Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business Not Going Anywhere - An SG/LL Fic

Someone sent in a prompt for "Apple cider" and any of the Legionnaires for my holiday gift prompt.

I did this.

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Christmas Night, 30XX

Imra Ardeen-Ranzz was a lucky woman. She was tired, yes, but a lucky woman. It was difficult managing raising two kids, a new farm, and being an active Legionnaire. Imra was a hardass, and as far as she was concerned, if she didn't take care of it no one else would.

But the night after Christmas she didn't have anything Legion related to worry about. Her children were fast asleep in their beds. Snow was falling outside their home. And she had her arms wrapped around her husband. While Garth Ranzz slept, Imra pulled herself up close to him and making sure she didn't disturb his slumber. She breathed him in, and the comforting scent of apples and cinnamon greeted her senses. He made hot apple cider during the day. The aroma put her at ease.

Normally, her husband smelled like ozone when she pressed up against him in bed. Imra felt like sleeping with Garth was like sleeping with a storm cloud. That was mainly due to his ability to create electricity. Over the last several months the description took on a different meaning. Since they'd returned to a new kind of normalcy and Garth settled into his routine as husband, father, farmer, Legionnaire, and cook, he'd put on a significant amount of weight.

If she were blunt, and Imra Ardeen-Ranzz knew how to be blunt, Garth Ranzz was fat.

It was odd. Imra's build somehow stayed the same despite the amount of food Garth grew used to preparing. Thankfully though, the hollowness of her cheeks had vanished. She no longer looked as though she would pass out at any moment. Garth, on the other hand, had gotten bigger. Rounder. Thicker.

She was grateful for it, and his cooking skills.

All of the Legionnaires previously forced underground thanks to Earth-Man's "Humans First" campaign were dealing with health problems caused by lack of sleep and lack of nutrition. Dawnstar only recently dealt with her feather loss, and Timber Wolf required significant dental work due to a frightening amount of cavities. Though Brainiac 5's coat hid his figure, Imra knew the genius Legionnaire had both a lanky frame AND a beer belly from poor exercise. He was useless in a fight.

That must've been why Garth made more of an effort to prepare meals by hand.

"Just use the autochef," Imra reasoned, seeing as she held no aptitude or desire to put together a meal by hand. The woman could balance a budget for the biggest superhero team in the galaxy, but the art of learning how to not burn toast was beyond her.

"I don?t trust it," Garth argued as he set about looking up recipes and meal plans that were filling, met all nutritional requirements, and delicious. "I'm not serving our family anything I haven't had a hand in preparing."

"Why should it matter?"

"Because you and the boys deserve to be taken care of," Garth firmly and seriously answered while preparing lunch, before lightening up and adding "and it's fun to learn something new."


It was rocky, at first. Garth's meals were good, but not great. He was clearly an amateur in the kitchen. Imra didn't see a problem, but it irked Garth to refine his cooking.

Graym and Garridan tried to be sneaky when served vegetables as sides or the main course, but with a mind reader for a mother they could be as stealthy as Invisible Kid and she'd still catch them. The more Garth cooked, the more the quality improved until the boys ate everything on their plates. They were young and energetic so the boys burned off their meals rather quickly. Imra admitted after each meal she felt better than she did when they had to subsist on rations and nutriment pills while on the run.

As Garth's cooking skills grew, so did his waistline.

"Huh," his sister Ayla had said on a night when the two were stationed for monitor duty at Legion HQ.

"What?" Garth asked of his twin sister.

"Where'd that come from?" Ayla wondered.

"What?" Garth repeated.

"That," Ayla punctuated by jabbing her index finger into Garth's midsection. Imra hid her surprise at the amount of pudginess that had replaced Garth's abs. Imra was one of the most observant Legionnaires around. How had she missed that?

"Someone's finally getting a dad bod," Ayla joked.

"Well, I AM a dad, and I have a body," Garth retorted, "By default I have a 'dad bod.'"

Imra found herself laughing harder at Garth's remark than she meant, even thought it wasn't that funny. It'd been too long since the last time Garth made a joke that wasn't nasty.

