Just finished watching "Young Justice" and darn if that ending wasn't heartbreaking. Granted the show was canceled so we'll never know but I have a theory that Wally wasn't actually dead and would have made a reappearance in the third season had there ever been one. Course, maybe that's just wishful thinking cause I loved Spitfire. Anyway, enjoy!
~The Last Ronin~
"Are you sure you don't want any help?" M'Gann asks quietly, squeezing my shoulder.
"No, I…I need to do this alone," I attempt to smile at her but I'm under no illusion that I succeed. Nothing else to say I turn towards the stairs and slowly begin my ascent, my feet leaden.
"If you need anything Artemis, please call," my friend calls after me and I lift a hand in acknowledgement but don't turn around. If I turn around now I'll never find the strength to get up these stairs.
I fish my key from my pocket. My hand shakes as I try to slide the slip of metal home and it takes several tries before I manage to get the door unlocked. Stepping inside I let the door swing shut and out of habit throw the bolt because Wally is forever forgetting to do so. It echoes loudly in the empty apartment and I scrub a hand across my eyes to get rid of the stray couple of tears that managed to escape. None of that now.
Slowly I shuffle through the rooms, turning on lights, despair settling on me like weights dragging me down. Where do I even begin? Everywhere I look I see signs of Wally: a small pile of empty pizza boxes on the table; unopened mail with his name staring back at me; a stray sock that didn't make it into the laundry basket; his toothbrush and razor; shoes tossed haphazardly next to the door; an open science textbook face down on our bed; his favorite t-shirt I could never convince him to get rid of despite how old and ratty it was.
My feet freeze in place as my eyes land on the shirt and I find my hands reaching for it without my instruction. Picking up the thin cloth I burry my nose in the soft fabric and inhale. His scent floods my senses and several more tears trail down my cheeks as I find myself looking for him before I remember that he's not here…will never be here again. Long minutes pass before I manage to get my feet working once more and I turn to leave. This was a bad idea. I'm not ready for this yet. I don't know if I'll ever be ready.
Something catches my eye before I make it through the bedroom door and a sense of dread settles low in my stomach as I find myself turning again. The pit in my stomach grows heavier and I feel a sob building in my throat as I stare at the small object that had caught my attention. Like a death row inmate heading to the chair I approach the small box, sitting on Wally's nightstand, a couple of papers filled with his hasty scrawl sitting underneath it. A nearby wastebasket overflows with crumpled papers filled similarly.
Hand shaking, worse than with the key, and I pause for a moment, unsure if I should pick up the papers or the box first. I opt for the papers and a sick feeling overtakes me as I try to read Wally's messy writing through watery eyes. Tears fall free, smudging some of the ink before the pages slip through my nerveless fingers and I reach for the box. I nearly drop the small velvet covered box with how badly my hand shakes and I stare at it. Carefully, still clutching his shirt I flip the lid open and the sob I'd been trying to repress bubbles from my throat.
Tears break free of the tentative control I'd had on them as I sink onto the bed and stare at the confirmation of what Wally's notes suggested. A simple gold ring set with three small diamonds sits nestled in the dark velvet of the box. Another, louder, sob erupts from between my lips as I drop the box into my lap and burry my face in my hands.
The words of Wally's writing bounce around my mind and I can picture him staring holes through the paper as he chews absently on his pen, scribbling something before scratching it out with a scowl on his face. Ideas on places and methods along with small speeches littered the page but he hadn't settled on anything yet. It was a work in progress – one that'll remain forever incomplete – but the meaning is still clear. He had been working out a way to propose. He had wanted to ask me to marry him.
I would have said yes in a heartbeat.
I cry for a long time before I finally fall asleep, tears still streaming from my eyes.
x-x-x-x-x
It takes me a moment to realize I'm dreaming because I'm still where I fell asleep, curled into a ball on Wally's side of the bed; ring box safely back on the nightstand, t-shirt clutched in my hands. But that's what it has to be because Wally is standing over me, his hand stroking slowly through my hair, a sad smile on his lips, his eyes watery.
"I'm so sorry Babe," he says and fresh tears stream from my eyes because it's his voice exactly, "I never wanted to hurt you like this."
"Wally…," I manage to get out before he's lifting me into his arms and his lips find mine.
We stay like that for a while before he pulls back slightly, his hands coming up to cup my face, his thumbs swiping at my tears. I stare into his green eyes and press my lips against his once, twice, three more times.
"I miss you…so much," my voice sounds raw even to my ears and I can feel another bout of tears coming on.
"I know Babe, I know," he whispers back, his hands running up and down my back, trying to sooth me, "I miss you too…but I'm still here. I'm never going to leave you."
A strangled bark of a laugh explodes from my mouth and my tears begin anew as I look away from him. This is too much, "if only that were true."
"No, it is true," he insists, "I love you and I'm never gonna leave you."
I shake my head against his chest, my hands fisting in his shirt and his arms tighten around me. Of course he's saying that. This is my dream so of course he's saying what I desperately want to hear…what I want to believe.
"Artemis, listen to me," he lifts my head so I'm looking him in the eyes once more, "I'm still here and I am going to put that ring on your finger."
His mouth descends back to mine and I sigh into it around my tears. I can feel myself starting to wake up and I press myself against him tighter, trying to make the dream last a bit longer. Just a bit longer. Let me stay with him a bit longer.
x-x-x-x-x
Sunlight streaming through the curtains to play across the back of my eyelids is what pulls me from Wally's arms and back into the waking world. I open my eyes slowly, blinking against the glare. Tears trickle down my cheek as the memory of my dream comes back and I throw my arm over my face. I can still taste him on my lips.
"Wally," I whisper brokenly and scrub at my face with the back of my fist, trying to dislodge some of my hair that's stuck to my skin with dried tears. Something hard digs into my cheek though and, sitting up, I look at the back of my hand.
The ring winks back at me in the morning light from where it sits, a perfect fit on my left ring finger. What the…when did I…? I uncurl my fist to take it off and a tightly balled piece of paper drops into my lap.
I stare at the paper for a minute, unsure of where it came from, before reaching for it, the ring forgotten. Gently I flatten the paper, my breath catching in my throat as my teary eyes make out two words written in a familiar scrawl. It takes a minute of reading the two words over again and again before they actually register and my lips twitch up into the first smile I've managed since…and I read them one more time to be sure before pressing the note against my chest where my heart beats rapidly.
Still here.