Chapter Ten — Downtime

"I don't know if love's a feeling, sometimes I think it's a matter of seeing; seeing you."


Before Arley had come along at eight years old, all scrapped knees and rough edges the youngest Lantern to ever get a ring had been Arisia of sector two-eight-one-five; the Graxian girl had come from a long line of Lanterns and had been quick to befriend the younger Earthling, it was why the blonde alien and Arley sat outside a Coast City Starbucks talking and giggling as the day ticked by.

A caramel Frappuccino sat half drunk in front of Arley and the empty cup of what had once been a mango-dragon fruit refresher sat emptily in front of Arisia, there was half a chocolate chip cookie between the two of them on the table.

The sun beat down on the two Lanterns; Arisia, though older and taller then Arley was dressed in the dark haired teen clothes, a pair of jean shorts that became even shorter on the blonde then they usually were on Arley and a cream colored tank top that Arisia had tucked into the pants with a dark belt; Graxian biology may have been similar to that of humans but the fashion was not.

"Okay, okay—" Arisia giggled as Arley finished telling her about the magic show Wally had taken her too and how, because Wally hadn't stopped pointing out how exactly the magicians tricks were done the two of them had been kicked out mid-way through the show by a bouncer who had no right being as big as he had been. "—But did you hear about Laira?"

Arley's brows shot up because she had heard nothing about the blue skinned Lantern from Hal, John or Katma-Tui, or even Kilowog who was the closest to the woman out of the four seasoned adult Lanterns.

"Did I hear what?"

Arisia's lips curled into a smirk, the tips of her pointed ears peaked out from behind her blonde hair as a gust of wind blew by, "Apparently she saved Lan Dibbux—"

"Who?" Arley blinked,

"He's the sector Lantern from sector three-one-nine-two, anyway he's been following her around like a Tamaranean Grisnek." Arley couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of anyone trying to romance the stoic red headed Lantern, nor could she hold back a laugh at someone following her around like a lovesick puppy.

"Oh I'm sure she loves that," Arley said sarcastically as she picked up her coffee and raised the green straw to her lips.

"Tell me about it, she came into the Hazard Simulation Facility yesterday and nearly made a rookie give their ring back in after a spar, I wanted to cry for the poor guy."

"Was it a spar or was it just Laira kicking their ass so hard they couldn't get back up on their own?" Arley wondered knowingly.

Over the years Arley had witness just what happened when an angry Laira walked into a sparring ring and while it was never pretty, it was— or at least in Kilowog and Guys opinions —always entertaining.

"What do you think?" Arisia replied; Arley winced as Arisia grimaced.

"Poor guy," Arley hissed sympathetically when her Justice League issued communicator beeped loudly from her bag, Arisia perked up at the sound, her chin rested in the palm of her hand as her elbow braced against the table,

"Is that Hal?" The alien girl wondered with a flutter of her lashes, Arley, who had been trying to fish the communicator out of the saddle bag Carol had bought for her and dryly glared at the blonde.

"You seriously need to get over him," Arley told Arisia, "He's like twice your age, it's gross."

Ever since Arley had gotten her ring the blonde Lantern had been trailing after Hal with heart shaped eyes and a giant terribly concealed crush on the older Lantern.

"And? Don't tell me don't tell me Earthlings don't date above their age range," Arisia replied plainly. "Besides I'm only technically younger then him," Arisia said truthfully; Graxian's aged at a much slower rate then human beings and while Arisia was nineteen biologically— that was the reason up until Arley had gotten her ring Arisia had been considered the youngest Lantern to receive a ring —she was chronically almost two hundred.

Arley's hazel eyes narrowed, "Not the point, he still calls you kid—"

"—I'm not though!" Arisia cut in indignantly.

"Doesn't matter, the point is you're a kid to Hal and you're my friend," Arley said. The communicator in her bag still beeped loudly, Arley's hand moved around some more in her bag, under her wallet and headphones.

"What dose that matter?"

"You-you can't have a crush on Hal because he's my dad, that's weird and gross!" Arley grabbed the communicator.

"It wouldn't be a problem if he weren't so handsome, I mean have you seen his—"

"—I hate you," Arley said seriously, though with no real malice. She pulled the communicator from her bag, the device looked similar to a compact mirror and flipped it open only to be met with Batman's stoic and expressionless face. "Lantern here."

"Good, as I was saying take a zeta-tube to Gotham City and rendezvous with Robin at these coordinates as soon as possible." The screen split and under Batman a series of coordinates appeared.

"What's the mission?" Aqualad wondered through the communicator.

"Shouldn't we wait for Artemis?" Wally wondered, Arley shook her head from her end of the line,

"If she hasn't picked up by now I doubt she will," When Arley had asked M'gann and Artemis if either of them had wanted to come and meet Arisia, M'gann had declined the offer because Superboy and her already had plans of some sort— the Martian girl had said something about teaching the clone how to bake —and Artemis had declined because of family obligations, "I mean if you give me her location I can swing by and pick her up on my way over," she offered.

