There's A Spark in You

Banner By: Andrea

Title: There’s A Spark in You
Pairing: Ian/Mia
Rating: PG-13
Fictable Prompt: #017 Fireworks for dandiandi22
Word Count: 1,402
Universe: The JLC Series
Summary: They were so simple, bright lights bursting in the sky, yet they were majestically beautiful and spectacular.



Nothing in life was ever perfect for Mia. Her Mother took off when she was barely two leaving her with a Father who decided to drown his sorrows in booze and drugs, which inevitably led to hours on end of mental and physical abuse. There weren’t many things that got her through those times, but no matter what happened there was always one thing she seemed to look back on with the slightest hint of fondness.

When Mia was a little girl, she loved fireworks. They were so simple, bright lights bursting in the sky, yet they were majestically beautiful and spectacular. One day at school, before things got irrevocably bad and she stopped going, Mia remembered her teacher describing love to be just like those fireworks.

She had said it was a bright, intense, magical feeling that ignited a person’s heart with warmth and a feeling of contentment. Even at such a young age Mia could remember rolling her eyes, but the words had always stuck with her. And when she took off the day before her twelfth birthday in the middle of the night, she ran hoping to find the kind of love her teacher described.

Not exactly the best plan and that one action had cost her more than she knew at the time. That decision had led her to Rick and at first she had mistaken what she had with him to be love. That was until he sold her body to the highest bidder. Some days Mia thought her life was just as bad with him as it was with her Father, but even so every year without fail she’d find a way to catch a glimpse of those fireworks in the sky and she’d remember.

In the years following Rick finding her, Mia grew hard she had to the life she lived wasn’t for the faint of heart and she started to give up on ever finding the kind of love and acceptance her teacher talked about. It was nice in theory, but life wasn’t candy canes and rainbows. Life was complicated and hard. But then, something unexpected happened.

Mia met Oliver Queen and he saved her from a life she never truly wanted giving her something worth fighting for. A purpose…and that purpose had brought Ian into her life. It wasn’t until she met Ian Archer on an undercover mission with Oliver’s team of heroes that she finally understood what her teacher meant.

The minute they met, she knew something was different about him. She couldn’t pinpoint it and she didn’t understand it, but as cheesy as it sounded when his eyes met hers for the first time, it was like everything else in the world ceased existing. And the first time they kissed, really kissed, just for them, Mia felt it.

Fireworks. The same feeling of awe filled her as her heart beat faster than she’d ever felt it go. Her lips had tingled against his, warmth filling her chest as something she’d never felt before sparked inside of her. Mia knew in that moment, from that one kiss that Ian was it for her. It didn’t matter that she thought of herself as damaged goods or that she was only eighteen. There wasn’t a person in the world that made her feel what Ian did with one kiss.

Mia was startled out of her thoughts by the sound of the elevator. She glanced up from her perch on the couch near the open balcony doors, pulling the blanket tighter around herself, the California breeze slightly chilly for this time of year. She watched Ian make his way into the room grin on his face.

“Did I miss them?” He asked while walking over to the couch and holding out his hand to his girlfriend. Her dark hair was in loose waves from swimming in the ocean most of the day and it framed her face cascading down her shoulders like a chestnut colored waterfall.

Mia shook her head and grinned. “Nope, you’re just in time Mr. Archer,” She teased lightly as she took his hand and let him pull her up off the couch and out onto the balcony. She leaned against it and felt him wrap his arms around her from behind. She smiled relaxing her body back into him. “What happened to Bart and Courtney?” She asked lightly.

Ian grinned as he dipped his head and pressed a light kiss against Mia’s neck. “Courtney mentioned something about Times Square and you know Bart, they were gone less than a second later,” He said before chuckling lightly as he cocked his head to the side and watched her for a minute. He could see the contemplative look on her face and he wondered what she was thinking about.

He ran his hands over her arms a few times as he shifted his gaze, glancing out over the city. “Are you sure you’re okay with not being in Metropolis for the holiday?” He asked lightly as he felt her body relax against his chest. “Because we can call Clark and have him fly us out there to be with Chloe and Oliver.” He told her, not used to her being so quiet and wondering if something was wrong.

Mia shook her head. “No,” She said softly as she tilted her head enough to look at him. “I kind of like that it’s just us.” She told him softly. She had talked to Oliver earlier in the day and though he had seemed a little hurt that she wasn’t coming in to spend the fourth of July with the team, but he’d understood. She and Ian had just made their way back to Star City not long ago after Lois and Clark’s wedding and she was just looking for some down time after everything that had happened with Tower Prep and Lex Luthor.

Ian nodded as he leaned closer to her. “Don’t get me wrong, you know I love the team and Oliver and Chloe, but I’m sort of glad we’re alone too,” He told her quietly. Things had been hectic between Lois and Clarks wedding, moving to California, and registering for classes in the fall. He was even glad Bart had whisked Courtney off to New York. He opened his mouth to ask his girlfriend a question when here was a loud crackle before what sounded like a muffled book as the sky lit up with color.

Mia grinned as she placed a hand on his arm. “The first few a small, but just wait until you see the ones in the middle. The firework show down by the beach is amazing, but it’s even better from up here,” She said her voice holding a hint of awe that Ian had never heard in it before. “You can see everything from this vantage point. The burst of the rocket shooting in the sky, the part where it erupts and the sparks burst out and look,” She pointed to each piece falling down as the light fizzled out. “The end.” She whispered.

Ian shifted so he was no longer beside her, but next to her instead. He waited until she was facing him and then he cupped her cheeks and captured her lips in a soft kiss as the fireworks exploded beside them.

Mia deepened the kiss, gripping his neck with one arm as the other moved to his waist causing her blanket to slip from her shoulders. She coaxed his mouth open slipping her tongue inside as she pressed her body against his. She could hear the noise from the fireworks as warmth filled her burning chest. She released his lips and sucked in a deep breath as she rested her forehead against his. Just over a year since they’d been together and it still felt as amazing as that first kiss.

Ian stroked the side of her face lightly as he pulled back just enough to look into her eyes. “I love you,” He whispered.

Mia’s face softened as she tightened her grip on him, her eyes never leaving his. “I love you, too.” She told him softly and just like that her hope in the words her teacher had told her were back. Love was a bright, intense, magical feeling that ignited a person’s heart with warmth and a feeling of contentment and that was exactly what Ian gave to her.