#bartrose

[earth489]

Well, Bart/Cissie and JayRose were originally gonna be endgame ships in this Earth, but I rediscovered my love for Bartrose, so now that's happening, Jay is with Artemis of Bana Mighdall, and Cissie is... well, I guess she's staying single, for now. I know Cissiecasse is a popular ship, but I'm too far deep into Cassie/Kon to break them up.

[corner-stories]

two speedsters and a pool

Rose Wilson. Bart Allen. Irey West.

Swimming. Nudging. Floating.

1970 words.

(ao3.)

Rose Wilson swims to get her mind off of things. 

On certain days of the week, the pool at the top of Titans Tower will be vacant and free. Then suddenly the place becomes her sanctuary, even if just for a little while. 

Sometimes she will swim laps, often as many as she can. But most of the time, she will just float. 

Like a log in a river she will remain at the surface, lying on her back as she looks up. San Francisco is blessed with mostly sunny weather year round, allowing her to easily enjoy the sight of a bright, blue, endless sky. 

In the middle of a Tuesday, Rose finishes her workout by diving into the pool. The second she plunges under the surface, she can feel her muscles relaxing. The soreness in her body slowly slips away, the tissue on her bones beginning to heal.  

The chemicals in her blood have their downsides, but the upsides tend to even things out. For all the grief the serum gives her, it gives her moments like these — moments where she can remain underwater for just a bit longer, looking upwards at the sun through the shimmering surface of the pool. 

She stays like this, sitting on the bottom of the pool and pulling her knees to her chest. She finds comfort in the moment, remaining underwater like the world’s happiest rock. The sound of everything is drowned out, allowing Rose to finally think for once. 

A few moments pass, then Rose surfaces. She then spends the next minutes swimming laps in the pool.

When Rose is done she climbs out of the water, then wrings out her hair as she walks across the deck. She sits at a sunlounge by the pool’s edge, where her belongings are. After drying off her hands and laying her towel across the back of her neck, she checks her phone. 

As Rose replies to a text from Joey, the sound of a sliding door is heard. She looks up to see two of the tower’s visitors walking out from the building and onto the pool deck.

Irey West — also known as the second and much cooler Impulse — steps towards the pool’s edge at a normal pace. 

“Can we go swimming?” she asks in an excited voice.

Following behind her is Bart Allen, a speedster that the Titans are a bit more familiar with. With his hands in his pockets, he walks up to his young cousin.

“You don’t have a swimsuit.”

Irey looks disappointed. “Oh.” 

Bart then gives her a devilish, playful smirk. “You’ll just swim naked then.”

Irey proceeds to look absolutely mortified. “No!”

From where she is, Rose can’t help but smile. She is somewhat familiar with Irey West, as the young speedster has been permitted to be a weekends-only Teen Titan. It’s similar to how her older cousin had been when he started out. The only difference is that Bart always accompanies her to the tower, predominantly as a babysitter but occasionally as a mentor. 

Looking at them now, Rose thinks that they come off more like siblings than cousins. 

Putting her phone down, Rose stands up and approaches the pair. “I got something she can wear,” she offers. 

Both Bart and Irey look at her with puzzled, quizzical expressions. 

“You do?” they answer simultaneously. 

Rose lets out a chuckle. “Yeah, people leave clothes here all the time, so we just wash ‘em and keep ‘em just in case. I mean… you never know, right?” 

Bart nods, then reaches up to scratch the back of his neck. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“I’m sure there’ll be something in her size,” Rose says, looking Irey up and down. 

Before Bart can answer, Irey grins and speaks up. 

“Wow! Thanks, Rose!”

“Any time, Red,” Rose says, clicking her tongue at the young one. 

Irey soon kneels down next to the pool and dips her finger in, testing the temperature of the water. Rose walks off, but before she can slip through the sliding glass door, Bart zips over to where she is. 

He’s smiling when he asks, “Hey, you sure about this?” 

Without hesitation, Rose nods. “Of course, it’s just a swim.” Her voice then gets playful and teasing. “And don’t worry, I’ll find something for you, too.” 

