#YJ: so glad we found each other

[isfjmel-phleg]

Context:

(Young Justice 1998 #49)

[24hlevi]

— the bet

natalie scatorccio (yellowjackets) x gn!reader

genre: fluff

summary: being enemies with nat was eventful, to say the least. until a bet is made that you'll fall for nat by the time states come around. will that happen? or will you two remain enemies?

warnings: language, light nsfw, drug usage (marijuana)

wc: 3.5 k

my first yjs fic please don't kill me i lowkey hate this but here we go

natalie scatorccio was the type of girl you never imagined yourself to even speak to. not because she was a “burnout”, or because she was drunk or high the majority of the time, but because of the way you two were polar opposites. she was on the soccer team, she had a rough home life, and spent most of her time with the other delinquents on campus, while you were in the newspaper club usually taking pictures of the sports teams, had a decent family life, and spent all your time with school.

and for some reason, since the first meeting, you two had a strong disliking for each other.

maybe it was the way she always taunted you with that damn smirk on her face, or how she would sometimes blow her cigarette smoke in your direction just to get you irritated. you didn't know why, but you hated her. in the beginning, at least.

you were friends with the other girls on the team, which meant wherever they went, nat was there too. so you unfortunately were forced to deal with her annoying antics towards you. the girls noticed fairly quickly how much you two hated each other, and decided to do something about it.

…

“shauna i don't understand why i need to be here when it's for your team,” you said to your friend. you were currently in her car while she drove you to jackie’s house where the team was going to have a “bonding” exercise. for some reason, shauna insisted that you come with. you had no idea why, but were forcefully dragged into her car so you were stuck with going.

“because you're our friend too,” shauna replied, keeping it short with her eyes on the road.

“i know that but,” you let out a huff of annoyance. “i don't wanna see her.” you mumbled.

shauna glanced over at you for a split second before back at the road. “i honestly doubt she'll be there, it’d be a rare sight to see her in such an environment like jackie’s house,” she said in response. obviously she knew who you were talking about, it was incredibly clear when that scowl would form on your face just thinking about having to deal with nat again. which is exactly why she was doing this. well, the whole team. even jackie was for the idea, as long as it meant nat wouldn't be distracted on the field anymore. so, it was the whole team setting up you and nat.

you arrived at jackie’s house a few minutes later, seeing the other cars outside telling you that the others were already there, and you could feel yourself already getting irritated at the thought of having to communicate with nat.

“come on y/n, don't pout like a puppy,” shauna chuckled lightly as the two of you walked inside the giant house.

“i’m not pouting,” you grumbled.

“y/n!” jackie exclaimed, running towards the two of you. “i’m so glad you made it!” she smiled widely at you.

“it’s no problem,” you smiled back. “i wasn't doing anything tonight anyway, my parents are out of town.”

“perfect!” jackie clasped her hands together. “follow me and we will start!”

you followed behind jackie besides shauna, noticing the quick glance they gave each other but choosing to ignore it seeing as they always had those weird glances with each other. the three of you made it to the living room where the rest of the team was sitting on the couches and chairs. your eyes immediately landed on the one girl you didn't want to see, and a scowl formed on your face before looking away.

she was wearing that same leather jacket she always seemed to wear outside of practice, and you found yourself taking another glance at her only for her to already be looking at you, making you quickly avert your gaze.

“all right! now that everyone is here,” jackie stood in front of everyone. “i think we all know why we are here, and it's not for a team bonding exercise, sorry!”

your expression turned into confusion, and apparently you were the only one confused, until you saw nat with the same look on her face.

oh no. no. you thought to yourself. there's no way. if this was some sort of thing to make you and nat be friends you were going to kill shauna for forcing you into her car.

“so, there's been something we’ve noticed as a team dealing with one of us being…distracted, during practice and games,” jackie started, trying to look at everyone but continuously going between nat and you. “so, we need to fix that! nat, will you please stand?”

with a confused look still on her face, nat stood from her spot in the recliner. “what the hell is going on here, jackie?” she asked with a sigh.

“you’ll see,” van chuckled but quickly went quiet after tai sent her a glare.

“now y/n, please stand,” jackie said to you.

you rose from the couch and looked at jackie trying your best to ignore nat.

“come here, both of you,” jackie waved her hands gesturing for the two of you to come closer.

you slowly took a few steps forward, watching as nat stepped closer as well, until you both were standing in front of each other with jackie in between.

“jackie, i really don't understand what-”

suddenly you were cut off by being grabbed by the wrist by jackie who grabbed onto nat as well.

“follow me!” jackie said to you two before dragging you both behind her.

you opened your mouth to protest but caught a glance of the other girls’ faces and realized this is the “bonding exercise”. it wasn't supposed to be for the team. it was supposed to be for you and nat. you let jackie drag you down the long hallway, not listening to nat trying to pull out of jackie’s surprisingly strong grip before jackie opened a door to a guest room, pushing you two inside.

“you two are staying in here for an hour and you will become friends,” jackie told you both.

“what?!” you exclaimed. “that's what you brought me here for?!”

“you’ll be fine, y/n!” shauna said behind jackie, peeking her head over the other girl’s shoulder.

“jackie, i swear to-” you took a step forward and jackie immediately closed the door in your face, and you heard a click from the door. you tried to open the door, only for it now to be locked. “jackie!” you called, smacking your hand on the door. “jackie, i will kill you!”

“you’ll love me for this!” she said through the door. “it's just one hour!”

footsteps were heard leaving the area and you let out a long sigh. you turned around to see nat with her arms crossed over her chest, and you let out an annoyed huff.

“did you know about this?” you asked.

“of course not,” nat shook her head. “i didn't wanna be here in the first place,” she mumbled afterwards.

“well, that makes two of us,” you replied.

the room was filled with silence after that, and after a few minutes you felt like you were going to go insane. you glanced around at the bland room before your eyes landed on nat again, who was staring at you.

“do you have a problem with me or something?” you asked her finally.

“what?” she questioned, looking at you confused.

“you're always staring at me,” you said. “and you taunt me constantly, always blowing smoke in my face, or so close that i can practically taste the alcohol in your breath.”

“tsh,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes. “i do that with everyone.”

“bullshit,” you snapped. “you don't do it to your teammates and you don't do it to those two drunkards you hang around.”

“and?” she said.

“and?” you repeated, getting angrier at every response she was giving. “so what the fuck is your problem with me? is it because i don't take pictures of you on the field or something?”

“oh fuck you,” nat spat. “i don't need pictures taken of me.”

“you wish,” you replied with just as much venom in your voice.

“maybe i do, since you think everyone has some massive fucking crush on you or something,” nat took an angry step towards you.

“me?” you half-laughed, also taking a step forward. “don't you suck dick for some weed and booze?”

“at least i know who i am,” nat glared at you.

“you don't,” you retorted. “you don't have a goddamn clue who you are or what you want.”

“you don't know a fucking thing about me,” nat pointed her finger at you. “i’m at least not a fucking coward who can't admit what they feel.”

“oh you feel things?” you feigned shock. “what a surprise, natalie scatorccio feels things! like what exactly?”

“that i fucking hate you,” she told you and took another step closer.

“i hate you,” you said in response.

you two stared at each other for a few seconds, then suddenly nat took one more step and smashed her lips on yours. your shock went by in a mere second, and you quickly kissed back with just as much passion. her arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you closer to her as your hands found their way to her hair.

when you both pulled away to breathe, you wanted to smack that damn smirk off her face.

“i knew you had a thing for me,” nat said teasingly.

“i do not,” you scoffed, shaking your head. “i have zero feelings for you.”

“i bet i can change that,” she challenged.

one of your eyebrows raised at that. “oh really? are you challenging me?”

“uh-huh,” she nodded. “i’ll bet you that by the time states come around, you'll have fallen for me.”

“and what are we betting exactly?” you asked.

“weed and booze?”’ nat flashed a cocky smile at you.

“i suppose, only since i can easily get some,” you nodded.

“easily? shit, i guess i should've done this sooner,” nat let out a chuckle.

“you wish,” you replied with an eye roll.

“oh, i do,” she whispered and leaned in to kiss you again.

that was how the bet started. you didn't think she was serious until the monday back to school and she found you during lunch period. now instead of the annoying antics, it was a whole new type of annoying behavior with her trying to convince you to smoke just one joint with her, maybe something crazier if she has it, and the flirting that she was now constantly doing.

one day, you decided to take the joint just to please her and shut her up.

you invited her over to your house, knowing she wouldn't want you at her place, and while it took a bit of convincing to get her there, it all worked out in the end.

the two of you were sitting on your bed, a random movie playing on your television you got for your birthday while nat was about to light the joint in her hand. you took your parents ashtray from their room for nat to use, and as soon as she lit it, you weren't paying attention to the movie anymore.

she immediately noticed your stare not leaving her as she took the first drag of the joint, turning her head to the side to blow the smoke out and avoid your face. then she came up with a bright idea.

“you wanna try?”

“what?” you asked, confused.

“just take one small hit from it, you’ll live,” nat said, handing the joint towards you.

with a minute of hesitation, you reached for the joint and held it up to your lips, inhaling the smoke and feeling it invade your lungs as you coughed and blew the smoke out.

“see? you're okay,” nat flashed a small smile at you, taking the joint back from you. “come here,” she said, waving her unoccupied hand.

you moved closer to her, and watched as she inhaled the smoke and held it in for a few seconds. she then held your face in her hands and leaned in, kissing you deeply while blowing the smoke into your mouth at the same time. your hands grasped her hoodie as you felt the smoke trail into your mouth, your eyes closing at the feeling of nat’s lips on yours.

when nat pulled away and looked at you, the way you opened your eyes and gazed back at her made her want to just kiss you over and over again. so with another drag of the joint, the process repeated until the whole joint was gone and nat was between your thighs making you feel things you had never felt before.

she never let you live that one down. proceeding to then ask over and over again if you’ll smoke with her again even if nothing happens, she just can't keep her hands to herself when she's high around you. she loves the way your warm skin feels against her cold hands, she loves gripping your waist to tug you closer to her, and god does she love the way you taste on her tongue with her hands clamped on your legs keeping them open. she couldn't get enough of you.

and you found yourself falling for her, just like you said you wouldn't. in the beginning it was easy to deal with her annoying behavior towards you, but over time you enjoyed it more, because you realized she was being genuine with you.

the night you realized you had indeed fallen for nat was when she came to you after a long day of arguing with her mom’s new boyfriend, drenched in the rain from walking the whole way.

“nat? it's like, midnight,” you said when you opened your front door to see the blonde standing there.

she looked like a puppy that had just gotten kicked out of their house, looking at you with sad eyes, her makeup trailing down her cheeks.

“come in,” you grabbed her hand and pulled her inside.

she was silent the whole way to your bedroom, even when you handed her a spare pair of her clothes she “accidentally” left the last time she was at your house. you let her take a shower as you stared at your tv, now completely awake and likely not going to get back to sleep until the early morning. when nat walked back into your bedroom, you waved your hand to gesture for her to come to you.

she stood in front of you as you sat on the bed, swiveling around to face her. your arms wrapped around her, gently pulling her closer to you as you peered up at her.

“you can always come here if you need anything, okay? i don't want you to have nowhere to go,” you told her in a soft voice.

“thank you,” she finally spoke quietly.

you nodded your head. “c’mon, you can sleep here tonight.” you tugged on the hem of her shirt.

“are you sure?” she asked.

“mhm,” you nodded again.

you scooted over so she could get in next to you and she slowly got in the bed, laying next to you awkwardly.

“are you okay?” you asked.

a head shake was the response you got.

“do you wanna talk about it?” was your next question.

another head shake in response.

“okay,” you nodded your head. “you don't have to.”

nat rolled over onto her side to face you, and you couldn't help but stare at her beautiful bare face without any makeup on. she could feel your gaze on her, and it made a red hue form on her face.

“why’re you staring at me?” she whispered.

“because you're beautiful like this,” you answered back in a whisper.

“you don't mean that,” she shook her head.

“i do,” you replied. “call me crazy but i like this version of you too.”

“mm,” she hummed, her eyes avoiding yours. “you don't think i’m some kind of burnout that's a burden to you?”

“never,” you shook your head. you carefully reached one of your hands to touch her cheek. “you will never be a burden to me, nat. i can promise you that. if you have nowhere to go, then i’ll be here. if you have no one else to rely on, i’ll be here. okay?”

“okay,” she said quietly.

you flashed a small smile at her before slowly wrapping your arms around her and pulling her closer to you. she quickly relaxed into your touch, resting her head on your chest with her own arms gripping you tightly as if she was worried you would disappear suddenly.

there was a nice, calm silence that filled the room now, and nat was close to falling asleep when she heard you whisper something quietly that made her feel something she hadn't felt before.

“i love you.”

she thought it was a dream when she woke up the next morning, not believing that those were the words you spoke to her thinking she was asleep.

nat woke up first due to the sun peeking through your curtains, making her groan quietly and open her eyes, blinking a few times to adjust to the light. she glanced at you beside her still asleep and realized your arms remained around her through the whole night, making a warm feeling radiate through her body. she rested her head on the pillow again and silently stared at you while you slept.

she was thinking about what you had said before she fell asleep. she was unsure if she was just imagining it or if you actually said it. she didn't know if she should question it, not wanting to ruin the closest thing she had to someone who genuinely loved her. but, she wanted to ask so badly at the same time. she wanted, no, needed to know if you were being serious. it would tear her apart if you were lying or just saying it to make her feel better. nat shook her head at the thought of you lying about it. surely, you wouldn't lie about something like this.

“are you gonna stay staring at me or is a good morning too much for you?” you groggily asked nat, opening your eyes slowly.

nat’s face immediately turned bright red at your words, and she quickly averted her gaze. “sorry,” she mumbled quietly.

“chill, i’m just playing,” you giggled. “did you sleep?”

“yeah,” nat nodded. “thanks for letting me stay.”

“of course,” you smiled at her.

silence filled the room after you responded. nat kept giving short glances to you and quickly looking back away and back down at the bed. it was obvious that she was thinking about something, so you decided to question it.

“what’re you thinking about?”

she immediately shook her head slightly. “nothing.”

“i can tell it's something,” you moved closer to her, carefully pushing some of her hair out of her face. “what is it?”

nat avoided your eyes, looking down. “did you mean what you said last night?” she asked in a small voice.

you stared in silent shock for a few seconds, not knowing that she had heard you. “you…heard that?” you said slowly.

all nat did was nod as a response, still not looking at you. you didn't know what to do, either. this was definitely not the way you wanted it to come out, but it looks like you were going to have to work with it.

“i meant it,” you said suddenly, making nat now look at you. “i thought you were asleep which is why i said it but, i meant it. i love you, nat.”

she gazed back at you with slightly widened eyes, trying to process what you said and when she did, she felt her heart beating incredibly fast. “i love you too,” she whispered.

a smile quickly grew on your face and you cupped nat’s face in your hands, leaning in and kissing her. you could feel nat smile into the kiss, and when you pulled away, your smile grew bigger seeing the same one on her face.

“so, does this mean i win the bet?” nat questioned in a teasing tone.

“yes, you won the bet,” you laughed lightly. “i’ll get the stuff tomorrow.”

“wait, you were serious about getting it easily?” nat asked, now serious.

“yeah, my cousin gives me cheap prices,” you nodded, saying it nonchalantly.

“holy shit i think i just fell more in love with you,” nat grinned at you, wrapping her arms around you and kissing your cheeks. “are your parents gonna be home this weekend?”

“nope,” you answered with a smile. “so i’ll stash it all until you get here.”

“god, you're amazing,” nat responded, now starting to kiss all over your face. “we’ll have such a fun time.”

“you just want me to smoke with you again.”

“oh yeah, a hundred percent.”

[green4allseasons]

Green! I've been wanting to ask you this for a few days, but I'm too shy. Today is the day. When did you start shipping Jason with Tim, and what dynamic do you like the most between the two of them? Also, how did you come up with the idea of taking advantage of the YJ series to write about them?

Have a nice week!

Ahhhhh! Oh my goodness, I am SO glad you woke up and decided today was the day! Seeing this message in my inbox gave me all the fuzzies and happy feelings🥺💕! But I also completely get it; there are so many cool people in this space that I want to send asks to, but I am also shy and have yet to. This may be the thing that encourages me to do so!

As for your first question, I actually found out about the JayTim ship in kind of a roundabout way. I've been a DC fan for many years (particularly the animated movies and shows) but never really thought more about the other universe-wide ships than a casual "oh, that's nice" for most of them. But then, a few years ago, I came across a stunning fanart that was actually JayDick (If you can believe it!!), and my thoughts were, "OH! That's nice!!👀" Insert many Google searches later, a foray into Tumblr, and my first experience getting into Fandom spaces, and that's where I found a fanart for JayTim, and let's say my mind just spasmed "ahdfdfdsfsdf," and I was sold.

