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Leslie came home after long school, skipping on the pavement, avoiding any cracks and lines like the lullaby she was singing. Until she jumped too high and was about to land on those, so to avoid it, she accepted her fate, bracing herself for the pain of falling and concrete. Then out of nowhere, hands reached out and grabbed her before she could eat the ground.
"Woah there, kid. Watch your steps. Don't think that concrete doesn't hurt like in cartoons." A voice with a heavy Russian accent spoke out from behind her. Leslie opened her eyes and saw that she was really close to the ground, inches away. She looked at the hands holding her, the hands were covered in red like... Red Rush's costume!
Leslie gawked and felt herself lifted up into the air. Then she was face to face with her favorite super hero, Red Rush. She went into a frenzy in her head, screaming internally with excitement. She felt like she was gonna explode.
"Oh it's you, Leslie."
Boom.
On the outside, she sort of just blanked and quietly stared at him. Red Rush didn't seem to mind as he examined her for any scratches. After confirming there was none, he set her down and patted her head gently.
Leslie had a meltdown. Screaming loudly in her head for her lucky day, she already felt her ears heating up.
"What are you doing alone out here, Leslie? Doesn't your dad usually pick you up?" Red Rush squatted down to her height, asking her with a small smile.
"Uh... P-Papa and mama are bu-busy right now a-and big brother is.." She stuttered, looking down at the interesting ground. Her voice turning too quiet for Red to hear her.
"Sorry, lez, what was that last part?" Red leaned a little closer to hear this time.
Lez....
Boom
"U-Um I s-said Mark is busy at school! S-So..." Leslie raised her voice so Red could hear her. But then stopping because she thought she spoke too loud.
Red Rush saw how shy she is, imagining a little tortoise trying to sneak into its shell. Gaahh, Omni-man was so lucky to have such an angel as a daughter. Seeing this, he hoped that if he and Olga had a kid, he wished that they would be like Leslie. Adorable and well behaved.
Deep in blissful thought, he subconsciously rubbed her head while daydreaming how adorable their kids would be, while Leslie was trying hard not to blow steam.
With a stupid blissed face, he picked her up abruptly. "Let's get you home, okay lez?"
My kids would definitely be the cutest. He thought to himself with a smug expression. Leslie was just steaming mess by now.
Red Rush started his engine and ran straight to her house, all the while holding her real close and tight. While normally she would be exploding from the contact, she had no time for that since she couldn't even open her eyes because of how fast he was going.
In a record breaking of 5 second, they arrived at the back door of her house since he didn't want people to know about Omni-man's private life. Red apologized for the speed after seeing her hair became out of control and was a complete mess.
"That was great! Fun!" Leslie forgot her shyness and flew into a hyped frenzy from the adrenaline, laughing out and asking Red Rush to do it again.
Red Rush was pleasantly surprised by her hyped reaction. Usually people just barfed when they hitched a ride. Red laughed, seeing her all happy and no longer shy with him, and ruffled her hair even more.
Red didn't even knock yet when Nolan came to open the door. "Red Rush? Why is Leslie with you?"
Red was about to answer when he was suddenly hit with the most disgusting smell he ever had the misfortune of smelling. He couldn't help backing away because of the odor, face green, nose pinched. Leslie immediately did the same to her nose, turning away from her father and hugging Red even tighter. It was making her tear up.
Maybe it was because the big man was covered in some green goob and slime, and the smell coming from it was the most god awful smell ever. Like dead carcasses left fermented in a closed room for months before being thrown into the sewers several more months. And the problem was that Nolan didn't seem to notice this. Even extending a hand for Leslie, which she, of course, denied, shaking her head, hiding from it.
Nolan, who didn't understand his predicament, thought his daughter didn't want to leave the guardian and tried to grab her. Red Rush was quick and easily moved away from him.
"What are you doing, Red Rush?" Nolan glared, he was getting irritated with how close they were.
"Listen, buddy–" he gagged as soon as he opened his mouth and moving away further.
Now Nolan was confused. What the hell is wrong with him?
Red Rush moved his hand to cover both his nose and mouth before trying to explain the problem. "Buddy, you smell absolutely–" he gagged again, it didn't help, it really didn't help at all.
"I smell?"
"God awful. Like rotting meat–" but soooo much worse.
Nolan heard him and started to try to sniff himself. He didn't smell anything? But he did just came back from fighting that sewage monster.
"Do I smell that bad?"
