BBRAE Week 2017: Day 1
Unorthodox Sleeping Arrangements
"Well this is a bit…unorthodox." A women with light gray skin, long, deep-violet hair, and dressed in long silk pants and a matching silk button nightshirt, turned in the king-sized to face her husband.
"Definitely not how I imagined this night to go." Her husband agreed as he too turned onto his side in order to face her. He was a forest-green from head-to-toe, and wore only his boxer shorts and an old nightshirt.
The two lovers had tried to celebrate their 10th anniversary the way most couples do. By sharing a fancy meal at an expensive restaurant, enjoying a romantic stroll through the city's park, and ending the evening hidden under the covers of their bed, commencing their love for one another, both mentally and physically. The first two parts went off without a hitch. They went to their favorite Japanese restaurant, where they shared various sushi rolls and some fried ice cream. Then they had their romantic walk-through-the-park, where they ran into an older man playing a saxophone. They took the rare opportunity to stay and dance to the soft jazz music that older man created. Once the musician played his last note, the couple dropped a generous amount of cash into the open instrument case lying at the man's feet, and then they continued their walk towards home.
They walked as far as the park trail would lead them, before the women used her dark magic to swallow them completely, and spit them out on the beach of the island they called home. The man made a tempting notion to attempt the last part of their plan in the warm ocean water, but the women favored going inside the tower behind them and checking on their little bundles of joy before ending their night. The couple was expecting a dark and quite tower, with their children and their children's sitters all fast asleep. So imagine their surprise to enter the common room with every member of their team-in-training struggling to silence two screaming five-year-olds.
A frazzled Wonder Girl was flying around the room, shouting out orders to the other teens. Superboy and Zatara were standing in the kitchen searching desperately for something. Solstice and Miss Martian each were holding a small, ill-looking child in their arms. The common room was a wreck , and the mess wasn't ending as more random items were absorbed into a dark cloud of magic before exploding or melting where they stood. The sorceress and the changeling both stood off to the side with flabbergasted looks as they watch the scene in front of them unfold. The teenage heroes didn't even notice the arrival of their mentors, until a loud whistle broke through the chaos and stopped the teens in their tracks. All faces turned to look at the man and wife, as the man removed his fingers from his mouth and stared pointedly at the group of younger heroes. The only sound that could be heard were the screams coming from the wailing children.
Wonder Girl was the first one to speak. "Mister and Misses Logan…you're home." She stated simply, her face slightly crestfallen. The rest of the group looked absolutely relieved.
"Oh thank goodness!" Solstice flew across the room and over to the older couple, with a tired and sobbing little girl in her arms. Instinctively, the older women's held her arms out and took the child from the girl. The child visibly calmed down once she was in her mother's arms. She paused from her crying long enough to mumble "I sick," before continuing to cry in her mother's shoulder.
"I'm so sorry Mister and Misses Logan. They were fine when you left, but then they started complaining about headaches and upset stomachs, and next thing we knew they were burning up. We didn't want to interrupt your special night, so we tried to break their fevers ourselves, but then we couldn't find any little kid medicine and they started throwing up, and things started exploding…and…and…" The poor girl looked like she was about to have a nervous breakdown, when Wonder Girl flew up beside her and put a comforting hand on the other girl's shoulder.
The demigoddess turned her attention to the couple in front of her. "We thought we could fix it. We…I didn't want to ask for help. I thought we could do this on our own, but that was stupid and selfish of me. The others wanted to call you, but I told them not to. I deserve to be punished, not them."
The young blonde forced herself to meet her mentors' gazes. She looked to Mr. Logan first, than Mrs. Logan, than back to Mr. Logan. There was an uncomfortable tension in the room, as the teens waited for one of the adults to react. Finally, Mr. Logan spoke up, but it wasn't at all what the younger heroes had expected.
"Miss Martian, bring Mark over to me please." His voice was steady, but firm in his demand. The green girl hastily made her way over to the changeling and happily handed the now moaning child over to his father. The man was large enough to hold the little boy like a football. He placed his large hand over the boy's tiny forehead and found it to be warm, but not hot. "Looks like he still has a slight fever. What about Maria?" He asked, directing his question over to his wife. She copied her husband and reported the same result. The man nodded and directed his attention back to the blonde. "Wonder Girl, how long have they been running a fever?"
The blonde girl visibly tensed as she shuffled her feet nervously and looked towards the floor. "About 3 hours." She said softly.
The changeling sighed. "Okay, and was any medicine given to them?"
The girl shook her head, "No Sir. We failed to find any suitable for children."
Another sigh. "Good. Even if you did find the kid's medicine, you should never give a child medicine without the parent's permission. That's why we don't keep their medicine in the kitchen with the rest of the over-the-counter stuff." He explained, and they teens all nodded in understanding. "Now Solstice mentioned they both had an upset stomach?" This time only Wonder Girl nodded her head. "And did they puke or poop since then?"
"Puked." She stated weakly.
"What did it look like?"
The blonde looked disgusted at the memory, but she still answered his question. "Like red spoiled milk."
It was the man's turn to nod. Instead of replying, he turned and walked towards the elevator. His wife followed him, and when the elevator doors opened, he stepped aside and allowed his wife to step in first. He followed her in, turned to face the now confused teens, and just before the doors shut, he called out, "Clean up this mess and get to bed!"
So now here they were, in their bed, under their covers, gazing into each other's eyes…with two sick five-year-olds snoozing between them. Definitely, not according to plan. The couple had brought the kids to their suite, with a large full-sized bathroom, where they were washed up, dressed in their pajamas, giving some flu medicine, and tucked into bed. Unfortunately, it had to be their parent's bed, as the young twins would not be having any of this "sleep in your own bed" nonsense.
"You know, Rae, we could still sneak down to the beach." The man said suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows in a sexy manor.
The women huffed in response. "We just got the kids to bed, Gar, I'm not risking them waking up just to satisfy your hormones."
"It's not just my hormones that would be satisfied though." He teased. His lode joke earned him a swift kick to the shin from the half-amused, half-annoyed empath. He swallowed back a yelp, so that he didn't wake the sleeping children lying next to him.
"What was that for?" He whined in a hushed voice.
"For talking dirty in front of the kids!" She scolded; her voice also low.
"But their asleep!" He countered, stating the obvious.
"And they won't be if you keep talking!" She hissed.
"Alright, fine, I'll go to bed!" He declared as he turned his body to face his back to his children and his wife. There was a few minutes of silence, until her soft voice reached his ears.
"Happy Anniversary, Gar."
He smiled a boyish grin. "Happy Anniversary, Rae."
"I'm sorry this didn't go as you had planned."
There she goes again, melting his heart. He turned back over to face her. She was cuddled up next to their daughter, eyes shut and breathe steadying. He had expected this night to leave him with an image of her naked body, sweating from their lovemaking, but this sight was just as sweet in his book. "Don't worry about it…I'll survive." He said as he lay back down onto the bed. He moved closer to his son's sleeping body, and took in the sight of his sleeping family, before he too drifted off to a dream world.