The entire event dragged on for hours. No one seemed to grow tired of standing around, of chatting about who had more money or who did what last week.

In summary, Wally found the entire thing boring and draining.

He had lost sight of Bruce and Tim a while ago, which made him almost wish back for Faro. At least that man had been interesting in a very weird way and it would have given Wally something to do. He wondered how dumb he'd have to play before Faro would actually loose his patience? He seemed like someone who expected to always get what he wanted. It might have been fun playing the clown around him…

Ideas like that one was exactly why he had left the ballroom and made himself comfortable on one of the giant window sills down the corridor. The entire thing was wide enough for him to comfortably sit there with his legs pulled up on it, his side leaning against the glass. He was a good way away from the open doors of the ballroom, even though he could still hear faint noises. Not entire words but the culmination of all those voices together.

It would have been nice, if it weren't for the suit he was stuck in. He sighed.

It was pitch black on the other side of the window, with only a faint light from where the ballroom doors were open. Like this, Wally felt content enough in his little spot that he allowed himself to doze off a little while.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there but voices coming closer brought him back to full awareness.

"He's over here, Master Bruce."

"Thank you, Alfred."

"Of course. I will tend to the remaining guests."

The sound of one person leaving while the other came closer made Wally look to the side into the dark corridor.

"You sneaked away, very impressive," Bruce said with an amused expression as he came to stand before Wally.

Wally just shrugged. "Not much sneaking involved when you simply leave." That answer earned him a quiet chuckle and a warm feeling in his stomach. It really wasn't okay for someone to have such a nice voice.

"It got a bit later than I had assumed," Bruce said while looking at his wristwatch. "We can postpone our little meet up until tomorrow if you're too tired?"

"How late is it?" Wally did feel a tad bit tired, worrying over the evening the entire time and now dozing off, but… Bruce had said he wanted to show him something. Curiosity did get the better of him in the end. "Never mind, I'm awake enough." He turned and stood up, forcing Bruce to take a step backwards.

"We're well past midnight, I don't mind waiting another day," Bruce said but was already moving down the corridor, away from the ballroom.

Wally followed easily. "But I do. I'm curious now. I'd never fall asleep now!"

"Somehow, I doubt that," Bruce scoffed amused but continued to lead them through the mansion.

At some point, Wally recognized the way to the Batcave elevator and deemed it safe enough to get out of his suit jacket. He threw it over his shoulder just as they entered the elevator and it started to move.

"You look like a young business owner," Bruce said after a few seconds while staring straight ahead.

Doubting that, Wally glanced down at him and then at the elevator door. But the only reflection it offered was a warble mess of greys that vaguely resembled him. "And what kinda business would I own?," Wally asked with a slight grin, not expecting a real answer.

"Shoes, maybe?" Bruce glanced at him.

The doors of the elevator opened before Wally could come up with a decent reply, so he made a noise of doubt instead. Shoes? Why? Because he was good at running? Was that supposed to be a joke?

Bruce was the first one out of the elevator. He walked with purpose towards one of the smaller spaces beside the Batcomputer where opened what appeared to be a slim suitcase.

Curious about it, Wally tried to peer at what was inside but it seemed to be empty to him. Until Bruce scooped up what looked like black fabric that slowly fell out of its folded form. With that in his hands, Bruce turned to Wally and offered it to him.

"Here. You said you wanted to be useful," Bruce said while Wally took the offered fabric and inspected it. Only to freeze up as he found the bat symbol on what felt like a sturdy but thin chest piece.

"Progress in finding a method to get you back is… slow, so I figured this would be the better solution for now. Instead of keeping you cooped up," Bruce continued but Wally barely heard him.

Bruce had made him a suit. It was black black and felt sturdy and even seemed to have lighter accents. The only thing that was missing was the lightning bolt. Instead of that however was a bat symbol, barely visible save for faint light grey lines. The accents did at least incorporate the lighting design he was used to and…

There was so much detail, so much thought in this. Bruce could have just taken his original suit and made it in black but now, Bruce had designed this. There were thoughts behind the accents and the material. Even the strange boots, so different from his own, fit perfectly to the design.

