Chapter 7:
Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice. Not now, and very likely not ever.
A/N: Hi everyone! After a long and busy summer, I'm finally back and gearing up for school soon so I will probably be really busy. Please enjoy the next chapter and thank you so much for your support of this fic!
Kaldur choked until his eyes were watering and he was starting to fear for his life. Even Dick (or what little he could make out of the other's features from his teary eyes) looked vaguely concerned. Thankfully, it soon let up and he carefully took another sip of water. Dick handed him another flimsy paper napkin and sat back to wait.
"What?" Kaldur finally managed to ask.
"You heard me," Dick replied all-too-cheerfully for someone who'd nearly caused a fellow lawyer to choke to death in a restaurant. "What are your thoughts on the matter?"
"Uh, yeah, I'm totally going to cheat on Roy, who is straight, with Conner, who is friends with people who I quite like. Yes, that sums it up nicely." Kaldur hoped the sarcasm in his words was evident.
Dick sighed and leaned back. "Yes, that's what I thought too," he commented idly. "But hey, at least you hit the trinity."
Kaldur gave him what he hoped was an incredulous stare. "The what?"
"The trinity. You know, blonde, brunette, redhead?"
"…"
"Whatever. The point is, what could have possibly given Conner that impression?" Dick was humming that annoying Jeopardy tune again.
"I have no idea."
"How about Roy himself? You two are awfully close, after all…"
"Dick. How many times do I have to say this? I am not a cheater. I never have been and I never will be. I am not in a relationship with Roy and rest assured, if I were in any sort of monogamous relationship I would not cheat on the other party."
"So how's Roy feeling about you and Conner?"
"Very good, thank you." That was probably as far from the truth as it got, but Kaldur did not feel like telling Dick anything that might find its way back to Conner or any of the others.
"You sure about that?"
"Positive."
Kaldur let himself savour the tiny amount of pleasure it gave him to see Dick lean back and close his eyes like he always did whenever something about a particularly difficult case stymied him. "I'll set Conner straight soon though, don't worry about that."
"You're seeing Conner again? When?" Dick's level of emotional investment in his and Conner's budding relationship (if it could even be called that) was quite disturbing. Kaldur made a mental note to try and help Wally out; the return of his best friend would almost certainly keep the other lawyer occupied for a while.
"How did you extrapolate that from my words? Also, I believe that's none of your business."
"He's going to tell me anyway."
"So be good and wait."
"I could call him right now."
"Go ahead." Dick pulled out his phone as though to make good, and Kaldur decided this nonsense had continued long enough. "And just so you know, Dick, Wally's absolutely useless with an iron. He had to get Nick from the ground floor to help him out." His colleague stopped dead and sat up again, glaring when he saw the smirk on Kaldur's face.
"He got Nick to help him out with ironing? The man can barely make toast without triggering the fire alarm!" It seemed that one-upping Kaldur took a back seat to Wally's troubles with basic household appliances.
"Be it as it may, Nick was the only one available."
"Please say he didn't burn the place down."
"No, but Wally was walking around with a nasty looking burn on his wrist for a while…"
"You're an evil, evil man. Wally's not seriously hurt, is he?
"I'm learning. Also, I think he had to teach Nick how to use the iron, so he should be okay."
Dick backed off for the rest of the meal until they were in the elevator.
"Hey, Kaldur?" Dick shuffled for a little bit before heaving out a weary sigh. "Keep an eye on Wally, okay?"
"Of course. But you can't keep doing this forever." Dick pretended not to hear the last sentence and strode out of the lift as soon as the doors opened, grabbing a startled Kory by the elbow and immediately striking up a conversation about the upcoming Halloween party. Kaldur exchanged amused glances with Donna, the receptionist, and returned to his office.
Kaldur was just looking over a corporate insolvency case when his phone rang with a reminder that Roy was coming over for dinner. The lawyer raised an eyebrow, glanced at the clock and then decided that it would be best if he could finish up by six or so.
Kaldur felt a vague sense of embarrassment sweep over him as he switched off the lights and walked out of his office. The fact that his briefcase was stuffed with documents for review did little to comfort him; the fact remained that he was still leaving work earlier than usual. The office was still brightly lit, lawyers hurrying to and fro and Kaldur tried not to shuffle like a naughty schoolboy when he ran into Mr. Wayne. The partner nodded briefly at him before disappearing into Mr. Kent's office. Even Donna was still at the reception desk.
Waitrose was packed with hungry office workers looking for something they could quickly throw into the oven or that final ingredient for a quick stir-fry. One can of coconut milk and a bag of discounted mixed vegetables later and Kaldur was moving through the crowd of people headed home. He noticed that there was no light under Wally's door as he went up the tairs, but assumed that the student had plans for the evening already.
