"I don't get why you're so nervous. We're all going to be there," Tim said amused as he straightened Wally's collar.

For a horrible moment Tim even held up a tie before obviously deciding against it. Wally breathed out in relief.

"I don't get why you're not nervous about this," Wally countered. "What if you guys get associated with me and I damage your image or something like that?"

But Tim just shook his head. "Damaging our image? You clearly have never seen Bruce go all out when it came to diverting everyone's attention when things got tight. Or Dick. Honestly, both of them can be so dramatic." He rolled his eyes while he dealt with Wally's cuffs and opened up one button of the dress shirt. After that Tim took a step back to admire his work. "Mhh, something seems off," he murmured.

Wally awkwardly stood there and straightened down his dress shirt. "Yeah, the entire get up." He turned so that he could see himself in the mirror, frowning at himself. The pants and dress shirt weren't that bad, really, and he could probably get rid of the jacket at some point as well but…he moved a hand up to his slicked back hair and ruffled through it. It was still a bit stiff but at least didn't look as if someone had glued it on.

"Ah, yes, better," Tim smiled and gave a thumb up.

Wally turned back to Tim. "So, what you're saying is that I can't do too bad? You know what, I will just be silent the entire time."

"Yeah, because that's so natural and not at all weird. Just don't worry about it too much. If you can't answer something don't answer and that's it. You're a guest, enjoy yourself a little." Tim gestured for Wally to follow him.

"I guess." Wally loved people, he really did. But people like today…he sometimes didn't really understand them. He was just glad that Bruce and Tim and even Alfred were so down to Earth. They just happened to be rich too.

"And," Tim began as he put an arm around Wally's shoulder, "we will be there. As I mentioned before."

As Tim had mentioned multiple times by now. So Wally just nodded and let himself be guided to the main room of the gala. There were already guests here, filling the room with quiet chatter and glass meeting other glass when someone cheered for something. Quietly. Music played too but subtle enough to be ignored. All in all, the entire get together looked amazing, as did the people attending it from what Wally could see.

Some sized him up as well as he walked beside Tim, the other having removed his arm when they had come in. Despite Tim's reassurance, Wally's back felt rigid, tense. The feeling of playing pretend in every muscle.

God, he must look so out of place. But he put on a nice expression anyway, nodding at people when he saw them blatantly staring, causing their eyes to meet.

"There you are," Tim said at his side as they slightly changed directions and came to stand in front of Bruce.

Bruce turned to them and gave Tim a brief glance from head to toe before doing the same to Wally. "You clean up nice," Bruce said with an easy smile, causing Wally's face to heat up slightly. Thankfully he had messed up his hair or the slicked back thing he had had before would have trapped all that heat.

"Thanks, you too." He said it more out of flustered anxiety but…Bruce did look amazing. Not that he doubted that but…he looked natural in this get up. Exactly like someone would look who grew up in this world.

The answering smile, different from the one just before, was even more charming. "Thank you." Bruce looked Wally over again before looking him in the eyes. "Relax a little, no one's going to jump you."

Wally missed the way Tom rolled his eyes.

"I've been telling him that since he put the suit on. Give him a few minutes," Tim said with a huff and crossed his arms as he looked around. He tensed up a second later and put his arms back to his sides. "My date is here, so if you will excuse me."

"Is it really a date when you haven't asked her out yet?" Bruce asked amused.

Tim walked backwards, away from them. "She's smart, she will figure it out." He turned away from them, ready to make his way through the crowd.

Bruce chuckled. "That's not how dating works!," he called after the other but only earned himself a hastily thrown back hand, dismissing them. "Unbelievable."

Wally turned back to Bruce who made a gesture with his head to follow him. Together they moved into a different direction.

People kept looking at them, but Bruce didn't seem to pay them any more attention beyond giving a polite nod, while Wally tried not to look too uncomfortable.

"I told you, you looked good," Bruce said as he took two champagne glasses from an offered tray mid-walking and handed Wally one as well.

Wally took it. "Uh..what?"

"They keep checking you out. Haven't you noticed?," Bruce said into his glass before he took a sip.

Wally's traitorous face turned somewhat red again. "Are you sure that's not because of you? You're Bruce Wayne after all."

"Plenty. They are already here, in my home. I'm old news for tonight."

"Somehow, I find that difficult to believe," Wally muttered and glanced down at his own glass, before tasting it. He briefly made a face. He'd have preferred something with sugar in it over this anytime.

Bruce led him to the other side of the room where the buffet was located with a few other people having taken up a spot there as well. Everyone greeted Bruce with a friendly word or nod while they mostly just glanced at Wally, despite what Bruce wanted him to believe.

