This was a prompt fill for the yj anon meme on livejournal. OP wanted a five and one scenario where five times Wally cried and Barry went crazy overprotective Daddy!Flash on whoever made Wally cry and then one time Wally stood up for Barry. Please enjoy because it was such a joy to write! :D
1)The Amusement Park
Barry had been so excited when he heard that they were going to be looking after Iris's toddler nephew for the weekend. He had kept going on and on about it for hours. He kept asking Iris what Wally liked to do and if they should take him on a trip somewhere or what was Wally's favorite snack.
Iris thought it was just about the cutest thing. Barry loved kids and he no doubt was excited when he found out that he had a nephew.
Barry even went out and bought Wally some new toys even though Iris had told him that Wally had his own toys to play with.
Then it was Friday and Barry acted like a kid that was a little too antsy to stay in his seat while sitting in school. He could barely keep himself from speeding the whole way home but somehow he managed it.
Then after a grueling fifteen minutes he was home. He went straight to the living room and found Iris on the couch reading over no doubt research for her job.
"Is he here yet?" Barry asked.
Iris looked up at him then at her watch. "They should be here any minute."
Barry slumped and walked over to kiss his wife. "You know how long that is in speedster time?"
Iris just laughed and said that she was all too aware of that. But Barry only had to wait a few more seconds before there was a knock at the door.
Barry sped to the door and answered in no time at all.
And there they were. Mary and little Wally holding hands. Wally was looking up at him with unabashed curiosity and wonder.
"Oh, Barry. Nice to see you again. This is Wally. Wally, say hello to your Uncle Barry."
Wally looked between his mother and Barry until he gave him a big smile and said something that could be construed as a hi and waved.
Barry crouched down so he was about eye-level with Wally and said, "Hi yourself, buddy. You excited for the weekend?"
Wally nodded. Barry laughed and scooped him up under the arms and told Wally all about the weekend that he had planned and how much fun it was going to be.
Iris walked over and chatted with Mary for a little.
"Barry sure seems excited about having Wally over. You'd think it was his kid," Mary said with a laugh.
Iris laughed as well. "You don't even know the half of it. Be careful or he might take Wally for himself."
The next day, Barry had the idea to take Wally to that new amusement park that just opened up.
"We can take him on the kiddy rides and we can get him ice cream and funnel cake and-"
Iris rolled her eyes. "We can get him funnel cake or we can get you funnel cake?"
Barry stopped and thought. "Well, I mean if we're getting him funnel cake then I don't see the harm in getting me funnel cake."
When the broke the news to Wally that they were taking him to the amusement park, he was so excited that he knocked down the building blocks that he had been playing with (that Barry had bought for him).
They all went together and Barry would light up whenever someone told him that he had an adorable son. He'd let himself bask in that thought for a millisecond before thanking the stranger and correcting them because if he didn't Iris would get mad at him.
While walking around Barry could see from the distance a clown wandering around talking to kids and then making them little balloon animals.
Barry looked down at Wally who refused to let go of his hand and asked, "You want a balloon animal, kiddo?"
Wally looked at the clown and shrunk back and shook his head. Barry shrugged and said, "Okay."
They were going to make their way past the clown to where all the kiddy rides were when the clown jumped in front of them.
"Hey there, champ, wanna balloon animal? What's your favorite animal?" said the clown who looked to be a middle aged man and who was actually quite frightening up close.
Wally just shrunk back more and clutched at Barry's pant leg and looked really upset.
"Okay, pal," Barry said to the clown, "he doesn't want one. Let's go."
But the clown persisted. "No really. It's okay. I'm just a clown." He kept trying to get closer to Wally but Wally would have none of it. He retreated behind his uncle and looked frightened. Barry kept trying to tell the clown to back off in the nicest way possible.
But the clown kept trying to get Wally to like him. Then he started to make "funny faces" and it was at that point in time that Wally started to cry.
Barry picked Wally up and gave him over to Iris and away from the clown. Iris kept trying to shush Wally and was telling Wally that it was okay.
But that clown bastard kept trying to… Barry didn't even know what. The clown just kept at it.
Barry grabbed the clown by the arm and spun him around so they were facing each other.
Barry tore into the guy like he never thought he could've.
"Listen, I don't know what you're trying to do here, pal, but you come within a mile of my nephew again and I'm reporting you to the police. Is this your job? Scaring the shit out of little kids? Or is this just some kind of sick perverted ass fantasy that you have?"
"But I was just I mean," the clown said trying to defend himself.
