Title: Progression
Rating: PG
Author: Destinyislander24
Chapter: 1/1
Summary: Robin realizes he might be in love with Wally, which causes some problems for their friendship.
Author's Note: And so continues my love affair with Dick Grayson. This is my first birdflash fan fic and I hope everyone enjoys it!
-x-
"Can I try them on?"
"No."
"Please? I promise I won't break them."
"You break everything. And even if you didn't, the answer would still be no."
"Come on!" Wally beamed from his side of the couch. The rest of the team had gone out for the day, while Dick and Wally had opted to stay behind at Mt. Justice. "Are you afraid they'll look better on me?"
Robin smiled. "No." And they both laughed. "I'm afraid Batman will kill me."
"Yeahhh… but Batman doesn't have to know." Wally scooted closer. "I'm not going to tell him." He moved in closer. "And if you aren't going to tell him… what's the harm?" He leaned back and narrowed his eyes. "You aren't blind, are you?"
Dick shook his head. "I think you'd know if I was blind by now. And what Batman doesn't know, he finds out."
"Fine… fine, fine, fine. I guess I'll just have to go on, knowing my best friend doesn't even trust me enough to show me what he looks like. It's a hard life, a sad life, but I'll get used to it…. If only there was someone-"
"Alright! Alright! Here!" Robin handed them to Wally. "But if my identity is blasted all over the internet, it's your fault."
Wally didn't listen as he put them on. "They're a little darker than I thought they'd be." He smiled at Dick. "I look pretty good, though. Right?"
"Amazing."
"Huh." Wally looked at him with his head tilted. "You actually have really nice eyes. I thought they'd be all buggy, or something."
"Uh… thanks." Robin felt uneasy but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling. "Can I have them back now?"
Wally groaned. "I guess." He held out the glasses but they slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor. "My bad."
-x-
Batman paced in front of the enormous display. "The mission is nothing more than tagging the crate. You are not to try and apprehend it."
Wally raised his hand. "Why not? Aren't there a bunch of drugs in there?"
"Dude." Robin whispered.
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
Batman cleared his throat. "The crate is being delivered to a new crime group. We don't have any information on them, other then all the delivery connections they've been making. If we take the crate, we lose our trail."
Wally gave him a thumbs up. "Got it."
"You will be divided into teams of two. Artemis and Superboy will pose as the shipping crew. M'gann and Kaldur will infiltrate the boat from beneath the water to try and see who is supplying the new crime syndicate. Kid Flash? Robin? You're going to follow the tracker, but keep a low profile, we don't want to tip them off. The rest of the team won't be far behind."
Robin found himself beaming as the team took the teleporter two at a time.
"Why are you all smiley?" Wally asked as the teleport booted up.
"I don't know…" It was true, missions didn't usually excite him this much. "Guess I'm just happy to be working together."
-x-
"Ow! What're you doing?"
"Sorry." Dick tucked Zantanna's hair behind her ear and went back to kissing her neck. "Better?"
"Yeah, it's fine." She thought aloud as he unbuttoned her blouse. "Why so eager today?"
"Do I need a reason?" He pulled back and kissed her. "I missed you, that's all."
"Right… how was your mission with Wally today?"
His tongue traced along her collarbone. "It was good." He giggled. "Of course Wally forgot the tracker, so we had to go back to get it." He laughed again. "We nearly missed our window and Wally had to run around the docks looking for the right crate." Dick undid the last button on Zatanna's blouse. "He found it, though. But you should have seen his-"
Zatanna grabbed the back of Dick's hair and scanned his eyes. "Oh my god."
"What?" He asked.
She groaned. "Alright, get off."
"Why? What did I do?"
She pushed him back and sat up while pinching the bridge of her nose. "I can't believe this is happening."
"What're you talking about? Did I do something wrong?"
"No.. you didn't. It's just…" Zatanna sighed. "I don't think we can do this anymore... I think you might be in love with Wally."
"What?!" Dick's eyes went wide. "You think I'm in love with Wally?! What are you talking about?!"
"It's fine." She gave a light smile. "Just promise me you didn't know the whole time we've been going out."
"Z… I honestly have no idea where this is coming from. How could you think-"
"Htrof emoc suoicsnocbus."
Dick's eyes glazed over and he looked off into the distance. "I've been having these weird feelings when Wally is around but I've been trying to suppress them because I don't know what they mean." His eyes refocused. "Huh…"
She stroked the side of his face and smiled. "Thank you." She stood up and buttoned her shirt. "Now, you should probably go tell Wally before this gets any weirder."
-x-
"Hahahahahahahaha!" Even as he laughed, Dick knew he sounded insane.
Wally looked at him curiously. "What's going on with you today? You're acting all weird."
Robin's blood ran cold. "Am I?" His voice cracked.
