"Carm, Look at me. I got you. Okay?"

.........

The wind tossed the curtains, the thin satin fabrics twirling in the air like a licks of flame before Carmen shut the window. It was Night in San Diego, California, and the claws of winter sunk even deeper into the city with the absence of the sun.

In the distance, the lights of downtown flickered, blinking like a cluster of stars peeking from the horizon. Team Red's HQ had been located in the Warehouse District, so their own neighborhood was eerily quiet. Peaceful. It should've been the perfect setting to fall asleep in.

Carmen was the exception to that rule.

The woman was wrapped in a state of exhaustion, yet her mind was too consumed with thinking to relax and ackowledge it. She sighed, sitting up on the bed and tucking a lose strand of her dark brunette hair behind her ears. Her attention drifted to her girlfriend who lay beside her. Ivy's lids were relaxed and her face was at peace. She was safe and warm under the covers, sleep taking her like a drug.

A gentle smile found Carmen's lips. She reached out, cupping the smooth curve of her pale, freckled cheek, her thumb resting on her bottom lip. She played with her alluringly ruffled curls, twisting an askew strand around her finger. As much as she tried though, the thief couldn't get back to sleep. As tired as she was, it continued to allude her.

Carmen got up with a sigh, planting soft kiss on her girlfriend's forehead before gently getting up from the bed. Ivy murmured in her sleep at the shift of weight, tossing and clutching a pillow at the absence of Carmen.

The thief left the room, slowly tip-toeing to the back of the HQ and climbing up the fire escape. The roof of the warehouse had started to become a safe space for her, a place where she could go to be alone with her feelings.

It also provided a wonderful view, with the coastline about a hundred yards away now visible. The waves licked the dry sand with a fervor one never found during daylight, the moon above illuminating their ripples. At the horizon, a distant glimmer of orange peeked out. The sun would rise soon.

Carmen took a deep breath, the barest hint of salty tang filing the air. Worries about VILE and ACME and her lost family all began to flit through her brain. Most days, Carmen could deal with it. She could pretend nothing was wrong and that her life was perfect.

But every once in a while, her suppression of her feelings caught up to her. And now here she was, watching the waves lap the shore when she was supposed to be fast asleep.

Meanwhile back in their bedroom, Ivy shivered, partly due to the cold but mostly due to the lack of her girlfriend's heat next to her. The Bostonian groaned in her sleep, shifting and clawing at the air to find the crook of Carmen's waist again but to no avail. She sat up, rubbing lazily at her eyelids. As she suspected, her partner was gone.

Carmen seemed to be sleeping less and less these days. No matter how many times Ivy would ask her, her girlfriend always insisted she was fine before quickly changing the subject. Sensing the Latina didn't quite have things figured out herself, Ivy decided to not broach the matter.

Tonight was different. Ivy could sense it. Maybe some love and support was just what Carmen needed right now.

Carmen lay back, the wind undoing her lose bun and letting her hair fly in the wind. She arched her back, stretching as the breeze began to run along the line of her body.

"I thought I'd find you up here."

The thief turned, a certain redhead standing at the top of the fire escape in her pajamas.

"Oh, hey Ives.." Carmen whispered with a smile, the moonlight glimmering along the curve of her jaw as she turned. "Miss me?"

"Yeah, duh." Ivy said, taking a seat next to her girlfriend. Their hands found each other's and the Bostonian lifted it up to her lips and planted a kiss on her knuckles. "But I forgive you."

"God, I'm such high maintenance aren't I?" Carmen laughed dryly, no humlr to her voice. "I don't know why I feel so disturbed to the point I can't even fucking sleep."

The thief turned to her girlfriend. "I can't be weak."

"Hey." Ivy guided Carmen's chin up and met her eyes. "Just because you're letting someone else in to shoulder the burden with you does not make you weak."

Carmen fretted, staying mum. She wasn't quite convinced.

"Carm, look at me." Ivy whispered. "I got you. Okay?"

A moment later the lady in red gave in, letting herself relax against her girlfriend's shoulder.

"You should get back to bed." Carmen said eventually, turning back to the horizon. "I don't want you to be tired because of me."

"Hey, I doubt I can fall back asleep without you." Ivy said with a smile, nuzzling her neck. "Figured keeping you company is a decent second choice."

"Heh." Carmen hummed with a grin. She turned back to the ocean. A comfortable silence descended upon the two lovers as they sat in peace, enjoying each other's company and studying the sea.

"The view is beautiful, isn't it?" The lady in red finally spoke up, her eyes following the pathways of the stars.

"It sure is." Ivy whispered back. When Carmen turned to meet her eyes she wasn't looking at the horizon. Her baby blue eyes were lovingly trained on Carmen.

The thief blushed just a little bit, moving closer and relaxing into Ivy's arms. She had found that There was nothing quite as comforting as her girlfriend's embrace. Nothing quite as safe.

Time ticked by and night slowly began to fade into Morning. The light began to peek above the horizon, glinting off the sea. The darkness of the sky slowly began to turn blue, the sun blooming on the horizon, it's golden petals stretching outward as it bloomed like the most brilliant flower.

Ivy turned to say something to her girlfriend yet immediately forgot what. Beside her, the thief seemed to glow. The warm hues had touched Carmen's brown skin and painting a halo around her heavenly body.

That was Carmen. Her Carm. Feelings fluttered in Ivy's chest. Feelings that she felt the need to turn to action. The redhead gently grasped her girlfriend's chin, turning her head to meet her lips. Carmen gasped against her lips in surprise but quickly fell into old patterns.

She closed her eyes, savoring the taste of Ivy's lips as her fingers tangled through her curls. Their cold cheeks brushed against each other as their tongues entwined. Hands began to roam bodies, daring to touch places that were usually tended to in private.

Ivy's hand slid along the gentle dip of Carmen's hips.

Their bodies pressed together, the Latina's hands on he girlfriend's lower back as she pulled her in closer. Ivy left Carmen's lips, kissing along her jaw and nipping at the base of her neck.

The Bostonian peppered Carmen with her kisses, conveying her love through touch because that was what she deserved. They stayed like that, exchanging sweet kisses as the sun began to lift above the distant curve of the earth at the edge of the sea.

Slowly, Ivy pulled Carmen out of her fatigue and exhaustion, worshipping her with tiny pecks all along her skin. The lady in red forgot her troubles for another day. They would return, it was practically a given. But why confront them when she had Ivy to fight them off for her?

It was easier to slip away with her girlfriend than actually confront her trauma.

😁