Sorry for not being here for so long! Tried to do a lot in this chapter, get ready for a wild ride! Everything in here, if confusing now, will make sense later!
Chapter 10
He simply stared at the wall.
It was a nice wall, a pure white wall.
On this wall there was a little painting hung on the right side that depicted him and his parents. Then, in a slowly sloping line, more pictures. One of him, Wally, and Roy all standing in front of a water slide, completely soaked. Next to that was one of him, Bruce, and Alfred, all sitting around a leather chair. Along side that was Dick and Wally. The red head's arm was draped over Dick's shoulders and both of them wore huge smiles. They were sitting on a park bench, battered and bloodied from head to toe. Jason had taken the picture while he was under the title "Robin", he had been proud of their first, out of costume, no powers, street-brawl. They had "lost" that fight, but it was still an awesome moment for all three of them. But it wasn't this picture that was Dick's favorite. It came a good second, but no, it couldn't claim the number one title. This title was claimed by the picture hidden behind the framed one. The glorious moment had been captured seconds before the first one was a moment of Wally crushing his lips against Dick's cheek. He loved that picture. Sure, it was before he had any feelings for the speedster, still, it caused him to remember the times that they were so close knit that being apart for more than ten minutes was an unbearable occurrence, although, it happened frequently, as they were both grounded almost constantly for their mischievous ways in those days.
All said and done, it was a good wall. There were a few dents and scuffs where it had been bumped or punched on a bad day. He remembered the small crater he had created when he rammed the entertainment center into it the day he first moved in. So many blemishes like the knick right under one of the pictures. This was from being so extremely pissed at Jason when he had first asked him out. Dick was confused and infuriated and had punched the wall as some sort of stress-relief. It hadn't worked. It only succeeded in causing his knuckles to bruise for the next few days. But still, he liked that knick. It was also living proof that he had chose between Jason and Wally.
Walls. They surrounded him. Shielding him off from the outside world. Cutting him off of fresh air. Driving his depression into an even larger spiral. He swung his legs over the side of his bed, hardly causing his sleeping partner to stir.
Turning back and frowning he studied every line of Jason's face. Every little detail. He knew every scar, every little flaw and wound and cut. From the white streak of hair that stood out,like blood on snow, against his dark black hair, down to his smooth forehead. Dick's eyes caught a small little scar that crawled along his skin. The blemish stretched from the far side of his right eyebrow, straight to the center of the brow. It was hardly noticeable, and could be entirely covered with his hair, but still, Dick knew it was there. He loved that scar. He also loved his eyes, they were go bright, and blue-green, hardly reflections of his dark past, but Dick loved them anyway. Along with his crooked nose. It was large, sure. Jagged? Yes. Broken? On many occasions. Pointed? Of course. But it was still was the beautiful centerpiece of his face. It went right along with his sharp cheekbones and pointed, pale lips.
Jason was entirely imperfect, but Jason was his. But, now as he honestly thought about it… did he want to be Jason's? He shook his head and slid off the bed before pulling on a pair of jeans and a jacket. He zipped up the coat over his bare chest as he stepped out of the room and tugged on a pair of boots.
Air. He needed air. Thinking air. He had some serious choices to make, things to consider. But it seemed, that now, everything was out of his hands, that he should just take the jacket and shoes off and climb into bed again…and he should probably start singing again.
He stepped out of the bedroom and went to snag his Ipod off of the kitchen counter. Did he have the songs Wally asked for? He pondered this as he flicked through the artists on the small screen. Running his finger along the screen, he finally reached the J's and looked through those. Finding Jesse's name he chose this while he exited the front door and began to make his way down the steps, but one song caught his eye as he scanned. A smile hit his lips and he flipped out his phone, before he knew what he was doing he typed out a text and sent it. Just as the small message popped up saying "Message Sent" Dick froze and nearly dropped his phone, a frown instantly flying to his face.
"Shit…" He gasped, what the hell did he just do?
…
Slinging his legs over the side of the bed Wally snuck over to his boots and jacket and slid them on. He needed to think.
The last time he was out on a walk like this, he has contemplating plans to propose to Artemis, now he was contemplating whether or not he had made the right choice in asking her. Running a hand through his mess of hair he asked himself Why? In response all he could think about were those beautiful sparkling blue eyes, that silky raven hair and those soft pink lips. He groaned and sat down on the bottom of the staircase.