Jokingly, she pats him on the head, a gesture that makes Bart flinch at her touch, but the smile on his face tells her that he enjoyed it. Even when sporting a university hoodie, Bart Allen is still as boyish and youthful as ever. 

“Anyone ever tell you that you’re nicer than you say you are?” Bart asks in a tone that’s warm, yet just a bit playful. 

Rose rolls her eye. “I’m only nice when I feel like it.” 

…

…

…

Swimming turns out to be a good idea after all. 

Irey proves to be a natural in the water, showing skill in her front crawl and breaststroke. With her borrowed swimsuit, she practically resembles a green bullet zipping through the pool. Initially, Rose had expected to be playing lifeguard for the next hour, but instead she’s able to perch on the edge of the pool and be at ease. 

As Irey swims laps to burn off her speedster energy, Bart remains near Rose. Sporting a pair of red swim trunks, he floats at the surface of the water, relaxing on his back as he looks upwards. 

She knows that he’s enjoying what she often does, the feeling of weightlessness while looking towards a cloudless sky. Even someone as hyperactive as Bart can enjoy the simple things in life. 

Rose keeps most of her attention on Irey, but from time to time she will shift her gaze to her friend relaxing in the water. She is not entirely sure why, but yet she will keep doing it. 

After a few minutes of peaceful floating, Bart opens his eyes and notices Rose looking at him.

“What?” 

“When did you get chest hair?” asks Rose in a casual tone. 

“I don’t know — when I hit puberty,” answers Bart, shrugging. He straightens himself in the water and swims towards her. “So like… two weeks ago?” 

Rose lets out a chuckle. With her toe, she pokes him playfully as he rests his elbows on the edge of the pool. 

“Y’know, it’s trending for dudes to be like, super hairless now,” Bart muses. 

Rose eyes him, confused. “How do you know that?” 

“Because when I went to my university’s pool, someone tried to call animal control,” he answers like it’s the most normal answer in the world. “Also, this girl walked up to me and said: ‘Austin Powers called, he wants his chest hair back!’”

Rose chuckles again, then begins to wonder why she ever hated small talk in the first place. 

“How is university anyway?” she carries on, partially curious.  

“I like my classes.”

She raises an eyebrow at him. “That’s something I never thought I’d hear from you.” 

“Well… I’m learning about shit that’s actually interesting,” Bart claims, then shrugs his shoulders. “You ever code an algorithm that makes a heavily modified robot dog recognize your professor and piss apple juice on them? Because if you haven’t, you should, because that shit’s dope.” 

Rose manages a smile. “Good to know that the future of electrical engineering is in good hands,” she says in a dry, playful tone. 

She then leans down and elbows him in the shoulder. The youthful, skittish way he grins makes her heart beat faster for a reason she can’t understand. 

For a few more moments, Bart and Rose look forward towards Irey. She keeps on swimming, going from one end of the pool to the next without any hesitation. 

With his attention preoccupied, Rose looks over her old teammate once more. It’s a habit of hers, taking in those she had known for years just to see to realize how much time had actually passed. 

When Rose had met Bart, he was a jittery, unfocused teenager who couldn’t sit still. He seemed to love adventures more than responsibility and saw the entire world as a game. 

Nowadays Bart was still as energetic as ever, but the degree of focus he had garnered over the years had allowed to be content in his life as a college freshman. It was hard to believe that the guy who used to avoid any prospects of obligation or accountability was now willingly babysitting his kid cousin.

As she looks at him, Rose notes that he’s just a bit taller now, and that the youthful lines on his pretty face had matured into much sharper, chiseled features. 

Sometimes she wonders how time has moved so fast.

Bart looks over his shoulder and notices her eye on him. “What now?” he asks, smirking. 

Rose smiles back, but looks away. “Nothing.”

There is a beat, then Bart begins to ask — “Hey, I was wondering if you-”

Then suddenly, Irey rises up from the water in front of them, effectively startling both parties and causing Rose’s heart to skip a beat. 

“Look! I found a quarter!” the young speedster cheers, holding up a soaked coin like it’s a piece of gold. “It was just lying at the bottom next to an old band-aid! How long do you think it’s been there?!”

