about it in that moment. He averts his gaze from her and waves a dismissive hand. “Oh nothing, just some human crap.”

That was another thing Tim had learnt. Half of the time they have no idea what he’s saying, common phrases and sayings go right over their heads. Any abbreviations he makes gets him blanks stares. Movie and TV show references get him a raised eyebrow in question.

Of course this was to be expected considering where he is, but every time it happens the ache inside his chest of where he’s missing home just grows that bit heavier at the reminder.

Tim’s missing his friends and family. He doesn’t know how long it’s been since he was taken from earth as he was unable to track time while he was captured and he only has a vague idea of how long he’s been with these guys on this ship.

It sucks and Tim absolutely hates it. Unfortunately he doesn’t have much of a choice but to suck it up and get on with it.

“Sure...” Cassie drawls giving him that look that says you humans are strange. “I wanted to update you on some stuff. First off, our next stop will be in a few days’ time to collect the next item we need. There isn’t much to do between now and then, so basically get comfy and relax. Second thing, how would you like your own room on the ship? We were speaking and it’s only fair that you get your own space like the rest of us have.”

Tim nods taking in the information before pausing and shooting her a surprised look. He had been expecting the next stop details, however the room news did surprise him.

“Really? I didn’t think there would be any room for me to have my own space?” He questions her. “I don’t want to put any of you out or make any trouble.”

“We can clear out one of the storage rooms and place a bed in there. It wouldn’t be much but it’s somewhere other than in the common room for you.”

Tim smiles gratefully, “Yeah, that would be great. Thank you.”

Having his own space would be nice. As comfy as the couch in the common room was, having his own space would definitely be preferred.

She nods. “Okay, I can let the others know and we can get started on that. Third thing, how’s your arm?”

Tim lets out a breath and shrugs. “Irritating. The wound is still fresh so it’s going to be annoying for a little while yet. If I keep it clean and stuff it should hopefully heal up within a week or two. Thankfully it’s not anywhere where it would really be a nuisance.”

She stays quiet as he watches him. Tim glances at her but looks away again. He has no clue to what she’s thinking, he probably doesn’t want to know either.

When the silence drags on, Tim decides to fill it. “So what’s the plan until the next stop? Got any ideas or no?”

She shakes her head. “No. As I said there’s not much we can do now until we reach the next destination. Try to keep yourself occupied until then. I’m sure one of the others can help entertain you if you get bored.”

After that apparently Cassie was done with the conversation because she stands up and leaves the room without another word. Tim blinks at her vacated spot, wrapping his head around the conversation. Right, so now he has to entertain himself for the time being.

He sighs and starts deciding what he’s going to do with himself. As he looks around the room for inspiration, his eyes land on the Rubik’s cube on the table in front of him.

Figuring that’ll do for the time being, Tim reaches over and grabs it. Two of the sides were already solved and Tim’s going to assume that Bart was the one to do it. He wonders how many more he can complete until their next destination.

 In the time it took to travel to the next planet, Tim simply plotted around the ship looking for things to do. One of the main things to be achieved within that time was that his room Cassie had mentioned has now been set up. It’s a storage room turned into a bedroom so it’s pretty small but they manage to get a bed in there along with a small wardrobe and a small chest of draws. It wasn’t a lot but it’s not like Tim had a lot of belongings anyway.

While it was nice to have his own private space sometimes it felt wrong. At times the room felt too small and it made him feel claustrophobic, especially since there were no windows. The bed sometimes felt to hard and he would just be tossing and turning on it. It made him miss his own bedroom back home. Like his pillow, god he misses his pillow, and his own blanket. Just the little things that he once took for granted.

He gets by though. It’s nice that they’ve created the room for him and he appreciates it.

To pass the time, they would occasionally play a few games, have the entertainment night that Bart got to decide what they do, work and chat.

Tim’s arm was still healing and from what he could tell it was healing nicely. Another couple of days and it should hopefully be back to normal. He’s been keeping an eye on it and treating it to the best of his abilities.

Eventually they enter the next planet’s atmosphere and Tim observes the descent from the window in the common room. The planet was filled with what looked like trees, well, at least if trees had dark blue leaves and purple trunks. By this point he wasn’t even surprised any more. The amount of crazy, beyond imaginable, things he’s seen and discovered while in space, things like this just don’t really shock him anymore. Though the idea of telling his family about all of this is rather amusing. They wouldn’t believe a single thing of it.

The ship descends down to the ground and lands with a thump. Once everything was stable Tim leaves the common room and heads for the cockpit where the others were gathered. He enters the room to find Cassie at the dashboard and Kon and Bart together at the table. He walks overs and claims one of the free seats for himself.

They both look at him as he settles.

“Tim, just to get you up to speed. We’re on the planet Tordar and we’re here because we need to gather up 50 pieces of Pingon,” Kon tells him.

Tim nods his understanding and straightens up when Kon slides a piece of paper across the table to him. He picks the page up and scans it. There was an image of what Tim is assuming they need to collect. It was a golden cylinder shape with what looked like pink coloured spikes sprouting out from the main body and there were large dark blue leaves appearing from one end of it.

It reminded Tim of a pineapple. At least if they were skinner, pink and had blue leaves.

Kon continues speaking, glancing at his team as well as Tim as he does so. “The picture is what we need to collect from this planet. Pingon’s are found hanging low off the trees. So hopefully we can simply grab and go.”

Tim puts the paper down and rubs a hand over his forehead. He sighs and looks up at the alien. “There’s more to it than that isn’t there? It’s never a simple grab and go. So what is it?”

The alien looks uneasy, shifting from foot to foot as he glances at Tim before sharing a look with the other two like he’s reluctant to tell Tim the information.

“Kon.” He presses.

In the end it wasn’t Kon who shares the information with him, it was Bart. Tim whips his head around to look at the speedster.

“A species called Galavent live on this planet and they are dangerous. They’re ferociously territorial, will maim and kill in an instant. They are not fun to be around at all.” He was staring at Tim with an intense expression, this alone was telling Tim Bart wasn’t joking around and this was the truth.

“Right,” Tim drawls, “Avoid killer… Galavents? No problem.”

He starts getting up from the table only to be stopped by Kon speaking up. “Tim, maybe you should stay on the ship for the time being.”

Tim grits his teeth and tries to hide his annoyance. “Why? Because I’m human? Because I don’t have powers like the rest of you?”

Kon open his mouth to say something but seems to reconsider his words. “No. Not because you’re human Tim but because your hurt. It’ll be safe for you on here than out there.”

Tim snorts in disbelief. It was only a matter of time before they would start treating him like he was a delicate piece of glass unable to do anything. He continues standing and pins Kon with a look.

“I’m fine. I have a minor injury, nothing that’ll stop me from doing regular things. I’m going to help you whether you like it or not.” When the alien stays silent, Tim takes that as a win. “I’ll meet you by the door.”

He leaves the room in a tense silent and heads for his own bedroom. If the planet did have dangerous creatures on it, it may be best that he has some sort of weapon. He grabs the metal pole from his room before heading down to the main door of the ship.

About a minute later the three others show up. As he approaches, Kon scowls at him, clearly not happy with this arrangement of Tim joining them out on the planet. Tim fakes a sweet smile, like he was completely innocent in the ordeal. He smiles for real when the only reaction he gets is Kon’s scowl deepening on his face.

As they walk, Tim notices that each of them was carrying something that resembled a large picnic basket. He doesn’t question them about it, figuring that they must be for carrying the pingon’s back to the ship.

The four of them soon leave the ship and step foot onto the planet. Tim was surprised to find it warmer than he expected. With all the trees around them (even though they’re purple) it reminds him of a jungle or forest back home. It was surprisingly light on the planet too, despite all of the leaves blocking the sky, everything was still visible to Tim’s human eyes.

Moving away from the ship, which was parked in the middle of a large clearing, they all enter the tree line and start hunting for the pingon’s they need to collect.

Thankfully the hunt doesn’t take too long for them to find the first bunch of pingon’s. They were indeed hanging low off the branches towards the ground, basically in perfect height for picking.

Tim walks over to one of the trees and studies the fruit. The colours were more vibrant in real life than what they were on paper. It looked like an exotic fruit someone would find in the Caribbean or something. He reaches out and gingerly touches the spikes of the fruit, not knowing what to expect. They were sharp but didn’t feel like they would pierce his skin, once again reminding him of a pineapple.

He grabs the fruit with a hand, pulls it off the branch in one swift movement and weighs the thing in his hands. It didn’t feel heavy like a pineapple does, in fact it was fairly light which was surprising. He wonders over to where Bart was picking a few from off another tree and puts his in Bart’s basket.

Between the four of them they clear that area of fruit fairly quickly and decide to move onto the next area. As he picks the fruit, Tim was half tempted to eat it. Maybe split one open to see what it looked like on the inside and try some of it.

He fiddles with the one in his hands as he glances around to where the others are. They were all too busy with their jobs to pay attention to him. Tim turns back to the fruit and positions his hands where the leaves were and braces himself to pull them off when –

“Tim what are you doing?”

When Cassie’s voice makes him pause. Annoyed he’s been caught, he sighs and turns around. He puts on his best innocent looking expression and shakes his head. “Nothing. Why what’s up?”

Cassie narrows her eyes at him in disbelief. “I’m going to say this now, but don’t eat the pingon’s. If consumed like this,” she holds up the pingon in her hand as demonstration, “unprepped, they can burn your insides. So listen to me and don’t eat the pingon’s. Understand?”

Tim blinks in horror at the fruit. Okay, apparently this is fruit that can burn your insides. This is just another thing to add to the mental ‘what the fuck?’ list Tim has currently running inside his head.

“Right, not eating the pingon raw. Got ya.”

He was still tempted to try the fruit of course but Tim’s going to listen because he likes his insides functioning and wants to keep it that way. Shaking the thoughts of burning insides out of his head, Tim continues with the task at hand. The quicker they finish the better.

They spend a little over an hour collecting all the fruit they need and gather a few more for themselves to have a treat at a later date. Once finished they begin to head back to the ship. The aliens were carrying the baskets while Tim walked behind them, lazily swinging his pole around with each step.

He doesn’t know when it started, but he knows when he first recognised the feeling. All the hair on the back of his neck suddenly stands up and goose bumps appear on his skin as he shivers. An uneasy feeling washes over him as he travels behind the aliens. It went on for a little while and the feeling wouldn’t go away.

Tim was sure something was watching him.

He stops walking to observe his surroundings, looking for anything unusual (or something that looked out of place at least) however all he could see were the thick trunks of the trees, hanging fruit and the dark blue leaves.

Tim takes a deep breath and lets it out before shaking his head. He’s just being paranoid, that’s all. Overthinking things and letting his imagination get the better of him.

Turning back around, Tim continues walking now picking up his speed to catch up with the others who were further up ahead and hadn’t noticed he stopped. Tim only travelled several meters when the growling started. It was a low sound that shook him right through his core, something that made him freeze on the spot.

He tries to control his breathing in order to stop himself from panicking, his heart starts pounding inside of his chest and all of his muscles in his body were frozen and tense.

The growling’s coming from behind him and it felt like it was getting louder by the second. His brain was screaming two different things at him. One was to run. Run and don’t look back. The second, was to turn around to see what was there.

Ever the curious human, Tim goes with the second option and stupidly turns around. He keeps his movements slow and steady so he doesn’t startle whatever is behind him.

Tim’s breath catches inside of his throat when he finally faces what was behind him. Hanging from a tree there was a huge monkey-like creature. It was staring at Tim with two black orbs for eyes, its long razer teeth were borne in a snarl as it growls at him.

