That same evening, they sat together in a room across the kitchen with a giant Chinese take-out. Even Alfred, Wally noted somewhat surprised. For some reason he hadn't pictured the butler just…sitting down and eating alongside them.

Though it didn't bother him of course. It was strange to him anyway, to sit there in slightly too big clothes, courtesy of Tim, and still somewhat wet hair from his shower and having a simple…lunch with these people. With Batman of all people.

Wally couldn't remember the last time they had sat down for a meal together in his universe. Just as…partners.

Sighing, he blinked the thought away and started to eat along with the others. Interestingly enough all three of them sometimes placed a box closer to Wally when he was done with one of his. This way, the table got systematically covered with more empty than full boxes.

There had been some idle, quiet chatter between the other three as well, about things Wally had no idea about. Charity work, studies, vague information about other rich people. Just everyday stuff it seemed.

"So," Tim drew the attention to him as he curiously looked at Wally. "Do you and your superfriends do this too? Having a big lunch?"

"Sometimes? Well, we used to. " Wally shrugged as he emptied another box. He felt hyper aware of their eyes on him but eating slower wouldn't do him any good. He was already behind. "One of the guys, he used to come over once or twice a week. We even hung out at some diners in the suit," he chuckled and shook his head at the memory.

Bruce didn't look up from his own food as he asked "But not anymore?"

Wally shook his head. "A while ago he found his soulmate among the team. They had some issues at first but worked it out. Both of them are pretty tough but together they're quite mushy. Although I'd never tell them this," Wally snickered. "It's cute."

"And the others of your super friends? Do you spend time with them?" Tim asked as he put his arms on the table, done with eating.

"Now and then." Recently it hadn't been as much as before. He wondered if they had just been fed up with him. "But everyone is busy most of the time. Watching over Earth is quite demanding, most of the time."

"Probably yeah. Gotham alone is a handful most of the days," Tim grinned, causing Wally to smile as well while Bruce weakly reprimanded him about it. "What?" Tim asked amused. "I would be lying if I said otherwise."

Bruce looked displeased. "Don't say it at all then." He even opened his mouth for more but Tim quickly interrupted him with a slightly louder "Anyway. Am I allowed to ask something about your colorblindness?"

Surprised, Wally blinked a few times before nodding. "Sure, go for it."

"I was wondering how your movies are. Are they like, black and white? It must look really funny to those who can see colors."

Well, he hadn't really expected that. Not that he minded. It just seemed like such an innocent question, Wally couldn't help but look amused." Oh no. For quite a while now those in the filmmaking industry are those who can see colors. Although it's not a requirement from what I understand," he explained as he finished another box. "And those who can't see color are definitely used for test screenings so that it looks good to everyone. So, even those who can see color can enjoy a movie later on."

"Huh," Tim breathed out. "I hadn't thought about it like that."

"I imagine you wouldn't. My universe just grew up with being colorblind." Logically there would be quite some different approaches to some industries, like movies. Wally had never really thought about it before.

"And uh..," Tim began, while ignoring the pointed look Bruce shot him. "Is it...difficult? Especially as a hero? What if there's a Bomb to diffuse?"

"Tim!" Bruce scolded the other.

"What?

Wally fake coughed into his hand, masking a laugh and gaining their attention. "It's fine, I don't mind. Though you have to imagine that maybe our bombs might be different too? Not every villain can see colors themselves."

Tim murmured a "Right..," in between.

"And, to be fair, my usual method had always been getting the bomb out to open water. With the others around during a mission it's different. Sometimes Supes deals with it, sometimes Batman manages a controlled explosion with one of the others. It varies."

"Sounds like a great team," Tim smiled.

"Yeah," Wally smiled back, hoping it wasn't too bittersweet. "Teamwork makes the dream work, or something equally corny, huh?"

That certainly made Tim grimace, as he chuckled. "Oh yeah, way too corny," he said amused and shook his head.

