Aquagirl (Fem. Percy x YJ)

91

Roy collapsed into a bean bag and thumped his hand against the one beside him. I settled in, stretching out my legs.

"I'd ask you if you want to play a game, but saving the world from a demon isn't exactly fun when you do that for your job," Roy said. "I'm going to go out on a limb here, and guess that you're the reason my clearance to the Cave has been revoked."

"Everyone's has," I sighed. "The most I have seen of the others has been Robin. And I'm assuming you are aware of his true identity?" He had to. It would not make sense for him to be out of the loop on this. Both are the children of billionaires, both billionaires are members of the league. No one else on the Team has connections that would overlap their civilian lives. Oliver Queen is a regular guest at Wayne Foundation Galas.

"Wait. You know who he is?"

"There are only so many things that can be passed off as coincidence."

"I mean, at least that's better than him accidentally calling me Speedy when the place was attacked and we were hiding. Bruce was...not happy about that one."

"When has Batman ever appeared happy?"

Roy laughed, but it quickly faded into silence. He looked at me, and he rested his knuckles against my arm. Enough touch for me to know he was there—for me to shift my attention to him—but not enough to startle me. We all had those little things, ways of brushing against each other so we'd know it wasn't a villain and try to throw the other them through a wall.

In Connor's case, that was literal.

"It's nothing good, is it?" he asked quietly. "I mean, Dinah– She... She doesn't tell me anything specific, but she's been freaking out. And she doesn't do that."

"Between myself and my sister, she has her hands full. Though I fear I take most of the blame for that. Percy has been doing better since she's started dating Garth. What?"

"Sister?!"

"Ah. Yes, Percy is my twin sister." It was odd, being around somebody who didn't know that again. "And before you say anything, my friend, Atlantean social interactions are quite a bit different than Earthers." Even between city-states, there was a wide range. Poseidonis's culture focuses less on familial affection than Shayeris does, something that quickly led to Percy and I becoming fed up with assumptions. (Twice was enough for the disgust to wear off, four times was enough for Percy to make it a game. A game of how much the person would die inside, but a game nonetheless.)

"I wasn't going to say anything." He stared at me, eyes scanning me so much like Dinah did. His fingers drummed against his leg, the same way he used to do when he was going through withdrawal. "How bad is it?"

I didn't answer. Roy swore. Leveraging himself up, he dug around in his closet before pulling out a couple of cans. He tossed one to me.

"It's not much," he said. "But you probably need it. Just don't drink too much of my stash." A sharp hiss cut the air. "Oliver's not exactly dumb."

Raising an eyebrow, I opened mine. "You stole this from him?"

"Easier than convincing a villain to get some for you. Sportsmaster lectured me, and that was after he threatened to kill me for sleeping with Chesire."

"I am surprised he did not actually kill you." The beer was warm, and not very strong. I didn't tell Roy this, simply made a mental note to ask my king to give him some from Atlantis in a few years.

I may be partaking in it— Atlantis has no concept of drinking age— but I'd not contribute to it.

The silence was better this time. Companionable. There were little noises that filled the space between us. Joints popping, the beanbags shifting, breathing. All small reminders that he was a friend. So when Roy crumpled his can and tossed it into his trashcan, I winced. I didn't want to talk. But I'd have to anyway.

"You have any luck with Tula?"

"I still have not asked her."

"At the risk of sounding like Wally, dude. The worst she can do is say no."

There lied the folly. 'No' was not the worst answer she could give. Shouts and screaming, telling me that I don't deserve love, kindness. Everyone up here, they don't know how much family means in Atlantis. Tula does. And when she finds out what I've done in full—

"I do not want to do so when I will be dead soon."

Any joy or mirth or teasing fell out of Roy's expression. He straightened. His face was set like stone. "What." White-knuckled, he was holding back from grabbing me.

A resigned sigh fell from my lips before I explained what I knew to be true. I'd be put on trial for at least two counts of treason. More if they decided to treat Percy as a princess. If my king finds me guilty (he will), I would die. Even if she said yes, it wouldn't be fair to her.

I downed the beer.

Roy grabbed me another.

His hands wrapped around my empty can. Idly, he flicked at the pull tab. "You know Dinah will probably kill Aquaman if that happens, right? She likes you, and if your parents weren't alive, she'd adopt you in a heartbeat."

Heat rushed to my face. I ducked my head to hide my blooming smile. "Truly, it does not matter if they are. Parents outside of blood relations are not uncommon in Atlantis. My king has been one since I became Aqualad. Canary–Dinah, she's crossed the threshold to allow for me to think of her that way," —My skin buzzed with the memory of her touch.--- "Really, I already consider her as a mother."

"Well," Roy said, tossing his arm over my shoulders. "I hope you like chili."

It's 11;35 so its technically still been updated on Saturday! So im still semi-keeping up with my schedule!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter

See yah