At seven-fifteen on the dot, Roy showed up at the door bearing a large box of very expensive pralines. "Token of appreciation from a client," he explained. "He says this is the best chocolate in Belgium."
"Oh, chocolate? You do know how to make me feel special."
"What can I say? You're so important to me." Roy's ridiculous fluttering eyelashes and overly syrupy tone forced a grin onto Kaldur's lips and he brushed Conner's (and Dick's) comments aside. He would simply have to set the record straight this Saturday, or sooner if Dick continued to pester him.
"I feel like we're in college again," Roy commented as he perched himself on the opposite counter and inhaled deeply.
"Roy, please don't sit on the counter. I have to prepare food there."
Roy grumbled quietly but slid off anyway and wandered over to stare at the food bubbling away on the stove. "So no kindergarteners here tonight?"
"I don't see why you're so opposed to them," Kaldur said as he transferred the rice and curry to a plate and set it in front of Roy. "It's not like they're that much younger than we are."
"I don't like the fact that they let Conner punch you without at least attempting to stop him or explain why you don't just go around assaulting people."
"It was an accident," Kaldur sighed. "And Conner apologized." He wondered if he was going to be repeating this to Roy every time the other man brought up the incident.
"That's how a lot of abuse cases start out, you know. First time's never the last time."
"I'm so glad you think I'd make a great battered husband," Kaldur dryly replied. "But I'm a big boy now, I can take care of myself."
Roy glared and muttered darkly, but thankfully kept the rest of his thoughts to himself, choosing to take a big bite of rice instead. "This is good," he mumbled through the mouthful of food in his mouth, treating Kaldur to a perfect view of half-chewed green curry and peppers.
"Busy lately?"
Roy groaned. "You have no idea. I think this is the first time in weeks I've actually left the office before ten."
Kaldur winced in sympathy. "Big deal?"
"Yeah. If it goes well we'll all be celebrating this time two weeks from now. If it goes downhill, you can bet everything you own that Queen Industries' stock will plummet. No, don't be silly, that's not insider trading, that's just opinion and common sense." Kaldur closed his mouth again.
Roy had just finished off the last of the curry when Kaldur decided to ask him about Brick Lane. He was supposed to be the one treating this time (he supposed) and it would not do to get lost around Brick Lane or bring Conner to a place with lousy food. "You know anything about Brick Lane?" He asked his friend.
Roy shrugged. "Sure. It's a nice place to go every now and again if you're into curry and ethnic arts and crafts, but it loses a little appeal after a while. There's only so much Indian-pattern inspired stuff I can take."
"Know any good restaurants?"
The other man looked at him expectantly, one eyebrow raised. "Is there something you want to tell me?" He asked sweetly.
"I was just curious." Kaldur was proud of how steady his voice was.
Roy leaned closer. "Really? So you're really just going out for the sake of exploring this admittedly wonderful city and not staying at home to catch up on work like the serious, responsible lawyer I know you are?"
"I'd like to know the ins and outs of this city preferably sometime before December," Kaldur replied.
The other man shrugged. "I'll take you there this weekend if you want. I've been craving good Indian curry for a while now; that place ten minutes' walk from the office just doesn't cut it and a couple of colleagues got food poisoning last week after eating there."
"Ouch."
"Yeah. So what do you say? You, me, Brick Lane and enough curry to feed India."
"Actually, I was looking for a good place to meet up with another friend."
"One of the kindergarteners?"
"Don't call them that."
"So are you?"
"Am I what?"
Roy thought for a moment. "You're looking for somewhere to take Conner out on a date," he stated so matter-of-factly Kaldur wondered if his friend had known all along and had simply been toying with him for his own personal amusement. Roy gave him such s sharp smile Kaldur tensed up for a fight. It wouldn't be the first time he and Roy had gotten into one, and it probably wouldn't be the last. He only hoped that the other man would have the decency to clear the table up first before throwing a punch.
"This isn't the first date, is it?" Roy's tone was still even, so perhaps there was hope.
"No. The second."
"You're going to Brick Lane on a second date? Sloppy, Kaldur, sloppy. I thought you only went to those places when you were firmly established as a couple. It takes a lot of strength to continue crushing on someone once you've seen them eat with their hands."
"Fine, Casanova, what ideas do you have?"
Roy smirked and pulled his wallet out of his pocket. "Nobu," he confidently replied, handing Kaldur a small black card with the details embossed on it in fancy writing.
Kaldur gave his friend a flat look in return. "I'm not going to dispute that lawyers are very well-paid no matter which country they are in, but I'm also going to have to point out that as a new transfer who hasn't even received his first paycheck, I don't have that much money to blow on one meal."
