The Winds Continue: Young Justice, Zephyr Book 2

Chapter 25: Old Friends

I didn't know what to do.

Part of me wanted to dance through the feelings, but I was too pissed off and I knew that I would end up hurting myself.

Part of me wanted to talk to Dinah, but she didn't know what was going on. I had debated for a while whether or not I should completely​ disregard Nightwing's 'no sharing' rule...but my conscience knew better.

I wanted to help M'gann, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to do anything productive while I was this emotional.

So I decided to go to the one person that may have the slightest possibility of what I should do.

I knocked loudly on the door of the Palo Alto apartment. The muffled sound of a large dog barking greeted me, and I moved my hand away, stuffing it in the pocket of the hoodie I had changed into.

The small click of the door being unlocked caught my attention and when the door opened, I was happy to see that he was there.

"Lina? What are you-""I know about the undercover mission Wally."

The ginger's green eyes widened with surprise and he froze for a second before fully opening the door to let me in.

I had helped Artemis and Wally move in when they retired and started school here. I was happy to help my two friends start the new chapter in their lives and, although I hadn't been here since Artemis' 'death', it still felt very familiar.

"How did you find out?" Wally asked as he closed the door. "Did Dick finally tell the team? I've been on his ass since this thing started; if he wasn't going to tell the team and League he should at least tell you..."

"He only told me because Tigress-or, I guess Artemis took Megan. She blasted Kaldur's brain a few missions ago and they probably want her to help." I sighed, dragging my fingers through my hair. "And as worried as I am...I still can't get over it all."

Wally stared at me for a second as I paced, but for the first time since I had met him: he didn't say anything. He simply opened his arms, and stayed still. Without even thinking about it, I just walked straight into his open embrace and he wrapped his arms around me.

It was weird, letting Wally hug me while he was just in a t-shirt and boxer shorts. But the natural warmth the speedster gave off and the familiar scent of beach and freshly backed food brought me comfort. And after a moment, the rage I felt slowly began to fade until it was completely replaced with betrayal, anguish, and sadness.

It felt a lot like the first time I had watched the video Kaldur left before he joined his father. Like suddenly my life had been ripped away and I could do nothing to stop it. I felt hot tears run down my face and I let my body give into the heavy sobs. This wasn't the first time Wally had seen me break down, so I wasn't worried about how I would look.

As Wally simply rubbed my back, I slowly calmed down. I had still angry, but when my emotions ran out I was no longer sobbing uncontrollably.

"Better?" Wally asked, looking down at me. I swiped my eyes and I took a deep breath to calm my heavy breathing. After a long moment, I nodded and Wally gently pulled me away.

"I'm so, so, sorry about this..." I muttered, fiddling with my hair nervously as I avoided Wally's gaze. "Showing up after so long and just...breaking down."

"Don't apologise Lin'." Wally said, rubbing my head and smiling gently. "This whole mission is fucked up and, trust me, I've done my fair share of mental breakdowns."

"You must be so worried about Artemis..." I muttered, my brows furrowed.

Wally gave me a small, sad smile and nodded stiffly before shaking his head. "What about Kaldur? Are you worried about him?"

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair, thinking about what exactly my feelings were. "I...don't know. I think so? It's just...hard to be worried about someone I believed had betrayed my for so long..."

Wally gave me another small hug, making sure I didn't break down again, before pulling back and smiling at me with a hint of mischief in his eyes.

"As much as I love hugging you...I believe I have something that will help a little more..." Wally said, smirking slightly before zooming away. As quickly as he had disappeared, he reappeared with a bottle of...vodka?

"Wally...why do you have a whole bottle of Vodka stored in your apartment?" I asked, giving the ginger speedster suspicious looks. Wally just shrugged in response.

"Not all 21 year olds are boring and never drink, Lina." Wally smirks, opening up the bottle. "You gonna have some?"

I thought for a moment, pondering the choices I had before sighing and grabbing the bottle.

"I am so going to regret this later..." I muttered before taking a swig.

I REGRET NOTHING