Barry spat, "Yeah, thanks for traumatizing him by the way."
He turned to his wife and said, "Let's go."
Iris nodded and even shot her own glare at the clown and they walked away.
Eventually they were able to calm Wally down with a chocolate ice cream cone. He even offered Barry some and Barry liked to think it was a thank you.
2)Monsters
All Iris got as far as a warning was a gust of wind before a pair of strong arms wrapped around her.
"Home so soon?" she asked.
The Flash kissed her on the cheek and said, "Couldn't be away from you any longer."
Iris outwardly rolled her eyes but she still felt very flattered. "Okay, okay. Go get changed and I'll get you something to eat okay?"
The Flash gave her one more kiss before speeding off to his room. He put on a pair of sweat pants and his favorite T shirt and walked out of his room.
Only to find a tiny Wally clutching his stuffed elephant sitting on the steps leading down stairs. And it looked like the poor kid was crying.
For a fraction of a millisecond, Barry had to think. Then he remembered Iris telling him they'd be watching her nephew while the kid's parents were out of town. But it was pretty late and he wondered what the small boy was doing up so late.
Normally the kid would go and go for hours until finally he'd just collapse in the oddest places and positions. Then the kid would be out like a light until he smelled breakfast the next morning.
So seeing him up like this at such a late hour suddenly had Barry a tad worried. So he approached his nephew and said, "What's going on, kiddo? You okay?" Then he sat down next to Wally on the steps.
Wally looked up at him and clutched his stuffed elephant closer. His cheeks were tear-stained and snot was running down the kid's nose. Then he looked away and said, "Ralph couldn't sleep…"
Ralph, Barry recalled, was what Wally called his stuffed elephant.
"Yeah?" Barry asked. He decided to play along if only to understand what was bothering his nephew. "And why's that?"
Wally shrugged. He made to look like he was rubbing his eyes like he was tired but Barry could tell that Wally was trying to cover up the fact that he was wiping his tears away. Barry sighed. He picked up Wally and balanced the small boy on his knee.
He rubbed circles into the kid's back and said, "Wanna tell Ol' Uncle Barry about it?"
After a few more seconds, Wally shrugged and said, "It's stupid."
Barry waited a few more seconds and was rewarded with Wally saying, "Ralph… Ralph thinks there are monsters in the closet…"
Barry blinked. "And what gave him that idea?"
"I was talking to Jimmy from the neighborhood and he-he said there were monsters in the closet. And as soon as you close your eyes then they gobble you up." Wally seemed genuinely frightened which made Barry want to find this kid and tear him a new one.
But Wally seemed to remember that they weren't talking about him but about a stuffed animal that couldn't feel fear or anything for that matter. "I guess… Ralph overheard… and got scared… See? It's stupid."
Barry shook his head. "No. It's not stupid. Everyone's afraid of something and it doesn't make them stupid because there's something that scares them."
Wally looked surprised. "But-but Uncle Barry, you're brave and not afraid of anything."
Barry smiled then grew mock serious. "That's not true. I'm afraid of a lot of things."
"Like what?" Wally asked.
"Like… spiders. They creep me out," Barry said.
Wally couldn't believe it. "What? How could you be afraid of a tiny spider? They don't hurt anybody."
"Yeah but they have eight legs. That's creepy. Then they can crawl all over you like this," Barry said as he made a spider out of his hand. It crawled up Wally's arm then down to his belly. Then the spider turned back into Barry's hand and it tickled Wally. Wally laughed and laughed and Barry laughed too.
When Barry stopped and Wally was smiling like a three year old should be, Barry asked, "So does Ralph feel better?"
Wally smiled and nodded. But then looked a little ashamed and said, "Uncle Barry?"
"Yeah, sport?"
"I lied… it wasn't just Ralph afraid of the monsters… I was afraid too."
Barry nodded sagely. "I see. You want me to check and see if there are any monsters in the closet? Just in case?"
Wally nodded.
Barry stood up and hauled Wally up with him. "Alright, kiddo. Let's go."
So after Barry had thoroughly checked everything in Wally's closet and under the bed just for added measure was Wally finally satisfied and ready to go to sleep.
Barry tucked him in and kissed him on the forehead. "Goodnight, kid."
"Night, Uncle Barry."
With that Wally closed his eyes and went to sleep.
The next day, Barry asked Iris who this Jimmy kid was.
Iris sighed. "He's one of the kids from the neighborhood that Wally plays with sometimes. He's a little older but he likes to play tricks on the other kids. Don't get too bent out of shape or anything. I already called his parents about it and hopefully he won't do it again."
