A/N: I AM ALIVE and I've drafted a couple chapters in my absence (mostly hurriedly typed up in the past few days but shhh). There's some homophobic stuff in this chapter, and our boys may not endear themselves to readers in their handling of the situation, but I felt their behaviour was fairly understandable given the circumstances.
Chapter 11: Closet
Finally being able to return home was almost enough to make Dick burst into tears of relief. Dinah, Wally and a wheelchair took the zeta tube with him from the Watchtower to the Batcave. Alfred and Jason were there to greet him, but Bruce was conspicuously absent.
Alfred gripped his hand tightly, almost the point of pain. . "Welcome home, Master Dick," he said, nothing but a slight wobble in his voice betraying his emotion. Dick squeezed Alfred's hand back with what little strength he had.
"Hey, Alfred," Dick said quietly, already exhausted from the journey. "Hey, Jason."
"Hey," Jason replied. He was doing that thing where he hung back and tried to act tough. Dick was having none of that today.
"Get over here and give your brother a hug," he said. Jason shuffled forward and let Dick pull him in with one arm. Dick's ribs complained a little at the motion, but he paid them no heed. They were whiny little shits anyway.
Jason pulled back. "I heard you groan."
"Groan? What groan?"
Jason rolled his eyes, but the corners of his lips twitched. Dick's work was done, and now he really needed to lie down.
"Master Bruce is at work today," Alfred informed him as he led the group over to the rarely-used elevator. "He should return briefly this evening." They reached the elevator, and Alfred pressed the button to summon it. "I will make sure he sees you."
"Don't bother," Dick muttered, letting Dinah wheel him into the elevator. Wally raced off to meet him upstairs, while the others squeezed inside. "I don't want to see him."
"Sir—"
"He had plenty of chances to see me while I was laid up in the Watchtower," Dick said irritably. "He didn't. So screw him."
"I will make sure he is aware of the situation." As per usual, Alfred didn't state his disappointment outright, but it was there in his voice. The elevator doors opened to Wayne Manor before the guilt could settle in Dick's stomach.
Dinah wheeled him out into the small room, which was hidden behind a door disguised as a bookshelf because why the hell not. Alfred pulled a lever, which opened the door to reveal Wally waiting for them in the adjacent study.
"I was gonna sit in the swivel chair and do a Bond villain impression but—"
"Chicken," Dick teased.
"Hey!"
"Chicken!"
"You're such a shit."
"Don't swear in front of Alfred," Dick scolded.
"Sorry, Alfred."
Alfred, for his part, just shook his head. "Would you like some time to rest, Master Dick?"
"Yeah, that'd be best. Thanks, Alfred."
"I'll come by to check on you later," Dinah said.
"Master Jason, would you escort Madame Dinah back downstairs?"
Jason, without complaint, led Dinah over to the grandfather clock that hid the stairs. Nobody used the elevator unless they had to, or caught a ride with somebody who did.
Alfred took control of the wheelchair—Dick's injuries rendered him too weak to wheel himself for long—and the three of them headed to Dick's room. Dick didn't remember most of the journey; he must've nodded off at some point. The next thing he remembered was Wally pulling the bed sheets back in Dick's room and then helping Alfred support him long enough to get him into bed. The change in altitude made him dizzy. The instant he was horizontal, he kind of just… melted into the mattress.
"Dick's gained a superpower," Wally commented, tucking his boyfriend in. "The ability to turn into a puddle at will."
"I need a theme song."
"No, sir. You do not. You need to rest."
Dick deflated further. "Yeah, okay." He wiggled a little, trying to get comfortable. This bed was softer than he remembered. "My bed is a cloud."
"Clouds are just water vapour, babe."
"Don't crush my dreams."
"I'll try to get him to sleep," Wally murmured to Alfred, who said his goodbyes and departed. Wally skirted around to the other side of the bed, kicked off his shoes and climbed in. "All right, Puddle Boy, let's try this sleeping thing."
"You're too far away. Cuddle me."
