The team was on a stakeout at what they assumed to be a hideout for a recently discovered group of villains. Their orders were to get information and try not to blow anything up. Try being the keyword. For some reason, every mission they go on, they either blow something up or cause some massive damage to the area.
Robin stood on the roof, looking down into the building through the glass window. He felt a bit different today than he usually did. He just shrugged it off as the atmosphere and excitement of dispelling a group of new villains.
Kaldur had convinced Red Arrow to come along the mission since he owed the Atlantean a "favour" that no one else questioned. So Artemis and Red Arrow bickered and argued as they scouted out the entrance from the rooftops nearby.
Megan and Conner were waiting by the back of the warehouse, talking about whatever Megan wanted to talk about. Conner was pretty much just nodding and listening, waiting for something exciting to happen, trying to sound like he's interested in her babble.
Kaldur and KF were waiting by the nearby beach. KF squirmed around and sighed, wishing he had went with Robin so he could at least talk to someone less stiff and willing to talk. Kaldur managed to just stand there, arms crossed, waiting quietly and patiently, shooting the occasional 'don't blow our cover' glare over at KF.
The team waited and waited. Hours went by and nothing happened. They were all getting restless and about to give up hope for getting any action when Batman contacted Kaldur. Apparently, the rumours of a new group of villains were just that. Rumours. Kaldur contacted the rest of the team and told them the news. Of course, everyone was just thrilled to know they wasted a night of crime fighting to watch an empty warehouse.
They went back to the Cave for a debriefing of their successful mission. It was considered successful because nothing was destroyed. After a while of talking about how much the mission sucked, they all went home since most of the team had school the next day.
The next day, after school and extracurricular activities, the team met at the Cave. Minus one. Artemis and Conner were arguing about what they were going to watch on TV. Conner wanted to watch 'No Signal' while Artemis wanted to watch some actiony movie. Kaldur was shaking his head at the two, hoping they could come to some conclusion of what to watch before things started to get destroyed.
A red and yellow gust came whooshing by. Then nothing. A few seconds later, it came back only to be gone again. The third time, KF stopped in the middle of the room, looking at the couch. "Hey, any of you see Robin?" He looked to Conner who shrugged and Artemis just turned away with a huff, taking the remote to turn the channel on what she wanted.
"Did you check the training hall?" Kaldur spoke up, glad that their fighting had finally stopped.
"I've checked everywhere." He sighed and sulked. "Man, I was hoping to play some games with him before our next mission."
"Maybe Batman has taken him out to patrol with him?" Kaldur said as he shrugged slightly.
"Ugh. That might take forever though," he whined. Just then, Batman contacted them to tell them of a new mission for them. KF was trying to be patient and listen to what he had to say, but he was worried about his bud. He waited until he decided it would be a perfect time to bring it up. Right as Batman was just telling them the final details before he was going to ask if anyone had any questions. "So, where's Robin?"
The whole team glared at KF and he sunk, rubbing the back of his head. He even felt the glare of Batman from the other side of the screen. "He has other duties," is all Batman would say on that matter.
The team went on the mission, all annoyed at KF while KF was curious what those 'other duties' were. They managed to get finished with it early, so they went back to the Cave to relax and train.
Except for KF. He wanted to know as much as he could about these 'other duties' Batman had spoke about. Of course, he wasn't the best at snooping and didn't manage to find anything out the whole rest of the night. They all went home and continued their routine the next day, minus the boy wonder, again.
After the third day of no Robin, KF was starting to get worried. He had even skipped a couple classes to check up on him at his school. It was a bit hard to do, seeing as he only knew his first name, but after a while of snooping around the school and some very obvious mathlete trophies in the main hall, he was able to find out at least a bit about him. Which is that he hadn't been at school the past few days. He sighed as he left the school. That really wasn't very helpful.
The only way he would be able to find out anything would be to either pry it out of Batman or visit his place. He knew there was no way that Batman would tell him anything more than necessary. He went off to the Cave, still sulking about not knowing anything more than he did before.
