When all was said and done, when the dust settled and the crowds cleared out and the Rogue-of-the-Week was being carted off to Blackgate, they always seemed to find themselves right here. Laying in bed together, limbs tangled, masks forgotten. Just Wally West and Dick Grayson while the rest of the world melted away.
Today's downtime came in the aftermath of a particularly nasty fight with Captain Cold. While Cold was never especially difficult to defeat, this time he'd managed to land a lucky hit – a blast aimed at a group of civilians that Nightwing took instead.
Cold must've upgraded his tech since their last fight, because Nightwing was encased head to toe in ice. The Flash gave himself a second to panic – a minute, really, in speedster-time – before bashing Cold's teeth in and setting to work freeing Nightwing. It was a simple matter of vibrating at a certain frequency so he could transfer enough kinetic energy from his hands to the ice in order to incite a phase change – solid to liquid. The tricky part was doing this without hurting Nightwing. If the Flash excited the molecules in Nightwing's body, he could cause injuries worse than those he was already getting from the ice. Burns, soft tissue damage, even organ failure if the Flash was careless enough.
Lucky the Flash was such an old hand at this. In the end, Nightwing wasn't in the ice for long. Little more than a minute. Three at the most. Still, the cold and lack of oxygen certainly didn't do him any favors. His knees buckled the second the ice melted away, and he'd collapsed, gasping and shivering into the Flash's arms.
"Babe, hey, I got you," the Flash murmured, tucking Nightwing's head under his chin. The words seemed to be as much for his own sake as for his partner's. He looked to the CCPD unit on scene for confirmation they had Captain Cold under control before scooping Nightwing up and making a beeline for their shared apartment.
Post-mission cuddles weren't an official tradition, but they were certainly a necessity this time, what with the way Dick continued to shiver even after changing into dry clothes and having at least three blankets draped over him.
"Come on, let's get you to bed," Wally'd said, leading Dick by the hand to their bedroom. "You need some body-to-body contact to warm you up."
"You know that's a myth, right?" Dick said through chattering teeth, but let himself be led just the same.
So they ended up, as ever, in bed together. Limbs tangled, foreheads touching, breathe mingling. Sharing each other's warmth, basking in the peace of each other's presence and the soft rock playing in the background.
Times like these Wally thought he could really appreciate those sappy love songs. He had half a mind to start singing now, tone-deafness be damned.
Instead he pulled back a few inches, taking in Dick's face. His fingers danced at Dick's hairline, brushing a few stray strands from his eyes. Here was a moment he could cling to forever, if only time would allow it.
His heart clenched at the thought. Forever was a long time, but shorter for two people who routinely threw themselves off buildings or in front of speeding bullets or directly into a monster's mouth. And if today had proven anything, it was that Dick was too, too vulnerable. Sure, he was fine now, but he could have easily suffocated in the ice. Succumbed to hypothermia. Wally had seen all too many people lose their lives to an ice villain's whims.
Dick's eyes were closed, and he leaned his hand slightly into Wally's touch. He looked peaceful. Like the fight had been miles away and a century ago. Like he hadn't come that close to losing his life.
"Babe?" Wally said, gently interrupting the quiet.
"Mmm?" Dick's eyes fluttered open lazily.
"Love you," Wally breathed, and cherished the way a smile spread across Dick's face like melted butter. No matter how long they were together, the effect he had on Dick would never fail to be anything short of amazing.
"I know," Dick said. "Love you too." And god, his voice was still so weak. It make Wally's breath hitch to hear it.
The danger inherent to superhero life wasn't anything new. Wally was well aware how quickly so many things could take a turn for the worst, and how brutal the consequences could be. It wasn't the first time he'd seen Dick hurt or feared for his fiancé's life. But somehow, he thought that he'd be used to it by now. That it would be easier.
It wasn't. Not by a long shot.
"Walls?" The content smile on Dick's face had morphed into one of concern. Wally must've been projecting again. Whoops. He was supposed to be comforting Dick, not worrying him. But here Dick was, giving him that soft expression and rubbing soothing circles into his shoulder blade. "You okay?"
Wally let a small smile lift the corners of his lips. "Yeah, I just …" He brought his hand down from Dick's temple to cup his jaw. "You really scared me today, jumping into that cold blast."
