A/N: I am officially off hiatus. Which also means that I am back to taking requests! This is the first in a series of updates that I am doing. I am working on another installment of Ours and Money Doesn't Buy Dignity. No I didn't forget about all of you who follow it. I will only be a little bit longer, but it is coming I promise. Also I am dabbling in another story in a different fandom from the DCU. Maybe some of you know the TV show Supernatural? I have been reading a lot of Supernatural fan fics lately and I decided to take a shot at it myself, so we'll so see how that one works out. Last thing before moving on to the latest chapter of Together, I have an odd fixation with the name Rose. It isn't my name, but it is such a beautiful name. For those of you who are confused as to why I put that last bit in there, you will find out the reason in the future. Until then…
Chapter 7: Compound Complex
With a sigh, Rose put her sunglasses back over her eyes and walked out only to find M'gann and Conner still at the table.
"Where'd the others go?" Supergirl asked in confusion when the Martian and male Kryptonian looked up.
"Robin wanted to check out some stores in the plaza down the street, but thought he should put Kaldur's Cinnabon back at the cave first," M'gann answered.
"Wally wanted to go with him and Artemis got dragged along," Conner added. "They said they'd meet us in twenty minutes at the fountain in the middle of the plaza, and that you knew where that was."
Supergirl nodded, processing the information. The boys did want to check out the new videogame store the last time they were in town, but duty called, and Rose promised she'd take them next time they were there. And taking the treat back to the mountain made sense. They might be out for a while and it could either get lost, stolen, or eaten. But why take Artemis with them? That's the part not making a lick of sense to Rose. Not unless–
Rose's eyes widened behind her shades, she realized what was most likely going on. She wasn't as oblivious as most assumed. She could put two and two together.
Anger filled her as she began to vibrate slightly in place. This drew the attention of her two super powered teammates. M'gann came over and put a hand on Supergirl's shoulder while Conner made sure no one was paying them any attention.
"Supergirl, are you okay?" The redhead asked telepathically.
Supergirl took a deep breath to clear her head and the vibrations slowly decreased until they came to a complete stop.
"I'm fine." She lied. "I just had a bit of an unpleasant thought is all. No biggie."
Well it was half a lie.
"I'm fine." She repeated aloud for Conner to hear as well. The raven narrowed his eyes slightly, not quite believing the brunette was telling them everything, but settled for that answer for the time being when she spoke again. "I actually shouldn't have been able to do that with this on." She gestured to her necklace.
"Maybe it's a part of your growing powers or your human side is interfering." M'gann supplied.
The Girl and Boy of Steel shared a glance before Supergirl looked back down at her necklace, her handing reaching at it.
"Yeah, maybe."
Robin readjusted his green hoodie as he stepped out of the Zeta Tube with Wally and Artemis in tow.
The boys really need to get away from Supergirl and Roy. Seeing them together, flirting, -though Rose would deny it as that- made their blood boil, though neither boy did or said anything about it.
How would it look for them to come up and say what was going through their minds at that moment, especially since they were nothing but insults and threats of violence towards the elder redhead if he didn't leave the brunette alone. Rose may be extremely oblivious at times, but she could spot jealousy on anyone. One of her both annoying and helpful perks is being able to read people; lies being her specialty.
Roy was no idiot either. Like the brunette, he had a track record with catching both the Boy Wonder and the speedster (Wally more often than Dick) in lies, and both came off a bit possessive. Well if you think about how stingy Wally is when it comes to food or how annoyed Dick gets when anyone touches his things, 'a bit' seems to be too small an observation.
Once the boys came out of the shop, Robin got an idea and came up with the perfect cover for it. Supergirl had promised to take them to this new video game store a couple blocks from where they were and suggested the team check it out since they were so close to it, but said that it would be best to take Kaldur's treat at the mountain first, so it didn't spoil.
Artemis was able to read the tense body language the boys had and immediately knew what it meant they wanted. Needed. She didn't know why they felt the way they did, but seeing as though they didn't emerge with a certain Super-bitch or Red Asshole it wasn't a very challenging equation to solve.
The knowledge caused the blonde to smirk and come up with a clever excuse of needing a bigger jacket to accommodate with the chilly November weather.
M'gann and Conner, oblivious as ever bless their hearts, didn't suspect a thing and agreed to wait for Supergirl and meet the three sidekicks at the fountain in the square.
