At seven a.m. in Keystone, a certain brunet wakes up. He takes one look at the digital clock on his bedside table and groans. He thanks himself for having the brain to close the blinds last night so there isn't much sunlight glaring in his eyes.
He picks up his pillow, dropping it over his face so he can at least pretend that the world doesn't exist for a few more minutes. Probably after fifteen minutes of some shut-eye, he sits up and the pillow falls to his lap. The first thing he does is grab his phone.
Turning it on, he sees that he's gotten a text from a certain Dan Degnar. He scans over its contents and raises his brows.
"I don't know what kind of trouble you've gotten yourself into," he says, "but good luck."
So, he prepares himself for another day of work.
•••
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and don't ever forget that. Today, however, Gardner finds that he isn't very hungry. With damp hair and a dampened mood, he stirs the cup of tea he's been given.
Earl grey, he thinks.
As of right now, he's the only one at the table. Everyone else is still holed up in their rooms and Alfred's busy in the kitchen. He had offered to help the man but was turned down and ordered to sit down and relax for a few minutes.
He brings the cup to his lips and sips. He flinches at the burning heat but he makes no move to stop drinking. His eyes shut and when he opens them, he sees a head of black hair. Gardner places the cup down and sees Jason sitting himself on the chair opposite of him.
"Morning," Gardner says.
Jason nods. He's about to place his feet on the table when Alfred calls out, telling him that he should think twice about what he's doing. Jason blanches and places his feet back on the ground, looking everywhere. The butler is nowhere in sight.
Creepy.
"Damn," he mumbles. "He always knows."
"I thought we established that fact years ago," Gardner drawls with a lazy smirk. "How was your night?"
"Feels weird being back in my room," Jason says with a frown. His eyes harden and he casts them downwards so Gardner doesn't have to see the storm of emotions.
Feeling a little sympathetic, the blue-eyed boy nods in agreement. He swallows. "I get what you mean," he says. "After all this time, it's like being in another world that's vaguely familiar. It's like that dream you dreamed once upon a time ago except it's real."
They lapse into a comforting silence. Though, the thoughts in Gardner's head keep getting louder. It's like a school of fish is swimming as fast as possible and away from a predator. Except, he can't seem to think of what the predator in his mind is.
Gardner finishes off the cup of tea. "Wally left by the way."
Jason swallows. He looks into Gardner's eyes and they converse silently for a few seconds. Then, out loud in a quiet mumble, he says, "Just so we're clear, I never hated you."
Brunet brows rise and the blue-eyed boy has to hide a smirk. He stretches a little across the table, moving an ear closer to the older boy. "I couldn't really hear you," he says in a singsong voice. "What was that you said?"
"Fuck off, dick. I know you heard me."
"I can't tell whether you mean my name or the crass language but I'll go with the latter," Gardner says, smirking openly now. "You're a little distraught, heavy on the dis."
Ignoring him, Jason scowls at the wood of the table. "Last night, two of the idiots and me were talking about the whole... Robin thing."
The smirk slides off of Gardner's face and he falls back into his seat. He frowns, raising his brows at the other boy. "Let me guess, you don't want me out on the field but they think that it's Bruce's call."
"Damn right."
"I want to go out on the field," Gardner says. "I want to be Robin but I don't think I'm ready for that. Two years, Jason. It's been two years and I just..."
"Morning, Jason, Dick," someone says. It's Tim and he invites himself in the seat to the right of Gardner. The aforementioned boy gives him a tight smile as he bobs his head awkwardly. He wants to say something but he cannot bring himself to open his mouth to allow any words to tumble out.
Terry joins in, also placing himself in a seat next to Gardner but on the left as the right is taken. It's a tense, awkward silence until the oldest brother speaks.
"Dick, how do you feel about driving into the city today? Maybe stop by the station and let them know you're all right. I think your Barbara friend might be there with her dad today," Terry says.
Before Gardner can reply, Bruce's voice floats in from behind them. "I've already called Jim to inform him of Dick's return. He promised to breathe nothing of it until I give the okay," he says. "Today, we have more important matters to discuss in the cave today."
Alfred arrives with the breakfast. When he sets it all down, he dismisses himself, saying that he'll be taking Damian's breakfast to his room as the blood son had been adamant on not seeing Gardner's face. Bruce tells the man to pass on a message.
•••
Saturday. Wally loves Saturdays. Saturdays mean the weekend. The weekend means times to think. Time to think means distractions. Distractions means his brain will get a break.
Ack.
Except, his brain isn't getting a break. Thoughts too fast and thoughts too slow swirling in his mind, matching the hurricane of emotions he's feeling. Last night had been too real, too weird, too... confusing.
