Disclaimer: I don't own Justice League Unlimited.

Send Me on My Way

Chapter Four: Vintage

Shayera wasn't used to feeling awkward. She supposed it was one of those feelings that one never gets used to; otherwise it wouldn't be awkwardness anymore. Just silence.

But it wasn't silence that dominated the room. It was that damn clock hanging from the wall. She could have sworn the ticking was getting louder the more she didn't talk to the man sat to her left in his comfortable looking armchair.

The man, who Wally had introduced as Jay Garrick, the first Flash, scratched his cheek and pulled on his ear in a fidgety manner, indicating his similar feelings of awkwardness.

"So…" he managed, his eyes wandering around the room until they met hers. "Wally's team-mate, eh?"

Shayera nodded. "Yeah."

"In the uh..."

"Justice League."

"Justice League, right, right…"

Garrick looked around the room yet again, puffing his cheeks out as he blew absent-mindedly.

"Did you ever have anything like the League?" Shayera asked, determined to beat this awkwardness as though it were some opponent she could wrestle to the ground.

"Ah, no, not really, no. We didn't have the time to organise it. As you probably know, war isn't really a neat and tidy business."

Shayera nodded. "True enough."

The silence once again descended on them.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

"Not much of a talker, eh?"

"Not really." Shayera paused for a moment. "Why? Are you?"

Garrick shrugged. "Not particularly." He leaned forward, as if talking conspiratorially. "To be honest, I never really felt the need to be constantly talking to people."

"Is that right?"

Jay nodded. "Joan drives me crazy sometimes. The way I see it, if you can sit and be silent with someone, it's a compliment to how comfortable you are with them."

Shayera sighed and nodded. "Exactly. That's what I've been trying to tell Wally for so long. He always thinks that if I'm not talking, I'm not happy. So what does he do?"

"Joan's exactly the same way. Exactly. Although, admittedly, it's easier to deal with if it's your spouse."

She remembered herself and John unable to talk to one another before she had left. "I suppose it is."

Jay cocked an eyebrow. "So?"

"So… what?"

"Are you and Wally…?" Jay said, awkwardly gesturing with his hands. He obviously wasn't too comfortable talking about this kind of thing.

"No, we're not," she said, smiling.

"Oh, thank God."

Shayera's already cocked eyebrow rose even higher. "Sorry?"

"Oh, no, no. I didn't mean that like it sounded. It's just that the last I heard he was with some reporter woman. And if he was with you as well, well…" he sighed. "I just didn't want him to be going back to his old ways."

She nodded slowly in understanding. "I can see why that would worry you."

"He told you about that?"

"Well… he didn't go into too much detail – it is Wally, remember. But… yeah, he told me about how he, um…"

"'Played the field'?" Jay inserted, smiling.

Shayera returned the smile. "Exactly."

The ex-Flash looked at the door leading from the living room into the corridor. "But I have to admit… he really seems to have come into his own now."

"He's certainly better, if that's what you mean. In fact, now he's scared of most women."

An evil grin spread across Garrick's face as he leaned forward, interested. "Is that right? Any stories you want to share?"

Shayera paused before responding. She remembered all the times Wally had annoyed, irritated, and oftentimes infuriated her with his antics.

She remembered how he had nearly killed her in a car crash the day before.

She smiled pleasantly at the ageing superhero next to her. "As a matter of fact, I do…"

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"She seems nice."

Wally looked over at Joan Garrick curiously.

"She is, yeah," he said suspiciously, cautiously laying the first plate on the table.

"Pretty."

His eyes thinned as he slowly lay down another plate. Joan frowned on performing household tasks at super speed – having been married to Jay nearly fifty years, Wally couldn't say he could blame her; he could see why non-speedster's would feel slightly unnerved after living with one for awhile.

"I guess…" he replied, seeing where Joan's line of questioning was going. He would not allow it. "What're we having?"

But Joan was older than Wally, and much more experienced in the art of information handling.

"Lasagne. So," she said, dismissing his diversion like an expert. "How close would you say you and Shayera are?" she asked, taking some glasses out of an overhead cupboard in the kitchen.

"I'll have you know this line of questioning is making me very uncomfortable."

"Suck it up. So. You and Shayera. How close."

Wally lay down the final plate. "I don't know," he said, exasperated. "We like each other, I suppose."

"In what way?"

"All right! Fine! She's the love of my life! We're like Romeo and Juliet! And I had to fight like a million evil minions to get with her! And we're gonna get married! And have like a bazillion babies!"

"All right, all right, calm down."

Wally sighed. "Sorry. But seriously, we're just really good friends."

"How good?"

"Would you stop that?"

"Baby."

"No, no, seriously. Thinking about me and Shayera like that… sometimes it even makes me kinda queasy."

Joan cocked an eyebrow. "Queasy?"

Wally nodded. "Uh huh. It's about as wrong as me and John getting together."

"Now that I could have done without."

"Told ya," the speedster replied, winking at the woman who almost acted as a second mother to him. He had only known the Garricks since his superhero career began, but they had become hopelessly entwined in his life now, being a constant presence to help him not only in his superhero life, but also with his personal problems as well.

He honestly didn't know what he would do without Jay and Joan Garrick.

The elderly woman smiled and shook her head, her brownish silver hair glistening in the light as she did so.

The oven timer chimed.

"Dinner's ready."

"Ooo, lasagne."

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"So you and Wally must be fairly close, eh?"

Shayera was now finding she was actually enjoying this man's company. If she was honest, she did have her apprehensions about this aspect of the trip. Of course, she had had doubts about the very concept of it.

Particularly since it was Wally's idea.

