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Roy Harper had seen a lot in his short life. He’d been with the wrong crowd, done some pretty bad things, trained with one of the greatest heroes, and became a hero himself. He thought he was past the stage where even the simplest things could turn him into an awkward mess. After all, he was Speedy! One of the members of Titans East, former sidekick to the Green Arrow! Surely he knew how to keep calm in any situation.
Clearly though, he was wrong. So very, very wrong.
- o -
It had started about two weeks previous. The team had just taken down a robbery by some generic criminal, a wannabe villain of sorts. Of course there had been some fans that blew it out of proportion, mostly fangirls, and Speedy couldn’t help but bask in the attention. In fact, that had been what started all of this. It was a very chance encounter, something that wouldn’t be too expected, but somehow it had caused a major chain reaction.
There had been one girl, a very pretty one at that, who had the guts to push her way up to him. Somehow they had wound up striking a conversation and through all that he had somehow managed to ask her on a date. She had agreed, it was rather obvious that she would in his opinion…but there had been a catch. Oh there was always a catch when it came to these kinds of girls. Somehow it should have given him an idea of how perfect this was going to turn off.
See Pretty Girl, he had already forgotten her name – it wasn’t like he had to remember it anyway – had a cousin. Pretty Girl and Cousin were particularly close, and she couldn’t bear to go on date without her. Could he please find a date for Cousin so they could double, for her? And what kind of man was he to deny Pretty Girl her wish? So he scribbled down her number and assured Cousin a date.
Of course then this put Speedy in a bit of a predicament, he was at a complete loss of who to ask. Robin was out of the question, not only were he and Starfire attached at the hip, he preferred not to be overshadowed or viewed as a “clone”. He was fairly certain Beast Boy was still stinging a bit after everything with Terra and that meant that inviting him along for a date probably wasn’t the smartest idea. Pretty Girl and Cousin would probably warp it into making it seem like he was playing some cruel joke if he picked Cyborg.
He went through all of his options, all of them with a major road block. That left only one person – Aqualad.
Going about asking him would be the hardest part, at least that’s what he thought. The Atlantean could have easily just brushed him off just for the sheer enjoyment of seeing his teammate miss out on getting some “action”. But dammit, he was going to try! He wasn’t going to give up a date with Pretty Girl so easily!
He had been right about it being hard to convince the other Titan. “Please!” He was almost whining, begging at this point. “It’s just one date! After this you never have to see her again if you don’t want to!”
Aqualad rolled his eyes, “For the tenth time, no.” It was easy to tell that the prince was getting irritated, even if he wasn’t explicitly showing it. Who could have blamed him though, any one would get annoyed if their friend kept bugging them about going out with some girl they had never even heard of. They walked into the common room of the tower, their leader leaning up against the couch as she watched their argument. Más y Menos on the other hand didn’t seem interested as they chattered in Spanish on the floor.
“Leave him alone, Arrow-Boy,” Bumblebee said, a slight laugh in her voice. “If he doesn’t want to go then he doesn’t want to go.” Before Aqualad could thank her she gave a slight smirk and added, “Besides, maybe he has somebody else he likes.”
The Atlantean’s jaw dropped at that. “Wait, what are you--”
Speedy snickered, “You know, I think you’re right.” He playfully elbowed him in the ribs. “So who’s the lovely catfish? Or a manatee perhaps?”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“Oh? She’s a surface girl? It’s one of your fangirls then isn’t it? I didn’t take you for the type to be into drooling mental cases.”
Aqualad sighed and held the bridge of his nose as he shut his eyes shut tightly. “Stop talking, just…stop talking.”
“I think I know who it is.” Bumblebee’s comment made his eyes snap back open and his face go red, which only piqued Speedy’s interest even more. “It has to be Raven, you two would be quite a match.”
At that Speedy burst into peels of laughter. “Raven? Oh man, it’s so obvious I don’t know how I didn’t see it before. Miss Doom-and-Gloom and Prince of the Mermen, a match made in Heaven!” He started to gasp for air as Bumblebee lightly chuckled with him.
