A little bit short I know (Sorry!) - and as per my M.O, not edited well.
Enjoy!
Motion
Invasion
She sits there, her legs crossed and her hands clasped together, almost unnaturally, in her lap. Her eyes settle on the red head in front of her, who looks extremely troubled. Wally stands at the foot of the bed she's sitting on, his eyes on the floor. His eyebrows, almost knitting together, showing all on their own how tormented he is. His eyes, glazed over, only further fuel his distressed state. Something in her gut stirs, and worry starts to fill her. She had hardly ever seen him like this. They had been kind of distant for the last two weeks, but nothing had happened. No fights, no weird team dynamics, no league interference - nothing.
His bottom lip twists and contorts around his front facing teeth.
He called her for a night together at his place - not that it was unusual, both of their parents were supportive of the relationship. Well, Artemis couldn't be sure of her fathers point of view, but only assumed he would hate every male who dated his 'baby girl'. She also assumed Jade had mentioned something in passing in the past. The blonde could only imagine how her father had reacted.
The red-head swallows. "Artemis," he says quietly, pulling her from her thoughts.
Her concerned eyes are now glued on him, intently watching his facial features mold and fade through guilt, shame and finally sadness. His eyes quickly meet hers before darting back to the floor again.
Her eyebrows knit together in a frown. They would usually do nights in at Mount Justice, which would understandably be easier, considering the distance for both of them. However, now they were at Wally's, alone. No team mates. No parents. Just the two of them. Alone.
His eyes stay on the floor for way too long. Her breath feels like it's getting caught in her throat. She had assumed this was some kind of cute date night, with some well deserved alone time. But this was the complete opposite. Her stomach was swirling now, the anxiety becoming more intense - surely this wasn't about her?
"Wally," she starts softly, stopping her mind from deep diving further. He doesn't look up. "What's going on?"
She honestly had no clue what was actually happening. There was something in the back of her mind that kept circling back to something to do with her.
His green eyes stay on the floor, as she can see him trying to build up the courage to verbalise his thoughts. He looks completely derailed, as his internal monologue keeps him silent.
He looks breathless before he even speaks. "I'm getting slower," he quickly ushers out.
Immediately her face reacts, her eyebrows furrowing together, confused. "What?" The response is quick, probably too quick.
There's silence again as they stare at each other, dead in the eye. She knew what he meant, but didn't think it was even possible. Wally had always been slightly slower than Barry, which they had both boiled down to the lack of proper equipment when Wally had recreated the experiment. But the possibility of getting slower with time threw the red head into territory no one had ever been in before. Would he eventually lose his speed? How long would that take? Or was this just some weird flicker, or some sort of brief mental block, that would eventually return back to normal? Was it an age thing, but it couldn't be because Jay - She suddenly realised they had just been staring at each other since her mind started rushing.
She also realised there was no point questioning him - he didn't have the answers.
Instead, her hands reach out to his. She grips them softly and attempts to pull him close to her with a light tug. He denies her request, and his eyes break from her gaze. She can see his mind swirling again, his body language retreats, and he's back to his internal monologue.
"Wally," she whispers.
He blinks, but his gaze is still unfocused, far off, his mind boggled.
She tugs harder this time and he gives in instantly, crawling delicately onto the bed, and slowly, close to her. She pulls him closer, and he instinctively reaches his arms around her. She envelopes her hands around him, and pulls him close. He buries his chin into her right shoulder.
"I'm losing my speed," he reiterates softly into her ear. But she knew he was losing more than that. He was losing himself.
And for one of the only times in her entire life, she felt like her heart was aching.
She pulls him in tighter. She had never felt so helpless, because she could never understand. She was just a human. She knew who she was in the superhero uniform and outside of it. Wally was a speedster, in the uniform and outside of it. He couldn't remember who he was without the speed.
It was as if she could feel him splintering into a million small pieces in her arms, and here she was, trying to keep all those millions of pieces together with just her two, bare arms. If she let go, she feared some of those millions of pieces would be lost forever. So she didn't let go.
She didn't know how long they stayed like this for. Him, completely enveloped by her smaller frame, his chin still buried in the nape of her neck, and his hands still tight around her. It felt like hours and a mere few minutes, all at the same time.
All she could do was feel the rhythmic expansion of his chest, and the deep ache inside her, knowing her other half was slowly crumbling in front her. If she could just hold him together.
She swallows, knowing at some point she'll have to let go. She'll have to watch him fracture and splinter right in front of her - and she knew all she could do was try and catch what she could. Maybe she could try and save some pieces. Maybe they could be put back together. Maybe.