"No time," Batman said with a shake of his head, "There's a creature loose in my city."

"If it's your city then why are we the ones hunting it?" Superboy questioned, Arley could picture the clones crossed over his chest as he glared huffily at his communicator or up at the Mount Justice meeting chambers large computer screen.

"Not hunt," Batman corrected, "Tracking, track it until I return with a solution, do not engage." And with that New Jersey's very own Dark Knight disconnected the call. Arley looked up at Arisia, the blonde Lantern had leaned forward over her empty cup and as she tried to peek over the rim of Arley's communicator.

"Want any back up?" Arisia wondered.

"So you can suggest calling in Hal at the first sign of trouble?" Arley rebutted, Arisia's cheeks pinked and the Lantern leaned back in her chair. Arley grinned, "We'll be fine, I mean we're just tracking a monster, what could go wrong?"

...

Everything. Apparently everything could go wrong, somehow tracking the mud-monster as Robin had described it as had lead Arley and the rest of the team down into the Gotham City sewers and that had somehow lead the six young heroes into fighting the mud-monster down in the dirty New Jersey sewer system, covering all of them in the greenish brown water that ran under their feet.

Arley wrung out her sopping wet hair, gagging as Kid and Superboy shook off their feet and hands. The monster had collapsed into the dirty sewer water after Robin had frozen it's arm and disappeared somewhere in the water, Miss Martian helped Aqualad to his feet and out of the disgusting water.

Muddy clay that the monster had been made of dripped off of Miss Martians head.

"That was unpleasant," the Martian girl said, "It was like tangling with a rabid Ma'alfa'ak on Mars."

"I'd rather tangle with a Ma'alfa'ak then smell like the surface of Raxacoricofallapatorius," Arley replied to the Martian girl, shaking her hands, trying to get the excess sewer water off of her.

"Unpleasant but easy," Kid said to no one specifically, "What was Batman even worried about?" Superboy looked at both Arley and Miss Martian,

"What's a Maalfaak?" He asked the Martian girl, "And uh, Rax-Raxacoran-er—"

"—Raxacoricofallapatorius," Arley said in a single breath.

"Yeah that," Superboy nodded, Arley went to explain how the planet was composed of such foul smelling things, like a vinegar sea, that the planets atmosphere could be seen from space only to be stopped by six communicators beeping loudly throughout the sewer tunnels.

"Batman to team," the Caped Crusader voice rang out at Robin and Aqualad flipped their communicators open, "Have you encountered the creature yet?" Still feeling sewer water dripping down her hair Arley almost wished they hadn't encountered the mud-monster.

"Yes Batman, though our encounter—" because that was one way to put utter thrashing, "—Was far from successful."

"Tell me everything, I want details." Aqualad and Robin did, the masked boy pipping up every time Aqualad stumbled over a detail; and as he did Arley turned to Kid whose hair was down over his face, wet with the water they had the others had fallen into. Kid turned to her, a smile on his face,

"Excited for Grandpa Jays birthday party?" Kid asked; Arley perked up at the mention of the first Flash's birthday, just like sleepover at Wally's had become tradition since getting her ring celebrating Jay and Joan Garrick's birthdays had also become tradition among her and the other Lanterns.

"You know it, Kat can't wait." It would be not only the first speedster birthday the Korugarian woman was experiencing but the first time Katma-Tui would be meeting Jay and Joan Garrick, as the two humans hadn't been able to make it for her and Johns wedding a few months prior.

"Neither can Joan. You know she and Aunt Iris made me help her clean the house twice before I left for the cave," Kid laughed. Arley pouted for Kid, faux-sympathy shinned in her eyes and Aqualad shut his communicator, the team leader turned to Arley and the others.

"Batman has sent us coordinates—"

"—Please tell me they're not in the sewers," Kid said, Aqualad nodded.

"They are not, we should go back to the bioship and dry off there," the dark skinned teen said as he began leading the team back the way they had come, towards the Gotham City docks there Miss Martian had landed the ship.

There were spare costumes on the bio-ship for the most of boys and spare clothing on the ship for Miss Martian— Arley's civilian clothing were drenched when she had detransformed so Kid had given Arley the shirt he wore with his civilian clothing and Robin had lent her a pair of sweatpants he had brought with him for after the mission —though changing into new uniforms didn't help much with the smell as their hair and skin were all still wet from when they had fallen into the dirty water.

"Man I need a shower," Kid said as he looked down at his suit, "I mean what's the point of changing into a fresh costume if you're not fresh?" The speedster held up his yellow arms and streched his red finger tips.

"Oh Wally," Miss Martian joked, a coy smile playing on her lips, "You're always fresh." Arley snorted at the alien girls play on words.

