February 13th
Gotham City
1411 EST

Barbara only vaguely heard the knocking on their door. At first, she dismissed it and tried going back to sleep against her boy, the both of them not even making it to the bed before piling onto the couch for a nap, but the knocking happened again. It had better be important.

Sighing, she got up, grabbed her robe from the top of the laundry basket and tossed it on, and went to the door. Her instincts kicked in on her when she couldn't see anyone outside the peephole, causing her to shift her weight in preparation for a vicious snap kick when she opened the door.

"Sorry, can't sleep, Koa and Lady G are doing it. Please, please tell me I can sleep here." Aasha said while walking in, completely ignorant of the fact that she almost had her face kicked in.

"Of course." Barbara said, calming down immediately. "We're certainly not doing anything." She said, and took the time to go ahead and swap out her icepack and put fresh tea bags in her mouth to help the swelling.

"You're a Godsend." Aasha said, joining her friend and lover in the kitchen. "Is there something wrong with the bed?" she asked, noticing Deke still passed quite thoroughly out on the sofa.

"Yeah, too far away." Barbara said with a wry smirk. "Just pardon the chipmunk cheeks."

"Quite pardoned." Aasha said, and got herself an idea. Gotham was cold, and she hated being cold. She walked over to her teammate and sat on his stomach, her negligible weight not at all interfering with his breathing.

"Mustang, wake up, it's your birthday." She cooed at him, much to Barbara's amusement. She held a hand over her mouth to keep from cracking up at Aasha's attempt to wake him. "Come on, Babs and I aren't wearing any clothes already."

"I can feel the tag on your jeans." Deke muttered, ticking the small woman on the ribs. She squeaked and giggled, which was considerably better than being hateful and grouchy. He finally opened up his eyes and looked at her. Despite her giggles, she looked pretty rough.

"You not get any sleep?" he asked, scratching his head.

"Liho and Maddie." Barbara said in a muffled tone. She punctuated the statement by making a circle with her thumb and index finger on her left hand, and extending her index finger on her right hand, and adding the appropriate motion.

Deke snickered at her and glanced towards the bedroom. He was by no means done napping. "Okay, c'mon, there's plenty of room in there." He said with a gesture. Aasha slipped off his stomach and followed Barbara, ditching all but her knickers and undershirt on the way, grateful she'd worn some underwear with substance. The devious super-secret plan Babs had made couldn't be spoiled early, so temptation was key to avoid.

That being said, she was going to absolutely lie between the two of them. Barbara snuggles were warm and caring, and Deacon snuggles were reassuring and affectionate. There was no way she was going to rob herself of that opportunity, she was no fool. Plus, warm, and that could absolutely not be discounted.

It didn't take Deke's psychic gifts to figure the woman out. Barbara wrapped her arms around Aasha, being her big spoon, the moment they were all curled up in bed. If this was like any other night, she'd shift between the two, depending on how warm she wanted to be, but Barbara wanted first dibs.

Deke flicked a hand towards the windows, the thick, heavy curtains coming together to blot out the worst of the sun. He enjoyed watching his girl spoil Aasha, and while, when the mood struck, the two of them could turn into absolute succubae, in these moments, they were simply adorable.


Barbara, one of those lucky few who could get by on less sleep, was awake first, and feeling like a million bucks. She batted her eyes open and laughed quietly at the sight before her. Aasha had curled up against her, and had tried tangling her feet in with Deke's, though their height difference had left her pushing her feet into his abdomen, leaving him hanging halfway off the bed.

"Such a housecat." Barbara said, brushing Aasha's hair from her face and kissing her softly on the top of her head. She extricated herself from the little Indian woman and slipped out of bed, heading to the bathroom.

While in there, she went ahead and washed her body up, her mind cooking up what she wanted for dinner. She and Deke had been pushing their budget lately, so grabbing something out wasn't really in the cards, so it had to be cooked there at their apartment. She didn't want to make her boy cook, but he really was better suited to the task, especially since she'd gotten him into the habit of cooking healthier food.

Aasha would be hungry too, but she ate like a bird, so feeding her wasn't going to be a problem. The task would require some more thought, Barbara decided as she toweled herself off. Since both people in the apartment had seen her naked plenty of times, she didn't bother getting dressed, and instead just strolled back into the bedroom naked.

