#not like. gone but definitely more treatable if i Moved The Fuck Out And Started Gender Affirming Care

[aropride]

thinking abt donating my eggs for money but also would anyone even want my dna...... ☹️

[adenei]

Auror 99 - Chapter 5

In case you missed any of the previous chapters, you can find the whole story (thus far) here

Thanks for reading!

****************************

The Duel

Several days had passed with no new leads. Amy and Hermione continued poring over the case files with Jake and Ron, while Boyle and Harry staked out the banks. No luck was had all around. They’d all take turns switching with Rosa, who was still mainly manning surveillance. Whoever Gerteso was, he was a master of disguise. 

They were on a late shift about a week into the case, when Rosa caught something on the monitor. “Jake! Come see this,” Rosa said. Jake walked over with Ron not far behind him. “There’s some strange activity going on outside of this oddity shop - McLeod’s. The guy who just walked in seems to match the description of Gerteso. It’s in Manhattan, but might be worth checking out?”

“If we leave now, we can make it over there in 20 minutes. C’mon Nolan, let’s go!” Jake said as they ran out. 

Hermione looked at Amy. “What are the chances he’ll stay in the store that long?”

Amy shook her head. “Slim to none.”

“I’ll be right back,” Hermione said. She had an idea, but it required magic, so she had to move alone. Harry gave her a look. “Just need to make a phone call,” she reassured him. 

Hermione made her way to the bathroom and pulled out her cell phone she’d purchased a few days ago. The one muggle item the Ministry failed to provide. She pulled up the address to McLeod’s on her phone, and just before she was about to apparate, the door opened. Harry walked in.

“Here, take this,” he handed her the invisibility cloak. “If my suspicions about what you’re doing are correct, you’ll need it.”

“Thanks, Harry. Hopefully I won’t be long.” She pulled the cloak over herself and apparated to the nearest alleyway. She moved quickly around to find a back entrance to the store. Luckily there was one, and the door was propped open. She slipped inside and made her way to the front of the store, careful to remain silent the entire time.

“...I know he comes here and you do business with him. Now, I suggest you tell me the next time he’s going to show up.” Yes, that was definitely Gerteso, his wand pointed at the shopkeeper.

“T-tonight. H-he always comes Fridays. At night after the shop’s closed. He meets me in the alleyway next door.”

“That’s what I thought. So here’s what you’re going to do. You’ll contact him, or whatever you do before your meetups, tell him tonight is on, but you’re not going to show up. If you even so much as hint that I’m the one meeting him, you’ll be dead faster than you can blink. Understood?” The shopkeeper nodded in a terrified manner. “Tell him 9:00. And he better be punctual. If it’s earlier or later than your normal meetup, tell him you’ve got something planned and he needs to make it work.” 

Hermione watched Gerteso look around the store and then walk out. She turned around swiftly and snuck out the back. After apparating back into the bathroom of the precinct, she pulled out her phone again, and quickly sent Ron a text giving him the heads up that he’d be back at 9, so they should prepare for a stakeout until then. Looking around, Hermione made sure she was alone before pulling off the cloak. 

When she walked out and back into the hall her phone rang. “Hey.”

“Hey, how’d you know?”

“That’s not important. Just trust me, okay? I’m going to tell everyone here that you guys are gonna hang out there for a while on the off chance he comes back, which he will. There’s no suspicion?”

“I don’t think so. I’m glad we finally have a lead. I’ll figure something out. I’ll probably just meet you back at the flat, depending on how late we are.”

“Sounds good,” Hermione said. “Stay safe.”

“You too,” she heard Ron say before she clicked off the phone. That was their way of saying ‘I love you’ right now. Hermione took a deep breath before heading back to the rest of the group.

********************

Ron and Jake were in the same undercover squad car, parked on a side street, just outside of McLeod’s Bargain Store and Curiosity Shop. Ron had told Jake that when Rosa doubled back on the security footage, she noticed that the security cameras had caught Gerteso lurking around this time every night, so they’d decided to wait and see who or what he was waiting for. They still had a while before he’d make his nightly appearance.

Jake was looking at the picture they’d brought of him again. “He’s a weird looking dude, isn’t he?” 

