A/N: Sorry it's been a while since the last update. But now, as some people asked, is some Roy and Wally bonding, and its a little serious. Enjoy!
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SONS OF WAYNE
CHAPTER 10
Wally continued to pout about Dick and Roy going on the merry-go-round without him until Ollie let him take a ride by himself, after which he had decided to forgive them. The four spent another hour at the mall looking at various stores, some to actually buy things and some just to indulge in the smaller kids curiousity, and Ollie was pleased that the entire time Roy walked in front of him at the side of the Wayne brothers.
Roy didn't make friends much. Ollie was happy to take whatever was thrown his way.
"I like the mall!" Dick cried happily. "It's so much more fun then Walmart!"
"I liked the pet store!" Wally said, hopping up and down energetically beside Roy, who rolled his eyes but still smiled at his antics. "I'm gonna ask Bruce if I can get a dog when we go back home!"
Ollie mentally pictured Bruce trying to take care of a dog, and he chuckled. It would probably die of starvation in a week.
"Why don't you get a dog, Roy?" Dick asked.
Roy and Ollie shared a look. "Hate 'em," they said together.
Wally gasped. "You can't hate dogs! They're fluffy!"
Roy smirked. "Being fluffy doesn't change the fact that they slobber,"
"And pee everywhere," Ollie added.
"And I betcha they freakin' smell,"
Dick and Wally shared a look and sighed. "You're crazy," Dick said. The phrase was so odd to hear coming from the five year olds mouth that Roy and Ollie both burst out laughing. Ollie smirked at his adopted son. He knew the boy would deny it, maybe not so much, but he was becoming attatched to the boys.
"So, what do you guys wanna do next?" Ollie asked.
Before any of the boys could answer, Ollie's cellphone rang. Roy groaned while Wally and Dick looked curious, but Ollie held up a finger to signal them to wait, while he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He raised an eyebrow at the I.D., before flicking it open and putting it to his ear.
"You can actually get reception where you are?"
"The miracles of technology," Batman's voice replied.
"Where are you?"
"Past Jupiter,"
"You taking pictures for me?"
"No. Barry is. Where are Dick and Wally?"
"They're fine Bruce," Ollie replied, noticing how Dick and Wally's faces lit up. "We went to the mall, and they're completely fine, so you don't need to be suspicious and worrisome. I don't think that'd be good for the meetings," And by meetings, he meant battles with human-hating aliens.
"I am not," Batman said.
"Yeah right!" Ollie laughed. He felt tugging at his pants, and he looked down to see Wally and Dick clutching his jeans, looking up at him with pleading eyes. He got the message and spoke back into the phone. "You wanna talk to them?"
"Put them on,"
"Sheesh, alright Mr. Bossy Pants," Ollie grumbled, making Dick and Wally laugh. Dick took the phone first, and he spoke into it. "Bruce?"
"Hey, Dick, you having fun?" Ollie could still hear Batman, and he could hear he had instantly switched from the gruff comanding tone of the Dark Knight to the kind and very-human tone of Bruce Wayne.
"Yeah, Ollie is the best! He took us to the mall and I bought a Transformer but I didn't go near any lobsters, I promise!...They didn't have any lobsters anyway,"
Ollie heard Bruce laugh, and he wondered if anyone on the Justice League ship was around to stare in shock at Batman laughing on a phone. He grabbed Roy by the shoulder and steered him a couple feet away.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Roy asked, glaring.
"Just giving them a little privacy," Ollie said.
"What privacy, it's a mall!" Roy said, flopping onto a nearby bench. Ollie rolled his eyes and sat next to him. For a moment the two watched their guests switch the phone back and forth rapidly to talk to the man on the other end, both of their mouths moving rapidly. It was clear that in the short day they had been apart they missed their father figure.
Ollie looked over at Roy, who was leaning on the edge of the bench and looking bored. "So?"
Roy looked back at him. "So what?" he asked.
"I bet you think Dick and Wally aren't so annoying anymore, huh?"
Roy scoffed. "Their little kids, Ollie," he said.
"Oh, and you're not?"
"Well, I'm 10!" Roy cried, as if that made all the sense in the world. But then, Roy's face softened just a smidge. "Okay, they're not bad for little kids...I think I'll be able to stand living with them for three weeks,"
Ollie grinned and ruffled his hair, earning him an angry shout from Roy. "Glad to hear it!"
