DCU Fanfic: Just Scars
Title: Just Scars
Fandom: DCU
Character(s): Grant, Roy
Pairing(s): Roy/Grant (past-implied-Roy/Dick if you squint the right way)
Word Count: 1028
Genre: general/drama
Rating: PG-13/T
Notes: Hey, (mostly) current canon is my playground. Takes place after JSA #6, when the JLA fight side by side with the JSA. I was disappointed at the lack of Roy-Grant interaction. I thought Roy had a pretty big impact on Grant's life, but hey, it's comics, and they're silly sometimes. This what shoulda happened. (No beta, though I did check this over since I wrote it originally half asleep. Good thing I did. Freakin' hell, I need to learn how not coherent I am at night, even if my best fanfics come from midnight tangents...)
Link: N/A
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Grant just wanted the Justice League to go away. He had just joined the Justice Society, and he was really having a hard time adjusting. It was bad enough that Jesse was on the team and knew him from before, but with the JLA around, Roy was in the JSA headquarters. Roy had helped him so much back on their last time as Titans together, and Grant really didn't want him finding out about his face. He'd look at him differently. There would be pity.
Unfortunately for Grant, it looked like the fates were against him, like always. Grant was just glad he hadn't taken off the mask yet, and he wished he had locked the damn door. “Bad time?” Roy asked from the doorway, leaning inside it like he owned it.
That made Grant angry, but then again, everything made him angry nowadays. “I was just gonna head to bed,” he grumbled, not looking up at Roy.
Roy frowned at the dismissal. “Seriously?” he asked curiously. “I thought with the JLA here tonight, you'd wanna take a break. Grab a drink, maybe?”
Grant's head snapped up at the invitation. “Are you asking me out?” Grant asked incredulously.
Roy snorted. “Yeah, got a problem with that? You're not a kid anymore, and I thought-”
“No,” Grant interrupted. “I can't go out with you, Roy.”
Roy furrowed his brows for a moment. “Maybe I read you wrong, back then, or maybe you aren't interested, but I can't read you with that mask on,” he stated, making a move for Grant's mask.
Grant quickly grabbed Roy's wrists and gripped as if his life depended on it, and to him, it pretty much did. “Roy, don't,” he growled. “The mask stays.”
Roy broke out of the wrist hold and stepped back with a frown. “Fine, be that way,” he said, disappointment clear in his voice. “I don't think I could handle another Nightwing in my life anyway.”
When Roy turned to leave, Grant automatically reached for his shoulder. He never wanted to be like Nightwing, at least not in the way Roy was referencing to. Grant swallowed the lump in his throat before pulling off the mask. He knew Roy would leave after that, but at least Grant understood that. At least Roy would be leaving on Grant's terms, no matter how much he would hate to see the pity in Roy's eyes.
To Roy's credit he didn't gasp, he just stared for a moment. Not a long moment or with pity, like others had, but it was more like he was studying a mark. Grant wanted to turn away or put the mask on so badly, but then, Roy reached up and touched his cheek. Instinctively, Grant moved into the touch, having not been touched by anyone else in such a long time, but his mind was screaming to hide.
“I won't ask what happened,” Roy murmured. “You do know that I don't care what you like, right?”
Grant looked away, not being able to stand the stare any longer, even though it was kind. “Roy, stop lying. I'm hideous; you can say it.”
Roy put his other hand on Grant's other cheek and used both hands to turn Grant's face towards him. “They give you character,” he stated, looking Grant straight in the eye. “They show your courage.”
Grant snorted as he pulled away from Roy. “Courage!? Yeah, right! It just shows I got a beat down!” Grant shouted. “You can't understand!”
Roy quieted for a moment before moving to take off his shirt. Grant's eyes widened. “W-what are you doing!?”
“Proving a point,” Roy stated as he pulled his shirt over his head, revealing his bullet scars and heart surgery scar.
Grant's eyes widened again as he stared at Roy's chest as Roy continued. “These are marks of courage. I may not have believed it the months after I was shot. My heart stopped every time I heard gun fire. I froze when Nightwing pointed a gun at me for my own good. They're proof that something horrible happened, and now, I've gotten past it.” Roy paused. “You can get past your scars too.”
“I think facial scarring and bullet scars on your chest are a bit different,” Grant muttered, looking away from Roy, almost glad that blushing wasn't really possible anymore with his scarring.
“Only if you let it be,” Roy stated quietly. “Maybe you need tough love like I did? I can always call Nightwing over.”
Grant tried not to look frightened at the prospect, but without his mask, he had no way to hide it. Roy laughed, and Grant almost smiled at the sound. “I don't think pointing a gun at me is going to help, Roy,” Grant said lightly.
Roy smiled at him. “Probably not, but I'm going to find a way to help you get past this,” Roy said seriously. “I mean, I've helped you before, haven't I? At least, I hoped I did.”
“You did, Roy,” Grant murmured, grabbing for his mask. “The Rez was where I needed to be in that point in my life. Thank you.”
Roy watched as Grant pulled his mask back on. “No thanks necessary. Though, do me a favor? Live your life, Grant. Don't let something like a few scars get in the way of that.”
Grabbing his shirt, but not bothering to put it back on, Roy left the room. Grant stared at the doorway for a moment, letting the words sink in as déjà vu watched over him. Last time Roy had left his room when he was a mess, Roy came straight back and ordered him to go on a trip to the desert with Roy and Lian. Though, Grant was pretty sure he had to make the move this time. He wasn't a kid anymore. Taking in a breath, Grant left his room, going to catch up with Roy to take him up on that offer of a drink.