Roy thought for a moment and then shrugged, leaning forward to take the card back. "You're right. Nobu would be wasted on a Philistine like him anyway."
"Be nice."
"So why didn't you mention the first date? When was it?"
"…Last week." Kaldur could see Roy thinking, calculating, working his way to the only logical solution…then a piercing pair of fierce blue eyes locked onto his with the sort of intensity the other man usually only reserved for recalcitrant clients.
"Saturday right? Must have been, since you were busy all week, the dinner party was on Friday and I know how you hate seeing someone too often after a date. It was Saturday."
"Yes, it was Saturday, good job Roy." Kaldur desperately tried to steer the conversation to less hazardous topics, but his friend would not be deterred.
"Oh, so that's why you were all ruffled up when I called him out properly for punching you in the first place." Roy paused for a moment. "Does this mean you were hoping I'd give him a seal of approval? Because I gotta say, he's not going to be getting one any time soon."
"You sound like an overprotective father. Going to get your shotgun out?"
Roy rolled his eyes. "Nobody punches my best friend but me." Kaldur pretended not to notice the warm feeling he always got whenever Roy actually acted like he might care; calling his friend out on it would only exacerbate the situation and the man would just try to cover it up with something else. Still, over-protectiveness was no excuse for acting like an ass.
"That still doesn't justify storming out of the house. I know you're capable of functioning like a normal human being, so don't feed me some stupid excuse about not playing well with others. What's really going on, Roy?" Part of Kaldur pointed out that this conversation was uncomfortably similar to one preceding an unwanted confession in romance novels, but he pushed it away in favour of the task at hand. Dick's words (and Conner's claim) were clearly scrambling his mind.
Roy glared mutinously in reply and shoved another piece of chocolate in his mouth, chewing as obnoxiously as he could. Kaldur pinched the bridge of his nose; really, the man could be such a child sometimes. "You can't sit there chewing forever, Roy. It's not that big."
Roy looked torn between laughter and irritation, so Kaldur decided to let up for the moment. He could wait. "But to answer your previous question, this is the second date with Conner." Kaldur allowed himself a small smile. "The first one was pretty good. He stole the food bill and used some of the most ridiculous excuses known to man." His friend looked intrigued, so he continued talking. "We went to Camden because he insisted that he wanted to show me around town. He works at one of the garages as a mechanic. And we had churros." Roy's eyes widened at that and Kaldur smirked at him, knowing full well how much Roy missed the sugary fried dough sticks (he mentioned them at least once per e-mail).
"This is all very sweet and I think I'm going to contract diabetes," Roy dryly commented, "but the fact remains that he punched you."
"That might have been one of the excuses he used to pay for everything," Kaldur replied. "You should probably also consider moving on from that fact. I hear holding grudges isn't healthy."
"Whatever." Roy was clearly getting impatient and he left the room, claiming that he'd left something outside with his coat. Kaldur took the opportunity to stack the dirty dishes in the sink and submerge them in hot water mixed with a little soap.
"Honey, guess what I brought?" Kaldur turned around to see Roy holding two bottles of Patron aloft.
"No. Not on a weeknight," Kaldur said shortly, and he hoped Roy would understand that.
"But Kaldur, I had to get a friend to bring these back especially for us. And I know you love tequila." The fiendish grin on the redhead's face could have sent the Devil himself running for cover.
He tried to hold out. "I don't need tequila."
"But you do," Roy smirked, waving one of the bottles in his face. "Come on Kaldur, you know you love me," he cooed in a high-pitched voice that was, Kaldur thought, supposed to be what a tequila bottle would sound like if it was sentient.
"I have an early morning tomorrow, I can't afford to spend it with a hangover."
"Just skip the gym and sleep a little extra. You'll be fine. Besides, I'm going to drink and you know I work the same hours as you."
Kaldur paused for a moment. He knew that he should say no, but part of him wanted to just talk to Roy, talk about something that wasn't related to Conner or law and that had nothing to do with his love life whatsoever. He stood up and headed for the cupboard where he kept all the glasses and cups. "You in or out?" Roy asked. For answer, Kaldur simply slammed the two UCLA shot glasses down on the table in front of his friend.
Kaldur woke up the next morning to one of the worst hangovers he'd ever had, and that was including his 21st birthday. His mouth tasted like he'd been eating raw sewage and he could practically smell the alcohol oozing from his pores. He couldn't even remember getting into bed. Roy was likely in no better shape, having turned into the missing link between animal and vegetable close to two in the morning. He was probably sacked out on the couch. A glance at his clock informed him that he had approximately 45 minutes to get to work. He slid out of bed and headed for the shower, clenching his teeth against the waves of pain washing over him. He could pick out a suit later.