They took off pretty quick after that, not really wanting to get stopped by Supergirl. They didn't have much time, any extra minutes drawing more and more suspicion; yet another annoying, but useful trait about Supergirl, her observation skills.
Even with the minimum amount of time, the boys were able to achieve their goal; cherishing the blond as though she were the one they yearned for. Sure, it was rough and fast, feeling as though they were living out a shared fantasy, but limited time meant limit imagination and more haste.
Artemis didn't mind the mildly callous actions from the boys indicated they were upset with something the brunette did. She encouraged it, because it meant that their focus was on her and not Super-bitch. It meant they needed her and she definitely needed them. It meant she was theirs and they were hers in turn. That's all she really wanted.
Now the three were walking back to meet their friends with brand new states of mind. The Zeta Tube was only half a block from the plaza, so it didn't take as long to get there.
Once they arrived, M'gann seemed to be explaining to Supergirl how she figured out a new recipe for brownies with less char and more chocolate.
"So you found the problem and fixed it?" she asked from her position against the fountain taking another sip of her mostly empty smoothie as the three walked up to them.
"Don't walk away and use less oil." The normally green skinned girl beamed with a confident smile accompanying her many freckles nicely.
"Add a little pure vanilla to it. It brings out moreof theflavor making it all the more delicious." Supergirl said through a mind link that she set up between herself and the Martian.
M'gann eyes widened at the other girl's progress and development in the use of such a complex task for people who were not born with the ability.
"I've been practicing." She winked and the redheaded Martian hugged her tightly.
"You've been getting better every day."
"Though I can only do it between one or two people. If I try more than that I start to get a migraine."
The other four teens looked at the two girls hugging, in confusion.
"Any idea what they're saying?" Conner asked in general for anyone to answer.
"Nope."
"No idea."
"Not a clue."
With an eye roll, Conner turned away from his 'sister'1 and girlfriend to look over the new arrivals.
Artemis had put on a different jacket. It was a dark green, leather jacket with many straps, buckles, and zippers for design. There were three zippers at the center that looked like they were connected to another layer and zipped up the outer one. The parts that looked like a separate jacket on the inside were black, which went perfect with the outer dark green layer. The thing that caught the Boy of Steel's attention wasn't the unique style of the jacket, but what was underneath it.
When Artemis left, she was wearing a thin, navy blue hoodie with a grey t-shirt. Now, it appeared as though the blond was wearing the red and white stripped t-shirt that Wally had on the previous day.
It was obviously too big under the jacket the blond wore; which was why it caught Conner's attention.
How did Artemis get that shirt? She would have had to have been in the speedster's room recently. But they hated each other so much their rooms aren't even in the same hall. They despised each other, don't they? It just didn't make sense.
"Artemis, where did you get that shirt?" Conner asked, deciding to voice his confusion, hoping to get some clarity on the situation.
Whatever conversation Supergirl and M'gann were having previously, came to an abrupt halt as they turned their attention on the archer as well.
"It looks a lot like the one Wally wore yesterday." He added, knitting his eyebrows together to further his confused visage.
The blonde seemed to blanch at the observation, not knowing what to say. The truth was out of the question.
"I-I… well I-"
"She forgot to pack an extra shirt for the weekend and Walls was kind enough to lend her one." Robin spoke up for the dumbstruck archer.
"Didn't want her smelling any worse than she already does," Wally added with a shrug. "Plus, I didn't wear the shirt for long yesterday, so she only has a limited amount of time to enjoy my wondrous scent until she can another one from a store around here."
Both Kryptonians narrowed their eyes, not completely believing the story, though Conner seemed to come to some kind of conclusion in his head and shrugged his shoulders, letting it go.
Rose, on the other hand, wasn't as convinced. "Why did you have to switch shirts anyways Barbie? And what are you supposed to be wearing tomorrow Kid Smarts?"
"Baywatch was drinking a soda back at the cave when Robin told him a joke that made him spit his drink all over my shirt. Hence the reason he was the one to provide me with another one." Was Artemis' clever reply; Supergirl merely narrowed her eyes further.
"The only reason I didn't give her a fresh shirt is because I didn't have any more and planned on wearing the ones I wore yesterday, though I guess I have to wear the one I have on now. Wouldn't be the first time I wore the same thing two days in a row. That one probably smells like Blonde Devil now anyways." The redhead grumbled the last part, gesturing absentmindedly, earning himself a punch in the arm from said Blonde Devil.