Both nodded like they were trying to shake off their heads, still moving away from him. "You're gonna need a lot of shampoo to get rid of that." Red Rush finally was able to speak without gagging from a distance of 200 meters.
"I'll take a shower later. Leslie, come inside. Papa will clean up while you do your homework." Nolan ushered her inside, picking out the leftover slime on his body and throwing it away.
"No!!" Leslie shouted, "Papa smells bad and I don't like it!" She pouted, not letting go of Red Rush.
Nolan's face paled by her statement, and he almost fell to his knees at the rejection, "... Is it really that bad?"
Again, fast nodding.
Nolan sighed loudly and decided to compromise. "Fine, fine. I'll go clean up." Before going, he left the door opened for them, so they won't have to stand out in the cold.
The two stood out for a moment, contemplating about whether to go in or wait it out, but it was getting chilly. For Josef, this was nothing, but for a little girl like Leslie... Viltrumite or not, it can't be good. Though the house probably stunk like a corpse party left in the sun, it was better in than out.
"Leslie, do you think you can stay in long enough to get used to it?" Josef asked slowly, not to sound forced. He swore he saw black smoke flowing out the door.
"No.. not really." Leslie persistently refused, as if not wanting to see death.
Josef thought a bit before deciding to just buy cleaning spray, maybe it would be more tolerable. "Okay, Lez, I'm going to run to the store to buy some spray. Wait here. I'll be back under a minute."
Leslie paused before quietly asking, "Can I come with, Mr. Red Rush?" Looking at him with cute puppy eyes.
Josef thought about it, 'Well, she didn't puke the first time and we both had fun, not to mention, I can't just leave her alone. He'll kill me, soo....'
"Errand adventure?"
"YEAH!"
"Let's go, then!!!"
The two had the time of their lives, laughing together while making a super quick supply run. Finally they're back and obtained what they wanted to fight the stench monster in the house. When they were finishing spraying ten bottle throughout the house, it ended up smelling really nice and flowery. Nolan was still in the bathroom, so they did her homework, lightning speed, and watched two episodes of SpongeBob together. Leslie brought them snacks and drinks for the show. Josef did the pirate voice at the opening, absolutely nailing it and the two had the best time with each other, laughing and playing.
Nolan finally came out of his one hour bath, smelling like shampoo. Only then, did Leslie come and gave him a hug, a chance he took and kissed all over her little face.
She laughed with his mustache brush against her skin, "Pa.. papa! S-Stop! It trickles! Hahaha!"
"I'm sorry, honey. Next time, I'll let Immortal and the others handle the gross monsters, so don't avoid me like that, okay?" He held her closer when she hugged him, her short arms was enough to encircle his neck. "Okay, papa. I won't."
"Good girl." He gave her a peck on her forehead. Suddenly, she let out a yawn and slowly drifted off into sleep as his strong arms held her. In contrast, he had her very gently with a soft smile.
Josef watched the two from the couch and waited for Nolan to finish up. It was rare moments like these that reminded him that the big man wasn't all the cold. To his family, he was a completely different man. He was warm, attentive, patient, overprotective and such a worry wart! With the guardians, he tried to be friendly but it came off as awkward and standoffish. But with his kids and wife, it just felt natural to see him so gentle.
Then Nolan made a hand gesture at Josef, telling to wait. The hero gave him an 'ok' sign and watched as he walked up the stairs and tipped toed to her room. When he came back down, Nolan was floating back down to not wake his baby up and sat on the arm chair next to the couch.
"So, Red Rush, what brings you here? Considering you waited and help Leslie with her homework, I assumed it wasn't an emergency?"
"Nah, it wasn't an emergency. I just wanted to tell you something. And didn't I say not to call me by Alias when it's just us? Come on, Nolan. I've said this a millionth time." Josef pretended to pout and leaned back into his chair. Nolan scratched his head sheepishly, "It's sort of a habit when..." And pointed at his red suit.
"Oh crap," instantly, back to his civilian clothes. "My bad."
The two then continued their discussion on the big plan Josef and his wife, Olga, had. They had just rented out a small part of Hawaii for the whole week after he demanded for a paid holiday for the guardians and their family and friends from Cecil after the whole fiasco a few months ago and it was finally approved. Problem was that if the threat was too much for the local hero teams to handle, the guardians and Omni-man had to come back immediately.