Ron looked at the paper. To be honest, he hadn’t thought much of it. In the magical world, they came across all different sorts of creatures and beings so it hadn’t phased him before. But now, looking closely at the picture, Jake was right. His facial features were strong and jagged, accentuated by a thick beard that was trimmed neatly, and a long mane of dark, dark brown hair. His eyes were a golden brown, which added to his mysterious demeanor. His face was rather pale, which didn’t exactly fit the rest of his features. 

Gerteso oddly reminded Ron of Rufus Scrimgeour, a name he hadn’t thought about since the war ended. He made a mental note to ask Harry and Hermione if Gerteso could possibly be a vampire. The chances were slim since Voldemort had exterminated the lot of them in the war, but they had so few details on the case, and they were already a week in, that Ron figured any little suspicion could help.

“Yeah, he is,” Ron finally answered Jake.

“What’s going on with you? You’re quieter than normal tonight,” Jake commented.

“Just thinking, that’s all,” Ron said quickly. He wished he could talk about the details with Jake, he really did. The whole statute of secrecy thing was really starting to piss him off. They had four strong detectives, two aurors, and Hermione’s brilliance on the case, but because they couldn’t disclose who they truly were, movement was slow going.

“You miss her, don’t you?” Jake asked.

“Who?”

“Hadley? Your wife?” Jake clarified.

“Oh, yeah, I do. The whole no-contact thing is really the hardest,” Ron lied. He and Jake had talked a bit about his personal life before, and Ron had made up a different name for Hermione because it was so unique that he didn’t want to raise any suspicion. Not that they were even known about in the muggle world. But better to be safe than sorry.

“I guess that’s the one good thing about single life. No one would miss me if something happened. Y’know? I don’t have to worry about my reckless lifestyle affecting anyone else but me. I’m the lone ranger in this sad, crazy world!” Jake tried to play it off as cool, but Ron thought there was something more to it than that. Before he could ask, he noticed someone appear across the street.

“Jake, look!” Ron said, pointing to the figure.

“Do you think that’s him?” Jake asked.

“Yeah, I reckon so. He’s headed for that alley. We should follow so we don’t lose sight of him.” Ron said. They opened their doors and shut them quietly. 

Jake and Ron quickly crossed the street and stopped just before the alleyway. Jake looked around the corner and noticed that Gerteso was there with another figure. 

“There’s a dumpster further down that we can hide behind. He’s down there with another person, Jake whispered. They moved down the alley and stopped for cover behind the dumpster.

They watched as something was exchanged between them and Ron was studying the other person. He stealthily grabbed his wand and cast a silent identity charm so he could take back the visual of the person to see if they could figure out who he was. 

Suddenly the other person vanished and Jake grabbed Ron’s arm. “What the hell was that?! Where’d he go!?” They saw Gerteso turn and begin walking back towards them, and before Ron could stop Jake from engaging him, Jake jumped out from behind the dumpster with his gun held out. “NYPD! Freeze!”

“Fuck,” Ron said under his breath as he saw Gerteso raise his wand. He held his own at the ready as he joined Jake quickly in the alleyway. “Protego!” he shouted as he saw Gerteso wave his wand. Luckily he’d cast it in time to deflect a curse from hitting Jake.

“Uh, Nolan? What the fuck is happening right now? Is that a wand? What’s going on? I’m not freaking out. I’m not!” Jake was normally fine under pressure, but this, this was unreal. He had to be dreaming.

“Impedimenta!” Ron shouted. It just missed him as another spell was shot his way. Ron blocked that one again as he yelled “stupefy!” Whoever Gerteso was, he seemed to be moving really quickly, able to dodge everything Ron was throwing at him. He wasn’t using any defensive charms and kept sending jinx after jinx their way.

“Jake, get back behind the dumpster!” Ron said to him as he continued fighting Gerteso. As he shot an incarcerous at him, Ron saw a flash of light shoot out from Gerteso’s wand, but it wasn’t aimed at Ron. Before Ron had time to react, it hit Jake in the leg.

Jake yelled out in pain as Ron turned to see his leg on fire. “Aguamenti!” Ron said, quickly extinguishing the flame. “Shit, Jake!” Ron’s distraction was all Gerteso needed as Ron heard a faint pop and he was gone.

“W-where’d he go? He was just right there. What just happened?”

“Don’t worry about that right now, let me see your leg.” Ron examined it and realized Gerteso had shot out some sort of cursed fire. He’d never seen it before but it looked like it was a lower level of fiendfyre that was obviously much more controlled. Ron placed a freezing and numbing charm on Jake’s leg. “We’ve got to get you back to our flat,” Ron said. “Charlotte will know what to do.”