"Sounds logical enough to me," M'gann commented. "You and Robin wanted to go to a videogame store, right Wally?"
"Right you are, babe." Wally smirked at the Martian, causing Robin to smirk and roll his eyes and Super-girl and Artemis to glare at the speedster, unseen by the others.
"Lead the way Lover Boy." Robin grinned at the look on Wally's face. He had to read Romeo and Juliet for his freshman English class and didn't think he was that overdramatic of a lover, but defiantly as devoted to the ones he loved.2
"Super-girl is the one-"
"Walls, you and I both know that you came back here a few hours after we originally planned on going, a few weeks ago," Supergirl put her hand on her hip, cocking it to the side a bit.
"No, I didn't."
The brunette raised an eyebrow, giving the speedster her best 'really' face.
"Fine! I did, but only to take a quick peek."
"Dude!" Robin hit the speedster in the arm, whose other hand came up to rub his injured shoulder.
"Ouch!"
"It wasn't supposed to feel good." The Boy Wonder rolled his eyes.
"They were closed anyways." The redhead boy pouted.
"Serves you right. Karma's a bitch." Robin put his arm around his boyfriend's waist, feeling better knowing Wally didn't get a chance to actually see anything. Wally, in turn, draped his arm around, still a bit numb, over the ebony's shoulder.
"Can we go now?" Artemis sighed. Everyone turned in the direction of the game store.
"Hey Rob, how many videogames do you think we own together?" Supergirl asked from the opposite side of the shelf she and Robin were browsing.
"I don't know," he shrugged, putting down the newest COD game he and Rose waited hours in line a month ago for. "A hundred, two?"
"Together, the two of you own, like every videogame ever made." Wally appeared out of nowhere in a very Bat-way, which was unusual for the, normally obvious, speedster.
"Don't you think you're over exaggerating just a little bit, Walls?" Robin asked the speedster without sparring him a glance. "I didn't even get the first COD game till two years, but I had all the others before."
"Here we go again…" Supergirl rolled her eyes with a snort.
Every time the two talked about anything COD related, they always found themselves engaged in an argument. This time it seemed to be the difference between Black Ops 1 and 2. Robin preferred the original, but Wally liked the sequel. The first time they got in an argument was right after they played and Dick said it had been a waste of money. Took three hours for them to simmer down.
The Girl of Steel rolled her eyes at the memory and the boys antics. 'My boys,' she thought with a small smile subconsciously slipped onto her face.
The same smile that adored her face moments ago was replaced with a frown as Supergirl looked over at the Forever 21 across the way. Artemis went over to buy a new shirt to wear, so she could give Wally back his when they got back to the Cave. Conner and M'gann went with her to help her choose one. Well, M'gann did, Conner just followed his girlfriend with a shrug. She claimed she couldn't stand the stench of desperation and food on it, but the smirk she had on her face as she walked over to the store, rubbing the exposed fabric, told a different story.
It pissed Rose off that the blonde had gotten so close to her boys. They were used to quick to defend her when Conner called her out.
Maybe it was to cover their own tracks; maybe it was because they really did care for the blond archer. Rose really hoped it was the former because there was nothing she could do about the latter.
Rose couldn't stand the smug look on Artemis' face when the boys defended her. She, of course, knew it was a lie. It seemed so concrete to everyone else, but Rose knew her boys well enough to know when they were lying.
It's never something big, just little things that draw Rose's attention. Whenever Robin explained something he looked into the eyes of whoever he was talking to and stood completely still, unless demonstrating something. When he spoke today, his head was turned to the side, facing Conner or M'gann even though he was addressing the brunette. And Wally seemed too relaxed, which wasn't like him at all. It almost seemed as though they had come up with a contingency plan for if a certain question was asked.
It made Rose wonder how often they do this.
Looking up she saw the Martian/Kryptonian couple through the stores' windows, her eyes showing slight pity. They never knew what was really going on. Kaldur probably doesn't know either. They're all oblivious either because they haven't been around long enough or they don't know what signs to look for. Sometimes Rose wished she didn't either.
She could see her boys spending more and more time with the archer over the past few weeks, giving signs, sharing glances and lingering touches, but she never put any of it together until last night. Until the final piece of the puzzle was put into place. Their own taboo tryst.
