A/N: Because I've been asked to more than once for more J'onn and Wally...and...the muse finally noticed it's butt was being kicked and paid attention. Note that eventually there will be another chapter...and it will likely change the rating to at least T.

Chapter Two: Giving CPR

Oh God, oh God...I can't get loose! Stupid-not-paying-attention! Batman? Supes? Shay? Di? J'onn! J'onn, over here! I can't...I can't let it kill me! If I die the Lords will...stop-no-I can't-let-can'tcan'tcan't! I..aaah-

.

"Flash?" Shayera raised her fork a little from her plate, it's small prongs delayed from the mission of spearing the next mouthful. Her eating companion hardly blinked at the broken silence and he was still so pale. In fact, he hardly moved at all.

That was part of the problem.

"Yeah?"

.

Who did you dream about, Flash? We need to know.

I...doesn't matter.

If it doesn't matter, than it shouldn't matter to tell either.

Can't we just forget it? Please?

No, we can't. Just give us a name. Flash? Flash! Get back here!

.

"Are you alright?" Shayera asked again.

"Fine and dandy." He gave her a quizzical look, obviously wondering what she was getting at...as if it wasn't blatantly obvious that things between him and her were off. Or just off in general, really.

Flash had taken one pizza to eat despite that there were four of them still hot from the oven and he'd only eaten a quarter of it.

.

Since the cafeteria fiasco the last time they'd gotten together, Flash had started eating alone in his room. But that had been only for the first day as everyone knew the speedster couldn't bear to hold a grudge for much longer than that. However, the second day he'd been unusually silent, content to listen to the others talk and not answering any questions other than to blow them off; He'd only eaten a few mouthfuls then left almost the same minute he'd arrived. To say the least it had been an unusual past few meal breaks. Today he'd checked first to make sure Shayera was alone before cautiously moving to take a seat across from her with his plate of of pizza...apparently deciding that one person potentially 'ganging up' on him was more tolerable than three. Shayera felt bad about that...but curiosity was killing her and he shouldn't be hiding anything from his friends like he was doing. It wasn't...well, it wasn't like Flash to be so close mouthed. He hadn't been shy about himself before so he shouldn't keep secrets now.

.

"Then you normally stare off into space while in the middle of eating?"

A bit sheepishly, her friend glanced down at his partially consumed dinner ensemble, eying the food with an uncharacteristic detachment.

"Yeah...I mean no...no, just thinking."

"Must be something -or maybe someone?- pretty darn important to make you drift off half way through a double-crust, triple-topping pizza," Shayera teased him, enjoying the sight of his cheeks turning even redder. Really, Flash was so easy to get discombobulated. "Thinking about someone special? Someone like...maybe...Batman?"

.

Think of Batman.

I was that Batman.

.

Flash gave a little smile before digging into his food again with a sloppy disregard for any dining room etiquette. "Nope. I don't moon over tall, dark, loners. That's your specialty."

Touché

"But you were mooning over someone?" Shayera pressed. It was currently the juiciest topic at the Watchtower: who had Flash dreamed about? She and Diana had already discounted Flash's having an infatuation with them or John seeing as he had pretty much said so while under the spell of Wonder Woman's lasso. (Thank goodness, too, as John had been rather perturbed about the very idea of his buddy pining for either her or himself.) That left Superman, Martian Manhunter, or Batman as potential crushes...unless Flash was seeing someone not a superhero. They'd agreed that this was unlikely...otherwise the tabloids would surely have gotten wind of it by now. Diana was thinking Superman, seeing as Flash always seemed deferential in an awed sort of way whenever "Big Blue" came near him. John and Shayera were sure it was Batman because of the whole "opposites attract" angle and the fact that Flash tended to tease the man a lot...when Batman wasn't around to hear it and snap at him. As for the Dark Knight's opinion on the matter? He refused to speculate and no one dared to question J'onn given how the Martian had gotten rather huffy about being asked about Flash's personal life in the first place.

"Maybe?" Flash gathered up his empty plates in the blink of an eye and whisked them into the trash. He reseated himself at their table, leaning his elbows on the surface in order to casually rest his chin in both hands while regarding her with a cheeky wink. "Maybe I just got mesmerized listening to you go on and on about how truly awesome I am. Because...you know...I am so totally awesome."

Shayera snorted. Now this was the cocky hero she was familiar with! "Which only proves you weren't listening to me at all and your head's still lost in No-Man's Land." She emitted a little gasp of dismay, immediately contrite.

.

