[So different from little baby Jaime back home. Wally barely said two words to the kid but Bart was practically best friends with him, and both of them are so different it's difficult to even compare them.
Jaw a little more square, beard a little less proto. That same look in his eyes, when he wants to do something but wants to be respectful of someone's space and feelings before he does the thing he really wants to do, always so god damn careful.
Wally's grin slips, just a bit, before he half-turns and cracks open Tadashi's door to let him know he's going downstairs to meet up with Jaime, and he'll be back in a bit.]
Would you just get over here and hug me? Embarrassing. [Maybe Wally will crack when he sees him and make an ass of himself, cry again, but he'd thought he would be fine with just the phone call, the memory of his-world-Jaime still in his head and making him forget that holy shit, that's right, Jaime Reyes here is one of the best friends he's ever had, and he hasn't seen him in five years.]
You don't have to tell me twice. I'll be there soon.
[ Jaime half-transforms on-screen until the communicator is stowed and the line goes dead. This is unusual, but not so unusual that it hasn't happened to Jaime a few times recently, old friends having come home, but it's rare that Khaji feels the same thing that he does. It intensifies everything, makes him all buzzy. He knows that they're just feeding off of each other the way they do when emotions are high and they happen to be in sync, but he's not going to try to distinguish between them now; if he does, Khaji may well tone it down, and the bug rarely feels strongly about anyone in the first place.
He feels the same old nagging fears he always does when someone from his past arrives - he's so different from who he used to be, what are they going to think, what happened to them while they're gone, how are they going to feel about the fact that seemingly overnight, everyone they'd loved is gone - but he shakes it off once he becomes airborne, the crisp air helping him snap out of it, determined to take a moment just to be happy.
He hits the ground with a stumbled run and knocks twice on the door (oh, of course they're at Tadashi's) before letting himself in, suit still powering down from his knees downwards. ]
Wally?
[ And once he sees that asshole, he's giving him a big ol' hug. ]
[This asshole was waiting for Jaime to show up so he's there, Jaime mid-knock when he throws open the door and slings his arms around Jaime with a laugh.]
Reyes! Your baby beard upgraded-!
[And he's a little taller, a little broader, his chin a little sharper. Wally doesn't take long to look at him or catalog the differences; once his arms go around him and Wally's hand finds that spot between his shoulderblades where he knows Khaji is burrowed, he relaxes.
No really, he relaxes, slumps against Jaime like he just got home drunk and puts all his weight on the guy in giddy relief, knowing that if he doesn't get caught then Jaime will go down with him.]
Come on, you dick, that can't be the first thing you've said to me in years--!
[ Jaime's protest has a bark of laughter in it, predominantly because if he doesn't laugh, he'll cry. Okay, he'll cry later anyway, but he'd rather hold onto the jubilance for a little longer, and while he staggers backwards just a touch as Wally flings himself into his arms, he catches him easily enough, swaying with it. There's something comforting about Wally's weight on him anyway, familiar in all of the right ways, a solid reminder that he's here, that this is real and not some awful dream he'll wake up from with a grimace, because looking and knowing has never been enough. Jaime's always had to touch. He hooks his chin around Wally's shoulder and squeezes him tight in the way that all Reyes seem to know how.
As familiar as it is, though, Wally feels different. Looked different on-screen too. Time had passed for him at home. And while that's normally a good thing - there's a certain kind of surrealism that comes from disappearing and coming back years later when for you it's only been a moment; just ask Tadashi to get verification of that - something in Jaime's heart of hearts knows what that means. He's not positive, but he thought enough about it over the years to...
He squeezes him a little tighter. Voice muffled, he says, ] I missed you, man.
[Yeah okay Wally wasn't going to start crying again, but then.
Then.
He blew up at Tadashi for no reason when he's been nothing but nice. Jaime is bigger, is getting married- Dick isn't here, and boy does remembering everything that happened between them really throw a lot of back home issues into perspective. Wally's once again yanked out of his life to experience a whole other one for who knows how long, except that this time there's no 'back home' to get to, unless some kind of miracle happens.