As for "what" exactly sold me on their dynamic? It's funny because I am not usually an enemies-to-lovers fan (friends-to-lovers is much more my jam). But for Tim and Jason?? It just works. I also am a sucker for angst, and pining, and good old fashion snarky banter. But honestly? I think what really got me was the absolute "ride or die" way that they care about each other when depicted in fandom and even platonically in canon. I know "ride or die" could be applied to a lot of ships, but I think that these two would go to far more extraordinary lengths to protect each other than, say, some other characters (particularly those of whom are hindered by their moral code). Both of these characters are consistently shown to be greyer than not, but just go about it in completely different ways. I've always been more attached to gray characters in fiction, so when there are TWO of them? It's just the chef's kiss. TL;DR They are both just MESSY and yet competent AF and I love it.

But even with my attachment to them, I never considered writing fanfiction! I've only ever written original stories. I don't even know why I didn't consider it because I've loved reading fanfiction since I was as old enough to navigate a computer (a LONG time😅). But suddenly, a little over a year ago, I was re-watching all of Young Justice while simultaneously watching the new season, and BAM! Two very specific scenes came up in my head (One that has already been written about in Part 1 and another that has yet to be shown in Part 2), and I could just Not. Stop. Thinking. About. It. I'm serious. Those two scenes kept me awake at night, the brain rot was all consuming, and I got that feeling that all writers have felt a time or two where if they didn't jot it down in that moment, they'd just implode!!

So, of course my totally normal person response was to immediately sign up for AO3, outline an entire ~40-chapter story around those two scenes right down to the nitty-gritty details, and start uploading.

100K words later and here we are! The rest was history!!! I know this is probably WAY longer than you ever anticipated 🤣 but THANK YOU for asking me! I hope I didn't scare you away with the essay. I have just loved these characters, the JayTim fandom, and my first experience writing fanfiction so much, and all it takes is a little question for me to go on a gush about it!!

[ectonurites]

kon looks so peaceful in that core four hug in yj 2019. he is truly just like 😌

TRULY ITS SO… I can stare at this for hours. I honestly bought this issue primarily just for this panel.

(Young Justice (2019) #4)

Even after so much time and the reboot messing everything up they’re just immediately back to

(Young Justice (1998) #55)

“Because we’re so damned glad we found each other, that we hold on to each other like life preservers as the flood waters rise.”

[partyinthemysterymachine]

Harry + betrayed (looks at a&s au stuff like :3c)

looks at you like 🔪

===

Every time the mug came out of the steaming hot dishwasher, Harry clasped it in both hands. The ceramic was always scalding, and his palms always threatened to blister. Clouds reeking of dishwasher detergent lifted and swept over his forearm, humid as a summer’s stifling rain, its pungency sickening his heart. 

He hated to wash this mug. 

Bright and early at six o’clock every morning, Harry made coffee. It steeped dark and bitter, just how they liked it. The first pour went into his mug; the second filled his own. Then both were taken to the small, round table in the corner of their kitchen. Harry set the mug down on the wood itself to the right of the round, rattan woven placemats they’d found in a bargain bin at Williams-Sonoma. Harry’s coffee went on the placemat itself, edging the rim, at his left.

How charming it was to have their mugs across from each other like that. He always liked how they seemed to be having a conversation through the coffee’s dissipating flames of white steam. As they drained their caffeine and burned their throats, the heat shocking their stomachs, they’d talk. 

Talking didn’t necessarily mean words were used. No, words weren’t his forte, though he relished every sound that rolled off his tongue. He spoke with his face and through his hands, and if Harry ever had his way, he’d spend the hours morn to midnight simply gazing at his face.

Two hours later, Harry stood and took the cold, untouched mugs to the sink. Down the drain went the wasted coffee, dumped out at the same time. A swish of water from the faucet did a quick and fine job of cleaning them out, and Harry’s went, dripping, onto the counter. Then he ran the water again to piping hot, abusing skin rough and chapped from this daily ritual of cleaning, cleaning out his ice cold coffee, cleaning, cleaning out the dots of mold he’d let grow for two weeks because he couldn’t let that go, cleaning, cleaning out that damn spot, that damn spot, that damn spot.

The mug was as hot as it was when it came out of the dishwasher, and Harry clasped it in both hands. His teeth tried to send their roots into his skull with his jaw clamped like that, and he wished his tongue, sucked hard to the roof of his mouth and tastebuds rough as sandpaper, would swell and choke him. Every time it didn’t, which was every morning, every single morning for the past three years, Harry called it betrayal.

His kiss held tender on the warm rim. It was the last place his lips had laid where Harry could kiss him, for he couldn’t kiss his own cheek. Like every morning, his eyes slipped closed and he thought of their daily coffee date at their kitchen table. Autumn was in full golden, fiery bloom. People swarmed to Vermont to lose their breath to the vast garden of nature’s heavenly, untamed wildfire that never burned. 

Every single fucking morning it was autumn again, the mug had been scorching hot, then chilly, the phantom pressure of his kiss lingered on his cheek, and Harry tried to kiss him back too on ceramic that had been the last tangible thing to experience his lips.

Today, he set the mug down on the counter alongside the one in its puddle. The water brimmed its mismatched mate immediately and would leave an incomplete circle in its wake after Harry would take it up and wrap it in a soft towel. That puddle would dry on its lonesome over the course of as many minutes; Harry wrapped up his personal mug, too.

Remaining coffee got poured and locked in a thermos. They were placed in the coveted seat beside the driver’s - shotgun! one’s supposed to yell to reserve it for themselves - tucked safely behind a plain old box. 

The ignition chittered on. Rancid boomed and rattled the Jeep’s speakers. Harry absently wiggled the shiny, custom-made Magic Eight Ball fortune teller stick shift knob. He glanced down. ‘It is decidedly so,’ promised the triangular face washed behind blue, its text pressed on the circular window. 

A draw; and exhale. The YJ Wrangler shifted into gear, easing back out of the driveway, Harry’s arm slung around the shotgun seat and head turned to watch over his shoulder as he safely maneuvered to their personal gravel road leading to and from their remote, comfortable Vermont hideaway.

It’d probably take five, six hours, give or take, to get to Maine. He was looking forward to their coffee date. Five out of the seven days of the week Harry drove to Maine to hang out on the shore of Toluca Lake. Coffee was served into their mugs; he kept his at his side, and his tucked into the sand and mud at the water’s breach. 

Sometimes he’d talk, update his husband on his books, their daughter, the latest news that did and didn’t matter. Other times he’d sit in silence, listening and watching the new face of a man he loved. Harry was there in rain, sleet, and snow. He’d all but frozen his ass off before out there and sweated buckets in the heat. But they had their spot, and that’s where he’d always sit.

Silent Hill rested to the south. They took a vacation there once. Harry hates how it looks out across Toluca. Take your fucking eyes somewhere else, he regularly thinks. Don’t fucking look at him.

It oversees. One day, Harry’s promised five days out of the seven in the week, he’s going to tear that town asunder by his own bare hands. 

Tomorrow might be that day. Harry rises to his feet. It is decidedly so. He fetches the Jeep’s constant tenant for the last three years. It is decidedly so. 

“I hope you liked your coffee, honey,” he says to the lake lapping at his boots as he wades into snapping cold. “So, I asked the eight ball if I’d see you today,” Harry Mason offhandedly tells his husband residing in the lake. “Guess what it said? ‘It is decidedly so.’ Take that as you will. I know you know what I’ve planned to do, honeylove. Don’t get up in my tits about it,” warns the older man, now appropriately submerged mid-chest. “I’m not gonna do it today. Doesn’t feel right. But I thought it’d be nice to see you, anyway.”

“So you’re wondering why I brought the box in with me? Well, I’m glad you asked! For one, I fixed it up and made it waterproof,” he smirks, cradling it in his arm and popping it open. “And two.. c’mon, now. You know I’d lose these if I didn’t keep ‘em in here.”

Two pendants, no bigger than his thumbnail, each on their own thin chain, dangled just skimming the water’s surface. Two pendants, amber and glinting, somehow even in the thick grey mist rolling in from Silent Hill. “Check these out. I got ‘em made a few months ago and I’ve just now had the balls to bring ‘em out. It’s because the eight ball said I’d see you today. So.. here. One of them’s for you. I figure you can make yours glow in there, firefly. You have a knack for lightin’ up the dark.”

Harry chuckles, wagging his head back and forth, mocking himself. “Yeah, yeah, mushy, whatever, I’m a dork. Thbhtghbh. What’re you gonna do, divorce me? Shoulda thought about that before you went fishing, babe.” He collects the chains and their sculpted fireflies into his fist. One kiss is enough for both. Then he smiled, looked into the lake, and felt comforted by the thought that that sweet, pale man with yellow wheat field hair was watching him.

Projection is a very real, very psychedelic thing, for sometimes, Harry thinks he can see his face.

The water sways around his wrist. He gazes into Toluca Lake and waits, and hopes that the magic of the eight ball is true.

Will I get to see James today?

It is decidedly so.

If he were to do it all over again from the top, do you think he’d still do it this way?

It is decidedly so.

Does he know I love him?

It is decidedly so.

Does he know I’ll never forgive him?

It is decidedly so.

When the day comes, I’ll kill that motherfucker myself. I dunno how it’s gonna happen, but it’s gonna happen. Fucking asshole. He knows that, right?

….

.. right?

“I gotta go soon, babe,” Harry murmurs to his husband, James Mason (formerly Sunderland). “I’m gonna leave one with you. I’ll be back tomorrow. If you wanna trade, we can. Fuck, I don’t wanna get a fuckin’ yeast infection out here,” he gripes, turning to wade out of the lake. “Seriously, James. Not like a yeast infection wouldn’t stop me from comin’ out here but you bet your ass you’re gonna hear all fucking about it, because it will be your fault, and I fucking hate you, so goddamn fucking much, honeylove.”

Harry makes it out to the shore. He takes the box to its honored seat in shotgun! James’s coffee gets thrown into Toluca; he pours his out where he’d sat. Then the mason with rusted tools scans his exhausted, old, heavily lined eyes across the scenic lake where an orange (rare, so rare, extremely rare and mean everything) firefly swims. He’ll never get over the betrayal. It doesn’t matter if he understands it. It doesn’t matter that he’s (and he’s) been waiting for it long before they’d met. 

After all those thousands of years of looking for each other, this is how he chooses to betray him: like Judas, with a kiss.

A kiss on a ceramic mug that is going to be washed again today, and tomorrow morning, and will scald his hands.

A kiss, a kiss, a kiss from a man whose lips promised I love you with a simple brush. Lips Harry hasn’t felt in three years; his heart can break even more.

Will I ever get to kiss him again? Harry asks his stick shift as he drives towards his six (give or take) hour journey home to Vermont.

It is decidedly so, replies the eight ball.

Will it be soon? inquires a widowed man, widowed for the second time.

It is decidedly so, soothes the inky window.

When?

Turn right off this street, guides the knob too small to say so. Fifty miles out. It won’t take long.

Huh? I can barely see with all this fog. Where am I going?

To see James. 

James? What’s he doing all the way out here?

Waiting for you.

.. waiting for me? I’ll get to see him again?! Jeez.. damn, I’ve got a splitting headache all of a sudden .. fifty miles to Silent Hill.. hrm, seems farther than I remember, but.. 

He’s waiting for you.

.. forgot to clean up the coffee at home.. m’sure it’ll be fine.. Cheryl’ll be over at some point.. heh.. can’t believe he wants to spend our anniversary in Silent Hill.. fuckin’ weirdo.. a vow renewal? And he calls me disgusting..

He’s waiting.

I’m comin’. I’ll be there soon, James. It’s gonna be alright. I can’t wait to see you. We’re gonna have a great vacation, just the two of us, aren’t we, sweetheart?  

It is decidedly so.

[btsbaereacts]

J-Hope Soulmate AU: Tattoos

. Master List . Synopsis Page . Jin . Yoongi . Namjoon . Jungkook . Taehyung . Jimin .

Soulmate Link: Matching tattoos

Word count: 

Y/N POV

In a world where a tattoo on your wrist matched your soulmate, you had long given up finding your other half. It was surprisingly common for people to never find their soulmate. Of course, fate always brought people together, but that didn’t always mean people noticed. Almost as a cruel joke, winter and long sleeves were probably the most common reason people never found their soulmate. 

Even though you had given up most of your faith in finding them, you never covered your mark. You thought you should give yourself a chance. Grabbing your duffel and your water bottle, you headed to your best friend’s dance studio. She taught ballet to kids, and let you use the studio after the classes were finished. You worked in sales, but dance was your true passion. 

After getting to the studio, you checked out your Youtube channel to see if any of your subscribers had sent in song requests. In the past few days, you had seen a lot of requests for songs by a group called BTS. You hadn’t heard of BTS, and once you realized they were a Kpop group, you lost any potential interest you might have had in them. But, to appease your viewers, you said you would do 1 song. 

After listening to the song 10 or so times, you started working on some choreo for one of their newer songs, “Black Swan.” Finally, the video was done. 

J-Hope’s POV

It wasn’t a secret that J-Hope loved Army, but what was a secret was how much time he spent watching videos that Army had made. After a grueling practice, J-Hope grabbed his phone to watch more dance videos. Him and the other boys were so tired, none of them even made an effort to leave the studio. He clicked on a new video of a girl dancing to Black Swan. She had nearly 100k subs, and he figured she must be good.

She moved with such ease. Almost like a combination of his and Jimin’s dancing. She could go from graceful to intense with hip hop style moves so easily J-Hope watched her move, hoping he could use some of this as inspiration. He knew the song was ending, and he was wondering if she had danced to any of their other songs. The music stopped and she smiled and waved to the camera, saying thank you to everyone watching. As she moved her right hand down after her wave, J-Hope’s eyes caught her mark. Instantly he tried to pause the video, fumbling and having to rewind. When he finally managed to pause in the right spot, he couldn’t stop himself from yelling. 

“What’s wrong?” Jimin rushed over, peering over J-Hope’s shoulder to look at the video. When he saw the girl’s mark, he gasped. “Guys. It’s her. J-Hope’s soulmate.” Immediately the other boys jumped off the floor and ran over to check if it could be true.

Y/N’s POV

You couldn’t believe how many new subscribers you had gained since posting your BTS dance video. You weren’t planning on doing more BTS dances, but if it could help you gain more subs, you weren’t complaining. After a few days, you received a message from Big Hit Entertainment. 

“Hello, Y/Channel/N,

We are putting together a special video for BTS’s new song ‘Black Swan.’ We have asked 6 other dancers from around the world to participate in a video. Would you be interested in dancing? We will pay for all of your expenses to travel to Seoul for two weeks (food and lodging included). Please let us know if you’re interested.”

You couldn’t believe it. This was your chance to try to make it as a dancer. You had never even considered the possibility of being in a real music video before. After begging your co-workers and your boss for the two weeks off, you accepted the offer. 

J-Hope’s POV

The dancers would be here tomorrow. In order for BigHit to agree to this, all of the boys had to make it seem like they really wanted to feature all of these amazing dancers. No one had mentioned that one might be J-Hope’s soulmate. 

The rehearsals for the dancers started tomorrow with the choreographers, but J-Hope wouldn’t be seeing them for almost another week. Of course, management didn’t want to waste the boys’ time, but yJ-Hope was secretly wishing they would let him work with the dancers. He had been trying to devise a plan to casually run into the dancers, but with interviews and their own rehearsals, he knew it wasn’t going to be possible. He would just have to wait.

~

The first day of group rehearsals finally came. J-Hope made sure he was wearing something presentable, but something casual enough that it wouldn’t look so out of place. He didn’t want her to think he was creepy. He hoped that she would understand why he did all of this; that she wouldn’t have said it was overboard or too much. 

As the boys walked into the dance studio, they were clearly all staring at Y/N. They wanted to check her mark. What were the chances the video made it look different? What if this was a mistake? They watched the dancers go through the steps, and of course, they were all amazing. Then, it was the boys' turn to dance with them. Since Jimin and J-Hope had come up with the plan (and were arguably the best dancers *a/n: arguably, please don’t hate me*), they each had a small duet during the song. J-Hope had of course made sure he was partnered with you.

The first time he took your hand, he knew it had to be you. He thought that dancing with you was like breathing. He didn’t have to think about anything. It was almost like he could sense exactly where you would be. The rehearsals ended much too soon.

Y/N’s POV

After the rehearsal officially ended, you thought you would take a quick break and then practice your duet part again. You wanted it to be perfect. And for some reason you really didn’t want J-Hope to see you mess up. 

“Um, hi,” J-Hope said nervously to you.

“Hi, thank you so much for everything,” you replied.

“Can I ….” J-Hope started to ask you something, but he was clearly struggling with his words. He looked around and saw that the only people left in the studio were you and the other BTS members. Quickly, before you could react, he grabbed your wrist and pulled it towards his face. 

Shocked, you pulled back. You weren’t used to people grabbing you and looking at your mark like that. 

“I have it too.” J-Hope smiled softly before removing his arm band. You looked carefully at his wrist and there it was, the same mark as you. 

