YJAM prompt from exterra-astris (check out her stuff; she's one of my favorite writers - exterra-astris. livejournal. com):
Someone - Roy, Dick, Wally, Artemis, whoever- falls asleep in the sun with their mask on. And they get a pale outline where their mask was, and the rest of their face is tan. I'd especially love this with Dick, because Batman would kind of freak and be like "STAY IN THE HOUSE UNTIL YOU'RE PALE AGAIN, OR WEAR MAKEUP."
What is this ridiculously cracky fill? And hey, whaddya know? No slash!
"Auuugh," Robin moaned as he tossed his pencil down on his desk at Mount Justice and lolled back in his roller chair. One sneakered foot dragged across the carpet as he spun and stared aimlessly at the ceiling.
"Rrrraaaargggh!"
A freckled face peeked into Robin's doorway. "Probs?"
Robin melted down into the chair until he almost slid off.
"Bio exam tomorrow," he whined at his speedster friend.
"Ooooh, sucks to be you," Kid Flash replied, happily peeling away at an orange.
"I dun wanna."
"I feel for ya."
"You do it."
"Since I doubt your teacher'd approve, I'll do you one better, dude."
"... what?"
Wally flitted away and returned with his hood and Robin's mask in hand.
"Mask on and outside, my friend." He pulled on his hood.
Robin cocked an eyebrow.
"Uh … I dunno what you're getting at, but ok …," he said as he reached for the battered bottle of SPF 50 in his utility belt.
Wally snorted from beneath his half-adjusted mask. "No wonder you've got such milky skin, geeze, Robs."
The acrobat narrowed his eyes dangerously.
"What are you, a girl?" The speedster flashed over, nabbed it from his friend's fingers, and squirted the last bit of it out down the sink. The tube rattled to the bottom of the trash can as Wally wiped his hands on his jeans.
"See, sunscreen all gone!" He grinned and mockingly checked an invisible wristwatch. "And lookie here, I do believe we have hours of outdoor training scheduled! What's a poor superhero to do?"
Robin smirked, catching on, and sprayed his face with mask adherent.
"I dunno about you," Wally continued, as he wandered into the rec room and grabbed a small TV, "but I think that citizen safety comes before skincare!" He pulled a copy of Portal 2 from the nearby cabinet and motioned for Robin to grab the PS3.
"Wouldn't you agree, Robin-O?" he called over his shoulder, heading outside to the sunny patio.
"Golly, I believe you're in the right, Kid Flash!" Robin snickered as he set the box down next to the TV on the plastic white table and hoisted up the umbrella.
Wally tossed a couple of waters, a soda, and some chips down by the white chairs and pulled off his shirt. He grabbed a controller and lounged back, propping his flip-flops up on the arms of an empty seat across from him.
Robin angled the umbrella so that it killed the glare on the TV but left plenty of light on their faces, and joined his ginger-haired partner in crime to start the two-player mode of the game.
"Genius," he cackled.
"When you can't catch the flu, you do what you can," the speedster murmured humbly. "I got the idea when I ran out of sunscreen in Bialya. Now, I think we have an evil computer to vanquish this afternoon."
Six hours later, the horizon over the ocean winked purple as the fading rays of the sun slipped away. Wally yawned and flipped off the PS3.
He ceremoniously rolled off his hood and smiled broadly. "So?"
Robin laughed. Sunburn ringed Wally's eyes like a raccoon mask, and the lower half of his face glowed bright red. A thin, uneven scarlet line outlined his forehead where his hood hadn't quite hit his hairline.
"... it definitely worked," commented Robin. "You look ridiculous."
The raven-haired boy regarded his friend thoughtfully. "Won't the sunburn heal too fast?"
Wally stretched out his cramping back. "Yeah, sure. Faster than normal. It'll take a couple of days instead of a week; plenty of time for me. Plus, I can still patrol and hang out instead of being locked up inside sick. Good thing I burn so badly."
He poked gently at his freckles and pale Irish complexion, bleaching out each point of contact.
"Sweet," grinned Robin.
"Now you." Wally walked over to his friend, propped one knee on the end of the lounge hair and gently tugged off his mask. The lower half of the acrobat's face was bright red as well.
The pale skin protected by his mask framed Robin's crystal blues strikingly.
Wally sucked in a breath. "Perfect, dude."
Robin smiled broadly and started collecting their game controllers.
As if on cue, the video comm buzzed from the war room.
"Oh, that's Uncle Barry," Wally smirked. "Showtime."
Wally dashed inside, sans hood. "Hey Flash!" he greeted his crimson clad Uncle.
"Hey Kid, your mom wants -" Flash frowned. "What happened to your face?"
Wally feigned surprise. "Oh, no!" he said, bringing his hands to his face and wincing in pretend pain. "Batman had us on an independent training schedule all day outside! I guess I forgot the sunscreen."
He frowned.
Barry sighed, resigned. "This means no school, I guess, for a couple of days. Your mom's gonna kill me. This is the second time in three months."
Wally shrugged and looked repentant. "I'm sorry."
Flash crossed his arms in annoyance. "Well, I'm calling you home for dinner," he said. "See you in a couple of hours, ok?"
"Sure thing, Uncle Barry!" Wally said as the comm blipped off.
Wally turned to his friend triumphantly. "See? Piece of cake. I just blame it all on Bat … man."
Robin glared at his friend from behind his sunglasses for a good thirty seconds. He did not look pleased.
"Who the hell am I supposed to blame it on? He knows there's no freaking training today."
Wally paled, relatively.
Robin threw up his hands. "Now when I am I going to study?"
"... uhh …"
The boy wonder spun on his heel and stalked off toward his motorcycle, mumbling under his breath about ginger-haired idiots as he headed home.
Wally stared sheepishly after his friend. "... er, whoops?"
Monday night, the group gathered in Mount Justice for actual training. Wally's burn had already faded to a tan, though a few new freckles were spattered across his nose.
He cleared his throat as he joined his friend in the usual half-circle. Robin tensed and crossed his arms, refusing to make eye contact with Wally. Wally glanced covertly over at the acrobat's still bright red face … but there wasn't even a hint of a line where his mask should have stuck out past his sunglasses. It was a perfectly smooth crimson. The speedster knitted his brows in confusion. Batman glared at Wally, who obviously had the same burn problem as Robin, and Wally did his best to shrink away into nothingness. When Batman dismissed the group, sending them to their rooms to get changed, Wally trailed behind his brunet friend.
"Uh, I'm sorry, Robs," he called after him.
Robin angrily dismissed his friend with a wave of his hand and slammed the door to his room.
Wally closed the door to his own room behind him and knocked his head against it in frustration. "Dammit."
On his desk was a lavender box with a metal latch - the kind he'd seen some of the girls at his school toting to the bathrooms - and a note scrawled in Robin's handwriting. Wally cocked an eyebrow and opened it up.
It was filled with make-up of every shade.
Dear dumbass, Robin's note began.
Thanks to you, Batman dragged me to the women's department in Macy's for two hours last night to buy every single damn gradient of make-up to cover my sunburn and tan until they heal. I am currently wearing Dusky Rose blush all over my eyes, and tomorrow I'll be covered with Coral Shell Crimson. Seriously, so grateful.
Also, since now Batman knows about your little trick, I took the liberty of buying a bunch for you because you'll be needing it every time you pull this stupid stunt.
I feel like a goddamn pretty pretty princess, and I hate you.
Stunningly yours,
Your ex-best friend.
Wally groaned and let his unevenly tanned forehead hit his desk.
"Dammit."