Hey, so I wrote some more. Better than the first chapter. At least I think so. So here we go, some more spaqua. Sorry if it seems vague at times, it looked really awesome in my head, but it was hard to describe.
Thank you to, Bizerko-kittykins, drowninginthedark123, playfulsylph, CaitlynMario, DL, Suka-Kitsune, and Opal21, for reviewing this story. Thanks :)
Hardly a moment had passed when the alarm blared through the Tower. Aqualad slipped away from Speedy like water, climbing smoothly out of the pool. The rest of the team came stampeding quickly into the room. Bee's fingers scrambled agilely across the keys, her eyes fixed on the main screen.
"Look's like a bank robbery. The First National down on Baker Street," she said, her eyes darting quickly as she read.
Speedy, who was still floating in the water, came to his senses and pulled himself sluggishly out of the pool. No longer quite sure of what he had just done, or what on earth had provoked him to do it.
"Alright Titans, let's move!" Bee yelled, and they all rushed towards the maintenance bay and the awaiting vehicles within. "Aqualad!" she spoke as they ran. "Could you take care of Speedy for me?"
Speedy and Aqualad heads turned towards her, their faces wearing the same perplexed expression.
"He looks like a drowned rat," She explained further, as she stopped in front of the vehicle, "take care of it before he ruins the interior of the car." All the patience had vanished from her voice.
"Of course," Aqualad mumbled. And Speedy felt the moisture pulled effortless from his body. Suddenly dry in climbed into the car just as Bee begin pressing firmly on the gas pedal. They roared down the roads, cars parting for them faster than they parted for the cops. In what felt like moments they came to an abrupt halt outside the bank. The shadowy outlines of the nameless criminals just visible through tall walls of glass.
"Alright, Speedy and Aqualad, you guys take care of the gunmen, Mas y Menos and I will take care of the hostages."
And without another word they moved.
It started off fine. Bee and Mas y Menos had found an unguarded door and were sneaking out as many of the civilians as possible. Aqualad and Speedy had burst through the front doors, gaining the undivided attention of the thugs.
Aqualad worked quickly, confident in his abilities and those of his teammates. His moves were effortless, and the sound of arrows flying about only increased his confidence. But suddenly, he felt a heavy weight on his back, and a great beefy arm was wrapped around his neck. His breath caught in his throat, the hard tip of a gun pressed firmly into his skull.
The other robbers lay incapacitated on the floor, the only one left standing was the one who held Garth hostage. The only leverage the criminal had to try to bargain for his escape.
"I suggest you put that water down," the man growled into his ear.
Aqualad froze for a moment before relaxing his hands, letting the sheets of liquid he had been using moments before splash lifelessly onto the floor.
"Let him go." Speedy commanded, his bow drawn and aimed sharply at the crook, where it should have been the whole time.
"Now why would I do a silly thing like that?" He said laughing darkly.
Speedy snarled and made a move to step forward, but stopped as the gun was readjusted against Aqualads head.
"Not a step closer Red, or Fishy gets his brains spread out across the floor in such a way it would make Jackson Pollocks paintings wither with envy."
Aqualad glanced around the room searching for Bee. She stood frozen, one arm wrapped around one of the clerks, the other reaching at a stinger on her hip. Their eyes met and Aqualad narrowed his. He moved his lips slowly and firmly, mouthing what she already knew. "Go."
She nodded, gathering the remaining people and escorting them safely out of the building. Aqualad shut his eyes and clenched his fist, concentrating very hard.
"You seem like a clever guy," Speedy said honestly, "so I know you can't think you're getting out of here scot free. Let him go. Shooting him is only going to get you a longer sentence."
"As compelling as your argument is, I can't give up my only shot for an escape."
"I'm warning you, my aim is perfect, I don't miss," Speedy said, flashy a cocky smile.
"You wanna try, well be my guest. We'll see who goes down first. Because this is a target I'm not missing at this range, I don't need skill." He replied.
Speedys' bow lowered a fraction of an inch, his tone of anger changing into a raspy plea. "Just let him go. Please, let him go."
The mans mouth twisted into a sinister smile. "Desperation doesn't suit you. It's actually quite–"
But what ever it was, wasn't said. The glass of the banks large windows shattered, the glass flying everywhere. Water rushed into the bank with the force of a hurricane and the place was flooded almost instantly. The water pushed its way forcefully between the thief and Aqualad, the strong currents protecting Garth, while leaving the other man helpless.
