Something completely random I thought up of after watching Lightspeed for the millionth time. Go Kid Flash! And I made it up before Titans Together, so it's not accurate.
Thank You for Saving my Skin
I sighed and turned around.
"What do you want now?" I asked, slightly surprised to find my face little more than an inch away from his. I took a step back, both out of shock and just so I could see him better.
"You knew I was there?" His icy blue eyes looked slightly confused.
"Oh come on Kid Flash," I said, laughing. "Just because you run fast doesn't mean you're quiet." I tousled his already ruffled hair. "And do you ever comb this mop of fur?"
"No," He said, smiling that annoyingly innocent yet cocky smile that always made my heart beat about a mile a minute. "And to answer your first question, I just wanted to give you this." He held out another one of those signature red roses.
I chuckled softly as I took it from him. The roses, though there had been many, just never seemed to get old. I had filled an entire salad bowl with all the ones he had given me so far. Luckily I had triple-bolted my door so none of the HIVE Five guys would know I still had them, and that I was still getting them.
"They're lame, aren't they?"
I looked up from the flower and into his face. His smile had turned down into a slight pout, and his eyes no longer twinkled with his usual spark of happiness.
"What?" I asked, and felt a slight frown of confusion crease my brow as I tucked the flower into my belt.
"The roses," He said with a sigh. "You can tell me, Jinx. They're lame."
"No they're not!" I said, laughing at the look on his face. "I love these roses. They remind me of you when I'm stuck at the awful HIVE headquarters. Trust me, if I had somewhere else to go, I'd be there in a heartbeat. Sometimes I feel like I'm not gonna make it, and then I just look over at all those flowers and it makes me feel like it'll all be worth it."
He pulled me into his arms and hugged me tightly after I finished this little speech. I felt my cheeks burn as he did so, and suddenly felt very awkward about what I had just said.
"Trust me, it will be worth it," He said, smiling as he released me. "All the time you spend in the HIVE will help us in the end."
"I know," I said as the two of us began walking together. "It's just that it's so hard not to slip up when I'm talking to the guys, See-More especially. He's actually semi-normal."
Kid Flash laughed at this comment. I love it when I make him laugh. His whole face lights up, and the laughter is just infectious. It's impossible to keep a smile off your face when he laughs.
"So, any new news from the Brotherhood?" He asked as the two of us kept walking. I could tell that he thought this walking was unbearably slow; it was so obvious he was just itching to break into a run.
"Nothing," I said, shrugging. "I guess Madame Rouge is still ticked that I let you go."
"Yeah, thanks again for that one," He said, stopping in his tracks and bowing.
"This is only, what, the millionth time you've thanked me?" I asked, laughing as we continued our walk. "Come on, Kid Flash, I wouldn't let her have anyone after she hit me across the face."
"Oh, so the fact that it was me had nothing to do with it?" He asked, making huge puppy eyes and smiling. I frowned slyly, grabbed part of his mask, and pulled it up over his head.
"Hey!" He said, in a voice slightly muffled from the fabric.
"Of course it had something to do with it, Kid Flash!" I said exasperatedly. "And you need a nickname."
"I can't be Flash," He said, straightening his mask. "That name's taken."
"Fine," I said, rolling my eyes. "You do know that it would sound better without the 'Kid' in front of it. 'The Flash' sounds so much cooler. But, since you just can't be called that, I guess I'll just have to brainstorm."
"Good luck," He said, smiling as I thought.
"Well, until I think of something, I'm calling you KF," I announced.
"KF?" He said, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh come on, let's hear a better one," I said, pushing his arm lightly.
"Um…" He looked up to the sky, obviously thinking. I looked up as well, but instead of looking at the clouds, a sign for Kentucky Fried Chicken caught my eye.
"KFC!" I exclaimed, so loudly that he jumped.
"Excuse me?" He asked, raising both eyebrows and looking at me like I had completely lost it.
"You can be KFC," I said, smiling. "It has your initials in it, and it makes you sound appetizing."
This earned me another one of his laughs.
"As long as people don't start dipping me in barbecue sauce, that's fine with me," He said, putting an arm around my shoulders. "Just please don't tell Beast Boy. He'll have my head if he knows I took the name of a chicken restaurant."