"Damn it!" He swore and slammed his fist into the ground next to him. Why was he thinking about Dick like this again? He hadn't thought like this for months, years, and now, all his doubts about marriage, were because of his best friend, his gay best friend, his taken, gay, best friend.
Pulling himself up again he began to run. Running had helped him sort out his feelings about Dick before, it would help him again.
I am engaged to Artemis. He thought as he began to pick up the pace. He was nearing the freeway by then, it would be and easy and long enough jog if he followed that.
I love Artemis.
I have been dating Artemis for nearly 6 years now.
I love her. She loves me. Or so he thought, when was the last time she had told him this? When was the last time he had told her that? Honestly, he couldn't put his finger on a specific time but he needed to think in regards to whether or not they had both meant it.
…
Dick… The name began tying knots in his stomach and began making his heart beat faster.
He's my best friend.
He's been with me through thick and thin
He's gay
We've kissed… No, he couldn't think about that now, he couldn't take that into account while he worked everything out.
Damn it, why does everything have to be so damn complicated? He cursed himself as he continued to bolt along the road.
Artemis…Dick…Artemis…Dick…DAMN IT! He shook his head in fury and wiped at his now watering eyes, wishing now he had grabbed some goggles.
Does Art know about Dick? Why would she know? I dunno… they were pretty close friends for a while…maybe he told her? Girls are good for advice. That would make sense…but even if she did know, she'd tell me. Right? … Right?
Wally screamed up at the sky, too much, too fast. It was just then his phone buzzed in his pocket. He wiped at his eyes and drew the phone from his pocket. "New Message From Dick" slid across the screen. He wiped his finger across the phone and read the message, slowing down.
Why Don't You Kiss Her.
That was it. Wally blinked and sent a question mark in return, but still, the name sounded familiar. He quickly opened the internet and typed it in the search engine. "Why Don't You Kiss Her Jesse McCartney Lyrics" was the first thing to pop up. He clicked on the first link and scanned through the lyrics. He stopped dead in his tracks.
We're the best of friends
And we share our secrets
She knows everything that is on my mind
Lately somethings changed
As I lie awake in my bed
A voice here inside my head
Softly says
Wally's eyes widened as he read through the rest of the lyrics, surely Dick couldn't be send this
this to HIM he gulped and read on
… Why don't you kiss her
Why don't you tell her
Why don't you let her see
The feelings that you hide
'Cause she'll never know
If you never show
The way you feel inside
Oh im so afraid to make that first move
Just a touch and we
Could cross the line
Everytime she's near
I wanna never let her go
Confess to her what my heart knows
Hold her close
Why don't you kiss her
Why don't you tell her
Why don't you let her see
The feelings that you hide
'Cause she'll never know
If you never show
The way you feel inside
What would you say
I wonder would she just turn away
Or would she promise me
That she's here to stay
It hurts me to wait
I keep asking myself
Why don't you kiss her (tell her you love her)
Why don't u tell her (tell her you need her)
Why don't you let her see
The feelings that you hide
'Cause she'll never know
If you never show
The way you feel inside...
Why don't you kiss her?
Wally felt unbelievably weak, he sat down on the nearest curb and put his head into his hands and simply stared at the lyrics. How could this be happening? How could Dick do this to him? Why was Dick doing this to him?
…
Artemis pulled herself up in bed, only to find the spot next to her cool and empty. She frowned at the sight of the deserted sheets, still she didn't pay it any mind as she rolled out of bed and straightened out the t-shirt that she was wearing. She stood next to the bed and taking a bundle of the sheet in each hand she flicked it off from the bed. If Wally wasn't going to be here this morning, she would dub it a well-deserved cleaning day.
She removed the rest of the crinkled sheets and padded into the small laundry room just off of the hallway where she shoved them into the half-full washing machine and started it up. Spitfire whimpered beside her, she raised an eyebrow but still bent over and scratched behind his ears.
"What's wrong?" She asked, "Do you know where Daddy ran off to?" Spitfire gave her a shake of his head in return and then licked her hand. She had a feeling he was just hungry. She quickly poured the dog a bowl of food and patted him on the head as he scarfed down the small kibbles. Sliding into the kitchen she realized that the front door was slightly open and unlocked. Swearing she walked over to it and shut it with her hip, "What the hell Wally?" She growled, doing a quick scan of the house to assure there had been no unwanted visitors because of her fiancé's foolishness. Finding the house clear, she went to begin making breakfast.
