"Clara, are you okay?"
Aurelia is watching her aunt with careful eyes. She sees the forlorn expression on her face and instantly, she is worried about Clara. She sits next to her aunt on the couch, watching her face. Clara is staring off into space, absolutely silent.
"Clara?" Aurelia gently places a hand onto her aunt's shoulder. "What's going on?"
At her touch, Clara turns her head. When she speaks, her voice is soft but inexplicably sad. "I don't know. I...uh..."
"Did something happen? Did someone hurt you? Because if they did, I'll find them now and I'll burn them with Phoenix's fire. Just say the word."
Clara chuckles, her voice still having an underlying tone of sadness. Now, Aurelia feels worried; something definitely happened to have affected her aunt so strongly. But what? She knows a little utterance of the telepathy spell can reveal the truth, but with how her aunt is looking, she doesn't even want to say anything. She just wants to comfort her, as Clara has done for her many times.
"Nothing happened, Lia," Clara mumbles, her voice low. "I just haven't been sleeping well."
"What do you mean? I've seen you go to sleep, Auntie C. Don't tell me you stay up."
"If I did, I would be lying to you."
"How long have you not slept in? And how many hours of sleep have you been getting?"
"Six hours...in the last four days, give or take."
"Shit, Clara! That's crazy! You keep telling me to sleep on time but then this? What's going on? Seriously?"
"I know, I'm sorry. But this time of the year isn't really that good for me."
"What do you mean?" Aurelia questions, her voice unintentionally harsh. "Clara, I'm very worried right now. You've never acted like this before, not in front of me. What's happened?"
"I'm fine," Clara mutters, turning away from her. She buries her face in the couch cushions, her voice muffled as she says, "Go to sleep, I'll be fine."
"Clearly you're not," Aurelia once again places a hand on her aunt's shoulders. "At least, let me check you out once. I remember you get all sad when you fall sick. Maybe it's just a fever or something."
"No," Clara's reply is a loud, dramatic, no almost similar to Luke Skywalker's during that moment. "Absolutely not. I'm fine."
"I beg to disagree. Now, you either look at me now, or I'll cast a spell on you to make you move. I'll count down from three. Three...two... on-"
"ALRIGHT," Clara moans loudly, removing her face from the couch. She glares at Aurelia, but her eyes still have the same sadness from before. "What do you want to do?"
Silently, Aurelia touches her aunt's forehead. Clara's skin is definitely warmer than she'd expected, almost too warm. Mentally, she casts a quick spell which reveals her aunt's current temperature to her and she almost shrieks. "Fucking hell, Clara, you have a 102° temperature. Why the hell didn't you tell me you were sick? And don't tell me you went on that stupid League mission to Russia on a fever. Is that why you've been all sad today?"
Clara's silence is enough of a reply. Aurelia facepalms. "At least, I tell you when I'm sick. Why don't you do that?"
"I'm supposed to be taking care of you, not the other way around. And besides, I'll be fine," Clara's voice wavers at the end. Seems like her energy to pretend that she's okay is fading. "I'll just stare into the distance."
"Nope, I'm taking you to the Watchtower now. You really need someone to look you over once," Aurelia states, getting up from the couch. She stands in front of her aunt and holds out her hand for her. "Come on, C. Get up. I'll teleport us there."
"Not the Watchtower, please. They'll bring up Dr. Mid-Nite and he'll kill me. Scratch that, I think John and Shayera will get to me first," Clara mumbles, burying her face in the couch cushions once more.
"Then what do you want to do? Want me to call up Bruce or Alfred?"
"Most definitely not," Clara immediately says. "Bruce will go on a rant about me being reckless and endangering my life, and Alfred will force me into bed and feed me soup. And I. Hate. Soup."
"So Wayne Mansion it is," Aurelia pats her aunt's shoulder in a comforting manner. Then she grabs her aunt's phone from the centre table of the living room and opens it, quickly dialling Bruce's number.
One ring...two rings...three rings...
"Clara? Why are you calling so late?" Bruce's voice is business-like, but also there's a mild undertone of something there. What that is, Aurelia doesn't know and right now, it's not relevant.
"Uh hi, Bruce, it's me, Aurelia," Aurelia says in what she hopes is a calm tone. All these years of knowing Bruce and she still gets all fangirly when she speaks to him.
"Aurelia, what's wrong?" Bruce suddenly sounds more alert. "Where's Clara?"
"Yeah, that's the thing. Clara's kind of sick. I mean, not kind of. She's got a high fever and hasn't slept in four days," She admits. "And she's refusing to go to the Watchtower. Is it...is it alright if I get her over there?"
"I'll tell Alfred to prepare a room for her."
"Alright! I mean, alright, cool. I'll be there in five. Bye!."
'Bye? Bye? That was definitely a little too enthusiastic to say to Batman,' Aurelia thinks. She keeps Clara's phone in her pocket and turns over to look at her aunt.
"I hate you, Aurelia," Clara's voice is muffled by the pillows. "Now he's going to scold me. And trust me, being scolded by Batman? Not fun. Not fun at all."
"Stop trying to distract me, Auntie C and give me your hand," Aurelia once again extends her hand to her aunt. She taps Clara's shoulder. "Come on, let's not make it late, okay? I'm pretty sure Alfred already has a room prepped for you. Don't even try to say no."
