Summary: In a moment of frustration, Kid Flash seeks out Red Arrow in lieu of his best friend Robin. But weeks later when Robin discovers the true nature of Wally and Roy's relationship, he finds he has more complicated feelings on the matter… Roy/Wally, eventual Wally/Dick
Rating: T (Swearing and Boy Love)
Disclaimer: Young Justice and all related characters belong to DC.
AN: Hey guys! This here is the product of an RP by myself and a good friend of mine (don't know her handle on here, she doesn't ever post things, but her name is Kuro-Arashi on DA. Mine is beautifuldreamer1289.) After about a month of bothering on my part, she finally watched Young Justice, and promptly became obsessed. This is the result.
SLAM. A sharp jolt of pain rattled through Wally West's spine as he collided with the echoing floor of the cave, a ding ringing out from beneath him as the floor recognized his defeat with a large "Kid Flash, Fail" tab. A tall blond archer held his twisted arm in her hand, releasing it with a smug smile down at the runner. A loud cackle filled the room from the side of the ring, where Robin was doubled over.
"Dumb luck," Wally muttered sorely, pulling the sticky arrow that Artemis had used to stop him mid-run from his shoulder.
"Dumb luck? That's the third time she's pegged you at top speed!" Robin doubled over in renewed laughter, and Wally pushed himself up. "Dude!" he yelled across the floor. A stern look from Aqualad later and Robin had reduced his laughter to stifled giggles. Wally pushed himself up, rubbing his arm. He didn't understand. He had been going as fast as physically possible while still staying in the perimeters of the fighting ring (which was considerably slower than his usual run, granted), and Artemis had pegged him like he had been standing still. The impact had sent him flying, which had given Artemis plenty of time to catch up to him, ready with a rally of strikes as soon as Kid Flash had turned to face her.
It was like she was trying to embarrass him in front of the entire group.
Young Justice had been in commission for several months now, and all of them had improved in leaps and bounds in every aspect of their fighting careers. As a team they were growing more efficient every day, and on an individual scale they were kicking bigger and bigger bad-guy butt with no problems. And yet, for every step of progress Wally made, Artemis seemed to make two. He would beat her in one-on-one combat maybe once every five fights. Which was not nearly enough to soothe the speedster's hurt ego. Black Canary was pleased with his progress, but still, having to lose before her and Ms. M was a nightmare. Wally cradled his head in his hands. "Oh maaaan…" He groaned, feeling his chances slip further and further away. Not to mention the fact that Ms. M was openly staring at Superboy every chance she got.
And Robin's attempts to quiet his laughter were no help.
"I think we're done for the day," Black Canary spoke to the group, smiling down at Kid Flash as she offered a hand. He took it grudgingly, and with a swift tug from her direction, he was standing again, his Kid Flash suit sticky with sweat. He pushed his goggles back as the group dispersed, Robin lagging in his departure. But by the twist in the boy's mouth, Wally knew he was only going to get trouble from the Boy Wonder, and so he turned on his heel, making his way to the back entrance that led out to the grassy hillside.
"Hey, KF, wait up!" Robin was following him.
"Sorry Rob, gotta run," he threw the excuse over his shoulder, grinning, before taking off. It was stupid, yeah. But somewhere between hitting the ground and getting discharged, he had made up his mind. There was only one guy who would understand his utter frustration. He may not be able to do much about it, but Wally knew for sure that he felt the same way about the female archer.
And as Wally disappeared in the blink of an eye, the slightest of frowns tweaked across the Boy Wonder's lips.
"…And she always just has to be right! Like, she's determined to grind my face in the dirt if it means that she can use me as a step-stool to look good for the big guys. I mean, who does she think she is? I had never even heard of her before Green Arrow showed up with her. I'm KID FLASH. I've been around the block a few times, ok? Literally!" Kid Flash was trotting easily alongside Red Arrow, who was in pursuit of a thief, and who, for all intents and purposes, seemed to be ignoring Wally.
"You realize I'm in the middle of something?" the archer growled, slightly out of breath. He pulled an arrow out of his quiver, lacing it into his bow with a speed that only years of use could produce.