“Is this why?” You asked. You weren’t really sure how you were feeling. “Is there even going to be a video?”

J-Hope looked a bit confused for a moment, but luckily Namjoon stepped over.

“He saw your video, but we, well he, wasn’t sure if your mark was the same. He’s been watching those videos for years saying that she should do a video like this, don’t worry.” You exhaled a bit. You were glad that this wasn’t some giant ruse to get you two in the same room, but you were still doubtful.

“So I’m just in the video because I’m your soulmate?” You asked with a shaky voice. You had been so excited, so proud of yourself for doing this.

“No! I saw the mark at the end! Your dancing...wow.” J-Hope responded smiling. He looked like he was really serious and like he was also worried you wouldn’t believe him. 

“You think I’m a good dancer?” You asked once more just to be sure. You had never seen anyone dance like him before, and if he really thought you were a good dancer, it meant so much.

“Yes. You’re amazing.” J-Hope responded. You hadn’t realized that this whole conversation he hadn’t let go of your wrist. You pulled your hand back and reached out to him slowly, asking if you could hug him without any words. In a second he wrapped you in his arms and you breathed into his neck. 

“I gave up on finding you,” you whispered.

~~~~~~~~~

Tag list:  @mizz-kraziii​ @kaepjjang365​ @cmxo03​

[fandom-writer642]

Easter Egg Hunt (YJ Team x Reader)

Summary: This is a spin off of Cursed Dead? which takes place in after part 1, season one. The team finds that the Mountain has been turned into an Easter egg hunt.

Note: I won’t be doing a part two to Cursed Dead?

Request: No but it's Easter

Pairing?: YJ Team x Fem!Reader. Robin x Fem!Reader

———

As the team entered the Mountain after a fake mission that Batman set up. They couldn’t understand why the man would play them but they only slightly understood when they got back to base. They couldn’t help but blink as a table was set out in the middle of the room. Baskets of different colors with one Easter egg inside each basket. (Y/n) sat on the table with a basket in her lap, as large smile spread along her face. Her image seemed to flicker from her translucent one to a solid one. “Happy Easter!”

The team smiled at the girl who looked at them excitedly. All their tiredness washed away as they grew curious and slightly excited. The third basket on her left was accented with orange ribbons while on the front was Aqualad’s symbol. Next to it was one wrapped in blue with a large red X on the front. The one right next to her left side was black with red Superman symbol on the front. The one farthest from her on the left was green with a lime green arrow head that was similar to the one on Artemis’s chest. Next to her on her right was a yellow one with a red flash symbol on the front. Finally, the one in her lap was red with a bat symbol on the front.

“What is this?” Aqualad asked.

“Well, it’s an Easter egg hunt! You have to follow the riddles and clues to find all of thirty of your eggs. Each person has thirty eggs with their corisponding color!”

“Where did you get the time for all of this?” Robin asked; his eyes narrowing at the girl who just smiled and approached him with his basket still in her hands.

“The League helped, mostly Batman though. I needed you guess out of the Mountain so he made a fake mission for you.” At their shocked expressions (Y/n) looked down at the basket her hair fell in front of her face. She had thought their shock was anger rather than actual shock. “Sorry! I knew it was a stupid idea but Batman said you wouldn’t be mad and that you’d enjoy it! I’m sorry.”

Robin put a hand on her shoulder, well more like above it since it would go through her. “We’re not mad just shocked. Really it’s a wonderful gesture.”

She looked up at him and he gave a kind smile to the ghost.

“Indeed, I think it would be fun.” Aqualad agreed.

Artemis and M’gnn nodded with wide smiles while Connor looked curious and slightly confused but nodded as well. Wally however looked thoughtful, the way she had put it made the hunt seem more like a challenge and a lot of challenges come with a prize.

“Is there a prize?”

“Yup! Agent A’s specially made cookies!”

“How much did B help you?” Robin said in shock.

“A lot! I went over to the Batcave and explained though I scared one kid-”

“Jay?” Robin cut in.

“Jay,” (Y/n) agreed. “And B told him off for throwing a bowl at me. But I told them my plan a few weeks ago and they all agreed to help me. Jay and B helped me paint the eggs and make the riddles and clues while Agent A made cookies.”

“So, when do we start?” Artemis asked. From the looks on Wally’s and Robin’s faces the cookies had to be something to die for.

“Well rules, no powers and,” she handed Robin his basket with a single egg and a riddle or clue inside. “Now.”

The team ran toward their baskets and looked at their hints while (Y/n) chased after Robin. The whole afternoon was spent Easter egg hunting and they had to admit it was fun.

•••

“Why would you plan this for us?” Robin asked her as he looked around his room.

“Why not?” (Y/n) shrugged. She sat on his bed and looked around the bare room. “Honestly Dick, you’re all my friends and I couldn’t have anyone better to hang out with.”

Dick turned to the girl who was now in front of him, “You’re amazing (Y/n).”

“Thank you. You’re fantastic, Dick, and don’t you ever forget it.”

Dick smiled at her, he wanted to hug her but he couldn’t, he would just go through her.

•••

Two hours later Robin found himself in the living area eating Alfred’s cookies while (Y/n) smiled and talked next to him. She took one and as a test to see if she could eat food from the land of the living she bit into it. To both hers and Robin’s surprise the cookie was actually bit into. They looked at each other in confusion before smiling at each other, having a small mental conversation with their eyes. They didn’t notice how close they were but they were just smiling and talking without saying a word.

Wally rushed in with Artemis not so far away but out of sight to the pair. They watched the two with sad eyes, not because of their defeat —though it was disappointing— but because Robin could never be with someone who was dead. Artemis saw how close the two were and saw (Y/n) whole body go from her translucent one to a solid one. Wally and Artemis shared a sad look as the rest of the team came behind them and joined in on watching. M’gnn gave a quiet gasp that barely reached the ears of the rest of the team.

Aqualad sighed and shared a look with Connor who looked a mix between sad and uncomfortable. Kaldur had similar thoughts to Wally and Artemis, that Robin could never be with (Y/n) because she was dead and Robin was not. That he would age and she would forever be the age she appeared. The relationship could never work. Yet, as he looked at the pair as they grew closer, making their gap close quicker he couldn’t help but hope it was some sort of trick and the they could be together.

“Happy Easter Robin.”

“Happy Easter (Y/n).”

Once again (Y/n)’s image turned solid and Robin took his chance. He pressed his lips to hers gaining a soft squeak for her before she returned it. She willed herself to stay solid knowing it was draining her energy but knowing it was worth it. Her lips were cold against his own from her ghostly state but he couldn’t care less, they were soft and molded well with his own. (Y/n) smiled against his lips as she felt more alive than she had when she was alive. Robin was well aware that she was willing herself to stay solid for as long as possible and couldn’t be happier about it because it proved something. If she didn’t like him she would have gone back to her ghost state and left but instead she was trying to stay solid and was kissing him back.

M’gnn cooed through the mindlink that was set up between the team, minus Robin.

They’re adorable, she spoke.

Artemis sighed as she looked at M’gnn, They could never be together though.

Artemis is right, Wally said through the link. Even if those two are making out right now it wouldn’t work, (Y/n) is dead and there is nothing we can do about it.

How come no one ever found her body then? Connor asked.

What do you mean Connor? Aqualad inquired. What do you mean (Y/n)’s body was never found?

It was never found, I asked Batman if I could visit her grave sight because we know her spirit but could never meet her person. He told me that she didn’t have one because no one found the body.

The team shared a look of confusion before turning back to the couple as Robin parted away from (Y/n) and her appearance flickered back to her ghost state. She was panting but smiling at him with happiness in her eyes. “Thank you Robin. Thank you.”

“Anytime,” he smiled. "I don't mind doing that again.”

“Oh, I know. But thank you, while I’m slightly drained I haven’t felt more alive.”

“Glad to hear.”

•••

The mentors watched the monitors with sad expressions also annoyed ones too. Batman wins every bet.

“They could never be together,” Barry spoke up sadly. “She’s a ghost and Dick’s still alive.”

“I’m aware,” Bruce said as he replayed the footage of the living area where the team was hiding and where Dick and (Y/n) were. “For now I think the two will manage.”

“Let’s hope so,” Oliver said. They all had watched (Y/n) and the team grow close and honestly it wasn’t far that her life had been taken away at such an age. “They both need each other.”

———

Note: This is bad but I liked it well enough.

[souliebird]

More YJ!MindMeld Drabbles

This one is over 1k so It’s going behind a cut.

This isn’t edited and just written to get it out of my head.

Sequel to this piece 

~*~ Tim’s gone over the brownstone fully three times and the room he is in 10 times, making sure there are no bugs. He’s never found any after the first time, but he has Batman instilled paranoia, so there is no way he will never not check. Only once he was sure there was absolutely nothing, he had set up the six electronic scramblers because he could never be too safe.

Even with all that he keeps his voice to a whisper.

“Dick has a new team,” he says, wrapping himself a little tighter in the blanket he had brought with him. It’s not as warm as he thought it would be. The brownstone doesn’t have electricity, thus it doesn’t have any heat. It’s the dead of winter and freezing out and Tim’s practically pressing himself against a frozen mirror. Next time, he’ll bring cocoa.

“Dick had a new team last time,” his reflection replies. Except it isn’t his reflection. The Tim in the mirror is older; hair longer, and more scars. He’s in uniform (Red Robin, Red Robin, maybe one day Tim will take on that mantle it feels so right) but he’s also bundled under a huge blanket, similarly patterned with tacky orange and brown pinstripes because they really are the same person.

The other Tim had the foresight to bring a thermos.

“That team spawned another team, with some strays he picked up. Again. Half the Team at this point is strays Dick has found,” Tim grumbles and he is not bitter or jealous. He’s not. He’s used to this by now. He’s more annoyed by the fact that whatever mission they are doing is top secret and Tim doesn’t even know where his supposed brother is headquartering everything.

“He didn’t find you,” the other Tim points out and somehow that relaxes Tim.

“I guess. Sorry, I shouldn’t spend our time bitching about Dick.”

“Oh, I could bitch about Dick the entire night, but you’re already mad at yours and me ranting about mine might create bias. I can’t have you hating him for something he didn’t do,” the other Tim says with a bit of fondness in his voice.

“I already hate a baby based on what you’ve told me. And have weird mixed feelings about a villain I’ve barely encountered.”

The other Tim gives a huff of laughter and that makes Tim grin. He likes making his other self laugh.

“I haven’t even gotten to the good stuff about Ra’s yet. And by good stuff I mean ninjas following you around on patrol trying to give you courting gifts.”

“Jesus.”

“It’s wrong how much I want you to finally get to that point? It has to be a universal constant. Like the warhead incident.”

Tim balks at the memory. Apparently Tim Drake spraying himself in the eye with warhead candy spray instead of eyemist is a universal constant.

Bruce would break his own moral code and murder Tim if he knew how much Tim knew about universal constants. If he knew how much Tim had told the other Tim and how much the other Tim had told him. If he know how many super secret take to the grave things Tim has shared and has had shared with him.

But Bruce doesn’t know.

It’s been five and three quarter months since Tim and other Tim became linked and no one in his universe knows.

Tim didn’t trust it at first, of course. He tested. He confirmed. He had enough data to ninety-nine percent believe he had somehow become mentally connected with an alternate dimension version of himself. The information the other Tim gave him when they first met was almost enough to prove it then; his name, address, date of birth, his favorite ice cream flavor, little ticks about him that made him Timothy Jackson Drake.

That didn’t even cover the information he had been spoiled with that had proven to be true (Jason Todd was alive, Bruce had a secret kid, the ending to the latest Star Wars movie).

But it wasn’t just the other Tim laying on spoilers to him. His information, it turned out, was just as useful.

“How was the raid?”

The other Tim doesn’t even try to hide his smile, “Oh, it was perfect. Their faces when we busted a plan four years in the making that they hadn’t even gotten the chance to implement yet. Meta-trafficking isn’t such a problem here as there but. It was good. Bruce isn’t happy with the ‘a little birdy told me about the tip’ line. They were too careful to just be stumbled upon.”

Tim smiles and shrugs before curling closer to the mirror, “I’m glad the intel was good. When you mentioned Project Sunshine, I knew it might be a constant.”

“Yeah, well, I’m thankful for that and so are all the kids we saved.” The other Tim pauses, looks down at him. “How was your mission? I caught you were team leader?”

Tim tells his other self about his mission to bust an underground raceway. Not a priority mission, but the car mods involved stolen tech.

He likes telling the other Tim about his missions, and he likes hearing about the other Tim’s patrols. It’s so easy. They get each other, can talk about what annoyed them with someone who understands, or geek about tech, or omit things and still be able to follow along.

Bruce would kill him if he ever found out.

But it’s so nice to have someone to talk to and their reports segue into stories about childhood, or their friends, comparing differences in their world no one else but them would care about.

They talk and talk until the morning light begins to filter into Tim’s side of mirror (not the other Tim’s, though. The brownstone’s windows are boarded up in that universe.)

Their connection starts to weaken and Tim knows by the time the sun fully rises it will snap and he’ll be left staring at this proper reflection.

“Give Jason my best,” Tim says as they start the process of ‘until next month’. The other Tim’s Jason is the only one in either universes to know about their connection.

Tim still can’t get over his other self is in a relationship with Jason Todd.

“I will,” the other Tim promises as he stands up, shrugging the blanket off his shoulders. “He has a few moves he wants to teach you, next time we switch.”

“I hope it is something combat related and not trying to bad card games again.”

The other Tim laughs and smiles at him a moment before it fades into something almost sad. He puts his hand on the mirror and Tim mimics him (mirrors him). He can almost feel warmth coming through the glass.

“We will figure this out, Tim.”

“I know we will.” The other Tim will. Tim’s research has faded off.

He likes the connection.

He doesn’t want it to end.

“Until next month.” They both say as sunlight fills the room.

The connection breaks. With the blink of an eye, he’s staring at Robin of Earth Whatever Number They Are Assigned.

He sighs. Tilts his head back.

Next month can’t come soon enough.

[chameleon-of-the-fandom]

Repetitive Treatment: Chapter 10

Words: 1195

AN: This is the final chapter. I can’t believe this was as popular as it was! Thank you so much for the love!!!!! Please stop by my inbox for feedback or just comments in general. I am thinking about taking requests, since life is getting chaotic for a bit. What do y ’all think?

A few days later, Toni can't take it anymore, she's watched you and Sweet Pea dance around each other's feelings. You both had confessed your feelings to her. Actually, Fangs had told her about Sweet's feelings for you while he'd been drunk. If only you'd both buck up and tell each other; but, noooo, that's too hard. It's been 3 days since he had to leave you at home for Serpent business, and called Toni to keep you company. So now, she decides she'll play matchmaker. All she needs to do is get Sweet Pea to reveal his feelings for you, and the rest will follow, or so she hopes. She wonders if she can rope FP and Hog Eye into helping. She knows Hog Eye know, because she'd accidentally told him last night while venting about the emotional eggshells you and Sweet Pea are walking on. Maybe it'd be better to just stick to Hog Eye that way she doesn't have to tell anyone else.  She waits for Hog Eye to arrive so she can inform him of her plans. Toni watches as Sweet Pea makes his way into the bar first, FP and Fangs following closely. There must be a mission. Toni wonders why FP continues to send Sweet Pea on missions with (Y/N) being a possible distraction. Oh well, wasn’t any of her business. Finally, Toni spies Hog Eye walking through the doors.

Sweet Pea stands in FP’s office with Fang, waiting for FP to start the conversation.

“Thank you for taking Jug’s place, Sweet Pea. My trust in him has been dwindling, as leader of the Serpents. Someone had been keeping the Sheriff off our backs. This only started after Jughead joined. But, how’s (Y/N) doing?” He asks, concern in his voice.

“She’s alright. Doing better every day.” Sweet Pea is proud of you and it leaks into his voice.

“Good. Let that girl know: anything she needs, we’ll help. She’s always there for us. Also, tell her she won’t have to worry about Alex after the hearing. I’ve got Serpents pulling at the reins to get their revenge on the boy.” FP smiles.

“Great.” Sweet Pea smirks darkly.

“Anyway, that wasn’t the only reason I called you both back here.” Fangs and Sweet Pea nod, “The other reason being, apparently we have a leak. We are going to beef up security around (Y/N)'s house, and she can’t know. But the cause for this is somehow the Ghoulies found out about her situation with Alex, so this is just in case. I don’t want them to have the chance to even try anything. Understand?”

“What did they do to tip their hand?” Fangs raises an eyebrow.

“Alex was beaten pretty good by one of theirs while in holding.” FP states.

As they walk out, Sweet Pea turns to Fangs, “(Y/N)'s parents are home tonight, so I figured I’ll head over later. Game of pool?”

“Sure!” came Fangs enthusiastic reply. They head over to the pool table, making their bets.

Toni and Hog Eye watch as Sweet Pea and Fangs play a round of pool. When Sweet Pea wins, per usual, Toni makes her way over there quietly.

“Sweet Pea. I need to talk to you.” She murmurs to the boy chalking a cue stick. He pales at her tone.

“Ye-yeah. I’m on my way.” He stutters.

She leads him upstairs, to an isolated area before asking, “How’s (Y/N) doing?”

Sweet Pea narrows his eyes in suspicion, before answering, “Good. She’s working hard and getting better every day.”

“Just curious. I heard some guys talking about her down at the quarry. About how they were interested. I let them know she’s single, so….” Toni lies. She hadn’t overheard anyone say they were interested in you. She had overheard a few Serpents talking about you and how they wished they had seen his face when he got busted.

