Safe and Warm

Nightwing sat on the top of a building, leaning against the gargoyles as he looked up at Gotham skies. It had been years since he had really felt so alone, and now was not the time he wanted to feel that way. It came and went. Some years he was fine, while others were the complete opposite and he couldn’t get out of bed because all the nightmares came back. It was always at the same time of year, too. 

The nightmares were the worst, because they weren’t always of his parents falling. No, they were of him failing to catch his siblings, failing to catch Bruce. Failing to catch his friends. Failure was never an option for him, though, but those dreams made it all seem so real. The blood. The screaming. His own helplessness. Every. Single. Time.

He knew he shouldn’t have been on patrol. It had been days since he got any proper sleep, but Batman had needed him, despite him trying to tell him he couldn’t, or rather he shouldn’t. Nightwing knew ‌it wouldn’t have worked though, because he was always needed. He leaned back and shut his eyes, feeling a strong gust of wind hit him and he visibly relaxed, opening his eyes.

Wally West, Kid Flash, was now sitting next to him, holding out a hotdog for him as he munched on his own, not saying a word. Nightwing stared at him for a long moment before Kid Flash finally shrugged. “Robin said you were being off and probably needed a friend. Nobody is better than the best friend.” the redhead told the younger hero, not expecting Nightwing to cry. If it had been the first time, Kid Flash would have been thrown off, but the two had been friends for years and seeing each other's most vulnerable moments was just something that happened. “Let’s get you to a safe house Rob, they have Gotham handled tonight, we can get changed and go to the arcade or something.” he paused. “Maybe just sleep.”

“I have other priorities.”

“If you say Batman, I’m calling Flash.”

“He…” 

“Nope, let’s go. They will cover Gotham tonight and I would rather not run into the Bat at the moment.” He told him, and within seconds Kid Flash had them up and to the nearest safe-house. “Code?” he asked and Nightwing mumbled it. It didn’t take long for them to get into civilian clothes. “Why don’t we head to Central City? I’m crashing with Barry for the weekend. We can just hang out there, not be bothered, and before you argue, you don’t really have a choice.” Wally told Dick. “We’ll take the zeta tube. You need a break. I could use one too. Oh! I could order pizza.”

Dick remained quiet as he sat on the couch, zoning out as his friend prattled on. He looked up at Wally and stood, hugging him. Dick saw a smile fall onto Wally's face as he hugged back. “Thank you.” He whispered. 

“I have your back Dick. Just like I know you have mine.”

“Always.”

“I know.” Wally Held onto Dick as his breathing slowed down, and when he knew he had fallen asleep, he laid him on the couch before picking up his phone. “Hey Uncle Barry, change of plans. I’m staying in Gotham tonight, but Dick and I will be over tomorrow to hang out. Thanks. No, no everything's good, he’s asleep now, I’m gonna just stick with him.”

And Wally did just that.

—--------------------------------------------

When Dick woke up the next morning, he was asleep on a bed. As he sat up he looked around and realized he was in his apartment, which he did not remember coming back to. As he walked out of his bedroom, he looked around to see the place was cleaner than ever. He leaned over the couch, seeing Wally sprawled out as much as he could in a pair of Dick's sweats and an old t-shirt.

“Hey Walls.” Dick said and reached out to shake his shoulder. Wally opened his eyes and smiled a bit.

“Hey Rob,” he responded slowly, sitting up. “You doing better?”

“Yeah. Thanks. I really appreciate what you did. Sorry you had to see me like that.” Dick said, moving and taking the spot next to his friend. “You didn’t have to stay all night. I know that the couch isn’t comfortable.”

“First, don’t apologize. Second, of course I did. I had to be here so we could head to Central City today. Barry’s expecting us. I already cleaned here and filled your fridge. You had bad milk in the fridge man, that was disgusting.”

“Yeah, I haven’t really been around here too much.”

“I mean, it looked like you had, actually. But that's water under the bridge, right? It looks better here. All the expired food is out of the way and I stocked fresh stuff up for you. Oh! I grabbed donuts while I was out. Figured you might like them, you know. I ate half of them already, but there are still a few left.”

“Oh I had to borrow some of your clothes because I thought I would be headed back last night but you know, you fell asleep so I called Uncle Barry and let him know we would be staying, and I was going to take you to a safe house but then I realized that I didn’t know where any of the Gotham ones were but I knew for certain where your apartment was.” He prattled on.

Dick sat quietly, listening to his friend, who continued on without a response. “Oh also, Gotham is covered again tonight, so you don’t have to be back. We can go chill and maybe play some video games. Uncle Barry still has all of them over at his place.”

“Wally.” Dick finally tried to interrupt the speedster.

“And don’t worry about the Bat. I’ll make sure he knows you won’t be around, well..Uncle Barry will…” He continued, and Dick reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. “Oh, I was talking too much, huh?”

“A little, but that's okay.” Dick said with a smile, the two now facing each other. “Um, what time is Barry expecting us?”

“Oh, whenever?” Wally shrugged.

“I can go grab a bag and put a few things into it.”

“Yeah, yeah sure..um. Rob, you sure you're okay?” Wally asked him, and Dick smiled a little.

“I uh, I think I’ll be okay Walls, I got you right?”

“Mhm. Always.” Wally answered as Dick walked into the bedroom.