A/N: This little diddy has a habit of frequently getting stuck in my head and when it gets stuck in my head after watching three hours of Young Justice, this happens. Song was altered by moi to be a bit more… suitable. You may recognize it if you swap some words around. Anyways, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the mentioned song or any of the characters.
His Haunted Lullaby
Wally could sometimes hear his best friend singing. Robin had a bad habit of listening to his iPod around the headquarters and sometimes busting out in air guitar solos. Of course, these moments were when he thought he was alone. Robin was hardly ever completely alone in Mount Justice.
More than once, Wally had been sitting next to his younger friend for hours at a time and then Robin would just bust out singing one of the top ten songs on the charts that week. Other times, it would be some freakishly upbeat song and he would start dancing like Charlie Brown. It wasn't that the Boy Wonder had bad dance skills; it was just that his dance skills had come from really old movies. Well, he did live with Batman...
It was almost funny for the ginger to walk in on his friend doing some kind of disco dance. Yes, Robin definitely lived with Batman. It was almost a disgrace to Wally to know that his best buddy was like that. But what comforted him was the fact that Robin lived in Gotham, and he did not.
Whenever Robin was having one of those moments, Wally usually just walked away, never making fun of his friend like his instincts told him to. He usually remained quiet and passive about it, walking on like he hadn't seen a thing. But that was because he always had other things to bother Robin about. Like his height. That was always fun.
It was one time when Wally had heard Robin singing, so faintly, so gently, that the redhead almost wondered if it wasn't Robin. The speedster had looked in on his friend who was sitting in a backroom, completely alone, no iPod in sight, no yo-yo or other little trinket in hand. It was Robin alright. He was quietly lying on a table, staring up at the dull gray ceiling with a glassy, almost dazed look in his eyes. That was another thing that had stunned the West boy. The Boy Wonder had had his dark sunglasses off for the first time since the two had met.
None of that was as distracting as the tune he was singing.
Normally, Wally would hear some pop song or alternative. Pop more than alternative, but that was Robin for you. With him, everything was a toss-up. He could either be completely serious or as goofy as a five-year-old with some Pixy Stix.
This was something darker. It sounded almost like a haunted lullaby, a painful tune, a hurt voice, the whole thing sounding like it would be the last words of a child in a horror movie. That was part of what bothered Wally West. The other part was that it sounded like an old show tune of some sort.
The ginger could hear the words as clear as day. He could hear the faint, gentle voice of Robin floating through the darkness. It was like the song was coming from a ghost of the night.
"They'd fly through the air with the greatest of ease, the daring Graysons on their flying trapeze." His voice was haunted, pained, tortured. It was clear by his solitude and the fact that he seemed so grave that this song was something that hurt him, something that followed him like an evil shadow, day and night, dusk and dawn. This was his ball and chain. Something about this song was linked to him for an eternity.
Never before had the redhead ever felt the need to disturb his friend's peace, but this time, he was sure he had to interrupt. He wanted to be sure that the thirteen-year-old was alright more than anything else. Wally had the habit of feeling like a brother to the younger boy, someone who had to look after him in times like these. So he quietly knocked on the frame of the door, knowing the actual door was open.
Robin's icy blue eyes automatically shut after the glassy glaze had retreated from his vision. He went silent faster than Kid Flash could even run. His words had died on his lips instantaneously. There was a pause; no sound came from the boy. Then he managed to give a little "Hey". His voice was still shaky, his single syllable still uncertain.
"Are you okay?" asked Wally, taking one step into the room and watching to see his friend react to this move by quickly swiping his glasses up from where they had been placed beside him on the table; he quickly put them back on his face where they usually resided. "You've been gone for a few hours. Megan was getting worried," the speedster lied. He didn't want to lie, but he didn't want it to seem like he had been snooping around for his friend. He hadn't been, but it would've looked like it had he just randomly walked in without a decent reason.
Robin's reply was swift. "Fine." He sat up, fingers moving to fix his jacket and his hair that had been slightly messed up from lying down for so long. His eyes slowly adjusted to the light that was now being filtered to his eyes because of his shades.
Not wanting to say what he was thinking, the West boy just watched his friend for a few seconds as he cleaned himself up from being so still for so long. But Wally was never one to keep his thoughts to himself. "I heard you singing."
The younger boy did pause for a moment. His muscles went rigid, his face went pale. Robin had to take a moment to compose himself again, but it only took a moment. He was automatically ready to take on the world again, yet he didn't speak.
"Are you sure you're alright?" asked Wally once more, taking one more step into the room. His jade orbs were focused on the shadowy form of Robin who was slowly emerging from the darkness like a specter coming through a wall of black. Wally stepped aside, letting his friend through the doorway.
Robin smiled a little bit this time. His hands were shoved in his pockets. He didn't even look back at his friend after he had passed the speedster; he didn't need to. "I'm fine," he assured Wally, feeling a little bit better. That haunted lullaby had been reminding him of the pain that was now what felt like a lifetime ago and just having his friend jump into that song was enough to break the curse that held him a captive to the past. "Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself, Wally." And he disappeared around the corner, out of sight.
None of those words had been needed. As soon as the ginger had seen his friend smile, he knew Rob would be alright.
A/N: Shorter than I wanted, but I think it's fine. Review please.
~Sky