"Please don't encourage him," Ayla begged of her sister-in-law. "He'll start to think he's actually amusing."

"Then I guess someone doesn't want the brownies I made for us to share on monitor duty," Garth threatened.

"GIVE."

The following morning while Garth prepared pancakes, wearing an apron with the Legion symbol on it, Imra sipped her coffee while her eyes focused on a pair of developing love handles. She finally commented "Ayla's right, though. Neither of us noticed but you're getting kind of chubby."

"Oh I knew," Garth revealed while adding pluberries to the batter. He loved pluberries. "Make sure the boys are up, please."

"You knew?" Imra asked.

"I think I'd be the first to know, don't you? A couple of pounds isn't a big deal," Garth reasoned, before he started to hum a song while focusing on flipping the griddle cakes. He turned back to see Imra was still in the kitchen, smiled and said "What?"

"Nothing," Imra kissed him on the cheek. "It looks good on you. I'll go get the boys."

She was still smiling as a sudden memory flashed in her head, of Garth arguing about if the Legion should kill Superboy-Prime to stop his rampage before he began screaming at Imra for taking Cosmic Boy's side. Imra thought about the rage on her husband's face back then, before thinking about the way he just smiled at her while preparing breakfast.

Garth put his hand on his developing belly, which he noticed a few days ago when getting out of the shower. Looking in the mirror he saw and felt that the six pack he once bore had thickened out. At over six feet tall, Garth knew he was already a big man who weighed over 200 pounds, but the number had risen by about ten or so. Thinking about it, he was actually pleased with this change. Obviously he must've been doing something right by spending so much time in the kitchen, and compared to what he looked and felt like while dealing with Earth-Man's nonsense this was a much appreciated improvement.

While Garth was putting the finishing touches on breakfast, he thought about Imra smiling at him before she got Graym and Garridan. He realized she was taking in his new look and clearly approved. It made Garth happy that Imra was happy, and that she was happy for him. Setting down her plate, his thoughts focused on the light in her eyes and the color in her complexion. She was there again, the woman he lived for. The woman he died for.

...the woman whom, nearly a year ago, he hurled obscenities at for arguing against his plan to launch an assault on the Justice League of Earth after they made alien citizens enemies of the planet. Garth thought about that defeated expression which became commonplace on Imra's face for too long, as she quietly pleaded for peace again and again. He thought about how people had grown to believe he was always a volatile bastard who never followed rules while she was a long suffering, pure saintess who saw the "good" in everyone. The people of the galaxy had no idea what kind of strong, wonderful woman Imra Ardeen-Ranzz truly was. Didn't know that woman hadn't returned until recently. And he'd do everything in his power to let that woman know how grateful he was to be by her side.

"Garth?"

Imra had her arms wrapped around Garth's waist and gave it a squeeze. It was a pleasant sensation for both of them.

"The boys are gonna help themselves to your plate if you don't stop daydreaming," Imra teased.

"Hey!" Garth laughed before grabbing his plate away from the greedy little gremlins he called his sons. "You two have your own pancakes, these are daddy's."

"No fair!" Graym cried. "Yours have more pluberries than ours!"

"AND we called 'dibs' since you didn't!" Garridan supported his brother.

"Dad put enough pluberries in ALL our pancakes," Imra defended her husband, "Right?"

Garth guiltily looked away.

"Well I called dibs before you entered the room," Garth huffed, "So there."

A couple of pounds turned into more than a few, and Garth had moved past the realm of "dad bod." "Chubby" was inadequate, too.

"How is it you and your sons look the same," Phantom Girl inquired one day while Imra was showing off photos of a trip their family took to the beaches of Ventura, "while your husband looks like that? Are you guys eating the same food?" It was true. Garth was by far bigger than Imra, Graym, and Garridan. Imra was wearing a pastiche of her old bikini costume (even though with short hair it didn't work anymore), while Garth's belly had gotten big enough it was hanging over the waistline of his bathing trunks. He wasn't hiding anything under a shirt. His red hair and beefy body made him stand out from his family of slim blonds.