The shower helped, but probably not as much as a cup of coffee would. Kaldur sighed in regret; he would just have to buy the ridiculously overpriced stuff at Pret a Manger instead; and hurried back to the safety of his room to get dressed. There was no sign of Roy at all, not even a peep. So as soon as he'd pulled on the suit jacket, Kaldur hurried into the living room and found Roy sacked out just a few feet away from the couch, clearly having given up on his way there. "Roy!" He hissed and crouched down to gently shake the other, ignoring the stabbing pains in his head from moving so quickly. "Roy! Wake up!"
Roy mumbled something and blinked his way back to the world of the living, unfocused eyes looking around and finally focusing on Kaldur. "Kaldur?" His voice was hoarse and Kaldur was suddenly struck by the memory of his friend getting up on the table to do an appalling rendition of 'We Are the Champions'.
"Roy, I need to go now. So do you."
Roy mumbled something incoherent and rolled over, cursing when his hangover no doubt made itself known. Kaldur looked around desperately for some way to make Roy get up, but finally resorted to leaving a glass of water and two aspirin on the coffee table for his friend to find. He knew Roy would lock up after himself; after a near miss with a burglar halfway through his MBA, the man was fanatical about making sure the door, windows and skylights (if any) were all locked.
The Tube was as hellish as Kaldur anticipated. It was stuffier than usual today, probably because of the rapidly-cooling weather, and he had to close his eyes every time someone accidentally jostled him. It was even a struggle just to keep his balance on the train. He thought longingly of coffee and made a mental note to take two of the aspirin he kept in his office for the occasional unexpected headache.
Kaldur arrived at Canary Wharf tube station at 9am and did his best to stifle a groan. As he made his way into the lobby, he heard the sound of heels clicking briskly behind him and turned to see Kory hurrying over. She too looked as though she'd had a long night, face paler than usual and dark circles under her eyes. "Good morning, Kaldur," she said although her voice was less energetic than usual.
"Morning, Kory. How are you?"
"Good, but a little tired. My sister came over last night and demanded that I show her around town. You?"
"Yeah, a friend of mine came over and we…talked." Kaldur thought it would perhaps be best not to mention that he'd gotten drunk right after showing up late to the Head of Human Resources.
Kory nodded understandingly.
"That must be nice, seeing family." Kaldur was proud of himself for being able to carry on a coherent conversation for this long without slipping up or revealing that every time he opened his mouth, a fresh wave of pain would come and take over from the old, dull one.
"Not really." Kaldur blinked. "It's not that we hate each other," she hastily explained as they stepped into the lift. "We just…don't have a lot in common."
"No judgment here," Kaldur politely replied. "Any big plans today?"
Kory sighed. "The new trainees are coming in this afternoon. I'll have to show them around, introduce them to the partners." She gave Kaldur a dazzling smile. "Be nice to them, please?"
"Of course."
Kaldur made a beeline for the pantry and poured himself a big mug of coffee, thankful that Wayne & Co were generous enough to provide a decent coffeemaker for their minions. He slowly made his way back to the office and flinched when he realised that he would have to stare at his very bright computer screen very soon. He was never going to say yes to Roy ever again. At least, not on a weeknight.
Dick slipped in at quarter to eleven with two manila files and mug of coffee. "You look like hell," he commented as he perched on Kaldur's desk.
"And you would like me to do what about it?" The hangover hadn't quite gone away yet and Kaldur was feeling rather tetchy. There was also a niggling feeling in the back of his mind, rather like he'd forgotten something very important but couldn't actually remember what it was.
Dick didn't even reply; he simply dropped the files and his coffee on Kaldur's desk, walked over and started shoving at him. "Get up," he sighed. "We're going to Mickey's." Kaldur gave him a strange look; Mickey's was one of the less savory drinking establishments more commonly frequented by notorious ambulance chasers and the janitorial staff of every single law firm in the vicinity.
It also turned out to have the greasiest, saltiest, most ridiculously delicious fries ('Chips, Kaldur, we're in England now') around. Dick had to practically shove a handful into Kaldur's mouth before he registered just how good they tasted. "What do they put in these things?" Kaldur asked as he ate another one.
"I think they deep fry the chips in bacon fat," Dick replied. "Hope you're not overly fond of your heart."
"I'll manage," Kaldur dryly commented. He nudged the plate closer to his friend. "You want some?"
Dick happily helped himself to the rest of the fries (chips were what Pringles sold, thank you very much), leaving Kaldur to reap the benefits of the sudden grease injection and fight off the remaining vestiges of his hangover with a big mug of coffee. Kaldur snagged a final fry and slowly got to his feet. Dick smiled and passed him a napkin. "I suppose I should tell you we got the arbitrator in and they've set a date."
