A/N I have no excuse for this, except, I was bored. So here you go. This is fluffy and sappy. Don't kill me. Uh, there's some SuperMartian, hints of Chalant, I guess, and blatant, unregretted (not sure that's a word) Spitfire. So sue me. Actually don't. This takes place after Displaced, before Usual Suspects. And oh yeah! Semi prompt fill for OptimisticEmotion! Kudos for the lightsaber and Middle Earth part I kind of randomly threw in there... :P This is the first prompt I've ever done, so we'll see!
Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice. Or Despicable Me. The board game is Yahtzee. I don't own that either. Huh, such a serious disclaimer. *KF kisses Artemis. Artemis slaps KF* Ah, perfect.
"ACHOO!"
"Bless you," Megan murmured from under a thin blanket. Burrowing further into her pillow, she wrapped it a little tighter over her arms.
Robin glanced over at her with an expression that conveyed his misery. "Danks, Megan," he replied, and then crossed his sunglasses-covered eyes to scowl at his stuffy nose as if giving it a Bat-glare would clear it.
"You sound ridiculous," Wally called from across the room.
Artemis spared the redhead a quick glance. She wasn't exactly sure how Kid Flash, with his accelerated metabolism, had managed to get a cold at all, but somehow, he did. Then again, Atlanteans, Martians, and Kryptonians weren't really supposed to get common Earth illnesses either. But the Team had once again defied the odds, leaving the six of them with miserable colds.
Kaldur tried to lift his aching head off the arm of the couch, but ended up falling backwards after a few inches. "Wally, are you alright?" he asked. Leave it to Kaldur to be more concerned about Kid Mouth than himself.
"Uh... you want me to say I'm fine, or do you want an honest answer?" Surprisingly, he even managed to insert a touch of sarcasm.
"Just in case we were worried that that wasn't Baywatch over there," Artemis remarked, earning a half-hearted cackle from Robin.
Said speedster rolled over onto his side, slightly mussing his nest of blankets on the floor. His nose was almost as red as his hair, allowing him to live up to his middle name, and his green eyes were bleary with sleepiness.
"Yeah, sure, Arte-wuss. Let's just remember which one of us brought cold germs to the Mountain anyway, shall we?"
"Hey, it's not my fault that that stupid Grayson kid came to school sick."
Had Artemis been at the top of her game (and her health, she regretted to say), she might have noticed the guilty, sheepish expression that crossed Robin's face. Luckily for him, she wasn't, and she didn't.
"It's so boring here!" Robin shouted finally, facing the ceiling.
Wally peered at him. "Use your stupid computer and play a game or something. But stop yelling."
Robin snorted in reply. "You're kidding, right?"
"No."
"Finding WiFi here is like finding a lightsaber on Middle Earth."
Kaldur looked slightly perplexed. "I do not understand this saying. What do you mean?"
In reply, Robin stood up, picked up a stick that just so happened to be lying nearby, crossed the room, and poked Wally with it. "Die, you accursed elf! Die by the hand of my lightsaber!"
Wally reached up and yanked the stick out of Robin's hand, poking him back. "I am no accursed elf! Ye are but senseless dwarf!"
"Really? I'm a dwarf now?"
Wally shrugged. "You're short enough."
Robin scowled, dropping back onto the couch with a long-suffering sigh. Wally grinned before tossing the stick to the opposite side of the room.
Recognized: Zatanna Zatara, B-07.
A split second after the computer announced her arrival; the heroine entered the room, shrouded by a magical gray mist. Zatanna winced at seeing her teammates sick, but put on a quick smile and allowed three paper bags to float into the room after her, surrounded by the same mist.
"Hey, Zee," Robin greeted quickly, and with an easy smile, despite the fact that he could barely keep his eyes open. Wally gave a snort before throwing a blanket from his nest back over his head, effectively covering himself completely.
Artemis motioned to the mist that surrounded her friend. "What's with the magic?"
"S'not magic!" Wally shouted, his voice slightly muffled by the blankets.
Zatanna rolled her eyes at him, and then shrugged. "No offense, guys, but it's to protect me from... er... germs. Sorry."
"No offense taken," Megan replied, standing. "We don't want you to get sick, either. After all, we quarantined ourselves here for a reason."
"Let me assure you, it was not by unanimous vote," Wally added. "Some of us would rather not stay in a cave with a grumpy archer for three days."
"It's for the best, Kid Idiot!"
Megan turned to Zatanna and changed the subject. "What brings you here?"
