Wally was your summer fling and sometimes summer flings turn into beautiful things.
Pairing: Wally West/ Female Reader.
Words: 3k+.
Staring out my hotel window, too much on my mind. Maybe we should keep it simple. We don't have to decide. Oh no we don't need to overcomplicate it cause I've been here once before don't even say it.
Central City was less than an hour away from Starling if you didn't get stuck in traffic and the roads weren't blocked off from yet another meta attack but when you're in love? Oh, half an hour feels like living on a different planet. When you are exiting a relationship with the person who felt like they were everything to you only for them to cheat on you with some whore in your bed and then sit outside your apartment drunk and rambling? Oh, half an hour feels like snapping your fingers.
On the list of things you wanted to do today, check yourself into a hotel to get away from him was not even on it. Then to your luck, it started raining because yay! Another weather meta and you couldn't get to work so now you were holed up in this hotel room with nothing to do but hate your ex and do the one thing no one should.
Think about the love that got away.
It wasn't a meet cute story in a coffee shop; nor did you go to high school together or prom. No, it was a summer fling with the cute bartender the summer after high school graduation. You were enamored with his washboard abs, dark eyes and skin glinting in the sun like polished bronze. He was gorgeous with his too big smile, wide-set nose and kind-heartedness.
You were dumb and in love but when the summer wound down, so did the both of you. And it broke your heart to leave Wally West standing in the airport, hand half-outstretched as if wanting to draw you into his arms and never let go. But you had dreams, so did he and at that very moment, they hadn't coincided.
Then you met Josh who was everything Wally wasn't with his bleach blonde hair, dazzling blue eyes and sun-kissed skin. He was polos and khakis. Wally was flip flops and board shorts. Josh was stability while Wally was adrenaline. Somehow you convinced yourself that someone like Josh was what you wanted, needed and boy did you play yourself.
Josh was supposed to be simple compared to passionate whirlwinds but there was nothing simple about love – if that's what you could call the atrocity you and he had.
You were the one to break it off with Wally, you had been the one to say no to his offer of love, it was your fault. He had tried. No, he had all but begged you to stay but priorities. Man or education? And as much as you heart screamed man, your head had a thick pillow to muffle, if not suffocate, away the thought that anyone could be more important than your education.
He had understood but that didn't make it easier, if anything it made it more difficult.
Baby please no promises cause we won't keep our promises. And I know the consequences. So baby please, baby please no promises.
You had promised yourself that you would never go back to Central City since you'd hidden in that hotel. You had promised yourself to stop thinking about the biggest heartbreak of your life. Oh, and the guy who cheated on you. You should really stop promising yourself things because if you standing in front of the West residence was anything to go by, you weren't very good at it.
I've never been a fan of heartbreak so tell me what you want. Take my hands across your body; we don't have to hold on. Oh no we don't need to overcomplicate it cause I've been here once before don't even say it.
When the door swung open, it was not the smooth dark skin or the soft, brown eyes you were expecting. No, this man was porcelain skinned with hazel eyes and a large, but confused, smile.
"Can I help you?" He asked when you didn't speak, eyes following the contours of your body but not in a I'm checking you out kind of way. It almost felt like he was checking you for weapons.
"Oh, I, um, I might have the wrong address? Does a Wally West live here?" This was stupid, colossally stupid. Why did you think trying to find Wally in a city potentially full of people with the name West was a good idea? Why did you think finding your summer fling that you broke up with was a good idea?
"Oh no. Er, yes! You're not at the wrong house. He's here." It was weird for a minute, whoever had opened the door simply staring at you 'til you raised an expectant eyebrow and he made a startled face. "Right! Let me… get him." He turned on his heel, leaving the door open but you weren't going to go in when you didn't know how Wally was going to react to you being here.
Wally wasn't looking at you as he walked down the stairs, a small metal piece in his hand and a screwdriver in the other. I'm into engineering, echoed in your head and you smiled despite your discomfort.
"Barry said you were looking for- " His voice died in his throat, eyes widening to a comical size when he saw you. "What are you doing here?" Wincing, you tried to formulate an excuse better than stalked you in the phone book 'til I found you and attempted to hide the hurt at his irritation at seeing you.