He's gonna just. Be a hologram in a cave, now. Artemis is going to go home to their dog, go to sleep in their bed alone, and figure out what to do with her life now that her best friend isn't in it. Maybe she'll find out Wally was ring-shopping; maybe she won't. Maybe she'll get with someone else in the future (which makes Wally so heinously jealous that he won't entertain that thought any further).
Maybe Dick will be okay.
I missed you, man. Mumbled into his shoulder, because even if Wally's leaning obnoxiously against Jaime he's still a little taller, a little broader, a little less Kid and a little more Flash...only he's not either of those anymore at all, is he?
There's that weird pulsing hum, right between Jaime's shoulderblades.
Wally really needs to keep it in, really needs to reel this back in and tamp it down, make this reunion as happy as it should be for Jaime but it's been too long and Jaime is too much of a safe place for anything else to happen besides Wally's chuckle turning into a hiccup, turning into clenched teeth as he grabs onto Jaime's shirt s tight in return, shuddering against a sob.]
To say he'd been expecting this immediately would be a lie. But he was expecting it sometime. Sometime soon. Maybe within ten minutes of meeting up, maybe in a week, but soon. You don't come here with everything changed, everyone you've ever known and loved gone (save for a couple people, but -- Wally's seen him now, must know he's not the guy that Jaime had known) and not wind up having some sort of meltdown, in your own personal way. And Wally's never been one to breakdown silently. It's funny. Scientists - or scientific geniuses, whatever - have a reputation for being cold and unemotional, but Wally's always felt things deeply, maybe more deeply than anyone around him.
And then there's the fact that Wally's bigger. Older. He almost doesn't notice, because from his perspective, it's just that time's kept on moving for Wally too. He grew up. Jaime just wasn't there for it. But he also knows what happens to Wally. He and Bart had talked about it enough -- heck, he and Wally had talked about it enough, and he'd done the calculations, tried to figure out the timeline of it. Jaime can't know for sure. Not without specific dates.
But he knows the Porter. He knows what it does. So he doesn't tell Wally it's all right and that it's all gonna be okay the way he wants to, because it probably isn't. Jaime's been alive for long enough and here for long enough to know that. But they're both here now, and that's something. He rubs his hand in a firm circle over Wally's back, glad that Wally can't see his face. He's giving himself a maximum of fifteen minutes to start crying too. ]
[It's that that startles a laugh out of Wally, a wet, sticky thing that doesn't quite leave his throat properly.]
You sound like my mom.
[Wally pulls back, the tears short-lived; either because hearing something so quintessentially Jaime comforted him or because the fact that his life is just so god damn ludicrous struck him abruptly when he heard his best friend's voice and thought of his mom.
His face is definitely still wet and Wally is scrubbing at it in annoyance, but he's at least not shaking like he's on the verge of a breakdown anymore, half-stepped out of Jaime's embrace with just a hand on his shoulder as he presses the sleeve of his shirt against his eyes to sop up the tears.] God. I can't believe this. I can't believe you had years away from my powerful influence and you're still the same dork.
Somehow nobody ever tells me I sound like their Dad. Maybe I should be offended, [ Jaime jokes back, and -- and even a silly little joke like that comes easier now than it used to, after everything that's happened, after finding solace with Ruka, after Tadashi came back, just hearing Wally's familiar voice in his ear reminding him that that's how he used to be.
He doesn't let go of him, though, hands still anchored on Wally's shoulders unless the guy actively bats him away. The contact and pressure should be comforting, stablizing, Jaime hopes, but it's also because it's helpful for him, as though as long as he's got one hand on the guy, he's not just going to pop right back into non-existence. ]
...you got older too. I wasn't expecting that when we pinged onto your DNA. [ Usually when people come back like this, it's instantaneous, like no time had passed. But Wally...
He tilts his head, getting a look at him. ]
Seriously, though, I think you've earned at least half a meltdown.
Oh believe me, I'm taking that and then some. Dude- [Hits Jaime's shoulder lightly, as if to make up for all the crying and clinging. See he's fine, they're both fine, they're stoic and manly and fine.] Tadashi brought me donuts and it took me like an hour to finish them. There were only twelve.