Hearing the lock click and the door creak open she spun around, bowl of batter still in hand, to face the guilty Wally as he stepped into the house. "Thought I left that unlocked." She heard him grumble to himself as he kicked off his shoes one of them smacking into the wall leaving a small scuff.
"And where were you?" Artemis demanded setting the bowl down and crossing her arms.
"On a run." Wally shrugged and put his discarded jacket on to the couch.
"There's a perfectly good closet right over there!" Artemis sighed and went back to finishing adding ingredients to the mixture on the counter.
"Meh." Was Wally's only reply as he plopped down on the couch. Artemis rolled her eyes at the man but continued to cook. He was certainly in a mood today. She didn't speak after that, hoping Wally would break the uncomfortable silence that had fallen around the two all of a sudden. But the man said nothing as he stared blankly at the television screen. Sighing she plopped the bit of batter into the waffle maker and turned to lean her lower back against the counter, facing Wally.
"Listen, I'm cleaning today so why don't you call Dick or Roy or something?" No answer, "I'll get more done around here if I can just get it all done without any distractions, so why don't you go do something?" Again, no answer. Artemis pursed her lips, was Wally honestly giving her the silent treatment? She huffed and stalked over to the couch. "Are you listening to me?" She demanded, feeling a small tick of irritation.
"I'm guessing you know." Wally suddenly said. Artemis blinked at him, confused.
"What?" She asked,
"About Dick?" Artemis was still completely confused.
"You're best friends. It's not that big of a secret, I've known since we've met." She shrugged, figuring he was playing some sort of game.
"No, about him being…"
"Being what?"
"Gay."
"Oh… I umm" Artemis sighed, "He told you?"
"So you did know!" Wally didn't seem angry, more distraught at the information. His eyebrows pulled into a knot and he looked up at Artemis as though she were twenty feet tall. "Why would he tell you?" He demanded,
"I don't know! I'm a girl! He thought I could help or something! Wally, why are you worried about this all of a sudden?" Artemis put her hands on her hips, a bit peeved that he had hardly said 'good morning' to her, and now he was screaming at her about something that happened near 5 years ago!
"You didn't think, hmm, I don't know, that I'd want to know my best friend was gay?!" Wally snapped bringing himself up full-sized,
"It wasn't my place to say!" Artemis retorted and turned back to her cooking, hoping that the action would mark the end of the conversation.
"No! You're my fiancé! Isn't there supposed to be a whole 'no secrets' thing between us, huh? What about that?" Wally demanded, Artemis was taken aback, honestly she didn't see why this was such a huge deal to him.
"I'm sorry I respect Richard and his privacy!" Artemis scoffed, sure, Wally had a point, but he would have done that same.
"Oh, so you're saying that this is my fault for wanting to know his business?" Wally swore,
"What? Wally? No! I'm saying that you're being childish! Now why don't you go out like I said and calm the hell down and think before you start yelling at me!?" Artemis told him, attempting to keep a level head, but the redhead behind her was making this horribly difficult. Spitfire padded in and rubbed his wet nose into Artemis's hand as she clenched it by her side.
"Maybe I will!" Wally huffed back at her, retrieving the clothing that he had discarded only a few minutes before and trudging towards the door.
"Fine!" Artemis screamed after him, throwing a towel from the counter after him as he slammed the door behind him. She leaned against the counter with her head in her hands as Spitfire nuzzled her side, whimpering. "Damn it!" She spat, "Why is he so mad?" She asked quietly to the dog, "I didn't fucking do anything!" She growled and pulled herself up slamming her fist against the counter, only to rear back in pain as her hand struck the burning hot pan. She yelped and winced in pain and ran over to the sick. "Fuck, fuck, fuck" She repeated as she attempted to get cool water on the blistering wound. Tears streamed down her face as the water made contact. "DAMN IT WALLY!" She screamed and put her good hand to her face. "This is you fault…" She groaned, still engrossed in the wound she had.
…
The phone responded with a simple "?" Dick's stomach tightened and realized what he had gotten himself into. It wasn't something he could simply back out of. Damn..
Know the song?
He messaged him.
Yeah. I'm confused.
… know the lyrics?
…Yes.
Well.
Well what?
You know what, never mind.
No! No never mind!
What?
You're telling me this. Why did you send me this?
No, it's fine, forget it.
