All about Flinx

Afterimages

He awakens out of a restless sleep.

(He sees her lithe body lying beside his, violently pink hair tousled.)

Blinking the weariness from his eyes, he heads to the bathroom and begins washing his face in the sink.

(He catches a flash of pale skin and purple fabric in the mirror's reflection.)

He doesn't bother to double take anymore, as he dries his face and heads towards the kitchen for food. He already knows inside that he is yet again seeing something that doesn't exist- not anymore.

(He sees her cooking bacon and eggs.)

It is why he does not bother to leave the apartment anymore. It is painful enough to see her in every corner of the apartment. It would be so much more difficult for him to go around the city and see all the places that they went to together.

(He sees her cheering on Keystone City's team in a football game.)

The imaginings cause him unspeakable pain, but they are all he has left to remember her by, and so he clings to them tightly.

(He sees her feeling his forehead as he burns with fever.)

He sinks onto the couch, staring at the blank television screen. He sits, silent as a stone, apparently staring at nothing.

(He sees her weep over a soap opera.)

His friends do not understand. They know of his loss, but they cannot truly grasp just how badly it struck him- why it is affecting him so. He is a hero. She was, in the end, a hero. They both knew the risks.

(He sees her cornered by thugs, fear and fury in her eyes)

Moving on should not be this difficult.

(He sees her stealing his popcorn in the middle of the movie, a mischievous smile on her face.)

And yet, it is.

(He sees her wearing a purple dress for their third official date.)

Ding dong.

The sound of reality stirs him out of his reverie, blurs away the images of her. It takes him a moment to understand its origins.

Ding dong.

Finally comprehending, he stands to get the door.

(He sees her on the communicator, gossiping with Argent.)

Once a month, ever since the Incident- He cannot say 'her death.' He finds himself barely able to think 'her death'- Robin finds time to check on him, and today is apparently that day for this month.

(He sees her striding through the grocery store, throwing women products and chocolate into a shopping cart.)

He allows the other hero inside.

(He sees her soaking wet and shivering on his doorstep.)

They do not converse. The other Titans believe that he has not spoken since the Incident, and there may well be truth in that statement- but only he is to know.

(He sees her listening to her iPod, jamming her head and mouthing the words silently.)

Instead, he returns to the position on the couch that he has taken since morning. Robin stares at him, and he knows that inwardly the other hero is willing him to speak, to be happy, to be what he was before the Incident.

(He sees her staring pensively at the necklace in the museum case.)

He also knows that being so is near to impossible.

(He sees her laughing at one of his silly mistakes.)

Unable to stand the silence, Robin speaks.

"Your city needs you."

(He sees her hexing an enemy, wearing a distinctly satisfied smile.)

"Crime's been increasing little by little since the villains realized you aren't going to come running to stop them. The people are beginning to wonder where their hero is. The Flash is trying to handle it, but with Central City to look after and his commitment to the JSA, there's only so much even he can do."

(He sees her turning away from See-More.)

He makes no reply, and Robin sighs, taking in the state of the apartment critically. It is in an even worse condition than a month ago.

"You're a mess. And I don't just mean that literally."

(He sees her berating him, duster in one hand, broom in the other.)

"Kid Flash, it's been months. You need to get out of this funk you're in and get back in the game. What happened with Jinx was truly horrible, but you can't let it rule your life. We're heroes. There are bound to be risks. That's why relationships are so dangerous in our line of the business," Robin sounds uncomfortable, now, and he wonders why, "What happened to Jinx... It reminded me of just how dangerous they truly are.That's why I've broken up with Starfire."

Hearing those words causes the other boy to frown, disappointed with the choice the hero has made.

(He sees her in pajamas, deep in a Truth or Dare discussion with the girls.)

Robin, looking away from his friend, does not notice the scowl and continues, "There's more to life than love, you know?"

(He sees her clutched by her killer: eyes wide with fear, mouth frozen into a scream, and then she's gone and there's nothing, nothing, nothing-)

"No."

The syllable is piercing, raging, and shocking in its speaking. He trembles with anger as he continues, saying more than he has in months in the span of about a minute. His blue eyes flash with fury as he turns to Robin.

"No, Robin. There is nothing more important in life than love. Love is life. When you find it, you cherish it."

(He sees her smelling a rose with a smile on her face.)

"You hold on to it."

(He sees her frightened eyes as she awakens from a nightmare.)

"You protect it."

(He sees her furiously attacking a criminal that had managed to injure him.)

"You don't abandon it, or give it up out of fear."

(He sees her breaking down a door, her worry for him apparent.)

"It's love. Your love. And it's supposed to be with you forever, because what you have is yours and yours alone."

(He sees her, just her, dazzling and radiant and beautiful and his, his one and only, the only person he could ever care for so completely.)

He glares at Robin as if the other hero has committed a most heinous act- and perhaps, in his eyes, Robin has- and he finishes, softer now.

"I can't believe you would let something like that go. I never would have, if I had the chance."

At that he grabs Robin and places him on the step in front of his apartment door. He then locks himself in the bedroom, tears falling from his eyes, for as he unleashed his anger and pain, images of her were flying through his mind at top speed, and then disappearing, and now there is nothing left for him to see.