Disclaimer: Yes, I own the X-men….
Ishan: This is Justice League, remember? You're not dealing with Kevin and everybody else right now…
Hide
Well, maybe that's a pain we can't hide
'Cause everybody knows that we're both torn apart
"John?" Wally looked at his best friend and frowned.
"Yeah?" John looked as if he hadn't slept at all last night, a theory of Wally's that was supported by the dark bags under his eyes.
Two simultaneous yells from the very restless and red-faced twins prevented anything more from being said.
"Want me to watch them? Tough being a single parent, huh?"
Wally sat down beside John, one energetic child clamped tightly on either leg. He lifted them up into their playpen before answering.
"Well, I did, but now I kinda want to talk to you about something, now…" John's eyes flashed slightly, and he got up to leave. He wasn't all that comfortable anymore.
"John," The blur halted in front of John, a pleading look in his eyes. "John, man, do you really think you're hiding this from everyone?" John glared at the younger man, but sat back down and crossed his arms in a childish manner.
"That's a little better." Wally sat beside him. He sighed. This was not going to be easy to talk about. "Look, I know that you're hurt. What she did –"
"This has nothing to do with what she did," John replied in a very quiet voice. It was the worst voice that anyone could hear. It was soft, quiet, calm,…and dangerous…
Not to mention, enough to scare the hell out of Batman.
"Yeah, well, she's doing something, and we all know that's it's tearing the both of you apart."
As if to demonstrate this, each of the twins held up a book and ripped a page, then laughed in that bubbly way that made Bruce's heart melt, their blues eyes shining with something close to secrecy, strawberry-blond curls flying all over their head.
"We've been apart since she decided –"
"To betray the League?" Wally put in, and got a severe glance from John in response. Who had ever thought that there was a glare that was worse the Batman's?
"No. Since she decided that I would never forgive her." John looked down.
"I don't get; I thought she got that I loved her; that I always have, that I do, that I always will. I guess she just didn't love me as much as I thought."
Wally winced. He could feel the pain emitting from John. He laid a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. The twins had busied themselves with climbing out of the playpen on their chubby, dimple kneed legs, and when their dad picked them up, they climbed onto John, pudgy arms and fingers finding their way around his neck.
"Un…wle…" they babbled.
"Still haven't said their first words?" John asked. Any other subject was better than this one.
"You'd think that me being their dad, they would pick up fast." Wally smiled his stupid impish grin.
"The fact that you're their dad is exactly the reason they aren't picking up fast." John laughed in spite of himself; it is sort of hard to feel bad when two cute kids have taken residence on your lap and are babbling in your ear. The twins laughed too, and Wally's face began to slowly turn the same crimson shade as his usual wardrobe.
Wally didn't respond though, because the twins had just said something.
Something that he and John could understand and that made sense; and it wasn't just one word.
They looked up at their uncle, mouths open in big smiles, blue eyes twinkling.
Unsteadily, the boy stood haphazardly on one of John's legs, arms still wrapped around his neck and said clearly, "Unwle love Auny…"
The girl stood similarly to her brother and finished the beginning of his first sentence. "An Auny wuvs Unwle." They then planted twin kisses on John's cheek and laughed happily as they let themselves fall to the couch, socked feet kicking the air.