It's all that you can do

Notes: And now, ladies and gents, I shall play around with some of my other favorite characters, namely Question and Huntress. I think they may be my favorite 'canon' pairing as I have thus far not felt the urge to see them with other people. They appeal to me in the way that only the screwed up can.

Beyond that this has been sitting in a folder on my computer for…a while and I just didn't want to post it because it felt incomplete but…well, I decided to fudge it and put it out anyway.

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Chapter Dos

I watched you Change

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Wally wasn't really aware of much while he was asleep, which was strange for him. He was usually a light sleeper, able to be awake and dressed in a matter of seconds if he heard so much as a creaking floorboard. He did catch a few voices, low and questioning and fleeting images of people: mostly John but Diana and Bruce once or twice. They hovered over him, voices weaving in and out, bits and pieces that often made absolutely no sense.

The one thing that really struck out was feeling so hot at one point he honestly thought he may have been on fire, or that the room was on fire around him, or that Clark was fucking around with his heat vision again. (Which had happened on one or two occasions) He'd tried to come awake to see what was going on but a cool hand had rested on his forehead and soft words that he didn't understand for the life of him were whispered and he'd slipped back into a deeper level of sleep, dismay over the heat fading away into nothingness.

When he finally woke up for real he figured he'd been asleep a few hours, maybe through the night, and opened his eyes expecting to find John ready to start snarking at him, as he was prone to do whenever Wally came back to the tower in worse shape than when he left.

There was really no better motivator to not get hurt than having to deal with John's sarcasm and mocking. If that didn't do it for a person than truly nothing would.

Now Wally couldn't speak for anyone else in the League but he liked Question. In a purely platonic sense of course, something Question insisted be perfectly clear because Huntress could be jealous and when combined with the fact she was certifiable…well, it was best to keep things clear.

Most everyone was quick to point out the fact the Question was a conspiracy loving, Girl Scout suspecting, at times anti-League, mildly homicidal, raving lunatic more paranoid than Batman was on even his really bad days. Wally was equally quick, if not quicker, to point that he himself was a bit of a raving conspiracy happy, borderline maniac-depressive lunatic who purposefully surrounded himself with paranoid and suspicious people in order to make himself look a little less out there.

Not that it worked. He still struck most people are weird as hell. Then again most people didn't know he hung out with the likes of Batman, Question, and Lantern so it was to be expected, he supposed…

And the Girl Scouts were most likely up to something. The fact that they only had those damn coconut cookies left when they got around to Wally's place just proved it. Who did a guy have to kill to get a box of Thin Mints, for Christ's sake!

He could actually go for a box of Thin Mints at the moment. Or Gummy Worms. He was flexible like that, willing to compromise in order to achieve his goal and whatnot.

Anyway.

They got along pretty well and Wally was always interested in the latest possible going-ons with the government (evil evil government), high powered corporations (also evil) or just in general speculation on just about anything. The fact that Question was the only one who believed his Evil Electronics theory didn't hurt their friendship any, to be sure.

Yes, Wally liked Question. And yet, in spite of that admitted fact, the Faceless Wonder was just about the last thing he wanted to wake up next to. Thusly, he couldn't be blamed for groaning, rolling over, and cursing. It was nothing personal; it just wasn't his idea of a good wake up call.

He could, of course, think of a few things that constituted a good wake up call and all but one involved John and the one that didn't involve John involved pancakes and bacon and certainly had room for John in it, assuming he was the one holding the aforementioned food.

Which brought to mind some slightly kinky things involving syrup, which, for the record, would also constitute a good wakeup call. Again, he was flexible. …And not in a perverted way, thank you very much. Not that he was talking about with any one at least.

Though…he could be flexible in the less than pure sense. He just wasn't talking about it.

"Nice to see you're awake."

Wally grunted, pulling the other pillow over his head. "Go 'way."

"Can't. Your boyfriend threatened me with severe and potentially irreversible bodily harm should I not be here when he gets back and I'm sure you know how much I like keeping all of my various parts just where they are."

Wally had to admit that certainly sounded like something John would say, considering that he was kind of insane. And by kind of Wally meant really. He sighed and rolled over to face Question.

"Where'd he go?"

"I couldn't tell you."

Wally arched an eyebrow. "Right. I promise not to tell John that you're keeping tabs on him."

Question somehow, in spite of not having a face, managed to look offended. "I assure you I am not keeping tabs on your boyfriend Wally."

"You're keeping tabs on everyone because you're a paranoid freak." There was a pause like Question was considering Wally's words. "So. Where is he?"

"Keystone. Checking in with your family I believe. You've been asleep on and off for a little over two days and I imagine they were getting worried."

Wally sat up in surprise, ignoring the lightheaded feeling that washed over him. On and off for almost two days? That was…impossible. Wally rarely slept normally, having discovered that as long as he ate and rested every so often he could go for a long time without any actual sleep. Sleeping for two days was just…he didn't think he could even manage something like that on a physical level.