"Does Barry know?" She asks in a whisper.
He pulls himself out of her tightened embrace, but she keeps her hands on his. He looks down. "I think he knows," he sighs, "but we haven't spoken about it."
She nods. She can see him trying so hard to keep it all together.
"Does anyone else know?" She can't seem to speak above a whisper.
He shakes his head. "Just you." His eyes cast away from her, becoming fixated on the ground again. His hands slide from hers, and it feels like he's flinging himself off the side of a cliff - she has to stop herself from instinctively reaching out to grab them again.
She didn't know what to say. Nothing seemed right. Nothing she could say would soothe either of them.
But she doesn't have to speak. The redhead's mouth opens to speak, however, he pauses, not questioning if he should say it, but almost as if he's struggling to say it. "I did a time trial last week."
She frowns. The ache deep inside her only gets worse. The more he spoke about it, the worse it became.
"I've been doing one a fortnight." His voice, whilst soft, is still somehow holding onto some sort of firmness.
He's still not looking at her.
"How long have you known?" She still can't shake that whisper-like voice.
He swallows. His eyes finally find hers. He looks slightly ashamed. "A while."
The first thought she had was why hadn't he told her? She mentally berates herself for thinking so selfishly for a moment. But why hadn't he told her?
She feels his energy change, he leans closer towards her, his eyes boring into hers with such intensity. She can feel him becoming anxious. He's looking to her for some kind of reassurance.
"What if.." he trails off verbally, but his body language is doing the opposite. She can see everything about him, his body, his face, his eyes, screaming for comfort, reassurance - help.
She knows what he's about to say, but the silence stays.
And suddenly she feels that familiar strength building within her. She needed to provide comfort and consolation. She needed to be the hope right now. "What if it goes away?" She completes the sentence for him, firmly.
He nods slowly.
She finally gives him what he needs. She scoops him into her arms again, and holds him tight, tighter than she ever has before. He doesn't hug her back.
"We don't know that," she attempts to reassure him with the little strength that she has.
"But what if it does?" He sounds so small.. lost. He still isn't hugging her back.
She squeezes him hard. "Then we'll figure it out."
He's silent again.
"I'll be right here with you, Wally." She can finally feel his arms wrapping tightly around her. His chin is back in the nape of her neck. His body presses against hers.
"I'm not going anywhere, Wally."
888
"Library?" she hears a familiar voice call from almost directly behind her.
She would've probably jumped into a fight pose if it was anyone else, but she had become very accustomed to these surprise pop ups.
She doesn't bother to turn and face the young teen, she just continues her stride. She raises an eyebrow. "The fourth time this week, Dick?"
The dark haired teen shrugs as he appears next to her, attempting to be casual, as his stride now matches hers.
She looks at him, her face almost concerned. "You're really avoiding him like the plague."
He rolls his eyes. "Just trying to get ahead," he says blankly, making no attempt to hide his blatant lie.
She hugs the books in arms tighter to her chest, as she sends him a knowing look. "I'm sure," her tone matches her look. She expects some sort of rise from him, maybe an off handed comment, or at least a change in facial expression, but he stays blank. Her eyes narrow for a moment, before her demeanor instantly lightens, as does her tone. "You're lucky I don't have anything to do this week."
He's now looking at her directly, doubtful. "You never have anything planned after school, except working out," he pauses, faking thoughtfulness for a moment, "missions and cleaning your quiver," he says the last part in French.
"Would you like me going on missions unfit and with an unequipped quiver?" She responds in French, with a hint of sass.
He smirks. "So.. the library?"
"You're lucky that on top of working out, missions and cleaning my quiver, I have homework to do," she jokes, earning a lingering smirk from the dark haired teen.
"I'll drop you home," he states casually.
Her eyebrows knit together in a frown, and then suddenly they shoot upwards in bewilderment."You drove to school?" She's back to english.
He looks unimpressed, as his eyes wander away from her. "I couldn't handle another school drop off in the Rolls Royce."
She smiles at his slightly pretentious comment. "You should take the bus with me," she jests in a faux serious tone.
He looks back at her, his smirk on the edge of a full blown toothy grin. "I thought about it."
Their smiles fade as the library comes into view.
"He's a smug faced little shit," he mutters under his breath, again in French.
She looks at him seriously for a moment, slightly taken back by the abruptness of his comment. "Wow, say how you really feel."
They reach the entrance of the library and the conversation becomes more hushed. "I'm not kidding, Artemis."
