Finding Comfort
Feb. 17th, 2008 10:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sylph_ficsTitle: Finding Comfort
Co-writer:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
merfilly
Pairing: Joe Wilson/Roy Harper
Word Count: 4,582
Continuity: Current canon, mostly
Rating: NC-17
Summary: When Titans Tower doesn't feel like home anymore, and old friends feel like strangers, there are still Titans to go to... even if one is on the League now.
Roy got up at the knock on his door, wondering who the heck it was at this time of the evening, and was glad Lian was over at Dinah's. He glanced at the security feed next to the door, and blinked at the image of close-cropped blond hair and height. That was someone he sure wouldn't have expected... but yeah, he was more than glad to see him, and pulled the door open.
"Hey, Joe," he said, cocking his head to the side curiously as he stepped out of the doorway.
[Mind if I come in?]
"Of course not, man." //Why would y--oh.// He shut the door behind Joe, hating again that he'd wound up off-world when Joe'd come back, and that he hadn't been there for the entire mess with his least favorite son of a bitch. He'd called once he was home and found out, but that wasn't really the same, and he'd been running so hard with the League... No wonder Joe might think he wasn't welcome.
[Thanks. I... know you're busy, these days, but...]
"Never too busy for you, Joe."
Joe sighed, reaching out for a quick hug, then went to settle on the couch. [How've you been?] he asked, and the look on his face said he really did want to know, so Roy moved over to settle near him, and shrugged slightly.
[I've been good, man.] The signs took a minute to remember, but it all came back to him quickly, because when you talked to Joe, you talked his way, or not at all. [Busy... too busy. I'm sorry.]
[No. It's okay. You're League, these days.] Joe shook his head, unwilling to let Roy side-track them. That's not what he wanted, from Roy, not now. Not the guilt. He just wanted to know if he'd lost this friend, too, or if Roy was still Roy, all swagger and heart and fierce courage... and the flush Roy tried to hide behind the proud swell of his chest was the first thing that said Roy was still himself.
[Well, yeah. And a dad, too. You remember Lian, right?]
[Of course I do.]
[Good. Good.] Roy nodded, pleased, then cocked his head at his old friend worriedly. [Joe... you didn't come all the way up here to listen to me tell my-kid-is great stories, or to ask me about the League. Come on, man. What's wrong?]
Joe chuckled, shaking his head at how well Roy still knew him, and more at how right this felt. For the first time since he came back, it felt right to be with one of the Titans. So strange, for it to be Roy, one of the ones he'd had the least time with... He sighed, giving up on subtlety. [Roy, I don't know what to do.]
Admitting to that didn't sit well with him, but he had to get this out, say it to someone, see if putting it into words made any of the pieces fall into place where they hadn't yet. [That's not my team, it... feels wrong, the whole Tower feels wrong. And Raven, she's not... my Raven. Not really. And I love my sister, but... I don't know what to do.]
[What do you mean, Joe?] Roy shifted on the couch to make room for him to come closer, worried. He knew things weren't great down at the Tower, it was hard not to, but for Joe to be this upset...
Joe slid over to settle near him, letting his leg fall against Roy's, turning to face him completely. [The team... it's all these kids that I don't know--and yes, I know, I've been gone so long that's not a surprise, but even Vic and Gar and Raven,] the pause was longer, this time, and he knew how easy it was to see the hurt behind his eyes. He wasn't trying to hide from Roy. [They're so different... It feels like I'm with strangers. And all of those kids are so hurt and it's like they're not even trying to help each other...]
Roy winced at that description, hating to hear that things were that bad among the Titans. [Okay, I think I get it.] He rubbed one arm along the back of Joe's shoulders, and decided yeah, sitting close to Joe was still great, being close to him still felt good.
Joe leaned into the touch, the comfort of it, closing his eyes for a minute. [Do you know what looking at this Robin looks like, to me?]
"Tell me, Joe." Roy opted for words, so he could rub at those broad shoulders firmly, figuring Joe would forgive him the words in trade for the touch.
[Broken glass, held together with razor-wire. Brittle and dangerous... Raven knows, but she says she can't reach him... And when he and Wonder Girl are close to each other, it's like I can see the body that's supposed to be there between them, the one that hurts them so much...]
"Kon. Damn good kid." Roy sighed softly. "Yeah... Robin... shouldn't be that way." He couldn't help the thought of //Nightwing either...//, even though that was territory he wasn't going near. Not when Joe was already this upset.
[No, he shouldn't... And Vic and Gar still can't figure out that they need each other, and I don't have a clue how to deal with the new kids, nice as most of them are. But I can't leave my sister, either...]
Roy thought about it, a very long moment as he continued rubbing, working Joe's neck. That Joe was even thinking about leaving the Tower, leaving Raven... "We all lost our ways, Joe, after you were gone," he slowly said. "Vic brought us all back to our senses for a while, but then... it collapsed again."
[...I've read all Vic's logs, just trying to catch up on what happened... and I can see most of it, and some of it I still don't understand, but I can't argue with things I wasn't here to help with... I just... I'm not mom, I don't know how to try to fix these kids, if they'd even let me try...] Joe pushed back into his hands, trying not to think about everyone that just wasn't there.
Roy ran his other hand over his face, having to think about things he'd been putting aside, now. "We need to fix it... before we get as bad as the League got, man. I mean, I love the League... but damn there're some serious 'little teams' forming already. I'm guilty... look at me and Di and Hal."
[You three... work well together,] Joe nodded. [And the Big Three seem like they've gotten real tight...]
"You really don't want to know just what kind of battles of will that's brought about," Roy said softly. "But this isn't about them... it's us. The original five, the ones who came in with Raven, you... we have to find a way to help those kids, but we can't until we fix ourselves."
Joe just sighed, dropping back against Roy's body, turning his head in against his throat, hands up in front of them. [It's not like the ten of us ever didn't have our own problems, Roy, but... even when we did, we were family... These kids are barely a team.]
