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There was the sound of cutlery being dropped on the floor and a muffled
“Oh crap” coming from the outside of the infirmary. Daphne quietly entered the infirmary, carrying a tray with chicken soup and two pieces of bread. She balanced it carefully between her hands. The kitchen and the infirmary were not close to each other at all. She’d made it this far, now to just get it onto a table somewhere.
Daphne wasn’t too keen on placing it near any medical equipment and eventually reached Will’s bedside. There was a mostly empty side table sitting conveniently next to the bed. There was only a phone charger on there and a stack of books. Daphne moved the books out of the way to make room for the soup.
She glanced at Will. He looked like he was sleeping. His eyes were closed and his hands were resting at his sides.
“Hey…how are you feeling?” Her voice was soft.
Quiver opened one eye and peered out at his teammate.
“Rain sat with me all night holding my hand. I think his gentle touch will bring me a full recovery.”He turned and looked Nymph in the eye.
“The sponge bath was a little much though.”Daphne smiled and shook her head.
“Hah hah….very funny Will.”He grimaced and held his side, trying to move himself into an upright position on the bed.
“I’ve spent too much time with Green Arrow. I can’t stop with the jokes sometimes. It’s starting to really annoy me. Is it presumptuous to hope that soup is for me?”Quiver could smell the soup Daphne had made from down the hallway, but didn’t want to get his hopes up that it was for him. He was elated not just to see Daphne again, but the prospect of a home cooked meal.
“It is, but I’m going to help you eat it so hands off.”Red Tornado advised Will not to strain or move unnecessarily . It would stress his stitches too much. Daphne definitely did not want that happening. That was going to turn their quality time into another bloodbath. Then he’d really need a sponge bath too.
Daphne put down a napkin over Will’s chest.
“Can you lean back a little bit?”She turned and picked off a piece of bread dunking it into the soup. She labeled it up onto the spoon and held it up so it could cool.
“Okay so you have to be honest, because I fell asleep halfway through cooking this…”Will smiled at Daph’s kindness. His return to the team was not without its complications, including the altercation that landed him here in critical care in the first place. But the trouble on Will’s mind wasn’t about Metamorph, or the mission. It was about Daphne.
He had heard from Green Arrow and Zatara that his “identity” so to speak has been revealed to the team in a debrief from their previous fiasco of a mission. But he wasn’t in a position to be able to explain himself to Daphne and his old friends. And now with just the two of them here, he knew it was the best chance to do so. But he could feel a hesitance within Daphne that he hadn’t felt before. Or was he projecting?
He winced as he tried to sit up a bit more and look at her. He didn’t want to look like a broken teammate. He wanted to show strength and good cheer. But he didn’t have a lot of either of those, not right just yet.
Will accepted the spoonful that Daphne had held out to him, and its warmth radiated throughout his whole body. And the taste was…
The taste was..
Well it tasted like warm water with a little salt, if we’re being generous.
Will was at an impasse. What was he supposed to say? His eyes met Daphne’s and he could see her eagerly looking on, expectantly. He could feel sweat breaking across his brow.
“Um. It’s uh….”
Shit
“……yummmmmmmy….?”Daphne winced despite Will’s best attempts at being considerate of her feelings.
“That bad huh…?”She stopped spoon feeding the watery soup to her teammate feeling embarrassed. Without the soup there was just a dry piece of bread, not too appetizing. Her honey brown eyes looked back up at Will, the embarrassment already fading. Their interactions had changed the least since the Team was put together. There was always this comfortable silence between them. No pressure, just two introverts enjoying each other’s company. She guessed she could call it a friendship by now.
Although now that she was mulling over their relationship in her mind, there was one thing that had changed. Whenever they made eye contact now, she could actually see his eyes. A deep shade of blue that shifted with the light, mysterious and watery. Losing the shades seemed to have brought out a different side of him.
“You probably imagined you coming back to us a lot differently.”Will looked down at the end of the bed, unsure of how best to answer that question.
“Honestly, Daphne, I'm not sure I imagined coming back at all. After you went under…it was like when Casper left. I felt unmoored. When Green Arrow told me that you’d recovered - I just didn’t think I had it in me to see you. It’s hard to explain why.” His voice was searching, shy.
Will moved a book aside that he had in his bed, if only to give himself something physical to do while he worked out how he was feeling.