“What about a hospital?” Jake asked.

“We can’t take you to a hospital for this. It should be treatable at home. Don’t worry, I’ve already stopped the pain for now. Look, Jake I really can’t explain what this was about, and I’m really sorry that I have to do this…” Ron held up his wand and cast ‘obliviate.’ He watched Jake’s eyes go fuzzy and then refocus again.

“What happened? Did he get away? He was just right there!”

“Yeah, mate, he struck a match and caught your leg on fire, and took off. I was able to put it out, but we’ve gotta get you back to heal it. Do you think you can drive? You don’t want me driving, that’s for sure. Opposite side of the road and all...” 

“Uh, yeah, I think so. Why doesn’t it hurt?”

“Er, I had some of this special numbing cream to put on it. British specialty.” Ron really hated lying to Jake. “It should hold until we get back to my place. Hold on while I call Amy and Charlotte.” Ron was thinking quickly. There were totally gaps in his story, but he had to roll with it. And Jake was still sort of loopy enough from the obliviation that he was buying it.

Ron dialed Amy since it was the first contact in his phone. He still wasn’t sure how to work the damn thing properly. 

“Hey Nolan, what’s up?” he heard Amy answer.

“Uh, Amy, we had an incident. Can you meet us at our flat?”

“Is everything okay? Nolan, what happened?” Amy said worriedly.

“I can’t tell you right now. Just meet us back at the flat.” Ron hung up the phone. He helped Jake get up and got him back to the car. Thankfully it was his left leg that was injured, so he was still able to drive. 

“What did Amy say?” Jake tried to ask casually.

“She asked what happened. Sounded pretty worried,” Ron responded. “They’re going to meet us at the flat.”

“Oh, good. Yeah, that’s cool,” Jake played it off.

“You like her, don’t you?” Ron smirked at him.

“What? No, of course not! We’re work partners,” Jake defended.

“Doesn’t mean you don’t fancy her,” Ron said. “I’m gonna give you some advice. Just go for it, mate. I waited seven years, and somehow I was lucky enough to still get her. A girl like Amy reminds me of my own. They’re too good to wait around, so don’t wait forever.”

Jake looked at him. “You waited seven years to make a move?”

“Yeah, but thankfully she’d always felt the same way. The way you and Amy banter back and forth, reminds me of me and her way back.”

Jake spluttered a bit and made some noncommittal sounds. It seemed like it took ages to get back to their flat, but when they arrived, they saw Amy, Boyle, Harry and Hermione waiting for them. Charles and Harry helped Ron get Jake out of the car and up to their apartment. They laid Jake down on the couch and Hermione gave Ron a serious look.

“Jake. Jake! It’s gonna be okay, buddy. You’re gonna live. You have to live! The world’s not ready for you to leave it,” Boyle was lamenting overdramatically.

“What happened?” Amy asked, cutting him off. “Did you catch Gerteso?”

“Well, Gerteso met up with someone else,” Ron said, “They finished whatever exchange was made and he went to leave, but we tried to stop him. He put up a fight, and ended up striking a match and tossing it at Jake, hence the burn. He took off when I went to help Jake.”

“Nolan, why does the burn look so odd,” Amy said. “And how is it not hurting him?”

“I put numbing cream on it. I’ve got another British burn salve that should help. I just need to go grab it. Charlotte, could you check your bag for it? I can’t remember which bag it was in. Jason, could you search your stuff, too? We left so quickly last week I don’t remember who packed what.” Ron nodded towards Hermione who followed them into the room.

Hermione shut the door. “What happened?” she hissed. 

“Yeah, mate,” Harry said. “He doesn’t look good.”

Ron was searching for the dittany. That should do enough to heal it without Jake needing additional medical assistance. Ron pulled out his wand and cast muffliato on the door. “Jake jumped out at him when the other guy disapparated. I had to step in and duel him. Hermione, he moves really fast. He wasn’t even using defensive spells. And I think he used some form of adapted fiendfyre that was much more controlled than what we’ve encountered. It’s definitely cursed fire that Jake got hit with. It’s going to heal, but the scar is going to be awful. The dittany will help.”

