Pasăre mic...
We are so proud of you...
Please, never forget about the people you have saved...
And please imagine yourself... being happy in the future.
Dick woke up slowly. It was the morning after he spoke with Wally. On his bedside table, his CD player was still making the quiet sound of rainfall he fell asleep to.
He smiled, because he had a vague memory of having a nice dream.
.
Soon enough, it was December 1st again. Dick's thirteenth birthday.
A certain redheaded boy stood outside the large entrance of Wayne Manor. The double doors opened, and Alfred stepped out to greet him. "Can I help you?" There was the faint sound of several people talking from somewhere inside the mansion.
"Uh, hi," he said. He was holding a wrapped present. "I'm Wally West. Dick's friend... Is he home?"
"One moment, please. I'll get him for you."
Wally pointed a finger. "You're Alfred, right?"
"Yes," he answered simply.
Wally looked at this thin, balding man. "I'm starting to see why it was so funny..."
"Hm?"
"Uh, never mind!"
With one eyebrow suspiciously raised, Alfred disappeared inside the mansion. Wally stayed outside, coming to grips with knowing somebody who lived in an honest-to-goodness mansion.
Only a few seconds later Dick came out the doors. Hair slicked back. No sunglasses. His clothes were casual this time, though not cheap-looking. Dick looked surprised to see Wally, but not unhappy. "Hi." He closed the door behind him.
"Hey," Wally replied. "Sorry, I probably should have called first. I just came by to give you this." He handed Dick a rectangular package wrapped in newspaper comics. "Happy Birthday."
Dick nodded and smiled. "Thanks."
Wally tilted his head towards the door. "Sounds crowded inside. Were you having a party?"
"Y-Yeah. I asked a few kids from school to come over. I'm trying to come out of my shell more." He looked uncomfortable. "Look, sorry. I don't wanna be rude. I would invite you inside. It's just... I'm not sure how to explain to them how I know you."
Wally waved his hand. "No, no. That's fine. I totally get it. I can't stay long anyway. I told my parents I was only dropping off your birthday present, and I then I'd run straight home. And considering the last time I snuck away to Gotham City, it took a while to convince them to let me do that much." He added, "I didn't say anything about your secret identity, of course. That's between us."
"Thanks."
"We, uh, we haven't really spoken much since that day." Wally looked at him with a little concern. "How are you doing? I mean... really? Are you okay?"
Dick took a deep breath. "Today is my first birthday as the last surviving Grayson. That got me really down... But I was better before that." He thought about it, and confidently said, "I'm gonna get better again."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. After all," he smiled, "being alive is my superpower."
"That's good," Wally said with relief. "So how's the party going? Fun?"
Dick considered it. "It's... uh... wild," he said with another smile.
"How wild?"
"Well, Maggie... something, I'm still working on memorizing everyone's names... she accidentally threw a Wii remote into an expensive TV screen, so now she's hiding from Bruce. Tyson Bailey and Luke-something were wrestling a little and knocked down a decorative suit of armor. George Jackson touched Barbara Gordon's chest, not really by accident. Barbara Gordon shoved George Jackson face-first into the cake, also not really by accident. And Travis Nie announced that he's gay." He rolled his eyes. "And yes, I know what that word means."
"Well, it's no three-ring circus, but it sounds close," Wally said.
Dick laughed.
Wally pointed to the present. "You gonna open that?"
Dick tore open the wrapping. Inside was a book: The Blue Bird by Maurice Maeterlinck.
"Maeterlinck's Blue Bird of Happiness," he muttered.
"Here's the thing," Wally spoke up. "I had no idea what to get you for your birthday. I mean, what do you get a kid who's rich enough to buy whatever he wants? But then I happened to see this in a book store and I thought, he likes birds, he likes foreign fairy tales, so..." He shrugged.
"Technically, it's not a fairy tale. It's a play," Dick said.
Wally's shoulders drooped. "You've already read it, haven't you?"
"No, but my dad did. I always meant to look it up myself one day. He said it's a story about two poor kids who go on a journey to find a magical bird that makes people happy. But then they realize that they never needed to go on any long journey. Happiness was right next to them all along." Dick looked up at Wally and smiled. "Happiness isn't something you find... It's something you make."
Wally smiled back at him.
"Thanks for this," he held up the book. "And thanks again for what you did that day."
He shrugged modestly. "Eh, I didn't do that much."
"Yes, you did," Dick said with a casual smile. "And if there's any way I can pay you back... No pressure, but you can tell me anything, Wally. If there's ever something bothering you, even if you're worried it's embarrassing or whatever, I won't think any less of you."
Wally nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. And you can call me anytime, not just when something's bothering you. We're friends now."
He grinned. "Well, you get back to your party. I'm gonna run home. My parents get antsy if I hide in another state for too long."
"Yeah, but that's 'normal' for kids like us," Dick replied with a knowing smile. "I'll call you later, Wally."
"Happy Birthday, Dick." And with that, he whooshed out of sight.
Dick looked down at his new book and flipped through the pages. "Being alive is a superpower," he muttered.
Maybe I'll write to Mr. Haly today... Make sure he knows that I forgive him.
A nest of birds sang in the tree in the yard. Dick watched them fly away into the sky.
This was the story of how Richard "Dick" Grayson survived the worst day of his life - twice. And he continued to live on in this world.
"God's beautiful world," he said.
FIN
.
Author's Notes: This is the fastest I've ever written a fanfiction (not counting oneshots). It became much longer than I thought it would be. And I didn't focus on Dick's culture shock as much as I originally intended to. But thankfully, the climax chapter where Wally saves Dick turned out pretty much exactly as I pictured it when I first started this story. I'm satisfied with the results.
I try to give credit where it's due. As I said before, I first started writing this after watching the movie, "The Space Between Us." I took equal inspiration from "A Day in the Death," which is an episode of the TV show "Torchwood." (Be warned: that show's meant for mature audiences.) And also, a lot of "Doctor Who," particularly the episode "The Husbands of River Song" prompted Wally to be clueless about Dick's identity.
I'm grateful to all the people who had such nice things to say about this story. I hope you enjoyed this final chapter.