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The light from the moon illuminated Dick as he lay on his couch. A bowl filled of forgotten chips grew stale as the hours grew later and later.
Dick hadn’t moved from his spot in thirty-six hours, and had no plans to get up anytime soon.
It had been thirty hours since the Reach was defeated.
Thirty hours since Wally ceased.
Hours since Dick felt whole.
--- --- ---
After his parent fell, Dick thought he’d never feel happy again. But, after months and months of living with Bruce, Dick could feel his soul beginning to heal.
Dick had been Robin for nearly a year when Batman proposed a proposition. “How would you like to meet another superhero your age? Flash’s sidekick Kid Flash is new to the game and Flash wants to get him comfortable with other heroes.”
Robin considered for a brief moment. He was the youngest hero currently, and he sure would like to make a new friend. He smiled up at Batman, “I think that’s a great idea!”
The very next day the dynamic duo made their way to the rooftop of Wayne Industries. Robin bounced around the building, unable to control his excitement over meeting a fellow young hero.
Nearly an hour passed until anything happened. Off in the distance, Robin could see two streaks of lightning weaving in and out of the Gotham streets.
Batman sighed, “I told them no powers while in Gotham.”
“Sorry, Bats!” A sudden voice spoke fast. While Batman didn’t scare easily, Robin sure did. He jumped up and twisted around to see who the voice belonged to, while Batman slowly turned.
In front of Robin stood two heroes, one dawning red and the other yellow.
The one in yellow stepped forward towards Robin. “Hi! I’m Kid Flash. You must be Robin! I’m so siked to meet you, dude! You’re like a legend!” He reached out his hand towards Robin.
Robin glanced at the hyper boy in front of him and let out a small cackle. He grabbed his hand and smiled, “Pleasure to met you, too.”
--- --- ---
A few years after Robin and Kid Flash first met, the Team was formed. The two had always been inseparable since the day they met, but now they were able to spend more time together.
“Dude!” Kid Flash shouted down the hall, “Our rooms are so close to each other!”
Robin chuckled to himself and set off after his voice. He found him draped dramatically across his bed.
“Kid, you really aren’t going to take your shoes off? I expected more from you.” Robin joked as he leaned against the doorframe.
Kid Flash turned towards him with a smile crossing his face. “Just like I told the rest of them, you can call me Wally, Rob. Even if I can’t call you by your name in the cave.”
“You know how B gets, Wally. I think he still hates you since I told you.” Robin laughed again and kicked off his shoes, moving towards the bed.
“That sure would explain a lot!” Wally shifted over so Robin could climb on the bed.
Robin took the opening to leap onto the bed, nearly causing Wally to fall off of it. He laughed as Wally spluttered and tried to bring him down.
“Even if I can’t say your name, I can still call you a dick!”
Robin laughed at Wally’s outburst, and continued his attempts to push Wally off the not-all-that-high-up bed.
“Sure thing, Wall-man. Just make sure Batman doesn’t hear you say that.”
Wally’s face went pale. “Oh my god. Do you think he has the entire cave bugged? What if he heard me! You said he doesn’t like me--”
Laughter filled the room once more. “Calm down, Wally. I was joking. Besides, if Batman had a problem with you, don’t you think he would have done something by now?”
Wally considered this for a moment. “Fairpoint, fairpoint. But, what would your mentor say about this?”
“About wha--” Robin had no chance to finish before Wally whacked him with a pillow. The battle was on.
The two continued ‘fighting’ deep into the night, happy to be able to spend so much time together.
--- --- ---
With powers came responsibility, or whatever.
It’s a lazy day in October when the exercise occured. It was meant to be a simple simulation of a mission, that was until Miss Martian got hold and they no longer knew it wasn’t real.
After awaking, Batman comforted Robin. He draped his cape around them and held him tight.
“I-I thought you were dead. I thought you all were dead.” Robin whispered into the shoulder of his guardian, trying to hold back tears.
