Hey guys, I'm sorry it's been over a month since I've updated. I've been super busy with school. I only have a week and a half left though so you'll be hearing more from me after then. I have finally figured the plot out for the rest of the story and have a few more chapters in the works that I will get out as soon as I can. Also thanks so much for the reviews. I love them. I can't wait to hear what you all think of this chapter. Well enjoy.
Edit: also for some reason email alerts weren't working so some of you might have already seen this chapter but all I did was go through and fix some things spellcheck didn't catch. Sorry for any inconvenience (if there is any)
Only the plot is mine!
"So you and Damian again?" Milagro mused. The green lantern was perched on Irey's countertop busy with painting her toenails emerald green. The speedster cooking grilled cheese in the kitchen flinched slightly.
"We're not a thing Milagro, if that's what you're saying." Irey denied. "Our relationship has been over for years."
The green lantern looked up from her toes and gave her best friend a look. She wasn't buying it. "Then what's with you two hooking up a few weeks ago?" Milagro challenged.
The Flash gasped. "How did you know about that?" She was careful not to burn her batch of sandwiches while she glared at the lantern.
"I never reveal my sources." The Hispanic woman smiled smugly.
Irey studied Milagro's expression for a moment, "It was Nell, wasn't it?" she guessed.
Her best friend held up her arms in mock surrender. "Fine you caught me. But it's not exactly a secret, according to Batgirl you and Damian are the talk of the Bat family right now."
The speedster piled up a mound of grilled cheeses on her plate and gave one to Milagro. She savored the first bite of her sandwich before speaking. "So what? It's no big deal."
Milagro let out a frustrated sigh. "Stop lying."
Irey took another bite. "Well it wasn't," She denied again. Milagro gave her another 'I'm-not-buying-your-shit' look. "Ok fine. So we had sex! Not a big deal"
The lantern let out a squeal. "I knew it! You two are so getting back together."
"No!" Irey blushed. "It was just a one night stand. No strings attached."
The brunette shook her head. "Chica, with you two there are always strings attached. Stop denying it."
"I'm not. It was just we were at the same place at the same time and the moment was right, that's it." Irey answered.
The lantern grinned and played with her ring. "Oh you are so in denial now." She replied much to the speedster's dismay.
The red faced scientist sent the brunette a weak glare. "No." she huffed. "We're just friends. I don't have time for a relationship right now with all that is going on."
"Irey! You are the fastest woman on the planet. Don't you dare give me that crap." Milagro threatened harshly then frowned. She hated seeing her best friend like this. "I just want you to be happy."
The speedster sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Can we not discuss this now? Why are you here in the first place Milagro?"
The lantern's face quirked into a devious smile. "Girls night out."
Irey groaned. "Oh gosh, aren't we too old for this?"
"Please." Milagro snorted. "You're 24 years old Irey! The night is young. Live a little!"
"Do I have to?" The redhead whined.
The green lantern stood up and stretched her back. "Yes. I have already made plans and we're going to celebrate your birthday." She said firmly.
Flash knew there was no use arguing with her best friend once she set her mind on something. "But my birthday was in June." she protested.
"You haven't celebrated your birthday for years Irey! Even your 21st!" the young Hispanic heroine argued. "We are going out and we're going to have fun."
"But what about the cities?" Irey inquired. "Someone has to be on call if there's an emergency or attack."
Milagro crossed her arms and gave the speedster 'I'm-not-buying-your-shit' look. "I've got it covered. Jaime and Chris will take over for the night."
"But-" Irey began to protest.
"No buts! Now go put something decent on. You will not go clubbing in your old track shorts and a ratty shirt." The lantern ordered.
The speedster couldn't fight the smile tugging at her lips. "Yes Mom" Irey rolled her eyes as she headed down the hallway.
Milagro grinned. The lantern cleaned up the kitchen for her friend and used her ring to change into her own outfit.
Two minutes later Irey reappeared wearing a somewhat nice pair of shorts, a cute tank top and a jean jacket.
The brunette clicked her tongue in disapproval. "Irey, we're going clubbing, not to the mall."
"Can we please not go clubbing Milagro?" The speedster begged as she tried to pull her recently cropped hair into pigtails.
Crossing her arms the Green Lantern let out an exasperated sigh. She briefly remembered the days in her teens when Irey would be the one dragging her out to party. "Fine, but-"
Irey's cry of relief cut her off. "Oh thank god!"
"But, I still get to drag you around and you will have fun." The young woman finished. Milagro took her ring and changed her outfit into something more casual.
The speedster bit back a smirk; her emerald eyes sparkled with mischief. "How is it fun if you're dragging me around against my will?"
Her friend feigned a scowl. "It's called force fun smartass."
"Lemme guess." Irey grabbed her wallet and sunglasses off the counter. "You're going to try to get me drunk."
Milagro smirked, "How did you know?"
"Your brother tried to do the same thing with Bart." The speedster ignored the sad feeling building up in her chest "Bart ended up dragging Jaime all the way back to El Paso after the Vegas incident."
"Oh yeah, I remember that." The young brunette snorted. She remembered how mad her mother was when her brother had returned home drunk that night. Jaime had a killer hangover the next day too. He sure did learn his lesson.