No. I'm not letting this go, Dick.
Wally, it's not important.
Obviously it is.
I'm drunk.
You're a liar.
No I'm not. I'm horribly, horribly drunk, disregard all of this.
Not gonna happen. You're spilling tomorrow.
Doubtful. Probably wont remember.
No drunk person would admit that.
I'm strange.
Just shut up Dick.
Make me.
Apparently you want me to.
Wally! Shut up!
Whatever, just get some sleep. Sleep it off.
Maybe I will.
After that, there were no more responses. Dick sighed and rubbed at his eyes, that was way too close.
…
Dick attempted to be as silent as possible as he slipped back into bed. Jason was starting to stir already, his walk had taken far longer than he suspected. It was nearly seven in the morning now, and Jason would probably want some kind of food when he woke up. Dick brushed off the thought, the man could handle himself. He slid in between the thin sheets and cuddled closely to Jason's chest.
"Where were you?" Jason mumbled into Dick's hair, pulling him closer to himself,
"Walking." Dick yawned in response burying his face into Jason's bare chest. The other man grunted in response,
"Should I be jealous?" He rumbled quietly.
"…Not at all." Dick whispered back at him and fell asleep in his boyfriend's arms.
…
Bruce was tired, it was a long drive over, but Dick deserved some scolding for 'forgetting' to show up for his practice sessions with the little ones. He grumbled to himself, having already been at the wheel for nearly three hours, he was exhausted and just wanted to sleep. But, some scolding and then some bonding time with his son wouldn't hurt.
He pulled into the parking complex of the apartment building and killed the engine. Dick was going to get scolded whether or not either of them wanted to go through it. But his fatherly duties called for this. Damn it Dick, you're nearly twenty, can't you handle yourself for ten minutes? Bruce growled to himself as he pounded up the stairs to Dick's apartment. Once he had reached the door he drew a spare key from his pocket, clicked it in the lock before pushed the door open. Usually the little bird was prancing around making breakfast and singing softly to himself at this point. Oh no, wait; he's probably grown too old for that. Bruce huffed and shut the door behind him,
"Richard! Dick, it's Bruce!" He called, hoping Dick was just in the back room, seeing as he was no where to be found in the kitchen or living room. There was no response as he continued into the house. "Dick?" Bruce called again and headed towards the bedroom where Dick might still have been asleep. He pushed open the door and allowed the wood to swing open revealing an extremely dark room. Dick had blocked out the windows with two large comforters, Bruce didn't blame him, being a hero by night took its toll.
He saw a tuff of black hair sticking out from under the thin sheets and sighed, "wake up Dick." He demanded and flipped on the lights. There was a yelp. No, two yelps. Bruce looked confused as two figures scrambled around and fell off the bed.
"Shit!" A gruff voice swore, definitely not Dick. Bruce stiffened and his hand automatically went to the batarang he had stashed in his belt.
"Owowowowowowowowow." This voice belonged to Dick, now Bruce was extremely confused. But slowly he made the connection. Dick. In bed. With some guy. Waking up late…He felt a sudden tornado of rage dash through him as he bolted towards the other guy. He grabbed the poor soul by the shoulder and hoist him up to get a good look at him.
"Hiyya Brucie." Jason Todd coughed back at him. Bruce's eyes widened. Jason. Todd. In bed. With Dick. So many things were happening at once. He did the only logical thing. He socked Jason square in the face.
…
Dick hadn't expected Bruce to show up at his house. Nor had he expected him to punch Jason across the face once he walked in on them. Not something he had foreseen at all. He was now holding a bag of frozen vegetable medley to Jason's swollen nose as he lay on his lap. Bruce was fuming, holding a bag of frozen peas to his knuckle as he glared at Dick, as if demanding an explanation for this horrible atrocity that had just permanently burned its way into his cornea.
"So umm… long drive here?" Dick attempted and brushed a lock of long black hair out of his face.
"Yup." Bruce grumbled back. Dick nodded,
"Yeah, … lots of traffic?" Bruce nodded again,
"Yep." He grunted, he obviously wanted to ask Dick the question, but was most likely too… uncomfortable to come up with the words to ask.
"So I'm guessing you're kind of curious as to what's going on?" Dick finally sighed and looked down at his feet.
"Yes, I am." Bruce attempted to soften his look when his eyes met Dick's but he failed miserably and merely succeeded in glaring at him even more.
