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“Absolutely, we’ll be there.” Will watched as Dick, Jim and Roy entered and he held his hand up, signaling for them to stay silent as he finished his phone call. “That’s right ma’am, at Bowhunter Security we’re always on point.” He gave the other three in the room a wink as he pointed a finger gun at them, causing Roy to roll his eyes and Will to chuckled silently.
Dick kept his stoic look and pushed aside bubbling bits of envy as he watched the redhead in front of him, ignoring the way his mind taunted him with wishes of it being Wally instead of Will, of how they could’ve had a normal life if he’d just retired like Wally had asked– begged– him to oh so many times. Logically he knew they still would’ve gone on the mission, that they still would’ve shown up to help save the world and Wally would still be gone, but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t help the way he dreamed of the possibility of what their life could’ve been like, even now, if he’d just fucking listened to Wally instead of being so goddamn stubborn.
“It’s my pleasure. We’ll see you soon.” Will set the phone back down on its receiver, then folded his arms behind his head as he leaned back in his desk chair. “Let me guess. You fellas are in need of some top-of-the-line security. Am I right?”
“Not exactly,” Dick sighed. “We lost a shipment of trafficked meta-teens down a boom tube. They’re probably being deployed in deep space by now.”
“Oh, of course.” He could almost hear Will rolling his eyes even if he didn’t actually do it.
“Look, the League’s been informed. I’m not happy about all this, but I need to move on.” Dick’s eyebrows pinched together as he realized the irony of his own words, the way he couldn’t let go of Wally yet was so willing to just move on from one mission to the next now, and how three years ago he would’ve hated himself for ever doing such a thing. The weight of Wally’s old windbreaker against his skin was starting to feel like a badge of war that he didn’t deserve because of just how much shame he’d be bringing to Wally if he were still here.
Will scoffed at that. “Yeah, you’ve moved on so much, you completely neglected to mention Brion Markov, Dr. Jace and that Halo girl.”
“This is a higher priority. I have solid intel on a meta-human trafficking ring right here in Star City.” Dick took a second to relax his face as he changed his angle. “Look, Roy and Jim are on board. But, you know, I thought we’d make it an all-Harper mission.”
“All Harper and one Grayson,” Will deadpanned.
Dick inhaled sharply as he crossed his arms, and in his mind he could hear Wally’s laugh as he asked him who’s last name they should take if they ever got married. They hadn’t even been dating at the time, just twelve and fourteen as they played Super Smash Bros. in his bedroom. It’d been a silly little hypothetical that they’d landed on as Wally laid on his stomach, Dick cross legged next to him, and ultimately they decided on Grayson because “Dick West just sounds wrong.” Of course when they actually started dating neither of them ever brought it up again, but the silent agreement remained that when the time came they’d be the Graysons. “Are you in or not?”
“Hmm.” Will sat up as he grabbed his clipboard and flipped through the pages, clicking his tongue as he did so. “Huh.”
“I know you’re doing that on purpose.” Dick let his hands fall to his sides as Roy and Jim bit back laughter behind him.
Will hummed and looked back up at Dick, “I guess I could make the time.”
“Great, so here’s the plan–”
“But only if you guys help me out with something first.” A smirk spread across Will’s lips and Dick glanced over his shoulder.
“I’m game,” Jim nodded his head upwards as Roy shrugged. “Whatever, bro.”
Dick looked back towards Will as he narrowed his eyes, “What are we talking about here?”
Fifteen minutes later they were all walking out the front doors together dressed in Bowhunter Security uniforms, and Dick pulled at the collar of his shirt as the texture made his skin crawl. The four of them made their way over to the blue SUV parked out front– Roy being the only one bothering to wear a jacket– and got inside.
“Seatbelts, everyone.” There was a cheeriness to Will’s voice as he put his own seatbelt on and double-checked his clipboard.