Wally chuckled, sliding closer. "As you wish."
Bruce had suffered through several consecutive meetings before he could finally escape to his office and call home to see how Dick was settling in. He had taken too many days off while searching for the Joker, and the guilt had finally pressured him into spending more time doing his official job.
Alfred picked up the phone almost immediately. "Sir, I was about to call."
That sounded ominous. "What about?"
"Master Dick is settling in as well as can be expected," Alfred informed him, "but I'm afraid he doesn't wish to see you."
"You told me just the other day he—"
"It would seem your window of opportunity has closed," said Alfred. "I did warn you, sir."
Bruce sighed and slumped against the window, staring down at the cars idling at a traffic light on the street below. "Okay. I need to fix this."
"Indeed you do, sir. I would, however, suggest you do not force your company upon him. I cannot imagine that would improve his opinion of you."
Bruce pressed his forehead against the window. "Then… how?"
"Taking the occasional night off wouldn't be a terrible place to start."
"The Joker's still out there, Alfred. I can't do that."
"Very well. Perhaps you could instead start by coming home at a reasonable hour? And, after that, perhaps you could treat the other members of your family with the respect they deserve?"
Ouch. "I'll work on it."
"Work quickly, sir. We all tire of your behaviour." Alfred hung up on him. Bruce remained still for a moment, listening to the beeps that filled the silence. Well, if the rest of the conversation hadn't been enough to clue Bruce into Alfred's disgust with him…
Bruce put his phone away. He technically had a few more meetings to survive, but he was sure Lucius could handle them for him. Again. Bruce braved the twinge of guilt that always came when he neglected the company he had inherited from his father, and picked up the landline phone on his desk to give Lucius a heads-up.
Having done that, he made a beeline for the basement and his car. He'd take Alfred's advice and not force Dick to spend time with him, but maybe Bruce would feel better after checking on him himself. Alfred had passed on any information he heard about Dick's recovery, but Bruce's imagination had had to fill in the gaps. His imagination was probably the most morbid damn thing on the planet.
But, Bruce rationalised as he started the car, he'd had a villain to catch. He hadn't wanted to face Dick empty-handed. He hadn't even been able to save him from the Joker; Dick had saved himself, which, as much as it made Bruce proud, also made him ashamed the Dick had been forced into that position in the first place. The best thing Bruce could do was put the bastard behind bars again, and he hadn't even managed that. This whole mess wouldn't have happened if he'd just found him as soon as he'd escaped.
By the time Bruce reached the manor, he was a vessel filled with self-loathing and blame. He took a moment in the underground garage to take a few deep breaths. He couldn't take this out on anybody else; he had to get it under control. If only he'd seen that sooner.
Feeling calmer, but not by much, he made his way up to the manor proper. Alfred wasn't around to greet him, though it was almost a certainty that he knew he was home. Given Alfred's current displeasure with him, though, maybe it was for the best.
Dick would be resting in his room by now. Bruce wouldn't stick around if he was unwanted, but looking in on him for a moment couldn't hurt.
The bedroom door was slightly ajar. Bruce poked his head inside, holding onto the door so it didn't creak. The curtains were drawn, darkening the room. Dick was laid up in bed under a thin sheet, the cast on his foot sticking out at the end. There was some writing on it, but Bruce couldn't make it out from his spot in the doorway. Dick's face was turned away from the door, his chest rising and falling steadily in sleep. Wally was curled up beside him, his face buried in the younger boy's shoulder and red hair sticking up in every conceivable direction.
It wasn't the first time Bruce had caught them asleep together—Wally sometimes came over for the explicit purpose of helping Dick fall asleep on the bad nights—but this time reminded Bruce of the first, after Bruce had told Dick about his uncle's passing. He and Alfred had checked on them some time after they went to bed to find them cuddled up together.
Bruce… hadn't been prepared for how much it hurt him. It had nothing to do with Dick's sexuality or choice of partner. Rather, it served as yet another painful reminder that Dick was growing up. It was a strange thing to feel upset about, since up until a few months ago he'd thought Dick never got a chance to grow up at all. It had been impossible to shake the feeling that Dick was slipping away from him yet again.