Bruce Wayne was waiting for them when they got back. Kaldur tensed up when the man's eyes narrowed at the sight of them, but without a trace of fear Dick merrily skipped up to the senior partner and beamed. "We were back before 11," he said. Bruce gave the two of them another once-over and Kaldur fought not to just spill everything right there and then.
"I'll see you in ten minutes," the man finally said before turning sharply on his heel. "Bring the LyrenCo documents."
Kaldur staggered down the corridor, so loaded down with files he thought he may as well borrow one of those little trolley things the interns used to cart old case files around. Much to his relief, Dick was faring no better with his own formidable burden. The two of them slowly made their way over to Mr. Wayne's office, carefully depositing the files on the desk and then sitting down. The partner raised an eyebrow at the sheer mountain of paper now threatening to take over his desk and sighed.
The good news was that Dick and Kaldur had already previously worked out an appropriate strategy to present to LyrenCo before the arbitration. It turned out that Ms. Natasha Romanov was a well-respected arbitrator and more importantly, a very reasonable woman who held no grudges against Wayne and Co, or LyrenCo itself for that matter. "But," Bruce continued, "she doesn't like lies. Which means that we will not resort to cheap tricks or the use of miniskirt analogies to make our case. Dick." Dick looked as though butter would not melt in his mouth. "We will also try not to turn up with visible bruises that make us look like thugs. Now, what is our proposed solution to this…predicament?"
After two hours of heated discussion in which Dick paced the room so many times Kaldur was tempted to check for any weak spots in the carpet and Bruce maintained some semblance of order whenever the arguments got a little too heated. "Gentlemen," Bruce finished with a grin as Kaldur summarized the agreement, "We have reached an agreement. Dick, get that typed up and send me a copy as soon as you can. Kaldur, help Dick out and make sure the agreement's proofed properly; names, dates, amounts of money; all that stuff." He clapped his hands briskly. "Back to work, everyone. Also, take those files with you; you never know when you'll need them again."
They got a little cart to carry everything this time, Dick practically dancing with joy as he dumped the stack of black box-files onto the contraption. "I haven't pushed one of these in a while," he happily commented.
Kaldur raised an eyebrow. "Don't you use a trolley in the supermarket?"
"It's not the same! This brings back so many fond memories of my trainee days!"
There was a thud, the trolley stopped moving and then a squawk of pain. Both men looked up to see Raquel hopping around, desperately trying to decide which one of her calves hurt more so that she could give it immediate attention. Kaldur winced in sympathy; he remembered all-too-clearly what happened when little kids at the airport got overexcited and starting racing with the luggage carts. "Sorry!" Dick yelped as he suddenly sped up, leaving Raquel and Kaldur behind.
After making sure Raquel wasn't mortally injured (bruises, but she could hide those with dark tights) and wasn't about to sue for personal injury, Kaldur finally returned to his office He had two missed calls, four text messages (two of which were from his parents respectively) and five new e-mails. Clearly that 'redistribution of labour' was now trickling down to even the newest lawyers.
Dick finished the first draft somewhere close to three-thirty, sending it to Kaldur with a little smiley face at the bottom. Beatrice, the secretary in charge of helping out all the newly-minted/hired lawyers, stepped into his office somewhere around five-thirty that afternoon with a file from Mr. Kent, of all people. It was a pro bono case, something about an orphanage being accused of skimming government funds. At least it was something he could get behind without too much fuss. The afternoon slipped by without his noticing it and by the time he stopped for a break, it was already close to quarter past seven. Kaldur felt vaguely guilty again, this time for not going to the gym or telling Wally that he'd be 'busy' this morning, and not telling Artemis that he wouldn't be coming in for their morning spar. Then again, he was sure the other two had much better things to do than worry about where he'd gone. He sighed and turned once more to the error-riddled draft that Dick had sent him, promising his already-growling stomach that he would find something to eat soon.
"You up for carbonara?" Kaldur nearly fell off his chair in surprise as he turned to see Dick standing in the doorway, wallet in one hand. "I'm guessing it's going to be a late night."
Kaldur skipped the carbonara this time, opting for seafood pasta instead. Dick stayed to eat, waving a hand airily when asked whether anyone would mind his slacking off. "Please," Dick scoffed, "Like anyone would hold taking an hour's break for food against us."