Zatanna motioned to the paper bags beside her on the ground. "I brought some supplies." She bent over and picked up one of the bags, rooting through it with one hand. "There's some cough drops, and I think there's Nyquil in here somewhere... Ah, just dig around. You'll find it."
"Thanks." Megan took the bag and moved toward the kitchen to unpack it, leaving Zatanna in the living room with the other five. Zatanna picked up the next bag and pulled out some blankets.
"So, uh, these for anyone who's cold or anything, Batman just said to grab some extras and bring them, so I don't know who gets what color or anything."
Wally's hand shot out from under his blanket. "I'll take the red one."
"There is no red one."
"Dang."
Zee giggled and picked up the third bag. "This is all stuff from your guys' parents, or mentors, or, I guess, whoever sent them." She pulled four envelopes from the bag, handing one to Conner, one to Kaldur, one to Artemis, and one to Robin. "I think these are 'get well soon' cards."
Robin nodded, reading his. "Yep."
"Mine's from GA." Artemis frowned at it. "He says he's sorry I'm sick, and not to take it out on the punching bags."
"Same here," Conner remarked. "Except mine's from Canary."
Megan overheard as she entered the room. "That was nice of her," she replied. Conner grunted.
"Mine is from Queen Mera," Kaldur added. "She said that she has sent ahead an Atlantean potion that will help to clear my nasal passages."
Wally huffed. "Ew."
"Is that what that was?" Megan mused. "I just left it on the counter because I didn't know what it was."
"I must write back and thank her for her kindness. Who is your card from, Robin?"
Robin glanced up, half-smirking. "You really want to know?"
Artemis shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"
"Wonder Woman."
"...What?"
Wally gave what sounded vaguely like a giggle as Robin nodded. "Yep, here's a direct quote. 'Get well soon, little bird, we miss you. Love, Mami and Tati'."
"Isn't that Romani?"
"Uh... yeah."
"I must admit that I am confused."
Wally's head poked out of the blankets. "And you'll probably stay that way," he replied, nodding sagely. Well, as sagely as a sick redhead can.
Zatanna blinked. "Okay, then." Shaking her head, she pulled a few more items from the bag. "I have a board game here that Robin apparently requested, with a note from Batman that says... 'Don't put the dice in the blender again'. Do I want to know?"
Robin thought. "Probably not," he replied finally, taking the game from her and sitting down next to Wally's nest. "Hot-shot? I got that game you wanted to play. Can I come in?" The blanket lifted in one corner, and Robin disappeared under it.
Zatanna held up a DVD case. "This is for Megan from Manhunter. It's a copy of... Despicable Me?"
"You're asking?" Megan took the case from her friend. "I heard it was cute."
"This is for Artemis from a Mrs. Crock."
Artemis blushed and held out her hand. Zatanna dropped a small cardboard box into it, and Artemis immediately brightened. "Ooh, my tea! Thanks!" She opened the box, leafing through its contents with a smile.
"You drink tea?"
Artemis threw the TV remote at Wally's exposed head. "Yeah, so what?"
Wally picked up the remote and tossed it to Conner. "Nothing. I like tea, too."
"Oh."
"Make me some too?"
"No."
"Please?"
Artemis glared.
"This is for Conner, also from Black Canary," Zatanna interrupted. She handed him a small bottle with a dropper, making the clone stare at it curiously.
"Oil of peppermint!" Megan exclaimed. "It's supposed to help clear your sinuses when you smell it."
Conner nodded as a faint smile appeared on his face. "Tell her I said thanks."
"Will do. And Wally?"
"Yeah?"
"Your parents called."
"And?"
"They said something about not drinking any milk."
"Oh. Yeah, that's probably for the best."
"And also something about this?" Zatanna held up a tiny white plastic bottle, at which Wally instantly began to glare. "They said to use it when you need to, and don't think about skipping."
"What is it?" Megan asked.
Zatanna shrugged. "I don't know. Oflox—"
"Not important!" Wally shouted, shooting past Zatanna, grabbing the bottle, and zipping into his room.
Robin cackled as he crawled out from beneath Wally's blanket, still holding the half-played board game. "He gets ear infections. When a cold clogs his sinuses, it puts pressure on his eardrums. If he doesn't use his eardrops, they rupture and he can't hear very well."
Artemis nodded. "You know, I always thought he was dumb. Turns out he's just deaf."
Robin shrugged. "Something like that. Don't talk about it, though. It embarrasses him."
"Why?" Megan asked confusedly. "It's just a physical attribute. He can't help it."
"Try telling him that."
Zatanna shrugged before turning to leave. "Got to go, guys. See ya. Get well soon!"