Once everyone got to the Cave and started to relax, Black Canary came in to have their weekly training session. She started with Superboy, then went onto Artemis, then was about to go to KF when the computer rang out, announcing Batman. 'Whew, saved by a mission from the Bats.' KF thought as he sighed.
Batman walked up to the group and pointed at KF, motioning him to follow. He looked around nervously and pointed to himself, waiting for Batman to nod. Instead of nodding, he walked over and grabbed KF by the suit, dragging him along. "Come with me. The rest of you, continue training."
Okay, this wasn't normal. Had Batman found out about that crazy night they shared a few weeks ago? Maybe he had found some of the things they used in the bedroom. Thoughts continuously raced through his mind, all of which were leading to different ways of Batman maiming or torturing him for doing impure things to his protege.
Batman stopped dragging as soon as they got to the Batmobile. "Get in." KF did as he was told, not questioning a thing, not wanting to bring up anything in case the intimidating man hadn't known. He swallowed hard and glanced over as Batman got in the drivers seat. "Buckle up." He did and they were off.
It was a very quiet trip. The only sound KF could hear was the sound of his heart racing, wondering what was in store. This had probably been one of the longest times he had been completely silent and still. It didn't seem much like him. Batman could tell as he glanced over at KF. Instead of calming him down, he just continued to drive until they got to the Batcave.
Once inside, he got out and let KF out of the car. He tossed him some civvies. "Get changed."
KF was officially confused, but didn't want to defy orders from the man who could ruin his life and boyfriend's life. He quickly ran off and came back seconds later, changed into normal clothes. "So, uh.. Batman? What are we.. I mean, uh." He stuttered around as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Dick wanted to see you." He said plainly as he walked up to the mansion.
'Dick wanted to see you.' Wait, he said Dick? But, wasn't that supposed to be a secret? He quickly followed after, almost afraid to ask. They got to Dick's room and Batman stopped in front of the door to stare at KF, now dressed as typical Wally West. "Wally. I'll be watching." With that, Batman walked off, cape billowing behind him as he went back the way he came.
'That was strange and creepy,' Wally thought as he turned the handle and stepped in Dick's room. The lights were off and it was quiet. Wally turned on the lights and noticed a lump of covers on the bed. The whole room was pretty clean and all electronics had been turned off. He slowly walked over to the bed and peeked under the covers, not expecting to see anything there but more blankets and pillows.
He was wrong. Under there was a miserable looking Dick Grayson. As soon as the covers were pulled away, he blinked and squinted up to see who was disturbing him. "W-Wal..?" He coughed weakly as tried to sit up.
"Whoa, hey! Just rest." Wally was shocked to see the boy wonder looking so.. well, not himself. He didn't think he had ever known Dick to get sick like this. He wasn't sure he had even seen him get sick at all the whole time he knew him!
Dick grabbed Wally's hand and smiled faintly up at the older boy. His cheeks and face were red and sweaty. He looked like he could barely stay awake. He coughed a bit more and Wally ran a hand through his hair.
"I'll go get you some water." He nodded and ran off, coming back seconds later with a glass of water. He sat next to Dick on the bed and held his head up, letting him slowly sip at the water. After he drank a bit, Wally set the glass on the nightstand next to his bed and ran his hand gently through Dick's sweaty, greasy hair. He could tell the younger boy was enjoying having the company, even if he wasn't saying anything.
It had been a couple minutes since Bruce left Wally there to tend to his friend. He had just bent down to give his boyfriend a kiss on his hot, feverish forehead when Batman came in with a bowl of soup. Wally popped back as if nothing happened. 'No, I didn't try to kiss your ward,' he kept thinking to himself, half hoping Bruce would be able to read his mind. He calmly walked over and set the bowl on the nightstand then said to Wally as he was leaving, "Maybe you can get him to eat."
Wally blinked and stared at the door as it closed then looked over to the bowl of soup. "Well, you heard the man."
He was about to pick up the soup when Batman opened the door again, startling the speedster. "Wally, that soup is for Dick, not you. Remember that." And he was gone as fast as he had entered.
