This is a series of non-chronological drabbles. I'll be updating whenever I come up with ideas, so realize that the story will jump around.
"Son. Of. A. Bitch," Barbara growled to herself. She was hunched over her dimly lit desk in the broom closet she called an office. You'd think that because she shared the office with her broad shouldered Atlantean co-leader, the powers that be might have given them an office with more room … or at least with a window looking out into the wide wonders of outer space. And yet it was 10 pm (Gotham-time) on a Friday and there she was, sitting in a tiny, windowless room, only halfway through the paperwork she had promised herself she'd get through so she'd have the weekend to sleep. If not, this would be her third weekend staying over in the Watchtower.
What do normal 18 year olds do on Friday nights? She wondered as she stood up and looked over her papers.
I bet they go out a lot, she thought just a little bitterly. Dress up in short skirts. Look pretty. Get free drinks. Flirt with gorgeous male specimens.
"Still working, Batgirl?" came a soft, dulcet, oh so familiar voice behind her.
She smiled. Oh right. Broad shouldered Atlantean. She did have that.
"Hello, fearless co-leader. And yes, still working." She didn't bother turning around; she could feel Kaldur's body right behind her and she refused to react to his boldness. "I thought you left hours ago," she added.
"My plans fell through," he said (code: Jade stole away Roy for sex), "so I thought I'd see if you were almost finished with your side of the work."
"Unfortunately not."
"Pity," he said as his fingertips played with the sleeves on her long-tee, "but perhaps you could still use the company."
Feeling a little cheeky, she almost brought up her pseudo-indignation on being his sex backup plan for the evening, but her thoughts got a little hazy when his hands reached her shoulders.
"Mmm. That feels nice," she closed her eyes and let her back lean into his chest as he continued the massage.
"Well, I am a firm believer in supporting my team members, Barbara," he said gently behind her ear. She absentmindedly wondered if he had to smooth talk Roy on nights like this.
"Mmm, good plan," she sighed. Since the sexual tension wall crumbled between them last month, Barbara was finding their mutually beneficial, no strings attached co-leader activities to suit her just fine.
"Plus," he added with a hint of teasing, "considering the creative ways you distracted me from my own paperwork last weekend, I thought it was only fair I get my revenge."
Licking her lips, Barb thought back to that moment the other weekend — the way his breath became shallow and desperate, his head leaned back and his eyelids fluttered as she swirled her tongue around the crown of his erection.
"I don't—" she sighed as as his thumb kneaded a particularly knotty muscle, "—remember you complaining about being distracted at the time."
"I suppose that's true," he murmured against her ear. She shivered as his fingertips trailed twin lines down the sides of her arms.
"Besides," she said, "my distraction was far more engaging than yours, don't you—" A sharp gasp passed her lips. His hand had slipped inside her jeans. She should have seen that coming.
"You're so tense, Barbara," he said far too calmly for the situation. "You should relax more." She groaned her response, her head rolling onto his shoulder and putting all her weight against him.
Her orgasm came quickly and hard; she vaguely acknowledged the soft, high octave cry she made against Kaldur's gills. Left in the haze, she could only manage panting and leaning against the heated tower of muscles behind her.
"Better?"
"W-what?"
Opening her eyes, she was greeted with a smile that was so very Kaldur with just a hint of smugness hidden underneath.
"Is that better, Batgirl?" he repeated. "Are you … relaxed?"
"Very," she managed with a clear voice, steading herself off his weight and trying not to smile back. "It's a shame I still have that work to do."
"May I ask what you have left?"
She sighed as she looked over the items of note on her desk. "Well, I've finalized the training schedule for the next month, so that's something…"
"Mm-hm," he nodded. Barbara noted that he continued to stand behind her.
"But," Barbara said as she her best to ignore their positioning, "I still have to figure out who's heading beta mission on Tuesday — I'm thinking Tim but if he's on patrol Jaime might be ready — and Virgil's quarterly paperwork needs to be filed before Monday morning and …" she trailed off.
"And what?"
She sighed. "And I still need to sign off on Artemis' therapy hours."
His hands stilled on her forearms. "Ah."
Artemis' therapy sessions were a tricky subject around the Watchtower … one that already caused a bad fight between the co-leaders and their mourning friend, who told them in no uncertain terms that she didn't need therapy and just wanted to get back in field duty already.
She pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers. "I know I should have called Canary about it earlier today, but I just …"
"You fear Artemis isn't making progress," Kaldur said in that oh so soft tone of his.
She nodded. "I mean it's ridiculous because Dinah's sessions are confidential and she won't be divulging details to me, but there's a nagging part of me that's worried Artemis isn't even keeping up with the meetings."
Barbara really wasn't sure what to do if her suspicions were correct. How do you order one of your best friends to go to therapy? How do you tell her after surviving a deep undercover mission and then immediately losing the love of her life that her PTSD is going to get her teammates killed unless she deals with it? Could Barb deal with it? If she had faked her death? If she had to lose herself in her undercover role? If she had lost Di—
"Barbara?" Kaldur's voice and the warmth of his body still very much behind her brought her back to the present. "Are you thinking of—"
"It's nothing," she said just a little too harshly a little too quickly. It only took one look behind her into his always kind eyes to get hit with guilt. She sighed. "Sorry."
"Here," he moved around her to pick up the file, "What if you work on the other items while I call Black Canary?"
"Really?" she asked.
"Why not?"
She shrugged as casually as she could. "I don't know … are you prepared to interrupt an Ollie/Dinah date night?"
He smirked. "You act as if this is my first therapy verification."
Barbara pushed out a laugh … it would be funny if it wasn't so true.
"I think Jefferson might have made some coffee before his shift ended … want a cup?"
Kaldur smiled again. "Coffee?"
"Yeah, well … teamwork."
As she made her way to the cafeteria, Barbara decided she'd be giving her teammate a handjob before the night was through.