"Welcome to Wayne Manor, Richard," Bruce says, turning in his seat to give Dick an awkward smile.

The little boy struggles for a moment or two but he manages to push the door of the car open. He unbuckles his seatbelt and then slides out of the car. He stumbles but catches himself by grabbing the car door.

"Ah, Master Richard, I was going to open the door for you but it appears that you've done so already."

Dick blinks, recognizing the polished man as the old guy who stayed to the side during his parents' funeral. He flushes and his eyes dart back to the door. He takes a step back. "I'm sorry," he says. "I'll go back inside so you can do it."

Much to his surprise, the old man chuckles and smiles softly. "That won't be necessary. You may call me Alfred. I've prepared some cookies for your arrival. I hope you like chocolate chip."

Despite recent events, Dick finds the strength in himself to smile brightly and nod. Then, he looks over at the mansion and he can't help but drop his jaw in shock.

•••

Scoffing, Gardner brushes past Wally and makes sure to purposefully bump his shoulder because the older teen is rooted to his spot like a tree. He stops only a few steps away from the bed. It's only then that he peers over his shoulder with narrowed eyes that look anywhere but Wally's own. After all, it's said that eyes are the windows to one's soul.

He decides that he doesn't need to see Wally's vulnerability.

"What do you think, West?" he says in a voice that's almost a sneer. He's surprised to see a distinct lack of emotion being betrayed on that freckled face. His eyes remain narrowed but any negative emotions that leaked into his blue eyes disappear before he can say anything.

Silent and stoic, Wally stands before he crumples. He falls backwards, luckily having the door there to keep him from really hurting himself. A sigh leaves its prison and he suddenly looks more tired than Gardner had ever seen him.

"Of course I'm wrong," he says, allowing his eyes to fall shut. "The world doesn't work that way—never does." His last words are spoken in a tone that show hints of despair and saddened exasperation.

Gardner says nothing at first. Instead, he softens his features and turns around, moving just a little closer to Wally. It's close enough that he catches the faintest whiff of cologne and cheap deodorant. He offers a tight-lipped smile that goes unseen.

Then, he licks his lips and looks down to the floor. "Do you want me to leave?" he asks in low voice that isn't quite a whisper but is close to it. Wally says nothing. "I'll leave if you want me to but... you know if I leave, I'll end up hurting all of them. I don't... you don't want that, do you?"

Green eyes become visible once more. Gardner looks away as Wally speaks. "I don't but... you know, I never should've asked you to do this in the first place."

He doesn't know what to say. "You had good intentions," Gardner says slowly, unsure if he should be saying anything in reply. "It's my fault for getting caught by Wayne but... yeah, you had good intentions."

"You did too," Wally says. He swallows. "Can you... can you please look at me? I feel kind of weird."

Gardner bites his bottom lip, eyes darting around. Finally, he resigns himself and meets Wally's gaze. Blue meets green—just like earlier tonight except it's a better, warmer green. He says nothing. Then, he sighs.

"You should leave," Wally mutters. "You probably have a life. You shouldn't be wasting it trying to live someone else's."

"That's the thing, West," Gardner replies. "I don't. My parents are dead, I don't have many friends, I work the night-shift every single night, and I don't know what to do with myself whenever I'm awake during the day."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Wally straightens himself, rocking on his heels. A minute into an awkward, tense silence, he speaks. Neat and tidy and on the floor, Wally spots a gaming system that (two years ago) can be described as the present all little kids wanted for his or her (or their) birthdays. "Wanna play a game?"

"That sounds okay."

Gardner guides himself over to the bed. He slowly climbs in, getting used to the feel. It's rather soft and comfortable and not at all like his bed at the apartment. He missed this sort of luxury. Before he can really immerse himself in the comfort, he hears the sound of a gaming system start up.

On the floor, Wally's sitting in a cross-cross position. His eyes flicker to the screen when he turns on the device. He remembers sitting here, on the floor of Dick's room, playing video games until late into the night.

He watches as the starting menu of the last game Dick ever played loads up. He passes a controller to Gardner and takes one for himself before pressing start.

Before the video game really starts, Wally says, "I miss him."

•••

Bruce watches the seconds tick away. A few minutes ago, he had convinced Barry to report back to his wife and to apologize to Wally's parents as soon as morning hit. Just when thirty minutes was about to pass, he hears a voice call out to him.

"Sorry, Bruce," Gardner says. "Wally and I got a little carried away."

"How many times?" Bruce asks with just the tiniest hint of an amused smirk. He's referring to the amount of times Dick had beaten Wally but he wants to think of this as a mini test.

"About ten times," Gardner replies. He doesn't comment on the fact that Bruce is decked out in his uniform for his night job.

The man instructs him on what he's going to do. Basically, Bruce is just going to find a safe spot, sterilize it, and insert a syringe to draw some blood. Maybe a hair sample or saliva will be added as an extra test. He's not sure.

Gardner wrestled himself out of his jacket and it falls to the ground. Albeit hesitantly, he raises his right arm and bares it for the man to use to take the blood. At Bruce's inquisitive stare, which he attributes to the hesitance, Gardner lies and says that he's just worried that even with the test, he won't be believed.

Bruce doesn't reply as he finds an alcohol wipes and rubs it over the naked skin. Gardner almost shivers but then he watches with gross fascination as a needle is inserted and red seeps into the tube.