Roy couldn't help a low noise at that. Joe was right, even just from what little he'd seen. "Yeah... talked to anyone else?" The archer petted over the blond hair conveniently close to his shoulder.
[I saw Donna for a while after...] Joe shuddered and turned into Roy's body, pressing up against him, one hand sliding behind his back to curl hard around his ribs, taking the comfort offered. The memory of Deathstroke's blade heavy in his hand, of facing the twisted stranger that was nothing like the father he remembered was something he couldn't understand, no matter how much he tried.
"Oh, Joe..." Roy kissed his friend's forehead for that reminder, gently. "Damn, I'm sorry." He played his hand down over Joe's back. "Listen, why don't I call her and Fleetfeet up tomorrow, get some thoughts? We've drifted pretty far apart, but still..."
Joe nodded, shifting back into Roy's hand a little, taking the offered comfort and pressing into it willingly. [Sounds good.]
"Might even be able to scare up Gillhead if I talk real sweet to Dinah," he teased, letting both hands do a little more walking down Joe's back and sides. "She's got a temper on her that can put Dolphin into quiet mode fast."
[...that one sounds... like trouble,] Joe signed, one-handed. [Not... like Garth.]
"Ehh, Dolphin was actually good for him. Helped him settle in, feel like a man of his own, you know? And Cer... sweet little kid. Lian adores him."
[That's good, then. It would... be good, to see Garth.] //To know he's really all right.// Joe didn't mind Roy's hands petting in the slightest. It felt good, to have the solid comfort of one of his oldest friends right there with him.
Roy got quiet, wondering if he should try to invite Dick, after all. Maybe if Donna was willing to come, she'd bring him along. She might be able to convince him it was a good idea. It wasn't like they didn't talk on occasion, but Dick and he... they were a long way from Speedy and Robin, now.
Joe looked back at him and ran his hand along Roy's jaw gently, letting the tip of his head ask what Roy was thinking.
"Dick." Roy pressed into that touch, turning his head into Joe's strong hand. "I shouldn't be a coward, should I? Should call him myself, right?"
[You're not a coward,] Joe scolded him, green eyes hot, then clouded as he thought. [I don't... know what happened to the man I knew, but... I could barely reach him, when Rose and I went to see him. Rose just... gets sad, when I mention him--of course, everyone seems to.]
Roy sighed. "That means, more than anything, we need him. Because he needs us."
[You know him best, Roy, you always did... what happened?] Joe really just could not understand what had happened to their brilliant, vibrantly alive leader and focus...
Roy shuddered, too many memories sliding through him. "The Bat? Or just too many explosions in the team? Might have been Donna, this last time... losing her so stupidly. I just don' know, Joe... I lost him completely, no matter how hard I tried to give him something to hold to."
Joe shifted to hold Roy, bring him in closer, stretching back just a little to bring his full height into play, trying to settle him, now, give and take as easy between them as it had ever been. That even Roy hadn't been able to hold on to Dick... that scared him more than the way his sister would go still and quiet when she thought about him. Even though Roy hadn't always been on the team with them, the way Dick had always responded when Roy was there had been so intense, so obvious...
"Sorry, man..." Roy snuggled into that broad chest and petted some more. "I'll get the five of us together, and we'll talk. Then we can tackle Rae and Vic and Gar and Kory." Roy looked up enough to meet Joe's eyes. "You see the most in us, you know... always able to see where we hurt, where we excel. I needed this kick in the ass, to do what we should have been doing all along."
Joe stroked down his back with one hand, then brought it back to where Roy could easily read his hands. [You have a team and a daughter that needs you, man. Plenty of reasons.]
"Still a Titan." He had always been able to lend a hand if they asked, even as a government man. "And I owe your sister a hundred times over, probably, for how much she helped me with Lian."
[I heard about that. Rose... I'm glad I'm there. I hate to think about what she'd be like if I wasn't, just from what I can see.]
"Damn, Joe... I didn't realize it was quite that bad...and I should have been the first one there to help her..."
Joe's lips tightened as his fingers snapped loudly, barely away from Roy's cheek, eyes going hot. [You. Had. Your own. Problems. Stop it.]
The snap so close made him blink, sign of Joe's frustration still so clear, and Roy shook his head. "Doesn't change the way I feel, Joey."
[I know. But that doesn't help, either... You'll know. Tell me why the little speedster makes her want escapes she really shouldn't?] His little sister's habits reminded him too much of his mother, and their father, too. Where she'd gotten the taste for the cigarettes, he wasn't sure, but the alcohol? That was always d--their father's escape of choice.
Roy winced, pain slamming through him hard and solid at that reminder. "Imp...Impulse, Bart Allen. Kid Flash, Flash too, but for us, he was Imp. Or Zip, to Lian. And he... he and Rose...they were...close. Stayed close, even when she went civilian. He... he was the only Titan to really reach out and try to save her."
Joe sighed. He hadn't intended to stir up more pain, but he hadn't found the records from that time. More correctly, he'd found them, but they were locked behind government classifications he hadn't wanted to hack for no better reason than his curiosity's sake. [Sorry, Roy. Didn't mean to... hurt you more.]
"No man...that...my team..." Roy swallowed hard, forcing those memories back. "One thing at a time, right? Yeah, I'd go so far as to say Rose and Bart were an item. She ate dinner at Jay's a few times, even."
[Jay, Jay... Flash. The older one, with the helmet. ...They were... oh, little sister. No wonder she...]
Roy sighed. "Yeah." The archer pressed closer again, letting himself soak up the feel of Joe's solid body, of having a Titan there with him.
Joe shifted, holding him in one arm, sighing again as he signed with the other hand. [She's doing a little better. Now that I know why, I'll get her to talk to me.] //...not like I don't understand..//
Roy closed his eyes, leaning into it. "We'll make this work out, Joe...we're family, no matter how dysfunctional we get."
[Yes. We are.] Joe nodded, hand petting up over his hair gently, missing Roy's longer hair--but then, his was short these days, too.