What did catch Wally's eye, once he allowed himself to look around with Bruce at his side, was that some had their arms bare, but he could see no writing on it. Confused, he turned to Bruce. "Do some people cover up their, uh…soulmate mark?"

Bruce looked at him before briefly looking around. He nodded. "It's a fairly common practice. Some show it off proudly while others prefer to hide it. Something about only them knowing what's written on it."

Wally's eyes snapped to Bruce's presumably marked forearm but immediately looked up at the other's face again, hoping he was fast enough. He wondered if Bruce believed that too but figured it was a too personal question to ask. Especially with so many people around. So, he asked another question instead. "Do people feel it when the words on their arms have been said?" Surely words were easy to miss when you weren't actively listening?

"The general consensus is yes."

"...but?"

Bruce looked at him again. "It seems to be different from person to person. Some say it stings, others say it feels like your arm goes numb. Or that it feels good. It's a wide variety but all in all, you can't miss it."

The question: What did it feel like for you? sat heavy on his tongue but Wally swallowed it. Surely Bruce would have said how it had felt for him, if he had met his soulmate already. Unless it was even more tragic than that and Bruce didn't want to talk about it. Wally wouldn't ask.

Still, Bruce seemed to wait for a reaction so Wally gave him a somewhat wry smile. "Seems like you really can't miss it then," he echoed easily, making Bruce smile as well.

"No, you really can't miss it."

Both became quiet after that, as Wally took to looking through the room again. His anxiety was almost forgotten with Bruce close by. The way the other easily traversed through the room and stayed relaxed despite all the attention was…nice. It reminded Wally of all the times in his suit, with people calling for him. In the end it wasn't so different. Only the audience was a bit…harder to entertain.

Thankfully he wasn't here to do that either. For once he was just along for the ride and he couldn't say he minded.

Movement to the side caught his attention and he watched Bruce place down his almost empty glass on the buffet table. Even Wally knew that this wasn't where you put the glasses but he was sure with Bruce hosting the entire thing that he was allowed to do that. What startled Wally more was the fact that Bruce looked ready to step away.

"I need to make an appearance to a few people, feel free to move around on your own," Bruce said, sounding almost apologetic before he walked away the same way they had come.

Wally watched after him, feeling somewhat dismayed so he looked down into his glass. Wasn't that just his luck? A second ago, he had breathed out in relief because Bruce made it easy to be here and then Bruce had to leave. And Tim was nowhere in sight as well, now that every guest seemed to have arrived.

Not that it was stifling because there was certainly enough space, but the number of people had significantly increased.

He looked up again, making sure to look friendly and approachable rather than wanting to be anywhere else.

Maybe he should move around. Standing still had never been his strongest point and moving around gave him the look of having to be somewhere which meant less chances of being talked to. Did that make sense? He wanted it to make sense.

He left his spot just as a waiter came to get the left behind glass, drawing Wally's eye to the buffet Bruce had led him to. Had that been on purpose? Or had it just been the least crowded place? The food itself looked…alright. It was exactly what Wally imagined when he thought of rich people food. Tiny portions, appetizers. He had to smile as he thought of the French word for it: hors d'oeuvre. This is exactly what would have caused the others back home to give him a look of utter disbelief. Something that had never gotten old. The Flash, knowing big words.

He chuckled to himself at the memory of a few of these instances before it fell away again. He missed them. But even back home he had started to miss them, he mused. He stepped away from the buffet and started an idle walk through the room.

Somehow, along the way he had been placed to the sidelines because of something he couldn't explain. Or maybe he was the one who had done that.

Maybe he should have given it more effort. Maybe it had been him in the end. His friends had relied on him after all, Wally thought as he lifted his glass to take another sip.

Only to stop dead in his tracks to avoid walking into someone who had stepped away from a group. Startled, Wally immediately took a step back as the man leveled him with an intense but amused expression.

The man had a modern haircut and wore a suit like everyone else here, although it was a lighter grey than the black Wally saw on almost everyone. His face was long and handsome.

Only his almost too bright eyes were off putting.

"Excuse me, I didn't mean to do that," the man said in a way that sounded like he had meant to do that. He looked Wally over. "Ah, Bruce's new toy I assume?"

Wally's face immediately flushed red. "Excuse me?! " Bruce's new toy?!

But the man just laughed at an acceptable volume. "Forgive me, I misspoke." Again, it sounded more like a barely attempted excuse. "I meant your bracelet." The man pointed to Wally's wrist where his sleeves had revealed the tracker when he had lifted his glass to drink from it. "It's a prototype of some sorts, right?"