"Think you'll need me to do a quick spit?" he asks.

"Not unless you want to," Bruce says.

Scrunching up his features, Gardner shakes his head. "Not today, thanks."

Bruce allows himself to chuckle as he begins the process. The wait is only a handful of moments. On the left-hand screen pops up a grey box with a white silhouette of a person, while on the right happens to pop up a picture of the fifth Boy Wondet, Robin. It seems to be part of a bigger picture but Gardner finds that he's distracted.

98.7% match to Richard Grayson

A smug smile is allowed to grace Gardner's lips. He steps closer to the screen, placing himself alongside Bruce. He looks at the man. "See? You had nothing to worry about."

"Drop that cocky look, chum," Bruce admonishes, unable to hide the tiniest hint of relief as he reads and rereads the results over and over again. To him, Dick is home, safe and sound. "I think it's about time you go get some sleep."

"Can Wally stay over?" Gardner asks. "Or does he have to zeta back to Keystone?"

Turning to look into those familiar blue eyes to say no, Bruce finds himself floundering when he sees a pleading expression. "All right. Don't stay up too late though,"

A thankful grin is sent his way and then, just like that, Gardner runs off and back upstairs. Not even five minutes later, the biological son shows up. Damian says nothing for a few seconds as he's most likely staring at the results on the screen.

"I suggest you test that blood once more, Father," he says. "Perhaps there's something you've missed."

"My technology is in its best form," Bruce says. "I assure you that it makes no errors."

That doesn't seem to quell the annoyance. Damian's insistence on the blue-eyes boy being a fake is a wild fire; it cannot be doused so easily. He scowls. "Something is wrong with that impostor," he retorts. "He's different from Grayson."

"Two years, Damian," is what's said back. "Two years can change a person. Time always does."

"That's not it! He... something's off. I know about the construct of time and how it changes a person but that's not what I mean."

"Who could he be if not Dick?"

Damian purses his lips. "A clone. I don't know."

Bruce sighs, getting up. He turns and his cape flares as he walks toward the Batmobile. He gets inside and gives his son one final look. "Give him a chance to prove it's him then."

And with that, he pulls out of the cave and drives off.

"Tt."

•••

Nimble fingers fly over the buttons and sliders on the controller. On the left-hand screen, WINNER flashes in block letters. Wally lets out a groan and throws his hands up in the air.

"Dude, you're, like, impossible to beat!"

Gardner smirks. When Wally catches sight of this quirks of the lips, his own features contort. The smirk is dropped back into a blank line. They don't say anything for a few seconds and just stare at each other.

Finally, Wally falls back on the bed. He breaks the eye contact to turn off the system. "I'm beat, dude. Let's crash for the night."

"Sleep? At this hour?" Gardner says, feeling a sense of panic welling up inside of him. He had forgotten about the night terrors and the sleepless nights.

"Not everyone can pull multiple all-nighters in a row, Dick," Wally retorts. Then, he freezes and he looks over at Gardner. "Sorry, I forgot that you..."

"It's fine," Gardner says.

Wally purses his lips. "You just... I thought... you passed the blood test, right? How?"

The subject change ignites something uneasy in Gardner. He doesn't know how to respond. "Just hacked the system," he says—lies.

"Oh."

"Goodnight," Gardner says abruptly. He gets up, sliding off the bed. He heads over to the light switch. Before flicking it off, he says, "Still need the light?"

Wally shrugs. "I usually just shared the bed," he says. "Unless you want me to find a sleeping bag then no."

"No, no," replies the other boy. He turns off the lights, leaving them in total darkness. "Just go to sleep, West."

When Gardner finds his place under sheets, just inches away from Wally, he closes his eyes and focuses on his breathing. He doesn't want anyone to know the severity of his nightmares.

Hehe. If you squint, there's a bit of slash between Gardner and Wally in this chappie. To those asking if there'll be BirdFlash, I can't call it BirdFlash just yet or I reveal whether or not it's actually Dick. We'll go with slash, okay? Though if you're really curious, anyone with an account can PM me and I'll spill. ;)

So, again, your reviews really motivated me to get another chapter out. Interaction between authors and their readers is great man. ;) I love getting the notifs because it means y'all enjoy my story and that means the world to me.

Y'all really seem to enjoy my characterization and generally my way of writing? :) That means a lot so thank you! I'm trying to find a style? Haha. I like to think I have a certain flair with my writing.

Psych, haha. My teachers recommend us for honors at my school. Apparently all my former teachers believed I was... good? enough for all honors. Like, I guess I am but I'm not so sure if my mental health agrees. You get me? XD I'll keep in mind your warning for when the time comes. Also, I'll consider your offer. ;) I've been thinking of this story of the angst genre involving my favorite heroic teens.

AlecGateway, thank you so much! I'm glad you found reason behind their reactions. I tried my best to keep them as true to their character as possible, which is hard. Tho, this is a fanfic so... Anywhoooo, you should definitely write a oneshot! I would love to read it. :)

I've been wanting to illustrate some of the scenes in my story. My issue? I don't have the time or commitment to do that but I would kill (not really killing's bad don't do it) to see scenes from my story being brought to life. Maybe one day I'll do it.

Edit: My apologies if the last section seems rushed. I was literally typing it on my phone during lunch. Whoops? :3