Roy couldn't help but press into that touch, purring lightly at it. Much fun as he was having with Kendra, they weren't serious, and Joe... He'd missed this.
The purring noise made Joe stroke a hand down his back again, arm wrapping in close around his friend, perfectly content with this, right now. Morning was close enough to start to plan how to start trying to do something for the only family he had left, and right now, one of his oldest friends was right here, and aching, even if no-one else could see it.
"Mmm." Roy shifted just a little, settling in close. "Guess I should be darn happy Lian's with her aunt?"
[...no idea what you're talking about,] Joe teased, sparkle in his eyes as he let his hand slide lower.
Roy just smiled, eyes starting to shade towards gold with an offer of more, if Joe was willing. Joe smiled back at him, gently, and dipped his head down. Roy more than willingly met him, pressing up into the kiss, slowly re-learning Joe's mouth, and feeling Joe doing just the same with him. For just a second, it was the first time again, neither one of them exactly sure which way this was going to go...
... but it didn't take long to remember, to know exactly how to press his mouth against Joe's to make it feel the best, which way to run his tongue in against Joe's lips to coax him into opening them--he half-laughed into the kiss when that seemed like all the invitation Joe needed and they were both moving, Joe twisting both of them until Roy was on his back on his couch and looking up into warm green eyes.
He shifted, making just enough more room for Joe, and stretched up after another kiss, letting himself just fall into the feel of that broad, strong body all against his, the arm that snaked under his body to bring him closer again. Felt so good to be like this, to have Joe pressed close, to lose himself in kissing him, touching, hands sliding everywhere, slow and easy and right...
Sex with Joe wasn't like with Di--with anyone else, Joe was so quiet, the strangled little gasps and quiet, barely-there noises... but gods, getting any of those little sounds from him was like--
His train of thought was interrupted by the strong slide of Joe's hand up under his clothes, pulling him up, and he moved with it out of habit, not thinking as he stripped out of the shirt until air hissed through Joe's teeth and he was pinned down against the couch, an urgent mouth against his chest, over...
"Joe, Joe it's okay..." His hands slid quickly to pet down his back, sides, trying to pull Joe in close against him, but Joe had other ideas and reared back, balanced on his knees.
[I almost lost you, too.]
With his hands still wrapped around Joe's shoulders, he had to talk instead. "Takes more than that to take me down, man. I'm okay now." He stretched up to kiss Joe, trying to calm him down, and Joe pressed him down again, into the couch's cushions, and he shivered as the blond over him started lavishing intent attention over his chest. "Joe, I..."
Joe looked up at him, mouthing distinctly, 'Roy. Hush' as he reached up enough to lay gentle fingers over his mouth. Roy let them lay there for a moment as Joe dipped his head to his shoulder again, then flicked his tongue out, licking at the calluses there, slowly sucking one into his mouth--and Joe bucked against his thigh, hand tightening on his side. Roy grinned against skin, pleased at the reaction, and pulled that finger deeper, working his mouth against the skin, the bends of the knuckles...
He felt 't-e-a-s-e' spelled out against his skin by a fingertip as Joe's mouth came away from doing obscene things to his upper chest, and Joe was looking down at him again with a brilliant light in his green eyes, shining finally the way he ought to... Roy let his body and eyes laugh, rolling his shoulders back in "you know me", and closed his eyes as he pressed his tongue out to lick to the heart-line of Joe's palm, then pulled his head back slow, licking all the way up until his tongue's tip was pressed against the end of Joe's nail, then opened his eyes with another smile.
[Tease too much...] was signed to him with one hand, before Joe rolled his hips just right, pressing them together, loving the shift of Roy's eyes towards gold as he held them.
"o-oh... Not me, Joe... I live up to it..." Roy smiled up at him as he shifted enough to lock a leg around Joe's thighs, holding him in against him as he rolled his hips up, hands working on peeling Joe out of his shirt.
Joe let him get that much done, letting the freedom of skin on skin flow through him. After savoring it, pressing close to Roy, Joe guided his lover's hands up, making him tuck them over his head, only needing a look of warning to make Roy know what was wanted.
Roy shuddered from the base of his neck all the way to his toes, but laced his fingers together where Joe'd put them, looking up at him, moving slow against Joe's hips.
Joe took his time now, fingers trailing over the lines of Roy's cheekbones, his jaw, down over the pulse in his throat. He was more than willing to return the tease with slow caresses, rediscovering just where would cause Roy to writhe and beggingly press tighter.
"Joe... Joe, god..." Roy clenched his hands, pushing up against his body, leg still locked around Joe's body... god, but Joe in a mood to tease was definitely something he'd missed...
Joe dipped in, lips finding the hollow of one shoulder. He let one hand roam down the ribs, thumb stroking over muscle lines.
"Joe..." He twisted up into his hand, hands clenching together to stay put as he moved again.
Joe smiled, before trailing down to kiss those ugly scars, tongue teasing the sensitivity of where smooth flesh met scar tissue.
Roy whimpered at him softly, pressing up against his body again and again, just... wanting. More, anything...
The blond found a pace he preferred, working his tongue, his teeth down the tight abs, teasing, flicking out with maddeningly teasing swipes. He let his hands move ahead of him, working the pants open, but not doing more than that.
"Please," Roy whispered to him, rocking up against his touch, hands still locked together--he wasn't about to upset Joe at this point...
Joe paused, looking up at his lover's face, seeing the need there. He drew fully way, easing the pants back from Roy's hips, freeing the ache of being constricted. Joe was so careful not to touch Roy intimately, leaving him wanting as he rose up to get rid of his own clothes.
//God, so gorgeous...// Joe was so cut, always had been, such defined lines, so...He knew how he had to look, splayed out under Joe like he was... and absolutely loved the look in Joe's eyes about it.
Joe took his time moving back in, hands stroking along an ankle, running under a calf, pressing fingers against the back of the knee. He moved to cover those legs with his body, chest pressing close to strong thighs, while Joe resumed kissing and licking at the line of Roy's hip bone.