Ever since yesterday, she hadn't at felt at ease with what she saw. But who would be in her situation? Too much at once.
Supergirl shook her head, not wanting to think about it anymore, but all of a sudden she began to feel dizzy. There's a sharp pain in her head. Like someone stuck a hundred nails through her skull all at one time. She stumbled a bit, taken by the sudden intense pain before everything went dark.
When she came back around, she is disoriented, looking up at bright florescent lights in a dull gray ceiling. Her head was throbbing, but she couldn't seem to remember why.
Faint, muffled voices appeared in her head and she couldn't tell if that's good or bad. She wanted to know what they were saying, but they were too distorted.
Suddenly, there was a red and yellow blur in her vision, blocking the bright light and she smiled in gratitude because the light was really hurting her eyes. An alluring scent of cinnamon and some other sweet substance seemed to help lift the fog, enough that she could hear the voices little clearer; turned out they weren't in her head.
"SG? SG?" One voice in particular stuck out to her but she couldn't place a name, though the voice was familiar.
Another blur – this one green and black – joined the yellow and red one, adding jasmine and lavender to the mix.
"Super-girl?" This blur had a voice as well, softer than the other. Together they made Rose feel safe. "Angel?"
The name uttered combined with his voice drew Rose completely out of the fog.
"Robin?" she groaned, placing her hand to her forehead. "What happened? Why am I on the floor?"
Robin and Wally let out two twin sighs of relief and helped the brunette sit up, slowly. "We were hoping you could tell us."
"I-" The Kryptonian shook her head, not knowing what to say. One second she is fine, looking through Mortal Kombat games; the next, she has this splitting headache, then… nothing.
"Walls go get her a bottle of water." Robin told his boyfriend, who immediately got up to complete the task assigned to him. "And you. Don't move." He turned to Rose, placing a firm hand on her shoulder when she attempted to get up.
"Bossy much." Super-girl grumbled, rolling her eyes.
"You of all people have no room to talk."
Wally came back with the water, cap already removed from the bottle, before Super-girl could comment further. She took it with a small huff of thanks and took a small sip, knowing she didn't need all the attention she was receiving from her friends. Rose attempted to give the bottle to Robin, but the Boy Wonder gave her a look that caused her to let out an annoyed groan and down a quarter of the bottle.
"Happy now?" she snapped, hoping the boys would let it go, but knowing them it was unlikely.
The two boys exchanged glances, their faces firm, but their eyes mixed with hurt and confusion.
"Ro, we're only trying to help you."
"You are trying to make a big deal out of something miniscule. You know I don't like to be coddled and I already told you I'm fi-"
"Super-girl?!" A voice cried from somewhere behind Wally, effectively cutting the brunette off. Luckily for them, no one in the store was paying them close enough attention to put two and two together.
M'gann, Conner, and Artemis came through the game store door to find the Girl of Steel sitting on the floor with the aid of her two best friends.
M'gann and Conner looked worried, while Artemis glared at the scene before her. No one seemed to notice–all attention focused on the female Kryptonian–but Super-girl, who smirked internally.
"Are you okay?" M'gann asked, worry just as apparent in her voice as on her face.
Supergirl could see the confliction on Conner's face on whether he should say something or not. Rose smiled a private smile at the clone that seemed to calm him, if only a little.
"Ye-yeah, I'm fine," She attempted to stand again, but this time when she did, the dizzy spell came back with a vengeance; she would have fallen had it not been for Robin and Wally holding her up by her waist and arms. "Whoa."
"Fine, my ass," Robin growled as he and Wally continued to try and keep the brunette upright.
"Maybe we should just head back to the mountain." Conner suggested, visibly resisting the urge to take a step forward and aid his 'sister'.
"I want to get that game Artemis was telling us about first." M'gann exclaimed.
"You guys can do that and we'll just meet back up there." Robin suggested as he and Wally helped the previous Girl Wonder walk out the store.
"And you don't have to rush, we got her," Wally called out in afterthought as the door shut and the trio entered back out into the plaza.
Rose attempted to squirm out of the boys' hold on her, but her actions slowly came to a stop when she realized they weren't letting her go anytime soon. "Guys, I told you I'm fine."
"Last time you said that you almost passed out." Wally said tightly as the trio continued to walking through the plaza, back to the zeta tube.
