Working With Red

Kittens and Catastrophes

Updated: 2021.08.20  

You let out a groan as you flopped down on the mat beside Roy, who was peering down at you with his arms folded over his chest. 

"God, I'm exhausted," you breathed. "Can we please be done with this?" 

"We still have two more hours, (Y/N)," he muttered, rolling his eyes. You just let out another groan and rolled over onto your stomach. 

"I can't," you replied. "My body is dying." 

"Save that excuse for when you're being faced with a life-or-death situation," Roy retorted, quickly adding, "a real life-or-death situation." You let out a huff and pushed yourself up into a sitting position. 

"I'm not used to working out to this extent!" you muttered. "I've only been trained to use a gun; self-defense was never in my repertoire! Besides, it's hard to do anything strenuous with this stupid thing!" You gestured to your hand, the same one you'd injured when you'd swung at Roy's wall. "It hasn't healed all the way." 

"Wrap it," Roy replied flatly. "You have to learn to live and work around the bumps and bruises." Your mouth fell open. 

"You call a broken hand a bump?!" You exclaimed. Roy bobbed his head, an over-exaggerated look spreading across his face. 

"Yeah," he finally said. "As you continue with your training, you'll learn to overlook those kinds of things; by the time you're at my level, you probably won't even feel it any more than you would a thorn in your side." 

"Well, that's easy for you to say!" you whined, gesturing to Roy. "We can't all have chiseled abs and rock-hard pecks! I mean, I'm a girl! I can't do that!" Roy cocked an eyebrow, to which you let out a frustrated groan. 

"If I expected you to develop a body like mine, I wouldn't have expected you to do it within the course of one day, anyway," Roy replied. 

"Now, you're just being cocky," you muttered, and it took the majority of Roy's self control to avoid growling. Instead, he sighed, running a hand down his face. 

"Good Lord, you're driving me crazy," Roy replied. "We don't have time for this. We have an incredibly important mission less than two weeks away, and you haven't even surpassed a basic level of training. Now, get up." 

"I can't," you groaned, glancing up at the clock that sat above the mirrored wall. "It's already 3:30! I've been at this for almost eleven hours! Can't I just have a little break?" Silence. "Please? I'm not used to this; I need a break!" After another moment or two of silence, Roy finally sighed, raking his fingers through his sweat-damp hair. 

"Fine," he murmured. "We'll call it for today, but--" He wasn't able to finish as you let out a whoop, falling back against the mat once more. Roy shook his head but took a seat beside you, watching you stare up at the ceiling with a blank expression. 

"What are you doing?" He murmured, folding his arms over his knees. You shrugged. 

"Thinking," you murmured. "I've been wondering about this whole partner thing. I mean, you know everything about me, and I know absolutely nothing about you, except for the fact that you used to be Speedy." 

"Speedy," Roy repeated, letting out a huff. "I haven't heard that name in a while. It feels almost nostalgic." You chuckled. 

"I remember one day, when I was younger, and I was watching the news with my dad; all of a sudden, there was a broadcast from Star City. They were doing a story on Ollie--well, Green Arrow--and it surprised me when they said Green Arrow had a new protégé. Of course, I was practically bouncing in my seat to see who it was; never in my life had I ever seen anyone so pissed-off put in front of a camera--at least, not a sidekick. God, you looked so angry when they introduced you. But in a way, it was kind of amusing." Roy hummed quietly in response, though he had to lower his head to keep you from seeing the light red hue that had flooded his cheeks.