**-{+}-**
There are actually so many pointless Birdflash references. SO MANY. SO POINTLESS. SO UNNECESSARY. SO CUTE.
Ugh, Birdflash. Though art my weakness.
Three weeks. I can do this. 14 days. Yeah. LET'S DO THIS.
Pairings; Birdflash. So much random Birdflash. There's no better kind.
Things I own; Luminira Grayson/Nightmare. She's mine, DC. Hands off. Actually, you can have her if you make Birdflash, Joy, Hummingbird, ColinxDami, BabsxKara, StephxCass and Longshot canon. That is all I ask of you.
**-{+}-**
He's lost.
He grew up in this city, and he knows every inch of it, almost as well as he knows the feeling of his speedster's kiss.
But Wally's not there right now.
Nobody's there.
He doesn't have anyone to protect him right now. He's alone.
He can't even explain how badly he just wants to get home, drink some hot chocolate, cuddle up next to Wally on the couch and watch Bah, Humduck! with Jai and Irey. Or maybe stay at the manor for the night, eat some of Alfred's cookies and challenge Damian to an all-nighter full of movies, video games and junk food. Just be anywhere but here.
But he's not.
Instead he's stumbling around a city he can barely recognize, broken and bleeding. He's freezing, teeth chattering, body shaking. It reminds him of a vaguely remembered mission, when they were younger, when he was Robin, when Wally was Kid Flash, before they were together. They'd been left alone, for only a moment, and he shivered. Wally was immediately at his side, with his arms around the little bird, warming him up.
He just wants his speedster to swoop him up and run him home, kiss him, hold him. He really just needs some form of body contact, just wants someone else to be there that isn't trying to kill him.
Because right now that's what everybody's trying to do.
He slumps against the remainder of a wall, into the shadows, just as one of Gotham's citizens runs into the alley, screaming in pain and clutching their head. They drop to their knees, uncovering their face, and he recognises the man.
They went to school together. His name is Jeremy… something. He was a scholarship kid on the swim team. He had a girlfriend, her name was… Nicole. She was a brunette with chocolate brown eyes, not too pretty, but smart and incredibly kind. He's not sure, but he thinks they might be married with kids now.
Jeremy sees him too, hiding in the dark. He slips something out of his pocket, and Dick can see in the light from the moon that it's a piece of glass. Jeremy grips it tightly, so much his hand bleeds. Nightwing stands up and takes out a birdarang, preparing for yet another fight, when he notices that Jeremy isn't moving towards him. Instead he puts the glass to his heart, and harshly whispers the words,
"Help us."
Then he pushes the glass in, killing him instantly.
**-{+}-**
The three heroes followed the girl through the tunnels. She was humming to music no one else could hear and cartwheeling every so often.
"I take it you're Nira?" Artemis assumed glancing at the intricate vine-like patterns drawn along the walls of the underground maze.
"Yeeeeep," She did a flip while she walked, "Buuut tech-nic-aly, I'm always Nira. And Lumi. But Lum is resting right now. She's stressed, needs time to relax, ya know?"
"So is there a Luminira?" The acrobat stopped at those words.
"...Yes." She whispered. She started frantically shaking her head."But you don't want to meet her. She's... bad. Even MJ thinks so."
"Who's MJ?" This time Wally asked. Is that all these people do? Ask questions? It'd be easier if I just wrote a freaking memoir, damn.
"Heeeee's a friend of mine…" She continued, walking faster than before. "You know him. Aaaaannnnndddd… You don't… exactly...like him."
"Who is he?" Raven asks.
Nira giggles. "Teeelllll you later. When it's. Relevant."
**-{ARTEMIS}-**
She's… interesting. I guess.
I feel dumb around her. Since she seems to know so much about us while we know nothing about her. We've only known about her freaking existence for, what, 24 hours? I almost feel violated.
I blame Nightwing. I'd be so pissed at him if I wasn't terrified of the possibility that my best friend is de-
He's not.
I freeze. Voices in my head? What the hell was that? Am I losing my mind?
No. I just couldn't help it. You're thinking really loudly. Like REALLY loud.
Yes, I've obviously lost my mind. I'll just get going to Arkham now.
Chill, Artie. Just me. Nira.
...What.
Oh-hhhhh, Dickie didn't tell you? I can… do… stuff. I guess.
Wait WHAT.
I'll just wait for you to register that.
So you have… powers?
I've never called them that… but, technically, yeah.
And Dick didn't tell us WHY.
Long story. And I can't tell you right now. Or else this story wouldn't be interesting.
What? Story? What are you-?
Yeah, I know. Like I wasn't enough like Deadpool. Not that that's a bad thing, of course.
What? Who's Deadpool?
Tell you later. But, uh, can you go back into focus mode? Artie? Hello?
"YOO-HOO! WAKE UP ARTIE!"
Wally's snapping his fingers in my face, trying to get my attention as I get over the fact that she was just in my head. "You good, Artie? Do you need to go back to base?"
"No-No, I'm fine. Let's just… keep going."
He shrugs and turns away. Then I notice Luminira smirking at me. Great.
Because the last thing I need is to go through another Dick Grayson, this time with periods and fucking superpowers.
And now she's laughing.
Scratch that.
Cackling.
I am so done.
**-{+}-**
Wally takes a granola bar out of his suit and munches into it. I swear to Satan, he looks like he lost 20 pounds from just walking for twenty minutes. Course, he probably hasn't eaten in a few hours.
His hands are vibrating.
His entire body is vibrating. Has been for a while.
Why has nobody else noticed?
