Barda wasn’t the most beautiful girl in the universe. She walked like a tank, hips swinging only as much as they needed to for her to take her next bold stride. Her fingernails were cut short, never lacquered, often with bits of dried blood under them. Her stare wasn’t so much ‘come-hither’ as ‘go far, far away’. Her skin was rough, her smile was cruel, her hair was matte black dull, and when it came to conversation, she was great at giving orders.
Some days, Barda wondered what it would be like to be even in the running. Maybe Scott would appreciate it. But mostly, she was happy being Barda.
***
Scott was very physical on Earth, even more than Earth was. No one saluted on Earth. They shook hands and high-fived and slapped each other on the shoulder. But Scott even moreso than most. When Barda sat down, winded from battling a Parademon legion, Scott’s fingers were at her neck, massaging out the tension. When her face was burnt from a heat-blast, his hands were there with soothing wet clothes. And when her hair came loose and was in her face, he brushed it away.
Of course, on Apokolips, there was no touching. There was always armor in the way, and even if you did touch skin, it would only be to smear the oil and grime on it. Flesh against flesh was a memory of something that had never happened. But Scott had looked at her like he wanted to touch her. Not the crude leering of the generals, but with a slightly sad appreciation of her, like he was watching a sunset.
It was while looking at a Magog-class destroyer that she finally touched back. It was raining destruction down on an Earth city and any minute now their back-up would arrive and they would attack it as a team, and Barda knew she could take it even without the Justice League, but if she couldn’t…
Her hand was around Scott’s hand. It was so small, yet there was such strength in the way he returned her squeeze. His skin was soft, fingers long and slender, palm dry. When she looked at him, he was smiling.
“We could die,” she said brusquely.
“We could live,” he replied. “Either way, I’m holding hands with the most beautiful girl in the universe.”
***
The best part of not being the most beautiful girl in the universe was that Scott thought she was.
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