"Bye!" Robin waved, seeming a lot more cheerful than he had been before she came. Then he turned to his teammates. "Who wants to play?" he offered, holding out the game.
"Ooh, ooh, me, me!" Megan cried. She plunked down onto the floor in front of Robin, smiling.
"Okay, here's how you play. You take the die..."
As Robin explained the rules to her, Artemis turned to see Wally re-enter the room. As much as she would have liked to tease him about having to use eardrops, she refrained. Instead, she grabbed his arm and dragged him into the kitchen.
"You want tea? You help me make it. And I'll teach you the right way to make it."
"There is no right or wrong way. Stick a teabag in the pot."
"Blasphemy! Teabags are for idiots. Here's how you really do it. And—hey! I knew you were eating all the peanut butter!"
Kaldur suppressed a smile as he turned to Conner. "Shall we watch the film that M'gann requested?"
Conner shrugged. "I don't have anything better to do."
The two teens sat down on the couch as the DVD began to play. The second the little yellow minions appeared, Megan forgot the roll-the-dice game she was playing.
"Awwww! They're so cute! I just want to hug them!"
Robin laughed as one jabbered to the other in Minion-ese, and Kaldur smiled slightly. "They appear to be very troublesome, but I believe they mean well."
"You've never seen this before, have you?" Robin asked. Kaldur shook his head.
Wally and Artemis entered; the latter with a warm brown teapot and the former balancing three bowls of popcorn on his arms. Robin scooted to the side, creating enough room between himself and Megan for Conner to sit beside her, and Wally and Artemis squished themselves onto the couch with Kaldur.
Wally passed one bowl to Kaldur, one to Conner, and kept one on his lap. Artemis stole a few pieces from the bowl, making the ginger complain.
"Hey, that's mine! You can't have my popcorn! You want some, you make it!"
"I did make it."
"Ask first."
"Why? So you can say no?"
"You don't know that!"
Robin groaned and thunked the back of his head against Wally's knees. "I swear, you two fight like an eighty-year-old couple!"
"Are you calling me old?"
Wally, in turn, elbowed Artemis in the ribs. "Hush up, I'm trying to watch."
"Stop snorting, Robin!"
Robin sneezed into the tissue again and glared. "Can't help it!"
"Shush!"
In reply, Artemis stole popcorn off Wally. He shut up and let her keep it.
When Batman came into the cave a few hours later (he was immune to colds; he just bat-glared germs away), he found the DVD still playing the title screen, and the team sprawled out asleep on the couch. Wally's empty popcorn bowl laid upside-down on the floor, where Robin's crossed legs used it as a footrest, with his head lying comfortably in Megan's lap and his hands folded peacefully over his chest. Megan rested her head on Conner's shoulder, and the clone had one hand around her waist as his head leaned on Kaldur's knees. Conner stretched out his legs to their full length, to the point where his bootless feet were in danger of knocking over a lamp if he moved too fast.
Kaldur's legs were pinned to the couch by Conner's head, and he had his elbow on the arm of the chair, propping his head up on his hand. An empty mug that had once been filled with tea lay sideways on his lap. He was oblivious to the fact Wally had one foot on his upper leg, the other hanging off the edge of the couch. Wally's head was on the armrest, facing slightly toward the television, and while one hand lay on the floor, the other rested on Artemis's back, where the archer lay curled in a ball on his torso. One of her arms draped over Wally's chest, and the other had its fingers partially entwined in his hair, which he didn't seem to mind a bit.
Batman watched the teens carefully, fully aware of the fact that the bottle of Nyquil lay unopened on the kitchen countertop, and a handful of cough drops littered the table in front of the couch. He also noted that Robin still breathed heavily, Megan's skin was a lighter shade than usual, and Conner remained somewhat limp. Artemis kept rubbing her nose in her sleep, Kaldur's nose twitched as though he had to sneeze, and Wally's forehead was unusually warm.
Quietly, the Dark Knight turned off the television and left a note on the countertop informing them that they could stay out of school for the day.
Still asleep, they never even heard him leave.
A/N I'm such a sucker for fluff. Hooray for Team bonding! Ish. I don't know if KF gets ear infections or not. I do, and yes, I actually get them from colds. It's annoying. The medicine I have to use is called Ofloxacin. Don't play with the stuff, kids.
It was with the great assistance of the family cat that I wrote this. She stepped on my laptop keys and jabbered. Say hi, Mimi!
Mimi: Mrow.
And that's it! Have a great day! And don't forget about that sexy little button down there- the one that says review!