Hi.

I'm posting this since April 1st is the anniversary of the death of The Flying Graysons. If you want to know the dates of anything check out the timeline I have on my profile. Of course, using Romanian instead of Romani. I don't think I have anything else to say, so on with the one-shot!


Rating: T

Time-Line: post season 1

Genre: Angst, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort

Summary: Wally comforts Dick on the anniversary of his family's death.


On days like these

where I can't be strong

and I'm left with feelings of unease.

On days like these where I can't go on

and life's burdens forever haunt me.

I feel as if I can't go on

life seems to love to taunt me.

It's all too much

my strength is gone.

But you come and share the burden

as heavy as it is.

You help me lift my chin

and face the sun again.

The dark still comes,

the rain still pounds,

It always seems to come around.

Especially on days like these

where I'm left broken on the ground.

But on days like these

you stay with me

and help me fall apart a little less

even in the midst of this

because you're here, I know I'm blessed

And on days like these

when my world seems at its end

It's on days like these

I'm glad you're my best friend.

...

Broken bodies, blood, screams ringing in the air. Dust flying, gasps of horror from the crowd. Pop Haley's voice desperately trying to calm the situation. I race down the latter, my legs and arms trembling. I feel lightheaded. When I reach the ground, my ears are ringing. It feels surreal. I run over and collapse to my knees by their mangled bodies. There were no final words exchanged. No slow dramatic death. Just one minute alive, full of life, and energy and happiness. The next minute, dead on the ground in a mess of bones and flesh and blood. I can never erase their faces from my mind. Smeared with blood, and not even looking human anymore. Desperate words spilled from my mouth in my native tongue. Begging them to be alive. To come back to me. Don't leave me. Please don't leave me.

"Mami, Tati nu! Nu mă părăsi! Te rog, nu mă părăsi! Nu vreau să fiu singur! Trezeşte-te! Trezeşte-te! Te rog, te rog, trebuie să te trezești! Nu poți să mori! Nu vreau să fiu singur! te rog trezeste-te!" (Mommy, Daddy! No! Don't leave me! Please don't leave me! I don't want to be alone! Wake up! Wake up! Please, please, you have to wake up! You can't die! I don't want to be alone! please wake up!)

But they were dead. I didn't get to say good-bye. I never even saw it coming. Somehow, by some cruel twist of fate, I was the one to live. Sometimes I wish I hadn't. Especially back in the beginning. Sometimes I still do. What did I do to deserve life when they so cruelly were given a death they didn't deserve? I just wish I could see them again. I wish they could see me now. What would they think of the fact that I'm a superhero? Or of my new family? Or my friends? Or my whole life now. It's so different from the circus. Would they love it? Hate it? I have no idea what'd they'd think of me now. What if I've disappointed them? I'll never know.

I always wonder 'What If'. I suppose it's only natural. They all plague my mind. What if I had died with them that night? What if they had lived and the show had gone as planned? Where would I be now if I had grown up in the circus? Where would Bruce be if he never took me in? Would Wally still have been being abused? Would the team have formed? Would there even be sidekicks? There were so many possibilities. Superhero life is hard, and sometimes I wonder if I would have been better off just staying at the circus. It was my home. My whole life was there. My family. And now they're gone. Up until now, I had been numb, and my face was emotionless. But just the thought that I'd never hear my mom's laugh again. Never learn new tricks from my dad. Never play hide and seek with the animals and my cousin John. Never hear my Uncle Rick's stories or my Aunt Karla's scolding as John and I tried stunts that were a little above our level. I'd never fly through the air again on a trapeze, holding my parents' hands, and looking down at the applauding crowd below, the blindingly bright lights, the smell of animals and peanut shells, and dust and dirt, and cotton candy and popcorn, all mixed together to create a familiar smell. It's all gone. And I could never get it back. The thought made tears stream down my face and an uncalled-for sob emitted from my throat.

Wally just wrapped his arms tighter around me. "Shh, Shh. Este bine pasărea. Imi pare rau. Îmi pare atât de rău. E în regulă. E în regulă." (Shh, Shh. It's alright little bird. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It's alright. It's alright.)

"Nu e corect. Nu e corect. Nu ar fi trebuit să moară." (It's not fair. It's not fair. They shouldn't have died.) I said, sobbing into his chest.

"Stiu. Știu că nu e corect Dick. Și îmi pare rău. Îmi pare atât de rău că trebuie să treci prin asta." (I know. I know it's not fair Dick. And I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry you have to go through this.)

"Mi-e dor de ei. Mi-e dor de toate atât de mult și doare." (I miss them. I miss them all so much and it hurts.)

"Știu că faci amice. Îmi pare atât de rău. Vom rămâne aici atât timp cât aveți nevoie, bine? Și nu merg nicăieri." (I know you do buddy. I'm so sorry. We'll stay here as long as you need, alright? And I'm not going anywhere.)

I wanted to thank Wally, but my throat felt too constricted. I wanted to tell him how much I appreciated him being here. And not telling me to get over it, or feeling awkward. He just stayed with me the whole time. Not once getting up or leaving unless I needed something. I wanted to tell him I didn't deserve him as a best friend, that he didn't have to waste his time on me, but every time I did he would just shush me and tell me to not say such ridiculous things. "Of course I don't have anything better to do." or "What could I possibly have that's more important than this?" I didn't have to feel embarrassed around him for crying, or having a nightmare. And he did it year after year. Every. Single. Time. He spent a solid 4 days at the manor, I knew he hardly slept because he stayed up in case I had a nightmare. And I always did without fail. But he never wavered. Every year without fail, he was always there.

Thank you, Wally.


This one was only about 1,200 words, but I'm not mad. Somehow this ended up first person. Also yes, I am aware of the poor original poem at the beginning so if you feel the need to point it out to me, just know that I am already aware of it.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Feel free to review or PM me. Love you guys!

~SunshineGirl14