Hero and thief. They were supposed to be on opposite sides of the law. That should have been enough of a rule to keep. Why was it hard to see that important detail? AU. Three-shot connecting song fic: Let Her Go, Arms, and All of Me.
This is something a little bit new for me that I've been wanting to tackle for forever. Hope it's decent enough. Enjoy! Song by Passenger.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
AN:Edited
Let Her Go
Wally West sat slumped back against his sofa. His shoulders slumped, he twirled his glass, letting his half-lidded eyes watch the tiny remainder of the liquid swish back and forth at the bottom. He eventually sat the cup back on the coffee table with a resounding clink. He stared at the glass for a moment longer before pushing it away.
He had had a hard time lately keeping his head clear and organized. There was so much that seemed to happen all at once, yet maybe it was the realization that made it so. Everyone had dreams that they longed to have come true. As cliché as a Disney movie as that sounded, Wally hoped that at least some of his true desires could last a good while at least. If it didn't take him so long to realize what they were.
He began to recount in his mind what transpired a couple weeks ago…
….
Wally groaned as soon as he exited the police station, his hands rubbing down his face in a mixture of annoyance and boredom. "Could the week be any more uneventful?" He mumbled to himself.
Normally in his line of work as a forensics expert for his hometown police force, one should be happy that no crime scenes had to be investigated for once within the past few weeks. That crime was down and currently non-existent. Well, the red-headed scientist was happy for that news. It just left him with absolutely nothing productive to do. He cleaned his lab multiple times top to bottom and even began helping the bookish secretary in organizing files to help pass the time.
The excruciating slow days at the office weren't the only thing driving Dr. West insane. With no crime, that also meant that the Flash had nothing to take care of. None of his Rogues, not even the ever predicable Captain Cold, bothered to make any sort of appearance. Action within the Justice League was pretty quiet these days as well. It was almost as if all bad guys decided to take a vacation.
"Maybe I should take a vacation," Wally mused to himself, leisurely walking down the large sidewalk. His thoughts of a quick getaway to possibly France for the upcoming weekend filling his mind, he subconsciously began walking towards his favorite little café.
The sound of glass breaking nearby broke the red-head's thoughts. He froze in his spot until an alarm soon sounded after. With a grin, the young man hurried to an alleyway and pulled out a ring. In a blur, he donned the red spandex uniform of the Flash. He wasted no time hurrying to the scene of the theft.
….
Wally slumped back further on the sofa and closed his eyes. It didn't take long for her to appear behind his closed eyelids. He groaned and rubbed his eyes. He couldn't understand why she was always on his mind. How did she end up forever in his thoughts in the first place? Why was he such an idiot in thinking that it could ever work out?
….
As soon as he arrived and barely began to observe the outside of the museum, a familiar figure in orange and black expertly emerged from the newly broken window. Flash watched grinning as she stepped out with lightness and barely cracking the already broken glass on the ground. Behind her long blonde braid, a crossbow sat stationed on hooks of the back of her outfit. On her makeshift utility belt, which would make any of the Batfamily almost proud, a shimmering golden gauntlet was securely fastened at her waist.
"Just when I thought the night couldn't get any more fun, the Flash shows to liven it up."
Flash's grin widened as his thief spoke those words without even bothering to acknowledge his presence. She gingerly tightened the stolen gauntlet before looking up at him, a smirk grazing her features.
When she first showed up in his city, their greetings would start similar to this. The more often she showed up for little petty thefts that in the end wasn't worth hardly much, he began to wonder if she was only doing these to taunt him.
"So you do admit that I'm fun." He replied back with ease. "Here I was worrying that I was the only one enjoying our little rendezvous, Tigress."
Tigress raised an eyebrow in response, not fully losing her smirk. "Certainly. Who else can be a dependable and willing target to entertain my boredom?"
Flash caught sight of the glimmering silver darts that flew in his direction a full second before they had a chance to penetrate his skin. He swerved away and back in time to see the long blonde braid whipping behind a blur of orange and black as Tigress took off the other direction.
….
Wally stared up at the ceiling in the unlit room. The darkness gave him a similar empty feeling that he was feeling in himself. He felt incomplete; that something important was missing in his life. He faced back down to the ground, his face in his hands. Of course he knew what was missing. Something that gradually developed and once he realized what that was, it leaped from his grasp. Faster than his speedy reflexes could try to recapture it.
….
Flash waited a moment before smiling and taking up the chase. He found his thief scaling up a fire escape to the rooftop. The speedster studied the outside of the building with a furrowed brow. Taking a few steps back, he then sped up and focused climbing up the building with his speed. His green eyes went wide with surprise as he actually pulled it off. Before his victory could be claimed though, he looked down in a brief panic as his feet had yet to reach back down to the firm ground. He stumbled in a graceless roll to stand back up in front of her, doing his best to brush off and act like nothing happened.
"Smooth," Tigress sarcastically replied, a hand on her hip. "Didn't realize you were so eager to catch up that you were keen to learn how to fly."