Poor Tadashi. He comes back and I fall apart on him, and you come back, and it's your turn. We should buy him something nice.
[ He's using humour to mask the fact that he still kind of wants to cry about this whole thing, whether it's relief or shock or happiness or fear of what's to come, of the very real possibility that he'll get Wally back for a month, maybe two, and he'll be gone again, but -- listen, sometimes that's just the way it is. ]
That's a pretty dire ratio of donut-to-minute. Did you wanna -- I dunno, catch up? [ What's the protocol for something like this? He's changed, and so has Wally. It's weird. Everything about this is weird. ] Khaji's excited to see you too, by the way. He'll probably say hi himself later. He's just pouting 'cause he doesn't understand boundaries.
[ He wanted to check immediately - when Wally was probably, oh, sobbing on Tadashi's unreasonably beefy shoulder, on account of the fact that there's no nerd here that isn't also, like, weirdly ripped. ]
He needs a bouquet made out of strawberries. Or a Ferrari. [Hell yeah, humor to cover up the fact that they're both mess up now in completely new ways that will require yet more getting used to! So...so cool]
Y'know...how about instead of talking about ourselves we just...hang? You still got Mario Kart?
[ ...would Tadashi want a Ferrari? Should he get him a Ferrari? Maybe he should get him a Ferrari. He offers Wally a small smile, and if it's a little watery (okay, it's definitely a little watery, but he's valiantly pretending like he's just got really bad allergies) and says, ] I still got the whole set-up at home. Or I could bring it here. It's not like it'd take long.
Uh, [Glances at the door over his shoulder for a second.] ...let's go to your place. I just- I need to...not stay in one spot for a while. [Claps a hand to Jaime's back (shoulderblades, Khaji Da) to turn him and usher him toward the stairs.] ...you can cry, y'know. I hear it's bad for you if you hold it in. Stops up the ducts.
[ Jaime spares a glance upstairs - is that where Tadashi is having a good cry too? he makes a mental note to check in on the guy later, though unbeknownst to him, Ruka will be doing that for him too - then back at Wally with a crooked smile. ]
Yeah. Change of scenery. I got you.
[ And he's just going to not address the crying. ]
I'm at a different house, same neighbourhood. I flew here, though.
[ Which means that either Wally's gonna zip over there on his own, or... well, it's not as though Jaime doesn't princess carry all his best friends around as it is. ]
[ Oh, no. That doesn't bode well. That doesn't bode well at all. In fact, it bodes something that they should really, really talk about, but this is Wally's first day here, and he's already had it out - probably - with Tadashi.
Hi, nice to see you again! By the way, did you die?
Not a good idea.
Jaime suits back again, the carapace crawling out from underneath his skin, unfurling along the back of his neck until his hair sticks up at odd angles before it encompasses him and he holds out his arms. ]
All right. In that case, hop on up, buttercup.
[ Pity.
He was planning on having a good cry on the fly over. Foiled again. ]
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runningstart) wrote2020-04-05 07:22 pm
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Jaw a little more square, beard a little less proto. That same look in his eyes, when he wants to do something but wants to be respectful of someone's space and feelings before he does the thing he really wants to do, always so god damn careful.
Wally's grin slips, just a bit, before he half-turns and cracks open Tadashi's door to let him know he's going downstairs to meet up with Jaime, and he'll be back in a bit.]
Would you just get over here and hug me? Embarrassing. [Maybe Wally will crack when he sees him and make an ass of himself, cry again, but he'd thought he would be fine with just the phone call, the memory of his-world-Jaime still in his head and making him forget that holy shit, that's right, Jaime Reyes here is one of the best friends he's ever had, and he hasn't seen him in five years.]
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[ Jaime half-transforms on-screen until the communicator is stowed and the line goes dead. This is unusual, but not so unusual that it hasn't happened to Jaime a few times recently, old friends having come home, but it's rare that Khaji feels the same thing that he does. It intensifies everything, makes him all buzzy. He knows that they're just feeding off of each other the way they do when emotions are high and they happen to be in sync, but he's not going to try to distinguish between them now; if he does, Khaji may well tone it down, and the bug rarely feels strongly about anyone in the first place.