Dick had always been a bit of a paradox, really. As Robin, he'd managed to retain his childlike playfulness, but at the same time he'd been exposed to forces that had aged him beyond his years. It wasn't uncommon to find him writing silly messages with letter magnets on Red Tornado's back, only to turn around an instant later and rattle off some supremely morbid fact about corpse decomposition. Bruce wasn't unaware of his hand in this. He still wondered if he'd done the right thing by bringing Dick into vigilantism. He likely always would.
It was harder to tease the old playfulness out of Dick these days. It still burst out of him on occasion, but more often with a sarcastic or menacing edge, depending on whether he was directing it towards a friend or enemy. He'd also retired his trademark cackle. Bruce was a little sad to see that go. He had fond memories of watching criminals panic at the sound.
Dick stirred a little, making Wally groan and burrow his face between Dick's shoulder and the pillow. They both stilled and fell back into their peaceful slumber. Bruce held back a chuckle and left them to rest. He'd do some more digging and search for the Joker tonight as per usual, but maybe he'd come back a little earlier. Alfred usually kept an eye on the news and the bat signal anyway, so if something big came up he'd know about it, regardless of whether he was out there or at home.
It was about time he started acting like a parent.
Dick fought consciousness for every inch it dragged him out of sleep, bringing a new layer of discomfort—an itch in his leg below the cast, his mouth feeling like cotton, a twinge in his ribs, wetness on his arm. Wait, was Wally drooling on him? God damn it, now he was definitely awake.
He grudgingly opened his eyes. Wally's face was pressed against his arm and, yep, that was definitely drool. Dick was used to Wally being gross at least; he watched him eat on a regular basis. So he just sucked it up and lay there while he waited for Wally to wake up. Judging from what little light he could see coming around the curtains, it wouldn't be long before he would be up and looking for food.
Wally snorted in his sleep, scaring himself awake with a little yelp. Dick laughed quietly, the best he could manage. Wally blinked up at him, whined and shoved his face into the pillow.
"So, you're done slobbering all over me?" said Dick.
"Wha…?" Wally lifted his head. "Oh. Sorry." He grabbed a handful of bedsheet and rubbed it over the wet spot on Dick's arm.
"Never do that in front of Alfred, just FYI."
"Oh, I know. I'd like to keep my hands."
"Smart. Now be even smarter and get me some water."
"I got your water right here, babe." Wally licked his lips, making an exaggerated slurping sound.
"I'm gonna need my next dose of painkillers before I can put up with this shit," Dick muttered. "Would you kindly get me a glass of water that is preferably not a bodily fluid so I can get on that?"
"Aren't you supposed to have your painkillers with food?"
"Right. Yeah. Damn it."
Wally rolled out of bed. "All right, let's get you up. It's got to be nearly dinnertime by now." Dick untangled himself from the sheets while Wally rolled the wheelchair closer.
Dick had to take a moment to breathe once he sat up, before he let Wally help him into the chair. This weakness was infuriating. Wally wheeled him out of the room and down to the dining room.
The rest of the household was already there, including Bruce. Dick knew exactly what was going on. Bruce had finally figured out he was being an ass again, and yet again that realisation had come far too late.
Wally arranged Dick's chair in the gap Alfred had made, falling into the chair beside him. "Man, I could eat a whole stable."
"Mind the splinters," Dick replied, accepting a plate from Alfred.
"You say splinters, I say toothpicks."
Jason snorted into his dinner.
"I'm afraid stables are not on the menu tonight," said Alfred, passing Wally a heaped plate. "Do try to contain your disappointment."
"For you, Alfie, I will try."
Dick was strongly tempted to stab him with a fork, but that's how he felt most of the time at the moment, so it wasn't exactly a reflection on Wally's sense of humour. At least Bruce hadn't tried talking to him yet, because that would definitely result in something or someone getting stabbed.
