Fic: Yellow Roses (DCU - Roy/Jason - Spaghetti Verse) 1/1
Title: Yellow Roses
Fandom: DCU, zarabithia and cero_ate's Spaghetti Verse
Characters/Pairing: Jason Todd (references Roy Harper/Jason Todd), Dinah Lance, Lian Harper
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,030
Prompt: (for 50_darkfics) #98 - Writer's Choice: Jealousy
Summary: When Jay picks Lian up from Dinah at the flower shop, he can't help notice the arrangement of yellow roses.
Disclaimer: DC and WB own it all. I own nothing. Darnit.
Author's Note: Shamelessly inspired by this artwork by astraea_f, and the awesomeness of the Spaghetti Verse. ^_^ You don't have to have read anything in that Verse to get this, but I highly, *highly* recommend it.
Yellow Roses
Striding into the flower shop to pick up his and Roy's girl after a day spent with her aunt, Jason waved lazily at Dinah, who was working busily behind the counter on an elaborate arrangement. “Lian ready to go?” he asked as he came up to the counter.
“Hey, Jay. Yeah, she's in the back, watching a movie. I'll go get her,” Dinah nodded in return.
“Sure.”
When the Canary disappeared through a door into the back of the shop, Jay leaned against the counter and took in the modest space. A few tall, refrigerated cases lined one wall, expansive windows covered the front and the other side, and work benches stood at the back. Pretty simple setup, easy for Dinah to keep an eye on things while she was working. Jay could respect that.
Letting his gaze wander some more, he found himself drawn to the arrangement Canary had been working on when he came in. Brilliant yellow roses reached up from a teardrop vase, petals spreading like the rays of the sun. Until recently, he hadn't had much exposure to flowers, but he remembered that yellow roses stood for friendship, platonic love. Unable to stop a smile at that, he thought of the way Roy had taken him in after his so-called 'brothers' had attacked him on the rooftop that fateful night. Roy had been the friend he'd needed, not just to heal his wounds and nurse him back to health, but to show him that he was worth the effort, worth having around.
Jason let out a silent chuckle as he realized a more appropriate flower to symbolize their relationship would be red roses. Coming together with Roy had been... the best thing that had happened to him in a long time. Their relationship was more passionate than anything he'd ever experienced, even his love/hate relationship with the Bat and his 'brothers'.
But his thoughts were suddenly soured at that, remembering the way Dick had invaded their space only a few weeks before, crawling back to Roy as if the Archer would simply take him back. Stepping back to the work bench, Jay cupped one of the roses in his hand. If he remembered correctly, the Germans associated yellow roses with jealousy and infidelity. He'd expected Roy to toss him aside that night, to welcome Dick back into their happy family with open arms. Jay had never been more jealous of Golden Boy than he had been in that one moment, knowing it was only a matter of time until he was cast aside, replaced... again.
Losing himself in the memory of that night, Jason was hardly aware that he had plucked the rose from its stem and was clutching it in his hand, his fingers curling over it possessively. He'd never wanted to hold on to Roy so tightly as he had that night, to not let Dick swoop in and take the Archer away from him. The eldest Robin had had no right, no place there.
And Jay hadn't trusted Roy not to fall for Dick's groveling. He'd thought... he'd been sure that Roy would leave him high and dry, just like everyone else in his life had.
It had come as a shock when his Archer had told Dick to leave, had come close and slipped his arm around Jay's waist. How could he, the murderous Red Hood, be worthy of that kind of loyalty and love?
Unconsciously, his grip on the flower lessened, and a small smile formed at the corner of his mouth. He had no need for jealousy. Roy wasn't going anywhere; the Archer had proved that much on that anxious night, and every day and night since, making sure Jay knew he was loved, cared about, needed.
When their girl appeared in the doorway to the back room, dark hair bouncing and eyes shining and happy, Jay's smile moved all the way across his face. If there was any more proof needed that he was loved and needed, Lian's bubbling laughter and tight hug around his knees was it.
“Hey, kiddo! You ready to get home? I hear a certain uncle of yours is making his special spaghetti and meatballs tonight,” he smirked, scooping her up into his arms and dropping the remains of the flower on the table.
“Yay! I can't wait!” Lian exclaimed. Hugging him again, she buried her face in his neck.
Still smiling as he hugged the little girl close, he nodded to Dinah. “Thanks for watching her. She give you any trouble?”
“No more than the usual,” Lian's aunt answered with her own teasing smirk, crossing her arms and leaning back against the work bench. But then her eyes fell on the table, on the discarded rose from the arrangement, and her brow furrowed in confusion for a moment.
“Oh, sorry 'bout that,” Jay shrugged. “I was just... thinking. Got a little carried away. I'll pay you back for it.”
Dinah regarded him a moment, then smiled. “No need. Now go on, get this little lady home,” she shooed them out through the little shop, waving them toward the front door.
“Thanks, Dinah,” Jay returned as he crossed the small space with Lian in his arms. “I still owe you one, though.”
With a gentle hand on his arm, Canary stopped him at the threshold of the door, looking at him seriously. “You've given this family more than you'll ever owe, Jason. Don't underestimate that.”
With Dinah's flawless logic, the little girl still snuggled close to him, and Roy waiting anxiously for him to get home, how could Jay argue? Even the tiny seed of doubt he still couldn't seem to expunge wanted to bow down to the evidence. Taking one last look at the arrangement of roses on the back table, he smiled again. Yellow roses shouldn't stand for jealousy, he realized, and they should mean more than friendship. In that moment, their meaning was clear to Jason.
Acceptance, love, and family.
Smiling more fully, he nodded to Dinah, “Thank you,” and with that, slipped out the door to get their princess home. Spaghetti and meatballs waited for no man.