They talked about the case for a while, bouncing ideas off each other and trying to come up with a strategy that would convince the arbitrator to go easy on them. Then they moved onto films they wanted to watch, and slowly segued into holiday plans. Or more accurately, Dick's guide to surviving company parties at Wayne & Co. The firm hosted a Halloween party every year, where lawyers and clients alike were expected to attend in full costume. Even Dick had to admit that Mr. Allen was probably the only one who seemed happy about the entire affair and was likely the only one to actually take the fancy-dress contest seriously. "At least it's open bar," he dryly commented. The thought of seeing Ms. Lance in fishnets and leather (Dick claimed it was her annual costume) made him feel just a tad uncomfortable. Neither of them brought up Conner or Wally.
The two of them worked for another couple of hours after eating, and it was only when Mr. Wayne came in to say he was leaving for the night that Kaldur realized he'd been sitting there for a lot longer than he intended. He supposed it was only fair, in light of the Roy-induced lack of productivity the previous day. At least the arbitrator wasn't an unknown quantity anymore.
Kaldur returned home to find a note pinned to the front door with one of the Japanese sushi knives his mother had insisted on buying him. "Send Conner to me if he persists in thinking we're a couple." Kaldur sighed and gently tugged the knife out, wincing at the mark in the door. He hoped the landlord wouldn't come after him for too much compensation.
Wally knocked on the door just as Kaldur was done brushing his teeth. The first thing the lawyer noticed about his friend was the pallor of his skin. Wally wasn't tanned to begin with, but his skin was now an unhealthy-looking shade of pale grey, accentuated by the dark heavy bags under his eyes. He looked like he hadn't been eating properly either, if the state of his already-thin frame was anything to go by. "Wally! Are you all right?"
The redhead shrugged. "Yeah, it's just midterms."
"That's difficult," Kaldur sympathized. He was all too familiar with the toll that exams could take on anyone's health. "When do you finish?"
Wally made a face. "Two weeks from now. The exams are spread out but I have a couple of practical exams as well, so those will fill up the time in between. Can't really rush a reaction, you know. And I have to submit a report three days after exams officially finish; it's just to show my academic tutor that I can finish everything within the allotted time and that my experiments are coming along smoothly."
"Well, if you ever need dinner or anything," Kaldur began, because he could see the rings around Wally's eyes and those were enough to worry anyone in their right mind, "feel free to stop by." The other gave him a small smile.
"Don't worry about it," he grinned. "I know you and Robin have been really busy lately—"
"Have you two been talking?" The part of Kaldur that had been raised right wanted to scream that Wally was busy and no, it was not all right to ask questions about a colleague's private life even if said colleague's best friend appeared more than happy to share the details. "You and Dick, I mean."
The redhead shook his head. "Nah, I think we need some time to think, and now's not really a good time to start talking about…things."
"True," Kaldur conceded, "but I know Dick's worried about you. He keeps trying to grill me for information in his own way."
"Working the subtle comments huh?"
They both shared a grin at this. Wally heaved a sigh. "I'll get around to it after exams are over. Right now, I'm pretty sure the only way to drive me even crazier would be to tell me I failed something and my scholarship got revoked." Kaldur winced.
"Good luck. Get some sleep!" Wally saluted in reply and went back downstairs, leaving Kaldur wonder whether he should tell Dick not to give up too soon.
The next morning at Flash, Artemis made it clear that she was significantly more impressed with Kadur's sudden decision to drink himself into a coma on a work night. "And here I was, thinking you were all responsible."
"Sorry. I hope I didn't shatter your illusions of me too brutally."
"You kidding? I want in the next time it happens."
"I don't think Roy would approve."
Artemis landed a particularly hard punch to his gut and danced deftly away. "Huh. He see a doctor about his raging case of jackass yet?"
"That's not fair," Kaldur said shortly. He privately agreed with Artemis, but it didn't mean that she got a free pass insulting his best friend like that. "He was trying to defend me in his own, twisted little way."
"No kidding," she commented tartly. "Who gave him that job?"
"I think it's a self-appointment thing," he dryly replied.
"Fair enough." They sparred for a while longer until Artemis decided to start talking again. "You coming to the sessions or what? I'm holding down a slot for you but I can only do that for so long."
"So let the other person have the slot."
"Do you even want to come?"
"Honestly? I'll let you know when I stop having to stay at the office until ten every evening."
"Lots of work?"
"Two managing partners are leaving for a business trip next week, so everyone has to pitch in so that nothing accidentally gets left unfinished."
"That explains why Robin's been so distracted lately. He fell off the parallel bars a couple of days ago; those are his specialty and he was just going through his usual routine. One minute he was happily swinging away, the next he was on the floor." Kaldur was shocked.
"Is he all right? He didn't say anything about it at work."
"Well, he was fine," Artemis said. "Just a few bruises but we got the onsite doctor to check him up and the guy said he was fine so it should be okay. He isn't limping around or anything, is he?" She asked worriedly.
