A/N: Sorry about the lack of an update last week! Here's the next chapter!

Dick turned his phone over in his hands, chewing his bottom lip as he stared at it. "Can't Barry at least let Wally have his phone back?" he wondered out loud. "It's been almost a month."

"Wally broke Barry's trust," Bruce replied simply. He didn't stop typing at the computer as he talked. "Wally's being punished accordingly."

"But Wally's not in his right mind! I mean, I was mad at him too, but Wally's not a bad person. He just…made some bad decisions."

"Decisions have consequences, Dick."

"So, if I'd done what Wally did you'd take my phone away for a month?"

"If you ever even tried what Wally did, you'd be lucky to see the outside of your bedroom for a year."

The corners of Dick's mouth tugged upward. However, they pulled back into a frown when he looked down at his phone again. "I still wish I could text him. I don't like not being able to talk to him."

"Barry will give Wally back his phone when he believes Wally has earned it."

Dick sighed. "I'm going to the Cave." He didn't even wait for Bruce to reply as he grabbed as shades, then gave his phone one last hopeful glance before he frustratedly shoved it into his pocket.

— —

"Robin, B-01."

"Robin!" M'gann greeted cheerfully as her young friend exited the zeta tube. "We weren't expecting you today."

"You should always expect the unexpected with me," Robin replied with a smile.

"Since you're here, you should play games with us. We're playing the racing game again."

"You're not letting Kaldur play are you?"

"He's defending his championship title."

Robin rolled his eyes and smirked. 'Of course, he is.' He rubbed his hands together as he followed M'gann into the living room. 'I should try to give Kal a run for his money.' When he walked into the living room, Kaldur was sitting on the floor, gaze intent on the game as he raced Artemis. Conner was on the couch, his usual look of general disinterest on his face. "You letting him win, Artie?"

"Shut up, Rob," Artemis replied, the controller clutched tightly in her hands.

"Hello, Robin," Kaldur said calmly as he guided his car over the finish line. His half of the screen lit up with a trophy and a 'WINNER' banner that confetti fell over.

"Megan, you're up."

"I don't mind playing with Kaldur," M'gann said as she lowered herself onto the floor next to him.

"At least some of my teammates are gracious losers," Kaldur said with a smile, a hint of teasing in his voice.

"Whatever," Artemis replied, rolling her eyes. "I think I left my phone in the hangar. Rob, come with me."

"Why?" Robin asked, stubbornly crossing his arms.

"Because." She snagged his arm and pulled him out of the living room.

"Ok, ok. Let go," Robin pulled away and followed since it was obvious the archer wouldn't take no for an answer.

They walked silently into the hangar, where Artemis promptly shut the door. "There. Now we won't be overheard."

Robin was still pretty sure Conner could hear them if he wanted to, but he decided to humor her. "For what?"

"How's Wally?" Artemis crossed her arms as surprised registered on Robin's face, then he sighed and dropped his arms in resignation.

"Honestly? Struggling. But, he's going to counseling now, and I don't think he's fighting with his uncle anymore. So…he's making some positive progress."

"Good." It was silent for a few seconds as Artemis scuffed at the floor with the toe of her shoe. "Have you seen him?"

"I have. Flash has brought him to Gotham a couple of times, so I've been helping him get his anger out in a healthy way." Robin's hand fell to his pocket. "If Flash would give Wally his phone back, I'd be able to do more."

Artemis regarded him with a strange look on her face. "How much more do you think you can do?"

"A lot! I can be there if he needs someone to cheer him up! I can be there in the middle of the night if he has a nightmare. Or if he has an anxiety attack and needs someone to take his mind off everything. I could- what?"

The look on Artemis' face only doubled-down in confusion. "I know you and Wally are close, but why…" Her voice trailed off as her thoughts took over. Robin could practically see the wheels turning in her head. After a few seconds, her face lit up in epiphany. It then morphed into a sort of half-amused smirk. "I get it now."

"What?"

"It's cool, Rob. I'm not going to judge you. God knows I've got no room to judge anyone, really." She flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. "I think it's cute really."

Robin scowled at her. "Seriously, Artemis, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Fine, keep your secrets. Put this one right up there with your name." She gave him an amused smile. "For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure the feeing's mutual."