The brunette sighed and in one fell swoop jerked both her arms out of their constricting holds. Before either boy had time to argue, Rose slipped either arm the boys were holding through their elbows, trying to get into a more comfortable position.
"If you are gonna hold onto me, this is a less conspicuous way. You two looked like you were trying to kidnap me the other way." The Kryptonian sighed at the looks of confusion on Dick and Wally's faces and the tense muscles the boys portrayed. "I know how you guys like to touch me." She joked, attempting to lighten their moods, even if the statement wasn't completely accurate in her eyes.
The boys exchanged glances and smirked down at the brunette, who had gone back to looking around her surroundings while she still could; her previous statement holding more truth than she realized.
As the three walked through the Zeta Tube into Mount Justice, they were greeted with two of their mentors.
"Hey guys," Super-girl waved to her father and godfather as she, Robin and Wally walked up to them.
Superman narrowed his eyes slightly at the sight of his daughter being held so closely by her best friends, who were supposed to be in a relationship with each other. "Everything alright?" He asked as he walked towards the trio to inspect his daughter.
"Actually–"
"Everything's good, Dad." Super-girl smiled up and hugged her father. "I'm good."
The Man of Steel looked between the speedster and Boy Wonder, searching for more information.
Both looked like they were about to say more, they suddenly froze, which caused the Kryptonian to narrow his eyes further. He looked down at his daughter, who was looking back at her friends with a smile on her face that almost looked threatening. When Superman looked back up at the two boys, Wally shrugged his shoulders, while Robin walked over to his mentor.
"Mission debriefing in five minutes," Robin knew Batman was also going to want to discuss what was really going on with Super-girl. "Where is the rest of the team?" The older bat asked his protégé.
"Miss Martian, Artemis, and Super Boy should be on their way back now," Robin reported.
"Kaldur was summoned to Atlantis by Aquaman after we returned from our earlier mission." Super-girl added as she, Superman, and Wally walked over to the Bat. "Rob and I can give you a full report."
The Dark Knight nodded and waited for his either of his protégés to continue.
Robin reached into his utility belt, now wrapped around his waist, and pulled out the flash drive with the data he collected from the warehouse and inserted it into his wrist computer.
"We inspected the warehouse you sent us to," Robin stated, transferring into his professional Bat voice as he sorted through the data." Turns out Joker and Scarecrow were working together. They seem to have been working on their product there for weeks at the location, but they left it to burn via fiery explosion."
If Batman was bothered at all, he didn't show any signs of it. Super-girl blinked at the word choice, but showed no further signs either. She reached into her own utility belt, underneath her jacket, and pulled out the serum sample she was able to retrieve before the building blew.
"I was able to retrieve a sample before the building exploded." She handed Batman the vial. "Why would they spend week gathering supplies for this toxin just to watch it go up in flames?"
"Could it be an airborne chemical that was released in the explosion?" Robin asked out of pure curiosity.
"Not sure." Batman placed the vial in his own utility belt and headed towards the Zeta Tubes. "I will have to do an analysis on the contents back at the Batcave and take an atmospheric reading on the area where the warehouse was in order to determine whether or not anyone in the area is at risk."
Superman hugged his daughter again, longer this time. "Are you sure you're okay Rosalie?"
Rose smiled because her father didn't use her real name very often, so when he did she always felt special. She was his only child though, so she should feel special.
"Yeah, Dad," she gave a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, but her father didn't seem to notice. "Don't worry about me so much."
"You're my daughter. It's my job to worry about you." The Man of Steel gave one final look to the girl before he squeezed her arm and walked over towards the Zeta Tubes, where Batman stood.
"The team has tomorrow to themselves. No training. No missions. Enjoy your Sunday." Batman announced before he stepped through the Zeta Tube. Rose could hear him murmur something under his breath, but the whirling and announcement of the Bat's departure made it unintelligible for her ears to catch.
Her father seemed to catch it though, because he froze for a moment before turning back to look at her. "Super-girl, you're gonna be staying in Gotham for the week and probably over the next weekend." He announced for the remaining sidekicks and was about to step through the Tube, right behind Batman, before a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"All week?" Super-girl was right behind her father. "Not that I'm not okay with not having to go back and forth from Gotham Academy to the Daily Planet every day this week, but why?"
