Road from Friendship to Love
by Watashinomori
A honk woke him up. He jumped up, startled. Grabbed a Flash shirt and ran to the door. During his way he looked at his watch, it had barely hit three in the afternoon. Did he sleep that much? The horn sounded again, with a little more urgency. He opened the door and his best friend was waiting outside a very impressive car. Wally knew near to nothing about cars, but that was a Ferrari, and hell to Earth if he haven't heard about it.
"Come on, lazy ass! We're running on a tight schedule here!" He smiled. "Come on! Come on!" And honked again.
"What the hell, dude?" Wally stopped by his side.
"Close the door, we're going on a trip to mend your broken heart. Now move your ass into the car. As I said, a tight schedule. If we don`t leave now we can miss our window!"
"Would you care to explain any of this?" Wally demanded, but closed the door anyway.
"On our way. Now, come oooooooooon! Just this time do as I say!"
"You know I hate cars. I'll run us to the destination!"
"No can do, baby boy. You're going slow this time. Hop in and let's go!" Dick's smile was bright. "Please? I've been planning this for a while now. It was supposed to be your birthday gift, but desperate times call for desperate measures" walked to him and passed his arm around his shoulder, guiding him to the car. "Don't worry, she doesn't bite" winked.
"She?"
"Every car is a she. And she is wild!"
They drove for about two minutes, when Dick stopped by the zeta beam. Wally glanced at him annoyed. They could have walked there themselves. No need for the car. For fuck's sake, the thing was two blocks away from his house. But he couldn't bring himself to complain, the guy was whistling in happiness. He typed a coordinate in the machine and threw Wally in. They arrived in a place that was still dark. A pink showed up in the sky, shyly creeping in some light. There was a car near the zeta beam, an Italian car, a Lamborghini if Wally would guess. They entered the vehicle and Dick started to drive away from the small city.
"Why there is a zeta beam here? Isn't this city too small for that?"
"I placed it here. I did with other places we also are going today" he turned off the inner lights.
"Why?"
"I said I was planning this for a while. Since your last birthday, KF. But stop being impressed with silly stuff. I brought you here to be impressed by another thing. We aren't going fast for a reason, you know. This is supposed to be relaxing. So look outside and relax" he did a turn and an amazing view entered his sight. It was mountains, and the road went straight to it. "Welcome to the Tianmen Mountain Road!"
"This is pretty!" that was really amazing.
"Of course it is! I researched for this. I even googled Most Beautiful Roads of the World to find this! Me! Googling!" Wally laughed.
The silence took place. It wasn't the weird silence, he was expecting so close to his huge break up, it was a comfortable silence with him enjoying the sight. He thought about saying they should have come when there was light. But Dick seemed really proud right now, so probably that part wasn't over yet. Wally glanced to his phone, he had spent the last night zipping through all the pictures he and Artemis had taken together, and some of their messages. He unlocked the screen and stared into her beautiful dark eyes.
"Come on! Look to the window! If I catch you with this phone I'll drive us down the cliff!" he speeded the car and drifted a very dangerous turn, just for dramatic reasons.
"And I guess you have your utility belt and grapple gun to be safe while I die a painful death" smirked.
"You know me too well, KF!"
He put the phone down. It didn't take much for them to get to the top. Dick left the car in the first place he found and started to climb a bunch of stairs with him, pulling him by the arm.
"Come on! We can't miss it!" pulled him forward.
"If you tell me where it is I can run us there!"
"No superspeed! Just, come on!" he half ran, half jumped the stairs.
Wally tried his best to follow him. The end of the stairs was a hole in the mountain, they reached there almost at the same time as the sun rose from the clouds. Wallace looked mesmerized by the sight in front of him. After the shock of such beautiful view, he turned to see all the place. It was beautiful. The air was fresh and cool, it had that mountain scent that was hard to explain. Dick was smiling broadly to him.
"You have five minutes before we have to go."
"I liked here! Can't we stay?"
"Nope, We have a tight schedule, as I previously said!"
"But why?"
"Because, mister, today we'll spend it watching the sun rise in as many places as we can. Today will be a day full of new days, even if I previously had thought of only give you a lot of happy birthdays and spent the rest of the year joking that you would be way older than you really are. Now I will have to buy you the fucking game console you've been pestering me about it! My life sucks!" closed his eyes sighing.
"You don't have to" said smiling.
"Of course I do!" he walked to him. "No matter what, Wally. It is my job to make you happy! And you are a prat that love your birthday!" grabbed his hands and started to pull him to the car.