At first, Nolan wanted to reject on the invitation, but then he remembered how Debbie was talking about going to a girl's night out with Olga later since they haven't seen each other in awhile and decided, "Okay, we'll go."
"That's the spirit, Nolan! And don't worry, it's a private part of the island. It'll be just us and few other friends. Most are married or in a relationship and the other is a kid for Leslie to be friends with. Nobody else."
"If you say so, Josef."
"It'll be a blast–!" Then his phone started ringing. "Ah gotta run. Olga's calling. She wanted to shop for new swimsuits. Can't wait for that! And remember, we'll meet up on next Monday in this location." He put in the coordinates on Nolan's Alert bracelet, a location appeared on it which Josef saved it for him. "Don't forget it, okay, big guy? All right, see you later, Nolan." And he left as quick as he arrived.
Then Debbie and Mark came in, both looked very tired. "We're home..."
"Welcome back, you two."
Mark fell on the couch and just went limp. Deborah wasn't doing any better and went to hug her husband, cuddling into his chest. "What's wrong, debbie?"
She sighed, "Just a bad day. Glad I'm home now." She buried her face completely into his chest.
Nolan was used to her cuddles at this point in their marriage, and in her words, 'These babies are mine'. He then looked back at his son who was very pale. "And what's wrong on your side, Mark?"
Mark was quiet and then murmured in response, "Had four pop quizzes at school, got called to deal with Doc Seismic during Math's, which turned out to be counted as 30% to my overalls, and to top it off, I stepped on dog crap on my way back. So yes, I had a terrible day too." And proceeded to bury his face into the pillow.
Nolan listened to his complaints without any interruption and decided to cheer his pride and joy up. "Well, I guess I'll tell you some good news then. Josef came by awhile ago and told me about a trip he was planning with his wife, and he wanted us to come along."
The two immediately perked up at the news. "Trip?"
"To where, dad?"
"I think it was to Hawaii? They already took care of everything for the week and gave me the location already. It's a small part of the state, just for us."
The two looked at him with wide eyes before bursting out into cheers. "We're going to Hawaii!" They both cheered out loud, jumping high from the news.
"Hey, don't be too loud."
But they both ignored him as they came up with plans for the trip. "I have to go buy new swimsuits for Leslie, she'll be so cute!"
"Can I bring Eve with me on the trip? I was planning to going on a date with her next week. Please dad?"
"Uh, sure son. Just please don't be too loud. Your sister is still napping–"
"Papa?"
A tiny voice popped up from the stairs, and all three of them stopped. There, Leslie stood on the steps, hugging her stuff tiger and let out a yawn. "Mama and Mark are back? What are you talking about?"
"Oh honey, were we too loud? I'm sorry, sweetheart." Debbie picked up her daughter before she told her the news. "But guess what? Papa just got us a trip to Hawaii! Along with the guardians and their families! Isn't that great?"
It was such a joy for the three Graysons, to see their baby went from sleepy to full of joy in a matter of 3 second. "We're going together? Really?"
"Yes, together honey."
"But what about the villains? Wouldn't Papa and big brother have to fight them?"
Nolan patted her head, she always was so meticulous. Definitely got it from him. "Don't worry, honey. It's only when it's an emergency. Cecil already promised us that."
"Yeah! No hero work for the week!" Mark floated high up and snatched his baby sister. "Just of week of fun beach time, sis."
"Yay!" She cheered and hugged Mark tighter.
"But when are we going, Nolan?"
"He said next Monday?"
"But today's already a Saturday! Tomorrow we have to go shopping, Leslie. Mom will get you new clothes for the week." Debbie was more excited about the shopping part, more than anything. She always loved putting her into cute outfits.
"Okay, okay. I know you're all excited, but dinner's first. So what are we having?"
"Pizza!" The two siblings immediately suggested.
"Debbie?"
"Hmmm," she pretended to think about and saw her two kids giving her sad puppy eyes and couldn't help laughing. "Okay we'll get pizza! I'll talk to Olga about tomorrow later."
"Extra cheessseeee!"
"Cheese!"
"Okay, okay, cheese it is." Nolan laughed at how silly they were and called for their pizzas.
He was always surprised by how happy they were about the trip. Literally, they could just fly there, but maybe it was more than that? He watched as Leslie and mark talked about what to do and him suggesting to bring lots of toys to play. And then Debbie was talking excitedly with Olga about tomorrow's plan. Well, whatever makes his family happy, makes him happy too.