"I, uh, I thought that – Honestly? I don't know. A few weeks ago my boyfriend cheated on me with another girl in our bed. I had to move out of my apartment because he had moved in with me and then he started stalking me and singing dumb love songs outside my door at night. And I couldn't find an apartment close enough to my job, where I have the worst boss ever or I did because for some horrid reason I quit my job and found an apartment here despite it putting me closer to not one of my exes but three. And the only thing that calmed me down about my quarter life crisis was thinking about the summer we spent together and how happy and fun and safe it was. This was stupid though. I don't know why I thought showing up at your house like a freak was a good idea but here I am and now I don't know what to do because I thought the dude who opened the door was weird but no, it's me. So could you either tell me to leave or slap me or something so I stop tal-" Your words cut off as his strong arms wrapped around you in a hug, his little trinkets discarded in favour of drawing you in.
"I'm glad you showed up like a freak." He chuckled, breath warm as he pressed a quick kiss to your temple. "And I was surprised, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." How could he still read me so easily?
"You are?"
"Yeah. I missed you." Sighing, you relaxed into the hug and held on tighter as he gathered you impossibly closer to him.
"Missed you too." You breathed. And you had a bazillion things to say, question, and answer but with him, it all felt simple. You didn't need to define anything at this moment, you could relax.
Cause I've been living only for this moment and I don't want to let it slip away. I've been living only for this moment and I don't know how much that I can take, yeah.
"So, how have you been?" He had pulled you into his house, offered you a steaming cup of tea and you found yourself relaxing into his couch. You had both situated yourself so that one knee was bent underneath your body, the other off the side of the couch so you could face each other and talk without craning your neck.
"Uh, I think I kind of word vomited that at you over there." Motioning your head to the door, you blushed as you sipped the perfect cup of tea in surprise. How did he remember how you liked it? Actually it shouldn't surprise you seeing as you remembered some of the smallest things about him too. Like how when we were going to sleep at night, he liked to have you cuddled to his chest with a pillow on the other side of you so that you didn't roll off and get hurt despite you practically being an adult. Like how folding his socks into the ordinary ball made his eye twitch but he wouldn't say anything. Like how there was a scar on his left pectoral from getting bit by a 'vicious' cat. "How are you?"
"Good, I'm, yeah. Good." Pausing for a moment, you gave him a look and he shook his head and told you the truth. "Okay. I'm not good. I met my dad and sister. Stopped racing. Oh, and I was almost killed by that evil speedster, Zoom, and the Flash saved me and I know his secret identity so I work with him and his team to help people." You were silent for a moment, searching his fearful eyes wondering what had your strong Wally so petrified 'til you realized he was afraid you wouldn't believe him.
"If I remember correctly, saving damsels in distress is your specialty." Setting the empty cup on the side table, his shoulders deflated as he laughed.
"I hardly call you punching a guy out for getting hands-y with you a 'damsel in distress' moment."
"Yeah but my punch backed him off, yours sent him to the ER." Smiling at him, he completely relaxed into the couch and you were happy to find that you calmed him the way he calmed you. There was a momentary pause and you were going to wait for him to say something but you had to ask.
"Did he hurt you?" Flicking his eyes up to you, he shrugged his shoulders but you were already reaching for his hands. "Don't do that Wal, talk to me." He bit his lip, tightening his grip on my hands before swallowing hard.
"No, not physically. But he, I don't know. There's this feeling inside me that consistently reminds me how weak I was, unable to do anything to stop him or to save myself. All I know is I am surrounded by extraordinary people and I have never felt more ordinary."
You couldn't help but scoff despite his heartfelt confession, pulling his chin up with one hand and giving him the sternest look you could muster.
"You, Wally West, are anything but ordinary. You have magic in you. You have magic hands that somehow create things and magic empathy that allows you to understand people. You have a magic smile that makes everyone around you smile too. I don't know if you're looking for metahuman abilities or a sense of purpose but I do know that you're not some average person meant for average things. I have known that since I met you."
Why was it that people can't see themselves the way others see them? Sure, you knew you were as guilty as anyone of that but when people like Wally thought so little of themselves? That was a mindboggling experience.
"But you don't know them like I do. Iris, my sister, is a crazy talented journalist who can find things and get people to talk like no ones business. Joe, my dad, is a detective. Cisco literally has handcrafted the Flash suit and all the gadgets used to stop metas. Caitlin is, I don't actually know what her degree is because she can literally do everything, but she's mainly a doctor or a scientist. Harry's a jerk but he's a genius. Jesse, his daughter, is too. And Barry? He's the Flash." He was talking so quickly he didn't realize what he was saying it 'til the words were out there and you were pointing up the stairs to where the lanky boy with a megawatt smile had disappeared with a look of disbelief on your face.
"That thing with the legs and the arms," You made a show of elongating your limbs, "is the Flash?" You scream whispered.
"Thing?"
