#dianap

Aaron was still tied to a chair and crying his eyes out, the mere fear of having anything happen to Alaska was enough to break him. The room was dark and Aaron thought he was alone, not a sound was heard on that sepulchral silence that surrounded him.

“Aaron” a soft voice whispered in the darkness.

“What?” the boy answered confused.

“You need to be strong” the voice whispered once again.

“Who the fuck are you?” Aaron questioned angrily.

“That doesn’t matter Aaron, but if you want to make it out alive from here you need to be calm” the voice was closer and closer to him.

“And what about Alaska? What if that sick motherfucker did something to her?” Aaron asked as his tears came back again.

“He’s just torturing you, she’s not here” the voice reassured him.

“And how do you know huh?” Aaron asked defiantly.

“Because I know, Andre hasn’t brought anyone here aside from Danny, Joshua and You” the voice was closer now.

“Who are you?” Aaron asked once again, and from the shadows a silhouette emerged.

“I told you it doesn’t matter Aaron, you just have to trust me” the voice said once again, as it moved around a confused Aaron who was now sobbing uncontrollably.

“I need to see Alaska please” he begged as he tried to calm his voice.

“You want to get out of here?” the voice offered; even in the darkness Aaron could still perceive a grin in that voice.

“Of course I want to be out of here! What kind of stupid question is that?” Aaron clapped back in tears.

“All right all right, calm down pretty one, if you want your freedom I’ll give it to you” the voice said and Aaron felt a pair of hands caress his and the rope that had them tied together.

“Let me go please, I’m begging you” Aaron pleaded, he felt that freedom so close that he could barely wait.

“But under one condition” the voice said

“What do you want?” the boy questioned as he calmed down.

“I want Roy” the voice warned as Aaron got a shiver down his spine.

“What?” Aaron questioned confused and a bit scared.

“You heard me freak, bring Roy back here or else…” the voice threatened.

“Or else what?” Aaron defied.

The silence was broken by what it seemed to be someone screaming; the voice begged for the torture to stop, it took Aaron a few seconds to recognize that voice in the darkness.

Alaska…

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING TO HER?” Aaron growled as he tried to set himself free from the chair.

“Easy, easy, she’ll be ok” the voice warned “but only and listen to me carefully, if you bring Roy back here”

Aaron felt once again a pair of hands caressing his; he felt how they cut the rope that had him tied to the chair.

“Let’s make a deal Aaron” the voice offered “You bring him back here in 24 hours and Alaska will be safe, all right?”

Aaron couldn’t speak any more; his tears were falling down in an uncontrollable stream.

“We have a deal Aaron?” the voice inquired one more time.

Aaron was frozen, he was trapped, either he betrayed one of his closest friends or he witnessed the love of his life being tortured.

“Let me go please” he begged one last time.

“24 hours Aaron, I’m counting on you” the voice repeated as it set Aaron free.

“Go, and bring Roy back or say goodbye to your lovely Alaska for good.”

And those were the last words he heard before he ran out of the place, his heart beating uncontrollably, he didn’t know what to do or where to go, but he kept running, he just kept running.

…

Roy was sitting on the edge of his bed; his mind was torturing him once again with crystal clear memories of the happier times, of the times when he had it all, when Danny was here. Even when the silence was deafening he swore he could still hear the green eyed boy laughing, he could still listen to him softly humming while he tried to cook something, or while he showered and his singsong voice came out of the bathroom.

It had been months since Danny was away, and day after day he felt how his soul died away slowly.  He had lost contact with reality, it had been weeks since he answered the phone to any one, and he only showed up to his workshop but refused to talk to people. He was losing interest in everything again. His mind began to roam around and it was driving him crazy, he began to contemplate death as a possibility to end this suffering, and anyone who knew him would know that this wasn’t normal, that this was delusional for Roy to be thinking it.

Someone softly knocked on the door and brought Roy back to reality, he walked slowly towards the door, in a way that almost seemed robotic and opened carelessly.  A perplex Shane was standing there just staring at him.

“Hi” Shane whispered, his clear eyes were tired and watery.

“Hi, come in” Roy said without questioning the blond one’s presence.

“I need to talk to someone Roy” Shane began as he sat down in the living room.

“I think you’ve come to the wrong place Shane” Roy answered bitterly as he sat down in front of the blond.

Shane placed his eyes on the sad image he had in front of him, he had never seen Roy devastated by anything, he was the strongest man he had ever known, and now he was destroyed.

“Roy please” Shane begged as his eyes began to tear down.

The brown eyes were astonished by the emotions coming from the man standing before them; Roy had never seen Shane express any feelings, at least not like now.

“What happened man? What’s wrong?” Roy asked as he placed himself next to Shane.

“I’m scared” he simply said, “I’m really really scared” Shane admitted as his eyes couldn’t contain the tears anymore.

“What happened? Are you ok?” Roy questioned afraid, he couldn’t take any more bad news, he just couldn’t.

“It’s Matt, I think…” the silence that Shane made felt like an eternity to Roy.

“What? What happened to him now?” Roy asked desperate and scared.

“For god’s sake Roy would you let me talk?” Shane giggled, “I think I’m falling in love with the kid and I’m scared” he finally finished.

Roy rolled his eyes and stood up, obviously annoyed by the confession that was just made.

“Really queen?  Is that it?” The brown eyed man asked as he walked around his living.

“Well yeah, I know it’s stupid and that to you feelings are overrated…” Shane began but was cut off by the look Roy gave him.

“Don’t say that” Roy said, “Don’t portrait me as the coldest person in the world.” The man said with sadness in his voice.

“I didn’t mean that Roy, but it’s just that, I’ve never heard you talk about love, you are so guarded, so cold sometimes.” Shane said as he stared deep into the brown eyes that were lost in the nowhere.

Shane’s words felt heavy on Roy’s chest, he thought long and hard about what was just said before the words came out of his mouth.

“I’ve been in love” he said softly, “As a matter of fact I AM in love” he continued as his eyes showed pain, a kind of pain that Shane had never seen before.

“I feel Shane, I feel more than anyone I’ve ever known” he cried out.

“I’m sorry Roy, I just…” Shane was cut off again by Roy’s eyes, only this time he could see inside them, he could see bright and clear all that Roy was.

“I can’t do this anymore” Roy confessed as he literally broke down, he fell on his knees and began to cry desperately, he could barely breathe by now.

“Talk to me, tell me what’s wrong Roy” Shane begged as he kneeled down next to the man who was tearing himself up.

“I need him Shane, I need Danny back” Roy pleaded “Why doesn’t he want to be with me? Why is he there when I need him here? , HERE!” he glowered.

Shane was speechless, he couldn’t said a word that would make this any better for Roy, so he just held him tightly in his arms until his body stopped shaking and his tears were almost gone.

“We are going to get him back Roy, I promise you” Shane said trying to believe his own words more than anything.

…

Matt was pacing around his room, a lot was going on in his head, Danny, Roy, Andre and Shane…that blond man that had been nothing but good to him, he remembered his words, the way his soft voice begged him not to do anything stupid and he felt the guilt ran through his body.

The silence that reined the room was almost unbearable for him, ever since he had been set free from Andre’s grip he hated the silence, he hated how his mind tortured him with the sounds he heard while he was there. But the one thing that tortured him the most was the crystal clear memory of Danny’s crying in the darkness. It sent shivers down his spine; it made him squirm with sadness and pain.

The door got opened slowly and Matt didn’t even move Shane came in and looked at him sweetly; the feelings he had for the boy were growing and deepening in a way that was difficult to explain for both of them.

“Hi” Shane’s singsong voice broke the silence.

Matt only looked up and smiled softly.

“How was your day?” Shane asked as he sat down next to Matt, who instinctively laid his head on the blonde’s shoulder.

“It was good, where were you?” he asked as Shane’s hand caressed his jet black hair.

“I was at Roy’s; I needed to talk to him.” Shane whispered.

“Are you ok?” Matt asked scared as he looked deep into Shane’s clear eyes.

There was something so magical about those eyes, Matt had found his place, a place to finally rest and allow himself to feel safe.

“Yes I am now, I just needed to…” and the words were left there, hanging in the air.

“To what?” Matt asked curious.

Shane just stared at him and smirked.

“What?” Matt asked once again.

“I just needed to admit to myself and to you that I…”

“That you…?”

“I am in love with you Matt, I am completely in love with you” Shane babbled the words and he felt how a weight was lifted off his chest.

Matt just stared at him in disbelief, as much as his heart was feeling warm due to those words, he couldn’t help it but to feel guilty about his own decisions.

…

It was past 2 am and Roy was sleeping soundly in bed, the first time he slept in months, until a loud knock on the door woke him up suddenly. Roy got up and stood there in silence, the knocks on the door kept coming louder and louder, more and more desperate, Roy was being consumed by fear.

“Roy please open please I’m begging you” Aaron’s voice came through the door.

“What in the hell…” Roy whispered to himself as he got up and ran to the door.

“Roy please please, I need your help” Aaron begged as his tears were uncontrollably falling down.

Roy opened the door as fast as he could only to find a defeated Aaron down on his knees crying and shaking without any self-control.

“What the fuck man, what happened? Are you ok?” the brown eyed man managed to say as he kneeled down in front of Aaron.

“Alaska” he managed to mumble.

“What about her? What happened?” Roy said desperate as he held Aaron’s face between his hands.

“He’s got her, I don’t know what he might be doing to her” Aaron could barely speak.

“Come in, what the fuck are you talking about?” Roy mumbled confused.

As they got inside the house Aarons crying calmed down a bit.

“Now, explain to me what happened?”  Roy said as he tried to understand what was going on.

“Andre, he has Alaska, he’s torturing her” Aaron cried out as his voice became shaky again.

Roy couldn’t understand what was going on; his head couldn’t make any sense out of the words that Aaron was mumbling.

“What?” he managed to whisper “But she was here yesterday, she was looking for you” Roy admitted as he felt his heart racing faster.

“What are you talking about?” Aaron jabbered as he lifted his face from between his hands to face Roy.

“She was here, looking for you, where the fuck have you been? Are you high or something?” Roy inquired as his tone became harsher.

“What the fuck man! Do you think I’ll lie about this shit?” Aaron growled as he stood up.

“I’m calling her” Roy announced as he walked towards his phone.

Aaron felt a sudden rush of anger.

“Alaska? Hi, sorry to bother you this late…” Roy babbled in the distance “No, no, I’m ok I swear, is just that, Aaron is here, yes, yes, he’s ok, all right we wait” and he hung up.

“I heard her” Aaron began “She was, she was screaming, it sounded like they were hurting her” he continued as tears fell from his face.

“It was a hoax man, he does that all the time” Roy whispered “he did that to Dany…” those last words sounded sad and empty.

“And he almost made me…” Aaron’s voice was cut off by tears.

“He almost made you what?” Roy inquired desperate as he tried to keep the composure.