"I have another mission that I have to leave to go on tomorrow morning. The only reason I'm going to the Batcave is because I need to discuss some things with Batman before I go. The mission should take a week at the latest, and your mother is swamped at the Planet with the League's last mission."
Super-girl stared up at her father, blue eyes behind her shades glistening with unshed tears, but that was the only sign of her sorrow, and no one could see.
By this time, the rest of the team had arrived and were standing back with Robin and Wally, watching the exchange between father and daughter.
"I'm sorry angel, you understand when duty calls, but we'll do something when I come back, okay?"
It took Super-girl a second before she smiled and nodded her acceptance. "Yeah, Dad, I understand. The world, no universe, needs you quite a bit more than I do. I completely understand." No one missed the slight shake in her heavily sarcastic voice. Whether it be from anger or sorrow, or something in between; Superman leaned down to hug his daughter, but she didn't return it.
After a few moments, the Man of Steel pulled away and the Girl of Steel took a step back.
"I should go. You know how Batman gets when people make him wait." He snorted lightly. Super-girl just nodded.
The Kryptonian looked at his daughter with pitiful eyes before turning and leaving without another word.
The whole room was silent and tense after the mentors were gone, no one wanting to say anything or at all knowing how to start.
The same one to normally break the silence was the first to speak yet again after a few minutes of continuous uncomfortable silence. "Are you alright Super-girl?"
The previous Girl Wonder didn't respond, or even acknowledge the fact that she had been spoken to or maybe have even noticed, until she felt a hand on her shoulder, at which point she turned to face the team with a smile so fake not even the Martian or male Kryptonian couldn't see through it.
"Yeah, umm…" She blinked back a few tears. "M'gann how about Artemis show you and Conner that new game you guys just got. I…" Not trusting her voice any longer, she cut herself off, shaking her head and walked past the team and straight to her room.
"She isn't normally this emotional. About anything." Conner stated, feeling bad for his 'sister'.
"PSD?" Artemis suggested with a shrug of her shoulders.
Robin and Wally looked between each other, the two having a silent conversation.
"What's PSD?" Conner asked, clueless as ever.
"Artie, you can take that one seeing as though you were the one to bring it up." Wally said as he picked up Robin and sped out of the room before the blond could respond.
Artemis turned around and was greeted with two curious faces. "Nothing that pertains to you." The blonde sighed and picked up the bag of games the trio bought from the game store. "So, Mario Kart anyone?"
When Super-girl arrived at her room, she could no longer hold back her tears. She ripped her sunglasses off her face in an agitated move and threw them somewhere in her room. She didn't care where they ended up.
Her tears continued to fall down no matter how many times she wiped her eyes. And the thing about it was, they weren't tears of sadness. They were sprawled from hurt. Aggravation. Betrayal.
Every day, Rose went to Gotham Academy, then straight to the Daily Planet with her parents, then to Mount Justice.
Even if she was only at the Planet for a few minutes or a few hours, she only went to see her parents for the day.
Because her parents were major news, they didn't get the chance to spend very much time together, so when Rose was in Gotham for school during the week, she visited them at least once a day and spent the entirety of the weekend with them. But her father was taking that away from her.
They always found a way to see each other, no matter what, and now her mom won't even see her. It wasn't like she was going away too, but they didn't want her in Metropolis at all.
Her mom was going to be there, but she wouldn't see her own daughter. She didn't see her very often as it was, but not at all for a week at the latest?
Rose was about to fall to her knees–her hurt and sorrow adding extra weight that her legs couldn't support–when two strong arms caught her just before her knees hit the carpet, hovering mere inches above the ground. She was slowly lowered till she was touching the ground, and could feel a pair of knees caging her own, keeping her in place.
Her eyes were closed as more silent tears continued to stream down her face, not even looking up when she felt two hands cup her cheeks. "I'm like the most over dramatic person ever, right?" She tried to laugh, but it came out more like a pitiful sob. "Crying over not getting my way. I'm like some spoiled princess."
Neither boy said a word as the girl between them continued to cry. The arms wrapped around her drew tighter and a forehead against her own.
They stayed like that for what felt like hours to Rose, but could have been easily been a few minutes. Comfortable silence, that only interrupted by small sobs and sniffles from the brunette, but even those died down after a while.
