Sorry for the short chapter, my new summer course at the college began and it calls for a ton of reading. Really boring reading. I promise to make the next one longer and less crappy. Please enjoy if you can and enjoy the cameo appearance of Kory! Could not help myself, tried my best not turn her into a huge deal. Happy Independence Day! I guess I'll dedicate this chapter to the first episode of Young Justice "Indepence Day" I hope everyone enjoyed their fourth of July. I know I didn't, stupid homework. I was the only one in my family that didn't go watch the fireworks. haha oh well :)
"Welcome back to the team Robin." Kaldur said. Megan was holding a decorated cake out to the boy wonder and Artemis was holding Wally back from wrecking it.
"You did this for me?" Dick asked looking around. The mountain was covered in streamers and balloons while the counter was covered in different kinds of food.
"Of course we did. We were all really worried about you while you were in your coma. When Wally told us you were ready to come back to the team, we couldn't really help ourselves. Wally helped a lot." Megan explained. Dick looked at his boyfriend and smiled, causing Wally to pull him into a hug. Megan sat the cake down and she and the rest of team joined the hug.
"So are we gonna eat this?" It was Flash, who had just walked in followed by Batman.
"Batman?" Dick asked a bit surprised. Wally was truly satisfied with the outcome of this surprise party. He was sure Dick was more than happy with it. It had taken a while, but the boy wonder was finally back to being strong and healthy and he was rearing to be back in action. Wally himself was a bit apprehensive considering how his last mission with Dick went, but he knew very well he would never keep the kid from being a crime fighter. Not that he really wanted to, the Gotham needed Dick Grayson. Batman needed him too. He laughed as Dick hugged Batman, causing the man some discomfort. Wally took it upon himself to save Bruce and in one smooth zip, he had Dick separated from the pack.
"How are you feeling boy wonderful?" he asked, grinning. Wally was sure Dick rolled his eyes behind his mask. Wally didn't like it and ripped the thing off.
"Sorry but everyone already knows who you are oh famous Dick Grayson." He teased.
"I wasn't wearing it to hide from you guys, I just got back from a Gotham thing." Dick replied, irritation clearly in his voice.
"Speaking of things," Bruce said walking up to the two "I have an undercover mission for the team. It's in an area of Dick's expertise." Dick frowned.
"Please don't tell me it involves a suit." He snorted.
"It involves a suit."
KF: We look ridiculous…well except you Rob…you look hot.
R: Welcome to my other world.
KF: You're like James Bond.
A: Can you focus Kid Flash. We're here to protect a damn princess.
KF: You look hot too Artemis.
Kid Flash was sure he heard a mental growl out of the girl. The team was at a gala in Gotham city where a princess was supposed to show up soon. Wally and Dick were in suits while their "dates", Megan and Artemis, were in gowns. Aqualad and Superboy were stationed outside to keep watch for intruders. Superboy wasn't too excited about his girlfriend pretending to be someone else's date. Of course, Dick wasn't thrilled about his boyfriend being his ex's date. Still, they managed to play the roles. Especially the youngest of them.
"Hi Dick, just like last week huh?" a young woman said to the teen. She looked bored holding her glass of wine. She had bleach blonde hair and was wearing a form fitting blood red dress that barely made it past her thighs. Her lips matched the dress completely and the color stained the edge of her wine glass.
"Hi Sandra," Dick said looking her up and down "Nice…dress." He said artfully. The girl's boredom seemed to disappear as her lips curled into a half smile.
"Who's your date this time?" she said looking at Megan. Dick's arm was less than respectfully wrapped around her waist. Megan herself stood out as she was wearing a long silver gown with a slit cut all the way up her right leg, barely stopping at the top of her popped thigh. Her hair was up and few strands fell in curls around her face. She smiled her innocent smile at the older woman.
"I'm Megan. Nice to meet you. Are you a friend of Dick's?" she asked. Sandra smirked.
"Yeah, something like that." She answered before turning her glance back to Dick "I'll catch you later darling." And she left, craftily leaving her lipstick-stained wine glass in the boy's free hand.