Garth swam easily through the water, his eyes searching for his comrade. He spotted the mass of red within seconds. Latching tightly onto Speedys' arm, he glided to the open frames of the bank. He carefully stepped through the wall of water, ready to support the weight the unconscious form beside him would regain once they hit the atmosphere.
Aqualad lowered Speedy slowly to the ground before collapsing himself. Once he did, the levitating barricade of water that incased the bank began to melt away, rushing fountain like down the steps and into the street.
Garth let his head fall to the side, his eyes settling on Roy who lay still, blood seeping out of various slices along his side. He took a hand and placed it on his friends chest, forcing the water that was resting in his lungs to move upwards. Roy heaved heavily before retching the water onto the pavement, falling back into unconsciousness immediately after. But the steady rise and fall of his chest signified he was out of any immediate danger.
Aqualad sighed in relief, moving his head so it again faced the sky. But his view was impaired by the face of his leader, a frown marring her lovely features.
"I had everyone evacuate as soon as I saw the fire hydrants exploding," She said, her tone unreadable. "What on earth was that Al?"
"A flood?" He mumbled stupidly, sitting up with some effort.
"I've never seen you do anything of the magnitude before. Warn us next time," She said, stepping around him.
"Well as soon as I learn to speak telepathically I'll let you know. Speedy–"
"Is just fine," Bee interrupted. "It's all superficial. Let's get him home, clean him up. I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of paper work to take care of for this one."
Back at the Tower, Bee deposited Aqualad and Speedy into the medical bay, telling them to fix themselves up while she dealt with the twins. Garth, who was pretty much unscathed, immediately grabbed the proper things needed to disinfect and bandage Roys' wounds.
"That was some trick," Roy said as he swapped his uniform shirt for one of the soft white cotton tees they kept in the sterile room.
"I guess," Aqualad said, pouring alcohol onto cotton. Roy had the shirt raised in one hand as he looked at the cuts in a mirror. Garth extend his arm, ready to clean it when Roy snatched it none to gently from his hand.
"I can do this myself," he said harshly. "You can go."
"It's not a problem, it'll be easier if I do it."
"I don't want or need your help," Roy snapped, simply grabbing the bottle of alcohol and pouring it down his side. "My way's faster too." He mopped the now damp area of the wounds with gauze before he sloppily began to apply the bandages.
Aqualad gave him a look of heavy distaste before grabbing some paper towels and wiping up the mess from the floor. "You're a real jerk you know that?" He growled, throwing the towels away with more anger than they deserved.
"What?" Roy snarled.
"You almost got me killed today. And before that you practically mauled me in the pool!"
"Mauled?" Roy gasped. "Oh for gods sake I didn't maul you!"
"I beg to differ," Garth argued, gathering everything up so he could put it away.
"It was just a kiss," Roy mumbled.
" "Just a kiss"? What do you mean "Just a kiss"? You don't go around "Just kissing" your team mates!" Garth exclaimed, slamming a cupboard shut.
"Its not like I went around locking lips with everyone."
"Oh so it was just me! I'm so flattered," Garth retorted sarcastically. "Titans heart throb Speedy sexually assaults teammate Aqualad," I can see the headlines now. What the hell is wrong with you Roy?"
"Wrong with me? What the hell is wrong with you! You're the one who's blowing it completely out of proportion."
"Why are you trying to make this seem like it isn't a big deal?"
"Because it isn't," Roy spoke forcefully through gritted teeth.
"You didn't have my back today. Your mistake got me a gun pointed at my head. Who knows what else could have happened."
"So it's all my fault? Maybe you shouldn't have assumed I had him covered."
"You're my teammate," Garth said sending fierce glare at Roy. "I'm supposed to depend on you. I'm supposed to be able to rely on you. You know how I fight, you know exactly what you should have done. Why didn't you do it?"
"I was distracted."
"Well I'm sorry but you aren't allowed to be distracted," Garth said, sitting down sternly on the exam table. "I will be the first to admit that I was not in the right mind set when we were called out there today, but sometimes you have to ignore personal feelings when you're in the middle of a battle. You have to forget about things and focus completely on what is at hand or mistakes are made. And I will not allow myself to ever make those kind of mistakes. I will not put my teammates lives at risk, your life at risk because my mind was elsewhere."