Garth was flexing his big arms and managing to hold up both boys like they were on monkey bars. Imra remembered how easily he was able to lift them without breaking a sweat.

"I think he likes it," Imra thought out loud. "He's gone up a couple of sizes clothing wise but Garth hasn't complained about it once."

Tinya whistled and added "That's more than a couple. Aww, but you just wanna pinch those cheeks don't you?"

Imra couldn't deny that. One morning she placed her hands on Garth's face as she kissed him, not wanting to stop or let go. His cheeks was scruffy and plump and felt wonderful to touch. He developed a second chin too. Garth made it all work.

Garth had followed up by placing a hand under her chin, running his index finger over her lips. He felt lost in her eyes, taking in what a pillar of strength she was. He pulled her forward and kissed her back, softly, tenderly, without letting go.

"You don't trust your meals to a skinny chef," Imra announced. "Garth said that to me the other day after weighing himself."

"Is that an old Earth proverb, or did he just make that up?" Tinya wondered.

"Joke all you want, but I haven't seen Garth this relaxed in ages," Imra admitted. "It's been wonderful. He's not cracking jokes 24/7 or being loud and obnoxious, but that contentment he's got is contagious."

"I can tell. You both look good in this photo. Happy, I mean," Tinya clarified. "We all kind of missed it."

"We?"

"The rest of the team. When you guys were fighting, it, I mean," Tinya struggled to find the words, "I'm saying, you and Garth appear to be in a better place than before."

Imra's expression grew solemn.

"We needed to get to a better place," Imra sighed. "I'm still relieved Graym and Garridan weren't exposed to that."

"To Garth getting pissed off all the time?"

Imra pinched the bridge of her nose and answered "To how BOTH of us were. It wasn't until Titan's destruction I realized how badly I was worn down. Letting people walk all over me, playing peacekeeper. I would've never stood for Garth speaking to me like that, and he would've never said those kinds of things."

Seeing the unhappy expression on Imra's face, Tinya quickly said "We were ALL in a pretty awful place. Some of us still are."

"Which is why if Garth's happy and the boys are happy, then I'm happy."

"Say, you think I could ask him what his baking techniques are?" Tinya nudged Imra with her elbow, confidentially stating "Between you and me, I wouldn't mind if Jo was a bit 'happier.'"

"Luornu had the right idea when she married Chuck, didn't she?"

Garth wasn't just focused on making sure the boys ate right. He kept active in their games, allowed them to use the holoconstrux toys to build things with his big belly as base, acted as the beast or monster in their games of make believe they needed to slay. While at the park or playing in the fields Garth was full of enough energy to keep up with several kids. And by the time they returned home, Imra would find her guys passed out on the couch and using her husband's gut as a makeshift pillow.
If Imra enjoyed having a larger hubby, Graym and Garridan thought having a fat dad was great.

Not everyone shared those happy feelings.

When Imra's brother-in-law Mekt broke out of prison, again, he showed up at Legion HQ in Metropolis demanding to know where Ayla was. Again.

Then he caught sight of Garth. He started to laugh.

Mekt Ranzz was a humorless sack of garbage who didn't know how to laugh, so this was disturbing.

"Uh," Garth scratched the back of his head trying to figure out what was happening, "is spontaneous laughing fits a side effect of some medication they have you on at Labyrinth or is this new?"

"You!" Mekt wheezed while he wildly motioned with his arms. "You look, I, JUST LOOK AT YOU!"

"So I forgot to brush my hair before I left the house," Garth shrugged. "It happens."

"Y-you're a whale!" Mekt kept laughing. "You're huge! D, do you any idea how ridiculous you look, brother?!"

Garth's confusion vanished and was replaced by mild annoyance.

"Like a hog fattened for slaughter. What has that wife of yours been doing to you?"

Now he was angry.

