I don't own anything except my original/own characters and my original plot. Also, the beginning of this is loosely based off of Time from Collateral Beauty and I don't own that either.
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Chapter 15 - Time
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TIME.
Love is creation. Death is the end. Time is what's in between. The marker between the end and the beginning.
What does that time mean? The trip, the journey, time. What is perhaps the most taken advantage of thing ever. Einstein said that time is an illusion. That he could be late, or everyone else could be early. But he was wrong. Time gives legitimacy to existence. Inches, miles, meters, none of it was real, it was a farce made by humans to put on a value on distance. Time is the only true measurement. Without time, we don't exist.
Six days, twenty hours, thirteen minutes, and twenty-four seconds. That was the measurement stuck in my mind, the clock that refused to stop ticking. It was flashing in front of my eyes, on my sheets, on my doors. Everywhere I looked I was being taunted by my lack of time.
I looked at the two small fires in front of me. Candles. A one and a six. Lit for my birthday. I spent a few seconds staring at each of the flickering flames. Seconds that I couldn't get back, no matter how hard I fought, they slipped through my fingers like grains of sand.
"Make your redo wish," Dick encouraged.
I wish I could meet my family.
That was my first wish. The note I got as a child said someone would be coming for me on my sixteenth birthday. I never believed it, and that was why I made my wish. Only, it came true with disastrous results. I wished now for the ability to take my previous wish back, or even better, for more time.
Leaning down, I blew out the candles, smiling as everyone clapped. M'gann cut the cake and passed it out on cute paper plates with animals all over them, bought at the store along with the cake.
The cake was delicious, similar to Wally's but a different flavor. Sure, it was a normal store-bought sheet cake picked up from the local store, but the situation made it better. This time, I had the biggest piece instead of Wally.
"Oh look at that, it's like it's my birthday," I held up the plate in front of Wally's face, smirking evilly as his eyes followed it as I taunted him, "I get the biggest piece this time. I might even have another piece as big as this."
"You villain," Wally hissed, stabbing his own team.
"Can't change the way you're raised," Conner added in.
Finishing my piece and, to Wally's relief, not having a second one, the team insisted we move on to the presents. Being pushed onto the couch, M'gann dropped one in my lap, claiming it was from her and Conner.
Pulling the tissue paper out of the bag, I pulled out a basket titled 'The Earth Life Starter Kit', consisting of books, TV show DVDs, and gift cards. Aqualad was next, giving me a lifetime supply of sketch pads and pencils. Artemis handed me a new pair of billy sticks, sleek and deadly. Wally's consisted of several figurines of famous world landmarks, crafted with plastic and glass alike.
"That's from me and Bats," Dick spoke up as I unwrapped a square-shaped present.
Pulling away the last of the wrapping paper I opened the box beneath it. Inside was a graduation hat on top of a picture frame. I put the hat on mockingly, giving me a chance to look at the frame.
"I passed," I whispered, pulling out the other half of my present. My high school diploma. It had my name and everything printed on the front. The most normal thing I owned.
"We had to do a lot of digging, but we found your birth certificate, social security, all of it. That helped us get you that. Bats pulled a few strings too, but it was worth it. You had enough credits to pass."
"I thought you were taking online courses," Conner read the diploma over my shoulder.
"I was always behind in science," I shared a look with Wally, who was holding back laughter at the irony. He was amazing at science, I sucked at it, "So Bats put me in online tutoring. This has been the best birthday ever. Thank you all so much."
Wally sped over and grabbed my hand, "We actually have a present for you guys, sort of. (Y/n) and I are dating!"
M'gann squealed, high fiving a grinning Artemis. They had shipped us since the beginning. Conner slyly passed Dick a twenty who was smirking victoriously. Kaldur nodded in approval, almost proud.
"We knew it would happen when Wally stopped flirting," Kaldur commented, the team reacting with laughter and nods.
"Guys, it's nearly seven on a school night. Some of us have curfews," Dick checked his watch, "Not all of us can graduate early and avoid it entirely."
We said our goodbyes- and goodnights to M'gann and Conner- and before long it was just me and Wally in front of the zeta-tubes. I hugged him tightly. Six days, nineteen hours, forty-six minutes.
"Thanks for tonight, for everything. You really changed my life," I blinked back my tears. He couldn't know how upset I was. He was intuitive and would know something was off.
"I'm glad you liked it. Don't sell yourself short either, you changed my life too. See you soon babe," Wally kissed my cheek and sped off.
I sighed, watching the zeta-tubes power down for the night. Time was so different for Wally, everything was slow in his fast-paced world I wished my time could be like that, where a minute could feel like an hour.
Passing by the living room, I flicked my wrist so shadows could carry my presents to my room. All of them were unique and personal from the team, I just got them and I held them dear.
When I entered my room, I changed into my Kid Flash pajamas, both my favorite and the comfiest pair of PJs. I brushed my teeth and ran a brush through my hair before walking to the bed and getting in.
"ALICE, what do humans do when they don't have a lot of time left?" I asked. The AI didn't count as a person and I could order her not to tell anyone, so it was easy to confide in her.
"Humans call them bucket lists, Miss. Lists of things they wish to accomplish before the inevitable."
I leaped out of bed, grabbing a marker and a piece of paper. I titled it and wrote down the first things that came to my mind. Things I thought I'd have time to do. I got through three before blanking. My gaze wandered to the figurines Wally got me and I got a new overall idea. I added that.
"What do you think I should add, ALICE?"
"Well..."
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What I'm Going To Do Before I Have To Leave
1. Go swimming in the ocean
2. Fly
3. Kiss at sunset
4. Add a lock to the Love Lock Bridge
5. Get a tattoo
6. Ballroom dance to Tale as Old as Time
7. Dance in the rain
8. Travel the world
9. Let go of a lantern
10. Tell Wally I love him.
I leaned back against my pillows, glowing proudly. Ten wishes I would somehow accomplish with little to no planning, but I would accomplish it one way or another. Five and ten would be the hardest no doubt. I would have to ask Bruce- about everything really- if he would come with me for the tattoo since I wasn't eighteen, and Martian Manhunter so he could mindbend the tattoo artist into thinking he was my guardian.
Most people would think that getting a tattoo at sixteen would be something I would regret, but I wasn't stupid. They were going to be smaller, and something that I could cover up in one way or another. They were going to represent something I loved, something I wouldn't just forget about in a month. I'd rather have something I loved when I was young forever than nothing at all.
As for ten... well, that's something everyone struggles with and was something I wasn't sure about. I wanted him to know I loved him before I left. But if I did, then would I want to leave? To hear him say I love you back would cripple my resolve. Would it break his heart like the situation was breaking mine? I promised Dick I wouldn't hurt him, but I just had to tell him.
Either way, I was going to get through that list no matter the cost, and Wally would be right beside me while I did so.