“Ron! You could have-”

“I’m fine, Hermione. This is what I do. I’m an Auror. Jake’s already been obliviated, too. Now, here, take this, and figure out who it is,” Ron used his wand to draw up the charm he’d cast earlier of the other suspect. “If we can figure out who this is, maybe we can figure out what Gerteso’s after. Boyle and Harry can stop stalking the bank and tail him when we figure it out.”

Hermione sighed, “Alright, but you know I can’t take care of it until they leave.”

“Yeah, I know,” Ron said. “Let’s get back out there, the sooner we get this dittany on him, the better. Can you distract them while I apply it? Then we’ll see if Charles or Amy can stay with him tonight.”

They went back out and Ron was able to place the dittany on Jake’s leg, thanks to Harry and Hermione pulling Amy and Charles aside. “You should be good, aside from a nasty scar, but at least we don’t need to go to the hospital. Charles, Amy, can one of you stay with him tonight?” Ron asked.

“Of course! Anything for Jake,” Charles said quickly. Ron noticed the slight disappointment look on Amy’s face when Charles beat her to it. 

“Uh, Charles,” Hermione cut in, “maybe you could take this back to the precinct to get an ID on the second person? I’m sure Amy can take Jake home and stay with him. You could relieve her later?”

“Oh, yes, of course!” Charles said, taking the paper that Hermione had no doubt materialized for him. “As long as Amy’s okay with that?”

“What? Oh, y-yeah, I guess I can for a few hours tonight. But I’ll need your help getting him there if he can’t walk.” Amy looked gratefully at Hermione, although a little surprised at her suggestion. “We’ll see you all at the precinct tomorrow? We should probably at least debrief for a couple hours. I’m sure Holt will be fine with the overtime.”

Harry nodded. “That should work. Let’s get some rest for now, though. We’ve all put in more than enough hours today.”

Everyone nodded in agreement as they helped Jake up and saw them out. They had so much to discuss, but they had to wait until they were sure the detectives were gone. This case just kept getting weirder and weirder.

[schweeeppess]

a/n: This is planned to be a string of connected one-shots, so there will definitely be more installments in this AU. co authored by @mizmahlia. au: evil!batfam au, based loosely off Earth 3

Warnings: Mentions of pedophilia, death, cussing, and that should be it

___

One city Roy Harper would not be caught dead in was Blüdhaven. The city wasn't as dark or ominous-looking as Gotham was, but the danger levels were much higher. Blüdhaven's residents were, like, fucked in the head or something.

Well a majority were, anyway. But Roy was semi-obligated to think so only because one of his best friends lived in the terrible city.

He was up on the roof of an apartment building searching the skyline for any signs of where Dick might be. Wally was on the ground zipping around the places Roy couldn't see from his vantage point, rambling in his ear as he ran from alley to alley.

"How long has it been since the three of us hung out together?"

Roy winced at the noise in his earpiece, the wind rushing in his ear as Wally ran. Wally often forgot that his speed made using comms nearly impossible unless he was standing still.

"Longer than necessary," Roy muttered. He held the binoculars up again and zoomed in on a neighborhood a few blocks north. "I mean, this is a miserable city. You'd think he'd want to leave once in a while."

Wally picked up on the dig and chimed in, skidding to a stop before heading back toward Roy's location.

"Why would anyone want to stay here and fight crime? It's not like he makes a dent in it, anyway."

Roy grinned and lowered the binoculars when he spotted a figure appear on a building three blocks to the east. He swore he could see the person flip him the middle finger before disappearing again, dropping back to street-level. Sure enough, their teasing got a reaction and Dick's voice came over the comms only moments later.

"You guys realize I can hear you, right? That we're all on the same channel?"

"Now that we have your attention," Roy cheekily responded, "we can decide where we're meeting for pizza."

When Dick replied it came through slightly winded, like he was in the middle of something.

"Meet me at my location and we'll head back to my place."

Roy packed up his binoculars, bow, and quiver, and headed toward the fire escape.

"Roger that."

Wally immediately altered his course and arrived at the closest intersection to where Dick was, cautiously entering an alley toward the sounds of a fight. He could hear fists connecting with someone's face, followed by a gasp for air when a blow struck a diaphragm.

"You're out of prison for three days and this is where I find you? About to pounce on a twelve year-old girl?"

Wally stopped for a moment at the familiar voice. Yep, that's definitely Dick.

"Please, Nightwing," a male voice gasped, "just let me explain…"

There was a loud, metallic thud as whoever Dick was beating collided with a dumpster.