SNAP.
"Whoops!"
"MY PHONE!"
"Sorry, Ollie! I didn't mean to drop it!"
Ollie sighed, and he gave Roy a stink eye on the side, as the redhead was failing to hold in any laughter. "It's okay Wally...it's just the screen, I can fix a cracked screen...oh my poor phone..."
Roy felt very annoyed. Ollie had insisted to Wally, who had been on the verge of tears, that the accidental cracking of his phones screen (which also inadvertantly caused Wally to hang up on Bruce (something Batman was not too happy about)) was not a big deal at all. Still, that didn't stop him from making Roy take them to the malls indoor playground while he secretly went to the nearest electronics store and bought a new phone.
Jeez, the man was so wierd.
Roy wasn't going to feel sorry for him until the man bought HIM a cell phone. He was ten for crying out loud!
After that, the group had finally left the mall. With plenty of time left in the day, Ollie took them out for lunch at Applebees. Roy was amused that Dick and Wally had never been there - clearly circus life and then the rich life have left them depraved of normal people things. Okay, he was technically rich too, but he didn't like to take advantage of that. One of the few good life lessons he got from Ollie.
After lunch, Roy voiced his opinion on the next thing to do:
"Let's go to the movies!"
"YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH!" Dick and Wally cheered together. How could Ollie say no to that?
Plus it hurt his ears.
Luckily, the Applebees was not that far from a nearby AMC Theater...of course, Ollie appeared to be the only person who enjoyed going to AMC, because the boys immediantly started whining to go to Harkins instead, even though the nearest Harkins was near the other side of town.
If not for the fact that Ollie was purposefully trying to spoil them rotten, he would've put up a harder fight against their pleas to drive all the way to Harkins.
But then another headache appeared when the boys couldn't agree on which movie they wanted to see.
"I wanna see Coyote and Roadrunner: The Movie!" Dick cried.
"That movies for babies!" Roy shot back. "We should see Battle For Jupiter!"
"Roy, that movies PG-13," Wally whispered, although he was actually very loud.
"So?" Roy asked. "You really wanna see a dumb Looney Tunes movie?"
"...No, I wanna see the Jupiter movie!" Wally said.
"WALLY!" Dick cried, looking astounded.
"Sorry, Dickie, but I don't like Roadrunner!" Wally said with an apologetic shrug. For some reason that sounded incredibly ironic to Ollie but he didn't know why.
"B-B-B-But..." Dick looked like he was about to start crying, so Ollie jumped in.
"Okay, how about this?" he asked, catching the boys attention. "I'll take Dick to see the movie he wants to see, and I'll let you and Wally, Roy, go see the movie you want to see. Is that okay?"
Dick thought it over, and he grinned and nodded. "Thanks Ollie!" he shouted, jumping up and hugging Ollie around the waist.
Roy pretended he didn't feel jeolous for a minute.
He was a little surprised when Wally looked unsure. "You...sure you wanna see the movie wit' me?" he asked, scratching his foot on the ground.
Roy sighed. He already spent time with Dick, anyway. "Yeah, I do Wally. Battle For Jupiter looks sick!"
"Sick?" Wally titled his head in confusion. "I didn't know movies could get sick,"
...Seriously?
"No, I mean, it looks really bad-ass,"
Crap!
"Uh, please pretend I didn't say that, okay Wally?"
"Alrighty!"
Roy felt a presence loom over him and he looked up. Ollie was glaring at him. "I already heard it, kid," he said. "What have I said about cussing?"
"...Do it too much and I won't be able to sit down for a week?" Roy asked a little fearfully, one hand subconciously moving to protect his bottom.
"Next time you cuss I'm keeping that promise," Ollie said. Then he smiled. "I got the tickets, so lets get some popcorn!"
"Ooh, can I get a Snickers?"
"This movie isn't scary, is it?" Wally asked when he and Roy propped themselves in the front row, right in front of the large screen.
"Why, you chicken?" Roy teased.
Wally scoffed and puffed his chest. "No! I'm just worried 'bout you!"
Roy laughed. "Yeah, right. It's got cool alien action, anyway!"