"Mekt," Garth threatened while his eyes and fists began to glow, "I hear another word about-"

"Oh PLEASE," Mekt wheezed. "You think you could take me a fight in the state you're in? What do you plan to do, sit on me?" As he wiped a tear from his eye, Mekt gained his composure back and spitefully looked Garth in the eye as he said "Saddling you with those halfbreeds was one thing, but you really are whipped by that mindreading whor-"

And now he was standing over his unconscious older brother, who was now also sporting a shattered jaw and a ruptured eye.

That was the first, and so far, only, time anyone had said anything disparaging about Garth's weight gain. Garth didn't care.

"I don't give a shit what my brother has to say about me," Garth coldly spoke to Imra after they found him and Mekt's broken body. "I should've put him down the moment he insulted Graym and Garridan."

Let it be known, Imra held no love for her brother-in-law. He made it clear he wouldn't stop until he killed one or both of his younger siblings for daring to be twins while he was a singular birth. But she clearly saw that Garth was unnerved by this altercation, regardless of if he brushed off Mekt's body shaming, so she decided they would eat out for dinner and then see a movie. The meal hadn't been anything too fancy; some chain restaurant with an ancient Earth theme called "cottagecore." The movie was a fictionalized account of Superman and Wonder Woman's history that ended with the two getting married. Garth claimed he wasn't feeling hungry when they sat down to it, but by the end of the meal they ordered seconds on dessert AND he had room for snacks at the theater. Though Garth had gotten fat, it wasn't like he was stuffing his face all the time or obsessed with food. Imra took his appetite more as proof he wasn't thinking about his older brother's abusive words. The movie was appallingly bad, though the parents found the SM/WW relationship hilarious while the kids thought it was gross.

By the time they returned home, Garth had forgotten all about the fight with Mekt. Just to be sure, Imra had taken care of getting the boys into bed for the night when she found Garth fast asleep. While he slept, Imra tenderly rubbed his back. She then gently placed her arms around him and put her fingertips on his stomach. Any lingering tension Garth might've had from earlier vanished, knowing Imra was there.

They were a couple. A team. Garth didn't just take care of Imra. Imra took care of Garth. They were equals. And for everything he did to ensure their family was safe and content, Imra would always do the same amount. Her husband and her children?s happiness was vital to her.

That Christmas night in bed, Garth pulled Imra into his arms and held her beneath the sheets.

"I love you." He suddenly said into her ear.

"I love you, too." She knew Garth loved her. He didn?t need to say it, she thought. But he felt otherwise, even if she hadn?t expressed or communicated what she was thinking with her mental abilities.

"Even though I'm a fatass?" Garth joked.

"Especially for that. You're a fatass, I'm an ironass," Imra joked back. "We were made for each other."

"I really do love you, Im," Garth replied. He quietly added "You don't know what it means to me, being able to say that to you. And that you're here with me."

"I'm not going anywhere," Imra swore.

"Thank you."

They didn't have sex that night, even though it would've been amazing. Instead, Imra fell asleep in her husband's embrace. Dear Lord, it felt so good to be held by him. And the fact that he was holding her in his arms was the greatest feeling in the world for Garth. While she slept, he kissed her forehead. She felt his scruffy chin nuzzle against her face and welcomed it.

Garth was always a strapping, muscular man, but with the Legion he shared a build common to pretty much every other man save Bouncing Boy. And even though Garth had filled out, Imra couldn't compare him to Chuck Taine. Garth had this glow about him. It had a feminine touch to it. Nurturing and strong. The edges and lines caused by his frequent scowling during those awful days vanished. He smiled more often, which highlighted the plumpness in his face. It wasn't an exaggerated kind of happiness, either. He wasn't cute. He was handsome. Beautiful. One-of-a-kind.

Hers.

His arms weren't sculpted. Neither were his legs or thighs. They were thick and meaty. His chest had gotten soft as his belly filled out, but he retained his pectoral muscles which she buried her face in. One day, Garth had been wearing a flannel, button up shirt with the top buttons undone. He'd been worried about the rest of the buttons straining to stay closed. Seeing him with his chest exposed drove her wild and it took all her energy not to rip the shirt off.

