Title: not a joke
Fandom: Legends of Tomorrow
Characters: Gary Green, Nate Heywood
Word Count: 465
Rating: PG
Warnings: spoilers through episode 4x04
Summary: Gary has a mountain of paperwork in front of him and a lot on his mind.



Gary couldn't stop staring at the huge pile of paperwork that was obfuscating his desk. Concentration was hard to come by when he couldn't keep his mind off John. John was hurt, he might even be dying and Gary was stuck behind a mountain of paperwork. Just because they weren't together or anything anymore didn't mean he didn't still care about the man. He cared more than he wanted to.

It hurt that they let the Shapeshifter become a Legend but they still kept Gary at arm's length. Everyone thought he was a joke. Well, maybe not Nate. Nate was starting to see him differently now that they'd had adventures of their own. Gary liked having Nate at the Time Bureau, but what he really wanted was to be with everyone on the Waverider. He was tired of feeling left out. Tired of being left out. Putting on a brave face and pretending that it didn't hurt when everyone treated him like a punchline to a bad joke left him feeling empty.

Gary was feeling so bad for himself that he didn't notice Nate was standing by his desk, causing him to jump when the other man began to speak.

"Why are you looking so glum Gar-Bear?" Nate said.

Gary looked up and tried to smile, but he just didn't have it in him, so he just sighed.

"I know it's a lot of paperwork, but I thought you were into that sort of thing," Nate said.

He did kind of like paperwork, most of the time. He knew it was a little strange, but he was okay with that. He liked feeling accomplished. "It's not the paperwork, it's John."

"Oh, man. I'm sorry. I kind of forgot you two had a thing."

"Barely, but I still care about him. I feel so helpless being stuck here."

"I feel you man, but the team is on it. Don't worry they'll figure out how to save him."

"I can't help it, I miss him. What if I never get to see him again?" Gary could feel the tears threatening to let lose from his eyes and sniffled. He really didn't want to cry in front of Nate, not again. The first time had been embarrassing enough.

Nate held out a box of tissues and didn't even tease him about the tears. Gary took several and blew his nose.

Nate winced. "Hey, instead of sitting here staring at this mountain of paperwork, why don't you come to lunch with me?"

"You mean, outside the building? In public?"

Nate laughed. "Yeah, my treat."

Gary blew his nose again and tossed the tissues in the trash bin by his desk. He grabbed a few extra tissues and stuffed them into his pockets, stood up and smiled. "Lunch sounds great."