'What was that about?!' Robin demanded silently as Artemis led the hangar. He stared at the door unmoving, with his brow furrowed. 'What does she mean?' For a few seconds, he just stood there, dumbfounded, then shook his head. 'Whatever. I'm going to work out.' As fun as watching Kaldur cream everyone at a racing game again, he felt the sudden and undeniable need to be doing flips. So, Robin went to the gym. He made sure to lock the door so he could take his sweater and sunglasses off. He took a minute to stretch, then took a running start at the gymnastics equipment. Exactly three steps before he ran into the high balance beam, he flipped. Robin landed on his toes, one foot placed precisely behind the other. He cartwheeled down the balance beam. When he reached the end, he started flipping back to the other side.

Normally, doing this kind of activity got Robin's mind off everything. It gave him a chance to clear his head when his thoughts became too much. Unfortunately, today it didn't seem to be working. The conversation with Artemis kept replaying over and over in his head. 'Why did she get all weird like that?' he wondered as he lowered himself into another backbend. He focused on the movement. How it pulled the muscles of his back downward. 'I mean, we were just talking about how I'm hoping Wally. All I'm doing is being a good bro!' He spun on his heels, then cartwheeled his way to the other end. 'What's so weird about that? I mean, I understand what Wally's going through! I know how hard it is to have your whole world ripped away from you like that!" Without turning, he did a standing backflip. His right foot slipped a little, but he managed to stay standing. 'I just want to help him.

'And it's not like he was never there for me! Ever since I met him, Wally's been a great friend! And after I told him my identity, he was the person I could lean on when things were hard.' Pain echoed in his chest at the thought of his family, but Robin forced himself into another standing backflip. 'So, of course, I want to help Wally as much as I can! He's my best friend! The one person I can really be myself around. My whole self! I don't need to hide any part of my identity when I'm with him.' Warm affection blossomed in his chest. 'Someone that…amazing; someone as smart and loyal as Wally deserves all the love and support he can get!' Robin cartwheeled even faster. 'Of course, I want to be the person who gives Wally that support! Of course, I want to be there for him! I love him!'

With the final thought, the young acrobat's hand missed his mark and he tumbled onto the mats. For a few seconds, Robin laid still, staring at the ceiling. His pulse beat in his ears. 'I- I love him?' Where had that thought come from? Robin frowned. 'Why would I even think that! Sure, Wally is my best friend, and yes, I want to spend time with him, all my time, but that- that doesn't mean I-' He put his hand on his chest, where the warm affection lingered. His brain brought up the beginning of this whole mess. When he went days without hearing from Wally. The anxiety that had filled him— that Wally had been hurt, that his friend had been angry at him— and how it had kept him up at night. Only deep affection could've While he loved all his friends, in purely platonic ways of course, but none of them even measured up to the affection he felt for Wally.

Robin sat up straight. "Oh God…" he breathed. "I- I have to go!" He scrambled to his feet, then ran to the door. In his haste, he only just remembered to grab his sunglasses on his way out.

— —

Roy walked into his living room, rubbing sleep from his face as he did. He yawned and opened his eyes. "Ugh!" he moaned. "What are you doing here?"

"I can't drop by just to see you?" Dick asked, throwing himself onto Roy's couch. He took the sunglasses off, then tossed them aside.

"I just woke up."

"…It's 1pm!"

"Don't use that tone with me. I moved out of Ollie's to get away from judgment like that." Roy wandered into his small kitchen, which was only separated from the living room by a countertop. "Coffee?"

Dick's eyebrows shot up. "You're offering me caffeine?"

"I'm not the one who'll be dealing with you for the next six hours." Roy stopped, then turned to look at his small friend. "I'm not, right?"

"…No. Bruce would definitely notice if I was here that long."

Roy groaned. "He doesn't know you're here, does he?"

"Not specifically."

"I'm just a guy with a bow," Roy muttered as he made to cups of coffee. "I don't ask to be stalked by these Bats and speedsters, or to have an angry Batman showing up at my apartment." Yet here he was, constantly stuck in that position. Why was it always him? Roy brought the two cups into the living room and handed one to Dick. "Why are you here?"