For a moment Tim thought it was a baboon. The colour of the fur was the same and its body was similar. The main differences however was the size and the fact this thing was eyeing Tim up like he was candy.

Tim didn’t know what to do. He’s sure if he makes a move the monkey will pounce and after getting a glimpse of its claws Tim would rather not chance it.

Swallowing thickly Tim decides to take a cautious step back away from the animal. His eyes never leave the thing as he starts slowly backing away. If he doesn’t startle or aggravate it, fingers crossed, he’ll come out of this alive.

Tim’s method appeared to be working. The monkey doesn’t make a move against him as he backs away.

“Tim? Where are you?”

The sudden shout makes him jump and he holds his breath as the monkey seems to stiffen up in front of him and the growling increases in volume. Tim doesn’t dare look behind him though. He feels like if he moves his attention away from the creature then the animal will make a move. Almost like a spider you’re trying to capture, you keep watching it so you don’t lose it.

“I’m here.” Tim calls back carefully. Not too loud so he doesn’t startle the thing. “Um, something’s come up.”

“What do you me -oh.”

Now Tim could feel another presence behind him. However unlike before this one doesn’t feel threatening or put him on edge.

“Tim remember what we said on the ship. That’s a Galavent.”

Tim huffs, because of course it is. Why wouldn’t it be?

“What do we do?” He asks the alien. He can make a few guesses himself but he’s out of his element here and does not want to do anything wrong.

Before Kon could reply even more growling echoes around them. From above, the leaves all rustle and a glance up shows more monkeys – Galavents – appearing. Tim’s eyes widen at the realisation that they’re surrounded.

The animal in front of Tim finally moves. It drops down to the ground with a thump, and starts stalking towards Tim. It snarls and growls at him as it gets closer. With fear Tim starts backing up, no longer caring about careful movements. The animal in front just takes that as an invitation to move quicker, letting out a roar as it starts speeding towards him.

After that, it was like hell all broke loose.

As the Galavent charged towards him, Tim let out a yell and turned tail and ran, almost falling over as he does so. Kon, who was standing behind him, shouted and also ran with him. From behind, the monkeys all followed, letting out their roars, snarls and growls as they chased them.

“Get to the ship!” He hears Kon scream at him but Tim wasn’t really paying attention.

Sprinting through the trees, they scramble to get away from the animals pursuing them. Together they somehow make it to the clearing where the ship was but only to be stopped short. Next to him, Kon goes flying as a Galavent lands on his back and tackles him to the ground.

“Kon!”

Tim doesn’t get a chance to dwell on Kon being attacked because suddenly he was thrown to the side. When he hits the ground he rolls a few times before landing on his back, he barely gets the chance to react before a monkey was coming at him from above. Letting out a scream Tim uses the pole he still had to block the monkey’s attack as it lands on him.

Large fangs were snapping at him and sharp claws trying to rip him to shreds. Tim uses all of his might to keep it away from him.

Just as his arms were about to give out, the weight of the monkey disappears. Tim blinks in surprise at the sudden change of events and again as Bart materializes out of nowhere above him. He smirks down at Tim before darting off again.

Swallowing Tim scrambles up onto his feet and swings with the metal pole as one of the monkeys jump up at him. The pole hits it clean in the head and knocks it down. Tim swings a second time to knock another down which comes from above. He knocks it down to the ground and hits it again to try and knock it out. When it no longer moves Tim stops his motions and straightens back up looking for the next immediate threat.

A yell from his right gets his attention. It was Cassie wrestling one of the creatures on the floor. Her hands were locked around it’s jaw in attempts to keep it from biting her head off. Without even thinking about it, Tim’s moving. He sprints over to Cassie and bodily tackles the animal off her.

Because of his momentum, the two of them go sprawling over the ground. Tim loses track of the animal as he rolls several times before coming to a stop on his front. He shakes his head and tries to get past the dizziness that’s currently taken over.

His luck seems to run out there because unfortunately something lands on his back before he could get his head together. The impact winds him, leaving him breathless and then there’s the piercing pain that erupts in his shoulder. He lets out a curdling scream and thrashes wildly in an attempt to buck the thing off his back.

The pain somehow worsens as it seems to travel down from his shoulder to the middle of his back. Tim lets out another sound as he feels his skin split open and warmth spread across his back. Tears were forming in his eyes and there nothing else but pain.

From there it becomes a blur. Things just all mould into one. At some point the weight disappears off his back, there were shouts of what he thinks was his name but all that registered in Tim’s mind was the pain coming from his shoulder and back.

When something else touches him, he weakly fights it off, however that something was persistent and easily bats away Tim’s sluggish strikes. He screams again when more pain explodes inside of him.

He must have blacked out or something because the next thing he knows it that his face was being pushed into something soft underneath him. Unknown things were still touching him, there was a noise which sounded like a voice surrounding him but he couldn’t make it out and the main thing was there was still overwhelming pain coming from his back.

He yells again when something touches his back, causing another jolt to go through him. He tries to get away, tries to escape from what was hurting but he’s forced to stay still by a force. With his pain-fogged mind, Tim couldn’t work out what it was, but he didn’t actually care, he just wanted to get away from it.

After futile attempts to wiggle free, he whimpers. The whimper turns into a hoarse scream when it somehow gets worse. Tim’s never felt anything like this before. It must have been too much for him to handle because the last thing he remembers is letting out that scream and then nothing.

[cee693]

Give us bread, Give us salt, Give us wine.

Cee693

 @allaboutmybucks: Barry and Iris spending time together before impending Crisis. I think I'll make this request a two-parter with the next one being a tiny bit less angsty.

In the end, the true state of their feelings wouldn’t be found in in the grand gestures. It wasn't in the breakfasts that had started overflowing with his favorite foods since he’d returned from Earth-3. It wasn't in the luxurious trips around the world. Trips that had them both ignoring the fact that most of the places they went to were from a list they’d compiled two years ago as an Anniversary Bucket List.

It wasn't in the proclamations and declarations of undying love.

It was in the little things.

It was in the touches, the hand holding that was a bit too tight. A goodbye kiss that was a second too long. It was in Barry’s breath catching when some budget forms arrived on his desk at work. He was supposed to fill in his request for the next fiscal year. Which began December 10th, 2019.

It was in Iris hitting ‘unsubscribe’ after receiving her routine alert from her pharmacy to go in for her next three-month supply of birth control pills.

It was in Barry getting into the habit of putting on their record player and getting Iris to dance around the kitchen with him while he cooked them dinner.

It wasn’t something he normally did. They’d danced around their kitchen more times than they could count, but it was usually after dinner or in a spontaneous burst in the day.

Mostly, because Barry was mindful of keeping his wife away from any open flames or boiling pots.

Iris’s track record in the kitchen was… not great. That’s why Barry tried to always have dinner ready to go after work so there was no chance of her getting involved.

But, that week, Iris had come home from work and greeted Barry over the blare of the upbeat record spinning and he hurried to kiss her before twirling her in his arms and sliding her into his work space.

The first time it happened they'd laughed so hard and danced for so long, Iris had to tag in and help him finish cooking so that they could eat before midnight.

The following night, Iris came home to the same sight: Barry happy and singing to music. This time with a bottle of wine chilled and ready for her. Iris kissed him soundly because that glass was exactly what she needed after the day she had.

Unfortunately, their bottle opener was mysteriously vanished so Barry asked her season and baste the roast he had in the oven while he ran out and got a new one.

By the time he returned (suspiciously long for a speedster), dinner was finished and ready to be served.

The next few days were the same and the two of them settled into a nice little routine of cooking and dancing.

Iris didn’t know what brought on Barry’s sudden good mood, but she didn’t question it. She loved seeing Barry like this: all care-free and happy.

Since his trip to Earth-3, Barry took care to carve out time, just the two of them, but she really appreciated that this last week there was no sense of dread in their time together only joy.

And the fact that he was like this with an apron on, sleeves rolled up his forearms as he snuck her bites of food was also incredibly sexy.

She couldn’t resist one night pressing up against him and kissing him sensually. She meant for it to be a quick kiss, but Barry had her up on the counter in seconds.

“Wait,” she pulled back after several minutes of being carried away. “The food's gonna burn.”

Barry shook his head and kissed her again. “Chicken's still marinating. Trick is to add baking soda and let it sit. It tenderizes the meat." Of course he said that last part with extreme innuendo as he kissed the side of her neck.

She liked it when he talked food. As much as she called him a nerd, anytime he flexed his intelligence, it was a huge turn-on for her.

She said as much another night when he swayed them in time to Nat King Cole right in front of the oven. Iris mentioned that the warmth coming from it was divine and Barry whispered that the 375° was just about the perfect temperature for anything.

To Barry’s credit, it took her almost two weeks to realize what he was doing.

And at first it stopped her in her tracks and knocked the air from her lungs.

She’d gotten home from work early and had just texted Barry to let him know when the lightbulb just randomly went off.

She went over the last two weeks of dinnertime in her head and when her suspicion was confirmed she locked herself in her office and cried until the sun went down.

By the time Barry came home, she pulled herself together and dried her eyes, but she resolved to not step foot out her office until tonight’s meal was on the table ready to be eaten.

Iris heard the front door open and close, then the shower run for a few seconds before she heard him back in the kitchen rumbling around.

When Billie Holiday began wafting through the loft, Iris correctly anticipated Barry coming to her.

He knocked on her door and she sluggishly got up to let him in.

"Hey," Barry greeted happily as he entered her office. He leaned down and kissed her sweetly. "How was your day."

"It was fine," Iris responded delicately. "How was yours?"

“Eh. Long. I missed you. I picked up some chicken and shrimp for alfredo? That sound okay?”

“Sure. That's great thank you.”

"Want to come out?” He asked.

"No."

"We could pop open that bottle of red we got from the Uco Valley. Best in the world."

"No. Sorry, I'm busy,” Iris responded, half-heartedly holding up the first magazine she touched.

Barry deflated a little. “Iris. I haven't seen you all day.”

She sighed and felt a bit bad. "I guess I can work at the dining table."

Iris grabbed her laptop and a notebook and followed Barry out to the living room. She settled at the dining table and let him get to work in the kitchen.

Of course tonight, though, Barry seemed to be having a bit of trouble in the kitchen.

"Damn it," he muttered a third time. Pots clanked and there was a definite sound of something spilling on the floor.

Still, Iris resisted the urge to take pity on him and ask him what was wrong. She knew in reality it was nothing at all.

Barry was a terrible liar, but he always gave valiant performances.

"Hey, I'm sorry,” he called out to her minutes later. “I know you're busy but could you help me grab the cream in the fridge? My hands are full."

If she wasn’t so angry, Iris would have been a little disappointed that that was the best he could come up with. She thinks for that lie to be believable she's supposed to pretend that he's not the fastest man alive.

She sighed and stood up. "How much cream?"

Barry nodded to the ipad on the counter. "Recipe's over there."

Iris scowled a bit and peeked at the tablet before she went to the fridge and checked. "We're all out."

"Oh really?" Barry exclaimed, voice higher than normal. “Darn.”

Iris stifled an eye-roll at the bad acting.

"Well, we could make a substitute for cream. Could you grab some milk and some butter? Just measure out a fourth of butter and three-

Iris huffed in frustration and slammed the fridge door.

"-I know what you're doing, so just stop it," she demanded.

Barry blinked and halted his chopping. "What?"