That kiss and lick made him made him twist, writhe under Joe's hands and mouth...
Joe smiled with intent just before he shifted again, just barely swiping his tongue along the very tip of Roy's cock, listening and watching for the reaction.
Roy forced his hips still but he didn't even try to keep from crying out at that damned teasing quick lick...
Joe leaned up, eyes meeting Roy's for a long moment, before a large hand came down, wrapping lightly around the base of that hard shaft, a prelude to him leaning in and slowly working lips and tongue over the head.
Roy bucked up against his hand, god his mouth.. He felt so good... much as he'd wanted to do that for Joe, to give him... god Joe's mouth felt way, way too good to possibly complain about... and, well, turnabout could be fair play later.
A slow slide of the tongue along the ridge, down the vein along the underside, while that one hand massaged seductively.
"Joe... Joe please, let me touch you..."
The feel of Joe's other hand gripping at Roy's hip from where he was propped on that elbow was warning. Joe wanted Roy's pleasure first, and was in no mood to be distracted.
"Joe... please... just touch...Just want to hold you..." He'd be good, but god, he wanted to not have his hands trapped, to be able to hold on to Joe while his lover drove him out of his mind...
Joe slid his mouth all the way up, swirling his tongue around the tip, shaking his head, side to side.
Roy whimpered softly, but... "okay, Joe..."
Then Joe blew lightly across the tip, watching Roy shake at the sensation, before he went down again, wanting the feel of his length and the taste of his skin.
Roy shuddered, arching into his hands, bucking against him, nails biting into his own hands, shuddering as Joe kept working him, making him crazy, pushing him so close...
The firm stroke of the hand on his hip changed to a quick pat, letting Roy fall over the edge in time with a deep pull along the shaft.
Roy broke, hard, and barely managed to keep his hands where they were as the world went white around him and his body bucked up, again and again into his grip... He came back to himself a few moments later, and shuddered, looking down at Joe's hair. "Joe.."
Joe finished cleaning Roy up, before sliding along his body to lay in a full body press against him. One hand flicked at Roy, freeing him to touch now.
Roy moved, hands sliding down over Joe's shoulders, down over his arms, his back, arching up to kiss him hard, deep, tasting himself in Joe's mouth. He slid one hand lower, wrapping slow around to his hip, in over his thigh...
Joe nodded once, giving permission for Roy to touch him fully, to please him, before he kissed Roy's mouth again, hungry.
"Pushy," Roy said against his mouth before he kissed him again, hand sliding in to wrap around him, wrist twisting for a moment before he found the right grip, stroking down Joe's length...
Joe showed his pleasure in his face, his body...he pushed into the grip, breathing a soundless moan.
"Yeah, Joe," Roy whispered against his jaw, working his wrist and his fingers, trying to remember just how Joe liked this, other arm wrapped around his back.
Joe pressed back against that holding arm, thrusting against the grip along his shaft, and closed his eyes. Forgetting all the problems that had brought him here, he let himself fall into Roy's care.
Roy purred softly as Joe closed his eyes, and just moved for long moments, slowly changing his grip, letting memory and Joe's reactions tell him how... and slowly shifted, trying to roll Joe onto his back, wanting his mouth on his lover now...
The blond was as responsive as he ever had been, following Roy's guidance until he was flat against the couch, hips arching and working upward.
"God, Joe... so damn gorgeous..." Roy whispered, bracing up over him before he dropped down, mouth wrapping around the tip of Joe's length quickly, licking hungrily, slowly...
For all the lack of sound, Joe was far from unable to show his appreciation. From the gentle touches over Roy's hair and ears, to the way his hips arched, only so far, he let his lover know this was good, how much he was enjoying Roy's touch.
Roy purred around him, sucking, moving all the ways Joe'd always liked, hands wrapping around his hip and his lower back, holding on, pulling him closer, down in against him...
Joe's hands tightened in Roy's hair, the only warning before Joe surged up, his release washing over him with a deeply needed intensity.
Roy stayed there, drinking him down, pressed back against Joe's hands, then slowly let go and slid up his body, tucking in tight against his side, hand resting over his chest as he lifted his head for another kiss.
Joe kissed him hard and hungry, before settling back, holding Roy tight. He was content to just rest there for now, knowing they'd move to the bed later. And the morning would give them the chance to see what they could do for the family he was utterly unwilling to lose.
Co-writer:
merfillyPairing: Joe Wilson/Roy Harper
Word Count: 4,582
Continuity: Current canon, mostly
Rating: NC-17
Summary: When Titans Tower doesn't feel like home anymore, and old friends feel like strangers, there are still Titans to go to... even if one is on the League now.
Roy got up at the knock on his door, wondering who the heck it was at this time of the evening, and was glad Lian was over at Dinah's. He glanced at the security feed next to the door, and blinked at the image of close-cropped blond hair and height. That was someone he sure wouldn't have expected... but yeah, he was more than glad to see him, and pulled the door open.
"Hey, Joe," he said, cocking his head to the side curiously as he stepped out of the doorway.
[Mind if I come in?]
"Of course not, man." //Why would y--oh.// He shut the door behind Joe, hating again that he'd wound up off-world when Joe'd come back, and that he hadn't been there for the entire mess with his least favorite son of a bitch. He'd called once he was home and found out, but that wasn't really the same, and he'd been running so hard with the League... No wonder Joe might think he wasn't welcome.
[Thanks. I... know you're busy, these days, but...]
"Never too busy for you, Joe."
Joe sighed, reaching out for a quick hug, then went to settle on the couch. [How've you been?] he asked, and the look on his face said he really did want to know, so Roy moved over to settle near him, and shrugged slightly.
[I've been good, man.] The signs took a minute to remember, but it all came back to him quickly, because when you talked to Joe, you talked his way, or not at all. [Busy... too busy. I'm sorry.]