"No," Kaldur shook his head. "Does Wally know?"
Artemis frowned lightly. "Not that I'm aware of." Then a gleam crept into her eye and Kaldur just knew that he was about to become embroiled in some harebrained scheme to likely repair Dick and Wally's relationship. "But if someone told him…he'd be very worried. Worried enough to stop moping around and actually make some time to go see his best friend, even if he has to trek over to Mayfair to do it."
"Wally has exams and a scholarship to worry about," Kaldur pointed out reasonably. "He's not wrong in wanting to wait a little longer."
"Maybe," Artemis finally conceded. "But seriously, this is getting out of hand. Wally's been spending all his time doing nothing but studying and working out, and Robin's been kind of distracted lately. Plus, he's been ringing up Zee almost every night and she loves him like a brother, but sometimes you just don't want to see your brother all that often, you know?"
Kaldur raised an eyebrow. "I haven't noticed anything different about Dick," he pointed out. "He sometimes tries to ask about Wally, and I've been telling him to just go and see the man but he's not getting it. Or he's just pretending not to get it."
Artemis huffed and nodded at the corner of the ring, indicating for him to go get a drink of water. "That's not wholly unlike Rob, "she conceded. Then a corner of her mouth twitched up and Kaldur thought that she looked alarmingly…predatory. "So what's this I hear about Conner wooing you? I wasn't there," she hastily added, "but Zee was and she told me all about it. So you're in a ménage a trois with Roy and Conner now? That's one scene I wouldn't mind sitting in on."
"Aside from the incredibly disturbing implications of your comment, I feel obliged to state for once and for all that I am not in any sort of romantic or, heaven forbid, sexual relationship with Roy Harper."
"That's what Bill Clinton said too."
"I can sign an official statement and get Roy to sign it as well as two uninvolved witnesses. Would that satisfy everyone?"
"You should really just let Conner keep thinking you're with Roy. Make him sweat a little for it."
"Excuse me?"
"And just so you know, he knows Brick Lane like the back of his hand. He used to live in India and sometimes misses Indian food in general." To seal the deal, Artemis finished off with three quick jabs; one to his jaw, one to his solar plexus and then one right to the gut. "See you tomorrow!" Before Kaldur could say anything in response, she'd rushed off in a blur of green and yellow.
It was the first time Wally hadn't finished before him, Kaldur realized as he walked back up to the gym. It was crowded now, some people even standing around machines waiting for others to finish. He spotted Wally's bright yellow jacket from a distance and headed over. His friend was talking to someone else, a short, dark-haired figure wearing a suit…oh. He knew exactly who it was.
Kelly Clarkson hollered something about staying or going and Kaldur could not have agreed more. Part of him wanted to stay and watch the scene unfold with a bucket of popcorn and soda, and the other part of him knew that this should be private (but was it really private if it took place on public premises?) and that if he dallied any longer he'd be late for work. To be fair, so would Dick, seeing as he now had a death grip on Wally's sleeve and the conversation didn't look like it was going to end any time soon. Then Wally suddenly frowned and yanked his hand away, heading for the exit. Kaldur discreetly slipped behind two bodybuilder types and saw Dick still standing in the middle of the gym, hand still raised as though his friend was still standing there.
"Don't lie; I know you saw everything." Wally didn't sound angry, just resigned. "Probably not the best place to have a heart-to-heart, but he did come in before work to see me."
"I see." The good thing about Wally was that he didn't need any encouragement; he just said whatever was on his mind and only needed a few strategically-placed acknowledgments.
"Robin came up with a 'brilliant' idea," Wally continued, sarcasm infusing his words. "He suggested I move in with him instead. Apparently because the rent on his apartment is paid up for the next six months, I won't have to spend money on that. And apparently his food budget is large enough to handle my appetite so I won't have to pay for food."
Kaldur had no doubt that Dick's salary was more than enough to support Wally, even if the student ate like it was his last day on earth. He also didn't think his colleague would be so naive as to think that a valid solution to the argument. "Are you sure that's what he meant?" Not the best choice of words, but Wally probably wouldn't notice anyway.
"What do you mean, 'are you sure'? Of course I'm sure that's what he meant! He even said some nonsense about getting a moving company to get my stuff into his place over the weekend!"
"That sounds a little hasty."
"It is! I like my apartment! It's closer to UCL than freaking Mayfair and it doesn't look like a show home come to life! I'm not about to consent to living in a place where I can't even drink coffee in the living room for fear of spillage! I don't want a maid who does my laundry and a chef who offers to make me bacon cheeseburgers and a gigantic apartment that my best friend pays for!"