Wally rolled his eyes. "Not for long." A flash of yellow and red and he was gone. A scream sounded from several blocks up, and with a gust of wind, Wally was next to Red Arrow again, thief thrown over his shoulder and the stolen item in his hand. He grinned.
The corner of Roy's mouth twitched, as if he had been about to smile.
A few months later, and it seemed that every other free afternoon Wally was missing. When Batman would radio in to report that they had no need of the Young Justice team that day, Wally would grin and hit the road. His flirtatious behavior with Megan still occurred, but it was much more limited, and didn't seem to be on the forefront of his every interaction with her. He was even getting along with Artemis, though they would still argue occasionally over meaningless details.
Every night, he would transport over to the west coast, making his way down the familiar streets to a small studio apartment. Roy always made him buy his own food (as Wally could eat enough for three), but they would sit and talk and eat. And after about a month, when they ran out of food and conversation, they began to enjoy more...intimate acts, starting when, as Wally had been leaving one evening, they'd gotten too close, both freezing. Roy had leaned in slowly, unsure, and with an elated feeling spreading through his chest, Wally reciprocated, closing the gap to press their lips together. From then forward, the speedster would often stay the night, the company helping Roy to stay sane and the exerting activities helping Wally to focus on his missions during the day. And the speedster even had to use his toes to be able to fully count the times Roy had smiled in the past few two weeks, which had to be a record.
But that day, when told they were free, Wally's lips twitched and he turned not to the exit, but toward the kitchen.
Kid Flash pushed his way through the doors, jumping up onto one of the counter-tops and pulling a bag of chips towards him. He opened it, munching idly on chip after chip. It was raining outside. And Roy was staked out. He had told Wally specifically not to come that day. Wally had been hoping for a mission from Batman to pass the time, but instead he found himself with absolutely nothing to do. So naturally, he ate. Surely Black Canary would show up and do some training with them, or some other emergency would pop up that the team could run off to… He took a bite out of another chip.
Wally would find himself with company soon enough, for the Boy Wonder found himself in much the same predicament - bored and hungry. But finding his best friend actually here, in the kitchen at Mount Justice, was one of the last things Robin expected. Kid Flash had been pulling something of a vanishing act over the past few months. With every dismissal by Batman or Black Canary, Robin would turn to the redhead, opening his mouth to speak, and Kid would wave and grin his trademark lopsided grin over his shoulder, then disappear, never saying where he was going, and returning the next day with the same grin and wave. Robin had shrugged it off at first, but more recently... it had started to feel like the speedster was avoiding him.
"Dude, you're actually here?" Dark eyebrows went up, Dick's bright blue eyes widening slightly from behind his shades. Robin grinned at his friend, wandering over to snatch some of the chips from the bag and leaning back against the counter opposite Wally. "How've you been? You haven't been around much lately, seems like forever."
Wally glanced up at the sound of Robin's voice, grinning widely at the youngest member of their group. He stuffed another chip in his mouth, making a sour face when Robin stuck his hand into the bag. "Dude!" He shouted around the chips in his mouth, tugging the bag closer into his lap. "I need these. I'm out of snacks…" He swallowed, pushing his hand back into the bag.
"I've been good. Heh…" He glanced down. "Great, actually." It was strange. Usually the two never had to catch up. But recently, he had hardly seen Robin… He felt bad. They used to be as inseparable as their head heroes allowed. "Ooh! The Boy Wonder is in high school now, huh?" He chuckled, "You even look tall enough now to reach the light switch."
Robin rolled his eyes, shaking his head fondly and tossing a chip into his own mouth. At his friend's other comment, however, he made a face. "Clever." But it wasn't too far from the truth - he'd recently gone through a growth spurt, and was nearly as tall as Wally now. Still more slender than the other boy, with narrower shoulders and lean hips, but it didn't stop Alfred from having to reequip him with a new outfit for missions - the old one was too short, and he looked ridiculous in it.
But he shrugged. "Eh. Gotham Academy doesn't change much between Junior high and High School, so. You know. Same old, same old."
