Fic: For Lack of Burning | DCU/SR/BB | Jason White, Dick Grayson | PG | 1/1
Title: For Lack of Burning
Author: Saavikam
Fandom: DCU comics-verse/Superman Returns/Batman Begins
Characters/Pairings: Jason White, Dick Grayson, hint of Dick/Roy and future Jason/Donna
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,500 exactly!
Prompt: For the August Fic Grab Challenge at The Planet: Heat; For the 2009 DCU Free For All Summer Challenge: Sunburn
Summary: Jason doesn't burn. He doesn't tan, either.
Disclaimer: DC and WB own everything. I own nothing. Darnit.
Author's Notes: Set in the future of the Aftermath-verse. All you need to know is that Jason is currently Superboy and a Teen Titan, and Clark and Lois are married and have two other kids, Lara and BJ. I've also cast my Jason as a much younger Jared Padalecki. Do with that what you will. :p
For Lack of Burning
Jason couldn't deny that he'd never once had a sunburn or a real tan in his entire life. Between being slathered with sunscreen as a little kid, before his Kryptonian genes had really kicked in, and afterward, when his full physiology had started using all that UV radiation for an energy source, there'd never been a chance for him to get burned or get any color. Of course, not spending too much time in the sun before he was around seven had probably helped.
Now, at seventeen, it was almost embarrassing. Getting back to Titans Tower after a day at the beach with several of his teammates, he felt like the odd man out, being just a tad too pale and utterly unscathed. Dick, Garth, and Donna, with their perfect tans, seemed golden in the sunlight and entirely too proud of themselves, while Roy, their resident pale and freckled redhead, was cursing practically everyone because he hadn't been able to avoid a very pink burn on spots he'd missed with the sunscreen. At least Jason wasn't the only perpetually-pale team member, not that it kept Roy from biting his head off for lack of burning.
He could only hope that his color would darken a little as he aged, as his father's eventually had. Standing in Superman's figurative shadow, the comparison was sometimes a little tough to take, especially in this respect. Superman, the Golden God of Krypton, and his sidekick, Never Seen the Sun Boy.
No, Jason wasn't just a tad bit bitter.
Or so he kept telling himself.
Heading up to the Tower's roof after showering off the salt and sand―man, that stuff could hide in places he didn't even know he had!―he found a good spot and laid down on a clean beach towel to see if he couldn't soak up just a little more sun. Never hurt to try, after all. And with the sun still high in the sky and beaming down on him at the perfect early-afternoon angle, maybe there was a slight chance....
So, his eyes closed and his shaggy hair swept back, Jason relaxed, the heat of the rooftop tingling his back through the towel, and after a few moments, he was asleep beneath a warm blanket of solar radiation.
~*~*~*~
“Jason?”
The voice cut through Jason's light haze of dreams, and as he came up from his sleep, he felt the shadow leaning across him and cutting off the rays of the sun.
“Jason, come on, man, wake up!” the voice said more insistently, a hand shaking his shoulder.
When he finally pried his eyes open, he found Dick staring down at him, looking concerned. “Wha―?” he managed, pushing himself up from the towel beneath him and rubbing his eyes with a palm.
Dick dropped down next to him, squinting a little in the late-afternoon sun. “You've been up here for, like, four hours, man! You feeling all right?”
Blinking to finish clearing away the sleep, Jason frowned and glanced down at his still-pale chest and legs. Not even a hint of color. No tan, nothing even close to the scorching burn Roy had earned earlier. “Yeah,” he answered. “Just thought, you know, a few more hours might do the trick. At this point, I might as well try walking through a fire, see if that doesn't cook me just a little. Maybe plot a flight through the center of the sun.”
His friend chuckled quietly. “You're absolutely nuts, Jase. You need a burning tan like you need a hole in your head.”
“Har har. I'm practically a ghost, Dick. It's not a good look. I can't even hide a blush to save my life.”
“You know, some people happen to find pale pretty. Just look at Bruce. He has to practically beat the women away with a stick.”