"I know what you've been doing, Barry," she repeated. "Putting out music and wine and finding any way to pull me into the kitchen. Pretending that you can't literally do all of this by yourself in seconds. Whispering off little culinary facts in passing."

"You've been teaching me how to cook," she accused.

"What? No, I haven't!" Barry exclaimed. He tried to sound confused and offended, but he was turning really red.

"Yes, you have!" she fumed.

Tears pricked her eyes. "Why though? Do you want to make sure I don't burn the loft down when you're not around to cook anymore?"

Her voice broke and she looked down, trying hard not to break again. "Is this your way of trying to prepare me for a life of dinners alone?"

Barry put down his knife and turned off the stove. He sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"I just … I'm sorry. I just wanted to give you some pointers that I knew you would remember," he admitted guiltily.

Iris's chin quivered. "You manipulated me."

"I'm sorry," he said again sincerely.

"I knew you wouldn't want to learn if I told you why."

"Yeah, well you're right about that," Iris sniffed, upset. She went to the dining table to pack up her stuff.

"Iris, wait. Please. I just don't know what to do anymore," he told her desperately. "I'm just at a dead end."

Iris whipped around and glared at him for his very poor choice of words.

Barry sighed, frustrated with himself. He tried again "I'm sorry. I am. I know that this wasn't really fair to you. I just want… I need to know that you'll be okay after Crisis. And part of that is making sure you eat."

Iris turned back around to the table.

"That's not something you can control though is it?" she asked weakly, unwilling to face the look in his eyes. Unable to face the words he was saying.

She didn't want this.

She didn't want to talk about this or think about it and she was angry this was in fact what the last few nights have been about.

Happy memories now tainted by their morbid ulterior motive. Everything in their lives touched by this death sentence.

"I don't know what else I'm supposed to do," Barry whispered tearfully. "I… I can't think of you here alone not eating, or only getting by on takeout or tv dinners for one."

Nausea flooded her stomach at the thought. But, he wasn't wrong.

That was her future.

That's what life would be without her husband. Without a child.

Just her. Here alone. No one to break bread with. No one to come home to after a long day. No one with a glass of wine or a tray of brownies waiting for her.

Just solitude.

A sob ripped through her and Barry was at her side in an instant, pulling her close and profusely apologizing.

“I'm sorry, please don't cry,” he begged. “I made a mistake.”

Iris wrestled free from him. "As much as you feel that it's not a choice to die, when you do things like this it seems like it is. It seems calculated and thought-out and it feels like a choice you're making every day.”

“I didn’t want to do this. And it’s not fair that you planned this,” she said, upset. “It's out of your hands. You've accepted what the Monitor said and you’re leaving, but please, don’t try to tie up the loose ends Crisis is leaving behind into a nice little bow.”

“Iris, that’s not-”

She swallowed nausea and just left her stuff where they were. “-I’m going to bed. You should take your time cleaning up before you come upstairs.”

Barry took the hint to give her space and he let her go.

Iris took a long hot shower before she climbed into bed completely exhausted.

It was quiet now.

Ms. Holiday’s voice had ceased.

Iris heard the vague sound of a good bit of glass crashing somewhere downstairs and she was almost grateful for the sound of Barry’s anger.

After weeks of subdued acceptance, it was refreshing to hear signs of emotion in her husband.

And then it was quiet again.

She figured it was over an hour before Barry finally trudged up the stairs and into their bedroom. He creeped by her to the bathroom and she heard him brush his teeth and change for bed.

When he slid in beside her, Iris was still clearly wide awake.

She didn't turn around and Barry didn't expect her to.

He didn’t try to talk to her and Iris didn’t expect him to.

But, his arm slid around her waist at the exact moment she reached behind her to pull him close.

Because, regardless of if they had a choice or not, these were their last days together. And they would spend every one of them side by side.

Iris rocked back and forth in her chair at the Citizen berating herself again and again.

She felt like the biggest hypocrite. She was filled with so much anger and there was no one to be blamed for it. None of this was fair.

Her husband was selfless and good. Everything he did, he did with her in mind.

Barry had done nothing wrong two nights ago.

He certainly hadn't done anything she hadn't done in the past.

She had tried that a few times. Tried to get her affairs in order. Tried to leave instructions for Barry that she knew he would need after Savitar killed her.

After Kadabra's offer went unaccepted and Barry's trip to the future came up short, Iris had bought a label maker and went to town around the apartment, putting up little reminders and facts for her fiancé. Like the Wi-Fi password he could never remember and the best times to go to the farmer's market for the sweetest peaches.

And, though she kept it tucked under her side of the mattress, she'd even began keeping a notebook marking down which of her things should be donated to which charities.

She thought she'd done a good thing.

Thought she was making the future easier for him. Until she came home from work and found all her labels torn off and ripped up and the label maker and her secret notebook dumped in the trash.

When she confronted Barry about why he'd done that, she saw that he was very, very upset, but was trying hard to reel it in.

His voice was shaking when he told her that all of that wasn't necessary. If he needed the Wi-Fi password he would just ask her. And that they'd agreed to never let him go to the farmer's market alone again after the Peony Debacle.

He didn't even acknowledge the notebook. Just demanded that she never do anything like this again. And then he left the house and only returned several hours later.

Iris never wanted to look back on those dark, dark months leading up to her supposed murder. She never wanted to revisit the fucked up headspaces she and Barry were forced into for five months. Least of all with a twisted sense of longing. But, that's where she was now.

What happened three years ago and what was happening now are two sides of the same coin, but the way they were being handled couldn't be more different.

Back then there was fire.

There was anger.

There were slammed doors and passionate declarations of resistance.

There was unwavering belief in defiance and blood oaths of protection.

No matter what loop they were thrown, Barry never lost faith that she would somehow survive. Not one single moment. Not once in five long, grueling months.

And when Iris wavered, when she wasn't so sure herself, Barry shouldered her pain and he found faith enough for the both of them.

But, that was then.

Back when there were flames. Back when there was fight.

Now? Now it's just quiet.

Just unceasingly quiet.

It had only taken Barry two days to lose all hope. To accept complete defeat. To accept death.

Two. Days.

And she was pushed to do the same.

Well, the truth was that she didn't. She didn't accept his death. She never would.

But she couldn't fight fate. So where did that leave her?

In silence.

That's all there was now.

Barry's silence was submission, but hers was seething. It was storming. With no hope for an outlet. Because the hero had already accepted demise.

The silence was deafening. It was demoralizing. And now it was made even thicker by their argument.

Iris scoffed and sat up. If she couldn’t fight the world than she would put her energy into something she could control. There were victories still to be found in the everyday. And if that’s all she could have, she’d fight like hell to claim them.

Barry sighed miserably as he cleaned up and locked down his lab for the night.

As far as he knew, there were no pressing Flash duties at Star Labs so he could just go home. But, he didn't know if he should just yet. There was a chance Iris was still at work and he didn't want to hang around the quiet apartment without her there.

And if she was home already, he was hesitant to do the awkward dance they'd been doing the last few days.

It was a blend of having stilted conversation and clinging to each other.

It was exhausting. And it wouldn't sustain them much longer, but he couldn't find their way out.

Crisis was inevitable. It was coming.

And the two of them would never agree on what needed to be done.

No matter how much she bit her tongue, Barry knew how Iris truly felt about him accepting his destiny. That's why he knew he had to lie to try and prepare her for a small part of life without him there.

And she had every right to feel the way she did.

He was in her shoes not long ago. He'd never forget the feeling of that sucking hole in your chest when you're facing the death of your soulmate.

Barry rubbed his eyes roughly. He’d go home. There was no sense in avoiding Iris. No matter what storm they were facing, it would be together.

He locked the door to his lab just as his phone vibrated. He pulled it out and saw a message from Iris.

Meet me at Jitters when you’re off..

He was out CCPD and outside of the coffeehouse in seconds.

It was late. Jitters was already closed for the night and there was no one inside. Which made him apprehensive.

Why had Iris called him here? Was something wrong? Was she alright?

He phased through the doors and looked around.

It was pitch black, save for a dim light coming from the back. “Iris? Are you in here?”

Hurried steps came from the kitchen and he sighed in relief when he saw his wife come around to the front counter.

“Oh! Hey, I wasn’t expecting you so quickly. I thought you were still at work.”

“I packed up early,” he explained coming closer. “What’s up? Everything alright?”

She looked calm and in one piece. She was drying her hands on a small towel and when he got close enough he saw that she was wearing an apron.

“What are you doing?”

“Everything’s fine,” Iris assured. “I just thought these industrial grade stoves and fire system would be a safer bet than our kitchen.”

“Safer for what?” he wondered uneasily.

“I made us dinner,” she told him simply.

“You cooked? Dinner?” Barry repeated, dumbfounded. He didn’t know what he thought this meeting was about but it definitely wasn’t that.

Now that his attention was there, though, he did smell savory richness coming from the kitchens.

Iris nodded. “Yeah.”

Barry could see that she was still somewhat- not defensive, but on guard. Cautious.

He didn’t want to question if that meant she understood where he was coming from last week just in case that wasn’t the case.

“Wow. That’s- that’s really great! I’m sure it’s great. Thank you,” he smiled softly.

Iris gestured for him to grab a seat at the counter. “I didn’t think you’d be out of work so early, so there’s still a few minutes left until the food’s ready.”

“That’s no problem at all.”

Iris studied his face before she sighed and looked down.

She reached over and grabbed the bottle of wine she’d chilled and poured them each a tall glass.

It was the bottle of red they’d gotten from Argentina. It tasted like heaven. And, though it wouldn’t have a huge effect on Barry, it helped ease the tension in both of their shoulders.

“This is perfect,” Iris moaned as the hints of berry and clove slid down her throat.

“Good choice,” Barry agreed, impressed.

“Oh!” Iris suddenly remembered. “I almost forgot.”

She hurried to the back and returned with a large platter. “Some hors d'oeuvres. I made broiled oysters.”

Barry's brows shot up. “Did you really?”

Iris shrugged. "I think I was being spiteful making something so dramatic," she admitted. "The main course isn't nearly as fancy though."

She came around the counter with the large platter and set it down between them.

Barry lifted the lid and saw that she had in fact made oysters. And they smelled and looked amazing.

"This looks incredible," he complimented with wonder.

"Try one," Iris told him.

Barry only hesitated briefly (as great as it looked, he had been on the receiving end of the adventurous side of Iris's cooking many times before) before he slid a shell off the plate and downed it.

"Holy shit, that's amazing," he exclaimed in disbelief. He looked at her excitedly. "Iris, this is amazing!"

Iris's was still a bit standoffish, but as he thanked her and tried two more oysters, her shoulders loosened and the smile on her face widened.

"Thanks," she said genuinely as she shrugged. "It was no big deal, I just followed a recipe."

By the time the oven timer went off, Iris had settled into the seat beside him and the two of them took turns polishing off the seafood.

She spent a few minutes in the kitchen this time and when she came back she was holding a very large pot. "Okay. Full disclosure, this took a few tries but I eventually got the hang of it."

She carefully put down the sizzling pan and uncovered it dramatically.

Barry was hit with the mouthwatering sight of chicken and shrimp Alfredo.

Barry grinned widely. “That’s my girl.”

“And I used butter and milk cause, funnily enough, somehow a coffeehouse was completely out of cream,” she teased.

Barry chuckled heartily and Iris joined in and soon they were laughing hard at such a simple joke, letting the tension of the week melt away.

Eventually, they gathered themselves and Barry helped Iris dish out the pasta.