“What?” Sweet Pea nearly bellows at the smaller girl. Toni nearly grins because she knows that Hog Eye is feeding you the same lines, except about Sweet Pea. But the fury on the face in front of her tells her it might not be a good idea.

“Woah. Is she not single? She clearly isn’t dating Alex anymore. So what’s, or should I say who’s, the issue?”

“Damn it. I like her, Topaz. And now I’ve got to deal with competition? Fuck.”

“Maybe you should tell her, otherwise she might let herself be snatched back off the market. Just sayin, Sweets.” Toni holds her hands up in surrender as Pea shoots daggers at her with his eyes. She watches with a smirk as he storms off, presumptively in the direction of your house.

Sweet Pea storms up to your door, and throws it open, as he noticed that your parents’ car was gone. He spots a flickering light coming from your bedroom, and makes his way down the hall.

“(Y/N). We need to talk.” He says in way of greeting.

“Yes, yes, we do.” He is taken back by the force in your tone, as you sit on your bed. Needless to say, it’s been a while since you used that voice.

“Me first.” Sweet Pea insists.

“Okay.” You nod your head and clasp your hands together.

“Apparently, Toni heard some guys at the quarry talking about how they were interested.” Indifference shines in your eyes. “Please let me take you out. Don’t go out with those other guys, please. Just give me a chance?” The near pleading is out of character for him, but you think that’s the cutest thing you’ve ever seen.

“Of course. But I’ll have you know, Hog Eye overheard a few girls talking the same bout you. But you asked first.” You winked.

“Is the reason for the passion that was in your voice?” Sweet Pea was almost beaming.

“No.” You crossed your arms with a smile on your face, so he knows you’re joking. He gently climbs on your bed and hugs you to his chest, glad you were his.

*TIMESKIP*

Six weeks later, you’d just had your casts taken off that morning, and that afternoon, you’d gone to Alex’s hearing where he’d received 1.5 years in state prison, as well as having to register as a violent offender for another year. Alex had not shown any remorse for his actions, even after being offered a chance to lessen the sentence if he apologized. On top of all that, your nightmares were no longer every night, now they were once a week. Of course, helping with that was the weekly therapy trying to get you to believe, not just know, that you were loved and were not deserving of the abuse Alex put you through. Your parents had also allowed Sweet Pea to spend the night once a week, if your door stayed open and no funny business happened. That had also helped calm the nightmares. Sweet Pea had been with you every step of the way, and tonight, you were both going to the Whyte Wyrm to celebrate all that had happened today. So much good news, and other than yourself, everyone was back to normal. 

  THE END

Chapter One; Chapter Two; Chapter Three; Chapter Four; Chapter Five; Chapter Six; Chapter Seven; Chapter Eight; Chapter Nine

tags:

@answer-the-sirens 

@quinn-e-dawson 

@writing-yj 

@chipster-21 

@serpentmo 

@falling-stars-never-cry 

@poolpartyingwithjaws 

@acidparadox 

@theyouthfulmoon 

@fallen-for-fall 

@multifandomphenomena 

@shanetoo

@xdontxcare

[isfjmel-phleg]

Okay, I can't do fancasting, but I can pinpoint what I personally would be looking for in actors for a YJ-and-adjacent adaptation.

Whoever would play Tim would need to be able to convey a lot of seeming contradictions. Friendly and affable but intensely private. The Only Sane One but in fact just as unhinged as the rest of his friends. Resident logician and strategist but brimming with (mostly) controlled emotionality. Comes across as mature and sensible but also has lots of annoying little brother energy. He would need to demonstrate a wry, self-deprecating humor while also having the capacity to be driven and serious and sit on rooftops to brood when necessary. Should have the physicality of someone who has carefully trained for what he does, not someone who has effortless natural talent.

Kon should be the charismatic teenage hero type, like something escaped from a Disney Channel show. Lots of Attitude™, lots of style, lots of action. Boisterous and cocky but can be caring and gentle. This actor needs to have fantastic comedic skills because Kon needs to be funny. Deliberately, consciously, genuinely hilarious and witty. Not at all dark and brooding. But he should also be able to pull off a very specific type of angst--depressed but in denial about it. Kon's happy-go-lucky persona is both an expression of his natural personality and a front he clings to avoid being vulnerable, so his actor should be able to convey these layers of complexity. Hypothetically, his actor would also be playing Match and would have to pull off a cold, efficient, vindicative (but ultimately tragic) persona too.

Bart needs to be played by someone who can avoid making him a caricature. The fun and humor and lightheartedness need to be there, of course, but they're combined with a very teenage belligerent and stubborn side. This needs to be someone who can convey a unique style of thinking and get across that Bart is in fact quite intelligent and perceptive. There should also be an ability to effectively emote without words. It's a highly energetic role with a distinct physicality. Ideally, Bart's actor would also be playing Thad, so he would need to be able to pull off the contrasting roles, to give each of them their own distinctive mannerisms and styles of speech and physicalities, and to absolutely nail the emotionally intense climax of Mercury Falling.

Greta's actress should be able to be both genuinely sweet and genuinely terrifying. One is not a mask for the other; she is both at the same time. She should be able to deliver some of the most disturbing and hilarious lines ever with utter sincerity (things like "Death is coming, and...he's on skis"). She has a vindictive streak and can be harsh but not so much that the audience won't feel for her. There's an innate vulnerability and waiflike quality to this child despite her powers. This is a very dramatic role that would require a broad range as Greta gradually goes to the Doug Side dark side before being restored back to life.

Cissie needs to have the air of someone overtrained since childhood in athletics with a side of pageant-like skills--like a child on one of those dreadful reality shows about exploitative parents. She is poised and controlled and elegant and knows how to make an impression. At the same time, she is intensely emotionally driven and would need to pull off highly dramatic scenes, like her attempt to get revenge on her school counselor's killer--but also drama played for laughs, like her expectation that she'll have to become a villain after the failed revenge or her reaction to being dragged into the baseball game.

Cassie is an interesting combination of reckless enthusiasm and struggles with self-confidence. Not big on tact and can be toxically optimistic. Her actress shouldn't be the glamorous type; she needs to seem like a very ordinary, relatable, down-to-earth girl (who happens to have superpowers). No big transformative makeover moments--she should just become more and more comfortable with and confident in who she is as she matures. Her actress should be able to convey the stages of an arc in which she gradually figures out her distinctive identity and develops as a strong leader and role model.

Anita's actress needs to have a strong, authoritative presence. You should really feel that she can compel others to do her bidding at the sound of her voice. She should have a warm quality too that really comes through in her relationship with Slo-bo in particular. There needs to be a balance of her formidable powerfulness and the fact that she's a teenage girl who is increasingly in over her head, and her struggles as she is stuck raising her deaged-to-infant parents must be poignant.

Slo-bo should be cast as someone who has the quality of an old soul despite being the technical youngest of the group. He should combine the tough abrasiveness that he feels he needs to assume as Li'l Lobo's successor with a keen sensitivity and struggles with self-loathing. He insists he's not a good guy and presents himself in the most morally gray terms he can, and this isn't an act (exactly), but it's complicated by the fact that he is legitimately kind and self-sacrificing. If played right, the audience won't initially know what to make of him but by the end should be heartbroken by his apparent death.

For Ray, someone who can portray the heroic nature of the character, but neither formidably muscular or a suave heartthrob type--he's rather ordinary. This needs to be someone with good comedic timing, someone who can pull off the naivete and the Absolute Disaster-ness and seem out of his depth in the real world, but also convey introspectiveness and a longing to be loved. He wears his heart on his sleeve, struggles with some depressive episodes, and can be quite vulnerable, with some notably dramatic scenes. There should be a bit of an edge to the character as well, as he becomes more jaded and makes choices that could potentially result in his going evil.

Grant needs to have a sort of ordinary-teenage-boy quality. Earnest, sweet, eager to prove himself, awkward, a bit of a goofball. But his actor should also have the capacity to handle a highly dramatic role. He should be able to convey explosive anger without being brutish and unsympathetically aggressive. There's an underlying anxiety in how he responds to the world, something ingrained in him by his abusive upbringing. Despite his powers and the anger and strength associated with them, he is emotional and vulnerable, with quite a few scenes that would require him to weep. He undergoes a striking change in demeanor after his face is scarred, and his actor would need to make the transition into bitterness believable.

[emperorsfoot]

YJ Fic #6: “Zero-G”

Originally posted on FanFiction.Net on 4/24/12, reposted to AO3 on 8/16/12

In which some feel weightless and others have a weight lifted. -ONESHOT-

This is a personal favorite of mine and I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do. Takes place literal hours after the season 1 finale. 

Zero-G

It was the best New Years Conner had ever had. Admittedly, it was also the first and only New Years Conner had ever had, but why quibble over nuances?

He and his Team had saved the League from Vandal Savage's mind control, and by extension saved the rest of the world too. He was on Watchtower, the League's not-so-secret-base in space, looking out on one of the most majestic and breathtaking views he'd ever seen. M'gann was pressed against his chest, her back to him, his arms encircling her waist –enjoying the moment together. But best of all… oh, best of all, Superman –or rather, Clark- had congratulated him on a job well done. Not just congratulated him but shared his identity and said that it was right that he and Conner shared the same name.

Could this night (day? it was hard to tell in space) get any better?

He stared out into the inky black void. Yes, yes it could get better.

"Do you wanna go for a walk?" He asked M'gann, bending down to whisper in her ear as if to conspire a plot.

"Okay." The martian girl shrugged. "There's not much space on the station, but I wouldn't mind doing a few laps around the terrarium."

He flashed her an uncharacteristically mischievous grin. He was feeling optimistic, which also meant he was feeling bold. "That's not exactly what I meant."

All through out the outer hull of the station, air-locks had been cut out of the solid stone walls and placed at regular intervals along the corridors. Each was clearly marked and numbered with bright yellow and black tape so that no one might mistake them for rooms and suck themselves out into space's dark oblivion. Beside each air-lock door was a smaller glass panel filled with oxygen masks of various sizes and fits. It was to one of these air-locks that Conner lead M'gann.

He opened the glass panel and selected two oxygen masks for them.

"What are you planning?" She asked, raising one auburn eyebrow in suspicion.

"We're in space!" He informed her happily, as if this were new news that neither of them had been aware of for the past six hours prior to this moment.

"Yes, Conner." She nodded, as if humoring a child. "The Watchtower is in space."

"No, I mean we're in space." He repeated, fastening an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth before handing the second to her. She still didn't get what he was trying to tell her, but accepted the mask all the same. Just to humor him. He paused before stepping into the air-lock chamber, just long enough to register her lack if comprehension. Wrapping one strong arm around her waist, Conner pulled her to him, touching his forehead to hers. M'gann instinctively opened a telepathic link between them. /'In space, there's not gravity. In space, nothing falls. In space, I can fly!'/

Understanding dawned with a crystal-like clarity and M'gann climbed into the air-lock chamber with him, closing the thick steel door behind them. There was a three second time delay between the inner door registering that it had been shut and locked and the outer door releasing, voiding the atmosphere and whatever people (in this case the Superboy and Miss Martian) also happened to be in the chamber.

There was a sudden jolt as they were both sucked out when the chamber depressurized and Conner was glad he did not have a weak stomach because he probably would have thrown up otherwise. Inertia kept them moving in the direct they had been sucked out in, neither decelerating nor changing directions until M'gann stopped them both before they could drift to far from the 'Tower.

Conner stretched out his arms over his head and closed his eyes. M'gann let go of his hand for the moment.

/'I'm flying!'/

/'You're not moving.'/ She informed him.

/'Shush! Don't spoil this.'/ He chided her. Conner knew perfectly well he wasn't really flying. But with his eyes closed, suspended in a void and feeling utterly weightless, he could pretendthat he was flying.

When M'gann grew board of just watching him hang there, indulging in his own fantasies, she once again took hold of his arm, melding him against her side. /'You promised me a walk.'/ She reminded him. /'So, we're gonna have a nice little space-walk. Got it?'/

/'Yes, dear.'/

…

The air-locks on Watchtower weren't exactly meant for 'Emergencies Only'. In fact, Superman used them far more often to come and go from Watchtower than he did the zetta transporter wonder-tech, and since Superman came and went so often, it would have been just plain impractical (and down right annoying) to have emergency lights and sirens blaring every time he came or went. That being said, the air-locks weren't exactly meant for casual use either and the League did like to keep track of when they were opened and closed. (But mostly just when they were opened.)

So, when the 'Tower's computer registered the use of one of the air-locks near the terrarium, Clark felt the need to investigate. He knew he certainly hadn't stepped out for a bit, and he was curios (and perhaps a bit suspicious given it was only five hours since they had recovered from the Vandal Savage incident) to see just who else it could have been. Captain Marvel could survive out in space without a suit and nothing more than an oxygen mask on, as could J'onn. He was also pretty sure the Hawks could, too, but it had been so long he might have just imagined them having the ability. And then maybe Diana could, she was pretty close to invulnerable.

But it was not anyone from the League that the Superman saw through the view port when he reached the air-lock in question. No, instead it was two members of the kids' Team –his own clone, in fact, and J'onn's niece. Er… not niece? Recently, during the battle in which they had all been under Savage's control, J'onn had learned that the girl was not even a green martian but rather a white one. Clark was still a little unclear on the particulars, but he thought it safe to infer that Miss Martian was not J'onn's biological niece. His protégé then? Sure, that worked.

He saw his clone and J'onn's protégé.

Speak of the devil –none other than the Martian Manhunter came striding up to him not long after Clark himself arrived at the lock. Presumably for the same reason of verifying who had gone out (or come in). He paused when he saw the Superman.

"Ah, I assume that was you just now?"

"Nope." The Man of Steel shook his head and lifted his chin to indicate the two teens doing quark-screws and spirals outside. "It was them."

The Martian Manhunter turned to see and nodded. "Ah."

"Though, I'm not rightly sure what they think they're doing." Admitted the Superman.

J'onn was silent a moment, his eyes fixed on the view port and the couple floating beyond it. After a prolonged pause he turned back to Clark and said, "They are taking what, on Earth, would be called a 'leisurely stroll'."

"Ah." Clark nodded. Then, after a brief pause, as if it had just occurred to him, "Wait a minuet, does Superb- uh, Conner have a flight ability?"

"He does not."

"So, Miss Martian is pretty much carrying him." Clark crossed his arm over his chest, suddenly and inexplicably feeling uncomfortable with the boy being outside with no way of getting back to the 'Tower under his own power and being utterly dependent on the other person out there with him. "If they're separated Conner could be lost in space."

"I think that's a bit dramatic, don't you?" J'onn did not have eyebrows, but he did have brow ridges, and he raised one of them quizzically at the Man of Steel. "M'gann would not let him drift to far from her."

They began walking along the outer corridor, keeping the children in sight at all times, just to make sure Clark's over-dramatized scenario didn't actually come to pass and if it did, one of them would react fast enough to grab the boy before he could drift to far.

"Speaking of Miss Martian," Clark began, changing the subject from his clone to J'onn's not-niece. "How are you doing? I mean with the whole green martian-white martian thing?"

There was a prolonged pause, and then… "I am better than I was before." He began awkwardly. "After I came-to from the Cure-o-Tech I thought it had just been a hallucination brought on by the mind-control, but M'gann confessed everything to me. I would be lying if I said I did not feel deceived, but I grew up on Mars and know full well what the whites endure –its rather similar to how America's black population was treated in the 1920s. I do not begrudge her wanting to seek asylum on Earth."

"But you resent her hiding it from you for so long." Clark supplied. "You think, all that time, if you had known from the start… maybe things would have been different…"

J'onn regarded his companion for a moment, wondering if he were actually referring to the Manhunter's situation with M'gann M'orzz or instead his own situation with the Superboy clone. He decided that in that moment it really didn't matter. "At first. But I have spent some time meditating on it and have concluded that it changes nothing. M'gann has proven herself time and again by her missions with the Team. The circumstances of her birth are meaningless because she's earned my trust and that's all that matters."

"So soon?" Clark blinked in skepticism. "You only found out, what, like six hours ago!"

No sooner had these words been out of his mouth, however, that the Man of Steel lapsed into a guilty silence.

J'onn paused in his stride, one hand resting on the Superman's shoulder. Outside the kids drifted along ahead of them.

"Clark," he began in all seriousness. "You should not compare yourself to me. We are different people, with different up-bringings, in different situations. I took the time I needed to accept M'gann as a white martian and you took the time you needed to accept Conner as…" a pause "… you took the time you needed to accept Conner. It is no one's place to judge whether or not you took to long –except maybe Conner himself."