Wally sighed and helped Dick sit up, propping pillows and blankets behind him to keep him up. "Come on, Bats says you've gotta eat." He nodded and picked up the bowl, getting a spoonful of soup. He blew on it a bit then put it toward Dick's mouth. He just glared at Wally, a glare that said, 'there is no way you're feeding me like a baby.' He attempted to cross his arms and look away, managing to get his arms to his stomach and his head tilted away ever so slightly.
Wally grumbled and shook his head. He grinned as a thought came to his mind. "If you don't eat, I won't ever do that again." He wiggled an eyebrow and saw Dick narrow his eyes in thought and anger. After a few seconds, he sighed and turned his head to face Wally, opening his mouth slightly, seductively, licking his lips as he did. If he didn't look so sick, Wally would've been all over him. Before he had a chance to think of anything like that, he shoved the spoon in Dick's mouth.
Dick moaned and looked like he was just forced to eat poison. "It's not that bad is it?" Wally looked at the soup. It didn't look bad, then again, Batman brought it. He shook his head and grabbed another spoonful for Dick to eat. "Come on, it can't be that bad." He reluctantly opened his mouth as Wally shoved the spoon in.
He was able to feed him about half the bowl before Dick refused to eat anymore. He checked the boy's forehead. He was burning up. He actually seemed hotter than before. "You should get some rest now." He helped Dick lay down again and covered him up, brushing the hair out of his face so he could see those bright blue eyes. "I'll be here the whole time." He smiled down into those eyes as they closed. It didn't seem to take him long to fall asleep.
Once he was asleep, Wally took the rest of the soup and quietly made his way to the kitchen with it. He set it on the table and looked around, wondering what to do with it. "You got him to eat," a voice boomed from behind him. He turned around and saw Bruce staring at him and the bowl on the table. "He hadn't eaten in days. He refused to eat anything Alfred or I tried to give him."
Wally stood there and stared at Bruce. 'Did he just.. praise me?' He quickly shook his head. "What's wrong with him? I don't think I've ever seen him that sick."
"At first we thought it was the flu," Bruce started then looked out the window. "Now we're not sure. He had a flu shot, so if it was the flu, it shouldn't be as severe as this." Wally could see a look of worry shoot across the man's hardened face.
'Man, if he's this worried, it must be something bad.' Wally thought as he looked at the bowl of soup on the table. His stomach started to turn as a terrifying thought ran through his mind. He looked to Bruce then asked softly, "Is he going to be alright?"
Bruce placed a hand on the table and stared at the ground, silent for what seemed like forever given the circumstances. He sighed deeply and shook his head, "We aren't sure."
Wally's heart sank as the dread welled up in the back of his throat. He felt like he could barely breathe, like the whole world he knew had turned upside down. This couldn't be happening, this wasn't happening! He pulled out a chair and sat down before his legs gave out beneath him.
Bruce stared at the boy, knowing how much of a blow this must've been to him. Seeing his best friend suffering so much with no way of knowing if he'd be alright or not. "I told Barry you'd be spending the night and briefly explained things.."
Wally didn't hear much after that. He was too worried about his boyfriend and if he was going to be alright. As soon as his mind stopped spinning and his stomach settled a bit, he bombarded Bruce with questions. Most of which he couldn't answer. He told Wally everything he knew.
Bruce had taken Dick to the doctors two days before. They told him they it was probably just the flu and that he should get better in a couple days. They ran some tests, but everything came back negative. They told him that if his condition got worse, then he should be taken to the hospital. When asked what they would do there, they said they would put him on an IV and monitor his condition, running tests to see what they could find. Under normal circumstances, Bruce would take that as Dick faking an illness to get out of something. But there was nothing for him to get out of. There were no tests coming up at school, the missions weren't out of the ordinary, nothing that Dick would usually try to get out of.
After they got back from the doctor, Dick went straight to bed. Bruce checked up on him a while later, expecting him to be up playing games, watching TV or hacking into something on the computer. He was surprised to find a pile in his bed. Assuming he had left, he walked over to the bed and pulled the covers away, revealing a sleeping boy, not the pillows and blankets he expected.