She waited with bated breath as he took his first bite and smiled with relief when he told her with complete and utter seriousness that it was the best bite of food he’s ever had in his entire life.

And Barry was sure all was forgiven when she took his fork and fed him the rest of his plate, sneaking bites herself and catching up with him on her day.

By the time they took their last bites, Barry felt warm and stuffed. “That was the best meal I’ve ever had,” he said contently. “Thank you.”

“Glad you liked it,” she smiled. “I guess I can tuck that recipe away for future use.”

The mood sobered up some at the reminder of the future. Iris sighed painfully and sipped the last of her wine.

Barry gently cupped her cheek and turned her back to him. “I’m really sorry about before. You know I was just trying to help. Right?”

“I know,” Iris promised. “It’s just that this is all really hard. It’s more than it just being food, Barry.”

Tears pricked her eyes. “I know I can't cook very well. I know that. And when it was just me I really didn’t care too much to learn. But, I’ve always liked trying. For you.”

He knew that was true. Iris always cooked for them at Joe’s more out of a sense of duty to pull her weight and ease the stress on her working, single father.

She never cooked for Eddie. Never once felt the desire to. She dated him for over a year. She'd lived with him for five months. But, she only ever tried to cook for him once. He'd gotten run down with the flu and after a few days she thought maybe she ought to make him chicken noodle soup. She got as far as almost slicing her thumb clean off chopping up some carrots before she threw everything out and grabbed a takeout menu.

But, after she and Barry started dating and then especially after they got married, Iris loved cooking all sorts of meals for him. They never ended well, but Barry was an expert at making Iris think otherwise.

Barry Allen was the only man who could ever make Iris West want to spend hours huddled over a hot stove or a skillet and read over complex recipes until her eyes crossed.

“After all we’ve been through. After this life we’ve only just started together, it’s just supposed to go back to it just being me at the table?” Iris cried. “I’m just supposed to do normal, mundane things like this as if half of me isn’t gone? You’ll be gone, Barry. Who cares if the I’m living off pork rinds and gum. What the hell difference does it make?”

Barry wiped her tears before wiping his own. “You have to care, Iris. Because if you don’t it will be that much easier to lose the purpose in everything. Food will seem pointless, but then so will washing your face and pretty soon getting out of bed will be too much of a hassle. And who needs to go into work when you’re the boss? I know, I know exactly what my life would’ve been like if you weren’t there after I lost my parents. I saw what my life was like in the future after Savitar. That can’t be your life.”

He shook his head and put his hand right over her heart. “Everything I have. Everything I love is right here. The choice to keep this beating is mine. But, I won’t be here to protect it anymore. To take care of it. That’s only your choice. It’s a choice you have to make. And choosing to keep going in spite of all the pain that’s coming will be the hardest decision you’ll make. It will hurt like hell, but you have to do it. And if something as tiny as making yourself a plate of food after a harsh day is what keeps you going so you don’t collapse or shut down, then you have to do that too. You will have to take care of yourself even when it’s the last thing you’ll want to do. Especially then. I just wanted to try to find a way to help you do that.”

Iris closed her eyes, tears fell harder.

She was wrong. She was wrong before. Barry’s acceptance was full of fight.

Her husband was still full of fire.

Iris nodded. “I will. I’ll try to take care of myself. And I’ll try to stay on top of my meals. I promise.”

Iris felt the desperation ease from his grip. Felt the tension melt away in his exhale.

“Three times a day?” he asked when they separated. He hoped for a positive answer, but had no expectations.

After all this time neither of them had any illusions about the cost of grief. She knew the reality of what she could offer him.

“Once per day is going to be pretty lucky I think,” Iris told him, smiling sadly.

Barry swallowed despair at that. It was the truth. Still he tried to bargain up. “Two times.”

Iris sighed.

“One full meal and a snack,” he amended.

“One full meal and a snack,” she compromised.

He kissed her then, sealing the accord in love.

“I love you,” he said softly when they pulled away.

“I love you,” Iris responded.

She rested her head on his shoulder and Barry wrapped his arms around her tight pulling her as close to him as their bodies would allow.

The feel of her heart beating against his side lulled him. It was always the thing that would keep him breathing.

Several minutes later, something caught his eye on one of the counters. “Did you make those?”

He pointed to a pile of cookies sitting high on an ornate glass plate. They didn’t look like anything Jitters sold.

“Oh wow, yeah. I forgot about dessert,” Iris chuckled.

Barry sped over and grabbed them, sliding back into his seat before Iris could notice. “Let’s try some then.”

“Ooh, baby I would not eat those cookies if I were you,” Iris warned seriously. “I don't think they turned out right.”

Barry waved off her doubts. "All of this was perfect. I'm sure they're fine."

He smelled the cookie then took a big bite to show her he wasn’t worried. But, as soon as the dessert touched his tongue, he regretted it.

His eyes reflexively bulged and he stopped chewing for a second before his sense kicked in and he made his usual sounds of content. "Mmm see?! Delicious!"

The cookies were burnt to a crisp on the underside, but somehow chewy in the middle. And he was certain Iris had mixed up her salt and sugar again, but he powered through and finished the whole thing.

He subtly tried to gasp for breath to clear the taste of ash from the back of his throat. He knew reaching for a drink would give him away so he smiled down at her instead and smacked his lips.

“Wow, gr-great stuff,” he prayed his eye didn’t twitched from the bitterness.

Fortunately it didn’t.

Unfortunately, Iris looked so pleased with his enjoyment that she offered him three more cookies, picking out the biggest ones she could find.

Barry ate them each with a smile, washing down the rancid taste with the joy on his wife’s face.

“Maybe I can do the cooking for the rest of the week,” Iris suggested as they walked home a few hours later.

Before dessert, from the delicious meal she’d prepared he would’ve readily agreed. This was what he had wanted in the first place.

But, the thought of those god-awful cookies made his stomach roll. Depending on what she decided to cook, he might very well not even make it to Crisis.

Still, he thought as he squeezed her hand and took in her eager smile, if that was how he went- at home eating his warm meal across from this woman who he loved more than life itself- it would be the greatest honor.

He grinned and nodded his head in agreement at the offer.

“That would be wonderful,” he said sincerely.

[heller-obama]

Operation Newsboy

I totally didn’t have time to publish this last night or this morning so I just decided to post both this chapter and the next one tonight. Also I start school tomorrow so these might be the last of the regular updates.

Oh, and when I was writing this story, the POV kinda sorta just changed from third person to first person and??? I think it works better??? So yeah sorry about that I was not about to rewrite the whole first part in first person.

Here’s the prologue, chapter one, chapter two, chapter three, and chapter four if you hadn’t read them

Chapter Five

Words: 2,086

Warnings: the author is a lazy little shit, no others really (just wait till the next chapter)

Editing: the usual grammarly and read-through combo

***#***

The day went on. No (possibly) magical time assassins trying to murder a kid. Nothing that special happened.

Except for the fact that I was really hungry. By the time all of the papers were sold, I was nearly swaying on my feet like I was tipsy.

I was standing with Davey, Les, and Jack, and the latter was trying to make plans for the brothers.

Honestly, I was completely spaced out, trying to figure out how to cover all the boys tomorrow during the strike. I overheard Jack’s voice, sounding slightly uncomfortable, surprised, and off-put. “Oh, youse got folks, huh?” I could tell he thought they were orphans.

Les, innocent Les, spoke next. “Doesn’t everyone?”

I saw Jack shift nervously, and Davey said something quietly to his little brother.

Davey looked at me and Jack, with something between pity and uncertainty. Of course, he thought I was an orphan because no one told him I wasn’t. Heck, I hadn’t told anyone anything, so I could say I never lied. I just omitted stuff that was semi-important.

“Our dad tangled with the delivery truck on the job. Messed up his leg bad, so they laid him off. That’s how come we had to find work.” Davey explained, with his specialty mixture of pity and uncertainty clear.

Jack looked uncomfortable, like he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Oh, ye-yeah, that makes sense. To-too bad about your dad, though.”

Davey had that look in his eyes that I was sure Jack saw a lot: the oh-you’re-poor-lemme-help-you look. “Look, why don’t you come home with us for dinner? Both of you. Our folks’ll be happy to have you.”

“Mom’s a great cook!” Les blurted.

I wouldn’t have minded it at all, especially if it involved food, but Jack looked like a deer in headlights.

“Ah, thanks for the invite. But I-I just remembered, I got plans with a fella! He’s probably waitin’ on me right now.” He looked at me, and it was as if his entire body screamed HELP!

I, stupidly, wasn’t looking for anyone suspicious. The only few minutes out of the day I wasn’t looking…

“Is that the guy you’re meeting?” Les yelled.

I looked to where the kid was pointing, and my (empty) stomach plummeted. There was a suspicious-looking guy, slightly resembling a mean pitbull with a mustache who was out looking for blood.

“Kelly!” Pitbull growled. Well, that rules out some anonymous time assassin, at least, I thought. It’s just your friendly neighborhood…pitbull…thug.

Jack’s face turned to one of terror. “Run for it!” He said to me and the two brothers.

We ran, me trailing behind to protect the boys who were so important to history. Sure, they might’ve gotten away originally, but with two time travelers on the table, all bets were off.

We kept on it, ducking and dodging through streets and alleyways, the early evening punctured with the Pitbull’s distant calls of “This way, officer!”, “Get him!”, or the insanely common “Jack Kelly!”

Finally, after ducking through a back door, Wally found himself in what appeared to be the backstage of a theatre.

“Slow down, I think we lost them.” Jack heaved. Davey and Les looked totally out of breath as well. I wasn’t that out of breath, because of my speedster reasons, but I pretended not to be that out of breath as to not raise any red flags.

“Does someone want to tell me why I’m running?” Davey protested, glaring at me. “I got no one chasing me. Who was that guy, anyway?” I shrugged. I mean, I honestly didn’t know.

“That there was Snyder the Spider. A real sweetie,” Jack said, with a level of disgust he didn’t think was possible.

“I thought he was more of a pitbull,” I said. Les smiled, but Jack wasn’t having it.

“He runs a jail for underage kids called The Refuge. The more kids he brings in, the more the city pays him. The problem is, all of that money goes straight into his own pocket. Just do yourself a favor. Stay clear of him and The Refuge.” Jack looked almost haunted as well as disgusted, and I wondered if he had spent time there.

A lady walked by below us. “Hey, you up there! Shoo! No kids allowed in the theatre!” I thought we were busted before Jack spoke up, all hints of Snyder and his unpleasantness gone from his face.

“Not even me, Ms. Medda?” He called charmingly.

She put her hands on her hips. “Jack Kelly?”

“Yeah!”

“Man of mystery! Come down here and give me a hug!” She called, clearly happy to see Jack.

He ran down and gave the lady, Ms. Medda, a hug. I made a mental note that, when he wanted, Jack could be really charming, inspiring, or threatening, depending on the person. You did not want to be on any side but his good side. Jack kept talking to Ms. Medda, charming her.

“Boys!” Jack said. “May I present to you Ms. Medda Larkin, the greatest star on the Bowery today. She also owns the joint.”

“The only thing I own is the mortgage,” she joked.

When I turned around, I saw Les, bent over double, gaping at two of the dancers.

Davey tapped Les on the back. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Are you blind?” Les retorted. “She got no clothes on!”

I hid a smile. I mean, I knew that 1899 fashion was a bit--scratch that, a lot--more conservative than 2018 fashion, but little Les was just so dumbstruck at the fact that the ladies were wearing just leggings and some kind of leotard. Oh, God, I thought, if only he walked around in the 21st century for even an hour…

“That’s her costume.”