KF: Wow Dick.
R: You saw that?
KF: Yeah. I don't know why I thought that just because you were a virgin when I met you didn't mean you weren't the biggest flirt on the planet.
A: Look who's talking…
R: It's not my fault. It's how I have to act when I'm Dick Grayson. Ward of snotty playboy remember?
KF: We are so talking about this later. Get your hand off of Megan's waist like that.
SB: What way?
MM: No way Superboy. Kid Flash is just being ridiculous. Dick's being a gentleman…to me anyways. I have to say Dick, you've attracted a lot women's attention. And they all seem to have a history with you…
R: Yeah…it's kind of part of the act.
KF: Yeah, "act".
R: I never said it didn't come with benefits.
A: Don't they know you're gay now though? I mean, it was all over the papers.
R: Would you stop advancing on a billionaire's kid because of that? I've made out with half the girls that are talking to me tonight and more than made out with another quarter of them. I'm not proud of it, but I'm sure they think it's a rumor or something.
KF: How many girls are we talking about exactly? You bats really take your secret identities thing seriously…
A: Okay shut up you two.
KF: Hey Rob, let's trade dates. Mine's stale…
A: Aqualad, are there any signs of her yet?
AL: No. There are a couple more limos coming, but they are not making big enough of a scene for it to be anyone truly important such as a princess.
KF: What is this princess supposed to look like anyways?
R: She has long black hair, it's like silk. And her eyes are nearly black. She'll be most likely wearing her favorite color, purple. You'll know her when you see her.
KF: How do you know all of this? Don't tell me she's one of your fun time girls too…
R: D-E-T-E-C-T-I-V-E
AL: She's here. She's surrounded by bodyguards…and another girl is with her.
MM: Another girl?
AL: She's…tall and wearing a purple dress. I could be mistaken but her skin…it's…orange. And her eyes are green, very bright green.
R: What? Are you sure? What else?
AL: Her hair is red and very long.
A: Is there something we should know about her Robin? Is she a threat?
R: No…she's…also a princess. Kind of.
KF: What? Now we have two princesses to look after?
R: This one doesn't need looking after. She's Starfire.
MM: As in the alien warrior?
KF: Wait, another red head. Let me guess…
R: Oh wow…she looks amazing…
KF: You're really asking for it Grayson…
A: Mission. Focus. Robin, stay away from her if you can. We don't need our cover blown this fast.
"Come on Wally, we're on." Artemis said pulling her "date" through the crowd. She made it to the ring of body guards and showed them a sort of clearance card and made an entrance for her and Wally to pass through to talk to the princess.
"Princess Annabelle. I'm Artemis and this is Wallace. We were told you could use some company." Artemis said in a friendly tone to the young girl, who smiled back. Wally was a bit surprised because he was sure being a princess, she'd be way stuck up. Even more stuck up than his boyfriend pretended to be. She wasn't though, instead she was polite and easy got into conversation with Artemis. Wally tried to ignore the alien next to her, but he had trouble blocking out the radiant beauty. He had to admit, he could appreciate Dick's taste in her. Still, he wasn't going to put up with any crap from the girl. So far Starfire hadn't noticed Dick across the banquet hall. He turned his attentions back to Princess Annabelle. He realized they were talking about him.
"Yeah he's not exactly a great dancer, but he sure has a way with words. That's what drew me in to start with." Artemis was saying to the teen royalty. Wally tilted his head, planning to interrupt when his thoughts were preoccupied.
SB: Looks like everything is going smoothly so far. Just a couple more hours and we can leave finally.
A: Yeah this girl is as dull as a pair of jeans that have been washed just a few too many times.
KF: Look chummy to me.
A: You know who's chummy Kid Flash? Your boyfriend.
Kid Flash looked over, groaning to see Dick with Megan plus two other "friends". Old friends, by the look of it. He decided to ditch Artemis and cut in-between Dick and a girl who he was getting very close to.
"Hi there. I'm Wally. And you are?" he asked the girl. She was a lean girl with dark skin and ebony hair. She was wearing silver, which matched her eyes perfectly. She forced a smile.