Jason shook his head. “That's the money, Rob. Not his lack of a tan.”
“Yeah, well, I'm sure some of them find it attractive, regardless.”
“Sure,” Jason shot back just a little sourly, drawing up his knees and locking his arms around them.
“I'm serious!” Dick insisted. “Look at the way Selina hangs all over him. You know it's more than the whole 'chase' thing with them. She could have anything she wants from anyone she wants, with her skill set, and she's never once tried to gank anything from Bruce.”
“In that case, I think it's a combination of the whole 'Bat' mystique and a heavy dose of professional respect, so you're just proving my case.”
“Yeah, well....” Dick sighed, finally seeming to have no comeback. “I still think there are plenty of people that like their partners pale.”
Jason chuckled. “Okay, name one good example, that doesn't have anything to do with Bruce,” he challenged.
His friend perked up. “Roy gets lots of attention, there's no doubt about that.”
“It's the red hair and his massive archer's shoulders,” Jason shook his head. “Try again.”
Dick glowered at him for just a moment. “I happen to like―” but he cut himself off then, averting his gaze and rubbing the back of his neck with one hand.
“What?” Jason was instantly interested. “Spill it, Grayson. You like what?”
“Roy, okay? I like... Roy, just the way he is,” he blurted out, glancing back briefly.
“Hooo, man, you like Roy? As in, seriously?” Jason could hardly believe it, but hey, with the Titans, anything was possible.
Dick frowned, then finally looked back at Jason. “Yeah. I... for a while now. But, don't say anything, okay? I'm working up to it, and I don't want to mess up our friendship or anything.”
“Okay, no problem,” Jason conceded, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “Not a word.”
“Thanks. And in return for your loyalty, I might as well let you know that I saw Donna checking you out back at the beach.”
Jason's eyes nearly bugged out of his head at that revelation. “What!?”
“Oh, come on,” Dick snickered. “It's not like it hasn't been obvious to the rest of us. She's totally into you. Probably loves your pale looks just like I like Roy's.”
“I seriously doubt it,” Jason scoffed. “She's completely out of my league, anyway. Golden Amazon, pale-ass half-breed Kryptonian. You do the math.”
“What the heck did I just finish telling you? Plenty. Of people. Like. Pale. And besides, you're the only one of us that's even a match for her. A Wonder and a Super, the perfect combo.”
Shaking his head, Jason chuckled. “No way, man. And don't let my mom hear you say that. Not that she's the jealous type, but the idea that people think my dad and Diana are together makes her twitch. Not a pretty sight.”
“Okay, so the legacy begins with the second gen. Now we just have to figure out how to get you two crazy kids together.”
Jason held up his hands again, moving to stand and gather up his towel. “No way. If Donna really does like me, then she can tell me herself; I've seen the kind of scheming you and Roy can get up to.”
Standing with him, Dick put his hands on his hips and smirked. “Seems to me like you used to be in on the scheming as well.”
“Yeah, well.” And really, he had no good comeback for that one, either. Ever since his dad had come back from the dead, things had been a lot different for him and his family. A lot more serious, even if they were finally starting to ease off and relax a little. Death would do that, he supposed. “Look, let's head down and get something to eat,” he finally said, looking way down at the friend he already dwarfed by a good four inches, despite Dick being two years older.
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Dick smirked, his gears clearly spinning wildly behind bright eyes.
“But don't get any ideas!” Jason warned as they stepped across the rooftop to the stairwell access door. If there was any chance that his pale complexion wasn't the detriment he'd thought it was, he'd have to find out himself. And if Donna really did like him, despite his pastiness, well, maybe not tanning or burning wasn't so bad a thing, after all.
In the mean time, he'd definitely keep trying to work up some color. If anything, the extra exposure wouldn't hurt.
“What, me, get ideas?” Dick shot back as he pulled open the stairwell door. “Last one to the common room is a rotten egg.”
“Oh, it's on, Rob,” Jason grinned back, kicking into high gear, and with a sudden burst of energy and wind, he left Dick in his dust.
