Thirty Days (A Birdflash Fanfiction)

Day 25: Gazing Into Each Other's Eyes

Lazing out on the neatly manicured grass of the manor grounds beneath the sky wasn't the sort of thing Dick expected to have time to do once he'd taken on the mantle of Robin. Lying on his back and inventing shapes out of the clouds rolling above him seemed like a childish thing to do, an old habit that had died with his family and his childhood.

And then Wally had come into his life with all the subtlety of a tornado, bringing last-minute ice cream runs and alphabet fridge magnets spelling rude words in hard-to-reach places and exasperated sighs from the lips of adults. And cloud-gazing.

Compared to their other shenanigans, the cloud-gazing was incredibly tame. And yet, sometimes, it was Dick's favourite thing, especially after a hard night. Or even the occasional good one.

They were older now—Wally was nineteen and Dick was seventeen—but, even in the chill of winter, the compulsion to lie under the clouds together was impossible to resist. Dick didn't even live at the manor anymore, except for some college breaks, but Alfred made them both feel at home regardless.

It was a quiet thing, lying there and watching the sky, listening to the wind ruffle the leaves like an annoying older brother. Talking didn't come easily to the pair anymore. Too many things had changed them—college, girlfriends, Dick's identities, more death—and it was like they were two completely different people. Dick could feel Wally slowly slipping between his fingers, less like a whirlwind and more like a river. It was slower, perhaps, than his memorable entrance so many years ago, but it never stopped no matter how much Dick wished it would.

There had been a time, a few years ago now, when the pair had played at being a couple. They'd even gone on a few dates, kissed a little, held hands. Dick had known even then that he was in love with Wally. But, like all games, the playing eventually came to an end before Dick had worked up the nerve to confess the depth of his feelings. Then Wally swooped up a girl and, not knowing what else to do, Dick followed suit. He liked girls, of course, and he liked the girls he had dated. But the could-have-beens hung over his head like—not clouds, exactly, because clouds came and went. More like a piece of his skull. It was a part of him now, and he couldn't do anything about it. Or so he told himself.

Wally gazed up at a cloud that Dick personally thought looked like a castle, though he hadn't exactly spent much time looking at it. Wally's eyes were far more interesting. Outside the manor grounds, green wasn't something that was seen often in Gotham, and even then it was usually associated with a criminal, usually Poison Ivy or the Joker. Most Gothamites avoided the botanical gardens because of the former, and no party or circus clown would dare have green hair as part of their costume.

So green was usually something Dick associated with Bad Things, like homicidal plants or the person who murdered his little brother. Wally was the exception to that.

Wally's eyes glittered. Wally's eyes were alive. Wally's eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled and Dick wanted to kiss the creases. He also kind of wanted to cry because that was never going to happen. They barely even spoke as friends anymore.

Wally's bright, vital eyes flicked to Dick's and trapped him in his gaze. "Your face is gonna get stuck like that if the wind changes. Then you're gonna look like somebody stabbed you for the rest of your life."

Dick forced a smile onto his face and flopped down onto his back, snorting at Wally's remark. "Doesn't matter what face I make. Everybody still wants a piece of me."

Wally laughed. "Artemis always said I was a bad influence. I guess I owe her money."

"You made a bet with your girlfriend about whether it was your fault I'm conceited?"