When Irey looks forward she notices the looks of surprise on both the older Titan’s faces.

“What? Did I miss anything?” asks Irey, very obviously befuddled and confused.

Rose shakes her head as Bart awkwardly rubs the back of his neck. 

“Nope, you’re all good, Red,” Rose assures. For a moment she looks to Bart, then back to Irey. “Though, I think I’m gonna head out, I’m starting to prune.” 

Irey nods her head. “Okay. Are you still going to be around?”

“Of course,” Rose promises, then lifts her legs out of the water. “Let’s do this again.” 

With her knees close to her chest, she looks at Bart. When their gazes meet, she reaches forward and places her hand on his shoulder. 

“See you around.”

Bart nodes, then reaches up to touch her hand with his. “You, too.” 

For a single second they remain as so, their hands remaining together on top of Bart’s shoulder, then Rose finally pulls hers away and stands up. As she walks to her belongings on a nearby sunlounge, she looks back once more to see Bart looking at his fingers, slowly clenching his fist tight, then bringing it down into the water. 

Grabbing her towel, Rose dries her hair and watches the pair of speedsters in the pool. Irey dives down once more and Bart watches over her like the good babysitter he is. Irey is very lucky to have such a caring, attentive older cousin in her life. 

Now mostly dry, Rose gathers up her remaining belongings and goes to the sliding glass door that leads into the Tower. 

Before she leaves for good, she looks back at the pool deck one more time.

Bart climbs out of the water and goes to his clothes, which are thrown haphazardly on a sunlounge. He reaches into the pocket of his jeans and pulls out a handful of change. When he goes back to the pool’s edge, Irey is waiting for him with a curious look in her eyes. 

“Hey, Pirate, wanna find some more treasure?” he asks with a kindly grin, then kneels down towards.

After Irey nods, Bart tosses the various coins into the pool. After they hit the surface and sink to the bottom, Irey dives down to retrieve them. 

The notion puts another smile on Rose’s face. So much so that when she goes into the Tower to leave the speedsters be, she only partially wonders what Bart would have asked her had he not been interrupted. 

[earth489incorrectquotes]

Rose: "I think we should breed and see what our offspring think" has quickly become my favorite way to respond to someone disagreeing with me.

Bart: I disagree.

Rose: You know what has to happen now.

Conner: I am begging you two to get a room.

[crashcitycentral]

Hi, and welcome to my Ted Talk.

Today on top 10 underappreciated relationships in DC

Bart Allen and Rose Wilson

They need more recognition cause this-

This is the content we deserve

[christopher-bryant]

Bart: *hugs Rose*

Rose: What was that?

Bart: A hug.

Rose: Gross.

Rose: Do it again.

[impulse-isms]

Rose: -gets up to leave the room- Bart, what did we agree you’d do every time I walk out of a room?

Bart: sorry, baby. -repositions himself so he can stare at her ass-

[serinos-kitt]

barose

Who is the big spoon/little spoon?

Switches on the daily depending who’s feeling more vulnerable and who’s feeling more protective. Honestly, Bart loves being the little spoon because it makes him feel safe but he also loves being the big spoon because he loves holding Rose.

What is their favorite non-sexual activity?

They both have their own strengths in the kitchen but they love to cook together. This leads to Bart nearly setting the house on fire while starting the grill so Rose can make steaks and Rose mixing the sugar and flour measurements for the banana bread Bart was baking and them ending up with a strange, but good, dessert that sparkled when you spread butter on it (based on true stories). However, they make it work and they both enjoy the adventure and the laughs they get out of their mishaps.

Who uses all the hot water in the morning?

Rose never stood a chance. Bart’s alarm may go off after hers but he normally wakes up the moment she sits up in bed and is in the shower before she can even blink. Jokes on him, she prefers to take her showers at night anyways.

What they order from take out?

These two live on takeout when they don’t have time to cook (which happens more often than they’d like). Their favorite place is an incredibly cheap Chinese food place that delivers. The delivery crew knows them well and always know they’ll be in for some heavy lifting when their names come up. Bart eats a lot so they order a lot.

What is the most trivial thing they fight over?