The descent was almost prettier than the ascent. It missed the surprise of first seeing it, but the light made it a complete new experience. Dick drove them back to the zeta beam. The trip back was full with conversation. They started to discuss How to Train your Dragon ('it was reprised last night... in the Netflix… I just love Toothless, okay?'). Wally realized there was a lot of time since he had watched for the last time. Dick smiled as an answer and promised later they could watch all of it. After all the sunrises of course. And as long as Wally promise to him to lie that he loved the sunrises more than the movie.
At some point, after the sunrise #3, they had a stop to catch some sleep. Just a few hours before going to next one. Dick pulled the car over the parking lot of the Grand Hotel Glacier du Rhône. They caught a room with two beds. As soon as Dick touched the mattress he slept. Probably tired of driving so much, a bruise also indicated he patrolled the night before. Wally sat at the edge of his bed, caressed his hair, whispering a thank you and lightly kissed the top of his head.
They woke up with the alarm of Dick's phone. It was a lame music from a Batman web series that reminded him a lot the 60's. The series was meant to be lame, Bruce hated it, but Dick was secretly funding the guys because it was his guilty pleasure. Dick gave him a quick and wet kiss in the cheek and Wally realized he slept in the same bed as him.
"Come on! We do need to hurry a little. I was planning to do this two months from now. I forgot to add that on my calculations and if we don't hurry we can miss next sunrise!" he grabbed the redhead's hand and pulled him up.
"You can stop now, you know. It's been more than enough. Three sunrises in one day! I don't know many people who can say they saw that!"
"The record is three, actually. Supeys did it once. We're breaking that! We're going to do five! Now move your lazy ass. We can rest after!"
"Seriously, you must be the most awesome friend in this world!" he laughed. If the last five days told him something, was that he wouldn't smile ever again in his life. Of course, the last five days never ever had met his best friend.
"I sure am! And to remind you, this is day one of a weekend! So, come on! MOVE YOUR ASS!"
They checked out and Dick paid a full night, in spite they had spent there only a few hours. Only then Wally realized they had eaten, bought trinkets, spent gas and done everything they did during the road trip and he even had his wallet with him. This couldn't be cheap, but somehow he knew that was making his friend happy. Maybe it was the way he was whistling that stupid theme song. Wally kept in mind to one day pay him back, maybe he couldn't do with money, but for sure he could think a way to do it as a gesture.
Sunrise #4 was in Brazil. It was the only that was inside the city, and sure Rio de Janeiro was pretty. Even if there was volumes of smog. For a moment he thought Dick was taking them to the Christ the Redeemer, or Cristo Redentor as Dick loved to say in his annoyingly perfect Portuguese. But he took a bridge, Rio-Niterói Bridge, eight miles of bridge. It was a slow ride ('How can there be traffic this time in the morning?') and the Sunrise greeted them inside the car. But it was pretty nonetheless. And hot. Fuck, that place was hot! They made the trip back to the zeta beam shirtless.
That was the time when Wally could assess Dick's wounds. There were a lot of black spots on his chest area and stomach. There was a grip mark on his arm and a nasty cut, red with inflammation.
"It's pretty much the usual" he said, looking to him.
"I know. It's just… I wish they weren't" Wally averted his eyes to the sea beside him.
"Yeah, sure… you were eyeing me, weren't you? My perfect carved muscles!" Wally laughed out loud.
"You wished, Dumbo!"
"Why would I wish, Rust? Did you ever look at yourself in the mirror, NERD?"
"I may be a nerd, but I'm also a runner. Hot legs. And everyone knows you have a thing for red hair, Dork"
"Shut up, Kidiot!" he blushed a little.
Wally counted that as a victory. It was a tight score, about 345-32 to Dick. But Wally was closing in. He did four in a row, the best streak Dick ever had was a hundred when they were pre-teens. So, Wally was very confident in his retort abilities.
They arrived in Las Vegas, and Wally instantly knew what sunrise was this. He had said once to him, many years ago, Wally ran amok after losing control of his speed for the first time, then he found himself in the middle of the desert. It was night and he was all alone, but when the sun came out, painting the whole scene in red and bringing together with it his uncle running through the road, he thought it was the most beautiful scene he would see in his entire life. He told that to Dick, in the time he only knew him as Robin, in babbling between his food and never mentioned again. Did he remember that old thing?
The road really was the Valley of Fire. He couldn't look at the window, only to his friend, unable to believe that was true, that he remembered that. Dick was smiling softly, proud of himself. Wally opened his mouth to say something, anything. But Nightwing popped an usb flash drive on the radio and I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) sounded out loud.
