Fic: Saturday in the Park with Lian [1/1] Roy/Hal [Arsenal/Green Lantern]
Title: Saturday in the Park with Lian
Author: Perpetual Motion
Claim: Roy/Hal
Characters/Pairing: Roy/Hal, Lian [kid]
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1143
Prompt: writer's choice
Summary: A trip to the park [with swings!]. A relationship conversation [or as close as they get]. And a weasel [kind of].
Disclaimer: Complete lies. I lay claim to absolutely nothing.
Author's Notes/Warnings: Set after "The Tornado's Path" in the lastest JLA, but it's not following any particular part of canon after that. Also, apologies to Sondheim; it was the only title that came to mind.
Saturday in the Park with Lian
By Perpetual Motion
“Why doesn’t Old Man live with us?”
Roy pauses as he buttons up Lian’s coat. “Sometimes people are happier when they live apart,” he says after a pause.
“Are you divorced?”
“Where did you learn about divorce?” Roy asks.
“Tiffany’s mom is divorced. She says that sometimes divorced people are happier than when they were married.”
“The Old Man and I aren’t divorced, kiddo. Some people just live apart.”
“Even when they love each other?”
“Even then.” Roy stands and offers Lian his hand. “To the park?”
“Okay.”
They walk down the street, Lian chattering happily about everything she sees. Roy smiles and answers her questions about the flowers and the sidewalk and why the fruit stand is out of pineapple. He grins when she lets go of his hand at the park gate and runs for the swings. “Want me to push you?”
“No!”
It hurts a little to watch her get on the swing and start pumping her legs, but Roy takes a deep breath and tries to ignore it. She always says she’s a big girl when he offers to help her with anything at the park, and he’s slowly learning that it’s okay that she wants to be independent.
“Aren’t they adorable at this age?”
Roy turns to find a woman a couple of steps behind him. She thinks she’s smiling shyly, Roy knows, but he can see the calculating look in he eyes. “Can’t speak for the rest of them,” he says politely.
The woman laughs and presses her fingers to her lips. She wants Roy to notice her mouth. “Well, yours is a treasure. I can tell.” She holds out the hand that’s been touching her mouth. “I’m Margo. Ermine-Pearl’s mine,” she nods towards the girl on the swing next to Lian’s.
“Ermine-Pearl,” Roy says slowly. “That’s an interesting name.”
“I considered Satin-Lace, but it’s a bit much, don’t you think?”
“That’s…” Roy watches Lian and Ermine-Pearl as they swing higher. “They’re both pretty unforgettable.”
“She’ll have that name her whole life.”
Roy thinks that’s the problem. “If you’ll-”
“I didn’t get your little girl’s name.”
Shit, Roy thinks. It’s the first step into a long conversation about how adorable Lian is, and how smart she must be, and oh, would they like to have a playdate? Every tactic he’s ever tried to get out of these conversations has led to smiling and giggling and having to show up at some stranger’s house and pretend like he’s not a completely paranoid superhero who’s scanning the perimeter on autopilot.
“Her name’s Lian.”
Margo turns at the new voice while Roy beams at Hal. “Oh? Do you know her?”
“I’m-”
“Old Man!”
Roy, Hal, and Margo all turn when Lian yells. She launches herself off the swing in mid-air, and Roy holds his breath until she lands perfectly balanced on her feet. “Atta girl,” he mutters and catches Hal’s eyes to share a smile.
Lian doesn’t slow down when she reaches Hal and throws her whole weight at his legs. “Hi!”
Hal rocks back, saved from falling on his ass by Roy’s hand on his back. “Hey, kid.”
“You’re late,” she tells him.
“I know.” Hal bends down and scoops her up, throwing her up in the air as she shrieks in excitement. “But I’m here now.” He catches Lian and bumps noses with her. “So you wanna play or what?”
“I’m gonna go swing again.” Lian gives Hal a tight hug around the neck and wriggles to be put down. “I can go really high!”
“Show me!” Hal yells to her.
“Okay!” Lian yells back.
“Hey, there,” Roy says once Lian’s in motion again.
“Hey.” Hal gives him a smile and adjusts his jacket. “Sorry I’m late. Last-minute emergency as I was headed out.” He presses his shoulder against Roy’s and notices Margo looking at them after a moment of silence. “Oh, sorry; did I interrupt a conversation?”
“Nothing important,” Margo says with a wave of her hand. Her eyes say otherwise. Roy wonders what it’ll take for her to ask the questions she’s obviously thinking about. “We were just talking about the kids.”
“Which one’s yours?” Hal asks without missing a beat, and Roy realizes that he’s about to get some free entertainment.
