#˗ˏˋ ⋆ wally / ⅠⅠ . it's been a great run

[cybervigilante]

Q:           ❛ trust? you have broken my trust. ❜            ≛           accepting

there had been a time where his word had been as good as gold to the boy. how had he fallen so far ? the answer was simple, tethered to his poor treatment and constant underestimation of bart since he'd landed in this timeline, and yet wally's reluctance to face his own shortcomings ( and, perhaps, a latent sense of guilt ) had made for a festering wound the scarlet speedster was unwilling to prod at himself. wally forgets just how imperfect he had been as kid sidekick, and how barry had accepted him wholeheartedly regardless. such grace and patience now formed the basis of his fondest memories, and of the insurmountable love and respect he held for his uncle. knowing that degree of affection and it's positive, constructive results, why would he deprive bart from such an experience in the name of 'tough love' ? love, as linda had taught him, was a two-way street ⸻ maybe the time had finally come to bury the hatchet properly, and make something worthwhile blossom out of their souring, current crisis be damned.

it's a good thing they didn't work alone. wally tugs down the cowl of his suit, turning briefly to signal the rest of the lightning brigade to head out before turning back to @youngheroics. nervous hands tug through his hair as he sighs, unsure where to even begin to fix this mess of his making. ‵ tell me what i can do to build it up again. i know i haven't done right by you, bart, but i'm willing to see things through if you tell me what it is that you need. ʹ

[cybervigilante]

Q:       ❛ send me the bill for the damage. i’ll take care of it. ❜       ≛       accepting

he holds the glare for dramatic effect, skirting his intense gaze past the speaker and towards the collection of buildings that had been leveled in the aftermath of a fight wally had only caught the end of. from what he'd seen, @proditeur had been the one to cause the least amount of the damage; so why would he want to shoulder all the blame ? wally thinks it's unfair, and ultimately fairness momentarily outweighs imminent suspicion in the scale of justice of his steadfast mind. ‵ so you're a hot shot, huh ? the billions in damages here alone's enough to bankrupt anyone, not t'mention the remaining compensation for victims but who am i to settle that ? guess the proprietors can just see you in court. ʹ he shrugs. however decidedly upset he was that any harm should come to the infrastructure of the city of keystone, he was already juggling too many responsibilities to add policing the compensation of damages on his plate as well. ‵ what i wanna know is what you're doing making messes in my city ? ʹ

[cybervigilante]

he can't get one past Dick, he never has and it was foolish of him to think that would change with age. the truth of it was, he was avoiding the reality of this predicament. Wally was clinging steadfast to all the parts of his life that felt solid and safe, not least of all Dick.

ˋˋ     you’re talking like you might not come back.      ˊˊ @fightwing ponders. Wally's head drops, shoulders slouching ⸻ weary from carrying the weight of world upon them.

“    it's 'cause i actually might not.     ” he admits quietly, as if speaking to himself. his head lifts up after a beat, and he gives Dick a somber smile. he wonders, vaguely, how much he could keep taking from the Speed Force before it started to cost him; the scars of a late adolescence spent fearing the former degenerative defect of his powers impacting his current anxiety. “    y'know how convoluted speed force stuff gets . . . the physics of what i have to do next leaves slim pickings for a probable return. just thought i'd get some time in with you before i have t'go through with it.    ” as it had in all the years he'd fought under his lead, it still felt safest at Dick's side.

BABEL / ACCEPTING

[cybervigilante]

he regales her with a tale from his day-to-day interactions,     guffawing laughter wracking through his body as it manifests boisterously,    sending his head crashing back against her shoulder as he lazes casually against her chest.     ”    and i told the guy  '  her last name is pronounced pack,   not park  '   “       he continues,    midwestern drawl butchering her surname all the same.     Linda chuckles softly yet tuts him,    insisting      “  it’s not pack,   it’s pak.    soft p,   short a,   baby.   “     and laughing all the more brightly when he refutes stubbornly       “   that’s what i said !  “

her lithe fingertips card softly through his sunset tresses,   the warble of her warm laughter dying into soft pants against his ear.    Wally closes his eyes to it for a moment,    enjoying the simple pleasure of being wrapped up in all that amounted to her;     the faint discomfort of her pantsuit scratching his skin.       the waft of yuzu and gardenias clinging to her collarbone as he presses his nose to nudge against it,        the pattern of her heartbeat,      strong and indomitable,     which he had memorized by heart.

          ˋˋ     you’ve come a long way since i first met you.      ˊˊ      @lightsped​​   muses softly.    lost,   so it seems,   amidst her own recollections of him.     he thinks,    at first,    it might be praise anchored in the progress he had made in his attempts to learn the Korean language.    he soon discovers,    to the delight of his thunderous heart,    she had meant him as a whole. 

no one knew better than Linda all that he’d grown,   because no one more than Linda had played a hand in his rise into maturity.     from when she hated him,    to the false starts of a life together,     to the true twining of their souls,   tethered down a single path,   he owed all that he was to Linda Park alone.     Wally’s eyes open with the sweep of long eyelashes across his sharp cheekbones,    olive eyes overcome with a visceral softness as they stare up at her lovely face.       ‶         you should know,     this is all your doing.        ″       his tone is reverential,   dripping with the extent of his respect and adoration for her.      ‶        i am the man i am today because of you,   darling.       ″  