[No. It's okay. You're League, these days.] Joe shook his head, unwilling to let Roy side-track them. That's not what he wanted, from Roy, not now. Not the guilt. He just wanted to know if he'd lost this friend, too, or if Roy was still Roy, all swagger and heart and fierce courage... and the flush Roy tried to hide behind the proud swell of his chest was the first thing that said Roy was still himself.
[Well, yeah. And a dad, too. You remember Lian, right?]
[Of course I do.]
[Good. Good.] Roy nodded, pleased, then cocked his head at his old friend worriedly. [Joe... you didn't come all the way up here to listen to me tell my-kid-is great stories, or to ask me about the League. Come on, man. What's wrong?]
Joe chuckled, shaking his head at how well Roy still knew him, and more at how right this felt. For the first time since he came back, it felt right to be with one of the Titans. So strange, for it to be Roy, one of the ones he'd had the least time with... He sighed, giving up on subtlety. [Roy, I don't know what to do.]
Admitting to that didn't sit well with him, but he had to get this out, say it to someone, see if putting it into words made any of the pieces fall into place where they hadn't yet. [That's not my team, it... feels wrong, the whole Tower feels wrong. And Raven, she's not... my Raven. Not really. And I love my sister, but... I don't know what to do.]
[What do you mean, Joe?] Roy shifted on the couch to make room for him to come closer, worried. He knew things weren't great down at the Tower, it was hard not to, but for Joe to be this upset...
Joe slid over to settle near him, letting his leg fall against Roy's, turning to face him completely. [The team... it's all these kids that I don't know--and yes, I know, I've been gone so long that's not a surprise, but even Vic and Gar and Raven,] the pause was longer, this time, and he knew how easy it was to see the hurt behind his eyes. He wasn't trying to hide from Roy. [They're so different... It feels like I'm with strangers. And all of those kids are so hurt and it's like they're not even trying to help each other...]
Roy winced at that description, hating to hear that things were that bad among the Titans. [Okay, I think I get it.] He rubbed one arm along the back of Joe's shoulders, and decided yeah, sitting close to Joe was still great, being close to him still felt good.
Joe leaned into the touch, the comfort of it, closing his eyes for a minute. [Do you know what looking at this Robin looks like, to me?]
"Tell me, Joe." Roy opted for words, so he could rub at those broad shoulders firmly, figuring Joe would forgive him the words in trade for the touch.
[Broken glass, held together with razor-wire. Brittle and dangerous... Raven knows, but she says she can't reach him... And when he and Wonder Girl are close to each other, it's like I can see the body that's supposed to be there between them, the one that hurts them so much...]
"Kon. Damn good kid." Roy sighed softly. "Yeah... Robin... shouldn't be that way." He couldn't help the thought of //Nightwing either...//, even though that was territory he wasn't going near. Not when Joe was already this upset.
[No, he shouldn't... And Vic and Gar still can't figure out that they need each other, and I don't have a clue how to deal with the new kids, nice as most of them are. But I can't leave my sister, either...]
Roy thought about it, a very long moment as he continued rubbing, working Joe's neck. That Joe was even thinking about leaving the Tower, leaving Raven... "We all lost our ways, Joe, after you were gone," he slowly said. "Vic brought us all back to our senses for a while, but then... it collapsed again."
[...I've read all Vic's logs, just trying to catch up on what happened... and I can see most of it, and some of it I still don't understand, but I can't argue with things I wasn't here to help with... I just... I'm not mom, I don't know how to try to fix these kids, if they'd even let me try...] Joe pushed back into his hands, trying not to think about everyone that just wasn't there.
Roy ran his other hand over his face, having to think about things he'd been putting aside, now. "We need to fix it... before we get as bad as the League got, man. I mean, I love the League... but damn there're some serious 'little teams' forming already. I'm guilty... look at me and Di and Hal."
[You three... work well together,] Joe nodded. [And the Big Three seem like they've gotten real tight...]
"You really don't want to know just what kind of battles of will that's brought about," Roy said softly. "But this isn't about them... it's us. The original five, the ones who came in with Raven, you... we have to find a way to help those kids, but we can't until we fix ourselves."
Joe just sighed, dropping back against Roy's body, turning his head in against his throat, hands up in front of them. [It's not like the ten of us ever didn't have our own problems, Roy, but... even when we did, we were family... These kids are barely a team.]
Roy couldn't help a low noise at that. Joe was right, even just from what little he'd seen. "Yeah... talked to anyone else?" The archer petted over the blond hair conveniently close to his shoulder.
[I saw Donna for a while after...] Joe shuddered and turned into Roy's body, pressing up against him, one hand sliding behind his back to curl hard around his ribs, taking the comfort offered. The memory of Deathstroke's blade heavy in his hand, of facing the twisted stranger that was nothing like the father he remembered was something he couldn't understand, no matter how much he tried.
"Oh, Joe..." Roy kissed his friend's forehead for that reminder, gently. "Damn, I'm sorry." He played his hand down over Joe's back. "Listen, why don't I call her and Fleetfeet up tomorrow, get some thoughts? We've drifted pretty far apart, but still..."
Joe nodded, shifting back into Roy's hand a little, taking the offered comfort and pressing into it willingly. [Sounds good.]
"Might even be able to scare up Gillhead if I talk real sweet to Dinah," he teased, letting both hands do a little more walking down Joe's back and sides. "She's got a temper on her that can put Dolphin into quiet mode fast."
[...that one sounds... like trouble,] Joe signed, one-handed. [Not... like Garth.]
"Ehh, Dolphin was actually good for him. Helped him settle in, feel like a man of his own, you know? And Cer... sweet little kid. Lian adores him."
[That's good, then. It would... be good, to see Garth.] //To know he's really all right.// Joe didn't mind Roy's hands petting in the slightest. It felt good, to have the solid comfort of one of his oldest friends right there with him.
Roy got quiet, wondering if he should try to invite Dick, after all. Maybe if Donna was willing to come, she'd bring him along. She might be able to convince him it was a good idea. It wasn't like they didn't talk on occasion, but Dick and he... they were a long way from Speedy and Robin, now.
