Chapter Nine - Strangers

Two long days have passed since John went to Oa. It was strange, not because Shayera missed him, but because she saw Wally in his Flash fantasy, and he never spoke to her. In fact, he always found a way to get away from her. Someone called her name and she looked in the direction. Vixen was coming toward her.

"Did you see John? He's your husband, but I needed to talk to him and ..."

Shayera raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"He went to Oa."

"What was he doing in Oa?"

"The guardians needed him." She said.

"How long?"

Vixen needed to be discreet, but she could not hide her curiosity. It was better than she imagined.

"Two days."

"Hm, okay. Now I need to go."

"Did you know that John is in Oa?"

Flash looked up. Vixen.

"And why do I need to know?"

That woman irritated him with those little games. Already Vixen rolled her eyes, wondering if Flash really was so dumb or just pretended to wrap it up. She did not know for sure.

"Now you have the way with Shayera. Enjoy to separate them and I'll be happy to comfort John when he comes back."

"Ah, you'd love to do that."

"What is it? Are you going to give up so easy?"

"Shayera doesn't want me anymore. She was very clear when she told me to walk away and that's what I've been doing."

How stubborn was Flash! Maybe she should try a different tactic.

"If you're afraid of hurting John, you know he's not as straightforward as he sounds."

"What do you mean?"

"He came to see me a couple of nights ago, and it was not to talk, if you understand me ..."

Flash flashed a few times. Did he get it right?

"Did you sleep with the Lantern? After his wedding?"

Vixen nodded. She wanted to tell Shayera in person, and she was waiting for the right moment for it, but if Flash said it would not be so bad.

"I think Shayera is not the only one wrong in history."

"Those two deserve each other." He mumbled. "I won't interfere."

He wanted to shout at Shayera, and say that John did not deserve her, yet he was still hurt with her. He swallowed his will and hid it behind a scowl.

"Hey! Wait!" She shouted, but he was already out.

What a horrible day, Shayera thought. The heat, the hormonal changes. How could human women cope with it? Of course, her anatomy was not quite the same as that of a human woman, and she would never be human.

She let out a heavy sigh, and buried her head in her hands. Diana sat beside her on the monitor.

"You look awful."

"I feel terrible." She returned. "I miss him."

"John?"

But the redhead shook her head. Another long month passed and she knew that John would be gone for at least two more, but it was not his fault. Even with the distance between them, she missed Wally more, being close and not talking, than her own husband, far away and with whom she spoke almost every day.

"It hasn't been easy for me, especially knowing that Wally hates me now."

"You really seem to like him." She asked.

At first Diana thought it was only a passing passion, but interacting with Shayera and seeing how she was, the feeling seemed more real to her.

"Maybe you should get it right." She tried.

"So easy, right? My husband is on the other side of the galaxy working and I'm going to stay here having fun with another man."

"Well, he was here when you betrayed him before."

Diana spoke a little too loudly, and the two women got interesting looks from some people around. Shayera opened her mouth to reply, however, she heard her name being called on a mission. At least it would serve to distract the mind.

"When you come back, we'll end the conversation."

"Fortunately, I'm going to be hit and be in a coma for the next few months." She said and left.

And Shayera was almost right. There was an explosion, and she did not know what hit her. She vaguely remembered something hitting her head and back before her vision turned dark. The world rolled and she felt her body fall.

The impact would be great, and she would look bad for some time. The other heroes had their hands full and she did not want help. Maybe it was better this way, just letting it fall.

But she did not fall.

Before reaching the ground, someone picked her up. At once she recognized the familiar voice that she would be all right. Flash. But the speedster was not on that mission, right? He should be in the tower. When he put her back on her feet, she stared at the scarlet figure. It took her some time to get accustomed to the sight of him in front of her.

"You all right?" His voice was so cold. It did not even look like the usual Flash. Shayera nodded, stunned. He pressed the communicator into his ear. "You don't have to shout, I'm coming back. I just needed to ... Forget ..."

The teleportation took him shortly after. He really should not be there. Shayera shook her head. This was not the time to try to understand what had happened. She needed to get back into action.

Later, she got some points on her forehead, and recommendations to spend the night in observation at the med bay, just in case of a concussion. She ignored the doctors, and decided she would take the risk. She could not wait until the next day to have a conversation with Flash.

Before knocking on his door, the door opened and Fire stepped inside with Flash behind her. She kissed his cheek and left. He raised his eyebrows, wondering why Fire kissed him, and trying to imagine what Shayera was doing at his door so late.

"I see you've forgotten me." She nodded and walked past him.

The door closed behind them and he took off his mask. Wally looked tired, and perhaps older. If he said that Fire came by surprise and he said he wanted nothing to do with her, Shayera would believe him? He doubted it, and the redhead did not deserve explanations. Shayera looked around, stopping in bed. It was in a state of disarray and her heart sank into the possibility that Wally had been with another woman that night.

"I thought you would not look for me again."

"You're the one who came to see me in my room."

"Ah, and you had nothing to look for me sooner."

She folded her arms and he shrugged.

"I was worried and acted without thinking."

Worried was a euphemism. He was around J'onn, watching, as discreet as he could, Shayera fighting on mission. He did it whenever possible, and even angry with her, he watched, just in case she needed him. And he acted on impulse. When he saw her in danger and no one around to help her, he had to go.

That was a bad idea. J'onn rebuked him for his immaturity, and Shayera was there just to argue with him. She had come with that story to leave her alone, that John did not deserve treason, and everything else. Was it so hard to see that he loved her too? More than anyone?

"All I did was protect you, Shay."

"It was all right, I didn't need help." She lied.

"Unless you really wanted to get hurt, you needed help." He paused. "You don't ..."

Shayera shrugged. Now she realized how stupid that idea was. Too stupid.

"Look, Wally, that's not the point I came to discuss ..."

The redhead began to walk from side to side, avoiding visual contentiousness, and continued to speak. Wally could not concentrate on what she was talking about. His eyes wandered from her breasts to her abdomen and hips and finally took time to admire her face. The set of the work was perfect, she was perfect. And he loved her so much. The truth was that he missed her. At the same time that he was angry, he felt like throwing her in his bed. She stopped walking.

"Got it?"

"I didn't hear anything you said."

"This is not a joke, I really want it ..."

Wally would not let her continue. He approached her and then steal a kiss from her. He bit her ear.

"I need you, Shay." He pleaded. "For the last time."

Shayera knew she would surrender to him again, she would never retain her allegiance to John. But how could she deny a request to Wally, especially when he looked at her like that? She nodded, her heart racing.

"For the last time ..."

I know it's never for the last time. I hope so ...

Gratitude !