Barry shook his head. "Maybe I should go talk to him."
"Barry-"
"I just want to talk to him, Iris. It'll be fine." And before she could say another word, he had given her a kiss and had flown out the door.
When he finally finds the boy, Barry makes sure the boy understands the full extent of his actions by telling him that there was an all-seeing police force that dealt with bullies and if they ever found out about how he tricks children then they would surely take him off to bully jail.
Jimmy learned his lesson.
3)Soccer
Barry just made it to the field before the game started. He spotted Iris and Mary and smiled as he sat down next to them.
Mary was practically gushing because her eight-year-old son was a starting player on the team.
"Already at age eight," she said, "He's going to grow up to be a famous soccer player. Why, he'll get scholarships and everything. Oh, this is so exciting."
Iris nodded and agreed. "I'm sure he's going to do great. And who knows maybe he'll take after his uncle and run circles around these guys."
Barry laughed. "Sure."
A few times, Wally looked over at them and waved excitedly. They all waved back and commented on how excited Wally himself seemed to be.
He was doing pretty well overall but Barry thought that the kids from the other team seemed to play a little rougher than the kids on Wally's team. And by rougher Barry meant that they fouled a lot.
Wally even got tripped a couple times and the coach had to call a time out so that they could patch up his scraped and bleeding knee.
Barry was getting angry.
"What the hell is that coach doing? Is he telling the kids, 'Hey, pick on that red headed kid and while we're at it make sure he starts bleeding.'"
Iris shook her head. "Barry, these kids are young. They probably can't keep all of the rules straight and they're young boys. That's just how they play. Rough."
Barry still grumbled something about stupid balding fat coaches that didn't know the first thing about good sportsmanship.
But despite his grumblings, Wally seemed to be having the time of his life.
That is until one of the kids had to kick the ball in from the sidelines. Whether it was aimed or it was just a lucky shot, it got Wally right in the nose.
Barry stood up and watched in horror as Wally crumpled to the ground holding his nose. He would have speeded onto the field if Iris hadn't gotten a hand on his arm. Some of his teammates helped him over to the sidelines as his replacement ran onto the field.
Barry trotted over to Wally. "Hey, kid, you okay? Let me see, okay?"
"Mm fine, Ncle Barry," Wally mumbled.
He yanked Wally's hands away from his face and saw that not only did Wally get a bloody nose but he was crying.
Barry saw red.
He pulled out his handkerchief and pressed it to Wally's nose until his head was slightly tilted back.
"Here," he said, "Stay like that. Alright, scout?"
Wally did his best to nod.
Barry walked around the sidelines until he was on the opposing side. He made a B-line for the coach.
"Listen," Barry started, "I don't know what you teach your players but where I come from playing dirty and fouling other players so they get hurt isn't the way to play a fair game."
The coach looked at him like he was a raving lunatic. "It was an accident."
"Oh yeah? That kid could've kicked the ball anywhere on the field and it just had to be straight into my nephew's face? I don't think so. Also I seem to remember your players tripping my nephew a lot too. You wanna say that was an accident too?"
The coach rolled his eyes. "Listen-"
Barry cut him off. "No, you listen. Either you teach your players how to play right or I'll make sure you'll never coach another game of elementary soccer for the rest of your life."
The coach seemed genuinely perturbed by what Barry had said and conceded that he'd coach his players better.
Barry continued, "I also want the player that kicked the ball to come over and apologize to my nephew. Got it?"
The coach nodded dumbly.
"Good," Barry said.
Then he left to go be with his nephew. He had a passing thought to yell at the referees for letting it get to this point but figured he could always yell at them later. Right now he was just worried about Wally.
4) Mission Gone Wrong
"Okay, Kid, suit up. We got trouble at the bank," Barry told his nephew.
"For real? This is going to be sooo sweet!"
"Wally. Focus. We're going to a crime scene not a picnic, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah," Wally said. "But who are we going up against? Huh? Huh?"
"Captain Cold. Now come on. Why are you called Kid Flash when you're so slow?"
That got him moving. Barry sighed. He loved his nephew. He did. He just got frustrated with him. Especially since he recreated the experiment that Barry himself had performed to obtain and have access to the speed force.
After that had happened, Wally had begged him for hours, days, nights to "please please please please please" take him along when the Flash went to go fight crime. It was only after Barry made Wally train with him for two whole months before Barry had allowed Wally to come with him in fighting crime.
