Barry was quiet for a while, waiting for Wally to speak. Once he had said what he needed to, the man walked over and lightly put a hand on Wally’s shoulder. “I know it’s hard, Wally…” Barry spoke quietly. “Clark can literally move mountains; Bruce broods with his boys; Diana provides voices of reason to everyone. You and I, though? We’re the ones that always come off like we have everything figured out – always joking around, keeping things lighthearted. We don’t know what to do when the world turns on us. You fell into petty crimes; I ran into the one place the world couldn’t get to me.” Barry spoke, trying to provide any sort of comfort he could muster for the other.
“I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I know it had to have been horrible for someone like you to lose your way. Listen to me though, really listen,” Barry stated and moved to stand in front of Wally – placing hands on both his shoulders now. “I swear to you; swear on my mother’s grave; that I will never abandon you like that, ever again. You are my family and running from my family is the worst mistake I’ll ever make.” He stated with a quiet frown.
He suddenly dropped his hands and took several steps back from him. “So, hit me. Let out all of your pent up frustration and anger. I’ll recover and maybe it’ll help you to take it out on someone that’s wronged you, before it eats you up and sends you spiraling somewhere worse than car jacking.”
Wally shifted his jaw behind closed lips. It was true—the two of them had always been the heroes to bring levity to a situation. Instead of acting with the seriousness that most issues probably deserved, they made jokes. They made it seem like it wasn’t the end of the world—even if it was. That kind of optimism was difficult to maintain for a long period of time, especially when in the face of that optimism, things only seemed to be getting worse, not better. He took a slight step back, just enough to shake Barry’s hands from his shoulders, but he had obviously calmed somewhat. Barry still wasn’t getting it. “I didn’t become a criminal to run away,” he replied. “I didn’t have another choice. That’s the difference here, Barry.”
“You can swear all you want, but the fact is still there that you disappeared on purpose. I’m not just going to be able to forgive you for that. I need time.” Wally sighed heavily. “But I don’t want to fight you anymore. I’m tired of it and I need you around.” He had never been afraid to admit that he needed other people, but it seemed especially painful to say that to Barry. Maybe it was because he was realizing now that without Barry around, everything had gotten exponentially worse. He was still just a kid.
Wally scoffed. “I don’t want to hit you anymore, Barry,” he said. “I’m tired. I want to go home. I don’t want to think about any of this anymore.” He folded his arms over his chest, holding onto his upper arms with stiff fingers. “I just want to go home.”