Thirty Days (A Birdflash Fanfiction)

Day 24: Making Up Afterwards

When the news came out of Blüdhaven about Blockbuster's death, Wally had hoped Dick would show up on his doorstep. He knew his kinda-sorta-ex-boyfriend was currently homeless—he'd tried to reach out to Dick after his apartment building was destroyed to no avail—and not knowing where he was made Wally sick with worry.

But it wasn't until weeks later when his hopes were finally fulfilled.

Wally opened his door after buzzing in a very tired-sounding Dick to find his appearance matched his voice. His skin was practically colourless and the dark circles under his eyes could've had their own zip code. Wally recognised Dick's duffel bag as the one he'd carried when he had stormed out of this very apartment after their last argument, though it was definitely dirtier and more battered than he remembered.

He lifted it off Dick's shoulder, gently pulled him inside and shut the door. "After the thing with Blockbuster, you just disappeared. You had me worried."

Dick pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. "I don't want to talk about it."

"O...kay." Wally set the bag aside. "You don't want to talk about Blockbuster or you don't want to talk about disappearing?"

Dick settled himself on the couch, but despite his obvious exhaustion, he sat completely straight with his hands fisted on his knees. Wally sat on the footrest, uncertain if Dick would be okay with sharing too much personal space.

"Everybody's saying Nightwing killed Blockbuster," he said quietly.

"It's complicated," Dick murmured. "I was there. I let it happen. But I didn't pull the trigger. Not that it makes a difference in the end." He ran his hands over his face. "You were right. About risking my identity."

"After what happened to your apartment and the circus, I figured," Wally replied. "I tried to get in touch with you, but... well..."

"Yeah." Dick's hands fell back into his lap. "Amy fired me before all that happened. She found out about Nightwing. Probably just as well, since Blockbuster was targeting everything I cared about that he could reach. Not talking to you probably saved your hide as well, come to think of it."

"I wasn't worried about myself, babe."

"Yeah, you probably would've been able to fight off an attack without too much trouble, but it could've risked your identity, too. Even if they didn't take you out, your family would probably be easier to target than mine."

"Good point. Thanks for being a stubborn ass, I guess."

"You're welcome." The conversation had perked Dick up a little bit, but he was still blinking way too much and getting his vision caught on random points in the room like he'd forgotten he was looking there. "I haven't talked about this to anyone else yet."

"Does Bruce know about Blockbuster?"

"Probably. With the rumours flying around, he has to know something's up." Dick's gaze dropped to his hands. "I don't know if I can face him."

"You'll have to eventually," Wally said gently.

"I know." Dick swallowed. "Can I crash here tonight? I, uh, don't have a place to stay."

"Of course. Are you cool with sharing the bed, or...?"

"I'll take the couch. Just for tonight. Then we'll see."

Wally saw that for what it was: not a rejection, but a need for space. He didn't know exactly what went down yet with Blockbuster and whoever had killed him, but clearly it had messed Dick up quite a bit.

"I'm sorry I drove you away," Wally said after a while. "I shouldn't have lost my cool like that."

"I was on my way out anyway," Dick replied. "And I was being pretty infuriating. I'm sorry about that." He tried and failed to suppress a yawn. Wally couldn't hold back a fond smile.

"I'll get you a blanket."

By the time he'd dug one out and come back to the sitting area, Dick had fallen asleep on the couch. Wally settled the blanket over him and let him be after leaving a sticky note on the fridge in case he got hungry. They hadn't dealt with everything that had happened yet, but that was okay. Tonight was a start. And that was enough.