text | un: anonymous

[otherflash]

Hypothetically speaking, what would you do if the person you were in love with literally forgot you existed? Or, what if you remember having a life with this person except it technically never happened for them?

Would you try to build a connection with them? Would it even be fair to do that? Would you simply try to move on?

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[otherflash]

[ Wally isn't exactly sure what he's trying to accomplish with all this, but it does feel like a step forward. Albeit a very small one. ]

That's what I'm trying to figure out. She hasn't completely blown me off and has actually been pretty nice about it, but I know she's freaked out about everything. Sometimes I think it's too much.

[ It's just one of the many things he feels guilty about in this situation. ]

I know I should let go of the past because it isn't real for her. For us. [ Not anymore. ] I just... don't know how to do that.

[fingerstripes]

Well I'm no Dr. Phil, but I'm thinking it says volumes that she's even willing to have the "so we happen to be married in an alternate reality" talk with a guy she just met. [ Though it doesn't particularly surprise him. Linda's always been an incredible woman.

He hesitates. ]

Wherever you take it from here, you're going to be building something new. Something different than what you had before. That doesn't make it better or worse, but...

Maybe you just need to figure out how alright with that you are.

[otherflash]

[ Wally blows out a breath. ]

I'm okay with starting over, I think. But I'm not exactly the most patient person in the world.

[ He knows it's going to be a long and delicate process if he and Linda are going to have a future together. It's not something he can rush and he's afraid he's going to push things too far too fast. ]

Though I guess it doesn't really matter right now since she isn't here. [ Which is the other part of this dilemma. ]

[fingerstripes]

[ He winces a little at that without really meaning to, feeling an odd, reflexive pang of empathy. It’s not the same with him and Babs, he know it's not. Wally had married Linda, built an entire life with her. He isn’t sure now that Barbara had wanted him at all. That she could have ever loved him the way he’ll always love her.

But it’s still an opportunity lost. A maybe this place had snatched from him when it brought him here.

He’d never intended to fall in love with someone else. ]

Sure it does. You’re still the one that remembers.

But I’m guessing clarity is a little tough to come by as long as the person that doesn’t is right there.

[otherflash]

[ A humorless chuckle comes from Wally's end of the feed. ]

I could use a little more clarity in my life.

[ there's a short pause, before quietly: ]

It feels like I've just been drifting along ever since I got free from the Speed Force. At some point I want to get back to actually living a life instead of going through the motions. But it feels almost wrong to do it without her. [ No almost about it. ]

[fingerstripes]

You're not doing it without her. You're figuring out who Wally West is now. Somehow I'm betting she's not the only one who's been through a few fundamental changes. [ Which actually twists his heart in a way he's been careful not to show Wally.

On most days it's easy to miss. Today he can't not see it. ]

Doesn't negate the possibility that she'll be a part of it later. But you're losing something if you live for that, pal.

[ Says the guy who once spent six months chasing his ex-fiancé around South America refusing to believe it was over, but tbh what is friendship for if not bald-faced hypocrisy.

Wally had come to his rescue then. Dick won't leave him alone with this now. ]

[otherflash]

[ "Who is Wally West" is certainly the question, and it's one he only has a few real answers to these days. ]

You're right, I know you're right. The only way I can move is forward.

[ Moving forward with his life doesn't mean giving up on Linda for good. If they are really meant to be (again), it will find a way to happen no matter the obstacles standing in the way. This holding onto something that might not be there thing he has going on isn't really working out for him. ]

I have been thinking about finding somewhere else to live. The people I live with are cool and all, but the only child mentality is starting to kick in.

[fingerstripes]

Do you need a place to stay? Cause there's always- I mean you can crash with us anytime.

I don't know what's better for peace and clarity than a house full of eleven year olds, but...

[ But it feels important for him to know he doesn’t need to go it alone if that isn’t what he wants.

He has two little boys to take care of now. A legacy to uphold. Perspective is easy to fake over the network, but it's not as if Dick himself is holding up entirely well given the circumstances. ]

[otherflash]

Maybe I could stay for a bit while I figure it out? It's not like I need a place, but somewhere with a little more privacy would be nice. We can talk about it later.

[ Perhaps he won't find that at Dick's, but it would still be more comfortable than living with a bunch of people he doesn't know all that well. ]

But thanks for listening, Dick. Again. I know I've been caught up in my own stuff, but this is a two-way street. You'll let me know when I can return the favor?

[fingerstripes]

Always. [ He’d never doubted that for a moment, but it’s nice to hear anyway, and the warmth in his voice speaks to that. ]

And in case there’s ever any doubt, there’s never a time when I’m too busy to hear about the perils of a multiversal love life.