Rose’s precog ruins their tv shows for them all the time and Rose has decided if she gets spoilers so does Bart. Bart was most upset when he found out Jon Snow was Daenerys’s nephew before they even started that season. He didn’t talk to her for three whole days after she told him.

Who does most of the cleaning?

Neither of them are good at cleaning but eventually the house does get to the point that Bart can’t stand it and he’ll clean it all in less than an hour. Super speed helps a lot.

What has a season pass in their DVR?

Bart loves scifi shows like Star Trek and Kill Joys. Rose doesn’t watch tv much but she does like Trevor Noah and Stephen Colbert.

Who controls the netflix queue?

Tim does considering they stole his password for it.

Who calls up the super/landlord when the heat’s not working?

Rose, Bart hardly ever feels cold so he doesn’t notice.

Who leaves their stuff around?

Both of them. They’re not neat people.

Who remembers to buy the milk?

Rose, Bart is a little too scatterbrained.

Who remembers anniversaries?

Rose barely wanted to actually get married because of the hassle and a fear of happiness, she’s bad at remembering “normal” dates like that because she doesn’t feel like counting how many days until it all gets ripped away from her.

[corner-stories]

mornings together

Irey West. Rose Wilson. Bart Allen.

Eavesdropping. Sunlounges. Sketchbooks.

2227 words.

(ao3.)

From the day she was born Irey West had been vibrating through matter like it was nothing. Even after gaining a full connection to the Speed Force, walking through  chairs and tables alike was already second nature to her now. 

A habit she had yet to outgrow involved literally walking through doors, something she often did on reflex rather than laziness. Her father actually had to remind her how to use door knobs before her first day of school.

In the public eye Irey presented the image of a (mostly) normal twelve-year-old girl, but in the presence of heroes she saw no need to hide her powers and phased through walls as she pleased.

Her stays at Titans Tower were no exception. 

On her third weekend with the Teen Titans, Irey West woke up, got dressed in a flash, and immediately phased through the walls. 

Despite being a chronic sleeper, Irey often became an early bird whenever she visited the Tower. Perhaps the excitement of being a Teen Titan simply overwhelmed her desire to sleep, even if her father insisted that she was a ‘Titan-in-Training’ for the time being.

Irey moved through the walls without a sound. She knew better than to slip into anyone’s private quarters, but the public areas of the Tower were fair game. She phased into the computer room to see Cassie and Kon musing over a case, then phased through the gym where Raven and Kiran led Damian in a bout of meditation, then finally arrived at the rooftop pool of the Tower. It was there she stumbled upon a pair she was not expecting to see. 

Despite the morning air being more frigid than usual, Bart Allen was at ease as he laid on a sunlounge. He was sporting his blue and gold college sweatshirt and his usual messy curls. With his hands behind his head he looked up at the cloudless sky, taking in the sight like he had never seen the sun before. 

Next to him sat Rose Wilson, the designated swordsman of the team and Irey’s second favorite Titan after her beloved cousin. Like him, Rose was comfortably relaxing on a sunlounge. However, seemed less concerned with the picturesque view of San Francisco and more interested in drawing with the sketchbook on her lap.

Irey knew that the pair hung out sometimes, but she hadn’t heard of them ever spending mornings together.

Bart and Rose seemed to thrive in the silence, both taking in a moment of the early hours before the chaos of the day. Rose continued to sketch and Bart mindlessly ran his hand through his hair, a chronic habit of his that only served to make his mop-top even more scruffy. The fact that his hair had yet to gain sentience despite its resemblance to a shaggy woodland creature was the greatest mystery of the world. 

Before Irey could walk up to the pair, Bart let out a yawn and pulled his sweatshirt off his torso, causing Rose to frown.

Suddenly Irey’s instincts kicked in and compelled her to be as silent as possible, which was rather rare considering her status as Keystone Middle School’s resident motormouth. She hid behind a conveniently placed potted plant and watched the two closely. 

Rose narrowed her eyebrows at her teammate. “Hey, not cool!” Bothered, she scribbled harder on her sketchbook. “I was drawing you.” 

Bart looked amused. “Oh, were you?” He tossed his sweatshirt at the foot of the sunlounge and laid back with a little more dramatic flair than before, making sure to extend his legs fully and place one hand behind his head. 