"How good was that series?"
"Legend… wait for it…"
"Dary! Legendary!" Dick completed laughing.
"I do prefer Friends, though" added, little by little trying to avert his eyes from the man to the window. Soon enough the sun would come and he didn't want to miss the whole place being bathed in red lights. But at the same time, how pretty should be that face in those lights? The merge between the blue and the red?
"You can't compare them. I mean, sure they are sitcoms about friends hanging out, but are two different stories. You can compare the amount of entertainment you get from them. And sometimes How I Met Your Mother was extremely fun. More than anything I ever watched" Wally squeezed his eyes.
"Are you trying to say you prefer HIMYM over Friends?"
"Shush! I'm speaking. BUT, always there is a but, if you just watch, I dunno, epi five from season four and go to your friend's house and that same episode is on tv. You will watch it again and have the same fun you had when saw it the first time! It's timeless! And for that Friends is better! There you go!" gave him a victorious smile.
"I love you, man!"
"I know! Now watch your sunrise, it's the last of today!" but Wally couldn't.
The lights came down over the Valley, each rock glowing in red, but Wally was looking at another place. He saw the light dancing like a flame in his eyes, he saw the glow of joy in them. The small twitch on his lips forming a smile.
"It's beautiful" whispered.
"Sure is" he beamed a smile.
They stayed silent for a long time. Dick was staring the road, Wally was staring Dick.
"I'm used to be the center of attention, but you're managing to make me shy. What's up?"
"Sorry, I just… I'm only wondering, how could you have planned this? It… it was amazing!"
"Glad you liked it. It will have more tomorrow. I just forget to plan when exactly we will be back. I mean… this whole timezone planning… I forgot to account our own. Well, we can afford to miss a day, can't we?"
"Dude, this was almost romantic. And you say there will be more? Are you trying to get into my pants?" Dick laughed.
"I won't take advantage of your broken heart. When you're healed, I'll get you drunk and get into your pants!" joked.
"Sorry, bro, can't get drunk" Wally shrugged, even if Dick wasn't looking.
"Oh, there you're wrong. Never doubt me! But getting you drunk it's not for this year! So, U-turn and go to a bed. I can't lie. I'm tired" Wally nodded as an answer.
Dick pulled over and hopped out the car. Wally raised an eyebrow. He opened his door and pushed him to the driver seat.
"Guess you know how to make this work. Your drive now. I will rest. When we reach the interstate fifteen, I'll take it back, if you want" Dick broadened his smile and sat in the passenger seat. "Step on the gas and let's go!"
Wally was going really fast, not as fast as he was used to run, but fast. He couldn't lie that driving was fun, even if was too much of a slug. Come on, he could run faster than the speed of sound, a hundred and twenty five miles per hour couldn't compare. But it was fun nonetheless, especially when Dick opened his window and started to scream, he hit the convertible button, and the top slid down. The desert road was empty, but he couldn't dare to take the interstate, so they changed back, but before that they stayed about an hour riding in the desert.
They arrive in what Wally could say it was the most expensive hotel he ever saw. Dick was dealing with the 'dude at the counter' to get their rooms. He was occupying himself in looking at anything that seemed way too expensive, about everything.
"Hey, uh, we got a little trouble" Dick muttered to him.
"What?"
"Ah, they are all booked. Seems some concert in town and everyone came to watch it. They have but one room, and it is a double bed. It's the presidential suite, so they assured me it's big enough" he gave a tentative smile. He was meaning 'I'm too tired to go looking for another place'.
"It won't be the first time we share a bed" shrugged. "We just slept in a single bed together in Switzerland" chuckled.
Dick beamed in relief and ran to the counter to book the room. Some of the guests were looking at them with suspicion. They were in casual clothes in some really fancy hotel. Dick at least was way better dressed, Wally was in his home attires and sandals, no brand clothes, hell, even his face looked common, he missed the perky nose. One woman crossed him and made an acid comment to her friend, whom elbowed her.
"He's with Richard Grayson, can't you see it? Are you sure you want to be on the bad side of the Waynes?" and he realized his friend was even more awesome.
"Let's go! To the presidential room… suite… whatever.. to a bed!" and he raised the key card as it was a sword. Wally laughed at his silliness.
The fucking room was bigger than his home. Wally made sure Dick had heard that the fucking room was bigger than his home! There was a couch, a fireplace, a balcony, that fucking room probably had a kitchen even. IT WAS A FUCKING ROOM! He heard Dick's laugh. He turned in time to see him falling in the most giant fucking bed in the world.
"Your face, Walls. Your face!"