Wally switched his glass over to the other hand and shook his wrist out to let the sleeve cover it again. "Uhm…"

Amusement danced in the other's eyes. "I see, sworn to secrecy, aren't you? I get it." He then waved a hand lazily around. "Ah, how rude of me, I didn't even introduce myself. I am Sebastian Faro." Faro offered his hand to Wally. "Faro Industries," he quickly added once he saw no spark of recognition on Wally's face.

Wally reluctantly took the offered hand as he studied the other's face. He was highly aware of their points of contact but was glad to note that Faro's fingertips didn't stray to touch the tracker now hidden away. "Wally, Wally West," he said after a short moment and let go of the other's hand. He didn't comment on the fact that he didn't know what Faro Industries was or did, although he could make a few assumptions based on Faro's interest in Wally's tracker. Depending on what Faro thought the tracker was.

"Mr. West, Wally if I may?" Faro asked and Wally slowly nodded. "Thank you. I was wondering…Bruce seems to know who to pick for prototype testing. I wonder how much he pays you."

Wally didn't answer, since it wasn't framed like a question after all. Instead, he wondered what the other meant with him being a…good? candidate to test whatever Faro thought it was.

But Faro didn't seem to be put off too much with Wally's silence. Instead, he shot him a rather charming smile. "I wonder if we could also negotiate about it," he said and pulled something out from the inside of his suit jacket and held it out for Wally to take. "Don't be afraid to make an appointment. I'm sure we can come to some kind of agreement." His voice dipped lower as well while Wally hesitantly took the offered card.

Curiosity and the need to be polite in Bruce's name won out, so Wally ignored the light blush on his cheeks and turned the card over to look at it. The company's name, written neatly and readable, looked back at him. Underneath was the address of their headquarters and below the official phone number.

"Just call and say it's about the newest Wayne prototype. Everything else will be sorted out," Faro assured him with an easy smile when Wally looked up again.

Only that he didn't get to reply as Bruce suddenly appeared at his side, hand firmly placed on his shoulder. Wally briefly considered how strangely hot Bruce's hand was since he could feel it despite the layers of clothes between them.

"There you are. And I see you met Sebastian." Bruce looked at the other. "Sebastian," he said as a greeting.

"Bruce!" Faros' smile stretched too wide, almost like a grin. "I trust you are well?"

"As well as always. And, sadly, busy too. Wally and I need to be somewhere."

"Of course." Faro nodded again and looked back at Wally. "Think about my offer and have a pleasant evening." He turned around and joined another group of people, greeting everyone in the round.

The hand on Wally's shoulders steered him away from that spot. He followed easily too, the almost burning imprint of Bruce's hand distracting him until it fell away so that they could walk side by side. The sensation barely faded however.

"You will have to watch out for him," Bruce said under his breath as he guided Wally to the other end of the room.

Wally wholeheartedly agreed, after he rolled his shoulder once, trying to get rid of the distraction. "I figured as much. Is he always like this?" He wasn't even sure if Bruce knew what Wally meant by that, even though Bruce nodded. Of course he did.

"Always. He likes to see if he can get a rise out of new acquaintances. Did he ask you to spy on me for him?"

"More or less," Wally said, clearing his throat. "He thinks my tracker is some kind of prototype and he wants me to think about spilling the secret about it."

Bruce chuckled. "Yeah, he likes to do that too. Spying on me or the company in general. It's not the first time. I just haven't found anything yet to get to him."

"I could always offer some false information…" Wally trailed off, joking more than anything. Although…it would be something to do but- no. He shouldn't involve himself too much anyway. Right?

"Tempting," Bruce said in a quiet but amused voice. "But no. The idea of whatever he thinks the tracker is will keep him occupied enough. Especially when he's trying to find plans for it," he explained. "I'm just glad I saw you when I did. He can be…difficult."

Wally nodded. "I would hate to catch him on a bad day."

Bruce just smiled at that, as if it was an insider joke. "Listen, I do have to play nice host a bit longer," he began while briefly touching Wally's biceps, "but I would like to show you something later. If you don't feel too tired by then."

Again, the touch felt way too warm through the layers of clothing Wally wore and he sincerely hoped the distraction didn't show too much. "Yeah, sure. It's not like I have anywhere to be," Wally said.

Bruce briefly squeezed Wally's arm before he nodded. "I will come get you in that case."

Wally watched Bruce walk away, back into the room, mingling with people. Wally rubbed his arm absent-mindedly, wondering why the jacket felt cool while his skin was warmer than before.