This was going to be Wally's fourth mission.
For the most part he had done well. There were a few mistakes where there wouldn't have been any if Wally would've just listened to Barry. But kids… what do you do with them?
Wally zoomed back into the room wearing his uniform and said, "All set!"
Barry checked him over and noticed something missing. He pointed at his forehead and said, "Goggles?"
Wally reached up and felt at his forehead. Realizing they weren't there he said, "Right… be right back."
He was gone in a blur of yellow and Barry just shook his head fondly. What am I going to do with him? he thought.
It had been business as usual when they'd gotten there. It seemed like a regular hold up. All Wally and Barry had to do was run circles around the Captain and take his freeze gun while he wasn't looking. But Wally was still knew at this. His reaction time was exponentially shorter than an average person's but he hadn't quite mastered how to pay attention to everything that's going on so he could act accordingly.
That's how one of Cold's cronies knocked him over and threw him against a wall.
Barry stopped running and had just enough time to yell out a concerned, "Kid!" before Captain Cold knocked him back too. And it was just enough time for Cold to make an escape in his awaiting van that every super villain seemed to have.
And there was even more time to escape after that since Barry had to go check on Wally.
He sped over to Wally and helped him up as the kid rubbed his head.
"You okay, Kid?" Barry asked.
Wally nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. We need to catch Cold though."
Barry nodded and they were both running after the van with renewed energy.
They followed the van at the 85 mph that it was going. They could have easily passed it but that wasn't the goal. They needed to catch Cold with as little collateral damage possible: property damage or casualties.
Eventually Cold led them to a shoddy shack on the outskirts of Central City.
"This place looks like it's going to fall apart any second," Wally said.
Barry laughed. "Smart kid. Glad I made you my partner."
Wally shot Barry a "you patronize me you die" look. And Barry just chuckled lightly as he said, "Come on, Kid. Let's bag this guy then go home, alright?"
Wally seemed to like that idea as he nodded and they both sped into the shack together.
The inside seemed worse than the outside. It was moldy and the wood in the ceiling above them looked just about ready to give.
But they didn't have too much time to think about that because they spotted Captain Cold and he spotted them. And so did two of his icey cronies.
The two cronies would've been easy enough if they didn't also have to worry about Cold's freeze gun being aimed at them. Wally kept circling one of the cronies and throwing some punches when he was close enough to land one and soon that crony was knocked out in a corner. But while Barry was busy trying to get the freeze gun away from Cold the other crony came up behind Wally and grabbed him, turned him around and gave Wally a good few punches to the face.
Then with a final kick, he once again knocked Wally to an opposing wall. But the force of Wally's momentum transferred from Wally to the wall up to the ceiling above. The ceiling was unable to handle that kind of stress on it and fell through. Right on top of Wally.
Luckily Barry had knocked out Captain Cold and the other crony and was on his way to punching out the last one when he heard Wally's surprised yell.
Barry rushed over to his nephew without even tying up the bad guys first. He scrambled and tried to as quickly as possible uncover Wally from the mountain of debris that had fallen on top of him. All the while repeating "Kid!" with varying levels of hysteria.
When he finally did uncover Wally, the kid was lying on the ground in an awkward position and desperately clutching at his shoulder. His breathing was labored and sometimes his breaths would come out in wheezes and grunts that would never sound healthy to anyone on any planet.
"Kid, you okay? What's wrong? Why're you clutching at your shoulder like that? Did you hurt it? Let me see. Can you stand? How many fingers am I holding up?"
The whole time he was talking he was zipping around Wally trying to get a better look at him and wondering what was wrong with his shoulder.
"I'm fine, Unc-Flash… I just think I might've broken something," Wally finally got out but it was shaky and breathy leading Barry to believe that Wally was in fact not fine.
"Kid, no matter which way you slice it 'might've broken something' does not constitute as 'fine.' Lemme see."
Wally shifted so that Barry would get a better view of his injured shoulder but cried out when Barry tried to touch it.
"Jesus, Kid, I barely touched it!" It wasn't meant to be a reprimand it was more of a surprised and slightly terrified exclamation on Barry's part.
It was at that point in time that Barry saw it. That single lonely heroic tear that slid down Kid Flash's face.
It was at that precise moment that Barry remembered someone did this to Wally. He remembered that there was a villain that did this to Wally. That the same villain who did this to Wally was only a few feet away. That was trying to make away right this second.
