Damage
A.N.: I'm not really sure what to say about this. Enjoy!
It was at least a minute before Wally stopped running and found himself a city over.
Dick was…
He was…
Wally wasn't sure, honestly. He had a hypothesis, sure, but it was hardly well supported.
Still, it was obvious something was wrong with him.
Should he tell Alfred? What's the worst that could happen if he did?
Odds are, he already knew and would just calmly tell him that Dick would come back in "his own good time." Everything would be fine.
But what if he didn't know? Would they send him away? What if they did? His best friend would be on the streets as a…as a…
Wally shook his head. Whatever was happening, it was something he could totally handle alone.
Right?
Dick wasn't dangerous.
Right?
Setting his jaw with determination, Wally turned around and darted back to the alley he'd dropped his friend in.
Only to find that he wasn't there.
Somehow, in the time it took him to get back, Dick had gotten up and left. And took off his shoes, apparently.
Wally sighed and picked up the sneakers, throwing them behind the dumpster before dashing to the nearest store and picking up a few steaks on the off chance that his hypothesis was supported.
As it turned out, it wasn't all that hard to find…it? Him?
Whatever.
Following the sounds of people screaming was the easy part.
Wrapping his head around the clothes-wearing wolf? Hard part.
A bushy, black tail poked out of the left leg of Dick's gray sweatpants, now torn into shorts, and the white t shirt covered most of the rest of the wolf's fur.
It would've been funny, if it hadn't been baring its teeth at him.
Wally tore into the plastic casing, pulling out a rib eye and letting the smell waft its way to the wolf's nose.
Prowling closer to him, the wolf took a tentative sniff at the meat, before tearing off half of it and finishing it three bites.
Wally took a step back when the wolf returned its attention to the remainder of the steak in his hand. The wolf, in retaliation, took a step forward.
Wally turned on his heel and ran – at a civilian pace, of course – with the wolf bounding at his heels, chasing the food and lolling its tongue out of its fanged mouth.
He put on extra speed when he finally saw his destination: a cave that he and Dick used to hide out in, as kids. He doubted if the Dark Knight actually knew about the place.
He ran in without hesitation, and the wolf did the same, following the beef as he threw it onto one of the old, probably filthy mattresses they had hidden back in the day. He followed it up with the rest of the meat.
The wolf now thoroughly distracted, Wally slowly and silently backed out of the cave, letting the animal tear its food to bits.
About twenty minutes passed and the morning had gotten somewhat warmer, making Wally take off his jacket so he had something to sit on. He was also pretty sure that the wolf had finished its meal and fallen asleep. It was a wolf, right?
He couldn't be so sure that it was, now. Because he could've sworn he heard a familiar and very human groan come from inside.
Another ten minutes passed before he got the courage to get up and glance into the cave.
Lying face down on the mattress was his best friend, barefooted and sleeping like he'd just finished thanksgiving dinner.
Hypothesis supported, then.
The man took a few steps back, before making his way back to the alley.
BREAKLINE
Dick coughed as he woke up, smelling dirt, dust, and mold on the air. Still, he supposed, it was better than it could've been. There was next to no light, and the only two sounds he could hear were his heartbeat and something else's.
He tried to drag himself up, but didn't get much farther than to pick his shoulders off of…whatever he was on.
Lazily he turned his head to identify the other pulse, only to slump back into the – was it a mattress?
"I guess now you know, huh?" he whispered. Wally didn't reply.
Dick sighed as he rolled himself onto his back, this time keeping eye contact with the older man.
"Aren't you gonna say something?"
"What am I supposed to say?"
Dick huffed out a breath and shook his head. "Never mind." He let his eyes slip shut, content to just lie there.
"How long has this been going on?" Wally whispered at last. Dick opened his eyes again, trying to get a read on his friend's face. He seemed almost scared.
"At least a month," he replied, looking back at the dark expanse that he guessed was a ceiling.
"Oh, man, that sucks! And you don't know when it started?"
"No. At least, I can't think of anything." The redhead seemed to chew on this.
"Well," Wally seemed to conclude. "I guess I'd better get you home. Do you need to be carried?"
The answer apparently didn't matter, because he tried to pick him up anyway, only to be pushed off by a coughing, gagging werewolf.