“But I can see her legs!” Les sounded like he’d never seen a lady’s leg before. Although, in all honesty, he probably hadn’t.

“Well, step out of his way so’s he can get a better look.” Ms. Medda said. The performers struck a pose, revealing more of the tight leggings. Ms. Medda continued to say something about theatre being educational, but I wasn’t really listening, making sure no one was watching us.

Suddenly, a man with a mustache came running in. “Ms. Medda! You’re on!” He shouted.

“I am?” Ms. Medda said. “How am I doing?” She looked at the mustache guy, and then scoffed, and then looked at us, and we started laughing. “Boys, lock the door and stay all night. You’re with Ms. Medda now.”

We followed her to the curtains, Les and Davey watching from behind the curtain, but Jack and I snagged two seats. Ms. Medda continued to sing about being rich, but I wasn’t paying much attention to the words. Again. Oh, us millennials and our attention spans, I thought jokingly. But it was because Ms. Medda had an amazing voice. When the song was over, Jack gave a standing ovation, and I did, too. I mean, she did hide us from the cops. Well, I guess they weren’t cops. Abusive prison wardens?

“And now, gents,” she called, “let’s have a big hand for the Bowery Beauties!”

“Hey, Wally,” Jack said, poking me. “Look who’s here.” He pointed up to what looked like a theatre balcony.

I looked up and saw a lady sitting inside. “Wasn’t that the girl you were hitting on earlier?”

“Oh, yeah.” He had a stupid grin on his face. He ran up to Ms. Medda, who was now off-stage. They conversed quietly, and then Jack ran up to the ladder to the little balcony and climbed in.

I couldn’t hear them, but as they talked, Jack’s face varied from cheeky to downright flirty, and the girl mostly looked either uncomfortable or mocking. I smiled. She’s gonna have fun with Jack, I thought.

I watched the two of them, not exactly sure how it was going to play out. Well, until the girl yelled: “Do you mind?”

Some guy in the audience rapped his cane on the structure. “Pipe down up there!”

“You got in for free!” Ms. Medda called. “At least pay attention!”

Jack whisper-shouted something down, probably something along the lines of I’m sorry.

And then he, of course, started serenading her. Of course, he did. And…was he drawing something, too? I shook my head. Jack Kelly, the romantic. Who’d have thunk?

The song went along…and so did my attention. I have issues, I thought.

When the song(both Jack’s and the ladies’) Jack snuck down the ladder, not before leaving something on a chair.

He practically skipped over to Davey, Les, and I. After the brothers left, on our way back to the Lodge, then he started to boast about his serenading epicness.

“Did’ya see that? I’s got her hooked!” Jack whooped.

“You sure did, pal,” I said. Suddenly, the smell of a bakery wafted into my nose. “Hey, Jack? What’s that smell?”

Jack grinned. “Oh, that’s the Cooks’. Yep, they’s called the Cooks and they cook. If you’re hungry”--I could’ve sworn he heard my stomach growling--“they sometimes gives us a loaf of bread.”

“Well, I think you know the answer to that question, Jack,” I said. I fingered the dollars I took from the Waverider before dragging Jack to the street. There was about $20, which was a lot in this era, especially for the newsies. It was for an emergency, but if this wasn’t, I didn’t know what would constitute an emergency anymore. Jack started moving into the store, but I put a hand out in front of him. “Lemme try. They don’t know me.”

Jack shrugged. “Have at ‘em.”

I walked into the store, slipping my cap into my bag. A newsie with 20 bucks would raise all kinds of alarms. I walked up to the front, where a young girl was sitting, looking quite bored.

“How can I help you today?” She asked, looking like I was the most interesting thing that had happened to her all day.

I looked behind her at the vast shelves of baked goods, breads and pastries galore. “Uh, can I have ten loaves of bread? And one of the pumpkin loaves?”

The girl’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. “You got money to pay for it?”

“Yeah.” She gave me a once-over, like ‘why can this kid afford ten loaves of bread?’ Then she shrugged. Business was business.

“$2.50.” She said, gathering the load of loaves.

I pulled out some money and gave it to her.

I just really hoped she didn’t pay much attention to the dates on the bills.

She handed me the loaves, and I put each in my bag. “Thanks,” I said, and flashed a smile at the girl. She just nodded.

I walked outside to where Jack was waiting. He looked at me and only saw the emptiness of my hands.

“Ah, youse struck out, huh? Well, sometimes they’s just want the Jack…” He trailed off when I patted my bulging bag. “No way.”

I smirked. “Yes, way. Ten loaves of bread, and one pumpkin loaf.”

“How’d you…?”

“She just was begging for business. I don’t think they sold a thing all day.”

“Good on youse! We’s’ll eat good tonight!” Jack whooped, patting me on the back.

We walked back to the Lodge, Jack’s arm around my shoulder. By the time we got back, the sun was nearly set. As soon as we opened the door, the newsies were on us.

“Where were youse?”

“We’s been waitin’!”

“We’s thought Snyder got youse!”

Jack held up his hands, and they all quieted down. “Now, me and Speedy was busy.” He took my bag of bread from my hands. “Seems ol’ Speedy ‘ere has got a bit of charm!” The shouts rang out again.

“Is that bread?”

“WOAH!”

“Did’ya steal that?”

“FOOD!”

“A’IGHT!” Jack yelled. “All of youse get some! Obviously!”

Jack and I distributed the some of the bread to the newsies, and only after we finished did Jack take any. I assumed that was normal, knowing Jack.

The boys all got a large chunk of bread, and against Jack and I’s protests, the boys insisted we share a whole loaf.

That night, all of the newsboys at the Newsboy Lodging House went to bed with full stomachs.

I hope that doesn’t screw with the timeline.

You know what? Screw the timeline. Just seeing the joy on those kids’ faces when they realized they didn’t have to go to sleep hungry was enough.

[pinkletterday]

Dancing Queen

Pairing: Oliver Queen/ Barry Allen

Rating: Teen

Summary: Barry makes an awful pun and Oliver makes an impulsive proposal.

A/N: Arrow S5/ Flash S3 AU. Laurel's alive and Sam came back to Starling with William.

This is my Olivarry fic with the highest proportionate kudos rating. Idk why. It's a strange bit of fluff. :P

Read on AO3

When Mayor Queen's driver pulls up to his boss' apartment building, Oliver is still on his phone. He's been on his phone or in meetings all day, putting out fires, being sneered at by experienced Councilmen, harangued by the city treasury and being coached through dizzyingly complicated legalese by Laurel. He is trying not to drown in it all but can't ignore his night job either, especially considering a certain businessman who had turned up, thinking to offer the new and overwhelmed young mayor a tempting carrot and a large stick. Oliver has been urgently co-ordinating with Diggle and Felicity for the Green Arrow to divest the gentleman of both, post-haste.

His child's mother calling him to demand satisfaction is the icing on today's cake.

"Yes, Samantha, I understand this is the third time-," he absently waves the driver off, juggling his briefcase and files. "I know William was disappointed at missing his weekend with me - yes, I realize that - Sam, I just got sworn in as mayor! - well, yeah it was three months ago but - yeah, I'm still at my night job but I am being careful - yes, I am taking him to the Cardinals game this weekend - I'll make it up him, Samantha, I promise - I'm not lying to him!"

Samantha isn't done with him until he's at the doorstep of the apartment he now shares with Barry. Who had moved to Starling to be with him ("I can be in Central in 10 minutes, Oliver") but who, to Oliver's eternal guilt, has barely seen him this week, what with work and vigilante-ing ("That's still not a word, Barry.") and respective family commitments. He's two hours later than he said he would be today as well.

Oliver unlocks the door, weary apology on his lips, expecting to find takeout on the counter and a speedster flopped forlornly on the sofa, flipping through the cable channels.

What he finds is the delicious smell of baking pervading the apartment, along with the strains of Grease and Barry obliviously singing along into a broom. He's in his socks and Spiderman boxers, wearing one of Oliver's t-shirts that hangs so large off his slender frame that it makes him look like a misshapen manta ray. There's icing sugar on his nose and his hair is still fluffy from a shower.

"Better shape up, cause you need a man..." his boyfriend spins around á la John Travolta, does a double take when he sees Oliver and bursts into a smile like sunshine, continuing without missing a beat - "and my heart is set on you!" flinging his arm out dramatically to point at him. The complete dork.

"You're the one that I want, you are the one I want," Barry sings blithely into his makeshift mic, hustling up to him, "ooh ooh ooh," shimmying from side to side. Oliver grabs him by those enticing hips to pull him forward and kiss him as soundly as he can through both their grins. He tastes like icing sugar and almonds.

"What's all this?" asks Oliver when they break apart, gesturing to the kitchen island scattered with baking supplies and trays of fresh-baked doughnuts.

"Well," Barry leads Oliver by the hand to show him his handiwork, steps still bouncing, "I figured you'd be in hot water with Samantha because you had to cancel your last weekend with William 'cause of that thing with the vampire cult -"

They have vampires now, apparently. Because the world isn't already ridiculous enough. "Was that Star City weirdness or Central?"

"Neither, they turned out to be based out of Keystone. And you were the one who rolled out the magic stuff, not me. Anyway. Samantha doesn't understand about vampires so I figured she'd be on the war path -"

"She is."

"So your intrepid superhero boyfriend breezed by William's school and found out that his class is having a bake sale!" A grown man should not look that much like an adorable labrador that had brought back the frisbee, Oliver thinks. "And William says Samantha is pants at baking, so if you ride in on your white horse with two dozen homemade doughnuts -"

"I'd earn back some brownie points."

"Exactly. And it makes your interest look more proactive! Which it is!" Barry hurries to clarify as Oliver's face clouds, "You're just really swamped, Ollie. You'd bake all day for William if you had time. But you do have a speedster boyfriend to help out so...I'm just pinch hitting."

Oliver looks with tenderness and wonder at the younger man, bustling around full of effervescent energy.

"Thanks, Barr. You're amazing," he reels him in close by his waist and gently kisses the icing off his nose.

Barry looks pleased with himself. "I am."

"You look like you're almost done." Oliver looks around regretfully.

"Yes, but you can still help me put the icing and sprinkles on the last batch. I know you love them, you lying health food freak!" Barry smirks and pushes the bowl of icing and bag of sprinkles at Oliver, who gladly takes off his coat and rolls up his sleeves.

"Laurel called and told me you'd be held up at work, so I ate and put the leftovers in the fridge for you." Barry continues moving fluidly around him with dancing movements, opening cupboards and tossing cutlery in the sink.

"That's good. I was afraid you'd have waited for me."

"Babe, I'm a speedster," Barry snorts. "I'd die if I waited for you to eat. This stomach waits for no man, sorry. Not even the one I love."

"Stomach first, man second," Oliver agrees. "I have always suspected this about you."

"Yes. I only love you cause you feed me," Barry nods. He attempts to scoop up some more icing with his finger only to be swatted away by Oliver. "Hey! That was my icing first!"

"And now its my icing and my doughnut," says Oliver sternly. "Keep those thieving hands to yourself, greedy."

Barry pouts injuredly at him. "The love, it has been rescinded."

Oliver tugs him close, smears icing on his lips and kisses him in answer. "Has it really?"

"Mmmm," Barry noses his ear, "and how was your day?" he inquires, wrapping his long manta ray arms around him and trapping him in his own t-shirt.