Wally felt the awkwardness pressing down on the two, and as a result began to eat faster. He was, however, listening intently to Robin around the crunching of the chips in his mouth. "Heh, oh yeah? Glad it's not giving your trouble. My high school, on the other hand…" He chuckled. Wally and school just didn't mix well. The only classes he actually liked were the labs for physics and chemistry, but the assignments were so basic that he could sleep through the experiments.
Wally's grin widened. "How have you been, then?"
The Boy Wonder frowned slightly, looking down. This was weird, this distance between them. He didn't like it. Not at all. "I've been, you know. The same. Batman's been really cracking the whip with missions lately, so I've been pretty tired, but other than that, it's the usual." Awkwardly, he cleared his throat slightly, then quirked an eyebrow, looking back up at the speedster.
Kid Flash frowned as the boy continued on to mention his increased workload. He glanced up again, trying to catch a glimpse at Robin's eyes, but beneath the dark lenses of his sunglasses it was impossible to tell if there were any sort of bags beneath them. "Well… don't let the Bat get you too down, man. But I guess you have to do whatever he says?" There was legitimate concern in Wally's eyes. Batman expected a lot from the kid, and Robin would never admit he was being overworked.
Robin just threw a chip in his mouth, shrugging noncommittally at the remark about his mentor and changing the subject. "So, uh... what's new with you? You've been running off pretty often, what do you get up to these days?"
Mention of his own activities sent the speedster's thoughts plummeting elsewhere. He finished off the bag of chips, whipping his hands on his pants and pushing off the counter-top, suddenly anxious.
Robin was asking where he'd been. Did he know? Had he thought something while they were all linked up for a mission? Did EVERYONE know? "I, uh…" He bit his tongue, looking around the kitchen. If everyone knew, he would have heard the reaction in the thoughts. Right? No one knew. Robin didn't know. He was just asking innocent questions.
What could he say? He didn't want to lie up front to Robin. He didn't feel right about it… But to tell him what he was really up to? Who knew how Robin would react or what he would say.
He settled for something in-between. "I've been hanging out with Red Arrow a lot lately, helping him out with his missions to get some extra work in." He laughed, thinking back to when he had been legitimately following Roy on missions, before they had been engaged in other, more intimate, acts… "He acts like he doesn't want to work with others, but really, anyone would get lonely goin' solo like that all the time. After a while he stopped trying to get me to leave him alone and let me help." He shrugged, still avoiding Robin's eyes—well, sunglasses. He threw a hand behind his head, scratching his hair and tossing a grin at Robin in an effort to blow off the tension and make his half-fib more… believable.
Robin stopped mid-chew, his eyes going wide behind the dark glasses at the explanation Kid Flash provided.
Wait. What?
"Roy? No way! How's he been? It's been so long since I saw him..."
But something was off. Why was he just now hearing about this? And Wally was acting weird, like he did when he was trying to cover up a flirting statement with Miss Martian. He wasn't looking at him, even...
Robin frowned slightly. "Wait. Does Flash know? Or Green Arrow?" Did Batman know? He couldn't... Because then Alfred would know, and Alfred had remarked recently on how he hadn't had to feed "Young Master Wallace" in a long time, which in Alfred-speak was asking where the speedster had been...
Oh man, Wally, now you're really in for it… The speedster groaned to himself. Robin had seen straight through him, and with each comment the Boy Wonder made, Wally saw his chances of escape growing slim.
"They uh… No, they don't know… And really they shouldn't. I don't think they'd like that we've… teamed up." The speedster frowned, his eyebrows pulling together, exhaling sharply at Robin's frown.
Honestly, Robin had to fight a small pang of jealousy. They hung out, they did fun stuff together... It was him and Wally that had pushed for this whole deal, along with Aqualad, back in the beginning. Yeah, Red Arrow was a friend, and Robin looked up to him like an older brother, but... Wasn't Wally his best friend? Where did Roy come into the picture all of a sudden? Why hadn't Wally told him? And why wasn't he looking at him? Robin crossed his arms over his chest, brow furrowing as each new question popped into his mind. "How long have you been going to see him?"