"You don't think I know that? You don't I was scared to death when I saw you, when I realized how badly I screwed up? You don't think I feel guilty? Because damn it Garth I feel guilty! I'm so unbelievably sorry for my huge screw up! I'm sorry I was thinking about what a shmuck I was when I should have been thinking about how to help you! Protect you! I guess that was just me being selfish. And I'm really fucking sorry I kissed you today that was most defiantly my mistake!"
"I never called you selfish," Garth muttered.
"Well I know I'm selfish. I don't need you to say it to know it's true." Roy said dejectedly,
leaning his back against the wall.
"Roy..."
"You could have died, and it would have been all my fault," He said, biting on his lip. "And what? The last thing I would have ever done to you is kiss you? No explanation just, 'Hey Aqualad is swimming, lets go see how soft his lips are!' God, I am such a dick, what the hell was thinking."
"Roy...what were you thinking?"
"Even now I have no idea. I guess, well I guess I've liked you for a while. I mean, I know we worked pass the rough patches and we were friends. But somewhere along the line I just started thinking about you differently," Roy lowered his head self-consciously. " Look, I'm sorry. What I did was really stupid. I shouldn't have just cornered you like that, I should have talked to you. Not that I would have any idea how to begin that conversation."
"A simple 'I like you' is always an easy way to go," offered Garth good-naturedly.
"There is nothing easy about telling you how I feel. Talking about that sort of thing isn't easy with anyone. I can't even begin to imagine the disastrous results if I tried with you."
"You know, by not having that conversation, we're kind of having that conversation."
"You were always the smarter one," Roy said, a weak smile on his lips.
"Yes, but you were always the better fighter."
"Well you're better looking"
"That's up for debate," Garth shot back, tucking some strands of hair back behind his ear.
"I like you," Roy stated firmly, looking up as fearlessly as he could. "In a more than friends/teammates/platonic sort of a way. I like you in a 'Hold your hand in public, take you to dinner, watch movies on the couch while I unconsciously play with your hair' sort of way."
"You forgot the kissing."
"That too."
"And it doesn't bother you? That it's me, and I have anatomical differences from other people you've had relationships with."
"I've come to believe," Roy said slowly, "and it took me a while to realize it, but it's only the person we should be loving. I mean, we know aliens, mechanical men and genetically altered misfits. They all get to love whomever they choose. Gender should be as insignificant as race, or age, or social station. Doesn't really matter, just as long as they want to be together."
"When did you get so mature and open minded?"
Roy ran a hand through his less than perfect hair, taking a steadying breath. "I've made a lot of mistakes. I've had a lot of problems, and I've lost a great deal of things because of them. But it certainly teaches you something. My world was a dark place for a long time, but teammates and friends, like the ones I've got, well, they show you that love doesn't have any bounds."
"You know," Garth said, sliding off the table. "Super heros really shouldn't have relationships. They're never a good idea. A lot of risk involved."
"I know, but they aren't forbidden. We aren't Jedis, it wouldn't be breaking any code or vows."
"True, we wouldn't be breaking any law."
Roy paused, the words from Aqualad sounding strange on his ears."...Are you saying yes?"
"No."
"So you're saying no."
"No," Garth said again.
"So...what are you saying?" Roy asked, his eyebrows creased in confusion.
"I'm saying, I need some time to think. And I think you should be understanding when I say I don't have an answer for you right now. And I don't think you should try and pressure me into to giving you one before I'm ready."
"Well sure, that's...great, just...take as much time as need. No rush or anything."
"Okay then," Garth said before his eyes strayed to the clock. "We should probably go, Bee's going to have one thing or another to say to us about today. Might as well get it over with, maybe get to bed at a decent hour."
"Yeah, yeah," Roy agreed distractedly. "Garth could I just...umm...real quick," and he moved swiftly, giving Aqualad a soft and very short kiss on the cheek. "Just, thanks, for thinking about it and everything."
"No uh, thanks necessary," he said, a little embarrassed. "My...pleasure, I guess."
And they left the Med Bay together, walking at a very respectable distance from each other.
So I actually started writing a third chapter to this, if anyone is interrested. Just let me know. Thanks for reading.