“You enjoying yourself?” Dick asked, almost rhetorically, before looking out the window. With every passing minute he was starting to regret this mission more and more, wishing he’d told Tim to do it instead. The hell was he thinking, surrounding himself with three redheads who all shared a similar sense of humor to Wally’s? God, it was like he was torturing himself, and maybe some part of him had chosen to do that on purpose. To seek out a reminder of what life could’ve been like and to punish himself for fucking up and ruining everything.
“In this get-up?” Roy scoffed, “No.”
“Yeah, I think he was talking to Will.” Jim motioned towards the front two seats in the car as he glanced over at Roy.
“Come on, Grayson.” Will raised an eyebrow and Dick turned to look back at him. “Let’s not pretend you were planning to hit your traffickers before nightfall.”
“Well, I–”
“That is the Dark Knight way, right?” Jim cut in.
“Yeah. I hear all those bat boys turn into pumpkins in the daylight.” Roy joked as Will started the engine.
Dick sighed and ran his hands over his face before glancing over his shoulder at the back two occupants of the car. “Who’s idea was it to put all three of you together on one mission?”
“Yours,” all three of the Harpers responded at once.
Dick just shook his head and turned his attention back towards Will. “Don’t you have any actual employees?”
“Of course, but most of my guys were celebrating a company softball victory last night. Ate some bad Chicken Whizees. Food poisoning. Explosive diarrhea,” Will mimicked an explosion with his hands as he spoke.
“Dude! TMI.” Roy whined from the backseat.
“You guys wanted to know why I needed the manpower,” Will shrugged. “So, you help me today, I help you tonight.”
“Fine. Let’s just go.”
Once they were finally at the warehouse overseeing security Dick almost immediately sat down atop one of the boxes as he hung his head, his arms in his lap. He couldn’t stop thinking about Wally and what jokes he might make if he was there. He’d probably tease him for even sitting down in the first place and make a game out of seeing who could load the most boxes, only to cheat at said game by zipping around and having the trucks all loaded up before Dick could even lift a single one. Every part of him craved for Wally to be here, his skin itched for his touch and his body ached for his warmth but there was no undoing his mistakes, no changing the past, and no bringing Wally back. All he could do is cling to the hope that Wally was still alive out there somewhere, somehow, just like the desperate fool he truly was. Maybe then if Wally came back, Jason would too.
“Goode VR goggles?” Jim asked as he watched the warehouse employees load the trailers.
“Goode pays good money for Bowhunter Security to secure ‘em.” Will didn’t even bother to look up from his clipboard as he went down his checklist.
“For… video game accessories.”
“Jim, you need to spend less time with your geraniums.” Roy rolled his eyes from where he was sitting atop some boxes near the back of the warehouse, and Jim looked over his shoulder at him with a raised eyebrow. “These are top-of-the-line virtual and augmented reality goggles. Advanced graphics, totally immersive. Everybody’s into these. And they go for beaucoup bucks on the black market.” As Roy moved to lean back against the two boxes next to him they started to fall over, causing him to panic as he rushed to grab them and Jim chuckled.
“Don’t know if you’ve heard, but I have a girl sleeping over.” Will spoke in a hushed tone, almost too quiet as Dick nearly missed it due to being lost in thought.
“Over at your place, I know,” Dick rushed out but was still unmoving, fixated on the floor.
“Over my couch, Dick. Two feet over my couch.”
“So you’re saying she’s a conversation piece.” Dick nearly rolled his eyes as he tried to ignore the nagging voice in the back of his head that sounded just a little too much like Wally reminding him that this isn’t who he is, that he’s a better person than this.
“I’m saying someone needs to have a serious conversation about what to do with her long-term.” Will glared at him and Dick finally gained some semblance of guilt upon his face.
“Seriously, why are we even here?” Roy asked as he got up and approached the others. “No one’s taking this stuff in broad daylight.”
“You can never be too safe, I guess,” Jim shrugged.