"It's been a… a couple months…" He was squirming under the intensity of Robin's glare. Younger or not, that kid could be as intimidating as his mentor when it came to finding the truth. Wally took two paces left, then turned and came back to Robin. He couldn't have the kid telling anyone about this. He had messed up. He shouldn't have said anything at all…he could have made something up about doing extra school work, about doing extra time with Flash, anything! Roy was going to kill him…
And suddenly, he was within inches of Robin, neck bent so that he could talk at a fifth of the noise level. "Look, I just… don't want Supey overhearin' this with his super hearing, or whatever." He hesitated, then delved forward quickly, the breath that escaped his lips hissing over Robin's neck. But he couldn't risk being overheard. "No one knows because it's a secret. I…I can't say exactly what I've been doing with Roy or what, but no one outside of him and I can know… Except you, I guess." He clenched his hands into fists. "Like, y'know how you can't reveal your identity? This big like that. It's the kind of secret that would ruin him and me…" He grimaced, he couldn't believe he had landed himself in this situation. And for the first time, what Robin might think of him struck Wally. What if…he was totally weirded out and didn't want to be friends anymore. Or if he went ahead and told everyone anyways… Wally swallowed thickly, waiting for the younger boy's response.
Robin's frown grew as the other boy fumbled verbally, and opened his mouth as Kid Flash stepped away, but his voice caught in his throat when he found Kid Flash suddenly inches away from him. The speedster's breath was hot on his neck as the other whispered furiously into his ear. Robin couldn't move. What the hell was Wally talking about? And why couldn't Robin friggin' move?
His brain struggled frantically to keep up with what Kid Flash was saying. Superboy? Wait, what did his secret ID have to do with this? What the hell was going on?
Robin shook himself mentally, leaning away from his friend to turn his head to look at him. "Wally...? What... Yeah, dude, you know you can trust me... What's going on?"
There was a long pause as Kid Flash eyed Robin, stuck in a struggle between bad and worse. How could he possibly explain his situation…and could he explain it at all? He wasn't entirely sure himself what had happened that had triggered his and Roy's attractions for each other. It had just… happened.
"I… Ugh, dude, I don't even know how to explain this. But you cannot tell anyone, alright? Not a soul, I mean it. Not even old man Bats." He gave Robin what could only be described as a stern look, before turning his face away again, raking through his mind for the right words. He felt like he was only digging himself a deeper hole. But if he were to be completely honest with himself… Having kept something so important to him secret from everyone for so long had paid a toll. It had separated him from his closest friends, from his team. This were…amazing with Red Arrow, but still, he felt he needed to come clean to someone or he would burst. And who better than Robin?
Aw, Wally, you're just rationalizing it. He thumped his knuckles against his head several times and finally turned back to Robin.
Robin's frown deepened, his worry growing as Wally continued to extrapolate. He watched the redhead battle with himself internally, taking in the stiff line of his shoulders as Wally turned away from him, the obvious distress written across his face... What was wrong? Robin felt his chest tighten, wanting to help his friend...
"I'm… Me and Roy… Aaaaugh, we're like, TOGETHER." It had been a little louder than he had intended. Kid Flash braced himself for the response, not sure if he would dash or just collapse from humiliation if even the slightest muscle on Robin's face twitched the wrong way…
Robin felt like he had been punched in the stomach, his face going blank with shock. Silence stretched between the pair as Wally's words ran though his head. Together. Together. They're... together. Like... together together. Wally and Roy? Roy and Wally?
He was completely blindsided. Who could have expected this? Thiswas where his best friend had been wandering off to for however many months without a word to anyone? Across the friggin country to have some... Some secret relationship with another boy they'd both known for years? How long did it even take him to get there every time he left? Distracted, Robin's brow furrowed, doing the math in his head. Batman had conducted tests at the Flash's request, and with the most recent test, KF had more than blown the sound barrier out of the water, reaching speeds nearly three times as fast, over 2000 miles an hour. But that was only when he was completely unhindered and at peak condition, well fed (a feat in and of itself), and running in a straight line. Roy lived in Star City on the west coast, so from here it was over 2500 miles, so that meant that, taking roads and allowing for obstacles and changes in direction slowing him down, it took him a little under an hour and a half to reach the west coast if he didn't stop along the way. Well great, no big deal.