"What?"

"I heard you had a fever." Wally arched an eyebrow and Question coughed. "Okay, I made a small detour into the medical files while I was emailing Huntress and happened to see that you were running a high fever after you got back. You checked out okay with the doctor though; he thinks you had a bug or something."

"I don't get sick."

"Oh?"

"Not since I got hit by lightening, no." He shrugged then reached up and rubbed at his shoulder, which ached somewhat. The muscle felt tight and stiff under his skin as if it hadn't been moved in…well, two days. "Not sure why; I can't exactly go to a doctor and ask about it, you know?"

"Not a normal doctor, no."

"Not any doctor thanks. After that crap with that guy that Supes took Supergirl to only to have him make a clone that nearly blew up the Watch Tower? I'd rather just not try to fix what ain't broken, one clone adventure was more than enough for me."

A very poor replica of course, since Wally had kicked its ass, saved the day, and saved the rest of the League with no real effort. You could duplicate him all you wanted but he was pretty sure that without all of the 'mental' bits that made him who he was it just wouldn't work.

He was sure John would have a thing or two to say about his assessment of such things, but it was likely they would be ego-crushing and thus not something Wally was interested in hearing.

"Apparently something is broken. You can't let one psychotic…wait. This is wrong. Am I trying to convince you to see a doctor, in spite of the high potential for chaos, clones, and exposure?"

Wally nodded solemnly and got that feeling that if he could Question would be doing some seriously confused blinking right about now.

"Huh. Well. Ignore me."

Wally smiled brightly. "I usually do. So. I know John was all threat happy and stuff, but do you think he intended for you to watch me shower? Because that's what I'm going to do now and I'd rather do it alone, but if you're afraid he'll hurt you I guess you can come along."

"I'll stay here and…wait."

Wally nodded and managed to haul his stiff body out of the bed and shuffle towards the bathroom, carefully ignoring the lightheaded feeling that once again washed over him. He heard the door shut after him and reached into the shower to turn it on, glancing himself in the mirror.

He was paler than usual, looking almost washed out in comparison to the bright hue of his hair, which clung to his skin in a way that was less than pleasant. He had dark smudges under his eyes, which looked almost glazed and had he been looking at anyone other than himself he would have thought he was on the verge of a collapse.

He looked away, pulling off his clothes and stepping under the warm spray. It beat down on his skin and he sighed, immediately feeling a little better. He stretched some, feeling the pleasant pain of joints popping and his body forcing itself into full awareness. The monster headache was, once again, gone along with the sick dizzy feeling, neither of which he was complaining about.

It had been really weird though, one minute he was fine and the next he was on the ground heaving up everything he'd had in the last week, or so it had felt. Now he felt fine. He had to admit he was worried, mainly because he didn't get sick. He didn't understand it.

Hopefully it was over and he wouldn't have to put up with much poking and prodding and nagging from the rest of the League. Of course Wally didn't put much stock in it being that simple, because nothing ever was that simple with him.

He raked his hands through his hair then ducked under the spray. At least he could be assured that John had taken care of things during his extended nap. Aunt Iris was really fond of the man and would probably gloss over the fact he was sick in favor of John's company. She was undeniably…quirky in that way. He heard it was a genetic trait.

Still, he'd go home soon and let her and Bart know that he was really okay. He didn't want them to worry or anything. After Barry had died…well, he tried to make things easy on her.

He leaned against the wall, the press of cool tile welcome against his warm skin. The steam billowed around him as the spray pounded down on his back, helping to further ease the tense muscles there.

He could have stayed there forever but after some amount of time he heard the sound of the door sliding back and felt cool air from outside of the bathroom. He stood up straight and blinked water out of his eyes.

"Question?"

"Why, does he watch you shower often?" John's voice was thick with wry amusement. Wally rolled his eyes and turned off the water before stepping out of the shower and grabbing the towel John was kind enough to hold out to him.

"Not that I know about, but I wouldn't be surprised." He dried his hair quickly then raked a hand through it. "So. You owe me food."

John blinked slowly. "You threw up, passed out, and were unconscious for two days and the first thing on your mind is food?"

"Of course not. What do you take me for?" Wally frowned, trying to look scandalized. "My first thought was sex. It's always sex, but I figured I'd have to work my way up to that because of all those things you mentioned. We could start with sex I suppose but I really think…where're you going?"

Okay, so his first thought had been why he didn't want to see Question when he woke up, followed by food, but sex had been a really close third. There was no reason for John to be rolling his eyes and walking away like that.

"Put some clothes on."

"What? No." John was, per usual, not getting the point. For such a smart man he was really rather dense. Wally walked after him, after checking to make sure that Question was actually gone. (If he hadn't Wally would have at least done more with the towel then tossed it on the bed.) "Being dressed would be highly counterproductive don't you think? In fact I think you should get undressed."

"Bruce wants to see you in the infirmary."