"At least you have a back up," Superboy said tugging at his dark Superman-themed shirt.

"Yeah an old one, no stealth-tech, it stinks!" Kid pouted.

"Actually I think the thing that stinks is you, your Freshness," Robin joked as the teens all took their usual seats; Arley sat between Superboy and Aqualad in the front and Kid and Robin sat on either side of Miss Martian as she began to pilot the invisible Martian space craft into the air. "But what about the monster?"

"What about it?" Arley asked back, "I thought Batman just wanted us to track it?"

"Why settle though?" Kid wondered, "We know it's tricks, why not split up and whoever finds it first radios it in!"

"And then we converge and kick that mud-pies butt," Superboy said as he looked down at his more then defiantly ruined shirt. There were just some smells you couldn't get out no matter how hard you tried; Gotham sewer water just happened to be one of those smells.

"What do you think Aqualad?" Miss Martian asked, the Atlantean boy stared blankly out the ships front window, Arley gently placed her hand on the gilled boys shoulder causing him to jump, his sea foam green eyes widened startled as he looked at Arley. The Lantern retracted her hand

"What?" He blinked and turned to Miss Martian, "Ah, yes," he muttered, Arley frowned as Kid and Robin air-fived excitedly. Miss Martian didn't smile like either Robin or Kid, but she flew the bio-ship to the new set of coordinates that had come up on the map Robin had displayed.

...

The coordinates Batman had sent the team had lead the six teens to an old run down building Arley knew runaways usually used when the weather got too cold or the rain got too heavy to deal with; she had spent a night or two in the old run down factories second floor after she had run away when she was eight. It'd only been a few nights before she had gotten the ring.

She hadn't even thought of the building since she had left the morning after staying in it but as she looked at it Arley knew it was the same building. Arley blinked up at the building as she and the others piled off of the bio-ship, Kid paused mid-step and turned to her.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Arley said, still looking at the building, "We should be careful there might be kids in there." She said it as if she herself wasn't still a kid; she could feel something shift as she stood in front of the building, she could feel her chest tighten as her back straightened the way she'd been shown in boot camp.

"Why would a child be in there?" Miss Martian asked,

"Probably because it's safer then wherever they came from," Arley said with a shrug— she ignored Kid flash's concerned look, Arley could tell that the speedster wanted to say something, to ask her what was really wrong —she looked to Superboy, "Can you use infrared to see if there's anyone in there?" Superboy nodded and the clone blinked, his eyes changed red and the clone looked up and down the building before his red eyes blinked back to blue.

"No one's in there," Superboy said, "No one."

Arley nodded, it wasn't that late— only a quarter past six —and the weather was nice and it wasn't due to rain for another few days so of course the run down factory would be empty, but still, it was better to be safe then sorry.

"Great," Robin huffed as he caught onto what Superboy was saying, "We can't pick it up on scanners then." The Boy Wonder smirked, "So I guess that means we'll just have to find it using good old fashion detective work, I bet I find it before you, your Freshness."

Kid's head whipped from Arley's direction to Robins, a smirk playing on the speedsters own face.

"You're on." And with that the two lead the charge into the building, Superboy and Arley followed as Miss Martian trailed behind them and Aqualad, with his head down followed after her. Kid sped up the stairwell as he claimed the top floor and Robin chased after him as Superboy followed, Arley looked to Aqualad and Miss Martian,

"I'm going to look around the second floor," she told them before disappearing into the stairwell like the three other boys had one. Walking onto the second floor everything and nothing had changed in the almost years years since Arley had been in the building.

New graffiti covered the old and paint continued to peel off the ceiling, walls had holes in them and the floor was covered in fast food wrappers, empty bottles of alcohol and balled up used pads and other unsanitary items that had been kicked from whatever garbage piles they'd been thrown into. Arley walked down the long hallway and with her ring hand out in front of her she quickly entered the first room.

A desk was pushed up against the far wall and the window above it was broken, there was a small man-made fire pit in the center of the room made up of cinder blocks and bricks kids had without a doubt found laying idly around the old factory.

Arley could remember her older foster brother being in the factory with her, how after finding her on the streets it had been him to lead her there and how the two of them had made hot dogs over a fire pit just like the one in front of her; the boy— George —had smothered the flamed out once the food was cooked and he had left Arley alone in the factory before morning because he had his own life to live.

Arley left the room after her ring had scanned it, the Lantern went across the hall and scanned the room there, filing cabinets had been over turned and like the desk pushed against the wall in order to create the base of a makeshift bed; no one liked sleeping on the ground especially one as dirty as the factories.

Arley, as she continued to scan the rooms on the second floor, wondered how many more kids had come through the factory since she had been gotten the ring. How many had lived in the factory through winter and fall and just how many kids had thought the dirty, run down factory was better then whatever home they had come from?