"It's not my fault!" walked to him, sitting beside him. That was a mattress or the heaven?
"First time in a presidential suite?" he got comfortable. Wally tried to copy him, but he couldn't move right on that heavenly thing.
"You know it is. You are so fucking used to this rich stuff, I'm not, okay?"
"I'm not either" he whispered, a smile on his face, dozing off slightly.
"You sure are, dumb head" Wally fought with the blankets, those weren't blanket, but he didn't grow with a butler to teach him what was what. He covered his friend, lying at his side.
"You can eat whatever you want, Wally. Don't care about the price, do whatever you want. It's a gift" his voice was so low Wally almost missed it. "Bruce said it was okay. He said my limit was four million. I should say we didn't even get close" he chuckled, before finally sleeping.
Wally smiled. He grabbed his phone realizing it was dead. He had forgotten the damn thing. But he didn't need it. Being there with his best friend was the best, the past couldn't do him any good. He slept watching the up and down on his chest, the sound of his breathing lulling him. He dreamed about red dancing in blue.
He woke up alone in the bed. Dick was at the door talking to a hotel employee. He had a bunch of paper bags in hands and was talking in a low voice. Why Wally couldn't imagine. The room was big enough for him to scream in one end and Wally even flutter in his sleep.
"I got us new clothes" Dick said when got to the bed, climbing up and sitting beside him.
"Why?"
"We didn't bring any. And we are leaving soon. We have the new day ahead us and I have to feed the monster!" Wally threw one of the softest pillows of this world on his friend. It was just a symbol to his feelings, because a pillow that soft would never do any harm. Dick laughed, after a while he stopped and looked at him gently. "How are you?"
"I'm fine" and it was true. "I wasn't, and maybe I was being so stupid. If I had came to talk to you, I would be fine sooner. You are amazing, dude!" he smiled.
"You just broke up with Arty. I will understand if you aren't" they were holding hands. When did that happen?
"I am. I cried a lot, but we've been fighting a lot this last year. So I was ready for when it happened" he released a hand and touched his face. "You made everything better, you gave a lot of new days."
"Sorry you spent them with me" Wally laughed.
"That was the best part!" touched their foreheads. "Thank you."
"No, I just wanted to make you happy, if you are, so I should thank you!" they exchanged a smile. Dick moved away and cleared his throat. "So, let's take a bath and leave?"
"Better, right? This whole bromance thing is a little embarrassing when are only the two of us" Dick laughed out loud. That sound warmed his heart.
There was only one bathroom, but it was huge. There was a pool, that wasn't a bathtub, in the middle of it. Wally never bathed slow since he got his powers, but there was a first time for everything. He was so relaxed when finished that was like he was another man. He dressed the new clothes and left.
"Seriously, Wally? It's like pearls to pigs! Come here! Let me do your hair!" he sat in the bed as ordered. Dick disappeared into the bathroom and came back with a whole lot of bottles and combs and brushes.
"What are you doing?"
"Being happy you are forbidden of running and I can make this nest you call hair stylish!" Wally shut his eyes as Dick started to pull his hair to disentangle.
"Sorry if not all of us are born with a silky raven hair, you gypsy!"
"We do prefer being called Romani" Wally stuck his tongue to him.
He finished and left to a bath himself. Wally took that time to assess his look in the mirror. It wasn't bad, not that he was used to that kind of clothes and hair style. Now he didn't look so weird in a place like that. Dick spent a lot of time in the bathroom, but when he left Wally was impressed. How could he be prettier? It was impossible, but there he was, hotter than hell!
"Close your mouth, Kid Fish. Let's go?" said, buttoning his sleeve.
"Sure, where are we going?"
"To the finest restaurant I know!" Wally tried his best to not do a face before that. Sure, fancy restaurants, hooray! Bunch of forks and near to no food.
The valet brought the car. They hopped in and Dick drove away. Las Vegas was pretty, even during the day, there wasn't the lights, but there were all the water fountains doing a pretty impressive show. They drove by all the casinos to a side road.
"I was here last week, Bruce wanted me to do some Wayne Enterprise meeting. He is being reaaaaaally annoying with this heir thing. So, I found this place and the only thing I could think was 'I need to bring Wally here!'" he stopped by a small diner. "So ready to the finest restaurant in Las Vegas?"
His eyes were widened. Wally was seriously expecting some fancy place. But it didn't even look like a lost treasure. It was a normal diner. Open 24h sign and everything. Dick led him inside and sat in one booth. After what it looked like hours a waitress showed up.