~*~*~*~
Author: Saavikam
Fandom: DCU comics-verse/Superman Returns/Batman Begins
Characters/Pairings: Jason White, Dick Grayson, hint of Dick/Roy and future Jason/Donna
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,500 exactly!
Prompt: For the August Fic Grab Challenge at The Planet: Heat; For the 2009 DCU Free For All Summer Challenge: Sunburn
Summary: Jason doesn't burn. He doesn't tan, either.
Disclaimer: DC and WB own everything. I own nothing. Darnit.
Author's Notes: Set in the future of the Aftermath-verse. All you need to know is that Jason is currently Superboy and a Teen Titan, and Clark and Lois are married and have two other kids, Lara and BJ. I've also cast my Jason as a much younger Jared Padalecki. Do with that what you will. :p
For Lack of Burning
Jason couldn't deny that he'd never once had a sunburn or a real tan in his entire life. Between being slathered with sunscreen as a little kid, before his Kryptonian genes had really kicked in, and afterward, when his full physiology had started using all that UV radiation for an energy source, there'd never been a chance for him to get burned or get any color. Of course, not spending too much time in the sun before he was around seven had probably helped.
Now, at seventeen, it was almost embarrassing. Getting back to Titans Tower after a day at the beach with several of his teammates, he felt like the odd man out, being just a tad too pale and utterly unscathed. Dick, Garth, and Donna, with their perfect tans, seemed golden in the sunlight and entirely too proud of themselves, while Roy, their resident pale and freckled redhead, was cursing practically everyone because he hadn't been able to avoid a very pink burn on spots he'd missed with the sunscreen. At least Jason wasn't the only perpetually-pale team member, not that it kept Roy from biting his head off for lack of burning.
He could only hope that his color would darken a little as he aged, as his father's eventually had. Standing in Superman's figurative shadow, the comparison was sometimes a little tough to take, especially in this respect. Superman, the Golden God of Krypton, and his sidekick, Never Seen the Sun Boy.
No, Jason wasn't just a tad bit bitter.
Or so he kept telling himself.
Heading up to the Tower's roof after showering off the salt and sand―man, that stuff could hide in places he didn't even know he had!―he found a good spot and laid down on a clean beach towel to see if he couldn't soak up just a little more sun. Never hurt to try, after all. And with the sun still high in the sky and beaming down on him at the perfect early-afternoon angle, maybe there was a slight chance....
So, his eyes closed and his shaggy hair swept back, Jason relaxed, the heat of the rooftop tingling his back through the towel, and after a few moments, he was asleep beneath a warm blanket of solar radiation.
~*~*~*~
“Jason?”
The voice cut through Jason's light haze of dreams, and as he came up from his sleep, he felt the shadow leaning across him and cutting off the rays of the sun.
“Jason, come on, man, wake up!” the voice said more insistently, a hand shaking his shoulder.
When he finally pried his eyes open, he found Dick staring down at him, looking concerned. “Wha―?” he managed, pushing himself up from the towel beneath him and rubbing his eyes with a palm.
Dick dropped down next to him, squinting a little in the late-afternoon sun. “You've been up here for, like, four hours, man! You feeling all right?”
Blinking to finish clearing away the sleep, Jason frowned and glanced down at his still-pale chest and legs. Not even a hint of color. No tan, nothing even close to the scorching burn Roy had earned earlier. “Yeah,” he answered. “Just thought, you know, a few more hours might do the trick. At this point, I might as well try walking through a fire, see if that doesn't cook me just a little. Maybe plot a flight through the center of the sun.”
His friend chuckled quietly. “You're absolutely nuts, Jase. You need a burning tan like you need a hole in your head.”
“Har har. I'm practically a ghost, Dick. It's not a good look. I can't even hide a blush to save my life.”
“You know, some people happen to find pale pretty. Just look at Bruce. He has to practically beat the women away with a stick.”
Jason shook his head. “That's the money, Rob. Not his lack of a tan.”