"I'm Trisha, a friend of Dick's. Actually we were just…catching up on some things. But I think his date…Megan…is a bit lonely. Why don't you keep her company?" she purred. Wally and Megan looked at each other and both frowned at the woman, then looked at Dick. He was pretending not to notice them. He said his goodbyes to the girls and pulled Wally and Megan away.
"Knock it off Wally. You're gonna start trouble…where's Artemis?" Dick asked.
"With Princess Annabelle and your girlfriend." Wally answered bitterly, pointing over his shoulder.
"Everything seems really calm. I feel like it's going to be a smooth mission." Megan interrupted. Dick nodded and then grinned at her.
"Wanna dance?" he asked pulling her out onto the floor before she had a chance to argue. Wally rolled his eyes at his boyfriend's attempt to ignore him. He wondered for minute what would happen if he were to cut in and steal a dance.
"I saw you two in the paper a while ago." A female voice said from behind Wally. He turned his head and grinned.
"Hey Babs. Yeah, that was us." He answered, his eyes still on Dick and Megan. Then slowly, he turned back to Barbara. He couldn't help but notice how stunning she looked in her short purple cocktail dress.
"You want to dance with me?" he asked her. She raised an eyebrow.
"Aren't you undercover with Artemis?" she replied.
"Look around Barbara, there aren't any faithful couples here." He answered extending a hand. She took it and followed him onto the dance floor just in time for a slow song to come on.
"You're doing this for Dick's attention." Barbara said quietly. Wally shrugged.
"Okay." Barbara answered, then suddenly let herself press into Wally, forcing him to wrap his arm around her waist. She smiled up at him slyly.
"He's watching us." Wally whispered.
"Perfect, put your hand lower. That's all it will take." Barbara instructed. Wally complied and nearly lost his poker face at the mental slap he knew Dick gave him.
KF: Ouch Rob, I'm just playing along.
R: You have a date…
KF: That didn't stop you from flirting with every girl in this place.
R: You're low. You're dancing with my ex.
KF: You want me to dance with my ex instead? Or better yet, I bet I can get that Starfire to dance with me. She looks like she's itching for a piece of the wall-man.
R: You're not her type.
KF: No duh. I'm not any girl's type. Neither are you. At least, you shouldn't be if I remember correctly.
R: Very funny. You know how I have to act. It's not like I'm kissing girls. It's just meaningless uppity behavior.
KF: I want to dance with you.
SB: We've got company. Count Vertigo.
KF: Artemis?
A: I've got her. She's not going out of my sight.
MM: Should we suit up? Artemis doesn't have her quiver or bow with her.
A: M'gann, I always have a bow with me. Even in this outfit.
KF: You're like Robin and his utility belt. You have that right?
R: Duh.
AL: He's paying off two of the Princess's stray guards. Artemis, get her out of there.
A: I've got it.
SB: I'm going in.
AL: No, we have to do this quietly. We cannot interrupt this gala. It's very important for several big charities. Robin, you need get Vertigo's head band away from him. Try not to cause a scene.
R: Messy isn't my style. I've been waiting for this.
Robin took off, easily winding his way through the crowds of people. Wally found himself all of a sudden very afraid. He looked down at Barbara and she instantly knew the mission had taken off. Wally told her he was sure they probably wouldn't need her but insisted she go with Artemis and get the princess out. Wally and Megan discreetly made their way around, trying to find the two guards that Vertigo had paid off. They were sure something would happen if they didn't get to them.
"Look! He has a blade in his hand!" Megan explained pointing to a body guard that was getting closer to a moving Annabelle.
KF: Artemis, to your left. He has a knife.
A: Got it.
Artemis was quick to push Princess Annabelle out of the way into Barbara's arms just as the man lunged. Barbara took off with Annabelle. Artemis started to lift the hem of her dress to retrieve her crossbow which was gartered to her leg when Starfire grabbed the man first. It was obvious she was strong and didn't even need her active powers. She easily tossed him aside and pointed out that another man was following the princess.
KF: I've got him.
A: Don't blow your identity!