"Oh you're getting grounded once I'm not sick anymore," Clara gets up, albeit very slowly. "I'll ground you forever."
"Empty threats don't scare me," Aurelia merely states, as her aunt sits up straight on the couch. She grips the outstretched hand offered. "Although you should be worried about Bruce. He sounded a little worried."
She smirks as Clara's expression morphs into one of horror. "No, what did he say?"
"Well, why don't we go there and you can find out for yourself?"
"Is she okay?"
Dick looks at Aurelia, as they stand in the doorway of the spare room and watch Clara being forced into the bed by Bruce as Alfred stands near, with a tray of soup, medicine and water.
"I'm pretty sure she was sick when she and Aquaman went on that Russia mission," Aurelia answers. "Then she told me she hadn't been sleeping for the past four days. And she had 102° temperature right before I called her up."
"Huh, she's just like Bruce then," Dick mutters, placing an arm around her shoulders. He pulls her close, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. "He never admits he's sick and Alfred literally has to force him to stay at home."
"They're perfect for each other then," Aurelia scoffs, picking at the end of his shirt. She tilts her head slightly and looks up at Dick. "You ever thought about why they never worked out?"
"Wait, they were together? When?" He whispers, sounding slightly shocked.
"I think when we were around eleven or twelve. I'm not sure though, but it was around the time of that big alien invasion. Don't tell Clara I told you this, but she told me, while she was in another one of her moods, that she and Bruce might have kissed and might have slept together, in a non-sexual way. You know, normal sleeping."
"I do," Dick mutters, squeezing her shoulder slightly. "You say that like I'm stupid, which I'm not. But yeah, I can see why these two, you know..."
Their eyes fall on the scene in front of them. With the way Bruce and Clara interact with each other, any normal human would be blind if they couldn't see that there was something there. They have such a strong connection...it is a wonder why they never got together. Then again, what vigilante/superhero couple had a stable relationship? Besides Flash and his wife, Aurelia couldn't even think of another example. (And yes, she wasn't including herself and Dick in this category...it's not like they were married or anything)
Alfred walks towards them, leaving the tray with the soup and medicine on the chest of drawers next to the bed. Aurelia immediately pulls away from Dick and asks, "Is she alright now?"
Alfred nods. "Miss Jarrett says she feels fine but Master Wayne doesn't seem to agree with that. As you can, he is..."
"Scolding her?" Aurelia interrupts, finishing the butler's sentence as she looks behind him, staring at the scene in the bedroom. Bruce looks stern as he talks to Clara, his words imperceptible from here, while her aunt looks sheepish, even as her face is a shade redder than before. "Cool. At least, he'll knock some sense into her."
"Now, I know you're eager to talk to your aunt but it's best for you to let her rest for now. The best thing for you to do is to go to sleep now," Alfred says calmly, his tone as comforting as always. "And see her in the morning rather than staying up too late. And that applies to you too, Master Grayson."
Dick groans slightly, but nevertheless he stands up straight and grabs Aurelia's hand, interlocking their fingers. "Come on, Lia, let's go. Night, Alfred."
"Good night, Master Grayson, Miss Hall."
Aurelia offers Alfred a smile before she lets herself be dragged by Dick, to wherever he wants to take her. The destination becomes clear once they find themselves in the familiar hallway that leads to Dick's room. Aurelia stays quiet, not saying anything as he basically pulls her inside before shutting the door behind him.
"Why'd you bring me here, Dick?" Aurelia finally asks, slightly confused.
"Well, you obviously can't go back to your house and stay there alone, can you? And besides, I won't let you do that," Dick replies, a half-smile on his face. "Neither will I let you stay in your usual guest room now that we're together."
"Oh," She also smiles, smirks rather, as she steps closer to him. She brushes her lips against his, but before she can pull away, Dick pulls her in for a stronger kiss, putting his arms around her. Breathless just like every time they kiss, Aurelia pulls away reluctantly. "That's what you got me here for? So we could just kiss?"
Dick motions towards the bed, a grin covering his face. "I was hoping you could sleep here with me tonight, in a non-sexual way of course. You know, normal sleeping."
Aurelia pouts, sticking out her bottom lip. "You're mocking me, aren't you? It feels like you are."
" 'Course, I am. But that's not the point. Let's just get to sleeping before Bruce or Alfred come here."
It doesn't take long for the two of them to get settled into the bed, a blanket drawn over themselves. They lay next to each other, close enough to feel the body heat emanating from the other. Dick's arms encircle her waist as he pulls her close, burying his face into her back. "Good night, Lia."
"Night, Boy Wonder."
FLUFF, FLUFF and lots of FLUFF. This chapter is literally a fluff fest and so is the next one. Basically, the next few chapters are pure fluff before we get started onto the angst part of everything and get over with part one and finally move into Titans Season 1. I'm so excited to write Aurelia into it.
Also, P.S.A., Bruce and Clara will be getting their own fic. It is titled 'Enigma' and is still in planning stages but it's gonna be posted, hopefully by the end of February
But anyway, I really hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. Let me know what you thought in the comments below!