Dick's hand faltered for a moment before resuming its motion, a little slower and with more force. "I'm okay now," he said. "You saved me – and I saved those girls."
"I know," Wally sighed, dropping his gaze to focus on a point somewhere past Dick's shoulder. "But you were in the ice for almost three minutes, and … I just got scared. That this was when I would lose you. 'Cause I mean, I always … I always knew I'd have to –" And wow, since when was it so hard to form words? Might have something to do with the lump in his throat. "One day … I'm gonna watch you die. And I guess I'm not ready for –"
"Woah, hold on," Dick cut him off, propping himself up on one arm to look down at Wally. The hand that was on Wally's shoulder came to rest on his elbow. Wally dragged his eyes back to Dick's face and immediately regretted it. His expression of mingled confusion and worry was worse than the outrage Wally expected. "What do you mean, you're gonna watch me die?"
Wally sucked in a sharp breath. It was something he'd thought for a long time, though he often pushed in to the back of his mind. In a way, it was one of those indisputable truths.
Dick Grayson is reckless.
Dick Grayson is human.
Dick Grayson is going to die young.
And Wally was the poor sap dumb enough to love him.
He shouldn't have said anything. He hadn't meant to, really. Wally had long accepted that one day he'd lose the love of his life. He couldn't change that. At least, he couldn't change that without changing Dick, and wouldn't that just be another way of losing him?
So Wally'd resigned himself to his fate, and resolved only to prolong it as long as he could.
But Dick was looking at him like that. Like he'd move mountains or swallow seas if it was what Wally needed. None of the fear or anger or any of the other reactions Wally expected.
Wally shrugged, an awkward motion laying down. "It's just … we have a dangerous life, y'know? And you don't – you don't have any powers or anything, no speed or healing … you're vulnerable and you always throw yourself into danger, you take uncalculated risks and one day it's gonna be too much, it's gonna catch up to you, it's gonna kill you, and I –"
"Walls." Dick's hand was on his shoulder, his face scrunched in concern. At some point during his ramble, Wally had sat up, and he had his arms wrapped around his knees. Something like a vice constricted around his heart. God, why was he being such a child about this? Dick was the one who got trapped in the ice, Dick should be the one getting comforted. Dick was the one who almost died, so why was Wally the one freaking out? Why was Wally the one struggling to catch his breath when he should be supporting Dick?
"Wally?" And Dick's arms were around him now, pressing Wally's back into his chest, fingers carding through his hair. "Baby, it's okay. I'm here. You saved me. I'm not dying."
But the fingers scratching Wally's scalp were still cold as ice, and he could feel a small tremor in Dick's chest when he breathed in. Dick was okay, but that didn't change the fact that he was so close to being not okay.
"I know," Wally breathed. "But one day you will."
Dick let out a huff that ruffled Wally's hair. "Not any time soon," he said. "Not while you're here."
Normally a statement like that would warrant an eye-roll, but Wally was too worked up for that. "Dick …"
"I mean it," Dick said, tightening his hold on Wally. "I'm not being facetious. I knew I could take the cold blast because I knew you would save me."
"I might not've," Wally grumbled.
"No, you would've," Dick said. "The fight was almost over. You were just about to bag Cold, and then you'd have plenty of time to get me." He rested his chin on Wally's head. "I'm not as reckless as you think. The risks I take are calculated, and, not to brag, but I'm pretty good at math."
Wally hummed, finally relaxing into Dick's hold. He could hear the slight smirk in Dick's last few words, and it made him feel that maybe it really was okay. Maybe he could let himself be comforted by his fiancé's words.
"You really trust me like that?" he whispered.
"Of course." Dick pressed a lingering kiss onto Wally's head, speaking his next words into his hair. "You're my safety net."
The vice around Wally's heart was gone, and instead his chest swelled like a balloon until he thought he would burst with the pressure of it. He squirmed around until he was facing Dick, head resting on their pillow, and snaked his arms around Dick's waist.
"Love you," he said again. Dick hummed in response and cuddled in closer, resting his head on Wally's shoulder.
Their lives would always be dangerous. There would always be another villain to defeat, another mission to partake in, another world to save. But right now, they had peace. The danger was past, and it wouldn't do to dwell on what could've been. What might happen, one day. Because Dick was here, and he was okay, and Wally could hold on to that. If Dick could trust Wally to always save him, then Wally could trust Dick to always come home.