"Come to mama." Barbara heard in a small, sleepy, English accented voice. Turning around quickly, she saw Aasha rubbing her eyes and sitting up. "But, maybe take your time."

"Sleep well?" Barbara asked, pulling on the least flattering underwear she owned. They weren't attractive, but what they lacked in sexy, they made up for in comfort.

"I did, finally." Aasha said, rolling over and planting a small kiss on Deke's cheek. Barbara had to resist swatting the girl's bottom playfully when she did, as her panties had ridden up and showed off her posterior. "I sleep better with you two."

Barbara blushed at the sincere admission. "We're comfy people." She said nonchalantly and handed Aasha her overnight bag. "You staying here the whole night?"

"If I may?" Aasha said, watching Barbara pull on one of the tee shirts she'd liberated from Deke's oppressive ownership. "I'm not in such a foul mood anymore but Maddie and Liho never stop at once." She added, pulling her knickers out of her bum and digging through her bag for an appropriate outfit.

"That's reassuring." Barbara said, showing Aasha the tip of her tongue. "And you certainly can. Are you hungry?"

Aasha nodded, swapping her undershirt for a sweater, and pulling some jeans on. "I could eat, what did you have in mind?"

Barbara shrugged. "Ash, I'll be honest, the worst fights Deke and I have are over what to eat. I was hoping you'd have an idea."

The two girls strolled into the living room and sat down. Barbara turned the television onto the music channels and searched through until she got to a symphonic metal station, one of Aasha's favorites, though she turned the volume down low enough they could still talk.

"Well, I heard Tandoori Joes is the place you two fell in love over." Aasha said with a wry look. "But I'm not going to stereotype myself either."

"If I know that one," Barbara said, gesturing towards the bedroom. "He's going to want a huge meal. He always does after doing the job. We don't have the money to eat out though."

"Oh sod that. I'll cover it." Aasha replied quickly.

"You sure about that?" Barbara asked, wanting to be certain, and not wanting to impose.

"I am." Aasha said with finality. "Cooking will take far too long, and you've let me stay, it's the least I could do. Especially since I'll be interrupting your Valentine's Day morning."

"It's only interrupting if we don't like you." Barbara argued. "Besides, you know I'm not the biggest fan of Valentine's Day, we only go do something because when we don't, people bug us about fighting or whatever."

"Why is that?" Aasha asked. There was plenty she wanted to know about her friends (Lovers? Bugger all if she didn't know what to call them) but she felt like she was being a pest for asking all at once.

Barbara couldn't help but smile at Aasha's sincere expression. "It's a day where we're supposed to spend money that we could use for groceries or bills, to tell each other how much we care. We do that every day, which I always figured was the point of even having a relationship."

"I can't exactly argue that." Aasha said, gaining a new perspective. "So, you two really just do the whole thing to keep people off of you?"

"Exactly. We'll probably grab dinner somewhere, he'll get me a gas station flower I can take a couple of selfies with, and then we do the only thing that people are expected to do on Valentine's Day, which we don't document on social media for obvious reasons." Barbara said with a wink.

"She's talking about doin' it." Deke mumbled, walking out of the bedroom. He swung by both girls, placing a smooch on the top of Aasha's head, and a longer one on Barbara's lips. "Evenin' ladies." He said in passing, on his way to the bathroom, not quite awake yet.

February 13th
Themyscira
2100 Amazonian Reckoning

Hippolyta wore the burden of her leadership with the kind of respect and dignity that people would kill to show. Sometimes, however, that burden grew heavier than she would like. It kept her up at night, something she would flatly deny to her sisters, but on this night, at least, her daughter was with her, someone she could confide in, and trust.

"Thank you for calling me, Mother." Diana said, dressed comfortably in the traditional garb of her people. It felt good to return to what she knew best, the breeze against her legs warm despite the seasons in Man's world. "But this wasn't a social call, was it?"

"Not entirely, no." Hippolyta said, pausing on the beach and turning to look out over the ocean. "Though, I relish any chance to spend time with my daughter."

