"Robin may I talk with you for a minute?"
The Boywonder looked up from his laptop, where he just had finished a hacker training designed by the Batman, when he heard Wally's voice. He stood in the doorway and looked really nervous.
"Of course buddy, come in.", Robin said and gestured to a chair next to him. Wally came in and sat down. Robin waited a while for Wally to start talking, but his friend just looked troubled onto the ground. "Ooookay what is your problem? Did Artemis steal your snack?", asked Robin with his trademark smirk to break the tension.
Wally took a deep breath. "Rob I'm gay."
Silence filled the room. Robins smirk was frozen on his face. "You're what?", he finally said.
"Well I'm...gay.", Wally said, taking a frightened glance onto the frozen face of his friend.
Conflicting feelings were painted onto Robins face. "Out!", he said suddenly. "But Rob...I...", Wally stuttered and tried to grip Robins arm, but he pushed him away. "I said piss off...you...you...fag!", Robin shouted. Wally stared stunned at his friend. Tears welled up in his green eyes. Then he ran out if the room.
A few hours later the team met with Black Canary for training. "Ok today we're gonna...whait where are Robin and Wally?", she asked when she saw the team standing at the edge of the training zone. "I don't know. I didnt see one of them the whole day.", said Megan and the others acknowledged this.
"Oh well then we have to search for them. Megan establish a link between us. The one who finds them first tells the rest. Now go."
The team deployed. It was Artemis who found Wally first. He sat in a corner of the storage room and cried. "Wally?", Artemis asked, unsure how to proceed. She had never seen Wally crying. Normally he was always cheerful and nothing could destroy his good mood. Wally was startled when he heard Artemis voice and jerked around sharply. He tried to run away , but Artemis grabbed his arm and hold tight. "Wally what in hell is wrong with you?", she demanded to know. "Rob...he...I...", he stammered and buried his face into Artemis shoulder where he started to cry unrestrained. Artemis could do nothing but hold onto the boy. She was completley unable to cope with the situation.
"I have found Wally, but he...you should come immediatly.", she sent the others.
After a short while the rest of the team found her. They were as shocked as Artemis about Wally's condition. Black Canary took Wally from Artemis and sent the others to search for Robin.
She guided the completley distraught boy to the living room and sat him onto a couch. Then she sat beside him and took him into her arms. "It's fine Wally. Calm down. Tell me what happened.", she talked to him comfortingly. After a while he had calmed down enough to be able to talk.
"Today...I went...to Rob and I told him, well...that I'm gay.", he sobbed and looked frightened up to Black Canary. She tried to hide her surprise, but couldn't quite accomplish it.
"Was Robin the first one you told?"
"Yes...because we're friends...because of that I wanted to tell him first, but he...he..."
A new crying fit shook the boy and Black Canary hold him until he calmed down again.
"And what did Robin say?", she asked him.
"He...he said I should piss off. He called me...a fag." Black Canary was shocked. In this moment Caldurs voice sounded in her head.
"We have found Robin. His in the gym and killing a sandsac."
"Good bring him into his room. Megan and Artemis come down here and look after Wally. Caldur and Conner you can wait in the kitchen.", she ordered the team.
"Megan and Artemis are coming now. I will go and talk to Robin.", she told Wally and stroked reassuringly through his hair.
When Megan and Artemis arrived, she left Wally who had calmed down a bit.
Megan took him immediatly into her arms and Artemis patted, still a bit confused, his shoulder.
When Black Canary entered Robins room, the Boywonder lay on his bed and starred onto the ceiling. She sat down beside him at the footend of the bed. After a while as Robin didn't make any moves to explain himself, she asked him: "So what happened between you and Wally?"
"Nothing.", he said snippy.
"Nothing? Wally is down in the living room and crying his eyes out and you're in the gym trying to gut a sandsac. So what happened?"
"I'm sure you already know."
"But I want to hear it from you."
"Okay then.", Robin shouted and jumped off the bed. "Wally comes in and tells me he's gay. So, satisfied now?"
Black Canary had stayed seated during the boywonders outburst and asked calmly: "And what did you respond?"
"I told him to get lost. Wally can't be gay. He's always flirting with Artemis and Megan and now...bang...he wants to be gay? Thats hillarious!", it erupted out of Robin.
"Did it ever cross your mind, that he's doing that on purpose, because he's fearing that somebody would realize that he is gay? He fears that his team members figure it out and then he brings himself to tell you, his best friend, first. And how are you reacting? You yell at him, call him a fag and with this behaviour you're making his worst nightmares come true. If even his best friend is reacting like that what about the others? Tell me that?"
She was on her feet now, throwing this questions in ever harder tones in Robins direction. At the end of her tirade he had become smaller and smaller and stood now with hanging head in front of her.
"I...I'm sorry. I was just...surprised.", he said hushed, eyes on the ground.
"It isn't me you should apologize to, but Wally who's down and crying. Come with me."
With this words she grabbed Robin's hand and went to the living room with him. Kaldur and Conner watched the two couriosly, when they walked past them trough the kitchen.
When they entered the living room and Wally got a look on Robin, he tried to hide behind Megan and Artemis. Black Canary gave Robin a push in the back.
Embarassed Robin stood in front of Wally.
"I'm sorry.", he whispered.
Black Canary coughed behind him.
"Okay I'm sorry that I've called you a fag. "I...I was just surprised and...it seems I overreacted. I've got no problem with you being gay."
Artemis jaw hit the ground when she heard that, while Megan just looked confused.
"Gay what's that?", she asked looking confused at Black Canary.
"That means Wally isn't attracted to girls, but to boys.", Black Canary told her with a smile.
"There's something on earth like that? Hello Megan, of course there is."
Artemis slowly woke out of her stupor. "Wally...you...why...always?", she stammered, then she composed herself, "and always hitting on me with those stupid catchphrases of yours. Good thing I'm free of that now."
Wally still gazed disbelievingly at Robin, who put forth his hand and smiled sheepisly.
"Best buds for life?", he asked.
"Best buds for life.", Wally smiled and took Robins hand.