Pinterest Prompts

Tally

{Fanfiction: DC. Characters used are from Lyght series/Forbidden Desire book.}

Prompt: AU in which every time a person falls in love, a red line like a tally mark appears on their wrist.

Extras: The tally marks turn black when the love is requited, and into scars when the one they love dies.

It was an accident; she hadn't meant to flash her wrist out for anyone to see. She had hidden it from her husband for so long, it was second nature the techniques she used. She supposed that she had so many, no one else would take notice if a new one appeared. She was sadly mistaken as her best friend stared in disbelief.

No one knew when it started to happen. But it was a fact that whenever someone fell in love with another person, a red mark appeared on their wrist, resembling that of a tally mark. When the love was requited, the mark turned black. People all over the world used it to determine true love even though it would never be that simple.

Jamila knew that for a fact. She had plenty of red and even black tally marks; three rows of them stretched across her right wrist. The one she loved the most: the one produced when her husband and herself fell in love with one another. His unorthodox marriage proposal made both tally marks turn black; it made the proposal all the more special to her.

Years later saw the two married and with a family. She was saddened a few times as some of her tallies turned into scars, signifying that the ones she once loved passed away. She noticed that the black ones were the ones she felt; not very painful but they felt like quick pinches. Jamila admitted that her heart would drop for just a second the rare times she felt that pinch to her wrist; once she looked at her wrist to make sure that it wasn't her husband's, she would be relieved.

She never imagined that she would ever receive any more tally marks, especially while she was still married. It was true that she ran into plenty of guys who gave her a fleeting feeling of lust. But the marks didn't work that way; the tallies knew the difference between lust and love. If that was the case, her entire arm would be littered in tallies!

It was a few years after she met her best friend when it happened. Tabitha Lyght became the newest Justice League member and it earned Dr. Lindsey free trips onboard Watchtower among other perks. She had seen the Martian before and her mind ran amok of the lustful things she wished she could do to him. Seeing him in person only made those thoughts more frequent. Part of her wasn't surprised when she noticed the extra tally mark in red. The other part panicked and tried to think of ways to hide it from her husband! Unfortunately, a tattoo was out the question. The marks magically defied permanent ink; the only way to hide the tallies were through obvious methods.

Jamila tried her best to not shed a tear as Tabitha glared at her wrist. Her grasp made Jamila wince but she told herself to keep calm; maybe the woman wouldn't put two and two together. But she underestimated her. Tabitha shook as more tears made their way down her cheeks; her breathing became shallow. She finally looked up at her with bloodshot eyes.

"Who does... this scar belong to...?" she pressed hard on the newly scarred black mark. It turned into a scar a mere three days prior. The pain from it had long since diminished but not from her heart. Jamila was still floored by his death and knew that she forever would be.

She willed herself to look at her best friend; the tear that she fought to keep in had won the battle and trailed down.

"Tabs..."

"No. No, no, no, no, no... see... J'onn just... a-a-and we both..." her chest heaved as she tried to make a complete sentence. Jamila tried to focus on her friend's wrist. Only four tally marks: one red, three black and her last one freshly scarred. When she tried to gain her composure, her mood changed. She glared at the woman. "Jamila... who did that mark belong to?!"

"Tabitha... I'm so sorry..."