A/N: This one I'm pretty proud of. It was hard to get a feel for Barry for the first while, but I got the hang of it soon enough. Iris was also especially hard, but I'm happy with the way it turned out. Hope you guys enjoy it as well.

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"Honey! I'm Home!" Barry Allen shouted out through the house as he shut the door behind him.

It had been a good day, a good week in fact. Not much to do with Flash duties and the League. Just some everyday crimes and a few scuffles with the Rogues, and even those were nothing big.

It was nice not having to deal with galactic universe treaties or world ending troubles. Now that he was done with his day job, he could spend a nice evening home with his wife and Wally.

Speaking of his wife, she poked her head out from the kitchen, already getting dinner ready for them.

"Barry," Iris smiled and gave a kiss to her husband. "How was the station today?" She glanced back at the super hero while starting to cut some vegetables.

"Oh, good, good. Nothing major, which is always a plus." Though it might mean a boring work day, Barry would much rather have that than high profile crimes going on. "Is Wally upstairs?" He asked, washing his hands and grabbing a knife to help his wife. He was a bit surprised his nephew hadn't already come down. They had agreed earlier that tonight would be the perfect time for a good old fashioned family dinner with the three of them, and it was always easier to make food for two speedsters if said speedsters helped out a bit.

"Oh, actually, he called and said he was going to spend the evening with Robin in Gotham." Iris replied "Apparently they had some new video game they wanted to try out."

Barry deflated a bit. It had felt like forever since the three of them really had the time to sit down and enjoy each other's company. Sure, there were small moments, but most often they got cut short by things: school, Iris's work, Barry's work, Flash's work, Justice League, the Team, even just plain old being tired or wanting to hang with friends.

He thought for a moment, "Seems like Wally is spending an awful lot of time with Robin recently..."

Iris, ever the rational one, pointed out the obvious. "Well, they only recently started a new team together. It's a new experience for them, and a chance for them to work together." Cleaning off her knife, she set it down and rummaged through the fridge for more ingredients. "You and Kid Flash have been working together for some time now. He is used to having another speedster there. I feel much better about him going out against who knows what villains if he's had some time to train with his teammates." Planting another kiss on Barry's cheek, she continues her preparations for the much smaller, but still large, meal. "Besides, with Batman looking after him, we get the night to ourselves."

While the thought made him smile at his wonderful wife, he couldn't help but think of how much time Wally seemed to be away. And in Gotham specifically. 'Batman better not be stealing away my protégé' he jokingly thought before deciding to forget about it and just enjoy the evening with his wife.

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It was a joke.

It was just a stupid off-hand comment. It shouldn't have meant anything!

And yet... ever since Barry had thought it, he couldn't help but notice how much Batman came up when he was with Wally. It seemed to come up everywhere.

When Wally would return from missions, it was only natural for him to share the details with his uncle, but he also wouldn't hesitate to go over some things that Batman had said, whether they were suggestions, reprimands, or compliments. The kid always seemed to take them in good spirit, which was great. It was good that he wasn't getting down on his mistakes, and instead, trying to focus on what he could do to improve it. What felt wrong, though, was that Batman was the one to give him the pointers or tips.

Barry thought that might be all well for some points, but as a Speedster, there were certain things that Wally might have trouble learning without the Flash's help... yet they were spending less and less time together. It had been some time ago when the two of them had been able to train and explore new abilities or skills together.

That wasn't even the worst part, though. Not only was Kid Flash spending less time with the Flash, but Wally didn't come to him either.

In years past, heck, even in months past, Wally would always come to Barry with questions or ideas about science and experiments that the two of them would work together on. If he ever needed help on his homework, Uncle Barry would be the one he would turn to. Now, he knew that Wally was smart, a genius in fact, and so with some of his high school classes it was pretty easy to get good grades, but there were times when it use to happen. Except he had Robin, the Math Wonder, that he would go to, and since Wally would then already be in Gotham, he'd ask Bats for help instead of him.

Barry felt like he no longer knew what was going on in that kid's life. It felt like weeks since a proper time to bond with his nephew had happened. Was he still having trouble with bullies in his school? How was the team working out for him? Had he made some friends outside of the team? Did he feel overwhelmed with his new responsibilities? Did he miss it when it was just the two of them?

There were some moments when Barry felt that way. Missing the good old times when it was just him, Kid, and Central City.

