Without You, I'm...
Prompt: Birdflash | Wally returns after the Endgame and meets Dick again whose life had lost all sense after his disappearance
Wally had been watching him for eight days now.
He had been gone for just over 2 years, and he knew things would have changed.
Dick had probably moved on, met a different male, heck, maybe even a girl, and fell for them.
He would be happy, he would be taking his little brothers and sisters to the park, to charity auctions, to- to loads and loads of places.
He would be over Wally, and Wally would leave him be. Let him live his life without Wally as dead-weight.
He would be a normal, young adult, crime-fighting vigilante.
He would not be moping, lifeless, and looking as though hell had thoroughly fucked him over and left not even an ounce of the Boy Wonder he used to be.
Except… except that was exactly what he was.
And Wally just couldn't believe it.
He'd had a plan. Check on Dick, then Barry and Iris, and then announce his return.
But as soon as he'd saw the dark haired, blue eyed boy walking around town like a rotting corpse, and read the tabloids that said this had been happening for well over a year…
Well, contrary to popular belief, Wally was not an idiot.
He knew what had caused this; what his disappearance (death, somewhere vicious in his mind whispered) had done to the boy.
And he couldn't believe it.
So he followed him, and had been doing so for the last eight days, and Dick had no idea.
Batman did, and they had met on the 5th night, and Wally had begged and pleaded not to let Nightwing know, because it was his fault and his duty to make it right and to apologise for you know, disappearing and stuff.
Batman agreed, but Bruce didn't. Bruce wanted his son to stop hurting, and he knew he would never stop hurting, not even if Wally did come back.
But Bruce also know his son would never be happy again if Wally didn't come back into his life.
So on the twelfth day, after Barry and Iris and even Bart had discovered Kid Flash was well and truly alive, back from the dead, walking again, and fit enough to be chastised, Wally revealed himself to his (ex)boyfriend.
Nightwing was patrolling Bludhaven, and looking extremely bored. He wasn't thin, probably due to Alfred.
There was just something about that man that even the Goddamn Batman was afraid of.
He was sat atop a flat roof, one foot dangling over the edge, the other bent up near his stomach.
Wally zipped up the side of the building, stopping quietly next to the boy.
He didn't say anything, just stood and watched, until his body over-powered his brain.
He sat down on the ledge, next to Dick, both his feet dangling off of the edge.
Dick didn't even bat an eye-lid.
"You're back." He said roughly, still staring ahead.
Uh… That was not the reaction Wally was expecting.
Hell, Batman had been more reactive than this.
"Yes?" Wally said timidly, staring at Nightwing. Dick sighed, and turned his head slowly towards Wally.
He didn't remove the mask, but Wally could tell his eyes would show nothing but tired, empty pits of a once-sparkling blue.
"Just go away," He said quietly, "You're not him."
Wally frowned. What on earth was Dick go-oh. Oh oh oh.
Oh.
Dick- Dick thought he was a hallucination.
One that had visited countless times before, in fact.
No wonder he hadn't even reacted.
Well, damn.
"I'm not- I'm real, Dick, I'm not a hallucination." Wally's voice cracked on the last word. Dick snorted, and turned away.
"That's what you always say. Always in his voice. With his face, his lips. But you- you. Are. Not. Him." He growled the last few words, and Wally was caught off guard by how they sounded so vicious and yet so heartbroken at the same time.
"Dick-" His voice was thick, his throat clotting.
"I said, JUST LEAVE! Did you not hear me?!" Dick stood up abruptly, turning his back to the ledge, so he was both facing and looming over Wally. "Just leave!" Dick choked up on the last word, a strangled sob escaping his lips.
He covered his mouth with his hand, and his shoulder's hunched, trembling, jerking.
He was crying- no, no he wasn't.
He was laughing.
Dick was actually laughing.
"I am so-ha, ha, so sick of all this bullshit!" He let out a terrifying giggle, his voice scratching at the octaves it rarely went anymore.
"You just really love fucking with my life don't you, God?! Ha, ha! First Mama and Papa, and now- hahaha, and now, Wally, too. Oh God, Walls. Wally. Hahahahaha." The laughter turned into sickening peals of sobs, and it tortured Wally to have to just stand there and watch.
What else could he do, really?
"Dick-" He was cut off again by another giggle.
"No, nope. Not Dick right now, I'm Nightwing. And Nightwing is done. He's had enough, okay?! You hear that, God?!" Dick had tilted his head backwards, so he could shout at the heavens above.
"He's done! I'm done! I am so, so done! It's been two years right?! Today's the day, hahaha, yeah, Today! Is! The! Day!" There was a crunch as Dick threw something onto the ground, something black and compact, probably his comm. link.
"So, Wally, Walls, Wall-man. It was nice seeing your face again- hasn't changed at all has it? But I guess it won't, since you don't have a body left, so of course there's no point me imagining you as a rotting corpse-"
"You're not imagining me!" Wally cried out in vain,
"Oh but I am! Don't you get it?! You're not real, you're not really here! Hahaha, but I am! And I really, really don't want to be. So if you won't leave, ahaha, then I will! Yeah. Hah. See you on the other side, Wally!"
And with that Dick jumped backwards, off the edge of the roof, his arms outstretched at his sides.
Like a bird with broken wings.
Wally waited, and waited, for the click of his line. For the zipping sound of him scaling heights and disappearing into the shadows of the city.
Except… except it never came.
Wally's eyes widened, his heart crashed against his chest.
And everything happened in slow motion.