When the trucks were finally loaded they all headed outside and checked the drivers’ IDs, albeit a bit begrudgingly on Dick’s part. So far all seemed good and they cleared the drivers to leave, but as they were pulling out of the parking lot Will frowned. “Wait a sec. These aren’t the right drivers.”
Jim shrugged and gave the last driver his badge back. “Their credentials check out.”
“The clipboard doesn’t lie,” Will glared at him.
“The clipboard doesn’t talk.” Roy rolled his eyes as he and Dick walked over to Jim.
Will watched as the last driver left and his eyes widened. “I know that guy. He’s one of Brick’s thugs. To the SUV!”
All four of them rushed back to the Bowhunter SUV and once they were inside Will drove off in a hurry after the delivery trucks. They trailed them all the way to the pacific coast highway and the longer it took the grumpier Will got.
“So, no one’s taking this stuff in broad daylight, huh?” Will scowled.
Dick glared at him as he glanced to his left. God, having a speedster would really fix a lot of things right now.
“Okay, I stand corrected.” Roy said as he pulled his right sleeve back, revealing his prosthetic arm that Luthor had so graciously gifted him. “I’ll just blow out the tires, problem solved.” The hand on his arm turned downwards revealing the built-in gun as he stuck himself out the open car window.
“No!” Will exclaimed as he looked back at Roy. “How about a solution that doesn’t dump the merchandise into the ocean?”
“Someone’s sure gotten picky in his old age.” Roy shrugged as he sat back down.
Jim glanced over his shoulder and out the back window, then at the others. “Incoming.”
Dick looked up into the rearview mirror and Will at the side view before they both ultimately looked out the driver side window to see Brick driving a red sports car next to them. Both of them let out a “uh-oh” as Brick slammed his car into theirs, attempting to push them off the road.
The back of the car slammed into the guardrail as Will desperately course corrected, only to find themselves head on with an incoming school bus as they all screamed. They narrowly avoided collision as Will overcorrected, slamming the side of the SUV into the guardrail once again before ultimately ending up in the correct lane.
“Can I at least shoot at that guy?” Roy asked, pointing behind them with his thumb.
“Yes, you can shoot at that guy.” Will practically rolled his eyes as he watched Roy climb halfway out the window again, shooting at the sports car following them.
Brick ditched the car as Roy shot one of the front tires, causing it to go flying off the road as he jumped on top of the SUV and punched a hole in the roof.
“You always wanted a convertible,” Dick joked as both he and Will ducked down to avoid getting grabbed before Brick finally pulled his hand back out of the SUV. Will glared at him though they both quickly leaned in opposing directions as Brick punched through the roof again in between the driver and passenger seat.
“Okay, I’m out.” Roy opened the car door that time and used his prosthetic arm to shoot a grappling line onto the truck in front of them, ditching the rest.
“Rent-a-cops with grapnels?” Brick raised what would’ve been an eyebrow if he had any on his orange-red face as he watched Roy. “How much do they pay these guys?”
“Ugh,” Will groaned. He switched which side of the road he was on and slammed on the gas, then pulled in between two of the trucks as he barely avoided another wreck.
Jim unbuckled and opened the trunk, jumping out the back of the car and onto the hood of the truck behind them, causing the driver to scream. “I need to take another look at those credentials.”
“So, private security seems pretty sweet.” Dick commented as he watched Will drive.
“Yeah decent money, benefits.” Will glanced over at Dick for a moment as Brick looked down into the SUV. “And I get home in time for dinner with Lian.”
That all too familiar pang of jealousy returned to Dick, though he didn’t have much time to process it as Brick ripped the roof off and threw it onto the other side of the road. “You rent-a-cops cannot be making enough scratch for this gig.”
“I own the company.” Will glared over his shoulder at Brick.
“Too bad for you.” Brick reached into the car and ripped the steering wheel out with a grunt.
