[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
no subject
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. ]