The Boy Wonder opened his mouth to speak once, closed it, looked away, looked back at his friend, opened his mouth again, but no words came out. He closed it once more, clearing his throat and swallowing. When he finally was able to speak, his voice was oddly pitched. "R-really...? You and..." He frowned slightly. Why did he feel so upset? "You're..." Robin's brow furrowed as he looked down. "You never said anything. About being-" He stopped speaking, blinking furiously at the spot on Wally's chest where the Flash symbol belonged. When the raven-haired boy finally looked his friend in the face once more, his eyebrows shot up in surprise to find the expression there.
He'd never seen Kid Flash or Wally West looking so vulnerable.
Wally's nerves had his heart pounding so violently in his chest that he could barely hear Robin around it. His face was, if possible, more red than his hair, as he felt like every light in the universe was pointed at him, making every detail of his existence visible. Robin was very obviously flustered, but Wally still couldn't tell whether it was disgust, or if Robin really was trying to understand. He squirmed under the Boy Wonder's confused gaze and did his best to answer the questions presented to him without melting into a pool of mortification.
"Well, I…I didn't really know, and neither did Roy, that we were… Well y'know." If only he had the power of invisibility instead of speed. "It just…sort of happened."
Something within Dick Grayson melted just a little bit at the look on Wally's face, his expression softening into one that was a little more earnest. He ran a hand through his hair, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly before he spoke again. "That's- I mean, I'm surprised. Like, woah, dude. Roy. Um, wow." He shoved his hands into his pockets, suddenly anxious. "Wow. Way to drop a bomb, dude. Um, are... A-are you, like-" The younger boy wanted to smack himself in the face for being so awkward. "Wow. Okay. So, um, I assume you're happy? You, uh. You've seemed happy. You know. Recently." Robin grimaced internally. Smooth, Boy Wonder. "Which, uh. You know. Is good. Uh, if that makes you happy." What the hell are you saying?
As Robin began to fumble for words, Wally's despair only increased. "Look, it's not that big of a deal, ok?" He paced away across the kitchen. "I…" But he was stopped by Robin's inquiry. "…yeah, y'know… I think I'm really happy." He grinned crookedly, temporarily distracted from his humiliation. "I never thought I'd be…well, like that with…well, you know what I'm talking about. But it just…works." He grimaced, turning back to Robin. "So, that's what I've been up to…"
Not that big a deal? Robin wanted to smack his friend. Yes this was that big a deal! This was...
A pang went through Robin's chest. Wally really washappy... Bright green eyes lit up as he grinned, a weird faraway look going through them as he gazed at nothing before they darkened, traveling back to Robin almost timidly.
So that's what I've been up to. No kidding. The Boy Wonder's lips turned down slightly as his brow furrowed once more in thought, glancing away.
"So, uh... Why aren't you, you know. Over there now?" Hanging out with him, keeping more secrets, instead of here, actually talking to me?
And all at once, Wally was hit with a wave of relief. He still wasn't entirely sure that Robin was ok with all this, but for him to enquire further meant that they were still friends. Robin wasn't the type to waste time over things he didn't care about. Wally took a deep breath, leaning back against the counter-top again.
"Well, that's the problem. Red Arrow's undercover today… He's after some big shot and can't be disturbed. I was ordered to 'Stay. Away.'" Wally shrugged, kicking at the ground beneath his right foot.
"Wow. Kinda harsh," commented the younger boy. He scratched his neck awkwardly. "So, uh... you go over there... a lot, huh?"
Wally nodded, "I go every chance I get, which isn't very often…"
"Do you... I mean, have you..." Robin winced, flushing. "Okay, wow, not asking that." He cleared his throat, not looking at Kid Flash. "So I guess since he had to tell you not to come, you... usually just show up? That's... cool. Uh, how long, exactly have you guys.. you know. Been..." He accentuated his question be gesturing vaguely.