A rat rushed by behind Arley, scurrying across the floor. Arley jumped and spun only to be met with Kid Flash's bright yellow chest as the speedster leaned against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his face as he chuckled at Arley's alarmed look; the Lantern glared at her friend.

"Can you not?" Arley hissed, "What if I'd screamed and alerted the creature to where we were?" The corners of Kids eyes crinkled behind his mask and an uneasy feeling quelled inside Arleys gut as Kid took a step forwards; there was an almost hostile glint in his eyes and his smile was devoid of it's usual warmth.

Something was wrong.

"It was kind of funny," Kid said, the smile on his face twisted into a sharp smirk, "I mean come on baby." Arley's eyes narrowed at the term of endearment her hand flew out in front of her and her ring glowed threateningly,

"What have you done with my friend?" Arley demanded to know and Kid— not Kid, whatever was in front of her may have her friends face but it wasn't the boy she loved —chuckled. His hand melted brown and a meat pulverizer formed.

"Guys!" Arley's shout— she didn't have time to reach for her communicator and the mind link Miss Martian usually formed wasn't up so Arley had yelled at the top of her lungs —was cut off when the creature swung it's arm forward and Arley jumped back. The creatures arm crashed into the ground and created a craterous hole in the floor.

Arley shot a blast of energy out from her ring and at the creature only for the creatures other arm— it still looked like Kid —shot out and grabbed Arley around the waist; the monster pulled her forward and though Arley formed a meat cleaver with her ring and cut the monsters arm the muck around her waist instantaneously reattached itself to the creature.

The monster grew; Kids face faded and what Arley and the others had faced in sewers glared down at her as it pulled her against it's chest as she was slowly imbibed into the monster. The world around her went black.

...

Batman, muck free lead the team through the Mount Justice zeta-tubes; Arley and the overs were covered in clay-like mud and the Dark Knight spun on his heel as he looked at the six teens.

"I need to talk to Aqualad, the rest of you hit the showers and head home," Batman said and the team seemed to stall, usually after a mission the League member liked to lecture them and tell them what exactly they had done wrong before making them fill out paperwork on the mission.

Superboy threw the man a dry look, "Head home? I am home," the clone said as he walked by the caped man, Arley walked with M'gann towards the girls locker rooms as Superboy and Dick and Wally headed towards the boys, the five of them walked in a small, smelly puddle; Dick shoulders were hunched forward as he walked two steps behind Wally and Superboy.

"How was visiting your friend?" M'gann asked,

"Yeah that's right Arisia visited!" Wally snickered, "Is she still in love with Hal?" Arley threw a half-hearted glare over her shoulder and at the boy,

"Can you not, Arisia is sure one of these days Hal is going to open his eyes and realize he's in love with her!" Wally let out a choked gasp, one that sounded like a breathy laugh; the speedster bent at the waist.

"You know," Wally laughed, beaming as he straightened himself up, Arley, with an unamused expression stopped walking and turned to the speedster, "I was on Google images last night and I can totally see where she's coming from-hey!" Wally cried as Arley hit the boys shoulder; though he continued to laugh at his own joke

"I hate you!" Arley said laughing as Superboy and M'gann chuckled at the pair; Arley pulled her hand back again and hit the speedsters arm, "You're the worst!" Arley stepped back away from the cackling speedster as the red head reached out to her.

"No come on-I was joking," Wally apologized, as he grabbed Arley's forearm and crushed the girl against his chest. He rocked himself and Arley from side to side, his chin perched on the top of her head.

"Gross Wally you smell!" Arley whinnied as she squirmed in Wally's arms her cheek brushing up against the half dried globs of the monster she and the others had fought, "Megs!" The Lantern pleaded for help as she laid limply in the speedsters arms. If it weren't for the awful smell she would have enjoyed herself.

"Alright," M'gann said, "We're here you two, Wally let Arley go."

Arley, as Wally let out a breathy laugh, could feel the speedster roll his eyes as he let her go, Arley looked up at the boy as she stepped back.

"Wait for me out here if you're done first?" Arley asked Wally, Wally smiled down at her as his hands slipped up her arms and palmed the side of her neck.

"Of course." Arley stepped back, out of the speedsters reach, his arms fell to his sides as M'gann pushed open the girls locker room door and the two female heroes entered the locker room. M'gann shot Arley a knowing look as the locker room door swung shut.

"What?" Arley questioned as M'gann used her telekinesis to turn two shower stalls on; hot steam swept around the room as the girls began to undress.

"Nothing it's just you and Wally seem to have gotten pretty close lately," M'gann said; Arley, as she dropped Dicks borrowed sweatpants and Wally's shirts to the ground with a slop, looked at the green skinned girl's shoulder as she stepped into the shower.

"Wally and I are friends-best friends, of course we're close." Arley stamped down on the feeling of hope she felt swelling up inside her.