"Yeah…" Wally narrowed his eyes. "You're acting like you're keeping something from me…" realization dawned on his face. "You heard something about M'gann, didn't you? She's totally in love with me, right? That's what you can't tell me?"
The knot in his stomach grew worse. "No…" He took a deep breath. "I was talking to Zatanna… and I didn't even know this was happening but…" He could see how excited Wally was and he couldn't bring himself to disappoint him. "... you totally have a shot with M'gann. She hasn't said anything but… you're a great guy. You'll win her over."
Wally beamed back at him. "Thanks, dude. You're the best friend a guy could ask for."
-x-
Robin sat at the computer in the quiet cavern of Mt. Justice when Wally rushed in, out of nowhere. "What're you doing?"
Dick jumped a mile in the air. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that!" He took a deep breath. "Unless… ya know, it's a bad guy."
"I wouldn't have to sneak up on you if you weren't avoiding me."
"Avoiding… I'm not avoiding you, I've just been busy with… league stuff and… other… stuff."
"Well it's time you dropped it, cause you haven't left the cave in weeks and it's time to see the sun!"
"I'm good."
"Come on!" Wally punched him on the shoulder. "Let's go take down a supervillain! Or some muggers! Better yet, let's save some pretty girls from a super mugger! That will get you out of your weird funk."
"By weird funk, do you mean work ethic?"
"Yeah… whatever you want to call it, let's just go!"
"I think I'll pass. But you have a good time."
"Seriously, dude? Friends don't let friends pick up damsel's in distress alone."
"Wally, I said I don't want to, okay? Just… drop it."
Wally looked like he'd been hit. "Yeah… alright." He walked toward the teleport. "Hey, if you change your mind, feel free to give me a call."
Robin waved over his shoulder and Wally disappeared.
-x-
"It's getting harder… being around him? It's like, I can't figure out how to be myself." Robin looked down. "It's not fair. I wish I didn't know I liked him because it's like I have to chose between humiliating myself or not being friends with Wally anymore and I can't do that."
Black Canary leaned back in her chair. "Why does it have to be humiliating?"
Robin shrugged. "Because… he doesn't think of me like that. We've been friends for years and now, what? I'm going to pronounce I love him? How is someone supposed to respond to that?"
"Maybe you should let Wally decide that."
-x-
"I was there for that one." Wally pointed to a collection of mission relics that hung on the wall. "It wasn't as dangerous as they said it was… it was way, way more dangerous than that. I'm lucky to be alive."
Black Canary and Red Tornado decided it would be good for the group to get out and see the positive effect a hero can have, and the support they can accumulate. So, with Wally as their unofficial tour guide, they trudged through the overly crowded hallways of the Flash museum.
"Everyone?" Black Canary stopped and addressed the group. "We're going to go off into groups. Meet back here in an hour. And don't leave the museum!"
Everyone began to partner off. Robin saw Wally make his way to M'gann and his stomach dropped, but he pressed forward.
"Wally? I thought you might want to check out the roof... together?"
"You're talking to me now?" Wally asked, a little harsher then Dick would have liked.
"Yeah… I was hoping we could talk about that, too."
-x-
By the time they reached the rooftops garden, it seemed Wally had forgotten to be mad. "I can't wait until there's a museum dedicated to me, someday. But it'll be bigger…"
"Definitely." Robin chuckled. "Hey… I just wanted to say, I'm really sorry for the way I've been acting lately. I've just… been going through some stuff and-"
"Aw bro, that's okay!" Wally wrapped his arm around Dick and pulled him close. "You know, if there's anything you want to talk about, your best buddy is here for you!"
"Yeah…" Robin gave a weak smile. "I know you are." He took a deep breath. "Actually, there is something I kinda wanted to talk to you about."
Wally pulled away, faced Robin and looked at him seriously. "Absolutely. Kidflash is here to help!"
Just then, a deafening rumble filled the air and a small plane with a loud engine swooped down on the museum. It hovered a few feet above the roof before the cockpit opened and The Rogues jumped down. Their guns were at the ready and the museum patrons ran in every direction.
"Let's help them first." Robin said and they smiled to one another. "I'll take out Cold if you can handle the rest?"
"I'm on it!" Wally saluted and sped off in a yellow blur that bounced to each of the Rogue members, surrounded them in a small tornado, and left them in an unconscious heap.
Robin took advantage of the commotion to creep along the edge of the roof until he was behind Captain Cold. The Rogue's member took aim at Wally, but Robin jumped on him before he could pull the trigger.
They struggled, but Captain Cold pulled Dick off and threw him to the ground, but before he could deliver the final blow, Wally ran into him at full force and sent him sailing across the roof. He held out his hand to help Dick up.
"So, what did you want to talk about?"
"Uh… I don't think right now is the best time."
Wally looked around to the unconscious Rogues. "They're fine, the rest of the team will be here in a minute."