She shrugged in response to the ageing Flash's question. "I suppose we are. He was one of the few people who didn't bear any grudges or resentment after the… um…" Her eyes avoided Jay's like a plague.

Jay, knowing instantly what Shayera was referring to, just nodded. "Wally never was the type to hold a grudge unfairly." He smiled wistfully. "Or even when he had good reason to." He shook his head to bring himself back to the present. "Anyway. You and Wally."

"Right, right," Shayera said, nodding. "Well, I trust him, and I guess he trusts me." She smiled. "Though that's not saying much."

Jay wagged a correcting finger. "Don't let appearances fool you. He puts on a very happy show, but there are actually very few people he completely and totally trusts. For instance, he obviously feels comfortable enough with you to show you his past and talk to you about it. He's very private about that with most people."

A red eyebrow rose in interest. "He is?"

"Uh huh," Jay replied, nodding. "Here's another example. He's only ever brought two of his friends here to meet us; John Stewart and Dick Grayson."

Shayera nodded slowly. "Has… does Wally talk about his father? To you, I mean?"

"His father?"

"Yeah. He's only mentioned him once or twice, but every time he does he diverts the conversation onto something else."

The older Flash clucked his tongue thoughtfully as he rubbed his chin. "So Wally hasn't told you anything about him?"

Shayera shook her head.

"Then I can't either."

She sighed, smiling, her only acknowledgement of understanding a cursory nod.

"He'll tell you when he's ready," Jay said, looking up as the door to the living room opened, and Wally stepped through.

"Dinner's ready. It's lasagne."

"Ooo, lasagne," Jay said, hopping to his feet and rubbing his hands together.

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Shayera had never been a forest person. This was obviously something she had in common with Wally, who was even now finding it difficult to get comfortable on the uneven and often times pointy ground.

"Would you sit still for one second?" she asked irritably, her own itchy backside making her more irritable than usual.

"Sorry! This stuff is all… nasty," Wally shot back, stopping only for a moment before resuming his constant shuffling.

Jay just smiled. It had been his idea for them to come out into the nearby forest and camp out for the night. Joan had backed out. Shayera had wondered why.

Wally groaned loudly in frustration.

And Shayera wasn't wondering anymore.

She reached out and grabbed Wally by the shoulder, who instantly froze.

"Park it before I break it."

The speedster smiled nervously. "Uh… gotcha." He sat down.

A wry smile broke out on Jay's face. "You two would make a great sideshow act."

Shayera glared at him.

"Or not," Jay corrected, realising his near fatal error.

The Thanagarian super heroine nodded in approval before slowly crossing her arms.

Feeling that the danger had passed, Wally loudly clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Okay then! What's on the agenda? Marshmallows?"

Jay reached behind him and threw over a bag of marshmallows, which landed neatly on Wally's lap.

"Why, thank you."

Wally's eyes almost lit up when he saw the next item Jay brought up.

"Whoa… a guitar…?"

Jay nodded, and as if thought to prove it was in fact a guitar, smoothly strummed all six strings.

His mouth already half full of marshmallows, Wally extended a sugar coated hand to Jay. "C'mon. Let me have a go of it."

Shayera smacked him in the arm. "You do not know how to play the guitar."

Wally winked at her. "Oh, don't I?"

"No."

"Well, we'll see about that. Jay, the guitar, if you please."

The elderly Flash frowned. "Wipe that marshmallow stuff of your hands first. And let Shayera have some before you eat the whole bag."

"As if I would."

In a blur of motion, Wally had quickly wiped the sugar on his leg, stuffed the marshmallows into Shayera's arms, and taken the guitar from Jay.

"Now," he said, smirking at the two, "let's see if you recognise this number."

And so he played.

After a few minutes, and seemingly satisfied with himself, he set the guitar down again, his earlier smirk having now grown to epic proportions. Shayera looked at Jay, and then back to Wally.

"Wally… are you sure you know how to play the guitar?"

"Yes! How could you not recognise that song? But… okay, okay, if you didn't get that one, let's try another one."

He snatched up the guitar once again, and once again strummed out another song, the same satisfied look crossing his face once he had finished.

Jay just stared at him. "Wally… that's not a song. It's just… random chords put together."

The red headed speedster threw his arms into the air. "Oh, come on! How could you not get that one?" He scowled. "All right, fine! Let's see if you get this one!"

Alternating his glare between Jay and Shayera, he reached back and once again picked up the guitar, but this time, he slowly strummed on the strings, making a noise not altogether displeasing. Shayera had to admit, this one sounded familiar.

A smile crossed Jay's face as he slowly began to sway his head to the music. "Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream…" he sang gently, almost under his breath.

Wally looked over at Shayera smugly. "So, Shayera. Who got game?"

Shayera sighed. "Just shut up and play."

The Flash grin appeared on Wally's face. "Straight up."

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(A/N: Ye Gods! How long did this take?

Anyway, hope you enjoyed. This felt a bit weaker compared to the earlier chapters. I'm not sure if I touched upon everything I wanted to with Jay and Joan, but the point was really for Shayera to see another side of Wally's life rather than to flesh out Jay and Joan. A story for another day, I guess. Not that they won't be back later on down the line, mind you…

Now, something I've only just discovered is the Disney show Kim Possible. Why do I mention this, you ask? Because Kim and Ron's relationship reminds me so much of Shayera and Wally's it's not even funny. Nothing really relevant to the story, but interesting nonetheless. And a very fun show, to boot.

Next: Having visited Jay and Joan Garrick, Wally and Shayera head on over to their next stop: Bludhaven – and you know who hangs around there…

Anyways, review!)