Oliver buries his face in his lover's hair and huffs. "I don't even want to talk to about it."

He feels Barry's shoulders slump. "Same," he whispers. "I only got through today so I could come home to you."

They hold each other close for a long moment before Barry breaks away. "How about we just not talk about anything serious and concentrate on William's doughnuts?"

"I'll focus on his doughnuts," Oliver leers playfully, letting his hand slide below his boyfriend's waist. "You were in the middle of something when I interrupted. Please continue."

"What?" Barry looks at him befuddled. "You're serious?"

"I'm the mayor, Barry. I'm always serious."

"You want me to dance for you? While you decorate doughnuts?"

"Yup." Oliver smirks and gooses his partner, making him yelp and wiggle away. "Entertain me, serf. Go on!"

Barry gapes at him and then, when he continues to look deadly serious, starts scrolling through the song menu, pouting. An evil grin suddenly comes over his face and -

"Friday night and the lights are loooow..."

Oliver instantly regrets everything. "Okay no wait, I take it back - Barry, no! You know what, you're fired. We're breaking up. Give me the remote."

Barry gleefully spins out of the way and continues singing. "YOU ARE THE DANCING QUEEN!" he yells at Oliver, who cringes in his soul.

"This is the corniest you have ever been in your life." Oliver informs him. Barry does an unrepentant shimmy in reply.

"DANCING QUEEN FEEL THE BEAT FROM THE TAMBOURINE OOOH-" Barry is cut off as a cloud of icing sugar explodes in his face. He blinks and sputters in disbelief.

"Oh, hell no!" he growls when his vision clears, lightning sparking in his eyes. "You're not getting away with that, Queen!"

Oliver meets his boyfriend's glare with a smirk and spins the icing spatula in his hand like a nunchuck. "Bring it, Allen!"

...

Later, Abba is still playing in a low hum in the background, and the two of them are lying much dishevelled on the kitchen island floor which is covered in various cake ingredients. Barry's t-shirt (or rather Oliver's) is rucked around his armpits and both their pants are shucked around their thighs.

Oliver falls back onto the sugar-covered floor with a sigh. "I can't believe I had sex with you after that," he groans. "That was the unsexiest thing I've ever seen."

"And yet," Barry grins smugly at the ceiling. "It's not my fault you're easy."

Oliver props his head on his elbow and turns to look at Barry pulling up his Spiderman pants. There is flour in his hair, his cheek and chin are smeared with batter and he's lost a sock. He sees Oliver staring at him.

"What?" Barry asks warily.

Oliver continues gazing at him like he's seeing him for the first time. "I just realized how absolutely awful everything is."

Barry blinks and looks around. "Um. I can clean this up in a minute-"

"It's not that."

"I didn't think Abba was that bad?" he tries, bewildered.

Oliver stands, pulling his pants up and helps Barry to his feet. He pulls the other man onto the sofa and seats himself opposite him on the coffee table, knees brushing against each other.

"Barry...this week has been awful," Oliver begins, letting his forehead drop wearily onto their clasped hands. "I'm a college drop out, I ran my family's company to the ground and now I'm trying to run a city when everyone knows Im not qualified. I try to look as though I know what I'm doing but I'm in over my head every day. Thea and Laurel are like my life rafts and Im still just keeping my head above water. Not to mention my night job -

The fatigue of settles into his bones but he ploughs on. "It's been five years and sometimes I feel like I didnt make the slightest bit of difference - no, let me say this - I feel like I'm only damming the flood every night and I'll never be able to stop being the vigilante or live a normal life. I have nightmares that this city will drain me of everything I am until I'm nothing but a shrivelled, bitter old man alone in the shadows with his bow.

"My kid is the one thing that's pure and completely good in my life but I've missed so much of his. I am so mad at Samantha and my Mom for that. But I can barely be there for him, or make his Little League games or bake sales. My parents made a lot of mistakes but at least they were there for me. I cant give even that much to my son because the city is taking everything I have. I'm failing him, Barry."

He only realizes his eyes are wet when Barry brushes the tears away with his thumbs, framing Oliver's face in his hands with an expression of infinite tenderness.

"Oliver," he leans their foreheads together and breathes his name into the space between.

"But that's not it." Oliver draws back, capturing Barry's hands in his own to look up at him, willing him to understand. "I just realized...everything in my life is completely awful - and I am so goddamn happy." He takes a shuddering breath through the lump in his throat and looks his boyfriend the eyes. "Marry me."

Barry looks stunned. "What?"

"Marry me."

Barry stares at him. "I just sang "Dancing Queen" at you and destroyed our kitchen."

"I know. You're awful. And so corny. You look ridiculous in my shirts. You eat so much sugar that watching you gives me toothache. You keep watching the same three musicals over and over when you cant sleep. It's like living with a five year old. I love you. Marry me."

"This is officially the weirdest marriage proposal ever," marvels Barry, still bemused. "I still don't understand where this is coming from. Is it because you had a bad day?"

"It's because I had a bad day," Oliver agrees, "and then I came home to you being...well, you. And then nothing else mattered."

Tears are now shining in Barry's beautiful eyes as well, clinging to his long lashes. "I love you too."

They fall forward into each other as Oliver crushes Barry to him. "Never leave," he pleads into his lover's neck, where the scent of vanilla and batter is spiced with that of ozone and storms. "Stay."

"Yes," Barry clutches him back just as fervently. "I will."

"You will?" He stills, daring to hope.

"Well, no," his boyfriend amends, pulling back. Oliver's face falls. "You have to do it properly."

Barry gestures imperiously at the floor as he looks on in bemusement. "Properly, Oliver," he says sternly and the light of understanding dawns.

"Ahem. Of course." Oliver pulls a mask of solemnity over the exhilaration surging within him. "I don't have a ring though -," he casts around and spots - "Ah, well this'll do."

He takes the one rainbow sprinkle doughnut he had managed to ice which has been miraculously spared the destruction and ceremonially places it on a napkin on his palm. Then he sinks down on one knee in front of his giggling boyfriend.

"Barry Allen," his laughter fades as Oliver looks at him over the colourful confection, heart open in his eyes. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes," the tears that have been shining in Barry's eyes spill over and he wipes them away hazily. "Yes, I will."

He graciously holds out his pinkie for Oliver to slide the doughnut on and bursts out laughing when they kiss. Barry pulls away and starts eating the cake off his finger.

"What are you doing?" exclaims Oliver. "You can't eat your engagement ring!"

"It's my ring," Barry informs him through a sweet mouthful. "I can do what I want."

"What about me? Aren't you gonna share with your fiancé?"

"Remember what I said about the stomach coming first - Oliver, no!" Barry falls off the sofa with a shout of laughter as Oliver lunges at him.

Hours later, the kitchen speed-cleaned, remaining doughnuts salvaged and safely stored, the two of them lie in bed, fed, showered and sated. They are tucked comfortably and tightly in each other's arms, like two neatly fitted pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. There is no ring but their fingers are entwined with each other's in silent promise.

"Barry?" Oliver murmurs into his fiancé's neck.

"Yeah, babe?" Barry nestles further into his arms sleepily.

"You know I love everything about you."

"So you say."

"But can you do something for me?"

"Hmm?"

"Please never mention that song again. Ever."

There is a contemplative silence.

"That's probably for the best."

The End

[pitubea1910]

Fresh Start - Part 6

Pairing: Barry Allen x Reader

Featuring Cisco Ramon, Felicity Smoak, Oliver Queen and Thea Queen.

Words: 1412

Warnings: none

Tags: @onceuponateenpanwolfian @gothesimplethingsinlife @writingsofagirlintomanyfandoms  @kindfloweroflove @moonlightbae14 @jade-cheshire

Request: none

Notes: this one takes place in Star City so there will be no Reader-Barry moment but both of them are named of course! 

PART 1  /  PART 2  /  PART 3  /  PART 4  /  PART 5  /  PART 7  /  PART 8  /  PART 9

That morning Barry tried to call you a thousand times and all of them he was sent to your voicemail. At the beginning he just tried to call you again, but then he started leaving messages, apologising over and over again for leaving you, trying to meet up with you again but you wouldn’t return his calls.

“What’s with you today man? You’re completely off” Cisco asked.

“It’s…” he sighed. “It’s this girl I met at the station” he shrugged looking at his best friend.

“(Y/N)?” He asked. Barry nodded as he leaned against the table. “What happened?”

“I was on a date with her last night when the robbery took place” Barry explained. “I…left her there alone and now she’s not returning my calls or my messages” he said.

“You’re screwed” Cisco chuckled, earning a serious look from his friend. “The second time you meet up with her and the second time you leave her alone. It’s not me talking. It’s the facts” he shrugged.

“I know” Barry sighed as he took his phone out and tried to call you again.

Once again, you didn���t pick up the phone but at least you sent him a quick message saying you were in Star City.

“She left” Barry frowned as he read the text message.

“What?” Cisco asked confused.

“She’s back at Star City” the speedster replied looking at Cisco. “Did I really mess it up that bad?” He frowned.

Cisco sighed looking at his friend, wishing he had an answer that would make him feel better. But he didn’t.

By the time you got to Star City, you went straight to the hospital, not wasting any time. Once you found out in which room your sister was you hurried upstairs to find Felicity waiting at the door.

“Felicity!” You exclaimed running over her.

“(Y/N) what are you doing here?” She asked surprised when she saw you.

“Oliver told me” you replied giving her a quick hug. “What happened? How is she?” You asked.

“She had a…car crash” Felicity frowned. “She will be fine but they had to perform a surgery due to an internal bleeding” she explained.

“Oh god, where’s Oliver?” You asked.

“In there with her, you can go as well” she said rubbing your arm.

“Thanks” you said.

Taking a deep breath, you opened the door of the room and walked in quietly. When you looked up, you almost started crying as you saw your sister unconscious on the bed, her hear bandaged and cuts and bruises all over her face and arm. Oliver was seated next to the bed but when he saw you, he got up and walked over you to hug you tight.

“What happened?” You asked hugging him back.

“Car crash” he whispered not letting you go. “Thanks for coming” he added finally pulling away.

“Nothing to thank for” you replied shaking your head before walking to the bed. “Oh my god, Thea…” you teared up. Seeing her up close was even worse.

“It’s not as bad as it looks” Oliver said behind you.

“That’s something I guess” you whispered taking her hand carefully. “Has she been unconscious the whole time?” You asked while Oliver sat down again.

“Yes” he nodded looking at her.

“But she will be ok, won’t she?” You asked.

“Of course” he replied looking at you. “She’s strong. You know she is” he added. With a gulp you nodded your head and looked down at her again.

You two stayed silent just looking at her. Her breathing was constant and her heartbeat was normal as well, but seeing her like this was too much for you. And your phone constantly buzzing with Barry’s calls and messages wasn’t helping at all. You weren’t in the mood to think about him and what he had done at the moment. Thea was more important.

“It looks like someone really wants to talk to you” Oliver commented when you took your phone out after it buzzed for the third time in ten minutes.

“Indeed” you sighed typing and quick text and turning off the phone.

“Who is it?” He asked curious.

“No one important” you replied. The last thing you needed was Oliver taking on his protective brother role.

Back in Central City, Barry felt so guilty. He knew what he had done was so wrong but he never thought you would take it so personally. Of course, he couldn’t blame you. You didn’t know a thing about his double life so for you, all he had done was leaving you alone. But what excuse could he say now? Work again? It wouldn’t work and you didn’t deserve it.

“What am I going to do?” Barry asked.