Dick chose to stab his pasta instead. After a few bites, he took his medication. The table was quiet, and he felt like he should say something, but nothing came to mind.
Bruce finished first, since Wally always went back for seconds. Alfred took his plate away and Bruce sat for a moment longer, draining his coffee cup. His shoulders were rigid, and Dick braced himself for an awkward attempt at conversation.
Bruce set down his cup, cleared his throat and said, "Welcome home, Dick." He wasted no time in evacuating the premises immediately afterwards.
"Could've been worse," Wally commented, taking a brief break from stuffing his face. Dick scowled at the table.
"I suppose."
"Chin up, sir." Alfred placed a large chocolate cake on the table. "Master Bruce will be missing out on dessert. I certainly won't be saving him any."
"Does that mean I can eat half of it by myself?" asked Wally.
"Leave Alfred a slice," Dick replied.
"Eat as much as you like, sir."
"Aw, you're gonna make me cry. I love you, Alfred."
"You love anybody who feeds you," Jason piped up.
"What can I say? Got a lot of love to go around." As if to demonstrate, Wally chose that moment to give Dick a kiss on the cheek. Dick elbowed him.
"Dork."
Though Dick had been well enough to leave the Watchtower's hospital, he still had to spend a lot of time lying down. Wally stuck with him as much as possible, but had to skip the occasional day for family commitments. After being absent for three days due to an impromptu camping trip with his dad, Wally showed up in Dick's room again. He didn't crack a smile. Something was up.
Dick set his book aside. "How was the trip?"
Wally groaned and threw himself facefirst into the pillow next to Dick. "I hate camping. Dad knows I hate camping."
"Maybe he just wanted to spend time with you," Dick said. "You've been spending a lot of time with me without telling your parents where you are."
"Ugh, I know." Wally rolled onto his back, glaring at the ceiling. "But what can I tell them? They know you're injured, but if they find out I'm spending so much time with you, they're going to know something's up. It's not like you're about to die." He grimaced. "Well, not anymore."
"Have you given more thought about telling them about us?"
"Yeah. I still don't know. I guess I'll have to eventually."
"You don't have to, but I'll come along if you do," Dick offered. Wally offered him a weak smile.
"Thanks. I don't think I can do this by myself." He scooted closer to Dick, lightly resting his forehead against Dick's bare shoulder—it was hot today, so Dick hadn't bothered putting on a shirt. "I don't say this much, but you've been lucky. You know, with the whole coming out to your family thing. Bruce may have warned me not to break your heart or anything, but that's really the worst that's come of it."
Dick sighed. "Of course he did. How were the threats?"
"Pretty mild, considering he's, you know, Batman."
"Good. I'd be having a few words with him otherwise." Dick snorted. "That'd get us speaking again, at least."
"I was kind of hoping you two would've made up while I was away."
"Won't be long now." Dick reached for the water on his bedside table; the stretch wasn't as painful as it used to be. He was slowly regaining his strength. He'd managed to hop to the bathroom unaided this morning, as much as it had drained him.
"How are you sleeping?" Wally asked him.
Dick made a noncommittal noise around a mouthful of water.
"That bad, huh?"
Dick swallowed. "Better, I guess, but still not great."
"How are the dreams?"
Dick scowled, slamming the glass back on the bedside table. "I don't want to talk about it." Wally kissed the crease between his eyebrows, then both his cheeks and, finally, his lips.
"No." Kiss. "More." Kiss. "Frowny." Kiss. "Faces." Kiss.
Dick broke away for a moment. "Okay, hang on. Haven't got the upper body strength for this shit." Dick slid down until his head hit the pillow. "You may now continue."
"With pleasure." They had to make up for lost time, after all. Thinking about parents and nightmares could come later.
Later turned out to be at half-past midnight when the two were lying awake. Dick was coming down from another nightmare while Wally rubbed circles into his back. Dick's ribs were aching, and he was fighting like hell to slow his breaths down. Wally nuzzled his neck.
