Every Hour Has Come to This
The first thing he did after waking up was call his Aunt Iris.
"Honey, is everything alright?" Her voice is worried, as always, and Wally smiles because it's just like her. Between having her husband as Flash and nephew as Kid Flash, it was a miracle that the woman could smile at the both of them when they walk out her door each time, knowing very well why they were going and yet not knowing at all where they'll be, if they're coming home.
"I'm in one piece, and so is everyone else." There's a lump in his throat, his voice coming out choked. "I just… needed to call you."
There's a pause. "You know, your uncle just called me a few minutes ago."
Oh.
Well, Wally imagines that Batman has already informed the League, at least all of their mentors, of the… condition they're all under and everything that happened. For all his straight faces and apparent detachment, it just seems like a very Batman thing to do.
"He did?" He sits down on the edge of his bed in the room he has in the Cave, looking at his Flash poster. "What did he say?"
"Not much, actually," Iris admits. "He just called, said that he loved me very much and made me promise to wait for him to come home, and that was that."
Wally smiles, remembering how he had watched Flash save his aunt live on the news, his uncle's reluctance to be anywhere away from her side apparent even behind his mask. Even if it was fake and even if it tore at him to watch them "die" right there, he wasn't surprised their love was still clear through the illusion.
"You know I love you, right, Aunt Iris?"
She chuckles. "Of course I do, and I love you, too, kiddo. Now, are you going to tell me what's up, or are you going to make me wait, too?"
"I…" He sighs, pushing a hand through his hair. "We had this… training exercise today. But Bats didn't tell us until afterward that it was a train for failure exercise."
"Failure? As in…"
"I had to watch you and everyone else I love die in front of my eyes."
He hears her gasp a little. "Oh, Wally…" He smiles a little wider and lies down. "How are you?"
"I'm fine. I mean, it was all an illusion in our heads and whatnot, so it's not like any of us really got hurt," he reminds.
"You know that's not what I'm talking about."
He closes his eyes and wonders if he loves her for knowing him so well or hates her for it. More the former than the latter, but still. "You know how you're a reporter for Central City? Well, we were watching your live broadcast as the Earth was being taken over by extraterrestrials and Flash saved you, within seconds, like he had his eyes and ears on you the entire time. He didn't want to leave your side."
He can hear her smiling on the other end. "That sounds exactly like your uncle," she says fondly, and he imagines she's staring at a picture of Uncle Barry or of the two of them that she has in her wallet or something. They're just that in love.
"I guess Bats told Uncle Barry about everything and that's why he called."
"He must've been freaking out. Your uncle worries a lot, you know, leaving me here and all," she tells him. "He tells me all the time."
"It's because he loves you like crazy, and I think he'd be a mess if he were to lose you."
"Exactly. So, is that all you wanted to talk about, or are you going to tell me why you sound just as helpless as your uncle did?"
"I…"
Okay, he really loves her for knowing him so well right now.
"Do you have the time right now?"
She laughs. "For you, kiddo, I have all the time in the world. So, how about we start from the beginning?"
... ...
He hangs up the phone about forty minutes later, leaving his aunt with, "I love you, too," before ending the call. He looks around his empty room before sliding his phone back into his pocket and walking outside. Even if he is walking to the kitchen, it's all muscle memory because his mind is still heavy with everything that he just discussed with his aunt.
The slamming of the refrigerator door snaps him from his thoughts, however, and he sees Artemis standing there with her arms wrapped around herself, staring at the granite counters.
"How are you?" he asks lamely, but she seems startled out of her own thoughts as well and looks at him. "Loaded question, I know. Sorry."
She shakes her head and turns to face him, leaning against the fridge.
"Who were you talking to earlier?" she asks in this small voice a few minutes later, and he just stares at her. "I heard… I don't know, this female voice when I walked by…"
"Oh. I was talking to my Aunt Iris. It's kind of this habit of mine," he shrugs, "to call her whenever… stuff happens."
She smiles a little. "It must be nice."
"Hey, you know, if you wanted someone to talk to, I'm all ears."
She kind of stares at him for a moment with her eyebrows furrowed and this look on her face, like he's not acting like himself (he's not) and she's trying to figure out why. But he's just relishing in the fact that this is reality and she's alive and with him, so yeah, she can stare as long as she wants.
And then M'gann lets out a sob from the other room and he watches her face twist into this pained look, her own eyes watering, and he can tell what's happening.
"Artemis…" He gets up and walks over to her, reaching out, but she flinches away a little so he pulls back his arm. "None of this is your fault."
"She's like this because she got so caught up after I died, Wally," she murmurs, blinking and causing a tear to roll down her cheek. "If I had been more careful, maybe she wouldn't have forgotten…"
"You can't beat yourself up for a freak accident."
He meets her eyes.
"I could've tried harder, Wally, I could've done… something…" She shakes her head, hugging herself tighter. "This was my fault. She even warned me that there was something behind me, and—"
"Okay, can you stop being so stubborn for one minute and just let me appreciate the fact that you're alive, and that I can hold you again and hear your voice?"
She stares at him, eyes wide and glassy.
"What?"
He runs a hand through his hair before placing both of them at her waist, and she doesn't even try to stop him as he brings her closer. "M'gann reacted the way she did because she loves you and because being aware that the entire reality was fake couldn't hold back how broken-hearted it made her. The artificial reality couldn't hide how empty and helpless it made me feel. It was… too much."
