Bruce Wayne was at a loss of words if he were ever asked to describe the infamous Wally West. Of course a lot of things could be explained by the fact that he was a Flash, but that didn't exactly cover everything.

To be blunt, yes - Wally was a bad influence. Whenever something randomly combusted into flames around Dick, 7 out of 10 times, Wally was present.

More times than Bruce could count, he had wanted to drop his dignity and facepalm at the antics, activities... call them what you will.

...

It's not like Bruce meant to listen in, but it wasn't his fault that their conversation carried into the hallway...

Wally had come over for a biology project him and Dick were working on together; put those two in a room together, and the pure brilliance is astounding.

But more times than not, the pure shenanigans outweighs the pure brilliance. He heard Dick laughing and telling Wally to "Look, look! I'm balancing the emotional range of Ron Weasley on the tip of my finger!"

After more laughter and indecipherable mumbling, the sound of Wally's voice grew louder, saying, "- and on my 18th birthday, we can buy a trunk-full of pizza and oreos, then hire strippers!"

The sound of glass shattering met Bruce's ear's, in the same moment that Dick exclaimed, "Wally! I just dropped that and it's entirely your fault," in a most exasperated tone. Continuing, he told the redhead, "And we're not hiring strippers."

"You're just embarrassed cause of that time you chased the Joker into a strip club."

"Wally, either you end this conversation, or I end you."


And don't even get Bruce started on the phone calls. He usually only heard Dick's side of the call, but he had a feeling even that was too much.

...

Bruce was busy with his own phone call while Dick was doing homework at the kitchen table with Alfred's occasional assistance. Just as the young teen was finishing up his homework, the sound of "Friend like Me" from Aladdin rang through the kitchen - cursing, Dick quickly answered his phone, immediately berating the person on the other end - guess who?

"Dude, quit messing with my ringtone!"

"What?"

A few moments silence, then a bewildered, "What?!"

"Slow down."

"Hang on, you're where? Doing what again?"

"Dude that's messed up."

"Okay fine. Just remember, if you hear ominous chanting, the appropriate response is to run."


Then of course was the infamous Jenga incident, which Bruce wasn't there for, but definitely heard about. Dick had been spending part of spring break with Wally at Iris and Barry's house, which thankfully was still standing at the end of the visit. The two troublemakers had been left by themselves starting at 7pm one night, and if everything had gone according to plan, they would have had from 7 - 11pm to have fun; a peaceful 4 hours.

But when do things every go according to plan.

The two of them got into the cookies, marshmellow fluff, chocolate chips - everything and anything there that could get them high on sugar, and did. It was later argued between Wally and Dick over who's idea it was to play Jenga, but either way, the idea came up and was pounced on. Apparently the pair got so incredibly loud over the game in their sugar-high state, that a neighbor called the police for 'disturbance of the peace'.

In short, the cops came knocking, told them to open the door, Wally yelled back "No, its cooler when you bust it down!", there was further shouting and obscenities, misunderstandings, and then some more. It was a 2 hour ordeal, and Bruce had to foot the bill for the busted in door.


Wally West was indeed a bad influence, therefore it sometimes amazed Bruce at how good of a friend he was. And one didn't have to look far to see it, because it was written all over both of those kids' faces.

...

Dick was resting his head on the kitchen table, half asleep, while his arms were extended towards Wally who was opposite of him. The redhead was taking each of his friend's hands and helping apply 'dry-on skin', which was super helpful when blisters needed attended to. As calloused and worn as the acrobats hands were, there did come a point after a 6 hour gymnastic/trapeze training session that the skin on his hands became a bit bloody.

Wally talked of 'remember when' stories of when the two of them had first met, as he carefully tended to his best friend's hands. Whenever Dick was injured, sick, or downright exhausted, Wally found that he enjoyed reminiscing, and Dick felt comfortable and safe listening to the stories and the speedster's voice.

Finishing, Wally offered a piggyback to the tv room, which Dick immediately accepted. According to the acrobat, of the many rules in life, among the top ten was this one: Speedsters give the best piggyback rides EVER, so always go for it. Especially when it's your best friend offering.


Bruce always dreaded the anniversary of Dick's parent's death - he could always count on it being horribly heartbreaking.

Another thing he could always count on was Wally West coming by Wayne Manor.

All day. All night. Every time.

Bruce once heard Wally tell his heartbroken friend that while he might not be able to take away the pain, he wasn't going to let him go through it alone.

...

Dick was leaning against Wally, who had one arm around his smaller friend as they made pointless conversation. Well, it was really Wally doing all the talking, while Dick picked at a loose thread in the blanket they were sharing. He welcomed the sound of Wally's voice to fill in the silence, rather than any type of media that could do nothing for him on this horrible day.

Lost in thought, he felt a tear escape from his weary eyes.

He'd always thought that as a guy, he shouldn't cry, because 'men don't cry'.

But it was okay. He was with Wally. And of the many things he'd learned in their friendship, probably the most significant, was that it was okay to cry in front of Wally. Because he wouldn't hold it against you, wouldn't bring it up again, and didn't think you were any less of a person. Instead, he would acknowledge the tears without embarrassing you, use his sleeve to wipe them away, and give you a big bear hug while teasing you for taking all the blankets.

A moment later, Dick found himself being wrapped up in a huge hug while Wally playfully reprimanded, "You're taking all the covers again dude!"


If Bruce were to try and pinpoint one memory of Wally and Dick as an example of their friendship, it would be impossible, because how can you choose just one.

As annoying, big mouthed, obnoxious, and often immature Wally West is, Bruce knew that Dick couldn't have a more loyal, caring, and kind-hearted friend.

...

Dick had been late from school upon arriving at the Cave, sporting an impressive new display of bruises and small scrapes, courtesy of his 'pals' at school.

Bruce hadn't been there, but as it turns out, he didn't need to be. Wally got the names of the 5 bullies who ganged up on his brother, called Roy up, and within an hour, the two redheads had completely fixed that problem.

...

Dick and Wally were watching the Season 2 Finale of Sherlock, eyes glued to the screen as they shouted things at the tv screen.

As they both realized that Sherlock was actually going to jump to his death, in the next second, Wally shot Dick a look before completely tackling him from the couch onto the floor, effectively making his friend miss Sherlock's actual fall from the building.

Dick didn't need to see that, and that's what friends are for; good for a tackle whenever in need.

...

Wally was leaving the Manor, getting ready to zeta to Central City when he turned around suddenly towards Dick, and proceeded to tell him, "Hey man, I never actually said this out loud before, but just so you know: If you were ever captured by Boba Fett, frozen in carbonite, and handed over to Jabba the Hutt, I would totally save you."

Laughing, Dick pulled him into a quick hug and told him, "Right back at ya bro."

In later years, Bruce would recognize this as their unique way of saying 'love you'.


Without a doubt, one can say that Wally West is a downright bad influence, but a heck of a good friend.


Author's Note!

Alright, 12 days till school's out, can I hear ya Booyah!? Ahh I can't wait :)

So, I've been sitting on this idea for a long time, and am actually quite pleased with how it turned out. Yay! Ha I'm having fun listening to the music from the movie Holes, as I wrap this up.

You guys will be getting more stories and chapters once school is out, so there's something to look forward hopefully! More frequent updates :)

Time for a shoutout, which goes to Bluephoenix22- whoo!

See you guys on the flipside- Redhead 98 out.