Birdflash oneshots 2

The Storm

Dick was up in the Arctic again, standing in the area where his boyfriend was killed. It had happened almost four years ago, but it still stung like an open wound. They were supposed to get married. They were going to do all the cutesy shit that Dick had once detested. They were supposed to have a honeymoon all to themselves, without any of Dick's family bothering them. They were supposed to adopt a kid, and raise them right. Yet the Universe decided to be the bitch it is, and ripped Wally away before any of that could happen. Dick still remembered the day it happened. They'd been talking about taking a vacation after the Invasion was over, but that was not to be. Dick ended up going to Europe anyway, traveling through areas that Wally had always wanted to go to. It took about a month before he finally returned.

Dick's comm lit up, sound piercing through the machine. There was some sort of commotion going on. Dick shrugged, changing the frequency to the League frequency. There was commotion there, too. Damn. Everyone was fighting today. He flipped it to the channel he and Oracle shared, enjoying the silence again. The funny thing was, due to the storm that happened up here, the entire area was frozen in time. No matter how badly it stormed around him, this area was always calm. There was still snow in the air, doomed to never fall down. Dick liked it here. It felt like nothing could breach this sense of calm. "Dick? Dick, where are you? Tell me you're alright." Barbara's voice blurted out through the comms. That was one thing about this area. The tech didn't follow the same rules as the surrounding area. "Hey, Babs. I'm up with Wally. What's going on?" "You need to find shelter, right now. Something freaky's going down, and storms are popping up randomly. One's set to pop up near you." "Can it get to me? Storms haven't hit this place in four years." "I don't know, but I wouldn't take any chances. I promise, I'll give you some more time to see him." "Thanks, Babs. I'll let you know once I'm safe." "Okay. I'll let Batman know you're good up there. Be careful. I don't need you joining Wally today." 

Dick turned to leave. "Bye, Wally. I'll come back. I promise." He stepped out of the time freeze, being met with harsh winds. The storm must've been close. Dick pulled up a map of the arctic, looking for anything he could use as shelter. His eyes locked on a small cave system. "Perfect. I should be safe there for a bit." He started the trek to the cave, fighting to walk in a straight line against the winds. It felt like they were trying to push him back towards Wally, but he kept walking. It only took about five minutes to reach the caves. Dick immediately leapt into the nearest cave, shivering as the wind roared past. "That's one bad storm. Hey, Barbara. I'm in a cave system, so I'm safe for the moment. The storm's already getting pretty bad." "It's a good thing you got there when you did. It's supposed to get pretty bad-" Thunder boomed outside, cutting Barbara off. "Yeah, I think it's pretty bad. How long is this supposed to last?" "The record right now is four hours. Do you have enough food and water to last that long?" Dick looked inside his belt, a habit leftover from Wally. "Yeah. I have enough to last me a day or two. I'll see you later." "See you later, Dick. Oh, Jerry wants to meet you tonight." "That your boo thing?" "Never call him my boo thing again. But yeah. Movie night, if you can get out of there?" "Sounds great. Popcorn and soda?" "Sure. Just stay safe, Wonder Boy. I don't feel like explaining to Diana why her precious little nephew is sick with hypothermia." "Will do."

The comms went silent again, leaving Dick in silence. The rushing winds still roared outside, but he was safe here. Here, he could sit and reminisce. He could think about how Wally would've acted if he was here as well, how he would've joked about knowing a way to, "stay warm." Dick would've pushed his head away, but Wally would've held Dick close and tickled his sides until he couldn't breathe. He would've run out of food within two hours, then complain when Dick wouldn't share his. When the storm finally slowed down, Wally would've run them home and covered both of them with blankets. Dick smiled at the memories, pulling up his holo-glove. He always kept pictures on there, in case the sense of longing got bad. Dick pulled up the familiar album, smiling when red hair popped up. It was pictures dating back to when Dick was ten, when they first met. They were so small back then, and Wally had never-ending jokes that made Dick cringe. He loved looking back on the memories. It was a little piece of home that he could always have with him.