When Rosalie finally opened her eyes, she was greeted with the sight of an unmasked, closed eyed Dick Grayson; when the Boy Wonder felt her gaze upon his face, he too, opened his deep blue eyes to stare into her red rimmed baby blues.
She thanked him with said eyes and wrapped her arms around Wally's, the best she could in that position, to silently thank him as well. She could feel his smile on the back of her neck when he exhaled, causing the hairs there to brush said neck and in turn causing Rose to giggle; Dick smiled at the sound and looked at Wally. The redhead nodded and that exchange was the only warning Rose got before she was attacked with tickles.
The boys knew how sensitive their friend was; it was one of the reasons why she always came back from missions or patrol with more cuts and bruises than even Batman sometimes. That weakness made her hypersensitive to touch, so Rose was very ticklish, and everyone close to her knew it and used it to their advantage every now and then.
Rose fell on her back, laughing and trying to push and defend herself from invading hands. She tried to squirm away, but was boxed in on both sides by the owners of said invading hands. "OK! OK!" she cried, barely getting her words out from between each shriek or gasp. "I give up. I SURRENDER!"
At the words, both sets of hands withdrew from the Girl of Steel's body and she gasped in lungful breaths of air. There were tears streaming down her cheeks, but for a different reason from before.
"There she is," Wally smiled. "The Girl of Giggles, it's nice to see you again."
Rose snorted her amusement as she continued to smile and roll her eyes at the redhead's statement. "You guys always know to make me laugh." She sighed once her breathing became normal.
"Hey, what are best friends for?" Dick smiled as he and Wally stood with synchronized grace, pulling the brunette up once they were firmly standing.
And she didn't really even deserve the treatment she was receiving so much because of how she treated them earlier. She knew they were only trying to help, yet she lashed out at them. Most friends would give each other hell for something like that, but they haven't even brought it up. After what the team just saw between her and her father, it made sense why. She wanted to bring it up now–it was an opportune moment–but she was selfish and couldn't bring herself to ruin the setting they had set up.
"Really," Rose looked between emerald green and deep marine blue and leaned up to hug both, wrapping her arms around their necks. "Thank you. Sometimes wonder how I would get by without you." She squeezed them tighter as if they would evaporate into thin air if she let them go before whispering in their ears. "I don't ever want to find out."
She didn't know where the sudden need to confess something so sensitive, but it felt good to get off her chest. And if they were curious as to where an expressive gesture of that nature came from, she could pass it off as another estrogen filled moment.
Though neither boy commented, simply putting a single arm around her and each other, hugging with the same amount affection as if telling her you won't; the three sighed in unison.
Rose was the first pull away, and the boys, reluctantly, let her go. The places on their bodies where the brunette was held so close still burned from her normally, slightly elevated body temperature pressing into their own. They pressed together subtlety to try and preserve that feeling for as long as they could.
Rose turned around, rubbing the palms of her hands together to keep the boys' feeling on her hands for as long as she could. To others it looked like she was warming her hands, making it look less conspicuous.
"We should head back to the rest of the team." She added when she spotted her glasses. "They're probably wondering where we are." She went to the opposite side of her bed from the door and bent over to retrieve her them and put them back over her eyes. When she turned around, she caught the boys staring at her with a faraway look in their eyes.
Dick's cheeks were a light shade of pink, but he was still wearing his hoodie, so Rose figured he was hot. Even then, the room was dark due to her never turning the light on and she couldn't really see him very well.
Wally's heart spend up and it looked almost like he had stopped breathing for a second, but they did that sometimes, so Rose shook her head with a smile on her face and walked right past the two.
"Sometime today, guys." She called from the hallway as she began to walk towards the common area, where the rest of the team presumably was.
"Race ya."
"You are so on."
Rose laughed as both sped past her. She would never get tired of their childish ways.
A/N: 1 The reason I put sister in quotation marks is because I'm still not sure how I want to set up my character's relationship with Conner. The most logical relationship is the brother/sister kind, but Conner is called Clark's brother in the DCU, but making him her uncle just doesn't work very well, so I was stumped. From here on out, you will most likely see 'sister' or 'brother' instead of sister or brother whenever I refer to Rosalie and Conner's relationship. Just wanted to make that clear for future clarification. 2 I read Romeo and Juliet last year, my freshman year, and couldn't stop myself from throwing in the reference. You can decide whether or not it fits into the situation.