Barry tried to not worry about those things though. Wally was happy, and he was just over reacting. It was fine. It was probably just his speeded up perception of time putting it all out of proportion. This would all settle down once the team really got situated. It was still pretty new. Of course Wally would be working and depending on Batman more. The guy was their mission advisor and deployer. Plus, when hanging out with Robin so much, Batman is bound to come into the picture.

It was fine. Things would work out, and everything would go back to being normal.

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"You know my science project I had wanted you to look at earlier, but that murder case was taking up a lot of your time? Well, I just got it back with an A! Batman had helped me look over it, and… you know, he's Batman."

...

-so I taught Bruce how to make that Mushroom Pork Chop recipe that Iris made once, and when Alfred finally came back, he was pretty surprised the kitchen was still standing."

...

"-but Batman came in with this kick, but I was able to block it because of the new technique he taught me, isn't he great?"

...

"-with my leg kinda stuck, Batman came in and helped out before I-"

...

"-then Batman showed me that-"

...

"-and Batman said-"

...

"Batman"

Batman

Batman

BATMAN!

Forget getting better. This whole 'Batman' thing seemed to be getting worse!

Where did the guy get all that time to spend with Wally?! He should still have his civilian duties, his Justice League Duties, and then his Gotham Duties, top that all off with the team, and making sure they had good instructors, and missions, and supplies, and whatever they needed… Yet somehow?! Batman was able to spend more time with Wally than Barry had been able to.

Why?

And why did it seem like the kid was happier for it?

He tried to ignore the ugly jealous feeling that had been steadily growing recently, as well as the feelings of abandonment from his own partner.

His thoughts were interrupted by a scream coming from ahead.

Oh right… he was patrolling Central right now.

Alone…

Without Kid Flash.

The hero slowed down and took a quick turn into the alley where the crime was happening. He took care of the problem with a single punch, and was able to calm down the victim from her attack - oh hey, it was Susie Parks, one of the waiters at a local restaurant that he and Kid liked to visit.

She smiled at him in gratitude, "Thanks, Flash."

With a wave of his hand, he brushed it aside. "It was no problem. I'm just glad I got here before anything happened." He sped over to her fallen purse and snatched it up, double checking that nothing on the ground could have been something that had fallen out of it, before he returned back to Susie and held it out for her.

After double checking the contents of the purse herself, Susie looked back at the Flash and reached out for his arm, giving a gentle squeeze. "Well, it means the world to me. So, I'll tell you what. Next time you come in, you can get ¼ off your meal."

Flash was touched by the gesture. It might not seem like much, but when you constantly spend $500+ each time you eat out, getting $100 off was pretty sweet.

"That's very generous of you, but I can't-"

"Don't even think about it, mister." She cut in with a pointed finger, and gave a stern glare at him until he finally conceded with a small nod of acceptance.

All the Flash could do was give a resigned sigh. "Well, thank you then." He said.

Happy to get the hero to accept her gift, the women started walking away.

He felt so much better after that. He always did love Central and it's citizens. And he was exceedingly happy that he could be there to protect them and help whoever he could.

Susie suddenly paused though, and look back at the speedster. "Oh, and try to bring Kid along. I feel like I haven't seen him in a while."

Flash, mid-wave goodbye, froze and felt his previous feelings of despair, sadness, and jealousy rise up again. Yup… happy feeling gone. Giving another sigh, this one far more tired sounding, he decided to call it a night, even though the sun was still just setting.

Though the distraction had been nice, now his thoughts were right back on his protege and how he was going to fix this whole mess.

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Even as the days passed, and there still felt like a growing hole between him and Wally - Batman said this, Batman did that, Yes, okay! Batman is such an amazing hero. I Get It, Wally! - Barry felt fine. It was all good. November was already here, and with that came Wally's Birthday. It'll be great. The blond had already gotten off work for that Friday and Monday, so he'd have the whole weekend to be with Wally. They'd bond, and it'd be great. He couldn't help the smile that came on his face as he remembered telling Wally about some of his plans for the two of them. A good old fashioned race, taking him to see some tourist sights around the world that they hadn't been to together yet, and just hanging out like they use to. Wally had leapt out from his seat and tackled Barry into a tight hug as thanks. He also mentioned other surprises that Wally would have to wait for, and it just made the kid more excited to think about.

Seeing that smile on his partner's face, and holding him close in that hug. If felt like it had been too long since they had done that, and it felt amazing. He was The Flash, mentor and teacher and uncle to Kid Flash, and nothing could stop that. That weekend would fix everything and he'd get rid of his doubts about Batman. It would just be him and Wally.