They were waiting for Caitlin to find out where Black Siren might be to help Gypsy. She had come to this world chasing her after the meta from Earth-2 killed the chief of the police department back in Gypsy’s earth. Meanwhile, Barry couldn’t keep his thoughts away from you.

“Don’t worry, those earbuds I built won’t be affected by the Siren cry” Cisco said.

“I meant about (Y/N)” Barry replied. “It’s not like a can tell her I’m The Flash but every time we’ve been out, something came up. What am I supposed to tell her?”

“I think right now you need to be focused on this, Barry” Cisco advised him. “(Y/N) will be back and you will be able to make it up for her. Right now…we have another problem” he said looking at the screen. Barry nodded and walked to stand next to him and look at the computer.

“You’re right. Sorry” he said looking at Cisco.

“No problem” he smiled and patted Barry’s back. “But she hit you hard huh” he added with a smirk.

“You have no idea” Barry sighed, not really understanding where all those feelings about you came from.

Somehow, Oliver had convinced you to go the cafeteria at the hospital to grab something to eat with Felicity. You didn’t really want to. All you wanted to do was being with Thea and being there when she woke up, but Oliver insisted and you didn’t really have the strength to argue with him.

So there you were, with a sandwich in front of you as you told Felicity about your few days in Central City.

“And who’s the guy?” She smiled.

“What?” You hadn’t said anything about Barry so it kind of confused you that she asked.

“Since you turned on your phone, that thing hasn’t stopped buzzing. I don’t think a friend would be that interested on reaching you. Plus, it says Barry on the screen” she said pointing at the phone.

“I hate you” you laughed putting the phone away. “It’s nothing. He was helping me with an article I had to write” you shrugged. “Then we went on a date and he literally left me there alone so I’m not returning his calls”

“He left?” She frowned.

“Yep” you chuckled. “He got a phone call, went out to talk and never came back in” you shrugged. “Don’t tell Oliver, please. He would freak out if he knew that there is a guy around” you asked her.

“Don’t worry about it. My lips are sealed” she winked at you.

“Thank you” you smiled at her. “You will always be my favourite Oliver’s ex-girlfriend” you smirked.

“Shut up” she laughed.

Your phone buzzed again but you didn’t even look at it since you supposed it was Barry but since it didn’t stop you looked at it and got up. It was Oliver. Thea was awake. Felicity and you hurried upstairs without even finishing your food.

“Thea, thanks god” you said when you walked into the room and saw your sister awake.

“(Y/N) what are you doing here?” She frowned.

“Oliver told me. I wasn’t going to stay at Central City knowing you were here” you told her.

“Oliver’s an idiot” she sighed taking your hand. “But I’m glad you’re here” she smiled a little at you.

“I’m here” Oliver said.

“I know. Still an idiot” Thea smirked making you laugh.

“I’m so glad you’re ok” you sighed squeezing her hand.

“I’m a Queen, of course I am” she winked at you. “But really, you didn’t have to come all the way here” she repeated.

“I’m here and there is nothing you can do to change it” you shrugged.

“You’re so stubborn” she sighed.

“I’m a Queen, of course I am” you smirked.

“Fuck you” she laughed making you laugh as well.

After a while the doctors came in to check on your sister so the rest of you were told to wait outside. Felicity said she had to take care of a few things and, after saying she would be back later, she left, leaving you and Oliver alone.

“How are you?” He asked after you took a seat.

“Better now” you smiled at your brother while he sit next to you. “I’m just happy she’s ok” you added with a shrug.

“Me too” he nodded after letting out a huge breath. “I’m also glad you’re here. We miss you, you know?” he said looking at you.

“And I miss you too. Every single day” you smiled at him.

“How’s college?” He asked leaning against the seat.

“Really interesting!” You told him with a big smile. “I love most of my classes and people is really nice and helpful” you said.

“I’m glad you like it” he smiled. “But I still miss you” he said making you laugh.

“You can visit anytime you want” you shrugged.

“Believe me, I will. Specially to find out who’s that guy that won’t stop calling you” he said pointing at the buzzing phone in your hand.

“Stop that” you laughed throwing the phone in your bag.

[melyaliz]

The Bachelor

Parts

Summary: Thor joins Jen for her viewing of “The Bachelor” 

Pairing: Thor x OC (slight Loki x OC and Roy Harper x OC)

Notes: This started as me just laughing about what Faith’s reaction would be if she walked in the next morning after Jen and Thor had slept togeather. Things changed and then this happened. Now it’s a two part story. 

This is also my first time writing Thor so... I’m sorry.  

Tagging: @royslittleharper @guns-n-lilies @the-shadow-of-atlantis @coffee-randomness @daisyboobear @werewitchling @nightwing-rules

Jen was just enjoying her evening getting ready to catch up on the bachelor. She was a few episodes behind because of work and with Faith off on some crazy excursion with Gigi and co. she figured it was now or never. (Plus Maia had been texting her asking if she had caught up or not.) Reaching up for her bottle of wine Jen froze at the sound of footsteps. Human footsteps.

Quickly grabbing a few small knives that were taped to the inside of the alcohol cabinet spinning around she came face to face with Thor, the God of Thunder.

“Is the Little Warrior here?” he asked holding up a staff with a poorly tied bow. Jen let out the breath she was holding. Placing the knives on the counter she shook her head.

“She’s away for the weekend, I can give it to her when she get’s back if you want."

“You are her sister,” Thor said handing the staff to Jen who placed it on the kitchen island. His comment was more of a statement than a question. Jen had heard stories about Thor and seen him on TV but that was nothing compared to the hulking man in front of her. He was everything a god would look like (Sorry Maia). Holding out her hand she smiled up at him.

“Yep, that’s me, Jennifer sister of the Little Warrior”

He took Jennifer’s hand in a firm grip shaking it, “Thor, son of Odin, Brother of Maia.”

“I’m very familiar with Maia, in fact, I was about to catch up on our show the Bachelor would you like to join me or do you have hero things to do?” She motioned to the large bowl of popcorn and bottle of wine. Enough for two… not that she was planning for anyone else… don’t judge.

“Ahhh yes, the show of women who compete for one man's affections. I believe this year his name is Nick?”

Jen eyed him skeptically, “You watch it?”

“I find it highly amusing.”

“Well, brother of Maia! I have plenty of snack and drinks!”

Thor wasn’t joking about knowing about the show. He not only knew all the names of the contestants but many of their back stories as well as the infighting. He had his own opinions on who was the best match and who he thought was going to win.

They spent the first half of the show chatting about the show but slowly it started to move on to relationships in real life.

“So what’s up with your brother Loki?”

“What is up with him?”

“Sorry, what I meant was, I know you have a complicated relationship with him. Him trying to take over the world and all. And now he’s dating my cousin who is… well basically a sister to me. I need to know she will be ok.” Jen leaned forward, while her body was still relaxed her eyes held an intensity in them that was almost frightening. At that moment Thor knew the woman in front of him could take on Loki single-handedly and win with ease.  

“My brother is a very… complex person, but I believe your cousin makes him less so.”

Jen nodded taking in that information nodding. She could see that by the way, Loki looked at Annabella. It was his redeeming quality. How he seemed to watch her in pure awe as if he couldn’t believe she was real. His eyes would take in as he taking in the greatest wonder in the world. Like a magic that was unattainable before that was now shining in front of him.

But Jen also knew that it didn’t matter how much you cared for someone, things might still not work out. And Annabella had enough heartbreak in her life in Jen’s option. However, she felt she could trust Thor’s word, he had fought this very brother to defend people he didn’t even know. 

“That’s good I guess.” Still, it was Jen’s job to worry.

“She is a force to be reckoned with.”

“That I can agree with.” Jen smiled at the thought of her cousin when Annabella had brought Loki home as she reached for her third glass… or was it fourth? Who was counting, it wasn’t like she was going anywhere. “So, do you have a force to be reckoned with?”

“I did, but, at the moment I do not.” it was a simple response with a lot of baggage. If Jennifer knew anything (and she did) it was about complicated relationships.

“And you?” the god asked glancing over at the mortal girl next to him. She had a small smile on her face as he asked. As if remembering something fondly, like a childhood memory. Something truly precious. 

“Once, a long time ago. But he was too good for me.”  she laughed lightly taking a sip of her drink, “Now I’m a force that the world has to reckon with.”

Thor’s laugh reminded Jennifer of thunder (which hindsight made sense) deep and booming as if it came from his very soul and surrounded the entire room. “I believe you truly are.” 

He had heard many stories from his sister as well Faith and Annabella. All of them were of the very dry wit of a girl who they feared the wrath almost as strongly as the one called Alfred.

“Jen! I brought bagels! Ok, maybe some donuts too but look I can be healthy… ish” Maia said as she was greeted by the every happy Guardian who came bounding up. “Hey girly,” Maia cooed putting her bag of food on the counter next to a large staff as she bent down to pet the dog. 

“I wanted to get your thoughts on the bachelor so far.” Maia called out wondering where Jen was. She would normally be up at this time. If not working on a case Dick had brought her than reading a book.

“Did I hear you brought bagels?” Jen asked walking out in a pair of baggy sweatpants and tanktop. Her brown hair in a messy bun. Faith’s fluffy white cat Cleopatra, also fondly referred to as “the queen”, in her arms.

“Did I wake you?” Maia asked

“No I was just still in bed, didn’t we text most of the night about the show?”

Maia fidgeted as she pulled some of her doughnuts apart taking a bit, “Ok so maybe I’m not here about only that... but since we are talking about a show about getting laid. It won't be off topic if I ask you for some advice…”

“My beautiful sister!”

Maia looked up in shock to see her brother walking into the main room shitless. Jen flashed Maia a slightly apologetic smile judging her reaction.

“Did you want to wait to ask me that question?”

Maia's jaw dropped and her hands moved to cover her mouth. Looking between Jen and her brother, her mouth finally acknowledged what her brain tried to piece together. "You're sleeping with my brother?! I mean great! But wow!" She laughed "first Loki and Annabella and now -. Oh gosh - please tell me your shirt is still in one piece."

“Well, not really sleeping more… slept” Jen mumbled. While they may not have laid out terms before they had started a night unlike any she had ever had (and she had slept with a speedster and several other metas before) they both had no future commitments. Which was how Jen’s romantic life was. One and done. "Now I Definitely have to get your advice." Maia laughed as she reached for her doughnut and frowned when she felt it was missing. “If Angela shows up to sleep with Roy I swear I mind as well go celibate."

"You wouldn't last." Jen laughed lightly as Thor dug into the bag pulling out a bagel mumbling some disappointment for the lack of donuts.

"Fuck your right" Maia sighed.

"Well, why don’t we just go out tonight and get you laid?"

“Yes! Let us take the town!” Thor said pounding his fist on the table. “We can have our own Bachelorette”

“I love it!” Jen said, “I can even pick up Roses.”

“I will plan challenges for her suitors!”

“Ok, but they have to be human appropriate.”

“Very well.”

Maia could only watch with a slight horror as her friend and brother started to plan her night out. What had she gotten herself into.

[gyromitra-esculenta]

Days of Our Superhero Lives

Or how i wrote marvel telenovela. Somewhere along the lines it gained actual plot with complete convoluted backstories and moved away from prompts, so at times it might be a much more somber affair than the beginning. Lightly touched up, most of it except the ending is out of order here somewhere, but here you are - a full one.

I Am Not

In which there aren’t too many Tracers for once, Talon is still Hydra-like bunch of doofuses, a hero is kidnapped once again, and inappropriate superhero aliases are mentioned.