"I wonder if I'll ever meet a real alien," Wally pondered.
Roy almost felt like bragging about how he was going to meet Martian Manhunter one day, but thought better of it. "I don't think all aliens are nice,"
"I like E.T.,"
"E.T. isn't real,"
"BLASPHEMY!"
"...Where the heck did you learn that word?"
"I dunno. I heard Alfred say it once when someone else said something bad about Shakespeare,"
"Who?"
Somewhere in Hawaii, Alfred felt his heart break a little.
It had been awhile since Ollie had watched a Looney Tunes cartoon. He briefly recalled watching Space Jam about a year ago with Roy. He thought that it would be pleasent change of pace to sit through a kids movie.
He was beginning to think otherwise when Dick's mad cackle started getting him odd stares.
"I gotta go to the bathroom," Wally said about 25 minutes into the movie.
"Dude, don't tell me that!" Roy cried, sounding grossed out. "Just go!"
"Fine," Wally said, climbing off his seat and running down the aisle to the entrance. Roy sighed and leaned back to enjoy the film.
I know girls are supposed to still be gross, but dang I wish Reese Witherspoon was my babysitter!
About ten minutes passed, and Roy looked around.
"Where the heck is Wally?"
Wally felt like all his breath had left his body, and he was drowning.
No...no, it can't...what? Why-
His eyes bugged out of his head when he realized they were moving closer. This couldn't be - it was too horrible for Wally to comprehend. All the memories and the thoughts he had buried in his little heart, out of reach, once things had started becoming happier in his life. Things were good and now they just seemed to crash and fall apart all at once.
They had burst out of him, and he felt tears prickling his eyes.
He couldn't think - he just felt the need to vanish, to run, to get out of there.
In what seemed like no time at all, Wally was pushing open a door, letting the blinding sunlight of the Star City sky into his eyes. But all he could see was an angry face, a loud and mad voice, the feel of a fist or a belt or a hairbrush smacking into his body...the darkness of a locked closet...the feeling of being unable to breath.
And the blinding light of the sun, but...
He didn't care...
He had to get away.
WHY ARE THEY HERE? WHY WHY WHY...NO, NO, NO, THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! WHY ARE THEY HERE...Bruce...I want you here...please...
The tears fell, and Wally kept his feet moving.
"Wally, I'm going to kill you..." Roy grumbled. Judging by what was happening in the movie, Wally had been gone for about 15 minutes. Did the kid always take THAT long to go to the bathroom, or was it simply to annoy him?
"It's working," Roy muttered, sinking down into his seat.
Finally, Roy decided he wasn't going to take it anymore. He had come to see a good movie - not wait and wonder about where the heck a hyperactive little ginger was!
Of course you have no room to talk, Roy thought, running his hands through his own vibrantly orange hair.
"Oh shut up mind," he said aloud.
He didn't care if it was embarassing, he was going to go get Wally just for the sake that he DIDN'T have to do it again!
Walking out of the theatre, Roy marched up to the Men's room door and walked inside. "WALLY! GET OUT YOU SLOWPOKE, I'M MISSING THE MOVIE CAUSE OF YOU!"
Silence greeted him. It took Roy a moment before he blinked and realized the bathroom was empty.
"Huh," Roy said. Maybe he had missed him and Wally had returned to the theater.
Unfortunantly, when Roy returned and saw that Wally was NOT sitting in any of the seats, running around in the aisles, or anywhere in the theater, he became a little worried.
When he wandered into the main lobby and didn't see any sign of Wally, he freaked out in his head.
WALLY YOU IDIOT! Did you REALLY freakin' wander off in the middle of the movie? Oh my God if you get yourself kidnapped or killed or run over I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! And then Ollie is going to kill me, and maybe Dick too...Dammit! I don't care if I'm cussing, where are you?...Oh, please don't be kidnapped or killed or anything...
Roy found himself running into each of the theaters, checking them all for a sign of Wally. His heart began beating fast when in each one was no sign of Wally. When he reluctantly stepped into the theater where Coyote and Roadrunner: The Movie was playing, he made sure that Ollie and Dick didn't notice him. Wally wasn't in there.
Oh crap Ollie is going to kick my butt all the way to Keystone City! Roy thought as he walked out of the theater.
