Title: "Be My Boyfriend?"
Warning: T for slash (Boy/boy), language, suggestive themes, and lots of angsting.
Summary: The four times Dick said 'no', and the one time he had no choice but to say 'yes'.
Author's Note: This fanfic is dedicated to the lovely SageStormAshes¸ for being so encouraging, for leaving me such beautiful feedback, for being an inspiration, and for being a good friend. Thank you ^^
For this fic, Bruce takes Dick in at eight years old, and he becomes Robin shortly thereafter. Wally becomes Kid Flash at eleven.
"Be my Boyfriend?"
~x~
1.
"You," a brightly dressed Kid Flash said, excitement making his eyes sparkle, "must be Robin." He breathed out the boy's name in a kind of awe-filled whisper. His gaze flickered over the yellow 'R' emblazoned on Robin's chest, the dark cape which he had wrapped around himself like a pair of wings, and the slick black locks of hair which cast a shadow over his shyly tilted head. Gotham's nine-year-old Boy Wonder regarded the speedster a moment, and then smiled with a tint of that cockiness which was to become his trademark in later years.
"And you," he crossed his arms over his chest, shoulders straightening ever so slightly, "must be Kid Flash." The redhead grinned, looking down at the adorable young boy who barely came up to his shoulder, but who already had that aura of confidence about him. He clasped his hands, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet because he couldn't keep still.
"Robin, wow, I've waited so long for this! I can't believe I'm actually talking to you. You're the first ever sidekick, how awesome is that!? And Batman's sidekick too," Wally gushed, words tumbling over one another like a bubbling waterfall. "How long have you been doing this? A year? And you're only like, what, eight years old—"
"I'm nine," Robin interrupted indignantly. Of course he wasn't eight… He was eight a looong time ago.
"—still, that's really cool. I never thought I'd ever meet one of the sidekicks, but now I'm one of them myself. Actually, are there even more sidekicks than just us two? I think my uncle said something about Green Arrow getting a sidekick, his name's… Red Arrow or something, right? Do you think he's—"
"It's Speedy," Robin cut in again, fighting back a giggle at the seemingly endless volley of words.
"Whatever, same difference—wait, is he a speedster or something? No way. That's my thing. Hey, you know how I got my powers? I found Uncle Barr—I mean, The Flash's notes on how he created the experiment that gave him his speed. Do you know what the speed force is? I don't really know either, no one really knows, except that's kind of where we get our superspeed from, but that's kind of obvious from its name, right?"
That was around the time when Batman's protégé stopped listening, one because it was impossible to keep up with the speedster's rapid monologue, and two it was obvious he wasn't expected to make a comment anyway. Instead, he beckoned Kid Flash forward to the edge of the roof they were currently standing on, and swiftly pulled out his grappling hook.
"—So then there was this super loud crashing sound and then everything went black, and when I woke up I was in a hospital and I didn't remember anything, but I felt really bad because Uncle B and Aunt I were looking so worried. Then a few hours later we realized—hey wait, Rob, what are you doing?" Wally watched with wide eyes as Robin shot the grappling hook off the roof and across the wide expanse of black night, where it wrapped silently around the railing of a neighboring apartment building.
"Let me show you my city," Robin stated proudly, standing up tall on the very edge of the roof where the wind whipped his cape around his legs. Wally resisted the urge to wrap his arms around the little nine-year-old and drag him back to the safety of solid ground. His uncle had pressed upon him more than once that Robin and Batman knew how to take care of themselves, especially in their own hometown.
"Sure Rob!" he exclaimed instead, coming up behind Robin, and, after hesitating a fraction of a second, hugged him tightly around the waist when the other boy motioned for him to do so.
Then, suddenly, they were flying.
Wally may or may not have let out a shrill gasp of fear and exhilaration as suddenly the ground was gone from beneath his feet, and he latched his arms so tightly around Robin's torso that the younger boy could barely breathe. For the long second that they hung in the air, almost suspended in time, Wally noticed with amazement the feel of Robin's body encased in his arms; his muscles tightly coiled like a spring which could erupt at any moment, his pulse beating under his pale skin in a steady rhythm, powered by strength and adrenalin and vitality, and the vibration of his chest as he let out a twinkling laugh while they swung through the air.
They landed with a little stumble on the glass roof of the highest building around, the one with the beautiful view of Gotham's skyline, lit up against the breathtaking backdrop of the rising sun. Wally, for once, didn't say a word, instead letting his gaze just sweep around and take everything in.
"So this is Gotham…" he murmured. Everyone called it such a stinking, dirty, crime infested city, but honestly, right now it looked kind of beautiful, despite it being made of what seemed like a nightmare of dark metal and stone.
"Well, part of it, yeah. The part that we're proud of," answered Robin quietly, with a kind of wisdom to his tone which didn't match his age. "That's the City Hall," the brunet continued, pointing to the building they had just vacated. "And over there is the police headquarters, and the courthouse. And way over there is the Clocktower." Wally followed with his gaze to where Robin was gesturing, however all the buildings looked pretty much the same to him. "Oh, and this is the Finger River," Robin added, pointing down to the ground below them, where a sickly dark green river flowed sluggishly, choked up with trash as it was. It looked disgusting.
"Ew, that's gross," Wally voiced his opinion, deciding that upon closer inspection Gotham might just be as dark and dirty as people said. Robin laughed sadly in agreement.
"What's that?" Wally asked, pointing to a tall building which rose above the others and caught the rays of the sun on its sleek black sides.