[cybervigilante]

Q:           ❛ you think i’m being stupid. ❜            ≛           accepting

he's about to reassure him with a simple 'no' before he remembers that respect implies honesty, and that if bart had come to that conclusion, then he had probably read it off his face. ‵ a lil' bit, but it's a part of growing up. i was plenty stupid when i was your age ⸺ i think you'll agree that i still have my moments. ʹ a complicit smile is cast at @youngheroics before he continues. ‵ for all i know, though, what you just said could save us all, like it's done before. just 'cause i can't decipher you doesn't necessarily mean you're wrong. ʹ

[cybervigilante]

he appears in a crackle of electricity, thin, wispy residues of borrowed speedforce charge gone just as quickly. the silence after such a flashy arrival is always deafening, as lackluster as his subsequent ' hi ' spoken quietly between a single labored breath at the heel of their bed. his mouth splits into a lopsided grin, amused, as always, by the way Linda's groggy confusion gives way to unbridled emotion. he pulls down his cowl as she scrambles across the length of their bed to wrap her arms around his center and squeeze. Wally laughs brightly, cacophonous amidst nocturnal serenity, infinitely delighted and in love. she would have scolded him for it under other circumstances, warry excuses riddled with fears of waking the children, yet she seems too invested in rejoicing upon his return to do so now. her head presses against the base of his abdomen as his rugged palm runs over her hair, thumb running up and down the base of her neck.

“    it was only three weeks.     “ he teases in a hushed drawl, making reference to his extended stay away from her on the JLA watchtower. @lightsped pulls away from him slightly, head tilting as her eyes peel as if to say ' you think that's short ? ' it makes him snort out another muffled laugh, knowing well time between them functioned differently than with anyone else. three weeks apart could feel like eternity, and eternity could feel like a second; what stood most important was that they'd wait all that and more for the chance to be together again.

Wally's palm gently cups the back of her head, keeping her eyes on him as he kneels down with a gruff sigh. his body ached with the soreness of inaction after constant movement, yet it could not deter him from admiring her ⸻ a beauty singular to him, whetting his every appetite and whim in ways no other being could. his nose nudges up against the tip of her own, drawing a tittering laugh from Linda as her arms, freed from his waist, now drape around his neck. he draws in languidly, pressing a peck against her petaled lips before covering her mouth with his own in an ‘ i  missed  you ’  kiss.

he holds her face close up against his own after they've parted, hands sliding forth and resting against her cheeks to encase her face with the tenderness afforded only to precious things. they look at each other adoringly for the span of minutes, time passing gently before Linda wakens completely, nose scrunching as she dismisses him with a loving, yet brutally honest; “    honey, you stink.     “ Wally withdraws with a shuddering laugh, heart fluttering still despite her frankness.

KISSING  MEME / NOT ACCEPTING

[cybervigilante]

it’s not unusual for Wally to be tender with those he loved,    to be tactile and warm and enveloping as he was raucous and rugged.    he leans over Dick where he lay on the cot as their friends treated and bandaged his wound in Titan Tower’s medical suite,    a large hand sprawled over his shoulder in solidarity as curious eyes draw down to the swollen ankle incapacitating his best friend for the time being.    lips curve down into a deep scowl,   already kicking himself for not being around in time to stop it from happening.     drawing up a seat beside the bed,   he rests his elbow beside the pillows propping Dick up and continues to glower at the bruised limb with regret.

“     it’s not your fault.     “     Dick sighs out,    the patience of his voice and words coupled with the amusement glimmering within his eyes to see him so upset seeming to communicate a silent reminder of what he had always tried to get through Wally’s thick skull;    ‘  you can’t be everywhere all at once.   ‘    and yet it does little to quell his unrest,    olive eyes softening to something honeyed and adoring as they stare back at Dick.       “    i should have been there.   you’re always saving us,    lookin’ out for everyone and their dogs     ⸺⸺    but who’s lookin’ out for you  ?   who’s got your back  ?   it should be me.   i should be better at watching over you.     “

there’s a long pause between them,   a crossing of glances so soft and vulnerable it could only be shared by two who knew the makings of one another’s souls as deeply as they did.    Wally’s frown dissipates into a skewed,   boyish smile riddled with sweetness,    his chin lowering with slight abash as he turns back quickly to cast a quick sweep across the room from over his shoulder.     he turns back once assured that everyone left was too distracted by other matters or in talking amongst themselves to take note of them,     leaning down close near Dick’s face to press his lips against his. 

a    secret kiss,     breathless and all too fleeting given the precarity of their current situation.    Wally is forced to part from @wingbcrn​​  in fear that they should be discovered and teased,   souring a moment he would cherish within the inner chambers of his big heart for all posterity.

“   you’ll get better before you know it,   but you gotta rest up,   okay  ?     “    he get serious all of a sudden,   earnest eyes piercing as they insist on meeting Dick’s own weary gaze.    “   i know you.    i know you’ll try to be out there helping people even if y’gotta limp after bad guys but i won’t have it.    “   and he really means it,    ready to chase him down to infinity if it meant assuring the safety of he who,   since childhood,    had been like a guiding light to him.