"Okay, Dick, please try to laugh quietly!" Ollie whispered, keeping a hand tight on the little boys mouth. A little girl had actually cried when Dick's wierd laughter rang through the theater.
Seriously, what was with this kids laugh?
And how long was this movie? Can you really fit too much plot about a coyote and a roadrunner into a TWO HOUR MOVIE?
"Crap crap crap crap crap crap crap crap crap crap crap crap," Roy chanted panickly, checking the theater where Battle For Jupiter was playing for the third time. Where the heck was Wally?
He was having awful thoughts of Wally being dragged by a big stuffy pervert into a black car.
After checking another theater and not finding him, Roy had a terrible thought: What if he's being kidnapped right now? Oh, I wish I had a bow and arrow!
To make sure Wally was NOT being forced into a car by a stranger against his will, Roy ran (he was getting a lot of wierd looks from the employees of the theater, but this was an emergency dang it!) to the entrance doors, shoving them open-
And he saw Wally sitting on the ground near a bench near a small fountain.
Immediantly, Roy's worry turned to anger. I'm freaking out in THERE and he's just sitting out HERE? What the %*#!
"WALLY!" Roy shouted.
He felt inwardly pleased when Wally seemed to jump about a foot in the air. Serves him right for freaking him out!
"Wally, you dumb idiot, what the heck? You just run out here and-" Roy stopped his anger as soon as he got close to Wally.
Because Wally, frankly, looked terrified. And he was crying.
"Wally?" Roy asked tentatively.
"S-Sorry Roy..." Wally whimpered, wiping at his eyes. "I-I didn't mean to f-freak you o-out..."
"Uh, that's okay," Roy was now a little uncomfortable, but still concerned. "Um, why are you out here...crying?"
Wally looked down at his feet, and Roy backed up a little. Maybe he should just ignore it and go back into the theater? However, he didn't get a chance. Wally looked up and seemed to be about to say something, but his eyes widened at something behind Roy and he gasped, before practically throwing himself onto the ground behind the bench.
What the- Roy thought, turning around to see what Wally was looking at.
It was the couple who caught his attention, because he had just been staring at Wally's red hair and the woman had red hair too. The man had brown hair. The woman was tall, and her hair was long and curly. The man was kind of porkbellied, and his brown hair was combed neatly. They were arguing by the looks of their body language.
Roy narrowed his eyes at them. They didn't see him or ignored him as they walked away from the pavellion, into the parking lot.
Roy looked back at Wally. He was balled up, shaking. "Why are they here...why?" he whispered, crying.
He couldn't bare it. Roy sat down on the ground next to Wally and gently shook him. The other boy looked up at him. "Wally, I don't get it. Why did seeing those people make you...well, like this? What, do you know them?"
Roy saw Wally's eyes had become fearful. "N-No..."
"Bull," Roy snapped. "You wouldn't be acting like you're cat just got shot unless you did!"
Then another thing occured to him - the woman's red hair was almost the exact same shade as Wally's... "Wally, are you related to those people?"
Roy was surprised when Wally pushed him to the ground, but the boy looked scared, not angry. "No! No, I'm not! I don't wanna be! I never wanna see them again! T-They shouldn't be here! T-They SHOULDN'T! I'm h-happy now a-and t-they n-never made me h-happy and they s-shouldn't...s-shouldn't..."
An utterly stunned Roy watched with a gaping mouth as Wally's words chocked up in his throat, and he curled his face into his knees and just cried. This was not what Roy expected at all...
Slowly, Roy got on his knees and made Wally look at him. "Wally, what the heck are you talking about?"
Wally sniffled. He didn't think it was a good idea to tell someone his secret...only Dick, Bruce, and Alfred knew...but he hurt a lot and he tried to keep it in...but he didn't want to anymore!
"They was my...my REAL mommy and daddy," Wally answered tearfully.
"...Wait, what?" Roy asked, dumbfounded. "I thought the Graysons were...uh, you know,"
Wally shook his head. "No...I ran away," the redhead said. He wiped at his tears again, and looked in the direction the couple - his parents? Roy thought, still confused - had gone. "They...they hurt me too much so I left,"
Roy's eyes widened, but Wally kept going. "I...I don't like talking about it. Bruce tries to make me, but I pretend I'm okay. I'm happy! I have a nice home and a good new daddy and a little brother...but I keep having nightmares about - about THEM, and it makes me scared because I keep remembering all the times they hurt me and made me cry a-and, and, did all this bad stuff to me and I hate it! I want to forget about it and be happy, but then I saw them and I don't want to see them because they DON'T CARE ABOUT ME! I WANT TO FORGET IT, B-BUT I JUST CAN'T!" Wally sobbed.
