Whoo, boy, this is a doozie! First of, this is my first Flash fic since 2014! And the reason for that is that I fell in love Ralph Dibny and Sue Dearbon after the last episode and they joined a really small list of pairings my non-shipping ass actually ships. See, normally I don't like romantic subplots because they involve stupid drama that's distracting from things I actually want to see/read (familiar love, crime fighting etc.). There are exceptions of it (mainly in Discworld series), but most of the time I hate it.

What caught my eye with Ralph and Sue is that they work together well and they are fun to watch. Then I've learnt that in the comics they are one of the few happy marriages in history of superhero fiction. So yeah, I want to see some more of them.

Now, the reason I've written this fic is that in the last scene of Girl Named Sue we get to see Sue's hideout, and there are Ralph's pictures on it. One of them is Ralph's policeman photo, which I always liked because he looks really nice there. Either way, I was thinking that maybe, after their common adventure, this photo could gain additional meaning for Sue.

So here it is, people.

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That damn photo

Sue grew to love and hate that photo.

Somehow this was the only clear picture of Ralph Dibny she could find – the only one where he was facing the camera and she had an opportunity to see him front and center. The other pictures of him she had were mostly photos from security cameras in Meister's place – many of them blurry and out of focus. Thanks to that photo, she was able to have a little better look at her stalker.

He looked a bit boyish with this damn smile of his; this wide smile that seemed to belong to someone very idealistic and very friendly. At the same time one of his eyebrows was slightly raised, giving him a bit mischievous look.

Back when Sue obtained the photo, she thought that he wasn't actually looking half bad. Now, after she actually met him, whenever she was looking at this picture, she remembered how he was smiling at her. She was remembering his joking smiles, triumphant smiles, sad smiles, sympathetic smiles… and the look of betrayal on his face when she closed the cage behind him and he realized she wasn't after Loring's ledger, but after the diamond. She was playing a cat burglar, she wanted him to think that she was there for the thrill of the chase and for Loring's valuables; she wanted him to think that she used him for her own greed… but some part of her didn't want to do it. She knew she had to, if she wished to go on with her plan, but there was something about his face that made her feel a little pang of guilt.

He had a beautiful smile on this photo. More often than not, she was finding herself admiring it. Come to think of it, he was quite a handsome man. A tall blonde with pointy nose. And after spending some time with him, she learned that, in the flesh, he was taller than she anticipated.

He was also smarter and boy, did she like her men smart! When she was looking at him on that damn photo, she wondered how a policeman Ralph Dibny was like. How many cases this big brain of his managed to crack open, how many criminals he managed to put in a jail. She wouldn't be surprised if he was an amazing detective.

Sue felt a pang of sadness. In that damn photo he was standing tall in front of a background of American flag. He was wearing this police uniform proudly, which only added to the impression of boyish idealism.

One bad decision destroyed all of it. As a policeman he was finished. Sue suspected he loved his job at the police station and probably, back then, he thought that he was crossing the line for the sake of justice. She could imagine how something like that – how being fired from one's dream job – could make a person a cynical, broken mess. And from what Sue gathered, for quite some time Ralph Dibny really was a cynical, broken mess. Some would even say that it was his moral downfall, considering that he was hanging around with a wrong crowd.

And yet somehow when she met him, he seemed to still be idealistic, downright heroic even. In fact, Sue gathered that about a year or two ago he went straight. Something happened, something that made him regain some of his previous idealism. It probably had something to do with his superpowers. Somehow Sue doubted it was a one night thing. This had to be a slow, painful process, maybe even it involved other heroes guiding him the whole way so he could go from a cynical, lecherous disgraced officer Ralph Dibny to a heroic and helpful Elongated Man. He obviously loved being a superhero – saving people, making difference, being a good person. Maybe he missed it for all those years in disgrace.

Some part of her still couldn't quite believe that Ralph Dibny was Elongated Man; and that he revealed his identity to her. Well, the situation was dire and, in the heat of the moment, he probably couldn't think of anything better… Still he took a huge risk. Because he trusted her. It's understandable, really, they were working together and she saved his ass earlier. At this point, he didn't have a reason to not trust her.

And then she betrayed his trust and threatened to betray it even further by revealing his superhero identity. Right now, when she thought about it, she came to conclusion that she probably would do that. Not after learning what kind of man he was, but not only that – it would be putting him and everything he cares about in an enormous danger. Of course, there probably weren't as many things that could hurt a man with rubber skin. Still, after their departure, Sue made a mental note that Ultraviolet's weapon was one of them.

Black Hole absolutely shouldn't know that Ralph Dibny is the Elongated Man. And it meant that Sue shouldn't involve him into this case and should stay away from him. At least for now.

So there she was, sitting in her little hideout, surrounded by tech and notes on her investigation. And on the wall – among many others – was hanged that damn photo. More often than not, Sue was catching herself gazing at it.

Sue hated that damn photo. She hated that it was making her miss a guy she only met once. She hated that it was reminding her of him when she had so much more important things to do. She also hated that whenever she was looking at this boyish smile, she was thinking about the moment when she left the Ralph, lying on the ground, injured and heartbroken.

But at the same time Sue loved that damn photo too. She loved that it was depicting Ralph Dibny smiling with this mischievous smile. She loved that she could look at it in a moment of doubt and she was instantly remembering his words about being a hero. She loved that after looking at it so often, she learned by heart almost every detail of his face. She loved that it was making her remember this short time she spent with him – how he made her laugh, how he helped her and how he was able to understand her so quickly.

He must be thinking the worst of her right now. It's not easy to recover from broken heart. Maybe one day she will explain everything to him; and maybe then he will be understanding enough to forgive her. She would really like to meet him again one day.

But for now she only had that damn photo.