"I warned you," Dick's voice dropped to a pitch reserved only for times like this one. "The next time I found you within three blocks of a school or anywhere kids hang out, you wouldn't survive long enough to go back to prison."

There was another thud. Wally started moving again, turning the corner to see Nightwing yank the man to his feet and begin to dust his jacket off. Nightwing continued to talk to him, his earlier, tense posture visibly relaxing and his voice took on a lighter tone.

"But third chances can be a thing, right?"

The man sighed and closed his eyes. A loud exhale passed his lips and his shoulders hunched a bit.

"Thanks, Nightwing. You won't be disappointed," he promised. " I'll leave…"

He didn't get the chance to finish that sentence as Nightwing put one hand over his mouth and chin, the other gripping the back of the man's head. His eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen and he reached for Nightwing's arms but it was too late. Nightwing twisted as hard as he could, letting out a quiet grunt as the bones in the man's neck snapped. He released his grip and the man slid to the ground in a heap.

He sighed and stepped back, brushing a lock of hair off his forehead as he stared down at the man for a moment. He shook his head. Whether it was disappointment or sadness, Wally didn't know. Moments later he turned to Wally, who was waiting patiently, leaned against a fire escape ladder with his arms crossed over his chest.

Wally fought to keep a neutral expression on his face. Seeing Dick take a life wasn't new and he didn't necessarily disagree with the method, but he still wasn't used to being around dead people. Sometimes, he'd admit, he forgot the Bats resolved things this way. His team back in Central usually saved killing as a last resort, only if all else failed. That the Bats used it on a regular basis was a concept he wasn't quite acclimated to yet. His visits to Gotham or Blüdhaven were rare and no one blamed him for feeling that way. Dick reassured him of that on more than one occasion.

He swallowed and glanced down at the dead man one last time before looking back at Dick.

"So, you about done here, or…?"

Dick rolled his eyes and dusted his hands together, a hint of a smile on his face as he replied.

"As soon as a certain slowpoke archer arrives, we can go."

As if on cue, Roy rounded the corner and stopped next to Wally. His gaze went from Wally to Dick, his expression deadpan at Dick's teasing. He noticed the body at Dick's feet, but offered no reaction. He shrugged.

"I don't have a nifty grappling gun, so bite me." Changing the subject, he nodded in the opposite direction. "Let's get out of here. I'm starving."

The three of them turned and headed toward Dick's apartment in another section of town. They stuck to alleys and darkened streets since Dick was still dressed as Nightwing. Wally's suit was covered with looser clothes and his goggles were in Roy's backpack. All Roy had to do to blend in was put on a grey hoodie.

"So, are we going out anywhere, or are we staying at your place?" Wally asked, rubbing his stomach. "Either way, we're gonna need a ton of food."

Dick smiled and shook his head. But before he could reply, he noticed a small cloud of smoke rising a few blocks away, thick and billowing blue against the night sky. It wasn't uncommon for residents of Blüdhaven to use flares to attract his attention when they needed help. While Nightwing's lethal methods were frowned upon by the BPD, they still appreciated his help and tended to look the other way. The police answered the phone calls, Nightwing responded to the flares.

While Roy and Wally debated pizza toppings, desserts and whether takeout or delivery was the way to go, Dick figured it wouldn't hurt to check out the distress signal. He hung back for a moment and when Wally and Roy rounded the corner at the end of the block, he grappled up and sailed through the air toward the smoke.

He approached the smoke carefully, scanning the surrounding area for any signs of danger or a trap. Once he was satisfied it was safe enough to proceed, he entered a darkened apartment where the blue smoke was coming from. There was a flare burning on the fire escape and he heard crying coming from the living room. There was a boy, no more than eight or nine years old, kneeling next to a woman who lay unconscious in the middle of the room.

"Dick? Where the hell did you go?"

Roy's voice came over the channel sounding less than amused. Dick shrugged. He knew he'd be annoyed too if the roles were reversed. Addressing the assumed party responsible for the smoke and ignoring Roy, he announced his presence.

"Hey, kiddo. You called?"

The boy startled and turned around, relaxing when he saw it was Nightwing. He nodded.

"My mom won't wake up," he said, voice trembling. "She didn't take her medicine."

He held up a small device; a thing shaped like a marker with a needle on the end. Dick carefully took it from him, twisting it to read the label. It was insulin. He looked to the coffee table and saw a small glucose testing kit and the meter displayed a number way too high to be treatable at home. His eyes widened. No wonder she was unconscious.

