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For birthdays, Ted had always bought Michael a serious gift and a silly one. The silly one was (almost always) the present that the not-so-illustrious Blue and Gold got the most fun out of. As it was, the golden watch, sat in its velvet box, resided safely inside Booster’s jacket pocket. Meanwhile, the $2.99 glittering gel pens laid scattered across the console of the JLI monitor like sparkling cast-offs of their iridescent owner.
A snicker and whisper of “Hold still!” proved that Booster had taken little time in causing mayhem with his new toys. When J’onn stepped into the monitor room, it was with a resigned sigh of knowing that entrusting the monitoring of the rest of the JLI to Ted on his best friend’s birthday had been a terrible idea. But Batman had insisted that all of them play a fair part… J’onn furrowed his brows and resisted the urge to rub his forehead. It was times like these he regretted being put in charge, even though the new league’s high energy left him largely in positive spirits.
“I am assuming…” He looked down at Ted. “That Fire and Ice’s mission is going well, since you have taken the time to look away from the monitors for so long.”
Ted made a choked sound. He looked up, surprise widening his eyes and causing the grin to slowly loosen on his face. His mask had been pulled down; he had a poorly drawn scarab around one eye and ‘Booster Gold Approved’ scrawled across his cheek along with a (ridiculously detailed considering the materials) image of Booster giving a thumbs-up. Next to him the birthday boy himself twirled a pen between his fingers and directed it at the Martian.
“Everything’s fine, J’onn.” Booster’s whitened grin might be enough to fool the media or the press, but it had no effect on almost anyone on the team. Especially when a pink gel pen had been used in a poor attempt to give him lipstick. “I’ll be leaving soon anyway and Beetle can get back to work.” Ted nodded along, though his smile was no more reassuring.
J’onn sucked in a breath. Even though he had promised himself not to read his teammates’ minds for their privacy, he was sure that if he did the thoughts of these two fools would be nothing short of genuine. Even when pulling pranks… they didn’t seem to do anything for honestly malicious reasons. Besides… he looked up at the monitor. Fire and Ice’s mission seemed to be over, or nearly so – they were leading civilians away from the damaged area. The police and fire department seemed to have everything else under control.
And it wasn’t as though J’onn had caught Beetle doing absolutely nothing, he realised. Despite the makeshift lipstick, most of Booster’s face and hands were covered in glittering blue formulae and hastily scribbled designs for the B.B. gun and the Bug. A complicated sequence of numbers was interrupted by a long, uncontrolled line on his forehead… the loss of Michael’s patience and the beginning of the pen war, he didn’t doubt.
The Martian sighed and loosened his grip on the back of the chair. “Fine then. Michael, Ted’s shift will be finished in half an hour anyway, considering how well Fire and Ice’s mission in Los Angeles seems to be coming along. If you would like, you can wait around for him to finish…” Booster’s eyes lit up and J’onn lifted up a finger. “You can wait for him to finish… but not in here. You are not on duty.”
It really wasn’t a very hard choice to make. Michael’s expression looked a little chagrined, but he shrugged and the grin returned. “Sure, J’onn.” He clapped a hand onto Ted’s shoulder. “I’ll be in my room once you’re done.”
“Don’t shower,” Ted pulled his mask back up and clasped it closed using the special magnetics of his gloves. “If you lose that information, I’m going to take back your presents.”
Booster made a mock-offended look. “You act as though everything I do is just to upset you!”
“It isn’t?”
“Hardy-har-har. Who writes their ideas down on other people anyway?”
Ted opened his mouth to answer but J’onn cut them both off. “Booster, please. Thirty minutes.” When Booster began gathering up his pens J’onn seemed to relax. “And Booster, Michael… Happy birthday. Many happy returns.” How many happy returns Booster had had, at least. The futuristic man was really rather vague about his age. From speaking to others, J’onn knew enough to understand that age was sometimes a very human thing to be concerned over.
This time, the smile J’onn was graced with was far from Michael’s toothpaste-advert best. It was lopsided and a little goofy, if truth be told. “Thanks. Don’t forget the banners for the oh-so-secret birthday party you’ve all been pretending to not organise for the last week.” He swung the plastic bag full of pens over his shoulder like it was a Gucci bag and left the room.
Ted’s familiar and loud laughter graced the room at the expression on the Martian Manhunter’s face. “You know, you don’t give him enough credit.” He swung back around to face the monitors and resisted the urge to swing his legs up to rest there. “Booster’s always been an expert on everything all about him.”
J’onn’s lips twitched. He found himself slumping into the chair that Booster had just vacated. One good thing about the not-so-dynamic duo – he didn’t feel like he had to be a stalwart, untouchable leader around them all the time. It was almost too easy to drop his guard. “I suppose you’re right, Beetle.” He presented him with a packet of Oreos. “There was no point keeping it a secret in the first place.”