[ wally slumps against the wall of block five after rob cuts the feed, more emotionally exhausted than physically, but it's still a bit of both. the last thing he remembers is going all in, risking it all on one last mission — emphasis on last. rob knew it from the beginning, but of course wally had been ever the optimist and for what? he'd just been deluding himself into thinking they could actually make a difference against an enemy that literally vaporized everyone he ever knew and ever loved. they couldn't win, and rob knew that. ]
[ he thinks he actually understands what the borg meant when they said resistance is futile. but even if they hadn't resisted, they would have ended up just like artemis, just like kaldur and conner and everyone else — just as dead and gone. instead, they went out in a blaze of glory, knowing damn well they weren't going to make it out alive — and that's all wally can see behind his eyelids. it's all he can feel every time he lets his mind wander, the heat searing his skin from his bones, every cell in his body on fire. ]
[ but he sees rob, too, can feel the warmth of his hand clasped around his own, the last lifeline in a cloud of smoke and flame, and it's enough. it's all he's ever really needed; in his final moments, there isn't anything else he'd rather have but rob right next to him, hands gripped tight so they don't lose each other when there's nothing left but emptiness and whatever lies beyond. wally knows haven isn't the afterlife, but it's after his life now, even though part of him still questions how he can be dead and still have a future with the rest of the team. it doesn't make sense; there was no possible way they would have ever made it out of that mothership alive. even with an infinite number of alternate timelines, wally's fairly sure that would've been the only possible outcome. ]
[ it's rob's voice that jolts him out of his thoughts and he's on his feet faster than a speeding bullet. (okay, probably not actually that fast, but the point remains.) it's instinct, calling out rob's name, there's no second thought or even really a first thought, it's just a reflex to hearing his own name, the way rob sounds panicked — and, if wally's being honest, he's a little panicked, too. ] Rob! [ he even doesn't care that his voice cracks, because rob is close, so close, and he doesn't even have to speed to get to him, he just breaks out into a normal run and barrels into his best friend, arms wrapped tight around rob's shoulders. he sniffs in an attempt to hold back his tears, but it's a futile effort. his voice sounds choked when he finally manages a few words while attempting to laugh at how pathetic he's being. ] Hey, dude.
action.
[ he thinks he actually understands what the borg meant when they said resistance is futile. but even if they hadn't resisted, they would have ended up just like artemis, just like kaldur and conner and everyone else — just as dead and gone. instead, they went out in a blaze of glory, knowing damn well they weren't going to make it out alive — and that's all wally can see behind his eyelids. it's all he can feel every time he lets his mind wander, the heat searing his skin from his bones, every cell in his body on fire. ]
[ but he sees rob, too, can feel the warmth of his hand clasped around his own, the last lifeline in a cloud of smoke and flame, and it's enough. it's all he's ever really needed; in his final moments, there isn't anything else he'd rather have but rob right next to him, hands gripped tight so they don't lose each other when there's nothing left but emptiness and whatever lies beyond. wally knows haven isn't the afterlife, but it's after his life now, even though part of him still questions how he can be dead and still have a future with the rest of the team. it doesn't make sense; there was no possible way they would have ever made it out of that mothership alive. even with an infinite number of alternate timelines, wally's fairly sure that would've been the only possible outcome. ]
[ it's rob's voice that jolts him out of his thoughts and he's on his feet faster than a speeding bullet. (okay, probably not actually that fast, but the point remains.) it's instinct, calling out rob's name, there's no second thought or even really a first thought, it's just a reflex to hearing his own name, the way rob sounds panicked — and, if wally's being honest, he's a little panicked, too. ] Rob! [ he even doesn't care that his voice cracks, because rob is close, so close, and he doesn't even have to speed to get to him, he just breaks out into a normal run and barrels into his best friend, arms wrapped tight around rob's shoulders. he sniffs in an attempt to hold back his tears, but it's a futile effort. his voice sounds choked when he finally manages a few words while attempting to laugh at how pathetic he's being. ] Hey, dude.