The kryptonian gave a half-hearted nod before he and J'onn continued walking to catch up with the pair's progress outside.

"By the way," Clark began again, "'Kent', I know he couldn't have come up with that on his own. Someone had to suggest it. I know it wasn't Tornado, it's not the sort of thing he'd think of –not in his programming. And Dinah wouldn't do it because she was skeptical I'd ever accept him and wouldn't want him to carry my name for the rest of his life if I didn't. Captain Marvel doesn't know I'm Clark Kent. Barry might have, but I don't think he's spent all that much time with the boy. So, that leaves you or Bruce. And maybe Dick, I suppose. It's the sort of trollish thing I've come to expect from him too."

J'onn made a non-committal noise.

"Its kinda a shame I have no idea who it was, though." The Superman cast a sideways glance at the Manhunter. "If they don't come forward, I can't thank them."

"Oh?"

Clark waited to see if J'onn would say more. When he didn't the Superman heaved a shrug. "Of course, it was probably Bruce. This is just the sort of sneaky thing I'd expect from him. A real shame too, I hate it when he's right! You know, he is the only person I have ever met that can say 'I told you so' without ever actually saying 'I told you so'. It's really reallyannoying."

"You spend more time with him that I do." The Manhunter shrugged. "I've heard that people who work so closely can't help but irritate one another. Either that or they end-up like our protégés out there."

Clark raised an eyebrow in confusion. "They end-up floating in zero-G?"

J'onn sighed. "Nevermind."

Clark returned his attention to the pair outside the view port. "You don't think they're drifting a little to far, do you? M'gann does know he can't come back on his own, right?"

My, my, my… someone was sounding concerned. J'onn did not comment, opting instead to say, "You are perfectly capable to going out there and bringing them back."

"So are you." Clark shot back. "In fact, you don't even have to go outside. Just mind-link with M'gann and tell them to come back."

J'onn was, as a general rule, was a stoic man. He rarely offered any outward expression of his emotions. Coming from a race of telepaths, visual expression was unnecessary. Even still, he could not help but give a short laugh at the Superman's comment. "You really know nothing of teenagers, do you."

Clark shrugged. "Last of my race. Can't procreate with humans. Never thought I'd have kids. Never paid attention before."

J'onn was not paying attention to Clark now. His eyes were focused outside, his brows knitted with the slightest hint of concentration.

"Are you talking to M'gann?"

After a prolonged pause, J'onn turned back to his companion. "She's on her way back in."

"You mean 'they'." Corrected the Superman. "They're on their way back in."

J'onn remained silent. Clark looked through the view port. Sure enough, M'gann was drifting back towards them, but Conner remained behind, hovering out in the void.

"She can't leave him out there!"

The outer hatch closed behind the martian girl and Clark waited for the chamber to re-pressurize and the inner hatch to open before he demanded, "Why'd you leave him alone?"

She blinked in utter confusion, glancing from Clark to J'onn, silently asking why the Superman seemed to be angry with her. She hadn't done anything wrong.

"The boy will be fine." The Manhunter assured him.

Clark didn't seem to hear him, or if he did he was choosing to ignore him (as was more likely the case, considering his kryptonian hearing). He opened the panel next to the air-lock, withdrew a new oxygen mask and hopped in the chamber before it shut again. In another few moments he was coasting through space towards his clone.

/'I don't understand what I did wrong. You told me to tell Conner to wait, so I did.'/ Miss Martian looked up at her mentor. /'Why's he mad at me?'/

/'He's not mad, he's anxious.'/ J'onn replied. /'He just doesn't know it. You did nothing wrong. You were perfect.'/

/'You wanted him to rush out to Conner like that!'/ Her eyes widened as understanding dawned. /'But you wanted it to be his idea, not yours. That was sneaky.'/

/'One of the wonderful things about being an immigrant of Earth living in America is that I'm able to plead the American Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.'/

/'Huh?'/ She didn't get it.

/'I'm saying nothing that might incriminate me.'/ He clarified. It was a common colloquialism in America to, whenever a person didn't want to admit something, to say 'I plead the fifth'. This referred to the Fifth Amendment which protects a citizen from being forced to incriminate themselves in an investigation. It was one of the very first thing read in the Miranda Rights as well, 'You have the right to remain silent…'

/'Ah…'/ The martian girl nodded in sudden understanding. /'Come to think of it, you were the one to give him Mr. Kent's name, too.'/

J'onn remained tactfully silent.

/'You are sneaky!'/

/Nobody else has ever noticed.'/

…

Conner had no idea what to think when he saw Superman -uh, Clark- coming towards him.

It had been a couple of hours since they had exchanged names and made peace. Did his genetic-parent have more to say? Of course he probably did. There was loads to say on both sides. Conner had a few things he wanted to share with the Man of Steel himself (in varying degrees of a 'respectful' tone). But they couldn't exactly talk in space. Space was a vacuum, no air, no sound, no talking.

Clark coasted to a slow stop in front of him, his cape's forward motion continuing until the fabric was breaked around his body, giving it the appearance of a crimson cloak rather than a cape. It undulated in the zero-G for a few moments before its kinetic energy was spent and the fabric stilled, hanging unmoving suspended in nothingness.

Clark tapped a button on the chin-plate of his oxygen mask and Conner's comm-link crackled in his ear. "Are you okay?"

"I can hear you!" The boy gasped.

Clark paused. Cocked his head to the side. Considered the boy a moment. Then reached a hand forward to tap the chin of his mask. "What? Okay, now speak."

"How- There's no sound in space!"

Clark paused. Gave a slight chuckle at the novelty of sound in space then said, "I'm told you have an almost encyclopedic knowledge. So, tell me: what's sound?"

"It's a mechanical wave oscillated through matter." The boy supplied without missing a beat. His voice went into a monotone and his expression seemed a bit blank, but after he was done, Conner quickly blinked and continued more like himself. "But there's no matter in space. It's a vacuum. Void."

The Superman tapped his ear. "But your comm is in your ear and your ear is comprised of matter."

Conner's expression lit up with comprehension and he could almost feel the boy kicking himself that he should have known that. Ah, physics, what a wonderful thing. He wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders.

"C'mon, I'll take you back in."

Now his expression turned awkward and hesitant. "Superman, uh- Clark… Mr. Kent, what if I wanna stay out here a bit longer?"

"You can call me Clark." He nodded in an attempt to alleviate the boy's fears of disrespect. "Though, when I'm in uniform you should really keep calling me 'Superman', not everyone knows my identity. But since we're alone out here it shouldn't matter."

"Okay, Clark, can I stay out a bit longer?"

The Man of Steel paused, considering. "You really shouldn't." He said. "There's no way for you to get back on your own."

Conner tapped his comm's ear-bud. "Now that I know these work out here, I can just call Miss Martian or someone to pick me up."

Superman did not look convinced.

"Please, Clark?" He was about to elaborate, but paused. Looked unsure. Averted his eyes. "I can't 'fly' in there."

"You still can't fly out here." Clark reminded him. It was the reason he wouldn't be able to re-enter the 'Tower on his own. Without a flight ability he couldn't move in a vacuum.

"I know. But I can pretend… for a little while." He chanced a glance up at his genetic-parent, not sure what kind of reaction to expect.

Clark looked thoughtful -considering. "It's a little silly." He finally said. "In another few years you'll be flying on your own just fine-" Conner opened his mouth to inform the Man of Steel that that wasn't going to happen because he was only half kryptonian, but though better of it. They were not yet ready to have that conversation. "-but if you really can't wait, I can show you a few tricks to maneuvering in zero-G."

…

M'gann had left herself linked with Conner telepathically and had been spyin- ahem, listening in to her boyfriend's conversation just to make sure he was okay. At the Superman's last words, though, she decided to break the link and give them their space. Conner was just fine. Instead she turned to the Martian Manhunter.

/'You're a genius, Unc- uh, J'onn.'/

The Manhunter offered her a comforting smile. /'M'gann, I would feel honored if you continued to call me 'Uncle'.'/ He told her. /'That is, only if you actually want to. Let there be no more pretenses between us.'/

/'Yes!'/ The thought was so strong she almost shouted it out loud. /'I would like that very much! Thank you, Uncle J'onn.'/

She threw her arms around the Manhunter, her now adopted uncle. For the first time since sneaking aboard his ship last June, M'gann felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, a weight she hadn't even known was there until it was gone and suddenly it was as she was back in the zero-G of outer space. Light, weightless, free.

…

"Okay, so I assume you know your laws of motion." Clark was saying.

Not sooner had he asked this, however, then Conner began reciting Newton's Laws as if out of a textbook in that Cadmus monotone with that blank stare on his face. The Superman quickly decided that it was rather off-putting and would have to find a way to break the boy of it in the future. It drove home a point Clark was still struggling to put aside, that the boy was a clone created without his knowledge or consent for dubious purpose.

Clark held up a hand. "Okay, you know your physics. Now lets see if you can apply them." He had carried them both away from Watchtower to a near lunar orbit. "First, which way's down?"

They were suspended between Earth and the moon, slightly closer to the moon, but Earth loomed almost as large in Conner's field of vision. He was about to point at the blue and white marbled planet, but wavered between it and the moon. Or maybe this was a trick question and neither of them were 'down' and 'down' was somewhere between them. But then, in which direction? Infinite choices. Then it hit him. Infinite choices. 'Down' was whatever direction he decided was 'down'. It had been a trick question, just not the kind of trick he'd first thought.

"It doesn't matter." Conner finally answered. "In space there's no such thing as 'up' for 'down' because they're concepts that evolved from living in gravity."

"Very good." Clark nodded and Conner couldn't help but feel a little pride swell in his chest at the praise. It was the second praise his genetic-parent had ever given him and it was all the more precious because of that. "Orienting yourself is the first step to maneuvering in zero-G. When you're in a three dimensional space free of gravitational forces you have so much freedom it can be a little overwhelming, so we make our own orientations and simplify. For right now, lets say the moon is 'down'."

Clark turned them in the void until their feet were pointed at the moon and Conner had to crane his neck upwards to see the Earth. The Man of Steel then zipped 'down' to the Sea of Tranquility, picked up a stone roughly the size of a basketball and returned to where he'd left Conner hovering.

"Throw this 'down'." The Man of Steel commanded.

The boy did as he was told. Taking the rock, he used both hands to lob it at the moon as hard as he could. The stone left his hands on a collision course for the Sea of Tranquility and Conner, to his amazement, began to drift away from the moon at almost the same rate at which the stone was drifting to it. He was moving a bit slower than the rock was, but that was only because the acceleration was inversely proportional to his mass. He was bigger than the rock, so he exerted more force on the rock than the rock exerted on him.

Clark caught the stone before it could make a super-sized crater in the moon that would have NASA scientist scratching their heads for weeks, then zipped to catch Conner before he drifted to far from their 'training ground'. He passed the stone back to the boy.

"Okay, now throw it 'up', towards Earth."

Conner did as he was told, tossing the rock as if trying to shoot a basket in PE. As had happened with he'd thrown it 'down', the stone went arching through the void towards the Earth and he went plummeting to the moon, slightly slower. Once again, Clark caught both of them before either could hit anything. He passed the rock to Conner for a third time.

"Okay, this is probably getting tedious, so last one, I swear. Throw it directly in front of you."

The Superboy, taking the stone in both hands, propelled it from his chest. It arched over the moon, traveling to fast for its weak gravity to pull it in, and was flung off into the void. Conner, meanwhile, went flying backwards also into the black just in an opposing direction. This time, the Superman did not catch either of them, but he did drift alongside the Superboy.

"Now, do you know why you also move when you throw the rock away from you?"

"The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acted upon it." He answered dutifully.

"In your own words, please."

Conner paused. "I pushed the rock one way, it pushed me the other way."

"Head of the class." Clark smiled. A real smile, not the awkward and apologetic sham of a smile he'd given when they shared their identities. He once again grabbed Conner about the shoulders, stopping both their forward motion and brought them both arching back to the moon. "Now, lets try pushing off a larger object."

They landed on the moon, kicking up a cloud of dust as they did so.

"Jump."

The Superboy's expression then turned unexpectedly defiant and he crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't do that sort of thing."

Clark was suddenly confused. So, the boy elaborated.

"I don't like to be ordered around. That's what they did at Cadmus, I don't like it. When someone says 'jump' I refuse to ask 'how high?'."

"Okay then." He could adjust to that. "Would you, please, kick off the moon."

Conner bent his knees and jumped with as much force as he possibly could. …And went sailing through the void much faster than he'd been able to propel himself with the rock. Clark appeared by his side again. He made no motion to stop or alter the Superboy's course, but through the visor of his oxygen mask, the boy saw him open his mouth to speak again.

"I know, I know…" Conner beat him to the punch. "I travel faster pushing off the moon than I did with the rock because the moon has a greater mass and so it effects me more than I can effect it. That's why I'm practically zooming right now and the moon hasn't moved."

Conner did greatly appreciate Superman showing him all this. Really he did. Words could not express just how happy her was that his genetic-parent was teaching him to do… well, anything. But he really didn't need to go through all the explanations of why what did what or why what happened happened. He already knew all this, Cadmus had been very thorough with his programming. All he needed was a little nudge towards actually applying it and he could figure out the rest on his own. He may not be as much of a science nerd as Wally, but he was smart.

"Actually I was gonna ask if you're cold." Clark surprised him. "Its three degrees Kelvin out here."

"I'm fine." The Superboy assured him. "I'm almost as invulnerable as you are."

"Okay, just thought I'd ask."

They worked on a few more exercises after that. Maneuvering in zero-G seemed to be all about strait lines to Conner. He couldn't arch or curve unless he was close to another astral body with a greater gravitational pull than he did and was traveling at a slow enough speed for said gravity to actually get a hold of him. Even then, his path curved towards the body with the acting gravity. As far as changing actual directions went, that could not be done unless his current path intersected with another object for him to kick off of, and even then, he was still traveling in more of less a strait line.

Maneuvering in space without a flight ability was a lesson in applied-geometry as much as it was applied-physics. For once he was actually rather glad that Cadmus had been so thorough with his programming. He already knew everything he needed to know and with Clark's guiding hand he was able to apply it in practice.

Eventually their oxygen reserves fell low enough for their masks to give them a warning and Clark stopped their practice.

"Nothing like getting yelled at by a mask to ruin the fun, huh." Joked the Superboy light heartedly.

Clark shrugged. "I'm friends with Batman, so I get yelled at by masks all the time."

"I'm sure he takes the mask off sometime." Conner replied. "I mean, unless you guys haven't done the whole identity exchange thing. I didn't mean to presume."

"Oh, he takes the cape and cowl off, sure." The Superman nodded as he flew them both back to Watchtower. "But the mask, that never leaves."

Conner paused. Thought. Then said, "That's a bit heavy for me."

Clark merely shrugged.

It was as they were nearing one of the air-locks that perforated the otherwise smooth stone of Watchtower that the Superman slowed, bringing them both to a halt just short of the outer door.

"Listen, Conner…" He began awkwardly. Almost as awkwardly as when they had exchanged names. "About my behavior these past few months, about how long it took for me to… adjust, I'm… I'm sorry. I won't insult you by making excuses or trying to justify myself. I'm usually very dependable, but… I let you down. You're the first person I've ever let down as 'Superman' and for that I'm sorry."

Conner was silent for a long moment. They hovered, suspended in nothingness, just starring at one another.

Finally, "Thank you." He said. "Since you didn't make excuses, I won't lie and say I was okay, because I wasn't. I needed you, Clark. Some crap would have been a lot less… conflicting if you had been there for me all along. But, at the same time, I understand I was a big shock to you. Batman told me to give you time, so I did and I didn't give up. I'm glad I didn't."

Clark smiled hesitantly. As J'onn had said, he took the time that he needed and only Conner had the right to decide if it was to much. Since the boy was still glad to be mentored by him, he guessed it hadn't been to long, though any longer and 'to long' might have turned into 'to late'. He was curious to know what 'crap' the boy was referring to, but he was also sure that would come in time. Everything happened in time.

Clark felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulder and he wrapped both arms around the boy.

"Please don't hug me." Conner said quickly. "We're not there just yet."

"Okay." He pulled back.

Their oxygen masks yelled at them again and Clark opened outer hatch. They waited for the chamber to re-pressurize before opening the inner door and then they were back in Watchtower. Clark pulled off his mask.

"So, are we good?"

"We're good." Conner confirmed, likewise pulling off his own mask.

It would have been a very lovely moment, had the atmosphere not been shattered the very next second by an irate Dark Knight stomping down the corridor towards them.

"Alright, that's it! You two, stop playing hop-scotch with my air-locks or so help me…!"

…

END

[ectonurites]