KF: Right.
Wally ran, but made sure it was fast enough that no one saw his face. He easily caught up to the man that had been pursuing Annabelle, but didn't see when he pulled his knife out. The man turned it on Wally, nailing him in the side only because Wally hadn't wanted the man to see his face and turned, exposing himself. Wally grunted in pain, but proceeded to knock the man onto the ground and stepping on his hand, forcing him to release his bloodied weapon. It took Wally a second to realize he was outside. He could now see his entire team, Barbara, Starfire, and the princess. He cuffed the body guard to a street light, ripped the man's clothing and blind folded him with it. He started to move forward when he realized he was starting to get dizzy. He looked down at his side to see a stream of blood flow. He tried to ignore it, searching the scene for his boyfriend. Robin was suited up and silently duking it out with Vertigo.
The princess is safe.
Megan and Barbara are taking her to her limo.
Starfire disappeared.
Artemis has the other bad guy.
Dick.
Dick is winning his fight.
Someone is talking to me.
"Kid Flash! Get that man onto the ship!" Aqualad commanded. Wally barely heard it, but turned to pick the man up from his spot on the ground. He stopped, trying to balance.
KF: Guys…
A: I've got mine. Where's the other one?
AL: Kid Flash is bringing him.
R: Haha! I've got Vertigo's stupid crown, but Vertigo took off with four of his goons.
KF: Guys…I'm…
SB: Okay so come on. We've got to get out of here before people start leaving the place.
MM: Wally? You're hurt. You're stabbed.
KF: Yeah I know. I need help.
Wally felt a familiar kind of numb take over his body. It always came on those nights when his dad would seriously damage him. It was this feeling that led to days of not moving in bed. It was also that feeling that kept him on his feet, but he knew that was dangerous. He felt Dick's arms wrap around him and saw Superboy grabbing the blind folded man. His last thought before letting his heavy lids close was that all-in-all, it was a successful mission. He knew he'd be fine and this kind of stuff happened every now and then. If only one person got hurt, it was a pretty good outcome.
"Well, not too many stitches. I'll be fine in no time." Wally said, well aware there were in fact a good amount of stitches in his side. He was in the infirmary at the mountain and his team was in there with him. His shirt was off and he was receiving a lot of pensive stares from everyone except Dick. He knew it wasn't because of the bandaged up wound he'd just gotten. It was because of the left over scars on his bare torso, courtesy of his father. He'd nearly forgotten the scars all over him. There were burn marks and puffed white streaks from numerous things like broken bottles or angry nails. His healing had been a blessing for the pain, but because it was so quick, it left behind prominent scar tissue.
"You know Wally, you lost a lot of blood. I'm surprised you managed to stay awake for so long, not to mention actually keep moving." Black Canary said entering the room.
"It's not a surprise." Dick retorted "His body went into a survivor mode. It was all too familiar to him and he was able to cope with the pain. I only know one other person that can do that…Bruce. He went through years of training his body through pain. Yours was forced on you Wally…"
"No big deal. I'm fine. Now…" Wally said glaring at his team "I'm putting a shirt on before you burn holes through me."
"Sorry Wally…I'm glad you're safe." Megan told him before abruptly leaving. Konner followed her.
"You know, it was a pretty successful mission. I mean we didn't get Vertigo, but we did stop the attack on Annabelle. It's not like we didn't know something was going to happen. We did good." Artemis pointed out, then seeing that Wally and Dick were staring at her, she left along with Kaldur and Black Canary.
Wally sighed relief and allowed his body to finally slouch, giving way to the tiredness and discomfort of his body. He hadn't meant to hide it from his team, but it was a habit that wasn't going to go away easily. He figured it was okay though, no need to cause any worry. His healing would kick in and he'd fine in no time. He decided to stay at the mountain that night, not really in the mood to run home. Dick asked to stay with him, saying that Bruce was fine with it. Wally hesitated to say yes, knowing his boyfriend would only be up worrying about him. But that was exactly why he couldn't say no, because if he did, Dick would only worry more.