“Why would I like Raven?” There was no malice in Aqualad’s voice, just an air of confusion. “I don’t really even like girls that way anyway…”
At that the room went completely silent. Speedy and Bumblebee had stopped laughing to stare at their teammate. Más y Menos had been pulled out of their own little world as well. Aqualad arched an eyebrow at them, choosing not to vocalize the question of why they were staring at him.
“Well…um…you see…it’s…we…” Bumblebee stumbled a little over her words, unsure of how to approach the situation. Speedy meanwhile couldn’t seem to form any words even though his mouth was open.
The twins managed to respond what was on all of their minds in perfect unison, “¿Què?”
- o -
Of course in those two weeks everyone seemed to have adjusted and Aqualad’s revelation became old news. Well…almost everyone adjusted. Speedy still acted like he was walking on pins and needles around him. Everyone probably got the wrong idea about him though.
From the looks of things it appeared like Roy had a problem with Garth being gay. This certainly was not the case though, mostly because he himself had been swinging both ways for years. For him though, it wasn’t something he publicly expressed. There had been very few guys though that had ever caught and held his attention, so it never really became an issue where it had to come up. But herein lay the problem, because Garth did fit into that category. Although he wasn’t planning on acting on his feelings even with the newfound knowledge, it still made things a little iffy.
But nobody really knew of his inner conflict, so it led to more conflict and annoyance on Bumblebee’s part. As leader, she wanted her team to run smoothly and efficiently, and that couldn’t happen if two members were avoiding each other like the plague.
So that very morning she had dragged Speedy out of the bathroom – sans mask, toothbrush in his mouth, and only wearing his boxers – and shoved him into a still-sleeping Aqualad’s room. Her commands of not being allowed out until the two of them solved their “problems” had managed to wake him up though. As the hydraulic door “slammed” shut and Speedy turned around to complain about their leader, he made another discovery.
Aqualad slept in the nude.
The toothbrush feel from his mouth and his face went completely red. Oh yes, this was going to turn out to be an awkward day indeed.
- o -
“I never knew your eyes were green…” Aqualad started tentatively. Neither had said much since he quickly pulled on a pair of boxer shorts and a t-shirt after Speedy’s lesson on Atlantean physiology. Apparently body hair wasn’t part of it.
“Well, there’s never really been a chance to find out.” Speedy stated lamely. Even if they weren’t in costume 24/7 like their western counterparts, he never went without his mask or a pair of sunglasses. He took the opportunity to give the other’s eyes a closer look, “I always thought yours were black, but they’re purple.”
“I guess it is hard to tell…”
They slid into another awkward silence. Speedy ran a hand through his unusually messy hair and Aqualad turned his head to look at one of the fish tanks. Both of them were continuing to ignore the elephant in the room, unsure of what to say. Either of them would have been glad to have something to at least argue over at that moment.
Speedy stood up from the bed they both had been sitting on and paced a bit, his words were controlled and careful. “So…how come you never told us?”
“Hm?”
“You know…about being gay?”
“Is that what they call it up here?” Aqualad asked, before leaning back on his bed. “It’s not that uncommon in Atlantis for two of the same gender to get together. The Poseidonians and Tritonaians are a little more accepting than the Idylists, but it’s still not that big of a deal. It’s just nature.” He sighed a bit, “Until you and Karen told me, I wasn’t aware it was more of an issue up here.”
“It’s not that it’s an issue, it’s just that a lot of people aren’t so keen on the whole concept.”
“Like yourself?”
“I don’t have a problem with it,” he said shortly, fuming a bit. He directed his attention to a particularly yellow fish that had been staring at them, finding it a perfect distraction for having to look his friend in the face. “Aren’t you a prince or some shit like that though? I thought you would be set up with some kind of princess at birth.”
Aqualad flinched a little at the question, clearly Speedy had tread on a very sensitive topic. “Things just didn’t work out that way, I guess…” he murmured something about inferiority and banishment under his breath.
The silences were starting to get very annoying. One would try to make small talk and the other would respond curtly thereby ending the conversation. Neither of them could seem to get anywhere and by the look of it they wouldn’t be getting out of the bedroom soon. As he contemplated how long it would take for claustrophobia to set in, the archer finally broke the ice. “Look, Aqualad--”
“We’ve been on the same team for how long now, Roy?” the Atlantean interrupted. “It’s alright if you call me Garth.”