The door got opened suddenly and Alaska walked through it, Aaron stood up instinctively and held her in his arms.

…

The streets were cold and dark, Danny was walking alone and he was scared, he couldn’t recognize the place, he was just roaming around. His body felt foreign to him, he felt how the whole world was spinning around him, he was numb, but not enough to make that pain that was growing inside of him disappear.

It was getting darker and Danny’s heart was racing, suddenly he felt a wave of pain overcome his body, the pain was enough to bring him to his knees, he couldn’t understand anything, his sight was blurry and he could barely breathe.

“Are you ok?” a familiar voice came from the distance.

Danny lifted his face and stared at a pair of brown eyes that he knew very well, he tried to speak but his voice was suffocated.

“Calm down Danny, I’m here for you” the man said as he kneeled down beside him.

Danny’s green eyes were filled with tears, the comforting touch of that man made everything more bearable, it felt like home…

“Help me” Danny managed to mumble as the air was running out of his lungs.

And just as sudden as the air was out of his lungs he was awaken.

Danny’s eyes were opened suddenly and his breathing was uneasy, his heart felt as if it was about to fall out of his chest, he slowly recognized the place he was at and his eyes filled with tears once again.

There was something about Andre’s story that didn’t feel right, he couldn’t remember a thing, or the accident, or anything, and those dreams he’d been having, night after night. Who was that brown eyed man? Why did he felt so safe around him?

Danny felt as if he was going crazy, he needed answers and he needed them now.

…

Joshua was exhausted, he hadn’t sleep in days and all he could feel was fear, night after night he had seen again and again how Danny was abused and used by different men, and what disgusted him the most was Andre’s way of manipulating him.

One of those nights Danny was roaming around the hallway that led to Joshua’s room, and despite the fear Josh decided to call his name, maybe this would be the last attempt of him to try and make Danny react.

“Danny” Joshua softly whispered as he stood up next to the door.

Danny heard the call but ignore it at first.

“Danny please I just want to talk” Joshua insisted as he heard Danny’s footsteps come closer.

“What?” Danny whispered cautiously and stood next to the closed door.

“Come in, we need to talk.” Joshua insisted as his heart beat faster.

“Are you sure? What if Andre comes?” Danny’s voice was fearful.

“Please Danny, I need you” Joshua begged.

Danny went inside the room and silently locked the door behind him, he was scared and his heart was rushing, but there was something about his own quest for answers that made him risk everything like this.

“I need you to believe in me and listen to me” Josh pleaded as he began to whisper.

“I don’t understand anything, I need someone to tell me the truth” Danny cried out as he stared deep inside Joshua’s eyes.

“I’m telling you the truth Danny, you need to understand” He began, “Andre doesn’t love you a bit, he’s got you kidnaped for months now, you need to believe me”

Danny’s body felt that pain again, even though he was awake now.

“How? I don’t understand, what about the accident? What about Matt?”  The green eyes that had lost its shine months ago were once again filled with tears and fear.

“None of that happened” Joshua confessed “You were kidnapped Danny, months ago, I saw everything” the words that were hanging in the air were like knives to the emerald eyed boy.

“No, no please stop” Danny softly whispered as he felt that sharp pain in his chest again.

“You were at Roy’s that night, when Andre called you” Joshua continued despite the look on Danny’s eyes.

“Who is Roy? Why does everyone keep on bringing him up?” Danny asked desperate.

“He’s the man you love; he’s the one that looked after Matt and you when you first arrived to the city.” Joshua’s voice was higher but still cautious.

“You hurt him when you send him a vicious text, after Andre brought you and Matt here” he continued.

Danny’s body had stopped responding, his memory was trying to recall everything that Joshua said, but nothing was coming up.

“Then somehow we managed Matt to scape, he’s not dead, he’s safe, but Andre hurt you, I don’t know how he did it but he made you forget everything and now he’s got me here, god knows what is going to happen to me, but you need to leave Danny please, please you need to” Joshua begged.

Danny’s eyes were drowned in tears, he wanted to leave, but he didn’t dare to believe anything anymore, his anxiety was growing and he couldn’t handle it anymore.

“I can’t, I can’t do this anymore” Danny whispered to himself as he kneeled down on the floor.

“Danny please” Joshua begged one last time before some footsteps broke the silence.

The footsteps were coming closer and closer to the door and Joshua knew this was the end.

“Angel where are you?” Andre’s voice was heard in the hallway.

Danny’s soft crying couldn’t be stopped and Andre walked towards the room.

“Angel?” Andre asked again

“Please Danny, please trust me” Joshua whispered one las time.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Andre questioned aggressively as he opened the door.

“Please Andre” Danny began “Tell me the truth” he begged as tears ran down his eyes.

“Get the fuck out of here Daniel you are not allowed here” Andre grabbed Danny’s arm and wrestled him outside of the room.

“And as for you filthy skank” Andre hissed at Joshua, “This was the last time you try to ruin me”.

…

“Where have you been? I was driving myself crazy thinking something had happened to you” Alaska managed to say between the tears.

Aaron just held her until his voice was back so he could tell them everything.

“Andre” Aaron began as his breathing became more even, “He had me and Joshua, but he let me go in exchange of you” he said pointing to Roy.

“What? What the fuck?” Roy mumbled confused.

“He made me listen to a tape with your voice” Aaron said to Alaska “It sounded like you, screaming  in pain, torturing you”  he couldn’t fight the tears falling from his eyes “I was so scared, I thought I was going to lose you”

“But I’m here, he never had me Aaron” Alaska comforted him as Roy began to pace around the room.

“He gave me 24 hours” Aaron continued.

“For what?” Roy questioned confused and scared.

“He wants you” Aaron’s words sent a shiver down Roy’s spine, this was it, this was probably the last chance.

…

Shane was peacefully sleeping, the thought of Matt being safe in his arms made him feel calm. But it wasn’t so easy for Matt, he had made up his mind and he wasn’t changing it. He got out of bed slowly, careful not to wake Shane up, he looked in the drawers and took a piece of paper between his hands , he held it carefully, completely aware of what he was about to do.

He walked towards the nightstand next to Shane and left the paper there, as tears began to form in his eyes he walked out silently.

“I’m sorry” he whispered as he left the room “I’m so so sorry Shane”

And he left the house, ready to face his fate.

…

Roy was left alone again in his house, the words Aaron said were left running in his mind, he felt the need to do something for this nightmare to end, nothing was ok, it was pointless to keep on living if Danny wasn’t coming back, and if everyone’s life was at risk because of him.

Hours went by and all Roy could do was just contemplate the nothing, the darkness that was fading around him, it was almost dawn and Roy’s eyes were still open, occasionally crying. The memories were torturing him, crystal clear images of Danny, his Danny…the sound of his voice singing at every moment, the light his green eyes reflected, the warmth of his touch, the taste of his lips…

“Come back” Roy whispered as he broke down.

“Come back Danny, please”.

…

Dear Shane:

I hate doing this, I hate being a coward, I’m sorry I just couldn’t bring myself to tell you this after everything, you’ve been nothing but good to me, you’ve protected me and you saved my life, literally…Know that I’ll be forever grateful for that, there’s nothing in this world I could do or give you to pay back all of what you’ve done for me.

I know this is the worst way of doing this and I know I’m breaking my promise, but I need you to understand my reasons, I need to bring Danny back, I know what Andre wants, and it’s not Danny, I need to do this for my brother, and for Roy, that man has been suffering a lot with this and I need to do something.

Please Shane don’t do anything reckless, don’t go after me, I wouldn’t forgive myself if anything were to happen to you, wait for me, I´ll do my best to keep myself safe, wait for me.

And just in case I don’t make it, just know that me too, I am too in love with you…

I love you deeply, I’m sorry.

Matt.

When Shane woke up he rolled over to look for Matt but couldn’t find him, he looked everywhere until he noticed that piece of paper on his nightstand, the words he read pierced his soul, Matt was so stubborn, and now he was risking his life and there was nothing he could do without risking his own or without uncovering him. Shane’s eyes were drowned in tears.

Shane was desperate and he did the only thing he could think of, call Roy.

The phone was ringing on the other side, but Roy was taking too long in answering and Shane’s anxiety grew by the minute.

“Hello?” a sleepy Roy replied on the other side.

“He’s gone” Shane brought himself to whisper as his voice was cracked due to the tears.

“What? Who? What are you talking about?” Roy opened his eyes wide as he tried to understand what was happening.

“Shane, he’s gone, please come home Roy, I need you” Shane cried out as he sobbed in the phone.

“Don’t move Shane, I’m on my way” Roy said as he hung up.

…

Danny was woken up abruptly in a dark room, the soft crying that came from the other side of the room made him shiver.

“Joshua?” he whispered scared, no answer but a soft moan of pain.

“Joshua is that you? Are you ok?” Danny asked once again.

“Danny” Joshua’s voice was barely a whisper.

“What happen? Are you ok?” Danny said as he rushed towards him.

“Please, please get out of here; I promise you, this is not your place.” Joshua whispered to him as he tried to hide the pain he was feeling.

A blinding light came from the door and both of them looked over instinctively, Andre was standing there, silently contemplating that scene.

“Now you are playing Mother Theresa?” Andre mocked as he walked inside the room to grab Danny by the arm.

“Why are you doing this to me? Why if you love me you hurt me this way?” Danny questioned defiantly.

“Because he doesn’t love you Danny, he never has!” Joshua raged as he defied Andre.

“Shut the fuck up!” Andre replied and once again threw a blow straight to Joshua’s face

“Please Andre, please just stop hurting me” Danny begged.

“We need to work Angel, we have an important night ahead of us” Andre said emotionlessly as he dragged the boy out that room.

Danny was starting to believe in Joshua’s words and tonight he was determined to scape or die trying.

…

Roy arrived at Shane’s only to find a broke down man crying in the living room, he couldn’t bring the blond one to say a word, he only held him in his arms until the sobbing stopped.

“What happened?”  Roy questioned trying to sound as calm as he could.

Shane only handed him the letter and continued to sob quietly as Roy read.

“For fuck’s sake! Is he crazy?!” Roy grumbled as he tried to wrap his head around this whole nonsense.

“I don’t know Roy, we need to do something, we need to bring everyone back, him, Danny, Joshua…” Shane said as he dried his tears.

“Call Alaska” Roy ordered.

“What for Roy? It’s not time for a fucking family reunion” Shane complaint as he stood up.

“Fucking do what I say!” Roy yelled as he started to make a plan in his own mind.

…

Finally the time had come, Adore’s heart was racing and she was fighting to keep herself alert and focus on her plan. The night was going as usual, she had already seen and been with a couple of men that used her and made her feel like a piece of shit.

She kept on planning it in her mind; she’ll lure Andre to her room, where she’ll seduce him and then trap him tying him to his bed, and hope to have enough time to scape.

Adore was prancing around the room as if nothing in the world was wrong, but deep down inside she was fearful and scared for her own safety. Everything was going as planned; Andre had not suspected anything and was being completely kind and caring with her, at some point of the night he left her alone at the bar and in the blink of an eye everything changed.

