"...she's not meant to be part of your world again!... It's not supposed to happen!... It's unwritten. It can all be undone. The forgotten do not remember what does not happen."
DC's Legends of Tomorrow (2016-2022) // The Mountain Goats, "Only One Way" // King Falls AM // The Qur'an, 9:51 // The Mountain Goats, “White Cedar” // The Qur'an, 57:22 // Antonin Artaud, from The Theater of Cruelty // Sylvia Plath, from Lady Lazarus
fandom: dc's legends of tomorrow (behrad 1.0 cinematic universe)
wc: 1174
Growing up in Hell meant Astra had seen a lot of strange things. Being a Legend had only added to her collection of weird experiences.
But no amount of intergalactic bowling alleys nor all the creative cruelities of Hell could have prepared her for this. Time travel physics and spirituality collided into the mindfuck of a ghost of her boyfriend in another timeline possessing this timeline’s version of him. AKA, the one she was actually dating.
Just thinking about it gave her a headache.
Behrad had given her a warning. Thank God. She wouldn’t have wanted to embarrass herself trying to kiss this bizarro version of him. Seeing him, though, she knew that mistake would be hard to make. Even though he was in his body he seemed so… unlike him.
As freaked out as Astra was, she’d done her fair share of freaking him out. This other Behrad had looked bewildered and out of his element when he woke up. He was on edge in a way the Behrad she knew wasn’t, less anxiety but - fear.
Astra knew how to spot fear.
She’d kept her distance from this Behrad after that. She wasn’t avoiding him. He didn’t want anything to do with her, most likely.
Or so she’d thought.
She had been wasting time in the library when the doors slid open. At first, she’d thought it was Spooner. Maybe it was Gwyn looking for something, not knowing she was already looking through what boring history books they had. Instead, it was Behrad in the doorway.
Her body reacted before her brain did. Her heart beat faster, though her shoulders relaxed seeing it was just him. A smile crept onto her lips before she took a second look.
He was sizing her up with the uneasy look of a stranger. His hand braced against the frame, hovering outside in the hall still.
“You can come in. I was just leaving,” Astra said, stepping back to head through the other door.
“Wait.” Even his voice was different, soft and cautious where she was used to hearing him be so loud and boisterous. “I was looking for you, actually.”
“Oh.” She crossed her arms. “What is it, then?”
“Sorry. Again. About earlier.” He stepped inside, still staying near the doorway. The way he stood, ready to run at the slightest provocation, reminded her of her brief stint in DC. There had been a stray cat that loitered around her apartment complex, that ran any time she got even close. She’d pitied it, leaving out a can of cheap wet food near her door every now and then. She hoped someone had taken up her mantle.
Clearly, wet food wasn’t going to cut it here. Astra sighed softly. “Like I said. You didn’t really hurt my feelings. I’d say the same if you got all into my face.”
He smiled, an adorable half-smile that was so similar to one she recognized that it nearly pierced her. “Good. I didn’t want to tell the other me I pissed off his girlfriend.”
“Oh, no. He would have never forgiven you,” she deadpanned.
This Behrad chuckled. It was familiar but not, the kind of rusty chuckle that came from someone who didn’t often have a reason to laugh.
Since the other Zari spent most of her time out of the totem with her tongue down Nate’s throat, Astra didn’t know much about that timeline. In the other timeline, the one that had come before, Behrad had died young. Things had been tougher. The 2047 they came from wasn’t perfect, but it was leaps and bounds from what had come before.
“You don’t have to linger out there,” Astra told him.
He came inside, clearly still tentative. “This is- a lot of books.”
“It’s too many books. And they’re all old and boring,” she said.
This Behrad didn’t seem to mind. He ran his fingers along the shelves, his touch deliberate. “They’re cool.” His voice was somehow softer, reverent almost.
Astra briefly thought if it’d be rude to ask questions. She did anyways. “Was there a lot of books in your version of the 2040s?”
He paused, then shook his head. “Zari - my Zari downloaded a lot of old books for us.” Turning back to her, he smiled fondly at the thought. “When I was a kid, she’d tell me stories from those old, archived versions of books to keep me entertained. Knights of the Round Table, nursery rhymes - but, uh, no physical books. We couldn’t carry much. My mom kept a copy of the Quran, but that was it.”
She didn’t miss the irony that was almost easier to get stories like that out of this more skittish version of her boyfriend than the one she was actually dating. Maybe that’s why he was drawn to these dusty old tomes. “She cares a lot about you, huh?”
“That’s what older sisters are for,” he said. His tone was almost… naive. Or maybe she just knew too much about the Tarazis of this timeline. “What about you? Do you like to read?”
“I mostly read spell books,” Astra said. “They’re trying to get me to join their book club. Those picks aren’t bad. And, really, there’s not much to do on this ship, so I started working through books that Legends left behind when they left. It’s a surprising amount of romance novels.” She could fabricate any book she could think of, she knew, but she didn’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of books.
“Spell books,” Behrad mumbled. “Right. The other me mentioned you were a witch.”
Her heart sped up again. “Is that the only thing he mentioned about me?” she asked.
