Hug

by Taitofan

Rated PG-13 for slash

Disclaimer: I don't own Static Shock, or its wonderfully hot characters. Darn it…

Authors Note: This fic was written especially for Nire-chan on DeviantArt. She loves this couple, and I couldn't help but try it out after she was nice enough to say she liked "With a Rope." Go check out her artwork, she has really cute pics from Static Shock, Naruto, X-Men Evolution, and other shows. As for this fic, I tried a totally new writing style, so if it sucks, please forgive me, and then demand that I stick to humor… Some OOCness and major manipulation of the series' ending. Beware that aside from my changes there will be some spoilers if you haven't seen the last episode. Oh well, one last note—Some of Ebon's opinions are in no way my own, especially one thing he calls Shiv, so please don't take offense.

Dedicated to Nire-chan, the biggest EbonShiv fan I know.

Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 7-4-05


'Somebody needs a hug!'

Ebon could clearly remember when he'd first heard those words. It had been back when he'd first become a bang baby, when he'd first put together the Meta-Breed, when he'd first fought against Static… When he'd first met Shiv.

Those four words had been laughable at the time. Honestly, he was Ebon, master of shadows and darkness; why in the seven hells would he need a hug? Especially one from Shiv, one of the most flamboyant bang babies he'd ever met. The boy had purple hair, was prone to whining and crying, fainted often, and randomly offered to hug people he'd only known for a few days. He was insane. No way was Ebon going to hug him.

That had been his mentality in the beginning. He'd stayed away from Shiv and let the little pansy make out with Hotstreak or whatever, so long as he left Ebon alone. At the time, he was more concerned with getting Talon to notice him.

And all the while, Shiv waited patiently. After all, he wasn't in a hurry.

As the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months, Ebon saw things happen that he'd never thought were possible. He saw bang babies with varying powers come and go, including his own brother. The day the newspapers made it official that Rubber-Band Man was Dakota's newest hero, thus sealing the fact that Adam had betrayed Ivan, Ebon almost took Shiv up on his offer…

Almost.

But Ebon still refused to think he'd want anything to do with another guy, not when he almost had Talon where he wanted her. Soon enough he'd have the Latina beauty all to himself and the dreams he'd been starting to have every night about the Asian youth would disappear…

But life never goes according to your first plan, and Ebon knew that. So when the day came that the big bang gas started to wear off and Talon decided that she wanted to be Teresa again, she just wanted to be normal, Ebon wasn't surprised that Shiv stayed. Sure, Hotstreak did too, but only because he didn't want to lose his powers, just like Ebon. Shiv didn't care about that, and Ebon knew it. He only wanted to stay near Ebon, and he'd do it even if his powers ran out before they could get to the gas, Static be damned.

Still, Ebon refused to acknowledge these facts. He still wanted Talon, no matter what his heart was telling him.

Static had saved the day of course, even without his little boyfriend there to help him. Ebon and Hotstreak had merged together and still lost, plunging into the bay in defeat. Eventually paramedics came to rescue them, getting the two to the hospital where doctors and scientists worked to find a way to separate them. Of course, Ebon was unaware that in the next room over Shiv was recovering from losing his powers completely. The new gas had been a dud. Teresa was still human, as were all of the other previous "evil" bang babies, and Hotstreak and Ebon, when they recovered, would be back to being Francis and Ivan.

When the boys had finally returned to their separate states after a mere week, Ebon found himself as Ivan Evans once again, this time with no way to stop it. He was normal, he was helpless… He needed that hug more than ever.

Before he had the chance to pity himself too much, his hospital door opened and, unsurprisingly, the figure that walked through was none other than Shiv. He immediately noticed the look on his former boss's face and smiled sadly. Then, just as Ivan wondered to himself what he could possibly say, Shiv said just the thing he wanted to hear…

"Looks like somebody needs a hug."

Ivan couldn't help but smile at the boy whose feelings he'd ignored for so long.

"Yeah, I think he does."

And as Shiv crossed the room to take Ivan into his arms, there was only one person in his thoughts…

And not surprisingly, it wasn't Theresa.