"Who are you kidding?" Wally asked darkly as he turned to stare – glare – at Dick. "It only gets more dangerous from here."
Nightwing stared at his tense best friend with furrowed brows from behind his mask. He took a step closer, but Wally turned and began to walk away.
"I know this is hard," Dick said lowly, "but it's necessary for the mission."
Wally froze in his spot. His head was bowed and he concentrated on the dirty pavement below him.
"Necessary?" His voice had been huskier lately, dark, too un-Wally.
Dick wasn't sure what to say around him as of late – or, more accurately, whenever he did see him. They were both busy these days, Nightwing with leading the Team and Wally with school and Artemis. He wasn't quite sure when Wally became so different, but he knew didn't like it.
"Was it really?" Wally emphasized, turning once again to show Dick the look of frustration on his face.
"Yes," Nightwing said without waver. "You know that. Kaldur needed a way to gain Black Manta's trust."
"And there was no other way? What, suddenly the genius detective can't come up with a solution that doesn't involve putting my girlfriend at risk?"
A rush of anger passed through Dick, disrupting the empathy that had once settled there. "She's a big girl, Wally. She's on board for this. I couldn't have forced her even if I wanted to."
"Did you want to?" Wally blurted out in a tone that didn't fit him. "Would you have tried to persuade her if she said no?"
Nightwing opened his mouth to fire back, but the words rang loud in his ears, forcing him to stop and think for a moment. He had never lied to Wally before; he was his best friend, he told him everything, including his secret ID when he had clear orders to do nothing of the sort. What made this moment any different?
With a sigh, Dick allowed his shoulder to slack and his head to bow ever-so-slightly. "Yeah," he said and he hated the way his voice cracked. "I would have tried."
Wally blinked at his best friend, feeling stupid and surprised and angry, but most of all, hurt. He wasn't expecting something so painfully true. He wasn't expecting this from Dick.
Wally shook his head, gaining Dick's attention. Straightening up, his eyes focused on the red-head before him, his face burning with embarrassment when he recognized the look on that pale face. Wally was disappointed.
"Why?" he asked simply, but everything about his tone suggested that the meaning if the word was anything but. "Why would you do that to me? I'm your best friend, Dick, or did you forget?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Nightwing took an angry step forward, his face scrunched up with his own frustration. "If I remember correctly, Wally, you're the one that walked out."
"Well, here I am." He brought his arms up in an exaggerated movement, waving them around slowly to make his point. "And there goes my girlfriend." His finger jabbed out to the empty waters. "I don't know what else you want."
"I don't know, Wally, how about my best friend back?"
Wally's eye twitched. He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and inhaled deeply, never looking away from the tall man in front of him. They had grown up too much, he thought idly. Things had become too different. He needed out. He needed –
"How 'bout a little elaboration?"
Dick rolled his eyes, but the action went unseen. His muscled arms crossed over his broad chest, but he stayed rooted in his spot, alert and focused. Wally's stance was casual, but everything about him said that he was on edge. It shouldn't be this way.
"Look," he breathed. "I'm sorry that I had to bring you – both of you – into this. I didn't want to, but it's the only sure way to continue with this mission."
Wally's eyelids slipped over his green orbs and his lips pulled to the side. "Everything's always about the mission now."
"This is serious, Wally. From the way you've been acting lately, I figured you'd get that."
He gave a dry laugh and shoved his hands deeper into his pockets, shrugging his shoulders. "I get that this is something we're all in now. I get that Artemis wants to help. I even get that everyone is putting something on the line here. But what I don't understand is how you can think I'm the only one who's changed."
Dick's head cocked to the side and the whites of his mask narrowed. "Other than that thing we call growing up, how've I changed?"
"Have you looked at yourself lately!" Wally's voice got a little lighter as it increased in volume, but the stress was there and it made itself known as he threw his hands in the air. "Do you remember that thing I had to drag out of you? That little piece of information that made you want to forget about being leader?"
Nightwing stiffened.
"No? Maybe because you're too focused on the mission to remember."
"I know where you're going with this," Nightwing said clearly as he raised his hand. "You're wr –"
"You're becoming just like him." Dick shook his head, but Wally continued. "What happened to not wanting to sacrifice everything for a mission?"
"Okay, I'll admit that being leader is stressful and calls for a lot of attention, but I'm not sacrificing everything."
"Where did Artemis just go, Dude?" Wally continued rapidly. "Where has Kaldur been for all of these months?"
"And where are you in this, huh? You – you think you can just run off to the land of college and pretend to be normal?" Nightwing mirrored Wally's earlier action and allowed his arms to fly up momentarily. "You say you get that this is serious. It'snecessary so that no one else ends up like Tula."
Wally cringed at the mention of their deceased teammate. Dick, ever the observant one, noticed and gave a small sigh, stepping forward until he was standing in front of his friend.
"I know that this is scary for you…" Wally narrowed his eyes slightly, looking ready to say something, but he let out a defeated breath instead. "I care about her, too. You know Kaldur will keep her safe and I'll make sure that we get this over with as soon as possible, whether you stick around or not. You have my word."
Nightwing held out his gloved hand. Wally stared at it for a moment. Glancing at the face of his old friend, he decided to trust him. His own gloved hand gripped Dick's and then he yanked the tall, raven-haired boy into his chest, wrapping his arm around the muscled back before him. Dick shouldn't have been surprised by the gesture –Wally had always been affectionate – but this moment made him realize just how much he missed working beside KF.
Dick reciprocated the hug without a sarcastic comment, patting Wally's back while a slow smile spread over his lips.
"I'm keeping an eye out, Rob," Wally murmured. He wasn't quite sure why, but the slip of the name didn't seem out of place. Dick pulled back, raising a brow that was concealed behind his mask.
"Rob? It's been a while since I've heard that."
"Calling you Night is out of the question."
Dick's laugh brought a smile to Wally's face.
"So," Dick said as Wally deserted the idea of putting his arm around the younger boy's shoulders. "You whelmed enough to take on KF again?"
Wally sighed, shaking his head as the two started forward.
"Not quite, Dude."
"You ever gonna' to tell me why you gave it up?"
Wally glanced at his friend from the side, the tiredness he was feeling suddenly evident. "I thought you knew."
"I do," Dick said with a soft smile. He wrapped his arm around Wally's shoulders, remembering all the times they had walked like this before. "Just wondering when you'll say it out."
"I don't even want to think about that right now." Dick nodded in understanding, squeezing Wally's shoulders before dropping his arm. The two slowed down until they stopped. He turned his head to face Nightwing one more time. "Thanks, Dick. For…" Wally chewed his lip in thought. "For not giving up."
"If I remember, some Speedster once told me what a best pal was for."
Wally smiled.
"See you around." It wasn't a question and Wally didn't answer. Instead, he nodded his agreement and then turned, leaving Dick to watch him walk away again.
Wrote this pretty fast. I have too many feelings about this friendship.
So... it's not very good. But it's practice, right? Hope you still enjoy.