It had only been a few days since J'onn had released the young meta from the medical ward after...after his flesh had been cut to ribbons. So many bones had been broken or downright crushed by Brainiac's collecting probe that it was amazing Flash was still breathing when J'onn had carried the unconscious man home. They'd been so afraid Flash was going to die. If not for his high metabolism, the speedster likely would have. That, and J'onn's quick thinking. J'onn had made a split second decision to cradle Flash's mind within his own to save their friend from madness, but it was something neither seemed to really care to talk about with the others.

.

"Flash...I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."

"It's okay." He waved off her apology, but it was clear that a shadow had fallen over his eyes and that his smile was forced. "It's over and done. I'm fine."

"Are you?" Her eyes betrayed her doubts. Flash had never outright lied to her as far as she knew; however, he was unparalleled at exaggeration. He might truthfully consider being able to run at all to be 'fine'.

Flash leaned forward; hands switching from supporting his own chin to cupping her face. The material of his gloves was soft against her cheekbones, his touch gentle as if afraid he might hurt her by sheer accident. "Yeah, Shay. I mean...it's not something I want to go through again, not ever; but...hey...I'm still able to run circles around the bad guys. Can't ask for better than that?" Self-consciously, his eyes darted away from her moist ones. "Of course all that energy needed to really and truly recuperate...it's got to come from somewhere. You going to eat those brownies?" His laughter slid from around a mouthful of baked chocolate as she moved to slap his arm in mock irritation -only to miss when he'd already slid out of reach -after dabbing a bit of chocolate frosting on her nose.

"Got chocolate? No? Now you do. Ha! Way too slow for the Fastest Man Alive!"

It was only when Flash had escaped out the door that Shayera realized he'd again artfully gotten off telling her whom he'd been daydreaming over.

Annoyed at being so easily tricked, Shayera threw her fork down on her plate and wiped at the frosting on her nose. "Damn it."

If Flash didn't spill his guts soon, she and John were going to have to resort to drastic measures. Sure, hidden cameras were probably a bit overkill, but she and John were Flash's friends. They had a prerogative to keep tabs on him. To stop him from getting emotionally hurt by a bad choice. It was in his best interest that they have some sort of clue in case his romantic bubble got burst and he spiraled down into depression as a result.

It wasn't snooping. Anyone could see it wasn't snooping.

It was being caring.

Oh, who was she kidding?

Curiosity might not be deadly to birds, but it wasn't doing a thing for her digestion. She wanted...nay, needed to know!

"Who the hell is Flash in love with?"

"You are upset?"

Wallace's aura felt restricted...strained, though he smiled anyway as he sat cross legged in front of J'onn. He didn't ask for anything; just sat and waited for whatever J'onn wanted to say or do. The speedster was like that with him...trusting.

Accepting without expecting.

"Not at you."

J'onn's fingers began and did not pause in their journey of little circles over his tight shoulder muscles. "That is not what I meant." The hardness immediately gave way under his touch; Wallace openly mewled a bit in relief as that section of tension in him evaporated. He never could get see Batman's point of hiding stuff like happiness. If something felt good, why not express it if you wanted to?

Tactfully, of course. There was a time and a place.

"God, J'onn...you are sheer magic, you know that? Zatanna has nothing on you."

"Wallace?" He didn't need to elaborate. The speedster was avoiding an important subject and J'onn wasn't going to let him off that easy. Not push..simply remind him that J'onn was still waiting for a response as to what was troubling Flash.

Sighing, reluctant to say what was bothering him, Wally bit his lip before giving in. "It's the others. They think I'm holding some sort of sordid dalliance with another Founder and are trying to figure out who. I think there's even money involved...like a bet or something." He wasn't especially put out by being the subject of a bet...just dismayed that they didn't get the hint that he wanted them to drop the whole subject...to quite bringing up his nearly getting killed by a stupid mechanical squid thing that he should have been able to avoid in the first place.

To forget the memory of pain: past pain in his body...ongoing pain in his failure to make sure The Justice Lord's never had a ghost of a chance of happening. The pain of his not staying constantly vigilant like Batman was. Why couldn't he do this simple thing?

Nor did he care to talk about his non-existent romance with Batman. It didn't actually exist. Never would. He just wanted the topic to die a swift death.

"But you are dallying with a Founder." J'onn felt amused by that. Of course, Wallace did not think of their meetings as dalliances...just...friendship sessions.