"Remember what I said about taking a shower? I'll be fine, just give me, like, an hour or two. Hey, you got any food?"
"No, sorry." Dick grunted as he reached over and pulled up one of the old blankets at his side.
He heard Wally step out and pull out his phone, calling Alfred to say that he was safe and sound, and telling him that they were just hanging out for a few hours.
BREAKLINE
Grass rustled underneath Dick's bare feet as he enjoyed a sunny day in the woods. The breeze gave a light shove to his shoulder as he walked between the trees, far from the beaten path, now. The sun shone pleasantly on his face, and he smiled at the warmth.
A light rustle on the other side of some bushes pricked his hears, making him duck behind the foliage and peek over the leaves.
A deer was grazing on the other side, the light breeze sweeping away any evidence of a threat as it pressed his shoulder again.
As silently as he could manage, he skirted around the line of bushes until he reached the edge, downwind of the animal. Edge out from behind the bush, calculate the jump…
And he lunged.
He only felt the buck's stiff fur beneath his palms for a second, before he blinked his eyes open to the dark world.
"It's been three hours. Do you still need anything, or…?" Wally asked, removing his hand from his friend's shoulder. Dick finally pulled himself up from the mattress, stretching his sore muscles. A relieved smile crept across his face as he breathed; the wind had changed, whisking away the earthy smell of the cave and instead giving him the smell of soap from his friend's damp hair. The elder took a few steps away to scope out the area.
He squinted at the light from the entrance.
"Actually, hey Wally?" The man in question turned to his friend.
"Do me a favor and run by my room. Inside it is a pair of headphones, sunglasses, and a surgical mask. Bring them here, please."
"Of course." Dick coughed as the wind from the speedster's departure brought in a fresh wave of dirt. His brows furrowed as he noticed Wally's odd behavior, his eagerness to help out, but he didn't rest on it for too long.
Ten seconds later, Wally was watching Dick put on the hospital mask, then the shades, and finally, the headphones.
"You're really that bad." Dick looked up from his shoes, which he was slipping back into.
"Sorry?"
"You really need those, don't you?" The brunette nodded.
"I'm really sensitive to things like sound, lights, and smells. These make it a little easier."
They left the cave together, grass bending underfoot.
"So, do Bruce and Alfred know about this?" Dick nodded.
"Yeah, they know," he replied.
Relative silence followed; birds were still chirping, and he could still make out their two heartbeats through the headphones.
He looked up as another, more sudden noise caught his attention; they must've been getting near the city, again.
He found himself stumbling sideways as a hand wrapped around his arm and pulled him roughly to the left.
"What are you doing?" he asked, pulling his elbow free and jerking his thumb in the direction of the city. "The mansion's this way." The speedster looked like a deer in the head lights, his eyes wide and worried.
"Well, I figured if we skirted the city, we could avoid…Y'know…"
"What, me changing?" Wally pressed his lips together with a stiff nod and redirected eyes. Dick scoffed at him.
"Three hours ago, I could barely hold my head up; I think we're safe."
"Still, do you really want to risk it?" he replied, eyes glancing over his friend's human form, still not making true eye contact. The smell of sweat radiated off of him.
Dick suppressed a growl, sighing harshly instead.
"Whatever. Let's just go," he said, pushing past the ginger and keeping his eyes on the ground.
It was about an hour of tense silence and crunching footsteps until they reached the mansion. Cut grass hit his nose as the pair walked the driveway; Alfred must've been outside, mowing the lawn.
This meant that, as he opened the doors at eleven in the morning, the manor was blessedly silent and scentless.
"Hey." Dick turned to face his friend. "I'm not going to tell anyone else about this, if that's what you want."
This time, green eyes locked onto his face, big and round and sickening to him with their pity. He didn't need pity.
He pressed his lips together, but nodded all the same.
"Thanks."
A.N.: What do you think? What's good? What's bad? Be sure to let me know.
I got the idea about Wally pitying Dick from a guest user, whose review was in Spanish (Thank you, Google Translate). Grácias por la idea, visitante!
Also, how do you think Dick became a werewolf? Who knows, maybe I'll reveal it sometime soon, but only if you weigh in! Thank you for your time, and GOD BLESS!