“Make sure to get my good side then,” he smirked. 

Rose gave her teammate a stern, yet comically serious look as she flipped her page and restarted her work from scratch. By now the charcoal sticks she used were starting to show on her hands, tinting her fingertips with smudges of gray. 

Bart’s confident aura lasted until his phone buzzed. Quickly, he took the device from his pocket and read the message on the screen. Whatever it was caused him to knit his eyebrows in concern.

“Ah, shit.” 

Rose looked up from her sketchbook. “What’s going on?” 

“Tim needs me,” Bart explained. “Something about delivering a letter.”

Rose looked befuddled. “Who sends letters anymore?” 

“People who want messages to be untraceable,” answered Bart. “You can’t hack paper.” 

For a moment Rose paused, then let out an impressed hum. “Smart.” She scribbled in her sketchbook a little bit more, then looked up to take in the sight of Bart furiously texting. 

It was strange that someone who could break the sound barrier even felt the need to text anymore. Perhaps it’s one of those things he Bart did to feel just a little more human.

As  he texted and Rose sketched, she asked —

“You guys really look out for each other, huh?” 

Her gaze had moved up to meet his, so when Bart looked back his momentarily concerned eyes softened considerably. 

“We do that sometimes,” he soon answered in a simplistic voice. He gave his old friend a gentle, friendly smile. “I’m sure you’d do the same for… someone.”

Rose put her pencil on the corner of her lip and began to think for a second. “For the right person,” she quickly clarified.

Still hiding behind the bush, Irey found herself cocking her head to the side, confused. For a reason she couldn’t entirely comprehend, her mind began to question everything she had just witnessed. Bart was always playful and jovial to his friends, Rose was no exception, but looking at them now one would think that the Wilson girl brought out a different side of him, one characterized with fondness and warmth rather than the usual humor he carried himself with.

Irey was certainly beginning to think so. The few times Bart had commented on his teammate’s prettiness, or the occasions Irey caught Rose flashing him playful smirks during team meetings was only evidence to her hunch.

A lifetime ago the Titans had believed Rose to be the enemy — or so Irey was told — yet even then Bart believed in her innocence. Whether it be because of the few months they had spent shackled to Uncle Roy’s Titans roster or something else entirely, his belief still stood.

It seemed that what remained of that bond, even today, still stood strong. 

Whatever the truth may be, Bart was clearly comfortable enough with Rose to entrust her with certain details of his life. He slipped his phone back in his pocket and eyed his friend on the sunlounge.

“If Irey asks, tell her I’ll be back soon,” he explained. “I don’t want her to think I ditched her.” 

Rose didn’t hesitate to shake her head. “She would never.” For the first time in the morning she closed her sketchbook and looked the speedster in the eye for real. 

“You know she adores you, right?” 

There was a beat, then Bart seemed to tense up in the shoulders, perhaps a new form of nervous fidgeting. 

“Yeah,” he sighed. “Never figured out why, though.”

And with that said Bart got off the sunlounge and onto his feet. He took a single step and sped away, zipping away from the roof of Titans Tower and down to earth. Even from where she was Irey could see her cousin running across the the waters around San Francisco, gradually increasing speed until he disappeared into the horizon. 

Refocusing her attention back to Rose, Irey watched as the older girl sighed. She stood up and stretched, looking out at the world to take in the view for a little bit longer. She looked to the foot of Bart’s sunlounge and noticed he had left his sweatshirt there, a cliche memento for any college freshman. After gathering up her sketchbook and charcoal sticks, she reached for the sweatshirt and then turned towards the entrance. 

In the second it took Rose to look at the door, Irey took off with all her might. Her instincts told her to head to her room, since the older Titans were under the assumption that ‘Baby Flash’ was still fast asleep. Like before she phased through the walls, moving through layer and layer of the Tower until she arrived in her familiar quarters. 

And there stayed, wondering just when Bart would come back and when the other Titans would pick up on her little eavesdropping habit. 