The flush that crossed Wally's face rivaled the one that had stained his cheeks several minutes ago. Robin had been about to ask if he and Roy had…well, of course they had, but he was beyond relieved that the Boy Wonder moved on to another topic. "We've been…uh… for two months now, I guess. I mean, it's never been official or anything, but y'know, that's how long…" He trailed off, the blush pulsing in his cheeks as he continued to avoid Robin's gaze.
The dark-haired boy's face flushed even further in response to his friend's blush. Oops.
But he frowned, thinking back. Two months...? Not official? But...
"Wow. Two months, huh. Well, um. That's... that's great." His own blush faded slightly as he grinned, cocking his head and glancing over at the speedster. "I'm impressed, though. Keeping a secret for that long? Nice going, Kid Mouth." Internally, though, he found himself growing... angry. Two whole months. This had been... they had been... For two whole months, and not a word? But he was impressed. Even when linked mentally, where a single thought could run astray and be broadcast to the entire team, Wally hadn't slipped. His control had improved by leaps and bounds, apparently.
But he hadn't even breathed a word to Robin, who was supposed to be his best friend. Just took off, every day. Every chance he gets, a voice in Robin's head reminded him. And not a word to you. Robin's throat closed with his increasing anger, but he forced his grin to remain in place as he watched Kid Flash carefully.
"Yeah," Kid Flash sighed wistfully, lacing his fingers behind his neck. "It's been a pain in the butt though." Robin's blue eyes went to the size of saucers behind his glasses at the speedster's unintentional verbal slip, his own face going red once more. Wow. As the other boy paused to glance around for more food, he realized what exactly he had said, nearly choking on his own tongue. "T-To keep secret! It's… been a pain to keep secret!" He bit down on his tongue sharply, groaning internally. Smooth, Wally, SMOOTH.
"But I've had to try really hard not to think about it on missions or anything… Man, that would suck." He groaned, looking up at the ceiling. Could he get more awkward?
"But, uh, I'm sorry I didn't, y'know, tell you sooner…"
Robin had to try really hard not to make a weird noise as the other continued to trip over his own tongue, but he blinked, his blush fading as Wally apologized.
Well, crap. Now he felt guilty for his previous thoughts. Robin shrugged, waving one hand with an air of nonchalance. "Nah. It's not a big deal, man. I get why you did it. I mean, I'm pretty surprised... Sorta dropped that on me out of nowhere, yeah?" He tried another grin, this time not as forced.
Wally's shoulders dropped, more tension escaping his body. Robin finally seemed to be relaxing a bit; things seemed like they might be…ok. Robin was his best friend, after all. And honestly, Wally felt he would have been really upset if Robin had wanted nothing to do with him.
"Yeah, dude, I'm really sorry about that." He laughed, ducking his head and grinning up at Robin. "Like I said, I didn't really know how to tell you. But when you asked what I'd been up to, it just…slipped." He ran his hand through his shock of scarlet hair, relieved that he was now a little less on the spot.
Robin's chest felt tight at the sound of the redhead's laughter, but he pushed the sensation away, smirking instead. Then he returned his hands to his pockets, looking around. "So... You wanna do something? Since you can't, you know. See Red Arrow."
Wally perked up further at the Boy Wonder's invitation, "Ooh, yeah! Y'know, I haven't been to the beach in ages. And there's that video game you and Aqualad picked up like a month ago that I really wanna play but you've probably already beat it, huh?" He hadn't realized how much he had missed just lazing around with Robin waiting for missions until he started thinking about how he wanted to spend his afternoon. It really had been ages…
"Kid. It's raining," the Boy Wonder reminded. Then the smirk faded somewhat into a smile as he tilted his head, raising one eyebrow. "But, you know... I think there are some levels on the game that we haven't beaten, if you wanna hook the system up."