Joe looked back at him and ran his hand along Roy's jaw gently, letting the tip of his head ask what Roy was thinking.
"Dick." Roy pressed into that touch, turning his head into Joe's strong hand. "I shouldn't be a coward, should I? Should call him myself, right?"
[You're not a coward,] Joe scolded him, green eyes hot, then clouded as he thought. [I don't... know what happened to the man I knew, but... I could barely reach him, when Rose and I went to see him. Rose just... gets sad, when I mention him--of course, everyone seems to.]
Roy sighed. "That means, more than anything, we need him. Because he needs us."
[You know him best, Roy, you always did... what happened?] Joe really just could not understand what had happened to their brilliant, vibrantly alive leader and focus...
Roy shuddered, too many memories sliding through him. "The Bat? Or just too many explosions in the team? Might have been Donna, this last time... losing her so stupidly. I just don' know, Joe... I lost him completely, no matter how hard I tried to give him something to hold to."
Joe shifted to hold Roy, bring him in closer, stretching back just a little to bring his full height into play, trying to settle him, now, give and take as easy between them as it had ever been. That even Roy hadn't been able to hold on to Dick... that scared him more than the way his sister would go still and quiet when she thought about him. Even though Roy hadn't always been on the team with them, the way Dick had always responded when Roy was there had been so intense, so obvious...
"Sorry, man..." Roy snuggled into that broad chest and petted some more. "I'll get the five of us together, and we'll talk. Then we can tackle Rae and Vic and Gar and Kory." Roy looked up enough to meet Joe's eyes. "You see the most in us, you know... always able to see where we hurt, where we excel. I needed this kick in the ass, to do what we should have been doing all along."
Joe stroked down his back with one hand, then brought it back to where Roy could easily read his hands. [You have a team and a daughter that needs you, man. Plenty of reasons.]
"Still a Titan." He had always been able to lend a hand if they asked, even as a government man. "And I owe your sister a hundred times over, probably, for how much she helped me with Lian."
[I heard about that. Rose... I'm glad I'm there. I hate to think about what she'd be like if I wasn't, just from what I can see.]
"Damn, Joe... I didn't realize it was quite that bad...and I should have been the first one there to help her..."
Joe's lips tightened as his fingers snapped loudly, barely away from Roy's cheek, eyes going hot. [You. Had. Your own. Problems. Stop it.]
The snap so close made him blink, sign of Joe's frustration still so clear, and Roy shook his head. "Doesn't change the way I feel, Joey."
[I know. But that doesn't help, either... You'll know. Tell me why the little speedster makes her want escapes she really shouldn't?] His little sister's habits reminded him too much of his mother, and their father, too. Where she'd gotten the taste for the cigarettes, he wasn't sure, but the alcohol? That was always d--their father's escape of choice.
Roy winced, pain slamming through him hard and solid at that reminder. "Imp...Impulse, Bart Allen. Kid Flash, Flash too, but for us, he was Imp. Or Zip, to Lian. And he... he and Rose...they were...close. Stayed close, even when she went civilian. He... he was the only Titan to really reach out and try to save her."
Joe sighed. He hadn't intended to stir up more pain, but he hadn't found the records from that time. More correctly, he'd found them, but they were locked behind government classifications he hadn't wanted to hack for no better reason than his curiosity's sake. [Sorry, Roy. Didn't mean to... hurt you more.]
"No man...that...my team..." Roy swallowed hard, forcing those memories back. "One thing at a time, right? Yeah, I'd go so far as to say Rose and Bart were an item. She ate dinner at Jay's a few times, even."
[Jay, Jay... Flash. The older one, with the helmet. ...They were... oh, little sister. No wonder she...]
Roy sighed. "Yeah." The archer pressed closer again, letting himself soak up the feel of Joe's solid body, of having a Titan there with him.
Joe shifted, holding him in one arm, sighing again as he signed with the other hand. [She's doing a little better. Now that I know why, I'll get her to talk to me.] //...not like I don't understand..//
Roy closed his eyes, leaning into it. "We'll make this work out, Joe...we're family, no matter how dysfunctional we get."
[Yes. We are.] Joe nodded, hand petting up over his hair gently, missing Roy's longer hair--but then, his was short these days, too.
Roy couldn't help but press into that touch, purring lightly at it. Much fun as he was having with Kendra, they weren't serious, and Joe... He'd missed this.
The purring noise made Joe stroke a hand down his back again, arm wrapping in close around his friend, perfectly content with this, right now. Morning was close enough to start to plan how to start trying to do something for the only family he had left, and right now, one of his oldest friends was right here, and aching, even if no-one else could see it.
"Mmm." Roy shifted just a little, settling in close. "Guess I should be darn happy Lian's with her aunt?"
[...no idea what you're talking about,] Joe teased, sparkle in his eyes as he let his hand slide lower.
Roy just smiled, eyes starting to shade towards gold with an offer of more, if Joe was willing. Joe smiled back at him, gently, and dipped his head down. Roy more than willingly met him, pressing up into the kiss, slowly re-learning Joe's mouth, and feeling Joe doing just the same with him. For just a second, it was the first time again, neither one of them exactly sure which way this was going to go...
... but it didn't take long to remember, to know exactly how to press his mouth against Joe's to make it feel the best, which way to run his tongue in against Joe's lips to coax him into opening them--he half-laughed into the kiss when that seemed like all the invitation Joe needed and they were both moving, Joe twisting both of them until Roy was on his back on his couch and looking up into warm green eyes.
He shifted, making just enough more room for Joe, and stretched up after another kiss, letting himself just fall into the feel of that broad, strong body all against his, the arm that snaked under his body to bring him closer again. Felt so good to be like this, to have Joe pressed close, to lose himself in kissing him, touching, hands sliding everywhere, slow and easy and right...