“Aw, man, my insurance premiums.” Will pouted before inevitably scowling as Dick told him to gun it. Together they unbuckled their seatbelts and jumped out of what was left of the SUV as it rammed into the back of the truck, both of them hanging on for dear life as they grasped the top edge of the trailer. The semi behind them hit the SUV, knocking it off the road as they pulled themselves up onto the top of the truck.
“Last time I ask you for a favor,” Will glared at Dick. “I loved that SUV.”
“Hey, this is your gig.” Dick turned to look at him and returned his glare. “At least we don’t have to worry about Brick.”
Behind them Roy tased the driver of his truck and took control, and in the truck in front of him Jim avoided getting shot before ripping open the driver side door and kicking the driver out of the way, cuffing him and knocking him unconscious. “Two down and one to go.” Dick laughed as he and Will stood up atop their truck. “Kinda like old times, huh Walls?”
“It’s Will, not Walls.” Will looked almost disgusted as he stared at Dick.
“That’s… That’s what I said.” Dick’s own expression softened as the inner corners of his eyebrows turned upwards, and his heart felt as if it were being ripped in two all over again.
“Is it just the red hair?” Will raised an eyebrow as he cocked his head to the side.
“What are you talking about?”
“Your need for a Wally West substitute.” Will shoved his clipboard- which Dick was surprised he even bothered to bring with him when the car crashed- towards his chest.
“What?!” Dick exclaimed, and his eyebrows pinched together as his glare came back twice as harsh. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it? You already had Roy and Jim.” Will motioned back towards the two trucks behind them. “You didn’t need me. Not for the mission anyways.”
“I needed someone who knows the city.” God, why had Bruce called him in on this anyways? Tim could’ve handled this just fine, he didn’t need to be here dealing with this shit.
“You needed someone who knows you.” Will jabbed his finger at Dick’s chest, though their conversation was interrupted by the sound of someone climbing up the back of the truck.
“Do you low-rent heroes know how much this suit costs?!” Brick pulled himself up onto the truck with them, each step landing with a heavy thump as he approached. His suit was nearly torn to shreds, yet his body seemed to be unharmed despite having been dragged along the road after jumping from the SUV.
“Seriously?” Dick deadpanned.
“Hey, we’re in the middle of something here.” Will gestured between him and Dick.
“Y’all interrupted my thing,” Brick ripped off what little was left of his shirt. “Be rude not to return the favor.” He charged forward at them and they both jumped out of the way with a roll, though Dick’s acrobatic grace had worn down over the last few years.
“I get it,” Will huffed. They stayed on their toes, dodging each of Brick’s swings and Dick even threw in a handspring for extra flair. “You needed someone to give you a reality check. To keep you honest. To tell you what no one else will tell the boss.”
“You’re babbling!” Dick glanced over his shoulder at Will, only to get grabbed by Brick. He shone his flashlight into Brick’s eyes, causing him to drop him as he proceeded to beat the crap out of him with said flashlight. He threw in a back kick and even a flip kick for the dramatics- he had an appearance to keep up after all- though he eventually gave up when the flashlight itself broke. The second he stepped aside Will threw his clipboard and Brick caught it between his teeth as Dick moved around behind him. He jumped up and hit the back of his head with a roundhouse kick, causing Brick to spit the clipboard back out and into Will’s hand.
As Will was distracted, however, Brick charged forward and punched him. He went flying off the back of the truck and barely managed to grab ahold, pulling himself back on as he spoke. “Well, fine. Wally’s not here, so I’ll say it.”
Dick landed two backflips in a row as he avoided getting hit, then looked over at Will. “What? What are you gonna say?” Some small part of him wanted to scream at Will for using Wally against him, shout at him about how that’s not what Wally meant to him and how dare he ever imply that he used Wally, that he was nothing more than a moral compass to him.
“You already know.” Will glared at him again as he stood up. “You’re dropping the ball with these Markovian kids.”
“Taking care of strays wasn’t the mission,” Dick scoffed.
