YJAM Prompt Fill:
Based on Jesse McCartney's How Do You Sleep
Young Justice has been split up for a year, Robin's already moved on to the Teen Titans, and Wally's taken up his uncle's mantel. When Batman calls saying The Flash is coming to investigate something for the Justice League and could use the the titan's help. Robin is confused, he knows that he misses Wally, but does Wally miss him? The only way to find out is to ask. . .through song.
Super Bonus if there's a UUBBEERR jealous Starfire
First of all, I want to deeply apologize to comics!Starfire fans out there: all I know about Starfire I've seen in Teen Titans. I know that she's not as giddy-happy-naive as she is in that show, and I suspect that she wouldn't be that way in the YJ-verse, so I've toned it down a lot. But the tradition of aliens who can't cook and maybe have strange grammar continues. At least a little.
Possible light slash warning applies, as always! :)
One-shot!
Titans Tower: Saturday, March 15, 2016 6:45 PM
Nightwing browsed through the Journey songs on the karaoke machine tucked behind the speakers. The other Titans milled excitedly around the main room of the Tower as they set up an impromptu party celebrating the latest mission success against Dr. Light. Months of reconnaissance and almost a week of fighting had finally paid off. It was a huge coup, and they had even successfully coordinated with the League in the last stages.
And that was why Nightwing's - still? - best friend, Wally West, the Flash, leaned against the white snack table laid out across the room. He was wolfing down Kory's half-edible sugar cookies and grinning as Donna peeled his off his bright red Flash cowl and affectionately ruffled his almost-as-red hat-hair.
Nightwing smirked and idly wished Roy were there, while he scrubbed his thumb past Rihanna.
Wally wore his half-lidded I'm-so-cool expression as he murmured something in the blue-eyed brunette's ear. Donna giggled and whispered something back: Wally got flustered and blushed a little before recovering. She laughed harder as Wally awkwardly attempted to loop his arm around her shoulders; even though she playfully brushed him off, she didn't move away. Nightwing rolled his eyes and returned to the music.
Maybe it's better that Roy's not here, Dick snorted.
Dick's own green-eyed redhead floated over and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind. Kory's voluminous strawberry curls slipped over his shoulder, and she hmmm'd happily into his neck. Dick absentmindedly hmm'd back, running his finger through the Jesse McCartney selection.
Kory looked up at the redhead chatting with the amazon, and now Gar as well, on the other side of the couch. "Are you not happy that Wally's here?" she asked, finally.
"Huh?"
"Well, you worked so hard to convince him to come to this evening's party. But you have hardly spoken a word to him since we arrived."
Dick shrugged. "Of course I'm happy he's here. I've just been busy. Helping out."
Helping unload the equipment. Helping Kory with the food. Helping Gar straighten up. And Cyborg with the stereo. And Raven choose an artsy video backdrop to loop on the giant tv screen. And then unloading more equipment. And putting up a disco ball. And now picking a karaoke song.
He sighed. Of course he was happy Wally was here.
Starfire nuzzled his ear. "I will relieve you of any duties you have left, so that you may visit your friend, who you haven't seen for almost a year."
"It's fine." Dick felt a little cross.
A year. A year.
A year since Wally became the Flash. A year since he'd become Nightwing. A year since Barry had passed away. A year since Wally had been whisked away to the Watchtower, doing who-knows-what at the grown-up table.
Of all the people to end up there first. He shook his head and lost his place. Damn.
"We'll catch up later," Nightwing continued, trying to return to the proper touchscreen.
Dick just hadn't expected it. A year of almost total silence. Sure, there was the occasional email: "Dude, did you read about what we did in the newspapers?"; the once-in-a-while text saying, "We should hang out!"
And then they never did.
It's not like it was Wally's fault. Dick had been busy himself, too: getting his life without Bruce going, dating Kory, running the Titans, handling missions. It happened. It wasn't personal. The League kept Wally busy; life kept him busy, whoever the redhead was dating probably kept him -
Dick paused. He didn't even know who - if - Wally was dating. The acrobat studied his 20-year-old friend who still flirted shamelessly with Donna: He had grabbed little hot dogs for them to share; she has her hand on his thigh; he's just brushed her hair off her shoulder … when the hell did they get … has he been keeping in touch with her?
