https://archiveofourown.org/works/53714242/chapters/197949546
Nightwing & Red Hood: Snow Birds
Robin Spotter (robinspotter)
Chapter 30: Stand Up Guys
⬒⬓⬒⬓⬒ The Backyard Roadhouse ⬒⬓⬒⬓⬒
After leaving the restaurant, Dick and Wally stepped away from the glow of the crowded parking lot, trudging along a fresh-looking yet poorly repaired sidewalk that was still cracked and uneven. They slowly wandered their way into a nearly deserted strip mall to talk. The scent of the steakhouse lingered in the night air, now mingled with diesel from the nearby truck stop. When Wally finally indicated that he was ready to talk, Dick sank down onto a brick retaining wall and waited for him to spill whatever it was that he wanted to say.
With his hands in his pockets, Wally rocked back and forth on his feet, never quite able to be still. “As I was saying, the reason I wanted to talk to you was about the whole Mirage thing.”
Mirage thing?
“I just can’t get it out of my head; something about it really bothers me.”
Dick looked at Wally as if he’d lost the plot entirely.
“You’re giving me that look again, Robby.” Wally said slowly, looking down at him from his standing position as if he could peer into his skull. “Like you have no idea what I’m saying even though I clearly talked to you about this at the apartment before the attack at the docks.”
Just then Dick was glad that he’d chosen to relieve his legs of their burden. He braced his hands on the edge of the wall and leaned forward a little. He glanced over past his friend to a large for-rent sign that had been erected near the lot entrance; underneath it read, ‘Fill Our Empty Space With Your Dreams.’ Although he knew what the intent of the message was, somehow it hit him strangely.
Empty space?
Dreams?
So many memories had come unbidden since he’d gotten his memory back. But now because of the recalls, he had blank spaces where memories should be and were not.
So frustrating!
