OUTSPOKEN
Or 5 times Dick spoke to Wally, and one time where he couldn't.
Me: This is meant to be a depressing story, so Imma just…not have funny Disclaimer 'til the end, at which point I'll use him to help you recover from the trauma. I own nothing! Also, I swear time has been going faster this Winter Break!
Leaving
Dick leaned against the doorframe as Wally packed his costume into a suitcase along with his other belongings from his parent's house.
"You guys sure about this?" he asked softly.
Wally paused. "Yeah. We just want to live a normal life. This life is so dangerous…I couldn't bear to see her get hurt," he answered.
"You know we'd never let that happen," Dick reminded him, moving away from the doorway to stand next to him.
Wally straightened and met his eyes.
"I do. But…," he hesitated.
"It's not the same?" the younger teen inquired.
Wally nodded with a small smile. "Hey, it's not like we'll never see each other again."
Dick's eyebrows furrowed. "Dude, Gotham is in New Jersey. You're moving to California. How am I supposed to see you if we live like…six states apart?"
Wally shrugged. "Holidays?"
Dick sighed. "As long as you're happy? I'll be right behind you."
Wally smirked. "Thanks man."
And for the first time, Wally didn't see the pain behind his friend's words.
Jason
Wally stood in his black suit under a black umbrella and watched Dick stand with Bruce in front of a grave. The rain soaked their hair and suits but they didn't seem to care. To him, it felt a little awkward. He'd never met Jason, but Dick had written to him a few times, and he seemed like a pretty nice kid, if even a little reckless. The rest of the team was there too, including Barbara Gordon, Garth, Tula, and a couple people he didn't recognize. Then, he saw Garfield Logan.
He was snapped out of his stupor when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see Dick looking at him with sad blue eyes.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey," Dick responded. For a moment, it was silent. Then, he spoke again. "Thanks for coming."
Wally smiled solemnly. "It was the least I could do."
"I know you didn't really know Jay but he was my little brother, ya know? It's just…so hard to…I—"
He broke off, and Wally hugged the seventeen-year-old as he cried openly, tears mingling with rainwater.
"It'll be okay. Shh…," he soothed.
Bruce soon wandered over and put a hand on Dick's back. He looked up at the man.
"Dick, it's time to go," he said softly.
He nodded and allowed the Bat to lead him away.
"See you later, I guess," he mumbled to Wally, who let a small grin cross his face as he nodded.
But they both knew it was a lie.
Intervention
The next time Wally even saw Dick was nearly two years later when he and Oliver had come to his apartment.
"What's up?" he asked.
"It's Roy. He's gone downhill. It's bad," Dick answered shortly.
"And you want me to do what?" he inquired.
"Come with us and try to talk him down," Oliver replied.
Wally seemed to ponder it for a moment.
"Okay. But just how bad is it?" he questioned.
"He was seen stealing some money from a bag that a guy got robbing a store. He took a stack of cash and gave the rest back to the shop owner," Oliver told him.
"Oh wow," he marveled. "I mean, I knew he was desperate to find the original Roy but…"
"Yeah," Dick said.
The two made eye contact and smiled.
"Come on Kid Mouth, let's move."
Plan
The next time Wally spoke to Dick, it was just a few weeks later. He'd come asking for help.
"You want her to what?!" Wally snapped.
"She's the only one I could think of!" he replied.
Artemis put a hand on Wally's shoulder.
"What are your other options?" she inquired, more gentle than Wally had been.
"It's either one of you, or me. And I don't think I could do that to Tim or Bruce. Not again," he said.
Wally scowled. "No. Absolutely—"
"I'll do it," Artemis piped up.
"WHAT?!" her boyfriend cried.
"Wally, they're trying to save the world. Without Dick, who's gonna lead the Team? And what about Bruce? He'd be devastated," she settled.
"But Artemis, we worked so hard to get out of the life, now you wanna get back in?" he asked incredulously.
"It would only be for a little while, until they get the intel they need," she pointed out.
He sighed. "Fine. But that doesn't mean I like it."
He turned to Dick. "If anything happens to her, I'm coming for you."