"Yeah but so are me and Wally but you don't see him looking at me the way he's been looking at you," M'gann said from her stall. The way Wally had called M'gann beautiful his first day of school echoed through Arley's head. Arley, rolling her shoulders, picked up the conditioner and squeezed half the bottle into the palm of her hand.

"Of course Wally looks at us differently he think's you're amazing." He thought her beautiful.

"He think's you're amazing too, I mean he didn't stop going on about how cool you were after training yesterday." Arley's eyes shut. Love bubbled up in her throat as she thought about how Wally had all but sung her praises yesterday after she had almost won a spar against Superboy; the usual ache that came with unrequited love throbbed through her too.

One day she would be okay with Wally complimenting her and not meaning it the way she did when she would complement him.

"Megs," Arley said, her voice hardening as she glared at the shower floor, "Wally and I, we're best friends. I'm his friend, that's all he's ever going to see me as okay? Do me favor and drop it, alright?"

One day she would be okay with Wally not being in love with her.

"I'm sorry," M'gann said.

Arley ignored how she felt, having to squish her feelings of hope back down inside of her, she ignored how tense her back was as she let hot, almost burning water wash over her. One day she would be okay with the love she was receiving, she wouldn't want more and no amount of talking about Wally would get her hopes up; today though, was not that day.

...

Two and a half hours later, pruney and still damp, both Arley and Wally West had arrived at the small Garrick household before Hal, Barry and Jay had all come back, Iris and Joan and Mary were all inside the house, cooking and baking as Rudy West stood on one of the dinning room table chars putting up the Happy Birthday banner and the streamers Joan had bought for Jay's birthday.

"Wally!" Joan cried, smiling, "Arley!" The old woman moved from her peach colored kitchen and to the living room where Arley and Wally set down the wrapped presents they had bought Jay Garrick.

Arley beamed as she hugged the woman first, throwing her arms around the graying woman, Arley breathed in the woman's strawberry scented perfume before reeling back; though the Lantern planted a kiss on the woman's cheek.

"Hey Mrs. Garrick," Arley said, "How are you."

"Oh I'm well-but I've told you, call me Joan, you're part of the family." Arley blushed, "Right, sorry ma'am." Joan chuckled and placed a motherly kiss on the crown of Arley's head before moving over to Wally, who allowed the older woman to sweep him up in a tight bone crushing hug.

"Hey Grandma," Wally muttered as Joan continued to hug him, "It's only been a few hours since you saw me last you know that, right?" The speedster rocked on his feet as the woman released him. There was crashing sound from the kitchen and Rudy West paused from atop his char; Joan Garrick and the two young heroes turned.

"Hey Joan?" Iris called from the kitchen, her voice slightly higher then normal, Arley and Wally could hear Mary West muttering something as they saw the older auburn haired woman bend down onto the floor.

"Hey Iris!" Arley called though the house,

"Hey Arley!" Iris West, wearing a pair of jeans and a purple tee-shirt, stepped out of the kitchen, "We sort of had an accident with the cake—"

"Accident?" Mary West piped up, her head appeared just over the kitchen counter, "Iris you were trying to moonwalk while mixing." Iris' cheeks heated up, her face matching the same bright red color as her hair.

"An accident," Iris repeated, "Anyway we're going to need more eggs if we're going to remake the cake."

"And milk," Mary added. Joan turned to the two young heroes, a pleading look on her wrinkled face,

"You two wouldn't mind going to the corner store would you?" Arley's body still ached from the mission but she smiled at the older woman nonetheless.

"Of course we wouldn't," Arley said answering for both her and Wally, Joan Garrick smiled gratefully at the two teens, the older woman pulled out a rumpled twenty from the front pocket of her pants and handed it to the Lantern.

"Feel free to get a candy bar too," Joan said as she eyed Wally playfully, "I know how speedster are."

"Grandma," Wally whined at the jab as Arley spun on her heel and grabbed the young speedsters wrist,

"Come on Genius Boy I wanna walk by the flower house," Arley said, leading him out of the house; Wally turned his wrist and lopped their fingers together, Arley ignored the burning in her face as she continued on out of the house.

"Of course you do," Wally snorted as the front doors screen swung shut behind them, "You always do."

"It's a nice house!" The flower house as Arley had dubbed it was a bright yellow house that had a large garden for a lawn, roses and bushes of lavender were spread across the lawn, pink astilbe flowers dotted the spaces underneath the large apple tree and sunflowers, which Arley absolutely adored to look at, grew along the white picket fence that separated the houses front and backyards.

"It's an eyesore," Wally said plainly as the two walked down the suburban street, close to the curb as there was no sidewalk. Arley playfully bumped the speedsters shoulder with her own, she tried not to think about their entwined hands.

"And it's a nice eyesore," Arley defended, "I mean if I were going to have a house in the suburbs one day I'd want sunflowers and roses and a full on garden."