And Dick felt a prick of bitterness. He hadn't expected that it would take 15 minutes of cajoling to get his friend to come hang out in the Tower after the joint case, instead of going back to the Watchtower to sleep and hang out off-duty with Hal.
He hadn't expected any of it.
The brunette frowned.
He had expected his phone to ring off the hook at 3 am with calls so frequent they would be annoying. He expected Wally to complain to him about how much harder Black Canary worked him now because he was a big boy; he expected Wally to beg Dick to run interference with Batman when he slipped up during a mission; he expected to hear about how Wally got in trouble with J'onn when he ate all the Oreos. He expected Wally to … come by to talk about Barry. He … expected Wally to visit every weekend to unwind and watch a movie together.
He expected Wally to need him: as a listener, a leader, a shoulder to lean on … as a friend.
But Wally apparently didn't.
"I don't understand," Kory derailed his brood. "Are you not bros? You should go and ta -"
Dick interrupted Kory with a petulant sigh. He'd talked Wally into coming, but Wally hadn't talked to him. Wasn't it his turn? Didn't he want to talk?
Because he still needed Wally.
The raven-haired boy shrugged his girlfriend off.
"Here, I'll dedicate my song to him," he snapped. "How's that?"
"... ok." Wrinkling her brow, Kory dropped her embrace and backed away.
"Wait, Kory." Guiltily, Dick caught her wrist before she left and intertwined her fingers in his.
"Thanks," he said softly. "I'm sorry. That's actually a good idea."
Kory brightened a little and gave him a hug; he returned the sweet squeeze and smiled at her. As she floated back to the kitchen, he turned back to the music selection with a new sort of focus.
Ok. Pick a song that would be funny enough that, if I sung it to Wally, it would wash away some of the awkward but that would still be somehow relevant.
He stopped on the Jesse McCartney song third from the top. Perfect.
Putting on his most cheerful expression, Dick strolled over to Raven and plucked the mike from her hands. Pointing out the song to Gar, he jumped lightly on the table in the center of the half-circle couch, and cocked his finger and thumb at Cyborg.
"Hit it," he said. Cyborg flipped the lights off and the disco ball on; it reflected Raven's trippy, artsy video on the screen behind him, bathing the room - and him - in brightly colored dots. The reds, fuchsias and greens played over his skintight Nightwing uniform as he struck a ridiculous pose on the table and the opening bars filled the room.
Oh-uh oh-uh oh-uh oh
Oh-uh oh-uh oh-uh oh
Everyone clustered around the couch, grinning; Wally lept over the back and plopped down right in the center. Donna balanced herself on the top edge of the couch, feet on the cushions, sitting at Wally's head level.
Affecting a sort of terrible Elvis impression, Dick pointed at Wally and addressed the room. "This one goes out to our special guest tonight, for all of his hard work with the Big Boys In The Sky: One Mr. Wally West."
Oh-uh oh-uh oh-uh oh
Oh-uh oh-uh oh-uh oh
Wally gave an exaggerated bow: "Thank you, thank you, of course," he grinned, and everyone clapped as Dick began to sing.
It's been about a year now
Ain't seen or heard from you
I've been missing you crazy
How do you how do you sleep?
Dick sat on the table, swinging his legs over so that his back was to the audience; he crossed his legs and looked coyly over his shoulder.
I found the letter you wrote me
It still smells just like you
Damn those sweet memories
How do you how do you sleep?
How do you sleep?
Dick could really sing. And of course he could really dance. He jokingly held his hand out to the bright red boy and brought it back over his heart, over-emoting like he was smitten.
Tried my best at movin' on
Have yet to find a girl like you
The little crowd snickered as Dick and Wally both did their best to hold back their laughter at the line, both mockingly taking the song totally seriously.
See things now I didn't before
Now wishin' I had more time with you
Everyone cheered as Dick peeled off his mask and tossed it to the side, and man, Dick could sing.
