This is a companion piece for my one-shot, Used to it, from Wally's PoV. Wally West realizes he might just have a crush on the Boy Wonder. If you haven't read Used to it, it's important to know that Robin is actually a girl, but no one outside the Batfam actually knows that.
To everyone who has asked, or will ask, I will be making a multi-chapter story that the events of these two one-shots have been taken from.
I don't own Young Justice.
Enjoy!
Wally West was a speedster, and that meant something really obvious. He was fast. The fastest boy alive, in fact. Being the fast boy alive meant he was not used to it. It meaning being slow on the uptake. Not that that was a truly unusual phenomenon. Wally wasn't dumb, but he could be stupid sometimes. Still, being a fast thinker should have meant he was quick to notice things. But he wasn't, and it took him a long time to realize something important about his best friend.
Flash had always been Wally West's idol, but Robin was his inspiration. The Boy Wonder was two years younger than Wally, and he was the world's first sidekick at age eight! Not just that, but he was protégé to the Batman.
What wasn't to like?
Not that Wally like Robin in that way. Robin was a dude, and Wally already had this big crush on a girl from school. But at eleven years old, his pick-up lines had a long way to go. No, he didn't like Robin, but Wally thought he was cool. And Wally wanted to be like him, to fight crime and inspire other kids.
So he had been ecstatic when, at age twelve, he successfully recreated the Flash's experiment and became Kid Flash. Finding out Flash was actually his own uncle had been awesome, but when he found out he would get to meet Robin? Wally wasn't sure if he had ever been so excited. He got to meet the other sidekicks too, but Speedy was a little full of himself because of his age, and Aqualad was… interesting, which was a normal reaction to meeting an Atlantian for the first time.
But Robin?
"Hey, Kid Flash. Cool to finally meet you."
Robin thought it was cool to meet him? Wally could have died happy then and there, and in his excitement he just starts rambling. Oddly enough, the first thing Wally truly noticed about the younger boy, was that he really did look a little bit like a girl. And since his mouth was quicker than his mind, he let the comment slip before he even realized what he was saying.
"Don't worry, KF. Everyone eventually gets it right. I am Boy Wonder after all, aren't I?"
Wally couldn't believe, Robin let it slide. They were going to be best bros, he could feel it.
Wally hadn't really been expecting Robin to reveal his identity at the same moment as him. Flash had given permission, saying he could trust the other heroes, but that the bats were also extra secretive when it came to this kind of stuff. So he didn't mind when, after randomly blurting out his name while they were hanging out one day, Robin didn't do the same.
Although he is a little surprised that apparently Robin already knew who he was.
But Wally can see that it actually bothers Robin the fact that he can't say his civilian ID. He decides to lighten the mood, make it easier on the bird, and turn it into a game. That way Robin won't have to feel so bad.
"But if I guess correctly, you have to tell me, okay? It won't really be breaking the rule, since I'll have guessed it myself."
"Ha, sure, you're on." But despite the grin on Robin's face, he sounds sad and quiet.
From that day on, every time Wally saw the Boy Wonder he would make a guess. He never got it right, and Wally was sure he never would, but his guesses made Robin laugh and smile again, so that was okay. Because that's what best bros were for.
Wally isn't gay, he knows that. He had his first kiss at fourteen, it wasn't really anything special, but it's with a girl and Wally just knows. He likes girls. His second kiss is, funnily enough, with a guy. It was truth or dare, and Wally West never turns down a dare. The kiss lasts for hardly even a millisecond, and he knows that he doesn't like guys.
So why the heck does it feel like he's blushing right now?
Batman was dealing with a major Joker problem, and didn't want Robin around because of their last encounter. Robin sarcastically summed up the meeting with a comment about 'new best friends' and 'crowbars'. But since Robin is Robin and just has to be fighting crime all the time, because that's what it seems like to Wally, Batman actually let Kid Flash into his city. This was, of course, so that he could make sure Robin didn't seek out the Joker, or didn't try to confront him if they crossed paths.
Wally had never patrolled in Gotham before, and he was pretty sure he'd never want to again, because bullets freaking hurt!
He was a fast healer, but he still felt pain.
After taking out the would-be mugger, Robin had order Wally to sit down so he could take care of the injury. This involved cutting away some of the material on his leg for better access. His fingers are light and gentle as they ghost of the wound, examining the entry and deciding whether it hit any important arteries. That's what almost making Wally blush. Which is stupid because he likes girls, and the Boy Wonder is most certainly not a girl. He figures he's just embarrassed because he got hit.
"Sorry." Robin apologizes as he cuts an X over the bullet wound, causing Wally to his in pain. He removes the bullet, slaps on a bandage, and helps Wally to his feet.
"Hey, KF, are you okay?" Robin asks with a smirk. It takes Wally a while to recognize the phrase, but eventually it clicks. From about a year ago, when Robin was patrolling Central with him and Flash, and got hurt.
"You're looking a little red."
"Shup up, Rob, that's probably just the blood." Which is technically true, because blush is a blood rush, so Wally's not really lying. But he's smiling anyways because Robin's jokes are lame sometimes and he loves them.
It's the explosion that gets Wally thinking. Well, technically it's the moments before the explosion. Because Robin is still inside the building, and surely it's going to blow up soon, but there's no sign of the younger boy and Wally is so worried and panicked.
Of course he's worried and panicked, Robin is his best friend. The others are too, but not as much as he is. Which still makes perfect sense.