Dick didn't talk right away, instead of taking a long gulp of the bitter drink. When he set the mug down in his lap, he traced the lip with his finger. "I- I think I'm in love with Wally." His eyes never left his mug. For several long seconds, he waited silently for Roy to say something. When no reply came, Dick lifted his head. He stared at Roy intently.

"What?"

"What- What do you mean 'what'?! I just told you I think I'm in love with my best friend!"

"I know, I heard you." Roy lifted his mug to his lips, but before he could drink, Dick was suddenly in his face. "Gah! Dick-"

Dick grabbed Roy's wrists with an iron-like grip. "Can you just…react? Or pretend that you're shocked by what I'm saying, please?"

Roy rolled his eyes. "Why do I need to act shocked? You being in love with Wally is the most normal thing that's happened that last four months."

For a minute, Dick didn't say anything. He just stared at Roy silently before he slowly released his friend's wrists. "You're not surprised?"

"God, no. Look, you and Wally have had the closest friendship I've ever seen between two people. You're always together, and when you're not, you're texting or calling. Do you know how many years I've listened to you two gush about each other when we were alone? Or the uncanny way you can have completely silent conversations only the two of you understand. Or the almost scary way one of you can sense when the other is have a shitty day and needs cheering up? Even Ollie and Hal's lives aren't that intertwined. It's much closer to how Oliver is with Dinah. Like this level of…understanding another person that only comes with love." Roy shrugged as he sipped his coffee. "I made my assumptions from there."

Dick sat on the edge of the couch. He picked up his coffee and stared at the mug silently. "…Do you think Wally knows?"

"Even if he did, I doubt it's at the forefront of his mind right now."

'That would make sense.' Dick swallowed. "What do I do now?"

Roy frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…what am I supposed to do with this information?"

"I don't know. Tell him-"

"I can't do that!"

"…then don't?" When Dick set his mug down, then threw himself down dramatically with a groan. He rolled his eyes again. "What do you want me to say, Dick?"

"Tell me this is crazy! That I shouldn't tell Wally because he already has enough on his plate! That saying something could irreversibly wreck our friendship forever!"

Roy nodded thoughtfully. "All those things are true." He smiled when Dick groaned again. "I don't know what you want me to say, Dick. You're right, this timing is kind of terrible, but it's a lot to keep inside. Especially, if it's with someone you care about so much."

"…What would you do?"

"What would I do?" Roy grimaced. "I don't think you'll like my answer."

Dick lifted his head, heart pounding in anticipation. "Why?" When he didn't get an answer, he glared at him. "Just tell me, Roy."

"Ok, fine. If I were you, I wouldn't say anything to Wally. Not yet."

"You wouldn't?"

"No. It's like you said, this isn't the best time for Wally to be processing declarations of undying love. He has more than enough on his plate without worrying about this. Plus…and no offense, but…you shouldn't tell him unless you're absolutely sure."

Pain twitched in Dick's chest. "What do you mean?"

"You just came to this realization less than an hour ago. And you're…young. People your age "fall in love" all the time. I know I did." The flash of hurt in the younger teen's eyes made Roy wince. "I'm not saying your feelings for Wally aren't real. Obviously, you care about him as more than just a friend. I just think that with everything going on with Wally right now…maybe it's best if you wait and make sure your feelings are really real before you say anything."

Dick nodded slowly. "Yeah… Ok. I see your point." He sighed as he let his head fall again. "When will be the right time, though?"

"I don't know. When it looks like Wally is emotionally prepared to deal with this?"

'That could be so long!' Dick wanted to throw something in frustration. 'I could be waiting for years.' But…would that really be so bad? 'Roy did say I should wait to make sure I'm 100% certain about how I feel. Plus…if it was Wally, he'd probably wait for me.' Even though his speedster friend had a difficult time waiting for anything— superspeed made it notoriously difficult to stay still— there was no doubt in his mind Wally would give him the emotional spaced he needed. 'I can do it. Even if I have to wait 10 years…it'd be worth it for him. Wally deserves a friend who isn't confusing him and making his already emotionally loaded life difficult.' Dick would wait. No matter how long it took. He'd wait for Wally for forever if he had to.