"I aim to please." Wally inclined his head, feeling entertained himself. Making others laugh had always been fun, no matter how much stupid stuff he had to spout. He wondered if Bruce and Alfred found it equally cringy, but neither had really reacted. Instead, the last boxes with food in them had wandered over to Wally's side of the table.

Wally was lying on his bed, face buried into the pillows, when the door to his private quarters, with a little warning beforehand, opened up.

He didn't react to it. On one hand he didn't mind the intrusion. On the other he would have liked to be alone for a little while.

And it wasn't as if he could hide. The quarters were tiny as it was. Cozy even.

"Flash?" J'onn's deep voice greeted him cautiously, his steps coming to a stop near the bed. "Wally, are you awake?"

Both knew he was but Wally still lifted an arm as he gestured a lazy greeting, mumbling something into the pillow.

The mattress dipped down to the right of him, a comfortable silence settling between them. J'onn might have come in uninvited, but the calm he projected was welcome anyway.

Although, Wally was sure that he hadn't shown up just to hang out. At least then he'd have had the decency to show up with some food, which…well, Wally didn't know if J'onn had food with him.

So he slowly turned his face to the right as well, half of it squashed into the pillow as his hair fell into his eyes or stuck in every direction. As expected, there wasn't any food.

"Do you want to talk?" J'onn asked, turning sideways on the bed, one leg still touching the ground.

"Dunno. About what?" Maybe there was anything else that J'onn wanted to talk about. Maybe J'onn needed to talk.

"Whatever you want to talk about," J'onn gently smiled.

Wally huffed out some air. "Is this a private counseling session?"

"If you want it to be."

He looked over J'onn's head as if the ceiling had the answers for him. "Batman doesn't want to talk to me." Wally slowly looked at J'onn.

"And why is that?"

"No, I..," Wally struggled briefly to find the right words, "I mean, Batman is the one I want to talk to. But he doesn't talk to me. Not about this situation." He felt a little bit bad, saying this straight to J'onn, despite the Martian only having good intentions.

"I see. Do you want me to get him? I could be your mediator." J'onn already got up as he said this.

But Wally was suddenly in an upright position as well, hair sticking everywhere. "No!"

"No?"

Wally vehemently shook his head as he finally got out of the bed to walk around it. "Don't you think it's going to create more tension?" He asked and came to stand before J'onn. "He doesn't want to talk about it and forcing him to, should we even be able to do that, is only going to make him mad at me." Even if Batman would never admit it. At least Batman used entire sentences during missions. Wally didn't want to imagine how that would change in case Batman was angry with him.

J'onn's expression softened as he nodded." I see your reasoning but…you're not happy Wally. The entire situation must be hard on you. Just earlier you were sulking, hidden away in your quarters."

"I know." Wally's shoulders slumped. "But…but it is getting better," he decided in the end. It didn't really feel like it was getting better but…it would get better. There was no harm in telling how it's going to be from now on. He would be happy again.

"Are you sure? You know you are allowed to sulk or be sad. I know the others have tried to talk to you, which was why I hesitated to approach you," J'onn admitted while Wally blinked at him.

"Oh."

"Just take your time Wally. And if you want to talk, then I'm here. If you want to talk to Batman, I'm also here. You're not less important than anyone else."

"Oh," Wally said again, his voice cracking slightly. "Well in that case…," he trailed off, glancing at his bed and then at J'onn. He offered a small smile that didn't reach his eyes quite that well to which J'onn offered a gentle smile and hug.

Wally gladly accepted the hug.

The next few days were uneventful to the point of being mind numbing. Wally was mostly left to his own devices, except that he never really was alone.

Alfred always seemed to be around, even when Wally couldn't even see him, and Tim sometimes appeared too. Asking him how he was, if he was bored - something Wally always answered with a "Oh no, it's fine" - and then vanished again.

There was also always food and there was space to move. One thing Wally gladly consumed - since he'd have a bad time if he didn't - while he didn't dare to actually use his speed around the place. Too afraid to make himself look suspicious under these watchful eyes. And the little tracker on his arm too.

