Ola! So, it's been a while, but life took over and basically made me its bitch, and then my beta got sucked down into the depths of schoolwork, and ya, it's been a crazy couple months for me with XC and all. BUT! a month and a half after writing this, it is published! yay! Also, this is a monumental occasion for me, because this is my first one shot. yaaaay! I'm currently working on like, 5 other stories (ikr, get excited) and they're all either trilogies or two-shots. Long story short, I thought I would die without being able to write a one shot. SO PLZ TELL ME IF YOU LIKE IT!
Thank you to my FABULOUS beta. Thanks for sticking with me forever and working magic on my work. Love ya! *3 hand squeezes*
A/N: This story STARTS OFF with Rob and Kid already dating- I guess for about 6 months or so.
Full of It
The rush of being on the bike was something Robin could never get used to. Seeing the world around him turn into a blur was soothing. He didn't have to deal with anything except the road ahead of him. It gave him a rare opportunity to just be. The wind in his face, the purr of the engine under him, and the noise in his ear, let him escape everything; even himself.
It was the kind of feeling that he couldn't get any other way. Even when being on the trapeze, or on the bars. When he did acrobatics, he felt powerful, but he still had to concentrate. It was second nature to him, sure, but even after climbing stairs for years one can still miss a step. Dick had fallen from the bars before, when he lost focus, and it wasn't something he'd particularly like to repeat. No, he only truly felt peaceful on the R-Cycle.
Moving at what felt like the speed of light, he flew down the path. He felt like a speedster when he got to moving so fast that the everything around him blurred. In some ways he envied Wally for being able to escape reality whenever he wanted. But Dick was also glad, because if he could just run and escape everything all the time, he would never stop.
Robin zoned out and just let the wind wash over his senses. After a few minutes, Robin's training kicked in as he threw his head against the handles. Half a second later, an arrow whizzed past his ear, barely missing his head. Before he even could react, a second arrow slammed into the gas tank, throwing Dick over the front of the bike and slamming him into the ground. He registered the blinding pain in his arm, and could do nothing more than watch, horrified. The ruptured gas tank igniting a spark, and in a flash, his bike was up in flames… and headed straight towards him. Robin threw himself to the side, landing in a ditch in the mountain side, and watched as the bike flew over him and off the cliff into the valley below, along with his heart.
Robin lurched up from the ditch, and searched the horizon for the source of the attack, eyes narrowed. After a few frustrating minutes, Dick concluded that whoever the attackers had been, were long gone. With the adrenaline wearing off, the blistering pain in his arm became painfully noticeable. Not whelming, not whelming at all. Clutching his arm to his chest, Robin turned mount his bike, only to remember what had happened. The image of the burning bike being catapulted off the cliff flashed into his mind, and before he could make a conscious decision he was running to the edge of the mountain path, and searching for a way down.
The soil was dry and loose, and made the trip down long and painful. More than once he would put his weight on a solid patch of ground, only to have it give way beneath him. He'd catch himself on a root or a tree, and the force of the movement would drive his bad arm into the side of the cliff, spiking the pain throughout his whole body. The bike. I need to get to the bike.
The sun beat down mercilessly, and his vision blurred by the trails of sweat dripping down his face. His domino mask was slowly unbinding, and was beginning to bother Robin to a point that he couldn't take.
Several more times during the descent, he stumbled and jostle his arm. On the third time, his whole body weight was thrown on it, and heard a sickening snap. If his arm hadn't been broken before, it definitely was now.
He was probably insane. He didn't have a particular reason for going to get the bike, it wasn't like there was a chance that it was salvageable. It probably wasn't even in one piece, but Dick disregarded all of that. He just had to go see it- he had to.
Time crawled by, and eventually Robin made it to the bottom of the cliff. The ground was flat, and stretched outward for miles; and the heat rolled off the ground and hung in the air.
Dick searched the horizon for his bike, and off in the distance he saw a something shining in the distance, contrasting strongly to the rest of the landscape. He quickly ran over to the object and came face-to-face with his bike. Or rather, what was his bike.
Crushed on the floor in front of him was a twisted piece of metal, not even resembling the R-Cycle. Most of the body of the bike was dented, the paint had curled and gone black, the seat was still on fire, and the tires had been blown off, and were torn to shreds. Seeing the flames lick over the side of the bike tore at his heart, and Robin quickly ripped off his cape and swatted at the bike, putting out the flames. When the last of the fire had been put out, Robin straightened up, breathing heavy. He was severely dehydrated, and covered in dust, dirt, and sweat.
Robin picked up his cape (which escaped burning do to the fire-resistant coating) and used it to soak up the sweat on his face and arms. Pulling out his wrist watch, he dialed a familiar number. Batman would not be particularly happy about this…
"Hey Robin!" Wally called, as he bounded through the garage. "Robin?!" He heard a grunt of recognition coming from somewhere to the right. Frowning, Wally looked for the source of the noise, until he came upon a pair of black converse sticking out from under a twisted up bike propped up on stilts.