She brings a hand over her mouth. "Wally…"
"You died today, Artemis, and I… I went into denial, and I think part of me tried to remember it was all fake, but I just couldn't… It wasn't because of M'gann's influence, either."
His own vision is getting blurry and he tries unsuccessfully at his eyes until she reaches up and puts a hand on his cheek, wiping gently with her thumb.
"Do you remember that reporter, Iris West-Allen?" Artemis nods. "She was… is my aunt, and Uncle Barry is… he's Flash." He watches her eyes widen slightly, surprised at his confession. "Watching them, how they acted with each other, just made me wish we could be like that and that I could tell you everything. And then when you… died, I was so mad at myself for not being there for you and letting you—"
"Wally, Wally," she interrupts, and he doesn't even realize he is crying again until she is cradling his face and making him into her eyes. "I'm alive, Wally. I'm right here."
She presses their foreheads together and he nods, letting out a shaky breath.
He runs the pad of his thumb over her exposed skin above her jeans, and he feels her shudder a little. "What did you want to tell me?"
"What?"
"You said that you wished you could tell me everything," she reminds. "I… What did you mean by that?"
He meets her eyes. "You already know, don't you?"
She shrugs her shoulders a little, pressing her forehead against his neck. "Can you tell me anyway?" she mumbles against his skin. "I… could really use some good news right now."
He exhales a little and wraps his arms around her, resting his chin on top of her head. "You're important to me, Artemis, and I think about you all the time." He feels his neck wet with her tears and she uncrosses her arms and hugs him tightly. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
"See?" she smiles. "Was that so hard?"
He lets out a laugh that they both seem to need after a day like theirs, pulling her hair from its ponytail before combing his fingers through it. "Don't ruin the moment."
She chuckles and he shakes his head, and they both look a little weird, laughing and crying and hugging each other in the middle of the kitchen. He's playing with her hair when she pulls back slightly, just enough to look at him and say in this soft voice, "You're important to me, too, Wally," and he closes his eyes when she stretches up slightly and presses their lips gently together.
There's a small sniffle in the background, and they part and look over as Conner is walking M'gann into the room.
The Martian's face is wet with tears but when she looks at them, she manages a small smile, and yeah, tonight has been an emotional wreck for everyone.
"I'm going to go check on her," Artemis says.
He nods, grasping her wrist and smoothing his thumb over her skin, causing her to look at him again. "Come over for dinner tonight?"
She arches an eyebrow, smiling and looking a little surprised. "Really?"
"Just say yes."
She laughs and rolls her eyes. "Yes."
He lets go of her wrist and watches her walk over to M'gann, wrapping her arms around her best friend.
He doesn't even remember when Kaldur and Dick came into the room, but Kaldur is talking to Conner and Dick is standing beside Wally, nudging him with his elbow and looking at Artemis.
Normally, he'd shove the boy away, but they're best friends who had died together less than two hours ago (not that he'd rather go out any other way, if he had known Artemis was safe), so he just throws an arm around Dick as they walk over to their friends and keeps it there, placing his other hand on the small of Artemis's back when they get pulled into a group hug.
... ...
"Are your aunt and uncle really alright with me just dropping in on your dinner?"
He looks at her and laughs, holding his hands up when she gives him a warning look. "They're going to love you," he assures. "Uncle Barry already thinks you're hilarious."
She sighs. "And was Barry really alright with you just giving your secret identity, and his, to me so easily?"
"Well, it's kind of too late to take it back. Unless I have Rob erase your memory," Wally muses, "which may actually be possible, knowing him."
She rolls her eyes and shakes her head, but there's a smile on her face so he figures she's feeling more relaxed. It's crazy because he's never really known Artemis to be nervous about much when they weren't on a mission, but he knows once Iris gets to her, she'll feel fine.
"They're really cute together."
Artemis has her head tilted slightly, somewhat resting against his shoulder as she's looking at a picture on the fireplace mantle. It's a photo from their wedding, a candid one where Barry and Iris are feeding each other cake and he has an arm around her waist, cake on his face as he's staring at Iris with a look of total adoration and she's leaning against him, her cheeks flushed pink as she's laughing.
He laughs fondly and nods his head. "Yeah, they're great," he agrees, and she looks at him and smiles.
"Sorry for the wait, guys," Iris says, and they turn around as she and Barry are walking into the living room towards them. "Dinner's ready."
"And you girls get first dibs," Barry adds, looking at Artemis. "Otherwise, there'd be nothing left to eat if Wally and I get to it first."
Artemis laughs. "Tell me about it."
As they enter the dining room, Iris places a hand on his arm, squeezes, and gives this wink. He laughs and shakes his head, taking his seat beside Artemis.
A/n: I was a mess watching "Failsafe"—I was tearing up and then squealing at all of the cameos and then crying for a majority of the episode. I was so glad it was just a training exercise (especially since I read the description about Artemis and Zatanna in the next, next episode and was kind of confused), and it was such a good episode, but I need some less heart-breaking moments to calm me down.
Thus, this was written. I absolutely loved Iris and Barry's little moment a lot, artificial or not, so I thought I'd add them in. They're like a future Wally and Artemis in my head!
Oh, and the title came from "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri, because I listened to it on repeat while writing this (:
So you read it. Love it? Hate it? Please review it!