Dick hadn't been planning on telling Tim anything, so he doesn't really know how to feel now that he knows practically everything.

Especially because Tim is so close to Bart, who is close to Wally, who is now close to Jason-

Ughh I hate this he thinks.

When he looked back down at Tim again, the little shit was staring back with a quirked brow and an 'I know exactly what you're thinking about' smile.

"Stop looking at me like that" he mutters before shutting off his computer. From experience, it's never a good idea to leave Tim with a device full of personal shit for too long.

Taking the hint, Tim gets up to go flop on Dick's couch with a more serious look on his face.

Dick takes a seat opposite him and remembers why his brother had been here in the first place.

"What happened with Kon?"

"Nothing bad. Well, not in the way you think"

Watching his brother closely, Dick notices how his previous good mood shifted into something more sombre.

"He and I . . we're close, you know? When we first founded young justice, I would always try and close myself off from them. I was their leader, nothing else. But you of all people know that the Batman mindset doesn't always work. It didn't even work for Bruce once he grew fond of the justice league"

Dick did remember. When the Titans were first founded, just him, Wally and Garth, it was always so hard to keep their relationship strictly professional like Bruce wanted. Being so young and lonely only worsened his situation, particularly when he they kept asking him to hang out after missions and treating him like an equal rather than a 'boss' of sorts. Especially Wally. He seemed to have decided that they were best friends before Dick even trusted him with his identity. And after he finally peeled off the mask, the speedster had stuck by his side like glue.

"It's almost embarrassing how easy it was for us to become friends," Tim continued. "I don't think I even know how it happened; it was just so natural"

Again, this was sounding very familiar.

"Not too long ago, things started to change between us. All of a sudden, a brush of the fingers or a press of our legs didn't feel as . .platonic as it should have. I started to see him . . differently. You know what I mean?"

He wanted to deny it. He really really did. But it all fit. Everything Tim had just said was a recount of what's been going on with him and his best friend. He must have been staring at Tim with a blank look for too long because his younger brother gives him a poorly disguised look of triumph before continuing.

"It was easy at first. Easy to ignore and deny. But it didn't stay that way for long. Soon enough, it got worse and worse and worse. The final blow was that KONA-TV reporter, Tana moon. Kon saved her life once, then she was all over him. All the time"

Tim stopped and just stared, like he was waiting for Dick to say something.

Stubborn as ever, Dick still kept silent.

Tim must've gotten the hint because he rolled his eyes and allowed his irritation to be detected.

"Dick, my situation was different. This girl was an important factor because my jealousy of her was what ultimately gave me the courage to walk up to Kon, push him up against the closest wall, kiss him senseless and finally confess what I'd been trying to deny myself for the past five years"

He ignored Dick's gobsmacked expression and continued.

"But with you, it's not some random and annoying stranger who's trying to fornicate Wally, it's your brother. The one with the most fragile relationship with us already"

The dam shattered. He felt the last of his stubborn defiance drain out of him as he pushed a sigh through his nose.

"I just . .I don't know what to do"

"Yeah I know. It sucks"

"I'm mostly just confused. This isn't something that I've been hiding for years. This is new. This is completely new and came from God knows where and I didn't know I could even look at another male like that, let alone him – someone I've essentially grown up with. Someone I should be thinking of as my brother, not . . . And Jason! Where did that come from? Since when did he have a serious interest is anyone?, let alone Wally West!"

Tim exhaled gently.

"I don't know for sure, and I don't want you to take what I say to heart – because it may not be 100% true, but I think one of the main things to consider here is that Jason has always lived in your shadow. Always. Even worse than you living in Bruce's. At least then he was batman and you were Robin. It wasn't like that for Jason. When he came along, the only thing everyone saw when they looked at him was you. Dick Grayson's replacement"

Dick knew this already; Jason had thrown it in his face plenty of times to ensure he would never forget.

"Even when he came back, even now, when he tries his hardest to avoid and ignore us, your shadow is still looming over him. Barbara tried to get him to stay with us about a year ago, did you know that? And when she hinted the possibility that there could be more between them, he flat out said no. Because he, quote unquote, is not Dick Grayson."

Wait, what?

"It keeps going, Dick. Starfire and Roy? They're his best friends. But they weren't always. They were yours first. You practically grew up with Roy, and there was a time when you were so sure about Starfire being your forever, you were thinking of marrying her. And Jason knows all this."

Conflicted as to whether he wanted Tim to continue or stop pointing out all these little facts that he already knew, Dick opens his mouth to say something but is stopped by Tim.

"No. Let me finish. I have a point. Wally saved his life right? Wally is apparently Jason's type, in a romantic sense, and he's not holding back. He wants him Dick, more than he has ever wanted Barbara or Kori"

What? that didn't make any sense...

"What do you mean? Wally isn't some newfound treasure we both just discovered and are fighting over. He's my best friend. I've known him longer than I've known Jason"

"Yes, but Barbara and Kori were the two most serious relationships you ever had, and Jason couldn't pursue anything with them since he felt like they only liked him because he reminded them of you, which probably wasn't even the case, but that's just Jason. But Wally is fresh. You've never had any kind of romantic interest in him before that Jason knows of. But at the same time, he's still close to you. He's yours, but he's not really yours. You see where I'm going with this?"

Dick is immediately reminded of something Bruce told him a very long time ago.

It was always a contest with Jason

Jason wanted something Dick didn't have.

"What, so you think this is some kind of competition to Jason and we're racing to whoever gets to Wally first? That's absurd"

"I don't know. it's just how it looks. But as I said, don't take what I said to heart. It may not be true. Besides, You're his lightning rod. Nothing can change that"

A pressure in his chest oddly softened at those words.

"Yeah, I guess I am"

Tim appraised him for a moment.

"You do realize what that means, don't you Dick? I don't know what Wally told you, but if you're his lightning rod, it means he loves you – in every way. So if he came up with some bull that he's surprised too or that he didn't know - he's lying. He already knew"

His heart stuttered for a moment, and he chose to ignore the first part of what Tim said before he started blushing like a teenager.

"What? Why would. . . why would he lie about something like that?"

Why would Wally keep something like that from him?

"I don't know! Maybe because he was worried you wouldn't feel the same? Maybe because you're with a different girl every month? Dick, the reason I came here in the first place is because someone needs to tell you to get your head out of your ass and go talk to him! Be honest and sort this mess out before it gets any worse. Jason is buying him gems, surely that's enough to tell you something's up"

As usual, Tim was right.

Dick needed to talk to Wally.

Notes:

I want to get one thing clear, I love Jason and Tim's assessment is just that. Tim's assessment. It's not necessarily true. I think Jason is such an amazing Robin and he deserves so much after what he's gone through and no matter what happens, I'll be damned before I treat him like garbage. He's going to get a happy ending.

Thank you for reading! The next chapter will be up soon!
Special thanks to everyone who left a comment on the last chapter, it was my fuel for writing this one :)

I would love to know which ship y'all are routing for,
Birdflash, or Hoodflash?