Okay, it probably wouldn't be just him and Wally the whole time. He wouldn't mind if the kid wanted to invite his team. Wally would love that. And Dick could sleep over for a bit, too. Really. Barry didn't mind Dick or the tight friendship that he shared with Wally. He thought it was great that the two of them had each other, and it was fine when Wally wanted to hang out with the other in Gotham... it's just... Robin meant being in Gotham, and being in Gotham meant being with Batman... being with Batman meant less time with the Flash.

His mood plummeted. He tried to shake it off, though. He wouldn't think about it. Not for next week. Nope. Because he had everything ready, and it was going to be great.

And the best part? Batman had a league mission that week. He would be gone for those days, off into space for some sort of mission or another, and Barry would be left with Wally and they would hang out and have wonderful 'Batman-free' days, and have 'Batman-free' chats, and everything would be okay.

It was perfect.

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"–Due to those circumstances, Flash will be going in my stead." Batman concluded the mission briefing at their regular League Meeting a couple of days later.

"Wait, what?" Barry couldn't help but start at that announcement. He'd honestly admit that he hadn't been paying attention that whole time Bats had been talking just now. It's not like it had applied to him. It had just been some new information about some of the issues going on in the world for their mission. He wasn't going on that weekend mission in space that was happening over his nephew's birthday. Nope. He wasn't supposed to. Except... now he was?! And Bruce WASN'T?!

"Why?" He almost whined out to the others.

Batman narrowed his eyes with annoyance and Superman gave a sigh of frustration at his lack of attention. He quickly backtracked to try and save some ground. "Uh, I mean, I know why... " He had no clue. "It's just that. I, uh, kind of have some plans, and... well, was kind of glad that I'd be able to sit this one out and now... I-I'm not."

"Are they for personal reasons?" Batman stated, looking as if he were staring into the Flash's soul. Amazingly enough, you could get out of different missions if your powers or skills could be done by another. Sure, Flash was the fastest! man alive, but there were others who had enhanced speed as well. It all depended on the 'why', though, and Barry knew that 'personal reasons' was not a good enough excuse for The Batman.

He tried not to squirm under the Dark Knight's gaze though, feeling as though his motives to wanting to stay home were wide open for the others to see. It wasn't like it was super important, but just him wanting some quality time with his nephew... which really shouldn't be placed above some galactic space mission to help a whole world with their problems.

The Fastest Man Alive gave the slowest of nods.

"Then you're going." Batman gave him this 'look' that Flash read as 'We'll discuss this later if you need to', and he could only lean back in his chair, depressed. He hardly thought he'd get out of this one.

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When their meeting finally ended, Flash stayed slumped in his seat, waiting for the rest of the room to clear out. It felt like forever, what with everyone wanting to double check things with each other, or get some opinion from Bats or something. Finally, finally, it was just him and Batman.

There was a bit of silence between the two of them while Bats finished typing something on his holo-wrist, and Flash just knew Batman was purposely taking his time doing something or another on his little wristwatch/communicator/league database/missile launcher/world news/music playlist/movie library/tetris/whatever the heck else that man could fit in that thing.

When it finally disappeared, Batman looked straight at him.

"Flash." Was all he said, though it felt like a demand for answers all the same.

"It's just... Wally's birthday is coming up, and I had the whole day planned for us; the weekend, too." Flash confessed, shifting slightly in his seat.

From the lack of change in the Batman, Flash knew that that was nowhere near enough to persuade him to get Barry off the mission. He felt like he had to defend himself, though, and so started rapidly trying explain. "It's his 16th birthday, you know? Those are always special, and I was thinking I'd teach him how to drive now. I know as a speedster he doesn't need it, but it's still an important thing to learn, and he's mentioned it a couple times to me that he wanted to learn it, and this would be the perfect chance to surprise him, you know?"

He was rambling.

He knew he was. Honestly, he was surprised he hadn't accidentally slipped into speed-speech. Who knows, maybe he had. Batman was one of the few who could understand him when he spoke faster, at least up to a certain point.

As he spoke, though, he couldn't believe it when he saw the slightest movement in Bats, as though he were letting out a sigh. Could it be? Was this just a trick of the light? Could this actually work? Why did they need him on this mission again? Maybe it wasn't super essential for him to be there.