"Well me and Jason have been dating for a while."
"Few months." Jason said, his voice sounding a bit nasally because of his busted nose.
"How many is 'a few'?"
"A few…" Dick smiled.
"You didn't tell me, why? Bruce questioned,
"I umm… it kind of slipped my mind." Dick attempted, Bruce simply glared in response, "Okay, I thought you wouldn't want me and Jason to date and you'd try and get me to break up with him." Dick said quickly attempting to end this conversation as quickly as possible.
"Ah." Bruce sighed and began to rub his brow, "Now tell me why you thought it was a good idea to date a criminal?" Bruce demanded without any regard to the squeak of protest coming from Jason at the word 'criminal'
"Shush babe." Dick tutted Jason and then turned to Bruce, "It wasn't exactly a planned thing! It just kind of happened! He's not that bad Bruce, you of all people should know that!" Bruce sighed, Dick bit his bottom lip, he knew Bruce would have another onslaught of questions.
…
"Hi." Wally said awkwardly as he scuffed the toe of his shoe against the mat in front of Roy's apartment. The other red head sighed and opened the door. "Hi Lian." Wally waved at the small girl that was in Roy's arms before walking inside. "She not at her mom's this weekend?"
"Nah, she was 'busy'." Roy scoffed and balanced Lian on his hip, Wally held out his arms to take the child, which Roy happily complied with. Lian giggled and clambered into Wally's arms. Wally smiled at her and nuzzled his nose against hers.
"Why are you here?" Roy instantly demanded as he began walking into the kitchen. Wally groaned, he didn't want to get to business so soon.
"Artemis…" He mumbled,
"Fight?" Roy asked,
"Yup."
"About."
"Dick." Roy turned to look over his shoulder while he rummaged through nearly barren cabinets for something to eat, "Richard." Wally clarified, knowing what Roy was going to ask.
"What about him?" Roy pulled a half empty bag of chips out one of the cabinets and walked back over to where Wally and Lian were standing. "Sit." He instructed pointing at the couch,
"Wanna sit?" Wally asked Lian. She puffed out her cheeks and pointed at the floor.
"Down!" She demanded, Wally shrugged and set her down on the floor. She scurried away into the back room, most likely to get a few Barbie's for the three to play with.
"So what was this argument about?" Roy asked, taking the opportunity for Lian to be gone to pull out a smokeless cigarette and take a drag.
"Well um…he had told her something and neither of them told me and yeah." Wally said quickly attempting to dance around the words 'Dick is' and 'gay'.
"Just 'something'?" Roy questioned raising a slender red eyebrow.
"Well a big something!" Wally squeaked, when Roy simply motioned him with his hand he knew he really couldn't get around the subject, "Okay, so Dick told Artemis he was gay like five years ago and she never told me which I mean, it's understandable at first, but when he continues to be gay and doesn't 'grow out of it' like everyone else I mean really that's typically something that you tell his best friend and your own fiancé! Right? Come on, tell me I'm right here!" Roy sat there, frozen, not saying anything before he leaned back into the couch,
"You know, that explains a lot." He shrugged, "Now, how did you find this out?"
"I kind of…went to his house and…"
"Tell me he didn't kiss you again!"
"I kissed him last time! What? Wait! No! I kind of interrupted him and his…boyfriend." Roy sat back up at this and leaned over to Wally,
"Boyfriend? He has a boyfriend?" Wally nodded,
"Jason Todd."
"Oh my God." Roy blinked a few times before running a quick hand through his hair, "This is a lot." Wally nodded, "Didn't see that one coming."
"Yeah me either." Wally agreed and rubbed his palm across his face in an attempt to wipe away some of the exhaustion that was creeping up on him.
"So why were you arguing?"
"The whole she knew, I didn't thing" Wally shrugged,
"How bad did it get?"
"Not too bad. I left before it got out of hand."
"You left?"
"She kicked me out."
"That's what I thought. You know that is how my separation started. Just little fights."
"You two were trying to kill each other."
"That's against the point. What I'm saying Wally is don't let the fights get out of hand! If it goes too far, don't hit her. That's bad." Wally gawked,
"Did you ever actually like, hit her?!" Roy put up a hand,
"At work? Yeah, all the time. I shot her a few times. At home? No. She hit me once. Over the head. With a hairdryer. That bitch." Roy grumbled rubbing the spot on his head that the hairdryer had stuck a few months back.