A gorgeous blonde woman that seemed familiar sat down in the stall next to her and ordered a drink, her blue eyes reminded Adore of something, but she couldn’t bring her mind around to what that was.

“Cheers” the blonde said as she lifted her drink.

“Cheers” Adore answered not wanting to be distracted from her plan.

“Adore, I need you to stay calm and listen to me” the blonde girl said as she smiled carelessly

“Who the fuck are you? Do I know you?” Adore whispered, not wanting to start a fight and ruin her plan.

“I’m Courtney, remember me? Friends with you and Roy, and Matt and Joshua” Courtney continued as she pretended they were having a normal chat.

“What the fuck why does everyone wants me to listen and believe their lies” Adore said in a defying tone but keeping a calm expression on her face.

“I’m not lying, Andre is, and we need you to leave this place, we need you to be safe” Courtney insisted.

“We? Who the fuck is “we”?” Adore asked annoyed.

“Roy, the girls back in the club, Matt, me” Courtney replied.

“Don’t you dare” Adore said as she stood up “Don’t you fucking dare to bring Matt into this” her tone was pointed now and she started to walk away from Courtney when suddenly everything changed, forever.

…

Matt was standing outside that awful place, the mere sight of it sent shivers down his spine, he needed to end what he started, he needed to. As he took a deep breath he placed his hand inside his pocket, he knew this was going to change his life forever, whatever the outcome of this would be, it meant a change.

He walked towards the door, slowly, not wanting to be noticed by anyone, but he wasn’t aware of the pair of brown eyes that stared at him from the distance.

Roy was in the front sit of Shane’s car, waiting, praying for things to come out all right, until he saw Matt walking in the shadows, this wasn’t ok, if Matt went in there the whole plan was going to fail.

A loud noise broke the silence of the night and all that could be heard were the screams from the people inside the place.

“Aaron we need to go in there” Roy said as he unbuckled the seatbelt

“No you don’t! Are you insane Roy?!” Alaska cried out as she held Aaron’s hand.

“Aaron get the fuck out or I’m doing this by myself!” Roy threatened as he closed the car door.

“I’m sorry baby, I’ll be back I promise, don’t move, whatever you hear Alaska, it doesn’t matter what it is do not open the door, don’t move, ok?” Aaron begged as he softly kissed Alaska’s lips.

“I love you” He whispered and left her there.

…

“No one move” A voice that sounded familiar to Adore broke the calm on the place.

“Where the fuck is he? Where the fuck is Andre?” Matt yelled as he held the gun tightly in his hands.

Adore turned around slowly, but she wasn’t prepared for that gruesome image. Her green eyes stared at that man, it was him, it was…

“Matt” Adore whispered as her gaze became blurry and her body stopped responding, and suddenly it all became black.

Courtney rushed to catch her on her way down as she stared in disbelief at Matt.

“Matt please, stop” Courtney begged as she tried to bring Adore back.

“WHERE THE FUCK IS ANDRE!” Matt demanded once again.

The man came from the shadows laughing bitterly, everyone was frozen, Matt was shaking but he was determined to keep going until everyone was free.

“We got him boss, don’t worry” one of Andre’s guards said.

“No, no, let him, I will be the one to take care of him” Andre said.

“Everyone, out!” he demanded.

“But boss” the guard replied.

“Did you not hear me? EVERYONE GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!” Andre’s voice filled the place and everyone disappeared in what seemed to be a second.

Courtney was still holding Adore who had fainted by the bar and Matt was standing now in front of Andre, pointing straight to his head. The silence was unbearable you could hear everyone’s breathing and it was nerve-wracking.

“Well, well , well” Andre began “Look who is playing the hero now” he mocked.

“Stop the fucking games Andre, let her go, let Joshua go” Matt howled as his hands shook nervously.

“Easy Matt, you don’t want things to get ugly” Andre said as he pulled out a gun from his own belt.

“Let them go!” Matt hollered once more, “I’m here, you wanted me don’t’ you?” He continued.

“I did, before, you are useless to me now, she thinks you are dead” Andre said in a cold tone “And maybe that’s how you should be”

“NO! PLEASE DON’T HURT HIM! MATT PLEASE YOU PROMISED!” Courtney cried out from the other side of the room.

“Oh my god, what is this? A fucking soap-opera?” Andre hissed “You are worthless to me Matt, you are basically death to us” he continued.

“I should just kill you now, while she’s passed out” Andre’s words make Matt freeze.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US? WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT YOU SICK BASTARD?” Courtney hollered in tears as she broke down next to Adore who wasn’t reacting.

“I already told your fucking freak friend I wanted Roy, he had 24 hours and you are about to run out of time” Andre kept pointing his gun towards Matt who wasn’t scared anymore he just wanted this nightmare to end.

“Matt please, just please stop” Courtney begged “I’ll do anything just don’t hurt him”

Aaron and Roy entered the building slowly only to find that awful scene, Adore laying on the floor, unconscious, Courtney crying her eyes out and Matt and Andre pointing at each other, this was like an awful horror movie that wasn’t ending.

“Look what the cat brought” Andre mocked as Roy walked slowly towards him.

“I am here, what do you want from me? Where is she?” Roy demanded as he stood right in front of him.

“She’s here” Courtney whispered

Roy turned around and stared at Adore, she looked so fragile, so helpless; he ran over to her as Andre turned around and pointed at Roy the whole time.

“Baby, please wake up, please come back” Roy begged to Adore as he held her face between his hands and tears ran down his face.

“Oh for fuck’s sake, she doesn’t even know who you are anymore” Andre complaint as he stared at that image.

“What the fuck have you done to her?” Roy cried out as he tried desperately to bring her back.

Slowly Adore started to react to the touch and the voices around her, she opened her eyes slowly, wanting to recognize the place she was at, and suddenly she was reminded of the reality she was living. A pair of familiar brown eyes greeted her, she tried to get up but her body was too weak to allow her that.

“Sh, sh, calm down, you are safe with me, I promise you this is going to end soon” Roy said in a soft voice.

This was the voice of her dreams, his touch felt familiar, warm, she felt safe.

“Who are you? What the fuck is going on in here?” Adore asked as she made her way up.

“See asshole, I told you she didn’t know who you are” Andre said as he laughed bitterly.

“Andre what the hell?” Adore demanded “Who are they? What the fuck is going on?” her voice sounded desperate.

And suddenly she remembered.

“Matt?” she called, her voice sounded fearful.

“I’m here” Matt answered as tears ran down his face.

“No, no, no, no” Adore began “This can’t be, don’t do this to me, Matt is gone, he’s dead, Andre said it” she was shaking uncontrollably now.

“He lied” Matt began “He’s been lying to you this whole time”

“You better shut the fuck up if you want to live” Andre threatened

“No, no, this can’t be real” Adore said as she walked around trying to comprehend everything.

“Adore please, you have to believe me, It’s me, Matt, your brother, we came here together.” Matt continued.

“Remember?” he said “Remember high school? Remember when Bonnie kicked us out of your house because we were smoking weed? Remember Ganja and your fight?”

Adore began to remember everything Matt was saying and her eyes filled with tears.

“Matt you are here, it’s you, it’s you” She said and tried to run over to him, but Andre stopped her pointing his gun at her.

“One more step dolly, just one more and you are dead” he threatened.

“What the fuck do you want Andre?” Roy began as he stood in between Adore and Andre. “I am here; you said you wanted me, what the fuck you want now?” He begged.

Aaron grabbed Adore by the arm and slowly dragged her back with Courtney.

“I want her” Andre growled “She’s mine, and you faggot have gotten on my way since day one” he continued as he walked towards Roy who didn’t move a bit.

“You have ruined everything time after time” Andre hissed “You took Joshua with you first, you think I didn’t knew?” he was closer and closer to him.

“And now you want her, but if I can’t have her no one can” he said as he pointed straight to Roy’s head.

“Shoot me” Roy defied him “Fucking shoot me you coward”

“Don’t try me faggot, don’t you fucking try me” Andre said as he held the gun firmly.

Suddenly the sound of footsteps distracted Andre, who turned around instantly only to see Adore, Aaron and Courtney running for the door.

“You are not leaving unless I kill you” Andre said and he shoot.

In what seemed like an eternity Matt ran and tackled Courtney who was the last one in the line, and he felt it, he felt something pierce his chest as he fell on the floor, and as he was falling, he shoot too, aiming at Andre who instantly fell to the floor.

“Matt please, please talk to me” Courtney begged as she held him in her arms “Someone please call 911” she desperately yelled as Matt’s eyes closed.

“Stay with me baby please, please” She cried.

“Matt please, Matt don’t leave me now, don’t do this to me” Adore begged as Roy held her.

“We need to find Joshua” Aaron said as he walked away towards the rooms.

The sound of the sirens was deafening and it seemed like the nightmare wasn’t ending.

…

As they arrived to the hospital long faces and cries were all that was heard in the waiting room. Courtney couldn’t stop crying and the waiting was becoming unbearable.

“Matt Johnson’s family?” The doctor asked as Adore and Courtney stood up.

“How is he? Is he going to be ok?” Courtney rushed to ask.

“I’m afraid you need to say your farewells, I don’t think Mr. Johnson is going to last any much longer” the doctor began “The bullet went through his lung and we can’t stop the bleeding, I’m afraid there isn’t anything else we can do”

Adore broke down once again as she held Courtney, although Andre was dead now the nightmare wasn’t ending. They both walked to Matt’s room and held his hands, he looked at peace, his body was covered with wires and machines that made this even harder on both of them.

“Matt” Adore began, the constant beeping  of the heart monitor was driving her crazy, “You saved my life, not once, but a hundred million times, and there’s nothing I could ever do or give to you that would pay you for being the best friend, brother and savior I could ever ask for, thank you, thank you for not giving up on me, even when I gave up on myself, I love you and I’ll love you till the end of my existence.”

And just as if he was listening his heartbeat became faster as Adore held his hand and kissed his cheek as a farewell.

“Something tells me I should leave you guys alone for this moment” She said as she left Courtney in the room.

“I’m the worst person expressing my feelings” She began “But for some reason you made it so easy, you made everything in my life easier, since you were with me I had been the happiest person alive, and I can’t believe I have to let you go, I can’t believe you risked your life to save my own” her voice was cut off by the tears.

“What you did, I’ll never be able to give it back, it should be me in that bed, it should be me the one leaving Matt, not you” her crying became desperate “You are and always will be the love of my life, and trust me when I say that I’ll never love anyone else like I love you, thank you baby, thank you for giving me life again” and as she said those last words, Matt’s heart stopped beating.

Courtney laid her head on Matt’s chest and broke down, he was gone, Matt was finally gone.

“I love you” Courtney whispered as the doctors came in and took her out of the room “I’ll always love you.”

