Wally West with dysthymia. Gen - No warnings apply.
---
The world speeds by, a blurred mass of grey and blue and eventually white. He keeps running, ears ringing with the sound of his feet steadily pounding the ground.
He is the Fastest Man Alive; he is the man who became one with the Speed Force and came back; he is the man rumoured to outrun Death itself.
It's almost funny that he can't run from this.
*
'You're late.' snaps Dr Liew. 'You should have been here twenty minutes ago.'
'Sorry.' He bites his lip and sits. Twiddles his fingers.
She arranges papers. If he cranes his neck he can see the neat lettering: WALLY WEST, it says, humourlessly, and inside? The Illness, scrawled in an illegible hand. It has a smile like Thawne's. Wide, and mocking. A leech that'll suck him dry before it falls off, gorged on everything that he is, and could be. Sometimes it changes into a faceless person, with one of those concerned smiles. You can be happy if you choose to be, it says, reaching out to him.
He remembers that when he finds himself in an alley with an unconscious mugger. The same smile. You can be happy if you choose to be.
*
On a good day, he wakes up. Kisses Linda. Makes breakfast. Goes to work. Excuses himself several times (Bank robbery. Who even does that anymore?). Goes for lunch. Thinks about his place in the universe. Wonders if Grodd's hatching an evil plan. Goes home. Kisses Linda. Sleeps.
On a bad day, he wakes up. Feels like crap. Kisses Linda. Forgets breakfast. Cracks a joke about forgetting breakfast. Still feels like crap. Goes to work. Excuses himself several times (Doc says the meds help, but he feels like crap again after taking them). Goes for lunch. Changes his mind. Watches the sky. Feels like crap. Goes for a quick run. Keeps running. And running. And running.
*
'Taking your medicine?'
'Yes.'
'Any problems?'
'No.'
'How have you been coping?'
'Okay, I guess.'
'Have you told Linda?'
'No.'
Her pen stops abruptly. He continues twiddling his thumbs.
'It's nothing to be ashamed of,' she says.
Your other patients don't need to save the world. Aloud: 'I know.'
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What He Means When He Talks About Running
Date: 2010-07-19 08:53 am (UTC)---
The world speeds by, a blurred mass of grey and blue and eventually white. He keeps running, ears ringing with the sound of his feet steadily pounding the ground.
He is the Fastest Man Alive; he is the man who became one with the Speed Force and came back; he is the man rumoured to outrun Death itself.
It's almost funny that he can't run from this.
*
'You're late.' snaps Dr Liew. 'You should have been here twenty minutes ago.'
'Sorry.' He bites his lip and sits. Twiddles his fingers.
She arranges papers. If he cranes his neck he can see the neat lettering: WALLY WEST, it says, humourlessly, and inside? The Illness, scrawled in an illegible hand. It has a smile like Thawne's. Wide, and mocking. A leech that'll suck him dry before it falls off, gorged on everything that he is, and could be. Sometimes it changes into a faceless person, with one of those concerned smiles. You can be happy if you choose to be, it says, reaching out to him.
He remembers that when he finds himself in an alley with an unconscious mugger. The same smile. You can be happy if you choose to be.
*
On a good day, he wakes up. Kisses Linda. Makes breakfast. Goes to work. Excuses himself several times (Bank robbery. Who even does that anymore?). Goes for lunch. Thinks about his place in the universe. Wonders if Grodd's hatching an evil plan. Goes home. Kisses Linda. Sleeps.
On a bad day, he wakes up. Feels like crap. Kisses Linda. Forgets breakfast. Cracks a joke about forgetting breakfast. Still feels like crap. Goes to work. Excuses himself several times (Doc says the meds help, but he feels like crap again after taking them). Goes for lunch. Changes his mind. Watches the sky. Feels like crap. Goes for a quick run. Keeps running. And running. And running.
*
'Taking your medicine?'
'Yes.'
'Any problems?'
'No.'
'How have you been coping?'
'Okay, I guess.'
'Have you told Linda?'
'No.'
Her pen stops abruptly. He continues twiddling his thumbs.
'It's nothing to be ashamed of,' she says.
Your other patients don't need to save the world. Aloud: 'I know.'
He'll go for a run afterwards.