* * * * *
Fandom: DCU, zarabithia and cero_ate's Spaghetti Verse
Characters/Pairing: Jason Todd (references Roy Harper/Jason Todd), Dinah Lance, Lian Harper
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,030
Prompt: (for 50_darkfics) #98 - Writer's Choice: Jealousy
Summary: When Jay picks Lian up from Dinah at the flower shop, he can't help notice the arrangement of yellow roses.
Disclaimer: DC and WB own it all. I own nothing. Darnit.
Author's Note: Shamelessly inspired by this artwork by astraea_f, and the awesomeness of the Spaghetti Verse. ^_^ You don't have to have read anything in that Verse to get this, but I highly, *highly* recommend it.
Yellow Roses
Striding into the flower shop to pick up his and Roy's girl after a day spent with her aunt, Jason waved lazily at Dinah, who was working busily behind the counter on an elaborate arrangement. “Lian ready to go?” he asked as he came up to the counter.
“Hey, Jay. Yeah, she's in the back, watching a movie. I'll go get her,” Dinah nodded in return.
“Sure.”
When the Canary disappeared through a door into the back of the shop, Jay leaned against the counter and took in the modest space. A few tall, refrigerated cases lined one wall, expansive windows covered the front and the other side, and work benches stood at the back. Pretty simple setup, easy for Dinah to keep an eye on things while she was working. Jay could respect that.
Letting his gaze wander some more, he found himself drawn to the arrangement Canary had been working on when he came in. Brilliant yellow roses reached up from a teardrop vase, petals spreading like the rays of the sun. Until recently, he hadn't had much exposure to flowers, but he remembered that yellow roses stood for friendship, platonic love. Unable to stop a smile at that, he thought of the way Roy had taken him in after his so-called 'brothers' had attacked him on the rooftop that fateful night. Roy had been the friend he'd needed, not just to heal his wounds and nurse him back to health, but to show him that he was worth the effort, worth having around.
Jason let out a silent chuckle as he realized a more appropriate flower to symbolize their relationship would be red roses. Coming together with Roy had been... the best thing that had happened to him in a long time. Their relationship was more passionate than anything he'd ever experienced, even his love/hate relationship with the Bat and his 'brothers'.
But his thoughts were suddenly soured at that, remembering the way Dick had invaded their space only a few weeks before, crawling back to Roy as if the Archer would simply take him back. Stepping back to the work bench, Jay cupped one of the roses in his hand. If he remembered correctly, the Germans associated yellow roses with jealousy and infidelity. He'd expected Roy to toss him aside that night, to welcome Dick back into their happy family with open arms. Jay had never been more jealous of Golden Boy than he had been in that one moment, knowing it was only a matter of time until he was cast aside, replaced... again.
Losing himself in the memory of that night, Jason was hardly aware that he had plucked the rose from its stem and was clutching it in his hand, his fingers curling over it possessively. He'd never wanted to hold on to Roy so tightly as he had that night, to not let Dick swoop in and take the Archer away from him. The eldest Robin had had no right, no place there.
And Jay hadn't trusted Roy not to fall for Dick's groveling. He'd thought... he'd been sure that Roy would leave him high and dry, just like everyone else in his life had.
It had come as a shock when his Archer had told Dick to leave, had come close and slipped his arm around Jay's waist. How could he, the murderous Red Hood, be worthy of that kind of loyalty and love?
Unconsciously, his grip on the flower lessened, and a small smile formed at the corner of his mouth. He had no need for jealousy. Roy wasn't going anywhere; the Archer had proved that much on that anxious night, and every day and night since, making sure Jay knew he was loved, cared about, needed.
When their girl appeared in the doorway to the back room, dark hair bouncing and eyes shining and happy, Jay's smile moved all the way across his face. If there was any more proof needed that he was loved and needed, Lian's bubbling laughter and tight hug around his knees was it.
“Hey, kiddo! You ready to get home? I hear a certain uncle of yours is making his special spaghetti and meatballs tonight,” he smirked, scooping her up into his arms and dropping the remains of the flower on the table.
“Yay! I can't wait!” Lian exclaimed. Hugging him again, she buried her face in his neck.
Still smiling as he hugged the little girl close, he nodded to Dinah. “Thanks for watching her. She give you any trouble?”
“No more than the usual,” Lian's aunt answered with her own teasing smirk, crossing her arms and leaning back against the work bench. But then her eyes fell on the table, on the discarded rose from the arrangement, and her brow furrowed in confusion for a moment.
“Oh, sorry 'bout that,” Jay shrugged. “I was just... thinking. Got a little carried away. I'll pay you back for it.”
Dinah regarded him a moment, then smiled. “No need. Now go on, get this little lady home,” she shooed them out through the little shop, waving them toward the front door.
“Thanks, Dinah,” Jay returned as he crossed the small space with Lian in his arms. “I still owe you one, though.”
With a gentle hand on his arm, Canary stopped him at the threshold of the door, looking at him seriously. “You've given this family more than you'll ever owe, Jason. Don't underestimate that.”
With Dinah's flawless logic, the little girl still snuggled close to him, and Roy waiting anxiously for him to get home, how could Jay argue? Even the tiny seed of doubt he still couldn't seem to expunge wanted to bow down to the evidence. Taking one last look at the arrangement of roses on the back table, he smiled again. Yellow roses shouldn't stand for jealousy, he realized, and they should mean more than friendship. In that moment, their meaning was clear to Jason.
Acceptance, love, and family.
Smiling more fully, he nodded to Dinah, “Thank you,” and with that, slipped out the door to get their princess home. Spaghetti and meatballs waited for no man.
* * * * *