It was…it almost felt like he was back when the League had been founded. Back then Batman had upgraded some of their stuff, had funded the watchtower too, without anyone asking him to do it. And while Batman had never really designed a new suit for anyone, his upgrades had always had a thought behind them too. In the way they worked, in the smart designs.

Wally had felt excited for the League back then and had loved the idea of working together as a big team. Batman providing these things had just been the icing of the cake, had made Wally look up at Batman even more.

It felt eerily familiar. This was still Batman after all, just a different one.

For a moment Wally felt homesick and guilty. He should be trying to get home, to get back to his life and not wear a fancy suit and meet rich business people. At home there was his city waiting, his job.

His friends too.

"Wally?"

Wally blinked rapidly and relaxed his hands from the fist they had formed, bunching up the new material. It thankfully smoothed out as if nothing had happened. Slowly he looked up at Bruce, aware that he must have been silent for a second too long.

Bruce looked mildly confused. Concerned? "Is everything alright? If you'd rather not-"

"No! No. You're- it's amazing, the suit looks…wow. I'm just…I don't know what to say besides thank you." He really didn't know what to say. How to voice how many things this gift made him feel. Though most of all he felt gratitude. For the thoughtful design and the option to stretch his legs again.

"Just keep to the established rule to not be seen or associated with Central for the time being that you're here and you don't need to say more than thank you." Bruce offered a small smile when Wally nodded enthusiastically.

"Can I…we test the suit?" He really was wide awake now. There was no way he could go to bed and sleep. Not before he had this thing on and tested.

Bruce nodded. "Of course. We will make one round of my usual route. I will be right back, you can change here."

Wally watched Bruce go to the other side of the Batcomputer and get out of his sight before he turned his attention back to the new suit. He turned it around once and inspected the seams, along with the boots and gloves, only to discover that both of them were detachable. Curious about that feature, Wally quickly got rid of his formal suit and put on his new Bat-themed one.

The gloves and boots followed second later and, to Wally's delight, fit seamlessly to the arms and legs of his suit. He wasn't sure how but even a good tuck on the glove didn't make his skin show. For some reason the seams stuck together.

He found it awesome.

The material itself felt great too, light but padded in some places. It definitely offered more protection than his original suit and he couldn't wait to find out how it would hold up against his speed.

Batman, sans cowl, was walking up to Wally just as Wally wiggled around his fingers at an impressive speed. The glove didn't even smell of burnt material.

"Does it fit?" Bruce asked as he looked Wally over. He was probably admiring the result of his work.

"Perfectly. It's almost scary how well," Wall grinned at the other before he put his cowl up for the first time. He didn't know what it looked like but he could already feel that it was like his original one. „I'm ready when you are."

Bruce put up his own cowl. "Let's go."

"Well, that was fun," Flash grinned and dusted off his hands as he watched GL hand over the robbers to the police. Wally waited for most of the legal action to pass before he threw an arm around his super friend's shoulders. "Are we still on?"

GL nodded. "Shayera asked to come along. I said yes already. That okay, kid?"

"Sure!" Wally blessed GL with a big smile. It had been a while since they had hung out together, so he was excited either way. "The more the merrier right? I'm sure she will love one of our usual diners."

"Not sure about that but it's her choice," GL said in a deadpan tone. "Your choice in diners is always…interesting."

"If you mean awesome by that, then by all means, you're welcome." Wally started to walk, with GL following alongside him.

"You always choose the smallest, strangest one. That's what I'm saying."

"Lovely people own these. You can't fool me!" Wally lightly punched GL's shoulder. "They're cared for, have warm energy and are cozy."

GL rolled his eyes. "You only think that because you're friends with literally everyone."

"You say it like it's a bad thing," Wally said and turned around mid-step so that he was walking backwards. "As if you aren't charmed by their stories."

GL remained quiet as a response, making Wally feel justified.

"I thought so." Wally grinned and turned around again, while he pointed to the corner on the other side of the street. "That's our diner this time. Tell Shayera she can join us anytime."

GL did so while Wally zipped ahead and crossed the street. There he opened the door for GL and they entered the little restaurant. It was almost empty, safe for two other people and the waitress herself. All three of them looked up when GL and Wally stepped in. The two other guests continued to stare while the waitress waved at them. Wally waved back, smiling brightly.