…

It has been exactly a year since everything ended, and somehow we all got our lives back, Danny and Joshua helped the police to break Andre’s gang and Joshua finally found love, he seems really happy and fulfilled, as for Alaska and Aaron, they are still being themselves, and I’ll never be able to thank them enough for all the support they have gave me throughout this hard times.

And as for Roy and Danny, I must tell you today is probably the best day of their lives, didn’t I told you? THEY ARE GETTING MARRIED! And I should be there by now.

I love you Matt, I’ll always do it.

Shane.

Since Matt’s passing Shane wrote every day in a journal to him, his doctor recommended that as a way to deal with the loss.

Shane arrived to the venue and everyone was already there, but Danny, as usual he was running late.

“Are you ready?” Shane asked as he hugged his lifelong friend.

“As ready as I can be” Roy’s eyes were shiny and happy.

“Where’s your groom?” Shane joked.

“That man is never on time, Matt was right about that, he must be laughing” Roy said as he held Shane’s hand.

“Believe me, he is”

The ceremony began and everyone was crying, probably Roy the most, which actually surprised everyone in the room.

“Daniel” Roy began “When I first met you, I never thought we would end up here, you were drunk, and making a mess out of yourself, but since day one I saw something in you that I couldn’t find in anyone else, something that I’ve been searching my whole life, and it turns out it was behind a drunk mess” everyone in the room laughed as Danny mouthed   fuck all the way off, much to Bonnie’s embarrassment. “I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life, than about this, I want to spend every living moment of the rest of my existence next to you, and even when my body leaves this reality, I want my soul to be tied to yours forever, I love you Daniel Anthony Noriega, you are the love of my life, yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever.

Danny was trying to contain his tears as his turn to speak came.

“Roy, I have always been a mess, and even when I thought I had my life together, you came in and made me realize that there was something missing till that moment, you gave me the light and the spark I needed to become the best version of myself. You rescued me and my brother Matt, who I’m sure, is looking upon us tonight, you gave me my first chance in this town and you believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself anymore, you never gave up on me and you showed me what finally being home feels like, I can’t promise you to be the best  partner or to be perfect, but I can promise you to love you with every beat of my heart and with every breath I take from now on, and when my time comes, my soul will still love you till the end of time, I love you Roy Haylock, for the rest of my existence.”

And as the ceremony was coming to an end Danny finally felt it, he felt complete, he felt safe and nothing in this world could touch him.

“Are you happy?” Roy asked as he wrapped his arms around his newly wedded husband.

“The happiest I’ve ever been, I just wish Matt was here to see it” Danny said as he turned around and faced Roy.

“He is baby, trust me” Roy whispered as he softly kissed Danny.

“Thank you Roy, for everything” Danny began.

You, like Bruce, were also from Gotham, so there had been that instant connection there. You would often talk about restaurants, about high school, about people and if there was any overlaps in where you used to hang out. It turns out you used to frequent some of the same places, despite being from totally different backgrounds. You two could often be seen talking and laughing around the coffee machine, or going out to dinner - which made the tabloids go wild. The rest of the league knew that you two were just friends but Diana had always suspected something.

She had originally thought that she would be the one that you would bond with, given that you were a woman. And yes, you two were friendly enough but it wasn’t quite what she had pictured. You would catch eyes in the hallway and nod at one another, and you worked well out in the battlefields of the world. When she saw you with Bruce, your voice would flow through her head like music, while Bruce’s was grating, like nails on a chalkboard. It affected her relationship with Bruce, which had once been friendly but now, being around him just felt like the annoying co-worker.

You and Bruce came into the Batcave from going out to dinner, and you were talking about the couple who had been sitting next to you. “I think it’s romantic,” You were saying about them.

“I think it’s convenient,” Bruce was shrugging off his jacket. “I know a thing or two about gold-diggers, y/n, and that man was one of them.”

“Sometimes, Bruce, I think you see the world in too dark a light,” You said, finally noticing that the others were gathered around, with only Diana and Barry eavesdropping. Cyborg was hooked into a supercomputer, and Clark was in his ordinary Clark attire, looking at his phone. “Oh, was there a meeting?”

“No, I was just bored,” Barry said. There was a flash of yellow, and he was standing right beside you, offering you a bag of chips. “Hungry?”

“Just ate, but thank you. I don’t think I could take another bite,” You protested. Bruce did the same with an elegant gesture of his hand, and you went your separate ways. Bruce went to hang up his jacket while you strode over to see what Clark was doing. Diana was sitting alone at the table now, watching the way that your dress moved about your body. She admired it on you. It was white and gold, and reminded her of home, though this was much more formal than functional. The sleeves draped over your shoulder, exposing the soft flesh of your collar and arms. As you bent over to peek at his phone and see who he was texting, she caught the curve of your breast, and looked away quickly, face glowing red in shame.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to look. But rather, she wanted you to be the one to show her, of your own free will. She wanted you to ask her to unzip the dress and watch as you stepped out of it, completely bare. These thoughts clouded her mind to the point where she didn’t notice that Barry had slipped into the chair beside her and was staring at her, grinning.

“You’re so obviously in love, just go ask her out!” He said, a little loudly. Diana shushed him quickly, and darted her eyes back to see if you had noticed. But you were teasing Clark about his girlfriend, Lois at this point and didn’t seem to have overheard.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Diana said, turning back towards Barry. “Isn’t there some marathon that you should be running?”

“Ouch, you get mean when you’re jealous.”

“I am not jealous,” Diana said, though she knew that it was a lie. Jealousy was a snake that was making it’s way through her nerves, and if she didn’t do something about it soon, she was afraid she was going to burst. The toxicity was unscrewing itself.

She stood up and made her way to the bathrooms. There were two, side by side, neither of them labeled as male or female because it seemed stupid. Just pick a bathroom and use it. She went inside and ran some cold water over her hands and patted at her flawless face. She looked at herself in the mirror and saw the red coming across her cheeks. She saw that glint in her eye that she didn’t like. Though alone, with the only sound being the pipes, she thought she could hear your voice. Laughing. Then Bruce. Probably saying something witty. Oh, I’m Bruce Wayne, I’m rich. I’m Batman.

She splashed herself again, trying to get control over these negative emotions. She dried her face with some paper towel and went to step out, planning on leaving the Bat Cave since she wasn’t needed here, but when she opened the door - you were standing there. You looked startled by the door opening, but your open mouth turned into a frown. “Are you okay?”

You pushed your way into the well lit bathroom with her, and closed the door behind you. Your hand then went to her forehead, reaching up because the Amazonian woman was so tall, and tried to feel for a fever. “Do I look sick to you?” Diana asked, raising an eyebrow, but let you touch her skin, her face. It brought that heat back but it was a different kind.

“Well, your cheeks look a little flushed, and you have been more quiet than usual,” You said, stepping back with a frown. “But you don’t have a fever, so hurray for small miracles.”

“Good,” Diana said with a nod. “But I could have told you that I’m not sick. I don’t get sick.”

“Of course, your immune system is probably as crazy powerful as you are,” You chuckled. “Is there something else wrong then? I mean, you look amazing as usual but there’s something up with you. If you wanted to talk about it, you know I’m here, right?”

You were just so nice, it was hard for Diana to really comprehend it. She only wished that you were this nice to her, and not to everyone else, as cruel as that seemed. In what was at first meant to be a reassuring motion, she put her hands on your arms and rubbed up and down, and then up, past the thin off-the shoulder sleeves, to your shoulders. Once she had started, she found it hard to stop.

“You’re here, and that’s part of the problem,” She admitted. You tilted your head in confusion, exposing more of that beautiful neck that so tempted her. The way that she was looking at you - with eyes ablaze - it was a wonder you weren’t running off. “I have to ask you a question, and it may sound a little strange.”

“Of course, what is it?”

“Do you have feelings of any sort for Bruce?”

“Oh, gross, no,” You said, shaking your head. Her hands were still on your shoulders, keeping you grounded. “He’s like a brother, especially since we grew up in a lot of the same places. Why do you ask?”

“You two seem very close... very close.” Her hands went up your neck, caressing the soft and exposed skin until she reached your jaw. Your breath hitched in your throat, she could feel it. But you didn’t become meek or shy. Instead, you surprised her.

“Hmm... are you jealous, Diana?” You asked. You didn’t attempt to push her off, or get her to move. In fact, the reason why you had been going towards the bathroom in the first place was easily forgotten. Diana was caught of guard by your direct question, and responded to it with a nod rather than verbalizing. A smile went across your lips - closed lipped, tantalizing. “Then my plan has been working.”

You were the one that initiated the first kiss, wrapping your arms around her neck, bringing her in. She was in her full gear in case something had come up, and her metal breastplate rubbed roughly against the soft fabric of your dress. It was a good feeling though. It was a bit cold - and it permeated through the dress until you could feel it on your nipples, making them grow hard. In contrast, Diana was now feeling the soft, the flowing feeling against her elbows as her arms bent when she came closer. Lips smashed against lips, and that jealousy melted away.

You were the first one to pull away, take a step back and looked over that outfit of hers. The infamous Wonder Woman outfit. Turned into cheap costumes the  world round. “How do you take that thing off?” You asked. Surprising her again.

“Are you asking me to take it off, or are you curious?” Diana asked, pushing her hair out of the way, behind her neck, so that she could get back at yours with kisses.

“Both,” You said, leaning your head back so that she had more skin to get at. Diana grinned into these kisses, and showed you exactly how the form fitting top came off.

Diana felt very comfortable in her skin, and was fine with showing it off - to you. There were plenty of perverts out there who wanted to see this view, but it was only for you. Her chest was heaving with excitement, the pink that had been on her cheeks blushed her tan body. The skirt had come off as well, it being a one piece, and now she was standing there in only her underwear. For you.

You brought her back in for another kiss, this time with no hard breast plate in the middle. Diana’s hands deftly made their way to the back of your dress, and found the zipper. You moaned in encouragement, and gently - so as not to ruin the dress - she pulled it down until it reached your lower back. You shrugged your way out of it, pulling your arms out of the sleeves and let it fall onto the bathroom floor. At least Alfred kept this place spic and span himself. These floors had only been mopped that very morning.

Diana kept the kisses raining down upon you, your neck, your shoulders, your breasts once they were exposed. It was just the two of you in your underwear now, pressed against one another but it never felt close enough. Lifting you with ease, Diana swept you off of your feet and put you up onto the sink. You leaned back against the mirror, surprised at how quick all of this was going on. Both of you were. But neither of you were putting a stop to it. This was what she had been thinking about doing. Taking you from Bruce’s side and showing you how she really felt. This, this was a dream come true.

She kissed her way up one of your thighs, right along the inner skin, got to your underwear and started to pull it off slowly, leading it with kisses among the other thigh, to the calf, the to your pretty feet, bound in heels. Those, she would leave on. Just like she would her own thigh-high boots. “You’re very beautiful, y/n,” Diana said, getting a real good look at you.