Sex with Joe wasn't like with Di--with anyone else, Joe was so quiet, the strangled little gasps and quiet, barely-there noises... but gods, getting any of those little sounds from him was like--
His train of thought was interrupted by the strong slide of Joe's hand up under his clothes, pulling him up, and he moved with it out of habit, not thinking as he stripped out of the shirt until air hissed through Joe's teeth and he was pinned down against the couch, an urgent mouth against his chest, over...
"Joe, Joe it's okay..." His hands slid quickly to pet down his back, sides, trying to pull Joe in close against him, but Joe had other ideas and reared back, balanced on his knees.
[I almost lost you, too.]
With his hands still wrapped around Joe's shoulders, he had to talk instead. "Takes more than that to take me down, man. I'm okay now." He stretched up to kiss Joe, trying to calm him down, and Joe pressed him down again, into the couch's cushions, and he shivered as the blond over him started lavishing intent attention over his chest. "Joe, I..."
Joe looked up at him, mouthing distinctly, 'Roy. Hush' as he reached up enough to lay gentle fingers over his mouth. Roy let them lay there for a moment as Joe dipped his head to his shoulder again, then flicked his tongue out, licking at the calluses there, slowly sucking one into his mouth--and Joe bucked against his thigh, hand tightening on his side. Roy grinned against skin, pleased at the reaction, and pulled that finger deeper, working his mouth against the skin, the bends of the knuckles...
He felt 't-e-a-s-e' spelled out against his skin by a fingertip as Joe's mouth came away from doing obscene things to his upper chest, and Joe was looking down at him again with a brilliant light in his green eyes, shining finally the way he ought to... Roy let his body and eyes laugh, rolling his shoulders back in "you know me", and closed his eyes as he pressed his tongue out to lick to the heart-line of Joe's palm, then pulled his head back slow, licking all the way up until his tongue's tip was pressed against the end of Joe's nail, then opened his eyes with another smile.
[Tease too much...] was signed to him with one hand, before Joe rolled his hips just right, pressing them together, loving the shift of Roy's eyes towards gold as he held them.
"o-oh... Not me, Joe... I live up to it..." Roy smiled up at him as he shifted enough to lock a leg around Joe's thighs, holding him in against him as he rolled his hips up, hands working on peeling Joe out of his shirt.
Joe let him get that much done, letting the freedom of skin on skin flow through him. After savoring it, pressing close to Roy, Joe guided his lover's hands up, making him tuck them over his head, only needing a look of warning to make Roy know what was wanted.
Roy shuddered from the base of his neck all the way to his toes, but laced his fingers together where Joe'd put them, looking up at him, moving slow against Joe's hips.
Joe took his time now, fingers trailing over the lines of Roy's cheekbones, his jaw, down over the pulse in his throat. He was more than willing to return the tease with slow caresses, rediscovering just where would cause Roy to writhe and beggingly press tighter.
"Joe... Joe, god..." Roy clenched his hands, pushing up against his body, leg still locked around Joe's body... god, but Joe in a mood to tease was definitely something he'd missed...
Joe dipped in, lips finding the hollow of one shoulder. He let one hand roam down the ribs, thumb stroking over muscle lines.
"Joe..." He twisted up into his hand, hands clenching together to stay put as he moved again.
Joe smiled, before trailing down to kiss those ugly scars, tongue teasing the sensitivity of where smooth flesh met scar tissue.
Roy whimpered at him softly, pressing up against his body again and again, just... wanting. More, anything...
The blond found a pace he preferred, working his tongue, his teeth down the tight abs, teasing, flicking out with maddeningly teasing swipes. He let his hands move ahead of him, working the pants open, but not doing more than that.
"Please," Roy whispered to him, rocking up against his touch, hands still locked together--he wasn't about to upset Joe at this point...
Joe paused, looking up at his lover's face, seeing the need there. He drew fully way, easing the pants back from Roy's hips, freeing the ache of being constricted. Joe was so careful not to touch Roy intimately, leaving him wanting as he rose up to get rid of his own clothes.
//God, so gorgeous...// Joe was so cut, always had been, such defined lines, so...He knew how he had to look, splayed out under Joe like he was... and absolutely loved the look in Joe's eyes about it.
Joe took his time moving back in, hands stroking along an ankle, running under a calf, pressing fingers against the back of the knee. He moved to cover those legs with his body, chest pressing close to strong thighs, while Joe resumed kissing and licking at the line of Roy's hip bone.
That kiss and lick made him made him twist, writhe under Joe's hands and mouth...
Joe smiled with intent just before he shifted again, just barely swiping his tongue along the very tip of Roy's cock, listening and watching for the reaction.
Roy forced his hips still but he didn't even try to keep from crying out at that damned teasing quick lick...
Joe leaned up, eyes meeting Roy's for a long moment, before a large hand came down, wrapping lightly around the base of that hard shaft, a prelude to him leaning in and slowly working lips and tongue over the head.
Roy bucked up against his hand, god his mouth.. He felt so good... much as he'd wanted to do that for Joe, to give him... god Joe's mouth felt way, way too good to possibly complain about... and, well, turnabout could be fair play later.
A slow slide of the tongue along the ridge, down the vein along the underside, while that one hand massaged seductively.
"Joe... Joe please, let me touch you..."
The feel of Joe's other hand gripping at Roy's hip from where he was propped on that elbow was warning. Joe wanted Roy's pleasure first, and was in no mood to be distracted.
"Joe... please... just touch...Just want to hold you..." He'd be good, but god, he wanted to not have his hands trapped, to be able to hold on to Joe while his lover drove him out of his mind...
Joe slid his mouth all the way up, swirling his tongue around the tip, shaking his head, side to side.
Roy whimpered softly, but... "okay, Joe..."
Then Joe blew lightly across the tip, watching Roy shake at the sensation, before he went down again, wanting the feel of his length and the taste of his skin.
Roy shuddered, arching into his hands, bucking against him, nails biting into his own hands, shuddering as Joe kept working him, making him crazy, pushing him so close...
