Inspiration struck while I was at co op, and here's what I came up with. Some BirdFlash bromance and parental Flash and Bats. ;D I should probably work on Fight, but this was too good of a bunny to pass up.
I do not own Young Justice.
"Shouldn't you be asleep?"
"Can't sleep."
"Same."
Batman narrowed his eyes. He had come to the observation deck to think about the previous events. He did not expect to find Robin still in full uniform and curled up in a ball on one of the observation chairs. He stood off to the side for a while, observing the posture of his charge. He was about to make his presence known before Kid Flash ran into the room in all his superspeed glory. The two ice creams he was carrying barely survived the trip.
"Shouldn't you be with Artemis at the moment?
"And shouldn't you be with Zatanna?"
There was a brief moment of silence before Robin answered. "It's complicated."
"Then uncomplicate it."
That exchange piqued Bruce's curiosity. He had noticed the subtle exchanges between the two, but he had written it off as Dick helping her through her father's… change.
"She's great to be around, yeah, but it's just… weird. I don't even know, that's the least of my worries at the moment."
"And what are you most worried about then?"
Batman listened on; he couldn't walk away from this conversation.
"Spying on them won't make them trust us faster, Bats," a quiet voice whispered from behind him.
"I could say the same thing for you, Flash."
"Caught red-handed," the speedster shrugged.
The two men continued listening in on the conversation between their protégées.
"Do you think that the League is back to themselves… their read selves by now?"
"Probably."
"Yeah… most likely," Robin's voice did not seem convinced. In fact, Robin's voice for this entire exchange was shaky and had an undertone that Bruce couldn't place.
So that's what is troubling him, Batman thought.
As if reading his mind, Barry mumbled silently so that his voice wouldn't carry to the two teens, "I don't think it's just that, Bruce."
"You're still not convinced, Robin," Wally playfully pushed the younger one's shoulder.
"You heard about the new problem, right?"
"The one with those six leaguers being unaccounted for 16 hours, right?"
"Yeah…."
"They'll figure it out. Trust me, Batman is already on the case, and you know firsthand how good he is at solving these cases."
"I'm more worried about what it was that they did rather than Batman's detective skills."
"But that's not all, is it?"
Barry smirked proudly. "Look at my little Wally, already reading bats so well." He wiped an imaginary tear away from his masked eye.
"Wally?"
"Yes?"
"Just shut up."
"I'm not moving until you tell me what's bothering you, Dick."
Batman's eyes widened. Did Kid Flash just call Robin by his civilian identity?
"O…kay, I swear I didn't know," Barry whispered fearfully from beside the Bat.
"I always stressed the importance of our secret identities, but of all people he could have told, he told Wallace? He might as well broadcast them on the local radio station," Batman growled.
Barry shushed him and pointed to the scene on the deck.
Robin's hand was clamped over Wally's mouth and he looking around the room warily. The dark room was only illuminated by the light reflecting off the Earth, giving their silhouettes an eerie glow. If this were any other case, Barry would be just standing on the deck and enjoying the rare view of seeing the part of the Earth that was still in daylight.
"I thought I told you not to use my name like that, KF!" he hissed angrily, making sure to put extra stress on Wally's hero-name.
"Relax, there's no one here," Wally managed to sound decipherable despite the hand clamped on his mouth.
"Doesn't matter," Robin was still hissing. "There's still cameras."
"Okay fine fine, I'll call you Robbiepoo from now on!"
Robin removed his hand from Wall's mouth and sighed. "Let's just stick to Rob, okay?"
Wally pouted, but agreed hesitantly.
"At least the reaction was correct in this sort of case," Barry was desperately trying to calm down Batman in lieu of recent events.
The Dark Knight refused to acknowledge that the Fastest Man alive had spoken at all. After a few more moments of silence, Robin's quiet voice carried over to the two hidden men.
"When I close my eyes, I just keep reliving the fight," was the guilty confession. "And each time… it's more noticeable."
Wally frowned. "What's more noticeable?"
"At first, he's unemotional." There was a slight pause in which they could hear Dick take in a deep breath.
Bruce scowled and looked at Flash who was regarding the scene with knowing eyes.
"But as the scene keeps repeating," Robin continued, "emotionless turns to anger which turns to disappointment." At this point, his voice was a whisper.
"So that's what's worrying you?"
"I feel guilty. Starro tech didn't do anything to their emotions, considering how everyone we fought had the same facial expression. B-b-but, my mind is warping the fight and making Batman seem almost… evil."
"Starro tech gave Klarion and Savage remote control of their minds, nothing more. Everything they did, it was Kalrion. Don't forget that," Wally ruffled Robin's hair playfully, a goofy smile coming to his face. "You're just over-thinking this."
Dick looked out at the vast cosmic landscape before him, smiling softly. "Perhaps I am. Thanks Wally."
Barry and Bruce could see that Robin was still unconvinced of the truth behind Wally's words.
Smirking, Flash shot Batman a meaningful glace before speeding off. Instead of leaving the observatory, he grabbed his nephew at superspeed and rushed them both out of the room with a muffled "Hey!".
Dick was left on the bench, blinking confusedly at the display he had just witnessed.
Batman stood awkwardly; debating with himself whether to approach the boy who was sitting alone, still gazing at the spot his best friend had previously occupied. Sighing quietly and vowing to pay back Barry at a later date – perhaps hide all of the sugary delights from the Watchtower cafeteria – Batman made his way to his seated charge.
"Dick."
Jumping slightly, Dick slowly turned around to face his mentor. "Bruce…?" he begun uncertainly.
"I don't remember anything from the time I was under, but I would never hurt you."
"You heard?"
Batman's silence was enough of an answer for the Boy Wonder. He sighed, "I know. It's just… I can't help what my mind sees at night, y'know?"
Bruce walked up and sat on his knees so that he would be level with the teen. "It's okay, I don't expect you to forgive me right away, but just know it."
"I know it. And I forgive you."
Bruce gave Dick a small smile, ruffling his hair playfully.
Pouting, Dick mumbled, "Why do all of you always go for the hair?"
Horrible ending, sappiest title, just mehhh with this whole story.
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