Wally hefted Katt over his shoulder while Piper made his way to the door. He started to open it but turned to Wally as something occurred to him. "The seals are still going to be on the floor. How the hell are we getting out of here?"

"Um…how the hell did you get in here?" Wally asked. "And where's Nightwing anyway? He's totally not pulling his weight, especially considering this is his case."

"Katt consecrated me so I could enter the chamber safely. I left Dick in the hall so he wouldn't get hurt." Piper explained.

"Oh."

"Why are you smiling like that?"

"Like what? I'm not smiling like anything other than a, y'know, 'happy my friends are happy' smile."

"Uh huh." Piper nudged the door fully closed again and gave Wally a look. "So what's your stake in this?"

"Piper, I am absolutely insulted! Just what are you insinuating?"

"You continue to be an absolutely abhorrent liar. Is that why you ditched having a secret identity the first chance you got?"

"One of many reasons, yeah."

Piper sighed. "If you don't tell me, I'll just ask Linda."

"Alright, fine. I got fifty bucks riding on you and Dick hitting it off."

Piper gaped at him. "You made a bet about me sleeping with Dick?"

"No, not just sleeping with him. I bet that you guys would click. Um, I think the conditions were more long term than a night. That's why I hung around after I screwed things up, so I wouldn't have to tell Linda I, uh, screwed things up." Wally rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish. "But for real, I totally am concerned about you being happy, and Dick's like one of the best people I know, so I think you should go for it-"

"You bet Linda fifty dollars that I would hook up with your friend? And she took the bet? That's just…really insulting. Is that why I was set up with her coworker too? You guys were playing a game?"

Wally frowned. "Dude, it's not like that! I mean yeah, we did make it a friendly competition, but at first we were only talking about helping you. I swear."

"You know if you need fifty dollars you can ask me. I am rich. Don't you and Linda have the same finances?"

"Happily married finances kinda suck. There are so many really stupid DVDs I want to buy. And I know they're stupid, and that they're bad movies, but I want them anyway! And I don't even own a current video game system anymore Piper! It's driving me crazy!"

"There's an unconscious necromancer on your shoulder. Your life's not enough of a video game as is?" Piper pointed out, not feeling the least bit sympathetic.

"…no. Um, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to trivialize your personal life." And he did look it, at least. Piper sighed.

"Apology accepted."

"And, um, don't take it out on Dick. He does like you. So if me and Linda's bet blows this, both of you are gonna be hurt and I'm gonna feel like the worst friend ever."

Piper chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully. "You're sure? Um, about him liking me?"

Wally laughed. "Dude, yeah! Come on, he's not even being subtle. Not that Dick's subtle when it comes to hitting on people, but I mean really. He even told you he really liked you."

"Well yes, but-"

"But nothing! He likes you."

"But I'm an old nerd and he's a brilliant, gorgeous super hero. Skankiness isn't enough of a character flaw to balance that out."

Wally scowled. "You're not that old, you're both the biggest freaking nerds I've ever met and Piper, you're not ugly. I'm not an expert on guy pretty or anything, but I can tell the difference between uggo, normal and hot. Plus Linda even said so."

Piper opened his mouth to protest some more, but Wally cut him off. "Trust me, you're good enough! You're one of the only people I'd ever say this to: date my best friend. I trust you to treat him good. I want you to date him. And not just for the fifty bucks." Though that was clearly still part of the equation.

"W-we should probably get the necromancer to jail now." Piper said softly, surprisingly touched by Wally's faith in him.

"Yeah. So, uh the seals."

"Right. Nightwing thought we might be able to piggy back."

"I suppose it's worth a shot."

"Here, let me drag this door open before we figure out logistics for transporting the three of us." He started scraping the door open again.

"W-whoa!"

"Oof!"

Nightwing had been perched precariously on the other side of the door, having dragged himself along the hallway along the brick walls, digging his fingers and toes into the cracks. He'd been carrying his boots in his mouth. When the door opened he lost balance and fell on Piper. The two were sprawled across the stone floor, Nightwing leaning over him.