There was a brief pause as both girls remembered the days when life was simple. Irey shook it off and tried to force her problems into the back of her mind. The speedster put on a small smile and walked to the door. "So where are we going?" She asked.
"Well I was thinking Gotham but that's probably a no," Milagro chuckled as they when down the stairs. "So we're going to Coast City."
"Anything cool going on there right now?" the redhead wondered.
The Green Lantern smiled. "You don't know the half of it. Get ready to have some fun chica."
"Ok." Irey chuckled. "But only if we get some good food."
Her best friend rolled her eyes. "Speedsters."
"What? It's my metabolism ok?" the young woman whined. "You're just jealous you can't eat as much as you want without gaining weight."
Milagro laughed and punched in the coordinates into the zeta tube. "Maybe just a little."
0o0o0o0
The two girls laughed as they walked along the boardwalk. The salty warm air felt good and somewhat refreshing to the speedster. Milagro was glad Irey had finally let loose again. The lantern remembers the days in her teens when her best friend was the life of the party. She misses the old Irey sometimes. It hurts so much to see her best friend carry around so much emotional baggage. Seeing Irey smile again was wonderful.
"So where to next Milagro?" The speedster giggled as she tore off another piece of her cotton candy. "We've gotten burgers, sushi and all the junk food you could imagine. We've been bowling and have ridden every ride at the carnival. Anything else in mind?"
The brunette grinned. "Let's go find a nice bar and catch up, it's been years since we've sat down and talked."
Irey nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I really want to hear about what you did during those five years in space."
Milagro ended up dragging the speedster halfway across town to a bar that had a nice mellow feel. Irey kind of liked it. It didn't smell like cigarettes or anything.
The two girls sat down at the counter and ordered their drinks and also a few extra snacks in Irey's case.
"Have you found a job yet?" the speedster asked her friend as she picked at the large basket of fries they had ordered.
The young heroine let out a groan. "Not really. Sometimes I take pictures for the El Paso paper but it doesn't pay much." She took a sip from her drink. "What I really want to do is find a well paying freelance job so I have a flexible schedule so if things from the corps come up I won't have to deal with the hassle of coming up with excuses for missing work. Jaime keeps wanting me to work at a secretary at his dental office, but I'd rather not."
Irey casually popped another fry into her mouth. "That sounds good. So what's outer space like?"
"It's huge." The Green Lantern explained. "You feel so small in comparison. And the billions of stars, it was beautiful." She smiled wistfully. "Though it seemed so empty. Lonely. I missed earth a lot."
"Five years is a long time to be away from home." The speedster agreed. She finished off the fries and ordered herself another drink.
"Yeah. Jaime forgot to feed my goldfish when I was away too." Milagro frowned. "He killed it and replaced it and killed that one too. Honestly I don't know how many goldfish he when through. One of these days I'm going to guilt him into buying me a puppy."
Irey laughed. "And when will that be?"
"Probably after I get a good job and a nice apartment and I don't have to constantly leave earth. I've always wanted to get my own dog." The Hispanic woman replied. She took another swig of her beverage and smiled. "Remember that time when we dyed Damian's costume pink and purple while he was still wearing it?"
The speedster snickered. "How could I forget? Do you remember that look on his face? He was so stunned. It was hilarious! Even Bruce cracked a grin."
"Those were the days." Milagro sighed as she played with the olive in her martini. "So what's going on with you?"
"Work mostly. Also reconnecting with my Dad." She answered. "It's hard connecting with him again, but we're making it work."
"That's good to hear." Milagro smiled. "So tell me about Damian. What's going on between you and him?"
Irey groaned and murmured something unpleasant. "Not this again."
0o0o0o0
It was about four in the morning in Keystone time when Irey pulled her half conscious best friend through the zeta tube. The speedster draped the Green Lantern over her shoulder and dashed back to her apartment. Once she arrived she dumped Milagro on the couch and made her own way to her bed. Irey didn't even bother to change her clothes. The redhead was asleep before her head even hit the pillow. She was exhausted, but she had a good night. It felt nice to take a break for once.
So what did you think? I know it's all fluff but I promise more action in the next few chapters (so much action that you might just die of feels). I really want to know what you all think of this. Also anonymous reviewers if you want me to respond to your review you can just ask me in my ask box on tumblr and I will try to answer it asap. I'm Hockeygirl2814 (or you can use the link in my profile) Please tell me what you think of this.
Also we're to the point in the story where it's about to go into the final arc but I really want to know what you all think is going to happen next. I have almost all of it planned out but I'm curious to where you all think this story is going. Maybe for the person who's guess is the closest gets a oneshot (within reason) or something. As I said, I'm very interested to see what you all think is going to happen next.
And Liveo44, thanks so much for all of the reviews and suggestions but I'm sorry to say it will be extremely unlikely for Irey to get a sidekick from the way things in the story are going right now and the direction things are going. Things might work their way out in the epilogue though (but I make no promises) Thank you so much for your feedback and reviews, i do take them into account, it's just a sidekick doesn't fit into the plot at all. It'll make more sense once I finish the next two chapters.