“So are you, Princess,” You said with a smile, watching with eyes full of adoration. She existed for your compliments, and made her way hungrily between your legs. She was soft, just like those plump lips of hers, and she was gentle. She was also quite slow, which made you want her all the more. Her tongue was wet and warm and seemed to know exactly where to go to bring out the little whimpers in you. Your hands went to your own breasts, squeezing them. You pulled at your own nipples, making a display of it as Diana watched. Her dark eyes stayed focus up on you as her mouth worked.

As you began to reach your climax, miscellaneous things in the bathroom started to rumble. The garbage can for one, began to shake. The paper towel roll became entirely undone. The soap started to squirt out on its own. The lights flickered on and off as that force-field of yours affected the electricity around you. When you did finally reach it, your legs tightened around Diana, trapping her there as you thrust your hips up and down against her face, mewling with satisfaction.

The afterglow must have been amazing, for you grew a lot more loose and limber afterwards. Once you let Diana out of your grip, she joined you, hopping up onto the counter and put her arms around you, bringing you in for more kisses. These ones were more so lazy, just little pecks, as you started to recover from that rush of emotions. “What about you?” You asked, looking her over with a grin on her face.

You were hoping to see her, but instead, the only person you saw was a security guard who tended to follow you around. Not because he thought that you were up to devious behavior, but because he enjoyed the sight of you. He told you so enough times, and each word out of his mouth made you gag. But the art and Diana were worth putting up with him, just for a little while.

“Oh, you’re here again!” The very wanted voice of the woman that you were hoping to see  came through the room, which cuts the creepy security guard right out of the picture. As it well should have.

“You found me already,” You said, turning the tall woman with a smile. “Usually you only catch me when I’m about to leave. I’ve only been here about an hour.”

“I can leave you to it,” She said, her accent being one that you couldn’t quite place.  There were a dozen or so places that you suspected she could have come from, but never felt that you could ask such a rude question. She was here now, in France, and that’s what really mattered.

“Oh,  no, only if you have other things to do. I never mind your company, Diana,” You said with a smile. The way that she looked today was breathtaking. How she managed to make a simple pair of jeans and a blouse look glamorous, you didn’t understand. You didn’t even have hope that you could emulate such a look. You probably looked horrible next to her, in your comfy University sweater to fight off the chill of the upcoming autumn months. “Not for a little while, no,” She said, smiling back. She stood next to you and looked up at the sculpture that you had been stopped in front of. “Is this one your favorite?” She asked you. You nodded in response, then started to speak, realizing the little gesture was not nearly enough.

“I wish that I knew what she was looking at,” You admitted, looking up into the face of the beautiful piece of artwork. “And how the marble looks like fabric, how you can see through it, it’s...”

“Breathtaking?” Diana responded. You nodded. That was the word that you had been struggling to find. It sounded more sincere coming from her lips. “Yes, I feel the same way. I’m often drawn to it as well.”

You both fell into a silence at that moment, looking at the sculpture. You wished that you could touch it, making sure that it really was stone. You didn’t even realize that you were leaning into the partition rope guarding it from people doing exactly that.

“Hey - stop-” The creepy security guard said, squeezing his way between you and Diana. “You know the rules, you can’t get close to the artwork.”

“I wasn’t going to do anything,” You started to argue back, but Diana interfered.

“You’re excused,” She said, lightly pushing the guard back. Still, it seemed to take him by surprise that he was being handled like that, and he stumbled backwards. He glared at her, and opened his mouth to retort, but she continued on. “And I will be speaking to your supervisor about this.”

“I was just trying to-”

“I’ve already put in a complaint about you,” You said, wanting to back up Diana, just as she was doing for you. “And I have the feeling that I am not the only person who did. I wasn’t going to touch it, especially not with the curator here. Please, do not touch me again.”

It was hard to keep in your temper, but he had been rather rude with you in the past. He once slid behind you in a crowd, his hand touching your bottom a little too roughly for it to have been an accident. You had put in the report, but as you had expected, not too much had happened. “As I said, you are excused,” Diana said, her eyes sharp as she stared the man down. He faltered, and walked away from his post, mumbling under his breath.

“Thank you. I’ve been a bit nervous to come back because of him,” You frowned at his retreating back.

“I’ll make sure that he never bothers you again,” Diana said, soothingly. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” You said, bringing the smile back onto your face. “And so ready to finally enjoy the museum without him breathing down my beck. What is your favorite sculpture here?”

You were getting a tour from the curator herself, walking in her footsteps, taking in all of the information that she was giving you which wasn’t in the placards. You found yourself wishing you had brought a notepad so you could write all of this information down. She gave a much better tour than any of the tourguides or online tours that the Louvre provided.

“And that is all,” Diana said, after explaining the last statue. You had done a large lap, ending in front of your favorite once more. You clapped and felt very fortunate to have gotten such a personal tour.

And, well, very flattered as well that she had taken time out of her busy day to lead you around an exhibit you knew like the back of your hand. This woman was as beautiful as the sculptures themselves, so fine in form, so elegant in her movements. But there were a lot of differences between you and her that made you a little wary of getting rejected, if you did gather up the courage to ask her out.

You two turned to look at each other, both of you smiling. Her painted-red lips opened to say something. They formed your name when there came a loud announcement through the speakers around the museum. ‘Miss Prince, please return to your office, Miss Prince, please return to your office.”

“I’ve kept you for too long,” You said, realizing how much time exactly had flown by. At least two hours! You were just your average guest in the museum but you had taken up far too much of the curator’s time. Diana laughed, shook her head and lightly touched your shoulder. Her hand was well-manicured, warm. Exactly as you thought it would be. Her skin matched her laugh - sunshine.

“No, you haven’t,” She insisted. “I like your perspective on this art. On history. It is refreshing. We should talk more about this.”

“I’ll come back tomorrow,” You offered with a smile. She nodded enthusiastically, before waving her fingers at you and headed towards her office to get back to work.

-

And you did return, catching sight of Diana immediately. She was standing in front of the statue that was your favorite, which also now became your favorite meeting place. It was going to be a huge shame when the exhibit moves onto the next location. Diana had told you that it was Germany. The memories you had with these statues were almost enough for you to move along with it.

She was wearing an all white outfit, clean and completely pristine. She fit in wonderfully with all of the statues. “Good afternoon,” You said, walking up to her and stood next to her tall frame. The look that she gave you, the large smile, almost gave you a thought that maybe, just maybe, she admires you as much as you admire her. It gave you a sense of confidence, made your shoulders straighter, your chin a little higher.

“Hello!” She said, surprising you with a hug that you eagerly returned. “I had hoped you knew this was where I wanted to meet you!”

“Right in front of my favorite, I’m surprised that you remembered.”

“There is no way that I could have forgotten,” She said, ponytail swaying behind her back. “The many times that I saw you looking at it - I wish I could gift it to you.”

“Oh,” You said, eyes wide at the very thought. “No, something like this should be appreciated by everyone. That is the artist’s intention. And I would never want to mess with that.” You smiled, though, very flattered that she thought of something like that. “But I don’t wish to take up too much of your time today, you must have work to do.”

“I do,” She admitted, looking over shoulder. It was as if she was looking to make sure that there was no one around. Though of course there was. The Louvre was one of the most famous attractions in Europe, not just in France. There were plenty of people about. It was hard for you to notice most of them however, next to this very striking woman. “So I was going to ask you-”

“Excuse me,” A gruff man said, pushing his way past you. Despite the rule about no food or drinks in any of the halls, he must have snuck something in, since you felt a liquid go across your chest. The smell that rose from it told you that it was coffee. You gasped, as it was still hot, and immediately tried to stretch the fabric away from your chest.

“Security,” Diana said, holding her arm out to stop the man from going further. Two security guards, neither of them being the creepy man, came up and escorted the man to the security office, probably to fine him for bringing in drinks. But you were more focused on your shirt. At least it was warm, not scalding, you might be a little tender where it splashed but it didn’t look like any real burns.

“I guess this is a good excuse as any to buy something from the gift shop,” You said, trying to make it into a joke.

“Are you sure?” Diana said, examining your shirt with a frown. “I don’t know if those stains are going to come out - come with me.”

Rather than take you to the gift shop, she lead you past the restricted areas, to what was apparently her office. There were many books in here, many artifacts. It smelled of her perfume, delicate but enough to wrap around your senses.

She also had a closet, which she opened up and went through. You looked in awe at the amount of gowns that she had in there; there must be a thousand euros worth, at least! She went through them before picking out a blouse of her own, and holding it in front of you. “This may fit you,” She said, sizing it by eye then handed it to you.

“Oh, um, thank you,” You said, looking around, feeling slightly embarrassed. She pointed towards a door that blended in with a row of bookcases.

“You can use my bathroom,” She said, kindly. You thanked her once more, then ducked into it, closing the door gently behind you. It was a standard half-bath - just a toilet and a sink and a mirror. But it seemed to be well stocked with lavish perfumes. Like she highly separated her home life from her work life. You snorted to yourself as you took off your wet shirt, trying to imagine her in sweat pants. She would look like someone out of a gym commercial if she were to try to wear those.

But what you were thinking was she kept her dresses here, her fancy things here. Maybe she only went to extravagant events for work, but did something else in her down time? Did curators even have down time?

You wanted to know everything about her, especially what she was like when she wasn’t around the museum. You buttoned up the blouse that she was loaning you after drying yourself off with some toilet tissue, then set about trying to get the worst of the stain out in the sink. You managed to get most of the brown liquid off but it would still need a run or two through the wash, with real cleaning liquid and not hand soap.

You folded up your shirt and held it in your hands as you left the bathroom, returning to the office. Diana stood there, waiting for you while leaning back against her desk. The way that the sun filtered in through the windows, reflected off the white walls onto her face - magnificent. She straightened up when she saw you come out. “It fits, wonderful!”

“It does, thank you,” You said. “Do you have a bag that I could put this in?” You brought up the shirt that you had been wearing. “Oh, let me take care of that. I’ll get it cleaned, then return it to you. It’s the least that I could do.”

“You didn’t spill the coffee on me, Diana, it’s quite alright.”

“No really. I want to. Because then I can see you-”

There was a knock on the door and two seconds later, it opened to reveal a man with dark hair and brooding features. You recognized him from somewhere. It hit you within a moment though. Bruce Wayne, of American fame.

You also noticed the dark look that went over Diana’s face, and how her smile seemed to drop when she saw who it was. “Diana,” Bruce said, stepping inside.

“Bruce,” She said, in the same low voice.

“Am I interrupting?” He asked, looking over at you. You glanced between the two of them then smiled your best and brightest smile to try to bring light into the room again.