"And I, you, Mother." Diana said, joining her mother when she sat on the sand. "What troubles you?"

"Your reports of the Cult of Apokalips worry me." Hippolyta admitted with a long sigh. "They're concurrent with the behavior of a cabal of Lemurian sorcerers who operated long before Poseidon claimed Atlantis."

"They've been crippled Mother." Diana argued gently. "The Justice League and our allies saw to that in a glorious stroke of strategy."

"They were thought crippled before, my daughter." Hippolyta said with a frown, the expression unbefitting her regal face. "I am now faced with an unpopular decision."

Diana scooted around in the sand to better see her mother. "What decision worries you so?"

"Our scholars must learn all we can. It will mean inviting those who took part in your synchronized assault to Themyscira, to interview them." Hippolyta replied tiredly.

"I will inform the women and see to their safe arrival." Diana said, not sure what was so problematic about that. Even those not belonging to the League proper had comported themselves with skill and honor, and had earned the opportunity to see the Amazon homeland and share their stories.

"No, my daughter. You must inform them all." Hippolyta replied. While some of her sisters had no ill will towards those outside, many more did, and announcing such an invitation would not sit well.

"Hence an unpopular choice. Dispensation has been made in the past, however." Diana said, referring to the day Superman and Batman were granted permission to set foot on the Amazon homeland.

"Dispensation was made, yes, but it was for two men, and their visit was very short." Hippolyta countered. "How many would set foot upon our shores for this? I can imagine many more than two."

Diana nodded quietly at that, her mind searching for the correct solution for everyone. "Why must we meet here? Themyscira has delegates to the United Nations, we are known to the world, and our sisters frequently visit. Our appearance wouldn't be out of place."

"I will speak tomorrow morning on this." Hippolyta said to her daughter as another perfect breeze tickled her face wonderfully. "I would prefer for our sisters to become more welcoming, but if the resistance I meet is too great, would you help me in determining a compromising location?"

"It would be my pleasure." Diana replied. "There are many places available to us, secure and hidden if necessary."

"But none more secure and hidden than here." Hippolyta sighed. "But, business is finished. Tell me, what new excitement have you discovered?"

Diana smiled at her mother. "Professional wrestling; it's theater and athletics combined, under the guise of interpersonal combat, and delightfully overplayed."

February 14th
Gotham City
1900 EST

A light snow fell on the dark city. Gentle and pure in the sky, the snow became black slush on the roads, the perfect metaphor for the city herself. Barbara and her boy were walking down the street, both trying to catch snowflakes on their tongues.

"Okay, this is what Valentine's Day should be about." Barbara said, giggling at her boy walking around with his tongue sticking out.

"Deal." He said, around his tongue, finally catching one after three blocks. He leaned into his girl and squatted down a little when she whipped her phone out, snapping a couple of pictures for Instagram.

After tagging appropriately, she tucked her phone back into her pocket, and pulled him to the side of the building they were next to, planting a pleasantly unexpected kiss on him. "I love you." She said with a bright smile.

"I love you too." Deke replied, wrapping her up in his arms. She giggled when he nuzzled her neck, and would have just stayed there but for her phone chiming.

"That was fast." Deke commented.

"This is something else." Barbara said, recognizing the tone, and fished her phone out of her pocket. When Deke saw her give a puzzled look at the message, he gave her a questioning glance. "So, it looks like we've got something to do tomorrow."

"Yeah? What's that?" Deke asked, keeping her close so she could stay warm in the chilly Gotham winter.

"We're going to Themyscira." She replied.

"We? I thought men weren't allowed." Deke said. He'd studied Themysciran culture in the basic world civ class he had to take, but since their revelation to the world at large had only come a year or so before the Reach invasion, the information was mostly limited to 'No Boys Allowed' and it being Wonder Woman's homeland.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too." Barbara said, pulling him into an alley. "You know I hate asking, but could you get us back to the apartment? This is not something minor."

"You can always ask, you know that." Deke said, picking her up manually. She'd effectively conditioned herself into nuzzling into him when he picked her up, and he didn't like wasting opportunities.

Once the lone car on the Gotham side street passed, he launched them gently into the air and made a beeline for their apartment.