The next day, Bruce went in to check up on his ward. He was still in bed, looking worse than he had the previous day. Bruce had made some chicken noodle soup for him later in the day and tried to get him to eat it. He refused. He asked Alfred to try to get him to eat while he went off and did his hero stuff. Alfred had no luck getting him to eat, but managed to get him to promise to eat if Wally came over.
When Bruce got back, Alfred told him the youth's demands and he agreed. He was weak enough as it is, he didn't need to get worse from hunger.
Wally listened and sighed, mumbling mainly to himself, "Of course the doctors don't care or have a cure." He balled up a hand into a fist and smacked it on the table as he leaned on his other arm, running it through his hair. He was trying his best to keep from crying. He wasn't sure when, but he looked up and saw a sandwich and a glass of milk in front of him. He looked around and Bruce was gone. Next to the sandwich was a note, "Take care of him while I'm gone. I trust you."
Wally quickly ate the sandwich and downed the milk. When he was done, he went to Dick's room to check on him. He was still sleeping. His face had a pained look on it, almost as if he were in a dream he couldn't get out of. Wally walked over and sat next to the bed, gently placing a hand on Dick's hand. His expression seemed to lighten as Wally rubbed his fingers along the back of his hand. He almost started to smile. Wally sighed, relieved at that and stared at him until he, himself, fell asleep.
He woke up from a bright light shining in his eyes from the window. He had been leaning on the bed, holding Dick's hand all night. He lifted his head up to stare at that beautiful face, but it was gone. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, looking around sleepily. He couldn't have gotten far. He stood up and stretched, about to look for him when he heard something in the bathroom. He slowly walked over as the door opened. Dick, wrapped in blankets, paler than he'd ever looked before, staggered out. He took a couple steps closer to the bed and started to fall. Wally ran over and helped him over to the bed, tucking him in after.
"How are you feeling?" Wally asked, already knowing he wouldn't like the answer.
Dick wheezed as he looked up, wrapping the blankets tighter around himself. He said softly, "Bad, dude."
Wally looked like he had been shot. He ran his hand through Dick's wet hair. "Is there anything you need?" He tried his best not to sound worried, but he wasn't as skilled at hiding his emotions as the Bat family was.
Dick weakly pointed to the TV. Wally ran over and turned it on, sitting next to him on the bed. Dick forced himself to sit up enough to see the TV. He leaned his head on the speedster's shoulder, panting from the effort of sitting up. Wally wrapped an arm around him and pulled him closer. They sat and watched TV for around an hour before Wally heard a soft snore come from the body next to him. He gently set the boy down and quietly left the room.
He couldn't just let Dick suffer like that! He grabbed a notebook and pen then sat in the kitchen, quickly scribbling different things down. He was planning on finding a cure for whatever it was that Dick had, no matter what it took.
For the next few days, Wally barely slept and barely ate anything. Well, barely anything for a speedster. He ate about like a normal person, maybe a bit less. He was either taking care of Dick, tending to his every need or researching and experimenting. He didn't go to school, neglected his hero duties and didn't talk very much to anyone but Dick. Alfred was getting worried about him working himself too hard and offered to help out, but Wally refused stating, "This is something only I can do."
On the fourth day, Bruce confronted Wally as he was scribbling in one of the many notebooks he had. "Don't push yourself too hard," he said as he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "And don't forget to eat."
"Yeah, yeah." Wally grumbled, not bothering to look up from his work. Bruce shook his head and started to walk away when he heard an excited squeal. "Why didn't I think of that before? It's so obvious!" Bruce turned to see him scribble a bit more and stand up, grabbing all the papers before walking quickly toward the door.
"Where are you going?" Bruce glared, obviously having no effect on the overjoyed youth.
Wally turned around and smiled. "The lab. I think I've finally figured it out." His stomach growled loudly and he tried to ignore it as he walked away.
"Stop right there." Bruce said in his demanding Batman voice. Wally sunk and sighed, turning around slowly. "At least take this." He handed Wally a bag of fast food. Wally nodded and ran off, munching the food as he went.
