Ignite [Book Three In The "Fire And Lightning" Series]

Chapter Forty-Eight- Come Back

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August 29, 2018. 16:58.
Watchtower.

"Happy Birthday, Rae-Rae!" Bart runs around the corner, snapping a pointed, polka-dotted party hat on top of her head.

Rachel is slightly annoyed at the nickname only Bart uses for her and at being interrupted in her reading. She just got the newest Warriors book, and she's almost finished.

"What is it, Bart?" She asks, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder, wondering whether she should sound annoyed or not. The party that the team threw for her Gar, and Mara ended hours ago, and everyone's gone back to their daily routines.

"What, I can't say happy birthday to you without saying it to BB and Finch, too?" Bart hands her an extra slice of the party cake, M'gann's own recipe. It's one of the pieces set aside just for the speedsters like Bart and his sister, and he saved it just for her.

Now that she thinks about it, it is nice to have this tiny celebration, just for her. Growing up with a twin, Rachel's never really had her own party before, and now she has to share it with Mara too. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, it's just another person to add to the list.

Bart can understand.

After a minute, she realizes that they've just been staring into each other's eyes for a while, and they both look away, slowly turning red.

"So," Bart sits down on the end of the bench she's sitting on, "whaddya think of your new book?"

"Oh." Rachel puts the cake plate on the floor and looks at the book on her lap. "I-it's good." She mumbles, silently wishing that he'd sit closer.

"How's Leafpaw?"

She sighs. "Kittens should be here any day now."

Quiet.

"Can I have one?"

"Huh?" Rachel looks at Bart, her hair whipping around and hitting her in the face. "Ow!"

"A kitten." Bart says. He's known as the team's third-best prankster (coming only after his cousin and the great Nightwing) but he's being completely serious now.

"Oh!" Rachel gasps. And then she smiles "Sure! I bet you'd be great with a kitten!" It's the first compliment that she's ever given to him.

So, of course, because he's a boy and cousin of the original Kid Flash and he's required by law to make a fool of himself, he blurts out. "I like cats."

Rachel grins. "Yeah, me too."

"I know."

"Oh, right." She blushes again, tucking some hair behind her ear. Now they both look like dorks.

"Hey, Rach!"

Bart curses to himself at Beast Boy's timing as the green boy dashes across the room and grabs his sister's hand.

"Gar, what is it?" Rachel asks, putting her book to the side.

"Batgirl just got a ping, they think they've found Jason, and they want us to come with."

"Well what are we waiting for!?" Rachel asks. The twins head for the mission room, and Bart keeps pace with Rachel.

"So, this...Jason. He's an old friend of yours?"

"Yeah. He joined the team when I was ten, and he was the first person I really met who was around my age."

"So...are you two close?" Bart asks, and Gar detects the jealousy in his friend's voice. His monkey tail twitches, suddenly protective of his younger sister.