Just Kidding

Prompted by oaktavor

"With every just kidding, there is a truth. Wally hates to tell the truth"

Thank you so much! 10 reviews for the last chapter!? EEEEEKK! Seriously elated!

Stay tuned for frequent reviews; k, l, m, n and the first part of o are written! :3

This chapter is set in late May- the babies are a tiny bit more than a month.

"Daddy? What is egg made of?" Jai pushed his fork into his omelette, spinning it around. He sniffed it suspiciously, and cocked his head to the side. Wally moaned as he took a seat next to the boy, "That's just what it is- egg." He didn't want to tell his son that he was devouring baby chickens- anything with the word 'baby', Jai had a soft spot for. Jai scrunched up his nose, "Na-ah. Nothing's that boring."

Wally sighed. Sometimes he regretted telling extravagant tales; it's all his kids ever wanted to hear from him. "Just kidding, son." He put his hands together, and rested his chin on them, "They're actually made from Daisies- you know, yellow middle, white petals? " Jai stared at Wally in air, and after moments thinking over what he had said, he smiled toothlessly and nodded.

"Dad. Where are we?" Iris tapped her foot impatiently; she was late for soccer practise, and she knew her coach would make her run laps when she got there. She pressed her face to the window of the car, waiting for her concentrating father to speak up. He stopped the car, and spun around to look at his daughter; he had no idea where he was, but, with his childlike attitude, he couldn't resist, "In the car."

Iris grunted and threw her head back, "Every time!" She mumbled under her breath, cursing her father's antics. He had become quite fond of that answer. Wally chuckled and gripped the steering wheel, taking out his phone and looking for an online navigator. While he typed away, Iris bothered him again, "No seriously, where are we?" She looked at him gravely, and flared her nostrils. Wally rolled his eyes, and put his phone away; there was no signal.

He sighed, and looked at the wheel, before slowly turning to look at Iris. "I guess I should have told you earlier..." He tapped the wheel and bit his lip- he loved playing this game. Iris' eyes became alert and she straightened up, "Told me what?" She asked slowly, with a questioning look upon her face. "Well...while we were driving, we went through a wormhole. I was afraid to tell you...because it's going to be tough to get back." Iris opened her mouth in shock, but Wally continued, interrupting her, "Now, this may freak you out...but, well...Honey, we're on Saturn."

Iris' mouth dropped to the floor. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head- and then she passed out. Wally swore under his breath.

When Iris came to, she was still in the car. Wally gave her a small smile, "I was...just kidding, Irey." Iris gritted her teeth, and dug her nails into her arm. She started going red...and Wally knew he needed to turn things around, "Wow!" He waved his head, "Woah! Calm down! I thought saying that would..." He dropped his sound-level, "Reassure you." Iris looked at him with suspicion, arching her brow. Wally nodded, "When you passed out, I reversed the car...and we went back through the wormhole, arriving outside our house." He looked to his left- their home was directly in his view. Iris gawked at him, hardly believing her ears.

Artemis was unpacking the bags in the kitchen. She had gone home on her own from the supermarket, having lost Wally and not having a phone to call him. She knew full well he would run home after a fruitless search, and didn't worry much. She placed the last few fruits into a cupboard and rolled her tense shoulders.

She heard the front door creak open, and exhaled in relief. The sound of familiar footsteps reassured her it was Wally, and she made her way to the living room to greet him. He stood in the doorway; having heard her also. Spotting him, Artemis put on a disappointed face and placed her arms to her hips, "Where did you go?" She asked, scowling. Wally sighed, and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He looked at the floor, perhaps hoping it would grant him support or assurance, before looking his big green eyes into Artemis'.

"Well...I lost sight of you, and thought you'd left the shop. Decided to go wait at the car...but that's when I came across these cars stood around a Ferrari. I thought they were just checking out, so I went as well; I mean, c'mon! It was a sweet ride." His eyebrows flicked up and down a few times, before he continued, "But these guys- not just admiring it. One smashed a window when I came up, and another smashed the door in. Fair enough; you don't leave a car like that unattended. But, as I am me, I had to do something, and ended up getting into a huge fight actually. The owner came, and I was surrounded by the three blacked out bodies of the car thief's, and...well..." He rubbed the back of his neck, and Artemis looked at him doubtfully, "Go on..."

Wally nodded, "I got arrested, pleaded my case- fast, and left." Artemis looked up at the ceiling, and Wally laughed, tossing her something, "Just kidding, I went to buy gum."

Artemis glared at the packet of 'Chewie' in her hand, "That's the most appalling end to any of your stories yet!" She threw the gum to the floor, and stalked away in anger.