A harsh sigh followed. “Right. Garth.” He had almost chickened out at that moment, but the other boy had kept staring at him waiting for a continuation. “The thing is…I really don’t have a probably with you batting for the other team. I know it seems like I do, but you know what kind of person I am. If I really did have a problem with it I’d be a lot more vocal.” He laughed a bit, hoping he didn’t sound like an awkward fool. “I guess I’m only bothered by the fact you’re just so comfortable with it.”
Garth’s face remained serious as he raised an eyebrow. “Wait…” he started slowly, “are you saying that you’re…”
“Well no. Don’t get it the wrong way,” Roy said quickly, giving a wave of his hand. “I still like girls, really, really like girls, but I’ve never had a problem with being with a guy either. Everyone would probably think I was some kind of nym…nimm…” his eyes screwed shut as he struggled to remember the word.
“Sex addict?”
“Yeah, let’s go with that. Everyone would treat me like some kind of sex addict if I told them though. My reputation is stellar enough though, so why bother?”
“I don’t think you’re a sex addict.” Garth sat back up, his purple eyes meeting Roy’s green ones. “You like who you like. Just the same way I like who I like. You can’t control it, it’s all just nature.”
It took all of his will power not to bust into a huge grin, instead he settled on a small smirk. “Thanks.”
With that settled the air seemed to clear up a bit between them. Things still weren’t a hundred percent, but they were much better than they had been in days. A few questions still hung in the air though, and the opportunity to have them answered had finally risen.
“So…” Roy started slyly, smirk growing, “what Bumblebee said about you liking someone – was that true?” As his teammate flashed him an embarrassed look he continued, “I knew it. I bet it’s another Titan isn’t it?”
Garth’s face remained red as he looked away, it was actually kind of cute in retrospect. “You could say that.”
“Oh! Tell me more. What’s he like?”
“Well he’s cocky, a great fighter, trained with one of the richest men in the country, and has amazing hair.”
“You have a crush on Robin?!”
“…You really are an idiot, aren’t you?” He smacked his hand to his forehead in exasperation. Garth only looked back up when he felt a hand trail down his cheek. Roy was staring back at him with a light smile on his face, green eyes filled with mirth.
“I thought you picked up on sarcasm better than that.”
He frowned a little. “You just don’t know how to state sarcasm properly.”
“Are we going to kiss or what?”
“What do you think?”
With a slight laugh, Roy pressed his parted lips to Garth’s own.
As it was his first kiss, Garth wasn’t exactly sure what to do. After a little hesitation he pressed back before quickly pulling away. “I-I’m sorry I’m not really u-used to this.” His head was spinning and adrenaline was running through his veins, he could still almost feel the mouth against his.
“It’s alright.” The archer’s slightly calloused hand trailed from the boy’s face to his long hair. “Pretty good for your first time.” Another smirk as he leaned back in, “Of course, there’s nothing wrong with practice.”
- o -
“Karen probably wasn’t expecting this when she shoved you in here this morning,” Garth said suddenly, his smile leaking into his voice.
They were both sitting on his bed, Roy with the other boy in his arms. He had to admit, it was pretty weird to him for both of them to be this intimate of a situation without having sex. But, they had agreed to take it slow and that’s what they were going to do. “She probably doesn’t even remember she locked us in here. The day’s already half over.”
“Still, I don’t know how keen she’ll be about two of her teammates being in a relationship. We could wind up being a little overprotective of each other.”
“Well, who says anybody has to know right away?” He pressed a light kiss to his friend’s…his boyfriend’s neck, as if that would prove that he wasn’t doing this because he was ashamed of their relationship. “What I mean is, if we don’t show any change in how we usually fight, then when we do tell the others they can’t say it’ll affect things too much.”
“I understand what you’re saying, but what about Green Arrow and Orin?”
Roy scowled a bit, their mentors certainly would be a problem. “Ollie will find out when he finds out, whatever way that is. It’s up to you whether you tell Aquaman or not…”
Garth hummed lightly in approval, lacing their fingers together. The barely noticeable webbing between his didn’t hinder this much. “So, are we…official now?”
He chuckled a bit, “I think so.”
“Good.” With that the Atlantean prince turned around and kissed the Human archer once again.