The room pulsed and thrummed in time with the music and the hundreds of sweaty bodies grinding and swirling. The strobe lights flashed and the dance floor lit up the people on it from beneath, casting strange shadows into the rest of the room and the darkened tables ringing the walls. It was a Friday night and all the clubs were full of young college students, celebrating the end of the week. Persie and Wally were some of these people. They often did this on a Friday night, enjoying the end of a week full of study. She grinned as she felt his hands grip her hips and his warm body pressed up against her back. She twined her arms around his neck and leaned her head back against his neck so their cheeks brushed against each other and they moved together to the pulsating music.

Wally kissed her cheek and then a line down her neck and she laughed softly, fisting her hands in his shaggy red hair. Wally vibrated slightly against her and bit back a moan as she turned in his arms and slammed their mouths together in a heated kiss. The push and tug from the bodies around them amplified the atmosphere, Persie, bouncing slightly on her toes to the beat that was now thrumming through the room until it could be felt in their bones.

When the couple eventually stumbled out of the nightclub, Wally's already tight jeans and t-shirt were almost obscenely plastered to his skin, the sweat darkening the yellow fabric of his shirt so that it showed every one of his hard-worked-for muscles while Persie's green mini-dress had ridden up her thighs and she had her high heels hanging from her fingers. She ran a hand through her long messy black hair and grinned at Wally who smirked at her and reached for her hand, twining their fingers together and running the other up her thigh. "You wanna go home or keep going?" he asked into the skin of her neck.

She hummed against his cheek, running her fingers through his hair. "Go home." she decided. "Happy anniversary."

"Oh, are we finally celebrating?" he asked, releasing her hand to lay it on her lower back and subtly letting it slide slowly lower.

"Well we couldn't really celebrate while you had an exam could we?"

Wally grinned wolfishly down at her and pressed a hot kiss to her mouth. "Home it is." oOo

When Persie woke in the morning she had a pounding headache and a warm body at her back. She smiled sleepily as she felt Wally stir against her, his face resting on her back and his arm slung around her waist, a warm weight against her. "Good morning." she whispered.

He grunted softly and shifted off her, running his mouth over a livid bite mark on her neck. "Is it? What's the time?"

"Nine thirty." another voice chirped from the doorway. "Time for little kiddies to be awake."

Persie shrieked, sitting up, pulling the covers up to her chest with one hand and reaching for the black pen on the bedside table with the other. Wally fell out of the bed in his shock and when he stood he was wearing his flash boxers and buzzing with the sudden adrenaline rush. "Rob." he sighed, slumping to sit back on the bed at the sight of his best friend leaning on the doorframe with a smirk on his face and blue eyes shining with mischief.

"Why in the name of all the gods can't you knock and use the door like a normal person, Grayson?" Persie grumbled, taking the shirt that Wally handed her and slipping it on. Upon closer inspection she realised that it was one of Wally's and she shrugged, snagging a pair of his boxers that lay on the floor.

"That's boring." Dick replied with a grin. "Sides, I did knock. You didn't answer so what choice did I have?" he shrugged with an innocent little smile. "I brought breakfast." he added as a peace offering and the couple both grinned at him.

"Good boy, Dickie." Persie said, patting the young man on the cheek as she passed. "I've taught you well." Wally and Dick exchanged amused looks even as Dick tried to fix his ruffled hair. "And it's blue!" came the cry from the kitchen and Wally chuckled. "You better watch out Walls. Dickie here is gonna be a great catch."

"Thank you, oh lovely Persephone." Dick said in a charming voice as he and Wally joined her in the kitchen.

"Oi." Wally snapped good naturedly. "Keep away from my girl."

Persie and Dick both snorted into their blue waffles and Dick sat back in his chair with a grin. "How did you even get blue waffles?" Wally asked to change the subject.

Dick gave him a derisive look. "I'm Richard Wayne and," he turned to Persie and nodded at her. "A great catch." he grinned. "According to your girl."

Persie snorted again even as Wally gave his best friend a noogie before he sat down and began to devour the waffles at high speed. "So why are you here, Dickie?" Wally asked his friend once he had finished the entire box set aside for him.

Dick took a long drink from his glass before answering. "Bats has picked up movement." he revealed eventually. "It...hints at people looking for Oceania."

"What kinds of people?" Wally asked, leaning forward on the island bench. "My kinds of people." Persie said dully. "Right?"

Dick nodded apologetically. "Yeah. Bruce reckons they're demigods." "Fuck." Wally muttered looking at his girlfriend worriedly.

Dick was also watching the woman cautiously and both he and Wally leaned back slightly as Persie scowled viciously down at her plate, hands shaking with rage. "Why?" she asked in a surprisingly calm voice. "Does Bats know why they're looking for me?"

Dick silently shook his head and slid from his chair, kissing Persie on the cheek and patting Wally on the back. "Good luck, dude." he whispered and slipped out the door just as the sink exploded.

oOo

The sun was warm on Persie's face as she and Wally lounged on a blanket in the park on a rare day off. Neither of them had to work and Bats had for some weird reason demanded that they both take the day off. Wally was sprawled on his back, hair glowing in the sun and a small smile curling his mouth. Persie was lying on her side beside him, propped on one arm and running her other hand through his hair. "You'll make me fall asleep." he murmured, cracking his eyes open to look up at her.

"You do need to sleep more." she replied gently as he sat up and framed her face with his hands, leaning forward to press their foreheads together. They sat there in a peaceful silence, merely enjoying each other's company, sharing soft lingering kisses.

When Wally pulled away he pushed the remains of their lunch to the side and shuffled even closer, so Persie was practically in his lap. "Sweetheart, I love you."

"I love you too." she replied softly as Wally took her hands in his, pressing his lips to her knuckles.

He didn't speak for several minutes but Persie didn't push him, his moments of silence were always followed by something important. "We've been going out for almost three years now." he began and Persie felt her heart skip a beat. What was he doing? "I didn't really believe that I could find someone who...got me and when I was with Artemis I didn't really understand that we weren't compatible. These last few years have been amazing, you're my best friend and I love you. I love you more than anything." Wally looked down at their hands, his words speeding up in his anxiety. "I-I can't imaginelifewithoutyouanymore." he paused both of them breathing shallowly as they waited for Wally to continue but then a shadow fell over them and a throat cleared. Wally let out a huff of irritation, squinting up into the sun at the two indistinct figures standing behind Persie. "Dick." he growled. "I told you to piss off."

Persie leaned slightly to the side looking over Wally's shoulder and frowned. "Um, babe. Your brofriend is...uh, there."

"So who is that?"

Dick was suddenly crouched beside them, sunglasses perched on top of his head, blue eyes fixed on the mystery people. "I tried to herd them off." he assured them in an undertone. "I think they caught up with you, Perse."

Persie nodded slowly as her back tensed and Wally and Dick drew back slightly. She stood gracefully and Wally rose with her, Dick springing to his feet to stand on his toes, ready for anything. She turned around and came face to face with her old life for the first time in six years.