AN: I must have written and re-written this one more times than I can count, I'm finally relatively happy with this one but I'm still not completely sure...

Anyway...this one is set before Starcrossed

Another Language

He is fascinated by her, watching her every chance he gets he mentally notes her subtle body language, the change in the shape of her eyes beneath the mask, the way her voice changes as she steadily gets angrier.

This time as he watches her he pays special attention to her wings, the most interesting and foreign aspect to her outer appearance, currently they seem normal, relaxed behind her as she stands peering out of the observation window of the Watchtower.

As he watches discreetly from his monitor, the young speedster Flash zips up beside her and John notes how her feathers become more textured, perhaps she was startled or maybe it's out of irritation. Continuing to watch the scene unfold he muses to himself as Flash is clearly aggravating her and she threatens him with her mace, holding the weapon up where the speedster can see it. Her wings by this point are slightly open, flaring; they give the appearance of making her larger and more threatening...as if she needed any assistance by anything other than that mace.

John chuckles as Flash shoots off in a blur and the chuckle stops in his throat as she rounds on him.

"What's so funny Lantern?"

"Nothing...nothing at all"

He doesn't miss the way her wings twitch; if he hadn't been so intent on watching them he was sure he would have missed it. He wonders what the twitch might mean.

"You okay anyway Hawkgirl?" He asks testily but remaining as casual as possible.

Her eyes widen a little in surprise before they settle back into their accustomed frown but John spots the little lift in her wings, the way they lifted and heightened themselves on her back.

"Fine" She answers shortly before stalking back to the observation window.

Curious John gets up and walks over to her only this time her wings spread a little without opening and reveal more of her back, a distant thought crosses his mind as he realises that he could fit perfectly in between them at that moment, of course he does no such thing. He stands beside her and peers out of the window stubbornly trying to engage her in a conversation.

He doesn't realise that the action of showing him her back is a gesture of fondness and attraction, the action itself showing the most vulnerable part of her body. The area between her wings is particularly sensitive and has often been an area exploited by Gordanians during torture; she has her own scars to prove it.

As John attempts to coax her into a conversation he is unaware that she is mentally chastising herself, if he were Thanagarian her action a moment ago would have been recognised and her subtle affection for him realised. She is relieved that he does not understand the subtle language of her wings which means that her unfaithfulness to her promised one for now remains with her, and her alone.