"I'll figure out a way to be around more often," he promised.
Dick had to let out a few more breaths before he was ready to speak. "You don't have a lot of options."
"Then maybe I will tell my parents after all." Wally snuggled closer, sacrificing the backrubs for cuddles. "If they accept me, I can explain why you need me around so much. If they don't… well, I guess it won't matter."
"Wally, that doesn't sound healthy."
"You're more important to me right now, okay?"
"Wally," Dick said through gritted teeth. "You tell them when you're ready. If you're not, I'll cope."
"But I think I am ready," Wally replied softly. "As ready as I'm going to get."
"Okay. Tell me when and I'll come along."
"I'll wait until you feel well enough. I've waited this long already. I can wait a bit longer."
Wally waited until Dick was strong enough to get around on crutches for more than a few minutes at a time before he finally decided to do it. Barry picked them up at the zeta tube and dropped them off in front of Wally's house. Dick probably could have made the trip on foot if he had to.
"Give me a call when you're done," Barry told them as Wally helped Dick out of the car. "I want to know how things turn out."
"We will," Dick replied. Wally was watching his house like he expected it to bite him, so it fell to Dick to shut the car door and wave Barry off.
Wally let out a long breath. "Okay. Let's do this."
Dick gave Wally's hand a squeeze. He would've been happy to hold it for longer, but he needed both hands for his crutches. He followed Wally up the path to the door. Wally paused, his hand on the doorknob, and took a deep breath.
"You can do this," Dick encouraged.
Wally chuckled breathlessly. "Yeah. Okay." He opened the door. "Mum? Dad? I'm home!"
"Already?" Wally's dad called from the living room.
"Yeah, and a stray followed me home."
"Don't feed him," Wally's mother replied, coming out of the kitchen. "He'll just keep coming back."
Dick snorted. "You're all terrible."
Mr West groaned his way out of his chair. "How's the leg, Richard?"
"Healing. I might be getting walking cast soon, thank God."
"You'll be running circles around us in no time. We're used to it."
"Until then, why don't you go sit down and I'll get you something to drink?" said Mrs West. "What would you like?"
"Water's fine, thanks."
Dick and Wally settled themselves in the living room. The conversation appeared to have relaxed Wally a little.
"Okay," he breathed. "I think we'll be okay."
Dick slotted his hand in Wally's. Mrs West came back with a glass of water for Dick and a can of soda for Wally.
"Hey, Mum, could you get Dad back here?" Wally asked her. "I need to talk to you guys."
Mrs West took in their joined hands and nodded, her mouth set in a thin line as she turned away to find her husband. Wally deflated a little at the sight.
Dick could hear Wally's parents in the kitchen.
"Rudy, Wally wants to talk to us."
There was a clinking sound, probably bottles, and something closing, probably the fridge. "Is he going to explain where the hell he's been lately?"
"I didn't ask. Let's just—oh, give it to me." There was a popping sound. "There's your damn beer. Get in the living room. Now."
"I'm going to regret this," Wally muttered. Dick gave his hand another squeeze.
"You can still back out if—"
"No. I'm doing it."
"Doing what, dear?" Mrs West dragged her husband into the room.
"Okay. Uh. Well." Wally cleared his throat. "The thing is… I mean… ugh. Let me start over." Wally held up his and Dick's entwined hands. "Dick and I are together. Dating. In a relationship."
Mr West frowned. "Since when?"
"Since about two months ago," Dick answered; Wally was catching his breath.
"And this is why you've been spending so much time away from home?" Mr West addressed his son.
"Uh, partially?" Wally replied. "Dick's been going through some bad stuff and—"
"I think you've been spending too much time over there."
The collective weight of the room seemed to drop. The silence rang in Dick's ears, until Wally finally broke it.
"Wh—what do you mean, Dad?"
"You're confused," said Mr West.
"Rudy," Mrs West warned.
"You haven't dated anybody since Artemis, and getting your best friend back confused you."
