Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice
Author's Note: Well this is fic ½ I wrote for the lovely brella for her birthday. I was only going to write one but got carried away… Whoops. Sorry I wrote you a lot. Anyway, this is the first thing I wrote in 2nd person and it's probably going to be the last. Damn it's hard to write in 2nd person. But I did it because I know she loves stories written like this so I thought why not, it's her birthday. So hopefully it actually worked out well.
The sky is dark with the ashes of the burning city that was below it. The numbers of your squad are low now, unable to make a difference to the chaos surrounding you. But you all know to keep trying and to keep fighting; it's what your mission is. You know that the moment you give up is the moment when you will finally have lost. You will have lost the people you're trying to save and all the ones you lost already. You will have lost who you are in that moment. So you continue to fight and to struggle and to watch your friends die.
And he is no different. He's one of the last of your team, your friends, your family, to be standing. So many have died and you know you should mourn them. You want to mourn them. You want the two of you to just run away and mourn together. But you can't. You have monsters upon monsters to fight. You aren't sure if you'll be able to stop them. You aren't sure if there's even a way. But you know you have to try. And you know he feels the exact same way.
You're standing with his best friend as he zips over to kiss you on lips and mutter how much he loves you. It's the first time he has ever said the words and you can feel that it's going to be the last. Before you have the time to answer, he's gone. There's just a blur of red and yellow and a burst of wind that hits your face. You blink multiple times and hope to catch one last glimpse of him but it was too late.
He is already in the burning building and all you can do is hold your breath. You both know he's the only one who can save the people in there. The only one who can make it in time. The only one to do that over and over until the day is save. The only one stupid enough to run into a burning building that could be the end.
Just when you think that he won't be able to save anyone a group of people come running out. You let your breath out and smile. Maybe one thing will finally go right. Maybe this one time when you tell him he isn't second rate he'll believe you. Maybe he'll finally see himself as a hero.
"Where is he?" breathes the boy next to you and suddenly you're aware too. He hasn't left yet. Why hasn't he run out yet? He's the fastest person alive now, why isn't he back? Weren't his words filled with the promise of a future together? The promise of a life outside of all of this? The promise of return?
You're about to answer, about to say something, when you hear the crashing. You gasp and start to step towards the building. You're held back and you begin to scream. You struggle to break free and run towards the building that begins to collapse up itself. You scream for the red and yellow blur to make its way back to you. You scream to feel his lips on yours again, to feel him again. Maybe if you scream long enough he'll get out. Maybe if you scream loud enough he can grab hold of your voice and come back to you. Maybe if you just continue to scream he'll find a way out before it's too late.
But nothing happens. The building is gone. There's no gust of wind signalling his return. You just stand in your friend's grip, out of breath, out of voice, out of energy. And then you just stop. Why continue if they're all dead? He isn't coming back to you and you forget why you were even fighting in the first place.
You make your way through the destruction of the city, hoping that someone else is out there. You're alone now, separated from the last person you know. You both had decided that it would be better this way. Better to find other survivors. Easier to accept the fate you had been dealt.
You wander around aimlessly. You begin to wonder if there are any people out there, whether they're on your side or not. The city moves past as you walk through the broken and empty streets. You don't care what will happen anymore. You just want it to end. You want the emptiness to go away. You want to try and find light again. All that's around you is dead.
And then it just ends. You feel a sharp pain in your chest as a bullet flies into you and slowly you drift into blackness.
You open your eyes and sit up slowly. The first thing you see is light. It's overwhelming so you shut your eyes again. There's a hand on you back instantly that helps you. You blink a few times and open your eyes again. Then you realize what had happened.
M'gann had suggested to you to try an exercise again. She would stay out and project it into your minds with the help of her uncle. She would make sure history didn't repeat itself. And it didn't. You all deep down knew that no one was dying. Deep down you knew you would just wake up once they died. You knew you were safe.
But you still hurting from what you saw. You still feel a pain in your chest. You look up and see bright green eyes searching yours. They're looking to see if you're okay. To see if you need help. To see if you remember.
And you run. You know it's stupid, he's faster than you, but you do it anyway. You're terrified. You're afraid of what he'll ask, of what he'll want. And you want to give everything he wants to him but you're afraid that it will only lead to the pain you just felt. You're afraid what you have to offer won't be enough. You're afraid that if you both aren't about to die it won't matter.
He finds you quickly and you snap. You throw punches at him and yell. You scream that he should have been more careful. That he shouldn't have left. That he shouldn't have died. That he shouldn't have told you he loves you.
And he just takes it. He knows you need this and he has always been good at giving you what you need. When you finally tire, he wraps his arms around you, pressing his lips against your hair. He whispers his apology as you try to regain your composure. Anger you can handle, but the aftermath has always been something you hide. You aren't sure if you're ready for him to share this with you but it's too late.
He pulls back, brushing your hair out of your face. He tells you it's okay. He tells you he understands. That he completely understands. You handled it better than he did. You are the strongest out of the two of you. He tells you that when you died he lost it. He could barely contain his anger. He desperately tried to hold onto you after you died all that time ago, before you were ever close. Before you were a 'we'. Before you let him into your life. Before you fell.
He tells you that you'll be okay. That you won't have worry anymore because he won't be going anywhere. That you won't have to worry about him disappearing ever again. He promises you that he'll always be by your side, through everything. He promises that he will be there till the end.
You start to smile and wipe the tears out of your eyes. You tell him that he better keep his promise or you'll be the one that kills him. And then you promise the same. You promise to stay by his side. You promise that you'll never leave him no matter what. And then you promise to love him for as long as you can.
He smiles and whispers that he loves you too. But you already know this.
He leans forwards and gently captures your lips with his. You breathe him in to ensure that his is in fact in front of you and that you won't wake up again. Smiling, you get his familiar taste mingling with yours and you finally let go.
You know you've finally found the right person for you. You know that you've finally found a person who understands you. You finally understand what it's like to be loved like this. And you love him just as much and you can finally accept it.