"Tell you what, buddy." Dick kneeled beside the woman, eye-level with the kid and holding his gaze with the lenses of the domino. "You go get the phone and call 911. I'll stay with your mom and keep an eye on her, alright?"

The boy nodded and hurried into the kitchen. Dick glanced over his shoulder and scanned the room to make sure he was alone before tapping at the communications device in his ear.

"Hey, guys?"

Wally was the one to answer.

"Where are you?"

Glancing to the doorway for the kitchen he said, "Doesn't matter. You guys head to my place and I'll be there as fast as I can. The security code hasn't changed."

"You need any help?" Roy asked.

Dick twisted the pen in his hand until he found a safe dosage of insulin and leaned over to inject the woman with it as he answered.

"Nah, we're good. Shouldn't be much longer."

"Got it."

Dick touched his finger to the comm, turning it off, before checking the woman's pulse to find it alarmingly high.

"You okay in there?" he called out, lifting his head to look where the boy had gone. The kid promptly returned, holding a smartphone to his ear.

"There's a lady on the phone who wants to talk to you," he murmured, eyes glued to his mom.

Dick smiled, trying to keep the boy calm. "Can you put it on speaker for me?"

He nodded, tapping the screen, and soon Dick could hear the dispatcher's voice.

"—ir? Can you tell me what's going on? I have paramedics en-route to your location, but they need to know what to expect."

"I'm here with a woman and her son," he immediately informed. "The mother is a diabetic and her last glucose reading was extremely high. She's unconscious and I administered a dose of insulin a few minutes ago."

He heard keys clicking rapidly before the dispatcher's voice came through the phone again.

"Thank you. Stay with her until the paramedics arrive. Their ETA is three minutes."

"Will do," Dick said. The boy was staring at his mother, eyes wide and frightened, the phone in his hand forgotten. "Hey," Dick said, getting his attention. "She'll be okay. You did the right thing."

The boy slowly nodded, taking a seat on the floor beside his mom. Two and a half minutes later Dick could hear the paramedics in the hallway. He stood up and tousled the kid's hair, heading toward the window.

"I'll come by the hospital to check on you guys later, okay?"

The boy turned and looked at him.

"Promise?"

Dick grinned and held up his hand in a wave.

"I promise."

He turned and headed back toward his place, stomach growling loudly along the way.

The trip was maybe ten minutes and by the time Dick was actually inside his apartment, he walked in on Roy and Wally still debating toppings. He waltzed into the room and ignored the bickering pair as he made his way to the shower. Patrol always left him feeling so gross.

Roy cursed when Wally threw his arms in the air and hit the archer in the face, a hand going to his nose. He noticed the whole reason they'd come to this stinking city as he walked by.

"Yo, Dick! How'd the situation go?"

Dick stretched, popping his back as he did so, before replying. "Went fine. A woman's glucose was too high and her kid panicked. Paramedics got there just as I left." He stopped in the hallway, looking back at them and grinning.

"Have you two seriously not decided on food yet? I leave you alone for twenty minutes and all you do is fight."

"You sound like my mother," Wally muttered. He was scrolling through something on his phone. He leaned over and showed it to Roy. Roy smirked and nodded.

"That looks good. You order it and I'll pay for it when it gets here."

Dick looked between the two of them, suddenly unnerved with how quickly they agreed.

"Should I be nervous about the food that's coming, or…?"

Roy's smirk melted into a shit-eating grin.

"Let's just hope you don't order from this place often."

Dick narrowed his eyes.

"What place is it and what did you do?"

"Nothing scandalous. But the amount of food we ordered on account of this bottomless pit here," Roy said, elbowing Wally, "is pretty embarrassing."

"It's not my fault my metabolism is ridiculous," Wally said, his cheeks turning pink. "That's nothing new."

Dick sighed and headed into his room for a change of clothes.

"Whatever." Roy shrugged. "At this point all I want is food and some bad movies."

"Roy's an expert at terrible movie choices. He's in charge."

Wally cackled and Dick heard some commotion as he reached to turn on the shower. He turned his head and hollered over the running water.

"You two better not break anything! Last time you were here I had to buy a new coffee table!"

He sighed when they quieted down and smiled, stripping and stepping under the hot water. After a night like this one, listening to those two bicker and fight was exactly what he needed.