Margo nods towards the swings much in the same way as she did earlier. “She’s swinging next to Lian. Ermine-Pearl.”
Hal blinks. “Ermine?”
“Yes,” says Margo proudly.
“Isn’t that a weasel?”
Roy quickly looks down at the ground and pretends to scratch his ear to hide the grin that’s getting loose on his face. “I think it’s a stoat,” he mutters so only Hal can hear him.
“Isn’t a stoat a weasel?” Hal asks.
“It’s a fur,” Margo says sharply. “An elegant wrap.”
“Made of a weasel,” Hal states. Roy gives up on any sense of propriety and bursts out laughing.
“How dare you!” Margo says when Roy keeps laughing. “How could you make fun of a little girl’s name like that?”
“Not making fun of the name,” Hal answers for both of them.
Margo puts her hands on her hips. “And what does that mean?”
“It means we’re going over there,” Hal says, pointing to the other side of the park. “Nice to meet you.”
“Oh, god,” Roy says, wheezing in a breath and collapsing into laughter again. “I can’t believe-”
“You could have warned me,” Hal says with a grin. “A little prep would have helped.”
“How would I have prepped you?” Roy makes a few vague hand motions. “I don’t know the appropriate hand signals for ‘this woman gave her kid a stupid name’.”
Hal gives in and laughs. He slides a hand down Roy’s back and presses his palm into the small of Roy’s back. “How’s everything else here?”
Roy glances at the swings. Lian’s still there, pumping her legs back and forth, glancing around every now and again to find where they are. “It’s good. Lian was asking about you earlier.” The smile that slides across Hal’s face makes Roy warm in the pit of his stomach. “She wanted to know why you don’t live with us.”
“What’d you tell her?” Hal turns to watch Lian swing.
“I told her some people are happier when they live apart.”
The pause goes on a shade too long. Hal breaks it by clearing his throat. “Are they?”
Roy knows Hal won’t ask out right. That’s not how they work. “Some people are,” he says and lets it hang. He knows Hal hears him.
“I told you I moved, right?” Hal asks.
“Yeah.”
“It’s a three-bedroom. One for us. One for the princess. One for whoever else wanders by.” Hal rolls his shoulders and looks Roy in the eyes. “If you’re interested.”
“Yeah,” Roy says and looks over at Lian on the swing. “I think we could make that work.”
My Table
Author: Perpetual Motion
Claim: Roy/Hal
Characters/Pairing: Roy/Hal, Lian [kid]
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1143
Prompt: writer's choice
Summary: A trip to the park [with swings!]. A relationship conversation [or as close as they get]. And a weasel [kind of].
Disclaimer: Complete lies. I lay claim to absolutely nothing.
Author's Notes/Warnings: Set after "The Tornado's Path" in the lastest JLA, but it's not following any particular part of canon after that. Also, apologies to Sondheim; it was the only title that came to mind.
Saturday in the Park with Lian
By Perpetual Motion
“Why doesn’t Old Man live with us?”
Roy pauses as he buttons up Lian’s coat. “Sometimes people are happier when they live apart,” he says after a pause.
“Are you divorced?”
“Where did you learn about divorce?” Roy asks.
“Tiffany’s mom is divorced. She says that sometimes divorced people are happier than when they were married.”
“The Old Man and I aren’t divorced, kiddo. Some people just live apart.”
“Even when they love each other?”
“Even then.” Roy stands and offers Lian his hand. “To the park?”
“Okay.”
They walk down the street, Lian chattering happily about everything she sees. Roy smiles and answers her questions about the flowers and the sidewalk and why the fruit stand is out of pineapple. He grins when she lets go of his hand at the park gate and runs for the swings. “Want me to push you?”
“No!”
It hurts a little to watch her get on the swing and start pumping her legs, but Roy takes a deep breath and tries to ignore it. She always says she’s a big girl when he offers to help her with anything at the park, and he’s slowly learning that it’s okay that she wants to be independent.
“Aren’t they adorable at this age?”
Roy turns to find a woman a couple of steps behind him. She thinks she’s smiling shyly, Roy knows, but he can see the calculating look in he eyes. “Can’t speak for the rest of them,” he says politely.
The woman laughs and presses her fingers to her lips. She wants Roy to notice her mouth. “Well, yours is a treasure. I can tell.” She holds out the hand that’s been touching her mouth. “I’m Margo. Ermine-Pearl’s mine,” she nods towards the girl on the swing next to Lian’s.
“Ermine-Pearl,” Roy says slowly. “That’s an interesting name.”