Deciding to believe in his powers of persuasion, he kept explaining his reasons. "And with the new team, and him doing more missions and such, I also was thinking of showing him some new techniques with his speed that he could use to kind of help out and such. You know, fine tuning his skills and going over some new stuff with me. We've both been kind of busy so now would be the perfect time for some good old mentoring and stuff. Work on his speed and moves..." Flash trailed off because he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

'Oh my gosh.' He felt his heart pounding with anticipation and joy. That was no trick of the light. Batman totally just released a sigh.

"Fine."

'Fine'? 'Fine' what? 'Fine' he'll get to stay home and spend some wonderful quality time with his nephew? 'Fine' he'll get to prove to himself that he's totally not being replaced by Batman? He almost felt like hugging the Bat. Oh! That softy!

While he was able to restrain himself from the hug, he couldn't stop the wide smile that broke though his face.

"Fine. I can have Wally spend the weekend with Dick at the Manor for his Birthday, and when you return, you can be off the Justice League roster for a week."

His joy shattered.

NO! His mind screamed out. That was the last! thing he wanted to happen. He felt like time was moving too fast. Everything was too fast. There was too much space around him, yet at the same time, nothing seemed to move. Time was frozen is an infinite moment. Was that even possible? Obviously it was because he was stuck in it. It was up to him to get reality started again.

"R-Really?" He asked the man in front of him, bringing time back to its normal speed. "You would do that?" You would take him away from me?'

Batman nodded, and Barry felt like screaming. The Dark Knight must have felt something was off because he gave his team mate an inquiring look. Flash ignored it though, tried to brush it off with a smile, and instead stood up and stretched as though he were completely relaxed

"Well, that's great. Really, it is. The Kid's been looking forward to this, and this'll just make it great. He'll love it. He'll be so excited for it. I'm just going to be a bit bummed that I'm going to miss all the fun. I'm gonna go now, maybe tell him the news. It'll be great. So, yeah. I'll see you later." He sped out, ignoring the churning feeling in his gut, ignoring the jealousy that was rising up in him. He shouldn't be jealous. Wally was his partner. It's okay. It'll be okay. He just needs some time. Just some nice quality time with his nephew... It'll just have to happen later. After Kid got home from his amazing weekend with Bruce. With Batman– The coolest hero ever.

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Barry slumped onto his couch, running a hand through his blond hair and giving a dejected sigh. When he felt a dip next to him, he opened his eyes to see Iris sitting by his side.

"Hey…" He mumbled to her, running his hand through his hair and letting out a deep breath.

Iris placed a hand on her husband's lap, giving a gentle squeeze. "Thinking about Wally?" She asked, though it wasn't a question that needed answering. Barry knew that, lately, he'd been down quite a bit when Wally came to mind, especially after his nephew turned down another attempt of his to try and fix their dwindling bond.

With her there, providing a comforting presence and listening ear, Barry couldn't help but spill his thoughts out to her.

He had only just gotten back last night from the mission that had caused him to miss his nephew's birthday, and while it had distracted him slightly, he had also been happy to return home to his family.

He had picked up Wally from Gotham, one, to see his nephew and wish him a happy belated birthday, and two, to make sure Wally got home at a decent hour for school the next day. All through their run, which could have lasted only a few minutes, but instead had been dragged out to almost three hours so Barry could spend some quality time with his nephew, the redhead had talked about… guess who? Batman.

Another squeeze on his leg brought blue eyes up to meet with his wife's. "Though I understand your worries, I hardly think that yesterday should count against you." Iris had a concerned look in her eyes, but there was a touch of humor there as well. "He had, after all, just spent the weekend there. He was just telling you about his time." She pointed out.

"I know, I know." Barry shook his head. "It's not just that, though. Batman has taken a prominent role in his life now... he's become someone the kid can go to whenever he needs it... and I've somehow lost it." It was a growing worry of his that it would just keep going, that Wally would drift away from him, as a mentor in the superheroing world, as well as even just an uncle.

"Have you talked to him about this, Barry?"

Ah, Iris. Ever the logical one. Barry knew that it was probably a smart thing to do; to confront Wally about his fears and try and talk it out… but a part of him was scared at how Wally might respond.

Was Barry doing something that was driving his nephew away? Was it that The Flash wasn't as exciting anymore now that it was just Uncle Barry? Did this new team, and Batman being there show Wally that he preferred the Dark Knight's teaching methods instead of his own?

Feeling small and unsure of himself, the hero slumped down and admitted, "I just… I don't know what to do anymore."