Fandom: DCU
Character(s): Grant, Roy
Pairing(s): Roy/Grant (past-implied-Roy/Dick if you squint the right way)
Word Count: 1028
Genre: general/drama
Rating: PG-13/T
Notes: Hey, (mostly) current canon is my playground. Takes place after JSA #6, when the JLA fight side by side with the JSA. I was disappointed at the lack of Roy-Grant interaction. I thought Roy had a pretty big impact on Grant's life, but hey, it's comics, and they're silly sometimes. This what shoulda happened. (No beta, though I did check this over since I wrote it originally half asleep. Good thing I did. Freakin' hell, I need to learn how not coherent I am at night, even if my best fanfics come from midnight tangents...)
Link: N/A
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Grant just wanted the Justice League to go away. He had just joined the Justice Society, and he was really having a hard time adjusting. It was bad enough that Jesse was on the team and knew him from before, but with the JLA around, Roy was in the JSA headquarters. Roy had helped him so much back on their last time as Titans together, and Grant really didn't want him finding out about his face. He'd look at him differently. There would be pity.
Unfortunately for Grant, it looked like the fates were against him, like always. Grant was just glad he hadn't taken off the mask yet, and he wished he had locked the damn door. “Bad time?” Roy asked from the doorway, leaning inside it like he owned it.
That made Grant angry, but then again, everything made him angry nowadays. “I was just gonna head to bed,” he grumbled, not looking up at Roy.
Roy frowned at the dismissal. “Seriously?” he asked curiously. “I thought with the JLA here tonight, you'd wanna take a break. Grab a drink, maybe?”
Grant's head snapped up at the invitation. “Are you asking me out?” Grant asked incredulously.
Roy snorted. “Yeah, got a problem with that? You're not a kid anymore, and I thought-”
“No,” Grant interrupted. “I can't go out with you, Roy.”
Roy furrowed his brows for a moment. “Maybe I read you wrong, back then, or maybe you aren't interested, but I can't read you with that mask on,” he stated, making a move for Grant's mask.
Grant quickly grabbed Roy's wrists and gripped as if his life depended on it, and to him, it pretty much did. “Roy, don't,” he growled. “The mask stays.”
Roy broke out of the wrist hold and stepped back with a frown. “Fine, be that way,” he said, disappointment clear in his voice. “I don't think I could handle another Nightwing in my life anyway.”
When Roy turned to leave, Grant automatically reached for his shoulder. He never wanted to be like Nightwing, at least not in the way Roy was referencing to. Grant swallowed the lump in his throat before pulling off the mask. He knew Roy would leave after that, but at least Grant understood that. At least Roy would be leaving on Grant's terms, no matter how much he would hate to see the pity in Roy's eyes.
To Roy's credit he didn't gasp, he just stared for a moment. Not a long moment or with pity, like others had, but it was more like he was studying a mark. Grant wanted to turn away or put the mask on so badly, but then, Roy reached up and touched his cheek. Instinctively, Grant moved into the touch, having not been touched by anyone else in such a long time, but his mind was screaming to hide.
“I won't ask what happened,” Roy murmured. “You do know that I don't care what you like, right?”
Grant looked away, not being able to stand the stare any longer, even though it was kind. “Roy, stop lying. I'm hideous; you can say it.”
Roy put his other hand on Grant's other cheek and used both hands to turn Grant's face towards him. “They give you character,” he stated, looking Grant straight in the eye. “They show your courage.”
Grant snorted as he pulled away from Roy. “Courage!? Yeah, right! It just shows I got a beat down!” Grant shouted. “You can't understand!”
Roy quieted for a moment before moving to take off his shirt. Grant's eyes widened. “W-what are you doing!?”
“Proving a point,” Roy stated as he pulled his shirt over his head, revealing his bullet scars and heart surgery scar.
Grant's eyes widened again as he stared at Roy's chest as Roy continued. “These are marks of courage. I may not have believed it the months after I was shot. My heart stopped every time I heard gun fire. I froze when Nightwing pointed a gun at me for my own good. They're proof that something horrible happened, and now, I've gotten past it.” Roy paused. “You can get past your scars too.”
“I think facial scarring and bullet scars on your chest are a bit different,” Grant muttered, looking away from Roy, almost glad that blushing wasn't really possible anymore with his scarring.
“Only if you let it be,” Roy stated quietly. “Maybe you need tough love like I did? I can always call Nightwing over.”
Grant tried not to look frightened at the prospect, but without his mask, he had no way to hide it. Roy laughed, and Grant almost smiled at the sound. “I don't think pointing a gun at me is going to help, Roy,” Grant said lightly.
Roy smiled at him. “Probably not, but I'm going to find a way to help you get past this,” Roy said seriously. “I mean, I've helped you before, haven't I? At least, I hoped I did.”
“You did, Roy,” Grant murmured, grabbing for his mask. “The Rez was where I needed to be in that point in my life. Thank you.”
Roy watched as Grant pulled his mask back on. “No thanks necessary. Though, do me a favor? Live your life, Grant. Don't let something like a few scars get in the way of that.”
Grabbing his shirt, but not bothering to put it back on, Roy left the room. Grant stared at the doorway for a moment, letting the words sink in as déjà vu watched over him. Last time Roy had left his room when he was a mess, Roy came straight back and ordered him to go on a trip to the desert with Roy and Lian. Though, Grant was pretty sure he had to make the move this time. He wasn't a kid anymore. Taking in a breath, Grant left his room, going to catch up with Roy to take him up on that offer of a drink.