“Yeah, well, I'm sure some of them find it attractive, regardless.”
“Sure,” Jason shot back just a little sourly, drawing up his knees and locking his arms around them.
“I'm serious!” Dick insisted. “Look at the way Selina hangs all over him. You know it's more than the whole 'chase' thing with them. She could have anything she wants from anyone she wants, with her skill set, and she's never once tried to gank anything from Bruce.”
“In that case, I think it's a combination of the whole 'Bat' mystique and a heavy dose of professional respect, so you're just proving my case.”
“Yeah, well....” Dick sighed, finally seeming to have no comeback. “I still think there are plenty of people that like their partners pale.”
Jason chuckled. “Okay, name one good example, that doesn't have anything to do with Bruce,” he challenged.
His friend perked up. “Roy gets lots of attention, there's no doubt about that.”
“It's the red hair and his massive archer's shoulders,” Jason shook his head. “Try again.”
Dick glowered at him for just a moment. “I happen to like―” but he cut himself off then, averting his gaze and rubbing the back of his neck with one hand.
“What?” Jason was instantly interested. “Spill it, Grayson. You like what?”
“Roy, okay? I like... Roy, just the way he is,” he blurted out, glancing back briefly.
“Hooo, man, you like Roy? As in, seriously?” Jason could hardly believe it, but hey, with the Titans, anything was possible.
Dick frowned, then finally looked back at Jason. “Yeah. I... for a while now. But, don't say anything, okay? I'm working up to it, and I don't want to mess up our friendship or anything.”
“Okay, no problem,” Jason conceded, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “Not a word.”
“Thanks. And in return for your loyalty, I might as well let you know that I saw Donna checking you out back at the beach.”
Jason's eyes nearly bugged out of his head at that revelation. “What!?”
“Oh, come on,” Dick snickered. “It's not like it hasn't been obvious to the rest of us. She's totally into you. Probably loves your pale looks just like I like Roy's.”
“I seriously doubt it,” Jason scoffed. “She's completely out of my league, anyway. Golden Amazon, pale-ass half-breed Kryptonian. You do the math.”
“What the heck did I just finish telling you? Plenty. Of people. Like. Pale. And besides, you're the only one of us that's even a match for her. A Wonder and a Super, the perfect combo.”
Shaking his head, Jason chuckled. “No way, man. And don't let my mom hear you say that. Not that she's the jealous type, but the idea that people think my dad and Diana are together makes her twitch. Not a pretty sight.”
“Okay, so the legacy begins with the second gen. Now we just have to figure out how to get you two crazy kids together.”
Jason held up his hands again, moving to stand and gather up his towel. “No way. If Donna really does like me, then she can tell me herself; I've seen the kind of scheming you and Roy can get up to.”
Standing with him, Dick put his hands on his hips and smirked. “Seems to me like you used to be in on the scheming as well.”
“Yeah, well.” And really, he had no good comeback for that one, either. Ever since his dad had come back from the dead, things had been a lot different for him and his family. A lot more serious, even if they were finally starting to ease off and relax a little. Death would do that, he supposed. “Look, let's head down and get something to eat,” he finally said, looking way down at the friend he already dwarfed by a good four inches, despite Dick being two years older.
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Dick smirked, his gears clearly spinning wildly behind bright eyes.
“But don't get any ideas!” Jason warned as they stepped across the rooftop to the stairwell access door. If there was any chance that his pale complexion wasn't the detriment he'd thought it was, he'd have to find out himself. And if Donna really did like him, despite his pastiness, well, maybe not tanning or burning wasn't so bad a thing, after all.
In the mean time, he'd definitely keep trying to work up some color. If anything, the extra exposure wouldn't hurt.
“What, me, get ideas?” Dick shot back as he pulled open the stairwell door. “Last one to the common room is a rotten egg.”
“Oh, it's on, Rob,” Jason grinned back, kicking into high gear, and with a sudden burst of energy and wind, he left Dick in his dust.
~*~*~*~