She's slightly confused as to why he so abruptly changed the topic of conversation to the newest Wayne ward. She had broached the subject tentatively less than a few minutes ago, and he wasn't willing to crack. "I'm not sure my French is good enough for this conversation," she says warily, unsure if this is the right time and place to be discussing such issues.
The doors to the library slide open in front of them, and they're met with a full foyer of students.
"Your French is more than fine," he responds dismissively, before continuing the conversation she was trying to avoid. "Bruce treats him differently."
She looks at him like he's an idiot. "Because you're two completely different people, Dick."
They instinctively head towards their usual quiet corner on the lower level.
He frowns, his face becoming more animated the longer the conversation about the younger teen continues. "But he gets so much special treatment - I never had that - and I was 8!"
"Honestly Dick, I don't think my French is good enough to have this conversation."
He rolls his eyes again. "This is us studying, we have a French SAC in two weeks."
She looks at him seriously. "My French is okay - but yours is ridiculous."
He continues to look at her, as if the conversation about his new little brother was continuing on.
She sighs, giving in. "You had good, loving parents Dick, you have good morals-" And she wanted to say that he was kind of a goody two shoes - in a non-derogatory way - and never wanted to let Bruce down, but decided against it, "He never had that. No one showed him love or supported him."
The younger teens' eyes narrow. "Sounds similar to someone else's background."
She ignores his sly comment. Her eyebrows rise as she looks him dead in the eye. "Give him time," she states softly.
The conversation dies out, as Dick realises Artemis isn't really on the same level about his new family member.
They reach their usual study corner. It's a large, dark wooden table, perfectly surrounded by rows of bookshelves in every direction, with a large window with a garden view - a superhero must, just in case.
"Is Barbra coming?" The blonde asks in an attempt to change the subject, as she dumps her books into a perfect pile on the table in front of her.
He swallows, and doesn't say anything. His face is unreadable.
A faint smile appears on her face as she takes a seat. "I see," she says knowingly in English.
He shoots her an irritated look. "It's not like that," he responds, sounding slightly defensive. He swings his back pack onto the table before taking a seat opposite the blonde.
She raises an eyebrow. "I'm sure."
She grabs the first book from the top of her pile. French Level 4. She looks at the book blankly. Suddenly she can't help the next comment escape from her mouth. "What about Z?"
His face is instantly unreadable again. "What happened to studying?" His response is quick.
She looks down at her books, before looking at the bare table space in front of him. "I've already started," she states smugly, before motioning to his backpack with her eyes, "you haven't even unpacked."
He rolls his eyes, reaching dramatically for his backpack. She watches him as he unzips his backpack, and begins to shuffle through his own pile of books. Her mind wanders to Wally as the young teen in front of her delicately filters through each book. Had Wally told Dick about his slowing speed? He hadn't mentioned anything to the blonde. She watches the dark haired teen carefully select a few books and gently pull them from his backpack. Surely Dick would've mentioned something to her by now, unless Wally told him not to say anything. Dick's eyes suddenly catch hers.
"Artemis?"
She blinks multiple times in quick succession, only now realising she had been staring at him.
She shakes her head slightly, already feeling the regret for the words she wants to say. "Are you seeing Wally this weekend?"
He pauses, hands on the zips of his backpack, and then looks at her suspiciously. "Why?"
She sighs, her eyes dropping to her books. Clearly she was the only one that knew. She flips through another few pages. "I think he just wants to hang out," she begins, attempting to be truthful, "You guys haven't seen each other outside of missions in a while."
His face goes blank, before raising both his eyebrows. He looks almost impressed. "You're getting better at lying."
She now looks unimpressed. She goes to say something, but stops herself. The young teen just looks at her, waiting for a response. The corners of his mouth twitch a few times, threatening to launch upwards into a smug smile.
She doesn't say anything for a while. She looks annoyed for a split second. She knows exactly how much of a bad liar she is - utterly woeful, as the young teen in front her had once poetically described it.
"What happened to studying?" she finally says.
The corner of his mouth finally tugs upwards into a very faint smug smile.
888
Dick swings open the door to his room and there's Jason, sitting at his desk, reclined in his desk chair, reading his book on the Psychology of Killers.
Dick just looks at him, completely blank. He's speechless for just a moment. "What are you doing?"
Jason sits up straight and looks at Dick like he's done nothing wrong. "Hanging out," he states simply with a shrug, the book still in both his hands.
Dick's eyes narrow, the anger visibly growing inside of him. "You're in my room," are the very strained words from the older teen. The anger suddenly then bursts out of the older teen as he lurches forward and snatches the book from the younger teen's hands. "Reading my stuff," the tension is building in Dick's' voice.