"Could you have taken any longer opening that damn thing?"

"Didn't know you were waiting." Piper answered dazedly, a slight flush on his face.

Dick smiled at him. "I was trying to pry it open myself, but then I heard you two talking and I figured you'd taken Katt out already. God you guys are chatty."

"You wanna, uh, get off of his lap?" Wally asked, averting his eyes. Dick smirked.

"Aw, is someone feeling icky?"

"Shaddup."

Dick scooted off of Piper's lap and helped him to his feet. Piper glanced at the hallway curiously and then eyed Dick, contemplating the feat of scaling along the brick walls without touching the floor. "You really dragged yourself here hugging the wall?"

"Yep."

"Cool. Can you do it again?" Wally asked. Dick glared at him.

"It wasn't pleasant." He walked around the chamber, examining the room and muttering to himself about where he thought they were below the city. "Could be…no, there's not a connec-but Katt couldn't have built this himself just for the Summoning so there's got to be a-ah. Here we go." He hopped on top of the altar and pulled at the heavy velvet drapes covering the wall behind it, revealing another hallway. Then he went back towards the door, sat down and started pulling his boots back on.

"This one's probably trapped too." Wally pointed out. Dick tossed a piece of rubble down the hall, not setting off a single explosion.

"I'm for risking it. No guarantee Hartley can actually get us safely through the other hallway anyway, right?"

"I suppose." Scowling, Wally hefted the necromancer more securely onto his shoulder and followed after his friends. He 'accidentally' whacked Katt's head on the archway as they passed.

The three crime fighters returned to Dick's loft some hours later, tired, achy, cranky and covered with a film of dust, sweat and cobwebs. The trek through the other hallway had by no means been pleasant, but they'd arrived above ground safe and unmolested by dark magic. After dumping Katt off with the proper authorities and tipping off some magic-using heroes that they had another evil magician to keep an eye out for, they'd agreed to turn in.

"Rock paper scissors for first shower?" Piper suggested.

"You're the guest, go ahead." Dick waved him towards the bathroom.

"You're sure?"

"Go ahead Hartley."

"Okay, thanks."

Dick walked over to his kitchen counter and took out a roll of paper towels. He tore a few off and tossed the roll to Wally, then gently patted some of the grime off his face.

"Thanks, but I'm just gonna head back to Keystone and use my own shower." Wally set the paper towels down on the counter and turned towards the door. He was stopped by Dick's hand on the back of his neck. "Uh…" As soon as the sound of running water reached their ears he found himself pinned against a wall. "Oof!"

"No, I really think you should stay and talk." Dick's voice was calm, but his hands were also restricting Wally's access to air.

"Did I do…urgh, something?"

"I'm pretty sure I heard you say you bet your wife fifty dollars I'd sleep with your friend."

"You and Piper are so taking this the wrong way, I-aie! Can you please let go of my neck?"

Dick dropped him and he landed on the floor. Wally looked up at him confusedly, rubbing his neck and throat. "You couldn't have heard our conversation that well through the door. Can't you give me the benefit of the doubt that I wasn't trying to sabotage you guys?"

"You were manipulating my personal life. I get enough of that from Bruce. And you know how I feel about that."

"Okay, okay, it was a little insensitive to make a bet, but my motives were pure, I promise!" Wally insisted. "Linda was just talking about how she wanted to set Piper up with a friend of hers, and I thought it sounded like a bad idea so she challenged me to find someone better, and when I stopped to think about it, it seemed like you and Piper would get along. And you do, don't you?"

"…yes, but that's not the point."

"How is that not the point? It was my point."

Dick glared at him a moment longer, then sighed and went back to wiping away grime with the paper towels. "I suppose I did get set up with a hot red head through your inept meddling, so you're forgiven."

"Don't you mean thank you?"

"Don't push it."