"I can be full of surprises," He shot back. Flash sped around to get behind her and retrieve the gauntlet. Her dark grey eyes darted to the side following his blur as she pulled out a small knife from her belt. She threw it instantly before he had a chance to reach her side, the blade grazing across his arm and tearing a small part of his uniform and lightly piercing the skin. He grimaced at the faint sting before the pain was gone just as quickly.
Having stalled his movements, Tigress cocked her head to the side and gave a glance at the tiny cut already beginning to heal. "You're too predictable," She retorted back.
Flash narrowed his eyes in response before moving in to try again. He switched sides back and forth to disorient her enough to grab the stolen item. She matched his every move in defense.
"I'd have to give you thanks for pushing me to be faster." She paused, smirking once again. "Or are you just getting slower?"
"Only when I want to prolong our time together, beautiful," Flash blinked, trying to comprehend the words that managed to escape his mouth before he even thought them. Tigress seemed to have a faster reaction time as she immediately back up her defense and proceeded to spar against him. Either that or she bluntly ignored his previous comment.
….
Wally struggled to sleep anymore. Whenever he seemed to, she was always there invading his dreams. Taunting him. Teasing him. Leaving him feeling worn every time he awoke to find that she was never there. Never to touch and never to keep. Perhaps he dove into his feelings for her too much that it drove her away.
….
When there was a short distance between them, he cleared his throat to dissuade the previous comment, making himself focus on his task as a hero. "I can't let you get away this time, Tigress,"
She narrowed her eyes at the challenge. With swift movements, she threw handfuls of darts in his direction. Leaving him to deal with avoiding the multiple projectiles, she pulled out her crossbow and shot an arrow with a line across the rooftops. She snapped her bow on the thick line. Before jumping, she called back tauntingly, "I'd like to see you try to catch me, Kid Flash."
Flash glared at the young woman now landing on the rooftop of the next building. She certainly was a sly one, taking a good guess at his old name. She must have been studying him and figured out his days as the sidekick years ago to his current persona as his Uncle retired a few years back. Not to be deterred, he rushed over to the opposite side of the building before taking a running start to leap across to hers. He slid across the surface of the cement rooftop.
Tigress turned, slightly taken back of his pushed determination and perfect landing this time. She smirked. She then reached behind for her crossbow to pull out another line arrow to shoot across too late. He caught up to her, holding her arms to restrict further movements as she tried to wiggle out of his grip. Unconsciously, he pulled her closer to meet inches away from her face.
In a soft, yet firm voice, he replied, "I believe I already caught you…" Flash trailed off, his eyes softening a tad as he found himself staring into her eyes. "And I don't want to let you go."
Her playful smile nearly disappeared as she saw the look in his eyes. She completely stilled her movements and stared back at him in utter shock.
….
Wally felt like he never met anyone else like her. She was unique. She was challenging. She was wonderful. She was everything to bring the brightness into his life. But she was all that he wasn't. They ran on opposite sides of the law. How could he possibly want to be with her when he needed to learn to let her go?
….
"I can't let you go." He clarified with finality, now giving in. He knew for the longest time that he enjoyed the challenge against this thief that always managed to get away from him almost every time. That growing desire to catch her must have slowly developed into something more.
Tigress' eyes widened as she pulled away from him, understanding his meaning. He loosened his grip, yet not enough to completely let her go. She looked down at his hands before moving her eyes back up to meet his.
"You have to," She whispered. After a long moment, her expression changed to a firm one as she stood up bold. "Even though it has been fun, we can't keep playing this game with each other."
"It became more than a game to me a long time ago." He blurted out. He froze at his once again big mouth. He found himself changing his grip to a more tender one as he began to comprehend his own feelings. Perhaps he had fallen for her.
Tigress must have felt the change as she focused to keep her expression as emotionless as possible. She couldn't help the minor slip up of demeanor as she lightly bit her bottom lip in apparent nervousness.
"You of all people should know that I really am no good for anyone. You'll only risk putting yourself in hot water for even thinking about me, especially in this way." Her expression became completely firm as she glared at him, her hands nearly tightening into fists. "Now, let go."
"I can't do that now," He whispered, ignoring the stolen item and finding himself lost in her eyes. Her stormy eyes staring back at his bright green ones with so many unspoken things hidden in their depths.
Without warning, Tigress twisted his arms, causing him to grimace and release her completely. She punched him in the gut, leaving him keeling over and staring back at her in disbelief.
"You need to let me go," She managed out in a quiet voice. She then got away, leaving him awe-struck of what exactly transpired to that unexpected moment and revelation between them.
….
Wally couldn't seem to go anywhere anymore without being numb and misplaced. He wanted to be rid of this strong desire. To truly get Tigress out of his mind. She was right; she really was no good for him. It was about time that he realized that instead of all this moping around and longing.
Wally stared out the window at the night sky, lost in the stars. His shoulders once again slumped as he leaned against the window frame. Who was he kidding? How was he supposed to learn to let her go if he was already falling in love with her?
Part one of three complete. Review please!