Dick steps backwards, suddenly looking infuriated. His fingers are digging into his own book in an attempt to keep his anger under control. "Did anyone ever tell you not to go through other people's stuff?" The question comes out with more hostility than Dick was expecting. But he was getting to the point of not caring about offending the newest Robin. Dick was not used to such an invasion of privacy - a sacred rule whilst living under Bruce's roof.
Jason rolls his eyes. "Chill," he states, "I didn't look around, I was barely even reading."
Dick looks confused for a moment, before becoming exasperated. "This is my room - you can't just barge in!"
Jason stands up quickly, raising both his hands. "Okay, okay, Dick, sorry," he says briskly in an attempt to calm the older teen, as he looks at the older teen like he's overreacting. "Bruce told me to wait for you."
Dick sucks in a breath in an attempt to quell his inner rage. The older teen quickly strides past Jason, before dumping his school bag next to his bed. Dick stands up straight, and as quickly as the anger boiled over, it's just as quickly contained. "What for?" Dick finally asks, the confused look returning, as his gaze goes back to the younger teen.
Jason cocks his hip to one side. "He told me to go to training with you."
Dick looks bewildered. "At Mount Justice?"
Jason nods. "The one and only," he responds with a slight hint of sass.
Dick pauses. He can't even compute the young teens' wise comment right now, he's too busy trying to keep his emotions in check in front of him. Bruce wanted Jason to go to training with the team - Dick couldn't believe it. He assumed Jason was lying. Training was for team members only.
Dick looks at Jason, his face completely blank. "Let me call, Bruce."
Jason looks unimpressed for a moment, as he takes another seat on Dick's desk chair. He reclines back again. "I'm not lying."
Dick yanks his phone out of his pocket and quickly presses it to his ear. The phone barely even rings.
"Dick-"
Dick rudely interrupts his adoptive father. "What's this about Jason coming to the cave for training?"
Bruce's voice is firmer than usual. "Canary is taking training tonight, it'll be good for him to learn from someone else."
Dick is struggling to keep his composure. "But he's not on the team," the teen argues matter of factly.
"He's on our team, Dick," and that immediately shuts Dick up.
Dick's gaze drops to the floor. All the anger instantly vanishes, and a sudden pang of guilt immediately replaces it.
Bruce takes the sudden silence as agreement. "I've got meetings until late, I'll see you after dinner."
Dick swallows. "Alright," he says simply, the guilt still stirring within him. He hangs up.
Jason looks at him smugly, arms crossed over his chest. "I told you."
Dick shoots him a deadpan look, as the anger flares within him again. "Get in your uniform, meet in the bat cave in 10," the order is firm.
Jason smiles, appearing genuine, at Dick, before nodding in response to the orders.
The younger teen quickly gets to his feet, going for the door. "Next time," Dick warns with a slightly threatening tone, "Knock."
Jason nods as he zips out the door with impressive speed. Dick immediately rushes to the door. He flings it shut with the residual anger left inside of him.
He sighs audibly, both his hands going for his face. His fingers rub circles around his eye sockets. The anger sits inside him, unresolved, and there was no time to find an outlet for it.
He couldn't get away from the younger teen. He was seeping into every part of Dick's life. There was no acclimatisation period - he just appeared and was managing to weasel himself into everything with almost no effort.
He takes a couple of steps, and lets his body almost collapse into the recliner chair. His eyes rise to gaze at the wall behind his desk, littered with photos and other sentimental notes and cards.
His eyes catch a photo of him and Wally, and realisation of the impending introduction of the newest Robin to not only the team, but also to the league, suddenly hits him.
He lets his head fall backwards to rest against the back of the chair. He can already see the team's surprised looks. He can already feel their unaired and unspoken feelings of betrayal, leaving them somewhat confused as to why they weren't kept in the loop, or at least informed beforehand. Dick knew all those feelings all too well, having lived with Bruce since he was eight - those feelings never go away, he had just learnt not to be surprised.
He didn't even want to think about the disapproving look on Canary's face, but luckily, he wouldn't be bearing the brunt of her lecture, that would be Bruce's problem.
He can't help but feel some resentment towards Bruce. He was used to this sort of behaviour, but the team wasn't. A classic Batman maneuver to make a decision, and leave the consequences to those around him.
Dick knew he would have to put on the performance of his life during training tonight. He would have to be stoic, unflinching, and calm. It would only be for a few hours, but he already knew they were going to probably be the one of the longest few hours of his life.