"You got it!" He flashed his wide, crooked grin, and with a burst of speed he was gone. The sound of the couch scraping against the floor in the other room signaled Wally's arrival, and his voice came wafting back into the kitchen. "And hey, bring some grub with you!"
Robin grinned, shaking his head, but he did as his friend bid him, collecting another bag of chips, three sodas, and a box of crackers, bringing them in to the other room, where he provided plenty of commentary for Wally's attempts at setting up the gaming system.
Kid Flash was fiddling with wires for several minutes (Robin was the tech expert, after all), but soon the game was up and running, and the rainy afternoon was spent with playful banter, cheers when they won, and arguments when they lost. It was like nothing had changed. Elbows were thrown into ribs when no words of retaliation could be found, laughter came easy, and when Megan came by with cookies, Wally delivered his usual string of pick-up lines to which Robin objected with rolling eyes and witty quips. For several hours, the screen flashed in their faces.
And it was normal. Except it wasn't normal, because as they sat side by side, Robin was hyper-sensitive to his best friend's presence. Had it really been so long since they had just hung out like this? The entire situation buzzed around Robin's mind. Wally was warm, his accelerated metabolism keeping him a few degrees higher than normal, and Robin could sense it even when they weren't touching. It was driving him crazy. But he shoved down the weird way his skin hummed whenever they accidentally brushed together, the annoyance he felt when the speedster flirted with Megan, the way his thoughts kept trailing back to what Wally had just told him... He pushed it away, concentrating on how normal everything was, how much he had just... missed spending time with his friend.
That is, until a buzzing sounded from Robin's back pocket.
"Phone?" Wally asked quickly, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his lips as he powered through the last few enemies of the level. "Aaaaand, YEAH! HIGH SCORE TO THE WALL-MAN!"
The younger teen jumped slightly when his comm buzzed in his pocket, and, grumbling at Wally's victory cheers, pulled out the device, flipping it open. It was Alfred, so he stepped out of the room quickly before responding.
"Robin."
"Shall we expect you home for the evening meal?"
Something within the Boy Wonder loosened, and he sighed. "Yeah, I'll be back soon."
"Very well." And with that, the link closed.
As Robin moved out of the room, Wally tossed the controller of the game aside, slouching down on the couch. He sighed; he'd probably have to tell Roy about letting their secret slip… He groaned, dropping his head into his hands. The guy was going to kill him…
Robin ducked back into the room to rejoin his friend. "Hey, I gotta run, actually. Dinner, homework." He gave a wry smile. "You know how it goes."
It was strange. He had been wanting to just spend time with Kid, and now... he suddenly had to leave. And he was grateful for it. He needed time to think, to process what he had just learned...
So without much further ado, grinning as widely as he could, he bade Kid Flash goodbye, but not before he paused at the entrance to the transporter, turning around, expression going just a little somber.
Wally looked up as Robin returned and dismissed himself, rising from the couch and following him towards the exit. "Yeah, yeah, I should probably get going too."
"Hey..." The dark-haired boy's voice was quiet as he stared at the speedster's feet. "I know... you don't want me to tell anyone. And... I won't. Promise."
As the younger boy spoke, Wally felt something give. Robin really did care… It felt nice to know he had such a good friend. "Of course," He replied, "And thanks for," But Robin was gone, "…hanging out with me."
After a long moment of staring at the space previously occupied by his best friend, he stepped forward, inhabiting the spot that the Boy Wonder had disappeared from. "Recognized, Kid Flash, B Zero-Three," the machine called out in a monotone as Wally stepped into its light. And in the next moment, he was moving out onto the streets of Star City. The sun was just setting here, over a glorious clear sky. "California." Kid Flash sighed, enjoying the sensation of the sun hitting his skin. But he paused. He had no clue where Red Arrow was, and if he was staking a place out, who knew how long it would take him to surface again…
Several minutes later, Wally was at the door of Roy's apartment, checking around for any passerbys before kneeling in front of the door. He pulled out a skeleton key and commenced his work on picking the lock. It would have been much easier if he could just vibrate his molecules through the wall like his predecessor, Flash, but seeing as that only lead to bloody noses… The lock clicked, and Wally pushed the door open onto a bare studio apartment that had become his second home. Kicking the door shut behind him, he collapsed onto the bed, waiting for the older boy to return home.