Brick ran at them with a shout and they both jumped out of the way. Will got onto his back and pulled him over as Dick quickly ran over and knocked him off his feet, lifting Brick above both their heads. “The mission is what the mission becomes. You know that. Those kids need you. Your team needs you.”
“It was just one op! I don’t do teams anymore.” Dick stressed and his heart twinged. The last time he did it cost him the love of his life and that just wasn’t a price he was willing to pay twice.
“You do now.”
“Hey, cut it out!” Brick squirmed above them, his limbs flailing. “Put me down!”
Dick grunted under the shifting weight. “The guy makes a reasonable request.”
“Plus, he’s really heavy,” Will nodded.
“Oh, man, this ain’t right.” Brick’s eyes widened and together they threw him down onto the hood of the truck as he cracked the windshield before ultimately rolling down onto the road as he fell.
Will jumped down to the passenger side and Dick to the driver, causing the man inside to gasp as he threw his hands up. “I surrender, I surrender!”
“Great, could you hold the wheel?” Will asked as the truck veered off the road and into the guardrail.
“Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,” The driver stammered.
Dick exhaled before giving Will a winning smile and eventually the trucks came to a stop as they reached a police blockade less than a mile away, given that Jim had apparently called the cops after taking control of his truck.
“Seriously, who are you guys?” Brick asked as he was taken into police custody with an inhibitor collar around his neck.
“Bowhunter Security.” All three of the Harpers had smirks on their faces as Roy spoke, then Jim. “Always on point.”
Dick walked over to the edge of the road, standing by the guardrail as he watched the sunset. The vibrant pinks and oranges in the sky pulled at his heartstrings as he imagined what Wally might say. Maybe a flirtatious quip or a scientific explanation as to why the colors change the way that they do, either one would be just as true to who he was.
A sigh left Dick's lips as Will walked up beside him, though his eyes remained casted towards the sky. “I miss him.”
“I know you do,” Will sighed as well. “Heck, we all do.”
“We were going to get married.” Dick laughed, almost bitterly, as he reached up and pulled a necklace out from beneath his shirt. From the chain hung an engagement ring, only instead of a diamond it contained two stones. One sapphire, one emerald. “One week. One fucking week before I was going to propose and he…” His gaze fell to the ring as he let out a shaky breath and Will placed a hand on his shoulder.
“You know, he knew I had the ring. I couldn’t hide anything from him, even if I tried.” Another laugh left his lips, this one a bit lighter though still self deprecating. “God… I nearly asked him to marry me the day he found it. I almost wish I had.”
“Dick…”
“He uh, he envied you, actually.” Dick looked up at Will as he closed his fist around the ring. “You, Jade and Lian. You retired and had a family… everything he wanted. Everything we wanted. But I… I just couldn’t bring myself to leave the Team, not while Kaldur was still undercover, and it cost me everything.” A few tears slipped out his eyes as turned his gaze back to the setting sun. “For five years we kept our relationship secret because I was selfish. I let my fears get in the way instead of coming out. I hid the one thing that brought me joy from the entire world and now it’s gone.”
Jim and Roy walked over to them and Jim put a hand on his shoulder. “Dick, you don’t have to go through this alone. We’re here for you. We’re all here for you. Your friends care about you and we want to help you but we can’t do that if you keep shutting us out.”
“That’s exactly what Artemis said,” Dick laughed as he let go of the ring and used his wrist to wipe away his tears. “But I uh… I can’t. I can’t risk letting people in just for them to get hurt because of me.” He paused, taking a deep breath as his voice turned bitter. “So no, I don't need a Wally West substitute. What I need is Wally West, but he's not here now is he?” As he spoke he shrugged their hands off and ignored the look that Will gave him. “Now c’mon, we’ve got a mission to do.”
“Dick…” Roy frowned as he watched him walk away. “He’s too far gone, isn’t he?”
“Yep,” Jim sighed. “I'm afraid so.”