Wally gasped when he felt arms wrap around him. He realized Roy was hugging him. Returning the hug, the seven year old broke down, sobbing out all the pain he kept inside for so long, not wanting to remember it...but how could he not? He lived in pain for seven years...his entire life.
Roy knew that, and for the first time he didn't care that he was hugging someone. Wally needed it.
After a while, Wally finally quieted down. "T-Thanks, Roy..."
"No problem, kid," Roy replied.
"P-Promise n-not to tell anyone?" Wally asked.
"...Wally, I...I hate to tell you this, but I think you should talk to your adopted dad about this," Roy said seriously. Wally looked stunned, and he looked at the ground. "Wally, you're too young to be doing this to yourself. You're not even an angsty teen like on Degrassi yet!"
"Fine," Wally muttered.
"And, if you ever need to talk," Roy said, shrugging. "I'll guess I'll be here for you,"
Wally hugged him again, although Roy wanted to push him back this time. "Thank you!"
"Yeah yeah," Roy shoved Wally off, but Wally's smile was back and Roy was glad to see it. "Before I get too sappy, let's go back to the movie,"
Even though it was odd that things seemed to go to normal so quickly, Roy could tell Wally was still slightly shaken by seeing his parents. So, he did the best thing he could do: Keep him distracted.
And let him know he had a friend with him.
"So, did you two enjoy YOUR movie?" Ollie asked, looking annoyed. Dick was swinging happily back and forth on his arm.
"Yeah, it was cool," Roy and Wally answered at the same time, making Ollie blink in surprise.
"Well, okay,"
After the movie, Dick had fallen asleep in the car, and Ollie decided it was time to go home. After arriving at the apartment complex, Roy and Wally woke Dick up and raced to the elevator. Ollie was slightly annoyed that Dick and Wally had won and went up before Ollie and Roy could get INTO the elevator...but he also saw Roy laughing about it, and he decided it was okay.
Ollie ordered a pizza, because he knew there was no way he was going to be able to make dinner.
He was very happy when Roy chose to sit by Dick and Wally. This morning he hated the idea of spending time with them - now, they were practically best friends.
Kids.
Eventually, they ended up in front of the tv in the living room, playing Shrek 2: The Video Game on Roy's X-Box.
"No no, A!"
"I'm pressing it!"
"Wally, the big twee is about to kill you,"
"MOVE DONKEY MOVE!"
"I wanna play Shrek!"
"No, I'm playing Shrek!"
"Can I play Gingerbread Man?"
"Go ahead Dick,"
"AH MAN, YOU JUST GOT ME KILLED!"
Ollie watched from the couch, grinning. Yeah, this was gonna be a fun three weeks.
After the boys had fallen asleep, Ollie decided that the place was secure enough for him to go out on patrol. Suiting up, Ollie put on his Green Arrow gear, including his new addition of a hood. Looking himself over in the mirror, he smiled. Roy's newfound friends and subsequent happiness seemed to give him a fuel charge.
Time to kick butt!
Walking out into the kitchen to climb out the window, Ollie froze.
Dick was standing in the middle of the dark room, holding a glass of water.
He and Ollie - Green Arrow - stared at each other for a moment.
Then, Ollie waved his arms around slowly. "Thhhhiiiiss iiiissss aaaaa dreeeaaaammm," he said in a slow voice.
Dick blinked, yawned, and nodded. "Okie dokie," he mumbled, walking out of the kitchen, presumably back to his room.
Ollie let out a breathe of relief. "I'll check in the morning," he muttered.
Green Arrow popped open the window, dissapearing into the Star City night.
A/N: Whoop! So glad I got this done! The next chapter is the final part of Vacation At Ollie's, and I'll get it done ASAP.
And I do hope everyone got the Roadrunner joke.
Goodbye, sleep tight, and ignore Flashpoint's existence!