Title: Stepping Up Past Expectation.
Chapter: One. Three Weeks.
Word Count: 1,192
Pairings: None.
Summary: Three weeks after Barry's funeral Wally takes up the Flash mental with Iris' pushing.

It's been three weeks. Three weeks, twenty-one days, five hundred and four hours, thirty thousand two hundred and forty seconds, one million eight hundred fourteen thousand four hundred seconds.

Wally West lived in seconds but he wished he lived in weeks because it's been three weeks since they buried his uncle. The hours seemed to drag on, ever minute being hit by the fact his uncle was dead. Sometimes he wonders if he didn't live seconds if things would hurt this bad? If he'd be reminded this often of his death? Sometimes he wished time wasn't so slow.

It's only been three weeks and Wally is pushing himself to stand on his own two feet again.

He's going onto patrol today but not as Kid Flash.

He's been talking with his aunt lately and they both agree that Central needs a Flash. That the heroes that the League has been sending in to help with the Rogues aren't doing a proper job. The Rogues are use to fighting speed-demons and these slow pokes the League are sending in just aren't cutting it. They're causing more damage with the battles than the Rogues are doing on their own.

Wally knows the League is just waiting for him to pull himself together. They want him to take up the Flash mantle even with how slow he is. They want to hide the fact that the second Flash died. It's evident in the fact that when news reporters ask the League about the Flash's absent and the surprising amount of Leaguers in the Twin Cities they simply answer that the Flash is away on a cross-galaxy mission.

It kills Wally every time he hears that. He understands it. He understands what the death of a Leaguer can be seen as, how it would invite villains into the city but it was killing him. As if they thought they could just wipe away Uncle Barry's Legacy as the Flash.

It kills Wally but it brakes Iris because she understands too. And Wally would do anything to make the smile on his aunt's lips to reach her eyes again.

They understand, even agree with their tactic but Wally has other plans and Iris just wants everything her husband worked for not to perish. Barry worked day and night to protect this city and he loved every minute of it. Iris smiles when Wally enters her house and Wally is almost fooled into thinking there is something in her eyes this time. Almost.

He's been staying over at her house more often than not so that she's not alone, so he isn't alone, but had gone home last night to tell his parent's what he's planning on doing. They don't agree but understand they simply don't understand. They also know that Wally is eighteen today; they can't stop him.

Iris spent all night altering one of Barry's costumes to fit Wally's lanky form. While he's the same height as her husband now Wally is still rather lean. She hands him the costume gingerly and he takes it with the same care before walking up the stairs to the spare bedroom which he uses when he stays. Iris doesn't follow, in fact she leaves to go to work unable to stay now that she's handed over the precious reminder of Barry. She's gone with a few tears and on the TV without a smile but clear eyes twenty minutes later.

Wally takes those twenty minutes and more to put on the suit. He doesn't use his speed. He can't. Memories wash over him as he removes his clothes. Memories pound into him as he slips his legs into suit. He takes his time soaking in those memories, those dreams of his uncle. He's crying by the time he slips on the shoes. When he draws the cowl up five minutes later his eyes are clearer than they've been in a long time. Determination shines. He'll be everything he can be and more just to live up to his uncle's shadow. He'll continue pushing himself even when he's at the brink because the city deserves a hero, Barry deserves a successor, Iris deserves peace and Wally deserves a restful night sleep.

A deep breath and then Wally is moving. And he hasn't moved like this since Zoom killed Barry. He hasn't even thought about moving like this again since the funeral where Iris realizes the city needs a hero, a proper hero as she watches a few of the civvies dressed Leaguers disappear to attend to Mirror Master running around downtown.

He doesn't even have to think to move this fast, it's all muscle memory. He doesn't but he does because he'd rather think of moving than the pain this is bringing up.

The city is a lit with excitement to have their hero back and it shows on their faces as he passes them. They don't even notice he's not Barry.

Twenty minutes in and Captain Cold shows up. It takes Wally three minutes to get invested into the battle and Cold might have noticed something was up if Wally didn't sock him in the mouth just then.

There is ice all along the street and up one side of the building to Wally's left. Cold is looking up at Flash as if he's never seen him disarmed with the city's police coming in to take him away, but Wally isn't looking at Leonardo. He's frozen to the spot looking past Cold to see himself reflected in the ice.

He looks like the Flash. He can't even tell he's smaller than Uncle Barry.

A police lieutenant walks up past his men taking Cold away and places a hand on Flash's shoulder. Wally tares his eyes away and looks at the smiling man. "Good to have you back, Flash."

Wally can't force himself to smile, his brow still furrowed he simply nods. The lieutenant seems surprised but doesn't say anything or rather he doesn't get a chance to because a voice catches Wally's attention and he simply isn't there anymore.

There are two news stations covering Cold's latest attempt one is Iris West and the other is a woman Wally knows as Justine Walker. Iris looks back to see the man in red. When their eyes catch she goes silent mid-sentence and he knows why.

He really does look like Flash. He looks like Barry.

And for that moment Iris almost forgets her husband is dead. For that moment Iris isn't hurting. But then she remembers and it hurts all over again. When did Wally - oh, when did the Flash get that close to her?

"Iris." Wally whispers as he wraps her arms around the falling woman in front of the cameras. He'll need those in a moment, but Iris comes first. She'll always come first. Barry always put her first.