Megan didn't like needles. Connor could tell that much from the single night in the infirmary, when Batman had insisted that it was time for their annual physical checkup.
Connor didn't really care one way or the other. To him, it was just more of a relief that he had blood. Being a laboratory-grown clone, he sometimes wondered how authentic his body was. Especially in comparison to his nonhuman counterparts.
Megan had sat next to him, her sleeve rolled up and a nervous pattern in her beating heart.
Connor heard the nervous, shallow intake of breath as she waited. Her heartbeat, so calm and quiet within her chest, beat louder than before, pounding her blood inside of her with a nervous jolt.
"You okay?" Connor asked her, visibly concerned.
"What?" Megan asked, suddenly being brought to the present and pulled away from whatever thoughts were in her mind. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine," she said with an uneasy smile.
She returned to staring down at the ground in anticipation. The nervous beat of her heart still reached his ears, clear as a chiming bell. He didn't know what was going on within her mind, since joining heads together didn't all the sudden give you expert telepathy, but he could deduce what the problem was.
Her hand was clasped down on her arm, right in the crease of her elbow, where the blood was normally drawn out through needles. She kept rubbing the spot, pressing her palm onto her skin as if to make sure that it was still unbroken.
"Hey," Connor said, making his voice as light and easy-going as he could. "Nothing to be afraid of," he told her. He got up from his seat and walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Afraid? Who says I'm afraid?" Megan asked him.
But she knew that there was no hiding it. It may not have been obvious, as clear as day to whoever looked upon her, but Connor knew it. And Megan knew that he knew.
"I just really don't like needles," she whispered.
Connor sat down in the chair next to her, leaning forward to look at her face. "I don't like them much, either," he said. He kept the easy smile on his face, though she didn't look at him yet.
"No one really likes them," Connor continued on. He knew that if he kept talking, he would eventually say something that could make her relax. Hopefully. "You know, right at this very moment, Wally's actually whimpering. And his heart is racing."
Megan looked up at him this time, reading his face for a sign of truth. Slowly, a smile pulled at the corners of her lips, and her brow smoothed.
"And you know, Artemis isn't as fearless as she looks either. I can hear her grinding her teeth all the way from here," Connor said, jabbing a finger at their nearby friends.
Connor slid his hand into hers, and clasped it gently. He felt Megan squeeze it back after a moment, and the smile became more relaxed, more natural.
"Hell, I'm terrified in fact," Connor said, leaning in even closer. He saw a blush darken across Megan's green cheeks, and the quick glance down at her feet. Her heart was beating quick again, but this time for an entirely different reason.
"But, hey, I know I'll be able to make it through if you can make it through," Connor told her. Megan's blush darkened even more.
"I think I can do that," Megan whispered back to him. She leaned her head in close to Connor's, until their foreheads were touching. His eyes were soft, and blue, and she felt the desire to kiss him right then.
"M'gann," said a voice, pulling the intimate moment away from the two of them. J'onn stood before them both, looking down at his niece. "I have been asked to tell you that it is now your turn to receive your physical," he told her.
At the mere mention, Connor could hear her heart speed up again, panicking in her chest. Loud and strong, like a drum four stories high. Connor gave her hand another squeeze, as if to remind her what he had said.
She gave him and smile and stood up to walk into the medical bay. He could still hear her heart racing, though.
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