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━ END OF THE EARTH vii. black & blue ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈୨♡୧┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
FREYA ANASTAS IS GOING TO BE A PROBLEM. This is what Tara has decided, as she sits on her bed with her heart in her throat, watching as Freya covers the bruises Slade left behind with make-up. She does it softly, each stroke feather-light, but she never acts like Tara is going to shatter. She appreciates it, even while she thinks of all the different ways she could kill her, right here, right now.
"My dad used to hit me", Freya whispers. Her voice seems a little hoarse, like she's holding back a tidal wave of emotions. "Before the ring... it was bad. Really bad. And if it weren't for Green Lantern and the Titans, I'd still be stuck there."
Tara glares. "Why're you telling me this?"
"Because", she says, "you need to know that there's a way out, right in front of you. All you've gotta do is take it."
This feels dangerous. Freya, giving up something that personal... Tara's going to have to give that information to Slade in a week's time. This is why she isn't living with her parents anymore, why she left. It's the last thing that Tara would've expected; she kind of assumed that her parents didn't want her to be a hero and that was the source of conflict ━ well, Slade assumed it, really. Tara didn't know her back then, didn't know enough to question it, not when it appeared so reasonable.
But this... it's not what she expected, that's for sure. Not the confession and certainly not the olive branch that Freya's offering here.
"Please, Tara", she says, putting the make-up away. If you'd looked at her arms, you wouldn't be able to tell that there were mottled black and blue bruises there, not if you looked a little harder and noticed how it was all a little too perfect, all her scars blotted out. "Just think about it? For me?"
"I..."
Tara trails off, giving no confirmation, but it's enough for her. Somehow, the tiniest of things can make Freya smile, soft and, as she's now realizing, sad. It's not an emotion she ever expected to associate with her, but it fits in somehow, slotting in with all the other puzzle pieces that make Star Sapphire. It's not the whole picture, not yet, but it's close and if she squints, Tara can imagine the thing completed.
It's weird. Right now, she's sweet and soft, kindness and gossamer silk, but when Tara thinks back to the roof, she remembers the anger. She's never been scared of any of the Titans, not even slightly, and she wasn't truly scared of Freya right then ━ but she was terrified for Slade. She looked like she was ready to rip apart the cosmos to find whoever hurt her and to make them pay.
And Tara doesn't know how that makes her feel. She knows, she knows she's supposed to be upset if anyone tries to hurt Slade... so why does the idea of Freya kicking his ass make her feel lighter, safer? Why does it seem like the last good thing left in the universe?
