Yue

 13th January

08:08 GMT -5

I walk up the path to Shadowcrest. If Zatanna's not up by-.

Incoming communication.

I take a holoprojector out of subspace. Answer.

Jade appears, dressed in a Darkstar exo-mantle. She looks calmly at me as I smile.

"Sorry, I'm not.. dragging you away from anything important, am I?"

That gets a minor eye-roll and a head-shake. "As strange as it sounds, I actually like hearing from you. What's going on?"

"Are you..? Getting on alright with the other recruits?"

She turns the camera at her end a little to the side, and a mauve-skinned humanoid in a Darkstar uniform performs a sort of double-fisted salute. I raise my right hand in a wave.

"We're tutoring each other."

"Not having any… Problems?"

"None I can't manage." Ah, how do I-? "A few have commented on my relationship with you, but they're mostly… Curious."

"Without wishing to intervene in your new career-."

"I survived Dad. I can survive a hazing." Her eyes narrow slightly. "What are you calling about?"

"There was an incident with Zatanna."

She blinks. "Someone mind controlled her into finally coming onto you."

"A dragon, yes. I wasn't-. To be clear, we weren't ever-."

"You weren't ever dating, you think she's too young for you and the only reason why you spent so much time with her was because of Nabu."

I nod.

"And it appears that the Star Sapphire was talking to her. I.. called you because.. I think this is the sort of thing I should keep you informed about."

"From what Artemis said, I should be more worried about you hitting on my Mom."

"Yes-." She smiles smugly. "By which I mean-."

"She's an adult, and Zatanna isn't. I don't actually think that you're going.. cougar-hunting."

I smile. "And I mean no disrespect to your mother when I say that. Because if I was-."

"I'm sure she'd be relieved to know that she was your first choice."

"If she doesn't know already. I mean, I go jogging with her and Artemis most mornings now, and her-."

Her face loses the air of humour. "Getting awkward."

"Sorry." One of the great things about communicating like this is that empathic vision doesn't work and I'm forced to respond to outward cues like a normal person. "So I'm going to go and tell a hero-besotted teenaged girl who's been under the influence of a mind control dragon and a mind control alien love crystal that it is never going to happen."

"Would you?"

I frown. "Would I what?"

"Before we got together. If she was older."

"If she was older, I doubt that she'd have become quite so dependent. But… Maybe?" I shake my head. "No, not while we were still working on Nabu. And the Star Sapphire would have made me uncomfortable about it. Maybe afterwards?" I frown. "Wwwwwwwhy?"

"Just curious."

"If you want to know about all of the women I struck out with before-."

"Like my ex-landlords?"

"I didn't 'strike out' with them. I politely declined." I shake my head. "Anyway, that was what I wanted to tell you. And that I miss you. And that I love you."

She smiles faintly, her head bowing slightly. "I love you too." She glances off to the side. "There's a rumour going around that Orange Lanterns aren't allowed to feel love."

"A rumour, or do I need to talk to Dox?"

"Just a rumour."

"Good, because it's stupid, but not so stupid that I couldn't see him doing it. Orange constructs are given strength by avarice. By want and need and desire. Intense impulses of love disrupt that, but I doubt that it would come up much in combat."

She raises her eyebrows, smiling faintly. "You're saying I make you weak?"

"It's not a problem for enlightened Lanterns, as I'm sure that you and Tora are glad to hear." I glance at the door. Nice as it would be to put that off, it needs to be done. "Jade, I need-."

She nods. "Go. I'll talk to you later."

I nod, and return the hologram projector to subspace. Then I sigh, and walk up the path to the front door. I raise my right hand and knock twice on the door. A few moments pass, then Giovanni opens it and then steps back.

"She's in the living room. I will leave you alone."

"Thank you."

He nods, and I head further into the house. Zatanna looks up as I walk into the living room and then looks away, her hands on her knees balling into fists as she sees me.

"Zatanna-."

"I'm-. I'm sorry I tried to mind control you." She's cringing. I hate seeing her like that. "And-."

"Zatanna." She looks up again, her eyes watering. "I don't care about that. But I do care about the fact that I haven't been clear enough, and it's having an adverse effect on you. You are my friend. I like you. I do not love you. I love Jade." She nods jerkily. "And that isn't. Going. To change. Am I being completely clear about this?"

"Y-yes."

It would be nice to apologise for being this hard on her. But at this point I can't risk saying anything that moderates the point I'm making.

"And I'm going to be avoiding you for a while. Not because I hate you, but because this isn't healthy for you. And the Star Sapphire is going in a very secure place."

Another jerky nod, her head remaining bowed as she sniffs.

And I turn around and leave the building.