“Not at all,” You said, setting your folded shirt on top of one of Diana’s chairs. “But one more thing, Diana,” You felt a bit nervous about this part but if you didn’t sputter it out before you left, you knew that you were going to regret it. “I was wondering if you maybe wanted to get dinner sometime next week. To return shirts. If you’re not too busy, that is. If you are, I can just come back and-”

“Dinner sounds great,” Diana said, looking like someone had just turned on the lightbulb inside of her once more. That alone was more flattering than her acceptance, because you had done that. You turned around what Bruce’s visit was, though you still weren’t sure why he was here. “I’ve been trying to ask you for a while but everything just kept getting in the way.”

“I know what that’s like,” You said with a nod. You found a package of post it notes on her desk and scrawled down your name and number on the top sheet. “Call me?”

“Yes, yes I will,” She said with a nod. You bowed your head, gave a respectful smile to THE Bruce Wayne, then headed out of the door, closing it behind you. You didn’t walk away immediately but took in the smell of the shirt that you had borrowed. It had a hint of perfume to it, but it wasn’t strong. It had been washed since she had last worn it perhaps. But it was still faintly there.

“Excuse me,” You said, though you figured that no one was listening. You stooped only to put your glass of champagne onto a table, then turned on your heel and left the room silently, fighting back the tears that were attempting to spill. Once you were out of the main room, you went to stand against a wall, not yet wanting to go into the French air. Paris was a terrible place to be unless one was in love. Couples were everywhere, and romance covered the streets. The bridge of locks, the Eiffel tower, Notre Dame, all echoing love stories that hurt one’s ears if they had nobody to listen to it with.

You stood there alone for a couple of minutes, gathering your thoughts. Yes, it would be best just to rip the bandaid off quickly, don’t you think? Steve and Diana - if he came back, then surely it was meant to be. There was some greater purpose at hand, and God was playing the puppeteer, breaking his own rules to bring back a man from the grave. How could you compete with a handsome pilot from the second world war?

You left the building, just barely missing Diana leaving the room and looking for you where you had been lingering. She could smell your perfume, but it trailed out of the building, just as you had, and she looked towards the door with a sadness you would not have wanted to see.

-

You had shared a home with Diana. A beautiful, old Parisian townhome, three stories in the historic quarter, not too far from the Louve so she could walk or bike to work, depending on her mood. You could walk around and examine the beautiful architecture anytime that you wanted, so you thought it was perfect, even if it wasn’t all too close to where you were working. You’d commute for hours if it meant that you could stay with the wonderful woman. The walk home now was actually quite calming, considering what you had just went through. The cool air dried the tears away before you made it to your front door. Once you were there, you took a deep breath, brought out your keys, and unlocked the door.

Should you pack your things now, so that Diana won’t feel awkward when she comes home? You didn’t have much time to think about it, but your mind could not comprehend the idea of leaving this house. This front door that you closed behind you, where you and Diana had a hell of a time trying to get the brand new, King sized mattress through. The couch in the living room in front of you that you had found a great deal for at a furniture store and Diana managed to haggle the price even lower. The lamp that you broke during a rather intense makeout session and attempted to fix but still leaned a little to the left.

There was a noise behind you as a key entered the lock of the door. You stepped away from it, a couple of tentative steps so that you wouldn’t get hit, and then the door slowly swung open to reveal Diana. You couldn’t read the expression on her face as she stepped inside, but she was definitely looking at you, peering through the dark. After a moment, she flicked the lightswitch, and the chandelier in the entryway shone right above you.

“You left without saying a thing,” She said, frowning. “What is wrong?”

“You should have stayed there with Steve longer. I didn’t want to interrupt anything.”

“It is the craziest thing,” Diana said, coming up beside you. And as if everything was normal, she leaned slightly against your shoulder to pull her shoes off. “Seeing him after all this time,” She sighed, letting her heels fall to the floor with a clack. “It makes me feel like there is a war to fight again - it is not a good feeling.”

“What are you doing home, Diana?” You asked, once her weight was off of you. “I thought you’d want to be, I don’t know, wherever he is.”

“I think I have the right to come to my own home,” She said, annoyance crossing her perfect features. “What is wrong with you? You leave without saying goodbye, you question why I am here. So tell me - I really want to know.”

“I should think it perfectly clear.” You said, crossing your arms in front of your body. You felt insecure, you felt angry that she was forcing you to say this all outloud. “Your old love is back. It’s ... it’s everything that you wanted. Your dream come true. And now I’m just standing in the way of it so I’m putting myself out of the equation.”

You stepped past her and went towards the stairs, making your way up with the intention of packing your bags. “Y/N-” Diana started to say in that no nonsense tone of hers, but you interrupted.

“I know you cared for me, I’m not doubting that, I’m just trying to make this easier for you. Your heart has always, always preferred Steve.” You wiped the tears off of your face as you walked into the bedroom. Diana was following you, not saying anything now. “Maybe I was born in the wrong time. Maybe in the next life, but knowing my luck, my current self will pop in there and ruin everything,” You laughed to yourself, though you didn’t find it funny. “I love you, Diana, and I don’t want you to feel like you have to make a choice, which is why I’ll go. You and Steve can be together and save the world again or whatever it is that you two do together.”

“You are being ridiculous,” Diana stepped forward. She stopped you from getting your suitcase out from the closet, and slid it back in with ease. “I do not feel like I have to choose. I want you to meet him.”

“He’s your first love, you’ve told me that,” You said, frowning at the suitcase. It was barely occurring to you that Diana was trying to stop you from leaving. You were so caught up in your own thoughts. “But you found love again and that gives me a bit of hope, you know? Not that I think I’ll be dating any time soon because honestly, you were too incredible to be real and it’s not as if I’ll find anyone else like you-”

Diana cut you off with a kiss to your lips. It was as if your mind was a bubble and it had burst from that quick action. “- Was that a goodbye kiss?” You questioned, not sure of yourself.

“I think you need to sit down and have some water.” She pressed her hand to your shoulder and guided you to the bed, forcing you to sit down. You did so, and remained there while she went into the bathroom and filled up the mouthrinse cup with cool water. “Listen to me. It was amazing to see Steve again. And he was my first love.”

“Is that supposed to help because it’s not,” You muttered, taking the cup from her and took a large drink.

“But you are my current love and the past cannot take that away from us.” Diana smiled as she watched you drink. Feeling a little embarrassed now, you kept on drinking the water, using the cup to hide your pink face. You finished it off then reluctantly set it down on the nightside table.

“So you’re not going to break up with me for Steve?” You questioned, your voice rather high-pitched. You coughed to try to cover it up. Maybe you had drunk a little too much champagne. You weren’t feeling your best self.

“Of course not,” Diana said, shaking her head. She sat down next to you and put her arm around your shoulders, pulling you in close. You could smell her perfume, which was more delicate than the woman herself. She was warm to the touch and you relished in it, cozying your head up against her shoulder.

“Let’s just blame this little meltdown on the alcohol then,” You sniffled, still stuck between crying and laughing. She agreed with you, and held you until you calmed down enough to undress and get ready for bed.

-

Now this was going to be damn tough. Meeting Steve Trevor, the wonderboy. Showing him around the museum that was yours and Diana’s, and shouldn’t be anyone else’s. But you told Diana that you would be as nice and as welcoming as it was possible to be, since they were intertwined. You didn’t have to like it, but you had to accept it.

And you actually found yourself growing to like the man. You by no means were going to fall for him but he was charming, you had to give him that much. And he at least attempted to learn about what was going on in the world. He had a good few decades to make up for.

“It’s all art,” Diana explained as we walked around in the sunshine. Dressed in a suit - not a man’s suit, because it was hers Diana had insisted, she still stood out from the rest of the crowd. It was hard to take your eyes off of her - but at the same time, watching Steve was so amusing. The way that he was looking at a trash can with his head slightly tilted. Amazing. You weren’t the only one who noticed, and Diana fell a step behind. “That’s just a trash can.”

“That’s just a trash can. Yeah, yeah, yeah,”  Steve said as if he had known it from the start. You hid your snigger with a cough, though Diana caught it and gave you a stiff stare. You shrugged back in retaliation. Better to be laughing than arguing. “So you two are...” He started, looking at the both of you.

“Together,” You said, looking at Diana, knowing that in this circumstance it was a little harder for her say. “Perfectly matched, like your jacket and fanny pack.”

“I see,” Steve said, looking a tiny bit disappointed, but he hid it well. You did feel a little bad for him, though.

“Oh, actually, I think I see someone I know over there!” You pointed in a direction that was away from Diana and Steve. You didn’t, obviously, and your tone probably gave that away. But what you wanted was to give the two of them a little bit of privacy. They haven’t yet really had a chance to talk without you being nearby, not that you wanted to be. Diana had already made you feel more secure about your relationship, so leaving them alone didn’t really bug you. “I’m going to go say hi. Why don’t you come find me in a little bit, yeah?”

“Okay,” Diana said, skimming your forehead with her lips. You smiled at the two, ten made your way over to a bench and sat down. At least it was a beautiful day. You felt the sunshine on your skin, the slight breeze through your hair. There was a small group of people dancing not too far away, and they were enough to hold your attention for the next forty-five minutes while Steve and Diana seemed to speak. You avoided looking at them, letting them have their own private moment.

You didn’t notice Diana walking towards you until her shadow blocked the sunlight from landing on her arm. You put your hand over your eyes so you wouldn’t be looking straight into the sun when you peered up. “How’d it go?” You asked, seeing that Steve wasn’t with her.

“Fine,” She said, sinking down beside you, and crossed her legs elegantly. In a show of vulnerability that Diana was not well known for, she rested her head on your shoulder and her hand on your thigh.

“And us?” You felt more secure since she put herself in this position, but you still wanted to hear her say the words.

“Nothing has changed just because Steve is here,” She said, nuzzling her nose into the crook of your neck. You sighed contently, feeling her lips them on your shoulderbone.

“I hate to sound selfish but I’m definitely happy about that. I was freaked out over the idea of losing you.”

So when you started to hear car alarms going off a couple of streets away, you weren’t entirely surprised. You looked around you to see if there was any police, but the one car you did see went tearing down the street to the source of the sounds. Your mind raced and you quickened up your steps. Is there no end to the chaos in the damn city?

On that thought, you started to hear the screams. You then felt the earth quake beneath your feet, like something had caused the tremor on top of the surface rather than below it. Batman may not be a God but you damn well were praying to him and the Justice League right now! Aside from him and Wonder Woman, you didn’t know much about them except they were supposed to help save people. You felt overwhelmed by the fear - you remembered when the city had been taken over by The Joker, when Superman went rogue. This could be like either of those things - or worse. Really, the thought of it not being as bad didn’t even cross your mind.

You could hear the sounds getting closer. You could distinguish the police sirens from the ambulance and firetruck ones, meaning that the city was pulling out a lot of the stops to get whatever this was contained. With that, you looked for the first neon sign that you saw and ran into the place whose window held it. You ended up in a Sports Themed bar but the environment inside was hardly celebratory. The patrons were looking out the windows, but huddled in the back, hoping that would save them from any debris. The bar was a rather small one, just a boxy-type room, and two individual bathrooms in the back. The size of it didn’t make you feel any safer than you did on the street, but it was better to have people around you.