He feels the same old nagging fears he always does when someone from his past arrives - he's so different from who he used to be, what are they going to think, what happened to them while they're gone, how are they going to feel about the fact that seemingly overnight, everyone they'd loved is gone - but he shakes it off once he becomes airborne, the crisp air helping him snap out of it, determined to take a moment just to be happy.
He hits the ground with a stumbled run and knocks twice on the door (oh, of course they're at Tadashi's) before letting himself in, suit still powering down from his knees downwards. ]
Wally?
[ And once he sees that asshole, he's giving him a big ol' hug. ]
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Reyes! Your baby beard upgraded-!
[And he's a little taller, a little broader, his chin a little sharper. Wally doesn't take long to look at him or catalog the differences; once his arms go around him and Wally's hand finds that spot between his shoulderblades where he knows Khaji is burrowed, he relaxes.
No really, he relaxes, slumps against Jaime like he just got home drunk and puts all his weight on the guy in giddy relief, knowing that if he doesn't get caught then Jaime will go down with him.]
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[ Jaime's protest has a bark of laughter in it, predominantly because if he doesn't laugh, he'll cry. Okay, he'll cry later anyway, but he'd rather hold onto the jubilance for a little longer, and while he staggers backwards just a touch as Wally flings himself into his arms, he catches him easily enough, swaying with it. There's something comforting about Wally's weight on him anyway, familiar in all of the right ways, a solid reminder that he's here, that this is real and not some awful dream he'll wake up from with a grimace, because looking and knowing has never been enough. Jaime's always had to touch. He hooks his chin around Wally's shoulder and squeezes him tight in the way that all Reyes seem to know how.
As familiar as it is, though, Wally feels different. Looked different on-screen too. Time had passed for him at home. And while that's normally a good thing - there's a certain kind of surrealism that comes from disappearing and coming back years later when for you it's only been a moment; just ask Tadashi to get verification of that - something in Jaime's heart of hearts knows what that means. He's not positive, but he thought enough about it over the years to...
He squeezes him a little tighter. Voice muffled, he says, ] I missed you, man.
[ He's not crying. He's not.
Yet. ]
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Then.
He blew up at Tadashi for no reason when he's been nothing but nice. Jaime is bigger, is getting married- Dick isn't here, and boy does remembering everything that happened between them really throw a lot of back home issues into perspective. Wally's once again yanked out of his life to experience a whole other one for who knows how long, except that this time there's no 'back home' to get to, unless some kind of miracle happens.
He's gonna just. Be a hologram in a cave, now. Artemis is going to go home to their dog, go to sleep in their bed alone, and figure out what to do with her life now that her best friend isn't in it. Maybe she'll find out Wally was ring-shopping; maybe she won't. Maybe she'll get with someone else in the future (which makes Wally so heinously jealous that he won't entertain that thought any further).
Maybe Dick will be okay.
I missed you, man. Mumbled into his shoulder, because even if Wally's leaning obnoxiously against Jaime he's still a little taller, a little broader, a little less Kid and a little more Flash...only he's not either of those anymore at all, is he?
There's that weird pulsing hum, right between Jaime's shoulderblades.
Wally really needs to keep it in, really needs to reel this back in and tamp it down, make this reunion as happy as it should be for Jaime but it's been too long and Jaime is too much of a safe place for anything else to happen besides Wally's chuckle turning into a hiccup, turning into clenched teeth as he grabs onto Jaime's shirt s tight in return, shuddering against a sob.]
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[ Jaime...
To say he'd been expecting this immediately would be a lie. But he was expecting it sometime. Sometime soon. Maybe within ten minutes of meeting up, maybe in a week, but soon. You don't come here with everything changed, everyone you've ever known and loved gone (save for a couple people, but -- Wally's seen him now, must know he's not the guy that Jaime had known) and not wind up having some sort of meltdown, in your own personal way. And Wally's never been one to breakdown silently. It's funny. Scientists - or scientific geniuses, whatever - have a reputation for being cold and unemotional, but Wally's always felt things deeply, maybe more deeply than anyone around him.