so i read the big long young just us kon vs yja conner post. (amazing analysis btw) but i have another question about your thoughts on superboy as a character. So in the dc animated universe (that's over now but whatever) there's the Reign of the Supermen movie, and in that one Kon learns that Lex is his dad very very very early on. And since you said that you think Conner learning about Lex early was the biggest thing that changed it, I was wondering if you have thoughts on DCAU Superboy?

awh thank you! i am so pleasantly surprised people actually read that 

[link if u are only seeing this post and want to read the other one]

BUT AH YES THAT BOI i very nearly included a section on this version of him in the other post but decided not to just because it was. already nearly 6k words. however im glad you asked this because I DO have thoughts on him (sorry no pictures this time just words):

My ultimate thought regarding him is: the Reign of the Supermen movie managed to create a Superboy that the Lex reveal wasn’t anywhere near as big a deal for, compared to his other versions. Which I personally think was really cool to see!

This reveal having a smaller impact allowed him to maintain what was basically his 90′s comic characterization even after it, instead of going deep into broody tt 2003 territory or being anything like cartoon yj Conner.

Though, that now raises the question of why it has such a lesser impact

In this setting, he already had an association with Luthor from basically the moment he’s in the movie. Here, he is LexCorp’s Superman, rather than him partnering with Tana’s news station like in the comic (because they chose to understandably omit Tana. Also, trying to adapt the actual role Lex had in the comic version of this whole event would be a mess especially because this was during that era where Lex had like... faked his death, was pretending to be his own illegitimate son, had long hair, and was dating Supergirl? it was very weird, and understandably a movie adaptation wouldn’t wanna touch any of that with a 10ft pole. In general the Reign of the Supemen movie changed SO MUCH from the original comic, but I think did a pretty good job of integrating a lot of the spirit of the story into something new. I haven’t rewatched it since reading the comic though, so I might be looking through memory-fogged rose-tinted glasses, but I plan on doing so soon and will prob talk about it). 

Anyways, even before the actual reveal that Lex was also one of his DNA dads, Lex is out here acting like he’s Conner’s stage dad and... is literally in charge of him. Thus, even though obviously Lex still isn’t a great guy in this universe, it has nowhere near the same impact as finding out ‘renowned supervillain, that I have seen heroes go up against time and time again, is my dad!’ It’s more like finding out ‘oh my weird controlling boss is actually my dad?’ Still weird, still a lot to deal with, and he still gets sulky for a bit after finding out, but it’s way less drastic.

Not sure if I’m going to be able to articulate this next point well, but there’s another thing I think that kinda factors into it too. In my other post I had talked specifically about how not only the timing of finding this out was relevant, but also how the level of confidence Kon had in who he was as a person at the time mattered. 

In the comics, when Superboy found out, he had been very confident in himself and been an established hero for years and thus learning this new information made him (to some extent at least) feel like his whole life had been a lie, and he now felt he was a danger because of how evil Lex is known to be. [Also of note: not only was he worried about hurting his team, but this happened after the point where he’d started living with the Kents. He had a lot of anxiety around thinking Clark wouldn’t trust him to live with his parents if he knew, and fear that he might hurt them.]

In the Young Justice cartoon, when Superboy found out, he had confidence in his abilities as I said before, but he still didn’t really know who he was. He still never got to experience trying to be Superman like he had expressed always wanting to, because he was brought into a world that already had a Superman. So this revelation is just adding onto a pile of confusion. [And I believe (I haven’t watched season one of yj in a while so this might not be correct) that at the point he finds out, Lex was already a known adversary of heroes & The Team themselves. So the fact that someone they were actively going up against had a connection to him (and was manipulating him through the patches) was a point of concern.]

Then we look at movie Superboy. He’s cocky and pretty confident in himself and his abilities, and was getting to shoot his shot at filling that Superman role right away, just like his comic counterpart. But he doesn’t go years believing a lie about himself, since he finds out about the Luthor connection so early. At the time of the reveal he also doesn’t have the same connections to other people (either the Teen Titans & The Kents like the comics or The Team in the cartoon), meaning he’s not going to angst over being a potential danger to all of them. 

Also... he finds it out while he’s still actively working under Lex. In the comics, he finds out from an email he and Tim get while they’re at Titans Tower. In the cartoon Lex baits him to meet somewhere alone to tell him, before demonstrating he has a code word that effects him. In the movie, Lex brings him down to the very lab he was cloned in while lecturing him, because he works for Lex, and the reveal happens because of one of the scientists. It’s just such a wildly different circumstance for the reveal to happen under, because movie Superboy doesn’t see Lex through the same “only exists to me as a villain” lens his comic & cartoon counterparts do.... he’s basically just his overbearing boss at the time. 

Like yes this is where the seams start to unravel, because Superboy then realizes ‘oh god Lex was bringing me down there to kill me then just decided against it’, but he’s going through an entirely different struggle with that than what his other counterparts had going on. Also by having this reveal happen in the middle of the movie like, before the final battle and everything, he doesn’t really have time to dwell on all of this. He’s gotta go stop Cyborg Superman with the others he doesn’t have time to go ‘angst angst angst’ about it for long!! 

This also means that by the time he met Superman, Superboy already knew about the Lex connection. In both the comics and the yj cartoon, Clark and Conner met and knew each other (not necessarily in a close way in the yj cartoon BUT regardless) before Conner found this out. Meaning it was something that he kept a secret from Clark for a period of time, as it ate away at him. But here, since he finds out before Clark is even active and alive again, it’s not something he ever needs to hide! Like he deadass tells Lois about it the first time he sees her after he found out. 

SO to summarize, the Lex reveal is way less drastic for this version of Conner because:

Superboy and Lex had a completely different dynamic at the time of the reveal than any other versions 

Superboy in this setting didn’t have as many connections to others/wasn’t on a team at the time he found out, meaning there were less people he’d be concerned about putting in danger

Superboy never felt the need to keep this a secret from anyone for any extended period of time 

Honestly I would have loved to see more things with this Superboy because it puts him in this unique position of having already faced this big challenge (dealing with Lex being a DNA dad) but not letting it bring him too deep into the angst, he’s not hiding it from anyone, he can just kinda... exist as himself! But noooo Apokolips War had to. Do that. that whole thing. 

[timelessphoenix]

I posted 5,884 times in 2021

70 posts created (1%)

5814 posts reblogged (99%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 83.1 posts.

I added 355 tags in 2021

#pretty petal - 96 posts

#reblog for funny - 70 posts

#always reblog dickkory - 38 posts

#reblog for legendary - 29 posts

#atla - 27 posts

#reblog for later - 27 posts

#dickkory - 19 posts

#dick grayson - 18 posts

#good fic - 18 posts

#bbrae - 13 posts

Longest Tag: 126 characters

#they're a found family but even that doesn't mean they're only familial to each other and will always treat each other as such

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

NON-SPOILER REVIEW OF THE FIRST 3 EPISODES OF TITANS, PT 1.

I love Jason as Red Hood.

I hate Jason as Red Hood.

That is all for part 1, moving along.

26 notes • Posted 2021-08-12 16:14:44 GMT

#4

So.... I genuinely don't love DickBabs. But I genuinely love Dick Grayson, and I very much admire Barbara as an individual character.

So......... for this run, I think I can bear their relationship a bit since it, and especially their characters, will be written so, so well. Tom Taylor is doing great, and I really want to support that, and I'm not going to not read a very in-character story (which is rare) just cuz I don't ship DickBabs.

I also do love their friendship, and the banter, and Taylor's written plenty of it. Honestly, I'm looking forward to see how the entire narrative unfolds. I haven't been able to pick up a single issue yet (not for lack of trying; those things are selling out like crazy) but I still plan on getting it as it comes out (as much as I can).

29 notes • Posted 2021-05-19 12:39:47 GMT

#3

Young Justice S1 E10: Targets

Aqualad and Sportsmaster are fighting.

Sportsmaster says something he shouldn't have known.

Aqualad: How did you know that?

Sportsmaster: I have an inside source. Very inside.

Camera: Pans up to Red Arrow, also fighting.

HOW CLEVER. I love watching and rewatching this show over and over. I always notice something new!!!

Also Roy and Jade???? They KILL me, I love them!!

29 notes • Posted 2021-08-07 16:51:06 GMT

#2

I saw someone on twitter complaining that YJ Beast Boy was annoying this season, and I got angry because Gar is clearly just GoingThroughIt™ and we need to wait and keep watching to find out why.

But it made me realize that Young Justice is really the only thing I've seen that actually hashes out Gar's trauma about losing people he loves. And I adore it. I mean... poor Gar, but I'm so glad that Young Justice takes trauma SERIOUSLY and tries very hard to deal with it properly.

Props to this show, it's so dear to me, and I'm so excited to see what's next for Gar and everyone else.

46 notes • Posted 2021-10-22 06:48:36 GMT

#1

THIS JUST IN:

I am still Bellarke trash,

and I am still mad.

95 notes • Posted 2021-08-04 02:09:02 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[kristannafever]

Found (Part 2)

ANNA WEEKEND 2018 - Prompt: Found

Modern AU Rated: M (swear/mention of smut) WC: 5903

Lost  //  Found (part 1)  

-----------------

For the next three days Kristoff made her breakfast every morning.  His cooking was amazing, and when Anna told him how good it was in her typical boisterous way, he blushed crimson every time.  He had the knack for omelettes, cooked bacon to perfection, and made her an Eggs Benedict with the best tasting home-made hollandaise sauce she’d ever eaten in her entire life.  

Every day after breakfast he would ask her what she wanted to do and Anna would have the delight in choosing from all his suggestions.  He didn’t complain about a thing, or the fact that she wanted to drag him with her to all of it, even if he’d done it before.  They only time he balked was taking a helicopter ride.  He wasn’t afraid of flying, and had no issue with heights, but for some reason helicopters made him nervous.  He did it once when he first moved to the island and never again.  Still, he said he would go with her and look at it as an opportunity to get over his fear.

Anna had looked over at his tense face half way through the journey up and offered him her hand.  He looked down at it, then back up to her eyes, smiling slowly before he took it.  She gave him a gentle squeeze of encouragement and he gave her one in return.

They hiked the volcano in Haleakala National Park. Anna enjoyed it thoroughly, marvelling at the breathtaking views.  They rented scooters and drove down to Lahaina and spent the afternoon roaming in and out of the shops.  Kristoff drove them in his topless Jeep YJ to Wailea, where they had a wonderful lunch and strolled around.  They went paddle boarding and spent hours on the beach.  Kristoff tried to teach her how to surf, but Anna gave up after a dozen wipeouts and Kristoff had laughed and suggested they just have fun and splash around in the water instead.

All they had done and there was still so much more to see and do.  They planned to take the road to Hana, go whale watching, take a boat to Kaho’olawe, roam around the forest reserves, hike more trails, explore more beaches, and whatever else seemed to draw Anna’s attention.

The night before, Kristoff had taken her to his friend Sven’s house for dinner and Anna was delighted to meet him and his lovely wife Lily.  They all hit it off right away and Anna realized how much she missed just having friends to hang out with.  They drank too much and Sven demanded they stay the night instead of pay for a cab, so Anna and Kristoff had shared a bed.  ‘It’s the only bed’, Sven apologized and told Kristoff he could sleep on the couch, but Anna had grabbed his hand and dragged him into the room, telling their wonderful hosts that they were more than capable of sharing.

He was nervous, she could tell, but Anna put him at ease by being up-front with him, explaining that if she got too close he could just wake her up and push her away.  He told her he wouldn’t do such thing as they both shucked off their pants (carefully avoiding meeting each others eyes) and crawled into bed.  Anna had to laugh at how far he was to his edge.  He was making sure that there was a buffer between them and Anna suddenly wondered if the deep attractions and emotional feelings she had developed for him were reciprocated.  She had a feeling they were, but she decided to try and find out for sure, so she yawned and asked if he would hold her just for a minute.  He did not hesitate.   She did notice however, that even thought he had pushing his chest against her back and slung his arm around her waist, his pelvis was not anywhere near her lower half.  She was pretty sure she knew why and she smiled to herself as she drifted off, happy to know that there was indeed something going on between them.

The next (late) morning, all four of them had walked down the street and found a big, greasy breakfast. They all talked and got along so well that Anna could swear they had been friends for years.

Kristoff and Anna eventually went back to his place to have a nap.   While Anna had wanted to ask if she could snuggle with Kristoff in his bed, she did not.   She went to her own bed in the hotel suite and stared at the ceiling unable to fall asleep.  

She thought about how she felt since she had befriended Kristoff.  She thought about how being in Maui, with him, felt more home than home.

And what about Kristoff?  There was definitely an attraction building between them, but what was it to him?  He hadn’t made a move yet and Anna thought that maybe he was just being gentlemanly about it.  She caught him looking at her more than once.  Then there was the way they both seemed to take every opportunity to touch each other, like holding hands as they walked down the street.  She knew she was going to have to find out exactly what she was to him, and soon.

Anna rolled over and tried again to nap, but her mind was already in think mode, so she thought about what Kristoff had said about making money off of something that made her happy.  

That was the dream, wasn’t it?  Everyone’s dream, she was pretty sure.  Yet how many people actually lived it?  How many people worked hard and sacrificed to make it happen?  How many people could have, but didn’t?  She suddenly felt very guilty for her advantage.  She didn’t regret spending all that money, but she suddenly regretted spending it all on herself.   She decided right then and there that whenever she had her own path forged, she would do everything she could to give back to the world she loved so much.

That thought gave her peace and she slowly drifted off to sleep.

*****

A soft knock at her door woke her up and she sprang out of bed, not wanting to seem like she had still been sleeping.  She opened the door to Kristoff’s smiling face, but he frowned as soon as he looked at her.

“Oh, I am sorry.  I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Wake me?  What are you kidding?  I wasn’t sleeping,” she laughed awkwardly.  

Kristoff smirked at her. “No?  Weren’t sleeping huh?”  His hand came up and he traced a finger down the side of her face.  “Well you have a big sleep line across your cheek.”

Anna’s hand came up to her skin and sure enough, she felt a long crease in her skin.  She had to laugh.  “Well, you caught me.  I was sleeping.  But I’m glad you woke me!”

“Only reason I knocked was that it’s getting on to be dinner time and I wanted to see what you wanted to do.”

“Oh my gosh, I slept that long?”

Kristoff chuckled and nodded.  “I thought maybe you were just reading quietly in your room because you thought I was still sleeping.”

Anna shook her head. “No, I just… well it took me a bit to fall asleep.”

“Not me,” Kristoff laughed. “I was out as soon as my head hit the pillow.”

Anna smiled at him. She was absolutely in love with his laugh.  

“So, uh,” Kristoff ran a hand through his hair and Anna realized she had been staring at him.  “What did you feel like for dinner?  I could make something, or we could go out?”

“Why don’t we stay in,” Anna smiled.  “We can talk and maybe go over what we’re going to do tomorrow?”

“Oh, I had a few ideas about that.  Did you want me to tell you?” he said, walking into his kitchen as Anna followed him.

She had been asking him to tell her his ideas from the very beginning, but tomorrow was her birthday, and she wanted to make it special.  “How about we keep it a surprise this time?”

“Sounds good to me,” Kristoff smiled.  “So, what would you like for dinner?”

*****

They went out on the deck to watch the setting sun and have an after-dinner glass of wine.  Anna leaned on the railing overlooking the ocean, thinking about how perfect life could be sometimes.  She wondered suddenly how many sunset’s she had let go unappreciated.  Or sunrises for that matter.  When was the last time she’d watched the sun rise?  To her, watching the sun come up was breathtakingly beautiful.

Anna heard then a weird clicking and sensed something moving behind her.

“Don’t move.”

“What?” She tried to look over at Kristoff to see what the hell he was talking about, but he repeated himself.

“Don’t move.  Just, act natural.  Do what you were doing,” he mumbled.

Anna heard the clicking again and suddenly placed it as the shutter of a camera.  She tried to keep her face as neutral as she had imagined it to be before, but it was difficult now that she knew what he was doing.  She waited until the noise finally stopped, then let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding.

“Sorry,” he said, voice distracted and Anna turned around to see him take a seat on the lounge chair, looking at the screen of the camera.

“Sorry for what?” Anna asked, walking over to him.

“I should have asked, but the lighting and your silhouette against the sky...” his voice trailed off as he was flipping through the photos.  “I just… it was so beautiful, I had to take a picture,” he finished after a minute.

“Can I see?”

He finally looked up at her, like he had almost forgotten she was even there.  “Oh, um, of course.  Uh, come here,” he said, moving over on the chair.  Anna decided to be bold and instead of sitting beside him, she took her place on his lap.  He gulped audibly and Anna giggled at him.  

“This okay?” she asked in a teasing way, just in case he was uncomfortable with her directness.

