He knew it was wrong.

Bruce shouldn't have had to discover that his adopted son was gay, dating, and willing to go all the way with his boyfriend, all at the same time. But Wally was just so important to him and Bruce was so overprotective, he hadn't had the heart to tell him.

Now he'd ruined everything.

All because it only took one smile from Wally for Robin to forget everything he knew.

Like how to lock his bedroom door before ravishing his boyfriend.

He'd been naked from the waist up and straddling an even barer Wally when Bruce had strolled into his room with a case file in hand.

The billionaire had looked at them with so much shock and awe that Robin would have laughed at any other time. Instead all he could do was bolt up and shove the covers over Wally as fast as he could.

He wanted to explain, to reason with his adopted father, but Bruce wouldn't hear of it.

He immediately ordered Wally to leave and for Robin to get dressed before marching out of the room angrily.

Robin looked from the closed door to his lover and back again.

Finally he let out a small sigh and handed Wally his pants.

The red head was flushed from his head to his toes and Robin would have found it adorable if he hadn't been so full of dread.

He knew Bruce wouldn't understand. That's why he never told him.

Wally dressed as quickly as his shocked body would let him and came to stand in front of his lover before Robin could even blink his eyes clear of tears.

The red head cupped his face between his hands and made Robin look at him. His green eyes were so confident, so filled with love that Robin knew he couldn't lose Wally.

He'd lost enough to know that for certain.

So he tried his best to smile up at his slightly taller boyfriend when the red head stroked his cheek.

"I love you Rob. Not even Batman can change that."

And Robin knows that's true with ever fiber of his being because he loves Wally as much as Wally loves him, but he's more afraid of what Bruce can change than anything.

Because if Bruce wants to, he could make sure that they were never within three states of each other ever again.

Just thinking about it make Robin's heart ache and he can't stop himself from pulling Wally close and kissing him like he's never going to get another chance.

"I love you." He mutters as they part, his voice already sounding more sad and defeated than he ever thought it could.

The red head opens his mouth to say something, but is cut off by the intercom next to Robin's bed.

"Get down here now." Bruce orders darkly and they both know who he's talking to.

Wally lets out another sigh and places a quick kiss to Robin's cheek before he's running down the halls of the manor and away from the one place he wants to be most.

Robin grabs his hoodie (the one that used to be Wally's before he outgrew it and gave it to Robin) and presses the fabric to his face to inhale the smell.

The fabric still smells like Wally and fresh air and everything Robin already misses about his boyfriend.

He knows that Bruce knows that this used to be Wally's hoodie, he'd complained that he could just buy Robin clothes if he needed them, but he decides to wear it anyway for courage.

He knows where to find Bruce without having to ask and isn't surprised when he finds his mentor angrily sitting on the family couch.

The anger is rolling off of him in waves and ever instinct Robin has is telling him to back away slowly and then run for his life.

Instead he takes a seat next to the livid man.

Because he knows that Bruce isn't as angry as he seems, he knows that Bruce is just really upset that Robin would keep things from him when he's shared everything about his life with the younger boy.

The thought alone causes guilt to coil coldly in his stomach and he knows that he's done wrong by his mentor.

Now he just has to figure out how to make it right.

"Bruce." He mutters quietly, even though he knows he has the older detective's undivided attention.

His adopted father refuses to look at him and instead continues to stare into the flames of the fire before them.

Robin can still hear his silent accusation and disappointed words though.

So he decides to go with the honest to god truth and hope for the best.

"I love him." He admits without shame.

Bruce's flinch in response is so subtle anyone else would have missed it, but Robin catches it anyway and continues to talk regardless.

"And he loves me….. I never have to hide or pretend when I'm with him. He knows every aspect of my life, every tragic detail and triumphant moment I've ever had and he still loves me. Not some alias, not some mask, but me. I don't have to be Dick Grayson or Robin or anyone else, because he knows everything that I am. I don't have to hide."

Robin takes a deep breath and scoots closer to the older bat until he's his pressed against his side.

"You should have never had to find out that way, but I was afraid. I was scared you'd take him from me and I couldn't handle that. I need someone my own ages who knows me through and through, I need to hear his voice after patrol to convince me that there is goodness in the world, and mostly I need you to understand that I know the risks.

I know he could hurt me or betray me or die on me, but I also know he never would. I trust him and that means you can trust him too. He brightens my world and makes me happy just by being close."

Robin sags slightly at the admission before wrapping his thin arms around his stiff and silent mentor.

"I'm not like you Bruce. I can't mourn forever. I want to be happy again."

Robin buries his face into Bruce's shirt and tries to hold back a sob that's been building up in his throat since he started talking.

Bruce sees how hard this all is on him and is quick to wrap a strong arm around Robin's shoulders and pull him into a hug.

He rubs his protégé's back softly and whispers it's okay into his hair like he used to when Robin first arrived and come to him after he had nightmares.

Because Bruce loves Robin as much as he would his own flesh and blood son and he knows that his pupil is right.

Not everyone can handle living the life that Batman leads and he has no right to force his own isolation on Robin. He knows how hard it is to maintain two completely different lives and try to keep everything on a need to know basis between people who he might almost calls friends. He also knows that it feels like to want to keep something secret so as to protect it from the world. He can't judge Robin too harshly for wanting something all his own and special in his life.

He remembers his someone special, the person that made everyday brighter and stopped his mourning for a little while, but they were lost to him long before he'd even met Robin.

He doesn't want his son to feel that kind of loss again, not after losing his parents too.

So he hugs his son tightly one last time before pulling back.

Robin looks at him with red rimmed fearful eyes that break Bruce's heart.

His son must really love this boy.

"I won't make you stop seeing him." Bruce announces right away and the relief that fills Robin's face is worth getting over his own trepidations about letting the younger man date.

"But you're still 17 years old and we're going to have a talk about what contact is and is not acceptable for a 17 year old."

Robin nods his head eagerly and is pretty much willing to promise to never let Wally touch him below the waist again if it means he can still see the red head. (At least until his birthday next month, then all bets and promises are out the window, because Wally promised him an awesome birthday present).

Anyway, Robin is clearly so over the moon about being able to keep seeing Wally that he almost misses it when Bruce adds:

"And I'll be having a little talk with Wallace too."

Now that sends a shiver done his spine quicker than anything and his eyes must have gone wide with worry because Bruce is quick to reassure him.

"He'll survive."

And that is so not what Robin wants to hear, but he'll prep Wally as best he can before his mentor takes a crack at him.

But all that can wait because right now he's just going to hug Bruce until the older man tells him to stop.

Because now everything in his world is right.


I tried a different point of view than I normally do and I don't really like it. It sounds more emotional, but it's much harder to write. I'm also new to BirdFlash, so that didn't help.

But I had this moment of inspiration where I saw Robin defending his love for Wally to Batman and I just had to write it out.

Hope you guys like it more than I do.

Yours truly,

Jessica499499