“He said you were cool,” he told her. It was maybe a little lackluster, though she hadn’t known what she had been hoping. “Zari said you were kinda scary. But I don’t think you’re that scary.”
To think about it, he did seem more relaxed than when he’d been lingering in the doorway. Not by much - his shoulders were still tense, and he cowered by the wall. But his attitude and the way he spoke to her felt more at ease. She was no scientist, or biologist, or anything like that. But maybe that part of her that still reacted to Behrad as if it was her Behrad in there was feeling the same inside of him.
Ugh. More headaches.
“Funny. I made a career out of being scary down in Hell,” Astra replied.
“Hell?” Behrad asked, wide-eyed.
“Long story,” she said. “There’s not enough time to talk about… all that.”
He didn’t seem convinced by that. “Yeah. I have lots of questions - you’re not a demon, right?” As he said it, he grimaced. “The other me’s gonna kill me.”
“Well, I’m not a demon. Just a witch.”
Behrad laughed nervously. “This place is weird.”
“It is,” Astra came closer. “And you’re part of the weird today.”
He closed his eyes. “Guess I’ll have plenty of stories to tell the ancestors.”
She grinned. “Just wait until team dinner rolls around.”
I'm obsessed with the idea of Behrad going into the Totem to talk to Zari 1.0 about his life in the alternate timeline, only to find himself with Behrad Tomaz himself.
Like a callback/parallel to when Zari 2.0 first went into the totem to speak with The Ancestors but met her Other Self instead.
Summary: based on 6x09
Warnings: Behrad says “damn girl” when referring to reader
A/N: this is quite short and not explicitly romantic (though with intention of reader having a crush on him which is definitely there in between the lines) but I just didn’t know what else to write lol, maybe I’ll make a part 2 when I have an idea
Gus-Gus crashing Behrad’s favorite tv show led to some... changes in Behrad’s behaviour. Astra seemed to like those, you on the other hand did very much Not. Did you practically spit out your drink when he first walked in with Nate’s hair pomade? Yes, but that’s not relevant. You were really scared that he would be stuck as Business-Behrad and you were already missing your Behrad. Being stuck with this weird Behrad version and Astra was not something you enjoyed. “Jesus, stop flirting please would you?! We need to fix this.” You were definitely getting a headache. “Don’t be such a buzzkill. Don’t you think he looks so hot now?” Astra smiled at Behrad. You just rolled your eyes, wanting to get this over with. “Come on, let’s go talk to Imran’s brother.”
Yeah, capitalism!Behrad totally blew that talk. God, he was getting more annoying by the second. In the end, Zari put a stop to it and put him in time-out. You were staying with him, why you didn’t know. Okay maybe you did. You were waiting for the real Behrad to come back. Keeping an eye on his evil doppelgänger in the meantime. “Why are you so.... bitchy?” Woah, he did not just say that. You whipped around. “That time of the month?” You were ready to punch him. He might look exactly like Behrad, but damn that wasn’t him. “I’m ‘bitchy’ because you’re a piece of shit and I want my Behrad back.” He raised an eyebrow. “your Behrad?” Shit. “Ugh, forget it.” You groaned and turned away from him.
He did not ‘forget it’. Even after the Legends saved the show and brought the OG Behrad back. “Your Behrad, huh?” He smirked. “Shut uppppp.” You were extremely embarassed about your slip-up. Plopping a gummy into his mouth he made himself more comfortable on the couch you both were sitting on. “Still can’t believe you called me a piece of shit though. I mean, he, or I? deserved it but damn girl.” You laughed at that. “I was only gone for like, a few hours, and you missed me so much you insulted me.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Come on, I think we can both agree that Mr. Corporate America was a pain in the ass.” “Yeah, I did Not enjoy that.”
The air was filled with a chorus of “Happy Birthday”s as Behrad entered the room. Your teammates felt bad for forgetting his birthday and threw together a surprise party. You waited everyone’s turn before you pulled Behrad aside to hand him the dish. “I hope you like it, I’m not a very good cook, but your mom taught me how to make that one thing you like.” His eyes widened before he ripped the lid off. “Holy shit! When did you have time to visit my mom?” “Oh yeah no I did that weeks ago. Back when we were in your time for “Da Throne”.” He seemed confused. “So you remembered my birthday?” You nodded eagerly with a smile. Then it seemed as if realization dawned on him. “She probably thinks you’re my girlfriend now.” You grimaced, “She definitely does. Nothing I said could convince her otherwise.” You shrugged apologetically. “Anyways, in case it doesn’t taste good, I also got you this signed super limited collectors edition steelbox set of both seasons of Bud Stuy.” Behrad’s mouth fell open and he put the food on a table next to him before throwing his arms around you and hugging you tightly. “Thank you!” He let go. “Don’t tell the others but your gifts were definitely the best ones.” He whispered conspiratorially. You just smiled at him. “Anything for your Behrad, huh?” He teased. Your face scrunched up at that. “Will you ever let that go?” you whined. He clicked his tongue and shook his head. “I don’t think I will.”