"Oh… well…" Robin struggled to find words. "You and I have been friends for a really long time…"
"Uh huh." Wally nodded supportively.
"And I wouldn't want to do anything that might jeopardize that, 'cause our friendship means the world to me…." He took a deep breath. "You mean the world to me…" Wally's expression was unreadable and Robin couldn't help but look down. "What I mean is… I like you more then a friend. A lot more. And you don't have to feel the same and I get it if you're uncomfortable but… I didn't want to lie to you anymore."
"Dick…" Wally sighed. "Get down!"
He pushed Robin to the side and a beam of cold air missed his ear by a fraction of an inch. Robin stumbled to the ground but regained his footing, turned around, and threw a batarang into the barrel of Captain Cold's gun, just as he went to fire another beam. The gun backfired and enveloped it's handler in a thin layer of ice. When Robin turned around, he saw the blast had hit Wally square in the chest.
"Wally?!" Robin knelt at his side and shook him but his friends skin was ice cold. "Please don't die, please don't die."
-x-
"You told him you liked him while you were fighting the Rogues?" Zatanna shook her head. "You have a knack for really bad timing."
"Tell me about it." Robin groaned with his face in his hands. They were seated outside the recovery room of Mt. Justice. Everybody asked what happened to Wally, but Robin couldn't bring himself to tell the truth. The guilt had eaten away at him and, despite his best efforts, he told Zatanna everything. "I didn't mean for him to get hurt…" He shuddered. "You think he'll be okay, right?"
"I do." She rubbed his shoulder as she stood. "I'm going to get something to eat, want anything?"
Robin shook his head and when Zatanna disappeared into the kitchen, he was left alone. He tried not to cry but the tears pushed their way to the surface.
"You okay?"
Robin jumped as Conner exited the recovery room. He wiped his nose and feigned a light smile. "Yeah… just worried."
Conner sat next to him. "I get that. I'm sorry… everyone knows you and Wally are tight."
"Yeah…" it was a nice thing to say but it still hurt Dick for some reason.
"I mean, he talks about you all the time. It actually gets kind of annoying. When you guys weren't talking, he wouldn't shut up about figuring out what was wrong, or trying to make it better. He didn't have a chance yet, but I think he would want you to have this now."
Conner handed Robin a small, wrapped package.
Dick was quick to open it. Inside was a new pair of sunglasses with a note taped to the top of the case in the messiest handwriting he'd ever seen.
I'm really sorry I broke your glasses. Forgive me?
"He was really worried but we all knew you'd work it out. You guys were meant to be together."
The tears came on stronger. "Thank you."
-x-
"He's awake but he's still really weak so don't over excite him." Black Canary told Robin.
"He was born over excited." Robin smiled as he slipped through the door into Wally's room.
Before his eyes had adjusted to the blinding, fluorescent lights, something came sailing at his head.
"Ow!"
"Good, I hope that hurt cause you suck." Wally was seated in his bed, back against the headboard, arms crossed over his chest.
Robin picked the plastic bowl off the floor. "I deserve that one."
Wally just scowled.
"I didn't mean to put you in danger and I'm really sorry about that. And about what I said… I still mean it but I understand if you don't feel the same, it's just- Ow!" This time, it was a spoon. "Stop doing that!"
"Then stop saying stupid things." Wally grumbled.
"I'm trying to apologize to you!"
"I don't want an apology. I want you to be honest with me! I could care less about what happened with the Rogues. I want to know why my best friend thought he couldn't talk to me about the way he feels."
"I…" Robin sighed and sat next to Wally on the bed. "You're right, I should have just told you."
"Yeah, you should have. It would have made this whole thing a lot easier."
"What're you talking about?"
"Well… I thought you had noticed… I liked you too." Robin was surprised to see Wally turn red. "You started acting all weird after I broke your glasses, by the way, the ones I got you look really good, and I thought it was because you were weirded out… so I tried to be like we were but it was like you already hated me fo-"
Robin pushed his lips against Wally's, grasping at whatever piece of the speedster he could find until he was nearly on top of him. Wally returned his enthusiasm until he winced in pain.
"Sorry!" Dick cried, pulling back.
Wally smiled. "Nah, it's fine." He sat up. "Though, do you think Batman would mind if you took off your glasses so I can kiss you more?"
"I'm willing to risk it." Dick chuckled as Wally slid them from his face and returned to kissing him.
There was a warmth in Dick's stomach and he grasped Wally's hand tightly, to confirm this was all real. Then there was the sound of shattering glass and Dick saw his new sunglasses in pieces on the floor.
Wally had a guilty smile and his cheeks flushed red. "My bad."
-x-
Author's Note: Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it (or if you didn't), comments and kudos give me life so please don't hesitate! I would love to know what you thought and I always use feedback for future instalments :)