“Yeah, perfectly fine,” he cleared his throat.  “So, uh, this is the first one,” he showed her the camera and Anna saw her dark outline (no discernible details) against the colorful sky.  It was breathtaking.  There was no way to tell it was her, but the way he captured the moment, was beautiful.

“Oh Kristoff!  That is lovely.  Can you give me a copy of that?  Please?”

“Yes, of course Anna,” he said, looking at her.  He blinked realizing how close their faces were and Anna watched his eyes fall to her lips ever so briefly.  She really, really wanted him to kiss her.

“Here are the others,” he said, tearing his eyes away from hers and looking back down at the camera.

He slowly scrolled through the photos so that she could see them.  He had moved from the position of her outline against the sky, to her side, and a close up of her face, taking from upward angle as he had crouched beside her.  Anna was looking at her profile, painted by the colors of the setting sun, and she gasped.

She didn’t mind seeing herself in photos, but she always knew she looked just exactly like she looked all the time; plain old Anna.  She had never seen a beautiful picture of herself until now.  She looked like her, but different at the same time.  Like she could have been a model in some other life.  Kristoff’s gift had made her that way, but still.  It was amazing and was the first picture of herself that she actually loved.

“May I confess something to you?”

Anna looked up at his words to see that he was looking into her eyes. “Sure,” she gulped, wondering what he was going to say.  

“I really regretted not talking to you on that plane back from Istanbul,” he said slowly, his gaze steadfast.

“Really?”

He nodded slowly. “After I got off the plane, I was kicking myself for not being bolder and just talking to you.   But I am horrible at initiating conversation, so chickened out.  Afterwards I felt like I missed an incredible opportunity… and now I know that I had.”

“What would have been different, if we had talked that time, do you think?”

His gaze wandered all over her face and Anna almost thought he wasn’t going to answer, when he finally spoke.

“I don’t know what would have been different,” he said quietly.  “All I know is that my life is better for having gotten to know you.  I can’t believe how lucky I got, to see you on the plane here, knowing I was given another chance.  I knew right away that somehow, I wasn’t going to waste that gift.”

His eyes were filling with an intense passion and Anna felt it all the way down into her soul.  

“Well my life is better to have known you too,” Anna said, giving into her desire, inching closer to his face and pulling the corner of her lip into her teeth.

“Anna, I want to kiss you,” he whispered, leaning even closer to her, leaving barely an inch between them, anticipated breaths falling on each other’s skin.

“I want you to kiss me too,” Anna breathed.

He pushed his lips to hers and Anna felt herself come alive.  She kissed him back with the sudden intensity that filled her, just getting into it, when his lips slowed for a second and she heard something being set on the glass table beside them - his camera.  As soon as his hands were free, his arms wrapped steadily around her and his kisses intensified.  Anna parted her lips, his warm tongue slid into her mouth, sending a shudder of desire down her spine.

Anna had never been kissed in such a way.  It was as if Kristoff had opened a floodgate inside of her and her passion came pouring out.  She was ready to give into that passion, let it control her, let it take over.  

But it was not meant to happen right then.  There was a knock at Kristoff’s door and they both pulled away from each other, breathing hard, startled like they had been a couple of teenagers caught necking in a parked car.

“Dammit,” Kristoff whispered, “I’ll bet that’s Mrs. Jacobs.  I always grab her packages when she’s away.”

He moved to get up, but hesitated, looking back down at her lips.  He even leaned in closer to her, fully prepared to ignore the knock.

“Answer your door silly,” Anna giggled quietly.

Kristoff let out a faint groan of annoyance and got up, throwing a passionate look over his shoulder at her as he walked to his door.

Anna stayed on the deck, yawning as she listened to the exchange from the doorway.  It was Mrs. Jacobs, and Kristoff had retrieved a package for her that he had placed in the cupboard above his fridge.  She thanked him and then told him all about her visit with her grandbabies, and then asked if he was available to look at her faucet that was dripping, and ‘oh you have company, I am so sorry.  Sure, yes you can look at the tap some other time.  It’s not that bad after all.  Yes, you have a lovely night too dear.’

Anna smiled as Kristoff walked back out onto the deck and sat beside her in the chair.  

He sighed heavily. “Mood killer huh?”

Anna laughed.  “That’s okay.  I’m pretty tired anyway.”

Kristoff nodded.  “Yeah last night kind of kicked my ass too.  Gosh when did we go to bed anyway? I could have sworn it was sunrise.”

“Just about,” Anna smiled.

There was a comfortable silence between them, then Anna was the first to get up.  She really wanted to kiss him again and see how far he was willing to go, but she was exhausted and tomorrow was her birthday.  She didn’t want to spend it sleeping, or too tired to enjoy herself.  She would have another chance to explore that territory with Kristoff, she knew it.

Kristoff stood with her and followed her to the joining door.

“Thanks for the wonderful day Kristoff, as always.  I hope you have a good sleep.”

“You too, Anna,” he said, pulling her into a hug.

She hugged him back, lingering a pleasant moment in his arms, then opened the door.  She paused and turned back.  “Sweet dreams.”

“Same to you,” he stepped closer and leaned over, kissing her lips, soft and quick, before stepping back and smiling at her.  

Anna smiled back and slowly shut the door, amazed again at how quickly her life was changing.  Kristoff wasn’t the only one who felt lucky that they were sitting on that plane together a couple of days ago.  

*****

“Happy Birthday.”

“Thanks Elsa,” Anna said, pacing the room in her nightgown.  Her sister had called first thing and Anna had to scramble out of bed to answer the phone.

“Where are you spending it this time?”

“Maui,” Anna responded.

A pause.  “That’s nice.”

“Listen Elsa, I have a bunch of things planned today.  Unless… you want to chat?”  The hopefulness Anna heard in her own voice made her cringe.

“Oh, no, I better let you go.  I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday and I hope you have a great day.”

“Well, thanks.  You have a good day too.”  Anna tried not to let the disappointment come through, but it had.

She thought her sister would hang up, but she could hear her breathing on the other end.  After a pause, she spoke again.

“Listen, Anna.  I know I’ve been a little less than accepting of your choices, and I regret that.  I just wanted you to know that I miss you, and I hope when you are back that we can maybe get together and talk about things.  Clear the air a little.  I’ve felt I’ve made a lot of mistakes and I want the opportunity to correct them.”

Definitely something she would have never thought her sister would say.  Maybe it was a birthday miracle.  “Sure, Elsa.  I would like that.”

“I really do hope you have a wonderful Birthday.  I hope it’s a special one for you, Anna.”

She thought about spending it with Kristoff and knew it would be.  “It will be wonderful Elsa, thanks.”

“I love you, Anna.  I hope you know that.”

“I do.  And I love you too.”

“Enjoy yourself, okay?”

“I will,” Anna answered, and hung up.

Maybe Elsa was finally coming around.  Anna hadn’t told her sister yet about her decision to smarten up and quit travelling to start something for her future, so as far as she was concerned, Anna was going to continue being a fuck-up.  If Elsa could accept her at that, then maybe things would finally be okay between them.

*****

Kristoff never wished her a Happy Birthday, but it didn’t bother her at all.  She had only mentioned it once in a jumble of words after all, and although she had originally planned to take herself to a fancy dinner or something, she was just as happy to spend it with Kristoff, even if it was helping him with a home-cooked meal.

He told her he had the day planned for them and took her to the aquarium first.  Anna thought it was adorable how excited he was.  Museums and things like that were always the top of her list to see and do and it seemed that Kristoff enjoyed them as well.  He talked a lot while they were there, casually mentioning that he made point to come every year.  Anna could tell it was one of his favorite things.

For lunch he took her to a place off the beach that had ‘the best seafood’ in Kristoff’s opinion.  Anna ordered a macadamia nut crusted Mahi Mahi and actually thought she had died and gone to heaven, it tasted so good.  Kristoff laughed about how fast she inhaled it and then ordered them another one to split, telling her that since he watched her eat, it made him want to try it.  Anna blushed crimson and apologized for not offering him a bite, but he brushed her off with a smile and a blush of his own, then admitted that he was still a little hungry anyway.  They did split it and Anna was delighted again, with the meal, and watching Kristoff enjoy it too.  

After lunch they walked the beach back to Kristoff’s to change into swim suits to burn off some energy in the water.  Anna loved being in the ocean and teased Kristoff mercilessly by splashing water in his face.  He laughed, taking it all with good humor, but as soon as Anna had her back turned, he grabbed her under her legs and arms and tossed her out into the water.  She came up, choking on the water because she was laughing so much, and Kristoff laughed right along with her as he swam over.  They called it a truce, all while unable to stop giggling.

They were both having so much fun on the beach that they decided to ditch the afternoon plans and spent hours swimming and sun-bathing.  When the sun finally started to lower in the sky, Kristoff suggested they head back up and get ready for dinner.  He told her he wanted to take her to a new place he hadn’t tried yet, if she was up for it that was.  

Anna definitely was and she showered and changed into her favorite turquoise sundress and strappy sandals.  She wasn’t sure if it was s fancy place, but she thought she looked well enough to fit in most anywhere.  

When Kristoff looked over as she entered his place, his eyes widened, scanning her length, and his mouth hung open, filling Anna with giggles and heating her face.

He was a vision himself, in a pair of tan pants with flip flops and one of those flowy, white cotton shirts that were worn untucked with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the top couple of buttons left undone.  That combination with his sandy blond hair and sun-kissed skin, was incredibly sexy.

It was a short walk, he told her, so they strolled down the sidewalk hand in hand.  When they got there, he led her up a set of stairs outside and into the small restaurant.  It was dimly lit and had more of a romantic feel.  Kristoff told the hostess that the reservation was under Bjorgman and after a quick consultation to the list, looked up with a smile and told them to follow her.

She led them around the bar and into the middle of a restaurant.  Anna quickly scanned her surroundings with Kristoff right behind her. The place was lovely; just the type of dining experience she had in mind.  

They were led over to the windows where there was a view of the ocean.  As soon as the hostess stopped, Anna suddenly realized there was something different about their table.  On it sat a bouquet of Hawaiian flowers and a small beautifully wrapped box.  

Anna stopped, frozen, unable to process.  She turned around to Kristoff and he was smiling sheepishly at her.

“Happy Birthday.”

“This… this is for me?”

He nodded.  “I am really sorry for not wishing you Happy Birthday this morning, but I wanted this to be a surprise.”

“Well color me surprised,” Anna grinned and pulled Kristoff into a hug.  He hugged her back tight and they both let out a happy sigh in each other’s ears.

They sat themselves at the table and Anna admired every single flower.  They smelled amazing and she found herself leaning over often to sniff the delightful scents.  Kristoff had kept quiet, but she could tell he wanted her to open the box.  She wanted to open it too, but she was still a little taken aback by his kindness and had to process it a bit, because she feared she would burst into tears at any moment.

He did not push, so they ordered drinks and Calamari as an appetizer before Anna grabbed it and asked if it was okay if she opened it.  He smiled wide and nodded, so Anna unwrapped the beautiful box.  She lifted the lid to find a beautiful silver bracelet.

She took it out of the box and put it in her palm, looking at the flat piece in the middle of the delicate chain, noticing it was engraved.  She read it and didn’t understand.  As soon as she looked up at Kristoff, he started talking.

“They’re Hawaiian proverbs,” he smiled. “’Imi ola, means to seek best life, being that our purpose in life, is to seek its highest form.  The second one, ‘Ike loa, us the value of learning, that we learn, grow and expand into greater love and harmony as we walk up the Mountain of Life.  And the third, Ka la hiki ola, is the dawning of a new day; the value of hope and promise.  They are some of my favorite ones and I thought that maybe, they might be as much of an inspiration for you as they are to me.”

Anna blinked at him, stunned by his gesture and the beautiful way the language rolled off his tongue in perfect pronunciation.  She was suddenly choked by emotion.  

“Do, you like it?” he asked quietly.

Anna realized she was still staring at him again and she pulled in a shaky breath, trying not to cry.  “This is the most beautiful gift I have ever been given Kristoff,” she said, voice thick with the emotion burning in her throat.

His face softened to realize that she was on the verge of tears and he got up without a word and walked over to her chair, pulling her up and into a tender embrace.  Anna wrapped herself tightly around him and swallowed painfully.  She didn’t want to ruin her make up.  She wanted to have a nice birthday dinner and not be an emotional mess, so she took three deep breaths and released her tight grip on Kristoff.  He chuckled when she pulled back up to look at him and his face dipped down to hers to give her a soft kiss on the lips.  It was exactly what Anna needed.

After he straightened, he reached down for her hand and secured the beautiful bracelet on her wrist. Anna marvelled again at the heartfelt gift.  

“Thank you, Kristoff.  Thank you for this beautiful gift, and this,” her eyes swept over the table and the bracelet again, “this incredible gesture.”

“Well,” he shrugged and moved back to the other side of the table to sit down.  “You only turn thirty once, right?”

“How did you spend your thirtieth?”  Anna asked as she took her own seat.  

He suddenly looked confused. “I haven’t had it yet, I’m only twenty-eight,” he said.

Anna’s eyes flew open wide and her mouth dropped in disbelief.  She should not have assumed… just because he was… well, he didn’t exactly look obviously over thirty… he could pass for twenty-five even… and wait, how the hell was she older than him?... She could have sworn that-

Kristoff roared with laugher, startling her a little.

“You should see your face!” he laughed. “I totally had you going!”

“Well,” Anna stammered, cheeks lighting on fire, “You could be, I mean, you have that youthful look about you, I thought you were serious!”

“I’m not twenty-eight,” he said, still chuckling.  “I’m thirty-three, and to answer your question, I spent my thirtieth working.”

“Oh boo,” she said, starting to giggle with him.  His eyes were sparkling with happiness and it made Anna’s heart flutter.  

“Ah, it was okay.  I was with a crew in South Dakota taking photos of the cave systems and they took me out for late-night drinks.  I got so loaded I almost missed the bus out in the morning.  But I managed to drag my hungover ass out of bed and I barely got there on time.  I was such a mess.  My shirt was around my neck, my belt was undone and I was tripping over my loose pants, trying to stuff my camera in the bag as I ran over to the bus.  Boy, I got a lot of teasing for that,” he laughed.

Anna laughed with him, picturing it all in her mind.  She loved it when he told stories about his travels.  She had heard plenty of them, but she wondered how many more there were to hear.  She suddenly worried, that she might not be on Maui long enough to hear them all.

Not tonight, she told herself.  It’s your birthday.  Worry about that tomorrow.

Anna looked over at the flowers as he took a sip of his glass of wine.  “Can I ask, Kristoff, how you found the time to do all this?  We have barely left each other’s side since I got here.”

“Sven helped me out,” Kristoff smiled.  “I told him what I had wanted to get and he went and did it for me.”

“That’s so sweet, Kristoff.  Your gift, and that Sven helped you out to make it a surprise.  I hope you know how much I appreciate this.  This whole day in fact.  I couldn’t ask for a better birthday.”

“I’m glad, Anna.  You deserve it,” he smiled.

*****

Kristoff carried the vase of flowers and held Anna’s hand as they strolled slowly back to Kristoff’s place. They hadn’t spoken since leaving the restaurant, but they had talked so much over their long meal, that the quiet was welcomed.  

When they got in to the Condo, Kristoff set the vase on the table and turned around.  “I hope you had a great Birthday Anna,” he smiled.

“Best of my life so far, hands down,” she said, walking up to him and wrapping her arms around his waist.  He folded his arms gently around her shoulders and looked down at her.

Anna thought that he was going to say something else, but whatever he’d been thinking, he abandoned it in favor of leaning his face down to hers and kissing her.  

Anna knew that as long as there was breath in her, she would never, ever tire of the feel of his lips against hers.  It stoked a fire inside of her and she let Kristoff know how much she wanted him, how much she needed him.  She opened the floodgates and let that passion finally take over.  Kristoff matched her pace, hands moving up her back and into her hair, pulling her tighter against him.

His lips, his touch, his caress… it was too much and not enough.  Anna’s mind was reeling with desire.

They stumbled into the bedroom, lips locked passionately together, pulling at each other’s clothes.  Anna wanted him, she needed him, more than anything else in her entire life.  It was as if her sole purpose, had been to know what it was like to be loved by him. 

Suddenly he was pulling back, shaking his head.  

“Anna, Anna, wait,” he said quickly.

“What?” She asked, breathing hard.

It took him a second to catch his own breath.  “I have to tell you, before we go too far Anna.”

“Tell me what?”

He pulled in a deep breath. “That I’ve fallen in love with you,” he said quickly.  “But… I can’t be intimate with you, if we are just going to part ways.  I don’t want to go that far, if you are just going to go back to New York and we never see each other again.  That would be… too painful for me Anna.  I’m sorry.”

Anna watched him for a second as his eyes scanned hers, begging to spare him.  She smiled, because his emotions did not need to be spared.

“Kristoff, I love you too,” she was not surprised how easy the words came out.  She had known it for some time.  

“You do?” he swallowed, eyes welling up with hope.

“Yes, I do.  I love you.  And I don’t know what my future holds.  I have literally no idea what the hell I am going to do.  But one thing that I do know, is that I cannot have a future without you in it, no matter what that means for me.”