"Yeah...but it's hardly 'sordid'," his friend protested with a sour tilt to his mouth, "and it's not with Batman or Supes. Can you imagine a romantic tryst between me and Batman or Superman? That would be just..." he searched for an appropriate word "...scary."

"You seemed to enjoy it before," J'onn reminded him. He didn't mention that he'd enjoyed it as well. Flash was too emotionally destabilized right now to be seeking a mate. He needed friends around him for support; not lovers with complicated needs and desires.

Wallace's spirit was like a flame. Normally, that would be a bad thing as J'onn was afraid of fire; but Wallace's fieriness was not that of a conflagration bent on destruction. As with the heat radiating from the speedster's body it was warming without burning; the dancing energy...tantalizing. It was a flame J'onn was coming to yearn to have close by. He would comfort Flash for as long as Flash desired comfort from him.

"I was already scared so it was kind of moot." Wally let his torso fall back in order to burrow closer to the yielding skin of his living comforter. J'onn felt so soothingly cool and soft: like a down pillow bed with freshly washed cotton sheets on a summer's evening. He wanted to fall asleep right there and dream of pleasant things. "The real Batman would have my hide stuffed and mounted over the Welcome To Gotham City sign as a warning to anyone else fool enough to reach out to his kevlar-protected pumper. Mind, I love the terrifying Knight as a fearless protector. That doesn't make me in love with him. Besides, he's too busy projecting disdain for everything meta." He grinned albeit a bit sadly. "Also, I want to live."

"Superman?" came the soft inquiry either into his ear or directly piped into his mind, Wally didn't care at this point as long as it was fairly quiet and let him snuggle into the softness.

"That would be scary because he's kind of like...a saint. You just don't think of saints like that. Ticket straight to Hell. Do not pass Go. Do not collect Eternal Happiness."

Wally sighed at the feel of fingers starting to card through his hair. "J'onn," he warily began, "I told you about how I saw everyone. How do you see me?"

"With my mind as well as my eyes." J'onn felt a gentle 'punch' to his flesh. The speedster was pouting.

"Don't get all evasive maneuvers on me, Mister. I answered your question. What do your mind and eyes see of me?"

Eyes glowing, J'onn didn't need to think about it. "I see a young soul with a burden worthier of those many times his years. Yet he doesn't complain about the strain of the load on his shoulders or the ridicule from those who do not share his values. He perseveres because to him it's the right thing to do and the right thing is the only choice conceivable. Any other course is false."

"Wow. That sounds...like a fantasy of me. Not the real me at all." Wally reached up to stroke J'onn's oh-so-amazing skin. Instead his fingers met with a semblance of thick hair. He didn't comment on it; just ran some fingers through the silken mass, liking the 'poofiness' against his hand. If J'onn wanted to have hair right now, that was fine with him. In Human or Martian form this was still J'onn. "I mean...I'm too impulsive...just like everybody says."

"True. I, on the other hand, am at times too restrained," J'onn agreed. "I believe it was you who pointed that personality quirk out."

"I make plenty of mistakes," Wally persisted. "I goof up all the time."

"No one is born a perfect Superman. Even The Man of Steel had to learn how to pick up an egg without crushing it. Mistakes, as with all painful stimuli, are symptom of being alive."

"Yeah, but my mistakes tend to be doozies."

J'onn chuckled. "The same can be said for your triumphs." He soothed the human's worried brow. "You are a being of extremes. Be aware of the thoughts of others, but know you are the planet Mercury: hot and cold, not meant to be rotating to others whims, but set to always see the light while yet firmly staring down the darkness. Do not try to turn on your axis so much just to see what others think of you...to change to their expectations. You've proven your own heart is already your best moral compass. One day, Superman will look up to you...if he doesn't already."

"Huh." Wally gave a short shake of his head. "Stop it, will you? Next thing you know I'll need a new cowl. I can feel my head swelling to two times it size."

"That's because you keep banging it against the wall of public opinion."

The speedster blinked up at him before he laughed and J'onn smiled at hearing the sound.

"You should joke more often, J'onn." He yawned. "Could use the practice. Want to sleep now."

"Then sleep," J'onn started to give his permission to continue to use him as a mattress, but the speedster was already out like a light, a smile on his lips.

His friend was slowly recovering emotionally as well as physically; and somehow, helping Flash heal was helping him to heal as well. It felt good to hold him like this...just touching and being touched. Sharing thoughts. Things J'onzz had missed upon the death of his wife and children. He'd always miss them. But even so...life always went on...and right now life was to be found in the bright presence of Wallace Rudolph West.