"Where
is everyone?" Grant whined, pulling the hair on his head back
so tight his eyes narrowed.
"Wally and Roy are
on their way," Donna explained calmly from the head
chair at the conference table.
"Wally's always
late," Jesse lamented from her seat beside Donna. "A
speedster's curse, I suppose."
"How come you're always on time?" Grant asked.
"My
double-X chromosome counters the effect," Jesse sneered. Toni
tried to hide her snicker from a glaring Grant.
"HeyguyssorryI'mlaterwhatdidImiss?" Wally zoomed in.
"Wally! You messed up my hair!" Toni cried.
"We haven't started yet, Wally," Donna assured the Flash.
"Cool. Where are the snacks?" Wally
didn't miss a beat as he plopped
in his chair.
"Roy and Lian have been baking cookies all day. They should be
here
soon," Garth stated from his seat opposite
Jesse.
"Hey guys," a voice rise above the anxious buzz in the room.
"Nightwing!" Donna exclaimed.
"Hey, man. Where in the world have you been?" inquired Wally.
"Yeah, you've missed, like, four meetings," Toni pitched in.
"Yeah, I know, I know," Dick scratched the back of his neck
nervously.
"I've been kind of busy."
"Busier than the rest of us?" workaholic Jesse accused.
"Well," Dick blushed, "sort of. I've kind of been busy
planning my
wedding."
"You're getting married?!" Toni squealed.
*CRASH!!!*
All eyes turned to the doorway where Roy stood with an empty
platter
and dozens of cookies scattered at his feet.
"Daddy!" Lian shrieked in horror.
"Five-Second-Rule! Five-Second-Rule!" Wally announced as he
gathered
up the cookies and placed the platter on the table.
"Good as new."
"Blech. Gross, Wally,"
Toni made a face. Wally just grinned at her
with a mouthful
of cookies.
"Hey, Roy," Dick turned even redder.
Roy drank in the image of the one person he
had longed to see for what
seemed like an eternity, although
it had only been a month. "You're
getting married?"
Had he said that out loud? He could barely hear
himself think
much less speak.
Dick scratched his head. "Uh, yeah."
Donna closed her eyes. "Oh, Dick, what have you done?" she thought.
Dick continued, "I, uh, I've been meaning to call you-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know... I'm sorry about, uh-"
"Me, too, man. I, uh, don't know what got into me."
"Me either."
As everyone in the room began
feeling increasingly awkward, Donna
chimed in. "How
about we have some snacks and catch up before we
start the
meeting?"
Dick and Roy both released breaths they didn't know they were holding.
"Congratulations, Nightwing," Jesse offered.
"Thanks, Jesse."
"Welcome to the club!" Wally
hugged his friend. "I'll tell him
everything I
know."
"May heaven help him," Garth smirked.
Donna giggled and hugged Dick.
"Congratulations, sweetie." Over
Dick's shoulder
she saw Roy leave the room. "Are you sure you're
doing
the right thing?" she whispered.
"I'm sure, Donna," Dick assured her. "For once in my life, I'm sure."
"Well, then... I'm happy for you," Donna smiled sadly.
Donna found Roy on the deck just outside the holographic tower
above
ground. He was leaning against the railing by his
forearms, his head
hanging low, his auburn hair a stark
contract to the grey backdrop of
the Atlantic at dusk.
"Roy."
Roy's head popped up. He turned
quickly, a cocky grin plastered on
his face. "Heeey.
There's my favorite Wonder Chick."
Donna pursed her lips into a tight smile. "Roy, you can drop the act."
"What act, babe?" He wrapped his arms around her waist and
pulled her
tight. "Am I not allowed to see my most
favorite girl in the world?"
Donna just looked at him.
After a moment Roy sighed. "Yeah,
alright," he
kissed her softly on the forehead and released her.
"Guess
I can't get anything past you."
"You never could, Roy."
Roy smirked. "Nah, I guess not."
They stood in silence awhile, looking out over the ocean.
"What is it, Roy?" Donna finally asked.
"I dunno," Roy shrugged.
"First Wally, then Garth. Now Dick? I just
thought we'd
get to be bachelors together a little while longer."
Donn nodded. Then, "Really? That's all it is? The bachelor
blues?"
She seemed surprised.
"Um...
yes?" Donna just stared at him. Again. "Look. Dick's my
best friend. He's seen me at my worst and he still sticks
around."
"Roy, Wally, Garth and I stuck
around too," Donna responded, knowing
exactly what Roy
was talking about.
Roy nodded quickly. "Yeah,
Donna, I know. But Dick never left. Even
when Bruce demanded
it, he never left my side. He saw it all, and he
promised me
we'd never have to go through anything without each other
ever again!" Roy's face reddened and he pounded the railing with
his
fist.
"Roy," Donna rubbed Roy's
back, "surely you knew one day Dick would
find someone
to marry? To share a life with?"
"I guess,
but Donna," Roy smiled wryly, "I know it's stupid but...I
just thought that maybe that person might be-"
"Roy!" a voice called out. Both Donna and Roy jumped and
turned to
see Dick coming toward them. "There you are!
You okay? You took off
so fast!"
"Yeah,"
Roy grinned. "I just needed to get some fresh air after
spending all day in a hot kitchen."
Dick nodded,
then acknowledged Donna. "Hey, Donna." After a pause,
"Uh, do you mind if I talk to Roy, um..."
Donna's eyes widened, "Oh! No not at all." She turned to
Roy,
"We'll talk, later, Roy."
"Yeah, Donna." Roy released a breath watching her go. Dick
may not
have been who he wanted to be alone with right now,
but he was about
to spill something to Donna he wasn't even
sure he was ready to admit
to himself.
"Look,
Roy," Dick ran his hand through his raven locks. "I know
things haven't been that great between us lately, but um...Look, I
would just...I just wanted to um..."
Roy grinned and rolled his eyes, "Spit it out Dick."
"Best man," Dick did spit out. "Whew. Yeah. Roy, I
just wanted to
ask you if you would be Best Man at my
wedding?"
Roy blanched "Uh, yeah." He
managed to smile again. "Yeah, man, I'd
love to!"
"Great!" Dick's face broke out into a huge smile. It was
that smile
that rarely showed on Dick's face- not his
lady-killer grin, not his
"I'm about to bash our face
in" grin that he gave criminals, but the
smile that his
closest friends knew meant he was genuinely happy. Roy
loved
seeing that smile on Dick's face, even if it meant going through
his own personal hell for himself. "This is gonna be great,"
Dick
continued, moving in to hug Roy.
Roy
accepted the embrace. "Yeah, man. Great." He held Dick
tight,
not the way he wanted to, but as much as he could
because he knew he'd
never get to again.