Your thoughts were soon torn out of your head. The windows by you had shattered, the glass cutting into your flesh. It was your reflexes that kicked into gear - your arm raising up to protect your face from any of the heavy damage. You were so overwhelmed by everything that was going on, that you didn’t realize that you were outside until the heavy, thick, sharp fingernails of a woman pierced into your skin, holding you in front of her. However, when you slowly opened your eyes, you found yourself looking at the determined face of a woman in gold. She looked you in the eyes, and you saw no fear in them.

Wonder Woman was standing across from you, and that made you feel slightly better - like this was going to be an ordeal but she was going to make sure that you were alright. She had a sword in her hand, and she looked very much like she knew how to use it. You focused your attention on her, for you were frightful of whatever devil was hiding behind you, using you as a shield. So your eyes caught onto the whip that was coiled up, and against Wonder Woman’s hip. She saw where you were looking, and reached for it, holding onto the thicker end, ready to wield. Your breath was caught in your throat, anticipating the action that you were now a part of.

The nails digging into your arm felt more like claws. Whoever, or whatever it was, had a strong grip. And it was determined not to let you go. It smelled of death, of decay. Wonder Woman was going to be your savior - she just had to be...

The woman in front of you started to charge. It seemed like she was coming right for you but in the last minute, she adjusted her trajectory and shot through the evil thing with her sword. With all of her might, she had gone past you - the wind that she created going through your hair as you stood as still as a statue, your eyes clenched shut to avoid seeing what exactly was happening. It was terrifying enough already.

It must not have gone according to plan, for the demon’s grasp didn’t loosen, but rather it tightened. How this thing did not die, you didn’t know. Wonder Woman didn’t either for she gave a loud cry of anger as the thing continued to hold you tighter and to taunt her. Lights around you shattered - street lights, bar signs, the lights inside the interior of the buildings - all at once. Blue and red played against your closed eyelids as the police caught up but then those too were snuffed out.

But against the darkness, there was a golden line, shooting right through as if the sun had miraculously come out. The hands that grasped you let go, and you fell onto the ground, scraping your cheek against the pavement. Your pain didn’t stop you from getting to your feet and running blindly, refusing to open your eyes until you felt another hand take you and pull you somewhere. Despite the fear, you didn’t cry out.

“It isn’t safe to run around out there, stay here.” A voice said, and then that too was gone. You finally opened your eyes and saw that you had been pulled into an alleyway. Maybe a block or two down from where you had been captured, but you weren’t sure. You didn’t recognize the grafitti on the walls.

You took the stranger’s advice, although he clearly had not taken his own, for he was nowhere to be seen. He must have run into the street or down the other side of the alley but you certainly weren’t going to go off looking for him. Your plan was to stay right there until Wonder Woman, or the police themselves, told you that it was safe to return home. Or to the hospital, with the way that your arm was hurting.

Wonder Woman was the one who came looking for you. You had been huddled in a ball in the alleyway, cold from the wind, bleeding profusely from the arm, and near comatose from the harrowing experience. Wonder Woman picked you up in her arms, and was the one to take you to the hospital herself, bursting through the doors in full uniform. Both the people who were working and the other patients stared at her, but quickly started to hustle and bustle to get you on a stretcher and checked out.

*

You had managed to make it through the week. It had been hard though, and you made a lot of adjustments to how you looked at life and how you handled everyday things. You got rides home from your boss now rather than walk down the streets alone. You kept pepper spray in your pocket at all times, even during the day, though it probably wouldn’t help if something supernatural came after you once more. You had nightmares every night, which ended up with you waking up trembling, and soaking wet from sleep.

Your parents had decided that they were going to pay for you to see a therapist, since the tremors got worse over time rather than any better. Another person for you to sit with in silence, was the way that you saw it. Trying to explain the way that you had felt vulnerable and in danger in those moments was impossible. Before, you would say that you had a pretty good vocabulary. You now didn’t know any words that came close to describing how you were feeling. Your therapist wanted you to at least write down anything that came to your mind when you thought about what had happened, but the notebook stayed empty. Just approaching it with a pen and knowing that you were supposed to think back to what had happened was triggering.

*

The place that you lived had become messy, and disheveled to the point where you gave up trying to find anything. Diana stepped inside, and picked up the towel that you had haphazardly thrown onto your dining room table. There were empty take out containers and frozen food boxes beneath it, which sent up an unpleasant smell. They were quickly thrown into the trash bag by Diana’s strong hands, before she ventured forth to find you.

The Amazonian found you wrapped up in a throw blanket on the couch. Your TV was on, playing a nature documentary about marine life, which she turned off with a push of a button. Diana said your name softly, which she had gotten from the hospital records, along with your address. Each of those had a cost, since the nurses were reluctant, but she was worried about you. She had seen the fear in your eyes, and the way that you were shaking when you were rushed to the emergency room.

You slowly woke up, looking exhausted until you noticed that there was someone else in the room with you. You instantly jumped to your feet, reaching under the couch cushion to pull out one of your kitchen knives. Diana put her hands up to show that she meant no harm, her lasso of truth shining on her hip, bringing light to the room. That helped you calm down just a bit, but you still held onto the knife.

“You are safe here, don’t worry.” These words didn’t do much to assure you, however. As Diana moved closer to you, she veered slightly towards a floor lamp and clicked it on, flooding the room with a soft yellow light. It made you squint, since you had started to grow accustomed to hiding in the darkness.

“After I destroyed the creature, I took care of the one who had created it.” Diana explained to you. “All will be well now, there is no threat that will come into this city, or after you.”

You shook your head, and looked away from the beautiful woman who was shining in the middle of the chaos you called your home. “You don’t understand, it came after me, it held me.. it put it’s claws in me.” Diana reached out out for you, but thought better of it. She instead moved over a small pile of slippers and socks that were on the end of your couch, and took a seat there.

“If I could make that not happen, I would. Especially with how it had hurt you - I do not like to see innocent people get hurt.” You stared at her and you did see the sense of justice in her face - but that did not change what had happened to you, or make you feel any better about it. You wrapped your arms around yourself and closed your eyes for a moment, trying to ground yourself. Your mind had been rather fragile lately - anyone with eyes could see that.

“But you should still take care of yourself,” Diana finished. She stood up slowly, then went around the room, turning on every light. Your electricity bill was already wincing, but that didn’t matter at the time. Diana brought light back into the room and you basked in it like you hadn’t before - you had been hiding in the dark where it’s safe, rather than in the light where you could truly see. With all of that light, you were finally able to see Diana clearly, and she was able to see you.

The room was messy, like the kitchen had been. But it was nothing compared to the mess that you had looked like. The fact that you were able to sit up at all was astounding to her. Diana wanted to run to you and to hold you to her breast and to instantly make you feel better. She felt that this was partly her fault because she hadn’t been able to stop the creature in time. She felt your eyes on her, and returned that, looking straight into yours kindly, showing no pity.

“I asked the hospital for your address, I wanted to see if you are okay.” Diana continued, since you weren’t talking. She would simply fill the silence up for the both of you. “I want to help you.”

There was confusion in the look that you gave to her. “I don’t need help, I’m fine.” You swatted away a stray fly that was hanging around, probably because of the garbage that had piled up - more fast food containers, balled up napkins and empty water bottles.

Diana looked around at the mess, then back at your face. She didn’t need to say a word for you to start blushing with the shame. “I’m okay, really, you don’t need to be here.” You insisted. Diana didn’t bother replying to that, but instead, she started to pick up some of the garbage and put it into the nearest bag. Her work went quickly, and then she opened up the curtains to let some of the natural light pour into the room. But you winced at how bright the room was becoming.

*

At that time, you were not taking care of yourself, your apartment, or anything due to the fear that you felt that the monster was going to come and drag you back to the hell that night had been. You did take a shower that night though, because of Diana’s insistence. She had come back the next day and together, the two of you tackled the kitchen which you had let go first, simply because food hadn’t become a priority - only your need to hide. In the recycling went a bunch of pizza boxes, beverage cans and the flyers that had built up in your mailbox. But all of the food that had gone bad went into the trash can, and Diana helped you to fill your fridge with better options than the fast food you’ve been living off of. She had become a major help in bringing light back to your life after the traumatic ordeal.

It was about taking it one day at a time, and Diana continued to visit you every couple of them. The beautiful Amazonian would check on you, then invite you out for a stroll to get some fresh air, and then the two of you would usually get a meal together. With sparks flying, at least on your end, it was hard to decline any of these visits so you went with her each and every time. She got a lot of attention from the locals, even when she was dressed down in a pair of hip-hugging jeans and a jacket. She never paid attention to them, unless they seemed like a shifty character. You felt like ... like someone special, since she wanted to spend time with you. You had become important to her, and her to you.

Those who didn’t understand her attachment, like Bruce, just had to get over themselves, since she would snap at them when thy tried to stop her from leaving to see you.

That horrible night had been two months ago now. The scratches on your arm had healed and left faint scars, but Diana gave you luxury creams to rub into the skin to get rid of them, spending large amounts of money on your peace of mind. You never asked her for any of them, but she had offered, and you accepted them as gifts from the person you were coming to care for the most.

Diana came over on a night when a thunderstorm was rolling into town. So, it was a rough night for you since sudden noises still tended to make you fearful. She brought take-out, and set it up on the table right as the power decided to flicker out. The darkness arrived at the same time as the loud growl of thunder made it’s way over the city, entering into the ears of most of the population. But Diana had come prepared - she brought some candles out of her bag and with a box of matches, lit each one, the smell of warm pumpkin filling the room pleasantly. Especially fitting, since Autumn was coming upon you. She breathed in the smell and smiled, then joined you at the table.

The lightning followed not long after, but neither of you knew since just for tonight, Diana closed the blinds. “You should try some of this, it’s a new recipe,” She said, scooping food onto your plate.

“It looks good, thanks.” You said, smiling weakly. You pulled a throw blanket over your shoulders, tightning it around you for extra comfort. Diana moved her chair in closer, and put the blanket over her shoulders as well, then giggled at the look of surprise on your face.

“You are adorable.” She said, poking your nose then turned the attention to her own plate. You didn’t look away from her, admiring her face in the candlelight. Diana had absolutely gorgeous features that reflected the strength that she had. She wasn’t soft, though her skin begged to differ. “It is going to get cold,” She reminded you, pushing your plate closer to you. And then she noticed that you were staring at her, and smiled. “Are you okay?”

“Perfect,” You insisted. Your attention was so focused on her that you didn’t flinch when another loud peal of thunder came from the sky. She noticed that, and took it as amazing progress.

After dinner, the two of you curled up on the couch together. Without the television to keep your attention, the two of you started to talk about that night. You finally felt comfortable enough to talk about it, and you spilled your guts about how you had felt that night, how it affected you - things that Diana had suspected but which never had been said aloud. Why you were saying this now, you weren’t sure, but Diana had made you feel so comfortable, it all came up.

