"Cradle me, I'll cradle you
I'll win your heart with a woop-a-woo
Pulling shapes just for your eyes
So with toothpaste kisses and lines
I'll be yours and you'll be..."
– The Maccaabees, Toothpaste Kisses
Linda kicked off her shoes before unzipping her shift dress and letting it drop to the floor, pulling down her tights she wandered to her bedroom. It was only until she had yanked on a pair of sweatpants and drifted back into the kitchen cum living room, flipping the light switch as she did so, that she noticed it. Linda screamed – there affixed to the fridge was a note. It wasn't something from Tina, her cleaner, secured by a small magnet. The note appeared to have very little writing on it. In fact, it wasn't the note, per say, that had elicited such a reaction from the reporter; it was what had been used to ensure the scrap of paper stayed in plain site on the fridge. Taking careful, hesitant steps towards the fridge Linda reached out with a shaking hand. Her fingers eventually came into contact with smooth, black metal; fighting the urge to pull back her hand she tightened her grip. Tugging slightly Linda freed the black object from the fridge and with that the piece of paper fluttered to the floor, coming to rest against the cool tiles. Picking it up Linda skimmed over the few words that had been typed out in block capitals. There was no mistaking their intention.
'Do. Not. Say. Anything. If you do – I'll know.'
Linda swallowed, her eyes sliding from the note to the object held loosely in her other hand. The strange metal lines and contours were unmistakable; more myth and legend than truth, but there was no denying where the strange object had originated. Gotham City, the individual that had placed it in her double bedroom flat – Batman.
Linda sat down and tried to breath, the paper shook as her hands trembled with a mixture of emotions. Obviously, thanks to the League, Batman and Wally worked together but did the vigilante have to go to such extremes to ensure she didn't say anything? Linda looked back down at the note, if Wally trusted her then so should Batman. Talk about paranoid – or maybe it was protective? The reporter fought back a giggle; it was all too surreal. Batman, the dark, mysterious and ever elusive protector of Gotham City had been in her apartment – Linda shuddered. Glancing over her shoulder she sent her windows a cursory glance only turning back to the kitchen when she was satisfied that there was no risk of a caped vigilante crashing through the glass. Batman had sent her a semi-threatening note, surely this meant something? Surely he would only deign it fit to threaten a civilian if there was a good chance they'd be sticking around.
Four hours earlier
The Watchtower was ablaze with light and humming with activity – a veritable beacon of hope and strength in space. Several heroes were jostling down the winding corridors, all of them with their various tasks and missions to complete. Or having come back from assignment they were heading towards their home away from home on the space station. Doing his best to stay focused Wally strolled down a relatively empty corridor, he only had to clock two more hours for the week and he'd be done. It wasn't that he didn't like heroing with League but any significant time he spent away from Central City and things began to play on his mind.
"Flash." The voice that sounded behind him was unmistakable. Low and gravely, the patented growl known to make the hardest criminals shake at the knees.
"Uh... Hi Bats." Wally replied, turning on his heels his hand rose in a half greeting.
"Come with me."
Shit. What did Batman want? He'd purposely avoided Diana in the lunch line, he'd done all the shifts that were required of him and he'd been really good with the Javelins recently. No scratches or accidental missile deployment resulting in the destruction of high tech computer wizardry.
"Oh, well I kind of have this thing..." Wally began, thankful his lenses hid the fact that he was looking directly over Bruce's... Batman's shoulder. Not that the lenses really mattered, the Dark Knight always knew.
"Now." There was a definite finality to his tone and its effect was instantaneous, the smile Wally had half-heartedly worn disappearing in less than a blink of an eye.
"Ok." Wally nodded, his eyes fixed to the train of Batman's cloak as it swished round a corner. Ducking into one of the many rooms that dotted the hallway Wally internally flinched. Whatever Bruce had in store for him was not good. Without paying heed to his surroundings Wally bumped into the broad figure of Batman. The Flash chuckled nervously, his voice travelling up an octave, as he quickly sprung backwards. Well tried to spring backwards, they were in what appeared to be a janitor's closet, a very small and dark janitors closet.
"Uh... Bats?" Wally questioned, doing his best to keep his voice level when all he wanted to do was call for Diana or Clark to come to the rescue. Something tall and invulnerable between him and Bruce was very much desirable. When they were all out of the cupboard that is; he doubted Clark could fit, well maybe he could if Wally pressed himself... The speedster suppressed a shudder. Batman had still yet to reply but he appeared to be fiddling with some sort of console embedded in the wall, within seconds a grainy picture flickered to life on the small LCD screen.
"Care to explain this?" Batman questioned, his voice characteristically devoid of any warmth.
Wally frowned; there was a picture of him at the recent Civic Centre opening.
"It's a press conference?" the Flash offered.
"Cute." Bruce's deadpan sounded 10 times as worse in the small confines of the cupboard. "Why did Linda Park jump to your defence?"
A strange gurgling noise could be heard from the back of Wally's throat. "Defence? I wouldn't call that defence..."
Batman didn't say anything, his eyes narrowing the only sign of his displeasure. Quite suddenly the picture skipped through several frames only to land on a close up of the Flash, looking distinctly relieved.