Barry had to consciously hold himself back. No matter how much Cold deserved to be beaten senseless for what he did to his nephew, it didn't do for a superhero to use excessive violence even for the scum of the earth. Plus he had to think about Wally. He had to be a good role model for him because one day Wally would be a superhero in his own right. And superheroes shouldn't use excessive violence.
But that didn't keep Barry from punching Cold in the face. Not that hard just hard enough to immobilize him. Okay, maybe a tad harder than that. Then he got a rope and tied up Cold and the cronies and maybe the ropes were a little tight. The cops were on their way and should be there before any major problems in blood circulation become apparent.
After his villains were properly apprehended, Barry waited with Wally until the medics showed up. They told Barry that Kid Flash's collar bone had snapped and that right now it was jagged. They needed to pull his arm so that the bones would set back into place and they asked if Barry could hold Wally down for that.
Wally had laughed and said, "Don't worry, Doc, I'm a big boy. I think I can handle it."
But that laughter had died on his tongue when the medics actually did pull. Wally cried out and Barry cringed. And when a few more tears had escaped Wally's eyes, Barry had been on the medic's case about not being more gentle with the kid.
The medics had told him that he was going to be fine and not to worry while Wally had shouted that he wasn't just a kid. He was Kid Flash!
5)The Date
"Hold still, kid. I can't do this right unless you quit squirming."
"But how can I keep still. I'm going to the dance with Kendra Lyle! Kendra Lyle, Uncle Barry! She's like the prettiest and most popular girl in our entire school! She's a dream come true! We're gonna dance and hold hands and…" Wally was red up to his ears when he said, "and maybe kiss."
Barry chuckled.
Wally had been going on and on about this Kendra Lyle ever since the school year started. How pretty she was, how smart she was, everything an eighth grader would want in a girl. When they'd first heard about the dance, Wally had told everybody how he was going to ask Kendra to the dance. That had gone on for about a week.
Whenever Barry would see Wally for that week, he'd ask him, "So did you ask her yet?"
Wally would just smile and say, "All in good time, Uncle Barry, all in good time."
And apparently the kid knew how to play his cards right since just this afternoon he came barging into Uncle Barry's and Aunt Iris's house and exclaimed, "She said, 'Yes'!"
While Wally had gone off to go get changed into his nicer clothes, Barry had looked at Iris with a glint in his eye and said, "Wish I could have been as smooth a talker as Wally when I was in eighth grade. No way was any girl going to go out with me."
Iris had laughed and said, "Oh come on. You were pretty smooth. How did you ask me out on our first date again?"
Iris was teasing him. He knew it.
Barry shook his head. "I got you a rose and said, 'Roses are cute. But Irises are cuter…'"
She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Laughing she said, "And to a high school girl that was a pretty slick come on."
Barry kissed her and said, "No it wasn't."
Currently, Barry was trying to help Wally tie his tie but the kid kept squirming and he just wasn't cooperating.
"Okay, kid, if you don't stop moving around then I'm making you do this yourself and you can go to the dance with this perfect girl with a crooked tie."
Wally stopped squirming after that instead he just had to run his mouth.
"Should I get her flowers? Girls like flowers, right? You always get flowers for Aunt Iris when you two fight. Should I get her flowers? We haven't fought or anything? What if she's allergic and then she had an allergic reaction to it and then it'd be all my fault? Better not get her flowers. But what if she's expecting flowers? And then I don't get her flowers and look like a gigantic jerk? Maybe I should get her flowers. Should I get her flowers?"
Barry laughed and said, "Listen, kiddo, whatever you I'm sure that she's just happy to go to this dance with you. Don't ruin the night by thinking about little stuff like that. Now maybe if all goes well this kind of thing will happen again. Then after you guys talk you'll be able to get her something she'd appreciate. Alright, kid?"
Wally seemed to take in that piece of information while scratching his chin. "Yeah, okay. That sounds like a really good idea, Uncle Barry."
When Barry finally finished with Wally's tie, he stepped back and said, "You look good, Wally."
Wally turned to look in the mirror and combed a hand through his hair. "I know, right?" Wally asked.
Iris laughed and checked the time. Then she gasped and said, "Wally you better start heading over now or else you'll be late."
"Okay!" Wally sped to the door and waved to his aunt and uncle and said, "See you guys later!"
As soon as the kid was gone, Barry leered at Iris and said, "Now that the kid is gone…"
Iris raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"
Barry grinned and said, "Well, y'know I thought we could do something we don't normally do…"
Iris smiled and said, "Cool. I'll break out the cookie dough ice cream and you can go rent me some romantic comedies. Then we can cuddle on the couch while you give me a foot rub."