"You kill every plant you touch!" Wally laughed; Arley pouted because the red headed boy was right, despite having a green ring finger Arley sorely lacked a green thumb. Guy had once gotten Arley a tiny palm sized succulent to put in her window only for the Lantern to somehow kill it within the month.

"I can change!" Arley defended herself, "Besides maybe I wont get a house in the suburbs, maybe I'll just live in the city my whole life!" Wally's nose scrunched up, "What?"

They were approaching the flower house.

"It's just, you want to raise kids in an apartment one day?" Wally wondered, "I mean don't you want to get out of the city, ever?"

Arley shrugged, she had never actually thought of life at thirty or forty— she had never imagined kids —sure she had thought of life after high school and even life right after college but the female Lantern had never imagined what would be in store for her by time time she reached actual adulthood. She always just assumed she would be dead by then.

After all, growing old in the Corps was a privilege, not a right.

Arley turned away from Wally and instead of answering looked at the flower house, the Lantern stopped walking as she took in the sight of the flowers swaying in the breeze from their spot behind the houses white picket fence; Arley couldn't help but smile at the sunflowers. Ever since she had read an old Basque myth on how the sun, the stars, the moon and sunflowers had all came to be, the bright yellow flowers had always been the girls favorite.

Next to her Wally bit his bottom lip before he took his hand away from Arleys, the Lantern looked at the speedster as he fished out a crumpled but unused napkin from his left front pocket and the boy smiled at Arley, his eyes were bright with mischief. Before Arley could even ask what Wally was up to the boy was gone, Arley blinked and suddenly, with a sunflower in his hand— its prickly stem wrapped in the napkin —Wally was back, his ears as red as his hair.

Wally offered the flower and the napkin the flower was in to Arley and Arley, with ever so slightly widened eyes, took the flower from Wally. Arley ignored the spark she felt as their fingers brushed and she blatantly ignored the heat that flooded her cheeks.

"Thanks," Arley said, her heart in her throat, she could feel the fist-sized organ beating as she breathed; Arley looked up at Wally through her lashes and the boy, though smiling softly, was looking up at the sky, his hand clasped to the back of his neck. "We should, uh, we should go pick up the eggs for Joan."

"And milk," Wally added, "Eggs and milk."

Arley couldn't help but smile softly back at the speedster, she could feel the love she had for him palpating through her with her hearts every throbbing beat. There would be one day she was okay will Wally not loving her; there would be one day he would do random acts of friendship for her only for her heart not to speed up.

Today wasn't that day.

Wally and Arley— who twirled the stem of the sunflower between her fingers —walked to the local convince store, and though nether of them went to grab the others hand and loop their fingers together as Wally had done before that point the backs of their knuckles brushed against each others with every step they took.

The local corner store, Johannes, was nothing like any of the bodegas in Gotham or the deli's in Coast city; there was no cat next to the register or advertisement stickers littered along the windows blocking the outside viewers from peering in, nor was there cardboard on the floor already in preparation for a rainy day, there was however a mustached man behind the counter, one who grinned at the two teens so large it almost seemed like it hurt the man to do so, or at least, it should of hurt him to smile that widely.

"Hello!" The man grinned, "How are you two today?"

"Good," Wally answered for the both of them, "How are you?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine, do the two of you need any help?"

"No we're good we just need to get eggs and milk for my grandma." Joan and Jay Garrick weren't actually biologically related to Wally in anyway shape or form but his mothers family still lived in Ireland and his father and aunt's parents had past away before he was born so it only seemed right that since neither Joan or Jay had children and were always there for every holiday and birthday that Wally, as he grew up, would call the first speedster and Joan, his grandparents.

"Whose your grandma?" The man asked as Arley and her sunflower walked to the back of the store where the refrigerators were kept; she could hear the man 'ah' as Wally told him Joan Garrick.

Arley pulled out a pink carton of eggs and tucked them into the crook of her arm— the one holding the sunflower —and moved to open the glass refrigerator door next to the one she'd pulled the eggs out of only for the carton of eggs to go tumbling down to the fake wood floor as she had bent to get the half-gallon of milk.

Before she could drop the flower and try to pick the eggs out of the air before they splattered against the ground the carton and the eggs were gone, safely in the hands of Wally West who stood next to Arley, grinning impishly down at her.

"I can't leave you alone for a minute can I?" The speedster joked, Arley who snagged the milk as she straightened back up looked at the speedster and then at the camera above him. Wally followed her line of sight and continued to grin at her,

"We're good," Wally waved her off as he also took the milk from her, "According to Mister Bashir, Jay helped stop a robbery two week ago when he came in for a late night snack so we're always welcome here."

"What happened to Jay being retired?" Arley asked as they walked back to the register; Jay Garrick loved to pull the retirement card whenever Wally asked for a race or Joan liked to poke fun at the man and how slow it took him to wash the dishes.