“I’m sorry, Robin. If I had known what would become of a seemingly simple activity…” Batman glanced over toward Martian Manhunter over Robin’s head. Robin knew Batman and he would be having a talk later.
The cave was quite for the rest of the day. Each protege with their mentor, unwilling to discuss what happened at length. It wasn’t until the young heroes were left to their own devices that they began to open up.
Kid Flash declared a mandatory team movie night, a sad attempt at normalcy.
Robin wished he was surprised when he showed up to find he was the only one who decided to come.
Wally sat defeated on the couch, not even bothering to look up at Robin. Besides, it’s not like the cave hadn’t announced him. Wally knew he was here.
Robin walked softly to the couch, and curled up on the cushion next to Wally. They sat in silence.
“It was just a dumb, stupid exercise.” When Wally finally spoke, his voice was filled with malice and pure anger. Denial.
Robin sighed and leaned his head on Wally’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. “Yep. Very sucky if you ask me. Definitely not aster.”
Wally breathed heavily out of his nose in amusement at Robin’s butchering of the English language. It typically never failed to make him smile. “A huge disaster if you ask me.”
The two continued their silence, leaning on each other for comfort.
Just as Robin was drifting off to a slumber sure to be filled with nightmares, Connor and Megan walked into the room.
Connor stood awkwardly at the door to the lounge. “We are going out to the beach.” And with that they were gone again, leaving no room for a response.
Silence, still silence. Robin knew Connor and Megan needed quiet to comfort each other. He wanted to be able to do the same with Wally.
Robin wished to speak to Wally, but he had no clue what to say.
In the simulation, Robin was going to sacrifice himself. No good way to say it. He was ready to die to save the world, but Kid Flash refused to let him do it alone. Wally stayed, knowing what would come of Robin’s plan.
“What’re you mulling around in that head of yours?” Wally broke the silence, turning towards Robin.
“You died, Kid. I wouldn’t be able to handle it if it were real.” He bit the bullet.
“It wasn’t real.” Zero emotion.
“We didn’t know that! I fully believed I was going to die, and I didn’t want you to have to die, too! You’ve got to promise me, Wally. Promise me you would leave. Please.” Dick pleaded with Wally, feeling less and less like Robin.
“Rob…” Wally looked at Dick through his mask. He always looked beyond.
Dick reached up to his domino mask and ripped it off. His skin burned, but he couldn’t handle not having proper eye contact.
“No. Right now i’m Dick. Promise me.” Tears pricked at the edge of his vision. Shoot, he didn’t mean to start crying.
“Dick, c’mon.” Wally reached out and pulled Dick to his chest.
Dick cried and cried into his shirt.
Wally ran his hand through Dick’s hair, “Listen. I love you a lot. You’re my best friend. But you’ve got to understand, I’ll never leave you. Even if that means I die, too.”
With that, Dick pulled off of Wally, wiped at his eyes, and prepared to yell at him, being sure to file the ‘I love you’ for another day. “Are you kidding? Wally! You can’t just accept that! I don’t accept that!” Dick stared deep into Wally’s eyes. “I refuse to accept that.”
Wally leveled Dick up. “Well, I’ll ask you this. If our positions were flipped, would you leave me?”
Dick didn’t have to think. “Of course not! I’m with you to the end!” Oh. He sunk back into the couch, and put his head in his hands.
Wally shifted closer and pulled Dick tight into his chest. “So, we agree we are on the same page in regards to sacrifice?”
Dick let out a weak laugh, “Yeah, I guess we are.”
The subtle hum of the cave quickly rocked the pair to sleep, sure to find comfort in the arms of the other.
--- --- ---
Years passed, and Dick and Wally continued to grow closer and closer still. They went to each other with everything and anything. From dating problems to superhero problems, they were each other’s go to.
That was why, way too early on a eerie spring morning, Dick was knocking loudly on Wally’s room in the cave. Dick had already been to Central City, and was hoping and praying that Wally was in his room.