He nodded, showing all the emotion Anna was feeling inside, on his face.  “We’ll figure it out Anna.  We’ll figure it all out.  Together.”

That thought filled her with hope, and calm, and an unstoppable need to have him.  She leaned over and kissed him, and this time they did not stop.

*****

Anna watched him sleep.  Tears slid slowly down her face as she let herself cry silently.  She had waited until he had drifted off to let out her true emotion.  She didn’t want to have to explain after they had made love (which was so far the most incredible experience in Anna’s life), why she was feeling emotional.  She would talk to him about it later, but now she just wanted to let the happy, relieved tears falling in blissful quiet.

For the first time in her entire life, she felt home.  She felt loved unconditionally.  She felt safe.  She suspected that she would leave her life in New York behind (welcomed the idea even), and that made her a little sad.  She hoped that her sister would truly be proud of her, but the truth in her heart was, that she would accept it even if Elsa wasn’t, because now she had someone to love her the way she deserved to be loved.

The future was uncertain, but Anna was not afraid.  She was excited.  She could not wait to see where she would go.  The more she thought about the things that she loved in life, the more she realized that she could easily make a living out of it.  It would be hard work, she knew that, but she was more than ready to roll up her sleeves and make it happen.  She owed it to herself and she intended to make good on her promise to help the parts of the world that were struggling.

Anna stopped her tears and pulled in a deep, calming breath.  She looked at Kristoff again and knew that even if he hadn’t been romantically interested in her, he likely still would have offered the same kind words of encouragement and advice.  If she had been destined to go back to New York and forge her own path, she knew that there would be nothing to stand in her way, ever again.

Anna leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Kristoff’s nose before she rolled over onto her side.  He shifted behind her and pushed himself against her back, curling his arm around her waist.  He hummed happily into her ear then resumed his slow and steady breathing.

She smiled and put her arm over his, snuggling herself closer to his warmth.  A lifetime of searching had finally come to an end.  Anna had finally found what she had been looking for.

[sweetwriting]

Tim Drake Week 2017 - Day 7: Free Day

Category : Gen/Pre-Slash

Genre : Angst / Fluff / Friendship

Fandoms : DC Comics, Young Justice

Continuity : Post-Crisis/Pre-Flashpoint

Summary : “If you love them put your pride aside and apologize” is one of the worst advice I’ve ever seen in stories on how to deal with problems in Relationships

Or How did Tim and Kon really solve their problems when Tim came back to Young Justice ?

Word Count : 1804

To read it on AO3

Author’s notes (Under the Cut) :

Happens after Young Justice #46 Especially after this obviously it’s about the Our World at War arc, this moment of YJ #38 play an important part of this.

As the summary says : “If you love them put your pride aside and apologize” is one of the worst advice I’ve ever seen in stories on how to deal with problems. It’s, luckily, something Young Justice never did but they passed over this and it bothered me so here’s a filler, that explains how Tim and Kon’s friendship really started. Because I think this talk with Supergirl helped shape Kon so much and it especially helped in his friendship with Tim.

Kon couldn’t help but feel a little anxious as he stood in front of Robin’s door. Still he steeled his nerves and knocked. Hoping Robin -Tim, he had wanted to know the name of the closes person he had to a best friend for months but wasn’t used to it yet- had somehow disappeared into a parallel universe or, more simply, gone back to Gotham without any of them noticing, so he wouldn’t answer his door. His hope disappeared as the door opened revealing the former/new member of Young Justice in all his Robin glory, including the damn mask. But Kon was just happy to have the boy back and forced the remark back in his mind. It sadly reminded him on the reason for his fidgeting in front of Robin’s -Tim’s- door. Said Robin looked surprised to see Kon -and why wouldn’t he?- but opened his door nonetheless:

“Hey Kon, do you want something?” He paused, seemingly remembering something and asked as he sat himself on his desk chair “Is it urgent ? Because it’s pretty late I was going to go back to Gotham.”

Kon recoiled a little but steeled himself again (he had quite a few jokes about him stealing Steel’s ability to Steel himself).

“I’m not sure, but I really don’t want it to wait another day. I’d rather have it be done and over with.”

Tim -he got it right, finally!- stiffened slightly. “Look if you’re having second thoughts about me coming back-”

“What? No dummy! I just kept moping around without you and Bart. It just didn’t feel right without the two of you.” Kon replied as he waved off Tim’s comment like it was a personal offence. He paused then sighed and dropped on Tim’s bed as looked at his feet -it’s not like he could look the boy in the eyes anyway. “But it is linked to that.” He took a deep breath. “The thing is, I get why you left but dude, you never even said goodbye. I mean you did to the others but I came back to Cassie spouting something about forgetting what she said before and I tried the apology I wanted to make to you on her -not that it was completely false, after all I should have listened to her but she still took it weirdly. You were already gone and I get that you felt like you had to leave but you didn’t even try to talk things through with us.”

Kon was almost breathless -or as breathless as he could be anyway- and everything was silent for a few minutes as Tim seemed to take it in before answering calmly.

“I’m sorry Kon I didn’t know you were going to apologize, it’s just that my Identity is linked to Batman’s and I wasn’t going to betray his trust no matter what. So you would have kept being frustrated and so would I and…I had a lot of stuff to deal with at that point and It just didn’t seem to be worth the struggle. But now that you know my real name it’s a moot point anyway”

“But it’s not!” Kon yelled as he stood up, frowning at Tim. “The point is still there. You just said it yourself we weren’t worth the struggle. I can get the girls, maybe, but Bart and I weren’t worth the struggle. You didn’t even reveal your name we just found out because of the situation. Would you have ever come back without it? Or if you had stayed would you have ever revealed your name without the Bedlam situation? Would you care enough to? Tim my apology was only about my behavior because I do cherish what we had but the truth is that because of this whole secret I.D thing what we had amounted to almost nothing. The only reason you’re my best friend is because, everyone left me, I lost touch with my former team and I live in a lab and am mostly surrounded by adults so that Young Justice is the only place where I have real actual friends and Bart acts like a three years old most of the time, Cissie left, Cassie has a crush on me so she acts weirdly from time to time, Greta mostly has eyes for you but she also behaves like a kid who’s around Bart’s age, Lobo is annoying and Anita is mostly friends with Cassie even if she is great. You’re my best friend by default because of that but from the little I knew about you when you were not being Condescending Leader I knew we could be friends but never really were. I was frustrated because no matter what you never opened up and you were distant and I get that it’s your role as Robin but do you even understand the kind of frustration I, Bart, the rest of the team went through? I wanted to apologize for my behavior but not for my frustration. So no. It’s not a moot point!”

If Kon was breathless before then now he didn’t know what it was. He felt vulnerable in a way he had tried to avoid for months. Tim seemed speechless too and, while he was afraid he’d make Rob-, Tim leave again, he couldn’t stand by and let it fester. He just wasn’t made of that wood. He tried but he wanted to be friends with Tim and he knew they could be but for that they needed to really be on the same page. He hoped Tim understood that. But if he didn’t Kon wouldn’t be able to stand being in the same place and he already had to change his whole life and go live in Hicksville, he didn’t want to have to deal with Tim leaving again or them just ignoring each other. Kon startled when he felt Tim sit beside him. He had almost forgotten they were in the same room. And now they were only a few inches apart which was surprising for Mr. “I’m the mini Night even if I definitely not as bad as my mentor”. Tim took off his mask and looked at Kon while also trying to avoid complete eye contact and started fidgeting too. Holy Awkwardness Batman. Tim’s eyes started looking all around the room as he started talking:

“Kon I’m sorry that’s not what I meant. I just thought it was obvious. I wasn’t here by obligation we created this team simply to have an excuse to hang out. It took me barely two weeks before I started asking Batman to tell you my identity. Showing you my face was almost like Christmas because of how relentless he and Nightwing are about not giving a hint about who we might be. I, I would have left before if I really didn’t care enough to tell you my name. After the Olympics probably, or that thing with Doiby or when we ended up on New Genesis. But then there was… I wasn’t ready to tell my name to Spoiler, I mean we went through some stuff that definitely brings people together but things became too serious too fast and we hadn’t completely connected and, it’s just, it was pretty complicated and then Batman revealed my identity to her simply because he was petty and didn’t want to talk with one of the people I was living with but was worried because I had been trapped for a couple of days and they had no idea of my whereabouts. So I was having trust issues with him myself and then you compared me to him and said you didn’t trust me and it was, just too much to deal with. I’m not…good at this stuff so I needed to remove myself a little from the situation in order to deal with it on my own before being able to face anyone. I’m sorry I’m not used to having so many people to deal with and I got overwhelmed. You’re right we were never really friends and that’s why it wasn’t worth it for me. It wasn’t about you and Bart it was about me having to cut my losses and I just didn’t see any way this would end well and it just seemed simpler to cut ties then than after the tenth time we’d have accidentally killed each other because of our arguments. And I…I knew you wouldn’t take it well and I just. I was a coward and took the easy way out, leaving with Bart when he left.”

They were touching now, right thigh and knee against left thigh and knee, right shoulder to the elbow against left shoulder to the elbow. It was comforting, even if they were both awkward. Neither used to contact that didn’t come from a girl (and what was up with that? Sure he really liked girls but he didn’t actually have an issue with hugging guys, so why did he never do it? Not that it would be the case here. Tim would probably go back into his rabbit hole if he did one more move)

“Ok”

“Ok?” Tim looked up and turned his head back toward Kon. “What’s Okay?”

“Well you know, Okay I get it, you’re forgiven. Wait Am I forgiven?” Kon frowned. He had assumed he was, but maybe it made it worse, maybe-

“Of course, you are. We were both victims of the circumstances and we’re both jerks. And you were right. We needed to talk, I’m glad we cleared that up now.”

Kon couldn’t help but beam at that. And with that simple talk, he and Tim had been more vulnerable to each other than they had been to anybody else in a while. With that they were really starting to build a friendship. And now he understood what Supergirl had told him. Apologizing wasn’t about who was right or wrong, it was simply about opening communication. It’s something he wished was explained on TV instead of simply using the “you love them so put your pride aside and apologize” logic. Because things didn’t work like that. While putting your pride aside was important, ignoring that you considered something wrong or that something hurt you was more detrimental to the relationship (no matter what kind) than anything else. And Kon just wanted to have one relationship to go right in his life and if it was with the clearly emotionally wrecked boy with whom he had a strange connection, well, then so be it1.

So when Tim started to leave for Gotham, Kon went back to the Kent’s farm and even if he had to live there now. He couldn’t help but be happy because this time he could really call Tim his friend, even his best friend and absolutely mean it.

Author’s Note 2 : Hope you enjoyed it :)That advice from YJ #38 is something that matters to me a lot because usually in fiction when someone gives the advice to apologize whether you’re right or wrong it’s to finish an argument. However here Supergirl’s advice while similar, proves to not be when she gives the alternative to Kon. Because it’s not about finishing an argument but opening a dialogue. It’s something that always bothered me in other fictions because the person apologizing (whether the narrative considered they had actually been wronged or not) were hurt. And they’re literally apologizing for being hurt. So this issue back when I first read it was a jewel. Also we’ve seen Conner use a similar technique at least twice on Tim (the only two times Tim did something stupid to him) so I’m pretty sure he took it to heart.

[thelittleredheadedmusician]

What about a sidekick-exchange program- except it's mainly just senior members sending their sidekicks to train with Batman on combat/stealth/detective work. While he's training their usual sidekicks, Batman lends each of them one of his. How long would YJ/TT heroes like Superboy, Miss Martian, Impulse, and Wonder Girl last in Gotham? Meanwhile, how would Dick, Jason, Babs, Tim, Cass, Duke, Steph, and Damain react to working/under Senior JL members like Supes, WW, and Flash?

Sorry this took so long and I didn’t exactly follow the prompt but I hope you like it! PS I do have the spreadsheet mentioned. It was Bruce’s idea but Dick was the one making it if anyone is curious and wants to see it.

Bruce had been ambushed, which he was grudgingly impressed by.Dick stood between Clark and Diana, bouncing on the balls of his feet with abarely contained grin. Bruce had walked down the stairs to the cave to find hiseldest and two best friends waiting for him. “Can I help you?” he grumbled ashe swept past them.

“Well, Dick approached us with an interesting idea and we’reinclined to participate if you are.”

Bruce turned and raised an eyebrow at Clark before looking athis son. The young man merely shrugged. Diana walked over and placed a hand onhis shoulder, “You are aware that Supergirl and Starfire have come toThemiscyra for training? Richard proposes something similar among the Titans. Howdid you word it?”

Dick’s grin split his face, “An exchange student program! Soyoung heroes can learn skills from mentors other than their own.”

“Everyone else is on board. Even Pat Dugan and the rest of theJSA are willing to let Courtney and Jakeem participate.” Clark gave Bruce asmall smile, the one that normally guilted Bruce into doing something.

He glared at the others before sighing, “Fine. But an even exchangefor a week only. If three of my kids decide to participate than I expect tomentor three others in return.”

Diana smiled, “Of course! Now let us go plan the details, Alfredinformed us he was baking cookies.”

***

Bruce held the spreadsheet tightly as he paced in the manor’sfoyer. His children had already left; Steph and Harper going with Diana, Timhad gone to Star City, Cass with the JSA, Jason to Cyborg and Raven who were maintainingthe Titans, Duke to San Diego where Aquaman was maintaining a base, Damian tothe Twin Cities of Keystone and Central, and even Dick who had demandedMetropolis.  Bruce glanced down again athis list, comprised entirely of the friends of his children.

Bruce had been mildly apprehensive of dealing with so manyteenaged girls at once, his track record in that department was less thanstellar. Then again, his record with teenagers in general was less than stellarand Dick’s friends certainly couldn’t be considered teenagers. Bruce wasconsidering just calling the whole thing off and recalling the known elementsthat were his children when there was a knock at the door. Folding the piece ofpaper, he tucked it into the pocket of his blazer and went to open the door.

Before him stood a tall redhead with a sprinkling of frecklesacross the bridge of his nose and a goofy grin splitting his face. “Bruce!”Wally called as he swung his arms up in greeting. Causing the duffle bag he wascarrying to nearly smack Garth in the face. Luckily the Atlantean was used tohis friend’s dramatics.

The corners of Bruce’s mouth twitched up as he moved aside. “Please,come in.” Wally walked in and went to immediately perch himself on thestaircase. Garth followed with a nod and a smile at Bruce. The girls came next,Rose giving Bruce a raised eyebrow and an eyeroll. M’gann smiled and blushedbut the three blondes were not what Bruce was expecting.

Courtney positively beamed at him. “Hiya Brucie! Long time nosee! Steph said that we were banned from the manor cause the last time wealmost blew up the giant penny. That true?” The girl said in a rush. Bruce justblinked in response, positive that only Wally with his superspeed was able tofollow that.

“That wasn’t why we were banned. It’s cause we slippedkryptonite into the champagne at that one gala and managed to get both Kara andKon utterly sloshed and Clark tipsy. That’s why,” Cassie corrected proudly.

“Really?” Mia interjected. “I was under the impression thatBruce just can’t deal with the estrogen overload. Then again neither can Olliebut he’s easier to kick out of the house for the afternoon.”

Rose’s eyes widened. “If I knew that’s what you Barbies havebeen doing I would have joined the blonde brigade!”

Bruce sputtered to respond but was saved by a tap just abovehis elbow. “Hello Mister Wayne,” Jon said with a wave.

“Hello Jon. I’m glad you were all able to make it.”

“That’s what you say now,” Wally laughed.

Bruce raised an eyebrow at the group of young heroes. “You allhave met my children. I believe the only challenge you pose is powers.”

Courtney’s grin widened. “Challenge accepted.”

The end of the week came and found Courtney and Jon sprawledout on the mats in the cave. Wally was just barely holding onto the specializedmonkey bars that Dick could do with ease and a yelp could be heard fromsomewhere above. Bruce smirked as Rose tumbled to the ground from the highropes course that had been designed for Cass.

Mia flopped to the floor at Bruce’s feet and pointed her waterbottle at him threateningly. “You win. I now understand the complaints and vowto tell Ollie how much I adore him as a mentor no matter what it does to hisego.”

Bruce chuckled. “I had a fun week. Didn’t you?”

“I mean no offense, but I believe we have vastly differentdefinitions of the word ‘fun’,” Garth said, walking over from the computer.

“Seriously Bats,” Wally added as he let himself fall to theground.

Cassie and M’gann walked over from where Bruce had themplaying extreme hide-and-seek and sat next to Mia on the floor. Courtneycrawled over next to them and soon after so did Jon. “Is some sort of postlesson lecture?” Rose said as she too came to sit down.

Bruce smirked. “Of a sort. I just want to see if you havelearned anything from this experience.”

“That all the complaints are valid?”

“That I should stop skipping leg day?”

“That the Amazons aren’t even this crazy?”

“That the next Dick cries I should just buy him chocolate andnot question it?”

Bruce’s eyebrows furrowed. “Notwhat I was going for but I’ll take it.”