"Dad, no. I'm not confused. I've felt this way for years."
"Just Dick? Or have there been other boys?"
Wally scowled at him. "I am so not answering that. Why can't you just accept what I've told you?"
"Wally, you're still young," Mrs West tried interjecting while Rudy chugged half his beer in a matter of seconds. Dick hoped he hadn't had much to drink before that. He was already unsettled by the conversation as it stood right now without Wally's father losing his brain-to-mouth filter. Or, heaven forbid, his brain-to-fist filter.
"Are you saying I'm too young to know what my sexuality is?" Wally said to his mother. "You never said that when you thought I was straight."
"Mary, you're not helping. Go get me another beer."
"Is there something wrong with your legs?"
"Just get back in the kitchen!"
Mrs West threw her hands up and left.
"That was rude," Dick commented.
"No, what's rude is turning my son gay."
"I didn't turn him anything," Dick said calmly. He half-wanted to just get up and walk out right there and then, but he'd leave it up to Wally to decide when enough was enough.
"And I'm not even gay," Wally added. "I'm bisexual." He was doing a surprisingly good job at staying calm, but his hand was vibrating in Dick's grip. It wouldn't be long before he hit his limit.
"Do you honestly expect people to take you seriously when you tell them that?" said Mr West.
"It'd make a nice change!" Wally burst out.
"Don't you take that tone with me."
"I'll stop taking that tone with you when you stop being a jerk about your own kid's sexuality," Wally shot back.
"You are my child, living in my house. I won't tolerate my kid turning into a goddamn f—"
"Can you not, thanks?" Dick cut in. "Seriously, this is like a scene out of a bad fanfiction."
"Do you talk to your father like that?"
"Well, one of them's dead and the other one accepted my sexuality without batting an eye, so no. I don't have to." He neglected to mention he and Bruce weren't exactly on speaking terms right now. It wasn't really relevant.
Mr West took a calming breath. "Look, Wally, you have to understand where I'm coming from here. I can't go into work and tell them I have a gay son."
"Who said you have to tell them? And I've already said I'm not gay."
"Use the word he gave you," Dick backed him up. "Bisexual. If the word's too big to fit in your mouth, you can always go with bi."
"I can't tell them—"
"Then don't tell them!" Wally yelled. "How hard is that to understand? I don't need you shouting it from the rooftops. I just want you to accept it and stop acting like I've done something shameful."
"You've poisoned him," Mr West said to Dick. "You took my son and you poisoned him."
Wally stood up, letting go of Dick's hand. "Are you even listening to me?! Dick did nothing to me. He wasn't even around when I realised I'm bi. None of this is his fault."
"It's nobody's fault because it's not a bad thing," Dick pointed out. If it weren't for his leg, he'd be standing right beside Wally right now.
"I think it's time for you to leave," Mr West said to Dick. "You've done enough damage to my son."
"Rudy!" Mrs West was back. "You can't just kick the poor boy out of the house. How is he supposed to get home?"
"Not my problem."
"Oh, really?" Wally snapped. "If he goes, I go."
"You are not leaving this house, young man."
"What are you going to do?" Wally held his arms out, as if inviting his dad to hit him. Dick was on the edge of his seat, ready to get between them if he had to. "Stop me from leaving? Lock me in my room until I turn straight? Because I'm pretty sure that's child abuse."
"Fine. Fine! Leave."
Wally's face went blank. "What?"
"You want so badly to sodomise this fucking fairy, you can do it somewhere else. Not under my roof."
"Dad—"
"Mary, help him pack."
"I think you need to calm—"
"Do as I say."
Wally held a hand out to Dick. "I'm not leaving you down here with him."
Dick glanced at the few stairs behind him that he could see from his position. "I'll take too long to get up there. Just go."
"Good," said Mr West, "because you and I are going to have a little talk of our own."
"Mr West, I've been tortured and murdered by one of the most frightening human beings I've ever met. There's nothing you can do that will scare me." Perhaps it was a sign of the seriousness of the situation that the usual sick feeling that came with talking about what happened to him was utterly absent.