Dick raised his hand to knock again just as Wally’s door slid open.
“Robin, what the heck man? It’s not even five yet!” Wally whisper shouted at him. He quickly stopped when he saw Dick’s face. “What’s wrong?”
Dick’s eyes felt crusted with tears, and he had no time to clean up before rushing over. He had needed to see Wally as soon as he could.
Without responding, Dick pushed his way into his room.
“Uh, Robin?”
Dick kicked off his shoes and climbed onto Wally’s bed. He pushed up the pillows and sat with his back to the headboard.
Wally merely watched as he got situated, and then proceeded to join him on the bed, a much harder feat now than when they were kids. “Are you alright, Rob? What’s going on?”
“Stop calling me that.” Dick spoke fast and sharp.
“Okay, Dick. Just tell me what’s on your mind.”
“Robin might as well be dead. Batman fired me.”
Wally’s eyes went wide. “He what?! He can’t do that! You’re his ward!”
Dick sighed and rested his head on Wally’s shoulder. “I thought that too. We got into another fight yesterday about how I work and he apparently had enough. I spent the night with Superman just to piss him off.” Dick laughed a hollow laugh.
“Dick...I...are you alright?” Wally searched for words, unsure of how to comfort him.
“I will be. Clark was telling me about a few stories they had on Krypton. I might take inspiration from them for my new name.”
“New name?”
“Just because Bruce doesn’t want me to be Robin, that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop being a hero.”
Wally turned to Dick, “You’ll always be my hero.”
Dick burst out laughing, “God, you’re such a cheese ball, Wally!”
And with that, Nightwing was born.
--- --- ---
Nightwing’s shiny new role as leader of the Team was more of a burden than anything else. He was responsible for all of the young heroes he now lead, and that scared him more than ever.
He wasn’t able to save Jason, but he needed to be able to save the rest of them.
His role became real when Aqualad and Kid Flash hung up their figurative capes. Aqualad needed to go into deep cover, and Kid Flash needed to go to college.
When he learned of his and Artemis’ plans to attend Stanford, he was jealous. He wished he could spend more time with Wally, and Artemis kept getting in the way.
He understood that they cared for each other, but Dick cared for Wally, too.
Probably a little too much. His friendly love had developed into something...different over the years, and it seemed to drive most of his decisions, now.
He had said “I can’t lose my best friend,” he had meant “I can’t lose you.”
So here he was, at the base of Wally’s apartment building, carrying a request that could change their friendship forever.
He needed Artemis to go undercover, and Wally to return to fighting. He needed all this despite the fact that they’ve been retired for almost a year.
He needed Wally.
--- --- ---
The mission was far from a success. It left Wally angry at him, lives lost, and a whole in Nightwing’s heart.
The events leading up to the final battle in the arctic went by in a whirlwind, and Nightwing wished he had payed more attention. Wished he had valued his time with Wally.
It’s still fresh in Nightwing’s mind. The rush of the wind as Wally, Bart, and Barry ran around the chrysalis, attempting to stop it.
As lightning crackled through the sky, Nightwing could only watch the man he loved get hit. Over and over again. Until he ceased.
Ceased. That was the word Blue Beetle said. Not died. Ceased.
Artemis crashed to her knees, openingly mourning.
He wanted to break down in tears, but knew he needed to stand strong for the Team. If he couldn’t be strong for himself, than at least he could do was try and comfort others, much like Wally had for him.
Nightwing returned to his cramped apartment, secretly mourning.
It was no surprise to anyone when Dick didn’t show up the next day at the cave. They understood.
So that’s where he’s been. Laying on his couch. Counting the hours, reminiscing the man he loved. No. The man he loves.
The light from the moon illuminates the tears slowly trickling down Dick’s face. If thirty hours hurt this much, how long would it take to feel whole again?
Lightning cracked far in the distance.