How do you stay awake
Knowin' all I do is think of you
All the things we thought about
Then, never will happen again
If I could just see you
Gradually, everyone stopped chatting and stared at the lithe boy as he swung his hips from side to side, hopping off the table and catwalking over to Wally.
If I had my way I'd come and get you girl
In your favourite car with the missing top
Around my way where we used to park
And did all those things to steal your heart
Dick batted his eyelashes and leaned over speedster - who teasingly leaned in making kissy faces - and everyone giggled. Dick sauntered back, rolling his hips and spinning as he jumped onto the far curve of the couch.
It's been about a year now
Ain't seen or heard from you
I've been missing you crazy
How do you how do you sleep?
As Dick hit the chorus again, he started to get lost in the song.
I found the letter you wrote me
Well, an email, anyway … Dick mused.
It still smells just like you
He snickered. It didn't. Wally smelt like his favorite citrus shampoo, and he tasted a little like … he tasted ... like Mountain Dew or a margarita ...
Damn those sweet memories
Dick paled. And he knew that because - how had he not thought about this in a year - he and Wally had hooked up once just days before Barry's accident - his sacrifice.
Dick almost lost the next line.
How do you how do you sleep?
How do you sleep?
The acrobat knitted his brows. How … what … had that been when all the awkward started? Did I just not notice because of the turmoil later that week?
It's been about a year now
Ain't seen or heard from you
I've been missing you crazy
How do you how do you sleep?
Dick's dancing had slowed a little as he tried to remember the days leading up to the tragedy while keeping up with the lyrics; it hadn't seemed weird to him, but they'd never talked about it.
I found the letter you wrote me
It still smells just like you
Damn those sweet memories
That is, he'd wanted to talk about it it, but they never had a chance.
How do you how do you sleep?
How do you sleep?
Had Wally pushed him away when Dick had tried to comfort his grieving friend? There had been so much chaos: would he even have realized it if Wally had? Of course it had to take a back burner to everything else …
Baby all that I hear from my friends
Again again and again come and ask 'bout you
It hadn't been that big a deal, had it? It was just some making out, er … it was just a - it had taken both of them by total surprise. At least it had surprised him, and it was a nice surprise, but geeze, had it upset Wally? Especially in light of all the other pain in his life?
They say, "We saw your girl at the game
And damn we gotta say a big mistake by you"
Dick himself wasn't really affected, right? Of course not. Other than feeling, you know, nice.
Not only does your body bang
But I miss the conversation too
Tell me that you're gettin' more sleep
Can't think can't eat till I come see you
And because he hadn't been affected, he totally wasn't distracted right now, remembering the way Wally's breath had felt on his ear that night or the texture of his tongue as it rubbed over his own, and his fingertips brushing lightly over the part of his own hip bones above his pjs and … oh God.
If I had my way I'd come and get you girl
In your favourite car with the missing top
Around my way where we used to park
And did all those things to steal your heart
He missed Wally. And … as more than a friend.
It's been about a year now
Ain't seen or heard from you
I've been missing you crazy
How do you how do you sleep?
On the verge of panic, Dick stared at Wally between words, between exaggerated dance moves around the room. He was running out of breath, totally unsure about what to do with this overwhelming piece of information. Struggling keep up with the song and figure out what in the hell was going on was draining, and the room quieted as his dance moves got a little sloppy.
I found the letter you wrote me
It still smells just like you
Damn those sweet memories
Wally was also starting to look a little flustered, a little red in the face.
How do you how do you sleep?
How do you sleep?
Because at some point this song had become completely serious.
It's been about a year now
Ain't seen or heard from you
And maybe the shadows playing over his friend's freckles cause Dick to notice, for the first time, the bags under the speedster's eyes, the weary expressions that had flitted across his features before he always forced them back into a big smile. Wally's life was clearly exhausting.
I've been missing you crazy
How do you how do you sleep?
Wally doesn't want to come here because he knows he can't stay, Dick realized.
