Falling for Grayson : birdflash

Ch28: Closer

I put on my riding gear. Dick had bought me a suit when he first got the bike. It was the same style as his own, though with yellow accents instead of red.

Dick had insisted on taking me to the pier for pancakes on the bike. I could have easily dashed there in a few seconds but that would have 'defeated the point' of taking me for pancakes.

I wondered why he didn't take Zatanna out first. She was visiting and they were sort of flirting at the time. Pancakes at the pier would have made a good date. I remembered drinking my milkshake and Dick making me laugh so hard that milk came out of my nose. What was it that he said?

"Earth to Wallyyyy," Dick sang, waving his hand in front of my eyes.

"Huh?"

He was sitting on the bike with his helmet's visor open. "You daydreaming about something?"

"Hmm? Nothing, really."

He sat on the bike looking at me as if trying to read the thoughts behind my eyes. Only this time, he would find nothing, because it wasn't a thought that had captured me. It was a feeling. His eyes peering at me through the visor, the sharp lines of the suit and the way it conformed to his body — something about him made me quiver.

He held out a red and yellow helmet. "We gotta get going."

"Huh? Yeah..." I grabbed the helmet. Dick held the helmet firmly and pulled me toward him. I could tell from his eyes he was smiling.

"I'll be ready when you let go of this helmet."

"The bike gear," he said, looking up at me, "...you look good."

I smiled and pulled the helmet lightly. He let go. Right when I put the helmet on, Dick couldn't help himself but say, "You know what? You look much better with the helmet, it covers your entire face."

I knocked him over the backside of his head. I stepped over the seat, straddling the bike. I shifted my weight to get comfortable and wrapped my arms around his waist. Dick turned around, his eyes looking softly at me through the open visor, "Ready?"

"Take me to my birthday surprise... idiot."

Dick tilted his head back and laughed. "Sure thing, Wal, sure thing." He swiped down his visor and turned around. Dick revved the engine then released the break, speeding out the doors and down the dirt path of the mountain.

Despite being able to run much faster than anything Dick could do on a bike, riding made me nervous. Maybe it was because I wasn't the one in control of the speed.

I held tightly around his waist, but the nerves seemed to grow, rising from the pit of my stomach to my heart and spreading across my chest. The speed hadn't changed, so what was it?

With the helmets and the speed we were going, I couldn't really talk to Dick. I was left to my thoughts, to how I felt. I wondered whether my feelings were because not being in control of the speed or direction, even at this slower speed, was more thrilling than running in a flash. Or perhaps I'd feel differently in my heart if it were only me or if Artemis was in the driver's seat.

Being this close to my best friend, it reminded me of how I felt when we'd watch movies with the team. When we watched movies I found myself wanting to be closer to him, sometimes more than being near Artemis. Something about him put my mind at ease in a way similar to Artemis, but somehow different.

On the bike, my nervousness calmed. Yet every time I relaxed my arms around him, Dick would accelerate, making me tighten my hold and bring my chest to his back. I liked being this close to him. Did I need to be riding passenger as an excuse to be this close? Wherever he was taking me, I hoped it was far away.

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Author:

Sooo I did say in last chapter's note that in this chapter we'd find out when Wally knew he'd fallen for Dick Grayson. Wellllllll sorry, this was a sort of short in-between chapter. But it was still kinda sweet, right? I hope you enjoyed the chapter :)