“I considered Satin-Lace, but it’s a bit much, don’t you think?”
“That’s…” Roy watches Lian and Ermine-Pearl as they swing higher. “They’re both pretty unforgettable.”
“She’ll have that name her whole life.”
Roy thinks that’s the problem. “If you’ll-”
“I didn’t get your little girl’s name.”
Shit, Roy thinks. It’s the first step into a long conversation about how adorable Lian is, and how smart she must be, and oh, would they like to have a playdate? Every tactic he’s ever tried to get out of these conversations has led to smiling and giggling and having to show up at some stranger’s house and pretend like he’s not a completely paranoid superhero who’s scanning the perimeter on autopilot.
“Her name’s Lian.”
Margo turns at the new voice while Roy beams at Hal. “Oh? Do you know her?”
“I’m-”
“Old Man!”
Roy, Hal, and Margo all turn when Lian yells. She launches herself off the swing in mid-air, and Roy holds his breath until she lands perfectly balanced on her feet. “Atta girl,” he mutters and catches Hal’s eyes to share a smile.
Lian doesn’t slow down when she reaches Hal and throws her whole weight at his legs. “Hi!”
Hal rocks back, saved from falling on his ass by Roy’s hand on his back. “Hey, kid.”
“You’re late,” she tells him.
“I know.” Hal bends down and scoops her up, throwing her up in the air as she shrieks in excitement. “But I’m here now.” He catches Lian and bumps noses with her. “So you wanna play or what?”
“I’m gonna go swing again.” Lian gives Hal a tight hug around the neck and wriggles to be put down. “I can go really high!”
“Show me!” Hal yells to her.
“Okay!” Lian yells back.
“Hey, there,” Roy says once Lian’s in motion again.
“Hey.” Hal gives him a smile and adjusts his jacket. “Sorry I’m late. Last-minute emergency as I was headed out.” He presses his shoulder against Roy’s and notices Margo looking at them after a moment of silence. “Oh, sorry; did I interrupt a conversation?”
“Nothing important,” Margo says with a wave of her hand. Her eyes say otherwise. Roy wonders what it’ll take for her to ask the questions she’s obviously thinking about. “We were just talking about the kids.”
“Which one’s yours?” Hal asks without missing a beat, and Roy realizes that he’s about to get some free entertainment.
Margo nods towards the swings much in the same way as she did earlier. “She’s swinging next to Lian. Ermine-Pearl.”
Hal blinks. “Ermine?”
“Yes,” says Margo proudly.
“Isn’t that a weasel?”
Roy quickly looks down at the ground and pretends to scratch his ear to hide the grin that’s getting loose on his face. “I think it’s a stoat,” he mutters so only Hal can hear him.
“Isn’t a stoat a weasel?” Hal asks.
“It’s a fur,” Margo says sharply. “An elegant wrap.”
“Made of a weasel,” Hal states. Roy gives up on any sense of propriety and bursts out laughing.
“How dare you!” Margo says when Roy keeps laughing. “How could you make fun of a little girl’s name like that?”
“Not making fun of the name,” Hal answers for both of them.
Margo puts her hands on her hips. “And what does that mean?”
“It means we’re going over there,” Hal says, pointing to the other side of the park. “Nice to meet you.”
“Oh, god,” Roy says, wheezing in a breath and collapsing into laughter again. “I can’t believe-”
“You could have warned me,” Hal says with a grin. “A little prep would have helped.”
“How would I have prepped you?” Roy makes a few vague hand motions. “I don’t know the appropriate hand signals for ‘this woman gave her kid a stupid name’.”
Hal gives in and laughs. He slides a hand down Roy’s back and presses his palm into the small of Roy’s back. “How’s everything else here?”
Roy glances at the swings. Lian’s still there, pumping her legs back and forth, glancing around every now and again to find where they are. “It’s good. Lian was asking about you earlier.” The smile that slides across Hal’s face makes Roy warm in the pit of his stomach. “She wanted to know why you don’t live with us.”
“What’d you tell her?” Hal turns to watch Lian swing.
“I told her some people are happier when they live apart.”
The pause goes on a shade too long. Hal breaks it by clearing his throat. “Are they?”
Roy knows Hal won’t ask out right. That’s not how they work. “Some people are,” he says and lets it hang. He knows Hal hears him.
“I told you I moved, right?” Hal asks.
“Yeah.”
“It’s a three-bedroom. One for us. One for the princess. One for whoever else wanders by.” Hal rolls his shoulders and looks Roy in the eyes. “If you’re interested.”
“Yeah,” Roy says and looks over at Lian on the swing. “I think we could make that work.”
My Table