Wally had snuck back in through a very difficult climb up the side of the house and into the window of his room. He's almost positive that his parents had not known he was gone but he doesn't want to leave the safe haven of his room and risk confrontation. So, he sits on his bed.
It's rather disconcerting how still he's being. It's not normal for a speedster. He doesn't care right now.
"Why did he wake up when I called him Dick?" he asks himself, frowning pensively. He runs a hand through his hair.
Maybe he's overthinking it. He had only tried to wake up Gardner twice with coaxing words before something inside of him forced Dick's name to fall out of his mouth. Third time's the charm, right? It could have been a total coincidence.
He wishes that it isn't a coincidence.
More than anything, more than ever, Wally wants his best friend back. Two years without that cackle, two years without that smirk, two years without their jokes.
Two years without Robin.
And two years without Dick Grayson.
Two long, long years without his best friend.
Wally throws his head back, groaning in pain when he makes contact with the wall. He hears a distant yell from his mother, probably about how he should be more careful and to not break the house or some stupid thing like that. He sighs, slumping.
"Maybe he lied about hacking the system for that blood test," he mumbles. "Dick always said that no one but a Bat could hack the stupid Batcave."
All this time, Wally's been telling himself that it's wishful thinking. Ever since he met Gardner, it's just been one avalanche of confusing emotions after another. Gardner is everything Dick was. Well, almost everything. There's something about him that just puts a fine line between Gardner LaRou and Dick Grayson.
They're too alike and too different and it's kind of taking its toll on Wally's mental health.
Another thing taking a toll on his mental health happens to be the cryptic words of his uncle. What exactly was he supposed to tell Dick—well, Gardner, honestly? He doesn't remember anything he's been waiting to tell his best friend. Even if he had something to say, well, he'd be saying it to Gardner, not Dick.
And Artemis seems to have an idea. At least, she, too, had implied that Wally had—
Actually, she never implied anything. Nothing he recalls, at least. All he remembers are her words of "you would never like me the way I liked you."
That sounds a lot like she believed that maybe Wally likes his best friend as more than a best friend. And, man, isn't that a weird thought? Him, Wallace Rudolph West, like-liking Richard John Grayson. What a laugh, what a riot.
He doesn't like Dick that way.
•••
Donning the suit, Bruce walks through the zeta, silently brooding as it recognizes him and teleports him to the Watchtower.
Dinah is off to the side, conversing with Ollie. With his cape barely billowing behind him, he walks over. The two are quick to notice his presence and are immediately on guard.
"Is something wrong?" Ollie asks, raising his brows. "You'd think that you'd be at home with your—"
Bruce gives him a silencing glare before turning to Dinah. She's smirking slightly at how fast Ollie had shut up under the influence of the trademark Bat Glare. "Need anything?" she asks.
"Robin may be coming out of his retirement," Bruce says, choosing his words carefully. He doesn't miss the incredulous eyes coming from the archer. "I'd like for you to act as his therapist. He's been through some things these past two years."
"At the Cave?" Dinah asks, holding up a finger to Ollie's lips before the man can interrupt.
Shaking his head, Bruce says, "I'll grant you access to the Bat Cave. In order to help him, you'll need to know the full story."
She nods curtly. "I'll be free by noon on Monday. That good?"
Saying nothing, Bruce simply turns back around. He gives the both of them a warning to keep quiet because he can't help but have some doubts. Before he makes it to the zeta, he feels a hand on his shoulder. It's Ollie and he's looking at Bruce with wide eyes.
"He's back?" Ollie mouths, knowing better than to say anything out loud.
Entering the zeta, Bruce says nothing. He turns around and gives one final nod before he's back in the Batcave.
•••
"You—what?"
Tim breathes through his nose, trying not to yell too badly. Bruce looks over at him. "Dick needs to talk to someone and sort out what's happened since he went missing."
"He can talk with us," Tim retorts. "We're his family, Bruce. He's finally back and we need to be there for him."
"Dinah is—"
"—not us. She's not Batman. She's not Bruce Wayne. Dick needs us. Us as in you, me, Terry, Jason, and Damian."
Okay. I lied. THIS is the last chapter. At least, for the remainder of the week. Screw studying. Bad habits, I know, but I am so stressed and writing this has calmed my nerves a lil bit. Just... I need all the luck I can get tomorrow. :)
So, yes, here's a chapter. I hope it's okay. There's probably a ton of errors but I have a killer headache and can't be bothered to correct them right now. :/
Btw, the first section is the real Gardner's POV.
Have a nice day! :)