While Wally was gone, Bruce decided to check on his sick son. He slowly opened the door and walked over to the bed. He sat down on the edge of it and pulled the covers back to see the little bird's head. He looked worse than he had ever seen him before. He went to get a wet cloth and placed it on his head. Dick winced as the cool of the cloth his his skin. He squinted open his eyes and glanced up at Bruce. "W-Wal.. Wally?" His voice was raspy and barely audible.
Bruce shook his head. "Wally should be back shortly." He placed his hand on the ebony hair and gently ran his fingers through it. "You need to rest."
Dick coughed weakly and took hold of Bruce's free hand. He whined and said in a mix of different languages, "Daddy, don't leave."
A tear almost came to the stern face. "I'm right here. I won't leave."
Dick looked Bruce in the eyes and Bruce could see the bright blue seemed dull and pained. "I'm scared," Dick mouthed as he shut his eyes tightly. Tears flowed from the corners of his eyes and down his cheeks to the pillow.
Bruce bent down and whispered in his ear, "Don't worry, I'm here for you." He placed a small kiss on the boy's forehead before he sat back up. He stared at the little bundle next to him. He seemed so frail. Bruce bent down and scooped up his little bird and held him in his arms. He hummed softly as he rocked them slowly back and forth.
He had closed his eyes and kept humming, stopping only when he heard a throat clear in front of him. He opened his eyes and saw Barry standing there with a vial of something. He didn't know how long he had been with Dick or how long the man had been standing there. "Give him this. Hopefully this'll make him feel better."
Bruce nodded and slowly helped Dick drink the vial of stuff. He looked over to Barry with a look that said, 'this had better work.' He looked back and gently laid the boy back in bed, covering him up. He and Barry walked out of the room and slowly closed the door.
The two talked for a while before Barry was able to convince Bruce to get some sleep.
The next day, around noon, Dick stumbled out of his room, wrapped in blankets as he headed to the kitchen. He grabbed a glass of orange juice then sat down and yawned. His whole body was sore and stiff from inactivity.
Alfred had just made his way into the kitchen and nearly jumped when he saw Dick sitting at the table. "Master Richard, you are up?" He walked over and placed a hand to the boy's forehead. "You don't seem to have much of a fever. How are you feeling."
"Better." His voice was still raspy and he coughed deeply after he spoke, but he did, in fact, look better and feel a bit better.
"I'll fix you some breakfast."
Dick was in the middle of eating a bowl of chicken noodle soup when Bruce walked in. He stared at the table in shock, though his face didn't show much of it. He walked over and placed a hand on Dick's head. "Feeling better?"
He glanced up and nodded, going right back to eating his soup.
Bruce sat at the table across from him and told him about Wally and the past few days. Dick didn't remember any of that. The last he remembered was going to bed after the uneventful mission.
It took a day or so for Dick to feel like himself again, even then he was still a bit sluggish. He went back to school as if nothing happened. After school, he went to the Cave and was bombarded with questions of how his "secret mission" went. He avoided most and gave vague answers when needed. He was just glad to be back.
He looked around and noticed someone missing. "Where's KF?"
"Batman assigned him a mission as well a few days after you," Kaldur responded in his matter of fact tone.
Robin nodded in an 'I see' sort of way.
After the excitement of Robin's return died down, he decided to pay a little visit to a certain speedster. He changed into civvies before heading to Wally's place. He knocked on the door and his Aunt Iris answered. "Oh, are you here to see Wally?"
"Yeah, is he around?"
"Yes, he's resting in his room. He's a bit sick."
Dick smirked as he went over to Wally's bed. He couldn't believe he made himself sick taking care of him. He sat on the edge and kissed the sleeping boy on the cheek. "Thanks." He laid next to him and curled up against him, falling asleep on his chest.
For the next couple days, after Dick was finished with school and the team, he would go over to Wally's and play games with him while he got better. It didn't take very long for him to recover with his accelerated healing.
After that, the team noticed a slight change in the two boys. They seemed closer and more protective of each other than they ever had before.