Mrs West pulled Wally away and up the stairs. Dick pulled his phone out of his pocket.
"What are you doing?"
"Calling Barry," Dick replied calmly, finding his name in the contacts. "If you're hoping to find allies in him and Iris, you're out of luck. They found out about Wally and me when I was still laid up in hospital." He pressed the call button. Barry picked up instantly.
"Hey, Dick. Everything okay?"
"Not really. Wally's getting kicked out. Can you come pick us up?"
"I'm on my way now. See you in a few." Barry hung up.
Dick slid the phone back into his pocket. "Any questions, Mr West?"
"You'll pay for what you did to my son," Mr West snarled.
Dick made a performance out of rolling his eyes. "Oh, get some new material. I'm flattered you think I have the power to twist boys' minds, but it's starting to wear a little thin. If you cared about your son that much, you wouldn't be making him leave home, would you?"
"How else am I supposed to teach him a lesson?"
Dick cackled like he was thirteen-years-old again and scaring the crap out of some thugs. "What lesson? Don't end up in relationships that fall outside a narrowly-defined norm? Don't trust your parents? Adults are a disappointment and you should get used to it, kid?"
Mr West loomed over him in a poor imitation of one of Batman's favourite intimidation tactics. "I've had just about enough of your smart mouth."
Dick gazed coolly up at him. "Are you going to hit me, Mr West?" He let a small smirk creep onto his face. "I wouldn't advise it. Bruce has an excellent team of lawyers. While you're at it, I wouldn't advise telling anybody about my secret identity, either. The list of people who are privy to that information is remarkably short, and it wouldn't take us long to trace any leaks back to you. I'd hate to have to discredit you and destroy your life in order to protect myself and my family."
"And how would you do that?"
"You'd be surprised at what I can do with a laptop and a cup of coffee on a Sunday morning," Dick replied. Mr West was sneering at him, but he'd also taken a small step back. Dick had won a small victory, though the satisfaction was fleeting.
Wally stomped down the stairs, carrying a sports bag over his shoulder. His eyes were a driftwood fire as he threw the bag on the floor beside the front door.
"You're a terrible father, you know that?"
Mrs West hurried down the stairs. "Wally…"
"Stop making excuses for him!"
"Barry's on his way," Dick cut in.
"Good. I've had it with this place."
"Wally, Rudy, please."
"Wallace needs to learn there are consequences for his actions, Mary," Mr West said, puffing himself up like he was giving an important speech. Wally looked about ready to explode. Dick reached for his crutches and pulled himself up. He had to shoulder Mr West out of the way to get to the door.
Luckily, Barry chose that moment to show up without bothering to knock. "I could hear you all from the curb. So it's true, then?" He scooped Wally's bag up off the floor. "You're kicking your own son out of the house?"
"I'm not wasting my time on you," Mr West replied rudely. "You've done nothing but encourage him."
"Damn right I have. Let's go, boys."
Wally was dead silent all the way to Barry and Iris' house. Dick tried to hold his hand, but Wally crossed his arms and stared out the window instead. Dick let him have his space.
Wally took off into the house the instant the car pulled into the driveway. Dick manouvered his way out of the backseat while Barry was busy with the bag.
"Hang on, Dick. I'll give you a hand in a sec."
"It's fine, Barry. I got this." The hardest part was getting the damn crutches out with him, but he handled it just fine.
"I should give Iris a call," Barry said as he and Dick entered the house.
"I'll check on Wally," said Dick. "Just put the bag on me."
"I don't feel right using a kid with broken bones as a packhorse."
"It's fine. Do it."
"God, no. I'll just leave the bag outside his door for him to grab later." Barry put it by the door and left Dick to knock.
"Hey, Wally. Can I come in?"
"I… yeah. I guess."
Dick turned the doorknob and pushed the door open with enough force for it to keep opening on its own while he propelled himself through on the crutches. "Barry left your bag just outside."