Wally rapped on the solid wood door. The answer was fast, and his mother let him in. He paced into the kitchen, puffing out his cheeks and looking timid. Mary strolled in after him, and started pouring tea, "RUDOLPH!" She called; it seemed almost angry, but Wally knew that was the only she could get his attention those days. After a few minutes of waiting, Rudolph, hunched over and coughing, hobbled into the room. His expression of weariness and pain changed to a big smile of bravery when he spotted his son. After pulling him into a hug, they were torn apart by Mary, who cleared her throat, "What did you want to tell us, dear?" She looked to the TV behind her; she was re-watching the lottery numbers, which she had pre-recorded earlier that day.

Wally didn't speak; he just pulled out a ticket from his pocket and waved it in the air looking joyful. He mouthed two words, and Mary clapped, jumping up and down. Rudolph pulled his glasses out of his shirt, looking bamboozled, "W-what's going on?" He asked, in his hoarse voice.

Wally shook his head and smirked, "WE WON! WE WON THE GRAND PRIZE DRAW!"

Rudolph's look of confusion turned to elation, and he clapped. Wally and his family had won the lottery! That would mean he would get to spoil Iris even more! Rudolph laughed and grabbed Mary by the waist, kissing her neck. She batted him away playfully, and Wally looked away, bashful.

Mary smiled, "The grand draw, dear? How many millions?" She held her chest, welling with pride and Wally raised an eyebrow, then he chuckled and handed her a ticket, "We won $12 and a new bathtub. Grand prize draw at Rissy's school."

Mary slapped him on the arm, and Rudolph shook his head in disappointed, leaving the room. Mary grabbed a newspaper, rolling it up, and started hitting Wally out of the room with it. "Don't come back here, Wallace Rudolph West, until you can compensate for the utter wound you have left in my heart!"

She hit him once, "Mom!"

Twice, "Mom, C'mon!"

Thrice, "Ouch! Mom, It was-"

Four times, "Just-Ah"

Five, "I was just kidding!"

The door slammed in front of his face, and he gritted his teeth. Maybe that was kinda mean...? He chuckled, "They'll forget about it by morning." He turned on his heel, and ran back home.

Wally sat with Dick; they were watching TV and playing cards. Dick had got grief from Artemis all day, asking him to talk to Wally and sort him out. He'd known Wally for a while, and he knew he was immature, just wanted to play around; his kids had even amplified that. He placed his last card down, losing the game. Wally punched the air with his fists, and laughed, before changing the channel, and shuffling all the cards again, "Only got through twenty minutes of that show man! World record much?"

Dick nodded, unable to keep his smile on for long. Wally noticed this, and backed away slightly, looking at him in confusion, "What's the matter, dude? This can't be as bad as Dasher getting run over..."

Dick gaped at Wally, who waved his hand, dismissing the idea, "Just kidding, what's wrong?" Dick looked sickened; it was worse than he had imagined. He slammed his fist into the table and let a look of discontent consume his features. "You have to stop with this 'Just Kidding' stuff, Wall. It's annoying, rude, plain confusing...and it'll turn into another series of 'Boy who cried wolf' stories. Stop before everyone loses their trust in you."

Wally flinched slightly, as if Dick's words had burnt him. His attention wavered to his lap, and the duo sat in silence, before Nightwing broke it, "Well...In any case, I still have something to tell you." The raven haired man pushed his glasses down his nose slightly, exposing chilling blue eyes. He waited for Wally to look at him, before he gesticulated, "I'm gonna ask Zee to marry me."

Wally tried to comprehend the words to form a fathomable sentence, but his mouth overtook his brain, "Tha-That's...AMAZING, dude!" Dick chuckled at his wide-eyed friend, and moved closer to him, breathing loud of his nose. Pushing his glasses back to his eyes, he cracked his knuckles, "I'm just kidding!" He stuck out his tongue as Wally's smile fleeted. Dick didn't have time to react as the hot-headed, red-haired man hit him with a pillow. Richard stuck out his bottom lip, suppressing laughter, but Wally hit him again, un-amused, "You're such a troll, Dick!" He had one last feeble hit at his muscular brother, before he started laughing.

Iris strode into the room, brushed past the duo with a friendly smile and grabbed an apple from the adjoined kitchen's counter. She raised an eyebrow as she left, smirking to herself, and turned her head to gaze at her father, "You've only just noticed?"

Dick gritted his teeth and punched Wally 'playfully' in the arm, "Yeah, Wal-man. And she's not kidding either."

Done. Finally. I had so many notes on this, but I had to change a lot. Hope it paid off! Please review!

-fish