And then there's the fact that Wally's bigger. Older. He almost doesn't notice, because from his perspective, it's just that time's kept on moving for Wally too. He grew up. Jaime just wasn't there for it. But he also knows what happens to Wally. He and Bart had talked about it enough -- heck, he and Wally had talked about it enough, and he'd done the calculations, tried to figure out the timeline of it. Jaime can't know for sure. Not without specific dates.
But he knows the Porter. He knows what it does. So he doesn't tell Wally it's all right and that it's all gonna be okay the way he wants to, because it probably isn't. Jaime's been alive for long enough and here for long enough to know that. But they're both here now, and that's something. He rubs his hand in a firm circle over Wally's back, glad that Wally can't see his face. He's giving himself a maximum of fifteen minutes to start crying too. ]
Let it out. It's okay.
[ God, he's turned into his Mom. ]
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You sound like my mom.
[Wally pulls back, the tears short-lived; either because hearing something so quintessentially Jaime comforted him or because the fact that his life is just so god damn ludicrous struck him abruptly when he heard his best friend's voice and thought of his mom.
His face is definitely still wet and Wally is scrubbing at it in annoyance, but he's at least not shaking like he's on the verge of a breakdown anymore, half-stepped out of Jaime's embrace with just a hand on his shoulder as he presses the sleeve of his shirt against his eyes to sop up the tears.] God. I can't believe this. I can't believe you had years away from my powerful influence and you're still the same dork.
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He doesn't let go of him, though, hands still anchored on Wally's shoulders unless the guy actively bats him away. The contact and pressure should be comforting, stablizing, Jaime hopes, but it's also because it's helpful for him, as though as long as he's got one hand on the guy, he's not just going to pop right back into non-existence. ]
...you got older too. I wasn't expecting that when we pinged onto your DNA. [ Usually when people come back like this, it's instantaneous, like no time had passed. But Wally...
He tilts his head, getting a look at him. ]
Seriously, though, I think you've earned at least half a meltdown.
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[ He's using humour to mask the fact that he still kind of wants to cry about this whole thing, whether it's relief or shock or happiness or fear of what's to come, of the very real possibility that he'll get Wally back for a month, maybe two, and he'll be gone again, but -- listen, sometimes that's just the way it is. ]
That's a pretty dire ratio of donut-to-minute. Did you wanna -- I dunno, catch up? [ What's the protocol for something like this? He's changed, and so has Wally. It's weird. Everything about this is weird. ] Khaji's excited to see you too, by the way. He'll probably say hi himself later. He's just pouting 'cause he doesn't understand boundaries.
[ He wanted to check immediately - when Wally was probably, oh, sobbing on Tadashi's unreasonably beefy shoulder, on account of the fact that there's no nerd here that isn't also, like, weirdly ripped. ]
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Y'know...how about instead of talking about ourselves we just...hang? You still got Mario Kart?
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[ ...would Tadashi want a Ferrari? Should he get him a Ferrari? Maybe he should get him a Ferrari. He offers Wally a small smile, and if it's a little watery (okay, it's definitely a little watery, but he's valiantly pretending like he's just got really bad allergies) and says, ] I still got the whole set-up at home. Or I could bring it here. It's not like it'd take long.
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Yeah. Change of scenery. I got you.
[ And he's just going to not address the crying. ]
I'm at a different house, same neighbourhood. I flew here, though.
[ Which means that either Wally's gonna zip over there on his own, or... well, it's not as though Jaime doesn't princess carry all his best friends around as it is. ]
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[ Oh, no. That doesn't bode well. That doesn't bode well at all. In fact, it bodes something that they should really, really talk about, but this is Wally's first day here, and he's already had it out - probably - with Tadashi.
Hi, nice to see you again! By the way, did you die?
Not a good idea.
Jaime suits back again, the carapace crawling out from underneath his skin, unfurling along the back of his neck until his hair sticks up at odd angles before it encompasses him and he holds out his arms. ]
All right. In that case, hop on up, buttercup.
[ Pity.
He was planning on having a good cry on the fly over. Foiled again. ]