"I'll be taking the cheeseburger, lots of bacon, please. French fry and grape juice, I'm on a diet" smiled sarcastically. "My friend here will challenge the Monster" he smiled charmingly now. The waitress gave Wally a look of doubt.
"You sure, it's fifty bucks if you can't eat it" she commented.
"Oh, he is. It's a hundred if he can!" she shrugged and walked away.
"What was that?"
"This place pays a hundred dollars to those who can finish the Monster. It's a giant burger. Just, no visible superspeed, okay? For the records you are paying this meal, so eat it up!"
Wally beamed to him, being paid for eating. That was the dream. Dick started to sing that infamous theme song ('na na na na na na na na na na na na Batman! Batman! Batman!'). The waitress brought the food, it was a big burger, but no giant. He raised an eyebrow. But that was Dick's food. His food was being brought by two guys. It was the size of the table top. Wally's eyes glowed. Dick smiled to him and he smiled back. His best friend knew him too well.
For the rules of the challenge, someone from the staff should be watching him eat it, because only he could do. Also, he had a two hour span to complete it. Wally started. It wasn't that good, but for some reason it seemed the best food he ever ate ('Sorry, Alfie!'). He ate it all in forty minutes. He could do in way less time, but he couldn't give away his powers.
"Told you, miss. He would do it!" they hi fived.
There was a photo shooting after it. Which was basically a photo by the staff to go to the wall of the Monster Hunters and lots with Dick's phone. They then left for the zeta beam. It was getting dark. Wally was enjoying the car ride. The lights of Las Vegas were starting to illuminate the night. The zeta beam was a little away from where they were and there was a jam. They talked a lot about the past and missions, they started to play car games, but Dick was hellish good on those. Wally was more than content in watching him drive.
The zeta beam led them to nowhere. There was nothing but the holographic tree that was hiding the zeta beam.
"How can you find this?" asked.
"I have a tracker. Come on, stop asking questions, okay? I washed lots of spaceships in JLA to get these zeta beams. So let's move on. Talking about it, here. Dress this!" he handed his Kid Flash uniform.
"What?"
"I revoke your running denial. I brought you here to run, KF" ended as sweetly as he could. Wally looked around and saw a sign saying it was the Australia's longest straight road. Ninety miles. "Barry told me about it. I had to bring you here!"
"Why did he tell you and not me?"
"Are we really going to discuss how your uncle loves me more than you? Go, Wally. Run!"
Wally changed in a flash. He ran. Faster than he ever tried. There was so long since he last run that speed. He took a lot of laps on that road. It was beautifully straight and well paved. He didn't find anyone on it, saved for two trucks he easily dodged. He stopped before Dick almost an hour after, panting. Then all his joy flew away and his heart sunk into his chest. Dick was leaning against the sign, all traces of his smile gone. His eyes were sad and he was looking down. His phone in his hands. Oh no.
"Tell me you didn't!" there was a lump in his throat.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he did call Artemis.
"Dick!"
"If you had told me…"
"What? You would get away from me?" he was shouting.
"Yeah! I'm just a friend" he was shouting back.
"Just a friend? Are you crazy? Look at all, you did! If I had told you where I would be now?"
"In home, with your girlfriend, watching some action movie she chose to wait to see the lame romcom you chose! Being happy! WITH THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE!" Dick was breathless after that yell. "We're heading back. You are going to call her and I will leave you life" he turned to head back to the zeta beam. Wally ran to his front.
"No! She gave a choice, you know? She asked me! And I chose! I chose you! Do you understand that? I chose you!" he grabbed his shoulders.
"Wally…"
"No! I chose you, how hard is to get that? You, not her. You! I… I don't want to go back and get back together with her if that means I'm losing you! It is my choice! Not yours!"
"But…"
"There are no buts. Accept that" hugged him. Cupping his face, touching their foreheads.
"Why?" Dick was crying. Wally raised an eyebrow and wiped a tear away with his thumb.
"Hey, we are partners, friends for life. If you're going, I'm going. The whole package. Come on, don't cry!" chuckled a little. Dick sobbed, Wally laughed. "Hey, stop crying!"
"I can't! You idiot! I… I just can't! Shut up!" buried his face in his chest. "How could you choose me? You love her!"
"I guess I love you more" squeezed him between laughs. He caressed his hair and Dick cried more. "Did you want so badly for me to be away?"
"NO!" yelled. "You're having fun with me, aren't you?"
"Sure am. You are always so composed. Look at me, Robs" the old nickname made him sob a little more. "I love you!" Dick smiled back between his tears. "Now, come on! What else had you planned for today?"