Dunno. Guess we're just more… observant?
That would be an interesting way to put it. Considering you have been 'evaluating' him since you first met.
Well, sorry if I want to make sure our brother's husband is worthy! Holy imitations Batman, I sound like Ra's.
…holy imitations Batman? Really?
Shut the fuck up, Lum.
Focus. He's obviously freaking out about Dick.
So? What do you want me to do about it?
Um. Comfort him? Like a… brother-in-law to sister-in-law kind of way.
Brilliant plan, Lum.
Just do it.
Wally fell behind the group while Lumi and I talked, so I asked Artemis and Rae to keep going. I started walking slowly until he caught up to me. And it's at that point that I realize how awkward this really, truly is.
Lumi I hate you.
"Uh. Hi." Well fuck me. I suck. 'Hi?' That's it?
"Hi…" Why am I doing this.
"So… you're the famous Wally West Wing's always talking about." Okay. Not bad. I… I can do this.
Wally gives me a questioning look. "Dick's told you about me?"
"Oh yeah, he talks about you all the time. Wally this, Wally that. Especially after I told him he was in love with you."
"Oh. Wait, what? You told him he loved me? Shouldn't it be the other way around?"
"You'd think so."
**-{+}-**
The thirteen year old bird silently walks towards the cemetery, sticking to the shadows. He wore a jacket over his sweater, as that day seemed to be colder than it normally was that time of year. It was early spring, on that day. Snow fell to the ground, and the grass was coated with fresh frost. Yet he still met a small figure sitting on the ground when he arrived to the graves.
She wore nothing but her assassin uniform and at that moment he realizes that those are probably the warmest clothes she has. He's overwhelmed with a horrible feeling, a realization that this was the fate of the Flying Graysons. One was an assassin in training with powers that couldn't be understood or controlled in turn leading to a deteriorating psyche, another who ran around in a cape playing hero and fighting bad guys while questioning his sexuality all because of a certain metahuman who happened to be his best friend, and the other half six feet under in cramped wooden boxes with only stones left to mark that they were ever truly there.
He slips off his jacket and puts it around her shoulders. She grips it like a life source, using it to hug her small, thin body as he sits next to her, bringing her into his lap and holding her close, trying to warm her up because her lips are turning blue.
"How long has it been?" She asks, in their native language, and although they both speak nearly 100 different languages between them, that is the one they use during these early morning meetings.
He holds her closer, whispering into her hair. He knows she won't cry because she can't anymore, but he knows he may break if he so much as glances at the headstones. "Four years, înger."
He calls her by the name their parents used, and she does the same for him. "Only four, prihor? It feels like longer."
He sighs and tightens his grip. This moment, when it's been a year since they last saw each other, was always the hardest for him. They are brother and sister, but they go through Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, never seeing each other, never there to just be there for each other when they need it. "Probably because so much has happened. To both of us."
She just nods.
**-{+}-**
A half-hour later, they're basking in the warmth of a small diner Dick knew. He wears sunglasses to hide his identity, she always wears her cowl, though now covered by the hood of his jacket, she wears it down. The shadow of the hood covers her face, but he gave her a scarf and sunglasses too, just in case.
The waitress takes their order, returning with coffee for him, and after a lot of convincing that she was, in fact, allowed caffeine despite being only six {They raised it to a small nine year old} and a tiny bit of mind control, one for her too. He glared at her, smirking a little as he drank his coffee.
"What?" She asked, and although he couldn't see it, he heard a smile in her voice.
"Don't think I don't see that, înger. That little trick you did to get your coffee."
She giggled. "Trick? I did nothing. You saw! You were right there! She just gave in!"
He raised an eyebrow. "I don't think going the transition from 'aren't you too young' to 'right away, ma'am' is that fast on it's own."
"Wha-. You suck."
He cackled. "It's good that you've got it under control, though. Or more so than before, at least." He stirred his coffee, watching the water shift and calm.
"I knew it."
"Hm? Knew what?" He drank, waiting for her response.
"You're in love."
She waited patiently for him to stop choking, sipping from her own coffee, which thankfully, was not blocking her airway. "What? What are you talking about?"
"Really. It's obvious."
"What? How is- Alright then. Who am I in love with?"
She took a moment to evaluate him. He really chooses horrible moments to drink his coffee.
"Kid Flash."
Again, she waited for him to stop choking before she continued. "Don't bother denying it. I can tell."
"Really? Then how exactly can you tell?"
"You keep tracing his insignia on the table. Flash was my second guess. You're leaving a dent."
He glanced down at his hand, which seemed to be mindlessly drawing the symbol. He watched as it zigzagged down twice, then up, connecting the two lines, before tracing two rounded lines on either side, since the lightning bolt went in front of the circle. If he really thought about it, the image was almost to scale. Almost like he was tracing it right off of Kid Flash's thin, not-overly-muscular chest, the older boy's body would be incredibly warm and comfortable as the ebony lay on top of him, softly sharing kisses every so often, while Wally ran his hands through the black hair, lovingly…
The bird laid his face on the table and groaned. His sister sighed, petting his hair the way he said he hates but secretly loved. "Don't worry, Dickie. I have a feeling something good will happen to you in a few months."
He looked up at her, silently begging her to continue. When she didn't, he dropped his head back down, mumbling three words they both knew were a lie. "I hate you."
She laughed.
**-{+}-**
I JUST WANT TO TAKE THIS MOMENT TO CONGRATULATE MYSELF ON THIS LONG-ASS CHAPTER.
*CHEERS*
THANK YOU.
-ARN