I found the letter you wrote me
It still smells just like you
Damn those sweet memories
Wally never visited because he didn't want to be reminded that the Titans could hang out together almost 24/7 when they wanted to, while he had to go back and pour over mission briefings with Red Tornado and awkwardly eat dinner between Green Arrow and Wonder Woman.
How do you how do you sleep?
How do you sleep?
Wally lost everything … everything that week. His Uncle, his friends, his identity, his life …
We were his everything, and we were ripped away.
It's been about a year now
Ain't seen or heard from you
Dick swallowed. He did lose the next line.
I've been missing yo -
He doesn't want to visit because he misses me too much.
Dick had stopped singing now; the microphone dangled unnoticed at Dick's side. He stood silently over Wally, panting as the instrumentals played through the speakers behind him and flashes of light lit up Dick's parted lips and pained expression. Their knees almost touched, and Wally returned Dick's wide-eyed stare. He flushed and sort of reached for Dick's hand: "Robs, I've - I've missed you so mu -" he choked out -
- But he didn't finish because Dick murmured, "Wally," softly, and slipped onto his bright red lap, straddling him and cupping his chin and kissing him on the lips, saying "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," over and over again between pecks - How could I have been so blind? - and Wally wrapped his hands behind Dick's back, pulling him closer, and Dick wound his arms tightly around the redhead's neck and pushed his tongue into his mouth, and now the mike in Nightwing's hand was broadcasting soft kissing noises and "Wall - mmmnfggs" throughout the room, and everyone just stared in shock.
Gar grinned and coughed, "Go Nightwing," under his breath as Raven frowned and elbowed him in his ribs.
"I'll, ah, just … take this," Donna said as she carefully leaned over the boys and pulled the mike from Dick's hands.
At least now no one would have to hear them moan into each other's mouths … but Starfire's hands had already started to charge.
Dick was still kissing the freckle-faced boy with abandon when Wally's sense of self-preservation kicked in; he just barely pushed the two of them out of the way as Kory's first blast hit the top of the couch, inches from where Wally's head had indented the cushions with the force of Dick's kiss.
They stood on the other side of the room now, Dick still straddling Wally's hips as the speedster supported the acrobat's thighs in his hands.
"Uhm," Wally said. Dick grinned broadly at Wally, lips pink and kiss-swollen, bright blue eyes sparkling and shifting under the multi-colored disco lights.
"You know," Wally continued, dodging another blast and carrying Dick with him. "- you could -"
Dashing behind the couch. "- have just -"
Hiding behind the stereo. "- called me."
Dick threw his head back and laughed. "Maybe I will."
"God, do it," Wally pleaded, ducking another blast. "Isn't it your job to rescue people?"
From the Watchtower, from his loneliness, from his misery.
Dick cocked an eyebrow as they headed through the corridor. "Need a knight in shining armor?" he teased.
Wally slowed as he turned a corner and regarded Dick seriously. "... yes."
"Anytime." Dick smiled shyly.
Now Kory's growl was audible from down the hall. Wally sucked in a breath. "Think you're going to have to rescue yourself first, though, bro."
Dick glanced over Wally's shoulder at the incoming Amazon. He knitted his brow, feeling guilty. "Kory …"
Wally stepped aside to let another little energy blast go by.
"Too bad she's not my favorite green-eyed redhead," he said softly, with some remorse.
"Well, there's no helping that," Wally agreed cheerfully.
They ducked behind a door. "I'm sure we can all work out … something," Dick said with a mischievous glint in his eye.
Wally cocked an eyebrow and grinned. "Yes, well, only if I get out of here alive, right?"
He sped back to the main room, planting a big, wet sloppy kiss on Dick before dropping him on his ass on the couch. Wally had already safely made it outside by the time Kory returned; then a wind rustled back through the entrance and over the buffet table. All the food evaporated.
"Thanks for the great spread, Starfire," Wally yelled from the far doorway. He looked back at Dick and winked, holding his thumb and pinky up to the side of his face and mouthing, "Call me."
The wall next to the door frame exploded in a flash of green.
And then he was gone, and Dick stared after him with a faraway expression and a goofy grin while Kory glowered, and everyone else laughed and clapped.
Dick pulled out his phone on the spot.