He was about to take another step when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Confused, Wally turned to GL who gave him an apologetic look.

"Is everything alright?" Wally asked, feeling like he knew what was coming.

"Almost," GL said. "A small change of plans. Would that be alright?"

"I don't mind, what are we doing instead?" Wally wouldn't mind doing something else. He'd just have to say goodbye to the waitress, since she had already seen them. He wouldn't want to paint a bad image after all.

GL gave an awkward cough. "Actually, it would just be Shayera and me. Is a rain check, okay?"

"Oh."

"Hey, it's no big deal. I can just-"

"No, it's fine, really. That rain check is absolutely fine," Wally hastily corrected himself. He had just been surprised, nothing more. Even if he should have known better. He had already had quite a few rain checks good with GL.

Not that he was counting.

"You sure?" GL still looked like he was sorry, but he was also already hovering above the ground.

Wally nodded. "One hundred percent. Say hi for me, yeah?"

"Of course kid." GL gave him a nod as if he was proud of Wally before he turned and left the diner. He was gone from Wally's view within seconds.

Only then did he let his shoulders droop a bit. He should have known. It had gone over too well until now. Heck, they even made it to the diner itself for once.

Feeling dejected, Wally went over to an empty table, away from the other two patrons. He understood that his friends had something special, that they were soul mates, but sometimes Wally couldn't help but feel somewhat jealous.

Maybe Supes would have some time right now? But then he'd have to come over to Central since Wally had already sat down and…no. He would just enjoy his meal here.

"Hey Flash," the waitress greeted him with a small smile. "Is everything alright? Will Green Lantern come back?"

"No-I mean, he's had to leave suddenly. It's fine," he said with an assuring smile and waved it off since it was fine. "How about you? Is your kid doing better at school?"

The waitress gave an exasperated sigh and her smile grew as she easily fell into her tales of how her son was doing at school while she brought him some food.

The suit was amazing. It was light and padded and easily withstood the speed Wally needed to achieve to not be seen.

Although he hadn't had a chance to really try it out yet, unless he counted the mugging he stopped on his second night out with Batman. Wally had had snatched the robbed belongings right of the man's hand and delivered them closer to the woman it belonged to. Before either of them could even understand what had happened Batman had descended from the roof and taken over.

It had felt amazing.

And it still did. Sure, it was the fourth night and he had mostly just taken a long run instead of stopping crime but Wally didn't care. He was out and about again and that was worth everything. Already he felt a bit more positive about his entire situation.

Instead of constantly moping, he had taken to watch the world around him a bit more. To take in this similar but different universe.

It was also on his fourth outing that he sat on the roof of a little hut atop a bigger roof while watching the colors of the coming sunrise slowly seep into the sky. The air itself had a bite to it but his suit isolated him pretty well. Whenever a gust of wind hit his back a small shiver ran over his skin but it vanished as soon as it came.

He was just waiting for Batman to finish up whatever he was doing when he heard heavy boots on the little roof he was on. Wally was just looking to his side as Batman sat down beside him, offering a steamy cup of coffee, a second in his other hand.

Wally took the cup. "Thank you."

Batman simply nodded as both looked ahead at the sky again. They remained quiet for a while, their steaming beverages slowly becoming colder. But Wally appreciated its warmth, through his clothes and in his stomach, anyway.

He was the first one to break the silence. "Do you think it will take long for me to get back home?" He didn't look at Batman as he asked this, too afraid to see a yes in the others face.

The thought of no was somehow equally terrifying. Wally wasn't sure what to make of that.

"As of now? Yes," Batman said as he looked at Wally. "I have encountered many things as Batman but never dimensional travel. Or time travel. This is entirely new to me. Or to this Earth from what I could find in archives and hidden reports. We're starting from scratch."

That wasn't what Wally wanted to hear. But he also couldn't say that he was surprised.

"Maybe I should let you look at what I have so far, maybe you can read something out of it."

Wally shook his head. "I'm no scientist. Sure, I can start running and running and see if I can make it through dimensions - not that I've ever done it deliberately - but I wouldn't know how to get into the right direction." Wally looked down into his cup, one thumb tracing the rim of it. It was slightly sticky. "Doing something like that…there's too many directions. Forward, backward, time, infinite dimensions. I might be lucky sometimes but not like that." And he didn't feel smart enough to understand anything Batman would show to him.

