A/N: This is pretty short, not even a page in Word. I don't remember what I was going for, but it ended up being a bit of Shay-angst, John-Wally-friendship, and Superman-something (I dunno what you'd call it). I kind of ignore Diana and J'onn, sorry about that.
Also, I apologize if this doesn't fit with the actual episode (Panic in the Sky). I have seen it, but I don't remember the details. Can you tell I have a horrible memory? LoL.
00000000000000
Distractions
00000000000000
It wasn't a large room, but it wasn't very small either. It just seemed a lot smaller with six people in it. It was a normal prison cell, not made to hold superheroes (or even supervillians). They all could have easily escaped. They didn't even take John's ring away.
It was all about trust. Superman wasn't going to let them down again.
He watched his comrades carefully, making sure they were alright in their own way. J'onn seemed to be meditating, Diana was floating in place twirling her hair around her finger with a look on her face like she was in deep thought, Shayera was sitting on the floor with her knees pulled up to her chin watching John, who looked like he was trying to amuse Wally with different things he could do with his ring.
John had once told him that Wally was claustrophobic. Distractions were best to keep his mind off the small space, and Superman was pretty sure that John was just distracting him more than anything (and trying to keep him in one place). He smiled to himself, thinking how strange it was that two people so different from each other could become so close.
He turned his gaze back to Shay, and the smile turned into a frown. He suddenly remembered that she, too, was claustrophobic. But she didn't show any signs of it. She was still staring intently at John and Wally. Superman realized this was her own distraction.
It reminded him of the time when he had gone to the park in Metropolis on a work break. He had sat on a bench near the playground, watching the kids play. He'd spotted a father playing tag with his two little boys. Well, not really tag so much as Let's-See-If-We-Can-Tackle-Daddy. And when they finally succeeded, they all fell to the ground in heap, laughing exactly like they didn't have to worry about saving the world when they got home. The slightly depressed part of Clark had wondered if he'd ever have a family of his own.
This was like that, except it was Shayera instead of him and it was John and Wally instead of the father and his two boys, though there may not have been much of a difference there. And they certainly weren't at the park. After all, before the whole Hawk invasion, all three of them had been good friends (except where it had been more than that). It probably killed Shay inside a little more than she would ever admit to see Wally laughing softly at a joke John had just told him, without her there. No matter how long she had been back with them, she still felt out of place.
Wally suddenly stopped laughing, finally noticing Shayera's gaze. Superman blinked and Wally was at her side, whispering something to her. There was a pause, then she nodded slowly. They walked back over to John together. Even without super-hearing, Superman knew that Wally was telling her the joke John had just told him. He watched the genuine smile spread across her face and saw Wally practically beaming. John even seemed a bit happier.
Superman leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes.
They were just fine.
00000000000000
Wow, two fics in less than two weeks. I'm impressed. Hope you enjoyed!