His Lightning Lad uniform was one size fits all, but it snugly highlighted his curves and softness while having room. As she watched him leave the room for a mission on Weber's World, Imra caught sight of Garth's backside and had to use every ounce of strength to not grab it.

Imra Ardeen-Ranzz dreamed about her family. She dreamed about the love of her life. She wanted nothing else.

Garth Ranzz thought he was born with rotten luck. It seemed his life was plagued by disaster after disaster. So he couldn't explain how he managed to marry and start a family with the most amazing woman in the Multiverse. The fact that he was supporting her, taking care of her, raising her children to become strong, amazing people, and now holding her in his arms, he didn't want anything else.

Lovely.

Uplifting.

Good work, Sarky. Thanks for sharing.

Hey guys, I updated and expanded on the fic when I noticed the quotation marks and apostrophes were screwed up.

Thanks for doing that, Sarky. It's even more enjoyable now.

You've really got Garth and Imra's voices down to a T.

I wanted to express what DC keeps trying to take from them and I see making Garth heavyset as a good thing.

Agreed 100 percent.

Good job. I saw a couple of rough spots, but nothing serious.

I guess if we must accept that the twins and their brother never reconciled in this reality as they did in 5YL, we also avoid the whole Garth-is-really-Proty thing. So... I guess it kind of evens out...?

By the way, if you ever decide to write any fat female characters, I totally recommend reading the *Dances With Fat* blog. Ragen Chastain writes often about being both an athlete and a fat woman who walked away from the diet merry-go-round decades ago.

Proty!Garth will NEVER be a thing with me, and if given a chance I will gladly explain that away as nonsense and gaslighting the Proteans put Garth through because they were angry about the original Proty dying for him.

This was so well done - not to mention that I related to Garth in this in a lot of ways (especially during the pandemic, although my kids are much older than G&G), it was really just well written. And its a nice fic to go along with your commissions!

When's the next one?

I'm not certain. My fan content output is sporadic at best lately. I have an easier time focusing on writing fan fics lately when it's holiday stuff, so when my friend sent the prompt for any of the Legionnaires I took the opening as I saw fit.

I can see myself adding more to this one. God I could talk about fat Garth all day but I get stuck when it comes time to post a story, I hate it.

I pulled out Legionnaires 3 again and during the issue where the Time Trapper is torturing Garth, he's putting him in scenarios where Garth's treated as a failure of a husband, father, and provider. Garth violently rejects it all of them though because he knows this isn't real. But that time during Johns' run as Legion writer, Garth WAS slipping.

To me, Garth's aware of that person he was becoming due to the trauma the Legionnaires went through but he's no stranger to trauma. He probably suffered the most of the Legionnaires in the early days. So while his past behavior bothers him, he's doing better for Imra, the twins, and himself because he says "I am a good husband and a good father" without downplaying or forgetting past behavior.

I want him to have a body type like this - and at this point it's default for me - because I view him as a man who takes great joy in being a nurturer. He loves and respects Imra and he's grateful to be a father to Graym and Garridan. But I'm not interested in doing "overly touchy feely mushy sweetheart." I want him to have a body that says he knows how to take care of himself and his family, and not be done in a manner that implies he's gotten rusty or older like with your typical "dad bod" concept. He's fat, as in FAT. It shows both masculinity and femininity and I'd rather have a fat house husband Garth over the malnourished man screaming at everyone around him.

I do see him as getting interested in cooking and baking but not to a degree he would pursue it professionally or start buying lots of new kitchen equipment. He's great at it, but it's a means for his family instead of being his new personality.

Regarding trauma, and this is something I considered in a different fic, coming off Johns' writing I see Garth as genuinely hating the police. The Science Police used to be the Legion's allies but they were instrumental in helping Earth-Man's coup by rounding up alien citizens to detain them. Even if you say "Not all cops," I can't see that flying with Garth. They had to send Graym and Garridan off world to protect them, and Garth knows his children could've been trapped in one of those camps if they hadn't been sent to Winath in time. Imra might be more pragmatic regarding the likes of Gigi and Shvaughn, but Garth won't budge.