Work Text:
Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt.
The communicator vibrates to the edge of the night table. It falls, clatters to the ground. Stops buzzing for the briefest of pauses. Starts again.
A hand emerges out from the warmth and comfort of the blankets, feels around on the floor until it touches the device, grabs it, and lifts it up. A finger presses the ‘answer’ button, and the communicator is held against an ear.
“Yeah? Oh. Okay. Right, right. I know.” A sigh escapes Barbara’s lips. “Calm down. I’ll be there.” She ends the call, buries her face in her pillow, and groans.
Beside Barbara, Nomura stirs. She opens her eyes, notes Barbara’s position, and reaches over to place a comforting hand on her back. “You need to go.” It’s not a question. They’ve been through too many of these moments. They’re long past the stage where their statements would be punctuated by question marks.
“Yeah.” Barbara turns her head to face Nomura. “Press conference. I’m informed it would look rather strange if Solar Flare, one of the great protectors of Arcadia, isn’t there to reassure the citizens of Arcadia of their safety.”
Nomura offers a sad half-smile. “I would go in your stead, but something tells me they wouldn’t exactly believe the infamous Cosmic Witch saying she means them no harm.” She laughs dryly. “I’ve started one too many city-wide panics for them to know how to respond with anything else.” She runs her fingers absently through Barbara’s hair. “And then I’d be in prison again. Little known fact about me, I’m not particularly fond of prison.”
“You sound so certain you’d be caught.”
“Well, there may be a certain heroine who knows each and every one of my moves.”
Barbara captures Nomura’s hand in her own and kisses her palm. “What makes you so sure I want to catch you?” She murmurs against Nomura’s pulse.
Nomura frowns. She lets the question go unanswered for a long pause. “You’re too good not to,” she finally whispers.
“Nomura—”
“Don’t try to argue, we both know it’s true.” Nomura moves away from Barbara, to lie back on her own pillow. “You’re one of the good guys. It’s in your job description. You catch ‘evil-doers’ like me and ship us off to prison to make everyone feel safe.”
“I…you’re not evil, Nomura.”
“I used to try and destroy Arcadia every other week.” Nomura inhales, exhales. She meets Barbara’s gaze. “The only reason I don’t is that I’d lose the one thing I want to keep most of all.”
“Nomura—”
“Please, don’t.” Nomura closes her eyes. “Just. Don’t.”
“Okay,” Barbara whispers. Then, silence.
Nomura thinks she’s gone. It makes sense. Solar Flare has a place to be, a role to fulfill, citizens to reassure. Solar Flare’s duties are far more important that what Barbara wants. Hell, Nomura may not even truly know what it is Barbara wants. She and Solar Flare are one and the same, after all. Maybe this whole tryst is just a game to her. A way for her to bring down one of the worst villains in Arcadia’s history without collateral damage to the city.
It’s not like anyone actually, genuinely, bothered to care about Nomura before. Why should a heroine, the closest she had to a mortal enemy, be the first? Why risk the fallout if their relationship ever came to light?
Nomura’s villainous cohorts don’t care who she goes to bed with. It’s expected that they’d betray each other. Alliances are fleeting. Momentary. Here one moment; gone the next. They won’t like it if she changed sides, but they won’t hold it against her.
It is the heroes who would be the issue. The goody-goodies. Nomura knew they would never believe her and Barbara’s relationship is genuine. To them, she’d always be a manipulator with an ulterior motive or plan. They’d rather see her dead than even consider that they may be wrong about her. They—
Barbara gently presses her lips against Nomura’s, halting all her thoughts. Surprised, Nomura tenses. Then, she returns the kiss eagerly. She wraps her arms around Barbara’s shoulders and pulls her in closer.
Breathless, they part.
“Stay,” Nomura exhales. “Forget about the city, everyone in it. We can run away, far away. To where no one knows us.” To where we can finally, finally be free. Her eyes search Barbara’s.
Barbara returns her gaze, and then looks away. “I can’t just leave, Nomura. The others, they’d come after me. They’d find you. They’d…” She moves away from Nomura. Hides her face behind her hair, but Nomura still catches her reaching up to wipe tears away. “The only way I can protect you is if I’m here to divert suspicions.”
Nomura doesn’t say anything. She wraps herself around Barbara in a tight hug. They press their foreheads together. Kiss again. This time, hungrily. Nomura melts into Barbara’s affection and returns it. It’s idealistic, but maybe if they hold onto each other enough, they’ll be safe. Their future will be certain.
The moment ends. Barbara goes and puts on her costume and mask. Nomura stays in bed. They share once last look before Barbara spreads golden wings of light projection and glides out the window.
Nomura turns on the TV and watches the press conference.