He accented his words by jabbing a finger into Dick's chest.
"If anything happens to her, I'll personally give myself up," he agreed.
Mount Justice
To say the least, Wally was pretty pissed when he saw the news. But he was also terrified. His first thought were Dick and Artemis. Were either of them hurt?
He didn't wait for an answer.
The first thing he did was speed to the Hall of Justice.
'Recognized Kid Flash, B0-3.'
"What. Happened?" he ground out.
Dick sighed. "It was necessary."
"It better have been. Spill," he demanded.
The argument was heated.
"The cave i—was just a place! Worth sacrificing if it helps us stop the invasion," he'd had to correct himself.
At his next statement, Wally saw red.
"Look, I'm sorry you lost all your souvenirs."
Infuriated, Wally shoved him into his chair, making him grunt. "ARE YOU SERIOUS?"
He'd so badly wanted to say how worried he'd been when Mal told him how he'd found Dick and Conner, how if he'd been just a minute later, Dick probably would have drowned. But he couldn't say it.
"I don't care about that junk!" he snapped.
'I care about you! You could have drowned!' his mind shouted.
"I'm worried about Artemis!"
Dammit Wally.
Dick looked hurt but all Wally could do was accuse him of being too biased and not considering the fact that maybe Kaldur was playing him for a fool.
He didn't even bother to ask if he was okay, because God forbid he worry about his best friend for once.
No, he left that to Conner, who he vaguely remembered saying something about a concussion.
He didn't stop to take in his haggard appearance, the burns from the inhibitor collar, or the bruises that trailed under his still-wet uniform.
He didn't ask if he'd be going out on patrol tonight, because he really should be taking it easy.
He didn't wonder if Dick needed a place to crash because hey, he had his own apartment, right? It wasn't like guilt was eating him alive and he needed someone to reassure him he was doing the right thing.
He didn't stick around to see Dick start crying.
I'm Sorry.
Dick didn't show it until he got back to his apartment in Blüdhaven. There, he curled up on his couch and sobbed openly. He was clutching a picture frame tightly in his hands. It was of him and Wally at Wally's graduation party. Despite being a sophomore, he'd been allowed to attend. They'd been so young and happy back then. This was just before Wally left, and it was also more of his going away party.
He suddenly regretted not taking Bruce up on his invitation to stay at the manor for a while. He missed Tim's hugs. He missed Alfred's cookies. He missed the nights Bruce used to tuck him into bed with a kiss on the forehead and a promise for better days.
He missed Wally.
It hadn't even been a day and he already missed Wally.
He wished he could talk to him, and apologize for being, for lack of a better word, a dick.
He regretted the way they'd spent the last year, full of arguments and fighting. He regretted not telling Wally how much he meant to him. They were more than best friends. Closer than that. They were brothers.
"I'm so sorry," he mumbled tearfully.
He cried himself to sleep.
He didn't know that Wally had felt the same. While he'd managed to send his message to Artemis, he didn't have enough time to ask Barry to tell Dick how sorry he was, and that he loved him too. He wanted to tell Dick that this wasn't on him, because knowing the nineteen-year-old, he'd probably be kicking himself for the rest of his life. He wanted to tell him that he was the one who had to apologize, because the whole year he'd been putting even more pressure on him to keep Artemis safe that he really didn't need.
He just wished there had been more time.
He realized their last words hadn't even been a conversation. Just protocol. Their last real conversation was another argument.
'I'm sorry' he'd whispered as the world faded.
And Dick had quit the Team, because he couldn't stick around and watch Bart. He was a great kid, but the pain he felt every time he looked at him and saw the suit he wore was too overbearing.
He didn't talk to anyone except for Tim, Bruce, and occasionally Barbara. He stuck to himself in his apartment, patrolling his city every night.
And he always remembered the good old days of the Team, hanging out in the Cave and making cookies, busting villains together. When they were inseparable.
When they were a family.
A family that would forever be fragmented.
That would now forever be missing a piece.
And Dick was never the same.
A/N
Me: Holy shit that was depressing.
Disclaimer: Yeah…what the hell is wrong with you?
Me: Still don't know.
END
-SWGJOC227