"Dada!" Lian yelled from the other room as she waddled in. "Wawee!" She had three Barbies clutched to her chest as she entered, "Play!" She insisted coming over to them and thrusting two of the dolls at them.
"Right now?" Roy sighed,
"Now." Lian confirmed and sat down in between the two on the couch, holding the doll at the ready for some serious game of house. Wally sighed but still, shifted a bit so that the doll was level with Lian's. Roy was a bit more practiced in his daddying stills as his doll was already posing as well. Lian giggled manically and started to set up the scene. They were going to be buying invisible shoes.
…
Artemis held the phone in between her ear and her shoulder and waited as it dialed. "M'gann?" She asked when the ringing stopped.
"Hey Art!" The Martian beamed from the other line. "How are you?"
"Alright." Artemis shrugged as she began to squirt a bottle of Windex onto the bedroom window. "Could be better, how are you?"
"I'm wonderful. Now hon, what's wrong?" She demanded softly. Artemis sighed and put the Windex on the side table, trading it off for a rag.
"Wally was just…idiotic today." She sighed. M'gann gave an 'Mmm hmm' in response, but then stayed silent, prodding Artemis to continue with an explanation. "Well I mean, he left at some ungodly hour last night to go and run, and came back when I was making breakfast just to yell at me!" M'gann huffed at this.
"He yelled at you?" She questioned, she sounded just as preoccupied as Artemis was, most likely working with some of the younger members of the team.
"I guess…well we kind of yelled back and forth. Then I burned myself" Artemis scuffed her foot against the floor and wiped down the bubbles that were caused by the spray.
"Genius…Over what?"
"Well…I mean…it's complicated." Artemis didn't want to spill to M'gann that Dick was gay if he hadn't even felt comfortable enough to tell Wally.
"I have time." Was M'gann's response.
"It's stupid. Something Dick told me but didn't tell him and now he's all pissy about it!" Artemis told the extremely amended version of the story, attempting to appease M'gann's curiosity.
"Well, what did he tell you?"
"Something about some…relationship or another." Artemis tried.
"What relationship?" M'gann prodded.
"…A relationship." Artemis said and then quickly changed the subject, "It doesn't matter! So, I mean. I don't really know what to do…because this isn't my fault! But Wally isn't going to be able to see that!"
"He should."
"M'gann, he's not going to." Artemis told her, sure that the last thing Wally was going to do, was come through that door an apologize, telling her everything was his fault. "I just…should I drop the subject? Or just talk to him about it?" Artemis asked,
"Talk to him about it! You can't kill a spider just because you put a rug over it, right?"
"What?"
"You can't end the topic just because you cover it up with other talk!" M'gann clarified, "Now, when he comes home, talk to him about it, don't just let it sit between you guys!" Artemis nodded and slung the towel over her shoulder, moving to the next room.
"I guess." She sighed. "Thanks. Oh, M'gann how are you and Conner?"
"Eh…" M'gann murmured and began to spill about their latest break up.
…
Dick watched as Jason pulled that damn white box out of his pocket while they walked down the street. "No." was all that he said. Jason cocked an eyebrow at him and still pulled out one of the white cancer sticks. "No." Dick repeated while his boyfriend popped the cigarette into his mouth. "No." He said again. Still, Jason didn't listen as he stared at Dick and pulled a lighter from his pocket. "No." He warned again. Jason flicked his thumb across the lighter and the flame ignited. "No." Dick's voice got a bit sterner as Jason put the lighter to the cigarette. "Damn it Jason!" Dick growled and pulled his arm away from the other man. "I said no!" He pointed out. Jason shrugged,
"So?" Dick groaned and began to stalk ahead of Jason. "Whoa! Whoa! Are you serious right now?" He laughed half-heartedly. Dick glared at him over his shoulder.
"Very." Jason grabbed Dick's arm and spun him around.
"Why are you so pissed?" He demanded pulling the cigarette away from his lips and letting out a slender puff of smoke as he spoke.
"I'm a little stressed out right now, and I already told you that when you smoke it gives me headaches!" Dick snapped, he was strung far to tight right now.
"Why are you so stressed?" Dick's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You're kidding me, right?"
"What?" Jason rose his hands in defense, "What's wrong?" Dick groaned and turned on his heel to storm away again. Jason moaned and followed after him, "Hon, wait! Babe! Dick!" Jason trotted after the fuming man, "What is up your ass? Damn!" He scoffed as Dick swirled around once again.