"Recognized, Robin, B Zero-One," pronounced the computer as the Boy Wonder stepped out from the transporter into the Batcave. Alfred was waiting for him, greeting him in his usual courteous manner, and Dick smiled at the man, pulling off his sunglasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose.
Dinner was quiet - quieter than usual, even for their small family of three. Usually Robin would chatter away with Bruce and Alfred both, the two older men replying shortly, often with small, fond smiles. But today the teen was silent, replying to Alfred's questions with short, one- or two-word answers.
Once he had finished eating, Dick quickly vacated the dinner table, heading straight for the gym. He hadn't eaten much - he didn't have much of an appetite, and he needed to let off some steam. Changing quickly into workout clothes, he cut his usual warm up short and went straight into practicing his flips, rolls, and kicks, fending off imaginary foes with a dodge here, a roll there, back handspring into the air, vaulting from the balance beam and back-somersaulting to land on top of one of the many standing punching bags - where he lost balance and fell, barely catching himself, rolling backwards and springing off one hand to run into another punching dummy. With a grunt, he stumbled forward, caught by surprise, falling and twisting, rolling and finally landing in a crouch in an attempt to prevent injury.
He glared at the offending bag, breathing hard as he grit his jaw. With a yell of frustration, he leapt forward, unleashing his quickly escalating fury on the hapless bag stand. Finally, with a vicious back turning jump kick, the stand went down with a thud.
Dick finally stilled, staring at the downed stand, heart pounding in his chest as his veins coursed with adrenalin.
He curled one hand into a tight fist, turning away and grabbing his bottle of water, drinking half of it in a few heavy gulps. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then collapsed on a bench, staring at nothing for a long while as his thoughts overtook him.
Wally. Wally and Roy.
His brow dipped low as he ran over everything the speedster had told him, everything that had happened earlier that afternoon. Two months. Not official. 'It just sort of happened.' 'I'm really happy.' How distinctly he could remember how his skin had buzzed when they sat next to each other on the couch. How... normal everything was. Two whole months. Not a word. Not 'official.' What did that even mean? 'Not official.' So they were just...
And that train of thought was stopping. Because the last thing Robin, Boy Wonder, or Dick Grayson, the not-so average kid, needed was to imagine his best friend with another guy, particularly a guy that Dick had looked up to as an older brother and good friend for a number of years. Almost as long as he'd known Kid Flash.
He could remember meeting Wally. He had been Robin for a year and a half, the first real sidekick in the history of superheroes, and he was meeting the second sidekick. Someone close to his age. With powers. Who had to live the double life, just like him. Batman had told him sternly that Kid Flash may eventually reveal his secret ID, but it was imperative that Robin not return the favor - there were too many risks related to WayneCorp and their own personal battles on crime. The young boy, freshly turned 10, had agreed wholeheartedly, too excited at the chance to make a new friend to even consider disobeying.
They had met Roy soon after, and Kaldur. But Wally had always been the first. His best friend. They didn't have secrets!
No secrets except one. One for you, one for him.
"That doesn't count, I'm not allowed," the Boy Wonder growled, his hand tightening around his water bottle.
With a noise of frustration, Dick threw himself back into training until he could barely see straight, deep into the night. Finally, his entire body aching, soaked with sweat and pulse pounding in his ears, the young boy entered a short cool down and then showered, letting the hot water pound against his body for what seemed an eternity.
In the end, as Robin flopped onto his bed with exhaustion, he was too tired to try running over it again his head. He knew why it bothered him so much.
He was jealous.
Jealous that Red Arrow had taken his best friend from him. Taken Wally, pulled him away, gave him a reason to keep secrets. Nothing had interfered with them hanging out before, not like this.
And most of all, he was jealous because he wanted Wally West for himself.
Dick Grayson was falling for his best friend.
Keep an eye out for the next chapter! We will be putting them up every so often on here and on DA as we write them. Til then, keep rockin'!