“I mean, I’m glad you were okay. But I didn’t know how you’d take it, knowing I left. Or how the others would feel if I just walked back onto the team. I thought I’d changed enough to make a difference here, I had more to offer. But things are going worse than I had even thought. Whatever is happening with Metamorph, I can’t help but feel bulldozed by the others. Or that I did something wrong by being wary of his current status on the team.” Daphne’s contemplative look turned into an expression of compassion.
”You know… you’ve really changed.”She gave him a small smile to let him know she was talking about a positive change.
”Viktor told me you left. That got through to me despite my state. My memories of my coma aren’t cohesive but I do remember you leaving, stirred something in me.”Attempting to meet eyes with Daphne, Will continued on.
“I know he’s not doing these things on purpose, but I feel stupid. I’m stuck in the infirmary - maybe because of him - and I feel like maybe to the others, that it doesn’t matter.” Will put his head back, as if tired of the whole situation, or embarrassed about talking like this.
She took the book Will grabbed earlier and turned it over in her hands.
”We’re not really sure why Kila’s acting this way. I don’t think it has anything to do with you honestly.”“It’s weird. I’m not really used to being so aware of my feelings. So I’m not sure what to do when they get hurt.””That must be hard…”As someone used to experiencing the emotions of herself and others deeply, it was difficult to imagine being in Will’s position.
”Feeling incapable is difficult to deal with.”She wasn’t sure what else to say.
Daphne’s attention was drawn to a deepening stain on Will’s gray t-shirt. She pointed to his chest.
“You’re bleeding through your shirt….”She shot up from her seat like she was stung by a bee. Daphne rushed over to the medical supplies grabbing everything she thought they would need. With a slight look of apprehension she returned to Will’s side.
”I can help you change the bandages, just try not to move too much. Hold up your arms for a second if you can.”Daphne's hands were shaking but she was acting surprisingly level headed. She peeled back Will’s shirt until she could pull it back over his head.
Will felt her fingertips on his stretched back, felt himself grow hot - either from the physical contact or from the reopening of his battle wound he couldn’t be sure. His torso was exposed entirely, old scars and all. He was suddenly intensely aware that all he had on were his briefs, and his teenage hormones were not to be trusted.
The pain in his wound however tempered any hot blooded engagement, and instead Will let Daphne ease him back onto his pillows. She moved deftly, cleaning the wound and applying the salve before the new bandage. He felt a sting briefly but it passed. All the while she worked, Will looked at her face. She looked serious, and was taking genuine care to be gentle with him. He could smell the flowery scent that always seemed to accompany her, and felt his body relax more. He looked past her, to the door frame as he let his mind wander.
“You called me Will. I like the way it sounds, coming from you. I’m sorry about what happened. I’m sorry I left. And I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you that I left Talon behind. That’s something you’d tell your friends, and I didn’t. And now look at us.”Daphne pulled off her gloves and washed her hands. Once she finished cleaning everything up she got Will a fresh shirt.
“It’s okay Will, I’m happy you came back when you did.”She averted her eyes and let him get dressed. Her cheeks blushing slightly pink.
“You know there was a time where I also thought about leaving…..”This was the first time she was telling this to someone and she felt embarrassed. After a short pause she continued.
“It was after the mission in La Hoya. I felt like I couldn’t pull my own weight. That I didn’t deserve to be here.”Daphne bunched up the fabric of her skirt into her hands, balling it into her fists. Still she smiled whenever she felt Will looking in her direction.
“It was tough because I could either go back to a place where I didn’t want to be. Or stay where I wasn’t wanted. So I felt like I didn’t have anywhere to go.”Will wasn’t totally surprised at the revelation. He knew a little about how Daphne was feeling about her place on the team. Was it possible that everyone on the team had felt this, at one point or another? He wondered if Metamorph was feeling this way right now, somewhere in the base. Even though he knew what she was feeling, he was glad she didn’t leave. She had a place on this team beyond just another capable superpowered person. Daphne was someone who the others could rally behind in her kindness. The others - himself included - had a propensity to have a hair trigger, or who at one point or another expressed genuine anger and frustration. Daphne seemed to be the only holdout. Will was sure she was capable of those feelings, but seemed to intuit that on the field they had no place. She had the coolest head of all of them. It’s what made him think she’d make the best leader on the team.
“I can’t imagine there being a place where you aren’t wanted, Daph.” Will said, pressing lightly on his new bandage.
Daphne smiled to herself hearing Will’s words. It was nice to be wanted. No matter what happened at home she would always have a place to go back to. Somewhere where she was safe, where people valued her for more than just her powers.
“Thank you, I really appreciate that.”She hoped that despite the Team’s past and everything that was going on currently, they could move forward together.
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