"Hey there, Little Bird", Wally said, grinning. He bent down to find Dick, scowling madly, and fighting one-handed with a wrench. His other arm was lying wrapped in a black and red cast. He was covered in oil and soot, and looked like he was about 10 seconds from losing it.
Smirking, Wally bent down and tapped at his thigh, signaling him to move over. When Robin complied, Wally slid under the bike and turned on his side to look at Robin, before surveying the damage. After a couple seconds, Wally finally said, "I'm just gonna go out and ask it. What did you do?"
Robin continued wrestling with the wrench as he mumbled out a slew of "Stupid cliff… Arrows… Fucking surprise attack…My fucking bike…destroyed."
Beads of sweat dripped off his face and to the ground, so Wally decided to take pity on him. He reached over and gently, yet authoritatively, took the wrench from his hands- much to the protesting boy's chagrin.
"Dude! Give it back! I can do it-"
"With one arm dude? I think this is one battle you're destined to lose. Just let the Wall-man take care of you Dickie-"
"How many times do I have to tell to stop calling me that?!" Dick growled in annoyance, giving up on trying to get the wrench back. Instead, he turned onto his good side, and burrowed his head in the crook of Wally's neck.
Wally loved it when Robin did that. It wasn't very often that he just let someone else do something for him- being the protégé of the Batman and all, and it made him feel special when Robin just let him take over.
After a few minutes, Dick got over the embarrassment of needing help, and rolled back over to stare up at the bike. Wally had gotten most of the usable metal off, but there were still many bits that could be taken off and reused on the new bike. Dick picked up another tool, and started working alongside Wally.
They spent hours like that- just finishing the bike. Wally didn't use his super speed- he worked at a normal pace- and he would occasionally have to lean over and help Dick on a certain part that was impossible for him. They worked as a great team; Wally stepping in as a second hand for Dick, and soon, Dick's broken arm became almost a non-existent issue. They had fallen into a comfortable silence, a rarity for Wally. Slowly, the bike was stripped of everything. Once the R-Cycle was finished, Wally rolled onto his side to look at Dick. For several moments he just breathed deeply to catch his breath. Finally though, he spoke up.
"Just out of curiosity, why didn't you just get a new bike? I'm sure Bats wouldn't mind getting you a new one. One with even higher tech and even awesomer features! Why bother scrapping this one?"
Dick, who was staring upwards throughout Wally's whole speech, rolled over to face Wally and looked him in the eyes. He had taken off his shades about an hour into the job, and his bright blue eyes shone into Wally's.
"Because it's my bike. I've had it for years! It was my anchor." Dick explained slowly. "You know what it feels like when you run?"
"Course. I feel like I'm flying. Feels like I'm above everything. It's almost impossible to describe. I wouldn't give it up for anything..." he said softly, while threading his hands through Dick's hair.
"Exactly." Dick sighed, "That's what my bike did for me. I can't just let that go. I know it's stupid, but I just feel that if I can add everything possible from this bike onto the new one, it will make me be able to feel the same way. I mean, how am I supposed to know that the new one will be the same! If the handles feel the same and the wheels run the same way; then maybe I'll be able to feel the same way too."
Wally smiled and leaned his head against Dick's, and kissed his nose.
"God Wally, you're so cheesy."
Wally laughed and pulled back. "I'm not the one who just got all sentimental over a bike."
"Fine. We're both cheesy. Now let's get out of here- it smells disgusting.
With a wide grin, Wally reached backward and gripped onto the back of the bike, and pulled himself out from underneath it.
Robin, for obvious reasons, couldn't do that, but he was a Grayson, and acrobatics were as natural as breathing; so he hooked his good arm around the bar of the bike, and swung himself out in one fluid motion.
"Even with only one good arm- you're still more graceful than me…" Wally grumbled.
"You sound like you let yourself believe that you had a chance." Dick smirked.
Wally put on his best kicked-puppy face, but Dick just rolled his eyes and leaned against a file cabinet, pulling Wally with him. Within seconds, Wally's lips slid into a wide grin and he wrapped his arms around Dick's waist, pulling him closer.
"Feeling up for helping me attach these things to my new bike tomorrow? I could really use your help Walls."
"Well of course! How else are you ever gonna get it done?"
Leaning in so their faces were only inches apart, Dick murmured, "You're so full of it Wally."
"Full of you."
Dick pulled back with a raised eyebrow.
"That- that didn't come out right; did it?" Wally stuttered out, ears turning pink.
"Little bit."
Dick stood on his tip toes and reached up, wrapping his arms around Wally's neck, drawing him back down. "Something you might wanna work on."
"Mhm" Wally said, before lowering his lips to Dick's.
"Well, this is one way you make sure you keep your mouth shut." Dick mused, before sinking into the kiss, and leaving all coherent thoughts behind.
SOOOOOOOOOOO... What did ya think? plz review!