"An emergency's an emergency?" Wally shrugged as he placed the eggs and milk on the counter. Arley fished out the twenty from her pocket and handed it to the man, Mr. Bashir, who quickly bagged the eggs and milk before turning to the register and pulling out the just over fifteen dollars in change.

"Have a great day, and tell your grandfather I said happy birthday!" Mr. Bashir said to Wally.

"I will!"

"Thank you," Arley said swiping the two plastic bags off the counter as she and Wally walked out of the local convenience store and back towards the Garrick house; neither Arley or Wally paused as they walked past the flower house and instead both teens completely avoided looking at it, though Arley kept her eyes firmly on the flower Wally had plucked from the owners garden.

By the time both teens had gotten back John and Katma-Tui were both standing outside the Garricks front door, a bottle of wine was in Johns hands and a plate of sputlinks, an alien, jello like substance that tasted a lot like oranges was in Katma's.

Arley all but glowed at the sight of the two other Lanterns.

"Kat!" She waved the hand with the flower in it, "John!" Both John and Katma turned from the opening door to Arley; the pink skinned alien smiled brightly as Arley— who cradled the milk and eggs against her chest —ran from Wally's side to her.

"Arley," Katma pulled Arley tight against her; Arley was careful to protect the flower Wally had given her and the eggs and milk, as Katma hugged her and in the alien woman's arms Arley turned her head to John who smiled fondly down at Arley.

"I heard you and the team had a mission today," John said, Wally walked up the porch steps,

"Hey John."

"Hi Wally," John nodded, Katma released Arley and Wally took the eggs and milk from her as Joan Garrick opened her front door, a bright and excited smile on her face.

"John!" Joan wrapped John in a hug; Joan was so much smaller then John it was almost comical to watch the pair hug, the older woman only came up to the space right bellow the Lanterns collarbones, when she pulled back she beamed at Katma who smiled almost nervously at the older woman. "You must be Katma-Tui."

"I am," Katma said with a nod, "It's wonderful to meet you, John, Hal, Arley and Guy have all told me a great deal about you and your husband." Joan's smile seemed to widened at that.

"Can I hug you, is that okay in your culture?" Joan asked and Katma couldn't help but let out a slight laugh at the question.

"Yes," the pink woman said, "A hug is okay in my culture."

Joan swept Katma up into a tight hug, careful of the food in her arms and when the grey haired woman pulled back she smiled up at the alien, Joan patted Katma's shoulder.

"Welcome to the family dear, come on in," Joan ushered Katma into the house, John followed as did Arley and Wally, as he followed Joan who had taken the wine and alien food with her, waltzed right on into the kitchen after the homeowner and gave his mother the eggs and milk he and Arley had fetched.

John turned to Arley, his luminescent green eyes looked down at the sunflower in her hands, "Something you wanna tell me and Kat?" Arley flushed a deep red.

"Uh-no, I, Wally has a crush on another girl on our team, we're just friends." The words felt sour coming out of her mouth but they were the truth.

"Right the Martian girl," Katma muttered; Katma, after Arley had cried her eyes out to older Lantern about just how Wally had said M'gann was beautiful, had raged that Arley was as beautiful as any Martian and in her opinion was far more beautiful then any Martians true form; but in Arley's opinion, Kat was more then just a little bit bias. Katma was after all, like a mother to her.

"What about Megan?" Wally appeared next to Arley.

"You have a crush on her," Arley said and Wally's brows shot up alarmed. Mary, Rudy and Iris all stepped forward as Joan staid in the kitchen; Rudy shook Johns hand and Iris and Mary hugged the Korugarian woman.

"No I don't," Wally denied, Arley blinked at the boy.

"Yes you do?" Arley said confused, "You think she's beautiful." He had said so in such a tone it was was almost blasphemous to think otherwise.

"Well yeah," Wally said with a shake of his head, he placed his hands on Arley's shoulders and both teens ignored how the adults in the room had turned to them, Iris and Mary smirking. "But that doesn't mean I like her, well I mean I do like her, she's cool and yeah she is beautiful, but as a friend. She's a beautiful friend. Megan's my friend, I don't have a crush on her."

"You don't?" Arley blinked and the flowers stem twirled absentmindedly between her fingers; John crossed his arms over his chest.

"No," Wally said, a smile on his face, he opened his mouth to say something else only to drop his hands as the words got stuck in his mouth; with a half horrified look in his eyes the speedster turned to his father. "Do you, uh, need help setting up the decorations?"

Rudy West failed to bite back a smirk as he looked at his son, "I could use some, come on, we can set up the streamers outside-John do you want help?"

John's luminescent green eyes peaked over the bridge of his tinted sun glasses and looked between Wally, who's burning face matched the color of his hair, and Wallys father.

"Sure." Rudy clapped his son on the shoulders and lead the boy outside to the porch on the side of the house; John followed and grabbed the box of brightly colored streamers on his way out.