Wally was famished after the long day and was eating sandwich after sandwich in the kitchen when Dick joined him, wearing a pair of Wally's boxers. Wally smiled at the sight of the oversized red shorts falling low on the boy's hips, he couldn't think of it as anything other than cute at the moment. He could smell the remnants of shampoo coming from the damp black hair. He realized Dick was smirking at him for having stopped eating to watch the sixteen year old fidget with the hem of his shorts. Wally swallowed a final sandwich.
"I'm going to be out of clothes soon if you keep wearing them…" he joked.
"I can take them off…" Dick replied, stepping closer to Wally. Wally pushed him away and looked around. Dick frowned.
"Cameras. Remember?" Wally explained. Dick rolled his eyes and went to the couch, turning the TV on to the news station. He nearly fell out of his seat.
"Kory's on the news…" he announced. Wally raised an eyebrow from the kitchen.
"Who?" he asked.
"Starfire."
"Oh." Wally replied, his voice sounding suddenly uninterested. But after grabbing a cold soda, he sat down next to Dick and watched the screen. The channel was showing footage of the alien in a battle earlier that day against Vertigo.
"This must have been after we left…" Dick said, mumbling a curse under his breath. The screen showed her apprehending the count and handing him over to the police.
"At least she got him…or else everything earlier could've been a huge waste." Wally said glancing down at his gauze-covered side. Dick flipped off the television and slumped over on the couch, putting his legs in Wally's lap. It made Wally smile internally that the teen was so stressed out over his ex-girlfriend bagging the villain. He started to rub Dick's feet.
The effort worked in relaxing the boy wonder, who closed his eyes and started humming a song that Wally didn't know. He did realize however that his boyfriend had a wonderful singing voice. It was rare, but every now and then, he'd walk in on Dick singing something, from songs on the radio to jingles off of commercials. Every time he was caught though, he would stop. Wally tried his best not to let on that he was listening and started his massage up Dick's ankles and calves. He started to feel relaxed himself and couldn't help but lean his head back and close his eyes.
If it weren't for the annoying pain in my side, I'd be asleep right now.
I wonder if I could get Dick to sing for me one of these nights.
Doubt it.
Does Bruce know he can sing?
Probably.
Probably tells him to knock it off.
Mom used to sing.
Her voice was like a chorus of angels.
She used to sing when I'd wake up with wet sheets.
I'd be so embarrassed and she'd be cleaning me up…
Just singing.
I don't even remember what she would sing.
I just remember it was the most peaceful thing to me.
Wonder why I can't sing.
Good thing I'm a speedster, 'cause I couldn't sing to save my life.
He stopped humming.
He's asleep.
"Babe, wake up." Wally said gently shaking Dick's shoulder. Blue eyes half opened, stared, and closed again. The eyes, though only open for a second, reminded Wally of the bottom of the ocean. Mysterious and intriguing. He wanted them to open again. He also snickered. Dick was not someone anyone could ever sneak up on or surprise, even when he's asleep. The boy would wake up completely aware of his surroundings and determine from there what to do. Wally knew Dick had decided to ignore him.
"I'd carry you like usual, but I can't pull these stitches remember?" he said to the closed lids. This seemed to sway Dick and he got up and stretched. Wally noticed that his red boxers had slipped even lower during the stretch, revealing a slight amount of curly black hair. Dick caught him staring and turned quickly away.
"Race you to your room." He called over his shoulder, knowing Wally had to take it easy on his wound. Still, the speedster wasn't about to be outrun by the cocky little bird. He quickly ran, but stopped in the middle of the hallway, wondering where Dick had disappeared to. He grinned when the weight of his boyfriend fell down and wrapped skillfully around his body. Wally felt the vibrations of Dick's laugh against his back. He bit his lip at the hot breath against his ear.
"I win…" Dick whispered smoothly before planting a steamy kiss behind the ear, then trailing them down Wally's neck.
"That wasn't the game we were playing…" Wally moaned in defeat. In a swift, easy movement, Dick dropped silently from Wally's body and stepped past him, into the speedster's room.