Before Barry could protest, Iris walked off.
"Not exactly what I had in mind…" Barry mumbled to himself.
It really hadn't been that bad. But it was during Iris's second pint of cookie dough ice cream and Barry's seventh and their second movie that Wally had come home.
Barry and Iris instantly sat up and started asking him questions.
"How was it?" "You guys have fun?" "How many slow dances did you guys get to dance to?" and a slew of other questions. Wally had just looked at them and smiled and said a weak, "Yeah, no, it was fun… I'm just really tired so uh, I'm gonna go to bed."
Barry had been a little taken aback and from the look on Iris's face he could tell that she was worried too.
"Well," Barry said, "alright, kid. If you're sure. Good night."
"Sure," Wally said with a smile, "Good night, Uncle Barry. Night, Aunt Iris."
"Night, Wally," Iris said.
After Wally trudged up the stairs, Barry and Iris shared a meaningful look.
"Something happened," Iris said.
"Yeah, I know but what?" Barry said.
Barry looked toward the stairs. "Should we go ask him about it?"
Iris shook her head. "No… I don't know… Maybe you should go talk to him."
Barry nodded and said, "Okay." He started to go toward the stairs but then thought better of it and went into the kitchen first. He grabbed an extra pint of ice cream and a spoon. Barry thought maybe it'd be easier for a teenager/speedster to talk if he had a snack. Then he made his way up the stairs and toward their guest room which had recently become Wally's home away from home.
The door was closed. Barry knocked and only got a stifled, "Yeah?" in answer.
"Hey, kid. Can I come in? Iris and I got some ice cream. You want some?"
There was a pause and then Wally said, "Er, no that's okay…"
That made Barry worried. What speedster said no to ice cream and was completely fine? "I'm coming in, kid."
When he opened the door, he found Wally lying face first on the bed with his face firmly planted in the pillow. Which also set off some alarms in Barry's head.
"Hey, kid… There's something wrong if you say no to ice cream. What is it?"
Wally sat up but wouldn't look at his uncle. "Nothing," he said, "Just tired." He grinned haphazardly and it didn't reach his eyes. "Y'know from all the dancing and stuff."
Barry sat next to Wally on the bed still holding the ice cream and the spoon. "Yeah?" he asked. "So everything went according to plan?" Barry watched Wally from the corner of his eye to gauge his response.
Wally just shrugged and said, "Well, more or less…"
Barry shook his head. If everything did go according to plan Wally wouldn't have stopped talking about it. He would've told anybody who would stick around to listen to the amazing night he had with this Kendra even if he was tired and falling asleep on his feet.
"Kid… if something happened, talking about it will help…"
Wally scoffed. "Right. Talking to you about will make me look like even less of a loser… who can't even…" Wally trailed off then turned his head as far away as he possibly could from Barry. "Who can't even… keep a date to save his life…"
Barry sighed and wrapped an arm around Wally's shoulder. He rubbed and patted Wally's arm trying to convey some comfort. Apparently something happened at the dance where this Kendra was concerned.
It was after Wally leaned into Barry's half-hug when he let out one lonely dry sob and then furiously rubbed at his eyes. "What's wrong with me?" Wally asked.
"Nothing, kid," Barry replied almost instantly. "Nothing's wrong with you. In fact you're darn near perfect."
Wally let out a sigh or a scoff or a mix of the two either way it was a sound of disbelief.
Barry didn't like Wally selling himself short. "No, kid, listen to me. I don't know what happened tonight but whatever happened you need to know that you're a great kid but sometimes there will be people who are crazy and that just… they don't appreciate you or like your sense of humor or whatever but you know that there will be more people who will. There'll be people who think you're the best thing since sliced bread and y'know… I'm one of them. Wally, I'm so glad that you're in my life and I love you. I mean me and Iris and your mom we all love you. And one day you'll meet the right person and they'll love you just as much as we do. So don't get all bent out of shape over one person…"
Barry hardly knew what he was saying but he hoped that he reached Wally on some level. And apparently he did when Wally looked up at him with eyes shining asking, "You think so?"
Barry smiled and said, "Sure do, kid."
He was rewarded with Wally wrapping his arms around Barry's neck and pulling him in for an awkward but welcome hug and saying, "Thanks, Uncle Barry."
Barry just hugged him back and said, "Anytime, kid, anytime."
After awhile Wally pulled back and said, "I think I'll have that ice cream now."
