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Dick always wondered what it would be like. He wondered how it would feel to run his fingers through ginger locks, and among countless freckles. He always thought of how his pale skin would fare beside sun-kissed skin. Would they clash, or would they blend so well that they become impossible to distinguish? Would his pointed, aristocratic nose rub gently against the other’s rounded button nose if they were to Eskimo kiss? Would they instead smash against one another as they hesitantly, yet hastily, French kissed? What would the other’s lips taste like? He figured they would be plush under his own. They would yield so invitingly to the gentle pressure he provided and part to willingly, breathlessly, invite him in. At least Dick thought they would.
He played with his communicator, the earpiece feet away from him by now. He recalled that being dangerous. He remembered his mentor scolding him intensely the last time his earpiece was so far away, but the memory was faint among his other ponderings of ruby hair and emerald eyes. Besides, it was so deeply buried in the snow that he was sure that he’d never find it. The ongoing blizzard didn’t help much either. Despite that, Dick still toyed with the communicator, feeling the buzz it caused in his palm and the flashing light behind his clenched fingers.
Other’s were calling for him. They were worried. He knew that they would be. They usually were around this time of year. It was around this time that his mind began to drift towards rosy cheeks and blinding smiles. He would gain a affiliation with the color yellow and ice-cream strictly from Central City. The feeling would distract him from his work. He would instead stay in his small apartment in Bludhaven and continuously come up with different solutions to a problem that was too late to solve. Maybe he shouldn’t have forced them to go undercover. Maybe he shouldn’t have waited so long. Maybe he should have passed his fingers through cherry hair as he always envisioned. Maybe he should have spoke up when he had the chance. If only he was smarter, braver. If only…. Maybe…..
His feet were sinking into the snow now. His calves were coated in it, and his Nightwing suit could only do but so much. He was drowning in the growing snow. The blizzard had begun to took up speed, circling around him. The wind was harshly upheaving the already fallen snow, pulling them to join their purer brethren above. Dick wondered if he could be lifted the same.
The snow was building, suffocating, yet splitting. No, not the snow, but reality was splitting. Dick watched, his flashing communicator slipping from his hand. He could have sworn – if only for a moment – that he saw red. “Wally,” the bird breathed into the air. Surprisingly, the air spoke back.
“Wing,” it whispered gently into his ear. Dick turned to sound. “Birdie,” it called again.
He knew that voice. He heard it in his abandoned earpiece, among his abandoned teammates, and in his abandoned dreams. “Wally,” he called back, voice choked. So many unspoken words blocked the passage. Then they came flooding out, tripping over one another as they spilled from Dick’s mouth. “WALLY,” he shouted, “Where are you! Are you here? Are you safe? Are you…” The word ‘alive’ plugged the dam. Though he wanted to ask, he wasn’t sure what it would say about his sanity if the answer was negative. “Wally,” he instead whimpered, the only word that could slip through the cracks.
“I’m,” a voice bled into the storm, “Here.” Red flashed across white and Dick knew he wasn’t dreaming. “I’m,” it continued, “Alive.” Lightening sparked near Dick’s face. Dearly missed freckles were shown within the short blast. The word, “Sorry,” ghosted along the length of Dick’s shoulders and it made the man trembled. “Sorry,” he felt again, near his naked ear, “But be back soon.” Dick reached out, grasping nothing. “Wait for me,” the voice sounded, “Birdie, wait for me.”
“I will,” Dick screamed to the emptiness. The snow slowed to a gentle fall, the crackling energy zapped from the place. Wally was gone. “I will,” Dick whispered again.
Dick always wondered. He wondered if what he heard was real. He wondered if anyone would even believe him if it was. He wondered if he could ever get what he lost back or if that was just the hope of a broken heart. Would he ever tangle his fingers in scarlet hair ? Would he ever smile into green eyes? He didn’t know. He only knew that he’d wait, just like Wally asked him to. Now he only wondered for how long.