"Then…I win again." He said. Wally looked confused at first, then realized the sneaky baby bat had in fact made it to his room before him. He couldn't help but be impressed and way to interested in the new game to care about the last one. He wasn't sure how, but he found himself pressing into Dick's lips. The couple were on the small bed, greedily exploring each other's mouths. Wally had noticed after a while that Dick truly was the one in charge. He always got what he wanted, just in a sneaky kind of way. Wally was usually roped in fast, never suspecting, until the end. He didn't mind though, especially right now. He invited the aggressive behavior, because Dick was very skilled. He didn't once hit Wally's stitches during their wrestling match. Wally may have gotten around in the last few years with his bed partners, but he was sure that no matter what, he'd never be the sexual predator that Dick was. He wondered if it tied into the boy's ability to fight crime and to perform all those years ago in the circus. The boy was attracted to danger, enjoyed being in control of his audience…whether it used to be the crowds at the circus shows, or the bad guys he was hunting down, or now the boy he was entertaining in bed. It was Dick's show, it always would be and Wally loved it.
"You're so beautiful." Wally breathed into the shampoo-scented hair of the boy that was over him. Dick smiled as if the information was old news and stifled Wally with a deep throated kiss as he yanked off the last of the older boy's clothes.
"You okay to do this?" Dick asked quietly, his eyes following his own hand as he ran gentle fingers over Wally's bandaged side. Wally took the hand and kissed it, nodding.
"I'm fine. I promise. I need this…" he answered against the pale fingers. That was all it took for the boy wonder to be sure of himself again as he disappeared beneath the blanket. Wally let his hands grip the sheets when his boyfriend reappeared, pushing his legs apart.
"You're beautiful too you know…" Dick told him. Wally felt himself blush, not something he was used to. Instead of facing the boy he knew was smirking at his triumph over him, he closed his eyes, ready to embrace the love of his life.
"Artemis, why are you crying?" Wally asked the girl. She was crouched underneath a large tree in a backyard Wally didn't recognize. She was only about twelve years old, but Wally didn't find himself questioning it. She scrambled away from him when he bent down to take her small hand.
"Don't touch me!" she screamed through her tears. Wally was confused. Why did she think he would hurt her. He would never hurt her…or anyone. He noticed her lip was split and her left eye was swollen. It was familiar but he didn't know why. He couldn't remember.
"What happened to you?" he asked gently on one knee, minding his distance so he wouldn't frighten her off. She only sobbed harder.
"He hurt me…just like he hurt you. And you let it happen!" she yelled "You let him hurt you and you didn't do anything to make it stop!"
"I don't understand…"
"You didn't stop him." The voice was no longer Artemis's. Wally was now staring at and hearing copy of himself, with the same split lip and swollen eye.
"You let him hurt us and now it's too late to get away." His copy said.
"But I got away. He can't hurt me anymore." Wally answered in confusion.
"But he can! Just look at the scars on our body! And the scars inside of us are more than even those!"
"I'm sorry…I didn't know it would be like this…"
And then the copy disappeared and Wally was alone with the large tree in the strange back yard. He then wondered why he was there. What had he been doing?
Wet.
Something was wet.
And sticky.
Hands.
Wally looked at his hands.
Blood.
His hands had blood on them.
Whose blood?
His own blood.
From where?
Screaming.
There was screaming.
Who was screaming?
It was so loud.
Wally was screaming.
Screaming.
Sweat.
Blood.
Urine.
Screaming.
Fear was coming out in every way.
A voice.
Not his.
Too busy screaming.
"Please wake up. Please, please, please!"
Wally shot up, finishing his final scream as his eyes met with absolute terror filled ones in front of him. At first, he thought it was the copy of himself again, but then realized he was awake. It was Dick. He was back in his red boxers and was standing in front of Wally on his side of the bed. He was pressing a towel to Wally's side. Wally twitched his nose at the smell of blood and his own urine.
"I'm so sorry…" he said, realizing he was crying. Dick kissed him quickly in response before applying more pressure to the speedster's aching side.
"You pulled your stitches out Wally…" Dick told him.