Robin's laugh abruptly cut off. "That's um, the Wayne Tower," he replied, but his voice was oddly closed, and he didn't elaborate. Wally waited a moment, then shrugged it off and launched eagerly into another soliloquy on his impressions of Gotham.
"Hey dude, I'm starving!" Wally exclaimed all of a sudden, breaking off mid-word, after realizing that he hadn't brought anything with him to snack on. Robin turned his masked eyes to Wally's green ones, amusement curling his lips into a smile.
"Ha, Batman did warn me about this," he chuckled, ignoring Wally's sheepish-indignant look. "Don't worry, KF, I brought us lunch," he continued, flopping down on the floor of the roof and leaning against a metal pole, then produced a tupperware box from somewhere. Wally squeaked and tried to stop himself from showering his new friend in heaps of love and gratitude. The best way to win Kid Flash's friendship? Bring him food. He finally settled down enough to take the proffered sandwich from Robin's hand, wolfing it down in a matter of seconds. Robin made a fake gagging sound next to him at the sight, but Wally just grinned widely at him, unfazed.
Once the edge of his hunger had been dulled, he opened his mouth to speak again. "You know, you can call me 'Wally'," the redhead said, recalling the nickname Robin had used for him earlier. "I mean, I have nothing against 'KF', but if you want to call me by my real name…?"
Robin stilled, the hand holding his sandwich frozen half way to his mouth. Then his expression turned conflicted, and he didn't quite meet Wally's searching eyes. "Uh, sure, if you want…" was all he replied, after a long pause. He bent his legs and pulled them up in front of him, resting his chin on his knees. It struck Wally how, for all his confidence and maturity, Robin really was just nine years old. And now, with his arms wrapped around his shins and his gaze fixed guiltily on the horizon, he actually looked it. "I can't, though, you know… um, secret IDs and stuff…" Robin babbled, and Wally looked at him in confusion. Robin took a breath. "I can't tell you mine," he clarified.
"That's no problem!" Wally laughed loudly, his exclamation startling the younger of the two. But Wally was well aware of Batman's strict rules regarding their identities; Barry had filled him in earlier.
"Really?" Robin asked, his fingers nervously plucking at the Kevlar padding on his knees. "You really don't mind?"
"'Course not, Rob. We'll become best friends anyway, and then when you trust me enough, and your big Bat-Daddy isn't hanging over you, you can tell me. Right?" He grinned a million-watt grin at the other, punching him lightly in the shoulder.
"Um…"
"Or, even better, we'll become boyfriends!" he exclaimed, as if having an epiphany. "Aunt Iris says that when two people really love each other, then they have no more secrets between them. So there." He draped an arm over Robin's shoulders and smirked, but the acrobat just gave him a consternated look and shook his head uncertainly. Before either of them could make another sound, however, the light tap of rubber soles against the concrete floor approaching them gained both their attention. Robin had stiffened under his arm at the sound, but abruptly he relaxed again, a tiny smile even making its way to his face.
"Wally, meet my… meet Batman," he announced, standing up, and Wally missed the feel of his warm little body pressed against his side. All thoughts of that nature fled from his mind a moment later, though, when The Batman stepped out of the shadows, a million times more imposing than his uncle's worst descriptions. His cold gaze rested on Wally, and the speedster felt as if his every thought and feeling was open to scrutiny, and was being picked through by a judgmental hand. He cowered behind his new friend, only daring to breathe again when Batman gave him a curt nod and turned his unnerving attention elsewhere.
"Robin. I want you back at the Cave now; I'm needed for a League meeting and I want you supervised." Batman's voice was gravelly and closed, but somehow the knowledge that the big scary Bats actually cared for his bright little sidekick made him seem more human to Wally's eyes. It didn't stop the redhead from feeling disappointed that his new friend would be leaving so soon, though. They'd been having the best of times after all.
"Sure," Robin nodded, packing away the empty sandwich box with quick efficiency. He turned his masked eyes back to Wally, and his face split into a happy grin. "It was super cool meeting you, KF. You're totally asterous. We'll hang out again soon, okay!" He exchanged a look with his mentor which Wally couldn't read, and then bounded off the roof, vanishing silently into the shadows from whence he came. The echo of his tinkling laugh floated back to them.
Wally glanced nervously at Batman, who was still standing a few feet from him, just out of the range of the light. The speedster sensed more than saw him, and that was really kind of freaky.
"He likes you," Batman said suddenly into the awkward silence. "He doesn't usually open up to people that quickly, but he did for you." Wally shuffled his feet nervously, not sure how he was supposed to reply to that. He couldn't detect Batman's opinion on the matter, since his tone was carefully neutral.
"Uhh well, I—"
"However, I think he has quite a few more years to go before he's ready to have a boyfriend," Batman cut him off. Wally's green eyes widened in shock and he stared at the Dark Knight with a dry mouth. Freaky. The guy must have been hiding in the shadows the entire time they were talking. That was really freaky.
"So, uh, the answer's no then?" Wally made a feeble attempt at a joking tone. But, he swore he saw Batman's lips twitch just slightly, though it could have been a trick of the light.
"Definitively." And, with a swish of his cape, Gotham's vigilante had quite literally melted away into the darkness, as effectively as his protégé before him. Again; freaky.
…Wally spent the next fifteen minutes pondering how to get down from the roof without the help of a grappling gun, and then ended up calling his uncle for help.
~x~
Author's Note: Number 2 will be up soon! ;D If you liked it or have any critique, do me a favor and review, please? And also please vote on the poll on my profile. A (late) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you!