"Wow, that was almost a Batman-glare there." Wally said with a strained laugh. The glare didn't waver.

"Comparing me to my mentor right now? Pushing it."

"Okay, well, I should head back to Keystone and grab that shower. But it was cool, breaking up a cult conspiracy with you guys. See you around." And with that outburst of nervous chatter Wally was gone.

Shaking his head, Dick went to find clean clothes for him and his guest.

"We told the demon about Katt's plan, which he wasn't terribly enthused about. He was really quite cranky, actually, so Wally asked him if he wanted us to make him do something."

"Uh huh." Dick rubbed a towel over his wet hair, pacing behind the couch while Piper filled him in on what he'd missed. He was sitting curled up on the couch wrapped in a blanket.

"So the demon told us our futures. Wally's slated to have two kids."

"Really? Oh man, I can't even picture him as a dad." Dick shook his head and squinted, as though trying to actually see his mental image. "Too weird."

"He's still kind of a kid himself, so he'll obviously be the 'fun' parent, and Linda will balance him as the disciplinarian." Hartley guessed. "Anyway, I'm excited. I can't wait to corrupt their children with socialist propaganda and general leftism."

"So what'd the demon say about you?" Dick asked. "Or did he only tell Wally's future?" He tossed the towel aside and flopped onto the couch next to Piper.

"Oh, um, he told mine too. Apparently I'm going to be forgotten and alone, but I was warned that my own tendencies toward isolation have a lot to do with it. I guess I can change things by being more friendly." He looked at Dick out of the corner of his eye.

"Any particular plans for how you're going to approach that?" Dick asked, hands slipping under Hartley's blanket.

"Tentative plans." He put his hands over Dick's, pulled them away from their progress up his thighs and twined their fingers. "Can we talk?"

"Of course." Dick frowned, concerned. "Are you okay? If you're freaked out from your stalker, that's fine, really. I can back off and let you have some time to get over that."

"Katt did rattle me, actually, but I wanted to talk…about us. Um…is there an 'us' or am I being too presumptuous?" Hartley asked, waiting for the confirmation that the fantasies he'd been harboring for the past few hours really were unfounded and delusional.

"I'd like there to be an 'us'." Dick squeezed his hands. "You do too, don't you?"

"Yes, of course. I wasn't hit that hard on the head tonight." Hartley laughed, eyeing the gorgeous younger man incredulously. "I was just thinking…it might not be a terribly practical idea. There's an age difference, and it'll be long distance-"

Dick cut him off with a kiss. He ran his hands through Piper's damp hair and tenderly stroked the side of his face. "Quit worrying so much. We'll make it work. How old are you anyway?"

"Twenty nine."

"Well, I'm almost twenty four. It's not that big an age difference."

Which is exactly what Hartley had said when he'd tried dating a significantly older man when he was just about Dick's age. His boyfriend had wanted to settle down, get a house together, maybe have a commitment ceremony in lieu of a marriage, while Piper had been running around in tights and getting arrested.

"What about the long distance?" Hartley pressed. "I can get here for visits, but I live in Keystone. I'm not moving."

"I wouldn't expect you to." Dick frowned, thinking about it. "I'll try to sneak away when I can, but I usually am pretty busy. How often do you think you can come for visits? What's your work schedule like?"

"Um, there isn't really a schedule to fighting crime with Wally."

"No, I mean your work-do you not have a job?" Dick asked.

"Technically…kind of…not really, no. I have a nominal position with my father's company, but I don't have to put in regular office hours except during the holidays. I oversee Rathaway Publishing House's charitable contributions." Hartley explained. "What?"

"Why are you worried about the distance when you can essentially come see me whenever the two of us are free?"

Piper frowned. "Well when you say it like that of course it doesn't sound like a legitimate concern."

Dick smiled and stood up. "I think we've settled enough details for tonight. Are you going to sleep on the couch, or…?"

"Once again, the head blow wasn't that hard."