Disclaimer: I don't own anyone.
A/N: Hi! This will be my last oneshot before graduating college, and I have no idea what my schedule will be like in two weeks. Job-searching, probably. Also, I enjoyed the new Teen Titans Go! Cartoon. Yes, there were parts I disliked, but overall I enjoyed it and the Batman references in next week's episode seem pretty epic.
-July-
-DG-
Jump City, California
Titans Tower
A flash of light woke Dick up from his nap.
"This is so going on Facebook!" Beast Boy exclaimed, holding up his phone for Cyborg to see.
"Hey, cut it out!" Dick sprang from the couch and tried to grab the phone.
He had been enjoying his nap on the couch, though now that he was awake he found that BB and Cy drew on his face with a sharpie and all over his arms.
"Haha, took you long enough to notice!" Beast Boy tossed the sharpie at him.
"You're hilarious," Dick drawled. "I'm going to wash this stuff off my face."
Cyborg and Beast Boy continued to laugh as he went to the bathroom.
"Watch out!" Dick called out. "If this is a prank war you're starting, then you're dead meat!"
They continued to laugh as he shut the doors and turned on the facet. His short visits turned into longer stays, though part of him felt antsy because he had obligations in Bludhaven. Staying in one place was hard. Considering the fact that he was going away to college in a few months, he had to learn how to do it.
The cold water on his face woke him up. There wasn't time to wash the sharpie off his face, but it would help a little bit. He turned off the facet and sighed. Someone knocked vigorously on the door.
"Come on, let's watch the fireworks!" BB exclaimed. "Cyborg's got hot dogs on the grill!"
Ah, right: Fourth of July fireworks. All five of them made their way to the rooftop, armed with blankets and chairs and coolers. Titans Tower had the best view of the city, and there was nothing like watching the fireworks from the rooftop. Second best spot was on top of the Ferris wheel on the pier.
"Do you remember when we had to fight Mad Mod last year?" Cyborg asked as everyone set up their chairs. "That was wild."
"Yes, it was most strange," Starfire said.
Dick put a hand to his temple and began to rub it, shutting his eyes tightly as the fireworks exploded above them.
"Dick?"
"I'm fine, Raven," he said, opening his eyes again. "I just haven't seen fireworks in a long time. Besides, I'm sorry that I missed fighting Mad Mod last year with you guys."
He leaned back and watched the fireworks, taking a long deep breath, the salty ocean air filling his lungs and calming him.
-DG-
Jump City, California
Haunt
He sat at a table in one of the other rooms, sniffling as he typed away on a computer. Not his laptop, mind you, but one of Slade's. Hard to practice hacking when he didn't know much about computer science. He worked on a line of code, mindful of the fact that Slade could remotely control his computer and was watching from the other side of the room as he worked on…whatever Slade did on the computer.
Dick was still recovering from a bad case of the flu. It seemed as though his body just shut down on its own and refused to do anything. He didn't know where he caught the flu, not only because it was the summer but because he hardly interacted with anyone these days. Dick thought that he might have caught it from Beast Boy while he was fighting the Titans the other day. Spending the past three days vomiting was awful. First time he got sick since he started working here, and not because Slade beat the crap out of him. Today the flu had devolved to a cold.
A sudden boom startled Dick.
"It's the fireworks," Slade said calmly. "No need to panic."
Dick glanced at the time on the laptop. Oh. The Fourth of July.
"Do you want to go out to the roof and watch? I'm sure they'll go on for another hour."
Dick shook his head and continued to work on the code. Last time he watched fireworks he was with Starfire. The Titans were probably out watching them right now. Besides, if he moved around too much he felt sick.
"You sure?" Slade asked. "Let's be honest: you've been flubbing the code for hours. Nothing you have here makes sense. Maybe it's time for a break."
Dick looked at the computer screen again. The numbers were swimming in front of his eyes. Still so sick that he didn't like looking at a screen for too long. Gave him a headache.
"So you don't want to go outside?"
"I still don't feel well, Sir." Dick erupted into a fit of coughing. "Can I go back to sleep?"
Slade just looked at him. "Very well."
After saving his work, wiping the keyboard down, and shutting the laptop, Dick stood up, really intending to go back to sleep. He coughed into his arm as he walked back down to his room.
He stopped halfway down the hallway, a sudden pain flaring in his chest. The distant sound of the fireworks awoke a memory, a happy memory of watching fireworks with Starfire. Just before the intergalactic police droid had tried to arrest her, of course.
A sudden sense of impending doom shook him. What was he doing here, playing crook? Why hadn't he escaped yet? Why hadn't his friends rescued him yet? Surely Slade would get bored with him soon. Maybe he had already killed the Titans and didn't tell him. Maybe Dick was doing this for nothing. Every single pop that drifted through the walls reminded him that he had failed.
The fireworks just wouldn't stop.
Starfire's laughter echoed in his mind on an endless loop. Had he really forgotten why he was here? To save his friends?He collapsed heavily to the floor.
He felt like throwing up again. For a few moments he couldn't breathe. A combination of muscus-filled lungs and a sudden, ominous sense of foreboding constricted his chest. Worse than a heartache, to be sure. He leaned against the wall and tried to control his breathing, though he was failing miserably How sad. Dick hadn't even made it halfway to his room.
"Dick?"
No. Nononononono—
"Are you still in the hallway? What are you doing? I thought I heard something."
Slade rounded the corner, though he didn't seem angry. At least not yet. Dick's mind worked frantically. What was wrong with him? Maybe the flu wasn't bothering him. Maybe it was something worse. Maybe it was some terminal disease and he was going to die in the next forty-eight hours. Maybe—
"Did you fall down?" Slade knelt down next to him. "Are you feeling worse?"
Dick's heart raced a thousand miles an hour.
"SLADE!" Dick hadn't expected his own voice to sound so desperate, or so pathetic. "Please, don't help me."
Another fit of intense coughing broke the awkward silence. He was trembling, though he didn't know why. Maybe Slade would finally see how pathetic he was and would let him go.
And those damn fireworks keep on going. On and on and on and on.
"Will," Slade called out, "get over here, please."
Slade was there. Right there. He would get mad, see how stupid he was, how weak he was. Wintergreen appeared moments later and placed a hand on Dick's forehead. A second later he placed two fingers against Dick's neck to feel his heartbeat.
"I thought he was better," Slade said. "His vomiting stopped yesterday and he no longer has a fever."
Wintergreen glanced at Slade for a moment before turning his attention back to Dick. "Just help him to his room and let him be."
This was stupid. He didn't want Slade to help him because he made everything worse. Despite his protests Slade dragged him to his feet and helped him walk the rest of the way.
It was stupid to feel this way. Nothing had happened today, aside from the fireworks. Hell, this was one of Slade's better days. No fights, no lectures, not even a sardonic comment about his obvious lack of enthusiasm. But maybe because it was just a normal day all of his troubles piled up to the tipping point today.
Slade let go of him and pushed him back into his room.
"Nothing's wrong with you," he said. "You do know that, don't you?"
Dick didn't answer. How could he, when he could barely breathe? Every breath hurt.
"It's just anxiety. You'll get over it." Slade began to shut the door. "You're done for the night."
A/N: Review!
P.S: I actually have an extremely important announcement that I will not clutter my author's note with, but it addresses all inquiries about original work. Please visit my profile page.