It was around the fourth day when Wally truly felt restless. No one was really giving him the time of day, save for friendly interactions, that he might as well have been back in that cell. At least then he had seen and heard more of Tom and Oracle than he did now.

Well, there was no use in moping around. If no one was going to talk to him then he would have to initiate the conversation. At this point he'd have been ecstatic over a simple we're working on it.

Wally put a hand through his hair, making it more into a mess than it already was before he left his bedroom. This time no one immediately shadowed him, which felt weird. Alfred didn't even seem to be around the corner.

Taking that as a sign that he really needed to talk to someone, Wally made his way to where he knew the kitchen was, seeing how someone had to pass by it eventually.

He didn't make it that far however, as he saw Bruce and Tim in the giant hall that made up the entrance of the mansion talking. Bruce even spotted him and waved him over, which Wally immediately followed suit.

"We've just been talking about you," Bruce said with a friendly note in his voice.

"Oh?" Wally nodded at both of them.

"There's a fundraiser in two days, here at Wayne Manor. It has been scheduled for a while so there is no use in trying to move it to another date. You're going to attend it with me."

Wally became stock still. "W- as a date?"

"Why, are you flirting with me, Mr. West?"

"No! I-uh, I didn't…," Wally's face quickly became red as he stared at Bruce's amused expression, while Tim was snickering somewhere to the side of them.

Was Bruce flirting with him? Surely not. This alternate dimension continued to make his head spin, with its strange Batman who cracked jokes and actively teased him.

"Just kidding," Bruce chuckled deeply, making Wally's face even redder in the wake of its deep rumble but Bruce just went on. "I would let you hide away in your room but we've had the occasional curious person getting lost in Wayne Manor so it's easier to keep you in public."

"Oh, yeah sure?" Wally sounded hesitant. A fundraiser? That wasn't really his crowd. He usually avoided stuff like that, where he would have to wear a suit and- What would he wear? He didn't own any-

"Well," Tim chimed in with an easy smile. "I need to leave or otherwise I'm going to be late. Play nice you two." He gave a nod to Bruce and left them with a wide stride.

Wally turned back to Bruce as he did the same. "What am I going to wear?"

"Alfred is going to get you clothes, along with a suit. Don't worry about it," Bruce said with a small smile.

"But..how will he know it's going to fit?"

"Alfred is very good at knowing things like that. It's fine, really." Wally nodded just as Bruce's expression became more serious as spoke up again. "Are you alright? You've hardly spoken to us these past few days?"

Well, there was the flush in his cheeks again. He suddenly felt rather self-conscious about his sour mood earlier. "I didn't want to bother you guys. I'm very grateful for the things you provide and the…not being in a cell. But…I guess a bit talking at some point wouldn't be bad. Doesn't even have to be problem related." Wally fake coughed into his hand, feeling embarrassed for asking that. As if he couldn't handle being on his own for a little while.

Bruce's serious expression eased up a little. "I know we seem very busy to you but when we're here at the Manor you can just come to us. No one is going to bite. The worst thing that could happen is that someone has to leave. And we will talk about your problem as well. I'm already gathering all the data I can find, along with a list of people we can ask. If there is anything bothering you, you can tell us."

Wally was staring. He knew he was but he couldn't stop himself. That was probably the most a Batman has ever talked to him in one go, safe for the incident and that might have been less, and then in such a caring manner. What else was there to do but stare?

Besides trying to answer when Bruce was clearly waiting for one. "That's...yeah, sure alright. I guess I feel a bit off kilter and need to adjust a bit more."

"That's perfectly alright. I have time now, if you like? To talk, I mean."

Wally slowly nodded. "Yeah. It's not like I need to be somewhere soon," he joked somewhat, earning himself a small grin before Bruce turned away and led the way. Wally trailed behind, trying to let the grin not get to his head too much.

Maybe he should have taken his chances with Tim later. At least then he wouldn't have to be so keenly aware of his face being so hot all the time.

Bruce led them to the kitchen where he went straight for the refrigerator and got two giant plates covered in foil out. He put them on the island before bringing some cutlery for both of them.