Wally was sitting on his bed to the right of the room, facing the window on the centre wall. "I'll get it in a sec." He wiped his eyes.
Dick lowered himself onto the bed next to him, setting the crutches aside. "I'm sorry."
"Don't." Wally wiped his eyes again, hard enough that it made Dick wince. He finally turned to face him with red-rimmed eyes. "It wasn't your fault."
"Did you want to talk about it?"
"I…" Wally sighed. "I don't know."
"It wasn't your fault either, you know." Dick held out his hand. This time, Wally took it.
"Yeah, I… I know." Wally sighed again. "Mum said some things to me while she was helping me pack."
Dick didn't like the sound of that. "What kind of things?"
"Like I wouldn't have to leave if I just let Dad win." Wally looked at the floor, the walls, the window, anywhere but Dick. "She said if I broke up with you and took everything back, she could convince Dad to let me come home."
"That… doesn't sound like a healthy living situation."
"Babe, no offense, but what would you know about healthy living situations?"
"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that," Dick said evenly, "because I know I've said some shitty things to you when I'm upset. What I am worried about, though, is that it sounds like you're actually considering it."
"Can you blame me?" Wally snapped. "I can go home. All I have to do is—"
"Break up with your boyfriend and stuff yourself back in the closet," Dick finished for him. "Let's say, for the sake of argument, it works. Your dad lets you come home. What exactly is going to stop him from locking you up anyway, or sending you off to one of those gay conversion therapy programs?" An opportunity had arisen a few years ago for Dick to go undercover in one, but Bruce had balked at the idea. Dick imagined Bruce would be even less inclined to put him in that situation these days now that he knew Dick was pansexual.
"Then I guess I won't be living with my parents, will I?" Wally replied. "I'll end up back here and we can just pretend it never happened."
"Wally, I'm not a toy you can toss aside and pick back up again whenever it's convenient for you. You break up with me, and that's it." Dick jerked his hand away. "I don't want to come between you and your family, but I'm not going to let you jerk me around, either."
"Okay, we don't have to actually break up. We could just—"
"Pretend to? And how exactly would we see each other? Do you think your dad is going to let you go anywhere I might be, including Mount Justice? Or respect your privacy enough to not look through your phone?"
"Damn it, Dick. Do you have to be so negative?"
"I'm just pointing out the truth, Wally. Going back home will suck."
"And how do you know that? Or are you just trying to stop me from breaking up with you?"
Dick very charitably chose not to mention that Wally had chosen to come out to his parents so they could spend more time together when they, mostly Dick, needed to. It sounded selfish even inside his head.
Instead, he gathered up his crutches. "Fine. Do whatever."
"Dick—"
"Obviously talking to me isn't helping, so I'm just gonna get out of your hair." Dick pushed himself to his feet… well, foot. "Do I want you to break up with me? Of course not. I've said my piece. I'm not going to stick around and be your punching bag."
"Isn't that a little hypocritical? And selfish? I've stuck with you through hell, Dick."
"So you want me to stick around while you decide whether or not you're going to break up with me to please your parents? But I'm the selfish one here?"
"I don't know, dude, but you do have some serious abandonment issues."
"Thank you so much for bringing that up. I didn't realise I had serious abandonment issues! Now I have seen the light."
Wally dropped his head into his hands.
"Is it honestly that hard to understand why I don't want to be around you while you're deciding whether you care more about your parents' approval than you do about me?" The instant the words were out of Dick's mouth, they sounded utterly terrible. "Okay, that was a bad way to phrase it. I just…" Dick let out a sigh, officially joining the huffy lung club for today, and lowered his voice. "I don't want to come between you and your family, okay? Really, I don't. And I'm sorry I'm not strong enough to stick around while you work through this."
Wally lifted his head. "Okay, look. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought that up."
"Apology accepted, but I'm still leaving unless you can come up with a damn good reason for me to stay."
Wally didn't speak. Dick stubbornly ignored the lump in his throat.
"Okay," he managed around the lump. "Bye, then."