Barry was all too happy to give it to him.
The next morning they got a call from someone named Kendra. Barry could only guess she was the source of Wally's melancholy last night. It was a good thing that Iris had answered the phone because Barry couldn't keep his frustration and anger at her to himself when he found out who was on the other line.
But Iris had handed the phone over to Wally saying that Kendra wanted to apologize for last night and that it had been a big misunderstanding.
And before Barry could share with Wally where he could tell that girl to put her apology and her misunderstanding, Iris caught him by the ear and led him up to their bedroom so that Wally could have some privacy.
6)What a Loser
One day, after an incredibly successful mission, Barry decided to treat Wally to lunch at their favorite diner. Which was awesome for two reasons. 1) He didn't have to go back to school right away and b) that diner had the best non-Iris cheeseburgers a guy could ever have.
And plus they had Regina, the best waitress anyone could ever ask for. She was a sixty year old woman with a lot more spunk that women twenty years younger than her. She'd always ruffle Wally's hair and get him some extra fries saying, "A boy your age needs to eat his fill to be healthy." Wally couldn't agree more.
So when they sat down in their regular spot, Regina came over in a matter of minutes. She got a big smile on her face and said, "Well, look who's here. It's Mr. Allen and little Wally. My two favorite customers. What'll it be, boys?"
Barry laughed and said, "C'mon, Regina, when are you going to stop calling me Mr. Allen? You know me better than that. Plus it makes me sound old."
Wally chimed in. "And when are you going to lose the 'little' in front of Wally? I'm not little anymore."
Regina laughed and ruffled Wally's hair. "When you get to be taller than me, then I'll stop calling you little."
Both Barry and Regina laughed at Wally's pout. So after Wally and Barry ordered Wally noticed a new addition to the restaurant that hadn't been there the last time they went. It was a TV suspended over the desert counter and it was just big enough and the diner just small enough so that most of the customers could see it.
Wally said, "I don't remember that being there before."
Regina looked over and said, "Well, Hank wanted to put it in." Hank was the owner of the diner. "I told him it was a silly idea but he said he wanted it and it's his restaurant so who am I to say what he can and can't do with it."
Regina left to go ring up their orders and Barry and Wally fell into companionable chatter.
But then something about the Justice League came on the news and Wally had to watch. The story was all about how the Justice League helped people in a town that had caught on fire thanks to a forest fire yesterday. There was footage of the Flash zipping in and out of buildings with civilians in tow.
Wally watched in awe and thought how cool the Flash was. How awesome his uncle was and how totally unbelievably awesome it was to be related to a superhero and to work alongside that superhero.
Wally knew better than to openly compliment Barry on a job well done especially in their civvies. But he knew all he had to do was grin at his uncle and he'd know just how proud Wally was of him.
"The Flash?" someone said from the counter.
Wally turned to look. He recognized that man. It was that grumpy middle aged guy from across the street from Iris's and Barry's house. He never thanked Uncle Barry for patching up his roof for him and never expressed how much he enjoyed Aunt Iris's fruit cake that she made for all of the neighbors each year for Christmas. Wally didn't like this man.
"The Flash is such a joke. He's just a loser. He's always playing to the cameras. He's just as bad as that Booster fellow."
Wally was getting mad. What kind of citizen of Central City didn't have any respect for the Flash? Sure, not all of them had to be fanatics but no one could fault the Flash for anything except maybe for eating and running.
Wally sent a few looks at Barry as if to say, "Punch him in his face!"
Barry gave Wally a withering look and motioned with his hand for Wally to calm down. Wally almost let out a snarl if Regina hadn't come back with drinks.
That guy was still talking.
"Here you go, boys," Regina said, "A cuppa joe for Mr. Allen and a cola for little Wally."
Barry smiled at Regina and gave her a thank you. Wally was glaring daggers at the back of the doofus's head.
Regina made a quizzical expression at Barry and Barry just shook his head. He said that Wally was getting angry at nothing and not to worry about it. Wally had quickly shot Barry his "patronize me you die" look and went back to staring angrily at the back of that poor man's head.
Barry quickly offered up a prayer of thanks that his partner had super speed and not heat vision.
Still a bit confused Regina just nodded and walked off to cater to the other customers.
"I don't know why he's even a part of the Justice League. What does a slacker like him even doing in the Justice League!"
Barry noticed that Wally had been death-gripping an innocent spoon and he placed his hand over Wally's before he could bend it.