"…No." John, who was sitting at the desk on the far side of the room by the window looked up at him as if questioning his sanity. Again. Wally stared back. If it had been anyone but John was Wally was nude in front of it might have played hell on his self-worth, but since it was John it was just a challenge, less a reflection on Wally as on John's annoying tendency to try to do the right thing. One that Wally intended to win of course.

John's eyes darted away from his face for a split second and Wally had to fight to keep the grin off his face. He'd won. John didn't know he'd won yet but he knew how to spot the little things that gave away when John's resolve was weakening. It made sense; how could he resist after all.

"What if you're actually sick?"

"I don't get sick." Wally said with a shrug. "It was probably the heat or something. I was sweating pretty badly…but I'm fine now. Haven't felt better in weeks." John still looked skeptical, damn his sense of reasonability and logic. Wally flopped onto the bed and arched an eyebrow. "C'mon John, you know me. If I felt bad I wouldn't shut up about it."

John was silent for a moment then rolled his eyes. "I suppose. You are a whiner."

"Yes I am." On the grand scale of things being insulted somehow ranked below what Wally was going for. "So now you're going to get undressed, right?"

"Your one track-mind is inspiring." John was back on his feet though and his costume faded into jeans and a t-shirt. Wally nodded, agreeing. When one could easily handle a dozen or so different trains of thought it was important to pick out the important ones and focus on them.

Or something like that. John was just about in arms reach and so whatever point he'd been justifying to himself seemed a considerable amount less important.

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Someone was rather adamantly knocking on the door. They had been for almost a minute now.

Wally cracked open an eye and looked at John who didn't even stir. John apparently didn't see the point in moving if he knew Wally would get frustrated and answer the door first. There was no way in hell he was actually sleeping anymore, since he was just as light a sleeper as Wally, but he faked it a lot better than he did. The other man was on the other side of the bed, facing him with one of his hands rest on Wally's hip.

They were still knocking.

"What?" Wally's voice was thick with sleep and a little raspy. John's fingers flexed, tips moving over his skin before he went still again. Wally was half-tempted to roll closer but at the same time it was kind of warm and he was well aware of the fact John didn't take kindly to being hot or smothered.

Which he usually ignored at the risk of being kicked out of the bed in the middle of the night.

"Flash" That would be Bruce, coming to find out where the hell he was two and half hours after he'd sent John to go and retrieve him. Actually he probably wasn't wondering, had probably known exactly what had happened after half-an-hour and had just known better than to come down here banging on the door at that point.

Something Wally really appreciated. He never hated the whole saving of the world more than during those moments when no person should have to deal with interruptions.

"Go 'way. 'M not decent." Wally put his head back on the pillow, knowing good and damn well that wouldn't do anymore than give Bruce a few second's pause. John snorted softly and then Wally found himself being dragged closer. John's body shifted and fit against his and Wally knew this was only John's way of making the fact he was going to have to get up that much harder.

Tormenting bastard.

"You brought this on yourself." John muttered against his ear.

"Don't be a killjoy." Wally said, opening his eyes again and glaring at the door heatedly. There was a silver of light coming in from outside and he could see where Bruce was standing because of the shadow he cast.

"Be in the infirmary in fifteen or else I'm sending Wonder Woman." There was a long pause and then: "She'll be very upset if I have to call her away from Oracle."

"Yeah yeah." Wally called back and watched as, after a hesitation, Bruce's shadow vanished. Wally didn't move for a moment then looked back at John who smirked at him before letting him go and sliding off of the bed. Wally sighed and got up as well.

He hated doing pointless things and could already feel just how pointless this was going to end up being. Batman would fun his scans and tests and they'd show nothing and then Wally would be annoyed all day because something would happen that they'd need to take care of and he probably wouldn't get to sleep again until tomorrow.

It was a foul injustice really.

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TP: Well, if you felt Wally's pain I'm doing my job, ne? It did actually make me a little sick writing it…so, I figured it was okay for others to see.

Miyosha: I try to work humor into everything, even the depressing stuff, and Wally's snarky mind just makes it so easy…

Mechante: John comes to Wally's aid sometimes, yeah, but I'd like to think that Wally usually saves himself. Part of what I love about John and Wally is that it's easy to be sarcastic, sweet, fluffy, and dark all at the same time. So yeah, like French fries in the frosty… but they have to be crunchy fries otherwise the effect is lost…

Cherre: No…Clark is never evil. Superman is often annoying/evil, but rarely Clark. Clark is…always of the good. We like Clark, especially the Clark spawned of 'Smallville'. Or we did…not so much lately. Made Lex crazy he did.

Rose: Clark shall suggest it...very carefully, as any would in his situation. And yeah, Wally's pretty much pulling a Bart, only minues the speedforce because the cartoon never mentioned it and far be it for me to bore anyone with ramblings about it, but to be fair Wally did it first way back when. Only again, not with the speedforce. So I guess Wally is pulling a Wally and Bart pulled a modified Wally...or...ugh. Confused myself

And thanks to Moon, Astalder, and Soker.