"How? We weren't that rough…" Wally replied. Dick looked up, a serious look clouding his face.
"You pulled them out with your hands…I couldn't stop you. You were speeding. It was the scariest thing Wally…you were so afraid. You screamed so loud that Red Tornado came down to check on us. I called Batman, honestly I didn't know what else to do. He and Black Canary are on their way." Dick explained. Wally shuddered at the sound he rarely ever heard in Dick's voice, panic. He tried to tell him he was okay.
"Black Canary's coming…and I wet the bed like an eight year old?" he joked very weakly. Dick didn't even pretend to smile. Wally went to the bathroom to clean himself up, grabbing his underwear and sweats off of the floor on his way, still pressing the blood-stained towel to his side. When he came out again, Dick had already stripped the bed of its linens, thrown them in the wash, and replaced them. Dick gaped at Wally in horror as he watched the speedster throw his head back and down an entire bottle of aspirin.
"Don't worry dude, metabolism remember? Takes a lot." Wally reminded him. Dick seemed to calm a little bit, but Wally could still see the stiffness of the boy's shoulders. He knew whatever he had done in his sleep had scared the daylights out of him. Wally turned his attention though when Black Canary, Batman, and Flash showed up. After BC stitched him back up and applied new bandages, Barry Allen pulled his nephew aside.
"Please tell me what's going on. I nearly had a heart attack when Robin called." The man in red exclaimed.
"Funny…Dick didn't mention calling you…" Wally mumbled before meeting the serious gaze of his mentor.
"I had nightmare. I don't know why, but I did…it wasn't even a serious nightmare…I don't think…I mean, it was so weird. There was no reason for it…" he tried to explain.
"Did anything at all happen? Did you go to sleep upset or angry? Was your injury bothering you?" Barry asked. Wally shook his head.
"No…not at all…and no, it wasn't hurting that bad. It hurts now though…" he replied. Barry glanced over at Dick, who was talking to Batman, then back at Wally.
"Did you have sex?" he asked. Wally nodded slowly, a familiar embarrassing heat flooding his cheeks.
"Maybe the event at the ball and then sex took an emotional toll. Even physical injuries 'cause emotional upset. And sex is definitely emotional, especially for two young kids in love. I'm not an expert, but I think that could have helped trigger it." He paused, staring at his nephew's tired face.
"It was a rough dream huh? Rob told me everything that happened…sounded like you were in a world of fear." He continued.
"I was…and I scared the crap out of Dick. He watched all of it happen. Everything was fine before…hell, we had one of the most passionate nights I can remember. We went to bed happy. I wasn't even thinking about the shit I'd been through. I don't get it…" Wally groaned.
"Maybe this was your body's way of telling you that you still have a lot to deal with." His uncle suggested.
"No kidding…I haven't wet the bed since I was a little kid. That was when mom was still around. That's so embarrassing…I just want to go back to sleep. I need another bottle of aspirin. Actually, I need something stronger. Way stronger." Wally grumbled. His uncle hugged him and half grinned.
"Let's not go messing up your clean streak." He said, only partly kidding. Wally could only roll his eyes before going over to Batman and Dick.
"I'm really sorry about all of this…" he told them both. Dick took his hand and gripped it tightly.
"I have to get back to Gotham. There isn't anything else that can be done right now. Both of you go back to sleep. Keep an eye on each other." Batman said before taking his leave with the Flash. Each other. Wally was sad knowing that Bruce knew exactly how much fear he'd instilled into Dick during his nightmare. The two crawled back into bed silently. Neither knew what else to say. Wally reached over Dick's chest to look in the nightstand on his side, finding a bottle of aspirin and downing it. Without a word, he pulled Dick into him, arms wrapped tightly around him. Dick's head was nestled under Wally's chin and Wally felt the boy place two chaste kisses on his collar bone. He let his tears roll out, knowing Dick could feel his body shake as he cried. Dick pulled the covers around them and continued to kiss Wally's neck and collar bone lightly, silently promising him that he was there. And as if he knew the aspirin wasn't cutting it for Wally, Dick began to hum.