"Please, he is every young girl's nerd dream fantasy, don't get me wrong." You responded quickly, glancing at the stairs. "But the Flash?"
"Uh, don't tell him I told you. Or anyone. Don't talk to anyone but me about it?" He begged but you were already giving him your patented Duh look. "Thanks."
"Anyway, to reiterate what I early stated because you seemed to have cotton in your ears when I said it, you are magic. Literally. You could slice yourself open and glitter could pour out and I wouldn't be surprised because you have this charm about you Wally. And we're still kids despite the fact that they use the word adult to describe us. We don't know who we are, what we want to do, what we should do. I barely know what I want to wear tomorrow. You don't have to have a 'save people by running fast' purpose like the Flash. All you have to do is be Wally for right now and figure it out as you go along."
He was staring at you for an uncomfortably long amount of time now, not speaking and completely focused on your face. Then he was moving. One of his hands found the curve of your spine, the other your cheek as he tugged you into his lap. When your lips met it was the most beautifully disjointed thing you'd ever experienced. This wasn't like the passion-filled kiss you'd shared in the sand, no, this was clanking teeth and timid tongues. This was wandering hands and unintentional Eskimo kisses.
"I'm not letting you walk away this time." The words were whispered breathlessly, lips a centimeter apart as he made you a promise. You hummed softly.
"You don't need to make promises like that." You pressed your lips to his slowly, pulling away with a small nip to his lower lip as you opened your eyes to stare into his. "Because you couldn't get rid of me if you tried."
Baby please no promises cause we won't keep our promises. And I know the consequences so baby please, baby please no promises. Baby please no promises.
"And this is the cortex." All the heads in the room swiveled to face you and Wally, one of them covered by the hood and his face vibrating.
"Dude!" It was the guy you assumed was Cisco from the way Wally described him. "Seriously, what's the point of a secret lair if you don't keep it secret?"
"Sorry." He shrugged, "Wanted to give my girlfriend a tour of the place. Thought you guys were out or at least not consistently in the cortex." Cisco's eye twitched.
"This is where we," He made a circle with his hand to include him, a pretty brunette, a young girl and who you figured was Harry, "Work."
"Semantics."
"Wait, did you say girlfriend?" The older dark skinned man stepped up, outstretching his hand at Wally's shy nod. "Nice to meet you girlfriend I knew nothing about."
"It's nice to meet you Detective West, sir. It's really nice to meet you. Wally has talked about you a lot and how nice you guys were to let him live with you despite barely knowing him and him acting like a jerk- and I'm talking to much aren't I? Wally?" He placed a hand over your mouth, grinning at you with amusement but the rest of the team saw love written in his gaze.
"I like her." The detective decided and you blushed a deep red.
"I'm Iris." Seeing you needed a save, she stepped in and you were sure you'd be great friends. Batting away Wally's hand, you introduced yourself and shook her head before introducing yourself to the rest of the team. The pretty brunette was Caitlin, Jesse was the young girl and Harry and Cisco were who you thought they were.
"I'm the Fl-"
"Hi Barry."
"Aw man, seriously?" The hood was off, his face still and voice normal as he stared at you expectantly. He wanted an explanation on how you knew his secret identity. Holding your hands up, you pointed to Wally.
"Hey, I'm not the only one in this relationship that word vomits."
"You said you wouldn't tell!" He argued, burying his face in your hair when Barry turned his stare on him and Cisco pointed at him like aha! Bad secret keeper!
"No, I said I wouldn't tell his secret identity to anyone." You patted his cheek. Untangling yourself from his arms despite his affronted huff, you reached out and stroked Barry's suit.
"Aerodynamic with a sensor system and therma-threading, made of reinforced tri-polymer." Nodding in appreciation, you turned to a skeptical Cisco. "Nice."
"How you know that?" He questioned, chin back and eyes narrowed despite his seemingly joking words.
"I'm a clothing designer, but my specialty is costumes." You shrugged, and he body relaxed before he got an affronted look on his face.
"This, this, this perfection is not a costume!"
"It is 'til you use a lighter fabric and you get rid of the pointy lightning bolt ears on the side of this grown man's head."
"I like her. I am keeping her. Follow me, we have adjustments to make. Barry, get naked!"
As you followed Cisco from the room, his hand reaching back to grab the suit Barry tossed his way, Wally's fingers grazed yours and you looked up to give him a dazzling smile before following his friend out the door.
Wally didn't need meta abilities. Sure, he wanted superspeed to be able to do more, be more, help more. But at this moment, watching his girlfriend be accepted by his family so easily was about as wonderful as it got.