Wally ran, faster than he ever done before, down the side of the building.
He caught up with the falling bird just over half way down.
But they were both still going, rapidly at that.
And Dick- Dick had no intention of catching himself before he hit the bottom.
Why?
Why, because it hadn't been his comm. link that he smashed.
It had been his grappling hook.
When Wally realised that- that his lover intended to kill himself, it shot off more than enough bells inside his head.
He couldn't- wouldn't let Dick do that.
No way. Never in hell's chance.
Dick's face turned towards him, a small smile adorning his lips.
"It'll all be over soon." Wally couldn't hear him over the rushing of the wind through his ears, and the hammering of his own heart, but he knew what he said.
No, no it wouldn't be. Not if he could help it.
When the ground was getting closer, oh so closer, until he could almost see the cracks in the pavement and Dick's body was falling so so faster- he jumped.
Sideways, off the building, his body crashing into Dick's, pulling him into his body, and desperately trying to land on his feet.
He did, and skidded to a stop a few feet over, on the other side of the street, Dick clutched safely in his arms, breathing, alive, and oh God he'd done it, Dick was safe, Dick was so so safe.
Dick was staring, slack jawed, at the face above his, at the chest pinned to the side of his body, at the arms supporting his weight.
"You… You caught me." He whispered, as though not daring to believe it.
"Of course I did, Dick." Wally replied softly. He stared down at Dick, breathing heavily.
He was sweating. Oh, he was sweating! Speedster's weren't supposed to sweat!
His pulse didn't slow down, though the sound of his heart crashing against his rib cage lessened somewhat.
"You weren't supposed to catch me." Wally was certain Dick was wide eyed, and his face fell. "You weren't supposed to catch me." Dick repeated, "I was supposed to die, so I could see you again."
Wally put Dick down onto his feet gently, assuring that he still had the strength to stand.
He did.
"Dick, Dick, Dick- don't you get it? I'm here, it's me, it's actually me." Wally was breathless, and he was tired, and he just wanted Dick to believe him.
He was there, Goddamn it! He was real!
Dick seemed to consider that for a moment, really consider it.
"B-but there was no body. Nothing left of you. How are you- you need a body to-" Wally cut him off, shaking his head.
"It wasn't a Lazarus Pit. They didn't do to me what they did to Jason."
Dick just looked at him, silently asking him to continue. Wally took a deep breath,
"I don't really know much, but I was apparently trapped in the Speedforce, or something. It was lonely, though, cold and lonely… But, short, too… Time didn't pass there, Dick, I had no idea I was gone so long…"
Wally could see some colour returning to his friend's face. He could also see emotions.
Well, emotion. Singular. One thing.
Anger.
And before he knew what happened next, Dick had launched at him, and punched him across the face.
There was a vile crunch from his nose and Wally recoiled, staggering backwards.
Dick kept coming forward, landing blow after blow after blow.
And Wally took them.
He let Dick release all his pent up anger and frustration, because hey, Dick wouldn't kill him. And he would heal.
It seemed to span on for forever, but eventually Dick's punches lost their unf, his kick's their spirit, and his body its fight.
He collapsed forward, his fingers grasping at Wally's blood-stained shirt.
He was sobbing. "Oh God, oh God. It's you, isn't it? -hic- It's- It's really you." There was another break of manic laughter. "Oh my God. Haha, Christ. This is fucked up, but it's you, it's really, really, you."
His fingers kept clenching and un-clenching, his whole body shaking with the heavy revelation he just had.
"Yeah, yeah it's me. It's really me." Wally's arms encircled Dick, bringing the boy into his arms, his body.
"Wally." Dick croaked out, and suddenly he didn't sound so heartbroken. He still was, he was still broken, and he would be for a very, very long time, but-
But this was a start.
Wally pulled back, and cupped Dick's face in his hands.
He could feel his nose stinging as it began to heal itself, but really, he didn't give a shit.
Not when Dick -beautiful, broken Dick- was right in front of him, crying and smiling and being Dick, and not the zombie that had greeted him just hours before.
He dipped down slowly, pressing his lips to Dick's chapped ones- they were always chapped.
Dick reacted hungrily, desperate for more.
He practically begged for entrance, and his tongue set off at a vindictive pace, intent on soaking up as much of Wally's mouth as it could.
Wally's hands traveled down to Dick's shoulders, rubbing softly, as Dick's went up to Wally's face, clawing him.
Wally didn't mind- it didn't hurt that much, and it was sort of… nice.
You know, nice to have Dick care so much.
…Or something.
They were both breathing heavily, and Wally wrapped his arms around Dick's waist in another embrace, pulling him impossibly closer.
When coming back up for air was something neither of them could no longer avoid, they rested their foreheads against each other.
Wally was still taller, but only just.
They were panting, and before long -5.783 seconds by Wally's count- they were kissing again, with as much ferocity as before.
Dick bit his bottom lip, knowing how much Wally liked it- how much it drove him mad, and he couldn't help but moan into Dick's mouth.
Dick laughed again, but it wasn't like before.
It was warm and genuine and filled with affection and it said, in a way no words could, "I'm glad you're back."
Wally was glad too.
Really, really glad, and all the marks left on his body the next morning were nothing but pure proof of that fact.
So this was prompted by an Anon on my tumblr, and I actually really like how this turned out.
Oh, and about him being trapped in the Speedforce, I don't actually know anything about that, but I think I read it somewhere? Or something like that, anyway. And I really hope I managed to portray Dick's breakdown effectively, too.