You exhausted yourself by releasing all of these emotions, but you felt relieved at the same time. You were ready to pass out when the thunder let out another bellow, the wind picked up and shook at your windows and the rain pelted down loudly.

“Here, rest.” Diana said, pulling you gently so that your head was on her lap. You let her guide you down, and put your head on her lap, a pillow there so you could be even more comfortable. It was easy to drift off into a peaceful sleep with her there, her fingers playing at your scalp, going through your hair.

You’re first lit up into a smile, and you chuckled in Bruce’s direction. Around that time, Arthur had entered the room, hearing Barry’s excited voice and your laugh, which usually didn’t mean anything great around here. “It’s a game, Bruce.” You said, giving the vaguest explanation. “Barry, this is the best thing that you’ve ever bought, I’m so in for a round or two.”

Sitting still, Bruce snorted at the idea of playing a game. Barry, he could understand buying such a thing, but for you to be interested in playing it? Even he didn’t think that you would be that childish, and his expression said it all. “Only for adults though, Bruce, so maybe an old man like you wouldn’t enjoy it.” You’re a bit peeved off by the look on his face, and teasing was your go to in times like this.

“This game, I heard about it.” Arthur said, looking at the box, and laughed. When even Arthur, who resided in the Sea most of the time rather than the house that Bruce had made for us, knew about something that Bruce didn’t - that seemed to make Bruce’s jaw tighten. “And I am in for a round.”

Barry had gathered Victor, Diana, and Clark and set the box of cards on the middle of the dining room table, which was more than large enough to hold all of you. You had rung for Alfred and requested some snacks be brought up, because what was a game night without any snacks? You and Barry also had to take turns explaining what the game was to Bruce and Diana for they never heard of it, while Clark had some idea because of advertisements, and Victor through a quick search of the internet through his head.Turns out, it took a lot more convincing to get Bruce to play, since he insisted that he didn’t have time for such games.

“It really will be fun, I promise.” Your lower lip jutted out in your best pouty face. “You might even have a good time, and I know that it’s been a long time since you’ve had that.”

Comfortable and sitting on one of the dining chairs, Bruce sighed as he realized that everyone was looking at him. The masked hero wasn’t giving in to peer pressure, but rather, he just wanted to keep the peace - though it did help that everyone was looking excited - save for Victor who didn’t really have a facial expression - about the stupid game that they were about to play.

Barry’s enthusiasm was contagious enough to get the others excited so Bruce reluctantly agreed that he would play one round, and one only. He was mainly playing just so that he could beat Clark, however, that would give him a good time. It’s just a few minutes later that he had cards in his hand and grew more confused than ever.

“You just put down whichever one you think is funniest for the situation.” You leaned over to explain, tapping on the black card that Barry had turned over, deciding to be the judge for the first round. He squinted to read it. ‘I’ve got 99 problems but a ____ ain’t one.’

There were chuckles around the table as the players read their cards, picked one, and put it down in the pile for Barry to eventually read. Arthur’s laugh was the loudest, as per usual. He’s not one for being quiet when he wasn’t in attack mode. He slapped his card down with a laugh, and looked around confident that he was going to win.

Diana was more subtle. Her dark red lips curved into a closed-mouth smile as she went through her options. She understood the reference that the card was making, since even she could not avoid a lot of music, as much as it wasn’t to her tastes. The manicured fingers tapped on the back of the cards until she found one that she thought suited, and slid it over to the pile.

“I am so excited for this, you don’t understand,” Barry said, rustling around in his seat as if he had ants in his pants. His power just ended up making it worse, the chair nearly jumping from the ground, then roughly landing with little thuds as he anticipated the answers. A game night with the Justice League, including a grumpy Batman - he couldn’t think of anything better.

A laugh came from your mouth as you picked out your card solely by instincts and pushed it over to the growing pile. “I’m sure - wait, why didn’t we bet on this?” You looked around at the company that you were keeping tonight. Bruce especially - you’d bet all your money, what little you did have since you weren’t a big business man like Bruce or a Museum Curator like Diana - that he would lose this game horrendously. He didn’t have a sense of humor, so far as you noticed.

A card did eventually come from Bruce’s side of the table - but his facial expression made it seem like he was playing poker, not a party game. You smiled over at him, trying to bring the mood up, and watched Barry pick up the cards once everyone had chosen theirs. Looking around at everyone as if trying to be able to tell who picked which card, Barry started to read them out loud.

“I’ve got ninty-nine problems but estrogen ain’t one.” Barry laughed. You chuckled as well, finding it funny rather than offensive. It was only going to get worse from there. “I’ve got ninety-nine problems but lumberjack fantasies isn’t one of them? You’re right, I don’t see that being a problem at all.” Barry laughed. You noticed that even Bruce had cracked a smile at that one.  Barry moved on. “I’ve got ninety-none problems but oompa-loompas aren’t one. Thank god!” He laughed again, enjoying each and every card. Arthur was really getting into the game, laughing harder with each card that came up. He was the loudest of the group. “Next up - ninety nine problems but a defective condom ain’t one - wow.”

You had put forward that one, thinking it was amazingly true because you definitely weren’t having sex with anyone. You had accepted it though - dating and being a vigilante didn’t go well together. “Ninety-nine problems but extremely tight pants ain’t one.” Barry said, and then paused. A minute later, he grinned. “I think none of us would have problems with tight pants.”

You’ve always thought that Barry was a bit of a flirt when he was in a more calm state, and that was showing a little. You motioned for Barry to go on with the last card that was in his pile. Barry picked it up slowly, just to bother you, then read it out. “Ninety-nine problems but drinking alone ain’t one. I’ll drink to that one, it’s the winner.”

You looked around to see who would claim the card, and to your great surprise, it was Bruce that rose his hand. “Didn’t know you had it in you.” You grinned, clapping him on the back. Everyone else seemed to be a little in shock as well, but then they picked up another card, and the turn switched to Arthur’s.

Soon enough, Alfred came back with more snacks, more drinks and then finally, a rather big box which they all ignored at first. As the game went on, some great cards were played. You had won a couple of rounds with, ‘The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History had just opened an interactive exhibit on Bio-engineered assault turtles with acid breath, I get by with a little help from white privilege, and passive-aggressive post it notes, it’s how I want to die.’ As the game went on however, you didn’t care about all the ones you lost because you were just having too much fun.

A while passed, and Barry finally won the game overall, with Arthur in second, then Bruce surprisingly in third. “Y/N, do you mind moving over a little to the left?” Alfred asked once the laughter had slowed down.

“What are you up to, Alfred?”  You asked, scooting over your chair to the left like he had requested. He gave a slight smile, and unearthed a fancy contraption from the box that no one had asked about. Diana stood up, curiosity peeked by the sight of an antique. Her eyes lit up and she laughed, turning to look at the rest of us.

“A camera!” Diana said, leaning forward to look at it. You understood now why Alfred had asked you to move over to the left. His eyes grew excited as Diana marveled over what great condition it was in, and that she had not seen anything like it in meany years.

“Ever since you all have been spending your time here, there’s been a family.” Your face lit up in a smile, and you looked over at Bruce, feeling like you might cry at Alfred’s sentiments. “The halls of Wayne Manor could use a new family portrait, don’t you think, Master Wayne?” He looked towards his butler, more than a butler - a family member - and inhaled quickly, then nodded.

A smile went across Diana’s face too, and she stopped examining the photo to sit back down at the table. You leaned up against Bruce, who was beside you, and put your arm around him from behind, resting your head on his shoulder. You couldn’t see what the others were doing, but you felt Arthur put one of his massive hands on your other shoulder. It’s nice, being close and relaxing like this.

You smiled widely for the camera. But the flash caught you a little offguard, so you were left hoping that you didn’t blink or recoil in the photo that was taken. You then realized that there was someone missing from this family, someone important. “Another?” You asked, getting to your feet. Hands reached out for Alfred once you got close. “It’s an old camera, but it has to have one of those timers, right? What kind of family photo would it be without Daddy Alfred?”

You took a hold of Alfred’s hands, and brought him to the table, letting Diana get up and see if she could find a way to make the timer work on the camera. What everyone else did was stand up, each one of them equally as open to taking a picture as you had been. You positioned Alfred next to Bruce, since they were the closest, and smiled at how the two of them looked together.

It didn’t take long for Diana to set up the timer, then return to the group. There was a clicking sound as it started to count down the seconds before the flash would fill the room with light and the camera would capture your likeness. You didn’t smile this time around, because no one else - save Barry - was smiling. Yet there wasn’t an unhappiness to the photo - it just showed what each of you were. It showed the strength of each person, though each individual had a different kind of strength.

The night continued on after the picture was taken, with another game of Cards Against Humanity being played, and then a couple of beers passed around. How Gotham got through the night without a murder or an explosion while the members of the Justice League were having a good time, you didn’t know. Bruce kept his eye out the window, looking for the Bat Signal every couple of minutes, but it was a clear night. Other than the stars and the moon, there was nothing to be seen except for streetlights. The Batman never took a night off, and you could see how uncomfortable Bruce was about it. He finally stopped checking at eleven though, and put himself to bed at midnight since even he had to sleep at times.

It was about one AM when you, Arthur and Barry settled down. Everyone did consider you three to be the more fun out of the Justice League, though Arthur could get quite grouchy. There were rooms for everyone inside of Wayne Manor, which had become your second home. You loved your position of being on the team but it didn’t pay much at all, and your personal apartment was nothing compared to this place.

You were invited back to Wayne Manor a week later. It had been one hell of a week too - you and Victor ended up having to attempt to capture Catwoman, which is never easy. Well, it can sometimes be easy for Bruce since they seem to have some sort of connection that you weren’t clear about. You never bothered to ask about the rich man’s lovelife - seemed like too much drama there. Which was probably more than anyone could say for yours.

You walked into the dining room where you could hear some voices. Diana’s and Bruce’s. When you stepped into the room, a new feature took over your attentions. Typically, it was rather dark in here, with a couple of antiques well on pedestals around the walls, but today it was different.

You stepped forward to one of the walls. Bruce had the curtains open which was a new thing - sunlight was streaming through but because of the frame’s positioning, it didn’t reflect off the glass which made he picture behind it crystal clear. Your face was looking out upon you, and Bruce’s, Arthur’s, Barry’s, Clark’s, Victor’s, Alfred’s and Diana’s were as well. You were looking at the picture that had been taking during game night.

I was held in place by a rich-looking wooden frame, with the word ‘Family’ engraved on the center of the bottom panel. You touched the F with your fingers, feeling how professional it was - someone had put a lot of work into this frame. Now, you understood why Alfred had wanted to take the photo in the first place.

You looked at your own face, at the hint of the smile that was on the corner of your lips and showed in your eyes. You then looked at the others and you saw a sense of ... of happiness in each of them, even Bruce. It really did make you feel like you had a family with the members of the league - something you didn’t have growing up.