Batman looked forward again, letting Wally's words settle between them. He turned back to him when he heard Wally take in some air.

"I guess I'm stuck here for longer than I thought."

"That's a bad thing?"

Wally's eyes snapped up to the others. "Of course not! I'm eternally grateful that-"

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that," Batman immediately said, voice calm. "Don't worry about it too much."

"Alright." Of course he was worrying about it. He never failed to feel guilty about someone buying him food. So, to have someone playing host for him for an undetermined time frame? That was just the worst.

But on the other hand, he couldn't say he was regretting this experience. This universe had made him question some things that he had thought to be always true from where he came from.

He looked down at his, now empty, cup again and let his thoughts wander away from the thoughts of going home. Instead, they wandered to the things he had seen here. Despite having had only a limited amount of exposure to some of it.

"You know," Wally began after the sky had brightened even more and the cold felt a bit sharper, "I think I prefer your dimension over mine in t-"

The noise of Batman suddenly crushing his own cup drew both of their attention to Batman's hand. Both stared at the cup for a few seconds before Wally looked up at the other's face.

"I'm sorry. What did you want to say?" Batman spoke up before Wally could ask if everything was alright. His expression strangely blank.

"I just…," Wally began again and gave the crushed cup a short glance. If he wouldn't know it better then he would say he had startled Batman. But Wally knew better than that. "What I meant to say is, the way your dimension handles the soul mate thing…I think I prefer it."

"How so?" Batman asked as he crushed the cup further and kept it in his fist. Only then did he finally look up at Wally.

Wally felt strangely nervous all of the sudden. "The way it works back home…it feels so absolute. You meet this stranger and boom, it's supposed to be your true love."

"But not everyone is a stranger when they touch."

"No. But even strangers touch earlier on: shaking hands, handing something over. It really only takes a brush there's colors. And your true love. Your one and only. It's supposed to be life changing."

"Suddenly seeing colors is very life changing," Batman said with an almost teasing underline.

Wally huffed out some air and gave Batman an exasperated look. "You know that's not what I mean."

Both stared at each other before Batman acknowledged it with a nod. "How is this universe different then?" It was clear that he wasn't judging Wally, that he was merely asking out of curiosity.

"Because, and I know I haven't even seen most of it, but the way yours works? There is this chance to be friends first. To know this person," Wally said and looked down at his own arm as if he had words there as well. "Something someone says to you at any given time? Even years down after knowing them? Somehow I imagine there are a lot more platonic soul mate relationships in this universe than back home." He looked up at Batman again, who was nodding at him.

"Surely platonic soul mates happen in your dimension too?"

"They do but…no one talks about it. Media is full of this idea of true love. At least I grew up with that way of thinking, and I imagine many more did too. It's strange. It seems so much more important in my dimension than it does here."

"It's pretty important here too but I can see why it's more impactful for you."

Wally sighed and looked up at the sky again, the tiniest rays of sunshine already providing some light. It was probably useless to think about this so much. But on the other hand, he had all this time. And it was interesting too! He'd have so many things to tell his friends back home. How different this dimension was and its people. Mainly it's heroes. Or maybe it was just Batman who was even more secluded than Batman back home.

More secluded but more open to partners? It would be very weird to explain it to everyone else and…he wasn't sure he wanted to.

This little friendship with Bruce was nice. And everyone that belonged to Bruce's family so far as well.

Wally looked over to Batman and was startled to find him looking back. He almost felt like he had been caught looking, despite having just turned his head, so he gave a small smile.

One corner of Batman's mouth twitched before he stood up, offering Wally his hand. "It's time to go. I have a few meetings scheduled today.

Wally took the offered hand and let himself get pulled to his feet. His hand warmed up immediately within the gloves. "Shouldn't you be able to have a say when they are?"

"That's why the earliest starts at 1pm. The perks of owning the company," Batman replied and let go of Wally's hand. "I will meet you in the Batcave." He turned and jumped down the little hut before disappearing from the roof altogether.