"Please, when do I ever talk to the Titans?" I asked, shrugging his arm off my shoulders. "You're the only one I talk to, remember?"
"Yeah, and I can't believe you still are."
"What, meaning you've been a dork like this forever? I mean, it's not some freak stage of superhero puberty?"
He laughed again.
"But seriously, why do you hang around me?" He asked, and I could tell by his voice that he meant it in all seriousness. "Most people I know get annoyed with me after two seconds."
"Well, you were the first person who was ever nice to me," I said, blushing due to the fact that I had just told him that and that he had taken my hand into his. "At least, the first person I can remember."
"I'm sorry," He said, uncharacteristically quietly. I looked up into his eyes, and saw them soften with something that looked remotely familiar.
"I don't want pity," I said, looking away. "Don't try to treat me differently either, or your appearance will earn you the name KFC."
"I won't," He said, giving my hand a squeeze.
"Thanks," I looked up into his eyes again. "Why do you hang around me?"
"Because I l–like talking to you," He said, stuttering slightly on the 'l.' "From the start I knew you weren't cut out for being a villain."
"Wow, so all ten years of training at the HIVE did absolutely nothing for me," I said, rolling my eyes.
"I didn't mean it like that!" He said, quickly realizing that he had just told me I had been wasting my entire life. "I meant that I could just tell you were different. You actually seemed to care about things, while the others…well…didn't."
"And what clued you in, Sherlock?" I asked, smiling.
"The necklace," He said without any hesitation.
"The necklace?" I stopped walking and looked at him, confused. He pulled me over to the wall of a building and the two of us sat down.
"The necklace was supposed to bring good luck," He said, still holding my hand. "I didn't know what your powers were at first, but when I did find out that you cause bad luck, I just realized that you must want to change. If you want to cancel out your powers that much, then there's got to be some good in you."
"Thanks for giving me that chance," I said softly as I scooted closer to him.
"Anything for you, Jinx," He squeezed my hand again. "I knew you'd take it too, even when you did put me in that laser thing. And now look! The Titans are doing great, the Brotherhood doesn't know we know where their lair is, and I get to hang out with someone I l–like a whole lot."
I couldn't help noticing that he stuttered over the 'l' again. I frowned. Once meant that he was still collecting his thoughts. But stumbling twice, and over the same letter, was too much for me to ignore.
"KFC, why did you stutter over your 'l's?" I asked, watching the part of his face visible under his mask turn pink.
"I do not stutter over my 'l's!" He said quickly.
"Uh, yeah you do," I said, pulling my hand out of his and hugging my knees close to me.
"Lucky me, I get to lick the lamppost when the librarian comes out of the library because I like licking things," He said, emphasizing the 'l's each time.
I burst out laughing.
"That was the most random thing I have ever heard in my life," I said between laughs. "You could have said something that actually made sense, like, 'I like to run,' but no. You had to be random, of course."
"Fine," He said, smiling. "I like to run." He emphasized the 'l' again. "Believe me now? I can say my 'l's just fine!"
I rolled my eyes.
"Someone needs a flower," He said in a singsong voice. He stood up, dashed off, and was back within two seconds holding another red rose. "A rose for the lady I l–like because she's amazing and is the best infiltrator ever."
"You did it again," I said as I took the flower from him.
"I know," He groaned, sinking down to sit next to me again.
"On the same word."
"I know."
"Why?" I cocked my head and smiled. His face flushed a dark red.
"Uh…" He looked around wildly, as if looking for an escape.
"I'm over here, KFC," I said, cupping my hand under his chin and turning his face towards me. His eyes were looking down at my hand, and I hastily withdrew it.
He reached out and took my hand into both of his.
"Did I ever thank you properly for saving my skin?" He asked, pulling me closer.
"Define 'properly,'" I said.
He drew me in close and kissed me. I squeezed the hand that was holding mine, and he squeezed back.
He slowly drew away a few seconds later, leaving me with my head held out at a very odd angle, my eyes half closed, and a horribly girlish smile forming on my face.
"Does that define it well enough?" He asked, looking at me in amusement. I blinked, and was immediately jerked back to reality. I straightened my neck, and smiled at him.
"Could you define it again, Kid Flash?" I asked him, winking. "I don't think I caught it the first time."