The firm stroke of the hand on his hip changed to a quick pat, letting Roy fall over the edge in time with a deep pull along the shaft.
Roy broke, hard, and barely managed to keep his hands where they were as the world went white around him and his body bucked up, again and again into his grip... He came back to himself a few moments later, and shuddered, looking down at Joe's hair. "Joe.."
Joe finished cleaning Roy up, before sliding along his body to lay in a full body press against him. One hand flicked at Roy, freeing him to touch now.
Roy moved, hands sliding down over Joe's shoulders, down over his arms, his back, arching up to kiss him hard, deep, tasting himself in Joe's mouth. He slid one hand lower, wrapping slow around to his hip, in over his thigh...
Joe nodded once, giving permission for Roy to touch him fully, to please him, before he kissed Roy's mouth again, hungry.
"Pushy," Roy said against his mouth before he kissed him again, hand sliding in to wrap around him, wrist twisting for a moment before he found the right grip, stroking down Joe's length...
Joe showed his pleasure in his face, his body...he pushed into the grip, breathing a soundless moan.
"Yeah, Joe," Roy whispered against his jaw, working his wrist and his fingers, trying to remember just how Joe liked this, other arm wrapped around his back.
Joe pressed back against that holding arm, thrusting against the grip along his shaft, and closed his eyes. Forgetting all the problems that had brought him here, he let himself fall into Roy's care.
Roy purred softly as Joe closed his eyes, and just moved for long moments, slowly changing his grip, letting memory and Joe's reactions tell him how... and slowly shifted, trying to roll Joe onto his back, wanting his mouth on his lover now...
The blond was as responsive as he ever had been, following Roy's guidance until he was flat against the couch, hips arching and working upward.
"God, Joe... so damn gorgeous..." Roy whispered, bracing up over him before he dropped down, mouth wrapping around the tip of Joe's length quickly, licking hungrily, slowly...
For all the lack of sound, Joe was far from unable to show his appreciation. From the gentle touches over Roy's hair and ears, to the way his hips arched, only so far, he let his lover know this was good, how much he was enjoying Roy's touch.
Roy purred around him, sucking, moving all the ways Joe'd always liked, hands wrapping around his hip and his lower back, holding on, pulling him closer, down in against him...
Joe's hands tightened in Roy's hair, the only warning before Joe surged up, his release washing over him with a deeply needed intensity.
Roy stayed there, drinking him down, pressed back against Joe's hands, then slowly let go and slid up his body, tucking in tight against his side, hand resting over his chest as he lifted his head for another kiss.
Joe kissed him hard and hungry, before settling back, holding Roy tight. He was content to just rest there for now, knowing they'd move to the bed later. And the morning would give them the chance to see what they could do for the family he was utterly unwilling to lose.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2008-02-18 04:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-18 04:45 am (UTC)Joe should not be so shy.
*hushes you* You shush, sharing sequel-y stuff.
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Date: 2008-02-18 04:56 am (UTC)Just...Joe breaking porn fu must stop!
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Date: 2008-02-18 05:00 am (UTC)They are very pretty together.
Wonderful!
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Date: 2008-02-18 05:04 am (UTC)It... definitely wandered all over the emotional map... but so does life, so I'm glad it worked for you.
Joey has issues, because everyone he knows and loves is so hurt, has been so screwed up by everything that's happened since he died, and he doesn't know what to do.
And Roy has had guilt issues since Danny O'Neill got his hands on him in the seventies, and I haven't seen one sign that he's ever gotten over them.
They are extremely pretty together, yes. Well, both of them are gorgeous, and sensualists, and... um. I'll be over there, thanks boys!
Thank you again, hon.
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Date: 2008-02-18 07:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-18 05:50 pm (UTC)That hit so many issues that I damn DC for, and they were dealt with so wonderfully.
And you know what else I love about this? Is the fact that you made their sex *believable*, it's a pairing that's not normally used but you guys have made it *work*.
Bravo!
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Date: 2008-02-18 07:09 pm (UTC)I damn DC for a metric ton, especially lately, and I'm glad I managed to write those issues in a way that you found believable and enjoyable.
*grins* I love the artist and the archer. They're very much not OTP for me, Joe belongs with Raven and Roy belongs with Dick, but they work well together, they work off each other beautifully, and they understand each other pretty well. So when they're both hurting... it seems natural to gravitate towards each other.
They're not in love, but they love each other, and sometimes, that's all you need.
*hugs you so hard* Thanks again.
P.S. Love the icon.
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Date: 2008-02-18 07:31 pm (UTC)I'm glad it doesn't jibe harshly, though, as I know it is a pairing a lot of people might go 'huh' at.
Thank you!
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Date: 2008-02-18 10:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-18 10:14 pm (UTC)Yena outdid herself on this set up.
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Date: 2008-02-18 10:21 pm (UTC)I seem to not be doing well with universes these days, but I'm glad the idea works for you.
They would be a fairly... agressive fix-it team, certainly. *grins*
And I'm even more glad you thought they were pretty together. Joe seems to have inherited both of his parents' alpha tendencies in spades--not that Roy minds, most of the time.
Thanks again, sweetie.
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Date: 2008-02-19 05:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-19 05:39 pm (UTC)And so glad you liked!
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Date: 2008-02-19 07:26 pm (UTC)They do go well together, the artist and archer do... (oh, Kyle and Connor parallel, eep! Hide me from Joe with a ring!)
And they're both such sensual critters, that I'm so glad they warmed up the area! *grins* Always glad to hear it.
More... maybe. Depends.
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Date: 2008-02-27 05:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-27 03:37 pm (UTC)No, not hardly.
Thank you so much, dear. They are all of that, when they want to be.
And Joe is freaking gorgeous (especially now that he lost the muttonchops).
So, yes, is Roy. So pretty together.
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Date: 2008-02-27 05:17 pm (UTC)And thank you. Yena had a great idea here, but getting the boys to misbehave the way we wanted was hard!