OR

 “This feels deeply therapeutic.”

To be perfectly frank, the only person he can put the blame on for his current predicament is he himself, so Jack resigns himself to suffering the overwhelming stupidity of being Talon’s hostage and the mind-numbing reality of having to deal with the usual level of intelligence the average Talon grunt is able to display.

“No, really, what do you want to accomplish with that particular stunt?” He inquires, with a long suffering sigh following after he sees the smallest out of the three goons almost glow and vibrate with emotion at being asked a question.

“We are going to take our revenge against Reaper, for the everlasting glory of Talon!” Right. He would massage his temples if not for the fact his hands are cuffed behind his back.

“Do you guys even realize that it was you who betrayed him?” Jack asks again, cocking his head to the side. “Just so you know?”

“That was a preemptive betrayal!” The second Talon goon answers with glee. Jack simply stares at him uncomprehending.

“There is no such thing as a preemptive betrayal. It’s just a simple plain betrayal!” All three goons huddle together to discuss something and Jack doesn’t even try to overhear. He is pretty sure that the groundbreaking revelation they will come up with will only break new grounds in terms of convoluted justifications that make no sense overall to anyone sane.

“We are pretty sure that he would have betrayed the glorious Talon in future so we betrayed him first,” the tallest goon concludes and Jack groans.

“Okay. So how are you going to avenge Talon,” he rolls his eyes here, “by holding me hostage?”

“You and Reaper are dating,” this time it’s the middle one. Under the suit and the mask this one goon is kind of vaguely woman-shaped, Jack decides. Vaguely being the key word.

“I’m not dating Reaper.” This is the truth Jack believes in with full conviction and he will repeat it however many times he has to. He is not dating Reaper, it is the other way around – Reaper is dating him – and to be more precise and use the proper terminology, he is being courted by Reaper. Completely different things, right? Disregarding, of course, the disaster dubbed the First Date, and then the subsequent eight other dates that were catastrophes of their own – mostly when Reaper started getting handsy. No, he was not counting, not at all.

“But you were kissing!”

“A trick of the light, that’s all. And the pollen season.” Jack certainly feels surprised that Talon masks are able to look crestfallen – those three manage to somehow pull it off – at the same time shifting dejectedly on their feet.

“But we already sent our demands!”

Great.

*

He is halfway through his cuffs – thank god for not throwing out that paperclip he probably picked up several months ago – when the Three Talon Stooges, as he has nicknamed them in their absence, return. Jack narrows his eyes at them. The vaguely woman-shaped one coughs and elbows the shortest goon.

“There was a change of plans. We are going to ransom you.”

“Ransom. Me. To whom?” In retrospection, when the answer is given, he was better off not asking.

“To Blackwatch.”

Jack cringes, internally and outwardly, because, Jesus fucking Buddha on a stick, that codename. It was deeply inappropriate, ha always felt, and incorporated into the history of ethn… non-caucasian heroes color-coding themselves. There was Black Panther, Black Ranger, Red Lightning, Yellow Lightning.

And Yellow Lightning guy was something else, he has to admit. He was a speedster but his name led to many electrocutions, both intentional and accidental, because most of the people associate lightning with electricity, not speed. Then he changed his name to Yellow Speedo to dispel the doubts pertaining to his powers. After much snickering, someone enlightened him to what exactly a speedo is. The whole affair was made even more disturbing considering the fact that Yellow Lightning was a third generation British citizen and there was no language barrier to speak of.

Anyway, the guy went off the deep end spectacularly, and it involved the yellow Borat-style mankini. The sight was still seared into his retinas.

“What?” Jack snaps at the Talon goon waving a hand in front of his eyes and the guy jumps back.

“You were pretty gone there…” Right. Whatever Gabriel wants to call himself, it’s his damn own codename, and Jack has no right to comment on it – excluding the incredulous ‘Are you nuts?’ the first time – however problematic or symptomatic he feels it is.

“Why Blackwatch? You’d have more luck with the organization as a whole!” Being a hero usually was no recipe for printing money, unless one found a way to monetize it, like Meka or Frog both did. Or that leather fetish bat guy.

“But aren’t you two, you know, an item?” Jack closes his eyes, sighs deeply and counts to ten.

“God, no, not… He’s with Wonder Boy.”

The Three Stooges cluster together yet again for a momentary debate. Then the tallest of them leans away to ask.

“But aren’t you and Wonder…” Nope, not even going there, he will never acknowledge there ever being any similarity between them, at any given point of time.

“No!” Because, damn this all, no-one and nothing will make him admit he might have been… anything like Wonder Boy. This time Jack certainly doesn’t have a scrap of sympathy for the Three Talon Stooges as they mournfully shuffle their feet together.

“Ma!” Someone calls from the outside. “The ‘tatoes are burning!”

The woman-shaped Talon goon shrieks in horror and runs up the stairs, bounding several steps in each jump.

*

After finally slipping off the cuffs (he should really leave them a note saying that they are not, in fact, one size fits all, his wrists are chaffed), Jack briefly inspects the small basement room and the cursory glance through the window reveals the fenced in backyard with a well-groomed lawn. And a pool. Apparently, being a goon to a vast criminal empire, while not reputable, does put the food on the table.

“Eat your broccoli, young man!”The shrill voice comes from the garden.

“But Ma…”

“And you too, Steven!”

“Yes, pumpkin.” He recognizes the cadence of the tallest goon.

Jack creeps up the stairs, but on the way, he swipes an old rusty wrench from the wall because, really, he deserves it for the inconvenience. Torbjörn likes vintage gadgets just like this one and it’s always great to be in good graces of your local fix-it-all, especially if you more often than not use experimental technology. The last time he asked for help from the Architect, Satya charged him through the nose, and the less said about the rest, the better. It should be enough to mention that percentage displays were not to be trusted, ever.

Besides, the Three Talon Stooges could have fed him, Jack would certainly be more amiable then, and less prone to grabbing old rusty wrenches from their basement. And just as he opens the doors…

“Oh, good, I don’t have to kill anyone.” The surprise makes him put his foot down a second too early and Jack cringes at the crunch that resonates up to his hip as he gracelessly falls down on his knee. Just figures. “Need help, darling?”

“No, I’m on all fours for fun,” Jack glares up at Reaper, whose strangely fond expression changes into something else.

“I’m not complaining, darling, the sight is tempting.” Damn his complexion – because he can feel his ears burning already. Why? What did he ever do to deserve this?

“Just… just shut up and help me stand up. It’s all your fault. You stood me up.” Reaper smiles a bit sheepishly – which in itself is deeply suspicious – while hoisting him up in his arms.

“Yes. I forgot that too.”

“You forgot you asked me out?” Jack stares at him incredulously, foregoing at the moment the question of why is he being carried exactly, it’s only a sprained ankle and he can very well limp on his own, thank you very much.

“No. I forgot there’s more than one Darbar, and you’ll go to the other one. Probably,” Reaper amends with haste.

“Really? What’s the other thing that you for…” There’s a click of a camera phone to the side and Jack freezes in horror.

“Yo, dudes, your old married bickering is, like, all hot and sweet, but could you, like, clear out, before the old bats notice he’s, like, missing?” The teen taps her foot expectantly. Jack abandons any remaining vestiges of dignity and buries his face in the crook of Reaper’s neck with a pained groan.

“Hit me with the files later.”

“Five hundred bucks.”

“Done.” Reaper somehow produces a card with his contact details and throws it at the girl.

“I hate you so fucking much,” Jack murmurs outside later.

“Of course, darling.” Reaper agrees.

*

“What are you doing here?” Gabriel, clad in his full assault gear, asks surprised.

“I live here,” Jack feels a little bit offended. After all, they are now in the communal rooms, and questioning his right to be here is downright mean.

“I mean…” The other man makes a strange gesture in the air. “I got the ransom note.” Roadhog chooses this exact moment to wave at them candidly. He is holding the teacup between his fingers like it is made from the most delicate china – it is not – and his pinky is outstretched. It looks ridiculously pretentious.

“Right. But what are they doing here? They are terrorists and mercenaries…”

“Yo, mate, I take offense at that! We are terrorists for hire!” Junkrat voices his immediate concerns from the couch. Like ‘terrorist for hire’ is any better than the ‘mercenary and terrorist’. And he is drinking his tea with a straw!

A subtle cough from above doesn’t escape Jack’s attention either and he cringes internally. Right.

“They delivered the ransom note.”

“Right. I got out by myself, I’m not some damsel in distress.” Gabriel just stares at him, his whole posture questioning, and the slight snicker coming from Reaper… Right. It would be more convincing if he weren’t just at the moment held in the bridal carry, and the traitorous blush creeps up his neck. Whatever happens, Jack decides, they are both certifiable arseholes. Maybe one more than the other. “I… I twisted my ankle because he startled me. When I was getting out. Out of the basement.”

“Nice suburban property for sale. They had a pool in the backyard,” Reaper interjects and Jack groans because he knows Gabriel…

“How far and how much? Do they have a listing?”

“For fuck’s sake!” He has had enough, Jack decides, pointing accusingly at Gabriel. “You are not thinking about buying property from Talon agents, and you,” he now glares upwards. “Just sit me down on the damn chair and bring me a fucking ice pack!”

“As you wish, darling,” Reaper declares quite loudly while leaving for kitchen and Jack buries his face in his hands. Why? Just why? What did he ever do to deserve all of this?

*

Jack casts a distrustful glance at Reaper and future Lena – both of them seem to be conversing lightly – and he, sure as hell, does not believe in their good intentions at the moment, not after the whole, ongoing, embarrassment. Not to mention he hears them both over Roadhog and Junkrat complimenting Ana and her tea. And the occasional slurping noises Junkrat does with the straw.

“That was so unfair, threatening me with Ems,” Tracer fumes.

“It worked, didn’t it?” Reaper sounds very self-satisfied.

“I wouldn’t eat the whole cake!”

“You’d eat almost the whole cake.” Lena scoffs at that.

“By the way, Reaps, why you still here, luv? You know how he is, he won’t talk to you tonight.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for nothing,” Reaper chuckles.

“Miss wha…? Oh. Oh!” Tracer’s face lights up with a wicked smile. Yes, Jack thinks, he was very right to not trust them, because they are scheming something.

“I can hear you!” Jack hisses at them, ready to add more choice words, when the doors slam open and Wonder Boy saunters in, dragging Gabriel behind.

“I told you Old Fart didn’t… You!” The blonde stops, narrowing his eyes at Reaper, who, in turn, wriggles his metal talons at him.

“Hello, little shit,” the villain responds cheerfully. Jack pinches the bridge of his nose, preparing for the incoming screaming match he really would like to avoid right now. “Long time no see.”

Wonder Boy reddens like a tomato (damn their complexion, Jack muses) and seethes with malice through his teeth.

“See, the princess didn’t need rescuing by you.”

And for Jack, enough is enough – the whole ordeal and the humiliation has worn his patience paper thin, the fucking blonde dweeb deserves it undoubtedly because Jack had never done anything to antagonize him - so the ankle be damned as he stands up and takes a swing, not as strong as he would have liked, but apparently it is sufficient because Wonder Boy just drops to the ground knocked out cold.

Reaper grins like a cat that ate the canary, Lena throws confetti in the air and two mercenaries raise their teacups in congratulatory motion. Gabriel looks like he would like to say something but lacks words at the moment.

Jack stares at his clenched fist and clears his throat.

“This feels deeply therapeutic,” he says to no-one in particular.