It's been twenty minutes since we separated.

Yeah, I've been counting.

Jax and I's footsteps are synced perfectly. Each hitting the ground the same time as the other. One two, one two, one two.

There's nothing to distract myself from my fear. For the first ten minutes, I tried to look for signs to find my way back.

But every twenty paces, the hallway repeats itself.

My fear is eating away at me like acid. It's burning through my chest. Every step I take is a step further away from Snart. Every time I close my eyes, I see him staring at me.

It's gonna be fine.

Jax stops dead.

Abruptly, I stop to, nearly tripping over my two feet.

He raises a finger to his lips and we wait.

And wait.

Then, he starts walking again, covertly at first then gradually more confidently.

"False alarm." He shrugs, sending me a nervous look, "My bad."

I just nod dully.

Jax goes quiet but his silence is an uncomfortable one. His quick glances become more and more obvious.

Sighing, I turn to glare at him.

"What?" I snap.

"Nothing," he replies just as quick, turning away.

I growl curses under my breath, stubbing my toe on the floor. A dirty scuff mark identifies our trail.

"No it's not "nothing". Spit it out, Jax."

"Why did you come on this mission?" Jax asks suddenly.

I snort. Upon seeing his, agitated and slightly upset look, I frown.

"Really?"

He nods.

Running my tongue across my teeth, I ponder my reply. Why did I come?

Snart's smirking face surfaces my mind but I brush it away irritably.

"I wanted a new game," I decide with finality in my voice. "I was sick of playing around in Central City and the chance to go time traveling was too good for any bored criminal to pass up. I wasn't sure how long I'd stay. Probably just till the danger got bad."

Jax doesn't seem happy by my answer. He frowns and stiffens, obviously about to launch into an argument.

"But you love the danger," he says slowly. "We found that out in the 70's."

I mentally curse.

"Yeah but-"

"But nothing! You not only fought to save your own skin, you also kept fighting battles you didn't need to fight!" Jax continues, angrily.

I come to a complete stop and stare at him, open mouthed.

"Jax, I-"

Jax stops too and crosses his arms over his chest. He glares across the hallway at me.

"You deliberately put yourself in harms way for what reason?" He snarls.

I gape at him, unsure of the answer myself.

"Isn't it obvious? It's because you've turned into a hero, Kari!" He snaps.

I snort, putting up a hand.

"Hold on there, partner," I intervene, "I ain't no hero. I got myself in those situations by accident or because I thought I could get out."

Jax's eyes narrow.

"You saved Snart's life in Russia even though you were bleeding out, you saved mine in Regal City-"

"I got you kidnapped!"

"You didn't even hesitate to get the people in the Gulag-," Jax says over me,"-to beat you up instead of Mick or Ray; yeah Ray told everyone about it when you got back-"

I stare at him, unable to say anything. Unable to form coherent words. I'm not...I'm not a...

"You're a hero, Kari!" Jax cries. His face turning red as his voice lowers. "You're a better hero than I could ever be."

I blink. A heartbeat passes in the second after that sentence is spoken.

"What-no where, where is this coming from?" I ask, finally finding my voice.

Jax looks away, folding his arms across his chest. He chokes on his next words.

"'Snart," he answers quietly. Suddenly he looks up at me, his brown eyes full of fire. "He's right you know! I'm not the one to make sacrifices for the team. I'm the one on the bench. Always avoiding the danger." Resentful silence fills the air.

"That's not your fault, Jax," I say, taking a step forward. Seeing him open his mouth to argue, I intervene. "No it's not. You're the youngest person on the team so we've tried to protect you."

"I can handle it!" He snaps.

I shake my head, not disagreeing but rather seeing his situation from another point of view.

"No it's not that," I say slowly. "Stein cares about you, Jax, a lot. Which is why he's always trying to protect you or keep you on the sidelines."

Jax's frown deepens into a scowl.

"But being on the sidelines doesn't make you any less of a hero."

A snort from Jax echoes in the hall.

"It doesn't," I repeat sharply. "You know what makes you a hero? Your love. You care about the team a ton. You're willing to listen to them and hear their stories. You're here for us when we need you most."

"Not when you're about to be murdered by Savage," Jax mutters, though with less animosity in his tone.

"Not always, no," I concede. "But you were the first person I've ever told about my past. About my father," My voice shakes slightly but strengthens as I stare at Jax. "You were the first person on this team I could trust. Not Sara, not Ray, not Snart; you."

Tears fill my eyes and I inwardly snarl at my emotions. Jax stares at me, his lip trembling slightly.

"If having someone's back, even after knowing what they've done, isn't what a hero is, then I don't know what is," I finish, my voice cracking.

Jax steps forwards and hugs me, burying his head into my shoulder. His tears wet my uniform but I don't care. I wrap my hands around his back, trying to hold myself together.

"Hey," I mutter. "It's gonna be fine."

He nods and slowly pulls away, wiping his nose with the back of his hand.

I smile but feel it vanish as a familiar sound fills the hallway.

Footsteps. Heavy, loud and multiple footsteps.

Glancing at Jax, I see my own fear dancing in his eyes.

The footsteps pound in the curve of the hallway ahead of us, drawing nearer with each bound.

My stomach tightens as I scan the hallway. We have nowhere to run. We're out of time.

It's going to be fine.

No it's not! I snarl back in my head, sick and tired of seeing Snart's  calm expression.

Jax throws out an arm, catching the crook of my elbow before dragging me into a room I hadn't noticed.

The door shuts and the footsteps pound onward.

AN-
MY SCHOOL'S TWO HOUR DELAY TURNED INTO A DAY OFF PEOPLE! AW YESSS!
I'm gonna do SAT prep but I'm hoping to get another chapter written!!! If I do, I'll update again today! 😄