But then Wally can't take waiting any longer and he runs into the building because there's only one thought running through his mind.
Robin can't die.
Not just because they're best friends, but because Robin is more than that. Wally isn't sure what that means, but Robin is just so important to him, and he doesn't know what he'd do if Robin died. He finds the bomb, abandoned, as sees the timer has one second left. Wally books it, knowing he'll easily make it out in time, and content knowing that Robin can't be inside anymore.
He's proven right when he the Boy Wonder absolutely glomps him while they're out on the street.
"Geez, dude, you're crushing me. Seriously, I'm alright bro."
And Wally is alright, but he wouldn't care if he wasn't because he's more concerned with Robin anyways. There aren't any new injuries, his clothes aren't singed, so he was in the clear for the explosion. A wave of relief washes over the speedster and he hugs Robin back, holding for just a second longer than necessary.
But Wally's not gay, he knows it. He was just worried for his best bro.
At least that's what he tells himself.
After that, Wally pays a little more attention to things. He's genuinely curious about how he's feeling, because he really doesn't understand it. Robin also seems to be acting a little odd. Especially ever since they acted as bodyguards at some charity function. A big his had apparently been ordered by someone on Bruce Wayne. They suspected the Shadows, so the League had been there to protect the guests. Wally had met the famed Richelle Grayson, Mr. Wayne's daughter. She had been nice, and cute.
But back to Robin.
Wally had started noticing things. Every time he flirted with M'gann, or made what the Boy Wonder called a 'Wally comment', it looked like said wonder would get annoyed. In fact, he would often sweep out of the room in that dramatic way that all bats did. Not that either one would ever own up to being dramatic.
"Rob, bro, is something wrong?"
"No, KF, I'm fine. Just a little tired."
It sounded like a lie, it probably was a lie, but Wally doesn't push it further. Because he's still confused. It's actually Zatanna that confuses him. The magician obviously has a thing for the Robin, and he seems to go along with it sometimes. And that actually bothers Wally.
He reasons that it's just because Robin is spending more time with her, so they can't hang out as much. But then the flirting stops and its obvious they aren't going to be a 'thing', and they still hang out all the time. It really doesn't make any sense, and he's still bothered.
Wally wasn't expecting the kiss. He really wasn't. He also wasn't expecting to enjoy it.
They were having a Team bonding session, courtesy of Red Arrow. Which meant he snuck alcohol into the cave. Wally was pretty sure that Roy hadn't actually meant for anyone else to have some, considering he was drinking it from a water bottle that he wouldn't let anyone else touch. But somehow the two youngest members of the team had managed to… obtain it, in the simplest of terms.
They weren't quite drunk, per se, but they were certainly a little bubbly and uninhibited. Wally honestly found it a little amusing, they all did. And Robin had stressed that despite only being thirteen, he knew how to handle low levels of alcohol. Wally wasn't sure if he should be impressed or worried.
Roy had taken his 'water' bottle back, but the damage had been done. The two thirteen year-olds were conspiring, and Zatanna was constantly muttering spells under her breath and generally causing mischief. That's when it happened. Suddenly there was a violently mischevious sparkle in Zatanna's eyes.
"Ssik yllaw dna ellehcir ekam!"
Then the boys suddenly jumped at each other, and their lips locked.
Unexpected indeed.
As soon as Wally had control of his own body, he pulled back, and Robin did the same. But the younger boy was blushing furiously and rounded on Zatanna, speaking to her in a quick babble that no one understood. Except for her of course. Artemis and Roy were laughing, Conner was blinking in confusion, M'gann was giggling, Kaldur was holding back a heavy sigh, and Wally was just sitting there. Because he and the Boy Wonder had just kissed, and he was pretty sure that he'd enjoyed it.
"Hey, Baywatch, how does it feel to kiss your hero?"
Honestly? It felt great. Wally didn't actually say that out loud, just sputtered some nonsense about he himself being a fantastic kisser, and that Artemis should give it a try some time. He got a smack to the head for that comment.
It was a few days after the kiss that Wally finally came to terms with it. It had been just him and Robin in the mountain, and normally Wally would have jumped at the chance to annoy the Boy Wonder until he finally agreed to play video games. But not this time. Robin was completely engrossed in some work on his holo-glove, so Wally just took to watching. Not what Robin was doing, but the boy himself.
Wally's comment from the day they met still rang true. Robin looked a little bit like a girl. His features were sharp, but not square. He was lean, but more slender than one would expect from someone who exercised so much. None of those features are exactly surprising on a guy. But there's just something distinctly feminine about him, that Wally can't really place. He wonders what Robin would look like without the mask, and has the sudden feeling that he would be, in a word, pretty. He can't help but smirk at that.
"What's so funny?"
Wally's been staring too long, Robin noticed.
"You're a pretty boy, aren't you?" Wally accuses, deciding to tease his younger friend. Robin blushes and stammers a reply, and Wally just chuckles. The seemingly affronted boy returns to his work, grumbling under his breath, and Wally's grin just stretches wider.
And then he knows it, he knows the truth.
"Dude, just go obsess over your future girlfriend." Is Robin smiling when he says that?" "I'm busy."
Oh, right. Wally claimed to have a crush on Richelle Grayson (really, what healthy teenage boy interested in girls didn't?). He guesses it was just a celebrity crush or something, because now he understands.
Wally West, Kid Flash, like likes his best friend.