"Wally," he said evenly. Wally's eyes flicked from the guy's head to Barry. "There's no use getting angry over stuff like that. We can't really do anything about it. This is America after all. The guy's entitled to his opinion."
Wally let out a frustrated sigh. "Yeah, but he's stupid… I mean, has he ever run into a burning building and rescued five children and a pregnant woman? No. He probably just sits on his sofa all day with a beer and just yells at the TV."
While Barry probably should've told Wally how rude saying stuff like that was, he had to stifle a laugh. The kid was probably right. But no! Stop, Barry! That was rude and you shouldn't judge people like that. It wasn't conducive to being a good super hero. But… it was still somehow flattering that Wally was getting so mad for him.
Instead he just said, "Actually it was five children, a pregnant woman, an elderly lady and a small dog."
Wally cracked a smile and said, "I beg your pardon, O great wise brave Uncle Barry!"
And for the most part they ate in peace. Wally seemed to not be listening to that guy as much. But that peace only lasted until desert came. Both Wally and Barry had ordered banana splits. Apparently that guy had not shut up about the Flash.
Wally had his spoon full of ice cream fudge and sprinkles half way to his mouth when he heard it.
"The fucker probably beats his wife."
He slammed his spoon down on the table and got up. He completely ignored Barry's quiet pleas to sit down and don't start a scene. He shook off his uncle's hand that had grabbed at his arm. He walked straight up to the bastard and almost threw up with rage when the guy kept making disparaging comments about his favorite person in the entire world. Not just because he's the Flash but because he's an awesome uncle and has been there for him through the shittiest times of his life and had been more than the father-figure that he'd always wanted. He was caring and strong and deserved none of the insulting remarks this asshole was freely dishing out.
He clapped a hand on the guy's shoulder and said, "Hey! How about stopping with all of those insults, huh? You don't know the guy so stop pretending like you do."
The guy looked at Wally and scoffed. "And who are you to tell me what I can and can't say? Sorry if I hurt your feelings but I can say whatever I want."
Wally could feel his face go red. He was so angry. He would've loved to speed punch this guy so many times until the only thing he could've used that mouth for was to eat his food through a straw.
But Wally was smarter than that. So he gave the guy the brightest smile he could and said, "Oh yeah?"
The guy scowled at Wally. "Yeah."
Barry had come over and was trying to lead Wally away from this man before anything else happened but Wally stayed rooted to his spot. No way was he going to back down now.
Wally laughed and said, "Well in that case since it's okay to make snap judgments about people here's what I think of you. You are socially awkward and don't know when to keep your opinions to yourself. You can't tell when people are rolling their eyes at you and silently begging any deity that would listen for you to shut up. You sit alone in your room on weekends and make up reasons why you should be angry at things at people who have done absolutely nothing to you and that makes you a sad pathetic person."
The guy had also gotten red in the face and spluttered. "You-how do you get off telling someone that-?"
Wally tsked. "Did I hurt your feelings? Sorry. But I can say whatever I want."
It was then that Wally let himself be led away by his uncle. His uncle had apologized to the man and told Regina to put the bill on his tab.
Some people applauded as they walked out and Wally couldn't help the pride show on his face.
Barry looked anything but proud.
But once they got outside and were far away enough from the restaurant, Barry said, "What was that, Wally? Why did you even- I mean what possessed you-?"
Wally cut in and said, "Uncle Barry, sometimes you got to sit still and take it and other times you just got to give it back to them. And that guy was definitely asking for it. I mean, did you even hear that last comment about you hitting your wife? That's just-Imean-!"
Barry sighed. After a few more steps he asked, "You made a scene Wally and what if someone was looking for the Flash's and Kid Flash's secret identity? What would stop them from considering us? Especially since you made it sound like you actually know the Flash."
Wally looked down at his shoes and said, "Yeah, I know… but… I mean, wouldn't you do the same for me?"
Barry didn't even have to think about it because he knew the answer would be yes. If their roles had been reversed he definitely would've exploded at the guy.
Barry looked sideways at his nephew. "Kid?" he asked.
Wally looked up and said, "Yes, Uncle Barry?"
"Promise it won't happen again?"
"Promise."
"Com'ere!" Quicker than the average man but not quite as quick as the Flash, Barry caught Wally in a headlock and gave the kid the biggest noogie he'd ever had. All the while laughing at how Wally struggled to get out of the headlock.
"Uncle Barry! Stop!"
Barry laughed and said, "You are the best nephew ever!"
Thanks for reading! And if your so inclined I'd love to hear what you think about it. :)