When the door swung shut and the women were left in the house Arley as Iris and Mary looked between themselves and then at her, placed the sunflower gently on the living rooms coffee table.

"So Iris," Arley started as she stood next to Katma, "How late do you think the guys will be?"

Iris laughed, "Graceful," the reporter said at the Lanterns change of subject, "But pretty late, I mean it's Barry and Hal."

"Hal is not often late though," Katma said,

"Yeah but he dose like to make an entrance," Arley said with a wag of the finger as the two Lanterns and civilians women moved to the open window area between the kitchen and dinning room.

"Where is Barry and Hal?" Katma wondered.

"They took Jay to the race track for the day," Mary said.

"Are Jay and Barry competing?" Katma wondered and the four Earth women couldn't help but chuckle at the aliens easily made mistake.

"No Kat," Arley shook her head, "Barry and Hal took Jay to a racetrack for cars, it's a sport here, John hates it, when they get here mention it in front of him and watch him just explode." John didn't think NASCAR racing was a sport, he always liked to say if he wanted to watch cars go around in a circle for hours he'd watch his old matchbox car set, not pay for expensive tickets.

Katma nodded,

"So Katma," Joan asked as she began to mix the eggs and milk into a bowl, "What do you do when you're not a Lantern?" Katma's pointed brows knitted together.

"I'm always a Lantern?"

"I think what Joan meant was what are your hobbies?" Iris clarified, "What do you do when you're not on the clock?" Katma nodded.

"I train," Katma said truthfully, "I'm a training officer on Oa so most of my days, even when I am, as you say, not on the clock, are usually in the Hazard Simulation Facility."

"She also knits," Arley added, "But we're not allowed to tell Guy." Because Guy Gardener would without a doubt give Katma hell for being a usually stoic warrior who liked to knit under her table lamp at night; Hal apparently had when he had found out.

Iris' face softened at the mention of the red headed Lantern; "How is he?" Arley stiffened, she had visited the comatose man the week before.

"Same as always," Arley muttered, Katma put her hand on Arleys back.

"Guy is strong, a true Lantern, he will be okay." Katma said it like it was the only option, like Guy would, without a doubt wake up, and Arley nodded because she had to believe Guy would. Arley jumped as Joan put on the radio and Lady Antebellum's I Need You Now started to blast through the Garrick family house.

...

Later that night, around a crowded dining room table, with her arm pressed against Wally as he ate a third helping, Arley couldn't help but laugh at the joke Hal had told the table. Hal sat snugly between John and Mary West, Joan sat on Katma's other side, next to her husband and Iris and Barry sat on both sides of the two teen heroes.

Barry stood from his seat, his cleaned off plate in his hands.

"Here," Barry said, "I got that." Barry sped over to Jay and picked up the older mans plate, "And that." Barry then began to speed around the table picking empty plates and what would be tomorrows leftovers before putting them in the kitchen. Only to, as Wally stood with both Arley and his own empty plate, take the teens dishes before either of them could do anything about them.

"Thanks Uncle Barry," Wally said.

"Yeah!" Arley nodded as Wally moved from the table, "Thanks' Barry!"

"Welcome kids!" Mary leaned across the table towards her sister-in-law.

"You're a lucky lady Iris our Wally certainly isn't that fast, at least, not when it comes to clearing the table." Arley snorted as she got up from the table and moved to the kitchen where she knew Wally would be.

"Mom!" Wally whined, Arley found the speedster elbow deep into a tub of ice cream.

"Neither is my Jay, believe me," Arley heard Joan say. Arley shot the teenage speedster an unimpressed look. "I know, I know, you're a retired speedster and since it's your birthday we won't argue."

"You're not even going to share?" Arley asked, her hand going to hip as Barry plopped a candle into the center of the chocolate cake Joan had baked before he and Hal and Jay had come back. Wally held his spoon up to Arley who leaned forward and slide the scoop of chocolate ice cream into her mouth.

"Wally is fast enough when he wants to be," Barry defended his nephew and sidekick as he brought out the cake, "We're suddenly out of ice cream." Wally and Arley looked up from the ice cream; Arley felt a dribble of ice cream slide down the corner of her mouth.

"Wally!" Mary scolded, Arley swiped her hand across her mouth.

"Ah," the speedster winced as he ate a another scoop of ice cream, "Happy Birthday."

"Wally put down the ice cream and come sing happy birthday," the teens mother sternly said,

"You too Arley, cake time," Hal said from next to the older woman.

Both teen moved back into the dining room, though Wally set the ice cream between them as they retook their seats. Hal with a wave of his ring lowered the dinning room lights as Barry set the cake down in front of Jay and under the table Arley felt the side of Wally's hand press against her own.

One day Arley would get over Wally, her heart would stop speeding up and her cheeks would stop flushing a bright red every time he did something slightly intimate, but today was not that day.