…

…

…

Rose Wilson sat in the midst of the Titan’s kitchen, nursing a mug of coffee as she continued to draw in her sketchbook. In her own words she knew she was nothing special, just some person encouraged by their brother to pick up a hobby. But what Rose also knew was that drawing helped her feel at peace, whether it be the feeling of her pencil on the paper or the sense of accomplishment that came with a piece’s completion.

Plus, it was healthy to have a hobby that didn’t involve bladed weaponry of any kind. 

Rose’s style was far from photorealistic, much preferring a scribbly, impressionistic way of interpreting the world around her. Sometimes she pressed hard on her charcoal, thickening the lines of the piece to better create the way she saw things. 

Just as Rose was putting the finishing touches on a sketch of a dagger, she heard the sound of footsteps coming down the hall. When she looked up she was greeted to the sight of little Irey West entering the kitchen. For a reason that couldn’t be known, there was a nervous look on the young girl’s face. 

“Hi, Rose,” Irey greeted in an uncharacteristically timid voice. 

Rose raised an eyebrow, both concerned and amused. “Hey, Red. What’s got you in a funk?”

Irey was quick to shake her head. “Nothing! Nothing at all!” 

Before Rose could question things any further, Irey skipped to the kitchen central island and hopped onto a stool. Immediately, her bright green eyes looked straight to Rose’s sketchbook. 

“Whatcha drawin’? Ooooh! A knife!” 

Irey seemed strangely intrigued by the image of a dagger. Rose watched as the little one took in the drawing with utter interest, then reached over to flip the page of the sketchbook.

“Here, check it,” Rose said, rifling through the various charcoal-filled drawings until she found the one she was looking for. Eventually she settled on the blocky, cartoonish sketch of the team’s other resident speedster, something she had created that morning. She took extra care to emphasize his boyish prettiness and his untameable curls. 

“Doesn’t this look like him?” asked Rose, holding up the drawing of Bart. 

Irey looked at the photo and tilted her head to the side, her brows knitting as she took in the piece and thought things through.

“Sorta,” the little one soon said. “His hair’s not floofy enough.”

As Rose processed the mild implications that she had been subtly roasted by a middle schooler, she closed her moleskine and placed it back on the table. 

“Everyone’s a critic…” she muttered. 

Slipping out of her stool, Rose grabbed her coffee mug for another quick sip and walked to the kitchen fridge. “I’m starved, want some breakfast?”

Irey nodded with a smile. “Of course!” 

Without hesitation, Rose grabbed the eggs from the fridge and got to work. As she cracked eggs into a bowl with butter and milk, she put the little Speedster to work making some toast. They worked in tandem quite well, Rose cooking the eggs over a hot stove while Irey sliced up some sourdough. 

As Rose continued to cook, Irey came over to the stove and peeped into the pan, then glanced up to her teammate with a curious look in her eyes. 

“Rose?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you and Bart together?”

Rose looked at Irey in surprise, then let out a lighthearted chuckle. “Why do you ask?”

“Because you’re wearing his sweater.”

Suddenly Rose became very aware that she had snagged her teammate’s sweatshirt off a sunlounge less than an hour ago. The garment fit her quite well and bore the colors of Bart’s university, but for the life of her now Rose couldn’t exactly explain why she picked it up in the first place.

“It was cold out,” she decided to say, focusing on the eggs in front of her. She took the saucepan off the heat and plated the food.

“Is that a yes?” asked Irey. In the corner of the kitchen the toast popped, and in half a second she had zipped over and brought it to the plates by the stove.

“It’s none of your business,” Rose soon claimed, handing a plate of eggs to Irey. “Besides, dating within the team never ends well.”

Irey smirked as she salted her eggs. “I was told that.”

Rose raised an eyebrow at the younger girl, both curious and cautious. “By who?”

“My Dad,” Irey answered simply. She then poured an absurd amount of hot sauce onto her eggs. “He tells me a lot about team drama.” 

Intrigued, Rose slipped onto the stool next to Irey and leaned her elbow on the counter. “What kind of drama?” she asked in a slightly kinder voice, perhaps hoping that her tone could endear her to the girl and give her some new dirt.

With a proud smirk, Irey took a bite of her eggs and said — 

“It’s none of your business.”