"Up my ass?" Dick demanded, "You know what, I don't know, maybe Bats just found out about us and I had no intention to tell him! He probably hates us both now! The League is gonna be riding my ass for skipping out on my training! My best friend is getting married and is expecting me to sing in front of everyone there! I now have an enormous headache! And you're being a douche! And that jealous thing this morning, what was that about?!" Jason took a step back and threw his cigarette on the ground, stomping it out with his foot.
"What jealous… you know what, no listen, I'm sorry!" Jason held his hands up, " and look, cigarette is gone, better?" Dick shook his head and put his fingers on his temples,
"Just…too much going on." He grumbled. Jason wrapped his arms around Dick's shoulders and pulled him into his chest. Dick sighed and let the man hug him. "Sorry…" He whispered.
"It's fine." Jason murmured. Dick felt utterly at ease for the first time in a while. This was before he felt Jason's hand's slide down his back and rest at the small of his back. He grit his teeth and prayed he wasn't about to do what he thought. Just as he silently prayed he felt a smack against his ass. He yelled and shoved back.
"For fuck's sake!" Dick snapped at him and began to trudge away. Jason frowned, but for the moment decided it was for the best if he didn't follow him.
…
"Damn it." Dick growled as he pounded on the door of the only safe place he could think of. Bab's house. He fist rammed against the door as he waited for it to open. Soon enough he heard the lock click and the door opened slightly.
"Opp, sorry, got company. Talk to you later, kay? Mmm hmm. Yeah. Oh no, it's Dick. Ha, I know right? Alright, yeah he's just an ass! Alright. Talk to you- yes honey. You're prettier. Alright, I really have to go. Bye!" Bab's spoke into the phone from the other side of the door. She wheeled back a bit and unlocked the rest of the door. "Hey!" She smiled as Dick stepped in.
"Hi." Dick grinned at her,
"Oh wow, Dick you look terrible, are you alright?" Barbara asked as she looked up at him. Dick shrugged, "Come sit down!" She insisted and followed Dick as he went to the couch. "Now spill." She instructed as she went into the kitchen, "Want a drink?" She called.
"Beer." Dick said simply.
"Try again." Barbara sighed,
"Vodka?" Dick suggested.
"Nope."
"Wine?" He asked,
"I got sparkling cider. I can put it in a fancy glass. Oh! Wait, no! I found a beer." Bab's wheeled in the room and handed Dick an opened beer, Dick accepted it with a 'thank you' and pressed the bottle to his lips.
"What happened?" Babs asked again.
"Bats found out." Dick muttered,
"Crap…" She sighed, "How'd he do that?"
"He broke into my house." Dick shrugged, Barbara believed it, that seemed like a very Bruce thing to do.
"I'm sorry hon. How's he take it?"
"He didn't kill me. But he didn't look happy." Dick shrugged and then proceeded to tell Barbara about the fuming that Bruce had done when he found out the details of the relationship.
"Wow…" She muttered, "I'm sorry, listen, he's just going to need time to adjust, okay?"
"And there's something else…" Dick whispered and held his phone forward to her, "I sent that song to Wally." Barbara read the lyrics and looked up at him,
"Bat's isn't going to have to worry about Jason for long, is he?" Dick looked down,
"I honestly don't know…"
Ahhh! Craziness! Wally and Artemis are arguing? Where will that lead? Dick and Jason don't seem to be doing so hot either! What is going on there? What is Bats gonna do? How will this all fold out?
How do YOU think it should fold out?
Alright! Now time to cover some business, I know that every story has its readers, and in turn people that don't like it. The only reason I'm saying this is because of some people commenting or messaging me with some words about this story. You don't like the story. Don't read. It's as simple as that. I'm writing this for the people that want to read it and for myself, not for people to hate on, so if you don't like it, there's an "x" button at the top of your screen to leave, no one is stopping you.
NOW! On a lighter note, it's almost summer, which means more writing time! I'm balancing a couple stories at the moment, all of them with like 10 pages per chapter (this one is 13) so it's all a little crazy.
ALL IN ALL REVIEW! IT HELPS ME MOVE SO MUCH FASTER! EVERYTIME I GET A REVIEW I WRITE! SO WRITE ME SOME STUFF!
Today's question:
How is Bats going to react?