Soon, both were settled on either side of the island, taking various bites from the prepared, cold meal. Or were they left overs? The plates looked too prettily arranged like that to be just a meal. He mused about it for a little while until he noticed that Bruce wasn't really talking. Wally glanced up through his hair at Bruce who looked completely unbothered and relaxed.

Bruce was giving him the chance to speak when he wanted to, Wally realized.

He quickly stuffed his face with a few more bites, trying not to appear taken off guard. He wasn't foolish enough to think that Bruce wouldn't notice, despite not really looking at him.

"So, uh…" Wally's voice trailed off when Bruce immediately looked at him. Why was this so difficult? He was Wally. The Flash! The guy who talked to anyone who gave him the chance! "I…I might be a bit bored. I guess."

"You guess?" Bruce asked back, one eyebrow lifted.

"Just a little? I'm not used to sitting around."

Bruce nodded. "You're allowed to move around? No one is keeping you in your room."

"Of course. I know. It's just…I'm usually busy with work and being the Flash, you know? Not that I would be able to do that now. My suits busted and…"

"And what?"

"Well, you did say you don't want me to draw attention to Gotham, as a speedster. So, I wouldn't even know how to ask." He had thought about asking before but had immediately dismissed it again. With no suit and with Bruce not wanting those kinds of powers in Gotham…he had seen the no coming from miles away, so there had been no use to entertain the idea.

Bruce took another bite before he looked at Wally again. "When Tim sent you to find me. No one had seen you during that time, right?"

"Uh...Right. Tim had stressed to not be seen..." And Wally had thought he had done a pretty good job. Even good enough to fool these two thugs. A chuckle built in his throat as he thought about it.

"What?" Bruce curiously perked up.

"Nothing just…when I was looking for you. There were these two guys on a roof, obviously guarding something, so I thought I should check out whatever they were guarding." He looked up at Bruce who was nodding at him, indicating for him to continue. "Naturally I had to get them away from the roof so I snatched one up with my speed and put him somewhere else. Maybe he threw up after that, maybe not." He had been going slightly faster than he would with a normal human and that speed tended to upset the stomach. "When I came back to do the same to the other guy…the guy was hightailing it out of there, saying something about how he didn't want to deal with the Bat. So…you're welcome, I guess," he grinned slightly. "Or thank you?"

"You're welcome," Bruce simply said back, clearly amused by the idea of Wally riding on his reputation.

Wally's grin became an easy smile as he nodded.

Bruce put his fork to the side and gently shoved the plate closer to Wally as he looked at his watch, drawing Wally's attention to it.

Wally briefly wondered about Bruce's soul mark. It was strange to think that there was actually a visual reminder and basically a hint to that person on everyone's arm. Had Bruce met his? Had he lost them? Or was he looking? Maybe he didn't care at all?

The button up Bruce wore wasn't really see through, so there wasn't even a tiny bit of the soul mark shining through for Wally. It probably wouldn't have meant anything to him anyway, seeing how there would be random words.

Some kind of spasm twitched through Bruce's arm and Wally turned his attention to the hand and then up at Bruce who was looking at him. Turning red rapidly, Wally grasped for a diversion. "Late for anything?" Bruce had originally looked at the watch, hadn't he?

"Not yet," Bruce said and looked at the watch again. "But it wouldn't hurt to go now. Unless you want me to stay for a few more minutes?"

That was…actually really nice of Bruce. "No need. This…uh this was nice. Thank you." Wally smiled honestly, the flush somewhat receding now that they were back on track.

"Alright," Bruce nodded and stepped away from the island and went for the door. There he stopped for a second. "Did you know that you're wearing a hot pink sweater?"

Wally's eyebrows went up, confused. He kind of knew what pink was but hot pink? It felt like ages since he had seen the faded away colors back home, or the burst of colors when he came into this dimension. "That's important because…," he trailed off.

"It clashes with your hair," Bruce said amused. He took one good look at Wally before he nodded at him.

Wally looked down at himself and then up again, but Bruce was gone by then.