Kaldur had always assumed Dick was fairly well-to-do, what with his expensive suits and the first-name terms he and the staff of Harrods seemed to be on, but it had never crossed his mind that the other man would actually have all of those things and then more. "What?"
Wally huffed in exasperation. "Yeah, he's secretive about how much money he actually has. I think he's just unused to the idea of dealing without certain things, and sometimes he gets a little carried away. He doesn't mean any harm, but when he goes all, "Oh, Wally, here, let me pay for this exorbitantly expensive widget because I know you've been wanting it for ages and don't worry, it's all on me because I know you're in financial difficulties' or 'Oh, Wally, have some of this foie gras-thing-that-Alfred-made because I know you've been spending money on lunch every day and don't have enough for the end of the month before your monthly stipend comes through', it makes me feel like…well, like a charity case. I'm normal; not rich, not poor, just aware that there isn't always spare money available in an expensive city when I'm studying abroad."
Kaldur thought he might have picked up on something else. Something that, he had a feeling, would likely hurt Dick far more than Wally refusing to move in or accept an expensive present. "Did you say that? The, uh, normal thing?"
"No, of course not!" Wally looked horrified at the very thought. "I mean, that's not to say having a lot of money automatically makes you a freak or something, it's just that he didn't grow up delivering newspapers on a bike or waiting tables over the summer for extra pocket money, you know?"
Kaldur decided the best course of action was to just nod. "And I don't understand why Dick's so worried about me now. I mean, when we were kids and I brought my own lunch to school because the school stuff was way too expensive and the portions were nowhere near big enough for me, he didn't say anything."
"Maybe he just didn't realize all the implications at the time."
"Maybe. But he sure didn't seem to mind when I worked all the way through my undergrad studies."
"You sure about that?"
"Maybe it's the foreign country thing," Wally mused. "Like, because the currency's different and the American dollar isn't doing so well, so he thinks I'm suffering even more."
"Or maybe he's just worried about you," Kaldur pointed out. "You can try explaining it to Dick again, but eventually you'll just have to leave him to come to terms with the fact that you're happy even if the monthly stipend isn't quite enough and you need that extra job to make ends meet."
Wally sighed. "Yeah. I just…well, I guess I just miss him. It's weird going home at night and knowing he won't be there." They arrived at Number 32 right on time and entered quietly so as not to disturb the other residents. "Thanks for listening," Wally said awkwardly when they got to the third floor. "I'll, uh, buy dinner next time."
"Don't worry," Kaldur assured him. "Advice is free. Action, on the other hand, is not." Wally cracked a smile at that.
Dick was not quite himself that day, seemingly moving from one place to another without a goal in mind. He didn't so much as crack a smile when Kaldur stopped by to ask him out for lunch, simply grabbing a folder of his desk and standing up. It turned out to be one of the most awkward meals the lawyer had ever had with a colleague, as throughout the meal Dick did not so much as look at him, scribbling away at his documents with a green felt tip like it was the last thing on earth he'd ever do.
"Dick."
Dick paused briefly to shove a piece of lettuce in his mouth before scribbling something else on the piece of paper in front of him. Kaldur sighed.
"Dick."
"Dick!" Kaldur frowned; the female voice sounded oddly familiar and he looked up to see Selina Kyle glide over. She glanced over the table and raised a quizzical eyebrow at Kaldur, who shrugged because he wasn't about to tell one of the firm's clients and possibly a personal friend of Bruce Wayne's that one of the associates was having a very bad day.
Selina reached over and deftly plucked the felt tip from Dick's hand, setting it firmly down out of his reach and moving closer so that he could not ignore her. "Robin, what are you doing ignoring a handsome man like the one in front of you? Isn't lunch a time for rest?"
Dick heaved a quiet sigh and looked away, staring dully at the table. "I need to finish this up. I've got a lot of stuff on my plate at the moment and quite honestly I don't think I should have come out today."
Selina frowned and then turned to Kaldur. "Would you mind leaving us alone for five minutes?" She asked. "I promise I'll come get you after we're done here."
"I don't need—" Dick began, but stopped talking when Selina turned a sharp glance his way.
Kaldur still had no idea what Selina said, or what Dick did, but when he came back there were two bottles of wine and a gigantic plate of what looked like mac-and-cheese gone gourmet on the table. The entire meal was billed to Bruce Wayne's personal account.
Bruce Wayne was waiting for Dick in the lobby when they returned. "Dick, my office," he told the other briskly. Kaldur hastily nodded at the other two and walked away, knowing that Dick would appreciate the privacy.
Reviews are appreciated and thank you for sticking with the story! Also, in the writing of this chapter know that I finally came to the horrified (and somewhat bemused) conclusion that yes, Roy and Kaldur do actually have better chemistry. Now what am I going to do?