"She must have felt bad for me..."
"No reporter would risk their editor coming down on them and possibly taking away any serious future work just to make you feel better." Batman growled, the dim light provided by the screen in the cupboard only serving to heighten the intimidation factor. "Well, unless they're a little bit more invested than the ordinary journalist." Bruce stepped forward fractionally, his entire frame dominating Wally's vision.
"Ok... ok." Wally frantically whispered, "We've been seeing each other and at the time she knew who I was, only I didn't know she knew... I know that she knows now because she told me and funny thing – she might have figured a couple more of the League's IDs..."
"Like who?" a deadly silence fell about the two as Wally audibly gulped.
"Uh GL's, Vixen's..." Wally petered off. "Yours?"
"What?" Batman's voice was so low that it seemed to reverberate around his cavernous chest.
"Well, not really. Just – a crazy guess."
"Did you confirm her suspicions?"
"About you? No!" Wally exclaimed, his arms lifting to protect his head from any of the blows Batman was about to deal him.
"Good."
Despite the close confines of the cupboard Batman still managed to sweep away, leaving Flash slumped against the door.
Now
Night had long fallen on Central City and the skyline was a mass of twinkling lights. Taking another slug of smooth, pinot noir Linda heaved a sigh; she was half way through her second glass of wine and waiting for the arrival of her boyfriend. Glancing down at her watch the intercom sounded, resisting the urge to dash to the door with a large smile plastered across her face, Linda rose from her sofa and with much aplomb breezed towards the door. In what seemed like seconds Wally West was standing in her kitchen looking very much like the family dog after it had done a doo doo in the guest bedroom.
"I'm sorry..." he quickly blurted out, his hand rubbing the back of his neck as his cheeks coloured.
"For what?" Linda questioned as she poured him a glass of wine.
"For Bats..." Wally muttered.
"Oh, well. I didn't see him or anything," Linda offered, before taking another swig of her drink, not quite believing her own press.
"I didn't mean for him to know, he just deduced it." Wally shrugged apologetically, "He pretty much figured out all of the Original Seven's identities"
"And where I live..." Linda whispered, a burgeoning respect for the mysterious figure beginning to intermingle with her previous felt terror.
"He's kind of good that way – it's his thing."
"His thing?" Linda inquired, piqued.
"Yeah, like Supes has apple pie and the American Way. Bats is all about putting the fear of God up you and then some. Real dark and twisty."
"Do you think he knows we're having this conversation right now?" Linda breathed, wide eyed.
"All those omni words?" Wally waited for Linda to nod her head in acknowledgement. "Yeah, they might as well be describing him."
"Doesn't that get to you?" Linda asked, before pulling Wally towards the sofa.
Wally gulped, "Would you believe me if I said no?"
"Mm, probably not." Linda smiled.
Having eaten dinner and consumed a large quantity of wine the couple lay sprawled out across Linda's bed as her TV flickered in the corner, resting her head against the speedster's shoulder Linda breathed in deeply. Freshly laundered clothes and soap just about the best combination you could smell on guy and Wally seemed to have adopted it for his signature scent. Snuggling into him further she sighed, her mind wandering ever so slightly.
"How fast can you go?" Linda questioned, her eyes half closing as she mumbled into Wally's worn tee shirt.
"Pretty fast,"
"That's not an answer," the reporter frowned, trying to sit up and look the red head in the eye.
"Well light speed I guess..." Wally offered, shrugging ever so slightly, thoughts of the Speed Force being roughly pushed to one side.
Linda nodded, "Light speed. You can reach a speed that I have absolutely no concept of... that's fast. It's like trying to think of the universe as infinitely large and continually expanding. I have no reference point."
"Well, you think you hear stuff pretty instantaneously right? But in a race you always see the smoke before the gun sounds."
Linda's fingers curled around the worn cotton of Wally's top, as her forehead creased once more. "How do you come back? What stops you from running off and never coming home?"
The speedster swallowed heavily, "I don't know, I've only pushed myself that fast once before and I nearly got lost. See, there's this thing called the Speed Force and that's what makes me quick. If Shayera and the rest of the team hadn't been there when I went in there's no telling if I would have found my way out."
"Do you think it could happen again?" Linda's voice grew more insistent as her finger's grip increased further still.
Wally smiled, temporarily lost in a memory. "Uncle Barry always used to talk about us riding the lightning..."
"Riding the lightning?" Linda reiterated.
"Yeah..." Wally sighed, struggling to find the right words. "Lightning always strikes the earth when there's a conductor. I'm always going to find my way home if there's a lightning rod to guide me. If I have you."
Linda released the breath she hadn't been aware she was holding. Her fingers loosening their grip on Wally's shirt and finding his warm and comforting hand. The two stared at one another for a moment before they were irresistibly drawn together, meeting in lovers' kiss.
The End
A/N: So a little short guys but I wanted to wrap things up. Also I really couldn't help myself - I had to bring in the lightning rod thing. Anyway, thanks for sticking with me and thanks to all of those who have reviewed, its really appreciated. So for the last time, I hope you liked it and let me know what you think :)